Christmas and New Year's were spent at Potter Manor. James had never spent such a boisterous and enthusiastic holiday season. There were a large number of people at the manor. The Marauders, Snape and his mother, his parents, his aunts and uncles, new siblings, and his cousins. Lupin and Peter's parents were also there.
In addition to the parties and translating the scroll, James showed his parents and friends his Animagus form. His parents were aware that he wanted to become one and knew he would not register as the law required, but they were confident in how responsible their son was.
Everyone was surprised at the peregrine falcon's speed of flight and majestic figure. Sirius and the others began the process of becoming Animagus again, now that they saw James turned into a falcon and able to fly through the skies at great speed.
James practiced a lot in his Animagus form. Using the large grounds of Potter Manor to fly and get used to his falcon form. His horizontal flight speed exceeded 100 kilometers per hour. If he swooped down, he could reach speeds of over 300 kilometers per hour making him the fastest normal animal in the world.
That was not all. Its vision is eight times better than that of a human in that form. It can see more than 1 mile away. Its visual acuity allows it to identify a small moving bird at that distance.
In addition, its claws are sharp and dangerous if you are attacked at more than 100 or 300 kilometers per hour. Even for a magician, it would be difficult to react to such a swift attack coming from the air.
His study and training focused: on his Animagus form, his fire elemental magic, ancient runes with the Japanese wizard's book, conjuration, legilimency, and wandless magic.
On the first day of the new year, James and his friends returned to Hogwarts. Time thus passed. In the blink of an eye, two months had passed.
In the marauders' dormitory, there was a large blackboard full of information. In the center, it read: Sunken Vault. Complicated ancient rune symbols beside it had their translation. They filled almost the entire blackboard.
One part to the right of the blackboard had names: Eustace, Victor, Ivan, Volker, and Death Eater with a question mark next to them. In addition to the names, there was information about these people, though not very extensive.
The door to the room opened, and James walked in. There was a loud bustle coming from the Gryffindor common room. James waited a few seconds and then closed the door. He cast a charm on the door so that no one could open it, no matter how much Alohomora they used.
Out of nowhere, blonde hair appeared. It was Gwen. She placed the invisibility cloak on James' bed.
"They sure are noisy. Are they always like that, when they win a match?" asked Gwen.
The hubbub was due to the quidditch team's victory in the match vs Hufflepuff. This way the Gryffindor team managed to put themselves in the running for the title, after their loss against Slytherin in the first match of the season.
James as he became the alternate seeker was not the main star, he was able to sneak away, and no one stopped him. So, with all the movement, they took advantage of Gwen to be in the dormitory alone. The other marauders were celebrating with each other.
"They're always like that. Even louder," James said with a slight smile, standing in front of the big blackboard.
In these two months, they had all worked exhaustively to translate the scroll and prepare everything for the expedition to the last vault. After translating the endless scroll, they had to solve the riddle which was easier than the translation.
They already knew the name of the vault and the coordinates indicating its location. The vault was located in the Great Lake, also known as the Black Lake. It is a large landlocked freshwater lake on the Hogwarts grounds. Specifically, it is located underneath the lake. In a cave. There lies Dai Ryusaki's most prized treasure.
Everyone was very anxious to find out what this great treasure was. It had to be something better than 20,000 galleons, and that would be worth seeing.
As with the previous expedition, they already had potions and antidotes that would help explore this latest vault.
In addition to the vault, James obtained information about the group of dark wizards to which Eustace Burke belongs. In his falcon form, he made visits to Hogsmeade and spied on the wizards. He found out where they were staying, (in an old house similar to where Lupin spends his full moon nights). He also discovered their names and some of their personalities.
They were very impatient at having to spend so much time in that old house, waiting for news of the Slytherin students sent by the unknown Death Eater. However, the Slytherin students who wanted to spy on James and his group did not manage to find any information during this time. This was because James and the others stopped doing nightly expeditions, so they didn't get anything useful.
As for the Death Eater, James was unable to discover his identity. Only a little of his personality. From what he spied he was a man, cold, calm, and calculating. Unlike the other dark wizards, he showed no impatience at the lack of progress in his mission. This showed that he was a better magician than the useless Eustace and his companions.
The best thing to do was to get into the sunken vault without being followed by these dark wizards, or they would be in big trouble even though they numbered eight and the dark wizards numbered five.
"Stop staring at that blackboard and get over here," Gwen said, patting a part of the bed for James to sit next to her.
James stopped staring at the blackboard and walked over to her, sitting down next to her. As soon as he did, Gwen wasted no time; she climbed over his legs in one nimble motion, sitting on top of him. She crossed her arms gently behind his neck in an intimate gesture as she looked into his eyes with a mixture of defiance and tenderness.
"What would your parents say? You find yourself alone in a Gryffindor boy's dormitory," James said with a faint smile.
"They'd be pleased. My boyfriend is the most talented and powerful boy of all the students at Hogwarts," Gwen replied with a smile, kissing James.
"I doubt your crazy mother would be happy," James said.
"Hey, respect your mother-in-law. I know my mother isn't perfect, but she's been a lot better since Emily left the house," Gwen said.
Her mother had been the victim of infidelity. She had to see the daughter of the woman who slept with her husband every day. Gwen understood this, although she did not forgive her for the abuse and threats she made to Emily. She should have made them to her father, the one to blame for everything. She was her mother, and she didn't want to hate her for the rest of her life.
"Just kidding," James said, knowing the subject was a sensitive one.
"Changing the subject. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Did you plan the date, and do you already have my present?" asked Gwen, with sparkling eyes. She would finally have her long-awaited Valentine's Day with James in Hogsmeade. She had been looking forward to this day since she stepped onto Hogwarts.
"Don't be curious. It's a surprise. Otherwise, it's not funny if you already know everything," James replied, causing Gwen to puff out her cheeks in dissatisfaction, but she failed to get a single word out of James about tomorrow.
"Did you know that Remus invited Diana to Hogsmeade for tomorrow?" asked Gwen, changing the subject.
"Really?" asked James in surprise. He hadn't expected that pairing. Lupin hadn't said a word. He's a silent player.
"Diana told me. She was happy. They make a cute couple," Gwen said, happy that her friend was finally getting along with a boy.
"I'm glad for Lupin," said James with a happy smile.
"On the other hand. Does Sirius have a date, and what about Peter and Toby?" asked Gwen with curious eyes.
"You're such a gossip," said James with a slight smile.
"Shut up and answer me. I already told you about Diana and Remus," said Gwen, wanting to know about everyone else's love life.
Time passed as James and Gwen chatted happily alone. The next day, it was Valentine's Day.
A large number of students headed to Hogsmeade leaving the castle emptier than usual for such outings. All the marauders went to Hogsmeade to spend the whole day on their respective dates. Even Toby and Peter got dates, so they were very happy.