(30 : A FAINT COLD FEAR. . .
THRILLS THROUGH MY VEINS)

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      ARMED WITH ONLY HER WAND and a stolen vial from Slughorn's class, Juliet slipped into the shadows with relative ease as she crept through the corridors and across the castle's grounds. Upon reaching the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, the teenager hesitated, wondering if she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life. Nobody knew where she was — not even Regulus. No doubt he would've have wanted to help if he knew of her plans for the night and she really didn't see the logic in damning both of them.

     Everything had a price. It was said that murder ripped apart one's soul and it was also said — according to common lore — that anyone who dared to slay a unicorn would live but a half-life, a cursed life. Yet, the cost for doing the right thing would be her own life. If Juliet didn't take the unicorn's blood, she would die. Would a half-life and a shredded soul be any better than no life at all? Juliet tried not to dwell on such questions because everything had risks and benefits in the same way everything had a price.

"Lumos," she whispered into the night.

A cold gust of wind pushed her towards a moonlit path, cementing her decision. Hopefully she would find a unicorn and nothing else lurking in the forest.

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     Juliet walked for nearly half an hour, moving deeper and deeper into the Forbidden Forest, until the path became impossible to follow because the trees were so thick. It was so thick that a whole other world could've existed beyond the overgrowth, so she pushed through the trees with more determination than she had ever known. As if warning her to stay back, the tangled branches snagged on her clothes. Eventually, she forced her way through the foliage with such vehemence that she landed unceremoniously on her knees by the edge of a large clearing. In the middle of the clearing, a creature startled at the sudden noise.

     A unicorn.

     "Immobulus!" cried Juliet, not giving the unicorn a chance to flee.

Frozen, the unicorn could only blink at her in confusion. A rush of emotion washed over her as she ran to the creature's side, resting her forehead against its body as she began to rub soothing circles into its pure white coat. It was such a beautiful creature and the thought of shedding its blood pained Juliet.

Her voice was muffled by the fur. "I—I'm so sorry. I had to do that, I hope you understand."

Although the unicorn was incapable of responding, Juliet imagined the creature cocking its head. Alongside being known for their innocence, unicorns were regarded as having a great capacity for empathy. Juliet wanted nothing more than to break down then and there — to confess all her sins to the animal, to tell it how much she was struggling to make sense of all her new emotions, to express how scared she was to let James down by being the villain all along. Instead of doing any of that, she stepped back, closed her eyes and shakily raised her wand.

     "A—a—avada K—" stuttered Juliet, only to cut herself off with an incredulous sob. "I can't. I—I can't do it."

     Lowering her wand, the girl's knees buckled and she collapsed on the ground. It was pitiful, but she couldn't even cast the Killing Curse on the animal when it would've provided an immediate, painless death as opposed to her bleeding the unicorn dry. If the unicorn was already dead when she took the blood, she reasoned it lessened the blow of her cruelty. Yet, she was clearly every bit as spineless and weak as Voldemort thought her to be.

     Something nudged her, whinnying gently.

     Her spell had worn off, but the unicorn approached her all the same. The animal lay its head in her lap as tears threatened to fall from Juliet's eyes.

     "I need your blood," she sniffled, running her hands through its shimmering mane. "I don't want to hurt you though. You're innocent and y — you remind me of someone. It feels selfish of me to think my life is somehow worth more than yours. Not that I've ever had an issue with being selfish before. Things feel different now though. Like I'd be corrupting something so pure that it would irrevocably change me and I don't want to be irrevocably changed." Juliet released a mirthless laugh. "I'm confused, so confused that I've resorted to talking to a bloody unicorn like a mad woman!"

     All the Slytherin could think about was Anna. Her death marked a change in the war and a change in Juliet. If it came down to it, Juliet always thought she would be able to kill to save herself, but the unicorn wasn't a threat to her. Voldemort was. And it was something about the Dark Lord almost provoking her into nonsensical murder — like he was some master puppeteer and she was the entertainment — that prevented her from free falling into the darkness.

Letting out an impatient sound, the unicorn prodded her arm with its horn and grabbed her wand with its mouth. Juliet sprung to retrieve it, but watched in amazement as the unicorn pointed the end of the wand at its side and inclined its head toward the glass vial that stuck out of her pocket.

"You want me to . . .?" Juliet trailed off, not sure if she was understanding the creature.

In something akin to a nod, the unicorn bobbed its head.

Moving into a kneel, Juliet plucked her wand from its mouth and faltered. Was it possible for her to take enough blood from the creature without killing it? Provided she didn't make a mistake during the alchemical process, one vial of unicorn blood would be more than enough.

     A hopeful half-smile crossed her lips. "Diffindo."

     The redhead was quick to place the vial underneath the small wound created by her severing charm. Within seconds, a blue-silver liquid was filling the vial and the drops of blood echoed loudly against the glass in the dead silence of the forest.

"Thank you," said Juliet, patting the unicorn on the head. "I could heal you if —"

A howl pierced the air and the unicorn scampered.

Shivering at the sound, Juliet decided it would be best to hurry back to the castle. Especially since whatever else was out there spooked the unicorn. Lifting the hood of her cloak up, she sought to blend in with her dim surroundings as she retraced her steps. However, this was harder than she imagined because the full moon was shining brighter than ever that night.

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     Juliet was lost. And not metaphorically.

In the distance, she could see the silhouette of the Shrieking Shack, which meant she was closer to Hogsmeade than Hogwarts. Accompanied by a sigh, she plopped down on a nearby tree stump and laid her wand flat on her palm — like a compass. Before she could say the incantation to point her north, several sharp barks caught her attention.

     A shaggy black and white dog padded in front of Juliet. Whilst Juliet had always wanted a pet, her mother found an excuse for every suggestion her young daughter made — dogs were too smelly and too dependent, according to Mrs Fawley. Due to this, the redhead was apprehensive and backed away from the animal, concluding it was likely a stray since dogs weren't an approved student pet. Undeterred by her wariness, the dog clamped the back of her cloak between its teeth and tried to her drag somewhere.

"Hey!" scolded Juliet, pointing her wand at the animal in self-defence. "Don't —"

Pouncing on Juliet, the dog knocked her to the floor and the vial of unicorn blood slipped from her pocket. In a struggle against the large animal, she managed to throw it off her and non-verbally stunned the animal before it could attack again. The girl dusted herself off, then followed the vial that was still rolling across the uneven ground.

     Just as she leaned down to pick up the vial, she heard a growl from behind her and gulped. In spite of her instinct to run, she carefully turned to face the animal and her wide eyes were met by a savage pair of glowing ones.

     Juliet screamed.

With its claws poised, the werewolf went to lunge at the human, only for a stag to ram itself between the two and shove the werewolf back with its antlers. Had it been more appropriate, Juliet would have pinched herself with how surreal the events of her night seemed.

"Petrificus Tota—"

     The werewolf lunged again, throwing Juliet at least six foot back into a tree like she was nothing more than a rag doll. Her head roughly slammed against the trunk and she slumped into a heap at the bottom, her eyes drooping. To its credit, the stag moved to guard her and almost seemed concerned — if such an animal was capable of that level of emotion. A sense of familiarity overwhelmed her as its brown eyes peered down on her. Before she could think about it, her vision blurred until the world was black.

     And she didn't even have the unicorn blood.

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A.N: Me saying I hate a chapter is becoming a running theme, but the lack of dialogue because she's around freaking animals the entire time stressed me out! But she met the boys on a full moon at last. How do you think Juliet will take the news of Remus being a werewolf? I'm curious if there are any thoughts. In other news, we are now around the halfway point of this book, which is kind of strange because the end feels so far yet so close. I still have lots of exciting things planned though and let me tell you, Christmas Break will be WILD.

Question, who's your favourite fictional werewolf? I think mine's Isaac Lahey.