the Horcrux Thief, james potter

xx. at last a mission for morons

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chapter twenty;
at last a mission for morons

"Mate, stop staring," muttered Sirius in his ear, as they stood against the wall of Longbottom Hall, listening as Dumbledore welcomed everyone to the meeting.

"I can't," was all James could say.

His eyes were fixed on her. The girl slowly but surely took up every thought in his head. She was sitting next to his parents on the dining table, her hair—the same hair he'd had his fingers buried in not long ago—was tied up, her face blank as she heard the Headmaster speak, her lips—lips he tasted, lips he could still feel on his mouth—were slightly pursed, her hands folded atop the table, fingers drumming softly, inaudibly, against the oak—he could still feel her hands all over him.

He'd kissed her. She'd kissed him. And it had been the best fucking kiss of his whole bloody life, he was half hard just thinking about it. The sounds she made as he kissed her neck, her soft skin, her body—fuck, he really needed to stop staring.

James blinked, and looked away, instead focusing on the floor of the Hall, the hardwood floors—there was a knot in the wood right where his right foot was. She was pretending the kiss never happened, perhaps she even regretted it, so James would respect her. She didn't owe him anything, in fact, he owed her an apology—she was a guest in his house, though at this point she was just as much part of it as anyone else, and he'd probably made things uncomfortable.

He could move out. If she did regret it, perhaps she found it weird to live in the same house as him, that was the last thing he wanted—he could move into Sirius' and Remus' third room. They had enough space for him, he already spent half his time there anyway—

"Stop panicking," Remus hissed, elbowing James in the rib, causing him to stop nervously tapping his fingers on his arms as they were crossed in front of him. "And you're not moving into our flat. I can barely tolerate Sirius."

Sirius gaped, "Hey! I'm a great roommate."

"Bloody hell, Moons. When did you learn Legilimency?" James asked, looking at Remus in disbelief, only he spoke a bit too loudly because the entire Hall went silent. He smiled sheepishly at Dumbledore, "I'm sorry, sir, please go on."

He did. Continued to speak about the recent attacks and their missions that had gone badly recently, with the members of the Order having a lot of close calls. And as he did Remus whispered, "You kissed Amaya. Naturally, you being you, you're freaking out about making her uncomfortable and considering moving out to give her space. So, I'm warning you, you're always welcome at the flat, but you're not moving in unless you have an actual damn good excuse."

James narrowed his eyes at Remus. "How did you know about the kiss?"

Remus grimaced. "Heightened senses."

James snorted. "You nosey bastard."

"Who's a nosey bastard?" asked Sirius and Peter at the same time, trying to understand the conversation they didn't hear and James rolled his eyes.

"You are. Now shut it."

He went back to paying attention to the meeting, trying his best not to look at Amaya, but failing miserably as now and then he'd sneak a glance her way, watching her whisper to her mother, or play with swirls of magic on her fingers. A couple of times he caught her eyes, both those times she'd blushed faintly, and looked away—for some reason seeing her blush made his chest puff out in pride.

During a good part of the meeting, tactics were discussed, sightings of Voldemort, newly acquired Death Eaters, and problems at the Ministry. James noted Marlene speaking up quite a lot, with well-thought-out arguments that questioned the structure of the tasks—many of which included extraction of missing people in locations they'd tracked them to or relocation of muggleborns and their families. Marls was killing it, everyone could see it, even Moody seemed strangely proud of her cleverness.

Lily also participated, aiding in any questions regarding potions, and suggesting a different method of brewing that would duplicate their doses at the same time. And with both girls participating, other younger members of the Order started speaking their opinions. Even Sirius, who usually just spoke up to request a task or send out a quippy joke, began talking about his knowledge of pureblood families. It seemed since Amaya had arrived at the Order that her presence had given others inspiration to show they weren't just kids, that they were fighting this war too.

At last came the moment in the meeting when Moody barked out, "You four morons!"

All four of them straightened, even Peter seemed taller, under the watchful eyes of the man.

"You have a recon task in two days," he began and James tried not to show his enthusiasm. "There's a bar in Birmingham, The Black Cat, it's a wizarding establishment, that shows itself to muggles as a rundown garage. It is also a spot we're told meets a lot of shady folk, including Death Eaters. We need you to go down there like you were going out for a pint, casual, no wand holsters or making a fuss. Preferably under a believable disguise. Take note of your surroundings—do not engage—and report back anything unusual, anyone out of place, or from our list. If it goes well, and you don't muck it all up, you're up again on Friday. It's more crowded those days, more dangerous, be careful. Understood?"

With a nod from them, and no further elaboration or instructions, given their task was rather simple, Moody turned his barking to Maya, though he wouldn't dare accuse her of anything under the watchful eye of Dumbledore. "Anything to report, girl?"

Amaya's lips twitched and she nodded. "I'll be sure to speak to Dumbledore soon."

Moody narrowed his eyes. He turned to Dumbledore again. "Has she even been doing anything?"

An older man, Edgar Bones nodded in agreement. "She claims to have the key to the end, Albus, but we haven't seen any ending about to happen. My wife was nearly attacked in the middle of the street. Things are getting worse. If she doesn't have anything, then at least tell us, cut all unnecessary hope, we can't put the faith of this world on this girl's shoulders."

"I have made progress," Amaya spoke up, meeting his eyes for a moment before she sighed, "I haven't anything to show for it, but I have. We're getting closer to figuring it out—"

"We?" McGonagall cut Amaya off with curiosity, hope in her eyes. "Are you allowing Dumbledore to help you?"

Amaya nodded, briskly. "And whoever I place my trust upon, ma'am."

James' heart flipped. She trusted him.

McGonagall gave her a small smile, barely even a smile, but James had seen it enough to recognize the particular tilt of her pursed lips. "I hope in time you trust us all."

Dumbledore stood up. "Miss Santoro is indeed closer to the answers we all seek, but it is not an easy feat, the task in her hands, and a lot must be done before the end. Edgar, you're right in saying things are getting worse, there's no way to dance around it, but we are also getting stronger, and wiser. Raise stronger wards, protect your families, and fight. Remember that hope is the last one to be conquered and have some faith that soon everything will be answered. For now, that's all. Meeting adjourned."

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author's note:

This one is shorter than usual but it's also part of the pack of 5(!) new chapters to commemorate the New Year!

Happy 2024, everyone!  I wish all of you the best year possible. <3