The Muggle Who Did Something: A marauders era fanfiction

Chapter 15: The Bitter Cold

Cynthia's eyes widened in horror as she realized she had no idea who these two men were. The taller of the two took step forward, standing much like James had before the intruders came through her door. His patchy dark green cloak flew open as he held an arm out in front of the stouter figure, almost like trying to shield them. The other figure floundered to imitate a similar stance, his muted brown cloak getting in his way.

The girl took a step back, eyeing the men she tried to discern their intention. The odd choice of outerwear left her unable to see any expressions or details from their persons, all she could do was look at their emotions.

Around the stouter man a large mustard yellow smear danced with large blobs of varying shades of green. He was terrified, though his shaking hand would have been enough to tell Cynthia that.

The taller man standing protectively in front of him was far more worrisome. A multitude of colors swam around him. Gray toned blues marbled easily with dark purples, though she did notice a single blob of green nearly being smothered by a large black blob. Black was one of the rarest colors, only having seen it once before Cynthia wasn't sure what it meant.

It seemed that this man was very sad and uncertain. While he did feel a small bit of fear, it was being suppressed. All things considered, these men didn't seem to mean her harm, at least not yet. Cynthia still eyed the two men warily, stuffing her cold hands back into the warmth of the coat pockets. The young woman took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she considered her options.

"How do you know those names?" One of the men spoke up, confusion clearly in his voice. The deep tone carried well through the forest, though it was quiet it was more than loud enough to be heard well.

However, it was hard to tell which of the men spoke. Cynthia reasoned it must have been the more confident of the two. Oddly, the small man was still shaking like a leaf under her gaze. Not the sort of reaction the girl might have expected, but perhaps a good sign in this case.

"How do you know them?" Cynthia turned the question back on the man, still eyeing the two raised sticks that hadn't dropped yet.

"H-He asked you first!" The stout man squeaked out slowly stepping out from behind his protector.

"So?" The girl raised an eyebrow, they weren't entitled to her answer just because they asked.

"I believe 'Ladies first' is how the saying goes," The taller man's words came out sounding almost like a question, "if I'm not mistaken."

This prompted the young woman to tilt her head to the side slightly before she retorted.

"You should answer the Ladies question first, if we're going by that logic." Cynthia watched as her words caused both men to visibly relax, confusing the girl immensely. She stayed on guard, refusing to be swayed.

The smaller man turned hurriedly to his friend, mumbling something that sounded almost like 'smuggle saying'. The girl's nose crinkled subconsciously, she wanted nothing to do with Smugglers! Perhaps that's one of the things those bad men were doing, another reason why James and Sirius were fighting them. Setting the thought aside, she focused on the problem at hand.

The two men shared a few more muttered words before nodding in agreement. Slowly they lowered their sticks but still kept a defensive stance. The taller man pulled the hood of his cloak back fully, allowing the ambient light to bounce off the many scars littering his face.

Cynthia couldn't help the way her heart twinged at the sight of them, her mouth falling open slightly. Other than the many scars the man seemed young, his light brown hair was tousled naturally landing just above his jawline. It seemed fluffy and a little untamed, but not nearly as much as James' lion's mane. The man's amber eyes almost glowed in a mystic way, a stark contrast to the exhaustion of his face. His eyes dimmed slightly as he took in Cynthia's reaction, subconsciously reaching up to rub one of the deeper scars. The girl instantly shut her mouth, a small bit of guilt tingled in the back of her mind. She ignored it, focusing once more.