TWIST OF FATE ▷ GOLDEN TRIO ERA [2]

𝟎𝟏. 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐄𝐌 𝐀 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐑

(01 : THEN BE EMPTIED TO . . .
REDEEM A TRAITOR HOME?)

✧࿐ ཾ✧

8TH AUGUST 1993

     BY THE TIME JULIET RETURNED from Little Whinging and settled Harry into one of the spare rooms with the promise of telling him more about his parents at breakfast, it was a couple of minutes past midnight. In spite of the late hour, she couldn't seem to shut her suspicions down as she padded towards her bedroom. A rather small voice in the back of her mind assured her that she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon — at least not until she figured out why Harry Potter's name hadn't appeared on their list of magical children to help sooner.

In her rush to check the list, she barely noticed the other presence in the room. Regulus Black was perched on the edge of her neatly made bed, staring out of the window. He was illuminated beautifully under the silvery glow of the moonlight, his dark hair tousled and his torso bare. Although Juliet wasn't wholly surprised to find her friend idly staring at the stars instead of lying in bed, she still stiffened and rushed to slam the dresser drawer — in which the list safely resided — shut.

"What are you doing here, Reg?" probed Juliet, feigning boredom as she pretended to rearrange the perfume bottles on her vanity table. "If you want to talk, now really isn't a good time."

"I woke up and you weren't there." He absentmindedly began to trace Canis Major with his pointer finger. "I — I was worried. I thought I would wait for you to come back. I fell asleep for a little while and then heard the door. I, uh, hope you don't mind."

Although Regulus had inherited Grimmauld Place after Walburga died, he much preferred staying at the reformed Fawley home and the site of their shared business, Mantua. Whilst Juliet typically appreciated his company, their friendship had been tense ever since a drunken night ended in their bodies being twisted in silk bed sheets. Or maybe that was simply the breaking point for the pair — frequent arguments over appealing Sirius' imprisonment and her unexpected friendship with Remus had caused equal strain.

Juliet shrugged. "I was out."

"You went, didn't you?" Regulus surmised, a note of underlying bitterness nestling itself into his voice. "You went to find Harry after I told you not to."

     "And I told you that you're not my keeper." Juliet bristled at his accusation. "But, now that I think about it, why didn't you want me to find Harry? We are not in the business of playing God, Regulus. We don't pick and choose who is most deserving of our help."

His eyes finally snapped towards hers — twin blue flames in a deadlock. "You think I don't know that? I care about this place as much as you do. But I care about you more, and Harry Potter coming here would only cause you more harm than good."