Sunday, March 27, 1972.
Today is James' birthday. It had been two weeks since he started to have a more controlled routine that allowed him to sleep better. So he stopped falling asleep in class or being on the verge of being late, and his homework was back to the same quality as before.
When he thought McGonagall would not punish him he was wrong. Ever since that day he was late, McGonagall in every Transfiguration class makes him sit in front of everything. Away from Sirius and always next to Lily Evans.
His performance in class indeed increased, and he got more points for Gryffindor, thanks to the fact that he was next to a responsible person who doesn't waste time in class, but it wasn't as much fun as being with his friends. And now, since he practiced and read so much, he could only be with the marauders during classes and the occasional free hour.
However, it wasn't that bad, since it was only in Transfiguration classes. So he could resist it without a problem. He wasn't the only one affected. Sirius also started having to sit with Mary Macdonald on McGonagall's orders.
James upon waking up that day, got presents from his parents and all the marauders even Lupin. Which surprised him, as previously at Christmas he had not given him a present.
On the subject of James' theory about Lupin being a werewolf, he decided to postpone the discussion with his friend. Last month, the same thing happened again, and he was almost certain that was what it was all about, but with training in the secret room, he didn't have time to think about how to face Lupin.
So he decided to wait for another full moon. To be 100% sure that his friend was a werewolf. It was only three days until this month's full moon.
After Sirius and the others sang him an off-key happy birthday song, they went to the dining hall. On the way some first-year Gryffindor boys congratulated James.
"In the afternoon, we have to go to Hagrid's hut. Does he know about your birthday?" asked Sirius as he sat down at the Gryffindor table.
"No. I didn't tell him," replied James, as he hadn't had the chance to tell him. In this last little while the gang had become good friends with Hagrid and were visiting him more regularly.
"Maybe he gives you some dangerous magical creature," said Lupin, knowing that Hagrid liked many powerful creatures, no matter how harmless they might seem.
Joking and talking about what they would do on the day to make James' birthday different, the mail arrived. Shadow dropped two letters near James and asked him for something to eat for his work.
After feeding him, James opened the first letter. It was about his father wishing him a good birthday and little else. It wasn't a very long letter.
The second letter was much longer. More than three times as long as the first. It was a letter from his mother. It was a very affectionate letter, besides wishing him a happy birthday and telling him that she loved him very much, it said many more catchy things like that he was the best son and that since he came into her life, she was always happy, among other things.
James read the letter with a slight smile. His mother was always very loving. Besides showing it to him daily, she also wrote him letters to show it. As it was the first time he was away from home, the letter was much longer.
As he read the letter in concentration he did not notice someone approaching from behind. The others didn't notice either because they had started a heated conversation.
In a second, someone snatched the letter from James. He quickly turned around and frowned when he saw who it was. It was Rabastan Lestrange. The Slytherin boy turned away from James to be at a safe distance so that the letter couldn't be taken out of his hands.
"Oh, what have we here... I didn't know it was your birthday today, Potter," Rabastan said with a smirk, as he began to read the letter. To his left and right stood Mulciber and Avery as bodyguards.
James stood up and looked coldly at the Slytherin gang, who were getting more unbearable by the day. After passing them on the Quidditch board they always wanted to make fun of them or any Gryffindor.
At the beginning of the year, James considered the enmity fun, but now he had had enough and wanted a quiet school life so he could devote himself to his training.
Sirius and Lupin stood up and already had their wands in their hands. James stopped them and shook his head. They had acted impulsively before and ended up grounded for a week or more.
"Give me the letter, Lestrange," James said, holding out his hand. To the surprise of many his tone showed no anger.
As expected Rabastan did not obey and continued reading the letter. Gradually a wide grin formed on his face, and he began to laugh out loud drawing the attention of many people.
"Haha! Who would've thought you're a mommy's boy, huh, Potter?" said Rabastan, trying to hold in his laughter.
"Why don't we show everyone how loving your mother is? My son, you are the light of my life, and every day I feel lucky to have you..." said Rabastan in a loud tone for all to hear, as he held back his laughter.
"Remember that wherever I am and whatever happens, I will always be your biggest fan and your unconditional support. I love you to infinity and beyond. Hahaha," continued Rabastan until he could not take it anymore and burst out laughing. Mulciber and Avery also started laughing, and most of the Slytherin table did the same.
The other tables could hear a lot of giggling, "What's wrong with her? She's too sweet..." said a Ravenclaw boy as he laughed. If his mother was like that, he would die of embarrassment.
"I think I'm gonna puke from all this love..." scoffed one boy as he acted like he was throwing up.
"Poof... he was acting tough on the train, but he's a mama's boy," sneered Anastasia Nott as she ate and laughed.
Next to Anastasia stood Gwen, who was looking at Rabastan with a lot of hatred. She would not tolerate James being made fun of.
"What's with the corny line?" asked Rabastan. He was happy that almost every table was laughing at James.
Sirius looked every which way with a vein in his forehead and a furious look on his face. The only table where there was little laughter was Gryffindor, but the occasional chuckle could be heard.
'This son of a bitch...' thought Sirius looking at Rabastan angrily.
Sirius and the other marauders looked at James worriedly but were surprised to see that he had a stoic look on his face and was just staring at Rabastan. As if the laughter of the entire dining hall wouldn't affect him at all.
"What's going on here!" shouted McGonagall approaching the center of the problem. She was having a quiet breakfast, and from one second to the next the whole dining room erupted in laughter. It was very annoying.
With McGonagall's intervention, the laughter from the tables began to die down, but everyone was still giving James mocking looks.
"Nothing, Professor. I was just wishing you a happy birthday. Happy birthday, the light of my life," Rabastan snorted as he threw the letter towards James. The letter didn't get very far and landed near his feet.
James bent down and picked up the letter. He could see that it had some spittle on it, most likely from Rabastan laughing so hard.
"Back to your seats," said McGonagall, seeing that James and the others were still standing.
"Wait, Lestrange," James said in an icy tone, not even listening to the professor.
Rabastan turned slightly with a smile but paid no attention and kept walking. It was useless to try to fight if there was the stern Professor McGonagall.
"I didn't know that the great old Lestrange Family bred cowardly heirs," James commented, and this time Rabastan stopped and looked angrily at James. Everyone was surprised by James' icy tone, instead of being angry or embarrassed, he seemed monotone and emotionless.
"I challenge you to a duel," added James in a loud and clear tone. How the dining room was silent, everyone could hear it.
Rabastan was shocked. He did not expect to be challenged against a duel, "What, are you scared? Relax. There will be a professor," said James when he heard no answer.
He had made a mockery of his mother's letter. It was unacceptable to let such an offense pass. He had to teach her a lesson, so that he would not mess with her again and that no one else would ever think of making fun of his mother again.
"Shut up, I'm not afraid!" cried Rabastan indignantly.
"Then why don't you accept? I didn't know that Slytherin House was full of cowards. Go talk to your little pureblood friends," said James disdainfully as he turned and walked to his seat.
Before he could sit down, Rabastan shouted, "I accept!"
A cold smile formed on James' face. It was only seen by Sirius, Lupin, Peter, and Toby, who felt shivers. They looked at Rabastan like a dead man.
"Oh, a duel! Let me join your conversation!" said a squeaky and excited voice. It was Professor Filius Flitwick who teaches Charms.
"As you know, unsupervised dueling is forbidden at Hogwarts, as it can be very dangerous. So I propose that you use the Dueling Club room. I will supervise you along with your Heads of House. What do you think?" he asked, looking at James and Rabastan.
As far as James knew, the Dueling Club was a club created a few years ago. It was led by Professor Flitwick, who was a champion duelist when he was younger. Students who went to his office could see a rack full of trophies to prove this was real.
They both nodded agreeing with the professor. Then talked about the dueling schedule. It will be in two days at 6 pm, in the Dueling Club room.
McGonagall didn't agree much internally, but she had to agree, as both parties were in agreement.
James chose Sirius as his second, and Rabastan chose Mulciber.
A second is a wizard or witch, usually a true ally, who will act as a replacement for the duelist if necessary. It is only a formality and they will only fight in your place if an accident occurs. For example, if you get injured, get sick, etc.
After concluding with all the details of the duel, the dining hall returned to normal. Everyone was talking about the duel and debating who would win.
James left the dining hall for the common room. He told the others that he had some late homework to do.
"Will he be okay?" asked Toby worriedly as he ate his breakfast. Usually, he never felt anger towards boys who picked on him and called him a mudblood, but seeing Rabastan make fun of his friend's mother, he felt a lot of anger, something rare for him.
"He must want to beat Rabastan to a pulp at this very moment. Unbelievably, he managed to do it legally," said Lupin.
They had all been friends for several months and were getting to know each other better every day. At this time it wasn't hard to realize that James feels a great affection for his family, and his attitude might change if someone made fun of that.
"He still didn't get it. The duel is in two days," Peter said.
"Really Peter? Do you think Rabastan has any remote chance? In a few seconds James can finish him off," commented Sirius with a slight smile. He wanted to see the moment when James sweeps the floor with the arrogant Lestrange.
At Sirius' comment they all nodded, even Peter after thinking about it a little better. They had sparred with James personally this last time in the secret room. None of the four of them could beat him, or even make him sweat.
They even pitted the four of them against him alone, and even then they couldn't beat him. He was a prodigy at dueling.
"What's the matter? Are you worried about your new friend?" asked Jasmine as she ate her breakfast and looked at Lily.
"That Slytherin boy's attitude is despicable," said Lily with a frown. Rabastan had annoyed her before, and she had noticed that he often picked on others just because of his lineage.
"I hope James wins. Rabastan is hateful," Khanna commented, and her friends were surprised, as her friend always disliked boys and was not in favor of any of them least of all James, who seemed conceited to others.
The day continued smoothly after that. The only thing James felt were the mocking looks of many people. However, he acted as if it was nothing, hiding his anger perfectly.