James had been anticipating this moment ever since reading the owl he'd received, and ever since confirming that it was real through Gideon. He felt excitement, but it was tempered by the fact that this was secret even from the people he trusted more than anything else in the world. No matter what happened tonight, he wouldn't be able to tell Sirius, Remus, or Peter, who had been on the quest to find the Order with him ever since they'd heard about it from Dumbledore. He was going to feel incredibly guilty about that, the next time it came up. Normally he would have defied the rules and told his friends everything anyway, but this time he literally couldn't; he had to prove he was trustworthy to the Order so he could vouch for them later, so that they could be in this together.
It said something that the cause was important enough to him to keep the secret, even though he'd never factored that in as a possibility when he'd imagined a situation like this. He also couldn't talk to Lily about it, which he wasn't happy about, but that was somewhat different; she had never known he was looking for the Order, or that he even knew they existed. Keeping it from people who knew his goals to be a member would be much more difficult, potentially even agonizing at times.
Nevertheless, he was here. Those thoughts kept his mood fairly sober, though there was still excitement and adrenaline humming in his veins as he arrived at Meath Gardens. He hadn't the faintest idea what to expect. Was this a test of his skill, a time for him to prove that he could defend himself? He wouldn't put it past the Order to spring something on him like that, especially considering Fabian and Gideon were members. He was on his guard, resting on the balls of his feet, wand in his hand but concealed by the shadow of his body in the dim light, and he looked around. He was ready for anything.