Disclaimer: I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. No profit is being made from writing this fic.

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has kept up with me thus far. I know it must be frustrating since I don't update regularly. I'm just having a hard time organizing what I would like to do with this story.

As a side note, has anyone noticed how the fanfics now display how many followers and favorites it has? I think this is a fantastic idea! I don't think it really does anything overly important other than boost the author's ego, but that's still a good thing. And, as an author, sometimes I've found that I doubt myself when there aren't that many reviews for my stories. This display of favorites and follows is a great fix for that. An ego boost means more updates and more stories, right? I hope I'm not alone in this.

Btw, it was a total shocker and great glee to me to see that this story has 55 favs and 72 follows to date. I hope this doesn't go down. You guys rock!

Let's read on!

A Familiar Pattern 22 [draft]

By genielou

"And this will be your office," Professor Crumbs said with a wide wave of his arms. "I apologize for the mess. I've held this position for two hundred years, and things just seemed to accumulate so much."

Justin nodded in agreement as he looked around the incredibly large office; larger than the Waverly SubStation, in fact. Piles of books reached passed Justin's height, papers and folders were stacked on the desk, and shelves overflowed with all sorts of things: from empty test tubes to jars of eyeballs. Justin wasn't sure if he should be impressed at how much was crammed into every nook and cranny of the room, or if he should be scared.

"It is rather intimidating, Professor," Justin replied. "But nothing that a few days—or weeks," he winced, "couldn't fix."

"Oh, Justin, please don't call me that. I am no longer a Professor," he told him. "We are of equal merit now. Please feel free to call me by my first name."

"And what would that be, sir?" Justin asked. "I'm sorry. I don't think you've ever disclosed that with me before."

"It's Jeff," Professor Crumbs provided.

Justin eyed him curiously, waiting for the 'just kidding!' remark to come. It never came.

He fought to compose himself before shaking his head in slight defiance. "You're too much of a role model for me to just call you 'Jeff,' sir. How about I call you by your council title?"

"You want to call me 'The Chosen One'?"

Again, Justin waited for the 'just kidding!'. He sighed in defeat as he pleaded, "How about I just call you 'Crumbs'?"

Crumbs shrugged. "If you insist."

He showed Justin around the room, indicating which piles would possibly be useful for future experiments and studies, and which would most likely needed to be trashed. After a few minutes passed, the phone on Crumbs' desk buzzed, and a fuzzy voice from its speaker requested for Crumbs' attention. The old Wizard quickly walked out of the room, leaving Justin freedom to examine the room more objectively.

It has been week since he had been awarded his honorary Wizard status and promoted to become WizTech's new headmaster. Today was the beginning of this transition, and so the professor thought it due to allow Justin time in advance to get him settled into the school before officially starting his job. The room, soon to be Justin's office and studio of practice for well into the rest of his Wizardry career, was almost comically messy.

But Justin tried to look at it positively. On the upside, it looked like he wouldn't have to purchase any new books or supplies any time soon. On the down side, he's going to have to sort through everything in the office thoroughly to ensure that he take advantage of every single thing that Crumbs would be living behind. For example, Justin has already eyed what looked like a very rare Future Telescope (a long telescope that allows its user to view the future of whatever it is pointed at) atop a very tall shelf. The lens was cracked but it looked like nothing that a replacement wouldn't fix.

Crumbs re-entered the office with a bright smile on his face. "Justin, I would like to introduce you to a very special person. This—", he gestured with his hand, "—is Headmistress Minerva of WizTech University in Italy."

He stepped aside to make room as a very tall woman, robed in the thickest, softest-looking fur coat, walked through. Justin's eyes unconsciously widened at her beauty and her height. She had the pale, white skin that was smoothed almost to a shimmer, golden blond hair that was braided and hung loosely to her back, and facial features so sharp that she could be used as a model to describe a mythical goddess. And her height—by Justin's guess, could very well be over seven-feet high. A Giantress, he concluded in his mind. Not to be confused by a Giant, a Giantress is a type of Amazonian female indigenous to the southern regions of Europe. They are known for their beauty, their size, and their incredible intellectual conceptions towards all sorts of scientific study. In fact, it had been rumored that they were able to correctly claim that the earth was round centuries before Ancient Greek philosophers even humored the idea of it.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Justin Russo," she said as she bowed her head slightly and held out a delicate hand. Her voice was loud and high-pitched but flowed like a hypnotic melody, and there was an air of arrogance in her poise. Justin had to shake himself before respectfully taking her hand in his and nodding his head in greeting. "I attended your celebration party, but was not able to approach you. Congratulations on becoming a full wizard."

"Thank you," Justin said. "Technically, I'm not a wizard yet. The transfer of powers is not scheduled for at least three more days."

"Well, nevertheless," she dismissed with a wave of her hand. "The Wizard Community is lucky to have you. Jeffrey has told me so much about your accomplishments. He thinks that the likelihood of your earning a position within the council is very high."

Justin shuffled his feet as he blushed. "Oh, well, that's a very generous compliment."

"Nonsense," Headmistress Minerva said with another wave of her hand. "Now, I don't like to dawdle so let's get down to business. I have actually come to ask permission to host a small dinner event on your name. Don't get me wrong, the celebration previously was enjoyable but rather a tad bit overdone. This will be an intimate gathering. You can bring your family and a few close friends. Myself, Jeffrey, and a few council members will also be in attendance."

Justin smiled, gracious but wary at the thought of another celebration with the council. "Headmistress, I am very, very thankful for the offer, but it's really not necessary. I'm just glad that you acknowledge my existence."

She waved a hand with a scoff; the gesture was starting to look funny to Justin as he allowed his eyes to take on an almost Alex-esque practice. "This is a great opportunity for you to further impress the council members."

Justin thought about it; the temptation to advance in anything has always been his weakness. But then he thought about his family and how tired they have been since the Wizard media have been bombarding them with nonstop interviews since the competition. Then he thought of Harper and how he hadn't even been able to say a full sentence to her, let alone hug her or kiss her, since the competition had ended because he had been so busy.

He shook his head gently as a decline. "Thank you, Headmistress. You are most gracious, but it truly is my wish to hold off on any more celebration."

"My dear boy, I don't believe you understand what you are saying," she started sternly. The melody in her voice had slightly faltered, and her tone almost displayed a tenor quality. "To be offered a dining experience with myself is an honor. You will permit me. And you will attend."

Justin didn't know what to think. A lump formed in his throat and the back of his neck suddenly felt very warm. She looked at him with intensity; her eyes, though they were the pearliest of greens, were so forcefully concentrated on him that he felt a tiny whimper escape his lips. He braved a glance towards Crumbs, and found that Crumbs was giving him a firm, pointed look.

He took a deep breath before answering. "Uhm," he said, his voice higher than it usually is. "I would… love to?"

The intensity in her eyes disappeared and she was once again the magical creature the she had been upon her initial entrance. "Marvelous!" She exclaimed with a clap of her hands. "We will hold it tonight, here at WizTech. The hall will be available and ready?" she said, rather than asked, towards Crumbs.

Crumbs answered with a simple nod.

"Excellent! I believe eight o'clock is a sufficient time," she said. Her smile glinted so magnificently that it was almost eerie. "Now, you will be presented to Wizards of very high positions. I suggest that you choose your date rather carefully. How about that blonde vampire who cheered for you during the competition? What was her name?"

A moment of panic rose in Justin's mind as he remembered Juliet's presence and how he had neglected to address it with Harper. How the hell did I forget about that?, he thought to himself. "Well, actually, I would rather just come with my family," he told her.

Again, the usual falsetto of her voice dropped. "My boy, you must have a date. And that girl was rather impressionable. Who is she?"

Justin hesitated before answering. "Juliet. Juliet van Heusen."

"Juliet. Oh! Even her name is impressionable!" she exclaimed with a sigh. "She mentioned during the tournament that you two were meant to be together. She is your girlfriend, correct?"

He winced as he remembered that very scene. Juliet, after spending years as a withered old woman, had come back to cheer him on and had claimed for everyone to hear that she had always believed that she and Justin were meant to be together again. He couldn't remember if he had even told her about him and Harper. "Well, you see—"

"Perfect. She will be your date tonight," she interrupted and affirmed. She turned to the door and smiled at Crumbs. "Please make sure that he is on time."

"Of course, Minerva," he said. "He, along with myself, his family, and Juliet, will be there on time."

She smiled again. And although beautiful and presented with proper air, Justin couldn't help but feel scared and intimidated. She chatted with Crumbs some more before both of them bid their farewells, leaving Justin to himself in the office once again. He heaved a huge sigh as he thought about how he would address the situation.

Soon, after much planning while trying to separate piles of items in his new office, Justin had decided to approach Juliet first. He went to her apartment, which was at the same building that Alex used to momentarily live at with Harper. Surprisingly, she had been very understanding. He told her about his relationship with Harper, and how serious he was with her. Juliet simply nodded, smiled, and expressed that she wishes for his happiness. She did, however, have one comment and it was the same comment that a lot of his closer wizard friends had told him before, which was to "be careful not to let the council members know, or else she'll be in danger." He has heard it one too many times these past few days, and it has yet to deter him. And then she questioned, with much apprehension, the role that she would be playing for the night. She was not comfortable with the idea of being his date, but he assured her that there was no choice to it. The headmistress had insisted, and, from what he had experienced during their meeting, there was just no declining her.

His family was the same. They were understanding of the demands of his semi-famous life and had agreed to be present at the dinner party. Max was very excited to attend yet again another party. His father had even agreed, though with much reluctance, to close the Waverly SubStation earlier than usual so that they could be on time. But when he told them about the issue with having to take Juliet as a date, he received disapproving looks from all sides. His parents remained silent but frowned deeply, Max shook his head, and Alex called him a "butthead," and then many more colorful names after that.

"You are the smartest person I know, Justin," Alex started on him, fiercely glaring as she spat each word out. "But, please, please explain to me how any of this makes sense, because I am very lost at the moment."

Justin sighed. "The council members and Headmistress Minerva really took a liking to Juliet. It'll help my career. This dinner party might ensure me at least an interning position with the council in no time."

"Well then, I guess we all have to go along with this, right? After all, you've only spent the past week ignoring your girlfriend while you prostitute yourself to the media."

"Harper is a very rational woman. She'll understand how important this is to me. I'm sure she won't object to tonight's dinner party."

Alex scoffed. "Butthead."

Now he only had to talk to Harper. Hopefully, she would be as understanding as Juliet. Hopefully. She was not due to be done with her school until early evening, so he would have to get ready before he had to talk to her. He didn't like the idea of his having to talk with her while already dressed to go on his 'date,' but there was really no way around it.

By 7:30 pm, his family and Mason were ready and waiting in the lair. Juliet had called and said she was running late but would be over as soon as she could. But Justin didn't worry about that. He was more worried about the short time that he had to talk with Harper. How could he have a proper conversation with her with only twenty minutes to spare before having to head off to WizTech? Maybe he shouldn't tell her? It wasn't the first time that he had concealed a magic-related topic from her. Often enough, he did it to protect her. But no, that's just not proper for tonight. She was his girlfriend, dammit! They've been through so much to just get to the point of actually being together now. She has to know. He has to make her understand that he would never do anything to hurt her. This was simply, and strictly, a strategic move for his career. No more, no less. And she'll understand, right? She must know how far he has fallen for her. True, he had not admitted this to her yet, but she must know. She must already know, right?

It was at this thought that Harper finally arrived, first frowning in confusion at the 'closed' sign at the door and the dimmed lights in the restaurant before proceeding inside. She grinned when she saw Justin sitting by the cashier counter.

"Hey, you!" she said, grinning. "I didn't know you'd be here tonight."

"Yup," he said. "I'm here."

He was fidgeting, she noticed. His gaze was unsteady and was anywhere but to her. She approached him slowly. "No interviews or appearances for tonight?" she asked.

He heaved a huge breath. "Uhm, actually, y—yes. I have a dinner party to attend to, and I have to leave in twenty minutes."

"Oh."

She set her bag and portfolio folder on a nearby table. She was close enough now to finally register how fancily he was dressed. It wasn't everyday that her boyfriend wore a black tuxedo.

"So," she started. "I haven't seen or talked to you in a while."

"Yeah, I know," he said, then a momentary silence. He started fidgeting with his hands. "I'm sorry, I've just been really busy."

"Right, I know. My famous wizard boyfriend: a semi-celebrity."

Harper watched Justin carefully. He kept opening and closing his mouth, as if he was trying to word what he was about to say cautiously. Justin maintained this for a few minutes, whether he knew it or not, and Harper just watched at him. Every minute that passed made the knot that had formed at the pit of her stomach grow.

"Justin," she started. "Is something the matter?"

Justin smiled nervously at her. "What? What makes you think that?"

Harper smiled sadly at him. Something was definitely up. This was the first that she'd laid eyes on him in days, and he was keeping his distance from her. "Well, for one," she started, "I've been standing here for a good five minutes and my boyfriend has yet to offer me a hug. Let alone, a kiss."

"Oh. Oh!" Justin exclaimed with wide eyes. He quickly walked up to her with arms spread wide and attempted to hug her. Harper immediately raised her hand to stop him.

"Justin," she said sternly, her patience almost giving way to her fears. "Whatever it is, please just spit it out. The longer you stand there not saying anything, the more I get anxious."

Justin sighed. She was right. The more he hesitated, the most her mind will probably play with inappropriate ideas of what she needs to tell her. He took a huge breath, and then opened his mouth to do the inevitable. "Harper, tonight, I have to-"

"Hey! Sorry I'm late."

Both Justin and Harper turned towards the door where Juliet stopped abruptly upon seeing them. Her eyes looked from Harper to Justin, and then to Harper again. She took note of the shock becoming slowly apparent in Harper's expression. It took a few seconds for her to decide whether or not she should say anything.

"Hi, Harper," she greeted politely and hesitantly as she further entered the restaurant. "It's nice to see you again. It's been a while."

"Yes," Harper muttered. "A while."

Her eyes took in every inch of her. Juliet looked just as she did before the magic of being vampire was taken away from her and aged her to become hundreds of years old. She was beautiful, magically beautiful. And her beauty was even more enhanced with how she had fixed herself to be presented for the night's event. Harper realized this as soon as she saw her. Her blonde hair had been curled and pinned upwards, with a few strands forming tendrils left astray to the sides of her face. Her black dress flowed freely to her ankles; the thin straps to her shoulders and the plunging neckline accentuated the necklace that she wore, the pendant of which Harper recognized immediately and ignited a sense of jealousy that slowly crept up the back of her neck. It was a tiny heart-shaped locket pendant that Justin had given Juliet as their one-month anniversary gift. Harper should know; she had helped Justin shop for it. She can already guess whose pictures it held.

Then, her mind pieced together the situation in front of her and the logic of their similar codes of attire clicked. She tried hard to mask her growing anger.

Harper turned to Justin slowly, and enunciated her words in almost a whisper. "Are you two going on a date?"

Justin's breath caught. He didn't know how to proceed. He didn't know what he could possibly say to gain even just a little bit of control of her reaction. His gaze drifted to Juliet, who looked every bit as lost as he was. With a slight shrug of her shoulders, she shook her head and made her way to the kitchen. Harper waited until she heard the sound of the walk-in freezer door closing before quickly turning away from Justin. She heaved a breath as she tried to calm herself.

"Harper," Justin started as he moved slowly towards her. "Let me explai-"

"Explain fast," she interrupted as she abruptly turned to him. Her glare was so fierce that Justin had to swallow hard from the sudden build-up of saliva in his throat.

He paused. His mind worked really fast to try to organize what he had to say before he started to speak again. "Headmistress Minerva, a very important wizard, is holding a congratulatory dinner party for me. She insisted that I bring a date. Juliet really made an impression when she met her at the celebration party that was held here. I had no choice. She was very insistent that I bring Juliet along. But this is not a date. It's just, like, a gathering of some sort. Think of it as Juliet and I just hanging out."

"At a very formal event, wherein the both of you are wearing very formal attires, and where the both of you are expected to act like a real couple."

"Yes. Wait—No! No!" he corrected himself, a little too late. "I mean, yeah, we'll be expected to look like we're on a date, but we're not! We won't be. Alex and Mason will be there too. And so will Mom and Dad. And Max. It'll be like a group outing. Sort of."

Harper's lips thinned to a line and her jaw tightened as she forced her next question out. "Did you tell this 'Minerva' that Juliet is not your girlfriend?"

Justin opened his mouth to answer her, but closed it again as he couldn't quite get the truth out of himself.

"And I suppose that you expected me to be the understanding girlfriend? To turn my head the other way like this is not a big deal at all?"

"It's not a big deal."

"How is letting my boyfriend go on a date with his ex-girlfriend not a big deal?"

"Because it's not a date. It's a strategic move towards my career. Besides, it's not like we're going to be alone. A bunch of people will be there too."

"Except your real girlfriend." Harper's brows furrowed with frustration as she took a deep breath to regain herself. "She's wearing it."

Justin just looked at her.

"She's wearing the heart locket that you gave her."

Again, Justin stared at her, not quite registering what she was saying. "What heart locket?"

Harper looked up at him sharply as she frowned. "What locket? The locket that you gave her on your anniversary. I helped you shop for it!"

Justin sighed exasperatedly. "Harper. Me and Juliet were, like, years ago. You don't seriously think I remember everything that I ever gave her, do you?"

"Well, then" she scoffed. "It's nice to know that you pay close attention. So if I lose something that you gave me, you wouldn't even notice, huh?"

"Don't do that. Don't twist my words to make it sound bad."

"It did sound bad!"

Harper huffed as she crossed her arms to her chest. She glared at him as if she was trying to make him deflate with the power of her mind. She couldn't help it. Everything that had irritated her from the past week has finally gotten the best of her. She could no longer hold them in as her mind became bombarded with the emotions that she had felt from being ignored by Justin. Since the celebration party, everything had started happening so fast for him. Interviews, meetings, and mere appearances were demanded from Justin and the rest of his family. And while everyone had been so busy, Harper was left to herself. She couldn't very well show her face or let her presence be known in the household for the sake of the Russo's. She used school and work to pre-occupy herself, and she tried to be a good sport about everything that was going on. But, deep down, whenever she tried to concentrate on her stitching or sketching, feelings of neglect, anger, and irritation would always try to take over her good natured attitude. Sometimes, those feelings would win over and she found herself poking the needles into her mannequins a little too hard.

Additionally for the past few days, she had started to wonder if this is how life would be like with Justin. Every night before she turned in, her mind would try to picture a future with Justin. And every time she did that, she became depressed. If Justin was just a regular guy, they could build a very normal future together: a two-story house, white picket fence, two kids, and a dog… But Justin is not a regular guy. He never was. As a wizard, he would have to hide her from his friends and co-workers for the rest of their lives. If worse comes to worst, she would have to become a full-time housewife so as to securely conceal her existence from the Wizarding World. She would become his dirty little secret. What of her dreams of becoming a successful fashion designer? Her white picket fence? Her happily ever after?

And now, especially now, that the appearance of Juliet had reminded her of how Justin didn't even look for her during the celebration party; how he had allowed Juliet to hang on to his arm the entire night… Harper has finally reached the peak of her patience.

She gritted her teeth. "Explain the necklace."

"Oh for the love of—" Justin took a deep breath to check himself. "I don't know why she's wearing it. And I very well don't remember giving it to her either. As a matter of fact, I don't remember anything that I ever gave her because she doesn't matter to me anymore. She's just a friend now. You matter. I remember every minute with you because you matter."

Harper's lips quivered as she tried to maintain her tough front. She already knew that. She knew that what he was saying was true, but the abruptness of the situation was adamantly winning over her reason. Her jealousy would not waver to it.

"And why are you suddenly being so possessive? I've never done anything to make you doubt me," he continued, his voice relatively louder than he could control. "This dinner is very important. When I get a job in the council, I'm going to have to attend a lot of these dinner parties. And a lot of other women will probably be present. Not to be completely vain, but maybe a few will even hit on me. Do you really think that I would do anything with them? From all the years that you've known me, can you honestly judge me to be that kind of guy?"

"You're referring to rhetorical women? We're talking about the now!" she countered, her voice loud enough for the rest of their family to hear from inside of the walk-in freezer. "You're going on a dinner date with your ex-girlfriend of over one year. Right. Now. How could I possibly not be against this?"

"You talk like I'm an excessive flirt! How about you?"

"What about me?"

"Don't play dumb. I saw you talking to some guy a week ago. During the party? Yeah, I saw you. You two looked quite chummy with each other. You couldn't take your eyes off of him."

It took a few seconds of thinking for Harper to realize who he was talking about. She couldn't even think of a single second that Justin was able to take his attention away from his fans to consider her at the time, let alone actually seek her out. But who cares? He ignored her, and now he has the gall to accuse her of being unfaithful? She scoffed as the irony of the thought hit her. "You mean Andy? For your information, he was very nice to me. He kept me company while my boyfriend was off being extra familiar with his vampire ex-girlfriend."

"You know it wasn't like that."

"Yeah, of course, I understand. Because I let my ex-boyfriends hang all over me all the time!"

A moment of silence passed between them. Ten seconds. Thirty seconds. One minute. Neither moved nor spoke as they stared at each other, both glaring and scrutinizing the other. Another minute passed before Justin sighed heavily.

"I don't understand why you're being like this, Harper," he said, softly.

Harper's stare sharpened, but for a slight millisecond she almost broke down. She was hurt, for sure, that her boyfriend was not seeing the situation the way she was seeing it.

"Justin," she said carefully and almost pleadingly. "Please, please look at this the way I see it. How would you feel if I went out on a date with Zeke? Wouldn't you feel threatened too?"

"No. I wouldn't," he answered quickly, without a second thought. "Because I trust you. I know you would never do anything to break that trust."

And Justin's expression shows that he was being sincere. Nevertheless, the idea that he would be spending the night introducing Juliet as his girlfriend irked her. She was uncomfortable with it. Hell, it would even be safe to say that she was angry with it. And the fact that Juliet was wearing the necklace… Harper just couldn't let it go.

"Why was she wearing that necklace?" she wondered out loud, causing Justin to release an exasperated sigh.

"I don't know, okay?" he said sharply. "Maybe she thought it looked nice on her or something. I don't know. I don't care. It doesn't matter. It. Doesn't. Matter!"

She looked at him, really looked at him. She was so caught up with how fast their argument had escalated that she had neglected to truly see him as he was. The tuxedo that he wore... although she had seen him wear his formal clothes several times before, somehow he looked just bit a more handsome than he usually did. For tonight, he was slightly less polished than he would otherwise always allow himself to be. Always was he primped all the way down to the very cuticle of his toes, but for tonight, he nearly looked casual (in his standards, anyway). His tuxedo was rightfully arranged and ironed to a pristine stiffness, which was a tiny contrast to the way he had allowed his hair to be slightly disheveled. It looked as if he had been running his hands over his hair continuously, the way he always does when he is aggravated or nervous. His eyes looked tired, and there were lines and dark shadows, almost undetectable, forming under his eyes. And it looked like he hadn't bothered to do his routine second shaving of the day. Justin didn't like having facial hair so he shaved at least twice a day, sometimes more. The hairs on his jaw line and above his lips weren't long, but it was thick enough to create a dark shadow, as if he had just woken up. All in all, his lack of obsessive pristine-ness made him look... older. And, more manly.

Harper's eyes started to water as she realized how much she had missed him. Only a mere week had passed by since his initial neglect of her, but she still missed him so much. For seven days, Harper had been battling feelings of uneasiness, jealousy, and aggravation over the true realization of her and Justin's possible future, or possible lack thereof.

Justin glanced at the clock.

"Harper," he said. His was voice soft and almost a whisper. "I have to go. We'll finish this when I get back."

He moved forward to try to give her a kiss goodbye, but when he tried, she flinched and stepped backwards. She kept her gaze down, not wanting to meet his eyes for she was afraid that looking at him might trigger her tears to fall.

With a sigh, Justin made his way to the kitchen. "We'll talk later," he said. Again, his voice was soft, and with a tinge of disappointment.

Long after Justin closed the door to the walk-in freezer, Harper was still standing in the middle of the darkened, empty restaurant. With unshed tears, she began to wonder how and when, exactly, her life had started taking rapid turns through such a scary, unexpected road.