Chapter Text
Valentina kept up small talk while they walked back to the village, but Juliana couldn’t speak. The closer they got to the village, the more nervous she grew.
They were going to tell León Carvajal about them. That they were a couple.
Juliana felt like throwing up.
She trusted Val. But she didn’t trust her family. The Carvajals had been kind and generous (save Eva), but that was before: before Val wanted to be with her and before Eva turned everyone against them. What would she do if Valentina’s father disapproved?
As if she could sense her nerves, Val reached down and laced their fingers together, swinging their arms back and forth as they walked.
Juliana breathed in deep, held it in her lungs, and then let it go. Trust was so hard, but Val believed in her father. Who was Juliana to doubt her?
Juliana felt a pull of magic nearby and jerked to a standstill. Someone ripped Valentina’s hand ripped away from hers a second later.
“What are you two doing?!”
Eva materialized in the alleyway beyond the Three Broomsticks before disconnecting their hands with a wave of her wand. Valentina's mouth dropped open.
“Do you have someone spying on me?” She demanded. “Or can you just sense happiness like a dementor?” Valentina threw her hands up in the air and squared her shoulders. She was primed for a fight, and that was the last thing they needed.
“Val, let’s go.” Juliana tried to reach for Val’s hand again, but Eva’s wand was out before she could blink, along with Valentina’s.
“She’s not going anywhere with you,” Eva warned. Her voice was high and almost shaking.
“We’re telling dad,” Valentina glared. “You’re not going to blackmail us over Juliana’s mother’s safety any longer!”
Eva lowered her wand and raised her hands in surrender. “Vale, please. Please . You cannot do this.” Her eyes shone, and her lower lip trembled. Juliana knew Eva disapproved of her, but this reaction was ridiculous. Val was an adult, they both were, and Eva needed to accept that.
“You’re not my mother, Eva! I’m more than my name!” Valentina walked past her sister, half dragging Juliana behind her. A small crowd of lookie-loos formed around the storefronts.
Eva trailed them through the Three Broomsticks and up the staircase like a mother hen after a rebellious chick. Eva was spitting mad.
“You’ll put us all in danger because-because of this m-!”
Val spun to face her.
“Don’t finish that sentence,” Val warned. Her eyes flashed like the blue fire of a Swedish Shortsnout from the first task.
Val's grip tightened to the point of pain, and they hurried down the hall.
Guille stumbled out the doorway to their left. His dark hair was heavily tousled, and his beard was a dark growth over his chin and jaw.
“Eva? Val? What’s goin’ on?” he yawned.
“Stay out of it, Guillermo,” Eva snapped. She ignored Juliana entirely and grasped at Valentina’s face with her hands. Juliana drew her wand instinctively. “I won’t let you do this to us, Valentina-”
The door at the end of the hall burst open.
“What is the meaning of this?” León looked at the ragtag group in front of him. Val and Juliana were still in their school uniforms, Guille was shirtless and just wearing pajama pants, and Eva wore a blood-red set of dress robes. Juliana hid her wand behind her robe sleeve. “ What is all this?” Leon looked at his eldest for an answer.
“Nothing, father,” Eva began. Valentina didn’t let her finish, pushing her sister away.
“Papá, I need to speak with you!” Juliana reached down and grasped Val’s hand. She squeezed in silent support. “We need to talk with you.”
“I’m coming too,” Eva interjected.
“This has nothing to do with-”
“Enough! Stop fighting like children. Come inside. Now.” León stepped aside and glowered at his two daughters. Juliana ducked her head down and avoided those blue eyes. Just like Valentina’s.
This was León Carvajal’s personal room. It was airy, with large windows overlooking the main street outside.
“Now, tell me, what is the matter?”
Eva tried to speak over Valentina, but she wasn’t having it. Val’s voice rose as shrill as a banshee’s over Eva’s. “Juliana and I are dating!”
The oxygen went out of the room. Eva’s face comically froze and turned a shade near purple. Val’s face shone triumphantly. León’s thick eyebrows pulled low over his face. And Juliana? Juliana felt like she stepped onto the trick step on the seventh floor and sunk down.
Valentina looped their hands together and held them aloft. “Juls and I are together.”
“I forbid it!” Eva howled. For a second, Juliana worried she would charge them both. Juliana gripped the handle of her wand tightly. She would hex Eva in a heartbeat if it meant keeping Val safe.
“Eva!” León’s voice boomed. “Valentina, I don’t even know what to say. You like women?”
“I like Juliana,” she said simply.
León rubbed his forehead. “I need Lucía for this.”
“Yes, just one more witness to our family’s shame,” Eva snarled. “She will ruin us and everything we’ve worked for,” Eva said in a shaky voice. “Her father is a murderer. She’s from trash-”
“I said enough, Eva! I raised you better than this!”
Eva’s jaw clenched, and her face twisted in an ugly expression, eyes glittering.
“I sacrificed everything for this family. I gave up my dreams. I married Matteo for this family. And now you’ll let it all burn for Valentina? Because Valentina can’t play her part?”
Eva shook on the spot, wavering with pent-up emotion, and Juliana felt the briefest, most fleeting feeling of pity for her.
“I did everything for this family. And no one cares because I’m not the princess.”
León looked at a loss. Eva drew herself taller. Juliana imagined steel walls coming up behind those eyes, and at once, all emotion was gone.
“This is on you, Valentina. I have nothing more to say to you.”
Eva stormed out of the room.
“Eva! Eva, I’m not done speaking with you!” León called after her. She disappeared with a loud crack.
“She left?” Val’s face showed shock. Even her father looked taken aback.
“I will speak with her later,” he said, that far too serious look on his face returning. “Eva’s behavior is unacceptable. It’s unbecoming. But what is going on between you two,” he said, gesturing at their joined hands.
“Juliana is my girlfriend,” Val repeated. She sounded like a broken record and wasn’t giving León the necessary information.
Juliana squeezed Val’s hand. It felt like she had a whole mango pit in her throat, but she willed herself to speak up. “Eva found out and threatened to take away my mother’s protection,” she explained. “She implied you would as well if you found out.”
They told him everything. They explained everything from the beginning: How Eva found out about them, how she threatened them, and how she went after Lupe to get what she wanted.
Juliana shook as she said everything, desperately trying to read the older man’s expression as she went. His face remained impassive, and those eyes, the same shade as Valentina’s, gave nothing away.
“I apologize on behalf of my daughter,” he said. He brought up his hand to rub his chin. “Eva should not have threatened your mother’s safety. That was wrong, even if she had our interests at heart.”
Valentina's face flushed scarlet, and steam almost came out of her ears.
“I disagree with her, Vale, but I understand. This is a hard road you’ve embarked on.”
“I am-”
“An adult. And far more capable than I ever believed. I know, Vale. I also know what it’s like to love someone when Eva disapproves. When everyone tells you they are merely using you. I don't understand this emotion between two girls, but I understand that, Vale.”
León’s attention focused on Juliana now. She forces herself not to waver under that blue stare. “You have a good head on your shoulders. I’ve liked you as Vale’s friend. What do you have to say?”
“I care about Valentina. I know where I’m from, and I know the danger I bring. But I would die before I let anything happen to Val or to your family. I would rather die.”
“I don’t need you to die for us,” León said, some of the seriousness leaving him. “But thank you. You’ve chosen a hard road. Is this what you both want?”
They looked at each other. “Yes.”
“Very well, you have my blessing. I swore your mother was safe in my care, and that remains the same, of course. You are not family, but you are Vale’s, and that means I will protect you both with all that I have.”
Juliana felt herself choking up. She wasn’t accustomed to this level of emotion. And she never had any father figure look on her with acceptance before. She didn’t know what to do with the too large chunks of feeling lodged inside her chest.
“Papá.” Valentina rushed over to him and wrapped him in a crushing hug. Juliana watched them with bittersweet feelings. They loved each other, and León wanted what was best for Val and what would make her happy. El Chino never cared for either.
She blinked rapidly.
“Come. Let us get something to eat while you are here, and you must tell Lucía,” he said with a small smile.
Juliana allowed herself to hope that things would turn out alright.
----
Eva went from constantly at the castle to gone within a night.
“Eva’s always been a sore loser,” Val said with a certain smugness. Her triumph over Eva straightened her back and let her stand taller.
Valentina held her hand in public and beamed bright, beautiful smiles at the Beauxbatons students. Their faces showed shock, and Valentina’s smile turned triumphant. Juliana just kept her head down.
The Gryffindor table parted to make space for Valentina again, and Juliana sat beside her at lunch and during breaks. Valentina was always touching her. Her hands found the swell of her hip, or rested on the back of her hand, or held her arms as they walked the corridors.
Juliana didn’t need to tell anyone her business. She didn’t need to scream from the rooftops that Val was her girlfriend. It was no one’s business. Just the knowledge that Val wanted to be with her, that Val chose to tell her father about them, and that she wanted them to become a bonafide couple was more than enough.
And if Lucho glared at them from across the hall, practically green with envy, well. That was just a bonus.
Still, Juliana waited for the other shoe to drop. Eva didn’t seem the type to go quietly. Eva leaving the school without a word? It was too easy. It felt like dead silence in a forest- something was coming.
“Stop frowning,” Val chastised. Her lips quirked into a playful smirk. “You’re so serious. You need to relax.”
“And you’ll help me do that?” Juliana questioned. Val’s smirk deepened and took on a darker edge.
Juliana chose to tease Valentina and prepare for the third task. She didn’t know then what was in store for her. If she had, maybe she would’ve listened to her gut instinct.