the Horcrux Thief, james potter

xviii. all-consuming rage

He sneered. "Well, you obviously got tired of Lily's rejections, so you moved on to the next best thing. The new girl is conveniently staying in your house. Honestly, you didn't even have to walk further than across the hall to get her—"

"Pete—"

"I mean, how easy was it, James? Did you even have a challenge? Or did she let you in her knickers like a slag—"

James saw red. He grabbed Peter by the collar and in the next second James's fist hit Peter, square in the jaw, making the boy stagger back, grabbing his jaw. But James was hardly done, he grabbed his friend by his shirt and shoved him against the wall outside.

"Watch it, Wormtail," he snarled but Peter only scoffed in his face.

"Typical. What? Am I your new Snivellous, Prongs? Do you always need to show how strong you are for girls?"

James let him go, seething as he stepped back.

"You don't have to do that for Amaya, Prongs," he kept talking as he caught his breath, "She already let you fuck her—"

Wordlessly, and wandlessly, James hit Peter with a spell that sent him flying against the wall. He walked over to him, glaring down at his friend on the floor. He grabbed him up again, making Peter stand up. He didn't care anymore. "Did you mess with that bludger?"

"What?" Peter asked with a gasp.

James's jaw clenched. "You heard me. Did you try to kill Amaya?"

Peter hesitated. James' anger flared up and Peter must've seen the murder in his eyes because he started shaking. "I'm sorry Prongs. I didn't mean to, I swear—"

He heard the confirmation. Loud and clear.

And without thinking, and letting his wrath take the better of him, James punched him again. Peter stumbled backward, his arms flailing in a feeble attempt to defend himself. But James was relentless, his rage propelling him forward with unstoppable force.

With a desperate cry, Peter swung his arm, aiming for James's jaw. But James ducked, his momentum carrying him forward, and he tackled Peter around the waist. They crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs, the impact knocking the breath out of both of them.

For a moment, they grappled on the ground, each trying to gain the upper hand. But James's anger gave him strength, and he managed to pin Peter beneath him, straddling him as he delivered another blow to the little rat. "What the fuck, Pettigrew? You didn't mean to?"

Peter shook on the ground, shaking his head as he tried lamely to get James off him. "I was jealous and I wasn't thinking. I didn't mean to kill her, I just—"

"Thought you could maim her a little?"

"She's taking my friends from me! Please, I'm sorry!"

"Not good enough."

James was sure he'd regret it, but at the moment he could only see Amaya's face of pain as she gasped for air that afternoon. He landed another blow to Peter's already swollen face.

Peter cried out in pain, his attempts to fight back growing weaker with each blow. But James showed no mercy, his fists pounding into Peter's body with relentless force. It was a brutal and one-sided fight, with James dominating every aspect of the struggle.

James was sure he would've beaten Peter to his death if it wasn't for someone ripping him off the little rat moaning in pain on the ground.

"What's going on?" Sirius' voice broke through his wrath-hazed mind and, breathing heavily, James finally realized Sirius and Remus had arrived and were now holding James back. He looked at the pub and saw some people looking through the window.