𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 ❧ remus lupin

XXIV. Pacification Of The Werewolves

"Lying is the worst mistake."

Juliet's POV

Everything in me hurt. Why didn't I just tell him sooner? Why did I have to push everything behind and deal with it all at once, right now? I wanted to be anywhere but here right now.

As soon as I said the words, "Yes, it's true," I could tell that I had just shattered everything that Remus and I ever had, both friendship and a possible relationship. I feel like I just lost my best friend.

"Now I can provide you with Wolfsbane potion and a place to transform every full moon--" Dumbledore started, but then I cut him off.

"Wait, I'm not in trouble?" I asked, somewhat confused.

"Well, you didn't do anything. I'm not going to penalize you for the wrongdoings of your brother," he said, and I become somewhat relieved. "You're not in trouble, I only brought you here today to inform you that we've taken your brother to Azkaban, where he won't be able to hurt anyone any longer. Also, it's better for both of us if I know that you're a werewolf because I can help you, that's all," he said, calm as ever.

At least I wasn't in trouble with the school. But that wasn't nearly as bad as my current situation with Remus, and I didn't know how the hell I was going to fix that.

"Both of you are free to go."

And that's when Remus jumped out from his seat and left the room in a flash.

"Remus, wait!" I called out, leaping out from my seat and began to try to catch up with him. Just before I left, Dumbledore gave me a look that said, 'good luck fixing what you messed up,' almost as if he knows exactly what was going on inside both of our heads.

And right about now I wish I had some Liquid Luck because it seemed as if everything unlucky in the world was happening to me right now. Regardless, I ran after Remus and tried to catch up with him, but he was too fast. I lost him, and within seconds I was roaming an empty corridor, searching for someone who doesn't want anything to do with me.

For what felt like hours, I searched nearly every corridor in the school until I found Sirius walking near the Gryffindor common room, all by himself.

"Sirius!" I called out, hoping for any sort of help I could get. My heart raced as he remained silent for a moment, but soon he replied with, "everything alright, Juliet?"

"It's Remus. Have you seen him? It's urgent," I spoke at a lightning speed, out of breath from nervousness.

"Yeah, I saw him about fifteen minutes ago. He said he was headed towards the Black Lake—"

Before Sirius could finish his sentence I ran off in the opposite direction, running as fast as my little legs could take me towards the Black Lake.

Now I'm no athlete, but I'm pretty sure I broke a world record time for running as I sprinted down towards where Sirius has told me Remus would be. It was the fastest I had ever run before, I think.

And within minutes, I was outside and on the path towards the shore of the lake, where I saw Remus sitting at the edge of the dock, his back facing me. The snow was gracefully falling to the ground, and the top layer of the Black Lake was beginning to freeze.

I took a moment to catch my breath before stepping onto the slippery dock, and once I did, the wood of the dock creaked and Remus turned around, looking directly at me.

"Go away, Juliet!" Remus exclaimed with a broken voice, but I needed to talk to him. I needed to explain myself.

"Remus, I have to explain," I said, taking more steps out onto the dock until I was standing only a couple of feet from where Remus was sitting.

"I can't even look at you right now. You're a Greyback," he said, and now both of us were tearing up. "You lied to me," Remus said out of anger.

At this time, I sat down next to him on the dock and looked in his direction. His chocolate brown eyes looked crystallized as the tears formed inside of them and trying to hide his emotion, wipe his eyes with his sleeve.

"I didn't have a choice, Remus," I said, trying to fix things, "the only people that know I am a Greyback are my aunt, uncle, birth mother, and Fenrir himself. It's a closely guarded secret that I couldn't bear to tell you, and you were never supposed to find out this way."

Remus stayed silent.

"I just want to let you know that I am not at all like my brother. Fenrir is a savage beast who I wish I wasn't related to. What he did to you, I feel guilty for every single day, and I just need to tell you that I am so sorry. I can't lose you, Remus, you mean too much to me."

Remus stayed silent again, but then looked up at me after a moment, then looked back down at his feet again. "It's just so much to take in at once," he said, "It's not normal to find out that the girl you're in love with's brother had inflicted a disease on you that made a portion of your life a living hell," he said, but before I could digest what he said, I replayed that over in my head.

"Do you say, the girl that you're in love with?" I asked, impulsively changing the subject over to me.

"Well, I, um," Remus coughed, "I'm just, um, Jules, there's so much to love about you, that's why I'm conflicted about this whole thing."

Remus wore a troubled-looking face, while I stood there in complete shock. Remus loves me. Like actually loves me. I mean, sure, I care about him in a more-than-friends type way now but love?

Remus interrupted my thinking with another sentence, "I just wish you hadn't lied to me."

"I would've told you if I could've Remus."

"I know, I know, It's just so much to digest."

"Remus, I'm not him and never will be. I may have Greyback blood, but I'm still the Juliet that you know," I said while looking at him in the eyes. "I'm so sorry that I lied to you," I finished.

With a mixed expression on his face, Remus inched over next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. The winds that formed along the lake swept my hair up and down, and the falling snow began to pick up speed. I could tell that the sky would be getting dark shortly.

"I forgive you, Jules. It wasn't anyone's fault but Fenrir's, and you're still the girl I know and care for so much," he said.

A smile peeked through my lips as the ora of our conversation was pacified. With Remus' arm around me, I leaned my head against his shoulder for a moment.

I didn't feel nervous or awkward as I was with Remus in the last situation when we were alone, no, this was better. Everything was calm, and we were both at an understanding with each other. After a period of silence, Remus turned his head and gave my lips a quick peck, that eventually evolved into a long kiss.

Everything felt right in that moment: Fenrir was locked up in Azkaban, my identity as a werewolf was safe, and my current best friend / eventual boyfriend and I had resolved our little fight.

The sun soon set, and Remus and I made our way back to the school just in time for dinner. The rest of the school year flew by with no problems related to my lycanthropy, and Remus and I were better than ever. All was well.

The End

Word Count: 1345

a/n: thank you so much for sticking with me through the end of this story, i so hoped you enjoyed it!! don't forget to check out my other story(s) when you get the chance! thanks, callie