Watching Philophobia | James Potter

dix.

aquila was lost in thought as she also packed her trunk. she was coming up with ways that she could help regulus get out of that terrible house.

"aqua?" aurelie's voice snapped her from her thoughts as she shut the lid to her trunk.

"yes, aura?" aquila responded, as though she had been listening the whole time.

"are you okay, my darling?" aurelie asked, concerned as she watched her best friend's eyes become glassy.

"of course!" aquila responded, as though she were happy.

"are you sure? you can tell me what you're thinking about if it helps you feel better." aurelie assured, moving next to the black heiress as she sat on her bed with a huff of hopelessness.

nova and ares sensed her sadness and jumped up on her bed, now quite a bit bigger as they had grown in the past month and a half. they sniffed at her before whining and curling up with their heads in her lap.

"i just..." she stopped, breathing deeply as she choked up, smoothing out ares hair before continuing, "i just... i don't want to go home, and i definitely don't want reg going to that awful place..."

"you shouldn't have to be afraid of going home, love." euphemia assured, looking to the girl who softened under the gaze of the older woman, sinking into james and hailey, who was still next to her.

"honey, why don't you want to go home? aren't you excited for the holidays and getting to see your dad?" aurelie confusedly questioned, rubbing her back, trying to understand why her friend wouldn't want to go.

"they... they're horrible to us, aura, they're absolutely terrible. it's mostly mother, but i just can't go back there, it reminds me too much of sirius." aquila cried, tears rolling down her face, and landing on the fur of her puppies, who sat up and licked the tears off of her face.

"is this more so about your parents or about sirius?"

"i don't know, aura, this is the first yule i've spent ever without my twin, my other half, and it hurts knowing he's somewhere where he'll be happy and laughing while reg and i are suffering and in despair." aquila sobbed, aurelie swooped her into a hug as aquila cried into her chest. "i'm not even mad at him anymore, i was never really mad at him in the first place, i was more angry at the fact that we couldn't go with him. that he got a way out and we had to stay in our own personal hell. i want him to be happy, aura, but i never imagined it being without us."

older sirius looked down in anguish, hating that aquila had felt this way, and remembering how he had felt that following night.

"this is hitting hard..."

"i know, keila, i know, just let it out..." aurelie cooed, as she pulled aquila closer to her.

they stayed sitting on aquila's bed as she let out her bunched up emotions until her tears ran dry, and nothing was left but sniffles.

"now, i know you don't want to, love, but we must get going to the trains or their going to leave without us."

"okay, let me get my trunk."

and that was that. aquila placed a spell on herself to make herself look as though no tears were shed, and grabbed her trunk, as her and aurelie headed down the staircase, meeting regulus and charlotte in the common room, before they all made their way to the train.