The Other Malfoy {Marauders Era}

You'll Pay For That, Simmons

     When Lily heard about what happened, she didn't hesitate to march up to Simmons and give him a piece of her mind.

     "Simmons! What the Hell are you doing here?" She demanded at dinner when he sat down at the table. Briccan just ignored her and put food on his plate. "Don't you dare ignore me! You hurt my friend, and you just stand there without a care in the world?!" At this, Briccan composed himself and looked her in the eye- which he immediately regretted. He eyes were full of anger, and he knew that no matter how bad Lyons had yelled at him, Lily would be much, much worse.

     "What is it, Evans?" He snapped but regretted it because once he did her eyes only grew angrier.

     "What is it? What is it?! I dunno, maybe the fact that you put my friend in the Hospital Wing!" She exclaimed and waved her hands above her head, making Briccan flinch.

     "I-I didn't do anything!" He tried defending himself, though he knew it was useless. Lily and, he was pretty sure, all of Gryffindor house, maybe even the whole school- knew it was him.

     "I'm sure you didn't," she said, sarcasm thick on every word.

     "Okay, so, maybe I did! But I was doing it for Malfoy! Then he'd finally recognize that even though I'm in Gryffindor I'm still just as cunning as him!" He replied, but covered his mouth after he stopped ranting. Lily looked absolutely livid, and the people around her held her back so she didn't do anything- she had her wand drawn, and her eyes were burning with determination. Determined to get Briccan, determined to get revenge for Aquila, determined to- she was cut off from her thoughts when she saw Sirius enter the hall looking miserable.

     "Are you okay, mate? Is Aquila okay?" James asked as he sat down. Sirius only sat down and blankly stared at his plate. James and Remus exchanged a look, and Lily calmed down a bit, lowered her wand and sat back down, though she still sent glares Briccan's way. "Sirius?" James asked again, but Sirius kept ignoring him. James looked shocked. Sirius had never ignored him before. Remus frowned and shot Lily a glance. She gave a curt nod and walked up to where James was sitting.

     "James? Do you know anything about Aquila?" Lily asked, and Remus silently thanked her. James brightened a bit but shook his head.

     "Nothing, sorry." He apologized. Lily shook her head.

     "There's nothing to apologize about. I was going to check on her after dinner... would you like to come with?" Lily asked through gritted teeth. James' boyish smile returned, and he looked at her.

     "Would I ever not accept a date invite from my Lily pad?" He teased, and Lily shot Remus a 'you-owe-me-big-time' look, but he simply shrugged and tried, and failed, to hold back a laugh. Lily went back to her spot and finished her meal, then met James at the door of the Great Hall, where he grabbed her hand and she blushed, but turned her head so he couldn't see. They walked together to the Hospital Wing.

     "Madam Pomfrey? Can we see Aquila Underwood, please?" Lily asked sweetly. Madam Pomfrey, who was helping a seventh year, finished up and walked up to them

     "She's not awake yet, so it would be rather boring. I gave her a sleeping draught so she wasn't awake while I healed her head. I guess you can go, though- and make sure you tell Mr. Black that he can visit her now... he looked quite worried." She shrugged. "But don't wake her up- she's been through a lot." She then gestured to where the young girl was. Lily and James nodded and went to where Madam Pomfrey gestured. Aquila was laying there, looking quite peaceful. Lily sat down on the side of her bed, while James stood to the side. 

     "Hey, Aquila. Um, I don't know if you can hear me, but... we're worried for you. James, Peter, Remus, me... and Sirius. He looks miserable. I was just going to get him while James talked to you. Uh, I hope you wake up soon. I'll make sure that you're caught up in the classes- I'll take notes for you." Lily said quietly, awkwardness lacing her voice. She sniffed a bit, and James took her hand. She didn't pull away, much to James' pleasure. She then composed herself, fixed her robes and walked out to get Sirius, leaving James alone with Aquila.

     "Um, Aquila, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. We're the ones who dragged you to practice, and this never would've happened if we hadn't. I'm sure Sirius feels the same way. Just please wake up soon. Like Lily said, Sirius is a hot mess... well, more so than usual, if you know what I mean." James smiled a bit, but it faded after a bit. "Um, I don't really have anything else to say, so, uh, wake up, please?" He chuckled- it sounded more like a question than a statement. James opened his mouth to speak but decided not to. He gave Aquila's hand a squeeze and walked out towards the common room.

     Aquila couldn't hear them, as she was asleep, but she could dream. She dreamed that she was in Malfoy Manor with Draco, and they were laughing and making fun of any non-Slytherin pureblood that they had had the misfortune of meeting. When her father walked in, she turned to him and gave him a smirk, as did Draco, and he came forward, putting a hand on each of their shoulders, his eyes shining with pride, and that's how Aquila realized she was dreaming, because Lucius Malfoy would never have eyes shining with pride. Never.

     "Aquila, I'm so sorry. If James and I had never dragged you to practice, then you wouldn't be in this mess. I hope that you can forgive me one day. Trust me when I say that when I see Simmons again he won't come back the same he was before." Sirius stopped to sigh, then continued, "anyway, I'm terribly sorry, and hope that when you wake up you'll find it in your heart to forgive me." He looked at his best friend, lying in the bed, chest rising and falling, and he realized that he couldn't stand losing her. Well, any of his friends, really, but especially Aquila. Sirius realized that he fancied her, and that made him freeze there, sitting on the edge of her bed, eyes wide and unblinking.