She had brought the dress over to the Dursley to change, not wanting to be caught by her mother - thankfully the woman was out for the evening, running some errands.

Dudley was fresh from the shower, smelling just like that cologne she always loved. She glanced up at his entrance, smiling softly as she finished strapping her heel. It wasn't as deadly as the heels she wore to the last party, but they were still pretty tall. She stood from his bed, smiling as she looked him over. "Smart. It's almost like you're trying to impress someone."

"You look stunning," Dudley muttered, looking her over as well. "Bloody hell."

She laughed and kissed him lightly, before fluffing her hair as she stepped away. "It's not too much, right?"

"No." It was the red dress that was a little more revealing than the black – the bodice made of red lace that showed off her skin. The boobs were covered by an attached red bra that didn't quite leave much to the imagination. And the skirt... well... It was about as short as the black one had been. Mid-thigh. Dudley swallowed hard. "I don't know if you can go to the party in that. I can't fight too many blokes."

She giggled. "No blokes. Too much, I can change. I have another dress in my closet."

"It's fine." He shook his head, still trying to draw his eyes away from the lace exposed stomach of hers. He cleared his throat, glancing towards the bedroom window behind her. "Right, then. We should get going."

"Can I just say, you smell amazing," Aquila admitted as they walked into the hallway. He shut his bedroom door, taking her hand as she headed down the steps – mindful she didn't trip in her heels.

"I smell the same as always," Dudley chuckled. "It's just deoderant and a spray of some old cologne-"

"No, it's..." She landed on the last step and turned to face him as he dug in the cupboard for his shoes. "It's like mint... and chocolate... I'm not quite sure what it is exactly, but it smells delictable."

"You smell like vanilla," he told her as he found his shoes and leaned against the wall, pulling them on and tying them. "It's really good."

She giggled. "Lotion."

A throat clearing at the end of the hall made Aquila straighten up and she spotted Petunia, eying Aquila wearily.

"I do hope you'll keep the boys off Ella, Dudders," Petunia said sharply. Dudley nodded immediately, tying the last shoe he needed before walking over towards Aquila, his arm sliding around her waist. She couldn't help but lean against him slightly for warmth. She was a tad cold.

"Course."

"Oh, you two look so beautiful," Petunia sighed. "Can I get a picture? It will only be a moment."

Dudley groaned, turning towards the door. "Come on, Mum..."

"She'll be gone for four months, Dudley Vernon Dursley," Petunia said crossly. Aquila had to stiffle a giggle as Dudley sighed in defeat. She wasn't very successful because he shot her a look. "Now hold on." Petunia darted out of the hall and Dudley sighed.

"If we run, we'll make it down the block by the time she gets back," Dudley murmured to her.

Aquila laughed, smacking his stomach lightly with her hand. "She just wants to take pictures. It's not like she's signing any contracts or anything." Aquila cleared her throat. "And besides, while I'm gone, you can at least remember what I looked like."

"Hard to forget when you wear that dress."

She smacked his stomach again, making him chuckle. "I will go change, if you make another comment about my dress."

"I haven't said anything bad about it!" he protested.

She grinned. "Don't have to." Petunia was back and gestured for them to stand together once more. Dudley sighed, grudgily obliging. "Does my appearance repulse you?" she teased under her breath as he tightened his grip on her waist, pulling her flush against him.

"Not in the slightest."

She laughed and glanced up just as the flash went off for the camera. "One more," Petunia requested before they could pull apart. Aquila schooled her laugh into a few giggles and smiled pleasantly towards the camera. It flashed once more and Dudley's arm dropped.

"Can we go now?" Dudley whined. He didn't seem annoyed however, because his mother laughed good-naturedly and Dudley's grin showed despite his attempt to keep it from appearing.

"By all means. And if you stay out past midnight, I do hope you'll attempt to be quiet when you get in," Petunia warned. "It's a Saturday tomorrow and I don't want to wake up before the sunrises."

"We won't be too late," Aquila promised. "I have an early morning tomorrow."

"But enough of that," Petunia insisted. "Have fun. And I hope to see you before you leave tomorrow."

"Of course," Aquila promised.

"And I gave Dudley plenty of money, in case you go out someplace else," Petunia called.

"Tuney, leave them alone!" Vernon called from the living room. Aquila laughed and bid her farewells before following Dudley out. He was muttering under his breath about his embarassing parents, but Aquila slung her arm in his and they began their walk to Piers house. The last they would have that summer.

"Do you have your, uh, wand?"

She swallowed. "No." Her mother would kill her if she knew, but Aquila didn't have any place to put it. "If anything happens, I have an emergency port key than will take us to my family's safe-house." But she felt naked and exposed without her wand... a sitting duck. "Just don't say anything to anyone, alright?"

"Isn't there, like, a war going on in your world?"

"There is," Aquila confirmed, clutching his arm as her eyes darted around the street, before they crossed. "I just hope we won't need it."

"And this portkey...?"

"Just find me and grab on and we'll be gone," she insisted, flashing her necklace at him with her free hand. "The password for its activation is the name of that band that sings 'I Want to Hold Your Hand." There was a moment of silence before there was a nod from him. "It's programmed for only you or I to say it."

"How many people can a port-uh-"

"Portkey," she finished. "This is only programmed for two."

"So, if something were to happen?"

"We'd be the only ones to use the port key," she finished his thought. He nodded and seemed quiet for another moment, letting this sink in. "We can stay out as late as you want, too. My mum isn't expecting me back until late, and I can sleep on the train. It's about a ten hour trip, anyway."

He nodded. "Yeah, alright. Tired, just let me know."

"The same with you."

He nodded and Aquila could see the house full to the brim of teens, even more than her first party there. She could hear loud cheers in the back garden as someone did something particularly impressive. Aquila didn't know what but it probably involved alcohol.

"Ready?"

"Always ready," Aquila grinned. They crossed the street and Dudley opened the door, letting them in without worrying too much about notifying Piers. He led her straight to the kitchen, handing her a glass of some orange drink. "What is this?"

"Piers mum makes these orange soda and rum combos. Awesome," Dudley called over the music.

"What's orange soda?" she asked back.

He grinned, nodding to the cup. "You'll like it. It's fizzy!"

She sipped from it and wrinkled her nose, sneezing as the bubbles tickled her nose. But it was pleasant tasting. Sweet. "It's like candy oranges! But as a drink!"

He laughed and nodded, taking one for himself and drinking from it. She knew she'd have to watch herself with these drinks. She had no idea how much alcohol was in them, but she doubted it was as little as it tasted. "Come on! I'm sure Piers is out back."

She didn't like Piers, but she kept her smile on her face and drank from the drink once more before following him out the back door.

"D-man!" Piers cried from Aquila's right. She turned quickly, spotting him approaching with an... average looking girl on his arm. "Ella, babe. You look sexy."

Aquila did not want him to be the one looking at her body... because she doubted he would be very polite about it. "Piers," Aquila greeted politely.

"Hey, Amanda."

"Ella?" the girl asked, her voice entirely too whiney and she was either drunk or too clingy on Piers's arm. Dudley winced beside her. "That's like, a totally posh name... Are you like, posh?" Aquila decided the girl was a little drunk. She didn't know how to respond, however. She glanced at Dudley, to see him giving her a shrug, as though he didn't know how to respond either.

"I don't think so," Aquila admitted.

"Good, because you're dressed really slutty."

Aquila hadn't had enough drinks for this.

"Come on," Dudley said, taking Aquila's arm. "She needs to sleep it off."

"Are you going to talk to me, bitch?" this Amanda girl demanded.

"Hey, now," Piers chided. "Let's head inside, babe."

"Okay," Amanda suddenly purred, giggling as she was pulled closer to him. "Can we take the spare bedroom?"

"Of course, babe," Piers grinned. Aquila waited until they were gone before she glanced at Dudley, who seemed a little embarrassed.

"Maybe I should change," Aquila said to him. She glanced around self-consciously, trying to find anyone else staring at her in an unsavory manner. She didn't notice any, but it made her uneasy.

"No, she's... she's always drunk. She's sort of Piers's on again off again girlfriend and... well, uh, an ex of mine, too, I guess." Aquila raised an eyebrow. Her? "She, uh, doesn't like me too much, nor any, uh, girls I hang out with. . ."

"Oh," Aquila said quietly. She glanced towards the patio, her eyes finding the dancing crowd of teens. "Let's dance."

"What?" Dudley asked.

"I learned how to Muggle dance at the last party," Aquila told him brightly. She sipped the drink, biting her lip as she gazed up at him. "Well, sort of... dance with me?"

He hesitated, before nodding. "Yeah, why not?" He finished his drink before setting the cup down on a table, already filling up with empty cups, and took her hand, letting her lead him to the patio.

Some Muggle song was playing, quite loud and making Aquila's heart beat to the drums. Merlin, Muggle music was so much better than wizarding. People were shouting the lyrics, but Aquila couldn't join in, as she didn't know them. She turned against Dudley, her pulse racing. He wasn't bothered by the lyrics. His gaze was focused solely on her, and she could feel her magic dancing along his skin as she wrapped her arms around his neck, their bodies close.

His scent was everywhere, and as she dropped her head onto his chest, his arms tightened around her waist, so that their bodies were flush. She could hear his heartbeat, and found that her breaths were coming out at nearly the same pace as his heart. Their bodies moved to the rhythm of it, and of the music.

She almost felt like they needed to be in a private room. Something about how they were dancing just seemed intimate to her. She lifted her head, though, and turned her body so that her back was flush against his front. Like the Muggle party earlier in the summer, she 'danced.' She was still quite relieved by the fact that there was no waltzing or foxtrots.

Too many steps to memorize.

This was just letting the music guide their bodies, letting their bodies find their own rhythm. Letting them explore one another. Dudley's hands didn't stray any lower than her hips, and she didn't feel anything other than the heat from their syncing bodies.

But the fact that Dudley stayed in control of himself immensely relieved her. He wasn't trying to sleep with her. He wasn't trying to make her uncomfortable. He was treating her... well, right. And she loved it.

"Aquila?!" The girl in question glanced up to see Amber approaching. The girl was grinning widely, clutching a red cup in one hand and shoving people out of the way with the other. Her and Dudley quite dancing, stepping away from each other as the woman approached. "You leave tomorrow, yeah?" Amber cried over the music.

Aquila nodded, catching the frown on the young girl's face. "Yeah, eleven am."

Amber grinned. "Come on! One more beer pong, then? For old time's sake."

She glanced at Dudley, not asking for permission, per say, but to see if he was okay with that. They would be walking back together, after all. If she was tripping over her feet and mumbling incoherantly, he would be the one dealing with it.

"Against who?" Dudley asked, looking at Amber.

Amber grinned, nodding to a group of rather large boys. Aquila spotted Malcolm, laughing boisterously around a few larger men, men that were in the rugby match a few hours ago. There were more, however, that she didn't know. "This bloke named Ted," Amber shrugged. "Total posh, if you ask me, but he seems good."

"I say go for it," Dudley told the witch. Aquila hesitated. She didn't want to spend her last evening here drunk, but sighed at the look Amber was giving her.

"Fine, but if I win, which I have no doubt that I can, if it's anything like Malcolm's match, then I might need to sit down. I don't want to get sick or anything with all this jumping around." Dudley nodded in agreement to her words and they manuvered out of the crowd, locating the group of large guys that were heading towards the table with beer cups on each end.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Dudley told her.

"I know," Aquila shrugged. "I figure I'll be a little less drunk by the time we leave if I don't drink anything after the game, hmm?" She positioned herself at the table and glanced to the other end, waiting for her opponent.

Amber came up to her, however, distracting her. "Alright, so Ted's a bit good at this game, better than Malcolm. You'll have to use that to your advantage. Knock him off with your confidence."

"I got this, Amber," Aquila insisted, but laughed anyway at how serious Amber was taking the round. She glanced back towards the table and nearly did a double take at the man across from her. "Nott? Bloody hell, what are you doing here?"

"You know each other?" Amber asked, incredulous.

This was bad. This was very, very bad. Aquila glanced at Dudley, seeing him slightly confused, but a little wary. "Black," Nott said before Aquila could answer. Theodore Nott, son of a Death Eater. . . Slytherin. How did she not notice him? How was he here?

"I... I didn't know you lived around here," Aquila admitted, careful as she slipped her shoes off. Merlin, she wished she had her wand with her. She felt too vulnerable. "Last I heard, your family moved by Wiltshire."

"Things changed this summer," he shrugged. His face was blank, a mask now. Merlin's beard... A Slytherin Pureblood extremist was at a Muggle party, talking to her.

"They did," Aquila agreed. "You start."

And so he did. The ping pong ball sailed into the cup and Aquila drank from it quickly before she swallowed. She could focus on the game, forget he was there. But then again, he was someone that could attack if she was drunk.

"Relax, Black, not the bad guy, remember?" Nott grinned. She didn't know if he was being sarcastic or not.

This was a bad idea. She would have bowed out of the game if she wasn't so competitive. Competition was in her blood. She couldn't let Nott be better than her. Bloody hell, no Slytherin was better than her.

She was a Ravenclaw, afterall.

She bounced the ball, following the same pattern to defeat Nott as she did with Malcolm. By the end of the match, she still had three cups left and he none. She had won, again. Almost immediately after she got the last cup, she stepped away from the table and moved through the crowd. Maybe she could run home and grab her wand, before Dudley noticed she was gone.

"What's wrong, Black? Gone to rub it in people's faces you're better than them at beer pong?" a voice taunted behind her.

"Oh, go to hell, you bloody snake," she hissed, turning around abruptly to face him. Theo stopped immediately, amused, though, by the smirk on his face. "What are you doing here? Scoping out the place before your murderer of a father comes by?"

Nott snarled suddenly, grabbing her arm, but no wands were drawn. Perhaps he didn't have his either? No, that was impossible. He was a snake and a snake had a wand. "You don't know who you're messing with, Black... You and I aren't so different."

"I know you're a right foul git," she snapped, wrenching herself away. "And I know that you and I are nothing alike. You're on his side. I'm on the Order. And nothing will change that."

"Marriage contract?"

She froze. "How do you know about that?"

"Because your mother contacted my father about two months ago," Theo told her sharply. "I don't want a marriage contract, Black."

"Yeah, well, neither do I!" Aquila cried. "I don't want to be bound to a filthy Death Eater for the rest of my life, okay?"

"And I don't want a bloody Order member for a wife."

"At least you get the chance to be happy with someone else on the side," she sneered. She huffed, moving away from him and towards the back door, to find Dudley. The party was dying down and she felt entirely too tipsy to be wandering around. She nearly stumbled on the steps from the porch, and Nott caught her arm.

She drew herself away, glaring at him. "Don't touch me."

"I don't want to be on his side... Why else would I be here? To kill some Muggles?" Theo Nott snorted, tossling his blonde hair as he looked towards the house behind her. "Mother and I... we got away from Father... We live right down the road... We don't have our wands on us... but they're ready if we're found." He was either a bloody liar or serious.

"It's not safe to stay here," Aquila told him plainly. "No where will be safe, soon."

"I won't tell anyone you're here... nor that Potter's down the road," Nott told her. Aquila felt her anger at him being there deflating the more he went on. "I don't want to die in this war... not fighting for the wrong side...I don't want to be on you-know-who's side."

"I don't think anyone really does," Aquila admitted softly. "I'm going home..." She cleared her throat. "See you on the train, Nott."

"Yeah, you too."

"And we won't mention any of this... we'll act like we never saw each other."

"Deal," he agreed. She left him on the porch, walking through the glass doors and spotting Dudley immediately. He must have been looking for her when she disappeared.

"Everything all right?" he asked, frowning slightly at the bruise on her arm already forming. Nott may have grabbed a little harder than she thought.

"Yeah," she smiled brightly. She leaned up and kissed him, giggling as her eyes caught sight of Amber trying to play spin the bottle, but she ended up totally rigging the spin so it landed on Malcolm. Amber grinned and pulled the partier to her. Aquila glanced back at Dudley, smirking. "I have an idea..."

"I don't like the sound of that."

She laughed, taking his hand, pulling him closer to her. "What you do is this... You literally just hold my hand the rest of the party."

"That doesn't sound too hard."

"While I try my best to hold yours in return."

"I think it's a challenge."

"I quite agree."

It was difficult, in fact. Once they linked hands, people would rush past them to get in on another game that was starting, nearly splitting their hands apart. So, Aquila decided to stand close, pulling him into the back corner and deciding she liked the orange soda drinks with the taste of Dudley on the side. His mouth was... well, heaven. She could taste the alcohol, the orange, and him. The smell of the colonge mixed with the scent of the party, making her head spin.

"You're dating a Muggle?" Theo asked her, his eyes darting to Dudley standing beside her. Aquila stiffened, not realizing he was so close, and detatched herself fom Dudley, reluctantly letting their hands go.

"None of your business, Nott," Aquila said stiffly.

"Bet your mother loves that."

"Oh, she does," Aquila said sarcastically. "This is the problem with Slytherin's, you see? They always state the obvious like it's headline news."

"Does he know... about you?" Nott asked, glancing from her to Dudley once more.

Aquila raised an eyebrow. "That I'm a witch, you mean? Oh, yeah. It goes along with dodging a few Dementors in town. Let me guess... you set the dementors on us?"

"Dementors?" Nott whispered, going white. "When was this?"

"End of June, I'd say," Aquila said off-handedly. "Will you get out of my way?" She shoved passed Nott, her hand finding Dudley's and she dragged him with her. "Why are you still coming up to me for conversation. I thought I made myself quite clear-"

"I never thought you were the type to date Muggles," he interrupted. "Always so proper in Pureblood etiquette. Always going for the strong, athletic Purebloods – Diggory, McLaggen, bloody hell, even that one bloke. What was his name?"

"Bartolomew," she muttered. Ugh, he had been disgusting. "Barty Lewis's boy. Worst human being in the world. I caught him torturing spiders in his free time, and ended that."

"And this... a little bit of a downgrade, huh?" Nott continued, glancing to Dudley. Was Nott drunk or just stupid? Aquila decided both.

Aquila narrowed her eyes. "Says who? The Pureblood male that has absolutely no Pureblood girl in the world to marry, because male heirs are favored over women? And you'd hate to see a Pureblood girl not date in the same gene pool that we all come from. I'm not fond of incest, thank you. You're what? My fourth cousin, three times removed? Or are you just saying that because you generally think he's a downgrade? Because, I assure you, he's not. In fact, he's-"

"He's a dumb Muggle that won't even be able to comprehend what we do in our world."

"He's not a dumb Muggle. And he's able to comprehend what goes on in our world easily." Aquila huffed, glancing at Dudley. "Let's just go. He's a fucked up Slytherin."

"Like the Blacks aren't fucked up? Remind me again how many people in you family aren't in jail, dead, or escaped convicts? You can't trust the Blacks, mate. You certainly can't trust her."

"Oh? And why not?" Aquila snapped. "I have two people in my family that aren't, thank you very much. It's more than I can say for your family."

"I have four. My Uncle Tiberius-"

"He's not in your direct family. If you want to get that technical, I have the Weasleys, the Longbottoms, the Potters, and the Bones."

"And you come from a direct descent of Death Eaters."

"So do you," she returned. "My father tried to fix his mistake. He tried to back out, but he was killed before he had the chance. Can you say that for your family? Your father avidly supports him-"

"And a marriage contract to Zabini's family?" Nott laughed. "That's pretty dark. You'll become dark too."

"Oi, she's not dark," Dudley spoke up.

"Just wait, mate," Nott said seriously, smirking in the infamous Slytherin way. "She will... All the Blacks go dark."

"Oh, yeah?" Aquila questioned. "Why isn't my brother?"

"He's still got time to turn dark, hasn't he? What's the age in your family... nineteen? Then you're as dark as your name suggests."

Dudley tugged on her hand. "Let's go. Or this prick might get a black eye, like my fist suggests."

Merlin, she liked Dudley. Aquila couldn't keep the smile from appearing on her face and she nodded, following him through the crowd. "Do you know what time it is?" she asked after they miraculously made it in one piece on the front step.

"A little after midnight," he told her. There was silence a moment and he started to speak again. "I don't think you'll go dark."

"Thanks," she sighed. "He's not supposed to be here. It was supposed to be a fun night, with friends, before I left."

"He goes to your school, doesn't he?"

"He's in the house where those that turn dark are in," she told him. "His father and mine used to be friends, joined you-know-who together, were even roommates out of school, when my mother was pregnant with Evan. My father was nineteen when Evan was born, twenty when I was... my mother was sixteen and seventeen respectively." She swallowed. "My father didn't have enough of his inheritance to buy a manor, to fund a family of four then... nor did my mother. They had been married very young and... and their parents approved, but wouldn't support them. It was an arranged marriage, of course. Her Veela side had chosen him when she was very young and her parents, and his, acted accordingly... They were all friends. The Notts, the Blacks, and the Rosiers. There were the Malfoys, the Lestranges, the Goyles, and the Crabbes. All families that are now proudly supporting you-know-who's return." She bit her lip. "My brother and I are the only of that group to be in different houses than Slytherin. The only ones not to be like our fathers. Nott says he doesn't want to be like his own, but what you witnessed today is him being just like his father in school. No violence, just words... it's how most of the Slytherins are... their parents fight all of their battles."

"And they're hostile towards you?"

"No. I'm a Pureblood, Captain of Ravenclaw's team, and an amazing beater, if I do say so myself. The most they can be hostile towards me is as much as their etiquette stands for. A sharp comment here or there... Never would they do a confrontation like that. At least, not at school, in front of peers, or even one on one. There are eyes and ears all over the school that will tell their parents they behaved dismally."

"So they aren't hostile?"

"No. That's the first I've seen."

"And it's because of us?"

"No," she said firmly. "That's the reaction I expected from a Slytherin. They're all like that. They don't believe in blood mixing, and if it does, it's only between Purebloods and prominent half-blood families." She glanced at their entwined hands, giving it a squeeze. "What I didn't expect, however, was for him to bring it up in front of you. It's a Pureblood thing to hate on other Purebloods, to their face... but you don't bring significant others in it. That's just poor manners."

"And the other blokes you dated-"

"You're not like them," Aquila interrupted. "That's a good thing. Just... don't prove me wrong."

"When will you be coming back next?" he asked suddenly.

"Christmas. And then Easter holidays. And then summer break." She glanced at him, biting her lip. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah. I'll plan something special, then, since we won't see each other for long."

She smiled widely at him, kissing his cheek as she lifted on her toes. He was too tall to reach properly. "You really do spoil me."

He laughed as they crossed the road. "Do I?"

"Yes... well, no one's ever said that to me before, so... yes, you do."

There was a moment of them walking, Privet Drive in their viewing area. No words were exchanged. When they stopped at her front door, she took his arm. "Spend the night. No funny business, I swear, but... I have wards on my door so my mother can't kill you, and I would just like... to spend the night with someone."

He hesitated. "Your mum's going to kill me."

Aquila giggled quietly, shaking her head. "She placed anti-fornification charms on my room as soon as we moved in. She knows nothing's happening."

"Alright. When do I have to leave?"

"I'll apparate you to your front door at about ten thirty," she told him. "I leave at ten forty-five, so that gives me time to see your mother... She said she wanted to see me."

"Alright. I'm going to miss you."

Aquila smiled softly at him, noting how he seemed a little sad with her eminent departure. "I'll miss you, too... But you're always welcome to write me."

"How do I write?"

She glanced at the front door of her house, biting her lip. "Well, owl's the easiest, but there's always just plain old writing. You can send it to an address I'll give you in the morning... It's guaranteed to reach me, then. And there's other ways to get it to me. Floo mail, but that costs a few sickles... um, and it's a little complicated to use. There's-" She stopped, shaking her head. "Sorry, I'm getting a little rambly."

He chuckled. "Teach me how to, uh, owl, and I'll owl."

She rolled her eyes, before opening her front door. She made sure they were both quiet as she shut the door and took off her heels, before casting silencing charms on the pair of them with the wand she had hidden in the umbrella bin. She took his hand, leading him up the stairs carefully and directed him around a squeaky stair. Opening her bedroom door, she let out a breath and not having woken her mother up.

The door shut behind her and she giggled silently before releasing their silencing charms and then casting a muffiliato on the room. "Safe."

"But can't she hear us if we talk? I know my room's walls are pretty thin."

She shook her head, setting her wand on her bedside table. "Silencing charms. They're pretty much amazing."

"Oh, that's cool." She nodded and turned towards her closet, digging around.

"I have some clothes that should fit, if you'd like to change," she called to him. "They were Evan's. What size?"

"Extra Large." She nodded and dug in the box of Evan's old clothes, finding a t-shirt that was said size, and a pair of shorts with elastic. Evan had often worn Muggle fashion during Quidditch practice, and hid them from mother – which was why Aquila had them now.

She tossed Dudley the clothes before stripping from her dress, pulling on a pair of shorts and a Ravenclaw jersey – a tad smaller than her usual team jerseys, but not so much so that it was tight on her. She walked into the bedroom once more, brushing out her hair and twisting it up into a pony tail.

"What time do you leave, again?"

"Ten forty-five," she told him, throwing the hair brush into the packed trunk by her bed. She then cast a charm to brush her teeth, wiped her make-up off, and then turned to face him. He was standing up, facing her, and a slightly pink hue on his cheeks. Blushing? No, he couldn't have been. She rolled her eyes, pulling back the covers to her bed before biting her lip at it. It was large enough for two people, but she doubted he'd be comfortable with the length. Evan's feet hung off the end.

She reached for her wand and flicked it at the bed, elongating it so that it was another foot longer. "There," she stated simply. She crawled inside, gazing at him expectantly. He didn't move. "You're welcome to join."

"I feel like your mother will kill me. Isn't your family like evil?"

She giggled. "You're safe with me. Well..." Dudley hesitated as he lowered himself on the bed. "As safe as it can be sleeping in the house of a Black, I suppose."

"Is this the only Black House? You have your uncle, right?"

"He lives in the … well, the official residence of the Black family. It was my grandmother's home, where my father and uncle grew up." She plopped her head on the pillows, staring up at the ceiling. "This is just an extension. With my brother no doubt expecting a child soon, their residence will soon become the offical Black residence, in Spain. Making the Black house English name... well, it would no longer be English unless he moved back here. And bought a proper manor."

"So, you're … pretty much a millionaire?"

"Times five in your currency, yes," Aquila admitted. "It's not all it's cracked up to be. We've never lived in a big home... we only got our money after my father died, because it was apart of the inheritance to Evan and I, and a small portion went to my mother. She has her own money from the Rosier line, but her brother mostly has control of it. And her elder sister." Aquila cleared her throat. "We're a bit odd from other purebloods that way, I suppose. Her being the youngest child, and my father being the youngest, but an heir at the same time, they didn't receive as much as they should have had they been first born."

Aquila shook her head, continuing. "But ultimately, we don't need the money. The Weasley family can live off of a galleon a week, which is about, well... five pounds. And divided amongst seven children and two family members, well, wizards are very adept at using their environment around them to support themselves."

"So, if all Pureblood families are rich, how come the Weasleys aren't?"

"That's mostly Lucius Malfoys fault," Aquila admitted. "He's a.. well, a cousin of mine. Well, not him specifically, but his ancestor married a Weasley and there was a bit of a falling out. Thus sparked the Weasley curse. Too many sons to be born. They have six. Odds are one of them will die. In the first war, Mrs. Weasley lost her twin brothers. It was a hell of a fight. The Bones family was almost entirely obliterated. They were once a prominent name, often in Ministry affairs. Over a hundred members and they're now reduced to about five." She exhaled, shaking her head. "The Black family had over fifteen branches, all male heirs to each of them... and then the Black sisters were born, and the Dark Lord gained favor... and a lot of them were killed by Order members, died because of the Dark Lord... Black loyalty lies with whoever offers a Black the best advantage."

"And who gives you the best advantage?"

"Quidditch," Aquila admitted. "It's everything to me. Second to Quidditch is the Order."

"And the Dark Lord?"

"Offers no advantage," she said firmly. "I will never side with him."

He was silent, offering no comment. Aquila waited a few minutes, before she glanced towards him. His head rested against the pillow and his eyes were shut, his breathing even. If anything, Rugby was tiresome.