The Art of Staggering and Falling | 3.5k |
I couldn't resist prompt #3 of this list for the very good cause of @shirtlessjamespottermay (even if it the prompt ran away from me a little and did its own thing 😂 oops! but James is entirely shirtless for the whole story! 🙌)
I'm also doubling it up for the @dailyprongsfoot prompt of March 23rd: Stag
James sighs as he dips into the lake. The water is rather cold this time of year, but it still feels amazing against his skin. After the week he had, that bath is more than needed.
Sweat and dust washes off in the clear water, leaving a little dark cloud behind that gets washed away by the current. His muscles slowly relax, even in the cold water. He slept curled up in a cluster of bushes last night. Not bad compared to other places he slept in, but also not ideal to not feel the aftermath of it in his bones.
Closing his eyes, James dips down completely into the icy water. For a glorious moment the world is muffled and made of nothing but bubbles. He gives his hair a scrub too, trying and failing to get the tangled mess to behave a little better. At least most of the tiny sticks and leaves trapped in his curls get washed away.
Only when his lungs slowly start to burn from the lack of oxygen, James breaks the surface again. Cold water runs down his face and gathers in droplets on his glasses, but just for a moment. The magic he put there for Quidditch matches in the rain takes hold and the water slides off, leaving the lenses spotless. He could have taken off his glasses for his bath, but that would mean seeing shit for a while and James really can't have that in his current situation. He needs to be vigilant.
Moody's voice echoes in James' ears. He hopes the old bugger made it out okay of the hell London has become when the Ministry fell into Death Eater hands. James can't believe that happened less than a week ago. It feels like he's on the run forever.
He hopes Remus made it out too and can find a good spot for the next full moon, somewhere safe. He hopes Peter is okay. He hopes they are together and can protect each other.
He would send out a Patronus to check in on them, but that didn't work out so great the first time he tried it. Somehow the Death Eaters managed to figure out a way to track a Patronus back to its source. James only barely managed to escape when they came for him out of nowhere. It's too risky to try it again and not only give away his own position, but potentially the ones of his friends as well.
James sighs again. What a shitshow this world has become.
He scoops up a bit more cold water between his cupped hands and bends his head down to give his hair another attempt of a rinse, only for a curse to narrowly miss him and hit the tree just behind him on the shore of the lake instead. James' head snaps up, his body instinctively moving to the other side. It's the same instincts he used on the Quidditch field to avoid getting hit by bludgers.
It's good that his training is still working even years out of Hogwarts, his Quidditch reflexes still as sharp as in his school days, because his quick sidestep is all that saves him from being hit by another curse.
There is movement between the trees. It's more than one person. Now that they have opened fire on James, they aren't concerned with being quiet anymore.
Cursing under his breath, James tries to get to his wand stuck behind rocks and spongy moss for easy access. Turns out the access is not so easy now that he would really need it. Two more curses hit the side of the lake, one of them flashing green.
As much as it hurts, the wand will have to wait. It's better not to draw too much attention to where exactly James put the precious instrument and come back for it later when the Snatchers have moved on. He scrambles out of the water, stumbling over stones and tree roots as quickly as he can to get himself out of here.
Another figure steps out from behind the trees. One in a silver mask.
James doesn't wait around much longer. He runs for the treeline and slips into the forest. Another curse flies over his head but James is faster. The curse hits a pine tree, just as James' human form slips away and Prongs emerges.
[continue reading on AO3]
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