Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 138: Captured
"Here you go, Mister Potter." The waitress placed a glass of butterbeer in front of him.
James thanked her, and she went away.
All around him were dozens of wizards and witches, as this was the most popular café in Diagon Alley. And he had to make sure that he was seen by as many people as possible.
He had walked all over the alley for the past hour, and many of the shops were closing. This café would also be closing soon enough, leaving only a few bars that would continue to work until past midnight.
James finished his drink while pretending to keep his attention on some book he had brought, but in reality, he was very aware of who was close to him and who was watching him.
After finishing a second drink, he left the café and began to walk through the main street.
The alley was much more desolated by now, with only a few individuals here and there remaining in the streets.
James stopped and pretended to look at the items behind the closed shop windows.
And then… something caught his attention. From the other side of the street, he spotted someone hiding behind a large shop sign that had been placed next to a narrow alley.
Once he waited for a bit longer, he began to walk again, this time leaving the main road and venturing into one of the
alleys.
The magical mark he had left at the entrance told him that he was being followed by two individuals. And the fact that he could hear their steps told him that these two were much less experienced than the previous bounty hunters he had encountered.
This didn't really matter for his plans. If anything, it made things easier.
"Oh man… I don't think it was this way." James appeared confused while looking around the badly lit streets.
"You lost, mate?"
A voice came from behind him. James turned around and saw a young man in his early twenties standing in the middle of the alley where he had come from.
His posture gave away his nervousness, despite trying his best to appear calm and confident.
'Amateur hit wizards,' James was sure now that he had seen him. These usually don't last long in the job unless someone more experienced takes them under their wing.
He detected the partner of this young fellow, hidden behind a large wooden box that some resident had left on the street.
"Yes, I don't usually come here at night," James said as he approached the young man. He made sure that his hands were visible at all times so as to give them a sense of confidence.
"I had been told there was a shortcut to the Leaky Cauldron through this street, but that doesn't seem the case."
"The Leaky Cauldron? I'm afraid not. You can only get there by following the main street." The young man pointed with his left hand. His right one was still in his pocket, no doubt holding his wand.
"Ah… it looks like I have been lied to. Thank Merlin you were here to tell me." James looked at the young man with an innocent grin. "Thank you."
After saying that, James began to walk towards the exit of this dark street and back onto the main one.
"No problem, mate." The young man moved aside and allowed him to pass.
James was about to walk by the wooden box where the partner was hiding.
All of a sudden, this one jumped from behind the box with his wand in hand.
Like the other one, this bounty hunter was also a young man. The way he held the wand and his posture told James how lacking in experience he was.
He estimated that even Bella may be able to win against these two.
"Don't move!" the one in front of him shouted.
"Lower your voice!" the other one shouted back. "Someone could hear you."
'You are shouting as well...' James stopped and looked at them but said nothing and just pretended to be scared.
His attention was on perceiving their wand movements and feeling their magic.
If he detected the use of any lethal spell, he would have to go with plan B instead.
The bounty was for dead or alive. But it is common knowledge that in these cases, there is always a bonus if you can bring the target alive.
And this one was no different. Whoever put a bounty on him hated him enough to want to kill him in person.
James felt a spell being formed by the person behind him.
'Stunner.' He immediately recognized the spell.
"Stupefy!" The young man cast a red spark that went directly for James and hit him on his back.
James did nothing to avoid or resist the magic. As this one hit him, he felt his consciousness fade away and his body collapsed on the ground.
"Incarcerous." The other one summoned magical ropes to bind him, just for good measure.
"We got him!" one of them said. "We got James Potter!"
"We are going to be rich!"
"Shh! Lower your voice!"
"Mate, I have to say, I thought it was going to be harder." The young man picked up James's body and sat him upright.
"I know, right? When I heard that some hit wizards were killed in the alley the other day after someone spotted the boy… I don't know. But this was so easy… the boy was clueless and didn't even have his wand out."
"Maybe we got lucky. Let's not think much about that and just contact the client."
"We'd better do that from the house."
The two young wizards were so excited about getting their first successful bounty that no one realized there was someone else observing them from a spot nearby.
Nyxaris was doing as her Master commanded and just watched as the two hit wizards took him away. She was only allowed to intervene if they were to use any lethal spell. Other than that, she must observe and follow until the moment is right.
And that's what she did. She drew closer when she saw one of the wizards take a portkey from his pocket.
She made herself smaller and hid inside James's robes before they were all teleported away.
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