I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. They are the copyright property of their owner(s).
Chapter Thirteen-The Homonculous Charm
James and Peter had redoubled their efforts after Sirius's successful transformation. Whenever classes ended, they were now going right back to their dorm to meditate, or if it wasn't too cold, they'd sit on the edge of the forest behind a tree. Meditating outside was recommended, and though Sirius couldn't really manage at his house, James and Peter frequently escaped their parents' houses while home on breaks to do it.
The next weekend, was the slug club's dinner party.
"What do you think Lily sees in him?" James asked the other two, eyeing Snape talking to Lily from across the room.
"A slimy mop on his head and a raging love for the dark arts?" Sirius suggested, biting into a delicious pork bun.
The three of them had long gotten used to how Slughorn's parties were - they'd show up, and one at a time be introduced to one or more of Slughorn's friends and former students, and then be fawned over about how brilliant they were. The people they'd get introduced to seemed to know the drill as well; James had imagined that not so long ago, they too were in the same position that James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, Snape and many others frequently found themselves in.
"You know," began Remus, "Lily and Severus have been friends for a long time. Longer than even the four of us have been."
James was slightly shocked at the idea that Snape was better friends with Lily than the four of them. "Yeah, but just look at him. I can almost guarantee that he runs off and joins the Death Eaters the second he gets out of here."
"Oh, come on," said Remus, as he poured the three of them some sort of reddish drink coming from a very ornate dragon-mouth fountain, "you don't think you're jumping to conclusions?"
"I don't know, Remus." Sirius interjected. "Look who he hangs out with! Those two blokes, Avery and Mulciber-their fathers are both death eaters, I've heard my family talk about them. And then there's James's cousin,Rosier, his family are huge Voldemort supporters-"
Sirius was cut off by a ghost overhead looking aghast at the sound of the name.
"Yeah, but not everyone in Slytherin will automatically turn out as Death Eaters!" Said Remus. "Look, James, I know that you and Severus-"
"-Snivellus, you mean-"
"-don't exactly see eye-to-eye, but-"
"-we might if he were a few inches taller-"
"-if you ever want a chance with Lily Evans, I think you'll have to accept that they're friends!"
"I'm not going to accept her being friends with a Death Eater." Said James, still staring straight over Remus's shoulder into the side of Lily's auburn hair. She was laughing at something Snape had said. "I know you can't see it, but it's plain as day to me."
"Remus, he's like my family." Said Sirius. "Calls everyone a mudblood, him and his buddies hexed the bloody word onto Lee Stebbins's forehead!"
"And she's a muggle-born, too!" Said James. "I don't get it."
"Some things just can't be explained, I suppose." Said Sirius, clapping him on the back.
But just then, James turned away from her, and looked at Remus with a wry, accusatory grin on his blushing face, and said, "Who ever said I wanted a chance with her?"
"Well, you've been staring at her for this entire conversation, for one," Sirius began;
"You ask her out about three times a day," Remus continued;
"You were the one who brought up this whole Snape-Lily thing," Sirius added;
"Aaaaaand," Said Remus, about to finish the argument, "let's not overlook all the little L.E.'s I've seen all over your books and parchments."
Face thoroughly red, James turned away, not wanting to look either of them in the eye or anywhere close to where Lily and Snape were, but was luckily saved from the awkward moment.
"James, my dear boy, come here for a moment!" Slughorn was calling him from across the party.
"One sec, guys, gotta run." Said James, and turned to join Slughorn, who was joined by someone James recognized, but never expected to see here.
Slughorn beamed. "James! Balagog here says he knows you!"
Balagog was a friend of James's father's, and he was a goblin at Gringotts wizarding bank. He always tried to ask his father how it was that he became such good friends with a goblin, as his species usually is bitter and sometimes even hostile towards the wizarding community. Cormian Potter always gave the same, short answer: "Oh, helped out of a tight spot with some Giants, and you know, people don't usually forget these things...". He always wondered how his father had come to be so well-connected.
"Evening, Balagog." James greeted him.
"Good Evening, Mr Potter." Said the Goblin, outstretching his long, skinny fingers.
"Well, well..." Said Slughorn. "Most fortuitous! My friend Gareth Pucklemere has told me that it is your ambition to break curses for Gringotts! And professor Tyranno tells me you're quite the Rune translator!"
James smiled. "Ah, well, you flatter me, sir. Now-"
Slughorn cut across him. "Balagog has just been promoted to co-head of the Curse-breakers office!"
Excellent, more careers advice. "Oh, have you now?" James asked politely.
"Yes, well," he began, "there is always a Goblin representative as well as a human one heading the curse-breakers office."
After Slughorn left the two of them alone, James continued in polite conversation for about fifteen minutes, when he spotted something most unusual. Snape was standing with Remus and Sirius, having what looked to be a civil conversation. Snape's eyes had changed from the bright, welcoming ones he was wearing while talking to Lily to the dark, cold ones they always were.
He tried to leave the conversation with Balagog as politely as possible, but it was a while before he could manage it. "You guys been making friends with Snivellus?" He said, when he finally rejoined them.
"Course not." Said Sirius. "Slughorn was talking to all of us, Lily too, telling us about all the brilliant potioneers he could introduce us to."
James laughed. "Typical." He said.
"We have the advantage tomorrow, Ravenclaw are terrible in the rain." James was saying. "They got thrashed by Hufflepuff because the quaffle kept slipping out of their hands, remember?"
"Oh ya." Said Sirius. "And their beater's bat slipped right out of his hand and smashed Leslie Davies on the head." He added, chuckling.
"C'mon, we should get going, we'll be late for charms." Said Remus, pushing his plate of French Toast away. Charms was first on Fridays.
"Hang on," Said James. "I wanna stop in at the kitchens, see if I can't get a few of the house elves to bring me up some dinner tonight." He turned the opposite way out of the great hall and found the painting of the bowl of fruit. The green pair, as always, gave a faint giggle when James tickled it before swinging it open.
He climbed down the stairs, and swung open the doors into the kitchens. "James Potter, sir!" cried a high, squeaky voice.
"Morning, Mitzi." James said. "Just 'James' is fine, though, I've told you. How's it going?"
"Oh, it's going most excellently, just James, sir!" James rolled his eyes and grinned before the house-elf continued. "We's making some new raspberry tartses for the mealses sir! Trying one, why don't you, sir?" She said, another house elf ran to her side and held up a tray of raspberry tarts.
"Don't mind if I do, thanks!" Said James, as he put his bag down on the countertop, which flipped open and poured all his books, quills and ink pots out. "Shit. Reparo!" He said to one of the broken inkpots, and all the ink flew back into it.
"Not to worry, sir!" Said Mitzi, as her and another pack of elves flew to his aid, and repacked his entire bag for him.
"Thanks, Mitzi." James said, seizing a tart from the tray. "These are absolutely delicious."
"Oh, thank you, just James sir, Mitzi is helping Dory and Munu to be inventing them, sir!" She said, her tennis ball sized eyes beaming. "But why's you here, sir? Don't you have classes, just James, sir?"
"I'm going there right now, I was just coming to ask you something." James began.
"Is James Potter being naughty again, sir?" Another elf piped in.
"Nono, nothing like that." He said. "I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind bringing me some dinner to my dormitory tonight? Only, I won't be able to make it to the Great Halls, I've got a lot of studying to do."
Mitzi beamed. "Of course, just James, sir, Mitzi would be happy to! Does you like pork roast or tuna better, sir, we's making both tonight."
"Tuna, thanks a load, Mitzi." Said James, as he turned.
"Just James, sir?" She began. "Does you want some foods in your dormitory every day? I know's you's busy for your oh-dubyu-els, sir, and Mitzi could stop by with a tray while's you in your last class!"
"You know what, Mitzi, that would be perfect." Said James. "But I've gotta go, I don't want to be late."
"Take some tarts for Sirius Black and for Remus Lupin and for Peter Pettigrew, sir!" Mitzi called after him.
He ran into the class just as the bell went and took his normal seat, next to Peter and behind Sirius.
"Just on time, Potter!" Flitwick said from the front. "I'd like you to take out your copies of Achievements in Charming by Talisa Westerling, and turn to page two hunred and nine."
James opened his bag, passed them each a raspberry tart with a quick, "courtesy of Mitzi" and realized that the elves must have his copy when they were putting his bag back together.
"Hang on, I left my book-" His hand shot up. "Sir, I've left my book in Gryffindor tower! Do you mind if-"
"Not to worry, Mr Potter, here you are." And with a flick of Flitwick's wand, a book sailed out of the cupboard and landed in front of him. "We'll be working on the Silencing charm today. Please come to the front and receive an animal to silence."
When James he got back with a mouse in hand, he flipped Flitwick's book open, only to find to his great annoyance, that page two hundred and nine wasn't there; the page on the left was two hundred and eight and on the right it said two hundred and eleven.
"The page isn't even here." James muttered to his friends.
"Just share with me." said Peter, pushing the book closer to him while staring his toad in the eye. "Silencio!" He said, but the toad croaked as loud as ever.
James wasn't listening to a word Peter said, since something caught his eye on page two hundred and eleven of the incomplete book. The Homonculous Charm, the book read, Is a very complex charm. When cast on a map, it allows the caster to create a label, and thus label every single person in the mapped area.
"Hey Remus," said James, "you haven't got that map you mentioned writing, did you?"
"Left pocket of my bag." Said Remus, who'd already silenced his own mouse and was now silencing a pigeon.
James took it out, and leaned back over to the book he borrowed from Flitwick. The first step is using a basic drawing charm to draw a label of your choosing, wherever you are located on the map. This will be the label that the names appear on the map.
He pointed his wand at the map, on the very spot where he was sitting in Flitwick's classroom, and muttered "Draw." He traced a quick ribbon onto the map with his wand and it sealed there, slightly grayer looking than the rest of the black ink.
The second step is to use a plotting charm, exactly where the label is. The most fail safe way to do this is to use someone else. Have them stand where you were, and plot them on the map.
"Hey Pete, would you mind swapping spots with me for a second?" Said James. "I think I'll have better luck with the toad."
Peter, not questioning why they didn't swap animals instead of their own seats, replied, "Sure, I've done the toad already, I'll try the mouse."
They switched seats, and James sat down and Peter's desk with the map in front of him. He flipped back to the first few pages and quickly reminded himself the incantation for the plotting charm. His wand pointed at Peter, he muttered "Cartogra!" under his breath. A string of faint yellow light hit Peter on the side just above his waist, and James dragged the magical string, unnoticed, right to the ribbon.
The light disappeared and the ribbon filled with the name Peter Pettigrew.
James turned back to the back. The Homonculous charm itself is a two-part charm and could take a few tries. This is not for lack of the caster's skill; it often depends on the place trying to be mapped, the amount of people who are usually within the mapped area, and the intricacy of the drawn label, among other things. Firstly, one must track the plotted person by using the incantation Homoncula Persequor on the plotted person.
Wand pointed at the ribbon with Peter's name on it, James said, "Homoncula Persequor."
Eager to see if it worked, James pointed his wand now at the mouse on the desk where Peter was sitting and whispered, "Wingardium Leviosa!" He set the mouse down some ten feet away.
Peter's head whipped around. "Who did that?!" But when he could find nobody to blame, he stood up and went to retrieve the mouse.
To James's amazement, as Peter walked over to get the mouse, the little ribbon followed behind a set of black footsteps. He quickly glanced back into the book.
The second part of the charm is tracking every else on the map. The incantation for this part is Homoncula Totum.
Flitwick walked over and he slammed the book shut on the folded map. "Any luck with your toad, Potter?"
"What?" He stammered. "Er, yeah-Silencio!"
The slimy brown toad on the desk opened its mouth, but not a sound came out, and Flitwick beamed at him. "Excellent work, Mr Potter. Would you care to move onto something larger? There's a raven at the front." Luckily, James had become so good at the silencing charm that he could completely silence anyone in the room without much effort - he had proved it countless times on Severus Snape.
James brought the raven back to his desk, but took the map back out the second Flitwick was gone. "Homocula Totum!" He said.
Ribbons started to sprout up, but dissappeared quickly after. James tried over and over again as the class went on, and even continued during Transfiguration while students were practicing Vanishing spells. It wasn't until right before lunch that he had succeeded and tracking every person in the whole school.
"Hey guys, hang on a sec..." James said, stepping into an empty classroom as they were walking to the great hall.
"What?" Sirius asked impatiently, sitting on a desk. "I'm starving."
Ignoring him, James leaned over the desk next to him and laid the map out for the all to see. "Look." He shoved a finger onto the classroom where they are, and they saw all four of their names.
"How in Merlin's name did you do that?" Said Sirius.
"Flipped to it accidentally in the charms book." He said. "It's called the Homonculous charm. Tracks and labels everybody in a mapped area."
"There's Professor Dumbledore!" Said Peter, pointing at the man in his study.
"This is incredible, James." Said Lupin. "Guess there is a purpose for this thing, isn't there?"
"Hey, look!" Said Peter, pointing at the dungeons. A large group of sixth-year Ravenclaw girls had just disappeared into a wall. "Do you guys think that's where the Ravenclaw common room is?"
"Yeah, must be." Sirius said. "We should add it in."
"I'll do it tonight." Remus said. "Keep an eye on that thing, James, let's find out where all the common rooms are."
"In my two and half seasons," began Sirius, "and eight games, there has never been such horrible conditions for a bloody quidditch match as we had today."
Sirius, James, Samantha Grigsby (with the glistening C pinned to her robes) and two other members of the quidditch team were huddled so close to the fire Gryffindor Tower that they could toast their toes. During the match, the temperature was just above the freezing point and the freezing rain poured on them, and just when the rain had soaked their clothes through to the bone, golf-ball sized hail had started raining down from above. The fire was now their only solace.
"At least we won." Said Sam. "Excellent catch, Glover."
Holroyd Glover was a third year and took over the seeker position for Audrey after she graduated and passed the captaincy onto Samantha.
"Merlin knows how I found it." He shivered. "The hail we pelting so 'ard I thought me arm would crack. She just flew righ' over my shoulder and I grabbed her by the wing."
"Alright," Said Izzy as she walked back into the room with Lily, Remus and Peter, "a couple of house elves are going to bring up some tea, hot chocolate and cakes for us." She threw the blanket she was carrying over James and Sirius, who were sitting shoulder to shoulder by the fire.
"We tried to persuade them into getting us some butterbeers," Peter said, "but it was a no-go."
Crack.
"Oh, my poor James Potter and Sirius Black, sirs!" The two of them heard from behind them. James grinned. "Your friends is telling Mitzi how they makes you play in the cold and the wet and now you needs us!"
"Thanks, Mitzi, could you bring a couple of cups over here?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, sir," She handed them each a steaming cup of hot chocolate and an enormous peanut butter cookie. "But I's only coming up for a 'mergency, sir, me and Dory is, but we isn't supposed to be saw by Students! Ta-ta now!"
Crack. They were gone.
"How in the world," Lily laughed, "did you manage to get that house elf to like you so much?"
"Well, you know, I'm a reasonably likeable fellow when you give me a chance." He said. "So how 'bout it?" He added with a wink.
"Answer's still the same, sorry, Potter." Lily replied. "Maybe you should give Mitzi a go."
The entire group chuckled. "James Potter, sir," Sirius mocked in the high, squeaky voice that belonged to any elf, "Mitzi would be delighted to accompany you Madam Puddifoot's! I's considering it an honour, sir!"
"I can basically guarantee you'd be the first wizard-elf couple in the history of time." Said Remus.
"What would the children look like?" Izzy gasped.
James smiled into the flames. "Flitwick, I expect."