(09 : DEATH LIES ON HER . . .
LIKE AN UNTIMELY FROST)

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AS A SLYTHERIN, IT WAS a given that Juliet was resourceful. After living amongst snakes for six years, she took pride in who she was and who she wasn't — she was cunning and cutthroat at the best of times, she wasn't a bad person. Had she not been either of those things, perhaps her plan to smuggle at least fifteen school children into Honeydukes under the guise of being part of Salazar's great house would have failed.

Between Juliet and the Hufflepuff she later learned to be called Anna — "Like The Beatles' song? You know, the really sad one?" — they managed to transfigure the hats, scarves and headbands of any student they stumbled across. Most Death Eaters were too absorbed in the fray to take notice of the large group slinking along the shadows, but Juliet knew it would be dangerous to have too big of a group. The pureblood had yet to figure out how they would even get into Honeydukes when a rather imposing masked figure stood guard, their beady eyes scanning the village at all times.

"We need to be fast," murmured Juliet. "Once we're inside, we'll be safe. They've been clearing out all of the buildings, so I doubt they'll think to check again."

Anna frowned. "I suppose we can't all walk up there, even in our Slytherin garb?"

Snorting, Juliet shook her head. "It's always better to overestimate your opponent. As much as we'd like to think You-Know-Who's followers are all brainless sycophants, a lot of them are quite smart. And they're not scared to cast the kind of dark spells that you won't even find in the restricted section at Hogwarts."

"Well, what's the plan? It doesn't seem like you have much of one," a snooty Ravenclaw from the group commented.

"I—I'm thinking!" she snapped, fumbling as she tried to think of way to go unseen. Juliet was used to spending time on her plans, not making one up on a whim. "I know none of you trust me, I'm not stupid, but I'm trying my best to make sure none of you die here."

As if he could hear her outburst, Remus Lupin paused mid-battle and locked eyes with the redhead from where she was crouched in the darkness. The sudden eye contact startled Juliet because the boy couldn't have heard over all the noise. And it definitely wasn't a good sign if he spotted her — Lupin was harmless, but that was a sure sign the group needed to move and fast.

Knowing they were pushed for time, Juliet made a hasty decision and cleared her throat. "I'm going to go over there and distract the guard. On my signal, you're going to run," she explained in a rush. "Hopefully everyone will be too distracted by the battle. Just in case, does anyone know how to cast the disillusionment charm?"

     One of the older kids in the group nodded. Another scoffed, arguing, "That's a stupid plan."

    "It's the only plan," Anna said, defending the older girl.

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      Whilst Eliana Fawley was the perfect pureblood wife, she was a lacklustre mother. Juliet never resented the woman though — she was trapped in a loveless marriage and never entertained her daughter's delusions of escaping the pureblood chokehold. Her mother had only ever taught her the things that mattered in their circles and Juliet was suddenly grateful for all those lessons as she strutted towards Honeydukes. The most important lesson her mother had ever taught her was 'fake it till you make it.'

    Juliet was most definitely faking it as she stopped in front of the Death Eater with ruler-straight posture and her chin tilted up, an arrogant air cloaking the teenager. It was fairly easy for her to slip into that role — rumours around Hogwarts had her pinned as an 'Ice Princess' and she used that title as her armour — but it didn't change the hammering of her heart. It was a small mercy that the Death Eater clearly knew who she was. With Voldemort constantly recruiting, it was bold of her to walk up to a Death Eater and expect they would know her at a glance.

Once she was within earshot, the Death Eater hissed, "What are you doing here? Black was meant to make sure all Slytherins stayed away from Hogsmeade."

Any alarm that appeared on her face when she recognised the voice behind the mask disappeared promptly. Instead, Juliet shot the Death Eater a saccharine smile and replied, "I was running low on sugar quills." She inclined her head towards the shop behind him. "And of course I missed seeing your face every day. The trip was worth it for that alone."

     Naturally, the man didn't pick up on Juliet's sarcastic drawl. "Right, well, go ahead and take a box then." In visible frustration, the man pressed his fingers to his temples. "Do not come back out until the fight is over, understand? Salazar knows what your father will do if he hears about this."

     "Thank you, Lucius." Juliet peered into the icy blue eyes behind the mask, deliberately placing a hand on his bicep. "Congratulations on the engagement too. I'm sure Narcissa was thrilled with such a noble match."

     From experience, Juliet knew the only way to deal with Lucius Malfoy was by stroking his ego. If she wasn't going to fight, she could at least use her skill set to her advantage. Men like Malfoy rarely fought with their wands, they had a one track mind. And Lucius Malfoy wasn't exactly known for his fidelity.

     His lidded gaze drifted to her hand. "I heard you have an arrangement of your own these days."

     "Regulus is a satisfactory match, but he's still a boy." With pursed lips, Juliet tried not to roll her eyes, knowing the boy in question was merely one year younger than her. "Until it's time to produce an heir, I'm not opposed to a little," her gaze flickered to his lower region, "fun with a man."

    Juliet knew the motions of charming men like Malfoy — she never claimed to be a saint — but that didn't change how dirty she felt knowing she was viewed as object of pleasure instead of an individual with wants and needs. Nonetheless, she smirked when Lucius lifted up his mask and leaned in.

     "Confundo," she whispered when their faces were only millimetres apart, pulling out her wand in the process.

     With Lucius confunded, she made a show of flipping her hair twice — the group's agreed signal — before enticing the Death Eater inside the abandoned sweet shop and stunning him. The disillusioned group of children made a mad dash across the street whilst Juliet lugged Malfoy's unconscious body behind the counter in case anyone looked through the windows when they left.

     "Is everyone here?" asked Juliet, feeling a little breathless after moving Lucius.

     One by one, the blurry, chameleon-like figures in Honeydukes were stripped of their disillusionment and Juliet was overcome with a feeling of triumph when she realised her plan had worked. Some of the kids were a little bruised and bloodied, but they were safe.

     However, Juliet's blue eyes frantically flitted back and forth when she registered they were one Hufflepuff short. "Where's Anna?"

     "Um, she stayed behind," a brunette boy answered, scratching the back of his neck. "She wanted to try and help more people once she knew that we made it across."

     "Hufflepuffs," the Slytherin moaned bitterly. "Listen, I need to leave you all here. What happened now was luck. If anyone found out what I did —" Juliet cut herself off, frowning. "I'm going to find Anna. It's too dangerous out there for her to be alone, so I need you guys to go on without me. If you go down to the cellar, look for some kind of hatch. You might have to move some barrels, but once you find it, go down and the tunnel should lead you back to Hogwarts."

     One student fearfully looked at Lucius. "What about him?"

     "If the stunner doesn't keep him down, his bruised ego will," she remarked. "But don't worry about him. He won't follow you, be quick though and . . . good luck."

    With those parting words, Juliet then ran in search of an annoying little third year that she was growing fond of.

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     "How did you get this ring? Did you steal it?" 

     Dodging spells left and right, Juliet burst out of the shadows and broke into a run the moment she heard an all too familiar cackle. Bellatrix Lestrange — nèe Black — was one of the few women amongst Voldermort's inner circle and was notorious for her cruelty. Juliet had only ever encountered her in passing at dinners and balls, but she knew her voice immediately.

     "I didn't steal it! I—I promise," whimpered the victim.

     Despite her insistence on not being a fighter, Juliet fumbled for her wand the second she spotted the back of Bellatrix — the woman's wild curls poking out from behind the Death Eater mask. A young girl was on her knees, shaking as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her matted hair covered most of the girl's face, but Juliet instantly pitied her.

     "I don't believe it," snarled Bellatrix, her voice was sharp and overflowing with poison. "This is a Black family ring and you are no Black. Not to mention how disgustingly muggle your clothes are."

     Before the girl at Bellatrix's feet could respond, a bright green light engulfed the sky and a skull with a serpent protruding from its mouth settled above Hogsmeade. Looking up, Bellatrix tossed her head back laughing at the view and clapped her hands together like a giddy child. Multiple pops around the village alerted Juliet that Death Eaters were starting to disapparate and she almost breathed a sigh of relief.

     "Let this be a lesson to all, the Dark Lord is the New Order. Mudbloods, blood traitors and muggle sympathisers will be the first to die, bend to his will, or perish at his hand," Bellatrix bellowed, pointing her wand at the trembling student. "Avada kedavra!"

     In a flash, Bellatrix was gone and Dumbledore was pushing his way through the gathered crowd. If the macabre scene perturbed him, he didn't show it. He was too little, too late, unfortunately. Rather, he lowered his head as a sign of respect and gently turned the body over to identify the student. Only then did Juliet's expression shift — the pale corpse was Anna, her tiny fist still clutching the ring Juliet had insisted would keep her safe. Merlin, how had she not recognised her sooner?

    The world around Juliet deafened and she patiently waited for the tears to fall. However, her face remained unmarred by any emotion. It didn't feel right to mourn someone she had only met a few hours ago and she was no fool, she knew that an attack from Voldemort's followers could only end in death. In fact, she had told James Potter as such back in The Three Broomsticks. Somehow, knowing that Anna's death was inevitable didn't soothe Juliet's guilt. The worst part was . . . Juliet wished that Bellatrix had killed another student, one that was faceless and nameless to her so she didn't feel partly responsible.

     As if James Potter hadn't made it perfectly clear how much of a terrible person she was, Juliet was finally starting to believe it.

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A.N: This book had a sudden influx of readers, so I thought it was about time to update? Honestly, comments and votes keep me going most of the time. I hope you liked this chapter at least, it was wild and marks a changing point for my baby Juliet. Some of you may hate her a little after the end, but she's also been taught to not show emotion and she needs to learn to be a better person. As of right now, she's morally grey — not a good guy or a bad guy, so you'll have to be patient.

In other news, I started a Fred fic as well that I'm excited about. The main character is very different from Juliet and it's a little more lighthearted than this one (but will get darker with each book, of course) if you want to check that out.