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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December 1977
"What do you mean you're drinking it? No, we're doing this together."
"You cut yourself to let us through, it's only fair that I drink the potion to get to the locket."
"You did not just compare a bit of blood to the torture this potion is going to put you through." She pointed at the liquid, her other hand resting on her hip.
"Do not stop me." He repeated, drinking out of the shell.
"Regulus!" She scolded.
"Mistress, it is best for only one to drink it. There needs to be one of you with a stable state of mind for the goal to be achieved." Kreacher stated. Juliet bit her lip, thinking for a second before sighing.
"Yeah, I wouldn't exactly call myself stable, but okay, sure." She mumbled, watching Regulus wincing more and more as he drank.
At some point he would no longer do that to himself, and reluctantly, Juliet and Kreacher would get him to drink more, encouraging him with kind words. He would give the girl a glance and give in.
"No more. No more." Regulus pleaded with them, in tears.
Juliet who was standing by the bassin, looked at him with saddened eyes, glancing back at the bassin, realizing there was only enough left to fill the shell just once more. She wanted to give up just then but he told her to keep going. She had to.
She approached him and Kreacher with the shell full of potion and held it close to his mouth as he whined in pain.
"Please. Please don't. I can't." He cried.
"Just one more, Reg. Just one. I promise it's the last one, okay? I promise." She encouraged. "Please."
Regulus let more tears fall as he hesitantly opened his mouth, allowing her to pour the potion in. She didn't know what he was feeling, she didn't know about the burning sensation, the complete torture, the terrible experience the potion was causing. Only Kreacher knew.
After she made him drink it, she rushed back to the basin, her eyes glinting with joy as she saw the locket.
"Reg! You did it! I have the locket!" She exclaimed, taking it out. "Kreacher, hurry, give me the other locket."
Kreacher complied, leaving Regulus' side to rush to the girl, handing the fake locket to her, the locket which in fact was the House of Black's heirloom, holding a message meant for Voldemort.
They exchanged the objects' places, failing to notice Regulus' quiet pleads for water.
"Well, that's done." She said stepping back. "What's next? How do we get out?"
"I can apparate us in and out, Mistress." Kreacher replied.
"Okay. Reg, come on let's go." She turned around.
But, to her horror, Regulus had crawled nearer to the water, in hopes to get a sip out of it.
"Reg, no!" She yelled, though much too late.
An Inferi had already reached out for him, pulling him in the water so quickly they've barely had time to react.
Regulus was drowning, the Inferi multiplying, all of them dragging him down with them. Punishing him for wishing for a sip of the water they lived in.
"Master!" Kreacher panicked.
"Regulus!" Juliet shrieked, rushing towards the water, being held back by Kreacher.
"Mistress, no! They'll take you too!"
Juliet whimpered, panting heavily as she no longer knew what to do, looking for his figure between the drops of splashed water.
"Go! Juliet, go! Take the locket! Go!" She heard him yell as he appeared on the surface for one second, gasping before he was dragged back down.
It was useless for him to fight back, to swim away, they were everywhere and had the others went to his rescue they would have drowned with him.
He was dying to the hands of cursed corpses, tortured even in death by one of the most evil Dark wizards to have ever existed. Had they minds of their own they would've longed for nothing more than peace in the afterlife or whatever they would consider as such.
Kreacher was screaming in panic, ushering the girl to do something anything, but she looked spaced out, almost frozen, had it not been for her suddenly reaching for the wand in her pocket.
She lifted it in the air, muttering the Fire-Making spell she was so familiar with because of the pranks she used to pull on her brother, and waved her wand in the air.
Considering the lack of skills in Charms that she demonstrated constantly in the seven years she spent at Hogwarts, she had successfully operated that spell so easily, summoning a flame so terribly enormous that she feared it would have burned herself right there and then.
Evidently, she hadn't gone from average, even mediocre from certain perspectives, to perfect in one night. It almost seemed purely out of luck for her to be able to cast it, and now, she had next to no control over the gigantic flames.
It was nearly blinding. The immediate warmth that filled the room was nearly suffocating. The fire rushed in a circle above their heads, surrounding the island. It was close enough to the water for all Inferi to swim away, terrified.
Of course. A creature that lived in the waters would hate fire.
The spell looked so powerful in the moment that it was easy to forget the easy spell that forged it. Though it was in fact on a whole other level, if one was to compare it with James Potter's burnt pants back in summer of 1976.
Juliet didn't know how to stop it the circle kept covering more ground, and she frantically waved her arm, trying to keep it in control, her eyes barely glancing around in an attempt to spot her best friend.
"Master!" She heard Kreacher call.
Turning her head to the side, she spotted the house elf helping a soaked and trembling Regulus crawl out of the water, now free of the Inferi's grasp.
Deeming it safe, she directed the gigantic flames inside the water, watching it die, the undead creatures' shadows fleeing from the scene.
Somehow still in a daze she rushed to her best friend, crouching down by his side as Kreacher grabbed the both of then and disapparated.
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I felt bad for making you guys panic, so I'm posting this until I can find time to post again
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