the unhallowed affair - t.m.r

une fille folle

"a crazy girl"

July Fifth, 1945

Her ears were ringing. Her throat was dry, even though tears fell from her eyes. Blond curls were strewn about her face, blocking her from seeing the man in front of her.

"What in God's name were you thinking, Juliette?" A raspy voice shouted at her.

She blinked, breathing hard, realising she was struggling to gain her balance after the horrible feeling of Apparation. "What- why would-"

"You were going to kill him yourself, weren't you?" Preston shouted at her, his face close enough to hers she could count his eyelashes.

"No! No, I swear!" Juliette yelled. Her eyes frantically scanned the room around her. It wasn't Malfoy's Manner. It wasn't the inn. It wasn't her flat. This was someplace new.

Preston scoffed, laughing slightly. "You absolute liar," he seethed. "I saw your thoughts. Seriously, do you know the damage you could've caused? For what? To get back at Riddle, is that it?"

Juliette opened her mouth, but no words came out. Preston Macnair had caught her in a lie, and broke her trust by entering into her mind without her knowing.

But then again, hadn't she almost just betrayed the trust of the Death Eaters? Did they even trust each other?

Preston grabbed her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him. "You do not, under any circumstances, ever go against Riddle like that. Do you hear me? He will kill you in a heartbeat, and if not, he will have Carrow torture you until you are begging for the serenity of death. You are a smart girl, Juliette. Once you realise you are in this, and you are not getting out, the better your world will become."

His eyes glowed with such intensity she felt her heart race. "You're scaring me," she shook out of his hold.

"Good." Preston said, and his words stung. "Maybe I can scare some sense into you." His eyes were glazed over with an emotion Juliette had never seen from him. Her heart ached, missing the sweet boy on the train.

However she knows that the real Preston was not that boy. Though it pained her to admit, he was just like Riddle, if not worse. He was prejudiced and selfish and he will do anything it takes to get what he wants.

"You're a disgrace." Juliette bit out, her anger getting the best of her.

"And you're pathetic." He didn't even look at her.

Her blood ran cold, and it felt as though her ears were ringing.

Juliette closed her eyes, bracing herself to Apparate home. Her head swirled and her body felt as if it were crushed as she once again travelled through space and time. When she opened her eyes, she was in the comfort of her flat, surrounded by darkness.

She collapsed to the floor immediately, her breath heaving as her mind ran through everything that had happened. The worst part of it, she realised, was that Preston was right.

Juliette knew the risk she was taking. She knew the possible outcomes, yet, she still attempted it. Why?

It was one thing to realise you had made a mistake, but it's another when you find you are every horrible thing they say you are. Pulling her body up from the floor, her legs dragged as she slowly clodded her way towards her bedroom. Her vanity mirror awaited her, and she gasped as she looked at her features.

Her hair was strewn in different directions, frizzy as always. Dark circles hollowed out her eyes, her face ironically resembling a corpse. Running her hand through her unruly hair, she sighed out of complete desperation, collapsing into her bed.