James was very excited.
Sure he was confused, about where he got the 10 million for his system to activate from but the excitement overrode his concern.
Imagine in his shoes, he was transmigrated for over the last 4 years, he spent blood, sweat and tears to come to where he is today.
But he lacked that thing that could take him to the next level.
Sure he had good brains, a good memory, had a drive but his magic didn't have that Oomph.
After all, this is not exactly Potter World but much more vast and dangerous.
'Status' He shouted out loud hoping for a system with good support for growth.
[James Potter: Wizard]
[Coins: 1300 Galleons]
[Core level: 3]
[Charms: Level 3 (Apprentice)+]
[Transfiguration: Level 7 (Adept)]
[Potions: Level 3 (Apprentice)]
[DADA: Level 4 (Journeyman)]]
[Occlumency:Level 3(Apprentice)]+
Wait where did it get the 1300 Galleons? He looked out to the pouch he carried everywhere and looked at it. It felt empty now.
Unlike the muggle world, people here carried the money pouch for money. So that it's safe, secure and enchanted to be only opened by the owners. Unless the person trying to open is a Ward Breaker.
'Hm looks like the system took the galleons I had on me'
'Well there goes my pocket money'
James called out for 1 galleon and the Coins in the system panel reflected as 1299 galleons.
'That's good now, it looks like it acts as a dimensional ring and I can take it out when needed. I no longer need to carry the pouch with me, though safe its kinda hassle. And I don't have enough money to spend on the storage ring anyway'
'And If I lose the pouch, any ward breaker can open it anyway, this is safe
He looked at the + symbol next to charms, even after 4 years of effort his charms had not grown above apprentice level. Shame on him.
Charms is said to be one of the easiest subjects out there and many wizards and witches have crossed Journeymen some even have reached adept and are still in OWLS.
It may look like a difference there is just 1 level from Apprentice and Journeyman, but it's a quantitative change.
Quantitative because, you can start using grander spells, for example, you need 1 unit of your magic for a Lumos charm and disillusionment charm needs 100 units of magic and a Patronus needs 1000 units, if you are an Apprentice level at max you may be able to use the 50 units of your magic for charms, so you succeed in Lumos but your disillusionment charm is shoddy at best pathetic at worst.
Applying the disillusionment charm on oneself and showing a perfect execution is a symbol of a person growing into Journeyman level, as an entry-level Journeyman can use around 200 Units of Magic.
The changes are quantitative till you reach the barrier between Adept and Expert level. The first three levels are quantitative, they give you an increase in magic application, once you reach the expert level even if your magic output in that field doesn't increase, the quality increases.
The Quality here is the mystery of the subject.
Well, that's what his dad said to him anyway.
Sure you may try to know the mystery now only, way before he was ready but it would cause harm more than good. Once the mystery is before you, it is like opening an inner eye. The mystery you observe and learn is natural but the awareness of it is supernatural. You should be ready for it.
Apple falling on Newton's head gave way to the discovery of Gravity, apple perhaps would have fallen on trillions since the conception of the world, it could have fallen on millions of species and maybe billions of Humans, but the awareness of Newton caused him to discover Gravity and elevate our understanding of physics.
So to become an expert, you need to be aware.
'Let me check how this works' he wondered out loud and clicked on + near charms.
There was a click and an ethereal feeling that impacted him, the feeling was like a rush after achieving something grand. He felt so high, felt he was floating out of the world, but the feeling lasted barely a minute and he came back down to earth.
'Status'
[James Potter: Wizard]
[Coins: 300 Galleons]
[Core level: 3]
[Charms: Level 4 (Journeyman)]
[Transfiguration: Level 7 (Adept)]
[Potions: Level 3 (Apprentice)]
[DADA: Level 4 (Journeyman)]]
[Occlumency: Level 3(Apprentice)]
The + sign has disappeared and he is now Level 4 in Charms.
'Let me check' He conjured a mirror, then turned his wand towards himself and cast the disillusionment charm
He was perfectly hidden, he was no longer visible in the mirror and it didn't look like half-baked disillusionment it was before.
James was exited
'Yes this is my golden finger, I can change my plans now'
Without proper strength and with no hope in sight till he reached adulthood, James had planned it safe, given the current climate not wanting to be used by either of the factions he had made himself look less threatening. He had made himself look more peaceful and less prone to violence.
Many even discussed that he would go on to become a good healer as he was someone who tolerated many slights and kept peace.
Principles are good, but you need the power to implement them.
Principles and morality are like the brain and heart of a tiger, but the tiger rules jungle not because of just these, it rules the jungle because of the Strength of its claws,teeth and muscles.
Now, things change he decided decisively.
But first, he needs to accumulate money to level up. First, he needs to increase his core size, whats the use of good software if your hardware is bad? He felt it was better to play it safe and increase his core level slowly till he reached his first core maturity.
Hide till then, never expose your strength till he has enough confidence.
Statistically, many Hogwarts students are Warlocks, but those are just the known ones, many hide. World works in similar ways more so Wizarding World. If you want to fool your enemies, fool your friends. There should be no leak.
'I will slowly raise myself in all aspects. Seeing that I am already adept in Transfiguration, let me raise all the subjects to the same level. Having a balance will be good for me'
'Sure it will take time, but all I lack is now not the time' he pondered unaware of how things will go wrong for him in a few days.
Tempus'
6:40 AM
'Looks like I need to go back to the dorm as it is almost time everyone wakes up'
With hopes for a brighter and more exciting future, he exited the room of requirement and made his way to Gryffindor dorms.
There was palpable excitement and a skip in his steps as he bound across crisscross stairs.
Walking out of the room of requirement he covered himself in the invisibility cloak, The invisibility cloak had been in his family for generations, and while part of Deathly Hallows Trinity, it was a super useful item. He remembers as if yesterday when he received it from his dad when he reached 13.
His excursions during day and night were aided solely by an Invisibility cloak.
This is one of the few legendary items in the world, and it is completely invisible to the naked eye. Unlike disillusionment charm which can distort you and hide you well if standing still and expose you when you move this gave complete invisiblity.
Hogwarts during the evening and early morning was a sight to see, High hanging walls with grand chandeliers and sunlight dropping on chandeliers displayed a prismatic view on the walls. In here you would be lost in the wonder of beauty and your soul would sigh in happiness.
As he made through the deserted hallways and winding staircases he was lost in thought.
With a brisk walk, he reached Gryffindor's dorm room, where the fat lady was resting. An Unseen James Potter whispered 'Nox Aenean' The door swung open to a majestic hall.
Both the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor common rooms as their mascot indicates were on the top floor, giving anyone a panoramic view from the room. Gryffindor were located in the west wing while Ravenclaw were made a home in the east wing.
The steps leading into the dormitory were narrow and once you stepped into the dormitory an observer would say it looked grand, with red drapes hanging across, sofas spread across with many seating around the fireplace.
The fireplace would be burning with red eternal fire, A beautiful marvel in itself.
It is said that in each common room, the fireplace burns with colour-themed eternal fire. Gryffindor burns with Red, Ravenclaw with blue and so on.
'This is something done by a Master'
Being the last week in school and with exams over, there will be hardly any students awake yet.
Anyway, this is Gryffindor's common room, Sure if he were in Ravenclaw's common room, he would maybe still find students awake and studying.
But studying is Ravenclaw's thing like rushing into things is Gryffindor's thing, he smiled wryly.
Again, the dorms were divided, Wizards took the left part and witches took the left part. Both staircases were enchanted to throw others going to where they were not supposed to.
He stepped onto the left staircase and started climbing up, as he was in his fourth year, his dorm was on the fourth floor from the main dorm, with the head boy and perfects taking the tallest point in the tower.
Again he fell into musings as he made up the tower, James as seen in the books and movies was a naturally goofy character with a hint of mischief. He was very well-liked unless you were wearing green colour. He was friends with 3 others making Marauders.
But him being here, he was very cautious. He was close with Sirius Black, but Remus Lupin was just an acquaintance and Peter was someone he kept quite a distance with.
After all, he was not the original naive boy, knowing the future at least some version of it, he was not going to make the same mistakes, Sirius was a very loyal friend but Lupin is a fair-weathered friend, a good friend in good times, when he needs to step up he will step back. The less we speak about the Traitorous rat the better.
On top of it, being too close to him will bring James to Dumbledoor's radar. While he was already on his radar due to who his father was, it wouldn't be too good to get the headmaster's attention.
The headmaster was someone hard on the inside and soft on the outside.
Any friend or follower of Headmaster rarely flourished in the original series, Potters dead and orphaned, Sirius in Jail and on the run, Longbottoms in a living hell, Pudmore jailed and many more dead, while death eaters other than Dark Lord were able to escape with life and may not even paying for their crimes till end of series. Even then Malfoys escaped by Hoodwinking Harry Potter, and many fled Magical Britain.
However, it will not be the case here as the magical world is vastly different with vast powers abound. There is no loss in being careful.
He stopped his musings when he reached the door, and slowly opened the door to step in, seeing that all were sleeping, seeing Sleeping Sirius's snoring smile appeared on his face. Indeed Sirius was a friend he needed rather than what he deserved.
He stood by him during his troubled times in Hogwarts, he was his pranking partner, unlike in the original timeline, they made sure to keep it secret with none being aware.
No signature, no light show, no grandstanding, No name but very famous.
In the dog-eat-dog world of Hogwarts where Muggle-borns were major victims along with many lighthearted purebloods, they made sure to target the culprits indiscriminately regardless of their affiliation.
He made sure to change his clothes step onto his bed and closed the curtains to get some sleep.