ivy! → james potter

ix. st. mungo's

⋆☆.* ✧✰ .✦⋆*☆

THE TENSION IN THE ROOM was so thick, Lucy wasn't even sure a deadly curse could cut through it. She stood at the table in Number 12 Grimmauld Place's kitchen and stared out at the others. James was sitting across from her, staring at the wall with an unreadable expression; Sirius stood beside him, looking about ready to break something, his fists clenched and resting atop the table; Remus stood at Sirius' side, looking about five years older with worry; Molly sat at the end of the table with a similar expression; Arthur stood behind her, his hands resting gently on his wife's shoulders as he registered everything that had been said and what it meant for the future; Kingsley and Tonks stood on either side of Lucy, both as expectant as she was, waiting for the room to explore into various thoughts and exclamations; and Mad-Eye stood in the corner leaning against his cane, his expression the same as always, ready to watch the next few minutes unfold.

"I'll kill him," Sirius finally said, and Remus put a hand on his back in the hopes of steadying his temper. Sirius kept his voice quiet and calm, but he was still clearly furious. "You know, that's the second time this bastard's name has come up lately and I'm really sick of hearing it, especially when it involves him threatening my friends."

"Nobody's killing anybody just yet," Moody barked from the corner.

"Then what the bloody hell are we going to do?!" Sirius took a breath before continuing, bringing his voice back down. "He won't stop until he's captured or killed."

"But that won't prevent anything and you know it," Lucy told him, calm yet stern. "Believe me, Sirius, I wanted nothing more than to jump out of my seat and strangle him myself when I heard what he was saying—" She could feel James' and Tonks' gazes fall upon her "—but then I reminded myself that he is not the one in charge, nor is that the right way to do things in the first place. That is not how we operate." Sirius didn't reply; he was still furious, but her comment caused him to simmer down. Arthur spoke up from his place behind Molly, his voice in a forced calm.

"I take it you have a plan, then?" His question alone reassured her that, yes, she did have a plan and that, yes, she was handling things the proper way.

"I do," she said at the end of a deep breath. "Whilst I firmly believe that James should stay home tomorrow—" Her gaze fell upon him just as he interrupted her.

"I can't stay home, the hospital needs me," he told her firmly, and she had been expecting it. She continued on.

"—I'm fully aware that he would do no such thing." Just barely, the right corner of his mouth twitched upward. "Instead, Kingsley, Tonks and I will be there to not only watch his back, but to ensure the person sent to..." she hesitated, unable to say the proper words, and continued without them, "to carry out this plan is arrested."

"Does the Ministry know?" asked Remus gently. "If so, odds are great Yaxley or someone else found out and pulled the plug already."

"No," said Kingsley, speaking up for the first time that evening. "Lucy left that part out of her report. As far as the Ministry's concerned, she didn't even see Yaxley. The only people who know about what she heard are standing in this room." Remus nodded to himself and didn't say anything further. Sirius, however, felt the need to.

"Say you do arrest someone and they're willing to flip on Yaxley. Would the Ministry really prosecute him, or would he get away?" Lucy was ready with a diplomatic response.