There was a sudden roar, and then the whole tonne of troll was barrelling towards them, the flagstones literally bouncing beneath its feet. James raised his wand, but then, out of nowhere, Peter's familiar head was blocking his line of fire. There was a flash, another very angry-sounding roar, and then the troll suddenly resembled some kind of bizarre, oversized Christmas decoration.
When Peter turned, James was looking at him with a rather strange expression etched on his face. It was like stepping back in time. All of a sudden it was like seeing the old Peter, the one he'd unflinchingly trusted with his and his family's lives. James had rather resigned himself to the fact that that relationship was dead in the water, but maybe....
Well, the fact was Peter hadn't let him get smushed under a troll foot, which James appreciated. Lily would have murdered him if he'd let himself be pancaked around now.
"Cheers," he finally said, offering Peter a familiar crooked smile. James stepped around his friend, reaching out and giving his arm a squeeze as he passed.
"I dunno," he pushed his glasses up his nose as he approached the floating bubble for a closer look. The troll thrashed around furiously, somehow ending up upside-down and glaring at James. "I guess we need to find somewhere to keep it while we let the others know."