(43 : SHE'LL NOT BE HIT . . .
WITH CUPID'S ARROW)

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     VALENTINE'S DAY SOON HIT THE castle in an explosion of heart confetti and hormonal teenagers. For Juliet, every kissing couple and rose bouquet was only a sore reminder of what she was missing. Her brief stay in Madam Pomfrey's care had reestablished her tentative friendship with James Potter — a friendship that neither of them were willing to shatter, leaving the girl to take her anger out on the commercialised holiday.

Both of them loved each other, which made the solution seem simple — they should get back together. Yet, James was far too egotistical to admit he was wrong further than through an imaginary tale he spun for her entertainment and Juliet was far too stubborn to make the first move.

Juliet was eating breakfast in the Great Hall, watching with a disgruntled expression as everyone swooned over love notes and chocolate-covered strawberries. Ares brought her nothing apart from a copy of The Daily Prophet, which had a photo of her trying on a wedding dress from months ago on the front page. In small writing — below the article — was the headline: FOUR AURORS REPORTED MISSING, PRESUMED DEAD.

"Have you found a ring yet?" Regulus leaned over to read the article, working under the assumption she was fixated on the article about their wedding.

In the Wizarding World, rings were meaningful and unique to each couple, so they were the one thing that they had been permitted to choose for themselves. They would each have to choose a stone and a rune inscription that best represented their relationship. The superficial elements of the ceremony — like the dress and the decor — were being controlled by Walburga Black whilst all of the specifics — like the time and the date — were already planned to coincide with the Dark Lord's schemes. It was almost humorous how it was such a big deal that they were allowed to have a say in their own wedding.

Juliet folded the newspaper in half, shifting away from him. "Not yet."

"I suppose you have time," conceded Regulus, using his fork to push some eggs around his plate. "Are you going to Slughorn's party tonight?"

     Professor Slughorn was the Head of Slytherin and a notorious sycophant. Both Regulus and Juliet were members of his Slug Club as members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, the latter attending all the meetings and parties to please her parents more than anything. Slughorn had made an extravagant show of cornering them both outside the dungeons a few weeks ago, promising the pair the party would help them forge promising connections for after graduation since he had invited some alumni.

     "I am," she replied shortly.

     Regulus nodded and didn't push the conversation further. Things had been strained between them since he told her about the fate of Eliana Fawley. Whilst Juliet was cordial with him, it was clear that she was trying to distance herself. Regulus Black had a front row seat to the insanity of the Death Eaters and he still chose to become one — he wasn't nearly as innocent as she wanted him to be.

Then again, was she?

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The Marauders were all hidden underneath James' invisibility cloak — a rather arduous task considering two of the boys were now over six foot. Their limbs were all tangled beneath the fabric and a hushed argument broke out as they crept through the dungeons. Aside from the issue of space, all was going well until James stumbled over his own two feet at the sight of Juliet Fawley.

Caught off guard, he dropped what he was holding and watched as the potion for their prank harmlessly rolled towards the Slytherin. If it hadn't been for Remus' quick spellwork, the vial no doubt would've shattered.

Juliet froze at the sound of clinking glass and familiar voices. "Hello?"

"You look pretty!" James spluttered, feeling affronted that the boys had pushed out from underneath the cloak. He said the first thing that came to mind, getting flustered as he tried to not draw attention to the potion. Sirius kicked him in the shins and James corrected, "I meant beautiful. You look beautiful. Gorgeous. Stunning. Incandescent even."

Juliet did, in fact, look beautiful. Her red hair fell into loose waves and she wore dark blue dress robes that made her eyes pop. Somehow, her features looked softer than normal, it was like she had lost the usual sharpness of a pureblood. Instead of anything bold, her lips were stained a pale pink and there was a faint bronze shimmer swiped across her eyelids. Before she was interrupted, she had been reluctantly heading to Slughorn's party.

     "And you look suspicious," she retorted, narrowing her eyes. "Why are you hanging about in the dungeons?"

     James panicked. "Why are you so dressed up?"

     "I've been invited to Slughorn's Valentine's Day party." Juliet repressed an eye roll. "Are you going to answer my question now? I'm not nearly dumb enough to let you distract me."

"Wait, it's Valentine's Day? Like today?"

Juliet failed to muffle her laughter. "Yes."

The Gryffindor's face sunk and he frantically patted his pockets down in search of his wand. "Um, orchideous." He stepped towards her, offering the array of flowers bursting from his wand to her. "I swear I would've done better if someone —" he glared pointedly in the direction of where he suspected the boys were from the bend of the light "— had reminded me."

"They're lovely." Juliet bent down to retrieve the vial of clear liquid that was labelled 'VERITASERUM' in block letters before shooting the boy an innocent smile. "Can I keep this instead though?"

James reached out to grab it, only for her to pull it away. "Actually, I need —"

"Thanks, Potter," she called over her shoulder. Her high heels clicked audibly as she walked away.

Once she disappeared from sight, Sirius ripped off the invisibility cloak and gave James a half-hearted clap on the back. "It's like we're back to square one," his friend tutted. "You're so whipped."

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     Upon entering Slughorn's office, she was met with the usual set-up. The ceilings and walls had been draped with fuchsia, scarlet and cream hangings, creating the illusion that they were all in a vast tent. The room was crowded and drenched in a warm light, fairies were dangling from the ceiling and house elves were scurrying about with platters of heart-shaped foods. It was quite the ornate scene.

     Looking from side to side, she popped a mini cherry tart into her mouth and scanned the room for a recognisable face. Lily was being twirled around the makeshift dance floor with Connor McLaggen, Regulus was engaged in what was meant to be a discreet discussion with a house elf and Slughorn was basking in the attention of some young aurors. Juliet was about to make her appearance known to the professor when her eyes snagged on a red-faced Severus Snape. He was blatantly floundering and stumbling over his words. An idea formed in her head when she noticed who he was talking to.

     "Hector!" greeted Juliet, strutting over to man and pressing quick kisses on either side of his cheeks. "It has been too long. Tell me, how's the wife and kids?"

     Severus eyed her with distaste. To him, Juliet had intervened in one of the most important conversations of his life. Hector Dagworth-Granger was not one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but he was one of the more famous purebloods, known for establishing the 'Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers.' His work within the field was groundbreaking and his apprenticeships were like gold dust.

     Hector laughed heartily. "Juliet Fawley? Why I haven't seen you in years!"

     "Oh, well, I'm engaged now. My parents are thrilled with match. You might have heard of him, Regulus Black," she offered without being prompted, knowing it was a dirty trick to use her dead parents and a boy she had no intentions of marrying to social climb. Pureblood politics were inherently dirty though. "Other than that, not much is new. I saw you talking here with my good friend Severus and I thought I would pop on over for a quick chat."

     "Mr Snape is your friend?" Hector lowered his spectacles. "How curious."

     Juliet lifted her chin up. "That is what I said," she confirmed a little rudely. "I would like to think I'm quite talented with potions myself, but Severus is by far the best in Hogwarts at Potions. You understand that is not something I would say lightly either." She released an exaggerated sigh. "You know, I introduced him to Mr Winikus over this past Christmas Break. My father cannot, of course, officially tell me of such dealings, but he mentioned Winikus wanted an apprentice for a large Ministry order and Severus is the top candida—"

     "Rubens wants to employ him?" gasped Hector when he heard the teenager name-drop his main competitor in the potions market. "My apologies for interrupting you, I am . . . surprised, that is all. This boy must express remarkable skill for a half-blood if Rubens Winikus wants to recruit him."

     With a sly wink, Juliet held a finger to her lips. "You didn't hear it from me though."

     "Oh, of course," agreed the man solemnly, trusting her lies. "If you would excuse us, Juliet, I would like to talk to Mr Snape about his career options after Hogwarts . . ."

     His voice faded as he steered Snape towards a more secluded area. Juliet smirked.

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"Fawley!" Snape shouted an hour or two later, spotting her red hair in the crowd. He approached her, clutching what looked like a contract in his hands. "We aren't friends. Why would you do that?"

Amused, Juliet cocked her head to one side. "Because you owe me now. I won't let you forget it either."

Snape tensed, glaring at her for a long time before ultimately being the first to break their eye contact. The girl lifted her glass of mead in the air in a mock toast, causing him to angrily turn around and return to mingling with the guests. Remaining on the outskirts of the party, Juliet observed the happy couples from afar, grimacing.

A confession of love and a vial of veritaserum was tucked into her clutch — why was she even still there?

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A.N: Double update! We all know my update schedule is whack, let's roll with it. I thought I might as well post it — it's a little filler-y, but has a lot of important information for the future, making it not that filler-y at all, I guess. That scene with Snape is going to be very important at some point. I also hope you liked awkward James because he's so fun to write. James is going to becoming back in full force next chapter though. I've missed him.

Question, what is your favourite potion? I feel like I just want to smell amortentia at some point in my life.