James Castle

Chapter 8: The Present

Hermione stumbled into the Gryffindor common room Friday morning at the end of September. She initially tried to work out with James, but that lasted less than one day. She was content just to wake up and meet him in the common room after his shower. She spotted him the stairs, all alone like usual, looking into the fire. She stepped lightly; trying to sneak up on him was their game, before reaching around him from behind the back of the couch, turning his head for a long kiss. "You taste like blueberries James," she murmured when the kiss broke.

"Oh, I found those in the forest earlier," Luna's voice came from James's mouth.

"Luna?! What the hell!?" Hermione shrieked, before Luna/James covered her mouth with his/her hand. Hermione slapped the hand away quickly as Luna/James motioned for her to be quiet. "Luna? James? What's going on?" she groaned, settling into the seat next to Luna/James.

"Well, I caught James as he was coming back in from his morning fun," Luna's voice continued to freak Hermione out. "I told him today would be a good day to go to Diagon Alley to get you a present, and asked for some hair so I could polyjuice as him so he wouldn't get in trouble," she explained like it was a normal occurrence. "Of course, he had to polyjuice too, an underage wizard would have attracted attention, but luckily he had some prepared already," she shrugged.

"Why would he risk sneaking off like that just to get me something?" Hermione asked angrily.

"It's a very special present, he'll be back by dinner," Luna smiled. "Let's go to breakfast, we need to keep up appearances," Luna pulled Hermione by the hand out of the common room.



A day full of classes, a voice changing charm, and several more snogging sessions initiated by Luna to keep up appearances later, the two of them got out of their shared Charms class. "You didn't do anything to embarrass him too bad today did you?" Hermione asked Luna when they were relatively alone near the main door to the school.

"Of course not, I did have a wonderful conversation with Hagrid about Unicorns while you were in Arithmancy," Luna smiled dreamily, looking very odd on James's face.

"James doesn't have Care of Magical Creatures, you were supposed to stay in the library and not get into trouble," Hermione scolded her.

"Oh, but he would love the class so much, I talked to Hagrid and McGonagall and got him added to the class at NEWT level, he'll be so happy when he gets back," Luna clapped her hands as Hermione groaned.

"I should have kept a better eye on you, he's going to kill me," Hermione sighed.

"No he won't, he loves you," Luna replied quickly.

"Umm…thank you Luna, I guess," Hermione glanced at her watch. "You really think so?" she whispered quietly.

"Of course, it is plain to see," Luna nodded vigorously. "Come on, he's going to be back soon, you'll love this present," Luna smiled, giving her a peck on the cheek as they heard a scream from outside and a herd of first year Ravenclaws rushed through the main door.



"What do you want Bane?" James asked as he paused his stretching, annoyed at how the centaur seemed to enjoy coming to talk to him in the mornings.

"Mars and the moon passed paths last night," Bane commented as he pawed at the ground with his hooves. "I believe the Lady of the Moon is coming to see you," he nodded as they both noticed a sound in the woods towards the school.

"Wonderful," James rolled his eyes as he toweled off and took a drink as the sounds grew closer.

"Hello Bane, James," Luna smiled as she skipped into the small clearing.

"My Lady," Bane bowed, glaring at James who rolled his eyes.

"Luna, do I even want to know why you are out here?" James braced himself for whatever had to hit him with.

"Oh, I needed to talk to you," she smiled. "I think today would be a good day to go get Hermione a present, she is your girlfriend, after all," she grinned as James blushed a bit before frowning at her.

"I can order her a present from the school, why do I need to go to…" he stopped, eyeing her.

"Diagon Alley, it is a very special present, she will love it," Luna smiled as James gave in and shrugged. "Of course, you can't be seen as yourself there, I'm sure you have a good disguise and way to sneak off?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, got it covered," he stared back at Luna. "People are going to notice I am gone for the day," he mentioned.

"I prepared some polyjuice for such an occasion; I just need some hair, if you will help me Bane?" Luna smiled at the centaur who pulled a dagger and walked toward James.

"No," James pointed angrily at Bane. He reached down and took a knife from inside his robes and cut a lock of hair for Luna. He handed it to her, flipping Bane off as the dejected centaur sheathed his dagger. "You need to talk to Hermione once you get back, she'll help you pass as me for the day," James told her.

"Of course, have fun getting her present James, I'll see you before dinner," she waved before skipping off. "Oooh, blueberries!" she exclaimed and stopped to grab a couple handfuls.

"Your stars have any idea what she is setting me up for Bane?" James asked the centaur.

"The Lady is very mysterious, it is a great honor to be in the presence of a seer such as her," Bane replied. "But no, besides Venus shining bright for an hour and the moon and Mars crossing, the stars were very silent last night," Bane laughed as the wizard put on his robes.

"Wonderful," the boy complained before running off deeper into the forest, leaving the centaur alone.

After he was sure he had lost the centaur and was not being followed by anything, James stopped and caught his breath. "Damn seers," he swore before touching his wand to his robes. "I solemnly swear, I am up to no good," he said calmly as his clothes changed into a black trench coat, black boots, black pants, and a black shirt with a skull on it. He adjusted the clothes for a moment before his body began to shrink and warp until he disappeared and a bat flew out of the forest, alone.



The bat landed in Diagon Alley later, closer to lunch time, after it had circled a few times. When James changed back in an empty alley, he took a drink of his polyjuice and changed to the look of middle aged man with slightly graying black hair, a man wanted by dozens of countries across the world, but unknown to the wizarding world.

He walked through Diagon Alley, ignored by the wizards there since the black coat looks very similar to robes. He eventually took a seat at a restaurant and ate a lunch of fish and chips, keeping his eyes out for anything strange. He paid his bill and started walking towards the shopping section of the alley, keeping an eye out for whatever Luna wanted him to buy for her. He stopped in his tracks as he heard a voice from a store to his left.

"Crucio! Filthy mudblood!" a woman's voice came through the closed door.

James acted quickly as he tried to open the door, finding it locked with magic. He jumped back across the street and crossed his fingers as he ran full speed at the shop's window. He broke through it with a loud crash, coming to a rest in a heap on the floor, cutting his hands as pushed up against the broken glass.

"Reducto!" a crazed woman with black hair screamed at him as he got to his feet. He turned instinctively, letting the spell impact his coat, dissipating the spell. "Who are you?" the woman glared at him as she took in the older man that was dressed very oddly.

"You can call me Frank," James replied as he reached into his coat and pulled out a tazer.

"Protego!" she shouted as he pointed it at her, not expecting the muggle weapon to go through the shield like it was nothing. The barbs stuck into her gut as she dropped to the ground from the electricity coursing through her, screaming the whole time until James moved in and cracked her in the back of the head.

"Thank god, thank god for the Aurors," a woman cried a she embraced Frank.

He pushed her away with the help of her husband as he took in the state of the store. "What happened?" he asked as he started to search the woman.

"We were in here shopping for some potion supplies for my wife, then she killed the owner," the man pointed behind the counter at the body. "She started to torture my wife, but I…I couldn't do anything to help her," the man stopped and held his wife tight.

"You could have done something," James replied as he stood up, fully revealing himself to the couple. The husband stared straight at his chest, recognizing the emblem. "You can always do something. I'll take care of this garbage if you can unlock the door for me," he nodded at the wife who pulled out a wand and quickly unlocked the door. "Thank you for your time," James smiled at the man as he pulled the witch out through the street by her ankle.

"Oliver, who was that man?" she asked her husband.

"Not an Auror," Oliver Wood replied as he held his wife close. "He's a Muggle, from the States, they call him the Punisher," he held his wife tight as he realized how lucky he was.

The street cleared around James as he drug the witch behind him, leaving a trail of blood from the wounds on his hands and the crack on her head. The people followed, gawking at the scene, until he came to the apparition zone, and the two Aurors there.

"Hold it right there, let's see your wand," the younger Auror pointed her wand at him.

"Don't have one," he replied, noting the change in her hair color at the remark. "Metamorphagus, right? I suggest you get out of my way, or else you might not be able to fix your looks," he threatened her.

"Why you..." she glared at him before noticing the body he was dragging. "Oh my god, Bellatrix LeStrange?" she panicked, looking from the man to her evil Aunt.

"Calm down Tonks, LeStrange is not the danger here," the larger black Auror placed a hand on her shoulder. "This man is not a wizard," he explained as he eyed James, watching for any sudden movements.

"Surprised your kind keeps an eye on the Muggle world," James replied as he glared at the Auror.

"Let's say I have an interest in you, Mr. Castle," the Auror replied. "My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt, this is my partner Tonks," he nodded at the woman whose hair had turned pink. "Would it be too much to ask that you turn her over to us?" he looked down at Bellatrix.

"You can have what's left of her before sunset," James eyed the two of them cautiously. "Now get out of my way," James glared at the two of them.

"Move Tonks, now," Kingsley urged as he pulled the young woman to the side. "Expect contact from Albus Dumbledore, one way or another, he wants to talk to you," Kingsley said so only the three of them could hear.

"Good luck with that, I'm hard to track down," James frowned as he drug Bellatrix to the edge of the alley's wards and activated a portkey.

James and Bellatrix appeared in the clearing where he had talked with Luna earlier in the day. And once again, Bane was there to annoy him. "Fuck off Bane, or I'll break you nose again," he glared at the centaur as he secured Bellatrix by tying her to a tree with some ropes he conjured.

"The face is not the same, but the rest of you is evident child of Mars," Bane smiled. "Why have you brought a dark wizard into our forest?" he asked as James drank some more polyjuice to keep the transformation going.

"She won't be here for long," James glared at him. "How did you know…Luna?" he asked the centaur.

"The Lady of the Moon is very wise in matters of the stars," Bane bowed as he spoke of Luna.

"Wonderful," James frowned as he ran his hands over his head in anger. "Fine, you're helping then," he glared at the centaur before pulling his wand discreetly and waking up the witch. "Hello there Bellatrix LeStrange, let's have you, me, and my friend here a nice chat," he smiled at her before she started screaming obscenities.



Many hours later, Bane looked to the sky after the woman had passed out again. "She has no real information, she is insane, anyone would have given you what you wanted by now," he frowned. "It is getting later, the Lady wished me to tell you that you were expected before dinner," he glared at the woman.

"And the fun with the questioning?" James asked as he wiped his knives in the grass before putting them away.

"Any chance to damage a Death Eater, is worth the time," Bane smiled. "Here, climb on my back, I will run you to the castle," Bane offered as James tightly bound Bellatrix with rope and wrapped the end around his arm.

James used his wand to lift the broken body of the woman on to the back of the centaur, climbing on after she was secured. "Let's roll, Hermione needs her present," he smiled as the centaur took off, galloping through the woods.



"James, what is going on?" Hermione yelled at Luna as she and all the other students who were near the main door to the school ran towards the screams outside. She came to a stop as she cleared the outer wall, seeing something that would have knocked her to her backside if Luna had not caught her.

A middle aged man with graying hair and a younger woman with black hair were standing next to a tree. Well, standing would not be appropriate, the man had a rope tied around her neck and looped over the branch and was keeping her off the ground, slowly suffocating her.

"LeStrange," Hermione's voice caught as a crowd of Gryffindors and teachers joined behind her. She took in a closer look at the woman, the cause of her bad dreams for some time now. She was bleeding from numerous cuts and what she recognized as gunshots to her limbs so she could not move them. Hermione stared into the woman's eyes as her face started to turn blue from lack of oxygen.

"Stop this at once!" Dumbledore shouted as he pushed his way through the crowd. "Whoever you are…" he stumbled as he looked over the skull shirt and Frank's face. "We thank you for capturing this criminal, but you cannot exact this kind of justice, we have laws!" Dumbledore exclaimed, pulling his wand on them.

James dropped the rope, letting Bellatrix fall to the ground in a wailing heap. "What would you have me do?" James asked Dumbledore, glad he used a voice changing spell. "Turn her in so she can go free again when her master breaks her out?" he glared at the headmaster.

"One cannot take the law into their own hands," Dumbledore lectured before he was stopped.

"The law is corrupt, the law is controlled by her kind," James kicked at the body. "She'd be freed by he other side within a week," he spat on the body.

"You have no right to take the law into your own hands," Dumbledore kept his wand trained on the man as Moody made his way to the front of the crowd, pulling the headmaster aside to tell him something. "Frank Castle, you cannot do this, you are interfering in a world that is not your own," Dumbledore glared at the man.

"Frank Castle went away a long time ago, you can call me the Punisher," James glared at the headmaster. "And I will not allow this woman to kill or torture anyone else," he stated as he pulled a sawed off shotgun from an enchanted pocket of the long coat. "Goodbye LeStrange," he nodded before he pulled the trigger, taking a huge chunk out of the witch's chest, before turning and running into the woods, dodging spells from Dumbledore and Moody.

Hermione was in shock from the moment she recognized what happened. James had taken the polyjuice to become his Uncle Frank and captured and killed Bellatrix LeStrange. She was shaking as Luna led her back into the castle and Dumbledore was screaming for the prefects to lead their houses back to their towers. She stumbled and was pulled into a broom closet by Luna halfway to the Gryffindor tower, Luna/James had ordered the other prefects to lead the students.

She froze as she noticed another figure in the closet with them, waiting. "James?" she cried as she hugged him, ignoring the older body and Muggle clothing.

"It's okay Hermione," he held her tight, patting her on the back. "Luna, mind hitting me with a Finite?" he asked as the blonde changed back from the potion naturally before canceling the effects on him. Back to himself, he looked into Hermione's tear streaked eyes and pulled her into a kiss. "I did good?" he whispered into her ear after they broke it off.

"Real good," she whispered back, unable to stop the crying.

A/N: Sorry for delay. Work been kicking my as because it is end of quarter. And I just finished my Guttler in FFXI after 4 years, so I had to play with it /dance

Anyway stay tuned, the whole extent that Hermione figures James Harry is coming soon, as well as the secret with James/Harry's robes and a certain Maurader.