(24 : AND IN THEIR TRIUMPH . . .
DIE, LIKE FIRE AND POWDER)

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      JULIET FAWLEY WAS NEITHER A lover or a fighter; James Potter was both. When James didn't show up after their argument, Juliet felt like he had knocked her sword from her hands, leaving her defenceless and bleeding. It was that feeling — the feeling of being stripped of her armour, the feeling of her castle walls crumbling — that ignited a spark of determination in the redhead.

     Instead of returning to her dorm, Juliet found an abandoned classroom. She didn't hesitate in mimicking the spell Regulus had cast around his room all those months ago —muffliato — and then she swallowed deeply. Juliet wasn't leaving that classroom until she knew what she felt for James because she needed to know whether he was worth the fight or not.

     With an unflinching resolve, she raised her wand into the air and very clearly said, "Expecto patronum."

     Nothing happened. Not even a smoky wisp of silver light.

     "Expecto patronum!" she cried again.

     Once again, nothing. Juliet was the only one in her class to not have accomplished casting even a non-corporeal form. All her memories didn't seem to be strong enough — had she really never been happy? Each time, she thought of the innocent days of her childhood where she would steal her mother's red lipstick and dance in circles with her father. Yet, all the memories had seemingly soured with age. Her home was not a happy one. Any pleasant memories only brought an onslaught of bad ones too.

     Then, almost like she was afraid to know the answer, she closed her eyes and thought of James. A comforting warmth seeped through her body as she pushed memories of the boy to the forefront of her mind.

"Do I want to know why you know the mooncalf mating dance?"

"Why? Is it a turn on?"

     A faint silver vapour burst from her wand, but it quickly died.

"A pinky promise?"

     "It's a muggle thing. Like an unbreakable vow . . . with less death."

     "Oh, so it's boring?"

     "Juliet —"

     "Fine. What are we promising, Potter?"

     "That we won't always have to hide."

Juliet gasped at the silver light that flowed from her wand and lingered. "Expecto patronum!"

"I don't think you're a bad person. I think bravery looks different on everyone."

"No matter what anybody else says, your future is not set in stone."

     "But I'm not leaving you alone, Juliet. Not now or anytime soon."

A beautiful, blinding animal formed before Juliet's eyes. A black swan circled her head. In that moment, all Juliet wanted to do was run to James and embrace him. He had — indirectly — helped her cast some extremely complicated magic. However, the black swan soon faded away and the Slytherin was alone in the darkness of the classroom once again.

     Exhausted, the girl slumped down onto the table. The darkness suffocated her and served as a painful reminder of her loss of light. James Potter was as full of light as any patronus, but she had ultimately pushed him too far. Even though he said wouldn't leave her, he did. And Juliet didn't have the energy to be angry at him. Not anymore.

     All she wanted was James, her never fading patronus.

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      Decked out in red and gold, three Gryffindors were strolling through the corridors with linked arms, eager to watch the final Quidditch game of the season. It was Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw and easily the most anticipated match of the season as it would decide who took the Quidditch Cup. Despite it being an unusually damp day for spring, the group were in high spirits as they discussed if the team's newest captain — James Potter — would lead them to victory. Amongst this group happened to be Lily Evans.

"You two go ahead," urged Lily as she promptly came to halt. "I need to touch up my face paint. I'll meet you on the pitch."

The blonde named Marlene rolled her eyes. "We'll shut up about Potter if it's bothering you that much."

Returning the eye roll, Lily nudged her two companions on, a warning look in her eyes. Marlene held her arms up in mock surrender and Lily waited patiently for her friends to turn the corner before backtracking a couple of steps. Her curiosity had been peaked by a faint buzzing noise. Pressing her ear to the door of an out of use classroom, she summoned up all her Gryffindor courage and used her wand to prod the door open.

Lily almost giggled at the sight of a student fast asleep on the desk. Keeping as quiet as possible, she approached the tired girl and gently shook her awake.

"Lily?" asked the girl blearily.

"Juliet," Lily recognised with wide eyes. "Is everything okay? Why were you asleep in an empty classroom?"

Juliet stifled a yawn. "I was practicing a spell last night and I must have dozed off."

     "Oh," uttered Lily. "You missed breakfast then. Half of Hogwarts is already down on the pitch, the final Quidditch game is starting soon. Were you planning on going?"

     The Slytherin pulled a face. "I haven't attended a single Quidditch game in my six years at Hogwarts and I'm not planning on starting anytime soon."

     In contrast to the Slytherin's poor attitude, Lily had small lion faces painted on her cheeks and a Gryffindor scarf wrapped around her neck. It was clear she had a lot of house pride — as did Juliet, but Quidditch was never something she cared about. It was dull, especially if the game went on for hours as they often did.

     Lily wore a sly smile. "Not even for Potter?"

     "Potter doesn't like me," lied Juliet. "Gryffindors and Slytherins are rivals, always have been, always will be."

    "You're more than your house, Juliet," Lily stated. "Not to mention it's a rubbish excuse. I already told you he can't stop talking about you. He's such a loudmouth in the common room that I'm surprised you can't hear him from the dungeons."

    "He won't even know I'm there." Juliet pinched the bridge of her nose. "Not to mention it'll be crowded and sweaty and uncomfortable in the stands. I don't know why you'd ever want to subject yourself to that."

     The Gryffindor laughed. "Because it's fun!"

     "It doesn't sound it," said Juliet. "I don't want to —"

With a frown, Juliet paused. Time was ticking and soon enough, she would be married. If her life ended up anything like her mother's, she would be planning balls and arranging cutlery in her spare time. Once she took on the role of a pureblood wife, what would she really have to show for her younger years? Thus far, her years at Hogwarts had been uneventful. And, wasn't it the stubborn nature of her bloodline and their refusal to try new things that damned her from the start?

"—I don't want to miss the game. Let's go!" hurried Juliet, deciding there was first time for everything.

Breaking into a million watt grin, Lily grabbed Juliet by the arm and dragged her through the empty corridors, chattering excitedly the whole time. And unlike when she had first met James on the train, she didn't think twice about the girl's blood status or whether it was acceptable to take a muggleborn's hand.

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     When Lily stopped in front of the Gryffindor stands, Juliet regretted acting so rash and agreeing to watch the game. For a second, she was prepared to slip away unnoticed and hide in the Slytherin stands. However, Lily was sharp and caught on.

     "Juliet . . ." Lily trailed, almost disappointed.

     "I can't sit with you!" she protested, turning her back to the Slytherin stands in case anyone caught a glimpse of her face. "If someone sees —"

    The Gryffindor shook her head. "If someone sees, it won't matter. Houses mix all the time. Not to mention you'll blend in, there's hundreds of people up there."

    Of course Juliet knew this, but the risk wasn't worth it. It was an unwritten rule that Slytherins shouldn't befriend Gryffindors. Especially amongst the pureblood circles — Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were both considered lowly houses.

    "If it ever got back to my parents —" Juliet attempted to explain.

Lily didn't really understand, but tried to be sympathetic all the same. "What proof will they have? Just sit with me for the first half, at least." Her tone shifted to deceptively cheerily as she added, "And if anyone says anything, I'll make sure to tell everyone you were very intimidating and tried to hex me."

Pursing her lips, Juliet surrendered and began to trudge to the top.

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Around halfway through the match, rain started to pour down with the vicious roar of a Gryffindor lion. Juliet could barely see what was happening and it was clear that both teams were beginning to get disheartened. The bad weather conditions made it far harder for them to spot the quaffle or the snitch and the bludger seemed to blend in with the grey clouds.

     "It's bad enough I'm in the Gryffindor stands. I can't cheer for Gryffindor as well," moaned Juliet, shivering from the wet. Lily had been trying to convince her to help boost morale for at least ten minutes.

     "Of course you can. Just watch me," insisted an unfazed Lily as she cupped her hands over her mouth. "GO GRYFFINDOR! WOO!"

     The Slytherin lowered her head. "No, I —"

     "And Ravenclaw seeker Davis has spotted the snitch with Gryffindor seeker Simmons hot on their broom!" the announcer exclaimed, interrupting Juliet.

     Watching how Lily's face fell, Juliet asked, "Isn't that a good thing? It's almost over."

     "Yes, but Gryffindor need a 260 point difference to win the cup," replied Lily. "We need have another 20 before our seeker can catch the snitch, otherwise we'll lose the league. But it's no better if they let the Ravenclaw seeker catch the snitch because then we'll lose the game."

     Lost, Juliet bobbed her head along. "You need two more goals?" checked the Slytherin, searching for James in the sky whilst Lily went through her explanation once again. "Can you see James anywhere?"

Lily pointed to him. "Number 4."

Juliet took a deep breath. "GO POTTER! YOU ABSOLUTE WANKER, I BETTER NOT HAVE SAT THROUGH THIS STUPID GAME TO WATCH YOU LOSE."

"I thought you didn't want anyone to know you were sat here?" teased Lily.

Juliet shrugged. "I'll tell them I bet some galleons on Gryffindor."

Two goals and a snitch later, Gryffindor had miraculously won the house cup. As James Potter was lifted into the air by his team, his housemates in the stand let out a deafening cheer. Nobody would have ever guessed there was a snake amongst the lions that day.

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A.N: I hate this chapter. So much. This is me saying I'm never writing anything quidditch again because it's hard and I wasn't going to bore you with the intricacies of the game. Anyway, next chapter will be much better and they'll actually talk. Which was meant to happen this chapter and . . . didn't. Next chapter is also the last chapter of sixth year, so take of that what you will 😏

Question . . . I'm out of questions already because my brain is a lump with the announcement we'll be doing online learning for the rest of year and we're back in lockdown. So, instead, tell me a fun fact about yourself.