Boys Will Be Bugs

Chapter 71: Facade

Remus soon discovered that looking after animals helped in improving his magic. Perhaps because they kept him calm, it made magic feel easier to do. He was able to fill up Pertwee and Baker's acorn water bowl with a quick flick of his wand. He mastered the accio spell by summoning all the objects he needed to replenish their habitat, such as mushrooms and pieces of bark. He was even able to figure out how to create a small protective barrier around the plastic container so the woodlice were protected from predators.

Little by little, his magic was improving, and little by little he was finally catching up with his classmates. He was still nowhere near the level of a Homonculous charm, but then again, neither was anyone else in the class except for James. Sirius was less confident with the charm, so he had allowed James take over, which he probably would have needed to do anyway. Ever since the argument with Snape, James had fixated on succeeding in charming the map; Remus didn't think he was even doing it for the group's benefit anymore. Now, he was just trying to prove a point. He was trying to prove to himself that Snape was wrong, that he wasn't an idiot, that his magic was as good as anyone else's and that he could do things that not even his classmates could do. Remus couldn't help but worry. James got pretty obsessed with these types of things, and it wasn't good for his well-being. He was frequently angry, glaring at Snape during mealtimes from over at the Gryffindor table, fuelling on his determination.

"You're the one who told me not to prove anything to anyone when it came to magic," remarked Remus, when the four of them were once again in the library, hidden in the furthest corner behind a number of tall bookshelves.

"I said you needed to focus on what you're good at. I'm good at charms."

"But this is seventh year," continued Sirius. "You don't have to be good at seventh year when you're only in fourth. No one's expecting you to."

"I don't care!" exclaimed James. "If I can do this I can do anything, and that means Snape is wrong."

"Snape's wrong anyway, your magic's fine. It's great, in fact! You've already proven him wrong."

"Besides," added Peter. "It's not as if Snape's ever gonna know you did the Homonculous charm. We're never showing him the map."

"I know, but that's not the point." Sirius put his hand on the charms book that James was staring at, covering up whatever James had been reading in order to get his attention.

"Magic isn't the be all and end all," assured Sirius, looking right at his friend. "Being good in class doesn't mean shit, who cares? You're better than people like Snape for other reasons, more important reasons, not because you can do a stupid charm that no one even cares about."

"Yeah," continued Remus. "You'd never make fun of Myfanwy, or hang out with death eaters. Everyone in Slytherin would beat me up for more reasons than I can count, but you'd never do that. You stand up for people. That's a good thing."

"You lose your temper a bit," said Sirius. "And you probably need to work on that, but you went after him because he was being a dick to one of your friends."

"Yeah and he's only got one friend," remarked Peter. "You've got loads. He's just jealous."

"So actually, if you're even bothering listening to Snape then maybe you're not so smart after all." James leant back in his chair, his head bent down as he took in their words. It was hard to get through to him; once he got an idea in his head it was impossible to change his mind. However, the three of them made a pretty good team and they knew how to talk to James, so if anyone could change James's mind, it was them. They waited for his response. He sighed, and pushed himself against the table so the front legs of the chair hovered slightly over the ground.