22. JULIET AND THE RETURN TO SCHOOL

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𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝕬𝖓𝖉 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖊𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖉
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𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝕬𝖓𝖉 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖊𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖉* * *

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September 1975

Contrary to expectations, the students were extremely happy when they found themselves pushing their suitcase carts on the platform 9¾. Perhaps it was the reunion with their friends that brought joy to them. But deep down, they knew it was because Hogwarts was the safest place at that moment. Albus Dumbledore would protect them if anything was to happen.

Juliet lost James and Sirius in the crowd, and ended up in a compartment with Kingsley Shacklebolt, Frank Longbottom and Alice Fortescue. All three were her Gryffindor peers, and people she got along quite well with. Hence she stayed there most of the journey to Hogwarts, leaving the small place only to complete her prefect duties by patrolling the corridors of the Hogwarts Express.

To her surprise, she met none of her best friends, nor her brother's friends. Supposing they were in another area of the train, she went on with her day, knowing she would see them by dinner timer anyway.

Though she would have to see Remus first, as they would have their annual meetings in the prefects' carriages, on the way to the castle. The thought of seeing him made her nervous, she had no idea what to say to him. The time she spent thinking about their relationship had led her to no true conclusions, this was simply too new to her. And her family were truly the last people she wanted to ask for advices from.

Thankfully, Lily would also be there, and perhaps she could seek help from her close friend.

Waving at Kingsley, Frank and Alice, promising them to meet up later on, she left for the carriages, passing by the first years who were getting on the boats, bringing a nostalgic smile on her face.

"Juliet!" She heard her name being called.

Rushing over to where Lily was waiting for her, the two girls hugged, asking each other's whereabouts while settling in an empty carriage. Soon enough they were joined by the Head Boy, and other prefects soon joined in. The others, including the Head Girl went on other carriages.

"Regulus?" Juliet beamed. "You're a prefect?"

The boy gave her a blank stare, and without a word, he slowly tapped on the green prefect badge proudly showed on his robe. He sat down next to her, though with a grimace, but she could tell he definitely did not want to be next to Lily who was across from the brunette.

"Dora, Amos and I tried to reach you the whole summer, are you alright?" She whispered to him, a worried stare in her eyes.

"Yes." He replied simply.

Too caught up in trying to figure Regulus out, she did not notice Remus getting into the carriage.

"Is something the matter?" She asked the Slytherin.

"As if you didn't know." He scoffed.

"What-"

"Alright everyone, we're going to reach the castle soon, so here is what we will do. Let's decide on the patrolling rounds on the weekend, so we know who's available on which days." The Head Boy announced before going on on other details, telling the new prefects about the rules and their duties.

The small meeting ended by the time they reached the castle and they started walking to the Great Hall. In the way there, Juliet was about to interrogate her best friend again, until she noticed Remus walking besides her, making her jump slightly.

"Hi." He greeted softly.

"Remus, hey." She grinned. "You scared me, I didn't see you there."

"Yeah, it seems that today I'm struggling to make you look my way." The tall boy raised an eyebrow teasingly.

"Is that your only objective of the day?"

"Every day." Juliet could feel her cheeks turn red.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you." She finally said, a bit more seriously.

"No, I know, don't worry, I was just kidding." The boy reassured.

They fell silent afterwards. Both of them had truly no idea how to talk about what they briefly discussed during the summer, and something inside of them was also forcing them to try and avoid it at all cost. Perhaps they simply did not know how to get rid of the awkward tension.

From afar, Juliet spotted Pandora and Amos, excusing herself, she left the boy with the scarred face and ran to her friends.

"Dora! Amos!" She called, causing them to stop and turn to her.

"Juliet!" They pulled her in for a group hug. "I didn't see you in the train!"

"I actually didn't see anyone, just some of my house mates." She shrugged.

"Have you seen Regulus?" Amos asked.

The Potter girl's smile fell. "I thought he would have talked with you. He refuses to talk to me."

"We tried speaking to him but he stayed by Mulciber and Avery's side the whole time and well..."

"She hates them." Amos completed.

"I don't hate them, they're just not the nicest people of Hogwarts, hence it's harder to get along with them."

Juliet did not dare to speak on the matter. Every time Mulciber's name was mentioned, she felt disgusted to the point where she wanted to throw up. It took a long time for her to stop thinking about what he and his friend would have done to her that night if she hadn't escaped.

Only Remus knew what happened and she planned on keeping it that way. Talking about it meant remembering, reliving, and that was the last thing she wanted.

Oh and how every single one of her friends would end in Azkaban if they came to know the truth.

"Do you think something happened to him?" Juliet questioned her best friends.

"I'm not sure. I think it could be related to his brother. But he usually turned to us when something went wrong at home." Diggory pointed out.

"But this time it's different. He left for good. Regulus didn't. And you know how abandoned he felt whenever Sirius left even if it was for Christmas." Pandora sighed.

Just then Regulus passed by them, ignoring them and joining other older Slytherins.

"What is going on with him?"


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what is up with Regulus?? Hmmmmm

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