𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐎 & 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐓
Act II, Scene II

❝O, swear not by the moon, th' inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in her circle orb.❞

─── William Shakespeare

"Then we have to go!", I ordered after a few seconds of processing what Fred had just announced.

"But... the baby!", he protested.

"I'm not pregnant", I lied. I hated lying to my husband and resented myself for doing so, but I couldn't help it. Fred would never let me take part in the battle if he knew I was pregnant, never mind if I wanted to be there.

"Oh...", Fred looked disappointed at the news, "Then are you sick?"

"I probably just ate something wrong; I feel fine now I threw up." Again, guilt rushed through me at the thought of lying to my husband, about something so big and I hoped the guilt wouldn't show on my face.

"Juliet, you can't take part in a battle if you're not feeling well", he told me.

"What if this battle will decide everything? Then we will need as many witches and wizards as possible!", I shot back, getting more anxious by the minute. I wanted to be in the battle, help my friends end this war. If me and the child in my tummy would have to die for it, then I would risk it. Because then at least the rest of the Wizarding World would live peacefully.

"But what if I lose you?", Fred asked.

"What if I lose you? If I stay at home, I'll be sitting in the living room, waiting for you to come home, not knowing if you ever will. It would drive me mad", I explained, trying to make him change his mind, "If I stay here, then so do you."

After probably weighing the chances in his head for a few seconds, Fred made his decision. "Then let's go."

"How will we get into Hogwarts?", I asked him, hoping that he wouldn't change his mind if he noticed there was no safe way in.

"According to Potterwatch, there is a secret passage into Hogwarts from the Hog's Head. We could apparate there." Immediately, I nodded relieved before taking his arm and then we both vanished into thin air. A few seconds later, we reappeared in a shabby pub, and I felt the familiar nausea after apparating.

While looking around the pub, I marked that there probably had never been this many people in it. I had come here once with Fred, just out of curiosity, and only a few strange-looking witches and wizards had been present. Yet except for that fact, the pub seemed just the same, with its many cobwebs, dirty glasses and slightly unsafe atmosphere. It certainly wasn't the right place for a woman alone at night and I was glad I could feel Fred's hand in mine and hear many people talking. When I came to think of it, these were the first people – except for Fred – I had seen for a few months, as we had had to go into hiding.

"We have to go downstairs, we'll find a portrait there, behind it is the passage into Hogwarts", Fred said, before leading me through the crowd and then down old, stone steps into the cellar. The portrait was already swung open like a door and people were climbing through the hole in the wall.

Holding my husband's hand tightly, I walked through the long and dark passage. My footsteps echoed loudly each step I took, and the wind blew through it, making it sound like ghosts were trying to scare us off. I was relieved when we made it to the end, as I had started to worry there wasn't one and the passage would continue forever. Also, I despised dark and narrow passages. 

We stepped out into a room full of people that were getting ready for the battle. I scanned it for our family, but unfortunately couldn't find them. They were probably already battling against Voldemort's Death Eaters, as Fred and I hadn't heard the news until now. Hopefully they still were alive.

"If it isn't Miss Delacour and Mr Weasley", I heard a familiar voice and turned around. It was Lee Jordan, Fred and George's best friend and the presenter of Potterwatch, the secret radio that gave people who still fought against Voldemort updates on the war.

"Lee!", Fred and I called at the same time and hugged our friend.

"Long time no see. You've gotten tall", Lee mimicked an old lady and we laughed.

"Yes, granny, I grew at least a metre since the last time I saw you", Fred teased him.

"Well, maybe not that much", I laughed, "But I do always get the feeling your still growing."

"No, you're just shrinking", Fred chuckled, before adding, "I missed you as a best man a few months ago."

"Oh, Congratulations!", Lee congratulated us surprised, "Then it's Mrs Weasley now, right?"

"Mrs Delacour-Weasley", I corrected, "And Fred is Mr Delacour-Weasley."

"Juliet insisted because apparently it's not fair that men always get to keep their names", Fred told Lee. 

"Well, when was the special day?", he wanted to know.

"A few months ago, we're sorry you weren't there, there was almost no one at the wedding", I apologized.

"Otherwise, you'd have been my best man, of course", Fred assured him.

"Of course I would have been", Lee said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, before his voice suddenly turned practical, "So, I'm sure you're here to help us win this battle. Now, off you go!"

After a quick good-bye, Fred and I rushed out of the room I had now realised was the Room of Requirement, which would provide you with exactly what you needed and when you needed it, before running through corridors, blocking and firing spells in all directions.

"Juliet, Fred!", I heard someone call our names. I recognized Neville Longbottom, one of Harry and Ron's friends.

"Neville, hello!", we greeted him.

"Juliet, you learnt how to heal wounds and that kind of stuff at Beauxbatons, right?", Neville asked in his distinctive Yorkshire accent, panting. I nodded, as I had attended such a class, and he continued, "Then please go to the great hall, that's where the wounded are being treated. Madam Pomfrey could really use some help. And Fred", he added, "George has been asking where you've been, he is defending the secret passages and could use some help too. I've got to go now, bye!"

With that, he was gone, and I looked at Fred, horrified at the thought of being separated from him. "Fred, I've got to help the wounded", I told him, hating that fact. I'd much rather be in the battle, but sometimes one had to give up their own wishes for those of other people. 

"I swear to the moon, we will see each other soon", he promised, "Hey, that rhymes." I chuckled slightly, as this was typical Fred. When things got complicated, he would start joking to make the situation seem more bearable. "I swear, I will fight for you, my Juliet. In two hours, I'll meet you in the Great Hall. Promise."