"Di does all right," James objected. It was true enough that he worried about some of the risks she'd been taking - but at the same time there was all the difference in the world between a genuine risk and a minor outburst amongst friends. "The day she took me in, I don't think I was sane enough to avoid the Death Eaters for another half hour - and not one of them ever had the least idea I was there. That was a pretty good act. Besides, I've seen them, and I don't think they've got much interest in a mistress: politics and display, there, too. Keeping an Auror in the gutter shows the 'half-bloods' their place. Especially since - according to the official line, anyway - she's the last one left."
He turned his new wand over and over in his hands as he spoke, partly enjoying the simple fact of owning one again, but also wondering at the strangeness of knowing nothing about it. There was no way of knowing even what the core was - it would take some examining. Then he resolutely tucked it away in the pocket of his jacket - within easy reach should he need it, but out of sight from Muggles as it should be. Just knowing it was there was a profound relief.
"It shows they can lie about any bloody thing they want," James went on, and reached up to give the hand Diana had placed on his shoulder a squeeze, both in gratitude for her concern and out of concern for her. Personally, he was less sanguine about the fates of the others - and thinking about Sirius and Remus and what might have become of them hurt - simply because they now knew, for certain, who the Death Eaters were. Oh, the Lestranges and the Malfoys were bright enough, and they'd weigh the political advantages of killing or capturing an opponent - but the likes of the Carrows or the Crabbes were, well, more-or-less what happened when you gave a troll a wand. They'd be just as likely to blow an enemy to smithereens before they thought about it, leaving those damned collaborators at the Prophet to spin the best propaganda out of an unidentifiable pile of ash that they could. Still, the article had been thin on details and definitely fishy - so they had to hope.
He cleared his throat. "Yeah - we'd appreciate a place to stay, for a couple of days, but we wouldn't want to bring trouble down on your head. I've been thinking, we might look for a cottage out in the Hebrides. With all of Diagon Alley and the home of every 'Muggle' who ever opposed them up for grabs, no one's going to want to live in the arse end of nowhere. Besides, in places like that you're a stranger if your grandparents weren't born there: they'll just think we're odd because we're English. No more questions asked. Now - what's this work you've got going?"
In some ways, this was of more interest to James than the prospect of getting out of London - that he wanted more for Diana's sake. This was a question of doing something. He was very tired of seeing the Death Eaters have things all their own way.