𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐀𝐑━︎━︎H. Granger ︎✓︎

❝︎CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR❞︎

▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 ━︎━︎ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐇𝐨𝐠𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐃 come back to the room that night, Hermione had watched her with worry in her eyes. She watched in silence as Juniper got ready for a bed, having already gotten ready herself. She had been reading when Juniper walked in and Hermione had never put a book down so fast in her entire life. Usually she'd finish the chapter she was reading, but when Juniper walked in Hermione didn't even bother finishing the sentence she was in the middle of. She sat her book on her nightstand, watching as Juniper silently crawled into her bed. Juniper sat there for a moment, staring down at her blanket whilst holding her locket tightly in her hands.

     Hermione hesitantly broke the silence. "Juniper?" Juniper didn't acknowledge her. "Jay? Are you alright?" Hermione removed herself from her bed, making her way over to Juniper's and taking a seat right beside of her. Immediately Juniper leaned into Hermione and Hermione wrapped her arms around the girls shoulders, placing her chin on top of her head as she started to gently play with Juniper's hair. "Do you want to talk about it?" Hermione whispered. She could see Juniper hesitate. "You don't have to."

     Juniper allowed Hermione's comfort to sink in, closing her eyes as she moved closer to her warmth. She said six words that made Hermione's heart completely shatter in her chest. "I hate being a murderer's daughter."

     Hermione closed her eyes at the girls words. "Oh, Juniper." She whispered and immediately pulled her closer when Juniper began sobbing. Hermione held her, not daring to let go of her. Juniper held onto her like Hermione was her lifeline. And in that moment she was. She was crumbling to pieces, and she didn't think she had the strength to pick herself back up.

     When Juniper cried all the tears she had, her throat was dry and her eyes burned. "I don't think I have the strength to do this alone. I don't have it in me to pick up the pieces."

     "Then I'll pick them up for you," Hermione moved so that she was meeting Juniper's eyes. "You are not alone. I don't care how broken you think you are or how much of a burden you think your problems will be. You, Juniper Illysa Black, are not broken and you are not a burden. Not to me. Not to Harry. Not to Ron. Not to anyone. Do you understand?"

     Juniper looked at her and mustered the best smile she could. "When did I get to have such an amazing friend as you?" The word friend didn't sound right as it left her lips. A desire in her bloomed, one that involved Juniper pulling Hermione to her and pressing her lips against hers. But she couldn't do that. She fought the wanting and instead nuzzled herself into Hermione's arms.

Hermione watched her with a gentle smile, before a frown started to pull on her own lips. They were just friends, and somehow, that didn't sit right with her.