In a universe where Voldemort never became powerful enough to terrify people for decades after the first Wizarding War, Peter didn't betray his friends, and Remus Lupin fell in love with his best friend's twin sister.
Marauders era
Remus Lupin × fem...
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October 1976
The Marauders laughed at first, when they noticed Sybill Trelawney darting down the hallways, dragging Juliet with her.
The smiles fell when they saw Amos running after them, almost begging the Professor to let go.
They scurried after them the second they heard the girl's whimper after they turned harshly.
The boys didn't make it in time, the Professor had successfully dragged the girl to the Headmaster's office, leaving them stranded in the Gargoyle Corridor.
"What happened?" James asked Amos worriedly.
"I don't know, it was-" Amos ran a hand through his hair. "She was in a weird trance and then she just got up and harshly dragged Juliet with her."
They all curiously looked back at the gargoyle behind which the office was concealed and decided to wait.
In the office, Juliet was silently sat on a chair. She spaced out after the long exchange between the Professor and the Headmaster. Professor McGonagall joined them at some point.
Juliet didn't know when, or what she said.
She stopped listening after "the sake of the Wizarding World could be in her hands".
Who was that woman to make such ridiculous prophecies anyway? Me? Savingthe Wizarding World from that chalky worm-looking little bitch? Yeah, right. Count on that.
Though it was inevitable for her crippling anxiety to be felt. And the so-called prophecy kept repeating itself in her head, and still she could not make it out.
Perhaps she was plainly stupid, or maybe she was not in the right state of mind, but it did not make any sense to her. Or at least she didn't see how it would necessarily be her.
"...ter? Ms. Potter?" Professor McGonagall called.
Juliet looked up, looking so numb that the Head of Gryffindor couldn't help but feel bad. And it was silent, as though none of the adults knew how to start the conversation.
"Has it finally occured to you three that I was in the room?" She scoffed sarcastically.
"Ms. Potter, you must understand that the situation is extremely grave. This is not just about your future but that of our world." Minerva said slowly.
"Why should I care?"
The Professor glanced at the Headmaster, as though to see if he was to say anything.
"What makes you so sure that it's about me anyway?" Juliet leaned forward in her chair, frowning. "And her? She's a seer now, suddenly? For all I know, she could be a fraud. How do we know it's true? How do we know it will happen?" The girl pointed at the Divination professor.
She had never been quite a big fan of Divination. She also disliked being touched, especially in such a harsh way.
Juliet was angry. And confused. And absolutely terrified. And it was overwhelming because she was just a teenager trying to forget that there was a war out there, trying to survive, trying to keep her family and friends safe. She didn't want to be the center of it.
"We don't." The Headmaster spoke.
"Exactly!"
"Potter-" Minerva attempted to reason with the girl.
"Minerva." Albus called, nodding to her to let him handle it.
The girl was breathing heavily, staring dead into the old man's eyes. He was way too calm, and she didn't like it. It made her feel bad for being angry. But she also felt like she was right for never trusting him.
"Say something!" She told him.
"Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of Magic. Capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it."
Juliet blinked. "Mate, are you really gonna play charades right now?"
Minerva sighed at the girl's extremely informal speech. The Headmaster turned to the Professors, softly asking them to leave him alone with the girl. Juliet waited, tapping her foot against the floor nervously.
"I know how you are feeling."
"No, you don't." She denied.
How could you.
"You are understandably angry."
"Why would you trust her?" She questioned.
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Divination and everything related to it is mainly based on beliefs and abilities that not everyone has. Why is it that she came to you and you decided not to get rid of the subject?"
The younger students had heard from the older ones, that the subject may get eradicated. And then, Sybill was the new Professor and the subject remained untouched.
"An odd woman, but full of wisdom. I have heard her and since, I've been awaiting this very moment."
It took Juliet a long minute to process what he had just said.
"She told you about this moment before?"
"A chance to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches..."
"That's it?"
"That is enough."
"No, it's not enough! It's not enough! I tell you if it's enough! You've been keeping her around, keeping the rest of us-- CHILDREN alive so we could die at the right moment?"
I'm just a kid, please don't do this to me. Please say that there must be a mistake.
"The situation is beyond just your life, Juliet. How many innocent people have lost their lives in this war?"
"So you're just going to add me to that list?" She smiled bitterly.
"A tragedy may be evitable." He reminded her, repeating Trelawney's words.
In the few moments that followed, when both were awfully quiet, Juliet couldn't help but think about how neither of her brothers would hesitate a single second before going into battle and defend their people.
But Juliet was scared, and she didn't want to lose everything. Her being an important element in the war was going to put everyone she knew in danger.
"You're powerful. Why don't you do it?" Juliet asked, genuine curiosity in her tone.
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." He responded.
"You chose to raise me like a pig for slaughter, what does that say about you?" The rhetorical questioned was not answered.
Juliet stood up, ready to leave. "May I leave?"
The single nod from the Headmaster was sufficient for her and she did not waste yet another second before getting out of the space that felt so very suffocating.
* * *
this reminds you of something huh
if juliet annoyed you in this chapter, keep in mind that it's part of the development I'm working on. And gryffindor or not, she's just SIXTEEN, and I feel like Rowling never took that into account when she made Harry go through way worse.
