Chapter Text
Chapter 1 – Eyes Closed
'Would've gave it all for you, cared for you.
So tell me where I went wrong
Would've gave it all for you, cared for you,
Would've trade it all for you, there for you
So tell me how to move on.'
31st August 2016
On the last day of the summer holiday - sheltered in a booth within the Leaky Cauldron - five friends sat together, reflecting on their summers. Each one was smiling as they all sipped their butterbeers and ate freshly made burgers.
They sat together in the same way that they had done since the day before their second year began, though three of them had been sitting in the same places for much longer than that. Yet, there was no bitterness about that as they had now made it into their annual tradition, a ritual before the start of a new year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
On the far side, seated in the corner, was a red-headed Gryffindor boy called Archie Andrews.
As always, he was wearing his crimson and gold Gryffindor jacket, an accessory that he never went without. To complement that, he was in faded jeans and a white t-shirt. The tight shirt emphasised his bulging muscles, while also highlighting his dark, chocolaty-brown eyes. They sparkled in the dim light, which also outlined his broad shoulders and the fact that he was quite tall at five-foot-eleven-meaning that, like the other two boys seated in the booth, he was much taller than the girls of their small group.
To his right, one of those girls sat frowning slightly at her butterbeer. Noticing Archie’s gaze on her, smiled widely at him as her dark brown eyes glistening in the candlelight.
She was a Ravenclaw by the name of Veronica Lodge, and she was arguably one of the most beautiful girls in the year. Her caramel skin and stunning dark features a product of her Latina heritage; as was her bilingual aptitude, able to speak both Spanish and English, fluently. Her raven waves were gleaming in the light - perfectly styled, as always. The dress she wore was purchased from one of the most expensive designer boutiques in the wizarding world. Everything about her was a poised, dark perfection, but she did not have the innocent gleam in her image.
Sat on a chair at the end of the table, another Gryffindor boy smiled at the group.
Kevin Keller was a smartly dressed brunette with light green eyes that seemed to pick upon every little detail about his friends. Like Archie, he was very tall, around six-foot-one, but his height was less intimidating as he had a friendlier persona than Archie. He was the only member of the group who was completely open about himself, he had come out as gay last year, which was their fourth year, all of them had supported him, wholeheartedly.
Next to Kevin was a Slytherin boy, who was typing away at a vintage typewriter as he listened to the group talking.
Jughead Jones was around six-foot but often looked slightly smaller than Archie as he slouched more and had a slimmer build, even though he did have tightly corded muscle, he was leaner than the other two boys. This difference was also marked out by his messy, slightly-wavy raven hair that was predominantly hidden under a dark grey crown-shaped beanie. His piercing blue eyes, which were far off – absorbed in his writing, were frosty unlike others' bright gazes, yet his slightly dazed demeanour was due to him attempting to think of someone or something to write about - apart from the girl beside him.
She was the only thing in his life that he wasn't sarcastic or sardonic about; the only person that brought out his soft side. Among any other group, he was as harsh and dark as most Slytherins, which often struck fear into the hearts of others, who only saw him when he was angry.
Like Jughead and Archie, Betty Cooper, a Hufflepuff, had been coming to the Leaky Cauldron for years and from a very young age, she had been Jughead's secret muse. She was his goddess; golden blonde hair - which was always in a tight, high ponytail that curled slightly - while her eyes were a pure jade green. Whenever Jughead looked away, her eyes shifted to linger on his face while he wasn't looking. That was until he would catch her, causing a rosy blush to stain her cheeks as she glanced away. She was undoubtedly the shy one of the group, and she often found herself blushing much more frequently than her other friends, which had always been something that they all found endearing.
She leant against Jughead as Veronica broached a taboo subject, their OWL’s, which they would be taking that year.
"So, is everyone else worried about their OWL’s? I know that I am and that my entire house is just going to be panicking all year about them." Veronica told them, with a frightened gleam in her eyes. She looked at them all as they rolled their eyes at her.
"Oh, calm down, Ronnie. You'll be fine. I won't be. I'm alright at practical magic, but I know that exam is weighted more on theory. I'm nowhere near as intelligent as you, let alone Betty and Jughead." Archie admitted. Jughead looked up from his typewriter, rolling his eyes as Betty had the good grace to blush.
Kevin tutted at Betty's blush as he stared at her carefully. "Don't just blush, Betty. We all know that you're going to get ‘Outstanding’ in everything and as for you, Jughead, you'd have to deliberately flunk an exam to not get an ‘Outstanding’ on it." The beanie clad boy rolled his eyes, again, this time at Kevin as Betty glanced down at her hands. Jughead looked over at her, a small smile appeared on his lips when she looked up at him.
"Well, did you hear that, Betts? We shouldn't worry about the OWL’s. To be fair, your mother is a hell of a lot scarier than a bunch of exams, so you should be used to working under pressure… I think half our world is terrified of her." Betty let out a small sigh as Jughead threw his arm around her, which he often did, pulling her in closer to him as Archie's eyes narrowed fractionally.
"Stop being cute, you two. Just because you are the epitome of friendship goals, doesn't mean that you need to rub it into our wounds, for we are mere mortals." Veronica scolded lightly, smirking at the two of them. They were both incredibly aware of their own feelings for one another, they just hadn't confessed them yet.
Sensing a slight awkwardness among the two, Kevin spoke up, directing his questions to Jughead instead of Betty, who was still blushing. "Now, anyway, Jughead, what do you reckon you'll get in your OWL’s? I mean what are you aspiring to get?" Kevin chose not to talk about epic romances or tease the two, he knew better than that.
An appreciative smile graced Jughead's lips as he turned to look at the other boy. "Well, according to Veronica, I'd have to deliberately flunk something to not get an ‘Outstanding’, so I'm only planning on flunking divination." Betty rolled her eyes at that, she knew that Jughead was serious about it.
"Juggie! You can't just flunk something, that could impact your life!" Her indignation was clear, but Jughead merely chuckled at her as he angled his body so that he could look at her again. "It isn't a joke, Jug! Your OWL’s are essential in life, and I don't want you to regret it." Her lip jutted out as she looked at him carefully, her bright green gaze piercing his soul as she stared at him, waiting for him to respond.
"Calm down, Betts. I won't do that, but in all honesty, when will I ever need divination? Unless I suddenly discover that I have the 'inner eye', I'll never be able to fully appreciate the subject. However, don't worry, I won't flunk the exam…too badly." Betty sighed, knowing that there was no way that he would relent as he genuinely did hate divination. Betty conceded that she had won a small victory.
"Okay, okay, I understand, Juggie. Just please don't deliberately fail. At least get a pass, if you can." Betty's tone showed her acceptance that Jughead would do what he wanted and she gave in as there was no point arguing. "Anyway, stop moving. Your arm was in a comfortable position, but now it's not." He chuckled and adjusted his arm so that it was more comfortable for her to lean against him as the others observed them. There was a familiarity about the way that they interacted that no one could explain.
It was as if they were meant to be one.
"So, Jughead's going to do something to his divination exam; and Betty's going to get all ‘Outstanding’s in her OWL’s; what are you going to get Kevin? Or, what do you hope you'll get?" Veronica asked Kevin as Archie stared darkly down at his butterbeer, refusing to look at the delighted faces of Jughead and Betty, her eyes fluttering as they listened to the others.
"Well, I hope that I can get an Outstanding at least, but I would be overjoyed with ‘Exceeds Expectations’. What about you, Archie?" They all turned to look at the redhead, who was yet again refusing to look at the Hufflepuff and Slytherin opposite him as if he couldn't stand the sight of them together.
"I don't really care what I get. I just want to get to the sixth year so that I can find out my soulmate. That's all that I care about right now because, well, I don't need OWL’s to get a position on a Quidditch team. I will be perfectly content with whatever I get." He looked over at Betty as he added: "After all, soulmates are the only parts of high school that stay with you."
That statement caused a shift in their mood from apprehensive about the OWLs to them all wondering why Archie had said that until Betty finally asked: "Do you all promise that we'll still be best friends this time next year and regardless of who our soulmates turn out to be?" Her eyes lingered on each person as she waited for their answers before they all nodded.
“We promise.” They chorused, utterly unaware that their lives were about to shift entirely and that their promise would be broken.
Not just broken, shattered into a million pieces.
31st August 2017
Only Archie Andrews, Veronica Lodge, Kevin Keller and Betty Cooper were sat down together in a small booth in the Leaky Cauldron. The first three were talking and laughing merrily, but Betty's mood was dark and broken due to the absence of her favourite beanie-wearing boy.
He was on a different table now, across the room with his friends from Slytherin and the gang that he now belonged to, the Southside Serpents. His leather jacket was now as much of a prominent feature as his beanie, and he was colder than ever.
"Hey, Betty, are you alright?" Archie asked as his smile faltered, noticing her broken expression as she looked down at her hands, which were now littered with small crescent-shaped marks from her digging her nails into her palms. None of her friends knew about this habit of hers, and she wasn't going to tell any of them either, she couldn't bare to see the shame and pity in their eyes.
She let out a shaky breath and looked up at Archie, who looked at her in concern. "I'm fine, don't worry, Arch. Just thinking about school tomorrow, that's all." She forced a smile, which they all believed.
Her eyes flickered over to the Serpent table, where Jughead was also faking a smile, but Betty couldn't tell that from this distance. As she stared, Jughead's gaze lifted to meet hers, but she looked away from him as the others observed.
Archie nodded at that, as did Kevin, but Veronica scowled at Betty's blatant lie. "Oh, so it's not because Jughead's sat with Sweet Pea, Fangs, Toni, Joaquin and other Serpents as their Prince and leader? Instead of being sat with us, discussing the disappearance and supposed drowning of Jason Blossom?" Betty blanched at that as Jughead stole a look at her, seeing her look down in embarrassment before he was brought back into his own conversation. Veronica's tone softened, "You can talk to us, B. I know that he hurt you more than he hurt the rest of us, but trust me, we're here for you. Isn't that right, guys?"
"Yeah, Betty, you have us. Just because he doesn't talk to you anymore, doesn't mean that you have to be distraught. He made his decision, and although it still hurts, you'll get over it and him as he wallows in defeat." Archie told her, unaware that someone was listening to their conversation. Or at least a small magical bugging device, belonging to Toni Topaz, was listening to them talk and relaying it back to the Serpents.
"Archiekins, that might not be the best way to help Betty calm down." Veronica chided him while glancing over at Betty's shattered gaze, both unaware of the cold blue gaze trained on the blonde as Veronica continued talking. "But B, you know that we have your back, and we will keep your promise about our soulmates."
The mention of that caused Betty's eyes to grow tearful as she thought on that promise - and all the other promises - that Jughead had broken. For a moment, she was no longer in the Leaky Cauldron, her mind had taken her back in time. She was brought back to her first year when Jughead had comforted her and made the most poignant promise that he had broken.
Two first years sat by the Black Lake, in the grounds of Hogwarts, in silence. The older of the two had his arm around the girl beside him as she sobbed silently while thinking of the harsh words from her mother's letter.
Her long blonde waves were no longer restrained by a tight high ponytail, and her jade green eyes were rimmed with red from tears. She was clinging to the boy beside her as he held her tightly to him as if he never wanted to let go of her. To be honest, he really didn't want to let her go, not ever.
No sound came from him as she sobbed – he just kept holding onto her, reminding her that he was here for her as she broke down. He didn't even move to adjust his ever-present crown shaped beanie or shift the stray strand of raven hair out of his blue eyes. He just held onto her as she broke.
He knew that his words wouldn't help now after all the damage had been done by the medium of words, to begin with. Her other friends just wouldn't understand, so he stayed there silent for her. He had always been the one that was there for her, and he wasn't going to stop being there for her until she told him otherwise.
Only when the sobbing subsided did he speak. "Alice is wrong about you, Betts. She's so wrong about you." He murmured causing Betty to look up at him as she let out a small hiccup while her eyes implored him to keep on talking. "She doesn't understand you, and she expects too much from you. Who cares if you're in Hufflepuff? I certainly don't, and I'm a Slytherin. We're meant to be judgemental, but I still think that you're amazing. You don't have to be perfect, you just need to be you. So, don't listen to her stupid white noise and don't let go."
Even at the age of eleven, Jughead knew what to say to make Betty feel better even if it was only a fractional change in her emotions. He had known her hopes and fears from a mere glance and unlike Archie, who would have just shrugged and who wouldn't have comforted her; or Veronica, who was too eloquent for her own good; or even Kevin, who just didn't understand; Jughead knew what it was like. He had seen his family fall apart and had watched his mother take his sister away from him and he knew that Betty's family was almost as fucked up as his own.
"But why is she like this, Juggie?" He sighed at that while biting back the small smile that always graced his lips at that nickname. He honestly didn't understand Alice Cooper, who was the editor of the Daily Prophet and had grown to despise her and the nagging letters that she sent to Betty, but at this moment, he didn't know what to tell Betty. He couldn't just go off on a rant about how cruel her mother was even though he wanted to, but at the same time, he couldn't excuse her actions towards her youngest child. There was no way that he could honestly deal with the situation, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to try.
He glanced down at her again as he mulled over his words and chewed the inside of his cheek, thinking about whether he was going to do more or less damage.
"Well, if I ever get the ability to read her mind, I'll tell you why, but from what I can guess, I think she just wants the best for you. She's terrified that something will happen to you and that you'll crash and burn, but she doesn't know how to address it. She thinks that being stern and cold will do it, but we both know that it in this she is wrong."
Betty nodded at that and Jughead chose to take that as a good sign, but then again, he knew that he had always been bad at reading other people. "You're probably right, Juggie. You usually are right about everything, anyway." Jughead smiled at that and was surprised when it was returned by the blonde in his arms. It was the first time that he'd seen her smile all day since she'd received the letter from her mother in the morning. She then grew serious though as she asked: "Will you promise me something, Juggie and will you swear to keep it?" Her tone was deadly serious and determined, but her voice shook. He could see the fear in her eyes as she asked him.
"Of course, Betts. Whatever it is, just name it, and I will promise you that I will always keep it." He spoke with
a fierce certainty that shocked Betty, but at the same time it made her smile and caused her to move so that they were eye level now. They were around the same height so they could sit like this and look directly at one another without one having to look up.
"Promise me that you'll never let me go through this alone. Promise that no matter what happens, you'll be there for me and I promise that I'll be here in the same way for you, Juggie." Her soft voice and her bright eyes were impossible to deny, and Jughead knew that he wouldn't want it any other way.
She was his best friend, and they had known each other long before they had started Hogwarts and although their parents despised one another, Jughead and Betty always found themselves falling back onto one another when they needed support or a friend. Neither could deny the other anything, and they knew that this promise was just the same as all their others, or at least they presumed that it was. They had no idea of the events that would occur to break it.
"I promise you, Betts."
Betty was snapped out of the memory and paled visibly as Kevin wrapped an arm around her shoulders, but it didn't feel right to her. It wasn't Jughead's arm around her; it wasn't Jughead comforting her. She didn't know what it was about the Slytherin boy, but it was as if his soul had touched her. "Anyway, let's get off the conversation of disgruntled Serpents, broken promises and instead talk about our dream soulmates." Kevin's suggestion was plausible causing Betty to shrug, and she sat back to just listen to them, hoping not to be involved in the conversation.
"Well, mine will hopefully be strong, sensual and sexy as hell. I want a muscular man and great conversations as well as a loving partner. I want someone who will love every part of me regardless of what I am like and will accept me wholly for who I am. I want to feel like a queen, and even if we argue, I want us to be able to work through it and get back on the right track. I also want my mark to be beautiful and have something to do with either of us." Veronica told them with a dazed look on her serene face as she thought of the qualities of her hopeful soulmate. For a moment, she didn't speak. However, she finally snapped out of her dreamlike state before she asked: "What about you, Kev?"
Kevin smirked as he thought of the man that he was hoping to have his soul tied to for the rest of his life. "Dark, handsome with a dangerous streak. That's what I would like. Yet, I also want someone who will protect me and help me through everything. I want a bad boy who will be nothing but good to me. I want him to make me feel like I'm the only guy in the world. I want happiness though, and if he isn't like that and loves me all the same, I'll be happy." Kevin's eyes glazed over dreamily while he thought of the endless possibilities of who he might be paired with as Archie spoke up.
"Well, Kev, I want an innocent, caring girl, who will always come back to me and who will always believe me. I want a kind lover, who will always be there for me. My dreams have always had blonde hair, a beautiful innocence and a ‘perfect’ aura. I want to be the only person she'll ever want, need and love." Archie told them. He stared directly at Betty as he spoke, but she refused to meet his gaze. "What about you, Betty? What's your dream for your soulmate?" He leant forward as he added: “…do you have a name for this person?" They all watched as Betty paled at the question.
Yet, it was her answer that shocked everyone, including those secretly listening in to their conversation. It caused Veronica and Kevin to gasp in shock as Archie scowled in anger at the response. It made all of the Serpents -apart from Jughead- widen their eyes in shock, he felt his heart rate increase rapidly as his brows raised in curious shock. His eyes never left Betty's face as she spoke and the others all found themselves staring, as Betty admitted something that they had never expected. She confessed something for the first time that she had denied to her heart, and now she finally accepted that it was true.
"There is only one person that I have ever imagined as my soulmate." Betty gulped at the swirling storm inside her before she finally said. "Jughead Jones." And with that, Betty unintentionally sparked a series of events that would not only lead to an investigation into Jason Blossom's 'drowning', but would also a divide among her peers while simultaneously ending a rift.
She was about to find herself plunged into something that she couldn't stop, even if she wanted to. Betty knew that whatever happened, nothing would be the same ever again.
But would she be able to survive these events?