/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞

"Confringo!" said a rough voice, and James felt a little pang of relief that Sirius was alright. He saw his friend's face in the light of his own spell, ready for anything.

This was what they'd been preparing for. "Stupefy!" James said again, and this time, the cloaked figure just barely dodged.

The figure waved his wand again, a silent spell that skated just past James's face and left a scorch mark in the brick wall behind him. "Show yourself!" he said, projecting his voice across the street.

The figure sent another spell, this time directly at Sirius. Sirius whirled out of the way and sent one of his own back, a blue light that hit the figure squarely in the chest. "Ha!" cried Sirius. "Gotcha."

"What was that?" asked James, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

"Stunner," said Sirius, stepping towards the fallen person on the ground. "Wonder who they are-"

Before he could get within three feet of the person, however, two more figures jumped from the shadows. One tackled Sirius to the ground, fighting with his bare hands, and the other shot a stunning spell at James. Luckily, they both had the instincts to combat them. Sirius, well-practiced in muggle fighting from his rougher years at Hogwarts, rolled his attacker over and pummeled him in the chest before standing up and retrieving his wand. James dodged the stunning spell and sent his own back, but his attacker had better reflexes than he was expecting.

All out chaos ensued. James and Sirius found themselves back to back, warding off the two upright figures in cloaks with spells both verbal and nonverbal, but neither of them noticed the one they'd stunned stirring on the ground. "Expelliarmus!" James roared.

"What are you, an amateur?" said Sirius, grinning despite the jets of light flying all around him. "Give him something to work with here, James- Relashio!"

James laughed at Sirius's joke, instantly put at ease. If Sirius wasn't concerned about the situation, there was no reason why he should be. They'd trained relentlessly, and who was he kidding? They were good fighters, both of them. "Expulso!" he said, and sent his attacker flying, a triumphant smile glimmering on his face in the leftover light from his spell.

Just as James was turning to help Sirius, he felt a jolt in his back and his muscles spasmed, sending him careening into the concrete. The spell knocked him cold for about ten seconds, and when he stood up, he felt a little trickle of blood on his forehead where his face had hit the ground. "Fuck."

The first attacker was up again and ready for a challenge. James sent a defensive spell flying as he whirled around to face him. Sirius, still fending off the third attacker, had turned slightly to see what was going on with James. "Don't you know it's a low blow to hit a man with his back turned-" he said angrily. "Knock him to the ground, James."

But James's endurance was waning. The spell had done more damage than the eye could see, and his muscles felt heavy. "Incarcerous!"

"Stupefy!" Sirius said at the same time, knocking his attacker down.

There was another one to deal with, though. Sirius gritted his teeth and rounded on him, trying to make out who was under the hood. It could be anybody, a stranger, someone they'd gone to school with, even Regulus. His chest constricted at the thought. We're not fighting to kill, he reminded himself. Not fighting to kill. "Impedimenta!"

There was a bang in the alley, and for a split second, Sirius was convinced there was another set of Death Eaters ready to take them out. But a moment later, he realized that wasn't the case at all. "Artemis!" he roared over the sounds of fighting. "What the hell are you-"