Trouvaille - something lovely discovered by chance
A Slytherin and a Gryffindor are sworn enemies. Families, friendships, relationships, all are infected by house rivalry.
So are James Potter, proud and brave Gryffindor, and Aquila Black, cunning a...
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"Are you drunk?" Aquila asked. "Or is this a prank? If it is, it's not a very funny one, and neither is it your best," she said, cold grey eyes staring flatly into her brother's.
Sirius stood a little ways from her, looking at the group assembled across him. Perhaps the way to do it in a group was not the best way, but Sirius didn't know who else to go to.
Meanwhile Aquila could feel dizziness setting in, along with a mental chant of 'no, no, no.'
Lily was pregnant.
Lily had gone into hiding.
With James.
Her James.
Aquila's James.
Because apparently, it was Lily and James' child.
No fucking way.
Because Aquila knew James. And he wouldn't. . .
Wouldn't he, though? A traitorous voice whispered in her mind. What have you given him, anyway?
Aquila shook her head and tuned back into the conversation.
"And where did you say they were hiding?" Regulus asked sharply, his eyes on Aquila, but voice directed at Sirius.
Sirius chewed his lip. "I didn't. They've kept a charm on the house, a Fidelius Charm. Dumbledore is their secret keeper. I can't tell you, and I don't think he would, either."
"Why, because we're Death Eaters?" Aquila said numbly.
Sirius gaped. "Are you mad? I trust you with my life, Aq. I can't believe it either, and to be honest, I haven't really had the time to talk to either of them."
"What happened exactly, again?" Regulus asked, tilting his head to the side.
Lily glanced at James guiltily. "I'm pregnant."
Sirius and James' eyes widened, and they looked at each other. While Sirius could see how carrying a baby during a war was a pretty sucky situation to be in, he didn't understand why Lily had come here of all places.
"Who's the father?" James asked, eyebrows furrowing. Lily glanced at Sirius, as if to say 'leave us alone'.
Sirius nodded, stunned, as James escorted Lily to the balcony. Sirius, stuck in a dilemma, about whether to respect his best mate's privacy or think about his sister.
But, apparently, it wasn't worth the effort. There was already an eavesdropping prevention charm around the two. Before Sirius could say anything, James summoned a patronus, said something to it, and the silver stag darted off in the night. Finally, James turned to the door, where Sirius was standing.
Sirius raised his eyebrows, mouthing 'what happened?'
James simply shook his head, tapped his wrist, and then he and Lily apparated out of there.
Since then, Sirius had only received an owl from Dumbledore about the direness of the situation, explaining that Lily Evans and James Potter had gone into hiding to prevent discovery of the child, and Sirius had taken a slight relief at the fact that it wasn't written 'their' child.
But that relief was quickly crushed when it was later written, 'Lily and James send their love and regards to everyone.'
Lily and James.
As if they were a team.
Which they weren't.
James was not teams with anyone except Sirius. And the Marauders. And Aquila.
And while it was slightly jarring in the beginning about Aquila and James dating, Sirius never really saw how it was his business to interfere. Fine, he might have reacted a bit dramatically, but did you really expect any less from him?
Meanwhile, Aquila was close to having a breakdown. All she wanted was to look at James once, have him look her in the eye and tell her the truth. Because while the traitorous voice in her mind might try and convince her otherwise, she knew in her heart that James would never do that.
While she trusted James, and even Lily to some extent (even though she had repeatedly tried to make a move on him), the one person she did not trust was Dumbledore.
And she also trusted that Sirius was as clueless as he claimed to be. While there might have been a time when Sirius would have chosen James over Aquila any day, but now, with recent developments, their mother's death and their bonding, Aquila would like to think that Sirius would at least be confused on who to choose.
It was clear that Sirius had chosen Aquila here, because he looked equally angry as Regulus, if not more, considering Regulus had learnt how to keep a leash on visible emotions.
Sirius, not so much.
But Lily was already seven weeks pregnant, and Aquila was too mentally drained to actually do the math. All she really wanted now was a hug from James, and an assurance that everything would be okay.
