What Voldemort Left Behind

Chapter 31 - The Second Attack

AUTHORS NOTE: I started  being more motivated to write this, i did it in like 3 days and it's a reasonably long chapter. I always write this story on long bus rides [editors note: i'm editing this on a long bus ride too 😂] so i had loads of time yesterday and today cause i went to Disney on Ice and i had dance today, this is all really irrelevant but i like writing a kind of caption to the chapter 😂

James shot a spell out of his wand without thinking about it, he tried to roll away, realizing ropes were tying themselves around him, he was violently pulled under a fence into some sort of bigger alleyway with shops.... oh.
This was Knockturn Alley, the place that neither of his parents had ever allowed them to explore, this was bad, very bad. Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion but yet he couldn't react fast enough. As he began to yell, material was thrust into his mouth, gagging him. He felt a tooth break as some strange wand was jabbed at him, keeping the wad of material in by magic. He was slammed against a hard stone wall as his wand was wrenched out of his grip, the attacker pointed two wands back at him. James dove, retrieving his wand and shot a stunning spell which missed and hit a passer by. He rolled on the ground and caught the fringes of a blasting curse from his attacker, a man in black robes.

"Potter." The man whispered slowly with a leering smile. James tried to run away and found he was unable to move, icy cold air froze him to the spot. The man pulled his wand roughly away and James felt his heart sink.
"Good. Now what shall I do with you?" he muttered. He reached out to touch James, his horrible hand under his face and laughed. James wished he could escape. At that moment he realized that he probably wasn't ever going to, chances were slim unless he could retrieve his wand. Whatever happened however, he would be brave like his dad.

"CRUCIO!!" James was released from the freezing charm and collapsed on the ground in agony. Pain was everywhere, he didn't know where he was but he didn't care. He wanted to black out and die, but every second all that came was more pain, was he being burned alive or stabbed with the sharpest knives? He couldn't find a way to stop it, had it been five minutes, an hour, a whole day spent under the spell?
Finally James gained awareness of his surroundings the pain finally lifted. He was shaking madly but he realized the onlookers had barely moved, it had only been a number of seconds. None seemed to care, they didn't help him in the slightest, some stood and laughed horribly.

"Not as brave and strong as your father then Potter? You'll get some more of that later if you don't behave," He said, slapping James across the face. He fought to get away from the creepy whisper voice, still disorientated from the Cruciatus curse. He tried to do wandless, silent magic but it was no use.
The man grabbed James's shoulder in a vice-like grip, he dug his nails in painfully and used his other hand to hold his wand to James's head. He struggled but it was useless. He began to turn in the air.

-

Lily and Albus collided with their parents in the doorway of Twilfitt and Tattings.

"Mum! Dad! When we came out of Quality Quidditch supplies and we saw this creature so we turned away for a second and, and..." Albus burst into tears.

"When we turned back, James was gone and we've been looking all over for him and he's not anywhere," Lily finished rapidly.

Harry barely stopped moving. "I know. LISTEN TO ME you two, go to your uncles' shop and find Ron. Don't go anywhere else, tell him what happened as quickly as you can. Use shield charms and any other protective charms, I'll take care of that later with the Ministry."

Lily and Albus watched as their parents ran off, looking furious. They sprinted to the shop.

-

The man turned in the air but nothing happened. He tried again, dragging James with him even harder. A look of horror dawned on the man's face and he promptly dropped James who landed sharply on the ground. He felt himself being kicked repeatedly, the man spat on him. Out of the corner of his eye James saw the man draw his wand, James could feel it, this was it, he wasn't sure what spell it would be but it was probably deadly. He prepared himself, he would be brave and take it like his namesake.
James flinched, as the man was blasted backwards, hitting a shop roof on the other side of the street, he fell to the ground and didn't move. James wondered if somehow he had cast a spell without meaning to. James noticed his dad was running towards him, but he had his wand out with a grim expression on his face.