Sweet Juliet

Chapter 10: No One in the World

(A/N: Happy New Year! Yay! :D Haha sadly, though, this means that I have to go back to school tomorrow. Ah, well. At least I'm graduating this year! Anyway, here's the next chapter, enjoy and review!)

Juliet knew that they were all staring at her, but she couldn't return any of their gazes. The less they knew about why her father might be detained, the better. She had to get away, before they came to their senses and started asking complicated questions that she couldn't answer.

Harry looked as though he was going to be the first to dive headlong into the conversation, but Hermione—bless her—cut him off and managed to get Ron to lead him quickly away. Ginny followed suit with the twins, and before long, Hermione and Juliet were the only two left standing in the hallway.

"Thank you so much," Juliet whispered, her eyes still darting anxiously from place to place as though looking for any lingering eavesdroppers.

"No problem," Hermione replied, grabbing Juliet's wrist and leading her towards a door at the end of the hall that stood slightly ajar. The bushy-haired girl looked as though she was on some sort of mission, and under different circumstances, Juliet would have been highly amused by the utterly determined look that had taken over her features. As it was, however, her thoughts could only rest in one place—her father.

"Where are we going, Hermione?"

"Some place where we won't be overheard. Come on, hurry up."

In a flash of brown hair, they were in the room at the end of the hall, and Hermione slammed and locked the door behind them. Juliet vaguely took in their surroundings as she waited for her friend to speak. They were in some sort of bedroom, and the place looked like it hadn't seen a good dusting in about a century or so. There wasn't much furniture—a king-sized bed, an old-fashioned wardrobe, a night table, and a rocking chair in the corner, adorned with a cushion that must have once been magnificently embroidered.

"All right, Juls, talk to me," Hermione demanded suddenly, catching Juliet off guard and pulling her out of her anxious reverie. "What do you think is going on with your father? You looked scared out of your wits out on the landing, so I know he's not just late."

Juliet took a deep, shaking breath, going over to the bed and clutching one of the bedposts for support. Hermione's concerned eyes followed her, but Juliet was in a different place. Images of the graveyard, of her father, and of Goyle's unannounced visit flashing before her eyes. Her gaze became unfocused, her black eyes glossed over, and a thick silence descended upon the two girls for a few moments.

Suddenly, though, Juliet's head snapped back up, startling Hermione a bit.

"I think there are Death Eaters at my house."

Hermione didn't look shocked, as any of the others would have, but simply nodded her head, a grave expression settling on her features. "Because of what Mr. Goyle said when he visited you. The reason your father let you go on holiday with Malfoy." It wasn't a question, but Juliet nodded anyway.

"Yes."

"Are you worried that your father is in danger?"

Juliet laughed shortly, a sound entirely devoid of mirth. "He's always in danger, but…I suppose, logically speaking, he shouldn't be at any more risk than normal." Hermione slowly meandered her way past Juliet, the wheels in her head clearly whirring about. Juliet thought with a suppressed smirk that she could almost hear them.

Hermione sat down on the bed, sending a cloud of dust swirling up and around her. For a moment, she was almost entirely obscured, but Juliet heard her mumbled words anyway.

"Do you think…that maybe, because of your situation, you panicked out on the landing and assumed the worst right away?"

Juliet smiled sheepishly, embarrassed for her momentary lapse of control. This time, when she laughed, it was out of sincere amusement.

"Yes, I suppose that's what could have happened."

Hermione grinned as well, the cloud of dust around her finally settling. "Hey Juls, I've been meaning to ask you—and yes, I know you've been purposefully avoiding the subject—what happened on your holiday with Malfoy that was so bad? Did you two have a row or something?"

Juliet's transitory sense of relief melted away, and a feeling of dread washed over her to replace it. That was the last thing she wanted to talk about.

Before she had the chance to think of a proper response, though, there was a knock on the door. Seconds later, Ron poked his head through the opening and looked warily at the girls. Juliet broke into a wide smile at the sight of him. Never had she been so grateful for her redheaded friend. Behind her, Hermione sighed audibly behind her, knowing that Juliet was once again getting away with dodging the subject of Draco.

"Hey Juls," Ron asked, "are you okay?"

Juliet beamed up at her tall friend, letting go of the bedpost and approaching him. "Yeah, I'm all right. Just a little mental breakdown, that's all."

Ron smiled, pushing her shoulder playfully. "You've got to get a grip, Juls. You're really going mental. Anyway, your dad just got here."

Juliet's smile widened. "He did? Oh, thank Merlin."

"Yeah," Ron replied. "You want to know the weirdest part? Sirius asked him to stay for dinner even though he missed the meeting, and your dad agreed."

Juliet's eyebrows shot up. "That certainly is strange." Had Black apologized to Severus, or had her extremely perceptive father just noticed something different in Sirius' demeanor when he had extended the dinner invitation. She supposed she could ask him later.

"Well, let's go downstairs then," Hermione said with an air of a child who had been denied a particularly delectable cookie. She stalked past Ron and Juliet, garnering a bewildered gaze from the former. Juliet just shook her head, smirking, and followed her friends out of the room.

….

Juliet was seated beside her father at dinner, still feeling immensely relieved that he was safe. She knew that he could take care of himself and that, in all probability, she needn't have worried in the first place, but part of her had needed to see him with her own eyes to truly believe it. She couldn't quite help it—for a great many years, he had been all she had, and their situation had made her paranoid.

The meal was slightly tenser than normal, due to Severus' presence, but still ten times louder than any that Severus and Juliet had shared at Spinner's End. Juliet liked both. Quiet dinners with her father were lovely, but there was something so fun about the organized chaos that came along with the Weasley family.

"So Severus," Mrs. Weasley spoke up, attempting to make conversation, "are you all prepared for the new term at school?"

Severus was silent for a moment, gazing unwaveringly at the woman across from him. His striking black eyes were seemingly unblinking, and Mrs. Weasley shifted nervously about in her seat.

"Yes," he answered after a moment. "Yes, just about. My new curriculum for the year is nearly finished." Mrs. Weasley smiled, though she still looked measurably uncomfortable.

Mr. Weasley tried his luck next. "Do your NEWT-level students look promising this year?"

"Overall yes," Severus replied. "Of course there are a few exceptions, but only the ones who can handle the course make it past the first week of classes. I make sure of that."

"Juliet, dear, do you plan on pursuing high-level Potions classes?" Mrs. Weasley asked, her smile turning genuinely warm when she looked over at the young girl seated next to Severus.

"Oh, yes. I love Potions," Juliet responded, smiling up at her father. She didn't expect him to return the gesture, but was pleasantly surprised when one corner of his lips was tugged slightly upwards. "Runs in the family, I suppose."

As dinner progressed, the tension in the room seemed to ease bit by bit. It never quite disappeared altogether, but by the end of the meal, no one was continuing to look at Juliet's father as though he had the Plague. After an hour, Severus got up to make his leave, refusing Mrs. Weasley's insistence that he stay for dessert.

"I'll walk you to the door," Juliet said, rising from her seat as well. Once father and daughter were out in the entryway, Juliet let the smile drop from her face.

"When I overheard them saying that you hadn't showed up for the meeting, I was scared out of my mind," she whispered. "I thought we were found out. I thought something had happened to you!"

"I'm sorry I frightened you Juliet," Severus responded in a tone so low that even Fred and George's Extendable Ears had no chance of picking it up. "I assure you that I'm perfectly fine. I must say, though, that you did an admirable job of not acting suspiciously when you came to dinner."

Juliet grinned. "Well, Hermione calmed me down."

"Yes," Severus said stiffly, "the Granger girl certainly cares about you."

"They all care about me, Dad," Juliet replied, bestowing a hug upon him.

"While that may be," Severus responded, "it needs to be noted that there is no one in this world that cares about you more than I do. Do you know that?" The words were mumbled, and when he embraced her, it was clumsy, and would have seemed completely out of character to anyone that didn't know him as well as Juliet, but it made her smile anyway.

"Yeah, I know. I love you, Dad."

"I love you, too." Severus released her, stepping away and once again becoming the entirely composed man that he was to the rest of the world. "Now, as you know, we won't see each other again until the new term starts. I'll go out and get all of your new books and supplies and have them sent along to you before then."

"Okay."

"Very good. I'll see you in a week, Juliet."

"Bye, Dad." She watched him go as he shut the door behind him and walked away, listening for the faint pop in the distance as he Disapparated. "…be safe."

Juliet turned from the door and began to climb the stairs to Harry and Ron's bedroom. She hadn't felt so content in a long while, and though she knew it would most likely be short-lived, she was going to enjoy it for as long as she could.

(A/N: Just some sweet father-daughter stuff for those of you that have been asking. Next chapter we're back at Hogwarts. Let me tell you, it's going to be an exciting year! You'll FINALLY get to know what happened at the end of Juliet and Draco's holiday, Juliet is going to find something that's pretty shocking, You-Know-Who will come back into the picture, two of my favorite characters (Neville and Luna) will be back, and on top of all that, the gang has to worry about OWL exams! I would NOT want to be them :D Okay, that's a lie. Of course I would. All right, one more thing and I'll quit my rambling. Today is the last day to vote for who you think Juliet should end up with at the end of Sweet Juliet: Part 4. I'll be posting the results tomorrow with chapter 11. Once again the choices are:

1. Harry

2. Draco

3. Ron

4. Fred

5. Other (give name and reason)

Well, that's all, folks! Drop me a review and make my day! In the words of the great Philip DeFranco, love yo faces! See you tomorrow!)

Loves,

ChasedByTheShadows (Kenzi)