She gasped as though she had been drowning when she awoke. There was a figure next to her, stealing all the blankets, but only his arm was on her side, of which she was clinging to desperately. At the abrupt change in her body, she hadn't realized she was sitting up until he sprung up as well, his wand out. "What's wrong?"
"Nightmare, I'm fine," she said after a moment. Aquila tried to steady her beating heart but couldn't.
"Nightmare?" Evan asked, his voice heavy with sleep as he dropped his wand. "Like the ones from when you were little?"
"No... not really. These are... Cedric."
"Oh," he murmured. He seemed to understand because he grabed his sister and hugged her tightly. "Come on, it's like eight in the morning. Talk about it. It'll help."
It wouldn't, but she did anyway. She explained Cedric's dead gaze staring at her and as she tried to look away, he was just everywhere, blaming her for making him unhappy, for making him die. And she knew that it wasn't her fault he died. She knew that, but her subconscious mind didn't. Evan eventually got her to go back to sleep, and she refused to sleep without clutching his arm in silent support. She thought only briefly of the fact that he'd probably lose feeling in it as it fell asleep, but was too tired to care.
When she next awoke, her door was being opened and a figure entered her room. She turned over in her bed, moving Evan's arm out of the way as she reached for her blankets. "What, Mum?"
"Oh, uh, sorry-"
Aquila's eyes shot open as she spotted Dudley and he seemed rather embarrassed, shuffling back and nearly running into her doorframe as he turned to leave. "Dudley!" she said in surprise. "Wait-" But he was already gone. And then she realized what it looked like. A strange man in her bed, as her brother was supposed to be in Spain, and her, well, sleeping on him. She hurriedly threw back the covers, ignoring Evan's groans, and grabbed her wand before she sprinted down the stairs to catch up with Dudley. "Dudley, wait, it's not what it-"
Dudley turned to face her suddenly, stopping in front of her house, in the middle of the sidewalk. "It's okay, Aquila. I mean, I get it. I'm not your sort. And-" he shrugged uncomfortably. "I was starting to really like you and-"
"Dudley, it's not -"
He interrupted her again, and Aquila huffed in annoyance. "I'm pretty sure what I saw-"
"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" Aquila cried. She grabbed his arms suddenly and forced him to look at her. "He's my brother."
He raised an eyebrow, "Okay, that's really weird-"
She groaned, "No, you don't... Okay, he came back from Spain last night. We were talking and fell asleep in my bed. It's ... He's my brother, Dudley. Not... my boyfriend or anything. I promise."
"Oh," Dudley muttered. He seemed particularly embarrassed and Aquila gave him a small smile of amusement.
"I know, we don't really look much alike-"
"Bloody hell, where's the fire?" Aquila turned in annoyance to see her brother standing in the doorway of their home, his hair tangled and his body alert as he clutched his wand.
"Put that away, you idiot. People might see you. And zip up your pants. No one wants to see that." Evan ducked out of the door quickly to do as requested. She turned to Dudley and gave a small sigh. "Sorry... Uh, for the misunderstanding."
"Er, no, sorry for, uh, barging in like that. Your mum said you were in there when I stopped by."
"Oh, well, what time is it?" Aquila asked, confused.
"About noon."
Her eyes widened. "Oh..." Three hours until Evan left. She bit her lip. "Well, you can stay... you were obviously over for a reason. Have lunch with us. Unless you've already eat-"
"Sure," Dudley interrupted, shrugging lightly. She gave him a bright smile and pulled his arm towards the house. Aquila noticed that her mother was particularly pleased with herself and rolled her eyes. Of course. Her mother wanted to fend Dudley off in any way possible. When she saw Dudley, she scowled around her cup of tea.
"Evan, this is Dudley, Potter's cousin. Dudley, this is my brother, Evan. He's engaged to some Spanish chick that I'm dying to meet."
"Nice to meet you. Uh, sorry for the misunderstanding, I think."
"I actually thought you were that Lynch bloke," Dudley admitted. Aquila grimaced, shooting Dudley a look of disbelief as Evan laughed in glee.
"Yeah, I like this kid," Evan declared. He gestured for Dudley to come further into the house, shutting the front door. "Right, Polly?"
Polly suddenly appeared and Dudley doubled back in surprise at the sight of the creature.
"This is Polly," Aquila introduced. "He's our house-elf."
"Oh, he's..." Dudley seemed at a loss for words as Polly bowed. "Not what I expected."
"I know what you mean," Aquila informed him quietly. Addressing the elf, she bent down so her height wasn't as different to the elf. "Polly, do you think you can make us some lunch?"
"What would Miss like from the kitchen, Miss?" Polly asked. "Polly is happy to serve Miss and Master Black, and their friend."
"What do you want for lunch?" she asked Dudley. "Polly can make absolutely anything. Best cook I've ever known, I even had him make me real Belgium chocolate from scratch-"
"Polly was most pleased that Miss Black liked the chocolate-" Polly interceded.
"Yes," Aquila nodded. "It was a bit of a war we had going on when I was younger. Anyway, what would you like?" Aquila moved further into the kitchen and surveyed the fridge before she opened the cabinets. "Tea, water, firewhiskey," she informed Dudley.
"Water's fine."
Polly immediately got to work. "And food?" Aquila questioned. She glanced at her mother and Evan, as well, but Euryale seemed intent on ignoring her daugher and Evan just shrugged, reaching for a glass and a bottle of firewhiskey. "Um, don't you have an international portkey?"
"Yes, hence why there's alcohol involved."
Aquila snorted, much to her mother's displeasure, and glanced at Dudley. "How's sandwiches?"
"Yeah, that's fine."
"Polly will make everyone's taste!" Polly insisted, shooing Aquila away. She patted the elf on the head and glanced at her mother, but the woman took her tea cup and disappeared into the garden.
"Good, she's gone," Evan said quickly. "We can still get out while we can."
Aquila smacked her brother on the chest. "You're leaving anyway. I told you, I'm staying."
"You were leaving?" Dudley asked, confused.
"He wants me to stay with my uncle, Potter's godfather," Aquila informed Dudley as she gestured for him to join her at the table. "Of course, I can't just leave in the middle of the night. I technically can't run away until I'm seventeen. Because then I don't get my inheritance."
"Your... inheritance?" Dudley questioned. Evan leaned against the counter to the kitchen, his glass of firewhiskey already half empty.
"Stuff my dad left me in his will," Aquila waved off handed. She bit her lip, tilting her head to the side as she looked him over. He was dressed differently. His shirt was... a polo and his lower half was covered in khaki shorts. "You dressed differently," she stated carefully. "And you did something to your hair." It wasn't spiked. It was almost... natural, maybe? No product at all. She was aware she probably looked a sight herself and ran her fingers through her hair.
He turned pink slightly. "I, er, yeah, I guess."
"It's nice," Aquila commented. "But that doesn't explain why you're here. Not that you aren't welcome at any time, of course. I'm just curious."
"You're always curious," Evan commented. "And it gets you into trouble."
Aquila gave her brother a heartstopping smile. "Of course."
"Er, well, I talked to Mum and Dad. They said I could go to the Quidditch try-outs."
Aquila absolutely lit up. "Brilliant! Remind me to bake a cake for them."
"You don't even know how to bake a cake," Evan informed her.
"Stop being pessimistic," Aquila admonished. She rose and moved towards a small table by the couch. Opening the box atop, she selected a quill and parchment before scribbling a letter to Angelina. Merlin, she needed her owl back.
"Where's Prometheus?"
"Angelina's," she murmured. Just as she finished the letter, Polly was levitating a plate of sandwiches in the air ahead of him and the plate fell onto the table before dividing into three smaller plates. Dudley seemed amazed by that. "Thank you, Polly, that's very kind of you. Would you mind pouring me a glass of pumpkin juice, as well?"
"Right away, Miss. And Mister Dudley requests water still?"
"Uh, yes... please?"
But Aquila felt Dudley's eyes on her as she strode to the fireplace, grabbing a handful of green powder in the pot beside it. She threw it into the flames and Dudley jumped in surprise as they turned green. "Angelina Johnson!"
It only took a few seconds before the connection was made and Aquila dropped the parchment into the fire, watching as it was engulfed, and then it disappeared. Aquila dusted off her hands and turned with a smile towards the two men in her dining room. "Right, where were we?"
"Pessimism?" Evan offered. He slid into a chair across from Dudley, taking a sandwich and looking at it thoughtfully. "Oh, no, before that it was Quidditch."
"Yeah, so I'm not quite sure what the plan is," Dudley admitted.
"Oh, well, let's see. If you want to go to Angelina's beforehand and meet everyone - it would be a lot less awkward and hopefully the twins won't try to prank you-" Dudley seemed to hesitate at that, "-you'd meet here and she'd apparate you there. Apparation is our teleportation, I guess. Um, and then the rest would be taken care of from that point on."
"But like, clothes and whatnot. What do I need to bring?"
Aquila paused as she took a bite of the sandwich in front of her. Cheese and beef. Delicious. "Well, I'm bringing nine jerseys - one for each day. You can wear whatever you'd like. Jerseys, t-shirts, whatever. If you want me to transfigure jerseys or something, I can-"
"She's amazing at them," Evan input. "Made me an exact replica of a 1423 Angelsey jersey for my birthday last year. Wicked. I still have it."
"Do you?" Aquila asked, surprised. "Good. I spent weeks researching that." She glanced at Dudley. "The great thing about magic, is that you can have anything you want if you know the right spells. Knowledge is power."
"I'll have to get back to you on that," Dudley stated, biting out of his own sandwich. He seemed surprised and flipped open the bread. Once he swallowed, he asked, "How did, uh, Polly know I liked turkey?"
Aquila grinned, making him look over at her. "Magic. Elves are known for their need to please. They're quite sneaky creatures, but they never get something wrong." She ate another bite of her own sandwich, savoring the taste as she watched Dudley.
"So, mate, do you usually just walk into Aquila's room?" Evan asked.
Aquila groaned, "Evan!"
"Er, not really," Dudley asked carefully. "Your mum said to-"
"Yes, and I'm sure she knew full well what you'd see and interpret," Aquila interrupted. She glanced in the direction of the garden. "Honestly, she's just huffy because we messed with her beauty sleep."
"Oh," Dudley said uncomfortably.
"So, that means you should watch your back for a few days," Evan stated casually. He sipped his firewhiskey. "Muggle, huh?"
"Yeah," Dudley answered. "Er, wizard?"
"Of course," Evan stated with a smirk. Aquila shot him a glare. "So, any hobbies?"
They made uncomfortable small talk until Polly presented Evan a small ring that was quite bland. Evan smirked as he took it and Aquila rose, giving him a hug. "You'll write, right?" Aquila made him promise. "Because I haven't heard from you in eons."
"Stop being so dramatic," Evan chided. "I'm going to see you at the wedding."
"But mother said we weren't..." Aquila frowned, stepping back. "When is it?"
"Saturday after your birthday."
She grinned, "I'll be there." She kissed her brother's cheek before Evan moved to shake Dudley's hand.
"Right, keep Aquila in line," he told Dudley firmly. "She gets a little overbearing sometimes. I'm sure you've noticed. Now, if mum ever tells you she's off to marry someone, it's a lie. And if you ever hurt her, I will not hesitate to arrive unannounced, got it?"
"Got it," Dudley nodded, stepping away from Evan as he himself moved back.
"Hershey," Evan stated clearly. Then he paused, ignoring the ring glowing in his hand. "What even is a Hersh-?" And he was gone in a flash and Dudley's eyes widened in surprise.
"That's a portkey," Aquila informed the surprised Muggle. She watched as Polly cleaned off the table. "It's the safest way to travel, and the most sure you'll get to the destination you request... well, unless you get the wrong portkey on accident... well, you'd have to be pretty unobservant." She shrugged slightly but glanced towards the back door. "Do you have plans for the day?"
"Not really, no," Dudley admitted.
She grinned. "Perfect."