(39 : BUT TO HIMSELF SO . . .
SECRET AND SO CLOSE )

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IT WAS THE DAY OF the Malfoy wedding and Juliet was standing in front of the fireplace in her formal robes, saying her goodbyes to the family that had housed her for a week. As Mia pulled her into an affectionate embrace, she caught sight of James sulking at the top of the staircase. Before she could catch his attention, the clock chimed twelve, signalling she needed to leave.

"Remember what I said, dear," whispered Euphemia, tucking some stray red hair behind her ear. "You can't expect the stars to align for you, all relationships require work. Now, it's been a pleasure to have you and I hope to see you again soon."

Juliet wondered if the woman would still be so welcoming if she knew why James was upset with her. "You're too good to me."

Mia shook her head. "Or maybe you're simply too hard on yourself."

After a firm pat on the back from Fleamont, Juliet was about to throw the powder into the Floo when Sirius vaulted down the stairs. He was carrying a small box in his hands and shouted for the girl to wait. In confusion, Juliet dropped the powder back into the container on the mantle and raised an eyebrow at the raven-haired boy.

"James wanted me to give you this," he said, offering her the box.

"And why can't James give it me himself?" Juliet challenged, lifting her chin up. Nonetheless, she opened up the little box and swallowed down the confusing bundle of emotions that were bubbling up in her throat upon seeing it was a bracelet. It was simple design — the chain was silver with a singular charm hanging from it, a golden sun.

Sirius wore an apologetic expression. "You already know the answer to that."

Enraged by his cowardice, she slammed the box shut. "I don't want it then."

     "You're acting like a child," complained Sirius. "Look, it was — is — your Christmas gift from him, but it's more than that. The charm is a portkey that'll only be activated when you touch it. We both agreed that if you're going to be around that bastard, Lucius, then there needs to be a way for you to get out there fast." His tone was earnest and near pleading. "No matter what you think of him, he would rather die than see you in that state again. After last time . . ."

"I'll wear it," she agreed quietly. "Tell James I — I really have to go. I'll see you back at Hogwarts."

Without another word, she stepped into the Floo, unable to shake the feeling that the sun charm was mocking her.

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     "Bella!" enthused Juliet, stepping out of the fireplace to be faced with the Maid of Honour. The thought of having to be cordial with the woman that had murdered a child in front of her caused bile to rise up in her throat, but Juliet knew better than anyone the importance of pretences.

Bellatrix never looked up from buffing her nails. "You're late," she stated, her voice lilting with something akin to amusement. "Is there already trouble in paradise? Poor Reggie didn't seem very happy to be arriving alone."

"Lovely to see you too." Juliet brushed past her, disinterested in the woman's mind games. Still, her hand hovered above the doorknob and she decided to spin back around, daring to press, "How's Rodolphus?"

It was well known amongst the pureblood circles that Bellatrix and Rodolphus were an unfit match. There were rumours swirling that Bellatrix was barren, which was apparently the worst thing a pureblood lady could be. Another rumour was that Bellatrix was capable of producing an heir, but she was aiming higher than a baby with Lestrange of all men. Knowing all that, Juliet smirked as she made her swift exit.

     Her body collided with another the second she left the foyer. The person's hands shot out and secured themselves around her waist before she could fall.

     "Reg, I —"

     "I've been looking for you everywhere." He steadied her, smiling at her with a rigidity that she had come to associate with the occasions where they had to perform for the public. "We should find our seats. My cousin will have a fit if we ruin the moment by walking down the aisle after her."

     With a nod, she complied and began to walk with him towards the garden where both the ceremony and the reception would take place — the latter being under an enchanted gazebo. However, she feigned frustration at the last second. "On second thought, you go on ahead," she prompted. "I need to go to the lady's room real quick."

     Regulus opened his mouth to argue, but she had already left.

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Instead of going to the bathroom, Juliet found herself pacing outside of Abraxas Malfoy's study. Despite being the type of person to prepare and plan, amidst snowballs, shots and showdowns with Death Eaters, the Slytherin had been left without any idea on how she would retrieve the diary that Headmaster Dumbledore coveted. All she knew for certain was that alohomora didn't work, so she needed to find a different way in and locate the diary whilst everyone was distracted by the wedding.

To begin with, she had been doubtful whether or not aiding Dumbledore and stealing from a man as powerful as Abraxas was wise, but the death of her father meant that having the protection of the Order of the Phoenix was now invaluable. If anyone connected Juliet to his murder, she would be in danger. Although she hoped that wouldn't happen, the Order was her fail-safe.

     "Need some help?"

     Juliet whipped around to see her supposed fiancé lounging against the far wall, his arms crossed over his chest. "Hold on, did you follow me?"

     Pushing off the wall, Regulus rolled his eyes. "Hold on, did you lie to me?" mocked the boy. "Your little lover boy might be stupid enough to fall something like 'I need to go to the lady's room,' but I'm not. You're up to something and I don't like it."

     "James and I are none of your business." Since he towered over her, she stood up on her tiptoes in an attempt to appear more threatening. "And I most definitely don't need you to like what I do. Now, either cut with the pathetic interrogation and actually help me break in, or walk away and keep your big mouth shut unless you're curious what it would be like if someone used the shrinking charm on your dick."

     Regulus looked down on her, almost entertained. "Well since you asked me so nicely . . ."

     Through narrowed eyes, Juliet watched as he pulled out a penknife from his inner pocket. Once he checked nobody was lurking in the shadows, he slid the penknife up and down in the crack of the door. Moments later, he turned the knob and nudged the door to the study open.

     "Do I even want to know why you had a knife in your pocket?" Her tone was one of forced boredom.

     "It was a gift from Sirius," grumbled the youngest Black as held the door open for the girl. "It can open any door and untie any knot. He has one too."

     Aware his brother was a sore topic for Regulus, she mumbled her soft thanks and entered the study.

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"What are we looking for?" Regulus questioned, shutting the door behind him.

The redhead wasted no time in scanning the shelves. "A black, leather-bound journal. It should have 'T. M. Riddle' written on the inside and you'll feel it when you hold it. Like it's alive. There's meant to be a lot of dark magic surrounding it."

Rifling through the desk, Regulus snorted. "That's not vague at all."

Juliet didn't reply because she agreed with him. Dumbledore wasn't the most forthcoming in regards to information on the diary. He insisted she would simply know when she found the correct book because the dark magic around it would be stifling, but she began to doubt it was even in the study after scanning the shelves and finding nothing that matched the description.

When she lifted her head up to ask if Regulus had found it, the words shrivelled and died in her throat. Just below the window ledge, there was a hole in the plasterboard — about ten inches or so wide. Her breathing started to quicken and memories of the night she escaped through that same window flashed across her mind. How his hand had been on her thigh, how she had tried to scream, how she had barely dodged a red blast of light. It was like she could still feel the ghost of his touch, the ache in her throat, the panic in her heart. Maybe it had never left.

"Juliet?" Regulus moved to place a hand on her shoulder, taking account of her vacant expression. "Hey, Juliet, can you hear me?"

     "Don't touch me!" she cried out, recoiling. "I'm — I'm fine. Did you find anything or are you as useless as you look, Black?"

     The moment the comment left her lips, she knew she had been unnecessarily harsh on him, but she didn't want to admit that Lucius Malfoy had continued to haunt her either. Juliet had thought if she pretended to be a fully-functioning teenager with a semi-stable relationship and normal friends, it would act as a self-fulfilling prophecy. How wrong she was.

     Regulus didn't react — he was good at that, pretending things didn't hurt him. "I haven't found your journal, but I thought you should see these." He passed her a stack of parchment, it was littered with drawings and annotations of a seaside cave. "It looks like dark magic to me. Inferi and blood wards . . . Are you sure what you're looking for is here? It hasn't been moved?"

     Juliet furrowed her brow. "What exactly do you think I'm looking for?"

     "I don't know yet," he answered truthfully. Of course Regulus had his suspicions though. "If what you're looking for is as dark as you believe, I doubt it would be sitting on a book shelf in a study that two students easily broke into."

     "No, Dumbl— someone said it was in here, so it must be somewhere," she insisted, pushing the stack of parchment back into his chest. "Do you think there's a hidden room somewhere? Or a hollow panel in the walls?"

     He tucked the sheets of parchment into his coat pocket and followed the redhead around the room as she knocked on the walls in search of a concealed compartment or the like. "I think we have probably missed the wedding and my mother will no doubt kill me for it."

     Both of them froze at the sound of footsteps that were only getting louder and louder. In distress, Juliet glanced at the portkey that was secured around her wrist, debating if it was time to use it.

     "What do we do? We're not —"

      The lock on the door clicked and she
got no further because Regulus was suddenly discarding his outer coat and ruffling his hair. Moments later, the door swung open and he pulled her into a desperate kiss.

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A.N: You don't understand how long I have been waiting for this chapter just for that end scene. James got Juliet a gift, Juliet is kissing Regulus, Regulus is starting to get suspicious about certain things with Voldemort and this was honestly one of my favourite chapters because things are getting twisty.

Question, what is your favourite kiss scene of all time? Book, show, movie etc.