Evanesco (transfiguration)
a spell used to vanish an object or person "into non-being, which is to say, everything"

Chapter 2

James could not contain his excitement. Today was the day. Their plans to go to Diagon Alley on the weekend after he received his letter fell through when he was bombarded with school work. It was June then, and all his teachers were trying to get last minute evaluations before final exams. And then the examinations kicked in and of course his mum made him study for those. He had just finished his last exam yesterday (it was Maths, and he performed those long divisions effortlessly), so now he was finally done! It was already mid-July and he had been driving his mum crazy with endless questions about Diagon Alley as he anticipated their trip.

"Mum! I'm almost done getting ready! Are you?!" James yelled from his bedroom as he quickly glanced at his reflection in the mirror. He was wearing his favourite pair of slim fit black jeans, a blue and white striped t-shirt, and a Levi's denim jacket. He combed a hand through his unruly black hair and wrinkled his nose when it would not stay in place. Typical. He grabbed a pair of grey hightop Converse from the floor as Hermione walked through the open door.

"There's no need to yell James, I'm right here." Hermione said as she stood behind her son and grinned at him through the mirror. Her once bushy hair had been tamed into gentler curls which hung right below her shoulders. Perched on her nose was a pair of tortoise shell glasses, a prerequisite for and a side-effect of pouring over tomes daily. "Look at that - it seems like we're matching!" She exclaimed and winked at James. He giggled and nodded, seeing that she was wearing practically the same thing as he save for crisp white skinny jeans and an added crossbody bag to carry her wand and wallet. She rolled the sleeves of her denim jacket to her elbows and placed her hands on his shoulders.

Hermione had been preparing herself over the last few days for this trip. She knew exactly how much James wanted to be part of the magical world after discovering his talents and she would be damned if she stopped him. She knew there would be consequences for her but one look into his eyes had sold her. His happiness was worth more than her history with magic and she simply refused to be the one to hold him back.

She crouched down and looked at him, her chocolate brown eyes meeting his. She brushed his hair from his eyes and placed a smooth hand on his cheek. "Baby, before we go, I want to remind you of what we talked about before. It… it was my choice to leave Hogwarts before graduating. There are… people that want to look for me. Not to hurt me! But to simply find me. But love, I don't think I want to be found."

James held the gaze of his mother. He had noticed a change in her this past year after he found out he, or rather, they were magical. For his entire life leading up to last summer, he had never heard her utter a single spell or do anything magical. Heck, his mum was the smartest person he knew! She helped him in his Maths and Chemistry (he pretty much had the entire periodic table memorized) and all his other subjects that he could very well say she was the most scientific and factual person in his universe. Magical spells, brewing potions, wizarding schools and the likes simply do not make up the picture that was his Mum.

But that image was changed last summer (almost exactly a year from now) when he accidentally floated a glass out of the cupboard right on top of his head. He gasped as he felt this sort of connection between him and the glass sever. It started to fall on top of him. His mum was in the room having noticed the little bit of magic he displayed (though he didn't know that what he did was magic then) and was able to prevent the disaster by using her own. She gasped and yelled the words Arresto Momentum and the glass stopped in midair, five inches above his head. James remembered how his eyes bugged from their sockets as he stepped away from the path of the falling object and looked at his mum, then back to the glass still in the air, and back to his mum again. He remembered swiping a hand furiously on either side of the glass to check for any strings before shakily grabbing it out of air and turning to look at his mother.

July 1st 2008

"Mum… what just happened?" He asked frightened. She looked at him and exclaimed his name before rushing over to give him a fierce hug.

"Baby, I think… I think I need to tell you where I came from and what I… no, we can do." She stammered out. That was the most distraught he had ever seen her. He nodded his head and fell further into her embrace as they both sank to the kitchen floor. There and then she told him about how she was actually a witch and how she went to school in this place called "Hogswart" (he later learned the proper pronunciation). She told him stories about her two closest friends and some of the mischief they've caused. She said that she had to leave Hogwarts and the wizarding world for reasons unsaid before her seventh year ended. He was born before she turned eighteen and by then she was living as a Muggle (a non-magic folk, she explained) in central London. And so he was raised a Muggle, and she thought that he would be a Muggle for she herself was a Muggleborn and for years he never showed an inkling to magic. She all but gave up on her magic until today when his own magic surfaced.

"But Mum, if you were a Muggleborn then why do I have magic? Is it… is it because of my father?" He asked her. She was silent for a minute before slowly nodding her head.

"Your father was one of the best and most powerful men I knew. He… he was the only man I have ever loved. It would only make sense that you would have magic in your veins." She replied softly, a sad smile on her face.

"Mum… what happened to him?" He asked in a meek voice. His mother never forbade him from asking about his father, but he never felt comfortable doing so.

Her grip around his shoulders tightened as she brought him closer to her chest. "I'm sorry James but… I honestly don't know. I left all of… that behind. Just know that your father was an amazing man. He helped so many people and was, is, the bravest person I knew." She replied with a broken voice.

James nodded his head for he understood. His mum left her past behind when she was seventeen. He had a feeling that it was because she was pregnant with him but it was never explicitly said and he never dared to ask, until now.

"Mum… why did you leave?" He asked in a whisper. He could feel her arms stiffen around him as Hermione considered his question. She could choose not to answer, but that would be unfair. He deserved to know her past.

"It was to protect you, baby. Your father and I… we were never meant to be, but I loved him with all my heart even though he only saw me as a friend. He… he was in love with another person. I didn't want to put you through that. I didn't want to put him through that. He faced so much when he was growing up that I didn't want to get in the way of his happiness. And so… I… I left. I hid. I thought it best to raise you on my own away from all of that mess." Hermione explained. James could feel her crying by now and he turned around to wipe away her tears. He did not fully understand what she had said but he was thankful that she did say something.

James whispered a question he had been holding on to for years. "Mum… what's his name?"

Hermione looked at his chocolate brown eyes that were so much like her own. She brushed away a strand of his jet black hair and her thumb moved to caress his cheek. Hermione opened her mouth and whispered a name she hadn't uttered in years. "Harry. His name is Harry."

James brought a hand up to hold his mother's hand resting on his cheek. He gave her a dazzling smile and nodded his head. "I remember, Mum. I won't draw too much attention on us. You don't have to be found until you want to be found. I love you for letting me learn about magic even though… even though it is difficult for you."

Hermione felt tears stinging the corner of her eyes. How did she get so lucky to have such an understanding and loving child? She enveloped him in a hug and held onto him tightly.

"Okay Mum! That's enough! The day is flying by and we've got A LOT of shopping to do!" He said while trying to wiggle out of her hug.

Hermione laughed as she let go of her son. He'd never been so excited to go shopping with her before! She stood tall and looked down at James, seeing his mouth curled in a cheeky grin as he looked at her with sparkling eyes. At that moment, she knew that she could do this. She would face the magical world again, and all the people in it if necessary, as long as it would bring about the same happiness she could see exuding from her son.

"Okay then, let's go!"

James was amazed that Magical London was literally all around London. He initially thought that it was a smaller district of London but his eyes were opened by his mum as they walked from their brick townhouse on Farm Street in Mayfair towards London's West End.

"The biggest wizard shopping district in London is Diagon Alley, but that doesn't stop witches and wizards to set up shop outside of the Alley," Hermione explained. "There's a lot of magical folk that live outside of magical communities in Muggle neighbourhoods so it only makes sense to do so. Take a look over there for instance," she said, pointing across the street to a flat-iron building whose ground floor was a bustling grocery store. There were fruit stands set up on the sidewalk in front of the store and James could see pineapples, mangoes, and peaches on display with people milling about. "You have to cross your eyes a little bit since there's a disillusionment charm, but you'll see that it's not such an ordinary grocery store. They sell magical things too."

James tried to do as his mum instructed. He concentrated on the store and crossed his eyes and wow! For a moment the pineapples looked vaguely like owls! And the mangoes and peaches transformed into frogs and turtles! An elderly gentleman attended to the stall of animals with a purple cloak over his shoulders. He kept himself cool under the July summer sun with his wand blowing fresh air onto his face. James gaped at the scene before he lost concentration and the picture transformed back to a normal grocery store.

"Did I just see… were those really owls?" He asked in disbelief.

Hermione only giggled and responded with a nod. "Seeing these things will be easier once you're exposed to more magic, love."

James nodded and bit his lip. He glanced at the cheerey face of his mum and asked a question that had been burning in his mind since they left his house and literally ran into a young witch and wizard on a Saturday brunch date.

"Mum… since Magical London is all around us, how… how exactly were you hiding from magic then?" He inquired.

Hermione's step didn't falter as she looked over at James. She had been expecting this question for she knew just how observant and inquisitive her son was.

She smiled at James and replied, "It's called hiding in plain sight."

Author's Note: Thank you for making it to chapter 2! This is a little story that has been brewing in my head for a while now, and so I decided to finally put pen to paper and write it. I already have a couple of chapters finished and plan to update at least every two weeks. I'm excited to finally be able to publish this and I hope you enjoy!