Juliana Passelton held her wand tightly in her pale hands. Her dark blue gaze was calm, but her face was drawn and grim. The Slytherin sixth year stood in a
pool of shadow flat against the wall close to the portrait of the Fat Lady of Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady would sniff and glare at her from time to time
("If you don't belong in this House, then shoo!") but Juliana just ignored her, fussing with her dark, perpetually oily hair, which was tied back with a
green ribbon. She rolled up the sleeves of her black robes and waited for the members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, along with their friends, to return
from practice.
Sure enough, she heard voices and the sound of approaching feet, and drew herself back into the darkness. The group of happily chattering Gryffindors didn't even glance in her direction, but stopped in front of the portrait and called, "Aurora australis!" The Fat Lady glanced over at Juliana for a moment but didn't say anything. She sighed and her painting swung inwards, admitting the Gryffindors.
"You know the password, but I'm not letting you in," said the Fat Lady obstinately after the portrait had returned to its usual place with a creaking sound.
"I don't give a bloody belladonna what you do," said the Slytherin nastily. "I wouldn't go in there if you were going to put all three of the Unforgivables on me at once." The Fat Lady narrowed her heavily made-up eyes and smoothed the creases out of her dress, not deigning to reply. At the sound of more approaching students, Juliana clenched her wand tightly and shrank further back into the shadows.
The Fat Lady considered alerting the Gryffindors to the presence of the sinister-looking girl, but decided not to; the sentient portraits were not supposed to actively intervene in students' affairs unless explicitly told to do so by a member of the faculty.
Juliana stiffened and a hungry gleam came into her eye as she saw who it was: a thin sixth year, a boy, with a mop of untidy black hair and blue eyes behind oval wire-framed glasses. He was accompanied by a muscular youth who, like his friend, had a large quantity of black hair, but his was different; straight and quite well tended. The boy with the glasses was carrying a Silver Arrow broomstick and talking animatedly with his friend about the events of the Quidditch practice. Juliana half-crouched like a tiger about to pounce...
Just as they were approaching the portrait hole, Juliana leapt out at them, her wand raised. "Expelliarmus!" she cried clearly, and two wands of different sizes and colors flew out of their owners' pockets. She snatched at them in midair.
The Fat Lady screamed and scampered out of her portrait, crying faintly, "Help! Students fighting! Students fighting in the halls!" She collapsed into the arms of a very frightened-looking monk, and fainted theatrically. The other portraits scoffed and resumed their business.
The boy with the glasses was the first to recover. "Give those back!" he said loudly. "What do you think you're playing at?" For answer, Juliana dove at him, knocking him off his feet and pinning his chest. The broomstick flew out of his hands.
"James!" his friend yelled, but before he could leap down to help him, Juliana pointed her wand lazily at him and intoned, "Impedimenta!" He froze, half-bent over. James was a lot stronger than she'd bargained for, kicking and flailing.
"I really hoped it wouldn't come to this, but you leave me no choice," said the girl ominously. "Petrificus Totalus!" For good measure, she spat, "Furnunculus!"
Instantly, James' entire body went rigid. The knees of his kicking legs locked, and they fell to the ground. At the same time, a mass of strange boil-like growths began manifesting themselves all over his face.
Meanwhile, the other boy had recovered from Juliana's Impedimenta jinx and knocked her down when she was off guard. He grabbed at her robes, and finding his wand, promptly performed the disarming charm on Juliana. Both her and James' wands found their way towards him, and he swiped them out of the air.
"Now," he said ferociously, "What in bloody hell are you trying to do?" She grabbed at her wand but he dispelled her arm by jumping back a few paces and pointing his wand at her. "I know a few charms myself, and if you so much as take one step I'll use them."
She glared at him, her chest heaving, but she stayed where she was. "Give me back my wand," she snapped. "You don't know the countercurses, do you? You need my help to fix him." She gestured dismissively at James' prone form, who was consciously watching the proceedings.
"Au contraire, girl," said the boy. "I know quite a bit of magic, and have no need for your skills at all. So why don't you start by telling me what in blazes you were doing." He quickly performed the countercurse to one of the jinxes Juliana had used on James. James sprang to his feet, but his face was still marred by the boils, which would have to be remedied in the Hospital Wing.
"Thanks, Sirius," he said to his friend, who offered him his wand. He took it, and snatched his broomstick off the ground and faced Juliana. His blue eyes were fiery, accented by his dark eyebrows, which were presently contorted with fury. He still looked good, even when covered with boils. "I have two questions for you, which you will answer promptly, and then you will leave and be grateful that you're leaving in the same, er, hale condition you are in now." He looked at her greasy hair and pallor with distaste. Then he regarded his friend. "Right, Sirius?" Sirius nodded assent.
James paced a few steps, but kept his wand and his eyes trained on the girl. "Okay, one: Who the hell are you? Then, number two: what were you attacking us for?" He clenched his other fist tightly around his broomstick and waited angrily for her response. She stood tall and faced him.
"I am Juliana Passelton, of Slytherin House. I am Severus Snape's cousin, and I'm here to tell you gits to lay off Severus. If you so much as touch him again, something just might happen to that little red-haired Mudblood you like!"
Both boys gasped, and then James roared, "Densaugeo!" Before he had finished uttering the curse, Juliana yelped, "Protego!" but to no effect; her wand was too far away. The curse smacked her full in the face, and immediately her front teeth elongated to grotesque proportions.
"There," said James with disgust. "Go to the Hospital Wing, and study Potions or whatever you do with your dear little cousin." Juliana twisted her thin eyebrows and narrowed her eyes to slits, saying inarticulately, "You have to go to the Hospital Wing too, for your boils..." she smirked, although with some difficulty. Then her features turned to stone again.
Not just any stone; in spite of himself, James found himself admiring her intricate, chiseled features; their graceful power and creamy color reminded him unwittingly of a Classical marble sculpture. If only she would wash her hair; how had she managed to have the same condition as her cousin? Maybe there was more to it than he had thought; maybe her scalp produced an excess amount of oil...he shook himself mentally and glowered at her.
She raised her eyebrows at him quizzically, and continued: "So, as I was saying, if you try anything funny with my cousin, you will not only find yourself an ingredient of a Confuddling Concoction, but the auburn-haired apple of your Snitch-seeking eye might end up in a cauldron, too."
Sirius snickered. "Yeah, we'll listen to you crazy Pureblood fanatics, all right. Just go back to the swamp where you came from," he said, referring to the proverbial "fen" of Salazar Slytherin fame. James, however, didn't say anything. He still looked like he would very much like to duel with Juliana, but there was a catch of fear in his heart, fear for his innocent love, Lily Evans.
Sirius nudged him. James grew fiery again and said, "You don't scare me. If Snivellus needs his cousin to defend him, he hasn't got much nerve." Juliana hissed, "Severus didn't ask for any of this."
James and Sirius exchanged glances, and then James said, "Sirius, give me her wand; I'll escort her to the Hospital Wing. Can you take my Silver Arrow in for me?" Sirius protested, "No, I'll come with you-" James put a hand on Sirius' shoulder and said evenly, "No, you've done enough for tonight, and you've got that awful History of Magic penalty essay to do...just go on in, I'll be back soon." Sirius looked as though he didn't think this was such a good plan, but he handed Juliana's wand to James and took the broomstick.
Juliana reached for her wand, but James drew it away. "Not so fast, Miss Passelton. I don't trust you any farther than I can throw you, and my anaerobic strength isn't what it used to be." Sirius nodded at the wisdom in these words, and turned to the portrait. He was treated to the sight of a monk reviving the Fat Lady with smelling salts. Sirius looked over his shoulder at James and Juliana, and said, "Should I say the password? With her here?"
The Fat Lady chose that moment to become re-animated, and moaned dramatically, "No.....it is too late....she knows the password...." Sirius looked fearfully at James. "I reckon we should tell someone about this, so the password gets changed." James nodded vigorously, and waved good-bye. Sirius mumbled "Aurora australis" and disappeared through the portrait hole.
James turned to Juliana and said, "We're going to go to the Hospital Wing to
get...fixed. I'll give you back your wand when we get there."