After both interviews, which did not last long, James' lunch break was over. He could not eat, but he did not care. He had passed the OWL exam in transfiguration, and on this very day, he would have his first advanced transfiguration class.
James accompanied by McGonagall headed to the sixth-year transfiguration classroom. The corridors were already empty. All the students were in their respective classrooms having their corresponding classes.
McGonagall was always punctual, and this would be the first time she had been a few minutes late to class, but she showed no discomfort on her face. She was happy to have such a talented student, and even more so because she belonged to Gryffindor.
After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at Classroom 1B which was known as the Transfiguration Classroom.
James followed McGonagall and looked around the large classroom, surrounded by tall windows. There were four rows of three desks and still enough room for several cages and bookshelves, two golden cat statues, two blackboards, and a desk for the professor.
Despite the numerous desks in the classroom, there were many empty and disused desks. There was a reduction in students compared to previous years because of the OWL exams. Not everyone could pass them and continue with their advanced classes in the subject.
The sixth formers from all houses were already sitting at their desks with their books open, waiting for the professor. The place was silent. Everyone was taking their classes very seriously.
Murmuring began to flourish when they noticed James following Professor McGonagall. Rumors of his advanced exams had already been heard all over Hogwarts, but no one thought he could pass the OWL exam. They already considered it unbelievable that he would manage to pass the third and fourth exams.
Narcissa Black opened her beautiful gray eyes in surprise as she watched McGonagall introduce James as a new classmate and explain a bit of the situation so that everyone would be satisfied that a thirteen-year-old boy was sharing classrooms with them.
She wasn't the only one surprised. Lucius, Mark Selwyn, and other Slytherin boys were surprised and with little happiness to see such a talented Gryffindor boy.
James sat next to his Gryffindor superiors. He knew several thanks to his efforts to improve his social relationships. He was welcomed and helped as the class was challenging for him. He had not yet caught up, and it was the first challenging class in a long time.
Finished with the class, it took little time for the news of James taking advanced transfiguration classes to spread throughout Hogwarts.
That same night, the moment James, Sirius, and the others had been waiting for arrived: the exploration of the Forbidden Forest. For several weeks, they had prepared meticulously, brewing potions and antidotes, plotting the best paths to follow, and anticipating potential dangers. They believed they were ready.
As on previous nights, they gathered at the Dragon Clubhouse. There, under the dim candlelight, they reviewed their supplies and strategies one last time. James and Gwen, carrying items enchanted with extension spells, made sure everything was in place: potions, antidotes, anti-venoms, and other essentials for the expedition.
Finally, once they were ready, they began walking through the Hogwarts grounds towards the Forbidden Forest. The night was silent, with few clouds in the sky, allowing the half-moon to illuminate the path with a silvery light.
There were several entrances they could use to enter the forest from Hogwarts, one of which was near Hagrid's hut, but they decided not to take that route, as the ranger might be awake.
Instead, they opted for a lesser-known entrance, located behind the greenhouses. There was no entrance per se, just a dense curtain of giant, shadowy, dark-wooded trees with few leaves. Their branches, moved by the gentle night breeze, cast eerie shadows on the ground.
"It's time to split up. You know what to do," James said, pulling a fancy pocket watch from his tunic. It was 12:01 at night. The group planned to explore for two hours. Then come back here and discuss their findings.
Gwen nodded, looking at a cute little watch on her delicate wrist. She touched a small button and started the countdown. In two hours an alarm would sound, and they should return.
The two groups went into the forest. Each member respected a position and held wands in their hands, except for Lupin and Regulus, who held maps and were in charge of guiding the way. After a few minutes, each group took different routes.
James led the way, in his left hand extended upwards, he held his wand which had a lighted tip serving as a lantern.
'A method of communication would be key...' thought James as he walked carefully, making sure he didn't trip over roots or get branches caught in his robes.
James stopped thinking about this quick communication method and turned his attention in front of him. It hadn't even been five minutes yet since they had parted from Gwen and the others, and already he was hearing strange noises.
"Stop," whispered James, raising his right hand to signal the group to stop.
Sirius walked over to James, "What did you hear?"
"I'm not sure," James replied quietly, "but it sounds like a lot of buzzing," James said, trying to sharpen his hearing.
Out of the trees shot towards them some insects that were very hard to discern because of the darkness. They were like bees, but a little fatter and blacker. The only thing white were the two little wings on their backs.
"They're a Glumbumble hive!" exclaimed Sirius, preparing to defend himself.
Glumbumble were magical, black, hairy insects that contained a mild poison in their sting that caused sadness, fever, and a bit of weakness.
"Why would a whole hive want to attack us? In the books, they didn't say they wanted to murder humans as a hobby," Sirius said with an ugly expression, preparing to defend himself. If it was just a few insects it would be a piece of cake to defend himself and get rid of them, but there were dozens of them. A swarm. If that many stingers pricked you it would be the end of you.
Regulus put the map away and readied his wand. He didn't think they would find themselves in such a dangerous situation within five minutes of entering the bloody forest. Peter grabbed his wand, trembling, not knowing what to do.
However, the three of them were calm. In front of them was the straight back of James, who looked fearlessly at the swarm of insects.
James quickly waved his wand, and out of it shot a jet of fire. The spell Incendio took shape, but what came out of James' wand was not a simple jet of fire. The fire seemed controlled as if it were a snake of flames moving with precision. The fire traced a path through the air, engulfing the entire swarm of insects and turning them to ash.
The fire moved quickly, but before it could touch a branch, leaf, or anything else, it was gone within seconds, dissipating into thin air without causing any additional damage to the forest.
Sirius' eyes widened in amazement, and a smile appeared on his face, "Wow, James, that was amazing! Take that, you bloody insects!"
Peter, still shaking, let out a sigh of relief, "I thought we, were done for,"
'Amazing...' thought Regulus, looking admiringly at James. Ever since he had been saved by James in the ice vault his admiration for him had been growing.
James turned to them, his expression serious but calm, "Let's move on. We can't let this stop us,"
'I must not stay behind! I must be of help,' Regulus thought, following James and company.
After an hour and forty, James and the others started back. They had a long stretch back. Their aspects weren't very good, but it was a good exploration for a first day, if a bit slow for James and Sirius' liking.
They didn't find anything, but they had marked their way on the map so that the next day they would know where they had already passed. They were still a long way from finding the little stream when there were hundreds or more in this forest.
It took Gwen's group about ten minutes to get there. If they took more than twenty minutes, James and the others would go looking for them, but luckily, it wasn't necessary. Their appearances were a little dirtier than James and the others, but they managed to survive two hours in the forest, and that was quite an accomplishment.
Before returning to the castle and their respective common houses, they talked about their findings, which were not much, but they had discarded a stretch of the forest where they had not found what they were looking for, so it was good to have taken the first step.
So, a month and a half flew by at Hogwarts. October had already begun. Halloween was only a few days away. That wasn't the only good news for the students at Hogwarts.
This weekend third-year students and beyond would be able to visit Hogsmeade.
It would be the first weekend open to visit the magical town. Only a permission form had to be submitted and signed by the student's parents or guardians.
The marauders and most of the third-year students were looking forward to the weekend. Even more than Halloween itself.
James was also excited to visit Hogsmeade. He could take a little vacation and enjoy two days in the magical town with his friends and Gwen.
This month and a half that passed was hard. In addition to exploring the forbidden forest and all the dangers it entailed, James was studying and training like crazy. The subjects were getting harder and harder. So it would be good to relax a bit, even if it was only for two days.