𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞 - 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

45 - 𝙩𝙝𝙚, 𝙚𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨-

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

No one except Regulus and Professor Dumbledore was allowed to be with her.

So, that was that.

Regulus was extremely relieved and happy about this, though he tried to hide it, considering everyone would get very suspicious about him getting happy at his sister being escorted to the Hospital Wing.

"I don't know what you've got planned, but I know it's making you very happy. So it's most likely a terrible idea," Aquila groaned, shifting in her bed and trying to sit up.

Regulus adjusted her pillows and helped her sit upright. "My ideas are definitely better than yours."

"No they are not."

"Yes they are."

"No they aren-"

"Miss Black," Dumbledore approached her bedside. "I assume you're feeling well?"

Aquila sat up a bit straighter. "Yes, sir. Thank you for your help."

"Hogwarts will always be a home for those who need it, Miss Black," he replied, peering at her over his glasses, his eyes twinkling.

Aquila and Regulus smiled at him and turned back to their own conversation when the Headmaster left.

"I'm surprised Sirius had nothing to say when you asked James to help me out," she said lightly, fiddling with one corner of the sheet.

Regulus pursed his lips. Yes, he was aware he had overstepped with Sirius back there, and he knew Aquila was beating around the bush. "I'm surprised that I had a lot to say."

She licked her lips. "Ah, yes."

Silence enveloped them like a blanket. Which was weird, because the silence between them was seldom awkward. Regulus didn't like it one bit.

"I'll apologise tomorrow," he finally groaned out, rubbing a hand on his face. Aquila smiled triumphantly, reaching forward to ruffle his hair.

"You should go to sleep," Regulus said, arranging the pillows. Aquila held a hand to stop him.

"We aren't going to talk? About... this?" she asked, gesturing to her left arm.

Regulus smiled at her. "We don't need to. I told you, everything's gonna be okay."

Aquila narrowed her eyes. "You have something planned, don't you?"

Regulus tucked her in the sheet. "Yeah, but you'll be sleeping by then."

Aquila's eyes widened, but quickly shut as she was lulled under the effects of the Sleeping Potion Regulus had insisted on.

"Sorry, Aq, but I'm sure you wouldn't have let me do it if you were awake," he said, brushing a stray hair back from her forehead.

Regulus looked around the empty Hospital Wing and shut the curtains around Aquila's bed. He rubbed his hands together and sat down in the chair beside her chair.

To an outsider, his moves may have seemed very creepy, but Regulus' mind was running too fast to think about what people might think of this. He pricked his finger with his tie pin and pricked Aquila's, grabbing her hand so their blood mixed together.

He tried to clear his mind, but it was filled with a thousand ways this could go wrong.

"Shut up and focus, Regulus. This is for Aquila," he muttered to himself.

Clearing his throat lightly, he shut his eyes tightly and focused. Or was he supposed to keep them open?

"Fuck my life," he muttered, shutting his eyes again, and shuddered.

He reached for Aquila's magic inside his mind. He found his own magical core pulsing along with hers, in harmony. Tentatively, he sent a tendril of his own magic and poked it at the edges of hers. The tendril dissolved into hers and her magical pulse expanded.

Somewhere in his head, he heard Aquila gasp.

He sucked in a huge breath and watched as a portion of the pulsating red ball floating in the darkness came towards him and merged with blue magic. Outside his own body, he traced a finger down her left forearm, where the Dark Mark was.

He felt her gasp more alertly now, her back arching off the bed, sweat beading down her temples.He felt it as if it was his own body, and it probably was, he couldn't tell. He grasped her arm and pressed against the Dark Mark with his thumb, feeling a shock travel down his spine. Pressing it further, he felt Aquila's magic react more firmly now, meaning she was awake.

"Reg," she gasped out. Regulus heard it somewhere in the back of his mind. "Regulus, stop it. Stop it!" she screamed out, trying to wrench her arm free from his hold.

"Go to sleep, Aquila," he gritted out, looking at her with his eyes glowing a dark blue. She gasped and reached for him, but he shut his eyes and concentrated again.

She took ahold of the hand that was holding her arm and tried to wrench her arm free from his grip. Regulus was going to have to apologise for the bruises she'd probably have later.

"You're worried about the bruises?" Aquila cried, horrified, as the Dark Mark seemed to melt in her arm. "What are you doing?"

Regulus gasped, his own left arm going entirely numb. He frantically reached for Aquila, both mentally and physically, trying to reach her for comfort, for reassurance as he had always done.

Where's she where's she where's she Aquila where's my sister I need my sister -

Aquila clasped Regulus' hand in hers as it reached forward blindly, and dazedly comforted him. "It's alright, it's alright, I'm here, we're here, we'll get through this, we always have, we always will, I'm with you, Reggie, stay with me, please," her voice broke on the last word, watching, horrified, as the Dark Mark seemed to bleed out from her fingers.

But that wasn't what horrified her. And good lord, no, no, please no, I would go through a million tortures but please please PLEASE DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO MY BROTHER -

And she could do nothing but watch, as the Dark Mark bled out from her hand and straight into Regulus' left arm, wiggling around and settling itself in his arm.  

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

*mic drop*

༻hy༺