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 72: Getting Your Priorities In Order
The next day, Quidditch Field
James hovered in his flying boom. He was supposed to be looking for the gold snitch, but he was not in the mood for that. His mind was preoccupied with something else.
He had placed the Ravenclaw Diadem in a sealed container and hid it inside his portable laboratory. As this one was always in his possession, it could be considered a safe location for now.
Destroying it was not an option at the moment. Even if he could get his hands on some basilisk venom or cast a Fiendfyre spell, destroying a piece of his soul would likely alert Voldemort of what he was doing.
He cast several detection spells on the diadem and could not find a single protection of any kind on it, other than the natural resistance that comes from being a Horcrux, of course.
This told James about Voldemort's arrogance. He didn't bother protecting the diadem because he never considered that anyone else would be able to find the Room of Requirement.
That arrogance was something that James should use to his advantage.
But if he starts destroying his Horcruxes, Voldemort would realize the vulnerability of his situation and become a lot more cautious. That would make him much more dangerous than he already is. A desperate Voldemort will go to any lengths to survive.
'How am I going to find the others though?…' James thought about it as his broom floated over the Quidditch field.
"James!" someone shouted.
The team was in the middle of practice while he was thinking about something he considered much more important.
But when a Bludger hit his back and forced him off his broom, he had to admit that perhaps he should have been paying some attention after all.
"Oh no!" The captain's face went pale when he saw James fall.
As he was reaching terminal velocity and the green grass of the field was getting closer, James felt his mind clearing up.
He waved his hand. "Arresto Momentum!" His body became lighter, and his fall slowed to a crawl.
James could hear the screams and yells from his teammates. His body floated gently until he reached the ground.
"James, are you okay?!" The captain was the first one to land at his side.
"I'm… wait… where is my broom?" Just then, James heard a crunching sound right behind him. When he turned around, he found the shattered remains of his broom. "Oh, great…" Now he had to waste money on another broom. He was already using all his funds for materials.
"James, are you hurt?" Sirius and the rest of the team arrived.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't trying to hit it that way," John Bell, the fourth-year Beater who hit the ball, was looking very concerned.
"You guys are being too dramatic; it was just a short fall," James said. "And I am more than fine." This had at least served to help him put his thoughts in order.
He couldn't get completely obsessed with Voldemort right now, not when there was little he could do.
But he couldn't immerse himself in his experiments as he had done until now. He had been ignoring too many things around him.
'I need to find some balance in this life. Achieve my goals, but not lose sight of what's important in the process.' James thought.
"Ehm… James?" Marlene called for him. She was holding the remains of his Comet 220.
"I don't think there is any fixing that," Sirius said.
"James… you need to be more careful while on the field," the captain said in a stern tone. "This happened because you weren't paying attention. I know you could have easily dodged that Bludger otherwise."
"Yeah," Sirius said. "You're our only Seeker now, so try not to get hurt."
"I'll try to pay more attention. Don't worry," James responded.
After returning from the break, he had been informed that Brian Jones, the previous main Seeker, had decided to retire. The incident during the last game had not left any permanent injuries, but it made him think.
He was already in his seventh year and hoping to join the Auror Academy after graduation. Any serious injury would ruin his chances, so the decision was not a difficult one for him.
"Right, if James gets hurt, we won't be able to play the next game," Marlene said.
"You're going to need a new broom, James," Captain Bell said while looking at the broken remains. "I'll talk to Professor McGonagall. I'm sure she can find a way to get you something decent."
"I just need permission to visit Diagon Alley during the week; I can buy another one." It did hurt him to spend money on this, but he couldn't play with a subpar broom.
At least the business was going well, so he would recoup the losses very quickly. He was planning on getting started on that request for a Felix Felicis potion.
It was considered one of the most difficult concoctions, and it required an experienced potioneer to pull it off successfully. Because of this, it paid really well. Once he finish that one, he wont have to worry about money for a while.
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Because of the loss of his broom, James was given an early leave from practice, and after taking a nice shower, he decided to make his way to the sixth-floor laboratory.
He made sure that no one saw him going onto the sixth floor before proceeding further.
After opening the entrance, he went inside and closed it behind him.
The next thing he did was check all his tools and materials to make sure everything was in order. One had to be particularly meticulous when dealing with volatile substances, and the potion he was going to start today was very temperamental.
James then took off the silver ring he wore on his right hand and placed it on one of the tables.
"Wake up; we're back at the lab."
The ring trembled and began to transform into a small draconic creature with white scales.
"Kyu!" The little beast let out an angry cry.
"I'm sorry for keeping you as a ring for this long, but I couldn't just let you fly around my parents' house," James told Primum.
"Kyu!" This did not seem to placate the creature.
"If they saw you, they would have wanted to know where you came from." He had managed to convince them that he had suddenly become very skilled in potions thanks to his magical head trauma.
But Primum was much more complex than that. He was a chimera created with very high-level alchemy techniques. Unfortunately, it was not something he could explain right now.
"Look, I promise to figure something out for the summer, okay?" James said.
"Kyu?" Primum seemed to have sensed something and turned to look at the door.
James did not need to sense anything, as he just heard the mechanism of the door being unlocked. There was only one other person who should be able to do that.
"Hey, Bella," James greeted his one and only student as she stepped inside.
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