JULIET {remus lupin}

THIRTY FOUR

The Ravenclaw/ Slytherin quidditch match mattered far less to Juliet than the Gryffindor one had. Flint however, was being predictably over the top and bouncy on the day of the match. The weather was far better than it had been in November, with the start of March bringing relatively warm weather, it looked like it was going to be an easy win. The witch's hand still ached a little, though, although Pomfrey had fixed it immediately.

"What was wrong with you today, Romilly?" Barty scoffed as they walked up from their early morning practice before the game.

"Someone broke my hand," she snapped.

"Get over it," he scoffed. "You're the one keeping secrets."

"And here I was thinking you were one of the nice ones," she said.

"I am."

Juliet rolled her eyes and said nothing.

"I'm just saying, Romilly. Don't fuck up today."

"How do you expect your team to play well if you go around beating them up, Crouch?" Sirius Black asked casually from where he and his friends sat on a wall outside the school.

"Padfoot..." Remus muttered, catching his friend's eye and shaking his head. Remus knew that his friend meant well, and probably thought that he was doing something good. But he suspected that more interaction between Juliet Romilly and the marauders would only put her in a worse position.

"Black defending you, again?" Barty scoffed, looking at the witch with utter disgust. 

"We're just pleased to see that Slytherin will be losing," Remus said quickly, looking between the two Slytherins.

Barty snorted, "come on, Romilly," he said, grasping the witch's elbow.

"He's a knob," Remus huffed as the two left.

"Yeah..." James said, watching Remus closely.

"Good luck, Romilly!" Sirius shouted after her.

"Mate," Remus said, shaking his head. "You'll get her killed."

"I won't-"

"You will," James said, nodding along.

Juliet was, predictably, bombarded by questions from Caius and Barty before the match began.

Why were they talking to you?

Why did they stick up for you?

Why did Sirius wish you good luck?

The witch answered each question tactfully and eventually it was Flint who asked them to talk about quidditch and quidditch only. Persephone and Caius sat far away from each other and Juliet could not help but wonder what had happened. Persephone still spoke to the girl as usual, as if nothing had changed between them.

 Following the night of Juliet's patrol with Regulus, Pen had kept Ophelia and Arabella at bay, pushing back their questions and shutting down their assumptions. The witch seemed happier than ever, as if she was no longer in Caius' clutches. She wondered how on earth she had managed that.

"Letter for you," Regulus said, sitting beside her and handing her an envelope with her father's writing on.

"Thanks, I'm going to go down to the pitch early..." she said, picking up her broom and shoving the letter into her pocket.

When she was alone outside, Juliet opened the letter.

Juliet,

Lucius Malfoy has partially informed me that you were in some trouble last week. He said that you have been dealt with and I trust that, but I do not know how many times I have to write to you to tell you to stay in line. Act as Narcissa Black does, she is who you should aspire to be like. A good, Slytherin, pureblood girl. You are being reckless and careless, and perhaps it is because you do not understand our situation properly.