Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 196: Shocking News
"Okay, we can stop here for today." James stored his wand back in its holster. "You have all progressed a lot over the year."
He addressed the members of the little Defense Club they had created inside the Room of Requirement.
His friends Remus, Sirius, and Peter were present, as well as Bellatrix and her sister Andromeda.
Frank and Alice were no longer attending, as they had little interest in learning more defensive magic than the one required to pass their classes. Lily Evans was also staying away from the lessons, albeit for a different reason.
"Why don't we keep going for a bit longer? It's going to be the last one, right?" Sirius suggested.
"Can't we continue next year?" Peter asked. "Only Andromeda is going to be graduating this year. We will all be on our fifth year."
"About that…" James hadn't gotten a good chance to inform his friends about this, but he had decided that he was going to tell them today, as their year was about to end and there wouldn't be more chances to do it.
"I will not be returning to class next year."
This was followed by several gasps and exclamations of shock.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Bella spoke first, wondering what he was talking about.
"You are quitting school?" Remus asked.
"I am… relocating," James said.
"To another school?" Sirius frowned.
"To another position," James responded.
"Stop being so cryptic and spit it out already." Bella huffed.
"I have been offered a teaching position at Hogwarts for next year. I had some time to think about it, and just yesterday I told the Headmaster that I will be taking it." All things considered, James thought that it was preferable to continue pretending to be a student.
The status of a professor would also give him more freedom to leave the castle without needing to sneak around.
"A professor?... you?" Sirius looked baffled.
"Is this because you killed that witch?" Peter asked.
"Yes, me. And I suppose what happened in Hogsmeade has something to do with the offer, but I wouldn't put it like that," James said.
"So you have known about this for an entire month and kept it to yourself?" Bella didn't look too pleased, because they had spent a lot of time together alone during this last month, and he never said a word.
"I didn't want to say anything until I had time to think about what to do." James tried to reason with them.
"But I don't get it. You still haven't even finished your OWL exams, and you will need a lot more than that to be qualified to teach here," Andromeda pointed out.
"I will have to fulfill all the requirements during the summer—passing the OWL and NEWT tests. Then I will be given a position as assistant professor during my first year." James repeated the same thing Dumbledore had told him.
"And you are confident you can pass all the tests already? I mean, even if you spent the entire summer studying, it seems a bit too much," Remus said.
"I'll be fine. I was already ahead in my studies." He just didn't say how far ahead he was, because they would not believe him.
"So… there is a chance that James will be our professor next year? That's going to be weird," Peter commented.
"To be fair, he has been teaching us defense for months now," Remus pointed out, since they had just finished their last class.
"Still weird though…" Sirius muttered.
"You could do worse. James is a good teacher." Bella added, earning a look from the other boys.
"I have never heard you say something nice about someone else… you must really like James after all," Sirius said with a grin on his face.
Bella aimed her wand at him and fired a stinging jinx.
"Ouch! Stop that!" Sirius was ready to make a run to the door.
"If you can't even avoid that… perhaps I have not done a good job at teaching you anything." James glanced at his friend.
"She took me by surprise! You know I'm better than that." Sirius looked offended.
James shook his head, but he knew Sirius was right. He was very talented when it came to defensive magic. It wouldn't be a surprise if he also became an Auror in this life.
The group spoke for a few more minutes before Bella and Andromeda parted ways, returning to the dungeons while the Marauders stayed behind for a bit longer.
"Hey James, I don't know if there will be time later so…" Remus pulled a parchment from his pocket and began to unfold it. "I wanted to show you this, now that it's finally completed."
James glanced at what Remus was holding. It was the Marauders' Map. However, James wasn't sure if they had already named it as such.
"You finished it, congrats!"
"We have all written our names on the back," Peter said.
"Yeah, it's only missing yours," Sirius added.
"You want me to put my name on it? I don't think I have contributed enough for that." James felt somewhat guilty for not having spent more time with the three boys. This year, he had given priority to his alchemy projects, as they were a crucial part of his plan to deal with Voldemort. His friendships had to come second.
Remus smiled. "Don't say that. You helped plenty." He handed the map to James.
"You need a quill? I have one in my bag," Peter offered.
"That won't be necessary." James used a hand to hold the map, locating the spot where his friends' names were written. They had left an empty space for him.
He conjured a small amount of magical ink above his free hand and manipulated it to write his name.
"That looks handy," Remus commented.
"Household magic always is. I'll send you a book during the summer." James then seemed to recall something important. "I was going to give you this tomorrow, but since we are all here…"
"What is it?" Remus and the others peeked with curiosity as James took out a tiny box from his pocket.
"I have made some improvements to the Wolfsbane Potion. I think you are going to like the new version." He tapped the box with his hand, and it grew in size until it was almost as tall as him. "I have also brewed a large stock for you."
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