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Regulus pretended like he did not know what Aquila was doing, but she had to give him some credit. Regulus wasn't that oblivious, and Aquila wasn't that good an actor, but they all pretended that was the case anyway.
Why? Ignorance is bliss, that's why.
It was better to ignore that Aquila and James Potter had kissed, and had been meeting up regularly, and that he was the most probable cause for Aquila's frequent disappearances. It was better to ignore that due to their 'unruly' behaviour this summer their parents might end up finding a match for Aquila soon. It was better to ignore that that match might be Rowan.
It was better to ignore all of this because for the first time in months, Aquila had finally been smiling and looking the way she used to be, and Regulus refused to be the reason for his twin to be unhappy again.
It was selfish, but Regulus couldn't stand the blank cold wall that he felt in his mind whenever he reached for Aquila. He couldn't bear to look at her trying all those different tonics and potions to regrow her hair.
Because whenever he closed his eyes he saw her writhing on the ground and watching her convulse towards the fireplace but not being able to do anything and unable to reach for her and no, please let me go she's slipping away I can feel my sister's life draining letmegoletmegoletmego-
"Reg?" A voice cut off his thoughts. Regulus was staring at the mirror, the tap still running in the sink, his eyes bloodshot and nose red. Aquila stood behind him, perfect, happy and most importantly, whole and not hurt.
"Is everything okay?" she asked tentatively. Regulus smiled at her, a little strained, and ran his wet hands through his hair, slicking back the curls. Unruly hair had nearly given him a panic attack the first time he saw his long curls in the mirror, thinking it was Sirius coming to torture them again. But then Aquila had come and tickled him, because apparently she'd read somewhere that sudden movements were the best way to avoid panic attacks.
"Hey, you good?" she asked, full-blown concerned now, resting a hand on his shoulder. Regulus didn't say anything, just turned around sharply and grabbed her in a hug.
Maybe once, in the past, Aquila might have pushed him away and called him clingy, but now she knew these hugs mattered, after nearly losing each other. They never let a moment slip by, tried their hardest not to fight, because you never know what might be your last moment with someone right now and it was best to not let regrets carry in their next life.
Bellatrix had taunted them with these lines nearly every week, and they had dug their way so hard into their heads that they started taking this advice to heart.
Aquila, thanks to Regulus' growth spurt, came just at his shoulder, which made it perfect height for Regulus to tuck her head under his chin. And Regulus felt like never letting go, because this was war, and you never know when you might hug someone for the last time.
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"You little shit!" Aquila shouted at Regulus as another jet of water hit her, enough to make her take a staggering step backward.
Regulus just laughed out loud and sent a cold wind in her direction. Aquila held up her hands and summoned a shield of hard wind, which easily shattered under Regulus' razor sharp focus.
The sibling bonding moment had brought them here, in the Room of Requirement, practicing their connected magic on each other with duels because no one was a better opponent than the one that knew you the best.
"Your time with Gryffindors has made you soft, sister," Regulus called out as Aquila shivered. She scowled and held out one hand and closed it in a fist, making her brother fly away from her before landing with a soft hush.
"How did you do that?" Aquila asked, her face full of wonder. Regulus just smirked, then pushed his palm outward, and Aquila felt a phantom wind pushing her towards the ground and a soft wind cushioning her fall.
"You've been practicing, brother," Aquila said, rubbing her ass as she got up with support from Regulus' hand.
Regulus laughed. "Not everyone has a boyfriend now, Aqi."
Aquila flushed. "He's not my boyfriend."
"No, you just spend most of your time together, hold hands in corners, eat each other's face off in classrooms and blush when you see each other."
Well, he wasn't wrong, Aquila supposed. For the past month or so (twenty-two days to be exact but Aquila wasn't counting), James and her had been meeting up, though she had said in the first meeting itself to state his intentions.
James stepped into the room, the faint light from his wand, lighting his face.
"Hey," he said softly.
"What do you want from me?" Aquila blurted out.
"All your money and valuables," James answered immediately, almost as if instinct, then shut his eyes and sighed.
Aquila suppressed a smile.
"What do you mean?" James tried again.
"I mean, what are you expecting out of this," she said, gesturing between them. "What are you planning?"
James shook his head. "Elaborate, love."
Aquila cleared her throat. "I'm just saying a fair warning, I will punch you if you try any indecent move, because number one, we're too young to hook-up, two, we don't even know each other that well and three, I don't want to lose my virginity in a musty classroom."
James looked amused, but thankfully, didn't laugh. "Anything else?"
"We're very young to have a fling, and I am not about to have underage sex," Aquila stated firmly.
James' mouth tugged up. "I never had that in mind, but," Aquila glared at him, daring him to make fun, "I'll keep it there for future reference."
Aquila had finally relented on her glare, and James smirked. Aquila threw a pillow at him and the two of them dissolved into laughter.
After that, they had met at different times, different locations. Out of the Marauders, only Remus knew what was happening between the two and apparently, James had begged him to not tell Sirius.
While Aquila and Regulus had started overcoming their fear, the progress was still slow and Sirius, while understanding, was starting to get impatient. Apparently, there was also the fact irritating them all that a certain greasy haired and hook nosed boy had been taking quite an interest in Remus' monthly disappearances, James had informed her.
And James was afraid Sirius might act out against it, and he was sure Sirius would include James in his plans, and he assured Aquila that he would stop Sirius from doing anything harsh.
What Aquila refrained from saying was that as reliable and comforting a friend Sirius was, he had a tendency to strike those who hurt anyone in his family.
And when he did, he struck hard.
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to all those wondering when this will actually turn into a jp ff, your time to shine has cometh
also, i think we all know where sirius is gonna strike *evil laugh*
also, fair warning, there will be NO wolfstar in this book. you guys can support it and try to make it happen however, but the fact is it's not canon, so i'll not be putting it.
that note aside, this one's for slitherclaws bec she wanted a chapter for reggie boy
love yall hella much (AND OMG 11K READS?!)
༻hy༺