Eclipsed

At Remus’ request, the Marauders reluctantly agreed to a temporary ceasefire on their seemingly-eternal prank war against their  Slytherin year-mates, although to be honest, the Marauders as a collective had been largely interested in causing general chaos, without too much thought given over the targets. With O.W.L.s looming on the horizon though, Remus was understandably on edge, juggling his precarious health, Prefect duties, and the pressure of upcoming exams. He simply couldn't afford the added distraction or risk of getting caught up in one of his friends’ more elaborate schemes. He was the most anxious out of the four of them in general, but especially over the O.W.L.s, and insisted over breakfast that he be left out of any time consuming, potentially dangerous, or illegal activities they might partake in.

“But Halloween is the ultimate prankster’s holiday!” Sirius protested, his puppy-dog eyes practically begging for permission. He sidled up to Remus, invading his personal space with theatrical flair. “You wouldn’t deny us the opportunity to pick your evil mastermind brain for a little bit of harmless mischief on All Hallows’ Eve, would you?”

James and Peter chimed in with their own equally pathetic pleas, their voices joining Sirius' in a cacophony of begging and over-the-top fake crying until Remus’ embarrassment won, and he couldn't help but give into their antics.

“Alright, alright, fine!” Remus relented, unable to resist their practiced manipulative tactics. “Have your Halloween fun. But don’t expect me to bail you out if things go south, got it?”

“Yes sir, Captain Loopy!” Sirius exclaimed, pulling away from Remus’ arm breaking into a mock salute before grinning mischievously. “Your sacrifices for the sake of academia will not be forgotten!”

Rolling his eyes at the nickname, Remus playfully nudged Sirius away. “I’m not retiring for good, you know. Just taking a study break. I still need those O’s on my O.W.L.s.”

“We’ll hold you to it then, Re. As soon as exams are done, you’re helping us pull off something majestic, deal?” James held out a hand, and Remus reached across the table to shake on it. 

“Deal.”

They finished eating, only pausing to take their schedules from Professor McGonagall, walking up and down the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall and passing out everyone’s yearly timetable. 

“What’s that on yours, James?” Peter inquired, peering over at James' timetable, comparing it with his own. “What’ve you got there instead of Divination?”

James chuckled, tapping his finger on the line where Divination used to be. “Well, lads, behold the new and improved James Potter timetable!” He plastered a grin on his face, hoping to override the twinge of nerves over his upcoming Magical Orientation and Mobility lessons.

As per Pomfrey and Healer Dedworth’s instruction, James was set to begin his new lessons, replacing the time slot once occupied by Divination. Despite lamenting the loss of his precious Divination naptime – a sacred ritual for many Hogwarts students – he understood the importance of this change. After all, what use was reading tea leaves and tarot cards to someone who could hardly see two feet in front of his face in the classroom?

He relayed this rationale to his friends, who nodded understandingly. While Peter and Sirius were sad to lose him as a naptime companion, they were nothing but supportive of his schedule adjustment. So, that morning, instead of trudging to Divination with the usual crew, James made his way to the designated classroom for his Orientation and Mobility lessons.

Pushing open the door, he was greeted by the sight of a young witch, stylishly clad in navy blue robes. Her sleek black bob and black rimmed, green-tinted glasses exuded an air of coolness and sophistication. James, who’d been expecting some boring old witch, suddenly became a bit more excited about his new lesson. Brushing the wrinkles off the front of her robes, the woman rose from her desk with a warm smile, gesturing for James to take a seat beside her.

“You must be James!” she greeted, extending her hand. “I’m Felicity Song, your new Magical Orientation and Mobility teacher. You can call me Felicity or Ms. Song – whichever you prefer.”

“Thanks, Felicity,” James replied, testing out her name with a smile. It felt strange to address a teacher by her first name, but he liked her informal approach.

“You might be wondering what we'll be working on in this class,” Felicity continued, her gaze fixed on James. “Did your school matron or doctor explain anything to you already?”

“Yeah, sort of,” he began, thinking back to the conversations between his parents, doctors, and the school. “It’s like, learning things that will help me once I lose more vision, right?”

“Exactly,” Felicity confirmed with a nod. “In this class, we’ll focus on developing your spatial awareness, enhancing your mobility skills, and equipping you with magical and muggle techniques to navigate various environments safely and independently.”

James nodded, although he wasn’t quite sure what she meant by everything. “Is it relevant now, even though I still have a pretty decent amount of vision left?”

“I’d say so,” Felicity replied. “At this moment in your journey, I’ll teach you things that we think could be helpful to you now. As things progress, we will continue to adjust your lessons, and if you ever feel like you don’t need me anymore, we can stop.” 

“Okay,” James answered, processing the information. “But if things change and I think I need lessons again, you could come back, right?” 

“Of course.” Felicity smiled. “Any other questions for me before we begin?”

"I do have a question," James said cautiously, hoping to phrase his question respectfully. "How do you know how to teach this sort of thing? You’re not blind, I think, so I just was wondering how you know how to teach people who are… and why you’re doing it. I hope I'm not coming across as rude, I'm genuinely curious!"

Felicity smiled warmly at James's question, clearly accustomed to approaching her students’ curiosity with patience and understanding. “That isn’t a rude question at all James, I’m happy to answer. I’m not blind, that’s true, but I come from a magical family with a long history of visual impairment, so I've been immersed in this world since I was young. I am actually visually impaired as well, but not too severely.” She tapped the leg of her tinted glasses. “These glasses help manage my sensitivity to light, as well as bring things into focus, since I have a hard time seeing very much  detail.” She looked at James, who was paying close attention, before continuing. 

"I've seen many family members deal with challenges related to their vision and the lack of accessibility in the magical world. Teaching has always been a passion of mine, so I decided to get certified in helping people learn how to navigate independently and enjoy life to the fullest, albeit in a different way than most people do. Plus, being part of the visually impaired community myself, I've picked up plenty of tips and tricks from my own experiences and those shared by friends that I would love to share with you!"

James nodded, taking in her explanation. "That makes total sense," he replied, feeling more comfortable about the lessons, knowing that Felicity actually understood a bit of what he was going through. "It's great that you're able to use your experience to help others."

Felicity's smile widened. "It truly is such fulfilling work for me," she admitted, passion evident in her voice. "And I want you to know I'm here to support you every step of the way!"

“Let's get started then," James said eagerly, and Felicity clasped her hands in excitement. 

“Wonderful! So because you’re still able to see quite a bit, we’re going to use this time today to teach you two spells that should provide some relief from the strain that your schoolwork may be causing on your eyes, and introduce you to a magical accessibility tool that can help you stay on the same playing field, so to speak, as the rest of your peers.”

“Like my goggles and helmet for Quidditch!” James explained his assistive gear to Felicity, who was very excited to hear all about them. 

“Yes, that’s a wonderful example of an accessibility tool! I am so glad that the school was able to get those for you, and that they allow you to play with them.” 

James smiled gratefully, his contribution leaving him finally feeling like he wasn’t completely lost in the conversation. 

"Well, like I was saying," Felicity continued, guiding the conversation back to the curriculum, "we'll start with that, and then when you, or your doctor or school feels that you need to be moving more towards the traditional definition of Orientation and Mobility, then we will do so."

James nodded, understanding the plan. "That sounds good to me," he said. With a sense of relief, he felt like he was finally taking a step forward in managing his condition.

Felicity smiled warmly. "Great! Let's get started then."

She reached into her bag and retrieved a book, flipping it open to a random page. "The first spell I am going to teach you is scriptio sonorio ," Felicity explained, her wand poised in her hand. "This spell will convert text from a book to audible speech. To cast it, you will touch your wand from your ear to the top of the page of text."

James watched intently as Felicity demonstrated, bringing her wand from her ear to the page as she spoke. "Scriptio sonorio," she incanted, clearly and slowly. 

Suddenly, Felicity's voice filled the air, reading aloud the text on the page, even though her mouth remained closed. James was amazed as he listened, a smile spreading across his face.

The voice abruptly stopped once it reached the end of the page, and Felicity closed the book with a satisfied nod. "You'll have to recast it on each new page, which is mildly inconvenient, but overall I find it to be a very useful spell."

James couldn't help but agree. “That was brilliant!” he enthused. This spell would undoubtedly make reading and studying so much more comfortable for him, and he was eager to try it out for himself. 

After several attempts, he finally succeeded in casting scriptio sonorio , the text on the page coming to life in his own voice.

"Excellent job, James!" Felicity cheered, her eyes bright with pride. "You're a natural."

She explained how to change the volume of the narration, and promised to work on how to transfer the audible text to come out through headphones, so that reading could be done in a public space without disturbing others. 

Flushed with success, James eagerly moved on to the next spell, vox transcriptus . Felicity explained its purpose as a voice to text transcriber for essays and exams, more accurate than a Quick Quotes Quill, which would be used best for class note-taking. James listened intently, absorbing every detail, before attempting the spell himself. With Felicity's patient guidance, he soon had it mastered, the words flowing seamlessly from his voice to the parchment before him.

"Bravo, James!" Felicity applauded. "You're making remarkable progress."

Encouraged by his success, James eagerly accepted Felicity's recommendation to work on the summoning charm, which was apparently “essential” to any visually impaired wix, and to continue developing his organizational skills. 

As their class time came to an end, James felt a sense of accomplishment. He understood the importance in navigating his world effectively and independently, and he was determined to master the spells and tools to make it possible.

Felicity recommended he work on the summoning charm, which was apparently essential to any visually impaired wix, and to continue developing his organizational skills, so that without looking, he would know where his belongings were, and could easily explain to others how to find things if he couldn’t describe an item he wanted visually. 

“I’ll see you again next week,” he said, as their class time ended. “Thank you so much- this lesson was very, very helpful.”  

Felicity returned his smile warmly. "I'm so glad to hear that, James. See you next week!"

Leaving the classroom, James felt buoyant from the progress he’d made, and was eager to continue his studies. The immediate practical applications of the curriculum fueled his motivation, and despite the dread he felt over the challenges he’d come to face, he couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement for what he’d learn next.