The Rise And Fall Of The Stag And The Doe

only one

James ducked, tucked down and rolled out of the line of fire, his glasses flinging off his face, but before they got too far his hand shot out and snatched them before shoving them up on his face.

"POTTER!" Moody growled, louder than everything else, "COVER YOUR SIDE!"

James pushed up, ignoring the groan from his freshly bruised kneecaps and he leapt to opposite wall. Then, he used his sleeve to swipe away the sweat blurring his vision. He swallowed down the taste of metal; re gripped his wand and then went on the attack. He used a boulder roll over them, not killing them, but judging by their blood-curling screams definitely breaking some bones and keeping them down for a bit.

Across the street, he saw Sirius cackling as he shot a zig zag pattern at a line of Death Eaters knocking them all out by the back of their knees. The other side he saw his wife, her dark flaming hair bouncing behind her, while she and Peter faced down The Lestrange's. James saw a few stragglers heading towards him that he needed to clear away. With three quick spells he transfigured the broken down parts of buildings to grow around the men and hold them captive.

He sent a wink to Sirius, which was heartedly returned when he stood beside him. "You look a bit sluggish there, Padfoot."

"Tell that to the sweat stains on your back, Prongs."

They laughed, the sound melting together and then there was a noise; a low rumble that echoed from the building beside them. When it began to shake, they shared a look and started to bolt. They raced forward, long stride matching long stride, climbing the debris of ash, wood, brick alike to escape.

The dove out of the range just as the building fell to where they had been standing moments before. James got up first and held out a hand to pull Sirius up when they saw the others, not all of them, but some. The hard thing about the order was it was like a ring circus. When they began there were fifty of them, most of which they had never met before, some they never saw again after the first year.

James saw Remus and Marlene standing next to Edgar Bones and his wife. They both were panting, Remus was leaning against his thighs, but Marlene's teeth were bared and her eyes were slits.

"What's wrong?" James asked flatly. He looked down the deserted broken, once busy street and pale when he didn't see a flash of red. "Where's Lily?"

"They took them." Marlene said, "Her and Peter."

Remus added, "When the building started to unhinge, they were distracted and they used it to trap them."

"FUCK." James spat, circling around Sirius anxiously. His hand jumped to his hair to the point where it looked like he might pull his hair clear out. "FUCK."

Sirius gripped James shoulder hard, hard enough to make him flinch and snap back to them. He cleaned his glasses with the edge of his shirt and bit his lip, looking over at Moody. "Where would they take them?"

"Potter-" He started gruffly, but James wouldn't let him finish.

He charged over to him, his pulse pounding in his veins and he stated, "Moody. I respect you and I will take a lot of orders from you, but I'll never abandon my friend or my wife."

Moody scowled, looking him over in resentment. "Just as hotheaded and stubborn as your father."

"Yeah, with my mother's good looks." James replied curtly. "Now where would they be taken? Tell me, or I'll figure it out and go alone."

"No, he won't." Sirius added, him, Remus and Marlene walking forward and standing in a line on either side of James.

Moody's good eye stared down the four of them. They each stared back resiliently, all of them hardened and standing tall. He shook his head, "Not children anymore are you?"