chapter one
the leaky cauldron

❝ will your father stop ruining my
announcements? ❞

"𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐄 did, Alex."

"Why not? I think it was justified!"

Juliette Athena Potter sat at the top of the staircase of her house, peering around the wall at her parents who were standing in the entryway. The family had just returned from their annual visit to Harry's aunt and uncle in Little Whinging and it had been... eventful to say the least.

"He blew up his uncle's sister!" Athena exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "He has the Potter temper. The Minister for Magic sent officials to erase her memory!"

Alexander shrugged and walked into the kitchen. "She was saying horrible things about his parents," he replied as she followed after him. "I'd be angry if I was him. They were talking about my brother and best friend."

Juliette looked over when she felt a presence join her on the staircase and saw Harry sitting beside her. She linked her arm with his and leaned her head on his shoulder while the adults' voices echoed throughout the large house.

"I understand that, Alex, I do," Athena said to her husband with a small sigh. "But that doesn't mean he can let his temper get the better of him. And certainly not blow up a person!"

Alexander turned around and faced his wife. "And if they mentioned your brother?" he countered making her pause and the two teenagers looked at each other. "What would you have done? Would you have let them say horrible things about him?"

She opened her mouth. "That's not fair," she said, shaking her head and running a hand through her hair. "That is not fair, Alex!"

"It's entirely fair!" he contradicted and she huffed. "What would you have done?"

"I've heard what people say about him for the past twelve years!" she snapped at him. "Ever since that day! The Muggle news is reporting on his escape, the Ministry of Magic came to our front door the day after he broke out. Do you remember that or am I imagining everything that's happened?" She let out a breath. "That was uncalled for, Alex."

"Athena—"

"The Weasleys are expecting us at the Leaky Cauldron soon," she interrupted, shaking her head and walking out of the kitchen. "We should finish packing." She paused when she reached the staircase and saw her daughter and nephew still sitting at the top.

"You're fighting again," Juliette said quietly, locking eyes with her mother. "You've been fighting all summer. Is it about Uncle Sirius' escape?"

Athena bit the inside of her cheek. "It's complicated, darling," she replied softly. "Nothing you need to worry about. Go on, you two, go finish packing your trunks. We're leaving for the Leaky Cauldron in one hour."

Juliette nodded reluctantly but Harry stayed seated. "I'm sorry, Aunt Thena," he said and she looked at him. "For... you know..."

She sighed quietly to herself. "I know that it's difficult to hear things about your parents when you never got to know them properly," she told him, sitting next to him on the staircase. "Neither of us is angry, Harry. Please know that. I just—Chaotic magic can be dangerous. Especially if you can't stop it. I don't want you or anybody else getting hurt from something preventable."

He looked up at her. "She'll be okay?" he asked quietly and she nodded, combing through his messy jet-black hair.

"She's okay," she confirmed gently. "And we will be, too. Now, go on, Bambi. Finish packing." She kissed him on the forehead and watched him go into his bedroom.

"You called him Bambi."

Athena turned when she heard Alexander's voice. He was standing at the bottom of the staircase and she shrugged. "Sirius called him that when he was born. It suits him well."

"I'm sorry," he said as she walked down the stairs to him. "I'm sorry I got angry, I just—"

"You miss them," she whispered, and he nodded. She cupped his cheek and rubbed it with her thumb. "I know you do. I miss my brothers every day. But we have Juliette and Harry. We're okay, aren't we?"

"We're okay," he agreed, wiping away her stray tears. "We'll be okay."

Juliette smiled to herself when she saw her parents hugging before continuing down the corridor towards her bedroom. She glanced at the portraits on the wall as she passed them. Different members of the Potter family waved at her and she returned the gesture. At the very end of the corridor, outside of her parents' bedroom, were her grandparents. Euphemia and Fleamont Potter. They had died only a few months before she had been born and her father often said that she had the same sparkle in her eye that his mother had had.

Fleamont, Juliette had decided, was the reason for Harry's horrible eyesight. His round glasses which seemed to be a Potter trait rested on his face while his friendly smile lit it up. He had the same messy jet-black hair that her father, uncle, and cousin had all inherited. Juliette herself had her mother's brown-black hair.

"Can Minnie help, Miss Potter?"

Juliette looked down at the house elf whose eyes were wide and round while looking up at her young mistress. While Harry had inherited Potter Manor upon his father's death, the family had moved in after rescuing him from Petunia and Vernon Dursley's house. Minnie, the faithful Potter house elf, was still in the Manor.

And her faithfulness had not wavered.

She took it upon herself when she first met Harry and Juliette as infants—they were only a month apart in age—to look after them just as she had when James and Alexander were babies. She was always around to help Athena with whatever task she had or to keep Alexander company in his study.

She was the very heart of Potter Manor.

"No, thank you, Minnie," Juliette replied, smiling down at the house elf. "I was only admiring the portraits."

Minnie nodded. "Mistress Potter was very kind," she squeaked, looking up at the portrait of the former matriarch. "Master Potter, too!"

"They seemed like they would be."

"Oh, yes, Miss Potter!" she exclaimed happily. "The very best. Should Minnie ask Young Master Potter for assistance?"

Juliette glanced at her cousin's bedroom and nodded with a soft smile. "I think he'd love for you to visit, Minnie."

She chuckled to herself when she heard a small yelp come from Harry's room and she walked inside her own.

A small Gryffindor pennant was on the wall next to her door. Her school belongings were in different piles on the floor and she pressed her lips together, peering behind her hoping her mother wouldn't walk in at that moment.

She was supposed to have been packed by now.

She heard a small 'hoot' and saw her owl sitting on the windowsill with a piece of parchment paper attached to her leg. "Well, it took her long enough..." she muttered, taking the parchment in her hands and sitting down on her bed as she unfolded it.

Okay, I know I'm incredibly slow at replying to your letters, so you can save your breath. I got it. Okay, thank you.

Hi Letty —

Mum and Dad pass along their hellos to you and your parents. Funnily enough, I've finally met my mysterious grandfather — Mr. Barty Crouch Sr. Mum never spoke of him, and had he not been a high Ministry official, I would've thought he was dead. He refused to let us come near his house, even Mum. I think my family is as complicated as yours...

But, Granny (you know, Dad's mum) came to visit us for an entire month this summer and it was amazing! She cooked us so much good food, I really hope Mum learned some tricks from her. Not that I'll be here to see those lessons come to fruition. But Dad would be eating well while I'm away. I mentioned to her that the Quidditch World Cup is coming to England next year and she stared at me blankly.

I always forget she's a Muggle...

Anyway, Mum said you would be staying at the Leaky Cauldron with Hermione and the Weasleys the day before term begins. So are we! I'll see you there, clumsy!

Oh, and Mum says she can't wait to give you the biggest squeeze, whatever that means...

See you soon!

Your lovely best friend,
Lou

"Are you finished with your packing, little lady?" Juliette paused when she heard her mother's shout from downstairs. "We're leaving in thirty minutes."

"Coming, Mama!"

___________________________

"𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐆𝐔𝐘𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐕𝐄 what Harry did last week—"

"Did you really blow up your aunt, Harry?"

Juliette stared at Hermione Granger who had interrupted her mid-sentence. "H—How in Merlin's beard did you know that?"

"Dad," Ron Weasley replied and she frowned, hitting him on the shoulder.

"Will your father stop ruining my announcements?" she asked while he swatted back at her and she huffed. "But, yes, he did. However, don't mention it too often or Mama will go mental. Again."

Harry shrugged. "Look, I didn't mean to," he said in response to Hermione's question and glanced briefly at Juliette and Ron who were still playfully hitting each other. "I just—lost control. Though, I did think Uncle Alex was going to join with how red he was becoming."

"Then we would've had to dig up his body because Mama would've buried him where we never would've found him," Juliette piped up, crossing her arms. "She's a scary woman when she's angry."

Ron tilted his head. "I think I've just understood why our mums get along well," he told her and she hummed. "Anyway, forget about Harry's angry magic, look at this!" He pulled out a long thin box from one of his shopping bags and held it out to his friends. "Brand new wand."

Juliette smiled thoughtfully to herself remembering all too well the event that had caused his wand to break in the first place. She, Hermione, and Eloise had been sitting in the Hogwarts Express wondering out loud where the boys were. Neither of them had joined them on the steam engine. Until Juliette looked out their window and saw a flying car that Mr. Weasley had been fixing up despite his wife's protests.

Mr. Weasley had a fascination with things from the Muggle world.

It was a very well-known fact.

Only when they had arrived at Hogwarts did the three girls learn that Ron and Harry had crashed the car into the Whomping Willow and the redhead's wand had broken in half at the impact.

To Juliette, it was a miracle that neither of them had been killed.

The Whomping Willow was an unforgiving plant.

"Fourteen inches, willow, containing one unicorn tail hair," Ron explained to his friends excitedly. "And we've got all our books—" He pointed at the bags under their table at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. "What about those Monster Books, eh? The assistant nearly cried when we said we wanted two."

"Well, Harry got one for his birthday," Juliette said with a shrug. "Hagrid sent it to him. I didn't get one, might I add." She furrowed her brows when she saw the bags under another chair. "Hermione, why do you have three bags that look like they're going to break from their seams?"

"Well, I'm taking more new subjects than you three, aren't I?" she replied. "Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, the Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies—"

"Muggle Studies?" Juliette and Ron repeated in unison.

"You are Muggleborn!" he reminded her while looking at the cousins. "Your mum and dad are Muggles! You already know all about Muggles!"

"But it'll be fascinating to study them from the wizarding point of view!" she countered and Juliette chuckled at her.

Harry tilted his head. "Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year, Hermione?" he asked her but she just ignored him.

"I've still got ten Galleons," she said, digging through her bag of coins. "It's my birthday in September and Mum and Dad gave me some money to get myself an early birthday present."

"How about a nice book?" Ron asked teasingly.

"No, I don't think so," she replied thoughtfully. "I really want an owl. I mean, Harry and Juliette have their own, and you've got Errol—"

"I haven't," Ron countered, shaking his head. "Errol's a family owl. All I've got is Scabbers." He pulled his pet rat out of his pocket and placed him on the table. "And I want to get him checked over. I don't think Egypt's agreed with him..."

Juliette had to agree. His whiskers were notably droopier than usual and he was looking much skinnier than the previous school year. Though she would never try to pet the rat; he seemed to have a personal vendetta against her.

"Well, there's a magical creature shop just over there," Harry said, gesturing down the pathway where he and Juliette had come from. "You could see if they've got anything for Scabbers and Hermione can get her owl."

They agreed and the group of friends started in that direction. Juliette stopped when a poster caught her eye. Harry, Hermione, and Ron continued into the shop while she turned to fully examine it. A small frown tugged at the corners of her lips as her hazel irises filled with the sight of Sirius Black laughing maniacally on a loop.

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WIZARD?

She let out a small breath. How could he and her mother be related? To her, Athena was one of the kindest people on earth and Sirius was responsible for the death of thirteen people.

Sighing to herself, she turned her head and locked eyes with a black dog. She tilted her head at the animal before hearing her name be called out and she followed her cousin into the magical creature shop.

"I thought you were getting an owl!" Juliette exclaimed once she saw the large orange cat in Hermione's arms. "That's not an owl."

"But isn't he gorgeous?" she asked, practically glowing as a new cat parent. "His name is Crookshanks. Crookshanks, meet Juliette."

The girl held out her hand and cleared her throat. "Er—it's nice to meet you, Crookshanks. Why does he look like he ran into a brick wall? Is that why he looks so grumpy?" Hermione frowned at her and she shrugged. "It's a valid thought."

___________________________

𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐔𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐍 being seen by his niece. Truthfully, he thought she was Athena. The minute she had locked eyes with him, albeit in dog form, he knew who she was. She had the same eyes as James and Alexander, the Potter hazel eyes. The rest of her features came from her mother; they had the same lips, the same eyebrows, and even the same smile.

"Juliette!"

It was Harry calling out to her.

He looked almost identical to James but with Lily's eyes. He and Juliette were nearly the complete opposite in that sense. He had noticed the Gryffindor colors on their robes when Juliette unceremoniously dropped their trunks, and they fell out.

He wondered what Athena thought of that.

She had been in Slytherin alongside Regulus, but he was in Gryffindor.

When he looked back at the cousins, they were gone. They had entered the magical creature shop and disappeared from his view.

And he walked further away from Diagon Alley.

___________________________

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐓𝐄 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 the Leaky Cauldron, she was immediately pulled into a bone-crushing hug by Aurora Avenswood, her godmother. The woman's bright blonde hair was hard to miss and her sparkling smile was contagious.

"There's my favorite niece!" she exclaimed while Juliette stood still, struggling to breathe. "How are you, dear? Tell me everything! What classes are you taking this term?"

Eloise tilted her head at her best friend, struggling to not chuckle. "Mum, I don't think she can breathe."

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear!" she replied, instantly letting go of the brunette who sucked in a deep breath. "I was a bit over-excited."

"A bit?" Athena asked with a chuckle, sitting down at the table beside Mrs. Weasley, turning away from her conversation with the older woman. "She was beginning to turn red."

Aurora stuck out her tongue at her friend, slapping her on the shoulder before joining her in conversation. Anthony, Eloise's father and Aurora's husband, laughed quietly to himself and he and Alexander joined Mr. Weasley on the other end of the table.

"Have they always been like that?" Hermione whispered to Eloise and Juliette who glanced back at their mothers.

"According to Papa, yes," Juliette said with a nod. "Though he said it was one of the reasons he fell in love with her."

Eloise hummed. "Dad says they were a package deal."

"Well, that explains the two of you," Hermione commented, patting them on the shoulders and going over to Ron and Harry.

The two friends looked at each other. "Was that meant to be an insult or a compliment? Either way, I'm not offended..."

Dinner that night was a rather large event. Tom, the kind innkeeper who always offered a toothless smile, had managed to squish four tables together for the Weasley, Potter, and Avenswood families plus Hermione to sit around. Mrs. Weasley, with the help of Athena and Aurora, had prepared five courses that left them all with full bellies.

"How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?" Fred Weasley asked his father as they enjoyed the chocolate pudding Aurora had spent three tries making.

"The Ministry's providing a couple of cars," he said making the entire table look up at him.

Athena busied herself with clearing away dishes and Alexander cleared his throat, joining her. Juliette glanced between her parents when Sirius Black's wanted poster caught her eye once more, sitting ajar on the countertop.

"Why?" Percy asked curiously.

"It's because of you, Perce," George replied, completely serious. "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them—"

"—for Humungous Bighead," Fred added with a smile.

Percy scowled. "Why is the Ministry providing cars, Father?" he asked once more, this time in a voice that was nothing like his usual tone.

Mr. Weasley shrugged, clearing his throat. "Well, as we haven't got one anymore, and as I work there, they're doing me a favor..."

"Good thing, too," Mrs. Weasley interjected, noticing the table had gone rather silent. "Do you realize how much luggage there will be amongst all of you? A nice sight on the Muggle Underground..."

After dinner, Juliette had been sent down to find Ron's rat tonic that he had left in the bar and Harry joined her.

"I understand that they should know, but I'm scared to tell them..." It was Athena's voice and the cousins looked at each other. "The truth is a scary thing to share."

"It would terrify him!" Mrs. Weasley added, turning to her husband. "You two can't send him back to school with that kind of information. From what I can tell, he's very happy without knowing!"

Athena dropped her head in her hands. "I knew we had to tell him eventually, but I didn't think it would because of circumstances like this."

Aurora pressed her lips together. "Well, why do we have to tell them? Couldn't we just give them bits and pieces of the truth? Nobody said we had to share everything. Just enough so that they're aware and on guard."

"But Harry and Juliette will be perfectly safe at Hogwarts—"

"We thought Azkaban was perfectly safe," Arthur countered to his wife. "If Black can break out of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts."

"But we're not even sure that Black's after Harry—"

"Okay, everybody, just stop!" Athena snapped. Juliette peeked around the wall and saw her mother standing up and running her hands through her hair, something she had always done to keep her temper in check. "Just—Just stop... Stop talking about my brother as if I'm not right here listening to every word you say."

Alexander stood up and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Juliette and Harry are our responsibility," he agreed with his wife. "And we will determine when the right time is to share what we think is important for them to know."

"I hope that time is now."

The two parents looked at Aurora who motioned up the stairs and they followed her gaze, their sights settling on Juliette and Harry. Athena sighed and rolled her neck while Alexander bit the inside of his cheek.

"We'll let you all talk," Anthony said, squeezing Athena's shoulder as he passed her and took Aurora's hand in his. "You two had better listen and not yell," he added to the cousins.

Once Alexander and Athena were the only ones remaining in the bar, Juliette and Harry joined them at the table. The matriarch was playing with her fingers nervously. "On the night that your parents died, Harry... It was the same night that Sirius was imprisoned in Azkaban—without a trial, might I add." Alexander cleared his throat and she glanced at him. "Sorry, not the time..."

He let out a breath. "What you both need to understand is that..." He pressed his lips together. "When we were in school, your father and Sirius were as thick as thieves. Practically brothers. Neither would be seen without the other. And... when your parents were told to go into hiding, he was the only one besides me who knew where they were. And, supposedly, he gave their whereabouts to Voldemort."

Harry blinked slowly. "He betrayed them?" he asked quietly.

"Supposedly," Athena said again, resting her hands on his. "You have to believe me, Harry, he would never have done that. He loved your parents more than life. Sometimes more than me. And he would never miss the chance of seeing either of you grow up."

"Then why is he in Azkaban?" Juliette asked her parents.

Alexander sighed. "Because he killed Peter Pettigrew," he answered softly. "After he confronted Sirius about James and Lily's death. He was promptly arrested and Peter's mother only got his finger as a way to remember him."

Juliette furrowed her brows. "A—A finger...?"

"That's all that remained of him," Alexander told her with a small nod. "We're telling you now because... with his escape, there is talk that Sirius is coming after you, Harry."

"Me?"

"That he wants to finish the job, I suppose," he confirmed. "This is not meant to scare either of you. You should know. But... It's a memory still fresh in our mind."

Harry glanced at Athena who was silent. "Will he come after me?" he asked her and she briefly looked up at him. "Will he?"

"I don't know," she said quietly. "I don't know, Harry. But Dumbledore has protections in place to keep everybody at Hogwarts safe. You'll be safe there. Both of you."

Juliette nodded slowly. "Alright."

"Yeah," Harry agreed.

Athena glanced between them. "I know you both have questions," she said, resting her hands on theirs. "Believe me, I know. And they will be answered in time. But not today. Please understand that. If you have questions, then I will try and answer them. We both will." Alexander nodded. "But you both have a new term starting in two days. And I know you'll be sharing this information with your friends..."

Harry and Juliette went slightly pink.

"Which we understand because we were the same way," Alexander said with a small chuckle. "But don't let these thoughts consume your mind. You have more important things happening. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Good." Athena let out a breath. "Off to bed, you two. We'll see you in the morning." She watched Juliette and Harry climb up the stairs to their room before fluttering her lips and leaning her head on her husband's shoulder. "Should we have told them more?" she asked him quietly.

"I don't think so," he replied, shaking his head. "Unless they need to know, we don't need to scare them."

She nodded and looked at the newspaper clipping that Mr. Weasley had left behind, staring at her twin brother's looping maniacal laugh. "He looks awful..." she commented, swallowing the growing lump from her throat. "Absolutely horrible..."

Alexander took her hand. "Let's go to bed, sweetheart." She allowed him to drag her up the stairs, finally looking away from the newspaper, the picture still looping.

Juliette looked at Harry, who sat on his bed. "He's not going to kill you," she said to him, sitting beside him. "And if he wants to, he has to go through me first. That'd be a chilling headline: 'Uncle kills niece after betraying her aunt and uncle.'" Harry forced out a smile. "That wasn't comforting, was it?"

"It was a good effort, Jules," he replied and she linked her arm with his. "But you're right. I am not going to get murdered."

She smiled. "That's the spirit! Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight, Juliette."

___________________________

━ author's note:

please tell me this was a good chapter, I always doubt my first chapters...

anyway, when I tell you juliette and harry are so iconic together, I mean it, they're hilarious (& traumatized, but whatever)

and ron & juliette is a friendship that's kinda hilarious but it works