Following the events of the same universe where Juliet Potter and Remus Lupin fell in love, the insouciance has faded into misery as all parties prepare for the war, willing to pull any card to win a war from which none will truly come out victoriou...
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October 1979
The month of October was almost boring. Lots of Order meetings were happening for small details concerning allies and strategies. It was clear everyone was way too worried about everything, to the point that they failed to realize that a war was the most unpredictable event of all.
They could plan a mission from all views and think of all possible outcomes and solutions, but it didn't work like that for wars. On the battle field, all strategy fades and it's all about the loved ones standing behind you.
But they would win.
Because a party cannot win with only a goal to destroy the opposition to one's hatred.
Juliet understood it all now. How her own mother felt every time she left for those crucial missions. She repeated that it was for the greater good, and Juliet never believed it because she just wanted her mum and dad to be around.
Understanding it all felt like making peace with them, even though they were no longer.
They would have been proud of her and James.
Speaking of James, he annoyed Juliet every meeting so she would allow him to visit Romy.
And she did end up allowing him to come over. On Halloween.
"I can't believe it's Andromeda's first Halloween! I feel so emotional." James told his werewolf best friend with teary eyes as they stood in the living room.
A doorbell ringing got him all jumpy though.
"Who's there!" He yelped.
Remus facepalmed in annoyance. "It's children, Prongs. Halloween, remember?"
"I've got it." Hope exclaimed, happily trotting to the door.
"Oh. Right. Trip or tearing."
"Trick or treating." Remus corrected.
"That's what I said."
"That is so not what you said." Juliet retorted, walking down the stairs and holding Andromeda.
James squealed, running to his twin sister, and bending down to be at eye-level with his niece.
Juliet had dressed the baby with a ghost onesie. It was really simple but very cute, especially with the matching white headband.
"Well, aren't you scary?" He cooed at her, tickling her belly.
"Yeah, she's pretty good at haunting me and making sure I don't sleep." Juliet snickered.
~
Halloween was peaceful. Juliet and Hope would open the door to give candies to the children, pretending to be terrified by them, who in return complimented baby Andromeda's costume.
Remus kept snapping pictures of Juliet and Romy, his favorite yet being one where the two were smiling. It was an adorable sight, Romy had just started smiling a few nights prior whenever she heard her parents' voices and her parents couldn't get enough of it.
James was finally given Andromeda at some point, and he had refused to move an inch because she had fallen asleep in his arms barely ten minutes later.
The parents of the two months-old would exchange happy stares, deep down wishing it wasn't the last Halloween they would spend with their baby daughter.
That was it, none of them wanted the happy times to end because there was always that bitter afterthought of "What if this was the last time?"
They could only appreciate their family for as long as they were able to.
~
November 1979
"You have got to do better than that if you don't want to get killed." Moody scolded Juliet.
"I'm unfocused, give me a break."
"They won't give you a break, so I won't either, get your head in the game."
The family cherishing couldn't last long, the Order had to train and prepare for war. They stood in an open field, duelling fiercely against one another, with a few taking on the roles of mediators, just to avert the spells that cannot be caught in time and avoid actual injuries.
Juliet thought she would have been better, after so much progress that she had made, but all she could think about was the orphan she would make of her daughter if she didn't go home in two weeks.
She got a first taste of what it was like to spend a cheerful holiday in the presence of a family of her own, and she just wanted so much more of it.
But she needed to concentrate, she needed to navigate the thoughts of her daughter and hold onto it to stay alive.
With a glint in her eyes she blocked the spell coming her way and counter-attacked with an offense of her own, getting a nod of praise from her duelling partner.
Farther away, Regulus and Remus were also duelling partners. For the latter, it seemed like terrible timing but also the best timing to mention the thing that has been on his mind for a while.
"I need to ask you about something." The werewolf said after blocking another offensive spell.
"What?" Regulus raised an eyebrow, preparing for the counter-attack.
He and Lupin never really talked, he didn't know what he would have to say to him. Maybe it was about Andromeda. He was the godfather after all. Maybe it was some dumb promise to take care of his family if he didn't make it.
"Were you in love with Juliet?"
Oh.
Regulus paused, lowering his wand, Remus copying his movements. "Who told you?"
"So you were. Did she know?"
"Did you?"
"Are you just going to keep on answering my questions with a question, because this is just going nowhere." Remus made a sassy hand movement between the two of them.
Regulus sighed, annoyed. "Yes, I was. For a long time. Yes, she knew because I confessed and she rejected me nicely, because that's just who she is. And yes, I knew she would never love me back, though I did hope I had a chance. And no, nothing inappropriate ever happened." He paused for a bit before he added. "Right, and I did move on. And I like James. And she knows, obviously, and she's happy for us. Was that all?"
Remus stared for a while before he shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much."
"How did you find out? Juliet told you?"
"No. I knew. I could see the way you looked at her, because I look at her the same way." He glanced over to where his girlfriend stood. "She wouldn't betray you like that. She doesn't know I know."
"For someone who has been around my brother for so long, you're not much of an idiot."
"... Thanks."
"I'm standing right here, you know." Sirius Black, their mediator made his presence known.
