Following the events of the same universe where Juliet Potter and Remus Lupin fell in love, the insouciance has faded into misery as all parties prepare for the war, willing to pull any card to win a war from which none will truly come out victoriou...
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September 1978
"Move your big head!" Juliet whispered to her brother, getting agitated because of his constant movements.
"I can't hear anything." He commented, his ear against the door. "Did they put a silencing charm on it?"
"Why would they?" She looked her twin up and down.
"Just saying."
"Stop pulling the blanket!" The twins heard Sirius complain, and they fell silent.
"Then stop taking up the whole space!" Regulus snapped back.
"Me!? You're the one with your legs spread across the sheets!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Will you shut up already and let me sleep?"
"Quel culot! You're the one who opened your mouth first!" The older brother gasped.
"Yes, and now I'm also closing it first and asking you to follow the lead like the good dog you are."
The twins gasped silently at the comeback. When James ended up convincing her to go spy on the boys, she did not expect to end up witnessing their relationship first hand. She truly had never seen them interact, but that may have been because she had not grown up with them, and she was not invited over when their family was hosting balls for their pureblooded peers.
"What did you just say!?" Sirius yelled.
"Shut it! The others are asleep." Regulus scolded.
The twins could hear heavy breathing and the bed creaking before the door was abruptly open, and they were caught red-handed.
"Wow, that's a nice door." James blurted awkwardly, looking everywhere but at his best friend.
"I don't know, it needs a bit of paint, in my opinion." Juliet added, looking away, her hand rubbing her neck awkwardly.
Ironically, Sirius and Regulus rolled their eyes at the same time before the older brother passed the twins and headed to their room while cursing in French.
"So, best friend or switch?" James whispered.
"Switch." Juliet whispered back, heading for the room she originally planned to share with her twin brother. "Night Reg!"
"Good night, Juliet." Regulus called back from the room.
Once Juliet got to the room, she spotted Sirius lying on the bed, probably sulking, though she couldn't see him.
"Congratulations, you lasted six minutes." She commented, joining him.
"I hope that's not what she said." He joked, making her chuckle.
When they quieted down, she nudged him, and he hummed in response. "Why do you hate him so much?"
Sirius took a moment before he answered. "I don't hate him. He's just everything I never wanted to become."
"And that is?"
"Are you kidding? Have you seen that thing on his arm? Every day, it scares me to death to think that he could just give us all away by pulling his sleeve up."
"Regulus would never do that to you. To any of us. You know that, Sirius. He's still the same boy you knew all those years back."
"Is he?" He faced her. "Because my little brother would never ever betray me like that."
Juliet sighed. She started to understand.
She resonated with Regulus so much more because she knew his pain. She knew what it was like to believe someone had your back but ended up feeling neglected. She knew what it was to be in the spotlight and feel like an outcast. Wishing to belong.
But she understood now that Sirius was also in pain. He had believed his brother to be different from the other members of their family but saw signs that only drew him away. His image of his brother was tarnished because of the influences of his surroundings. His pain could come from this deep regret that he did not protect him like he should have.
The both of them had lots of things they needed to work on, but Juliet believed that their relationship could be mended. Just like hers and James'.
"You two have your differences. And you need to work on them, step by step. You both have a lot of resentment towards each other, but it's nothing that can't be healed with a nice discussion and plans to make amends. That is, if you're both willing to."
Sirius was silent. It was a first, Juliet was tempted to comment on it, but she didn't.
"Do you want to?" She could see him nod. "Okay, see, you can work through this. Just try not to get heated every time you're in a room alone with him."
"What would you have done if James became a Death Eater?" Sirius asked Juliet after a moment.
"I would have smacked him in the head and made him feel guilty by mentioning how our parents would be disappointed to the point that he would want to cut the skin off his arm." She replied without a sign of doubt.
"You just went on a three minute tangent about how I should be forgiving and understanding!?" Sirius exclaimed in amusement.
"I'm not you. I decided to stay toxic. You don't get to do the same." She joked.
The pair laughed.
"This is nice, I don't think we've ever had talks like that."
"Because usually you're too busy having your head stuck up your arse." She smirked.
"Bitch."
"Man whore."
Sirius gasped. "I am not!"
"You are too!"
"See, there's a reason I keep telling Remus you're not worth it." He joked.
It was Juliet's turn to gasp, and she kicked him. "How dare you!?"
"I'm joking! I'm joking, Jesus, woman!" He winced. "Remus loves you too much to listen to anyone anyways, and me of all people would never come in between you."
