Christmas '78
Dear Juliet,
Juliet Romilly smiled to herself as she read over a letter received on the 20th December from Lily Evans. She and James Potter were marrying early, it was all "horribly disorganised" as the witch had put it, but apparently danger was increasing and the marauders were constantly separated and all the pair wanted was to be husband and wife. It was to be a small affair, she said, nearest and dearest and trusted friends only, with the location secret. She'd arranged for Juliet and Arabella to be allowed there, though, and had written to Professor Mcgonagall and Dumbledore specially, begging them to let the girls floo from the castle to Godric's Hollow.
Arabella scrunched up her nose when Juliet told her the news, "Merlin, why on earth is everyone getting bloody married. First Narcissa-"
"I doubt she had much choice, Bella," Juliet said, rolling her eyes at her friend as they sat in their dorm.
"She's always loved Lucius," Arabella scoffed. "You probably had less choice with Reg-"
"Narcissa has always helped and protected me," she said stiffly. "And she loves Lucius, I don't love Regulus. Anyway, if I'd completed my task, I'm sure I would also be married by now. James and Lily deserve to be happy."
"Marriage isn't happiness."
Juliet smiled at her friend, "ah, that's your pureblood prejudice coming through. A true Slytherin. They've been raised knowing marriage means love, for us it means duty."
"For me it meant marrying a man," Arabella giggled. "Merlin, remember when they were trying to set me up with Barty."
Juliet rolled her eyes and said nothing for a moment, "they're brave, I think. Marrying during a war."
"Yeah, you're right, when did you get so romantic, Romilly?"
The witch only laughed and lay back on her bed, eyes closed and smiling to herself.
New Years Eve '78
The Slytherin pair floo'd straight to Marlene's house from Godric's Hollow, seeing no one but Sirius Black, apparently the groom was ridiculously nervous and not even able to greet the witches, they'd both laughed at that and sure enough, upstairs, upon hearing Juliet Romilly's laughter, Remus Lupin had jumped up from where he was comforting James on the floor of his bedroom, only to be clung onto and begged to stay by his old friend.
"Yeah," Marlene was chattering, her arm linked with Arabella's as she showed the witches to their rooms, "and I'm maid of honour, incredible, her sister... fucking bitch... is refusing to even come. Yeah, I know," she muttered to Arabella.
Juliet lagged behind, letting the two witches have their moment. She felt for Lily, and couldn't believe anyone would prejudice against her for being a witch. At home they hated her for being too magic, at school some had deemed her not magic enough, purely because of her blood.
She truly was a strong witch.
Lily Evans squealed at the sight of the two witches, first pulling Juliet Romilly into a tight hug and kissing her on the forehead.
"I am so happy you're both here," she smiled as she released Arabella from a similarly crushing hug, her eyes already filling with tears.
"Well, you got us here, Lil," Arabella smiled, nudging the witch.
"And thank you," Juliet said softly. "For getting us here, almost driven myself mad spending every single day with Arabella and Arabella only for the last six months," she grinned, winking at her friend who was leaning back into Marlene.
"Speak for your fucking self, Romilly."
"Was Hogwarts okay?" Lily asked quietly, accepting a bottle of butterbeer from Marlene.
"Merlin, yeah," Juliet nodded, taking a sip, wanting to reassure the witch. "It was fine, kept ourselves to ourselves really. A few awkward conversations with Penny. Ophelia doesn't speak to anyone but Regulus, really."
"And you and Reg?"
She shrugged, "told us both he'd protect us when we saw him on the train, said summer was hard. He's so... he's stoic. He'll never tell me if he's suffering. But no one hassled us, there's just a dark air, noticeable that some people weren't back."
"And you two?" Arabella asked. "The order?"
Lily's face noticeably fell, "it's okay. It's scary. The boys are all so strong now. Merlin, so are we really. I haven't been on any awful missions, James was there when Carrow was captured-"
"Reckons he played an integral part," Marlene interrupted, laughing.
"Remus had an awful one last week," she looked at Juliet hesitantly, knowing she shouldn't be the one to break the news about her blood father. "He'll tell you all about it-"
Juliet shook her head, "we don't need to speak on this, it's your day, Lil."
The ginger witch burst into tears and Marlene moved from Arabella to pull her into a hug.
"I'm just so scared." She sobbed.
Arabella nodded, "we know, that's normal. It's all going to be fine though, Lil. You're strong, we're all fucking strong."
"And I keep thinking, James wanted me for years, and I said no. Because I was too high and mighty, or thought I was too good for him-"
"James had some growing up to do," Marlene said plainly.
"But if he dies, if I lose him. I'll hate myself forever because of that. We could've had longer. I stopped us from having longer."
Juliet shook her head and took the ginger witch's hand, "you can't think like that, Lily. You're winning, you're in love, and all of your friends are together to celebrate you. They don't have that, none of them do," she said sadly, pulling the witch into a hug and trying to push Narcissa out of her head. Was anyone happy for her on her wedding day? Did she feel alone? Was it a day of love?
New Years Day '79
Lily and James' wedding was a beautiful day.
It was warm, for January, and there were tears from everyone, most of all the groom. They laughed and they danced after, with warming charms cast over their little area in the forest. The four marauders sat on a round table, laughing as Lily spun Marlene around until she screamed.
"Think this officially makes me the most mature," James said, grinning at his friends.
"Oh, well, you always have been, Prongs," Sirius said sarcastically.
Peter and Remus laughed, the latter trying to catch Juliet's eye as she sat engrossed in a conversation with Arabella Greengrass.
"Spoke to her yet, Moony?" James asked, grinning as he followed his friend's eyeline.
Remus laughed, "this is your wedding day, Prongs. Let's focus on your love life."
"Nah, mine's boring now that Evans is obsessed with me," he grinned, winking at his wife as she caught his eye. The witch blushed a little and winked back, her arms wrapped around an incredibly drunk Marlene.
"We've come far," Sirius said, leaning back and resting an arm on the back of Peter's chair, smiling at how old he felt.
"Indeed we have, boys," Remus smiled.
Peter grinned back and threw an arm over Remus' shoulders in an uncharacteristically confident move, he pushed his beer bottle into the middle of the table and said, "all for one..."
The other men laughed, remembering their first year chant, and pushed their own bottles into the middle, tapping each others as they shouted, "and one for all!"
"You'd think it's you four getting married," Juliet Romilly said, appearing beside Sirius, her eyes sparkling and a hint of laughter on her face.
Remus' head shot up from where he was looking at his lap, smiling at memories of his friends.
"Evening, Romilly," he grinned.
"Evening, Remus," she said, smiling at the man.
The two stared at each other for a second, ignoring James making heart gestures with his fingers.
Sirius groaned, "evening...Sirius?"
Juliet threw her head back laughing, "good evening, Padfoot. You made a dashing best man."
Sirius winked at Remus, "hear that, Moony, I'm dashing."
"Fancy a dance, Romilly?" Remus asked, ignoring his friend and standing up and holding a hand out to the witch.
She blushed slightly and took it, leaning up and whispering, "since when were you so confident, Lupin?"
He leant down and moved her hair, "since I haven't seen you in months."
"Ah, they're so in love," Arabella Greengrass sighed, sitting at the spare seat that Remus Lupin had left.
"I called this first," Lily Potter smiled, sitting on her husband's lap, am arm draped over his shoulder.
"Bullshit," James scoffed, "it was certainly me, Evans."
"That's Potter, to you," she said, leaning into the man so their noses were touching.
"Bleh." Sirius said sarcastically. "Fancy a kiss, Pete? Only single ones here."
The boy turned red and giggled slightly.
"Don't fancy killing Moony? You fancied her first?" James joked, cocking his head to where the pair were whispering to each other as they danced.
Peter turned even redder, "I never fancied her," he snapped.
"A joke, Wormy."
Arabella raised an eyebrow at James, who had his hands held up and was laughing, before beginning to wave wildly at Alastor Moody.
Sirius looked at the girl with a mixture of shock and embarrassment, "Bella," he hissed, grabbing the witch's hand, "that's Moody, he's an auror-"
"I know who he is, Black!" She exclaimed, pulling her hand back and smiling wildly as the man approached, "if it isn't my lovely secret keeper!"
"The point of secret keeping is that you don't tell anyone, Arabella," the wizard said gruffly.
"Ah, Moody, you told me you're no longer ours! Said we're, and I quote, "the most annoying bloody fucking witches I have ever encountered."
Sirius burst out laughing, "I can agree there, Sir."
Moody gave Sirius an acknowledging glance and the man beamed.
"Ah, Allie, you don't mean it."
James Potter, who had taken a swig of his drink at the wrong moment, spat it out, all over Alastor Moody as soon as Arabella spoke. Sirius put his head in his hands and Lily looked away in embarrassment, Arabella simply laughed harder.
"I'm so sorry," James coughed, looking a the auror. "I just- Allie-" he began, before bursting into laughter again.
The auror shook his head and walked off, leaving the table in fits of laughter.
"Walk with me?" Remus bent down and muttered to Juliet, noticing his friend's table being preoccupied.
"Mhm," she said, linking his arm and pulling him away from the clearing by his forearm.
When they were further away, and the laughter was only a faint buzz behind the trees, Juliet looked up at Remus and whispered, "I missed you."
The man sighed and rested a hand flat against the witch's hip, gently, he pushed her back against a tree and kissed her, slowly. She smiled against his mouth and put a hand on the back of his arm, pulling him into her more.
Remus pulled away slightly and whispered, "is it pathetic to say I've thought of little else but this?"
Juliet laughed quietly, "me too, Remus."
At her response, he pressed into her harder, kissing her more desperately and grinning to himself as she sighed into his mouth.
"You wanna leave?" He muttered to her.
"I'm not sure if I'm allowed."
Remus sighed and rested his forehead against hers.
"You're not."
"Maybe after Hogwarts."
"Maybe. Maybe if you join the order."
Juliet put a hand against his torso and gently pushed him back, this had never been a thought in her mind.
"I-I don't think I will."
"What?" He asked, leaning back further.
"The order, I doubt I'll ever join."
"Then what will you do?" He asked, moving his hand from her waist.
"Well, we'll all fight."
"They'd let you join."
"I'm sure they would-"
"Then why?"
Juliet sighed, not wanting to have the conversation.
"Will you kill a death eater?"
"We're capturing them and sending them to Azkaban, Carrow, he wasn't killed-"
"But if there was immediate danger."
"I dunno, I suppose... I dunno," he stuttered.
"I couldn't look Ophelia or Regulus in the eye-"
"Oh, Regulus," Remus laughed, stepping back and shaking his head, pushing away the sinking feeling forming in his stomach.
"Remus," she said, reaching for his hand and rolling his eyes when he moved away, "there's nothing there. You know that."
"So why-"
"They're my oldest friends, Remus. I couldn't. No matter what."
The man groaned, he understood, of course, but for the witch's sake, all he wanted was for her to join. It was dangerous, but it would mean she was trusted. No one would question her. Even at the wedding, there had been a few odd looks from aurors and other order members.
"I know, it's fine," he said, pulling her into his chest. "I understand."
"Thank you," she said quietly.
"I have some not great news for you," he murmured.
"Oh?"
"I can put it in a letter," he asked, realising this was probably not the time to tell the witch about Andrew Jones.
Juliet pondered on this, glancing to the wedding and barely making out Sirius and Marlene dancing and singing.
"Yeah, let's not ruin this."
"Alright," he nodded, pulling her back into him and kissing the top of her head.
"Shall we?" She asked, looking back towards their friends.
"If we must."
She grinned, squeezing his hand, "we must."
A/N really enjoying writing rn!! as always pls vote if you enjoy u have no idea how much it motivates me!