AN: Boo! Surprise! ;)

#

I Put A Spell On You

#

On The Run – Part I

#

It was a little difficult to find an empty street in London, even if it was in the middle of the night, but she was lucky enough to find an alley and landed there, shaking with fear – she still wasn't too keen on flying – and with the night's events.

She put the broomstick inside her purse and used her wand to change her clothes to her thick dark blue coat, a matching wooly hat, pants and knee-length boots.

Gods, she had really done it: she had left Hogwarts behind and was possibly being chased.

She was on her own in the middle of a war and she was terrified.

Thankfully, the idea of leaving had been inside her head for a while so she had some sort of plan, whether it would work or not, was anybody's guess.

After taking a few calming breaths, Juvia tucked as much of her hair under her hat as she could and started to walk fast. Remembering one of Professor Jose's advices, Juvia slowed down. He always said 'First rule of going on the run is: "Don't run. Walk."'. People pay much more attention to someone running than someone casually walking down the street.

After walking for a while, she found a pub that was still opened and since it was a muggle pub and most people were way too drunk, they gave little attention to the young woman going to the bathroom and locking it.

She looked herself in the mirror and, well, Gajeel was right: she did look as if she were going to drop at any minute and she was so hungry. Since she thought the next day she would be taken to the dungeons, she didn't have supper. Thankfully she had some muggle money to try to buy something.

Juvia took off her hat and concentrated the best she could, whispering: "Colovaria". Her hair color was too unusual and would be quickly remembered were anyone to ask. The blue of her hair and eyebrows slowly started to darken until it was brown. Sighing in relief she had done it right – the first few times she tried, some patches of her hair and an eyebrow remained blue – Juvia put the wooly hat back on, it would last for a couple of hours at least and it was enough at the moment.

Sadly, the pub was no long serving food but the bartender was kind enough to giver instructions on how to get to a store close-by that was open all night and after she got there and got some not-so-healthy provisions, she began the second part of her plan: find a place to hide.

She had thought a lot to where to go when she finally left the school and she have few options. She couldn't go to her orphanage, or Gray's house or Ur's house. Those would be the first places people would look for her.

Then, it hit her: Heartfilia Konzern, Lucy family's summer home. Well, one of them and the most forgotten one, Lucy herself hadn't been there for years before, two years ago, they had spent a week there during summer vacation. The Heartfilias had too many properties and Juvia hoped that one was safe for at least a few days – they even went to a different one during that year's summer vacation. Juvia bet not even Lucy knew how many they had.

She just needed a fireplace connected to the Floo Network.

Having landed at that particular area on purpose, Juvia walked for a few minutes until she found the pub she was looking for: The Prancing Pony. Most people went to the Leaky Cauldron because of its proximity to the Diagon Alley, but there were other wizard pubs around London and The Prancing Pony was one of them and much, much less likely to have someone ask around about her.

The pub was almost empty when she arrived, just a couple kissing on the corner and a lonely man who was too drunk. None of those people even paid attention to her, thankfully.

Juvia went straight to the barmaid – who was reading behind the bar – and smiled, pleasantly: "Good evening."

The blonde woman, who looked bored to death, looked up and then down to her book. "What can I get ya?"

"I was wondering if the Fireplace is available?" Juvia asked nicely.

"Three Galeons." The woman didn't even look up, just opened her hand to receive payment and even if it was expensive to just use the Fireplace, Juvia didn't have any alternative so she got her purse and gave her the golden coins. "Go ahead, the powder's next to it."

"Thank you very much." Juvia checked and saw the other people were still in bliss ignorance of her. She got to the fireplace and got some of the powder with her left hand while with the other, she held her wand – she didn't know if she'd need it once she arrived and she needed for something else. She pointed to the fireplace and said "Silencio", just in case so anyone knew where she was going and just before she used the Floo, Juvia pointed to the barmaid and whispered: "Obliviate." Erasing the last two minutes of the woman's memory, and she knew it worked because, just before Juvia throw the powder and say "Heartfilia Konzern", the Slytherin saw the barmaid look down to her book in confusion and then turn back a few pages.

Then, green flames took over her and she was traveling.

#

Coughing, Juvia exited Heartfilia Konzern's fireplace and, for the third time on the past two days, she sneezed fire and Juvia was starting to think the flu she thought she had, was more serious than she realized.

She'd think about it later, first, she needed to see if the place was secure. "Homenum Revelio." Juvia casted and after a few seconds, she felt nothing coming back to her: there were no humans at the mansion and she sighed in relief. She was safe for a while.

Still with her guard up, Juvia used her wand to produce light and started to go up the stairs, to the room she had used while she was there a couple of years before and just before she reached it, she felt ropes around her and she tripped, gasping while falling on the floor.

"Intruder!" The voice was a little screechy and Juvia recognized. "You dare to enter the noble home of the Heartfilia?" Coming from the darkness, an domestic elf appeared.

"Spetto-san!" Juvia exclaimed in relief: Spetto had been there when Juvia and their friends had vacationed there and she sure would remember Juvia.

"How the intruder knows Spetto's name?" The elf frowned in confusion – she was a light purple elf with dark eyes the Heartfilias had kept for many years. She wore a hat, and a simple dress.

"It's Juvia, Lucy-san's friend." Juvia explained, hoping she would remember. "I stayed here with Lucy-san and other friends a couple of years back."

Spetto's eyes narrowed. "Miss Juvia has blue hair. Are you trying to trick Spetto?"

"Bloody hell." Juvia whispered to herself. "It's a temporary charm, Spetto-san. You can undo it, Juvia doesn't mind." The elf snapped her fingers and Juvia saw her curls return to their original color and Spetto was carefully inspectioning her. "You remember me. Juvia complimented the fish you made us on our third day here, remember? You added lemon on it and it was so good."

Finally, Spetto seemed to accept Juvia's identity because she smiled and exclaimed: "Miss Juvia! So nice to see you!"

Juvia sighed in relief. "Likewise, Spetto-san." She smiled and pointed to the ropes around her. "Could you...?"

"Oh, of course." The elf snapped her fingers and the ropes were gone. "I am sorry I did that!" Spetto gasped. "And to one of Miss Lucy's friends!"

"It's alright, Spetto-san!" Juvia sat on the floor and was quick to reassure her, she knew elves punished themselves if they thought their masters would be displeased with them. "You were doing your job in protecting the house and what a wonderful job!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course." The blunette smiled. "Juvia will make sure to tell Lucy-san how brave you were."

"Oh, thank you, Miss Juvia." Spetto bowed her head and then looked at the young woman in confusion. "Can I ask why you are here, Miss Juvia? On your own?"

Juvia gulped. "Some very bad men are after me. They are after Lucy-san and some other friends as well." Spetto looked surprised and afraid for Lucy. "Don't worry, Lucy-san is well hidden. She is safe for now and the bad men haven't found her."

The elf sighed in relief. "Miss Lucy is very smart, the bad men won't catch her."

"I hope so." Juvia agreed. "Can I stay here for a while?"

"Well, of course, Miss Juvia! Miss Lucy always told us to treat her friends like her own family."

"Thank you, Spetto-san." She was relieved.

"I will get a room ready for you, Miss, don't worry. And tomorrow, you will have some of that fish you liked so much." She started to walk towards the rooms and Juvia got her wand from the floor and got up.

"Thank you." She followed the elf to the same room she had stayed before and with some very quick snapping of her fingers, the room as clean and the fireplace was working. Suddenly, Juvia felt all the exhaustion crash down on her and all the wanted was to eat some of the chips she bought, take a shower and sleep, but she needed to be safe. "Spetto-san, if anyone, anyone, arrives, please, come and get me so Juvia can run, if that's the case. And if it's the bad men, if you could stall them, it would be great."

"Of course, Miss Juvia. The bad men won't get you while you are here." Spetto nodded, decided to follow the orders. "Do you need anything else, Miss? You look tired."

"No, thank you. I will take a shower and sleep. It's very late."

"It's actually very early, Miss Juvia."

"Oh, right." It had been one hell of a night. "I will see you around lunch, then, Spetto-san."

"Alright, Miss Juvia." The elf bowed slightly and then, disappeared, leaving Juvia alone.

After eating some of the chips she bought – she knew Spetto wouldn't mind at all making her something to eat, but she couldn't impose more than she already had – Juvia went to take a shower and just before she stepped under the spray of water, she took a glimpse of herself in the mirror and frowned when she saw her left shoulder had a green and purple color, with a few bumps.

"What the bloody hell...?" She touched and her skin felt... scaly, as weird as it sounded. "Oh, that's great." Juvia groaned – just when she was running from the bloody Death Eaters, there was a weird rash spreading through her body. She was the one to blame, really, she had noticed it between her toes, but didn't go to see Polyuska. "I hope it goes away soon." She went under the spray of hot water and for the first time in hours, her body relaxed.

#

When she woke up, Juvia couldn't understand why she felt so hot, while shivering at the same time. She opened her eyes and they felt as if they were burning. With great strength, she sat on the bed, everything seemed to spin around her. What was going on?

Juvia sneezed and once more, fire came out of her nostrils, starting a small fire on her covers. With arms she could swear felt as if they were as heavy as lead, she managed to use her hands to vanquish it, earning her a small burn on her left hand. Not that she felt much, with the rest of her body feeling so hot she could swear all of it was on fire.

Even getting her wand next to her seemed like an impossible job, but Juvia managed and used a spell to change from her sleeping clothes.

She went to the bathroom and gasped when she looked at herself on the mirror – the rash and lumps were starting to show on her neck. Her whole body was shaking but she powered through it and left the room. The stairs were a bit tricky and she almost fell down a few times, but she was able to get to the dinner room, where Spetto was preparing the table for her meal.

"Good afternoon, Miss Juvia!"

"Spetto-san." Juvia's throat burned so much her voice came out hoarse. "I need a very big favour."

The house elf nodded eagerly. "Of course, Miss Juvia."

"I know it's too much to ask, but Juvia knows elves are very good at finding people." She said, bright white dots in her vision. "Juvia needs you to find Lucy-san."

"I am supposed to be here, Miss, taking care of the house." Spetto argued.

Juvia coughed and held back a sneeze – she didn't want any more fire coming through her nose if she could avoid it. "Spetto-san, I am very sick and I have no idea what this is." She showed the rash to the elf, who took a curious look. "Juvia can't leave here so she needs your help. This is very important."

"But the house..."

"Juvia will take care of the house while you are gone." Juvia cut her. She showed the elf her wand. "Trust me, Juvia can use this very well." Spetto seemed to be almost swayed so Juvia added: "Maybe if you bring Lucy-san here, she might stay for a while."

"Oh, really?" The elf's eyes sparkled in hope and Juvia felt a little bad for manipulating her with the love she felt for Lucy like that, but, in her gut and all her symptoms indicated she was in bad shape and needed help.

"Absolutely." Juvia agreed. "When you find her, tell Lucy-san Juvia is in bad shape and she doesn't know what is it, but it's serious."

Spetto nodded and pointed to the food on the table. "I made the fish you liked so much, Miss Juvia. I will be back as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Spetto-san." Juvia managed to smile and with a snap of her fingers, the elf was gone.

The mansion was very quiet and while Juvia did try to eat some of the food Spetto had prepared, the blunette had to rush to the bathroom to puke it a couple of hour later. She felt so awful, everything hurt and burned and she couldn't stop shaking. Maybe her temperature was too high, that was the cause of the shaking.

With hard work from her part, Juvia used her magic to get herself a bowl of cool water and a bucket, just in case and settled on the couch, close to the fireplace – how come she was burning inside and still felt the need to be close to the fire?

Three days, she shivered and threw up the little she ate. For three days she felt the rash take over her skin, hallucinated and she had to put up fires because of her sneezes.

She was at her limit when she heard steps. Was she hallucinating again (she had accidentally set a curtain on fire while thinking it was a Death Eater coming for her)?

Juvia got up, wand in hand even if her hands were shaking and she pointed towards the sounds. If it was someone to take her, she was weak, but she wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Hey! Juvia!" She heard a known male voice call her and her heart stopped for a second. There was a blur, a silhouette of someone.

Inside her mind, she heard her Gray-sama say. "Sorry I was gone so long."

"Gray-sama!" She whispered to herself, eyes watering.

"I've come back for you." Gray said and Juvia smiled, trying to hug him.

"Gray-sama!" She said, louder and excited. "Juvia... Juvia..."

She felt a hand on her shoulder and a voice, clearly not Gray's, say: "Keep your hands to yourself." She blinked and her eyes finally focused and she saw Natsu and Lucy, just a few feet away from her. "Yo!"

Lucy was smiling. "I'm relieved you're still so hyper! When Spetto found us and said you were sick, it got us worried! What are you doing here all by yourself? Where are the others?"

Seeing her friends for the first time in months overwhelmed her so much, Juvia started to cry and her knees gave out. The last thing she remembered was Natsu catching her before she could hit the floor, asking "Hey! What's wrong?" and Lucy call her name.

#

Consciousness came and went, she knew Natsu had carried her upstairs, since he already had her in his arms, she knew Lucy gasped when she helped Juvia to take a shower and saw the rashes in her body. She knew Lucy put some clothes on Juvia and her boyfriend had lied her down gently on the bed.

"She has those rashes all over her body!" Juvia thought she heard Lucy tell her boyfriend while holding her left arm, up.

"What are those?" Natsu sounded curious and, on cue, Juvia sneezed and fire came out from her nostrils, making both of her friends jump away from her. "What the bloody hell was that?"

"Oh..." Lucy sounded concerned. "This is not good."

"Ya think?" Natsu asked, exasperated. "She just sneezed fire and as awesome as that is, I don't think it's a good sign when she is burning up like that!"

"I think it's Dragon Pox." Lucy said. "One of my ancestors died from it and the symptoms fit."

"Died?" Natsu sounded worried, then. "Oh, shit. We need to get her the cure."

"We need Gray back!" Lucy said and Juvia finally opened her eyes when she heard her boyfriend's name.

"Gray-sama." She managed to say. "Where...?"

Her vision was a little blurry, but she felt the bed dip a little and then small hands take hers, and Lucy's bright blonde hair was unmistakable. "He is out there, looking for you. The message you left four nights ago about leaving Hogwarts had him on a frenzy."

"Told him..." her breath was short "not to come out" she took another breath "of hiding."

"Yeah, well, we're Gryffindors." Lucy tried to alleviate the tension. "Sometimes we don't think much before taking action. He was very worried about you."

"Mmm fine now." Juvia mumbled.

"Sure you are." Natsu was sarcastic. "Setting things on fire with sneezes are pretty common."

"Can I help, Miss Lucy?" Juvia heard Spetto's voice and then Lucy got up from the bed.

"Yes! Yes, you can, Spetto!" Lucy sounded as if she had a plan. "I need you to find Gray like you found us. Do you remember him? Tall, dark hair, scar on his forehead?" The elf probably nodded. "Alright, tell him we have Juvia but he needs to get a potion for Dragon Pox before he comes here. Stay hidden, but close to him while he gets the potion and then bring him here. Can you do that?"

"Yes, Miss Lucy!" Spetto said, glad to help.

"Look for him at the Diagon Alley!" Natsu said. "He wanted to get information last time we saw him, maybe he's still around there."

"Very well, Mister Natsu."

Juvia lost track of what happened next, but she felt a cool cloth on her forehead and a gentle voice saying: "Sleep, you need to rest."

#

The Slytherin didn't know how long she had been in and out of consciousness, but the times she was, she could hear hushed conversations and worried tones. Oh, so she wasn't getting better. That made sense, now her insides felt as if they were boiling and she hadn't eaten in a while, so she didn't have anything to puke, so, when she had to, it was a disgusting spongy thing.

"Juvia." She could swear it was her Gray-sama's voice, but she had been hallucinating quite a lot so it was probably another one. "Juvia, oh, Merlin, look at you."

"Gray, the potion." Lucy's voice said. "She needs it right now."

"Yeah, yeah." She heard and then something cool touched her lips and she shook her head – there was no way she could swallow anything, not with her throat on fire like it was. "Juvia, please. Come on, you need this."

"Are you..." she breathed "real?" She asked, deliriously.

"Yes! Yes, I am. Please, drink the potion. For me, Juvia, come on." His tone was pleading. She didn't trust her visions anymore, but she could never really say 'no' to Gray, hallucination or not, so she started to drink. "There you go." He sounded relieved.

Juvia slept after that, too tired to fight it.

#

For the first time in days, Juvia opened her eyes and they didn't feel like they were burning and even though her body was sore, it didn't feel as if it were on fire.

She sat on the bed and was confused to see Natsu and Lucy, each in one chair near the balcony door and when she looked to her side, Gray, her Gray-sama, was lying on the bed, asleep.

She was most likely hallucinating again, but still she leaned and tried to touch his face and she gasped when she actually managed to touch him.

His eyes started to open, to Juvia's shock. She asked him in a whisper: "Are you real?" Her eyes watered.

"Yeah." His voice was hoarse from sleep. "And so are you. I can't believe it. How are you feeling?"

"Better." She lied back down to the bed, as close to him as she could. "Much, much better."

"Good. Now sleep, you need it. We'll talk more when you are stronger."

"Alright." Juvia breathed in his scent and her body relaxed and she was too tired to fight sleep. "Juvia missed you." She whispered, before she fell asleep and she could swear she heard him say 'I missed you too' before sleep overcame her.

#

AN: I hope you liked it! Next chapter we will have more Gruvia, finally, I swear because now they are finally togetheeeeeeeerrrrrrrr!!!!

For those who do not remember (I had to Google her name, I won't lie), Spetto was a servant at Heartfilia Konzern so I changed her to be an elf and we all know elves are pretty badass!

Let's see who got the references: Captain America 2 and The Lord of the Rings! HAHA