"𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙮"
-
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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"You dream of some epiphany. Just one single glimpse of relief to make some sense of what you've seen."
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
-JUPITER-
The nothingness that blocked her vision subsided. Jupiter opened her eyes, and a bright white light overwhelmed her, causing her to squint. The ground beneath her was smooth and cool, though it felt neither like stone nor wood—just a surface, blank and endless. Slowly, she pushed herself up, her limbs heavy as though weighted with exhaustion.
As her surroundings came into focus, she realized she was in a vast, unfamiliar space. The light seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. There were tall white walls and panes on them that resembled windows. It was eerily quiet, the kind of silence that pressed against her ears.
"Hello?" she called out, her voice trembling.
The sound echoed faintly, as if the space itself were reluctant to respond. She looked down at her hands, and a startling image made her jump; her hands were completely clear from any scars. Then, a soft shuffle of footsteps broke the stillness behind her. She whirled around, her breath catching in her throat.
Standing there was Remus Lupin, looking younger and healthier than she'd ever seen him. His robes were pristine, his face free of the usual lines of exhaustion and worry. He smiled softly, his warm eyes filled with a sadness that pierced her chest.
"Dad?" Jupiter muttered, her voice cracking. "Where am I? What's happening?"
He stepped closer, his presence steadying. "You're in between, for now. A kind of waiting room, you might say. But, if you're asking for specifics..." he glanced around the confined space, "I'd say the Knight Bus, wouldn't you?"
"I suppose," Jupiter mumbled; moments after she had escaped Lestrange Estate for the last time, the Knight Bus was her first chance at freedom. "Between what?" she asked, though part of her already knew the answer. The realization clawed at her, but she pushed it down, unwilling to accept it.
"Between life and what comes after," Remus said gently. "You're not entirely gone, not yet."
Her knees buckled, and she sank back to the ground, clutching her chest as panic rose. "No, no. That can't be right... does that mean— does that mean that you're..."
"I'm here to greet you, love," Remus sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I can't stay here forever, and neither can you."
His gentle smile faltered, and for a moment, he seemed older again, wearier. "Yes," he admitted softly. "I fell during the battle."
"Did Dad know?" Jupiter asked, a small sob escaping her throat. "Before he—" she couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence; the words seem too surreal.
