XXIII. A Grapefruit-Sized Bruise

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"Lying is the worst mistake."

Juliet's POV

I guess the Liquid Luck still hadn't worn off, because I never pictured myself impulsively kissing Remus as I did just now. I mean I don't regret it, but it certainly came as a shock to both him and I. And it wasn't like anything you'd see in a movie, no hands running through hair, no sweeping me off my feet, no revolutionary music playing in the background.

Just a simple kiss, lasting no more than a couple seconds. And it still feels weird to think about.

And don't even get me started on the walk back to Hogwarts; it was like that time where we were trying to find the Liquid Luck, only ten times worse. Honestly, it felt like a million years walking back to the castle. Remus tried his best to hide his ear-to-ear smile but failed horribly, and I, while avoiding to make eye contact with Remus by looking at the ground, ran into a fairly large tree with my head. There's currently a bruise the size of a bludger in the middle of my forehead.

Anyways, after a million years of walking through dirty snow, Remus and I finally arrived at the castle, where we parted ways so that we could clean up. After the whole mission type thing last night, it was fair to say that I needed a shower.

And in my time in the shower, I forgot about everything for a moment. I didn't think about Fenrir, about Remus, about anything. The only thing I did think about, was getting some ice on my head to help sooth the large bruise I had gotten earlier this morning, because Merlin, that hurt.

"Juliet, you've got a little something, right," said Marlene as I hopped back into the dorm room after my shower, "here, right here." Marlene raised a finger to her forehead, and both Lily and Alice burst out laughing, clearly because of the grapefruit-sized, purple-colored bruise on my head.

"I'm headed to Madam Pomfrey in a moment," I spoke back to my laughing roommates, "Is it really that bad?" I questioned. All three nodded and began laughing at my misfortune yet again.

I brushed it off and ran down through the common room, not even bothering to look for Remus. I would deal with that later, hopefully. So, trying my best to cover up my bruise from the people in the corridor, I walked to the hospital wing, where I found Madam Pomfrey aiding a third year Hufflepuff boy who had accidentally come across the whomping willow. He didn't look in the best shape.

"Madam Pomfrey?" I asked, getting her attention and moving the hair out of my face, "could I get some ice for this bruise?"

"Goodness Juliet, how on earth did you get a bruise this size?"

"I tripped and fell," I paused, "on my face."

So Madam Pomfrey, still astonished by the size of my bruise, grabbed a bag of ice and a bottle of an ailment mixture for me. She brushed the cool mixture on my forehead, and the pain went away within seconds. Next, she handed me a bag of ice and ordered me to keep it on for twenty minutes, unless the pain would come back. So I did what I was told, and during the last five minutes of my icing period, someone barged into the hospital wing. I turned my head to see Professor Dumbledore.

"Poppy," he started, "do you mind if I borrow Ms. Fletcher for a moment?" he politely asked, while I stood there confused, wondering why he needed to speak to me. I prayed and wished that it didn't have anything to do with last night,

She hesitated before saying, "I guess so. Just make sure she keeps that ice on her forehead for another five minutes," she said as I got up from the patient bed, and walked in Dumbledore's direction.

Professor Dumbledore led me to his office, and my heart was beating very fast the entire way. I didn't even care if I got detention for the rest of the term, as long as he doesn't know about Fenrir and Remus and everything that happened the night before. Dumbledore opened the door to his office, and that's when I saw a teary-eyed Remus looking right in my direction.

Bloody hell, he must've figured out something.

"Now Ms. Fletcher, I've bought you into my office today because I've had a little chat with Mr. Lupin, and it seems you have something to tell me," he said. I nearly choked on my own saliva because of how nervous I was at this moment. Dumbledore just put me on the spot, and Remus is looking at me as if he found out my biggest secret, which he probably has. It was taking everything in me not to break down in tears right now.

After a couple of moments of silence, Dumbledore began speaking again, this time to both Remus and I. "Now I've already covered this with Remus, but, as you two already know, yesterday evening, Remus came to me telling me that a werewolf was after him in the Hogsmeade area." He paused before saying, "And I did indeed find the werewolf, whom I brought back to the castle for questioning. Once it was morning and this werewolf was securely locked in a tower, I figured out that he was Fenrir Greyback."

Remus looked extremely upset in this moment, and I had a feeling I knew what was coming next. My heart sank when Dumbledore spoke his next words.

"As I questioned Fenrir Greyback, he spoke of his little sister, also a werewolf, who was a seventh-year student at Hogwarts, living under the name Juliet Fletcher." A tear streamed down my face as the Headmaster asked, "Now tell me, Juliet, is this true?"

Remus looked over at me silently, looking the most upset and sad that I've ever seen him. And I too was the most upset at this moment, my closest friendship and possible relationship effectively ruined. But I could keep another lie inside me any longer.

"Y-Yes, it's true."

Word Count: 1023

a/n: how much do you hate me right now? it's only gonna get worse so hang in there, only one more chapter to go...

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