Everything to Me

63.

Juli ran out the common room as fast as her legs could carry her. Regulus wasn't supposed to see the letter. It was a lie to convince her brother and friends. If Regulus read that, she would be lying to him, too.

She needed to get in the good graces of the Slytherins on her own terms and as much as she hated to admit it, her own lies, which matched with the ones she had told her friends.  

Just as she entered the dungeons, she heard voices shouting. She could clearly make out Regulus' voice.

"Yo, Snakes!" She yelled, not caring who was with Regulus. She had to act and she had to act fast. "I heard you got my letter."

Regulus' eyes widened and he stopped whatever he was saying and brought down his stretched hand. She could see the letter in his fists and it looked like he was trying to keep it away from the others.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" Avery sneered.

"You'll see," she said, taking a step forwards and faking confidence.

"Put the letter down, Reggie." She instructed.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." She took another step. "Put the letter down."

Regulus tried to argue but she stared him down and he reluctantly put the letter down, calculating his each movement.

"Incendio," she said, pointing her wand at the parchment.

"I hadn't read it!" Regulus exclaimed, an expression of anger and somewhat sadness of his face.

Juli exhaled in relief but her eyes went back to being their shade of stubbornness. "That's good. Now I get to tell you myself."

"We are not interested." Avery commented.

"Well," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "You'll have to listen anyway." Some other Slytherin girl opened her mouth to retort but Juli ignored her. "I will only say it once so cherish the moment. I broke up with Sirius. I am sorry for disrespecting my blood and my ancestry. I now know how my brother and his friends are blinded. If it is okay with you, I'd much rather be with you and apologize to Mulciber."

No one said anything as their jaws dropped and she smirked to herself, happy she got the reaction she wanted. Very slowly, Avery moved towards her and she stood her ground.

"Never too late to join the winning side, Potter." Avery said and clapped her on the back. "This is Clarisse," he pointed at the girl who grinned at her. "Now I can - "

"Gaspar I need to talk to her." Regulus cut him off sharply, the firmness in his voice leaving no room for argument.

Shrugging casually, he winked at Juli and went back to their common room.

Before Juli could say anything, Regulus walked towards her and grabbing her  by the arm, roughly dragged her away from the Slytherin common room. 

"Reggie stop you are hurting me! And wait! We will get in trouble." She said, trying to free her hand.

Paying no attention to her, he marched towards the Black Lake where he finally let her go. "Why are you doing this?" He shouted. 

"Doing what? I just realized the truth and wanted to stand by you. What is the -"

"That is bullshit and you know it!" Regulus shouted, his chest heaving, body shaking with anger. "It's a lie and you need to stop lying to me! I am doing everything in my power to keep you away from the people who do not have the right intentions for you. Why are you walking to them?"

Juli had never seen him this angry. She recoiled at his tone. "I, um... I am not lying."

"I can see through you, Juli. I won't be saying this again so just stop." He ordered and without another glance, walked away.

Juli sank to the ground, allowing Regulus' words to sink in. She had to make herself more believable. Before anyone saw her breaking curfew, she collected herself and stood up.

Replaying the horrible events if that night, she started walking back to her common room. In a single night, she had lost the love of her life. She had broken the heart of the already broken boy, the one she could see her future with. She had managed to make  her brother hate her. The person she knew she could always count on. She had strained her friendship with Lily even further and Peter probably would never talk to her. She couldn't even think about what she done to Remus' non existent self esteem. He loathed himself and she had only increased that.

Reaching the common room, she said the password to a very annoyed Fat Lady. "Balderdash."

"Out of bed... so late.." She mumbled. "Just so you know, there has been a change."

"Wait, what change?" Juli asked.

"You'll see." The Lady muttered and swung open.

Too mentally exhausted to stay awake anymore, she went up to her dorm. She stared in confusion at the 3 beds in her dorm instead of 4. Closing the door silently behind her, she looked around.

Her eyes suddenly fell on a door next to her dorm door which she had never noticed before. Inside, she found a dorm just as big as the others but a single bed in the middle. Her trunk in the corner and books by the window. 

Deciding to ask about it in the morning, she took a short bath and got ready for bed but a small parchment on her bed caught her attention.

Miss Potter,
Your friends insisted on a change in sleeping arrangements which could only mean you were successful in the first step. I want you to know that you will be helping us a lot. We shall discuss it further in the morning.

Best wishes,
Albus Dumbledore.

Juli read the letter again and again, finally allowing herself to think about how much her friends actually hated her. That night, and for so many other nights to come, she knew she would cry herself to sleep.