CHECK YES JULIET ▷ JAMES POTTER [1]

𝟑𝟔. 𝐀 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐌𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘

(36 : A MADMAN'S MERCY . . .
BID THEE RUN AWAY)

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THE ONLY REASONABLE EXPLANATION FOR the group being immediately surrounded by Death Eaters wasn't a pleasant one — someone had set them up. Not that any of them had time to dwell on this fact because the battle was instantaneous. The Death Eaters were more organised and more experienced than the five teenagers could ever imagine. Lights of all colours — green, red, white — shot from the masked men's wands in synchronisation. None of the younger group had managed to cast a spell that wasn't a shield charm yet.

It seemed like they had lost the battle before it had even begun.

"We need to split up!" shouted Juliet over the noise of various blasts, fumbling when it felt like she had run into a wall upon going to  disapparate. "I — I think they put up an anti-disapparation jinx, so we need to aim to stun and then run. There's six of them and five of us, the mission's been compromised, don't do anything stupid, just fight to survive."

"Juliet, we need to get you out of here first," James insisted. "If someone recognises you and pieces together that you're helping the Order —"

She gulped. "I'm dead, I know. At least I'll make a pretty corpse, right?"

Although she was merely trying to lighten the mood, the joke fell flat. James and Sirius couldn't conceal her for much longer — not when they were dodging hexes and curses left and right — but she wasn't prepared to face the reality of the situation. Juliet didn't want to die and she never thought that was a particularly unrealistic thing to want until she started befriending Gryffindors.

Within seconds, a white blast of light hit the back of head and she gasped. "I'm on your bloody side, Sir—" Juliet cut herself off, holding a piece of hair between her fingers and watching as it changed from red to such a dark brown that it was almost black. "Of course. Crinus muto."

"It should last about an hour," muttered Sirius, his talents in transfiguration benefiting him as he altered the Slytherin's appearance until she was unrecognisable. "Now, let's go kick some Death Eater ass."

     Juliet wondered if she could really do it, if she would finally be able to choose fight instead of flight. When she realised they were surrounded, her first instinct was to disapparate. How useful could she really be when she would always put herself first? It wasn't like she was a textbook good guy. Yet, when she caught James looking in her direction, she felt the pull of his magnetism and his blinding light once again. There really was no choice — she was going to fight but not for the Order of the Phoenix, she was going to fight for him.

     Lifting her wand in the air, the girl echoed, "Let's go kick some Death Eater ass."

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