A New Life in San Francisco
Chapter 10; A Panther's Rage
San Luis Reservoir
James stood leaning on the hut as he watched Kevin and Chris referee a game of football on the beach. It was turning out to be a ridiculous game since they had opened it out to all of the children making it a huge nineteen a side game with Chris' family involved.
The only people not playing was himself, having never really gotten into sport since Quidditch, and Michael since he couldn't play with his injuries. The last few days had been great for James, he had made some great progress with the children, making ground on their issues that he knew he would never have been able to help with so fast had it not been for the groups close knit nature. He was happy for the first time that all of them would make a full recovery.
He'd also gotten closer to Chris and they both knew that they each felt something for the other but neither wanted to make that vital move with so much at stake. James was just far to cautious when it came to his personal life and he guessed that Chris was either being careful because of him being attacked or because he had his sister's and cousins with him. That, however, would change tonight when Wyatt arrived with Paige to take them home in the morning.
Paige would arrive to discuss the future for the children since they would all be returning to San Francisco in the early afternoon tomorrow and James had to give his official report to her about the children.
Kevin blew the whistle to signal the end of the game and all of the children rushed inside the huts to change before they set off for dinner in the camps cafeteria. Kevin went straight in after Michael to change his own clothing and a sweaty Chris collapsed on the ground beside where James was standing. James slipped down the wood of the hut and sat beside him.
"Having fun?" James laughed.
"I never knew how hard it is to keep up with so many children." Chris laughed.
"Or you're just getting old." James grinned.
"I'm twenty-one! That's not old!" Chris glared at him playfully. "Look, James, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, Chris." James looked at him carefully.
"Since Aunt Paige and Wyatt arrive later do you fancy going out for a walk along the beach?" Chris asked quietly. James just watched him as he tried to process what he had just been asked. "We could talk, get to know each other better. That sort of thing."
James grinned kindly before nodding his head. "Sure." He said. "It'll have to be late, I need to give Paige my report once she gets here."
Chris smiled widely. "That's not a problem, James. Are you coming to dinner this time?"
"Nah," James said as they both stood up. "I need to finish the reports before Paige gets here or we'll never get away."
They turned and walked into the office and James went to the cabinet whilst Chris walked through into the bunk room. James grabbed a drink and a chocolate bar before sitting behind the desk and opening the laptop and switching it on. He opened the chocolate and nibbled at it as he waited.
He managed half the bar of chocolate before he couldn't eat anymore. His time in Azkaban with only one meagre meal a day at random times had taken its toll on him. He'd never gotten into the habit of eating his fill like he had in Hogwarts. His early life and summer holidays at his relatives house hadn't helped much. He waited and listened until he heard the mass of children leaving the compound under the watchful eyes of Chris, Lucy and Kevin.
He shut off the laptop again as soon as he knew that they were gone. He'd finished the reports earlier before going out to watch the game of football and planned to use this time like he had all week. Ever since he had had that first play with his magic he had used the time alone to practice since using his magic around anybody else was simply out of the question.
Over the few days he'd gotten a slightly better grip on it, though he was still slow. He figured that only practice and use would make the process of pulling up his magic faster and no matter how much he used his 'sight' as he'd dubbed it, even two minutes of looking at the flows of life around him gave him a serious headache. He decided that today he would stick to his sight since Wyatt and Paige could arrive at conceivably any time and with the sight it wasn't as obvious that he was using magic and also he might be able to sense them before they arrived.
He was watching the fish swimming through the reservoir forty-five minutes later when he felt a niggling feeling as if someone was tapping him on the mental shoulder. He turned his sight as if reacting to someone sneaking up on him and saw two people, or rather the flowing of their lives. He could see them interacting with the car they were in as they pulled into the compound. As he concentrated on the older of the two he saw something that he hadn't ever seen or noticed before. Below the white flow that looked like blood flow was a golden glow that ebbed around like a beating heart. He frowned and focused on the other and saw the same thing.
It was the first time he had actually concentrated on somebody for so long and when he pulled out of his sight he nearly fell other with the pain that throbbed through his head. He grabbed his can and held it to his forehead letting the coolness of it seep into his skin as he listened to the car pull into the compound. He opened the can as he stood and walked from the office and out into the dim sunset light. He took a deep draught of the cooling liquid and felt the headache fall back to a more bearable level.
"Hey. You know with forty children I'd expect more noise." Chris' older brother joked getting a slight whack over the shoulder for his effort.
"They're at dinner. They should be back soon though." James told both Wyatt and Paige.
"What?" Wyatt didn't let up, "You don't eat?"
"Enough, Wyatt!" Paige snapped though it was obvious she knew that her nephew was joking around.
"Actually, I needed to get the reports finished so that I could brief Paige as soon as she got here." James told them.
"Why the rush?" Paige asked.
"Well," James couldn't help going slightly red though he didn't think either of them noticed in the dull light. "Since you two are here, Chris and me are going for a walk."
"Finally!" Wyatt snorted. "He's only been going on and on at me about asking you out."
Paige smacked him on the back of the head as James just stared at him in shock. "Shall we get started then, James?"
"Sure. Office?" James asked gesturing to the still open door before noticing Wyatt looking suddenly bored and anxious. "The children should be coming back now. They'll walk along the beach. If you walk up that way you should run into them."
Wyatt gave him a smile betraying his earlier teasing with his gratitude for an excuse to get out of the administration work. James chuckled at the retreating figure before following Paige into the office for the briefing. He grabbed her a drink from the cabinet as he grabbed the data disk and switched on the laptop.
"We'll go through the separate files in a second but first what do you think of the group as a whole?" Paige asked him as she opened her can and sat on one of the chairs in front of the desk.
"I think that without any further upsets there isn't a single one of them that wont make a full recovery." James said before settling comfortably into his own chair and sighing. "I would suggest further sessions with a few of the older ones including Michael, Alan and Jazz and that the over fifteen year olds stay together with Michael to watch them."
"Have you put that part in your main report?" Paige asked.
"Yeah, it's in the official recommendations section." James said knowing that as long as it was there it would be easier to keep them together. "Michael might need some serious work when he leaves the orphanage. He's been in that situation for most of his teenage life after all. The same goes for the sixteen year olds but hopefully with they'll have enough time."
"What about visits?" Paige asked.
"I've suggested a personal visit from myself for all of the under tens in four weeks. And fortnightly visits from a psychiatrist for the older ones. I'll do the first few and give over to others if I think it necessary. I'd like to keep the over fifteen year olds though since they'll have trouble opening up again to another adult." James explained formally. "I've also put Kevin's name down as the social worker on the case."
"That's fine." Paige nodded. "I was going to suggest that actually since a case this size would look exceptional on his record."
"I was thinking more along the lines of the fact the children have all taken a liking to him." James teased her.
"I know that." Paige laughed, "But I do have to think of my social workers careers you know."
"Shall we start with the personal files?" James lost his grin and sighed knowing how long even a short scan of thirty children's reports would take. Paige took a swig of her drink before looking at the screen at the first report.
It was a full two hours later before they finished with the last reports though most of that time was taken up with the teenagers files since there was much more that they had to discuss about their futures. By the time they were finished they could hear singing by the campfire as a lively last night party was underway.
"Shall we go and join them?" Paige asked once James had put the laptop and the data disk away in the lockable cabinet.
"Yeah, just let me grab my coat." James said as he hopped up from his seat and stretched the cricks out of his joints from sitting for so long. They walked out together into the clear night, a full moon lit up the stretch of lake and fought unsuccessfully against the bright glow of the campfire and the lanterns on the drinks table that sat just at the edge of the beach.
As they entered the warm glow the children all glanced at them and the rowdy laughter from the orphanage children trailed off as they caught sight of Paige. "Umm…" She said quietly to James confused.
"They know why you're here." James told them. "I explained to the older ones that there was no way to keep them all together."
The older children slowly got the mood lightened again and Paige and James walked over to Chris and Wyatt where they stood between the group and the water whilst Kevin led the activities. James wasn't sure what Wyatt and Chris were talking about but by the look of Chris he was being embarrassed by his older brother.
"Shall we go?" Chris asked him as soon as he arrived, obviously wanting to get away from his brother as quickly as possible.
"Sure. Paige?" James turned to his boss. "Since they are driving all day tomorrow let them stay up, Michael will undoubtedly get the younger ones to bed when they're too tired."
"Sure thing, James." Paige nodded, "Have a good evening."
James and Chris wandered down the beach for a while in silence as they got farther and farther away from the singing and shouting of the bonfire party at their backs. It was James that eventually started up a conversation. "So, Chris," He asked, "What's it like having so many cousins?"
"You have no idea how irritating at times!" Chris laughed and instantly the tension in the air eased. James had noticed the first time, in the restaurant, how Chris enjoyed talking about his family, even if the man wouldn't admit it. "No matter where you go there is always someone in the way."
"You don't live with them all though do you?" James asked looking sideways as they walked through the sand.
"Nah," Chris shook his head. "I'm spending the holidays at my mom and dads house since I'm staying in a dorm this year, so there's only actually Prue and Anna around but Patience and Pennie are always hanging out with them. And since mom only works evening she ends up looking after Matt, Ashley and Jason too."
"The youngest three?" James verified. "Matt's the adopted one isn't he?"
"Yeah, his parents died in a car crash when he was two. His aunt refused to take him and he was dropped of at Aunt Paige's office." Chris clarified.
"So why did your Aunt take him rather than putting him in foster care?" James asked.
"I don't know really." James got the sudden impression that Chris was lying about this but let it go. It was Matt's secret, not Chris', after all. "I'm sorry; I'm talking all about me."
"Don't worry about it, I don't mind." James insisted.
"But you're a psychologist. All you do is listen to other people." Chris argued. "Don't you get tired of it?"
"Not really." James laughed. "And you know, there is more to it than that." He said with a playful grin.
"So, what about your family?" Chris asked and James tensed.
James decided to stick with the story that he had given people ever since arriving in San Francisco. "My parents died when I was very young." He told Chris quietly.
"I'm sorry."
James chuckled slightly, "You don't have to apologise, it wasn't your fault." James told him with a smile. "I don't even remember them. I was dumped on my aunt and her husband and had to put up with a nasty lump of a cousin that hated everything about me."
"That doesn't sound too nice." Chris put in uncertainly.
James laughed freely for a second. "I was sent to a boarding school for most of the year so I didn't have to put up with them much when I was a teenager. I left when I turned sixteen and tried to make my own way. Eventually I found myself in San Francisco and enrolled in the college."
"Yeah, I remember Aunt Paige was rather impressed that she had a twenty-year-old psychologist working for her." Chris grinned and James flushed slightly at the discreet compliment. "When are you twenty-one at any rate? We could go to P3 and actually get you a proper drink and mom couldn't kick you out."
James frowned, "Its August right?" Chris just nodded slightly like James was crazy. "Then I am twenty-one."
"You're kidding right?" Chris gasped.
"Nope."
"You mean to say that we were here on your twenty-first birthday and you didn't even say anything?" Chris frowned.
"I forgot."
"Forgot to mention anything?"
"No." James laughed. "I forgot about my birthday."
"How can you forget your birthday?" Chris asked as if it was the greatest crime on Earth. James just shrugged. "You're strange. You know that right?"
This time James burst out laughing for the first time in years. He turned to look at Chris when the slightly older man came to a complete halt. "What?" Chris just stepped up to him and placed his right hand on his neck, holding him lightly in place. He leant in and his lips ghosted over James' own lips in a whisper of a kiss. It ended after only a second, barely even a kiss, but Chris didn't pull his head all the way back.
James looked straight into Chris' eyes and knew that Chris was doing the same back. "There's so much hidden in your eyes." Chris told him. James felt himself shake slightly and knew that Chris could feel it against his palm where it still lay against his neck. "Is it fear or pain?"
"God Chris!" James almost sobbed as he felt a stinging in his eyes though he knew he wouldn't actually cry. "I wish I could tell you everything but you wouldn't understand."
"How do you know I wouldn't understand?" Chris said forcefully.
"You have this great family around you. And not one of them doesn't love you unconditionally." James explained as he shut his eyes to stop Chris from seeing the pain hidden there. "I have secrets you wouldn't want to know. They changed me and I'm still not sure what they changed me into."
Chris went to argue further but James felt his magic throb almost painfully as it screamed out at him in warning. He pushed Chris violently backwards towards the lake shore and in that split second saw Chris's eyes widen in shock before James jumped to the side barely dodging a blast of red light that reeked of the Cruciatus Curse.
James spun to face the trees that had been to his back as Chris scrambled for purchase in the sand to stand up. "Oh isn't this just so sweet?" A voice mocked viciously from the tree line as three Death Eaters stepped into view.
James growled as he recognised the voice of the shortest one as she stepped out but he said nothing. "Now, now, Bella." A smooth voice drawled from the tallest one betraying the man as Lucius Malfoy. "No need to be so nasty."
James still remained silent even as Chris got to his feet, he was ready for anything, or so he hoped. "Who are you?" Chris snapped.
"Shut your mouth you filthy piece of trash." The third snarled back as he brandished his wand.
"Draco Malfoy." James growled in the back of his throat drawing their attention back away from his defenseless friend. "I know I really shouldn't be surprised that you shacked up with him."
"Don't you speak about our Lord like that!" Bellatrix snarled.
"And you are still as insane as I remember." James brushed over her knowing that if he concentrated on her for to long he might do something that he would later regret but he wasn't successful as she spoke before he could address Lucius.
"It's such a pity that my blood-traitor of a brother isn't here to protect you." Bellatrix snarled. "I hope he's rotting somewhere in hell."
"Shut your face bitch!" James snarled shocking Chris with his language. "If you ever speak of my godfather again it will be the last thing you say."
Lucius cut in before she could speak again but James could tell she was shaking with a rage only possible for someone that was truly insane. "Allow me to give you my condolences for the death of your half breed guardian. I still remember the defeated look on his face when he died."
"What?" James croaked before he could stop himself.
"Oh, didn't you hear?" Lucius chuckled delightfully. "It was us that put him out of his misery. In fact it was part of Draco's initiation ceremony."
The growl that ripped itself from James throat made the two Malfoys take a surprised step back before they realised what they were doing. "Hit a nerve have we?" The younger Malfoy drawled as he got other his surprise.
James glared at the heir. "I'll kill you." He said it so quietly and with such anger that if he could see his adversaries face through the mask he knew he would see a slight twinge of fear.
"And what could you do about it?" Bellatrix laughed. "Out here all alone with only tricks to help you. There is no Dumbledore to save you this time. Oh wait, he discarded you as soon as you were of no use to him didn't he?"
"Enough of this." Lucius snapped. "Avada Kadavra!"
"No!" James cried out as the beam of sickly green light flashed from Lucius' wand and lanced towards Chris. In that instant he regretted pushing Chris as hard as he did away from the Cruciatus as he didn't have time to jump in front of him before the curse would strike him.
James could only stare in hopelessness as the killing curse struck towards Chris. It seemed to James to be an endless wait but in reality Chris reacted as the Death Eater started to utter the curse. He burst into white floating orbs like James' Whitelighter had. The curse struck the center of the orbs and James cried out again as the orbs were sent flying a few metres and Chris' limp body rematerialized and crashed into the sand. He lay still.
James span back to Lucius in a rage. His eyes glowed in the darkness and he growled low in his throat again before feeling his body melt without his conscious control. His anger at the Death Eaters and worry for Chris had set off Shadow's mind and forced the change. Draco's rather shaky stunner passed over him as he launched himself forwards. He didn't know which one he had chosen to strike at first, the one that murdered Sirius, he who had killed a grieving Remus or the one that had just killed Chris. In the end he crashed into Bellatrix with his jaws and kicked Draco in the gut with a clawed hind leg.
He felt his claws slash through clothing, skin and flesh as Draco cried out in pain and shock. Bellatrix whimpered slightly as Shadow's teeth sank into her neck. He was about to twist his head to snap her neck when a bludgeoning curse struck his shoulder from Lucius forcing his mouth to open and sending him away from the two, now collapsed, Death Eaters. He twisted as he fell to land on his feet facing his last adversary.
His rage fueled his body, blocking out the pain from his fractured shoulder blade and ribs. He watched as Draco and Bellatrix apparated away with twin cracks and Lucius leveled his wand at him. James knew that by the time he crossed the gap the Death Eater could hit him with any spell. He leapt regardless.
"Sectumsempre!" Lucius chose his spell but it never came into contact as he was sent staggering sideways by an invisible force that also sent James slightly off course. He righted himself quickly and leapt again at the Death Eater and bit down into his wand arm and scrapped his claws down his chest as he bowled him over.
He landed on sand however as Lucius disappeared with another crack leaving James panting wildly on the beach. Pain overwhelmed his shoulder as his nerves kicked in. He turned and saw Chris propped up weakly on his elbow. His other arm lay limply across his stomach. As James watched he collapsed backwards into the sand.
James tried to jump but his shoulder screamed at him forcing a yelp from his jaws. Even through the pain he raced to Chris side and nudged him with his nose against the man's shoulder trying to get a reaction.
Blackness swam around the edge of James sight and his mind began to slow. He needed help. It only took a second to remember all of Chris relations only a five minute walk down the beach. He drew in as much air as he could and his roar filled the air making birds of all kinds take to the air from the trees.
He ran out of breath rather quickly and the blackness crept further into his vision. His last thought was to change back to his human form and he felt his form slide back to its natural form as he fell unconscious from the pain.
XOXOXOXOX
The younger children screamed or whimpered as the roar of a cat filled the air, seeming to rattle the trees themselves. Paige and Wyatt whipped around as it faded away in an almost pained way. "Chris?" Wyatt muttered almost to himself as they realised that it had come from the direction his brother had disappeared in.
"Kevin, Lucy!" Paige span back to the group around the campfire. "Get all the children into the larger hut and lock the doors. That means you three as well." She added seeing that Anna, Patience and Joshua were looking like they wanted to follow.
The two adults, aided by the older children, started ushering the children towards the boy's hut and Wyatt and Paige raced along the beach at full pelt half following the two sets of foot prints and half just heading towards where the roar had come from.
The burst upon the scene with no warning as they turned out of sight of the campfire. Chris lay on his back with James laying on his front a few metres away from him. Blood leaked into the sand from under James. Paige ran to Chris straight away whilst Wyatt ran to James' side.
"Is he alright?" Wyatt called to his Aunt referring to his younger brother. She sighed at sat back with an affirmative grunt. "Can you get over here then?"
She spun on her heels at the worried tone of voice and was soon as his side as he pulled up James t-shirt carefully to get a look at his shoulder. Paige gasped at the bloody mess.
"What cold have done this?" She muttered.
"It has to be magic." Wyatt muttered as he ran his fingers through the blood very carefully feeling the bones beneath. He was only in med school but he knew enough to check wounds.
"Why do you think that?" Paige asked as she watched him work.
"His t-shirt isn't damaged." Wyatt said simply. Paige suddenly realised what he meant, apart from the strange darkness to the young man's t-shirt where it glimmered with absorbed blood there was no evidence that he had even been wearing it when he got the wound. "By what I can tell he has a fractured shoulder blade and several fractured ribs. Other than that just a lot of cuts in that area."
Paige caught his wrist as he held it over the wounded area to heal it. He looked at her strangely. "We can't just heal it. He'd remember getting such a painful wound."
He sighed knowing she was right and pulled a plastic covered bandage from his back pocket, a habit he had gotten into with all the 'accidents' his family found themselves in. He opened it up and pressed it against the wound to try to stem or at least slow the bleeding. "He was defiantly conscious when he got this." He told his Aunt as they looked around. He pointed with his free hand towards where drips of the blood led away towards where Chris was. "He must have been trying to get some help but fell unconscious."
"Do you think it was that Panther?"
"Not unless it can attack magically." Wyatt shook his head although he was beginning to believe Chris' idea that the man under his hand was the Panther. It was the most logical explanation.
Paige stood to wander the area looking for clues as she talked. "So it protected them and then ran?" She walked over to where three sets of footprints led away from the trees but none left. "I think they were attacked by three Demons or more likely more like those Wizards that keep appearing. I'll go get Kevin to help us take them back to the camp."
With that she ran off and Wyatt sat back on his knees as he held the bandage to the young man that had affected their little world. He still hadn't worked out whether it was for the better or not. He couldn't do anything more for the man until he had better light and better materials, but that didn't stop him surveying the man's torso. He had scars that he had rarely seen before especially not in his family where their access to Whitelighter healing powers meant that their wounds healed not just instantly but flawlessly.
This young man had several sets of scars. The oldest looked like a blade had cut into the nook of his elbow, just visibly as his arm twisted around beside him. He didn't want to risk moving his shoulder yet to get a better look but he knew the difference between a natural cut and one made by a blade. Someone, not himself, had cut into his arm and by the positioning of it, it was to get at the blood in his vein.
The other arm had a more ragged scar halfway between his wrist and elbow that almost seemed like he'd been punctured by a spear. It was better healed than the others and the scar was only just visible in the moon's lighting but it was there. Wyatt also knew that the man had a stab wound, probably now almost fully scarred over after four weeks but on the nearest side he could also make out slight scarring from what looked like five deep scratches. With a shock he recognised the placing and type of wound. It was the same as the wound they had seen the panther get when he'd been hit with the shotgun pellets whilst protecting Josh McKay.
He chuckled lightly as he realised that now that he believed that James was the Panther it was the most obvious thing in the world. He'd firstly appeared with a stab wound the morning after they had watched that creature impale the Panther on that glass shard on Alcatraz Island. He'd then appeared to protect Josh against his father the night after James had separated them and now he could see the shared wound that would give him away.
He glanced around at the sand and the tracks there and saw the paw prints. They appeared in the middle of the beach and disappeared in the scuffed sand that trailed between Chris and James. They'd known shapeshifters in their time but never one like James. The question though was what he would do with that knowledge and why Chris was unconscious with not a scratch on him according to his Aunt. Should he be covering for the Panther movements when he didn't know James reason for being in San Francisco? Was he there to get into his families good graces for these Wizards or was he there to help them? Either way, he wasn't getting an answer till one of them awoke.
XOXOXOXOX
End Chapter