October began at Hogwarts. Halloween was getting closer and closer. James sent a letter to his mother letting her know that Headmaster Dumbledore knew about Lupin's condition and had taken appropriate measures.
Lupin had already recovered after his transformation, and for the first time, a friend accompanied him to the infirmary. It was a strange feeling, but not a bad one.
Madame Poppy Pomfrey. The Hogwarts nurse was very surprised when James said he knew about Lupin's condition. He had to explain to her and McGonagall how he found out and that he was planning to keep it a secret.
Both witches were very relieved to see that James was not prejudiced against werewolves. James also spoke to McGonagall explaining that the other students in his room (Sirius, Toby, and Peter) would find out about Lupin's condition sooner or later, so it was best to tell them.
If Dumbledore or McGonagall had wanted to properly hide Lupin's secret they would have had to put him in a single room or try to create a very believable excuse.
McGonagall ended up being convinced by James and Lupin that nothing bad would happen. They were all good friends, so she agreed. After all, it was Lupin's secret. If he trusted his friends she couldn't forbid him to tell them.
One day after school, James headed to the library without wasting any time. His study sessions in the library were always done alone.
Mostly because he studied more advanced subjects than they saw, and the marauders had enough of the subjects they saw in classes. Only Lupin studies and trains with him, but that's when they head to the Room of Requirement.
It was already asking too much of Lupin to follow his study and training routine.
'Two and a half hours before dinner...' thought James as he sat down at one of the tables in the library. In this area, he dedicated himself to reading and studying.
He rested on the table a thick book that seemed to have more than a thousand pages. The book was titled: Intermediate Transfiguration. It covered three years of Hogwarts, which was why it had so many pages.
'Maybe I'll finish the book in a year? In the best case scenario...' James thought optimistically. Finishing this book that encompasses three years of Hogwarts in just one year while taking many subjects at the same time would be a great achievement.
It's not just reading it and understanding the theoretical basics. It's also putting them into practice and polishing them.
As he was about to begin his long reading session, a voice spoke, "May I sit here?"
James looked up and saw a girl with red hair, white skin, and emerald eyes. Her red hair reached her waist, and she had a few freckles on her face. It was Lily Evans.
"Yes, of course," said James, a little surprised by Lily's sudden appearance.
He had met the girl last year. They hadn't started on the right foot, but after some events, their relationship improved to study partners.
This year McGonagall no longer forced James to sit in front of everything with Lily, so they hadn't talked as much.
"Thanks," said Lily, sitting down in front of James. She propped a book on the table that was just as thick as the one James had. Looking at it better, it was the same book.
"Are you reading the Intermediate Transfiguration book too?" asked James with some surprise.
"Yes. I started a week ago. After finishing the beginner book. How long ago did you start reading it?" asked Lily, who was listening very intently.
"Same. Approximately a week," James replied.
"A week is seven days. It's not the same eight days or nine. I started reading it exactly seven days ago. What about you?" asked Lily again.
'Why so specific...' thought James, looking strangely at Lily.
"Mm. Eleven days to be exact..." replied James after counting the days. Hearing the answer, Lily let out a faint click with her tongue, barely audible.
"Did you learn everything correctly? I'm talking about the second-year spells, both theory and practice," Lily asked again.
"Yes. The last spell I practiced was Hystrifors. Although its difficulty is the same as Lepus Calceus," replied James, as he wondered which one McGonagall would use for the end-of-year exam.
If a normal second-year student heard the spells James named, he or she wouldn't have the slightest idea what he was referring to. But Lily knew what spells James was talking about.
"And you?" asked James. They seemed to be playing a question-and-answer game about their knowledge of Transfiguration.
"The theoretical part I learned perfectly... but I couldn't put it into practice. Where did you get a pair of rabbits and a porcupine from?" asked Lily with sparkling eyes.
Lily could only put spells like Beetle to Button into practice. For this, she had to search in her spare time for beetles in the green parts of Hogwarts. She was also able to practice Vera Verto. A spell that transfigured an animal into a glass goblet. For this, she had to target birds that were quietly in their trees and then turn them back to normal with a Reparifarge.
It was very difficult for Lily. She had to act stealthily so that the birds wouldn't run away as soon as they noticed her and sensed danger. Where would she get a pair of rabbits and a porcupine?
James could understand that Lily had gone to a lot of trouble to put spells on animals into practice. In classes the animals are handed to you in a cage McGonagall, but if you're self-taught like the two of them you have to figure it out.
"I have a method..." replied James hesitantly. He didn't know whether to tell Lily that he had an undetectable extension charm on his seemingly normal wallet.
He was hesitant, as this was illegal. There is an ongoing law that states that extension charms cannot be cast for private.
"Please tell me! I have to put it into practice, or I won't be able to move forward with the intermediate book!" asked Lily honestly. She hardly ever asked for favors, but she had to keep studying, and transfiguration was her favorite subject.
"I'll lend you all my Transfiguration notes. Also, the ones I make in the future," she added, showing him a pink notebook with lots of cute stickers on it.
'How colorful,' thought James as he looked at the notebook. It was rare to see a notebook at Hogwarts. Most wizards and witches preferred to use parchment and quills most of the time. Not very practical.
James decided to tell her his method and lend Lily his rabbits and porcupine so she could practice. It was rare to find a person who was so advanced in Transfiguration.
He pulled out his wand and cast a silent sweep around them.
"A charm so no one can hear us," explained James, seeing that Lily didn't understand why he cast a charm.
"How convenient," said Lily in fascination, noticing the faint barely visible barrier. It would be very useful for her to learn the spell. Since, when she studies with her friends in the library she speaks in a very loud tone of voice and always gets scolded by the librarian.
"The method I use you won't be able to replicate. So I'll lend it to you. That way, you can practice. But you must promise not to tell anyone. It's a secret," James said, making eye contact with Lily.
Lily made a difficult expression. It seemed that James' method broke some rules. Otherwise, he wouldn't have told her all this.
"It's okay... I promise," said Lily, biting her lip. She didn't like breaking rules, but it was more important to study.
James from his pocket pulled out his wallet and rested it on the table. In a few minutes, he explained to her about the undetectable extension charm and the laws prohibiting the object for private use.
'Phew... that's better than I thought,' Lily thought in relief. She wasn't very knowledgeable about the laws of the magical world, but it didn't seem like such a bad thing as long as you use it the right way.
James proposed reading for an hour and a half. Then, they would go to an empty classroom so Lily could practice and reinforce her knowledge and practice on spells. He didn't think he was breaking his routine, as he was still studying.
James and Lily spent an hour and a half in silence reading the intermediate transfiguration book. Then, they headed to classroom 11, which was empty.
What James didn't notice, was that since he started talking to Lily, someone was watching him. Gwen was a few tables behind with her group of friends.
Once in the classroom, James took a couple of rabbits out of his wallet. An hour was spent inside the classroom practicing transfiguration spells. James was able to practice and get better results than before.
"Thank you... Tomorrow can we do the same? My spell can get better," asked Lily, a little uncomfortable. She thought she was already going overboard, as James was supposed to escort her to the classroom.
"Yes, of course. Same time tomorrow at the library. We can read and then come here," nodded James. He didn't mind having to follow Lily at all, even his transfiguration spells were finished polishing.
"Great!" said Lily with a smile, her emerald eyes sparkling.
"Here. If you want you can read my notes. I'll get it back later," added Lily, handing her pink notebook to James.
"Thanks. It will do me good to see other points of view," James said with a grateful smile.
"That's good to hear... see you tomorrow," said Lily, leaving the classroom first.
When James walked out of the classroom, Lily was no longer in sight. But a blonde girl was looking at him with her light blue eyes. It was Gwen. For some reason, James had a bad feeling seeing her friend's frown.
"Hey, Gwen. What are you doing around here?" greeted James, looking at Gwen, who was looking at the pink notebook in James' hands.
"Whose notebook is that?" asked Gwen, ignoring the greeting. She knew James didn't like pink. Besides, he would never use kitten and flower stickers.
"From a classmate. It's to help me in my study," James replied.
Gwen approached James and tried to snatch the notebook from his hands, but he was quicker and moved it in the nick of time.
"It's rude to take someone else's belongings," said James, not understanding Gwen's attitude.
"Give it to me," growled Gwen, trying to snatch the notebook from him again.
This time, James stretched his arms upward. The notebook was high above his head, very high. A distance that Gwen could not reach unless she climbed on top of James.
Despite this Gwen tried. She came within inches of James and stood on her tiptoes. She stretched her arms out as far as she could to grab the notebook.
James looked at Gwen's face which was very close to his. The light blue eyes weren't looking at him, they were looking at the notebook.
'What's wrong with her all of a sudden...' thought James, nervous about having Gwen so close to him. Their bodies were colliding, and Gwen was stepping on his toes a little.
'Don't tell me... is it jealousy?' thought James. It was the only possible answer. Gwen had most likely seen Lily leave the classroom.
James only had Gwen and Emily as female friends. So he never saw this characteristic of Gwen's.
James recently felt jealous for the first time. He felt jealous of his mother spending time with his friend Toby. Euphemia had given him a little speech on jealousy, so he was able to put these things together to come up with the answer.
"Are you jealous?" asked James with a mildly amused smile.
Gwen stopped trying to grab the notebook and took a few steps backward away from James.
"You do think very highly of yourself. Why would I be jealous of you?" said Gwen with disdain.
"Ouch... That hurts..." said James, acting hurt. Incredibly Gwen's expression softened upon hearing this, and she made a worried face.
"Where did Gwen go?" a voice that both James and Gwen recognized, Anastasia Nott, was heard asking.
"I have to go. At the Dragon Club, we'll have a good talk, and you'll answer my questions," Gwen said a little reluctant to leave. She turned around, and in a few seconds, she was gone.
'Who understands her...' thought James with a puzzled expression. At first, it looked like jealousy, then contempt, then jealousy again. He didn't understand anything.