Chapter Text
The summer of 1975–1976.
James Potter knew three things.
First, Sirius Black was late.
Second, Sirius was never late.
And third, whatever was currently chasing Sirius through the town square definitely wasn't a dog.
"JAMES!"
James looked up from his phone just in time to see his best friend sprinting toward him.
People jumped out of the way.
A cyclist nearly crashed into a fountain.
Sirius vaulted over a bench.
Behind him, something snarled.
James blinked.
"What did you do this time?"
"I didn't do anything!"
"That's never a good sign."
"I'm serious!"
"That's also never a good sign."
The thing chasing Sirius lunged.
For half a second, it looked like a large black dog.
Then its eyes flashed gold.
Its body twisted.
Its shadow stretched impossibly long across the pavement.
And suddenly James was very sure normal dogs did not have six legs.
The creature roared.
The entire square froze.
A coffee cup shattered.
A car alarm started blaring.
Sirius skidded to a stop beside him, breathing hard.
"Okay," James said slowly.
"What."
"Don't panic."
"Don't tell me not to panic."
The creature took another step forward.
The ground trembled.
James felt something strange spark beneath his skin.
Like electricity.
Like a storm waiting to break.
Above them, clouds began gathering from nowhere.
Fast.
Very fast.
Sirius looked up.
James followed his gaze.
Neither of them spoke.
The sky had just answered.