SUMMARY: Voldemort's return cuts James' retirement short.
AO3 TAGS: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Auror James, Animagus Q
AN: I actually originally posted this to tumblr (2015 December 19), forgot to post it to AO3 for I think a few hours, if not days, and then completely forgot to post it here for 2 years. I only realized because my fic count between here and AO3 was off, and I had to go looking for the discrepency.
James was only three months into his permanent retirement when the news spread to where he was hiding amongst the sirens of Greece (beautiful things, nothing like the merfolk of the U.K.): Voldemort was back and his Death Eaters had attacked the Ministry.
He paused only long enough to swap out the Muggle diver's knife he'd taken to carrying with his wand, and to dress for proper British weather, before Apparating back to London.
Despite the recent attacks, it was frightfully easy to sneak into an unattended entrance point. So unattended it looked abandoned - a massive issue since the portal actually worked. James wondered how many of these things were laying around. Probably a lot. Security, or the lack thereof, continued to disappoint him as he moved deeper into the Ministry towards the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Specifically, the Q Branch.
The Q Branch was like a Whomping Willow branch: hustling and bustling, whispering and creaking and murmuring, ready to knock you over if you stood still for too long. Luckily, he could still remember where the Quartermaster usually kept his desk (he was an eccentric bastard who liked to mix things up to "keep you on your toes"). As he got closer, he realised Boothroyd may have fallen completely off his rocker because there was a giant cata sitting on the Quartermaster's desk.
James surveyed it warily. It didn't appear to be a mythical creature, but new species were being discovered all the time. But, it could be a massive type of cat he'd never seen before. God knows the things like to be as contrary as they can be. Part of their charm - he could relate.
"Whose cat is this and where is the Quartermaster?" he asked only loudly enough to be heard over the din, looking around for someone to answer. Everyone was terrified of the double-ohs, and any hint of anger or upset was typically met with frantic pacifications.
"Mine and right here," a crisp, cool voice said from in front of him. James turned back towards the desk and found a young kid, a boy sitting on top of it, legs dangling off the edge and one crossed at the knee, eyes locked on James'. Danielle swept by behind him, placing a mug next to his hip, which he picked up without breaking eye contact like they'd suddenly engaged in a surprise staring contest.
James stared at his twink of an Animagus Quartermaster and thought 'Fuck.'.
FIN
According to the original posting in which I linked a picture of a cat, I was for some some reason picturing Q as a statuesque serval...
Like the thing? Reblog the thing (themadkatter13fanfiction tumblr, tagged/Retirement is a Lie). Tschüß.