It was a rushed breakfast with lots of chattering and elbowing for pieces of toast or a spoonful of eggs. Aquila was informing Dudley that the itching powder the twins had put into his pants that morning would wear off in a few minutes and she apologized yet again for not warding his bag from the snickering red heads. "At least they got it out of their system," she told him simply, biting her lip as she reached for her orange juice. "Honestly, it would have been worse had they waited. It just means they like you enough to not do anything too horrible."
Her first sip of the orange juice and she knew something was wrong. Her tongue tingled and before she could voice her concern, her body shifted and she faced the boisterous laughter of the twins. "Frederick Gideon and George Fabian Weasley!" she cried. "How dare you-you-" She glanced down at herself. "Why have you turned me into Professor Snape?"
"Seemed to be defending him last night, mate," Fred winked, trying to appear innocent.
"You seem to be rather fetching when you look like that, mate," George commented. "Quite severe, right, Freddie?"
"You're right, Georgie. Something about her is... why, I don't say! Is that Professor Snape?"
Aquila growled, pointing her long bony finger at them both. Not her finger, Snape's. Eugh, the rotten twins. "I will make sure Lynch hears about this, boys. And I will make sure that the Irish team gets you back for it."
"Lynch wouldn't," Fred insisted, though he didn't seem to quite believe what he was saying. Aquila didn't comment, just raised an eyebrow and was pleased when the twins seemed to backpedal. She glanced down at herself in distaste. Honestly? She should have been more careful. She knew they'd try something - they always did.
"It'll wear off in ten minutes," George promised nervously. "Snape isn't going to be here until later tonight, so you won't run into him." Aquila just muttered under her breath, crossing her arms over her unusually flat chest. She glanced at those around her, who were struggling to stop laughing, and met Dudley's eyes - who looked positively pleased.
"Truth of the matter is, dear Ella bear," Fred stated solemnly. Oh, Merlin, they were going to say that they didn't have quite the same amount of bean to juice ratio necessary for ten minutes. Wonderful.
"We didn't put the bean in your drink," George finished.
"That was your dear Muggle friend."
Aquila rounded on Dudley, her eyes wide. But he gave her an innocent shrug. "I was coerced." Of that, she was very certain. She glared at the twins before glancing back to Dudley. "Er, they promised I would be spared from more itching powder."
She could help but laugh at that. "You must learn to not make deals with the devil. They'll break their word faster than you can blink."
By the time the effects of the bean wore off, to which Aquila threw Dudley a nasty smile that promised revenge, they all gathered just before dawn to portkey to the pitch. "Where is this exactly?" Dudley asked as he shouldered his bag full of his clothing for the next week. "You've never said."
"The Forest of Dean, where the World Cup took place last year," Aquila answered as she gripped her trunk tightly. "Now, you need to hold onto the portkey tightly and when we start to fall, you need to act like you're walking down. The more you start to freefall the - uh, more it hurts to land." He seemed concerned with this. "Just don't let go until we say and you'll be fine." She gave his arm a squeeze with her free hand and he gave a jerky nod as he commited her words to memory. She doubted he wouldn't remember.
They all stood in a circle and she presented the portkey - a small muddy boot. Much like the one they had taken to the World Cup just last summer. Merlin, it gave her memories. She forced them away - away the times things had been simple and she had been happy with Cedric - and waited for them all to grab firmly. "Hold on tight, ladies," Aquila smirked. "Gumdrops."
There was a distinct tugging sensation at her navel and they were gone in a burst of blue light. And suddenly they were spinning over open air. Dudley looked particularly green, and his knuckles were white as he kept a firm grip.
"Right, then," Angelina shouted over the wind. "I say we... let go!"
That was all it took and then they all separated. Aquila watched Dudley struggle a bit to stay upright as he tried to do as she said - walk his way down - but he teetered a few times as his brain insisted he had no balance. And then she was grabbing his arm with a pleasant smirk and they landed on the ground. "How was that for wizard transportation?" she questioned, fixing the badge that dictated he was a Ministry dictated Muggle.
"A bloody barf waiting to happen."
Aquila laughed heartily at that and linked arms with him, tugging him towards where the others landed. "But you held it in, so you're doing better than most." Dudley glanced around him, taking in the miles of tent lines that stretched on and the strange looking people in robes he had never seen before. Pointed hats, Quidditch team memoribilia, and people on brooms as they dodged others and flew towards an impressively tall stadium, were all something he had never seen in this magnitude before. Aquila gave him a moment before standing up on her tip-toes. It was difficult being short.
"There they are!" she heard the twins cry excitedly. So she followed them, Angelina trailing quickly, her trunk banging around behind her.
"It's the IRISH!" Fred and George bellowed in unison, attracting much attention from those around them. Aquila winced slightly, spotting the familiar emerald green tent. The Irish tent. Dudley seemed a little freaked out, though she didn't blame him, but relaxed slightly when the twins spoke. Obviously she wouldn't let him be led to a dangerous place. He must have heard stories from Potter about last year - explicitly.
"Don't stray far," Aquila warned the Muggle, feeling him nod immediately. "It's not that safe." He didn't tense, but his eyes darted around as though he could detect the danger. She knew he wouldn't. He couldn't feel the Dark magic. Her fingers tightened on his hand and he squeezed back in recognition.
"It's the Weasleys!" a chorus of voices cried back. Yes, that was the Irish. She spotted Aidan Lynch before he spotted her. His muscles rippled - as he was already shirtless, though she didn't know why - until she spotted the green paint he had coated himself in, a white number one from his actual jersey painted along his abdomen. The bright smile only grew wider as he heartily hugged the twins, then Angelina. The rest of the team was chatting with the group excitedly and they were already making bets. When Aidan did spot Aquila, he spread his arms wide, and she squeezed Dudley's hand yet again in reassurance - though she didn't know why she was reassuring him - and grinned as she let go and hugged Aidan.
"Merlin, Lynch!" Aquila cried, pulling back and gripping his shoulders so she could look at him. "I thought Seekers were sleek and stealthy, not built!" She couldn't remember having more muscle than he did in school - being a scrawney kid - but Merlin, he had definitely been working on strength.
The white, straight teeth glinted in the dawn sun. Even at dawn, the air was warm, but his smile chilled her... in a way she was hardly familiar with. "And look at you! Ella, since when were you more gorgeous than me?" She wondered if he knew he was flirting with her. She didn't know if she liked it, either. Glancing towards an awkward Dudley, she decided introductions were in order.
"Lynch, this is Dudley Dursley, a good friend of mine from back home. Dudley, this is Aidan Lynch, friend and Quidditch extraordinaire." Dudley extended his hand, but Lynch knocked it aside and went straight for a hug. She probably should have warned Dudley that the Irish seeker was a bit more touchy-feely that he was probably used to. Aquila introduced him to the rest of the team before Quigley clapped his hands together, rubbing them as if he was cold.
"Right, then, you little girls, tent's all set up!" he announced. His grin wasn't as nice looking as Lynch's, but that didn't stop Aquila from giving him a hearty hug.
"Look at you, you old man," she teased. He couldn't have been older than twenty-eight, but she could tell by the way he moved to hug her back that his beater arm was absolutely brutal. She almost wondered how he'd make it through the season. She would bet they'd go to their reserve about three matches into the next season. No way he could play long.
Quigley shot back that she'd be like him soon if she didn't take better care of herself, but she ignored that. She didn't want to think about that. She would only play a year if she even made it on the team. She took Dudley's arm and grinned up at him. Merlin, did he get taller since she last looked at him? "Prepare to me amazed," she insisted quietly. The others were already ducking inside. The tent was enormous on the inside. The emerald green didn't just coat the outside. The inside was green and gold as well. Sickening to look at if she looked too long. It made her think of Slytherin and Gryffindor having babies.
"Merlin, it's green," Angelina muttered.
"I tried to get rid of some of it," a new voice spoke up. Female. Aquila glanced towards it, recognizing Alicia Spinnet. Fred gave a yelp and dashed towards his girl, kissing her heartily, despite the crowd. Alicia scolded him by smacking the back of the twin's head. "Oi, give me some respect, Fred. Anyway, the green keeps coming back. I think it's cursed."
"Just a bit of Irish pride!" Aidan insisted.
"Pride?" Aquila muttered. "It's a nightmare. It wasn't this green last year."
Aquila rolled her eyes but followed the troupe further into the tent. "It's... it's huge!" Dudley whispered to her. He didn't seem to want to be overheard, so she figured he knew it was a dumb question to ask.
"Magic," Aquila winked. "Extension charms. It's why Wizarding London literally is in the entire space of a back garden in downtown London in the Muggle world. We can make the biggest space out of the tiniest one, to be quite honest." She hesitated as they came to the bedroom. Bunks - one room for the team, another for them. There would only be enough if each of them shared a bed. She glanced at Dudley. "You, uh, don't mind sharing, do you? I forgot to ask earlier. I had other things on my mind."
Dudley shrugged. "We've already slept in the same bed, haven't we?"
She nodded, berating herself for not thinking of that before, and set her trunk at the foot of the bed she declared theirs. Angelina pouted, as Alicia had already claimed the other bed that was on the ground.
"Well, I guess this means we're on top, babe," George winked.
Aquila laughed as Angelina smacked George hard. Merlin, they were going to be absolutely horrible. It was a good thing they were above Alicia's bed.
"Who's above us?"
Aquila sighed regretfully. "Since the Quidditch team has seven core members, and seven reserves, they only have twelve beds in their room. To the one couple on the team... Quigley and Tara, they will be above us." She sat on the bed as she glanced at the other four friends across from her, getting their things unpacked. The twins had the parchments, she could see, as they shuffled through some of them. "They're rather... loud. Quigley's arm doesn't stop him from being an animal. Normally the bed would go to Angelina's parents, but since Angelina's of age, they felt no need to come -just don't tell Mum. Two of the guys would man up and either one would sleep on the floor or they'd share a bed." She threw a grin towards Dudley. "It's usually Aidan and Turner - the reserve seeker. Don't tell Lynch I said that, though. He hates insinuations."
"Like you won't do that about eighty times in the week," Angelina threw at the Ravenclaw. Aquila rolled her eyes.
"So if there are reserves, why won't the reserve take Quigley's spot next year, instead of having try outs for his spot?"
Aquila guessed it would be a valid point to him. It would be to anyone. But she knew the team well enough to know better. "When Quigley leaves, Tara will no doubt leave with him. She likes being reserve. She has no desire to play full time. She's the mother of the group. McDonough, the other reserve beater, could try out for a full time part, but he would have to try-out first. Once you're placed on reserve, it really hard to get off of it, or to be moved up, unless it's mid-season and you prove your worth. Tara is Quigley's replacement. They're both right-handed, whereas McDonough and Connolly are both left-handed. Makes it equal, that. I'm right-handed." She held up her right hand and wiggled her fingers at him.
"That's a bit technical, isn't it? Is every team like that?"
"No," Aquila admitted. "It's what makes the Irish so amazing." Dudley contemplated that. "Anyway, that's not until next year so no worries." She stretched lightly before looking him over. A jersey and some muggle shorts. Certainly dressed for the occassion. "You ready for this? It's a tad overwhelming first time."
"Aren't all first times?" he quipped.
Aquila conceeded he had a point and laughed in sheer humor as she rose from the bed, offering a hand to help him up - though he didn't need it.
"Let's get us some Quidditch, ladies!" Aquila shouted into the tent.
Though most of the tent were men, save for Tara, Aquila, Angelina, and Alicia, the habit of calling the group ladies began when Aquila featured a less than savory outlook on the men after a few drinks and declared them all to be, for lack of a better phrase, women. They understood the connotation but that didn't stop them from teasing her relentlessly for down-stepping her own gender and she therefore began to call just everyone a woman. That way she could live without the necessary badgering constantly and let the moment pass.
Hoots and hollers met her declaration and Fred and George Weasley passed around parchments dictating the open spots and the players vying for those spots. Fancy bit of magic. Merlin's beard, there were a lot of open spaces this year.
"Cause of the Dark Lord's return," Alicia informed them thoughtfully. "Even if Potter's lying, which I'm not even going to chance, people are scared out of their wits. Withdrew from their own teams and fled to stay at home with their families." The Gryffindor in Aquila's year looked over her parchment, already seeming to decide a few choices for certain teams. "Lots of open spaces. If anyone was looking to try out, it'd be this year."
"Which is why everyone's trying out," Aquila murmured. A few names she recognized from her own years in school. A lot of them were horrid players that hadn't even made the school team.
"Right, then," she heard Fred and George explain to Dudley as they showed him how the parchment was. "Eight pages. One page a day, mate. And on the eighth day, it's usually Keepers. That's fairly easy. Day one, Seekers. That's the longest and most rigorous. Usually spills into Day Two. Day two, seekers, and Right-Hand beaters. Day three, Left-hand beaters. Day four Chaser one. Day five is Chaser two. Day six is chaser three. Day seven is keepers and whoever else didn't have a chance to go. Day eight is keepers or spill overs and results. Got it?" Dudley nodded. "Right, then state your name clearly for the parchment, mate."
"Dudley Dursley," Dudley said, though he was slightly confused and unsure of what that would do.
"Right, now it will only take selections from you from now on. Voice activated, specially for you, mate," one of the twins declared.
"Yeah, we had to modify since you don't got magic, didn't we?" the other nodded.
They both clapped him on the back. "Welcome to the bets, mate."
"Aquila filled you in, didn't she?" The twin wearing the stiffer collar had spoken and by the way he was standing besides Alicia, she guessed it to be Fred. George had a darker collar and was holding hands with Angelina. "On the bets?"
"Er, yeah. A prank or something."
"Right-O!" they cried in unison. "See you at the pitch!"
They were off, dragging their respective girlfriends with them, and Aquila sighed and shook her head before glancing at her parchment. She tapped her wand to it and murmured, "I so solemnly swear that I want to win the bet." It glowed a faint golden hue before returning to its original color. "Ready, then?"
"More than ever."
She grinned. "It's a bit of a walk, so good thing you brought walking shoes."
Eight stories of stairs later, Dudley was slightly winded, and the sun was just over the horizon. Already the crowd was mounting and she directed him through the insane stands, her rolled up parchment clutched tightly in her hand, and her wand in the other. She looped her arm through Dudley's, not having a free hand, and pulled him with her. The last thing Aquila wanted was to lose him in a crowd he had no idea how to navigate through. "Always the same seats every year," she informed him.
"This is absolutely spectacular. A little overwhelming, but it's... this is what you see every day?" Dudley questioned.
"Yeah," Aquila admitted. She was intrigued though. "It's every day for me so it's not as ... as amazing, I suppose. I wish it was as exhilerating as the first time I was here. What do you see? Tell me." It was a request he could flat-out refuse to do if he so wished, but he seemed to find no harm in it.
"There's a man with strange tattoos on his face. His hair is changing colors and his eyes are... almost like a snake's."
"Metamorphagus," Aquila told him. "Like Tonks." But she spotted who he had been describing.
"There's so much going on, I can't even take it all in." Despite this, he continued his descriptions as best as he could. Aquila saw the people she had previously looked over in a new light, seeing them with the feelings of Dudley's excitement pouring off of him. Finally they reached their seats, high up and surrounded by schoolmates that weren't in their traveling party. She spotted Cho Chang a bit further up and decided not to let her eyes linger. Merlin, what was she doing here? Her eyes were red and puffy like she had been crying and she looked like hell. She tugged Dudley down beside her and noticed that Angelina and George took Dudley's other side while Fred and Alicia sat beside Aquila herself. In the empty row in front of Aquila, it quickly filled up with the Irish team and Aquila leaned forward to talk to Lynch over the loud chattering around them.
"So, anyone trying to take your spot?"
"Nope. We've just got Chaser positions open." He winked back at her, turning around. "You are trying out next year, right?"
"Would I ever give up a chance like that?" she returned with a smirk. She spotted the Owner's Box - where the owners of each team sat and would watch certain times of the trials. Leaning over Fred, she grabbed Alicia's binoculars and glanced over the crowd of owners. An impressive turn out this year. She even spotted Lucius Malfoy and Augusta Longbottom amongst them. "Ah, there's good old Amos." She passed the binoculars back to the peeved Gryffindor. "He's the manager/owner of Ireland," she explained to Dudley. Glancing back at Aidan, she bit her lip. "I'm curious. Any idea who else is trying out for the spot?"
"You've got about... three hundred competitors," Aidan admitted. "No special treatment, you know. Even if Amos adores you."
"Amos?" Dudley asked. "Isn't that the same name as that-" He stopped suddenly as he made the connection. "Oh. I, uh, mean-"
Aquila shrugged. "Amos Diggory is the owner of the Ireland team, yes. Yes, he's Cedric's father." She glanced towards the owner box. "I'm surprised he's here, to be honest."
"He insisted," Lynch shrugged. "He wanted to see the competition. I think with his boy gone - and, uh, sorry for your loss, Black - he's throwing himself into the team. He's been to every practice since the funeral."
"Unheard of since he only attended Sunday practice," Aquila explained to Dudley, who looked confused. She shrugged lightly. "He's upset. It's his way of dealing, no doubt." Aidan agreed to that and turned back around. Dudley, however, seemed a bit uncomfortable. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know if she should say anything at all. So she chose not to. She glanced down at the parchment in her hands.
Loud bells went off, causing Dudley to jump slightly in surprise, but loud cheers soon followed and people from the ground took to the air. "See how high they are?" Aquila said to Dudley, nodding towards the pitch. He noticed. "It's a long fall down in the middle of a match. Hurts like bleeding Hades, too." Dudley's eyes widened.
"How did you survive that fall?"
"Wasn't fun. I've done it numerous times. Mostly again Slytherin. Malfoy sets his team on us. They're brutal."
And then a voice was speaking. The coordinator for the trials this year - the winner of the last regional cup. Last year just happened to be the World Cup. Amos Diggory was speaking, clearing his throat so everyone was silent.
"Welcome, all - Wizards, Witches, and other folk alike, to the nine hundred and seventy second Quidditch team trials for Great Britain and Ireland!" Cheers drowned out Amos's Irish brogue and Aquila couldn't help but hoot along. "We will begin with the national team trials for seekers. Following the national teams will be city teams from England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and then Ireland. The Quidditch players will each be announced by name, age, and special ability. Upon request, N.E.W.T. scores will be available to the teams that wish to see them." There was a pause. "Let Day One of the trials begin!"
The roars were deafening and people stood in order to shout out in absolutely excitement. Aquila wasn't one of them, but she did hoot and holler from her seat. Dudley seemed affected by the excitement as well and seemed to be having a good time as well.
"Dominic O'Leery, eighteen. Death Spirals."
The names were announced continuously by a monotone announcer sitting in the Owner's Box, though it wasn't Amos's Irish hilt, followed by a brief demonstration of their speed, skills, and their ability to catch a snitch in under five minutes. It was a modified snitch specifically for trials, so that it wouldn't take forever to catch, but it was still tricky. By the end of the day, only two thirds of the intended people had tried out. They had taken turns getting food for the gang, Aquila promising to retrieve the midnight snack when a majority was hungry.
"Midnight snack?" Dudley asked, confused.
"Oh, we sort of just pass out here," Aquila admitted. "If you're tired enough, you walk to the tent. But eight flights is a long walk to sleep." She glanced around them and Dudley looked to the people sitting behind him for the first time. Nearly half had disappeared and the rest were laying on each other as they slept. "But that's usually just first night. Like I said, Seekers the longest trials. The rest we leave by sun down usually, or just a bit after. All trials stop at three in the morning for rest before they resume at nine. Some people are trying out for multiple positions, see - idiots, those." Aquila glanced at him. "Why? Do you want to go to the tent?"
"No," Dudley admitted. "Not tired, really."
She snorted. "You will be, trust me. It's only dusk. You have five more hours until midnight." As Philip North, 23, Wronski Feignt, finished his run, she ticked the box putting him on the English team. Wronksi feignt was Ireland's greatest weakness. England would be stupid not to take him when he could execute it perfectly.
The trials continued smoothly until ten, where trouble hit. It wasn't the life threatening trouble, but it was Quidditch disaster.
Someone didn't show. It had never happened for as long as Aquila had attended. It had probably happened before, years ago, but this wasn't something she had personally seen before.
"Why's every one freaking out?" Dudley asked, confused. "So a bloke missed-"
"It doesn't happen. You're trying out? You make sure you get there." It was Angelina who had spoken and she seemed nervous. There was a slight pause after the announcer had said "Ethan Bones, 29, speed." No flier went out into the middle of the stands. Aquila felt dread pool in her stomach as she stood to try to get a better look at the ground of the pitch. Her eyes darted around, seeing nothing, before looking towards the Owner's Box. Someone was shuffling towards the announcer and said something to her. Aquila couldn't hear, of course, but she knew it was bad when the person - who she couldn't see - had bowed their head in defeat.
Oh, Merlin.
"Ethan Bones is no longer trying out," the announcer said. Her voice had some emotion this time, a sympathy. "He has passed away in the late hours of last night."
"What?" Aidan breathed in absolute shock. He wasn't the only one. Aquila sat down heavily, her brow furrowed. He was 29... He couldn't have just keeled over from natural causes. And she knew enough about him to know he wasn't sucidal.
"That's Susan's elder brother," Alicia said after a moment. "She's been living with him since her parents were killed in the first war."
Aquila bit her lip. What about Susan? She didn't want to ask. Being a Ravenclaw, she had learned when to ask questions. And what questions you shouldn't ask because you wouldn't like the answer. She wisely kept silent and glanced at the parchment where Ethan Bones's name was turning a gray - it must have meant he would be trying out, or wouldn't get a single team. She scanned what he had tried out for. Puddlemere, Liverpool, Portsmouth. All great teams, all for a great player.
"Reckon it was Death Eaters?" George asked as they moved onto the next flier. It was the only thing to make sense. She didn't know of anyone that wanted to hurt the Bones family besides them. They were Ministry officials, sure, but the good kind. Sweet - Hufflepuffs to the core for generations - and loyal. Order Members. Merlin, it was starting again.
"We'll find out when we get back," Angelina informed George quietly. "No need to speculate just yet."
There was agreement but the rest of the seekers weren't the best ones. Not that they were horrible, just not team material. Movements too practiced and skills lacking for competitive matches. It wasn't Hogwarts Quidditch anymore.
Her eyes darted to the fliers almost carelessly. Perhaps it was the late hours that made them look slower than normal. She didn't know. But she didn't look away. Not even when her head drooped and landed on Dudley's shoulder. He tensed slightly in surprise, glancing at her.
"I don't want to leave just yet," Aquila told him quietly. "I've never left the first day."
"Have you fallen asleep on it?" Dudley questioned.
"There's something about sleeping with the sounds of the cheers, the brooms whizzing past, the smells of sweat, leather, wood, and ... mud." She smiled against his shoulder, her eyes trained to the sky as the wanna-be seeker spiraled around for the snitch. "It's dizzying, but it's comfortable... It's exhilerating but it's relaxing." She checked the none box for his name with a flick of her wand. They might even finish early, since a few more players didn't show up - though their reasons for withdrawal were the same as most people quitting - the Dark Lord's supposed return. Their fear was real, and since Ethan Bones's death, she doubted they would overlook it as an accident. "Do you have anything like that to you?"
"Rugby, I'd say. It's a lot like this... football too." Dudley paused though. "But falling asleep during something I'm obsessed with?" His lips twitched. "Hearing about a world that's not my own is a lot like that. I don't want to fall asleep, because it's fascinating to hear about. I try to stay awake."
She elbowed him. "Now you're just sucking up to me. Trying to sleep with me, Dursley?"
He snorted. "No, I'm being honest." Right. She glanced at the parchment. Merlin, eighty more people tonight. Midnight, they voted to wait for snack, due to those that didn't show bumping up the standings, and instead left at one fifteen exactly. The announcer, rather tired sounded, stated that trials would resume tomorrow. She got to her feet sluggishly, stretching and nearly knocking her hand into George's sleeping head. Angelina yawned as she shook him awake. Fred and Alicia had already disappeared. The crowd was thin, but it still took them a good twenty minutes to exit the stands and head towards their tent.
Things were never that easy. She could see the welcoming green tent, standing out against the tan counterparts, when she was intercepted. She stiffened immediately, her feet halting their steps.
"Aquila, can I talk to you?" the young woman asked. She seemed nervous, as she very well should have been.
"I'm not interested in talking to you, Chang," Aquila stated stiffly. Her tone was sharp, her words cold. The girl wasn't deterred.
"I just want to say I'm sorry... I'm really sorry, Aquila... I-I never meant to hurt you. One thing just led to another and... and he loved you. He loved you so much. I had no right to get between that. I don't even know how it happened... It just did and I'm so sorry-"
"No, you're not," Aquila said simply. Her grip tightened on Dudley's wrist and she made to go around the Korean. "You're only sorry that our friendship is over because you cheated with my boyfriend. You fucked him like a whore and talked about it to my face, as though I should have known. Don't you dare tell me how he felt about me, Chang, because if he felt anything at all, you would have stopped it. But you didn't-"
"It was a mistake!" Cho Chang pleaded. Her raven hair fell into her face as she tried to grab Aquila's arm. Aquila jerked out of the way as if the woman's touch would burn her. "It was a mistake. Please, Aquila, I'm so sorry- I never meant anything to happen. I never wanted to hurt you-"
"You did," Aquila snapped. "Leave me alone, Chang. I don't want to talk to you. The only time we'll ever be friends is on the Pitch. Other than that, we don't speak a word to each other. Do you understand?"
Cho Chang's dark eyes filled up with even more tears. "Aquila, please-"
"He didn't love you and he didn't love me," Aquila told her fiercely. "The sooner you understand that the better. If he did love you, he would have left me. If he loved me, he would have never have started with you. Love doesn't exist, Chang. Get over it. I am."
"You don't look over it," Chang returned bitterly. "I was watching you when Amos spoke. He sounds just like him-"
"I'm over it," Aquila said sharply, stepping past her. "You had best get over it too."
Aquila managed to walk towards the tent, her breath leaving her in angry pants, before Cho decided she needed the last word. "He loved me more than you! He approached me, told me you never had to find out. I refused. You're my best friend, Aquila. You still are. And he told me how you two were over. That you and him were a fuck and done." Aquila tried not to let her temper get ahold of her. Her infamous veela temper that was excellent on the pitch but disasterous on the ground. "He said you begged him to stay when you found out about us. That you begged him because he had a few empty promises of a proposal in the future - and you fell for it like a fool-"
Aquila hadn't even realized she had drawn her wand until it was too late. She advanced on Chang and pressed her wand to the woman's throat. "Don't you dare talk about it like you know everything. He lied to you. He lied to us both. Understand that, sweetheart." Aquila's eyes flashed dangerously as the woman obviously realized she had gone too far. She stepped away, but Aquila followed. There wasn't a crowd - fights happened all the time here and people over looked them - but Aquila still knew her mother would hear about this if it turned into something ugly. "I didn't beg him at all. I wanted to dump him. I wanted to move on with my life and find someone else after I found out - break all ties with the two traitors in my life - but he begged me to stay with him until the end of the year. He wanted me to stay so that when he grew tired of a stupid cow like you, he'd still have me. He wanted me and I told him no. He begged for days and days - flowers, candy, cards - and I refused and refused until he proposed. A ring and everything. And I said yes, because I knew - I thought that would mean you would go away. But it didn't. It never does." Cho swallowed, obviously not having heard this version before. "We will never be best friends again, never be friends. I dream of cursing you until you can't even recognize your own-"
"That's enough." Lynch's voice was enough to bring Aquila out of her stupor and she felt his hand grab her own. Aquila jerked out of it as she backed up a step.
"Don't talk to me again, Chang. Never. Don't sit by me, don't look at me, don't even breathe by me." Aquila wand flicked up and down the Korean's body. "Dressed like that, you're getting over him pretty soon, huh? Who is it this time?" Cho glanced away. "Another champion? Krum? Delacour?" Cho shook her head in obvious distress. "Potter?" Her head shot up sharply to that and Aquila couldn't help but snort. "Potter's an idiot and you're a fool. Diggory never loved us, he just wanted to use us. Potter's probably sleeping with Granger as we speak, maybe even the Weaslette. I, on the other hand, pray that you'll realize that you need to grow up. We're in a war, Chang. And I'm not going to let petty relationships like Diggory's put me off of the task that I want to survive it." Aquila swallowed and tucked her wand back into her pocket.
She spun with more grace than she thought she should have for being up nearly twenty-four hours and lowered her eyes as Dudley tried to meet them. "Okay?" he asked as he fell into step beside her.
"Been better," she admitted. "I-" She just shook her head and moved towards the tent, thrusting open the doors to see most of them already in their beds for tomorrow morning. Then the real partying began. Lynch entered behind her and began to ward the tent doors. Aquila just kept walking until they reached the second bedroom, opening her trunk to fish out her pajamas.
"You sure you don't want to talk?" Dudley asked.
Aquila nodded and glanced towards the other beds. Curtains were drawn around them and the hum of silencing charms were emitting from each of them. "I just want to forget him. Forget her. Forget the whole thing. I'm ready to move on and I'm trying to. I can see the bridge I need to cross. I just need to step on it." She didn't care that she was pulling her jersey off in front of Dudley. He politely diverted his eyes and shifted uncomfortably. Aquila threw a t-shirt on and kept her shorts from the day. She just wanted to lay down. She shut her trunk quietly and glanced at Dudley. "There's a bathroom across the hall, can't miss it. Uh, and kitchen's at the back by the table." Aquila sat down at the foot of the bed and looked at him as he reached for his bag to pull out clothes. "Did you enjoy today?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I didn't know where to look first. Bloody hell, now I see why you talk about it."
Aquila blushed lightly. "I want you to tell me if you've had enough or whatever. If you want to go home, I can take you back at any time."
"Understood." He bit his lip and reached for the hemline of his jersey. Aquila glanced towards her lap to give him privacy.
"About what happened out there," Aquila started carefully. "I have an awful temper. And she knows how to push it. I-I lose my temper a lot. I try not to in front of you. It scares a lot of people away." She cleared her throat and clenched her hands together.
"She hurt you. You have every right to get angry. Especially to her."
Aquila shrugged lightly. "I shouldn't have. I screamed myself hoarse at her in school already. She knows not to talk to me. I lose control, but that's no excuse. You shouldn't have seen that and I'm sorry."
He shrugged and moved towards her, obviously done with changing. Aquila looked up and met his eyes. Did he get even taller? No, she was just sitting down. "Do we eat junk food every day?"
Aquila laughed at the abrupt subject change. "It's a tent full of guys and about four girls that might as well eat like guys. Of course we're eating junk food. It's practically a right of passage." She scooted back so that her body was against the wall of the tent beside her. It was taut and solid - magic - so that she wouldn't fall over the side. Dudley sat on the other end, but didn't lay down yet.
"Then I think I can forgive you, as long as you promise the food doesn't suddenly turn healthy."
"Well..." Aquila winced. "Last day, it's the day before the tournament... You, uh, actually get to taste Tara's cooking. Amazing, if, well, if you like Irish food. Lots of potatoes. It's a real meal, though, not too healthy, but healthier." She gave Dudley a small smile as he seemed to relax at the notion of not having to eat rabbit food. "We're Quidditch players. We eat like it." She patted for him to lay down beside her and he did so. A small flick of her wand caused the curtains around their bed to close and a silence charm was in place securely. "There will be fireworks tomorrow," she told him after a moment. "They aren't like yours, of that I'm sure."
"That sounds pretty awesome."
Another wave of her wand caused the covers to stop at their waists. She pressed her head to her side of the pillow. "Let's agree not to steal each other's covers."
"Deal." They shared a quiet laugh and she heard his breathing slow quietly, but he was still staring above them. "You're..." He stopped, shaking his head as though he didn't want to go there. "You realize how embarrassing it was to convince my parents to come here?"
She raised an eyebrow, confused and slightly hurt. "Embarrassing?" He glanced at her sharply, hearing her tone of disappointment. "If you thought it was-"
"No, not like that," Dudley insisted before he chuckled. "Dad gave me the talk about three times to make sure I remembered." She snorted, unable to stop it. "I had to inform him I knew what to do about eight different times and he offered a cup of brandy for it. And then my mum tried. I flat out shut the door in her face." Aquila laughed at that. Her fingers darted to the shirt he was wearing of Muggle something or other. She was slightly relieved he wasn't embarrassed because of her. She didn't want that. "When I told them that there'd be your friends here, they made me promise not to piss anyone off-"
"We don't hurt Muggles..." Aquila frowned slightly. She could feel his dog tags beneath his shirt and traced the chain once before letting her hand rest against his chest. "We don't hurt anyone. Only if we're in a duel. I don't know why they'd be under the impression-"
"Uh, I may have been given a pigs tail by some big burly bloke when I was twelve. Picked up Harry from this shack because my dad was absolutely bonkers-"
"You had a pig tail because someone used magic on you?" she gasped. She sat up, leaning over him slightly as her hair fell around her faec. It was long enough to touch his chest just slightly. "No wonder your dad didn't like me - and Petunia warned me not to talk about magic too much. Merlin's beard, I'm so sorry. I apologize on behalf of wizarding kind." Who would do that to him? Big burly bloke... Hagrid? No, he was harmless. She shook her head, falling down beside him on the bed. "Merlin, I'm surprised you even wanted to come with to here."
"Well, some wizards in London removed it from me," Dudley shrugged. "No scar or anything." He paused for a moment as Aquila tried to figure out what to say. "But I know there are people out there that want to hurt people - wizard or not."
"That's why I want you to stay close to us," she told him quietly. "It is dangerous. You never know who will turn dark and it's safer to be safe than to take risks." Her fingers trailed along his shirt again, though she didn't notice she was doing it. "A lot of them were the bad guys in the first war - friends of my father, friends of my mother... It's dangerous to be about at night, to be about during the day. Ethan Bones was a great bloke. I didn't know him personally, but he was doing Ministry work for his aunt. No nonsense kind of guy. It's starting again. People are disappearing. Not that important people, but people that die suspiciously. When I was little, I remember listening to the radio when my mum wasn't around... before my father died. Deaths all the time. And when my father died, they just got worse. Burning villages - muggle ones too. Raiding shops and tortures put on public display. It was chaos. So many fled, so many died, so many stayed."
Her fingers stopped and she blushed as she realized where they were. Touching the dog tags again. She curled her hand into a fist and pulled it away from him. "Sorry..." She cleared her throat and continued. "There are people that want to hurt you - me - Muggles, Blood traitors, Half-bloods that don't support their cause... They are here, too. In this very campsite. Not the team, though, nor the Weasleys. They're very loyal to the Order's cause. You wouldn't be here if they weren't." Her hand rested in front of her as he turned to look at her better. It was dark in the enclosed space, so she flicked her wand. "Lumos." It lit up to a brilliant blue color, but Dudley didn't flinch at the sudden assault. He stared intently at her. "What?" Her hand flew to her face. "Did the twins do something?"
He shook his head. "You're beautiful."
She looked away from him. "It's the Veela in me."
"It's not just appearance, you know," Dudley said quietly. "It's your personality, too. So what if you've got a temper? I do too. I also like how athletic you are, even though when we hang out we mostly just sit around and do nothing." Aquila giggled, moving to protest, but he silenced her when he continued. "You're pretty down to earth and despite all the shit that's gone on in your life, you're ... well, you're you. I like that."
"So you like me, huh?" Aquila questioned. They hadn't breached the topic since Evan had been visiting Little Whinging. "That's what you said when you found my brother and I in bed- Merlin, that sounds worse than it was."
He nodded, his eyes meeting hers. "Yeah. I'd be a fool if I didn't."
"Good, I do, too." Aquila then grinned cheekily. "I also like you, too." He snorted at her attempt of humor. "What does this mean?"
"Well... You said that you need to cross the bridge first, so how about once you do that - at your own pace - we can go out to lunch and we can visit a Muggle school. You said you wanted to see that, right?" Merlin, why was he so good to her?
"Right... I think at this rate I'll be spoiled rotten."
He snorted and glanced back above him, shifting slightly to get comfortable. "That is the intention, isn't it?"
"Is it?" she asked him coyly. Her dark hair fell into her face as she pressed her face to his shoulder. "I was rather under the impression that you would just indulge me until you decided magic wasn't for you."
"Were you?" He hummed. "That simply can't do."
Her lips curled into a faint smile at their banter. "It can't? Why not?"
"Because while magic is definitely not for me, as I am not magical in the slightest -" Aquila furrowed her brow, confused. "That doesn't mean the idea of going out with you is in any way unattractive. In fact, it's the exact opposite. Quite appealing." Aquila snorted, waiting for him to get to his point. She moved a few strands of hair from her eyes. "So you tell me when you're interested in a relationship - if you're interested at all, that is - and I'll happily oblige."
She shifted slightly so her lips could lightly touch Dudley's jaw - as she wasn't laying in the right position to kiss his cheek. "I don't think you'll be waiting long. I just need to deal with Chang and my ridiculous nightmares."
"Nightmares?"
She winced slightly. "I... I dream about things - death, to be quite frank. It started with my father's death when I was a child - I had seen his body on the doorstep when my mother had answered the door... And then Cedric." The name almost seemed taint spoken between them in this moment. "So I'll try my best not to wake you... I, uh, apologize if I do. They usually don't return after I've woken up once in the night." She pressed her cheek against the bone in his shoulder. Her eyes felt tired and she let them close as she listened to his pulse in his arm. It was just quiet enough to hear. "I probably should have told you all of this before I forced you to sleep in the same bed with me."
"The night of the party... did you have nightmares then? I didn't think you did, but I was pretty much out-"
"No," Aquila admitted. "Alcohol is a... a natural suppressor on magical dreams - because most dreams in Muggles are never memories, but manifestations of wants. In magical beings, they can be memories, future events, or even past lives. A bunch of superstitious crock to the last two, but memories are very frequent..." She paused as his breathing shifted slightly, almost calming. Her free hand, that wasn't holding her wand under her pillow, moved to his arm and gripped it lightly, as though it was a pillow. "What do you dream about?"
"I don't have dreams," he admitted. "I fall asleep and the next thing I know I'm awake."
"That's a sign that you're healthy, you know," she told him, her Ravenclaw nature peaking out. "And that you're well rested."
"Yeah, so I don't particularly aim for dreams."
"I weep for you," she said teasingly. She shifted slightly until she was comfortable, though she didn't move much from her original position. "Have you ever had a dream?"
"Well, of course. We all have dreams."
"What was your last dream, then?" she inquired.
There was silence a moment as he obviously thought. And then he seemed to think of one - or he made it up entirely. "I believe I was ten. I dreamed of driving this truck, right-"
"Truck?"
"Er, a larger version of the car Amber has."
"Oh, okay," Aquila murmured, letting him cnotinue.
"And it was like a delivery truck and I was delivering something. But by the time I got to the place, they wouldn't take my order because I was two minutes later. Turns out I was delivering teletubbies... Uh, they're these really creepy dolls that used to be a television programme when I was younger. Gave me nightmares all the time, but mum insisted I watch them."
Aquila didn't understand the references at all but yawned against his arm. "That's not a bad dream at all... It's funny, though. Your dreams are so different." She flicked her wand slightly. "Nox." The faint blue light disappeared and despite her closed eyes, she was shrouded in even darker darkness. "Tell me if you dream tonight, okay? Goodnight, Dudley."
"Night, Ella."
She smiled at the nickname and, breathing in the scent of his cologne, the same as always, and drifted off to sleep. She thought of Dudley as she did so. How he never... he never pushed, never demanded, never questioned much of her. He sort of took it all in stride. Did she push him? Did she force him into situations he didn't like? Merlin, and the pig thing... what if he secretly harbored a vendetta against her and her kind? Merlin knew that Vernon probably still did, despite his kind words to her. Wonderful, now she'd have to figure out what's real and what's her being too pushy. Is that why relationships and her sucked?