A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews and support, guys! I'm glad to hear you all enjoyed the ending of And the Plot Thickens, as well as the prologue of this story. I had a hard time getting the ball rolling with this chapter. I'm trying to feel out Juliet's character for this part of the story. She's dealing with some inner demons at the moment, and I'm playing around with how to portray her. Hope the wait wasn't too excruciating.

Read and review, as always.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my character and my plotline. Everything you recognize, including characters, plot developments, settings, and certain scenes and lines from the Harry Potter series, belong to JK Rowling.

--- CHAPTER ONE ---

Inner Turmoil

Juliet Christie

Dad explained everything to me once we had reached the Burrow. I honestly wasn't sure why we were headed there of all places. Fred and George had already informed me that the house was empty. I expressed this concern to my father, but he didn't seem concerned in the slightest.

"What are we doing here?" I questioned, lugging my school trunk out of the fireplace and into the room. It contained everything I needed to go back to Hogwarts…that was a little concerning.

When Dad had told me to pack my things, he said we weren't going to be returning home. The thought had me both mystified and a little scared.

I wasn't going to ask him about it, though. Neither of us seemed at all willing to mention Mum. I knew Dad was furious with her, and I was feeling fairly betrayed. Thus, Dad said nothing about his fight with her, and I pretended not to be upset by what I overheard her say about me. I was sure we'd talk about it later, when other matters weren't so pressing.

"We're meeting Arthur here," Dad said. "I sent him an owl while you were packing your things."

I thrust the rucksack I was carrying on my back onto the floor and scrunched up my face in confusion.

"What? Why are we meeting Mr. Weasley?" I questioned.

Dad was busying himself boiling some water on Mrs. Weasley's stovetop, his back turned toward me.

"We need him to escort us to Headquarters."

"Headquarters?" I said. "Dad, what are you talking about, Headquarters?"

He pulled out two mugs from the cupboard, and I looked around at the darkened room. It was strange being there when the Weasleys weren't home. It was far too quiet. It was eerie, and I didn't care for it.

"Headquarters for the Order of the Pheonix," he explained.

"Right…and what is the Order of the Pheonix?"

Dad got tired of waiting for the water to boil and pulled out his wand, jabbing the pot until the kettle squealed. He removed it from the stove and poured out two cups of tea. He handed me one and took a seat down at the kitchen table.

"It's a secret organization founded by Albus Dumbledore against You-Know-Who," he said, sipping at his tea and swearing when it burned his tongue.

I took a seat directly across from him, ignoring the cuss words coming out of his mouth.

"What do they do, exactly?" I questioned curiously.

Dad shook his head. "I can't tell you that."

"What?" I asked. "Why not?"

"Like I said, Juliet, it's a secret organization. Only members are supposed to know what goes on there."

"Well then why do you know what's going on? You're not a member," I pointed out.

"Of course I am," he said, tapping his cup of tea with his wand gently, presumably to cool it down.

"You are?"

"Well, I was," Dad said, ignoring my obvious surprise. "This isn't a new organization. Dumbledore founded it when You-Know-Who first came to power. When Harry announced You-Know-Who was back, Dumbledore reinstated it straight away."

"So…you fight You-Know-Who?"

My eyes were wide in astonishment. I couldn't believe I had never heard of such an organization. I always assumed the Ministry of Magic would be the ones fighting against You-Know-Who…although I was well-aware of the fact that during the past months the Ministry had turned against Dumbledore. They were widely spreading rumours that he had lost his mind and the claims of You-Know-Who's return were bogus.

"Juliet, I need you to stop asking questions," Dad said firmly. "I can't talk to you about this."

"Well why not, Dad? We're going to Headquarters, aren't we? Doesn't that make me a member?"

"No, it doesn't," Dad said. "You have to be of age…"

"Dad, I am of age, remember? My birthday was in May."

"Right, well, you know what I mean," he said. "You have to be an adult."

"Well what if I want to join?" I questioned. "You can't stop me if I'm of age."

"You can't join," Dad assured me, "because you don't know what it's all about. You wouldn't know what you'd be getting yourself into."

I smiled evilly to myself. I had always been good at manipulating my father.

"Well then, shouldn't you tell me so I can make an informed decision?" I pressed.

Dad squinted at me, catching on to where I was headed.

"Juliet, that's not going to work. I can't tell you what the Order is doing," he said firmly.

"Yes you can," I insisted. "I deserve to know. We abandoned Mum to go to this place, so I think I have a right to know what's so important that we've got to leave home for."

I knew I had him there. It may have been low of me to bring Mum's name into it, but I wasn't going to stand by and let my father keep secrets from me. After everything that had happened…after all I had been through…I deserved to know what was going on. Especially since my friends seemed keen on keeping me out of the loop.

Dad rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, and I knew he was seriously considering spilling the secrets to me. I smirked to myself. I had beaten him…and in record time, too.

"If I tell you anything, you have to swear to me you won't speak a word of it to anyone. And I mean anyone, Juliet," he said, his voice lowering suddenly with intensity. "Not Fred and George, not Ginny, not Lee Jordan or Katie Bell…no one."

"You mean, Fred and George don't already know?" I questioned, surprised.

"Molly thinks they're too young," he explained. "Which by rights makes you too young as well…but you're my daughter, so I suppose I can make my own decision on what you're too young to hear."

I pursed my lips into a firm line. I was suddenly unsure. I wasn't really overly comfortable with keeping secrets from Fred and George. I didn't particularly like it…and I knew they'd be furious with me if they found out I had agreed to such a promise.

"Do you swear you won't breathe a word of this to anyone?" Dad pressed.

I weighed my options. Surely Fred and George would tell me anything they had managed to uncover when I next met up with them…and they certainly would expect the same courtesy from me. Through all the years I had known them we had always done things together…aside from the brief few months during which Fred and I weren't speaking to one another…

I scrunched up my eyebrows in thought. This was no ordinary secret. Whatever the Order of the Phoenix was involved in, it was big. I definitely needed to know.

"Juliet? Do you understand?"

I nodded. "Not a word to anyone…I swear."

-------

I have no idea how long I was sleeping for, but I was awoken very suddenly by my dad shaking me awake frantically.

"Juliet! Juliet, wake up!"

I groaned and rolled over, squinting into the darkness at my dad. He was looming over me with wide, anxious eyes.

I sat up from my make-shift bed on the Weasleys' chesterfield.

"Are we leaving?" I asked groggily.

Dad thrust my rucksack toward me and I caught it, despite my exhaustion. I threw the blanket off of me and stood up, noticing Mr. Weasley lingering in the kitchen speaking very quickly to my father.

"Yes, we're leaving," Dad confirmed, turning toward Mr. Weasley.

"That's everything, then?" Mr. Weasley asked, holding onto the handle of my trunk firmly.

"That's everything," Dad confirmed.

"Good, we'd better get a move on."

"Where exactly are we going?" I asked, shouldering my bag and pushing my dishevelled hair out of my face.

"We are Apparating," Mr. Weasley said, extinguishing the few lights illuminated in the room in preparation for our leave.

"You'll have to do a side-along," Dad said. "You don't know where we're going."

I quirked my eyebrow at him and stifled a yawn. "You do?" I asked. "I thought the Order didn't have the same headquarters as last time."

Mr. Weasley's eyes widened substantially and he glanced between me and Dad in surprise.

Dad cleared his throat. "I uh—figured she was old enough to know," he said.

Mr. Weasley nodded, pursing his lips.

"The headquarters isn't the same," he said, "but your father has been to the location before. You haven't, so you'll have to Apparate by side-along."

"Okay," I said.

"I'll take your trunk with me, and you'll go with your father," Mr. Weasley said. "We should leave now, before it starts getting light out."

Dad gestured for me to come closer, and I clasped onto his arm firmly. I hated side-along Apparation.

"I'll meet you there," Mr. Weasley said. "Oh, and Juliet…you'd better not say anything to the boys about the Order…Molly's…erm…a bit firm in her thoughts about Fred and George. Well, you know how she gets…a bit protective."

I snickered. I was definitely aware of how over-protective Molly was…of all of her children…and that included me, Hermione, and most certainly Harry.

"Of course," I said. "Won't breathe a word about it."

The three of us vanished and reappeared in a dark, secluded alley on a street I had never seen before. It was black all around us, other than the stars high above, and the light coming from the tip of Mr. Weasley's wand.

"It's this way," Mr. Weasley said quietly. "Follow me, and keep your voices down."

"Are you sure it's safe?" Dad asked, and I was sure he was referring to spies. I wouldn't have been surprised if the place was crawling with them.

"The position isn't suspected," Mr. Weasley replied. "Not yet, anyway."

Neither Dad nor I spoke at all as we followed Mr. Weasley through the night. I kept my eyes open wide, trying to adjust them to the darkness, and moved silently as we were lead up to an old-looking brick building.

I felt my jaw drop as we got closer. The building itself wasn't spectacular by any means, but very suddenly, the entire structure seemed to move and reshape itself. At once there was a stairway and door that were not there only moments before.

"Don't be too loud once we're inside," Mr. Weasley warned. "Best keep your voices down."

The inside of the structure turned out to be even more surprising than its exterior. What looked like a generally normal-looking building from the outside actually turned out to look more like a haunted dungeon on the inside.

"Are you certain this isn't the Headquarters for the Death Eaters instead?" I questioned with a quick glance around at my surroundings.

Neither Dad nor Mr. Weasley gave me an answer as I followed them into the space.

A dimly lit entryway greeted us as we stepped into the creepy house. The air inside was heavy with dust, and I could immediately tell my nose wasn't going to have an easy time enduring our stay there.

No one was there to welcome our arrival…but I guess that shouldn't have been too surprising. Everyone was surely in bed at such an early hour, and everyone who wasn't probably had more important matters to attend to. The Order of the Phoenix had an agenda to attend to, after all.

"Kirk, you should come into the kitchen so I can fill you in on the happenings," Mr. Weasley said in just above a whisper. "I suspect Sirius is awake, and I believe Remus is still here." Mr. Weasley turned to me then. "Juliet, the girls' room is—"

"Juliet!"

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes!"

I craned my neck, looking upward at the sound of voices above me. Fred and George were there, leaning over the overhang in their pyjamas looking both exhausted and pleased. I felt myself smiling despite the fact that I was about ready to collapse. It felt like years rather than months since I had last seen them.

Fred and George were immediately hurrying down the flight of stairs, rubbing the sleep out of their eyes as they went.

"It's about time you got here," George said.

"We've been going nutters without you," Fred agreed.

"Boys, be quiet," Mr. Weasley warned. "You'll wake the entire house."

The twins reached the bottom of the stairs and simultaneously grabbed me into a bone-crunching hug. I groaned from the pressure, unable to hug them back as my arms were trapped between them.

"Fred, George, take Juliet upstairs. She can sleep in your room for now. It's still early and there's no need to wake the others up moving her in," Mr. Weasley said. "Now get back to bed before your mother sees you."

I seized my trunk from Mr. Weasley's grasp and tugged it toward the stairs. George helped by picking up the back end, and jointly the three of us hurried away from Dad and Mr. Weasley, who were beginning to talk conspiratorially under their breaths.

"Merlin, it's been ages since we last saw you," George said as Fred shouldered open a door at the top of the staircase.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked curiously. "We were whispering…we couldn't have woken you."

"Extendable Ears," Fred said simply.

I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Am I supposed to know what that is?" I questioned as George dropped my trunk with a thud.

"It's a new product we've invented," George explained, holding up what looked like a human ear attached to a flesh-coloured length of string.

"They let you hear with perfect clarity at amazing distances," Fred said, sounding very much like an advertisement. I rolled my eyes playfully at him.

"Mum's not impressed," George said, "but I reckon she won't ever approve of our products."

"I'm sold," I said with approval, taking the ear from George and turning it over in my hands. "Clever."

The twins grinned with pride.

"We've been trying to use them to eavesdrop on what's going on with the Order. We've only heard bits and pieces—"

"We can fill you in on what we know—"

"—but we were thinking—"

"—maybe you'd be able to sneak down there and listen in…"

"—Mum and Dad don't know you're an Animagus—"

I didn't say anything as the twins babbled on. I wasn't about to give away the fact that I already knew what the Order of the Phoenix was all about. But, if it turned out that the twins had already managed to decipher some information on their own, then I'd be able to talk to them about it. I wasn't about to break the promise I made with my father, though. I knew it was for the best if I kept my mouth shut about what I knew. I'd tell them when the time was right.

"Let's talk about it in the morning," I suggested. "I don't think I'm up for any conversation right now," I said groggily, handing the ear back to George. "I'm exhausted."

"Oh," Fred said as George shoved my trunk into a corner of the dark room, "oh, right, of course."

There were two beds in the room, along with piles of Fred and George's belongings scattered all over the floor. I couldn't see much in the darkness, but it definitely looked cleaner than the entryway to the dingy house did. At least their room looked habitable.

"Hey Jules," George said suddenly as I kicked my shoes off and threw myself down on the bed furthest from the door. I intended to fall asleep immediately, but it seemed the boys wanted to chit chat. "Where's your mum?"

I groaned and rolled myself over so I was facing the wall instead of the twins.

"She won't be joining us," I said bitterly. "I'll tell you about it in the morning."

I could sense the two of them exchanging worried glances without having to turn around and confirm it.

"Julie…what happened?" Fred asked tentatively.

The tone of his voice was mildly irritating. He was trying to be delicate…obviously the both of them were worried about my mental stability. I guess I couldn't blame them. The last time I had seen them I was a walking disaster because of Cedric's death. I had to admit I hadn't improved all that much since then.

"We haven't seen you all summer…don't you want to talk about it?" George pressed.

I rolled back over again and willed myself to open my eyes enough to peer up at them through the dim light.

"I promise I'll tell you after I get a few hours of sleep," I said, stifling a yawn.

The two of them pursed their lips. It was fascinating how they could be so identical in their actions as well as their physical appearance. It was even more fascinating that they thought they were being discreet. Did they not realize I could tell that they were worried about my state of mind?

"We've missed you," Fred said.

I sighed. I felt a little guilty that they were so pleased to see me and I couldn't even keep my eyes open. I couldn't, however, bring myself to feel guilty for feeling annoyed by their questions. I sighed. The exhaustion was definitely getting to me.

"I've missed you guys too," I replied, staring up at them with as much sincerity as I could muster. "Trust me, I have. And I swear I'll be much more friendly in a few hours," I said.

"Alright," George said, sounding satisfied. "I reckon I could use a bit more sleep myself."

I yawned again and pulled the covers over myself.

"Which one of you is bunking with me tonight?" I questioned, realizing quite easily that I was occupying one of their beds.

I saw George nudge the back of Fred's leg with his foot. I snickered and let my eyes flutter shut as Fred's weight sank into the bed beside me.

"I see how it is George," I muttered. "Sick of me, are you?"

George sniggered.

"Can't keep her eyes open, but she can still crack a joke at my expense."

"As always, love," I replied with a yawn. "Now please shut up so I can get some sleep."

Fred let out a low laugh as he eased into bed with me. I was surprised at how comforted I was by his presence, and I immediately allowed myself to cuddle into his warmth.

"I really did miss you, Julie," he said softly, running his fingers through my unruly hair carefully. "I'm glad you made it here."

I couldn't do anything but groan. I was too tired to form another coherent sentence. I was definitely shutting down.

"I'll talk to you in the morning, love," he whispered. "Sleep well…I'll be right here."

My brain wasn't functioning well enough for me to really take in what he was saying, but I tucked myself further into his embrace and breathed in deeply.

I sighed again.

He smelled so good.

I felt my lips twitch and form a small smile as my thoughts began to flit away. I was overcome with exhaustion, and fell asleep easily next to Fred Weasley.

For the first time that summer, I didn't dream about Cedric Diggory.

-------

"She thinks what?!"

The twins were positively flabbergasted when I told them about the exchange between my mother and father. They were nearly as disgusted as I had been…and that was saying something.

"How could she possibly—?" George said.

"Has she lost it?" Fred asked.

I shook my head. "I have no idea."

"You don't think she knows where you are?" George questioned, a hint of worry playing in his voice.

"She'll obviously assume we've come to join the Order," I said, "but Dad says she doesn't know the location. I just hope she doesn't go running her mouth…if the Ministry caught wind of an Order…"

Fred and George shook their heads.

"She won't," George said. "Percy's turned against the entire family and he's had enough sense to keep his mouth shut."

My thoughts immediately snapped from my mother, and I eyed the twins with shock.

"Percy, what, excuse me?"

"It's a long story," Fred said with a frown on his face.

I looked back and forth between the two of them.

"How come you didn't tell me?" I asked, feeling a little hurt. "You sent all of those cryptic letters…and you never mentioned…"

"It's not something that can be easily explained by owl," Fred told me.

"We wanted to tell you…there are a lot of things we've wanted to talk to you about, actually," George continued, "but it's been difficult communicating with anyone lately. We've had to watch ourselves carefully. We can't risk anything getting leaked out."

I pursed my lips. "I understand I guess," I said thoughtfully. "So, now that I'm here…what's the story?" I asked.

"You didn't finish telling us about your mother," George pointed out.

"Sure I did," I said.

"You didn't tell us how you're feeling about it," Fred said.

"What are you? A shrink?" I asked irritably.

The two of them exchanged a wary look.

"What?" I asked. "Mum thinks I'm lying, and she thinks Harry killed Cedric and Dumbledore's a crack. She's not the only person who believes that. You think I'm going to be upset at every person who thinks I'm a liar?"

"Jules…it's your mum," George said carefully.

"Listen, I told you I'd tell you what happened," I said, "and now I have. Let's move on, shall we?"

I didn't miss the worried expressions on their faces, but I tried to stifle my irritation. I knew I was overreacting. I was touchy on the subject of my mother because I felt so betrayed by her. I didn't want to have to think about her on top of everything else.

I knew Fred and George were only trying to help. They were worried about me, just like Dad had been for the entire summer. Just like Katie and Lee had been with their continuous attempts at owling me to see how I was handling the whole Cedric thing. They were worried, like good friends should be.

"I'm sorry," I said with a sigh. "I'd just rather not talk about it right now. I'm a tad on the bitter side."

"S'alright," George said. "I think it's about time for dinner. We'll tell you all about our prat of a brother after we eat something."

"Good plan."

The three of us turned our heads to see Ginny standing at the door.

"Whatever you do, don't mention Percy in front of Mum. None of us wants to watch her have another breakdown," she said with a grimace.

"It's really that bad?" I questioned with a frown on my face.

The three of them nodded.

"It's horrible," Ginny told me. "But we'd better not talk about it now. Mum sent me up to get you. Dinner's ready."

George rose from his seat on his bed, and moved to follow Ginny out of the room. I started to follow them, but Fred grabbed hold of the back of my shirt to stop me.

"We'll be down in a minute," Fred told the other two, and I turned to face him with a confused expression.

"What is it?" I asked, as George and Ginny disappeared round the corner.

Fred cocked his head to one side and surveyed me with concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I eyed him with exasperation. It seemed I wasn't going to be able to escape Fred and George's concern all that easily. They seemed intent on finding out what exactly was going on in my brain. The thought was a little frustrating.

"What are you on about now?" I asked.

"Your mum," he clarified. "I know it's bothering you…you can talk to me about it."

"I don't want to talk about it, Fred," I replied, pinching the top of my nose.

"Why not?" he questioned.

"What do you mean why not?"

"You've never kept yourself locked up like this," he answered. "Not from me and George."

"Fred, I'm just not up for a conversation about my mother's emotional abandonment of me," I told him. "You don't need to take it so personally."

"I just want to know if you're alright, is all," he answered, placing his hands on my shoulders. "I've been worrying about you all summer."

"Yeah, you've already said that," I said, rolling my eyes up to the ceiling. "Let me ask you something. Were you worried just because of what happened at the Tournament?" I questioned, feeling the hostility building up inside of me. I had only been with Fred and George for little under a day and I was already beginning to feel smothered by them. I had expected after the improvement I had made at the end of the school year, they would have been a little less…Molly Weasley with me. There was no need for me to be babied.

"Juliet, no," Fred said, his eyes widening in surprise at my backlash. "I'm worried about you because I know you've been through a lot—"

"And you don't think I can handle it," I finished for him.

His eyebrows scrunched up in confusion and he frowned.

"No, Julie…I'm worried about you because I love you."

The look in his eyes then was one of pure seriousness and hurt. I pressed my hands to my forehead and squeezed my eyes shut tightly. I immediately regretted snapping at him.

"Fred, I'm sorry," I said with a deep sigh. "I'm being a right git. I didn't mean to be so short with you."

"It's alright. You've been through a lot lately—"

"That doesn't give me the right to be horrible to you," I said. "I'm sorry, I'm just frustrated."

There was a moment where the two of us stared awkwardly at each other. It was a painful few seconds, and it made me wonder briefly if things would ever be normal between Fred and me again. After everything that had happened between us, things were kind of iffy. I was determined to make things right between us again…I could add it to my long list of aspirations for that year. It was going to be a difficult thing to achieve.

I forced a smile, pushing my thoughts and frustrations to the back of my mind for the time being. I needed to focus. I wasn't the only person who was having issues because of the return of You-Know-Who. The entire Weasley family was feeling the strain with the loss of Percy, and I wanted to be there for Fred and George just as they were trying to be there for me.

"I'm sorry, Fred," I said.

He pulled me into a one-armed hug, locking his arm around my neck and placing an affectionate kiss on the top of my head.

"Don't worry about it," he told me. "You've got George and me here to help you through the worst of it…and then we'll be back at school in no time. Things'll seem less dark and ominous once we're out of this shit hole."

He sent me a lopsided grin and I forced a smile. I had a feeling Fred was wrong…school was the last place on earth I wanted to be. Returning to the scene of Cedric's death was hard enough…but dealing with the constant watching eyes of hundreds more people would be hellish.

"Yeah," I said, running a hand through my hair idly, "I reckon you're right."

"Of course I am," he replied as he took my hand in his. "Now lets head down to dinner before Mum starts screaming."

I nodded and Fred led me out of the room and into the dank corridor. I wondered idly how I was going to manage to deal with the people back at school. I hadn't spoken much to Katie or Lee…and as for Alicia…there still had been no mention of her at all. Then there were Codie and Ethan…and Vince and Rachel…all of whom seemed to be holding a grudge against me after I had split up with Cedric.

And of course there was Harry…Harry Potter. He was the one and only person who had seen what had happened to Cedric (aside from You-Know-Who and his cronies, of course). He was the one person who could tell me what really happened…what Cedric's last words had been…how his eyes looked when the light faded from them…and possibly most terrifying…who had been the one to end his life.

Harry was the reason Cedric had died. He wasn't the one to murder him…no. But Harry's name had been placed into the Goblet of Fire in order to lure him into the challenge. The whole thing had been set up so You-Know-Who could get his hands on him. If Harry hadn't been in the Tournament, Cedric never would have died.

Cedric had been an innocent victim. His life had been taken from him.

All because of Harry Potter.

Harry Potter was the person I needed to speak to most…but he was also the one person on earth I wanted to avoid at all costs.

I dreaded the day I had to look at his face again.

I allowed Fred to tug me down the stairs as he whistled happily, the friction between us seemingly already forgotten.

I followed along obediently, my mind once again lost to my thoughts.

-------

A/N: Okay…these first two chapters are going to be a little dull. I didn't go into detail about what Juliet heard from her father, because I cover information about the Order of the Phoenix in chapter two when Harry asks Sirius about the Order. I didn't want to repeat myself, so I left it out of this chapter. Next chapter will be the rest of the stay at the Black residence, and then I think I'm going to move right in to the school year. That's when all of the excitement happens anyway, and I think I'll have a better time writing about it once I get past the more boring chapters. Hope you guys liked it anyway, and I'll do my best to have the next one up soon.