Dropped Thread - Ted 01 - Untimely
Ted had taken a backpack with him for this trip. He didn’t often come up here to Hogsmeade, especially not on his own - of course he loves spending all his time with Dora, and his wife when she isn’t working, but he also appreciates the occasional moments when he gets to be himself again. He feels young, walking down this street again. It was a nostalgic day, especially seeing all the seventh years finishing their time at Hogwarts. Just as he was walking out of Dogweed and Deathcap, patting his pockets to check his wallet was where he thought it was, he almost walked into someone.
Speaking of those graduates - it was James Potter. He had never really spoken to him, but knew of him since he was friends with Andromeda’s cousin Sirius. He’d met his father once briefly in Diagon Alley; the wizarding world wasn’t that big a place and he took Dora there sometimes for a day out, if the weather was nice. They hadn’t talked much, just talked about what they were both for while they waited in line at Gringotts.
“Sorry about that. You are James, right? The infamous James Potter?” Offering a hand to shake, he smiled warmly at the boy.
Let’s face it: James Potter was no stranger to random people knowing his name. He was still flattered when it happened, though, so he brightened the second Ted approached him. “That’s me,” he agreed. It was entirely possible he’d had just a tad to drink, and it was making him quite cheerful. Why shouldn’t he celebrate a bit, though? He’d successfully proposed to the love of his life, he’d graduated somehow after seven years of mischief, and he was about to move in with the two most important people he knew. For now anyway, things were good.
He shook Ted’s hand and studied the older man curiously. “Aaaand you must beeeeee,” he squinted as he tried to figure it out. “Don’t tell me. Lemme guess. Who do you know me through? Sirius, probably. Everyone knows me through Sirius. Relative? But you don’t seem like a tosser, so you’ve got to be a sane one, which means you’ve got to be Andromeda’s hubby. Ted!”
He forgot just how young the kids at school were. They could be very mature, but at the same time, James’ youthfulness shone through. Ted was an upbeat person generally, but he knew he didn’t radiate the same kind of energy as him; the saying about the world at your feet, or the world being your oyster came to mind.
“Not bad!” Ted laughed, making only encouraging gestures as James made various guesses, getting closer to the answer. “I am indeed Andromeda’s hubby. Ted Tonks. And thank you for thinking I don’t look like a tosser. I try to avoid that side of the family myself.” It wasn’t a secret from many people about the Black family divide. It could hardly be a secret in these days of war anyway.
“I was actually just thinking of heading up to The Three Broomsticks, if you were heading that way? I think I said I’d meet my wife there. Or if not, I’ll find her somewhere on the way I hope. We should probably get home soon, since my mum is looking after Dora. That’s our girl by the way, I don’t know if Sirius would have ever mentioned her.”
James couldn’t help being a little over the top. Things were going well. It wasn’t a time of goodbyes, not if he could help it. This was just the beginning of so many things. He was all at once thrilled and terrified.
“Brilliant! I am excellent at this,” he grinned when Ted confirmed the answer. “Trust me, I know quite a few tossers and you don’t look anything like one,” he added with an exuberant chuckle. “I don’t blame you for avoiding them. I do, too.”
He nodded when Ted suggested his plan. “Yeah! I’m on my way up there as well. Trying to find my fiancee,” he beamed. “Dunno if you’ve ever met her. Lily Evans?” He started walking as he explained, because who didn’t want to hear this story? “Been chasing her since I met her on the train first year. Finally got her to agree to date me this year and I asked her to marry me today. Brilliant, yeah?” Of course it was. He knew it was.
“Yeah, Sirius has mentioned Dora!” He said, his enthusiasm over Lily brimming over to the next part of their conversation. “He loves her. She sounds adorable by the way he talks about her.”
“Your fiancee?” Ted tilted his head to the side, looking at him wonderingly. His first reaction was to be a little shocked. Not that it was unheard of for people to get married in their teenage years, but it seemed strange to him. Especially just getting out of school. But then again, he had proposed quite early too. And there was this war, this war where people were undeniably dying. People were getting married if they could, doing anything they could. “Well then, congratulations are in order, James! Of course it is. No, that’s amazing! You’re going to remember this day for the rest of your life.” Ted smiled from ear to ear, strangely happy for this boy - he had an infectious sort of joy. “A drink of me when we get in. And one for the lucky Miss Evans too. I don’t think I know her, but I’d love to meet her.” Shoving his hands in his pockets, he raised his eyebrows towards James. “How did you do it then? How’d you ask her?”
Nodding with pride, he took out his wallet, which had just been put away, opening it up. “She’s my girl, so I think so, of course. Here she is here.” The moving picture showed a typical three year old, with twinkling eyes and short chubby legs, along with the brightest green hair and pointed elf ears. “She goes through phases. She tends to look different every time I open my wallet.”
James was relieved when Ted’s reaction was as enthusiastic as he’d wanted everyone else’s to be. So far, he’d gotten a mixed bag when he talked to people, but this was more like it! “Thanks!” He beamed as he headed inside with Ted. “I definitely won’t turn down a drink, though I can’t say the same for Lil. No idea where she’s run off to. She was with a few friends at Honeydukes, last I saw.” They were supposed to meet here later, though, so he wasn’t concerned. She could hold her own.
“I took her down to the greenhouses on the school grounds after graduation,” he answered. “Had my mum’s ring, stuttered around about the future quite a bit. I think she knew what I was asking five minutes before I got to it. But she mercifully said yes, so the ends justify the means, really.”
He paused to study the picture when Ted showed it, his eyes widening in surprise. “Really? She does that on her own?” He asked, unable to keep from sounding astonished. “That’s incredible! So young to be able to do that! Aww, she’s so cute. Congrats on her.” James couldn’t wait to start having some of his own. Hopefully Lily would want to start soon as well.
Ted was a total romantic at heart, so he was warming up to it more and more as he thought about it. His own proposal had been even more controversial, so he was hardly going to say anything against it. Teenage marriage had nothing on proposing to his girlfriend and getting her disowned by her family. “Well she can hardly say no. It doesn’t have to be alcoholic, if she has a problem with that.”
“Sounds less like a proposal and more like she put you out of your misery,” he laughed, but not unkindly. “To be honest, that’s actually special. There can’t be many people that get proposed to at school. Or surrounded by venomous plants. No, I’m sorry that sounds mean. I’m actually jealous, I would have loved to have been proposed to in the greenhouses. I miss them. My little garden back at home isn’t quite as varied and impressive.”
“Thank you! She’s a Metamorphmagus,” he said, with distinct pride. Ted wasn’t a boastful man, but he’d always happily talking about his darling Dora. “It’s a kind of magical ability that you’re born with, you probably know about it, especially being born in a wizard family. But she certainly doesn’t have any trouble using it. She’s my little genius.” He tucked the picture back away.
He could see the sign for the pub up ahead, when something else caught his eye. A pair of dark cloaked figures moved from out of the alley between two shops. They had hoods that threw shadows across their faces, which was odd since it wasn’t raining. And it definitely felt too warm for such attire. Ted had rolled his sleeves up and opened up his collar but was still feeling the sun. “Huh,” he muttered.
“It’s not usually the alcohol that bothers her,” James chuckled. “Not so much as the amounts of it I consume, anyway.” He had been cutting back when it wasn’t a special occasion, but there were lots of special occasions to celebrate tonight.
His eyes followed the cloaked figures as well, hand moving slowly toward his wand. As much as he wanted to continue speaking about his engagement to Lily and Ted’s obviously skilled daughter, he didn’t think they’d have time much longer.
He was right. A shout came from somewhere further off, down the alley, too far away to be a danger to himself or Ted. But the cry set the others in motion, and James barely managed to cast a Protego shield around him and his companion as the street lit up with all sorts of curses. “Not here,” he breathed out as his eyes darted around the various storefronts and more specifically at the crowds in front of them. There were too many people, friends and family who had gathered to celebrate graduation. Most of the Slytherin students he’d just graduated with were still here, though on first glance, they didn’t appear to be anymore prepared for the attack than James was.
“Take cover!” He shouted to Ted and pushed the older wizard to the side as he dropped the shield and started firing Disarming and Stunning spells at the cloaked figures, more of which were materializing by the second.
“Well you’ll probably need to cut down if you’re marrying her. You know living together, you have to get along sometimes or it gets horribly tedious.” Andromeda and Ted had gone through some very tough and trying times. Neither of them were perfect and they had definitely had a few arguments. But most of the time, he tried not to do things that bothered her.
Ted froze, unable to quite process what was happening. How could this be happening? While his hand had gone for his wand instinctively in defence, his head still hadn’t followed his body’s fast reaction. And he wasn’t fast enough to do anything, where the boy just out of school was. All he could think was - how?
He’d known. He’d known in the back of his head that none of this was imaginary. It hadn’t been imaginary when his wife was cut off from her family, or when he’d been insulted and threatened at school and later on. But he hadn’t wanted to know.
He stumbled to the side, steadying himself on the wall. Out of the corner of his eye, a purple flash - he ducked just in time, spinning outward and hitting the caster with a freezing spell.
Even if he did know any offensive spells, he didn’t remember any. He didn’t want to fight, had never wanted to be. He avoided them at all costs, but here he was, almost literally shoved into a corner. Looking at James, a blur of activity, his face a mask of concentration, did not make him feel ashamed, but did manage to hit something in his brain.
“I’ve got your back!” he shouted, and sent a couple of stunning spells towards a hooded pair coming up the side. They were really medical spells, meant to be used as whole body anaesthetic but it also turned all muscles limp.
“Is- is there a plan?” Was there usually a plan with these things?
He had no time to explain that he already was cutting down on the booze, for the most part. He’d had a little much tonight, but he was always sharp as a tack when it came to matters like this. There were lives at stake and that knowledge, that fear, heightened his senses and sobered him up pretty quickly.
He focused on the Death Eater in front of them, spells flying and clashing between the two for a while. One of the Death Eater’s managed to get through and stung across James’ cheek. He had no doubt it was the kind of cut that would bleed. With a pained and angered snarl, he returned a forceful stunning spell that hit the Death Eater head on. The man crumpled and James glared at him a second or two to make sure he wasn’t getting back up.
Then, he turned to Ted. “A plan?” He asked. “Yeah, get inside and try not to die,” he answered. It was probably stupid because of how obvious it was, but it was all he had at the moment. He was much too intoxicated to even come up with a decent pep talk, and they didn’t have time for one, anyway. There were other Death Eaters flocking the streets now, furling toward them like a black tidal wave.
“Inside,” he repeated with a stern look toward Ted. Despite Ted being the older of the two, James had a fierce desire to protect anyone he deemed himself responsible for, and right now, that was the father of that adorable little Metamorphagus. She needed her father to come home, and James would make sure that happened if that was the last thing he did.
So instead of running inside himself, he turned toward the mass of black and began firing spells as the Death Eaters’ ranks began to split up and join smaller fights throughout the village.
“Well, that was probably obvious,” he murmured, trying to move with James. Being separated would be bad. Even he knew that.
While most of Ted was still panicking, his heart still more afraid than he ever imagined he could be, there was a part of him that felt strangely disconnected from it all, observing it from a distance. It was horrible. Everyone who wasn’t dressed in the distinctive black robes looked panicked, confused, the previous joy and laughter that had filled the streets already a forgotten memory, dispersed into the air like it had had no substance at all.
And there was James, and there was fire in his eyes, and hatred in his tense muscles. But he was still just a boy. He wasn’t even eighteen yet. It made him sad, sadder than he could ever explain.
He tried the closest door, and found it locked. He groaned in frustration; he didn’t have long because another spell whizzed past the back of his neck, burning him badly. He cried out, blinding throwing a spell which cut down one of the figures. And then another spell which literally froze a running Death Eater in his tracks. He fell in almost comical slow motion.
Suddenly it struck him. They were everywhere. So…Andy. Where was she? His stomach turned. She might have been one of them once, but now they might not hesitate to hurt her. But it was clearly hopeless trying to find her.
“This way!” he shouted and grabbed James’ arm that wasn’t holding his wand.. They were not going to die. Andy was not going to die. This could not end here. He dragged them down the next alley, knowing it was blocked up at the end. He flattened himself against the wall, panting, though it had only been a few feet really.
“Easier to fight. Less open.” He was surprised he would ever even think something like that.
If there was one thing James knew, even beyond the fact that human life was valuable, it was that he was under attack and he wasn’t going to let the people responsible for that get away with it. He was passionate, he was reckless, he was defensive, and now he was angry. To think there were a group of people who hated the people he loved on such a ridiculous basis made him furious, and he wasn’t about to let them get away with this attack.
It was stupid to assume, but he thought he would be safe from death at least due to his own blood status. He wasn’t going to use that as a crutch but it would mean he could be more on the front lines than Ted could. Sure, he was still risking severe injury, but not death. He was going to use that to his advantage.
At least, he’d planned to until he heard Ted cry out in pain. He spun to check on his comrade, causing a spell that might have otherwise sliced through his stomach to hit him in the side instead. It split open, but he didn’t have time to examine the wound before he sprinted off with Ted to take cover.
“There’s too many of them,” he wheezed once they’d stopped running, one hand wrapping around his bleeding side. He’d imagined they might occasionally be outnumbered and caught off guard, but not like this. They were everywhere.
And where were his friends? Where were his fiancee and his brother? Had his father left by now? James’ buzz was definitely wearing off in wake of the ambush but he still couldn’t remember the details of where he’d left everyone before.
“Stay down,” he murmured to Ted before he moved away from the wall just enough to stare at the mouth of the alleyway. He fired stunning spells whenever he saw another Death Eater moving past, knowing it wouldn’t be long until they were discovered. The unconscious bodies at the entrance would start piling up and cause some kind of suspicion.
“I know, I know. How are we going to get out?
His eyes flickered nervously about, checking the alleyway again, just in case. Still empty. Good. Then checking James, still there, but totally not good. His eyes widened in horror. “Oh my-” Ted swallowed his words, gaping at James. “No, no, no. That is bad. That is really bad. How do you feel? Apart from bad? What am I saying?” he groaned to himself.
He needed to stay calm. What would Andromeda think if she was here? Nymphadora would be more use than him. Come on, he’d actually thought about becoming a Healer too like Andromeda at one point, before he decided to stay home with their girl. He should know a little.
“Get back here, James. For goodness’ sake, we need to stop the blood. And not with your hand. Now I don’t want to seal it up in case there’s internal damage that needs to be fixed first so…” Conjuring up strips of cloth (like he’d seen on television mostly but he knew the theory), he peeled his hand away, quickly covering the wound. “Should be okay for a bit. Until we…I need to find my wife. I need to find her. And your fiancee. So that’s our plan, right? Or our goal.”
“You know, mate, I’m not a hundred percent focused on the escape plan right now,” James muttered. It was hard to be strategic in time like this, when there was so much going on in the present that it was hard to think ahead. He chewed the inside of his cheek while he watched the entrance to the alleyway. Ted’s words were sounding a little hollow to him, which James knew was not a good sign.
“I’m fine,” he said in response but willingly leaned back against the wall and let Ted tend to him. “It’s not that bad,” he insisted, though the second he looked down at the wound, he knew otherwise. It was gushing. James wasn’t an overly squeamish person, but that was disgusting.
“Thanks,” he said once the bandages had been applied. They would do the trick for now. “Yeah, we need to find them. Where were you supposed to meet your wife?” He asked, hoping that their daughter wasn’t here as well. He was supposed to be meeting his fiancee at the Three Broomsticks and while he worried for her, he knew she was with a few people who were more than capable of taking care of themselves. He wanted to get Ted out of there first.
“I am so sorry. Honestly. I just…” Ted spread his hands hopelessly, then pulled them back in tight, away from the open gap of the alleyway. Hopeless. That’s what this felt like. Where were they supposed to go? How was this supposed to end? All he could hear was screams, barely able to discern his own thoughts.
“It is that bad,” he said firmly. He wasn’t a squeamish person at all - that had never been his problem with fighting and war. So he had no trouble dealing with his wound.
“The Three Broomsticks. There was going to be a lot of us meeting there for drinks this evening.” There would be no drinks now, for sure. It sounded like a petty thing to think, but this was just what fighting did. It caused everything to run down a completely different path. “But I don’t even know if she made it there…” He swallowed hard. “As good a place to aim as any? There must be lots of people there.”
James could relate to how Ted was feeling but knew they didn’t have any other choice but to throw themselves back into the fray. “I know,” he murmured as he stared toward the mouth of the alley.
He didn’t argue as Ted fixed him up, but he was ready to move the second he had finished. He nodded at the plan. “Three Broomsticks it is, then. We can look elsewhere if that’s not it, but that’s where we’ll try to get to.” He knew most of his friends were probably near, so that was the best option. “We need to figure out how to get there, though. I’ll go out first,” he offered. “You cover me? As soon as we get an opening, we run there.”
It sounded as good a plan as any, though he knew they’d probably be fighting the whole way there. There was little else they could plan for, not knowing exactly what was out there or who they would be fighting, so this would have to do. “If we get separated, just get to the Three Broomsticks and we’ll try to regroup there, yeah?”
“Three Broomsticks. I think I can remember that. Unless I die. In which case I probably won’t. But I’ll be right behind you. Don’t look back. Just keep going.” Here would be a good point to stop rambling, he thought to himself, and shut his trap. Instead, he just nodded to James. He was ready when he was.
In an odd rush of courage, with Andromeda and Dora in his mind - the only thing that might have made him step back out there - he followed him closely. A forceful jet of water streamed from his wand into the back of the nearest dark hood. He really hoped no civilian or ‘good guy’ was wearing the same sort of robes. That would be unfortunate.
He could see James in front of him, but he tried to look around him constantly instead. Focus. There was no second chances. At least he’d kept fit since his school days with runs and occasionally playing a little Quidditch with friends, so he found himself dodging and weaving, keeping up with the tall adolescent with ease.
“You’re not going to die,” James growled. There was no chance while he was around. He knew he didn’t exactly have control over it, but as long as it was in his power, he was going to keep Ted safe. This man was a symbol of everything James was fighting for: magical equality, family, and a safer world. He would see that accomplished and protect that idea if it was the last thing he did.
The battle seemed to have reached its tipping point by the time they stepped out again. There were fewer Death Eaters on the playing field, it seemed, but there were also fewer civilians. His stomach turned as he realized most of the Death Eaters would still be alive even if they were out of commission. And the civilians? He didn’t want to think about it.
He fared pretty well until they made it just outside the entrance of the pub. A purple spell came out of nowhere and slammed into him, sending him flying into the side of the building. He collapsed with a quiet groan, coughing as he tried to catch the breath that was knocked out of him.
A hooded Death Eater stepped forward with a leering grin beneath his mask, his wand trained on Ted. “Tonks,” the man spoke, his voice cool but scathing. “We meet again.”
He sounded so sure, Ted almost believed him. But it was also hard to believe, when everywhere you looked, there seemed to be people who wanted to kill you. But later on, he’d think to himself about how sure he sounded. Like a leader. Ted was pretty good with people. He could see what sorts of people they were, because he liked listening and watching and talking with people. It was easy to see how easily James took charge of things.
It was like one of those children’s books. The door was in sight. Whether it actually meant safety or not, or finding his wife, it symbolised it. They were almost there. He could practically hear himself say, in an overly dramatic voice to Dora, whose eyes would be wide as saucers in suspense - ‘BUT THEN…’
But then, James was sent flying and he was careening to a halt, already trying to turn to the side to get him. Because James said Ted wouldn’t die, but what about himself?
But then, the man said his name. He looked at him, trying to peer at his face. The voice did sound a little familiar but he couldn’t pin it for the life of him. “Do we? What was the first time?” In another situation, maybe one where there wasn’t a 17 year old boy slumped against a wall, he might have laughed at how dramatic it sounded.
James didn’t want to risk hesitating in case the Death Eater didn’t beat around the bush, but he knew if he didn’t take a second to let his vision clear, he would get himself and Ted killed. He stayed put crumpled against the building for now, taking in slow breaths to make sure nothing had cracked. If anything, the gash on his side had torn open a little further, but he didn’t seem to have any broken bones. It was fortunate, given how hard he’d hit the wall.
“As much as I’d enjoy a trip down memory lane with you right now, Tonks,” the Death Eater sneered, “I’d rather revisit this as the moment I rid the world of another useless mudblood.”
He pulled his wand back as if gearing up for the Killing Curse, and James took that as his chance. The younger wizard shot the Death Eater with a curse to knock him backwards, glad for the few extra seconds it bought them.
“Hey, Ted?” James wheezed as he tried to push himself back up. “You got this one?” He was having trouble seeing straight.
“I’d rather not,” he muttered, his own wand still in hand thankfully, but holding still. Everything had to wait until the last moment, as if he would be given a chance at the last moment to turn back, to turn away from all this. This wasn’t his choice - he wanted to believe people made their own choices in life, but he was all too quickly starting to realise you don’t.
Instead, he got a chance to rethink his life choices, at least the ones for today. He was just going to have to fight. Stand and fight, was that what they say? Well, he had the standing down.
“Sure,” he said, surprised at how calm his voice suddenly sounded. “Try get out of sight, James. Watch your side.” A very small part of him remembered that his healing probably wouldn’t have held and was thinking about healing in the background. Maybe he would have been an alright healer.
The man’s voice was still echoing in his head, but right now he didn’t have time to dig through his memories and pick him out. That was for later. If he got there (he was going to there, he recited to himself).He could still stick to his principles. His mind working faster than it ever had in his life - if only it had been this quick in his O.W.L.s at school - he cast a freezing spell first. He had to recast, seeing it just scrape by his side; his voice might have sounded steady, but his hands were still shaking. Then, in quick succession, hoping it had worked, he cast a binding spell, which worked slower than the freezing one, but held for a lot longer.
James didn’t think he was going to make it too far, but he tried to drag himself back around the corner for some kind of protection. It was probably the best option while Ted dueled, anyway, though he hated doing this. Hiding during a fight wasn’t very James. He just didn’t have a flight reflex; it was all fight. So he planned on taking a breather for maybe thirty seconds before getting back out there.
As it turned out, he didn’t have to. Ted had the situation far more under control than James had originally given him credit for. Nathan was only just pushing himself back up when Ted started firing off spells at him. Nathan skirted out of the way of the first freezing spell and shoved himself back up to his feet, sending the Cruciatus Ted’s way in retaliation. He’d only just managed to fire the spell off before the second freezing charm hit him. It would only last a few seconds, but that was all the time it took for Nathan to lose the upper hand.
Truthfully, he’d lost it the second he started this fight, but he was too proud to admit that to himself. This had been a good plan in theory. It just turned out that they were more prepared than Nathan had anticipated. The binding spell hit him the same as the second freezing spell. He managed to throw one more hex, this time going for the kill again, before it took effect and he crumpled with a defeated groan.
James peeked back out once both hexes had missed Ted, glancing around. “Damn. Nicely done, Tonks,” he grinned.
