JULIET {remus lupin}

ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN

Remus didn't speak to Juliet much when he saw her the next morning, he told her Sirius wanted to see her, alone, and awkwardly sat opposite her as they ate, knowing that she was sure to get the same speech from Padfoot that he had received the evening before. Juliet noticed his silence, but didn't pry, she also still felt astonished at Sirius Black's return, and he'd only been her friend for a couple of years, he'd been Remus' since they were eleven.

After vanishing to her room for ten minutes, she returned in a dress, her hair tied up, trying to look as muggle as possible, an apprehensive look on her face. Remus smiled at her and nodded, "you'll be fine." The witch's eyes filled with tears as she nodded back at the man who did not move as she made for the door, apparating as soon as she was past the front gate. She somehow remembered the walk to Remus', and enjoyed it, part of her felt sad that he had been here alone for so long, but she also thought it was the most perfect place for him. The small house appeared to her after thirty five minutes of walking, and she hesitated at the wooden gate. Seeing Sirius felt painful, he reminded her of so much. Of course, of James and Lily, of Marlene and Arabella, of Persephone, who she so often forgot had once loved him. But more, he reminded her of Azkaban, years that had been pushed to the darkest part of her mind and mostly forgotten. She spoke about it with no one. And most of all, he reminded her of Regulus. She'd lost everyone from Slytherin, no one understood her and Regulus' bond, really, and she supposed that out of everyone, Sirius would the most. But still, he didn't know how his brother had begged her to love him, how she'd refused. She still often wondered if he'd have changed his mind earlier if she had loved in back instead of prioritising herself.

Her heart skipped when she saw Regulus' eyes as the door to the cottage opened, and she felt her eyes fill with tears again, before Sirius Black's smile cheered her a little. He came outside to the frozen witch and pulled the gate open, taking her arm and pulling her into a light hug, she sobbed into his chest and Sirius held her tighter. When she pulled back she smiled, wiping her eyes, he already looked better.

"You like it here?" She asked, following him into the house.

"Yeah, I do," he smiled, pointing his wand at a kettle on the stove. "It's very Remus."

Juliet returned a small grin, "yeah, it is. I always thought he'd end up somewhere like this."

"Yet now he's living in Romilly Manor!" 

The witch laughed, "I know, doesn't suit him there at all. Pretty sure he hates it."

"Ah, I'm sure there's some upsides," the wizard grinned, handing her a mug and sitting beside her on the sofa.

Juliet looked at him, her chest feeling tight, "I'm sorry I didn't speak to you."

Sirius was taken aback, "what do you mean?"

"When our cell- we were next to each other," she said shakily. "You tried to speak to me."

The man shook his head, "my bloody fault you were in there, Jules, my fault for a lot of things."

"You sound like Reg when you say that."

"Jules?"

Juliet exhaled and closed her blurry eyes, "yeah."

"That's nice," Sirius said, leaning back into the sofa and closing his eyes.

"Nothing was your fault, Sirius," she said, turning her head to look at him. "Nothing at all."

"I put my trust in the wrong person, and didn't trust the right people."

Juliet shrugged, "we were at war, none of us trusted each other. We all blamed each other for separate things. You were doing everything you could to keep James and Lily safe."