first day back to hogwarts (4 january 1976)
third pov
as aquila rushed out of the room, the boys followed her, desperate for some kind of answer.
"aquila!"
"keila, what was that!"
"aqua, stop!"
"star, slow down!"
aquila slowed down a small bit at the sound of her little brothers, but still continued on her way to escape the common room.
they reached her, and regulus reached to softly turn her towards them.
he stopped when he saw there were tears in her eyes.
older aodhán's eyes widened, as he realized that this must have been the brewing of what led to her outburst that solidified their friendship, and he sat beside his mum, hoping to provide comfort.
"keila, what was that?" regulus asked softly, as he held her face between his hands, the other three boys coming to form a circle around her.
"i can't do this, reg..." aquila cried, "they hurt me so bad!"
"wait, hurt you!" younger aodhán commented as he perked up in older aquila's arms, his small eyebrows furrowed, before grasping her tighter, not wanting her to be hurt.
"how, star, how did they hurt you?" barty questioned, as he, rabastan, and evan came to hug her.
aquila was silent for a moment in her tears, before slowly answering, "they were faking everything. mother paid them to be my friend, they faked our whole friendship, pretended to care about me!"
the boys were flabbergasted. the same look of shock filled all four of their faces.
"aquila, love, i'm not sure that's true... those girls would never do anything to hurt you..." evan responded carefully, not wanting to push the fragile girl off the edge.
rabastan, barty, and regulus hummed in agreement, regulus' eyebrows furrowed as he thought about what could have made her think that.
aquila's tears abruptly stopped, as she straightened up, and shook them off of her.
"this is really not good..." regulus mumbled, rushing to his older sister, who was still seated between james and hailey, taking his place between the two girls, who wrapped their arms around him in comfort.
all four of the slytherins looked confused as she glared at them.
"you're saying you don't believe me?!" aquila spat, looking at them, betrayed.
"no, keila, we're just saying that there must be a misunderstanding somewhere in this situation!" rabastan tried to reason, but aquila tensed and took a step away from them.
"of course you don't believe me, you never do, merlin, this is why i don't tell you anything." aquila rolled her eyes, pushing them away from her as she continued on her rush out the common room.
"wait, what? aquila wait!" regulus cried, as he tried to go after her.
in the end, aquila was too fast, and not only had she pushed away her best friends, she had now also effectively pushed away her brothers.
"merlin, why!? damn you walburger..." remus growled, grasping sirius' shoulders, watching carefully as the woman mentioned smirked from within his binds.
the aurors weren't in liking of the look on her face, and the female auror binding her slapped the look off her face, replacing it with a scowl.
aquila stormed down the corridors with her belongings, and her dogs, with flames in her eyes as she made her way to the room of requirement.
as she arrived, she paced and opened the door to find her own version of a small flat that had practically everything she needed to survive.
she let nova and ares run around the space, as she organized her things and settled in, firmly believing that no one would come looking for her.
i mean, why would they? nobody cared.
that night went by slowly as aquila laid on her back, staring at the ceiling, thoughts of everything and nothing swirling about her head.
"why can nothing go right?!" cassie complained from within theo's grip, feeling her mother's hurt through the screen, the betrayal that flowed through her veins, creating a burning sensation in her eyes that she knew all too well.
the morning came, and as everyone settled into the hall, people couldn't help but notice aquila's absence.
felicity shifted nervously in her seat beside amos at the hufflepuff table, as he tried to comfort her as well as himself.
charlotte and aurelie, as well as the boys looked as if they had gotten the worst sleep of their lives, and that was what worried them the most.
when the doors to the hall slammed open, heads snapped to the entrance where aquila black stood in all her tragic glory.
"god, she's hot..." dorcas murmured, marlene humming in agreement with her girlfriend.
"why is it always the prettiest ones that have the most tragic fates...?" blaise mused, looking toward the potter family with a saddened look in his eyes.
emotionless, she strutted towards the end of the slytherin table, where people cleared a section for her.
felicity and amos were up and out of their seats (gaining the attention of a smaller blond huffelpuff, who watched his newfound idol intently as she entered the room), rushing to the girl as she took her first steps through the threshhold, but as they went to speak, aquila walked straight past them, promptly ignoring them.
"no more! please, not fel!" lily begged quietly, only her friends hearing her pleads.
felicity's face shone with hurt and confusion, while amos was dumbfounded.
felicity chased after the girl, who paid her no mind.
"aqua? keila?" still no response came from the black heiress, "aquila!"
aquila looked up lazily from where she was seated and gave a harsh glare to the hufflepuff, who flinched back at the look directed at her.
"what?" she hissed impatiently, regretting even showing up to the hall.
"where have you been?" felicity questioned, looking as if she were about to burst into tears.
"that hurts..." aurelie whispered, a stabbing at her heart echoed the words as she saw her so very broken sister tear apart her sunshine.
this was an interaction that a group at the gryffindor table watched closely. they saw the gleam of annoyance in aquila's eyes that they never thought would be directed at the smaller girl. lily, was probably the most confused, as she had no idea what had happened, and the way aquila was treating her felicity made her angry.
aodhán watched from the hufflepuff table with confusion and anger directed at the people who had hurt his friend and were making her act this way.
"what the hell does it matter? nothing about it concerns you. now, if you don't mind, i'd like to eat in peace without having a manipulative bitch come and ruin it." aquila sneered, which caused amos' mouth to drop open and eyes widen around the hall. felicity's eyes welled with tears.
"there it is..." charlotte hissed, knowing that was the end of aquila's straw. she knew it would happen at some point, she just never in a million years thought that it would make her self-destruct, taking those closest to her with her.
felicity's mouth opened and closed as she tried to find something to say, but her breathing was restricted, and she found the room spinning as she looked at her best friend, who blankly stared at her with hatred burning in her pupils.
aquila's tears poured down her face at the look on the poor hufflepuff's face. she never wanted to hurt her sunshine. never thought that her self hatred would get to this point.
lacy was over with the golden era, but rushed to her mums, hugging them both tightly, while sobbing into felicity's shirt.
as aquila continued to stare at the girl, waiting for her to leave, charlotte, aurelie, and the boys rushed to check on felicity who was bordering on a panic attack at what had just been said.
"what the fuck did you do to her, aquila!" charlotte hissed, looking between the small, shaking girl, and the emotionless girl, who sat with a smirk on her face.
"oh, honey, i didn't say anything but the truth." aquila pouted mockingly, as she rose from her spot at the table, not bothering to touch the food there. "now, if you'll excuse me, i have better places to be."
"aquila black, don't you dare walk away right now!" aurelie called after her, trying to storm up to her, she reached for the girl's arm, but aquila flinched away and sent her a snarl.
"i can do whatever the hell i want, you don't tell me what to do!" aquila spat aggressively, getting in her face, before ripping her arm from the blonde's grip and storming from the hall. unaware of the small blond boy that immediately ran after her.
"okay, but i'm quite enjoying this dark aquila." bellatrix commented, only to be met with daggers from her brother-in-law, sisters, and cousins.
"aquila! aquila wait for me!" was what aquila heard through her anger as she stormed through the halls on her way back to the room of requirement.
confused, she stopped for a moment before shaking her head and continuing on her way.
"no, aquila, wait! my legs can't go that fast!" aodhán yelled, out of breath from running after her.
"aww, wait! that's so fucking adorable!!" hailey cooed, looking at the small eleven year old on the older aquila's lap and giving him a soft look, wanting to hug the younger puff.
this time, aquila did stop, eyebrows furrowed in frustration as her eyes fell on a messy blond boy that approached her at a fast pace, not seeming to notice that she had, in fact, stopped for him.
"aquila!" aodhán cried, running into her, hugging her waist as he felt the anger still boiling inside him.
"kid, what are you doing?" aquila asked, looking down at the boy with an eyebrow raised.
aodhán huffed and kept silent as he tried to calm himself.
unknowingly, the action made aquila soften, reminding her so much of regulus when he was young.
regulus cuddled more into his older sister's side, also bringing hailey closer to his other side, wanting that comforting warmth of an older sister from both sides.
"hey, hey, what's wrong?" aquila questioned, this time a bit softer, refraining from running her hand through his curls to calm him.
"they just..." he breathed angrily, digging his head further into her stomach, "they made you so upset, they're so mean."
"kiddo, I'm fine." aquila tried to reassure the small boy, taking in his tiny stature that couldn't be more than 4'4.
"but they made you yell!" aodhán protested, looking up at her, as tears brimmed his brown eyes, tightening his hold around the older girl.
"yes, they made me angry, but you don't have to be upset!" aquila calmed him down.
"yes i do! i'm your friend, i have to protect you from them!" he responded, proudly, puffing out his chest as he finally let go of the girl.
"that's the moment i mentally adopted you. you reminded me so much of regulus, and i knew you just needed someone to love and protect you, just as he did." older aquila whispered to her eldest, the young man giving her a beam that warmed her heart, making her give him a half smile back.
younger aodhán, however, placed a small peck on the thirty-five year old woman's cheek, before sliding off her lap and running over to the couch that held the younger version of her.
he glared at james before sitting between them and leaning into aquila, who furrowed her eyebrows, but allowed it.
james looked down at the boy who separated him from his future lover, and instead of giving him a glare as everyone expected, he ruffled the tiny boy's blond curls, which only led to a swat from the kid.
this grabbed the attention of older aodhán, whose eyes watered at the sight of the man he knew oh so well.
"dad?" older aodhán whispered, james' head snapped up, a beam on his face as his head swiveled between the tiny blond, and the older blond.
"you're mine too?" james asked, happily.
the man only nodded his head, before turning towards the older aquila, who enveloped him in a hug as wet stains bloomed on the shoulder of her shirt.
"that's not your job, kid, you don't have to worry about me, got it?" aquila asked, holding his chin in her hand.
"but..." aodhán tried to deny, but aquila just shook her head, and started to walk away.
"i'll catch you later, little fire."
neither noticed that aquila didn't deny their friendship.
aquila didn't show up to any of her classes, let alone lunch and dinner.
in fact, she wasn't seen anywhere on the premises for three weeks, and it was making everyone insane.
she had just vanished.
"damn it." sirius hissed, looking defeated.
some thought that she had dropped out and gone home. regulus knew that couldn't be it, there was no way in hell that she would ever willingly go back there.
some people thought she had died. that was also out of the question in regulus' mind, as he knew she had too much to live for.
some people thought that she had returned to beauxbatons without bothering to tell anyone. regulus thought this to be preposterous, as there was no way that she wouldn't have told him.
"i hate to have to say this, but she really wouldn't have told him given the present argument..." alice sighed, looking apologetically to the raven haired boy, who nuzzled into aquila's side.
however, he didn't know where she could be if everyone else was wrong.
he and his friends had searched the entirety of hogwarts for the fifth year girl.
he hadn't seen his sister for three weeks and it was driving him mad.
any time anyone mentioned her, he felt as if he was going to burst into tears.
he had wrote to his father, not knowing what to do, and to make sure that she hadn't actually gone home.
he received the response from his father that confirmed that she wasn't home, and it somehow made things worse.
if not home, dead, or missing, then where the hell was his older sister?
31 january 1976
aquila was still in the room of requirement, and she felt as if she were dying.
well, more like drowning.
she would go days without eating, only getting the energy to call upon one of the house elves for food every few days.
she laid in bed all day every day, staring at the ceiling, feeling the pressure of breathing.
she was dying inside.
her head was filled with darkness.
she received the hundreds of worried letters from her family, friends, and james, but responded to none of them.
(well, except to the one to aodhán, but we don't mention that.)
the only letter she sent was to her mother.
"no, no, no..." regulus whimpered, begging her to not do what he thinks she's about to do.
the only one she could trust.
the letter she sent practically begged her mother to send her back to the magical school in france. she begged through her writing, telling her mother that she couldn't bear to be at hogwarts anymore surrounded by the fakes that pretended to care about her.
the letter stated:
mother,
please, please send me back to beauxbatons.
i can't do this anymore.
felicity, aurelie, and charlotte refuse to acknowledge the truth, and they keep lying to me about what happened, and it's even worse that regulus, evan, barty, and rabastan took their side.
everyone is so fake, you were right, mummy.
you're the only one i can trust.
i should've listened to you, i should've stayed at beaxbatons and made friends with the pureblood girls you wanted me to befriend.
i'll do it, mummy. just please get me out of here.
please.
your daughter,
aquila lyra black
"no, no, please, don't let this happen..." james pleaded, looking to the older aquila, who only looked to the floor, avoiding his pained gaze.
as walburga saw kreacher pop in front of her, a letter clutched in his fingers, she was confused.
"mistress, a letter for you from little miss aquila," kreacher croaked, bowing so low that the tip of his nose brushed the floor.
walburga snatched the letter, and tore open the seal, practically inhaling the words.
once finished, she smirked, pleased that everything had gone according to her plan.
"damn it, no, she won!" sirius yelled, punching the floor, remus grabbing onto his fists so he wouldn't hurt himself.
she drafted a letter to headmistress clemente, informing her that aquila would be returning to the french school due to some unfortunate circumstances.
"kreacher!" she shreiked, as the small elf popped into the room. "make sure this gets to headmistress clemente at beauxbatons, i would like her to know that aquila will be returning."
kreacher's eyes widened, as he stepped back and bowed once more, "yes, mistress."
the next day, aquila had received a letter from headmistress clemente, with a portkey to the school, which left the hogwarts at noon of the same day, which gave aquila the time to pack her trunk and be ready to go as colors faded, and she ended up back in the headmistress' office.
"welcome back, heiress black."
"fuck..."
a/n: okay, here it is, i have finally thought through how i'm going to have this go, and have found the motivation to continue on with this chapter. can i just say that i love my little bean, aodhán, he's so hufflepuff coded, and i love his and aquila's dynamic! don't worry, eventually james will also meet him, and he'll be their little adopted firstie.
published: le lundi 8 avril 2024
word count: 2,973 words.