James stood in his room, wand in hand, carefully inscribing the final rune along the inner seam of the leather bag. His movements were precise, each stroke of magic burning the ancient symbol into the material with controlled heat.
He thought back to when Hagrid had called him over a few days after their conversation, presenting him with a fresh cow hide wrapped in cloth. It had been bloody and still wet, freshly removed from the animal. Most students would have been disgusted, but James knew this was actually ideal. Starting from this stage meant he could control every step of the process, weaving his intent into the leather from the very beginning.
That first night, he'd scraped off the flesh, fat, and membrane immediately using spells to prevent the skin from rotting. The process had been messy and time-consuming, but necessary. Magic made it faster than doing it by hand, but it still required careful attention to avoid damaging the hide.
Then he'd dipped it in a potion, a specialized tanning solution he'd bought from an owl-order supplier at Hagrid's recommendation. James hadn't had the desire or the cauldron capacity to brew a huge batch of potion needed to soak the entire hide himself. The pre-made solution had been expensive but worth it.
After letting it soak for an hour, he'd used a spell to remove all the hair from the hide. The magical method was far faster than scraping it off manually.
For the actual tanning, he'd used the magical method of vegetable tanning, a process that involved soaking the hide in solutions derived from tree bark and other plant materials. It was the best method for creating leather suitable for enchantment work, according to the books he'd read.
Thanks to magic accelerating the process, what would have taken four to six weeks the Muggle way had been accomplished in three weeks. It would have been sooner, but actually making the bag from the finished leather had taken him longer than expected.
The turning of rawhide into leather had been the easiest part because he'd simply followed the process outlined in the books. But actually crafting the bag, cutting the leather to the right dimensions, stitching it together, shaping it to hold its form properly, that had required trial, error, and considerable patience.
James added the final rune, a binding sigil that would help anchor all the other enchantments together, and stepped back to examine his work.
The bag looked like a fine leather product, with clean cuts and even stitches that showed remarkable craftsmanship for a first attempt. If not for magic helping guide his cutting and stitching, he would never have achieved such a clean finished product. Magic definitely made life easier.
He'd added stitching and runes along all the edges for multiple purposes. Stability runes to prevent wear and tear. Protection runes to make the leather more durable. Anti-theft runes so no one else could open the bag or remove items from it without his permission. A weight-reduction array that would make the bag feel light regardless of what was inside.
Each rune had been carefully positioned and inscribed. The most difficult part hadn't been adding them individually, that was straightforward enough. The real challenge had been arranging them in patterns that wouldn't interfere with each other. Runic arrays could interact in unpredictable ways if not properly isolated or integrated.
He'd already added all the other charms, anchoring them with the Aetherial Anchor Charm that made them permanent parts of the bag's magical structure. Everything except the space expansion charm.
That would be added at the very end, and only under Professor Flitwick's supervision. If he added other charms after the expansion enchantment, they had a chance of affecting the integrity of the spatial magic, potentially causing a catastrophic collapse. Better to layer everything else first, then add the expansion as the final step.
James leaned back in his chair and looked at the finished product. Well, nearly finished. The bag looked professional, the leather a rich brown color with subtle variations in tone that gave it character. The runes were visible if you looked closely, thin lines of silver-gold burned into strategic locations, but they didn't detract from the overall aesthetic.
He was just admiring his work, planning how he'd demonstrate it to Professor Flitwick, when he heard a knock at his door.
"Come in," James called, setting the bag down carefully on his desk.
Terry Boot entered, looking curious. "Hey, James. You finished?"
Terry knew about the bag project because other first-years had complained about a smell coming from James's room during the early stages of leather preparation. Apparently, instead of using a Bubblehead Charm on himself, he should have added a ward to contain the smell within his immediate workspace.
When the complaints had started and Xavier had checked his room, James had to explain that he had Professor Flitwick's permission for the project. Xavier had actually confirmed this with Flitwick before allowing James to continue, though he'd suggested better containment methods.
From then on, James had used a simple localized ward that kept the smell contained within a few feet of the work area, no longer requiring him to walk around with a Bubblehead Charm making him look ridiculous.
When Terry had asked what James was working on, he'd explained the whole project. The boy had been making overtures of friendship for weeks now, and James had realized that all the other first-year boys had already formed their own groups and friendships, leaving Terry somewhat on the periphery.
So James had gone out of his way to be kinder to him, sitting together in classes and at meals, answering questions, including him in conversations. It wasn't difficult, and Terry was pleasant company even if James couldn't form a true friendship with someone mentally decades younger than himself.
"Come on in, Terry," James said.
Terry entered and stopped short when he saw the finished bag on the desk. "Wow. I can't believe you managed to change that leather into this. It looks professional!"
James smiled. "All leather is like this before being made into products. They all have to go through similar preparation processes. The magic just speeds things up and helps with precision."
"Have you added the expansion charm yet?" Terry asked, examining the bag more closely without touching it.
"Not yet," James replied. "I'll go to Professor Flitwick tomorrow and do it under his supervision. After working so hard on this bag, I don't dare take risks with accidentally destroying it or causing a spatial implosion."
Terry looked impressed. "That's really smart. So all those runes, they're already active?"
"Most of them, yes. They're anchored and permanent now. The expansion enchantment will be the final layer, integrating with all the others."
They started walking toward the door, and Terry brought up their Potions homework. "Hey, can I ask you about the assignment Snape gave us? I'm not sure I understand why we're supposed to add the nettles after taking the cauldron off the heat."
"Because nettle react violently to the red beatle and taking the cauldron reduces the chances of explosion and gives nettle time to settle in and mix with the rest of the ingredients," James explained as they made their way through the common room and into the corridor. "If you add them while the
cauldron is still hot, they'll essentially explode, sending boiling potion everywhere. By removing it from the heat first, you let the temperature drop enough that the nettles dissolve safely."
"Oh! That makes more sense, thank you. Snape is so scary that I don't dare ask him any question"
They continued discussing Potions as they walked toward the Great Hall for dinner, Terry asking questions and James answering them patiently. The castle was busy with students heading to the evening meal, the corridors filled with chatter and the occasional burst of laughter.
James felt a quiet satisfaction as they walked. The bag project was essentially complete, just waiting for the final enchantment. His classes were going well. He was making progress, slow but steady, on his various research interests.
Life at Hogwarts had settled into a comfortable rhythm, productive and engaging in ways his first life had never been.
Tomorrow he'd finish the bag with Flitwick's help.
Tonight, he'd enjoy a good meal and perhaps spend some time in the library working on his other projects.