Hounded
"Death Eaters" someone shrieks and James stood up, and took out his wand, he pulled Regulus up his seat and immediately wrapped him with the invisibility cloak
"James! James, wait can't just charge out there, there's a safe exit at …"
James had tuned him out, he had forgotten, this day in Hogsmeade, would be the firts of the attacks that end up with ten casualties
He found a body then ,a fifth year beside a sixth year who became catatonic at the sight of her friend , someone screams, Mary's gut wrenching screams mixed with Lily's cry
"Crucio" a death eater casts , laughing at the pained shrieks
James…
"JAMES!" He startled, getting out of his trance
"Reg…"
"Let's get out of here, yeah?" James released a breath, and joins Regulus in the cloak, his hand still intertwined with Regulus',
Just as they exited Three Broomsticks, a scream pierced just around the alley, James' feet moved before he could think, his wand ready, a muscle memory of what he does at the peak of war
A flash of light struck a masked person, before it apparated away in a black smokey trail
"H-Help her please" The girl cried pointing at a person lying face down, James hurried beside the person, she's the sixth year back then, James can feel himself shake, is he too late? He turned the person on their back
"Pesky little mudbloods" He heard from above him, the masked death eater had his wand on him, James pulled the girl close to him, his breathing fast as the tip of the death eater's wand light up green
"Everte Statum!" the death eater was thrown away from them, he landed on the stone clad alley and didn't woke up
"You're an idiot!" Regulus hissed at him, eyes flashed with both anger and worry
"Thanks, love" he gave a relieved smile, which was returned with a huff and tut
"Is she okay?" The girl asked,her friend still unconscious in James' arms, James pulls out his wand and casted a small diagnosis spell, his shoulders loosen and gives a small reassuring smile
"She's okay, just unconscious and a little bruised, but she's alright"
The girl took her friend from James and cradled her, tears gathered in her eyes at the sound feel of her breath
"Thank you, Thankyou"
"Hey, you're both going to be alright, but I don't think you both should go out there yet, get back inside three broomsticks, it's safer there"
She nodded, picking up her wand, and still cradling her friend she casted a small smell
"Mobilicorpus"
James kept an eye on them, making sure they got to three broomsticks safe, he knows atleast that the establishment has good shielding charms
"Shit!" an exploding spell almost hit them, the death eater Regulus threw earlier already gained consciousness and although the hits are still sluggish, the person is still a strong caster
"Stupefy!" Regulus casted, though it failed to hit as the masked man casted a protection charm
Regulus tuts,the person walked towards him, he can hear the low manic laugh under the mask
"Diffindo!" Blood splattered on the the pavement and the masked man groaned, hand on his bleeding abdomen, wand broken in half, Regulus stood there with eyes wide
"Reg? What are you doing here!?" Regulus looks at the caster of the spell
"Sirius, I…" another spell flashes, and Sirius holds him down to avoid getting caught in the cross fire
"Shit! Where the fuck are the Aurors! Or the Professors!" Sirius hissed, before charging again
Regulus grits his teeth, his idiot brother will get himself killd if he continue to duel recklessly, and where is James?
"Reggie" A high pitch voice made Regulus' blood freeze, his breath hitched, he grits his teeth, schooling his emotion as he faced her
"Bella"
—---------------------
"Protego Maxima!" James casted as two death eaters charged at them, he just found Remus duelling one and now they're duck under James' protego charm , he got separated from Regulus although he stumbled into Remus, who's cornered by death eaters
"Everte Statum!" Remus shouts and one of them flies backwards
"You're the best Moons!" James praises and Remus just nods
"Where that fuck are the Aurors?" Remus curses
James frowns, they've been duelling these death eaters for sometime, and yet they haven't seen any Aurors, nor Professors around, where are they?Death Eaters are roaming freely around Hogsmeade, this isn't how it's supposed to happen, the students not civilians shouldn't be the one holding off Death Eaters, did anyone alert the Aurors? The professors?
"Moony, cover for me"
"What are you doing?"
"Alerting who should be alerted"
"What? James.."
"EXPECTO PATRONUM! Professor Dumbledore, this is James Potter! Hogsmeade is under attack, there are no Auror's here! students have been attacked!" The whispy blue stag glides in the air going to it's destination , before James ducks as another round of missed spell fires
"That's a corporeal Patronous, You…" Remus gapes at him , it confused James a bit at Remus' reaction, they all know how to produce a Pat–
James almost smacked himself, of course, they only learned how to conjure a Patronous after graduation, at one of the trainings they undergo in the order, James can remember how Alice Fortescue had been the one who taught him how to conjure his own, now though, they haven't even graduated yet
"Mary!" Lily's scream rings Just as Remus cast another explosion spell, producing a cloud of smoke, it bought them time and James finds himself firing cutting spell towards a masked eater who had their wand at Mary, Lily ran towards her, making sure she's not hurt
James saw the death eater he sliced get up, their mask falling off, their face bristled
"Malfoy" James hisses
"Mudbloods" He's clutching his badly sliced arm before gritting his teeth and raised his good arm with his wand, directed at the girls, James was about to send another spell when a strong red flash struck Lucius
Lily's seething in rage,her wand raised, smoked rising from it, James is proud of her
"I can't find Sirius" Remus stand beside him, wand at ready although with his heavy breaths, it's clear he was running around to find Sirius
A high pitched laughter echoes, black smoke and strings of different spells flashed around them
"Protego Maxima!" James' hand shakes as he holds the protection charm he held, beside him is Remus, And behind him is Lily and Mary,
The Death Eaters are hounding them …
"Bella!" They heard Sirius' scream as he apparated just a few feet away from where them, Bellatrix Black laughs maniacally as she strikes with her wand, dueling Sirius, her other hand clenched bruisingly on Regulus' arm
"Sirius! Behind you!" Regulus shouts, a spark of bright green slips from behind him, and James moves, bright green meeting a dark blue hue
"Regulus" Sirius reaches out , yet it was a second too late before Bellatrix lets out a dark red spell
"No!" Regulus yells before he was forcefully apparated by Bellatrix, the red spell combined with the blue and green hue from James and a masked death eater created a crossfire with Sirius in the middle
James eyes widen in horror as Sirius fell limp, blood pooling around him, Remus screams, two red sparks from Mary and Lily hit the masked man
"Sirius! Sirius" Remus cradles him on his lap, his hands immediately getting drenched in red
Sounds of apparition rings in the air, James was sure he heard Alastor Moody's voice alongside Frank and Alice, the aurors are here but James didn't feel an ounce of relief not when Remus screamed for help, still cradling Sirius, Not when he can hear Lily and Mary's sobs, not when Bellatrix took Regulus
"Stay with me, Stay with me, Sirius" Remus pleads, his voice breaking in sobs, Sirius' eyes are open, only looking at Remus, he chokes on his own blood
"Remus hold him still" James is on autopilot now
"Okay, okay…" Remus nods, he holds Sirius close, still, whispering words in his ear
"Vulnera Senantur" James starts chanting
"Vulnera Senantur"
"Vulnuos mundum suo" the blood that pooled around Sirius, starts to vanish as if crawling back inside his body,as the wound closed, yet his eyes fell shut, his hand that had clasped Remus' went limp, his shallow breaths became silent
"No…No! Sirius!" Remus is frantic
"Fuck! Shit, lay him down now! Lay him down now!" James had almost shoved Remus aside, he had straddled Sirius, with both hands on the middle of his chest, James starts to press down
"1..2…3.."
"The healers are here! James…"
"No get away! C'mon Sirius breathe! Breathe,13…14…15…"
"James…" That was Alice's voice
"I said no!"
"James!"
"No! Where were you? You were late! All of you, You weren't there to stop it, you weren't there to help, you weren't there"
His outbursts were met with silence, Alice flinched away from him, Remus just looks at them with bated breath, tears on his cheeks
A cough broke the silence
"Sirius? Sirius!" James calls as Sirius' chest spasmed and the coughs became shallow breaths
"Oh Godric! Sirius, You scared us, oh thank fuck, You…" Remus starts
"Move now…" A healer made her way to Sirius
James looks at his friends, he can feel his own hurried breath, it cut into silent sobs of relief, Sirius' alive …
They're okay …
No they're not, not yet, this wasn't supposed to happen, help was supposed to arrive early, they weren't supposed to get hurt
"James, James…" he doesn't know who's calling him, he kind of guess it was Mary, but the mixture of panic, relief and fury made his ears ring and everything went dark