(54 : BUT TRUST ME, GENTLEMEN . . .
I'LL PROVE MORE TRUE)

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TRANSFIGURATION WAS NEVER ONE OF Juliet's better subjects, so she resorted to hiding her distinctive red hair beneath the hood of her cloak when she entered St Mungo's. Juliet's pace was brisk and she kept her eyes trained on the ground as she approached the receptionist, finding out the Potters were staying in 'Room 202' with the help of a discreet 'confundo' and 'oblivate.' Of course Juliet knew she was risking a lot by being there, but Sirius had once told her she could choose her family and she chose the Potters.

Even once she was past the front desk, her posture remained stiff and her wand was ready to be used in case anyone recognised her. Nobody really spared her a glance though, the healers in their lime green robes were far too busy tending to patients to take notice of her. Upon reaching the second floor, her footsteps slowed in front of the door that read '202' on a golden plaque. Peeking through the open door, she stilled at the sight she was met with. In a rickety chair, James Potter was hunched over crying as he clung to his mother's wrinkled hand.

     "James," she muttered, her voice soft like silk as she gently tapped on the door. "Is it alright if I come in?"

     As if scared she would be a hallucination, he lifted his head up slowly. His hazel eyes were bloodshot and his hair was matted — not in the artfully messy way she was accustomed to either. The usually confident cadence of his voice had been replaced with something unfamiliar and far more breakable as he rasped, "Ju—Julie?"

     "I'm here, James," she assured him, uncertainly entering the room and wrapping her arms around the boy. "I'm here."

     James parted his mouth to respond, but he choked on the empty air instead and violently shook under her hold. The boy — for he most certainly looked like one in that moment of raw vulnerability — sobbed until her cloak was soaked, newly weighed down by the heaviness of his free flowing tears. For a split second, it almost didn't matter that they hadn't seen each other in seven months because they were together and that was enough.

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     Newspaper still in hand, Fleamont eventually fell asleep. From the bed opposite him, Mia observed her husband sadly before sending her son away to eat a proper meal and perhaps shower. Even when she was on her death bed with her skin pockmarked and green, Euphemia Potter was a force to be reckoned with, a true lioness.

Mia noted that Juliet kept checking over her shoulder. "You know you can always speak freely with me. What's on your mind?"

"I — I don't have much time and I've never actually had to say goodbye to someone that I cared about this much before," Juliet admitted, her words sounding rather throaty, "but I wanted to thank you. I was a stranger on your doorstep and you took me in and showed me what it meant to have a family. You loved me like a mother. I don't know if I ever said how grateful I am. Thank you for showing me that there is more than one way to be a pureblood, thank you for letting me stay in your home and thank you for raising such a wonderfully stubborn son that never gave up on me."

"All I ask is that you be there for my son, Juliet," she croaked, her breathing staggered and harrowed. "I have always known your heart, my dear. Perhaps long before you knew it yourself. I had no ulterior motives in offering my home to you, but if an old woman is to have a dying wish . . . James. Look after him for me." Mia paused, clutching a heart locket that hung from her neck. "My son has a delicate heart and our deaths will not be easy on him —" Juliet frowned and Mia tutted "— oh, don't look at me like that. I have resigned myself to the fact my time has come. I have lived and loved more than most, I do not resent the Grim Reaper. James, on the other hand, he has barely scratched the surface of all there is to life and I — I would feel better knowing he has you at his side."

Through misted eyes, Juliet could barely see straight as she swallowed back her rising emotions. "I want to be there. I'm trying to be. Sometimes, it feels like we'll never be together. If I'm not engaged to someone else, I'm running because I —"

"I know what you did," confessed the older woman calmly. "And it doesn't have to define you if you don't want it to. Let your courage, your ambition, your wit and your loyalty define you instead. It will be those qualities that allow you to persevere when the odds are stacked against you."

     "I love him. It's just —" she clamped her eyes shut — "I'm so tired. I'm tired of running, of hiding, of . . . life."

     With an exhale, Mia pitifully accounted for Juliet's weak, bedraggled state. "Nobody ever said it was easy to live in this world." There was a knowing glint beneath the warmth of her irises. "It is a dark and scary place at times, a lonely place, but you will — undoubtedly — find your place in it one day."

    Juliet thought it was unfair that people like Anna and Mia died whilst Voldemort still lived. It was enough to make her tough exterior waver as she quietly said, "I wish we had more time."

     "As do I. For a woman who has spent so long on this Earth, there is a great lot I am finding myself unable to say in my last moments." Mia opened the drawer beside her bed with great difficulty and handed Juliet an envelope. "I wrote this for you last night. I've never been one for unfinished business and I was going to give it to James in case we never got to our goodbyes." As the redhead went to open it, Mia stopped her and forced out, "Not yet, dear. Not until the time is right."

     "How will I know when?"

      Leaning her head back onto the pillow, Mia's eyes flitted shut. She never answered.

     "Mia?" murmured Juliet, shaking her body with increasing vigour as she became more concerned. "Mia? Mia, please wake up!"

     In response, there was only dead silence. It was eventually broken by the sound of hot coffee splashing against the tiled floor when James returned, two styrofoam cups slipping from his hands in horror.

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"I — I wasn't with her." James was dumbfounded. "I wasn't with her and now she's dead. What do I do? Should we cover the b—body? And dad? What do I tell him? Should I wake him up?"

Juliet grabbed him by the shoulders and kept her gaze steady. "You're going to call for the healers. I'll have to leave. It's not safe for me to be seen here. After that, I'll send word to Sirius. There's no rush to tell any of the others." In spite of her own sadness, she wore a brave face as she carefully wiped some stray tears from his cheeks. "I can't stay, James. I wish I could, but I can't. If you need help with . . . arrangements . . . send me a patronus. I'm here if you need me."

His face seemed to collapse in on itself. "Are you? You're leaving again."

A scream from the doorway sliced through the couple's tension — a young woman in lime green healer's scrubs had spotted the runaway and panicked. In her rush to alert someone, she dropped her clipboard. Both Juliet and James shared a frantic look, knowing their time together was now limited.

"James, I'm about to end this once and for all, I promise." Juliet lifted his chin up and smiled, pulling him into a desperate kiss as if she would be able to absorb even a fraction of his pain through the action. "No matter what, I'll survive this. Just trust me."

     He faltered. "But—"

     "But trust me."

And then she was gone, darting through the corridors of St Mungo's like a hurricane.

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Running out of St Mungo's, Juliet found herself winding through the crowded streets of Muggle London. Her breathing was uneven as she ran, shoving through groups of people in search of a quiet place to apparate before the aurors arrived. Dire as the situation was, she wasn't about to break the Statute of Secrecy and have yet another crime looming over her head.

Adrenaline surged through her body as she made a sharp turn into an alleyway. Footsteps continued to thump behind her, even as she stopped to buckle over and catch her breath.

"Expelliarmus," called a vaguely familiar voice, causing her wand to fly from her hands.

Juliet collapsed against a brick wall at the end of the alleyway. Her pursuer approached, their face concealed behind a Death Eater mask. In disdain, a pair of cold, black eyes peered down on her. The Death Eater pushed their wand against her throat and if she hadn't made a promise to James, she would've been inclined to give up then and there. Like she had told Mia, she was so tired.

The Death Eater bent down to her level. "Any last words?"

Hysterical laughter bubbled from her throat as she finally placed a name to the voice. "Severus," she hissed, jerking his wand away from her throat, "I'm calling in that favour now."

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A.N: This chapter has left me with so many feelings. I was so emotional when Mia died and Juliet being ready to give up pains my soul, as did James being so sad. However, Juliet's time on the run is very soon coming to a close and we'll finally see her plan come to fruition as she calls in her favour with Snape. I'm excited.

Question, I feel like Mia gave some really strong advice this chapter, so what is the best advice you have ever received or what advice would you give to your younger self if you could go back?