Star Girl | Cedric Diggory

|*| One Hundred Sixteen |*|

Aquila could hardly believe the events that transpired that morning. She found herself staring aimlessly at the sky on top of the astronomy tower. The group of Death Eaters has been discussing possible turncoats, and Aquila needed to get some air. They didn't suspect her for the time being, but she knew that word would get out eventually. Someone would start whispering about the eagle changing sides.

She had to keep both of her identities a secret now. She had to keep the Death Eaters from knowing she wasn't loyal to them and keep the DA from finding out she was a Death Eater. It was almost too much to keep her head wrapped around.

Seeing Patrick, a kid she had only met once, take a hard spell to the chest for her, someone he didn't fully know he could trust was... it was eye opening for her. The true gravity of her situation came crashing onto her at once. A war was coming, and it would be brutal. People would die-good and bad.

Aquila knew which side was right. Everything the Dark Lord stood for-blood purity and the extinction of muggles-was wrong. Everything she and her brother had grown up with was a lie. She knew that when she was young, so why did she forget it now? Where had her younger self gone?

For the first time in a while, a tear ran down her cheek and dropped onto her hand. She wiped her eyes, looking up at the sky for a moment. It was broad daylight, but she could still, very faintly, see the stars. She hadn't looked at the sky in such a long time because it reminded her of her past; it reminded her of the little girl with the green hair and her best friend in the whole world. Looking at the sky brought back every memory she ever had, good and bad.

It was sad now. Everyone who has wronged her was still around, but everyone she loved was gone. She had Abby, Ethan, and Cassie... She lost Alexis and Cedric.

Although Aquila couldn't tell what the stars were saying to her through the mask of daylight, she knew something had to change. She had to change.

She decided, then and there, that fighting for the Dark Lord was the biggest mistake of her life. She couldn't take it back, and she might never move past it, but she could attempt to rectify as much of her damages as possible, starting with Patrick.

She walked slowly down the spiral stairs until reaching the base of the castle again, returning from her haven in the astronomy tower. At the bottom, she was met with the disapproving glare of Cassiopeia. "It was you," she said, wasting no time in tossing around assumptions.

Unfortunately, this time she was correct; fortunately, Aquila hadn't lost her ability to lie. "I'm sorry," she said dryly, "I didn't know that muffin was yours, or I wouldn't have eaten it for breakfast."

"This isn't about breakfast foods, bitch," Cassie spat. "That Gryffindor-you informed him about Abby and Ethan."

"That is one loaded assumption," she noted. "Even for you. What makes you think so?"

"You disappeared for days," Cassie said. "You could've been anywhere, telling anyone anything."

"If the Dark Lord believed I was a traitor, he'd have killed me already," Aquila informed her. "I don't need your trust, Cassiopeia; I only need it from him. Because in the end, you mean nothing to anyone."

Aquila turned away, and without even regarding what Cassie was now spouting out at her, she spread her wings and flew away.

|*|*|*|

In the night when everyone was asleep, Aquila flew into the infirmary and locked all the doors and windows, preventing anyone, even the nurse, from entering. She was wearing a long cloak over her head that covered her eyes, and she walked over to the bed where Patrick was sleeping.

She didn't wake him up straight away. He looked peaceful despite the new bruises on his face and arms. The bandage on his nose suggested that it had been broken or bleeding... or both. She distanced herself from it all, not allowing herself to feel the weight of his situation as her burden.

She tapped on his shoulder, and he began to stir. Once he saw the mysterious cloak, he opened his mouth to scream, but Aquila covered it. "It's me," she whispered. "The eagle."

Once she moved her hands from his mouth, Patrick sat up, wincing at the pain as he did so. "You scared the bloody hell out of me," he said.

"Sorry," she replied. "I just needed to keep quiet-no one else can know I was here."

"Why are you here?" he asked. "Do you have more information on the Death Eaters?"

"I just wanted to see you," Aquila told him. "After what happened this morning, I had to know you were still in one piece."

"Madam Promfrey fixed me right up," Patrick said. "Everything hurts, but I'll live."

There was a silence between them that lasted just a moment too long. Aquila asked the only question she could think of in that moment: "Was your girlfriend seriously a vampire?"

"Yeah," he said. "But I did lie about it being a shock. She told me once we started dating-wanted us to have no secrets and trust each other."

"And she really bit your fingers?"

"All true," he said. "She had come over to spend the night at my house. We stayed up pretty late that night, and I guess I forgot to close the curtains before I fell asleep. Vampires are pretty sensitive to light, ya know. They don't burn or anything, it just makes them more violent. There's a potion that can help subside all that-it's tricky, but I'm pretty good at potions... anyway-

"She woke up before me cause the light was irritating her, and she lashed out at the only person in the room... me. I woke up screaming, and my mom rushed in and pulled her off of me. We closed the curtains, and when she calmed down, she apologized. She'd felt really bad about the whole thing."

"Are you two still together?" Aquila asked him.

"I guess we are," he said, unsure. "Her parents relocated her to a new school just for vampires and other creatures, and we haven't seen each other in two years. We write letters, though, all the time."

"At least you're still on good terms," she said. "My last relationship ended, well, less than ideally."

"Did he find out you were the eagle?" Patrick asked.

"Something like that," she responded.

"What's it like," he asked. "Flying? How does that feel?"

"It's amazing," she said. "Like you're away from it all. You can just fly for miles and miles and just... just breathe."

"I've always wanted to fly," he said. "I got to in year three when my friend used the levitation charm on me. Fell on my ass after, but it was still fun."

"Hey, Patrick," she said, running her hands through her hair. The black strands felt smooth against her skin.

"Yeah?" he asked, watching her intently.

"Stay out of trouble," she told him. "I heard the Carrows talking this morning after what happening during breakfast. They're planning on closing the infirmary. Anyone who gets injured will have to heal themselves. Tell the DA to teach some healing spells-that may save some lives."

"I will," he said. After a beat, he added in the most genuine way possible, "You're a good person, eagle, whoever you are. Thank you." He grabbed her hand gently, affirming his words.

Aquila couldn't hide her smile. "Stay safe, kid," said said before turning back to the eagle and flying out into the corridors of Hogwarts.

Patrick smiled before laying down and returning to sleep.