Sweet Juliet

Chapter 11: Facing Draco

(Here it is, chapter eleven, as promised! Results of the poll are at the bottom of the chapter. Enjoy and review!)

Thank Merlin for magical enlargement spells.

That was all Juliet could think of when they all began to crowd into the Weasley's car. It was beyond her powers of imagination to fathom how Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny, and herself, along with all of their luggage would be able to to fit into the tiny, seemingly five-seater car, but by some miracle (or, rather, just common household magic), they managed it.

The morning had been hectic, to say the least. Hermione was frantic, plagued with paranoia that she was going to forget something detrimental to her very existence, and Ginny—who had been intelligent enough to pack all but her daily essentials a week earlier—had spent most of her time since their early breakfast trying to calm her down.

Fred and George had procrastinated entirely on packing their trunks, and when Juliet walked past their room to get to the one she shared with Hermione and Ginny, she caught sight of them running about throwing various object (some of them rather suspicious) haphazardly into their suitcases.

Harry and Ron were completely packed, but they were being of no help to anyone else. They sat in the girls' room, next to each other on Juliet's bed, amused smiles gracing both of their faces as they watched a psychotic Hermione scurry about the room, and a quickly-becoming-impatient Ginny chasing after her.

Finally, though, they had all piled into the car, and were on their way to King's Cross Station. It was a bit of a drive, so they'd had to leave quite early. As it was, they'd be arriving at the train station at around ten o'clock—and with as many people as they had, an hour was scarcely enough time. Juliet had heard the horror story from Ron and Harry's second year, regarding a Ford Anglia that the Weasley family used to own. Certainly, no one wanted a repeat of that.

At long last, they arrived at the station, and—when they had found a relatively remote parking space—everyone piled out of the car and began unloading their things. It was quite a scramble as they made their way toward the platform, but somehow—Merlin knows how they managed it—the large group reached the entrance to Platform 9 ¾, all together, and in one piece.

There weren't too many people on the train at that point, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Juliet found a compartment to put their things in. Ginny went to find a compartment with some friends, and the twins had wandered off to who-knows-where. Having stored all of their trunks, the children went back out onto the platform to bid Mr. and Mrs. Weasley goodbye.

When it was Juliet's turn to say goodbye, she received a hug from both of the Weasley parents. Mrs. Weasley held on for a little while, her hand on the back of Juliet's head.

"Now, you be good this year, Juliet. I know you will. You're a good girl." Juliet stepped back and smiled at the redheaded woman. Her eyes looked so much like Ron's.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley. For taking care of me."

Mrs. Weasley gazed at Juliet, still grinning in a motherly sort of way, seeming to appraise her for a moment. "You have your father's eyes, dear." Juliet looked away then, breaking eye contact with the woman in front of her. There had been no contempt in Mrs. Weasley's tone, but Juliet was well-accustomed to what people meant when they made that particular comment.

Mrs. Weasley leaned closer to Juliet, and her next words were whispered. "Now, I know you musn't have heard this much before, and I'm sorry about that, but I think it's a good thing, you having such a close resemblance to your father."

Juliet furrowed her brow, thoroughly surprised. "You do?"

Mrs. Weasley touched Juliet's cheek affectionately, the maternal smile still gracing her features. "I'm so fond of all of Ronnie's friends. You, Hermione, Harry... I passed judgment on you too early, dear, and I'm not proud of it. You turned out to be so wonderful."

Juliet couldn't suppress her own smile as she closed the distance between them once more, bestowing another tight hug on the woman in front of her. "It's okay, Mrs. Weasley, I understand."

The redheaded woman smiled, quickly wiping a solitary tear from her rosy cheek. "Go on now, Juliet. Harry and Hermione have already boarded, and Ron's waiting for you by the door." With one last wave to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Juliet jogged over to Ron and linked her arm with his as she allowed him to lead her onto the train.

As they pulled away, they stayed at the window and waved to Ron's parents until they were entirely out of sight.

Sighing, Juliet turned around, and she and Ron began to make their way—arms still linked—to the compartment where Harry and Hermione were waiting for them. As they proceeded down the aisle, a door a bit ahead of them, to their right, suddenly opened, and a tall boy walked out.

Draco.

She hadn't seen or spoken to him since the end of their holiday, and he looked better than ever. Juliet wanted to kick herself. She should have been expecting to run into him on the train, but she'd all but forgotten about it in her excitement.

Ron cleared his throat uncomfortably, and it was only then that Juliet noticed where Draco's stare was pointed—directly at their linked arms.

A blush spread across Juliet's face—she mentally berated herself for this—and she quickly removed her arm from Ron's. Draco looked slightly relieved, but his entire body was still tensed with anticipation and something Juliet couldn't quite identify.

Ron cleared his throat again, speaking gruffly. "I'll, uh...I'll just leave you two alone."

"Yeah, you do that, Weasley," Draco shot back coldly as Ron walked away. The latter gave no retort, but Juliet saw him shake his head slightly after he had passed Draco. Juliet crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend. She looked the perfect picture of an irritated girlfriend.

"Don't talk to him like that Draco," Juliet snapped, equally as coldly. Draco sighed tiredly, holding his hands up in surrender.

"I just want to talk, Juliet."

"Then talk."

"You haven't been answering any of my letters."

Juliet scoffed derisively. "What did you expect?"

Draco ran a hand down his face, keeping his eyes shut for a moment. "Can we do this somewhere else, please, and not in the middle of this aisle?"

"I don't see a problem with staying right here."

"Well I do!" It was the first time he had lost his cool in the conversation, and Juliet had to suppress a smile. She was still angry, and she had wanted to get a rise out of him. Draco took a deep, steadying breath before reopening his eyes and looking at Juliet in exasperation. "Please, Juliet. Just come into my compartment. None of my friends are there."

Juliet considered him for a moment, eyes still narrowed, but finally let her hands fall to her sides and nodded her consent. She followed Draco into the vacant compartment, taking the seat across from him and looking at him expectantly.

"Juliet, I said some stupid things last time we were together—"

"I'm aware of that."

"Please," he said, not forcefully, but rather weakly, "just let me talk."

"...Okay. Talk."

Draco stood up suddenly, crossing the small compartment in two steps and taking the seat next to her. He tried to reach for her hand, but Juliet pulled it away, keeping her gaze trained on her lap. She didn't want to look up and see the inevitable hurt in his eyes.

"I was just being crazy, Juliet, and I'm sorry. I was feeling so much after we..." Juliet wanted to smile at that particular memory, but she suppressed it. It wouldn't do to start grinning like an idiot during this of all conversations.

"Yeah, well, you scared the hell out of me, Draco."

"I'm sorry," he replied, giving a short, humorless laugh. "What else did you expect from a fifteen-year-old boy?"

Juliet was horrified to feel the corners of her lips tugging upwards, but she did nothing to stop them.

"Draco," she said, turning to him and accepting his outstretched hand, "you asked me to marry you. I mean, come on! That would terrify any fifteen-year-old girl. And trust me, no one expects that from a boy your age. Teenage boys are supposedly only thinking about one thing, and it's certainly not marriage."

Draco laughed, and the sound carried more mirth this time. "Well, I suppose I'm abnormal then."

"Oh, I already knew that," said Juliet, giggling. "You're slightly touched in the head, Malfoy."

Draco smiled warmly, leaning his forehead against hers. "Hey, what I did was completely idiotic, but at least it tells you how much I love you, right?" Without missing a beat, Juliet leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. He tasted the same as always—sweet, and warm, and all hers.

"I love you too, idiot."

They leaned back into the cushioned seat, Draco drawing Juliet into his arms. "I'm so glad we got past this. I missed you, Juls."

She smiled radiantly, gazing up at him with glistening black eyes. "That's exactly what I needed to hear."

(A/N: HA! Now you know what went down between Draco and Juliet! And, for those of you who were wondering, NO, she's NOT pregnant. Severus placed a contraceptive charm on her before she left (even though Juliet didn't know about it—imagine THAT awkward conversation, if you remember chapter 2 of Juliet: Part 1. WEIRD). Now, the results of the poll:

First Place—Harry (8 votes)

Second Place—Draco (7 votes)

Third Place—Fred (2 votes)

Fourth Place—Ron (no votes)

Wow, REALLY close between Harry and Draco! I've had a plan for this story all along, and I know where I'm going with it. You'll just have to wait and see ^^ Anyway, thanks to those of you who voted! Everyone—please shoot me a review and I'll love you forever! REVIEW! Thanks, lovelies!)

Loves,

ChasedByTheShadows (Kenzi)