October 27th, 1995
Moira eyed the shirt Jules was holding out with poorly hidden disgust "You would wear that on a date? It's awful. Burn it immediately."
Jules rolled her eyes and stuffed the offending article back into her bag "You know Moira, I sometimes wonder if you hold too much back - I never know what you're really thinking..." She said sarcastically, kicking her bag to one side and settling cross legged on the floor beside her friend.
They had found an empty classroom to sit in during one of the rare free periods they had together this year. Moira was sitting with her usual impeccable posture with her back against the wall, her long legs stretched out in front of her crossed at the ankle. She was filing her nails while Jules watched on with idle interest.
"How do you make them so neat?" She wondered aloud.
Moira grinned "Practise, darling. And a grandmother with a vested interest in seeing me become a lady." She gestured with the elegant glass file toward Jules's own hands which were admittedly dainty but with nails kept as short as possible "You could always put a growing charm on yours for the weekend."
Jules examined her own hands briefly before shaking her head "I wouldn't know what to do with long nails. I've always had them short for the guitar. And surfing." Jules had been surfing off the coast of her home town in Cornwall since she was six years old. She and her father had gone every morning in the summer regardless of the weather and when he had died, she had sought refuge in the waves. Jules couldn't think of another place where she felt so calm and without fear. If she could have one wish, it would be to have Hogwarts next to the ocean. The lake wasn't the same; no waves for a start. But Jules had to admit that the prospect of the Giant Squid was what stopped her from even dipping her toes in on a hot day. She was worried that her lack of kinship with animals would get her into considerable trouble - or at the very least, make her look like food.
Moira quirked an eyebrow "I've seen you surf. You're terrible."
Jules poked her tongue out "Then long nails will make me even worse, won't they? Besides, you need short nails when you're a healer..." Jules looked away and tried to sound casual as she said this, but could feel her friend's fond but critical gaze on her regardless.
"Jules, are you really not even going to think about trying the Open Mike night at The Three Broomsticks?" Moira asked "It seems like it would be perfect for you. I know this year will be hell because of the NEWTS, but I'm worried that in a few years' time you'll regret not taking the chance when you had it."
Jules sighed, not meeting Moira's eyes as she fiddled with the laces on her shoes "I just... don't see it working out. I mean, what if I actually get offered a recording contract? What will I tell my mother? She hates the idea of me doing something so unreliable. And what if nothing comes from it? I'll have wasted time when I could have been studying for my exams, which I'll probably fail and then I won't qualify for Healer training either."
"Jules, I know you worry about what your mum might think and I'm sure she's just looking out for you, but this isn't her life - it's yours." Moira said gently.
Jules nudged the dark haired girl with her shoulder affectionately "That's easy for you to say - you've always been extremely clear about things that you don't want to do."
Moira smirked "It's easier when your parents are terrified of you."
Alfred and Magenta Paige were two of the gentlest and most inoffensive people Jules had ever met. They ran a bakery in Diagon Alley, and the arrival of a child as sharp and assertive as Moira had come as quite a shock to the kindly pair, who Jules imagined would have been less surprised had they given birth to a dragon. They adored their youngest daughter, but according to Moira, it had been obvious from the beginning that although their love and adulation came without condition, they didn't have a clue how to nurture Moira's more... defining characteristics. Polly -Moira's older sister - was already in her second year at Hogwarts by the time Moira was born and being as soft-hearted and sweet-natured as her parents, had given them not a single shred of strife throughout her childhood. She had left school and gone to work as a magizoologist in Canada, making a tent in the Rockies her permanent address. It had fallen to Moira's grandmother, a retired Beauxbatons professor, to step in and give Moira guidance on making the most of her talents whilst reminding her that who she would turn out to be was a matter of choice as opposed to chance.
"I sometimes wish my mother was terrified of me instead of the other way around." Jules said mournfully, watching a money spider crawl across her palm "I know she only does it because she doesn't want to see me flog myself trying to achieve something that only a handful of people manage to achieve" she sighed heavily "Lately, I've started to come around to the idea that she could be right and music is just a nice hobby."
"Maybe," Moira gave the discarded shirt poking out of Jules's bag a sidelong glance "Or maybe nothing worth having ever came without a side order of flogging."
Jules got the distinct impression that she wasn't just talking about careers.
October 28th, 1995
Jules wasn't sure how, but word had spread around Gryffindor that the handsome joker Fred Weasley was going to be escorting known traitor Juliet Spencer to Hogsmeade on the last saturday in October and seemingly, this had caused uproar amongst the still available female contingent in the Tower along with a considerable amount of bad feeling. As such, Jules had experienced a chillier than usual reception from her dormitory companions and had more than once arrived back in her room to discover that one or more of her possessions had been stolen. She hadn't been too concerned about this at first, reasoning that whoever it was would get bored eventually, until she went to retrieve her guitar from her trunk on Friday afternoon and upon picking it up, discovered that it had been charmed to turn into a rather large Python. Jules shrieked and dropped the reptile before running from the dormitory and down into the common room where Anna, Caroline and Martha were sitting by the fire, their faces suitably arranged into masks of benign innocence.
"What's the matter, Jules?" Anna could barely keep a straight face "I thought you liked snakes..."
Jules stared at them, their mouths quivering with malicious delight. She could feel her face begin to heat up. There were a few others in the common room and out of the corner of her eye Jules could see in particular Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley, watching in vague consternation at the scene unfolding before them. She took a deep breath and forcibly unclenched her fists. Her palms were sweating and sore where she had dug her nails into them. Her father's voice whispered at the back of her mind 'You must remain dignified if you can, Juliet. Try not to give your tormentor what they want.'
What could she say in this situation? Her mind was absent of clever retorts, instead filled with the white noise of outrage and (not that she would readily admit it) hurt. She had never been close with her dorm-mates, their preference to treat her with suspicion and contempt an insurmountable barrier to even the most superficial of friendships. But all the same, there had never been anything outright spiteful or cruel between them. Jules swallowed hard and turned from them, walking stiffly away, faltering only slightly as she heard them begin to giggle softly. As she clambered through the portrait hole, she winced as their squeals of delight finally broke free behind her.
"What's the matter, dear?" Jules turned to face the Fat Lady who was looking at her with no small amount of concern
"Nothing..." she said stubbornly. The Fat Lady gave her nothing but an arched eyebrow and it was then that Jules realised that a single tear had escaped and was sliding down her cheek. She swiped at it angrily "Really, I'm fine..."
The Fat Lady narrowed her eyes "This wouldn't have anything to do with the young man you came in with after curfew a few nights ago, would it?"
"What? No!" Jules paused "Not... directly anyway. Honestly, I'm fine..."
"If you say so, dear."
Jules wandered the hallways for a good hour or so before eventually finding herself outside of the library. Still incensed from earlier and now frustrated by ambling around without direction, she decided to go and find a quiet corner where she could think.
Was this what she could expect from now on if she continued seeing Fred? Jules ignored the anxious twisting her stomach when she thought about their arrangement for the next day. A first date with someone was nerve-wracking enough without her dorm-mates interfering she thought sourly as she made her way to the back of the library. Spotting one of the more out-of-the-way reading chairs she sank into it, tucking her legs underneath her and lapsing into deep thought.
She could just tell Fred the date was off, that she'd changed her mind - that would solve everything immediately. Jules could go back to doing as she pleased without worrying that her possessions might be turned into poisonous reptiles. It wouldn't be backing down, she reasoned. More like... restoring the status quo. Simple.
The only problem was that she didn't want to do that. Jules sighed and propped her head up on her elbow, her conversation with Fred on the way back from detention on Wednesday night replaying in her mind. The expression on his face, more vulnerable than she had ever seen him before, was burned into her memory. He had held her hand all the way to the castle, dropping it only to hold the door for her once they had reached it. When they finally parted ways in the empty common room, everyone else having already gone to bed, he had reached up and gently caught her arm.
"I'm glad. About Saturday, I mean. I'm glad you said yes." He gave her a smile that was unlike all of his other smiles. It was shy and a bit nervous, but also sincere and sweet and Jules had felt her heart give a little at the sight of it. She had seen him chatting up girls before - Fred Weasley was nothing if not an arch flirt - so she was familiar with his usual techniques.
But standing in front of her in that moment, there was none of that cocksure confidence or swagger that he had always exhibited. Jules had found herself beaming back at him "I am too, Fred."
She had lain awake for a long time that night, trying to decipher the odd feeling she had in her chest. It wasn't heavy or painful, her heart wasn't careening against her ribcage like a hummingbird. It was more like a sense of something... of things being different to how they had been that morning when she had gotten up.
When word had gotten around and Jules had started feeling even more ostracised than usual, the stubborn part of her had decided she wouldn't say anything about it to Fred, partly because she didn't want to be one of those girls who always went crying to their boyfriend (not that he even was her boyfriend) and partly because of some small irrational fear that he might change his mind about wanting to date her after all, that she might just seem like too much trouble. A third, more childish part of her personality took a perverse pleasure in doing something that she knew would annoy the people who wanted her to be unhappy.
"I thought I'd find you here."
Jules started and looked up to see Fred towering over her, his usual grin tinged with concern. She couldn't help but smirk.
"You did not."
"I did. Granted, I didn't think it until I'd been to all of the other infinitely more likely places I thought you'd be, but still..." Fred slid into the chair opposite her and Jules was vaguely surprised to note the atmosphere accompanying him that she hadn't noticed before. Things just seemed... brighter somehow, now that he was here.
"A-Plus for effort, Weasley." She deadpanned, but her grin was soon replaced by a frown "Why were you looking for me?"
Fred's smiled disappeared "Ginny mentioned that she thought the girls in your dorm might have done something to upset you, but she wasn't sure exactly what had happened. I wanted to see if you were alright."
Jules felt her stomach lurch. So much for not saying anything to Fred "They charmed my guitar to turn into a snake when I picked it up." She shrugged, trying to feign nonchalance "I have to award them points for shock value and originality, I guess. It's complicated Charm work so I suppose I should have a grudging respect for them." she felt her smile falter "They've never had the nerve to touch my guitar before though."
"This happens a lot?"
Jules levelled her gaze at him "I don't need to tell you that I don't exactly have many friends in Gryffindor, Fred. But in all honesty, it's only recently that things have started to..." She chose her words carefully "Escalate."
Fred stared at her blankly for a moment before the penny dropped "They're doing this because of... you and me?"
"I think the outcry is more due to the misconception that I've somehow bewitched you into asking me out, presumably with the objective of turning you into a lover of Dark Magic or whatever it is that they think I like. It's one thing for you to be unavailable in order to be worshipped by someone deemed more 'suitable'," Jules said, trying to keep her tone light and casual "It's quite another for you to be at the mercy of a known traitor."
"And it's not just today? This thing with your guitar? There have been other incidents?" Fred's face had hardened, his mouth set in a grim line. Jules shrugged, suddenly very interested in the pattern of the stone wall. Fred leaned forward in his chair, elbows resting on his knees "Why didn't you tell me?"
His voice was low and gentle, but Jules still got the vague sense that she was being reprimanded. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"I'm a big girl, Fred. I've been putting up with being made to feel bad for who my friends are for a long time. Are you saying that because I'm associated with you now, I should be treated differently? That the behaviour that everybody else let slide for years is unacceptable now because you've taken a shine to me?" Jules tried to keep her tone as even as possible, not wanting to start an argument, just wanting him to see that the situation was more complicated than she thought he believed "I didn't tell you because this isn't new to me - it's just a little less passive aggressive than usual. I may be many things, but I'm not really a damsel-in-distress type." She paused and gave a sigh "But also... I didn't want to tell you in case you decided that you didn't want to see me after all."
Why had she felt the need to tell him that? Why had it felt so normal and natural, presenting to him her vulnerability, laying it all out between them as though it weren't something fallible that could be stamped on? She hadn't even considered not telling him that she was worried this may change his mind, as though it was perfectly fine to tell a good looking boy exactly what was in your head with no filter. She was directly contravening every rule in the book - or so she assumed. Jules hadn't really dated much, and all of her knowledge had been gleaned from magazine articles on 'how to keep him interested' and muggle movies where the heroine spent most of her time wringing her hands and being careful not to tell the leading man truthful worries in case it scares him off.
Fred stared at her "You thought that would make me change my mind?"
Jules shifted awkwardly in her chair "I don't know... Maybe. Has it?"
Fred shook his head incredulously "I think you underestimate your ability to bewitch a man, Spencer. I'm honestly not sure there's anything you couldn't talk me into." He smirked when she blushed, adding "Although I have to say, I'm pretty resilient when it comes to being coerced into performing Dark Magic - that's something you should know right off the bat. Also, I refuse to let you put makeup on me but that's really more because I'm afraid that I'll like it." He paused, suddenly looking worried "Have you? Changed your mind, I mean."
Jules found herself shaking her head quickly to remedy the look of disappointment in his eyes "Not at all! I mean... As long as you still want to, that is." Merlin, why did she sound like such a girl?
Fred grinned and stood up, offering her his hand "Come on. I'll walk you back to the tower and you can tell me about your plans for revenge."
Jules grasped his hand and let him pull her to her feet "Revenge?"
Fred led her out of the library and they began the long walk back to the common room "You know, what you're going to do to get your dorm-mates back for charming your guitar-" Fred stopped in his tracks and turned back to face Jules, a look of abject horror in his eyes "Don't tell me you weren't going to do anything?"
Jules raised an eyebrow "OK, I won't tell you."
"Spencer, you can't possibly let them get away with this!" Fred looked aghast at the idea.
"What good would it do to stoop to their level?" Jules countered "I just don't see what behaving as badly as them achieves."
Fred levelled his gaze at her for a moment in silence. He seemed to be thinking very hard about what to say next. His hand was still gripping hers and Jules suddenly became very aware that they were standing stock still in the corridor, not speaking but very close together. Finally, Fred spoke "You know," he mused eruditely, and Jules was surprised to hear a tinge of sadness in his voice "It's a shame how often the act of levelling the playing field is mistaken for taking the low road."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that I'll meet you in the Common Room at midday tomorrow for our date. You, Juliet Spencer, are about to get your first lesson in not letting anybody take the mickey out of you."