The Marauders: Year Five #Wattys2017

The Shots

Remus stared at the ensemble as Sirius slid a rubber band in his hair to hold it back from his face and headed out the door. "Is it wrong I'm totally turned on by the way he looked just now?" he asked.

Peter said, "A little, yes..."

Sirius was already out the door and didn't hear them. He looked around. The sun was up, slowly chasing away the grey fog and mist, which was turning more to rain as the rays warmed the world... He walked quickly toward the crest of the hill, clutching his wand in his fist, squinting over the valley.

The shrieking sound filled the air again and he looked down, his eyes casting along the hill. Then he spotted the antlers of the stag, about halfway down the hill and he ran down the hill. He could see two hunters running across the field from the other side, having emerged from the trees there and he aimed his wand, "STUPEFY!" he shouted, and one of the two hunters fell to the ground, the other looking stunned at the sparks that had come from his wand.

"What in the hell --" the other started to say, but Sirius's wand was raised once again, "STUPEFY!" he shouted again, and the second hunter joined the first on the ground.

The shrieking emitted again, and Sirius found that the sound was coming from the stag, Sirius realized, and he felt a panic rise up in his throat. What the hell sort of pain must James be in to be making such a horrible sound as that? he wondered and he slid the rest of the way down the hill as fast as he could.

"Prongs!" he said, skidding to a stop beside the stag, "I've stupefied them. Are you alright? They didn't get you, did they? I'll fucking kill'em..."

James shuddered back to his own form, the antlers seeming to melt away as he changed, he rolled over, "I'm alright... I'm okay," he said, panting, looking up at Sirius. "I tripped... I didn't dare move... I just... the shots... They scared the bloody hell out of me." He sat up, still shaking.

Sirius knelt down, looking him over, "You're sure? You're not hurt? You haven't got any bullet holes through you?"

"No holes, no."

"You don't look like swiss cheese?"

"No," James replied, "No swiss cheese."

"Okay." Sirius paused. Then, he punched James fairly hard in the arm.

"OW!" James shouted, "What the hell?!"

"DON'T YOU EVER MAKE THAT RUDDY SOUND AGAIN! YOU SOUNDED LIKE YOU WERE BLOODY DYING! IF -- YOU -- EVER -- FUCKING -- DO THAT -- TO ME -- AGAIN -- I SWEAR -- TO MERLIN"S HOLY BEARD -- I -- WILL -- KILL -- YOU -- AND HANG YOUR -- BLOODY HEAD -- ON A PLAQUE IN MY LIVING ROOM!"

Every word was punctuated by another punch on the arm and James slapped at Sirius's fists, trying to stop him punching him, "Stop that!" he yelled, "I'll be bruised! This is abuse!"

Sirius stopped and he stared at James long and hard. "Seriously. Don't you ever do that again."

"Sorry, I was panicked," James said, "Bloody hell."

Sirius sighed. He glanced down the hill at the two muggle hunters laying in the grass. "C'mon, let's get back to the camp before those blokes wake up; we don't need them following us along." Sirius sprang up and helped James to his feet.

James might not've had holes through him from bullets, but James did have a skinned knee from the rock and his jeans were ripped, which was the first thing that Remus noticed when they crested the hill. Remus was just getting a fire going, crouching beside the cinders they'd left the night before with a pile of sticks and parchment. "Incendio," he said, looking up as he heard the boys approaching. "What happened to you?" he asked James, concerned.

"Fell on a rock while getting shot at by a couple muggle hunters," James answered. "And then got used as this one's personal punching back," he added, thumbing at Sirius.

"They shot at you?" Remus looked horrified.

"Well, I mean, I was a stag, so..."

Remus only looked slightly mollified. "C'mere, I'll fix that knee and your jeans," Remus said and James stumbled over and sat down. "Episky," Remus said, tapping James's kneecap and the skin closed, covering the exposed muscle and returning the blood where it belonged. "Reparo," Remus said, and the jeans stitched themselves back together. "There we are. All better." Remus smiled up at James.

"Thank Merlin, mum would've killed me if I ruined these jeans, she's just gotten them. She hates going to buy muggle clothes, too..." James murmured.

Sirius was standing on the crest of the hill, watching discreetly as the hunters in the valley below got up and regathered their wits, clearly wondering where the stag they thought they'd shot had gone before wandering back toward the woods on the far side. "Yeah, that's right, go the bloody hell home, you Prongs shooting bastards," he muttered.

"What? Someone shot Prongs?" Peter had just come out of the tent to hear Sirius's words. He sounded panicked.

"No mate, I'm alright," James said.

Peter looked very relieved.

Sirius turned 'round and came over and sat down, still wearing only his shorts, leather jacket, and boots, and stuck his wand up through his hair to hold it as he watched Remus stoke the morning fire. Peter got more frankfurters from his bag and James sat rubbing his knees... Suddenly Sirius started laughing -- quite hard.

The other three looked 'round at him as though he'd gone mad.

"What in hell is so funny?" James asked.

"That fucking noise you made mate," Sirius snorted, laughing so hard he was wheezing and tears were leaking from his eyes, "You sounded like a ruddy balloon getting the air let out."

The other two laughed as James sprang at Sirius, and they both tumbled into the dirt.