Chapter – 4

James P.O.V

James stumbled upon Lily, Severus and Remus working together at a table in the library. This was the seventh time he had stumbled upon them in the past three days.

And here he was.

Again.

Mentally building up his courage, James stepped out from behind the bookcase and sat down at their table. He knew well enough to sit as far away from Severus as he could, and since that meant he was sitting in between Remus and Lily, he didn't have much of a problem with it.

"Do you mind if I join you?" He asked politely.

His mother told him to always be polite to others, and in the past five years, he had been so focused on himself, and magic, and his new friends, and magic that he had forgotten his mother's lessons.

But now that Remus had sat him down and explained what exactly soul pieces were, that is, what information Remus could get from between the lines of that letter, and Remus had explained why Lily didn't like him, James had decided that if nothing else, he should fall back on his mother's teachings.

James knew very well that anything his mother said or did was bound to be correct. And now that he knew why he was hated by Evans, he would simply follow the rules that his mother had instilled in him when he was a child. Rules that he had broken so many times in the past, that he vowed to never break again unless in dire situations.

He completely missed Lily's response, but by Sniv – Snape's customary scowl appearing on his face, James figured that Lily had allowed him to sit there.

Remus muttered something that sounded like "Glad you decided to get out from behind that dusty shelf, you cretin." But James didn't have super hearing, so he couldn't be sure.

Ignoring his friend, James opened the book he was carrying and started reading. He hadn't gone through three pages of his book when a voice interrupted him.

"What's that you're reading?" Lily asked, and James almost dropped his book in surprise. Lily really never spoke to him voluntarily.

He just stared at her for a couple of seconds, until a harsh kick to the shin thanks to Remus, brought him back to the question. "The Incomplete Guide to Complete Human Transfiguration."

Lily raised an eyebrow as if amused, and then grinned and leaned forward eagerly. James was still a little shocked by everything, but Remus just rolled his eyes and turned back to whatever it was he was doing. Snape however, turned to look at him in interest.

"So," Lily said, "how come you are reading such a complex book on transfig, of all subjects?"

James was the one to look at Lily in amusement this time. He smirked and answered. "I'm well beyond the NEWT level in Transfiguration, Evans. And this is for my mastery thesis."

He relished in the shock on her face, knowing without doubt that Snape would have a similar expression. Not many people knew about his interest in Transfiguration and his skill in his subject.

(His parents would always boast that his first feat of magic was turning his socks into a snitch, when he was but a babe.)

"Well," Snape spoke, some twisted bit of mockery in his voice. "Looks like our resident show-off does have something of use to back his claims."

"I don't believe you!" Lily said resolutely, a stubborn set to her jaw. It seemed Snape's comment didn't make much of a difference to her, other than to give her a valid excuse to voice her opinion.

Though James wasn't exactly sure of whether she was talking to Severus, Remus or himself, he reached out to his magic.

It was like sinking into a bubble, a part of yourself that encompassed and embodied what made you you. For James, it was like being hugged by his mother after he won a Quidditch game. It was the free fall and dives while flying, the rush of adrenaline when sneaking around, the fluidity and grace of being himself. And his magic was always at his disposal for any subject. What made transfiguration so suitable and easy for him, was the fluidity of his magic – an ever-changing tide of power and energy.

Pulling up a slight amount of magic, he flicked his hand upwards. Imagining a breathing person instead of the chair to his right, he carefully crafted his magic around the chair and pushed into it. A few seconds later, there was a breathing person standing there.

"What the hell did you do?" Lily asked flatly, staring at the fake-person in confusion and slight awe. James almost grinned smugly at that.

"I transfigured the chair into a human." He replied, knowing how triumphant he sounded. He didn't think it would work. It never had, until now.

"That's beyond Mastery level of Transfiguration, Potter." Severus said, eyeing James' human with a wariness that would have made Mad-Eye proud. He also seemed to be a little out of his league. "You even managed to transfigure an inanimate object into a human wandlessly and non-verbally!"

"That's actually supposed to be impossible." James nodded cheerily, high on the achievement and the buzzing of his magic around him.

Remus had just stunned his human, before it destroyed any books, but James was ignoring his friend in favor of gloating and his success. Well, he was ignoring Remus, until his friend slapped his face.

"Jamie. I appreciate the fact that your mini project worked, but maybe you should get rid of it and just explain the theory?" Remus stated, making it sound more like an order than a request.

And James listened to him, because he knew the chaos a soulless person could cause. Soulless, hmmm… that's what a person kissed by a dementor was like. So, maybe if they can be given instructions, they could still follow it. Their bodies could definitely remain alive with their magic, and without souls… He'd have to definitely think on this later.

For now, he turned his attention to his golem and reaching through his mind, he reversed the effects of the transfiguration. The drain on his magic affected him a little more this time and he slumped down, exhausted.

"So, how does that work?" Lily asked, parchment spread in front of her. She was going to take notes on his explanation it seemed. And she was completely over her horror of a chair turning into a human. Snape seemed interested despite his grimace and Remus was giggling into his hand, surreptitiously.

James was too tired to deal with a giggly Remus, interested-looking Snape and eager Lily. His head thumped onto the table in front of him.