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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
December, the 1st, 1979
Argus Filch's claims of the presence of students in Hogwarts' Great Hall turned out to be the truth. A great deal of students, mostly between Fifth and Seventh year, of all four houses were standing in the hall, conversing seriously with each other.
All quieted down as Juliet Potter walked in the room, staring at the lot of them, bewildered.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me." She facepalmed.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Professor McGonagall yelled at them.
They stood quietly before a Gryffindor spoke. "We want to help."
Minerva McGonagall felt smoke coming out of her ears, she was that enraged.
"So, you lot of blithering idiots woke up this morning, put on your robes and decided to go to war!?" Juliet yelled at them.
Put that way, it did seem very stupid, causing the students to nod or shrug shamefully.
"Go home. Don't get involved with all of this, believe me, you don't want to." She turned around, about to walk out, when a voice behind her caused her to stop.
"No!"
Slowly, she turned back to face them, her glare almost scaring the students. Sirius and Peter who stood by her side were signalling the students to shut up and leave it. They knew how scary Juliet was.
"This is not a game! This is not the place nor the time to throw a fit because you are not getting what you want! I know exactly what you're seeking, it's fame, it's the adrenaline and the pride." She stepped closer to them. "That is not the way to do it. I've been in your shoes, I desperately wanted to do something that mattered and I wished for it so badly that I can't get out of it no matter how much I wished to. Get out before it's too late for you."
"That's not it." A Hufflepuff girl spoke. "Hogwarts is home for most of us, we are here to defend it. Our parents are willing to turn their backs to what is right just so they could live peacefully, but they don't understand that if we lose this war, there will never be such a thing named peace! We will forever live with the anxiety that our homes are going to be the next to be destroyed, and our loved ones the next to be taken. We can't let this happen, just like you."
Juliet stared at her. She suddenly felt a semblant of shame. Even now, she felt as though she was nowhere near that level of maturity.
She turned to McGonagall, no longer knowing what to do.
"You are unprepared for war, we cannot let you in the battlefield." She announced.
"It's a bit too late for that." Regulus stated, staring out the huge windows of the Great Hall. In the distance, they spotted Dementors circling the castle.
The second she stepped outside, joining her boyfriend and the rest of the Order, she could get a better look at the Dark Mark that appeared in the sky, taunting them.
"What do we do?" Remus asked his girlfriend.
"I don't know! Nothing is going to plan! The kids aren't supposed to be here, the Dark Lord wasn't supposed to find us before we destroyed the Horcruxes, and why are Dement-"
She stopped talking immediately, feeling something off.
"JulietPotter." A whispering voice echoed in her ears. It was a painful voice to hear and it was so close but she knew it wasn't Remus.
Everyone around her turned silent, and she understood that she wasn't the only one to hear it. There was a rumbling in the sky and a girl started screaming. Juliet hurriedly turned and went to find her, who had been grabbing onto her ears and sitting in a corner by the door. Following her screams, another girl started to scream.
Juliet looked up in confusion, looking over the Dumbledores with the hopes that they knew what was happening.
The trepidation was agonising. It was so eery to hear a few seconds of silence before another screamed.
And finally, the whispering voice resonated in all of their minds again, causing most to grab onto their ears because of the pain.
"I know many of you will want to fight. Some of you may even think that to fight is wise. But this is folly. Give me Juliet Potter. Do this and none shall be harmed. Give me Juliet Potter and I shall leave Hogwarts untouched. Give me Juliet Potter... and you will be rewarded. You have one hour."
They understood early during his speech that Voldemort was the one mumbling to them, encouraging their betrayal. He had violated the peace in their minds and enforced the pain.
Juliet, who felt like she stood at the center of all her companions, did not know what to do with all the stares on her.
"I swear if even one of you considers-" James stepped in front of his sister, threatening them.
"Get down from your high horses, nobody was." Marlene rolled her eyes at him. "We're waiting for her instructions."
Juliet almost forgot they viewed her as their leader in battle. She looked over to her ex Professors, who likewise the others, were awaiting her orders.
"Tell us, what do you need?" Minerva asked her.
She glanced at the Dark Mark disappearing in the sky once more before turning to the people.
"You heard the man. We have one hour." She turned to the older members of the Order. "Secure the castle. We have to stall them as much as we can. Have them struggle to open the shield."
Next, turning to Madam Pomfrey and some students, she stated. "Set up an infirmary. Use the Great Hall so we have as much space possible, and have it be secured too."
She then turned to the members of the Order. "We need to find the bloody Horcrux in an hour, where do we start?"
"You said it was Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem right?" Kingsley Shacklebolt asked.
"According to my mother's journal." She nodded.
"But nobody has seen it, isn't its whole existence just a rumor?" Dorcas asked.
"Helga Hufflepuff's cup was real." Sirius retorted.
"And Slytherin's locket." Arthur Weasley took it out of his pocket, throwing it at James, who clumsily caught it.
"We don't have time for doubts, who has an idea where it is?"
Pandora raised her hand. "Why don't we ask Helena Ravenclaw's ghost?"
"Helena Ravenclaw? You think she would tell us?" Remus questioned.
"Doesn't hurt to try."
"Let's go with that. Remus, go get the diadem with Regulus." She told them. "Pandora, open the Chamber of Secrets, James is going with you to destroy the locket immediately."
She turned to the remaining. "As for the rest, train the remaining kids with as many defensive and offensive spells as possible. Prioritize the Patronus Charm, we have to lessen the amount of Dementors' kiss as much as possible. You have less than an hour so set up. And good luck."
Finally, she faced Dumbledore as everyone was rushing to their assigned tasks. "Professor, a word?"
* * *
so what do we think of Juliet's leadership qualities, cuz I'm not that satisfied but ig it's fine
