CHECK YES JULIET ▷ JAMES POTTER [1]

𝟏𝟒. 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐂𝐇

(14 : HANG THEE YOUNG BAGGAGE . . .
DISOBEDIENT WRETCH)

✧࿐ ཾ✧

     RETURNING TO HER FAMILY HOME filled Juliet with dread, and dread was an awful, sticky feeling. Although the teenager had only stayed with the Potters for two nights, she decided against writing to her parents. Being reckless was not in her blood, so for her to admit she had fled an important ball in favour of an evening with blood traitors was sacrilege. Even if she didn't regret the decision, she knew better than to provide her parents with a written confession of her sins.

Being seventeen, Sirius volunteered to apparate alongside Juliet. An unspoken conversation passed between the two — only briefly — but Juliet simply shook her head, steeling herself before walking past the blood wards, through the iron gates of the Fawley Mansion. He wanted to understand, she knew, but the problem lay in the fact Juliet Fawley was not half as brave as Sirius Black.

The door swung open before Juliet could even place her key in the hole. Within seconds, an imposing and infuriated Arin was bellowing, "Where have you been?"

"I was with a friend," she replied shortly and attempted to brush past the red-faced man.

Commanding her attention, the man grabbed her arm. "Which friend?"

Juliet ran through the number of purebloods that would cover for her and the list was short. "Regulus," she settled on. "We were practicing our answers for the reporters before we announce our engagement. He knows someone at The Daily Prophet — William, I think — who can arrange us an interview."

Lies, in her experience, were always better when details were added — vague enough that they couldn't be disproven, but specific enough that they could be believed. The chances were someone called William did work at The Daily Prophet, but Regulus didn't know them, nor did she spend Christmas Day with her fiancé.

"I owled Orion only a few hours ago about a business matter. Strange he wouldn't mention this," sneered Arin. "Tell me the truth, Juliet. You shamed our family quite enough already. Lucius told me how you came onto him —"

A humourless chuckle escaped her throat. "I came onto him? Is that what he said?"

"The truth," demanded her father sternly.

"I was with Black," she said, using a technicality to be truthful. "But we weren't at Grimmuald Place, so I didn't have the pleasure of Orion's company."

The pair stared each other down until Juliet gasped upon feeling an unapologetic attack on her mind. One thing to know about Arin Fawley was that he happened to be a man of many talents — a Slug Club alumni with high level access to the Ministry of Magic and a trusted confidant of Lord Voldemort was evidence of such. In particular, he was gifted in the arts of Occlumency and Legilimency. It was a deliberate choice of his to not train his wife or daughter in such arts, their lack of defence was intended to serve as motivation to not keep any secrets from him.