She returned from the Dursleys home with more deflation in her steps than she remembered. The Lynch home was quiet, the party apparently over with the news and everyone resting. Aquila helped herself to some cooling tea and sat in the large bay window in the living room, curling her legs under her as she listened to the silent house and watched the gentle snowfalls.

"Where did you go?"

She jumped, spilling room temperature tea on her lap and hand in the process, and glanced in the direction of the voice. It was Lynch, hovering in the doorway between the staircase and the living room. "You can punish me when trainings start up after New Years," Aquila sighed, settling back into her seat, wiping her hand onto her pants. "I had to check on Dudley... With the Burrow-"

"You knew you weren't supposed to see him."

She pressed her lips together, to bite back her retort. She knew. "He's my Veela mate, apparently... That's what Andy thinks. But... if he was my mate, would I be able to spend nearly six months away from him?"

He was getting closer to her and she didn't continue, though her question was rhetorical. She pressed her cheek to the frozen glass, her breath causing a mist to form as she sighed softly. "Do you want a drink? Something stronger?"

It sounded fantastic. "Yeah. Got any firewhiskey?"

"Always got it," Lynch winked, offering a hand and he hauled her to her feet. Aquila snorted, following him to the drink tumblers where the clear liquid rested in nearly fifteen glass bottles. Enough to get them both bleeding drunk. "How much do you want?"

"Until I pass out," Aquila responded immediately. She didn't even need to think about it. She wanted the alcohol, just for the night. She wanted to be piss poor bleedin' drunk for one night. He poured her a shot and then one for himself. And she knocked it back. The first few shots were clean, and then as he got drunk, the bottle began to pour not only into the shot glass, but onto the table, their hands, and the rug.

"Mum'll have a fit," Lynch muttered, his back resting against the wall as he slowly sank down to the ground. "Is the room spinning to you?"

"Wha' spin?" Aquila slurred. She blinked hard, the room spinning for her as well. "Ya know wha' I hate?"

"Me," Lynch answered, pouring another shot, spilling it all over his lap.

"No!" Aquila whispered, shocked. "Do I really?"

"Dunno," he shrugged, half of his shot falling out of the glass at the action. "Do ye?"

"Iss been six monfs an' dat idiot didn't even... kiss me!" Aquila tossed the shot glass away from her as tears sprung in her eyes. "An' now 'e probably hates me! I hate me! Who doesn't hate me?"

"I dun hate you," Lynch muttered.

And suddenly she was on him, her mouth sloppily kissing his own as she tried to remain upright. Merlin, she was absolutely pissed. How many bottles had they gone through? When she pulled away from Lynch, she gazed at the pile of empty bottles, trying to count. "One... two... free... free's no number, Lynch."

"Bloody 'ell was that-"

She was snogging him again, her fingers running through his hair as she sat atop his lap, his legs sprawled under her. "Bedroom," she murmured, his hands holding her firmly. "Bedroom, now."

"Yea-" They were gone in a crack and when they reappeared, the soft mattress of his bed was under them. Her hands tugged at the hem of his shirt, her lips attacking him in a wild way that she hadn't attacked anyone in her life. It was like she was mutilating her prey. "Bloody hell-" The shirt came off and then he was leaning over her, pulling at her own shirt, and then tugging at her jeans, just as she tugged at his. There was awkward fumbling as they tried to multitask, and all the while, Aquila's head was swimming with the thoughts of moving on. It had been the point of the break afterall.

With the Quidditch skills only a Seeker could possess, he lifted her by the bum, pulling her jeans off with a swift tug, and she felt her hips fall back towards the mattress, but his hands firmly grabbed her before she could make the mattress squeak. Merlin, he was good.

They coupled awkwardly, their kisses sloppy, their rhythm awkward, and their words a mixture of slurs and grunts. Before it was even over, Lynch had managed to pass out, and she felt his weight land on her side, half sprawled across her body, still inside of her. She felt the weight of sleep weigh in on her as well, and then she was out.

When she awoke, she knew something was very wrong. Most likely because she felt something that was not supposed to be inside of her in her vagina. And another reason because a man was laying nearly on top of her. A man that she sincerely hoped wasn't who she thought it was.

"Fuck... Lynch?" Aquila whispered. The sunlight was streaming into the room, meaning they were late for breakfast... maybe even lunch. She winced slightly, squeezing her eyes shut at the light, and the pounding of her head, and shoved Lynch's shoulder. Whatever was inside of her... seemed to stiffen as he awoke slightly. "Lynch get that bloody thing out of me and then get off of me."

"Go away, Mum."

"I wish Maeve was in here," Aquila snapped, her eyes still squeezed shut. "Aidan Lynch, if you do not wake up right now, I'm going to kill you-"

"Huh?" Lynch muttered, his eyes opening. He sprang off of her and Aquila winced slightly as he slid out of her. Merlin, she was sore in places that hadn't been sore in a very long time. "Bloody hell! What the fuck are you doing in here?"

"What the fuck am I doing in here? What the fuck am I doing naked in your room? That's the better question," Aquila snapped. She snatched the blanket from him, covering herself. "Bloody hell, you could at least fucking sleep on your side of the bed!"

"What the fuck?" he cried. He grabbed another blanket, pulling it tightly around his waist. "Aquila!"

"You fucking tell me what's going on!" Aquila shot back. "How did we get like this?"

"I don't bloody know! You were in the living room, we drank firewhiskey-" He stopped, groaning. "We fucking didn't... we did, didn't we?"

"Apparently it never ended, because we passed out," Aquila sighed. She ran a hand through her hair, sighing yet again. "Fuck, this meant nothing Lynch."

"It really wounds my ego that you have to be blacking out in order to sleep with me," Lynch smirked. She groaned, flopping back on the bed, pulling the blanket over her face. It did block the sunlight, as well.

"This meant nothing," Aquila repeated firmly from under the blanket. "I don't have feelings for you. I still love Dudley. He's my mate... Bloody hell... what's going to happen? Will this change anything?" She swallowed. "Oh, Merlin, what if the bond thinks we're rejecting each other?"

"It was a one night shag. Can't be the first time a Veela's done it before." Lynch tossed something heavy onto her. "I'll sleep on the floor if it makes you so bloody nervous."

"No, I should go to my room," Aquila decided. But the pit in her stomach was drowning her. Merlin, she was a horrible person. She was... she was going to ruin their entire relationship... wasn't she?

-

She hated Potter, she truly did, for creating a team that beat her a second time for the Quidditch House Cup. She hated Weasley. She hated them all. But at the same time, she didn't.

Because it was because of Potter that she was even in the Order so quickly.

So when she awoke in Aidan Lynch's home, as she had every day so far in the summer - which was only three days, but it was enough to drive her barmy - and there was a present waiting for her on the kitchen counter, she knew immediately who it was from.

"It didn't have a name or anything," Maeve admitted. "Waiting on the front porch. I suspect elf magic - there was no breach in the wards." Elf magic. Aquila hesitated, before tugging at the ribbon. It wasn't a finger. She was almost thankful once her brain registered that. But once it managed to work out what it actually was, she realized that Maeve had shrieked and there was a thundering sound of footsteps from all of her teammates climbing down the stairs.

It was a tongue.

"Oh God," Aquila murmured, dropping the ribbon as if it burned, as if she had been the one to cut whoever's tongue this was out. She swallowed, wondering... and for a fleeting moment, she swore it was Dudley's. She swore that he was harmed. Until she cast the diagnostic charm.

Dorcas Meadowes.

Bloody hell. That poor girl.

"What the fuck?" Lynch cried, seeing what his mother had screamed about.

"We need to call Remus," Aquila said carefully. "Now."

"But there's a fucking tongue-"

"We get it," Aquila snapped. "Call Remus. It's fresh. Only a few hours. It'll still have-" But Lynch was already moving away. Aquila cast a stasis charm on the tongue, freezing it in time so that they would be able to get a location with it. With any luck, anyway.

Evan Rosier must have been growing desperate, trying to find out why they weren't making any public announcements about it, why they weren't doing anything to his knowledge... And being desperate meant being sloppy. Remus arrived only a minute later and she stepped aside to show him the tongue.

"It's only a few hours old," Aquila said quickly. "We can trace it. She's smart... She'll know we have it, if she knows he's giving them out as gifts... And if she knows, she'll have left something-"

"A trace," Remus murmured. He was staring intently at the body part, before he nodded. "If this is true, we only have a limited time window before she's moved." Aquila nodded and Remus began to cast enchantments, spells that she didn't know or recognize. Far too advanced for a recent graduate.

"I need to go to the Order, take this with me," Remus said suddenly and he began boxing up the tongue, tying the ribbon around it once more.

"But-I can help," Aquila insisted. "The whole point of me researching this these past-"

"Aquila, we don't have time. You need to stay here. It's safer. We don't know what he wants, but if he wants you, then you definitely shouldn't be on this mission-"

"Will I get told what happens?" she questioned. "I want to know-"

But Remus already ducked through the fireplace, Flooing away. Aquila huffed in frustration, running her hands through her hair.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Tara demanded. "Someone sends you body parts, now?"

She swallowed. "It's been happening for months... For two Christmases... they were fingers... That was all, just a finger, three days old, as always. We were keeping the situation contained... we didn't want him to get wind we were investigating."

"So, what do they want?"

"Dorcas Meadowes was engaged to Sirius Black," Aquila said firmly, glancing at her teammates. "And because of that, Evan Rosier is attempting to get back at the Black family's betrayal of the Dark side... because no one wants your sister associated with the Light, when you're a Death Eater..." She gestured towards where the box had been. "So, I get surprises. I don't think my brother has, but I do, and Sirius did..." Aquila sighed. "I don't know if he's trying to lure us out or if the fingers have been cursed and we just don't touch them... but-"

"It's been years now and you haven't said anything?" Lynch snapped. "Are you bloody mental! You could have been killed! And we're all vulnerable on the pitch-"

"I know," Aquila said quietly. "But if he caught wind of us investigating... I didn't want to have to deal with what he might do to Dorcas because of me."

"So... he messed up this time," Maeve murmured. "He didn't do something he usually did-"

"It was fresh, meaning we can still trace the magic. Aurors used to do it when Dorcas was in training, apparently," Aquila explained. "Put their magic into their severed limb so that when they get to a healer it can be reattached. Every body part has shown signs she's done it, that she's put a location on the limb so that she can find it later. These tracking spells can be reversed, so we can find her. If she's been there for twenty years, she must be desperate, and she's never had a chance until now."

"And you don't think Rosier has realized?" Maeve pressed. "Merlin, Aquila... this is important!"

"I know," Aquila stressed. "But the Order told me that I had to keep it low profile. The only people that knew were those directly involved in the whole case."

There was silence and then Maeve sighed. "I'm going to get to putting the tea on. Something a little stronger, too?"

"Firewhiskey," Aquila admitted. "Maybe a bottle."

"You've become quite the bottle hugger," Lynch winked, tossing her a bottle as he went towards the alcohol rack. "Ireland a bad influence or something?"

"Or something," Aquila said in a mutter, accepting the bottle and sitting heavily at the kitchen counter.

**

"You got a call to the Order." Aquila glanced up to see Lynch standing there awkward. Things had been awkward since they had woken up over Christmas break in a position neither of them wanted to be in. "Go. It's important, it sounded like."

"But-" Aquila cast her Quidditch rule book to the side. "But I'm not supposed to-"

"As long as your back by Friday practice, I couldn't care less. The war's a bit bigger than Quidditch, lass." She agreed on that front. Their last practice before the European Cup that Saturday. Bloody hell, she was trying not to think about it.

But then again, it was that much closer to seeing Dudley. Just three more weeks. She tried not to think much about that either. A twisting feeling always emerged in her stomach.

"Yeah.. alright." She stood up tenatively from the barstool in the kitchen and placed the bottle in the recylcables, before glancing towards Lynch again, watching her. "What?" she questioned.

"I don't want you to get hurt."

"I know, I know, the Europeans are massive," Aquila said, rolling her eyes. "Let's just hope Quidditch is still on in the next few weeks."

"No, I mean it. I don't want you to get hurt... for your sake. Fuck Quidditch." She had never heard those two words in the same sentence come from his mouth before. Was he feeling well? "Be careful. You're my friend."

She nodded quietly. "Thanks. You, too, Lynch. Even if you are an ass, it's nice to have you around."

"Always?" Lynch grinned, the somber mood forgotten.

She rolled her eyes, grabbing her wand and shaking her head. "Don't make me regret it, Lynch."

-

The Order was in a flurry, and the Burrow was so loud - voices shouting at one another, that she wasn't sure if it was safe to enter - had the Burrow been compromised? She cautiously opened the front door and was surprised to see Remus Lupin in a tizzy, ordering people to do things.

"Everyone shut up!" he snapped. "You're going to scare her. Ginny, get the blood replenshing potion. Arthur, help me get her into the spare bedroom." Lupin's eyes rested on Aquila in the entrance hall. "Aquila, wonderful, I need you to start brewing a bone-healing draught."

"You found her?" Aquila guessed, glancing towards a covered figure that was being braced up by Tonks and Kingsley.

Remus gave a firm nod before shooing everyone away. Aquila quickly got to work, throwing the potion she memorized by heart together in the matter of minutes. The house was silent as the Aurors tended to Dorcas Meadowes' needs. Once the potion was finished, Aquila placed it into a glass she found in the cupboard and set off to the spare room.

The woman on the bed looked nothing like the woman Aquila had seen in pictures. Her black, lucious curls were matted, and flakey, and almost a little gray. Blood coated her skin around her mouth and hands. And with a jolt, she realized the woman had no tongue, had missing fingers. Merlin...

"We'll bring Pomfrey to look at you," Remus told his school friend gently. Meadowes seemed so relieved to see him, Aquila could see tears in the woman's eyes. "She can fix this, alright? I promise she'll help you." Remus performed some healing spells, before he took the potion from Aquila, and gave it to her. "Merlin, we all thought you were dead, Cas."

She drank the potion down, grimacing slightly, and suddenly Madame Pomfrey was there, shoving Aquila out of the way to get a good look at the girl. Madame Pomfrey didn't tut like she usually did when one of the students was injured, but she immediately sprung into action, having Remus and Aquila keep Dorcas Meadowes still so she could work.

Since the Order had kept all of her fingers on stasis, Madame Pomfrey could easily repair them with a few archaic methods, with a warning she was not to strain them with any strenuous tasks. The tongue, however, was a more difficult process.

"You won't be able to talk for a very long time," Madame Pomfrey said gently as the woman relaxed, the pain apparently no longer as horrible as she had lived in. "And it will take a long time to fully heal, with your condition. Your transformations will be a struggle on your injuries." Madame Pomfrey patted Meadowes' hand gently. "I've placed a silencing charm on you, so you aren't tempted. I'll check in with you every month following your transformations, alright?"

Tears flowed from Dorcas's eyes and she reached for Pomfrey. "I know, dear," Pomfrey said gently, smiling at her fondly. "You always were very strong. I'm glad we've found you. I'll go tell Molly the orders for you, alright? And then we'll make arrangements for the moon."

As soon as Pomfrey was gone, Lupin took her hands gently, so as not to aggrivate the newly healed hands. "Merlin, Cas... We've missed you so much." Her eyes, though, were searching the room, and she glanced around for a moment, as if trying to find someone, before she dropped her gaze to her hands. Her eyes lit up and she pointed desperately to the ring. Remus seemed confused for a moment, before it dawned on him and he sagged. "Sirius?" Dorcas nodded eagerly. Aquila felt her heart pang. After fourteen years, the girl probably just wanted to see someone familiar, someone that loved her dearly. "He..." Remus swallowed and Dorcas's eager expression quickly turned to apprehension. "I'm so sorry, Cas... He didn't make it... Last year, Death Eaters just..." Her hand slipped out of Remus's own. "Bellatrix hit him and... we tried to save him, but he slipped into the Veil, and... He wouldn't stop looking for you, once we knew you were alive. We searched and searched, and he wouldn't give up. He wanted to find you so much..."

She dragged her fingers along the palm of Remus's hand, spelling out a word, "How?"

"How what?"

Find me?

Remus glanced to Aquila. "I didn't. Aquila here... actually." Dorcas glanced at her, as if seeing her for the first time. "She's Sirius's neice and... he and her were being sent your fingers, and that's how we knew. She's been working on your case, trying to find any leads."

"It's been difficult. Rosier covered his tracks well," Aquila admitted quietly. "I'm sorry it's taken so long. But when..." She swallowed, unsure of how to say it. "When I got the tongue a few days ago, Rosier messed up and we were able to trace... And you know the rest. I'm just... so glad you're not there anymore. I'm sorry-"

Dorcas shook her head, cutting off Aquila, and grasped her hands, as if thanking her. Remus gave the once beautiful girl a gentle smile. "You should rest. You're safe now. I'll stay with you, okay?"

She held onto Remus's hand, and Aquila's own, as if stating firmly that they were to both stay. "Okay, we'll stay," Aquila promised. Dorcas nodded in affirmative before lying back onto the bed, and sleep overcame the woman instantly.

She slept all day, and well into the night, before waking the second day refreshed and hungry. Molly was only much too happy to feed the woman, making so much food a small army could have seconds. And once Dorcas was fed, she slept more.

It took until Thursday for her to be able to stay up all day, during which time she was well enough to get up and take a shower, with the help of Tonks, who stayed with her and helped her get clean. It seemed as though she was getting well, mending. But Aquila knew the horrors she experienced would never truly escape her memory.

Thursday night she sat with Dorcas Meadowes, tasked with catching her up to speed with everything that had happened while she was gone. And Aquila told her all of it. Everything she could cram into the few hours before she needed to leave, and Dorcas listened at rapt attention, learning of Sirius's imprisonment for the framing of James and Lily's death, his escape, and his death. The current Minister of Magic, the bout of Barty Crouch Jr. in Hogwarts, Remus being a Defense professor. Everything Aquila could think of, she told the woman.

By 11:30, Aquila knew she needed to head to Lynch's house. They had to head to the pitch at near six tomorrow morning and she wasn't looking forward to it. "I'll leave you to sleep, and I'll send Remus up here," Aquila said quietly. "I've got to go, though. I have a Ireland practice tomorrow morning." She squeezed the witch's hand. "I'll see you soon, alright?"

The witch just smiled, a pinch of her former beauty had been returning the healthier she was. Aquila ducked out of the room, telling Remus that Dorcas was probably ready to sleep, and then she apparated back to the Lynch house, ready for whatever they were going to throw at her.

The team was waiting, eager for news as to where she had gone. She gave a sigh. "They found Meadowes. She's in a rough way, but she'll be alright," Aquila told them. "She's healing."

"Bloody hell," Maeve murmured. "Where was she?"

Aquila hesitated. "Rosier Manor. Dungeons. It wasn't pretty."

"You went there?"

She shook her head quickly. "No, second hand reports. I was called to help take care of her." She gave a small shrug. "I'm a tad exhausted. I'm going to head up to bed."

But with the arrival of Dorcas Meadowes back into Order custody, well... it made her wonder, if they caught any other Order member, would they be given the same treatment? Would they die swiftly or after years and years of torture? She prayed for a quick end.