CHECK YES JULIET ▷ JAMES POTTER [1]

𝟏𝟖. 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐏𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐃

(18 : DISPRAISE MY LORD . . .
WITH THAT SAME TONGUE)

✧࿐ ཾ✧

      NOTHING AND EVERYTHING HAD CHANGED. Whilst Juliet still ignored James and Sirius, there would be moments — so brief that you'd blink and miss it — where they would exchange a million words through a glance alone. It became a secret game to James. He would bump into Juliet or ask for a spare piece of parchment, solely to watch as her lips twitched and she bit back a smile before shifting into her uncaring snake persona.

It had been a few days since Juliet's conversation with James and she found herself being drawn to him like a magnet. His faith in her was unshaking and she was desperate to know why. Without meaning to, she started to study him — how his tongue
stuck out a little when he was writing, how a crease would form between his brows when he couldn't figure something out, how he used hand gestures whenever he was trying to explain something. He was a puzzle that she was determined to solve.

"You're staring again." Regulus snapped his fingers in front her face.

Juliet blinked, coming out of her daze. "I'm analysing."

The pair were meant to be studying in the library and then James — surprisingly — entered, which voided any actual work the girl was going to do. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, per se, but she was waiting for an ulterior motive to come to light, for him to mess up and show her that he wasn't as noble as he seemed. Men took advantage of her and squashed her ambitions — an ironic feat considering she was in Slytherin due to her ambition — and they preferred pretty over personality. Men most definitely didn't stay when she was emotionally vulnerable and bitter, so why did James?

"You're being creepy." Regulus slid a heavy tome in front of her, which brought her attention to him. "Tell me, what are the ingredients required to brew the Draught of Living Death?"

"Infusion of wormwood, powdered root of asphodel, sloth brain and sopophorous bean," she listed off confidently. "Merlin, I hope that's not what they make us brew on the exam. The only one who was successful when we did it was Severus."

Regulus wondered, "Is it really that hard?"

"You'll find out yourself next year, but brewing it wrong will lead to you being dead dead and not living dead," she babbled, flicking through the book to find an O.W.L level potion her companion would know. "How about — Why are you smiling at me?"

In a dismissive manner, he shook his head. "You're different than I expected you to be," he mentioned. "In the beginning, you were so standoffish and now watching you get enthusiastic over something as small as potions is . . . nice."