"𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙮"
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IN WHICH ~ Jupiter Cassiopeia Lestrange thought she could escape her family's dark legacy at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but in her second year, Tom Riddle's diar...
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"Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision."
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Dinner in the Great Hall was already an uncomfortable affair. The whispers followed Harry wherever he went, as if the mere mention of his name was a trigger for the entire student body to start murmuring conspiratorially. Jupiter was already irritated by the constant buzz, but when Harry walked in, his eyes seeking her out immediately, it only heightened her frustration.
"Jo—"
"Don't talk to me right now," Jupiter cut him off, raising a hand to stop him as he slid into the seat beside her.
"I'm sorry," Harry said, though the tension in his voice betrayed his unresolved anger. He was still seething from his run-in with Umbridge, and Jupiter knew that any apology made in this state would mean nothing.
"Not here," she muttered under her breath. His fork clattered loudly as he threw it down onto his plate and dragged a hand through his hair, the movement sharp with frustration. She clenched her jaw, willing herself to stay calm. If Harry pushed her any further, the entire Great Hall would be treated to yet another heated argument involving him—and she was not about to let that happen.
Hermione, however, had reached her limit. "Let's get out of here," she huffed, slamming her knife and fork down with a loud clang before standing abruptly. Ron looked mournfully at his half-finished apple pie but followed without complaint. As the four of them left the Hall, all eyes tracked their exit, the whispers growing louder behind them.
The tension hung thick as they made their way through the castle. Harry, clearly still wound up, broke the silence first. "What I don't get," he said, his voice shaking with frustration, "is why they all believed the story two months ago when Dumbledore told them." His hand found Jupiter's, seeking comfort, and though her irritation with him hadn't subsided, she didn't pull away. He was still her boyfriend, after all.
"The thing is, Harry, I'm not sure they did," Hermione said grimly.
"What d'you mean?" Harry asked sharply as they reached the first-floor landing. His voice echoed slightly in the empty corridor, and Jupiter gave his hand a subtle squeeze, grounding him.
"Look, you don't understand what it was like after it happened," Hermione said, her tone quieter now. "You arrived back in the middle of the lawn clutching Cedric's dead body... None of us saw what happened in the maze. We just had Dumbledore's word for it that You-Know-Who had come back, killed Cedric, and fought you."
"Which is the truth!" Harry snapped, his anger flaring again.
"I know it is, Harry," Hermione groaned, exasperated. "So will you please stop biting my head off? It's just that before the truth could sink in, everyone went home for the summer, where they spent two months reading about how you're a nutcase and Dumbledore's going senile!"
