(50 : THEN I DEFY . . .
YOU, STARS)

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     A STRANGER STARED BACK AT Juliet in the mirror — her face was gaunt, her cheeks were hollow and her smile was dull. Even her dress didn't look right. It was laced up too tight and she could hardly breathe in the white monstrosity that she would never have chosen for herself. With sleeves that were too long and a skirt that was too full, she felt out of place at her own wedding. The sun bracelet on her wrist was the only thing that reminded her she was more than what was being reflected back, more than a sad girl with a painted face.

Juliet resisted the urge to fiddle with her bracelet — the one Sirius had given her on James' behalf — and she steeled her for what was to come instead. In a matter of minutes, she would be walking down the aisle. A crowd of reporters and respectable purebloods would be watching her with eagle eyes, all none the wiser to the fact the Order of the Phoenix were stationed at the Ministry of Magic to stop Lord Voldemort's coup. What a shame it would be that they came for a wedding and they would instead be witnessing the death of a pureblood, a blood traitor rising in her place.

If all went well, nobody would ever know about Voldemort's attempt to seize power. Juliet had — reluctantly — reached out to Dumbledore, knowing she wouldn't have been able to stop the dark wizard's plans alone. Thus, the Order of the Phoenix would be waiting for Voldemort whilst she was playing the role she was always destined for — the distraction. All eyes would be on the runaway bride. It was like she could see the headline now:

"THE FALL OF THE FINAL FAWLEY"

     Rather than dwelling on that, she thought about what was waiting for her beyond the walls of the venue. If everything went to plan, she would hear the bells ring and it would be her cue to escape. The portkey that would take her straight to Potter Manor — straight to James — remained unactivated around her wrist. From there, she would have to keep a low profile until her betrayal was replaced with a new pureblood scandal. At least she would be with James though. She supposed there were silver linings to everything.

     A knock at the door disturbed her manic thoughts. Without an invitation, Walburga Black tore through the door like a whirlwind, excited for her youngest — or if you asked her, only — son to be getting married to such a fine match. Juliet finally turned away from her reflection and stood to greet who was meant to be her mother-in-law.

     "It is time," the older woman announced, arching an eyebrow brow perfectly as she scrutinised the bride. "Are you ready?"

     Juliet nodded because she was ready — ready to defy the Dark Lord.

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Orion Black was walking her down the aisle to a song that sounded like a death march. Juliet kept her eyes trained ahead, reminding herself to smile as a series of blinding camera flashes caught the 'special' moment. There must have been at least two hundred people there and she didn't know any of them personally. Reporters were scribbling away their observations, strangers were wiping tears from their eyes and it was easily the longest walk of her life.

"You look beautiful," Regulus complimented, his words not sounding the least bit rehearsed.

Despite the fact she had seen house elves dressed better, she placated him. "Thank you," she said, eyeing the officiant with uncertainty. Something about him was familiar, then it struck her — he was a friend of her father's and most likely a Death Eater, which complicated things. Resisting the urge to flee, she focused on Regulus and politely added, "You look good too."

He really did. Regulus wore a suit of obsidian black with a crisp white shirt underneath and his hair was slicked back. Newly turned seventeen, yet he looked so much older and so much unlike himself. Whilst the two of them had dressed up plenty for balls over the years, it wasn't the same. Back then, they had choices. Now, their own wedding felt lifeless, catering to the whims of everyone but the bride and groom.

"Welcome!" boomed the officiant, a sinister smirk on his lips. "We are gathered here today to . . ."

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They were approaching the vows and the bells still hadn't sounded out. Juliet couldn't stop glancing towards the bell tower that was positioned opposite the open air venue. Her mind automatically assumed the worst as she contemplated what she would do if they didn't ring out before they both said 'I do.'

"If the couple could please lock hands," instructed the officiant, "it is time to exchange vows."

Even their vows had been pre-written. Juliet recalled the piece of parchment that Walburga had given her before the ceremony. It had come with an order to memorise the words because it would've been 'tasteless' to be reading from a script at the altar.

"I, Regulus, take you, Juliet, to be my wife." A thread of golden magic wrapped itself around their locked hands. "I vow to honour and respect you for all that you are and will become. I vow to remain faithful and loyal to you no matter what trials we may face. Above all, I vow to love you and support you in our venture to make a better," he gritted his teeth in annoyance, "purer world for our future family."

"I, Juliet, take you, Regulus, to be my best friend and partner in life." Her heart was pounding wildly as she went off script, but she couldn't risk their vows being magically binding. "I vow to take you with all your faults and your strengths. I vow to support you and protect you by any means. Above all, I vow to always be at your side, whether you know I am there or not."

Across from her, the boy's eyes widened at her changes as the magic around their hands dissipated. If the officiant was aware of her disobedience, he didn't show it as he motioned for the rings to be brought forward. It was the one thing that they had been allowed to pick.

With a bored expression, the officiant recited, "Repeat after me. I give you this ring as a —"

Crack!

At the recognisable crack of apparition, a series of gasps broke out from their guests. Juliet turned away from Regulus, whipping her head towards the intruder. In the middle of the aisle, Bellatrix Lestrange stood cackling, her face splattered with blood.

"I'm afraid I forgot to RSVP," she shouted loudly. "You see, I thought I had other plans for today. Turns out, the Dark Lord has been betrayed and the only people aware of this plan were those involved with this wedding." An ensuing series of cracks filled the venue with more Death Eaters. None of them bothered to wear their masks — they wanted everyone to know who was responsible this time. "Now, line up! Nobody — and I mean NOBODY — is leaving here until I have the pathetic traitor's head in my hands."

A commotion erupted as some of the guests attempted to run. Most of them had no clue what she was talking about — Bellatrix probably knew as much and simply didn't care.

     Juliet moved to snatch her wand from its hiding place beneath the many layers of taffeta. The moment she did, the officiant narrowed his eyes and caught her wrist — thankfully the one without the bracelet. "You heard the woman," snarled the man, his voice like gravel, "nobody is leaving."

     "Didn't anyone ever tell you to not touch a girl without her permission?" spat Juliet, roughly bringing her elbow up to collide with his smug face. Never again would she be put in the position that Lucius Malfoy had already forced her in once.

     The ring boxes dropped from his hands as he clutched his nose. "You bitch."

     "That's the third time a man's told me that now," she mentioned, swiftly picking up the ring boxes. "You get minus points for lack of originality."

"Bella!" bellowed the officiant. "Your traitor is the gir—"

Before she could shut him up, the man was hit by a silencing spell curtesy of Regulus Black. "If you have some grand escape plan, now would be as good a time as any to enact it," hissed the young boy as he inclined his head towards where his cousin was torturing someone with a camera limply hanging from their neck. "Bella's playing with us, she knows it's not really some gossip columnist for Witch Weekly and — ARGH!" Regulus clutched his left forearm, moaning in pain. "You need to go. Now!"

"Is he hurting you?" she whispered. "I can't have you taking the fall for this."

Over the chaos, she dimly heard the bells ringing. It should've been a sign of victory — a sign that the Order of the Phoenix had succeeded — but it really only filled her with dread. Voldemort clearly knew he had been set up and he suspected Regulus. It was for that reason alone she waited instead of immediately leaving.

After all, she wasn't spineless anymore.

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Something in the air changed when Voldemort arrived. Everything became . . . muffled. Death Eaters paused to drop to their knees or bow their heads as their master breezed past, moving like he was floating on air. It was a deliberate choice of Juliet's to keep her back turned, to make him think she hadn't noticed him yet.

     "Don't tell me you thought I loved you, Black," sneered Juliet, raising her voice to a level loud enough that everyone around them could hear. "How pathetic. I was never going to marry you. My allegiance will never be with you or him. I am loyal to —" James, she thought " — the Order of the Phoenix. I always have been." 

     Regulus caught on and approached her, grabbing her shoulders to spin her in what appeared to be a desperate motion. In truth, he did it to make sure nobody could attack her from behind and any spell would hit him instead. "Juliet, I —"

     It was the performance of their lives and they both knew it. And she knew it was about to be their curtain call when she sensed a spindly finger prodding at her mind.

     "You once told me we're all players in someone else's game and I should play along. What you didn't know was that I'd stopped playing a long time ago. You need to keep playing though. Good luck, Reg," she whispered softly before taking his hand and discreetly sliding a ring of mercury into his open palm. "Stupefy!"

Her spell knocked him unconscious and he landed a few feet away from her. Although he was injured, he was safe.

Voldemort's blood red eyes bored into her. He was furious and she had no intentions of overstaying her welcome. In a quick movement, Juliet twisted the sun charm on her bracelet and felt a familiar tug in her navel just as a blast of white light came hurtling towards her.

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In her white dress, Juliet landed breathlessly in the middle of the living room at Potter Manor where four people were nervously anticipating her arrival.

"Julie!" exclaimed James, running towards her and spinning her around by the waist. "I was so — what happened?"

"Nothi—" Her voice promptly died when she noticed the liquid on his hands. "Oh."

When she glanced down, she noticed a pool of blood was seeping through her white dress, right above her abdomen.

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A.N: This wedding has been a long time coming, so I hope I didn't disappoint! This officially marks the end of Seventh Year and 1978. The war years are going to pick up from 1979, so there'll be a little time skip but the interlude might help you guess what Juliet's been up to in the gap. I thank everyone who supported me this far because I know my writing is far from perfect most of the time.

Question, what song do you want to be your first dance if you want to get married? I've always loved the idea of either Give Me Love or You Are In Love.