Julie was very glad she had such an open talk with her parents, even though she had not been prepared for it at all and it had left her rather shaky afterwards. Her parents ultimately proved unable to make the step into the magic world, but Julie respected that and did not push, while her parents never protested again about her becoming involved and socializing with the kind of people they would never fully trust. Her parents had always been bad at denying her anything, but they also found it more important to keep each other close. Sometimes Julie would eat breakfast or dinner with her parents in the apartment instead of the kitchen, so they would not feel abandoned.

It all worked out pretty well, especially since she got to celebrate Christmas two times. One with her parents, which actually felt very special in these circumstances. Normally Julie only cared about Christmas for the presents, but this time she simply appreciated celebrating the holiday with her parents and nothing else. She also celebrated Christmas with the other residents; she had helped decorate the gigantic Christmas tree that now had a prominent place in the living room and tremendously enjoyed the gigantic feast with all sorts of wizard's specialties. The area around The Lair was now covered in snow and Julie felt a little sad they were not allowed out. She had always loved snow; last Christmas she had been at Calum's family dinner and afterwards everyone had enjoyed themselves with an all-out snowball war.

Sometimes she just stared out the library window for a long while, lost in thoughts. She hoped Harry was doing all right, wherever he was. In her wallet she kept a moving picture of him that she had ripped out of one of his discarded newspapers, shortly before they had departed. Sometimes when she thought of him she took it out and felt closer with her cousin, albeit for just a short moment.

She had also begun working through her own school books, rather than only read about the wizarding world. Initially she had been rather absorbed with all the new things, but eventually she realised that it would be wise to keep up with her own education too. In addition, she also made frequent visits to the pool to stay in shape. That was important to her, because if she felt well physically, she felt much better mentally too. She was doing fine in the safe house, but that did not mean that it was always easy to be confined within its walls and exercising regularly really helped taking her mind off things.

One evening, Julie and Hestia were in the kitchen discussing how the injured wizards and witches were doing. It was almost midnight and the entire house but them was asleep. Hestia had decided to teach Julie how to brew basic potions and she found it truly fascinating. She had been a little tentative at first, but Hestia had reassured her. 'If you experience discomfort, it just means that you're about to learn something' she had told Julie, who felt that brewing potions was not all that different from cooking, for which she had always had a knack.

Suddenly there was a loud knock on the front door, which startled the women, who looked at each other. 'Stay seated' Hestia commanded, drawing out her wand and cautiously moving towards the door. Julie could not hear anything, but about a minute later she heard the creaking of the door and people coming in. Hestia reappeared in the kitchen, followed by three men with red hair. Julie recognised them at once; it were the horrible twins that had jinxed her once and their father, who had caused substantial damage to her tidy living room.

'Ah, the Dursley girl' the father said, nodding at her.

'Hello' Julie said nervously.

'I guess you remember us?'

'Er, you guess correctly, sir' Julie said, feeling very small sitting there.

Hestia sensed her uneasiness and gently placed her arms around her shoulders. 'Julie here has been a tremendous help around here, she really relieves us' she said. Julie felt very thankful to Hestia and smiled at her.

'Ah, excellent' Mr Weasley said and then turned to Hestia. 'We got word that the Death Eaters were planning a raid on the boys' shop. Apparently, they had gone too far with their provocations towards You-Know-Who.'

'It's not our fault You-Know-Who has no sense of humour!' one of the boys said.

Mr Weasley just sighed. 'We've warned you so many times, Fred. Anyway, we moved out the inventory and now the boys will have to go into hiding for a while.' Julie's heart sank. The terror twins sharing the same house with her? It was not fair, everything was going so relatively well for her.

Hestia did not exactly help her this time. 'How about you show them around, Julie, tomorrow after breakfast? Apparently you already know each other so that's mighty convenient' she said. Julie wanted to protest, but she was not assertive enough.

'Er, sounds fun…' she mumbled. Just her luck. Hestia then took the twins to their rooms. They smiled and waved at her before they left, but Julie did not return the gestures.

Mr Weasley gave her a sympathetic smile. 'I'm really sorry about that incident. Please know that they were duly punished.'

'Er, it happens, I guess' Julie said. This man seemed quite nice and she realised that she was not scared of him, just of the twins.

'It's great to hear that you're helping out. How are your parents doing?'

Julie shrugged. 'Could be worse, could be better. They can be quite a handful, but all things considered it's all right.'

Mr Weasley nodded at her. 'Great, great. Well, I'd better get going, gotta let my wife know that the twins arrived here safely. Stay strong, Julia.'

'It's Julie, actually.'

'Ah, excuse me.'

'That's okay.' Almost had Mr Weasley reached the door, when Julie suddenly got off her chair and followed him. 'Sir? Do you maybe know how Harry's doing?'

Mr Weasley shook his head. 'Unfortunately, nobody really knows. But he's got my youngest son and their very intelligent best friend with him, so he's probably doing fine.'

Julie nodded at him, feeling somewhat reassured. 'All right, thank you.'

Next morning everyone was very ecstatic about the Weasley twins' arrival; they seemed to be really popular among the younger crowd. Julie's hopes of them forgetting about the scheduled tour proved to be in vain; barely had they finished breakfast or the twins were in her face. 'Hello, Dursley. We're ready when you are' George said.

Julie quickly grabbed Colin's arm as he was walking past them. 'Hi Colin, I have an idea. How about you show the twins around the house today?' She smiled sweetly at him to persuade him, but that was not needed.

'Sure, let's…!' Colin said cheerfully, but before he could say anything else he found himself cut short.

'Oi, Dursley, shifting your responsibilities? Tsk, tsk' Fred said.

At least Julie could tell them apart now one of them had only one ear. She rolled her eyes. 'Wouldn't you rather go with Colin instead? You guys know each other better' she said.

'Maybe we'd like to get to know you better' the twins said simultaneously.

'Gross' Julie said. Colin walked away, somewhat confused, and thus Julie was forced to take the twins with her. Barely had they left the kitchen or Fred started speaking.

'Don't worry Dursley, we won't hurt you.'

'At least not on purpose' George joined in.

'Why don't you pick a target that can actually defend themselves' Julie said annoyedly, as they walked through the first floor corridor.

'You mean like you and Harry? That's cute' Fred said.

Julie abruptly stopped walking. 'First of all, he could've beaten me up or jinxed me whenever he wanted to. Second of all, that's between Harry and me, frankly speaking you have no business talking about that' she spat.

'I'm afraid that your first point is invalid Dursley, for you know full well that your parents prevented that from happening. Also, Harry's practically family, so yeah we kind of do have business' George said.

'And we know girls like you, Dursley. Thinking the world revolves around them and that they can do whatever they want, while wearing designer clothes and expensive jewellery' Fred said.

'Well, you got me there, that's exactly how I used to be. But I'm different now, gone are the days where I enjoyed pulling twisted crap on people' Julie said calmly, but clearly. This answer came as a surprise to the twins, who did not respond. Julie took advantage of this by abruptly changing the subject. 'What happened to your ear anyway?'

'Oh, you're so nosy. Haha, get it? Nose-y?' The twins burst into laughter, but Julie was not fazed.

'Sorry, what, didn't hear you' she said, emphasising it even more by turning her ear towards them. The twins looked shocked, and Julie suddenly felt really scared, but then they burst into laughter once more.

'That one was right on the money, Dursley, well played!' George even patted her on the shoulder.

'Yeah, you're all right, Dursley' Fred added.

'Please call me Julie, I don't really like how my last name sounds' Julie said.

'Sure thing, Julie.' They started walking again.

'You know, since we'll be living here together, we might as well get along. Why don't you tell me a little about your joke shop?' Julie asked kindly. The twins started telling her about their products, and Julie nodded politely. She also asked a few questions, which the twins were happy to answer. 'Do you make a decent profit?'

Fred pulled out a pile of golden coins. 'Does this answer your question?'

'Er, no, not really, I don't know wizarding currency.'

'Ah, well, yeah, we make a lot of money. Consistency is the key to success, unless, well, you're consistently bad. An important factor is that we usually test our products on ourselves. In our last year at Hogwarts we also paid first years, and of course we used our friend's cousin too at one point' Fred said with a wink.

Julie rolled her eyes. 'Well, that one did work I can tell you' she just said. She was not fully ready to laugh about it yet, but she was not angry either.

'We also have a department on Muggle things, like card tricks. Would you like to see one?' George asked her, pulling out a deck of ordinary cards.

Julie raised an eyebrow. 'Card tricks? Such advanced wizards like yourselves do card tricks?'

'Among other things. Just pick a card.'

She sighed and obliged. It was the queen of hearts.

'Now put it back in the deck.' She did. The twins did not say or do anything then, so Julie looked at them inquisitively.

'So…?' she asked.

'Oh, right. Cough!' Fred said.

'Huh?'

'Cough! Like so.' Fred coughed.

Julie followed his example and suddenly she felt something stuck in her throat. She coughed harder and caught a piece of wet paper.

'Unfold it!' George said. She did; it was the queen of hearts.

'Would that be your card?' George asked smugly.

'Er, yes actually, but could you please not make stuff come out of my body again?' Julie asked them, feeling both disgusted and amazed at the same time.

'You got it, Dursley, er, Julie!'

The tour ended at the big study room. As soon as they set foot inside, all students stopped what they were doing to greet the twins. There was a very happy vibe, which Julie was glad to notice. Everyone was nice to each other in The Lair and generally doing their best to make things work, but they could all use some more laughter and genuine joy rather than just hanging on. Julie sat down and looked approvingly at the students crowding around the twins, asking them all sorts of things about their shop or just fishing for funny stories. Julie had not at all been thrilled about the twins coming to live here, but when they were not jinxing her they actually were not that bad, and if they had such a positive effect on everyone's mood then why should she complain about their presence?

Several weeks went by. Julie and the twins were on good terms, playfully insulting each other constantly, which was fun to all of them. On April 1, the twins' twentieth birthday, she even agreed to kiss them on the cheek. They made use of their time in The Lair by developing new products and all of the students loved their demonstrations. Julie enjoyed them too now that she was not the victim; it was like a professional magic show.

One evening Julie entered the study room with some of her Muggle school books, and found it was packed with people; students and adults alike. 'Hello' she said, but people immediately started hissing at her to be quiet. She put up her hands by means of apology and curiously looked at the far back of the room, were the twins were prodding a what seemed like an ordinary Muggle radio with their wands. Julie sat down next to Justin.

'What's going on?' she whispered.

'We're going to listen to Potterwatch!' Justin whispered back with a twinkle in his eye.

'What's…'

'It's a radio show for those who rebel against You-Know-Who, with real facts, rather than alternative ones!'

Before Julie could say anything, a voice came blasting in through the radio. A man named River did news announcements, a moment of silence to recognize people who had lost their lives, and general updates. Everyone in The Lair hung on his every word, and they only started discussing what they had heard about ten seconds after River had stopped speaking. It was amazing to get updates like this, for normally everyone relied on Hestia, Dedalus and the occasional visitor for that. Julie felt a little sad that the show had not said anything about Harry, though.

In the almost ten months that she had now been at The Lair, Julie had grown very close to one person in particular. Not only was Justin simply very nice and fun to hang out with, but the fact that he came from a Muggle family made Julie feel that he really understood her. In life people will always come and go, but some you should really stick to, and to Julie Justin fell into that category. She hoped that when the war was over and they would go their separate ways, they would still remain in touch. Julie also found it very convenient to have magical contacts when this was all over, for she had really taken a liking to the wizarding world and did not want to lose all ties with it.

Friday, May 1, 1998, seemed like an ordinary day to the residents of The Lair. They did some studying, they played some games and enjoyed a nice dinner. In fact, it was not until about eleven p.m., when Julie, Justin, Colin and the twins were playing Exploding Snap in the kitchen that something odd happened.

'Do you feel that?' Justin asked.

'Feel what?' the group asked.

Justin reached into his pocket and took out a coin. 'It's hot, which means that Dumbledore's Army is being called on,' Justin said, 'something's happening.' The others, except for Julie of course, got out their coins too and realised that it was behaving just like Justin's.

Suddenly Hestia and a few of the adult wizards and witches stormed into the kitchen. 'It's happening! There's going to be a massive clash at Hogwarts!' Hestia said. For a few seconds the youngsters were all completely perplexed, but then Justin, Fred, George and Colin all jumped to their feet.

'We're coming with you!' they said in unison.

'Colin, no, you're still underaged, you're staying here' Hestia said sternly. Colin's protests were fierce. It was very clear that he wanted to follow his friends and fight for them; when he finally accepted that he could not come he had tears in his eyes. Julie felt for him and gently touched his arm.

Just before departure, Justin broke free from the group and walked up to Julie. 'I've got something for you. I've kept it all this time just in case.' To Julie's amazement he handed her Calum's watch.

'Justin, I… how did you get it to work again?' she asked feebly.

'Come on Julie, we can do magic here, remember?' Justin responded with a smile.

'Aw, come here.' They hugged.

'Good luck, Justin. I'll wait for you' Julie said. He nodded, gave Colin a pat on the shoulder and then stepped outside with the others.

Julie and Colin sat in the kitchen for hours and hours, waiting for news. They were extremely worried, but there was nothing they could say to each other to make them feel better. Lumi would sometimes bring them tea and cookies, but they both could not really consume anything in this state. This night was what everything had lead to, and the rest of their lives depended on it. Julie had not told her parents, they were already asleep and she felt it was best not to inform them. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

It was about nine a.m. when they finally heard someone entering the house. Hestia appeared, looking worn out. 'Oh, guys…' she said softly when she saw them sitting there.

'What happened?' Colin asked immediately. They would never forget her next few words.

'The war's over. We won! Harry has defeated You-Know-Who!'

Julie and Colin were totally speechless for a few seconds and then started cheering. Julie felt incredibly proud of her cousin and about a thousand emotions ran through her. 'But, there were obviously a lot of casualties' Hestia continued, settling herself into a chair, sighing tiredly. She mentioned a few names Julie did not know, such as 'Tonks', but then Hestia looked at her with an expression of sorrow and regret. 'I'm really sorry to tell you this, Julie, but Justin was killed. His body was found just outside the castle.'

Those words cut deeper than a knife and Julie felt like she could not breathe. She did not register Hestia's next words and started to silently cry instead. Lumi stroked her arm, as she could not reach higher. '17-year-olds do cry…' the house-elf said sadly.

'I'm afraid so' Julie whispered, hugging the elf.

That evening, the Dursleys were ready to go home. Julie would later not remember much of the majority of this day; it was a total blur to her. She had slept for a few hours, and was not sure whether she was allowed to feel happy that the war was over, for it made her feel guilty towards Justin. She realised that she would need some time to figure that out. The residents of The Lair were overjoyed that they were free again, and most of them left as soon as they could. She had already said goodbye to Colin, and he had promised to write her sometimes.

Julie put her bags just outside the door, smelling the fresh air, maybe the biggest indicator of freedom. 'Feels good, doesn't it?' Hestia asked her kindly. She would take the Dursleys back to Privet Drive.

Julie nodded. 'I still can't believe I'm going back to my own world as a free person. This all ended so abruptly' Julie said. She looked up at The Lair once more. 'You know, I've come a long way within those walls' she said. Hestia looked at her curiously, so she continued. 'When I came here, I hardly knew anything about the wizarding world and I was worried that people would reject me for my past. But I've learned that if you really put in an effort, people will notice that and just might like you for who you are today. I've become so much wiser and more mature in there. It was truly an invaluable experience. And Hestia, thank you, for, well… everything. I'll never forget you.' They hugged.

'You were such an asset to the house, Julie. I think it's me who should thank you. And I hope that someday things will become right between you and Harry' Hestia said. Julie just smiled, and then heard her father's voice.

'All right, we've got everything. Can we go now?' he asked impatiently and impolitely.

Julie sighed. 'I guess some things never change.'