Remus didn't speak to Juliet much when he saw her the next morning, he told her Sirius wanted to see her, alone, and awkwardly sat opposite her as they ate, knowing that she was sure to get the same speech from Padfoot that he had received the evening before. Juliet noticed his silence, but didn't pry, she also still felt astonished at Sirius Black's return, and he'd only been her friend for a couple of years, he'd been Remus' since they were eleven.
After vanishing to her room for ten minutes, she returned in a dress, her hair tied up, trying to look as muggle as possible, an apprehensive look on her face. Remus smiled at her and nodded, "you'll be fine." The witch's eyes filled with tears as she nodded back at the man who did not move as she made for the door, apparating as soon as she was past the front gate. She somehow remembered the walk to Remus', and enjoyed it, part of her felt sad that he had been here alone for so long, but she also thought it was the most perfect place for him. The small house appeared to her after thirty five minutes of walking, and she hesitated at the wooden gate. Seeing Sirius felt painful, he reminded her of so much. Of course, of James and Lily, of Marlene and Arabella, of Persephone, who she so often forgot had once loved him. But more, he reminded her of Azkaban, years that had been pushed to the darkest part of her mind and mostly forgotten. She spoke about it with no one. And most of all, he reminded her of Regulus. She'd lost everyone from Slytherin, no one understood her and Regulus' bond, really, and she supposed that out of everyone, Sirius would the most. But still, he didn't know how his brother had begged her to love him, how she'd refused. She still often wondered if he'd have changed his mind earlier if she had loved in back instead of prioritising herself.
Her heart skipped when she saw Regulus' eyes as the door to the cottage opened, and she felt her eyes fill with tears again, before Sirius Black's smile cheered her a little. He came outside to the frozen witch and pulled the gate open, taking her arm and pulling her into a light hug, she sobbed into his chest and Sirius held her tighter. When she pulled back she smiled, wiping her eyes, he already looked better.
"You like it here?" She asked, following him into the house.
"Yeah, I do," he smiled, pointing his wand at a kettle on the stove. "It's very Remus."
Juliet returned a small grin, "yeah, it is. I always thought he'd end up somewhere like this."
"Yet now he's living in Romilly Manor!"
The witch laughed, "I know, doesn't suit him there at all. Pretty sure he hates it."
"Ah, I'm sure there's some upsides," the wizard grinned, handing her a mug and sitting beside her on the sofa.
Juliet looked at him, her chest feeling tight, "I'm sorry I didn't speak to you."
Sirius was taken aback, "what do you mean?"
"When our cell- we were next to each other," she said shakily. "You tried to speak to me."
The man shook his head, "my bloody fault you were in there, Jules, my fault for a lot of things."
"You sound like Reg when you say that."
"Jules?"
Juliet exhaled and closed her blurry eyes, "yeah."
"That's nice," Sirius said, leaning back into the sofa and closing his eyes.
"Nothing was your fault, Sirius," she said, turning her head to look at him. "Nothing at all."
"I put my trust in the wrong person, and didn't trust the right people."
Juliet shrugged, "we were at war, none of us trusted each other. We all blamed each other for separate things. You were doing everything you could to keep James and Lily safe."
Sirius swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded, "I can't believe I ever suspected Moony."
"Regret is pointless," the witch sighed.
"If I hadn't, you wouldn't have gone to Azkaban. I've always been so bloody stubborn about things-"
"Remus was being stubborn too," Juliet interjected. "It wasn't your fault, I told you, nothing is. And even if it was, you've paid for it."
"You should have never been in there, Juliet."
The witch nodded down at her arm, her fingers tracing her dark mark, "I think, after the war, I would have suffered anyway, with this. Lucius and the ones who got off knew I was no longer loyal, they'd have sabotaged me and I'd have gone to Azkaban regardless."
Sirius shook his head, "Narcissa would never let that happen."
Juliet laughed dryly, "Cissa is a lot different now, Sirius. You'd hardly recognise her, and she's doing an excellent job of raising a son you'd have despised in school."
"She's not evil," he said plainly.
"How many of my friends did I used to say that about?"
Sirius shrugged, "the one person who reminded me constantly in school that not all Slytherins were bad was you, and Remus and Lily were the ones constantly defending you. You proved me wrong, and eventually, even bloody Reggie proved me wrong."
"Salazar, Sirius Black, you really have grown up."
He laughed, "had a lot of time to think, Romilly."
She smiled at him sadly, "I'm sorry for not believing you."
"Fucking Pete's plan was bloody genius," Sirius scowled. "Foolproof."
"We'll catch him," Juliet said quietly.
"And kill him."
She laughed dryly, "yeah."
"I wrote to Harry earlier," Sirius grinned. "Don't like having to lie that I'm in Spain, but I'm glad we even have contact. He told me his scar hurts, it's nice, that he'll tell me that. That he wants to confide in me, or wants my advice."
Juliet nodded, her face falling a little at the mention of her Godson, she'd probably ruined any chance for that sort of relationship with him.
"I'm going to try more with him this year," she said. "It's hard because he really is so bloody annoying."
Sirius threw his head back and laughed, "Moony said he's just like James."
Juliet smiled, "he is, just like you as well, in a way."
"I'm so envious that you get to be back there. I thought of Hogwarts every single day I was in Azkaban."
"Me too, felt like a dream when Albus offered me the job."
Sirius grinned and shook his head, "can't believe you're a bloody teacher. Moony - very understandable. But if you'd told seventeen year old me that Juliet fucking Romilly was going to be teaching the future generation of witches and wizards, I'd be seriously concerned."
She laughed and elbowed him, "fuck off, I'm a great teacher."
He held up his hands, "I don't doubt it, Remus told me."
"In fact, I was Nymphadora Tonks's favourite professor, that should speak very highly."
"You taught her? What's she like?"
"Incredible, Alastor Moody tutors her now. She'll be an amazing auror."
"And she's... nice? She's happy?"
Juliet smiled, "she's lovely, very funny. Good friends with Bill Weasley, and James Roberts, if you remember him?"
"Oh yes, Remus filled me in on all of that, heard about Annie too."
"Merlin, you'd love her."
"Surprised you do, a muggle!"
Juliet rolled her eyes, "those prejudices are long gone."
"And a former lover of Remus', thought you'd be jealous."
"You're ridiculous," she laughed.
"I was so happy when I saw you both in that shack," he said, echoing the same words he had said to Remus the previous night, "so happy that you still had each other."
She looked down at her hands and smiled, nodding slightly, "a lot has changed, and it's been a long time. But I think we're getting there."
"Never seen him in such a state than the morning you were taken. He'd not spoken to me in ages, not civilly at least, but he apparated straight to me, looked worse than I'd ever seen him. Then the way he spoke to the ministry officials, I had to stop him hexing them. I thought about that so much, the last time he saw you was cuffed to a chair after being tortured."
"I know, it might sound ridiculous, but I think Remus has had it just as awful as we have. He was alone, for so long, which is why I love Annie so much, it almost feels like she kept him alive. And even then, he had to keep so many secrets from her."
"Yeah, he said he struggled with that, he said he used to speak to her about you sometimes, though. That he ended with her after the first time he saw you."
"In Gringotts?"
Sirius shook his head, "at the grave, in Godric's Hollow," he said, his voice breaking a little.
"I never knew he saw me there."
"Yeah," he nodded, "you were with Roberts."
"I had no idea."
"Yeah, was enough to end it with Anne, apparently."
"Merlin," she laughed, leaning back into the sofa and resting her head in her hand. "I thought about him every single day, and I tried not to, but I couldn't stop."
Sirius smiled to himself, "Remus didn't say how you contacted him once you were out?"
She shook her head, "I didn't, at least I didn't mean to. As soon as I was at Andromeda's house, I wanted to make sure I could still do magic, that I was still a witch, it sounds ridiculous, I know. But I always struggled with patronuses, so I did one, and a wolf appeared on his doorstep, my wolf. I suppose subconsciously he was on my mind. I'm glad, though, it let him know I was okay."
"Still a wolf?" Sirius said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, always will be, I suspect."
"When did it change, again?" He asked, remembering that it used to be a cat when they were much younger being taught by Orion.
"Before I even knew him properly."
"Magic always knows," Sirius grinned.
Juliet met his eye and smiled, before glancing at the clock, "I expect he'll be here soon."
"Marauders back together."
"With a Slytherin!"
"Ah, there's a marauder spot going, Jules, you were always one of us."