The Marauders: Year Seven Part One

Martarme

Four cloaked figures were moving down the street in San Jose, their hoods pulled low over their foreheads so that the shadows covered their faces, wands clutched in gloved fists as they sent showers of sparks into storefronts. Glass shattered with the might of their spells and fire erupted from the enchilada restaurant the Potters had eaten lunch at.

There were muggles running and screaming down the street, a frenzied escape, their eyes wide and panicked as they pushed and shoved and tripped over one another, screaming in Spanish, begging the gods to help them. James saw one little old woman, huddled against a building, cowering and clutching a set of beads that she worked through her hands, her mouth moving in a silent prayer.

Directly in front of him, one of the hooded figures had lifted a man up with a jet of light from his wand, like a lasso, and tipped him over upside down, dangling him above a screaming woman. He was shaking the man, violently, raising him up higher than the roof tops only to bring him down as though he would smash the man on the pavement, so close to the ground that there was a mere breath between the man's head and the cement.

James drew his wand, rolling up his sleeves. He glanced at Alma. "Go get my father."

"What?" Alma was drawing her wand, too, "Don't be ridiculous. And leave you alone to deal with them? You go get your father."

James shook his head, "I can't disapparate. You can. And I can hold my own until you get back. Just hurry."

Alma seemed torn, but the hooded figures were still far enough away, she decided to just go - the sooner she went, the sooner she'd be back to fight, and perhaps they wouldn't even have spotted James yet by the time she'd returned - and she said, "Don't do anything stupid." 

CRACK!

James finished rolling up his sleeves, then ran forward, raising his wand. "Expelliarmus!" he shouted, aiming for the figure that was shaking the muggle man. The spell struck the man's hand and his wand went flying into the air. Had James been close enough, he might have caught it, but he didn't. The magic holding the man up disappeared and the muggle began to fall from the highest point the magic had taken him and James aimed his wand at him in a quick slashing motion, shouting, "Arresto Momentum!" and the man froze, hanging two feet above the ground. He used a silent finite incantantum and the man dropped the rest of the way to the ground much more gently, shakily scrambling to get up.

He saw another hooded figure aiming for the muggle and he shouted, "Protego!" A white wall of protection went up around the man as the woman he was with helped him to stand. 

The hooded figure turned toward James, anger in his eyes, wand raised.

"Anaticula!" James cried and the wand exploded with ducks, sending the hooded figure spiraling in confusion, shaking his wand as duck after duck fell from it. 

The muggle man and woman were running for an alley way to escape as James ran forward and snatched the wand he'd expelliarmused away -- his hand grabbed hold of it at the same moment as its' owners did, and for a moment they grappled over the wand, fighting for it so hard that the wand actually snapped in two and the hooded figure gave a loud cry of  anger as they both fell backwards from where they'd been jostling.

"Serves you right," James snapped and he waved his wand, "Petrificus totalus!" and the man froze where he was, clutching his broken wand.

Two figures down, James turned toward the others.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" a female voice shouted the words and a jet of green light shot down the alley the muggles had gone down.

James shouted, "NO!" A protego flew from his wand, but too late the spell had already gone down the dark alley and James felt his stomach turn, unsure what he'd find if he were to get over there to see.