After promising Professor McGonagall that she wouldn't tell anyone what had happened, Juniper bolted straight to where Hermione was sitting, peacefully reading over her study notes and eating cereal. Hermione was perfectly unfazed, until Juniper came crashing into the seat in front of her, looking like a complete mess.
"No offense, but you look horrible." Hermione said, placing her notes down so she could give Juniper her undivided attention. "It's amazing."
"I know, I know. McGonagall caught me in Fred's bed last night then I had to have a meeting with her. It's been a wild morning." Juniper began, pouring herself a glass of juice.
"How did you manage to get caught?" Hermione held back a laugh. "And did you happen to see Harry or Ron at any point?"
"The Weasley's have gone home." Juniper whispered across the table. "I guess Harry went with them. Were you not told?"
"Obviously not!" Hermione's eyes widened. "Why did they go back? There's still classes?"
"McGonagall just said there was a 'situation' and it'd be 'best for the family to be together'. Whatever that means." Juniper rolled her eyes, irritated that her boyfriend was gone and she was given minimal context. "Fred was going to stay with me for Christmas, now I'm back to being alone for the holidays."
"I'm sure you'll be allowed to stay with my family, or we can go back to... Sirius Black's house together." Hermione whispered, looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "My parents were going to go skiing, but I'd rather stay close to the Order."
"I doubt he will, the last time I saw Dumbledore I went nuts at him." Juniper laughed to herself, remembering how she gave Dumbledore, Draco and Professor Snape a firm talking to. She looked up to see a puzzled look on Hermione's face. "I'll explain later. But we can try."
"You better, I'm intrigued now." Hermione frowned. She looked up at Juniper through her eyelashes, chewing on the inside of her lip, debating whether or not to ask a question. "Do you think it has to do with Deatheaters? That's why they went home?"
"How am I meant to know, Hermione?" Juniper breathed, suddenly in a bad mood. It felt like Hermione was accusing Juniper of knowing something she didn't. And she was tired, and grumpy. Skipping classes started sounding like a good idea again.
"I'm not saying that you know, I was just wondering what you think." Hermione clarified, watching Juniper's body tense. "Never mind, you don't have to answer."
"I wasn't going to anyway." Juniper shrugged, fighting the urge to storm off. Hermione was waiting for it, tentatively turning to her book just in case. Juniper watched her from across the table, deep in her own thought. She had never seen Hermione with anyone but Harry, Ron or Ginny, and all three of them had gone home. Now was Juniper's time to take a chance and deepen this friendship, and she was running out of friends anyway.
"Is there something on my face?" Hermione muttered, still looking down at her book. "Or are you trying to curse me with your mind?"
"We're friends right?" Juniper asked, pushing aside her anger. "I know I'm not the nicest or most approachable, and I lack patience and sometimes empathy-"
"Yes, we're friends, Juniper." Hermione reached across the table to squeeze Juniper's hand. "And you aren't any of those things, you're a teenage girl." The two took a deep breath together, feeling united in their girlhood, before they were interrupted.
"Do you girls mind if I join?" Matilda grinned, taking a seat before getting a response. "It's been a while since Fred hasn't been attached to your hip."
"I know, it's cold." Juniper smiled back, watching Hermione's guard go up. "Matilda this is Hermione. Hermione this is Matilda."
"We've been going to the same school for 5 years now, we know who each other are." Matilda laughed, exchanging a look with Hermione, who only smiled in response. "What are we gossiping about? You know I love girl talk."
"Well..." Juniper looked between the two girls sitting with her, the only two people she'd consider friends at this point. "I told Fred I love him."
"What!" Hermione choked on her breath.
"And he said it back? Right?" Matilda's eyes widened, scared to hear the answer. "Please tell me he said it back."
"I don't know, I kind of... ran."
"What?" Hermione asked again.
"I said 'I'll see you tomorrow, love you', and then ran out of the common room because I thought McGonagall would turn me to stone!"
"Wait. Did you say 'I love you' or just 'love you', like casually?" Hermione asked, her head ducking closer over the table.
"Just 'love you'." Juniper answered.
"What was McGonagall doing there?" Matilda's nose turned up, threatening to laugh.
"She caught us in Fred's bed this morning." Juniper winced, predicting Matilda's reaction.
"Juniper Jade Jones, you slutty little minx!" Matilda squealed, turning a few heads.
"Are you okay?" Hermione reached across the table to squeeze Juniper's hand again. "Are you happy you said it? Or are you regretting it..."
"I don't regret it. I mean... it just slipped out so I guess some part of me was ready to say it." Juniper shrugged. "And Draco said Fred likes me too much to find it embarrassing-."
"You told Draco before me?" Matilda continued to yell.
"He saw me freaking out. Believe me, if I had a choice, he wouldn't know anything about my life." Juniper turned to the table. "But I don't have a choice."
"You're hiding something." Matilda concluded after a moment of silence. She stared at Juniper with a suspicious look, taking out her wand and casting a silencing spell around the three girls. "What haven't you told me?"
"I've told you. I got caught in Fred's bed and then said I loved him." Juniper tensed, confused by Matilda's sudden attitude change. "There's nothing else to say."
"I've said it before, Juniper. I'm not stupid." Matilda said, her face completely serious. "What happened over summer?"
"Oh." Hermione mumbled from across the table, wishing she could run away.
"W-what? I don't know what you mean." Juniper stammered, avoiding Matilda's glare.
"In July, you and Draco were better than you had ever been, now you can't even mention him without looking like you're going to be sick. Fred Weasley was number one on your 'most-hated' list, now you're saying you love him."
"Things can change-"
"You didn't just find your grandmother's body, did you? And you're not living with muggles." Matilda said, watching Juniper's face drop. She reached over to grab her hand. "What are you not telling me."
"Matilda..." Juniper began, debating whether to deny everything, tell her half of the truth, or dump everything on both the girls right in the middle of breakfast.
"I'd also like to know what's happened." Hermione spoke up. "Everything."
"Breakfast is almost over. I don't have the time to explain everything." Juniper shrugged, feeling her chest begin to collapse in on itself.
"We can go to the library." Hermione suggested quickly.
"Or one a common room. Or a dorm." Matilda added.
"I don't..." Juniper began, looking at both the girls. "Fine. We'll go to the library. But you have to promise you won't tell anyone. Not Blaise, not Harry, not Ron. Not Fred."
"Of course, June." Matilda gave her a warm smile, standing up to lead them to the library.
They found a table in the back corner of the library and some books to pretend to read, while Juniper explained everything under a silencing spell. She told them about Lucius forcing her and Draco to date, and how Draco would hit her when she acted out of line. She told them about Malfoy Manor and the Deatheater meeting where Lucius thanked her for her grandmother's sacrifice. She told them how Dumbledore, Snape and Draco knew about her grandmother's death weeks before and months after it had happened, and how she was meant to be killed instead. When she said how much she had inherited from her grandmother, both the girls eyes bulged from their heads.
The only lie she told Matilda was that she was staying at the Weasley's, not at Sirius Black's family home. She knew that it was a secret she'd have to keep for a while.
"So that's... everything. I think." Juniper finished by exhaling deeply, her body relaxing into the chair she was on.
"That's..." Matilda began, searching for a word. "A lot."
"I know." Juniper shrugged.
"I wish you had told me sooner. So I could try to help you." Matilda said quietly, her voice breaking.
"Do you know what Theo said after the Quidditch game? That made Fred... you know." Hermione asked shyly.
"I believe he said I'd follow in my grandmother's footsteps by killing myself after multiple failed marriages." Juniper said, hiding a small smile.
"Oh my..."
"I think I'm going to put him in the hospital." Matilda growled.
"I don't think that'd be smart." Juniper shrugged, sharing a smirk with Matilda. "But... I'm not telling you to not do it."
"Consider it done." Matilda winked back, leaning into her seat.
⚘
"I'm never taking this bus again." Hermione mumbled into Juniper's ear as the Knight Bus turned another sharp corner. Both the girls gripped onto hand rails as tightly as possible, struggling to stay upright. "I think I'm going to be sick."
"I should've told Dumbledore to forget it, I don't miss Fred this much." Juniper strained as the bus turned in the other direction. "Plus, that shrunken head keeps staring at me."
"You'll be glad you came, Weasley Christmases are meant to be fun." Hermione said, staring out the window. "Well, more fun than sitting alone at school by yourself. We're almost there anyway."
"I'm serious, do you have a jar of vinegar of something I can put that head in?"
"Shush. It can probably hear you." Hermione whispered, her eyes flicking to the head hanging beside the driver of the bus. "But it totally is staring at you."
"Do you have a beaters bat? Or a quaffle?"
"No..." Hermione pat down her pockets, looking for something. She pulled out a hair tie and a gum wrapper. "This is all I have, but I was using the wrapper as a bookmark, so you can't have it."
"What would I do with a gum wrapper?" Juniper stuck her nose up, glaring at the head as it swayed. "Shove it up it's filthy, little- ah!"
The two collided as the bus came to a harsh stop, the shrunken head announcing the street name. The conductor went to hand them their bags, quickly shooting them both a wink, which made their faces screw up in disgust simultaneously. Juniper snatched both the bags from him, about to stomp on his foot if Hermione didn't usher her off the bus in time.
"I am actually never getting on that thing again." Juniper said, waiting for the bus to disappear around the corner. "Between almost dying every turn, the shrunken head staring, and the scabies ridden, disgusting, perverted conductor, I'd much rather walk back to Hogwarts."
"We got here in one piece, that's all I can say." Hermione shrugged, leading Juniper through a park, down an alleyway, and to the mailbox between number 11 and number 13 of Grimmauld place. The two houses began rumbling apart, just as they had done for Juniper five and a half months ago. The two girls made their way up the stairs to the house that had revealed itself, knocking on the door with their bags in hand.
"ANOTHER HALF BREED? AND A DISGUSTING MUDBLOOD? THE SHAME YOU BRING TO THIS-" The portrait of Sirius Black's mother screeched as the door opened. Sirius ushered them in quickly, yelling back at the portrait.
"Emotions are still a bit high around here, I'd suggest keeping conversations as light as possible." Sirius smiled to the girls, leading them towards the stairs. Juniper spotted Remus Lupin leaning against the doorway of a bedroom, and gave a small wave. "You girls remember where everything is, Molly wants us all at the dinner table in half an hour." Sirius rushed out, pushing Remus into the bedroom and shutting the door behind them.
"I don't think that's any of our business." Hermione muttered, starting up the stairs. They made their way up the stairs, following the hallways to the bedroom they stayed in over Summer. Hermione knocked gently on the door, opening it slowly to reveal Ginny, laying on a bed and staring up at the ceiling. Her head rolled to the side at the sound of the door creaking, her face lighting up at the sight of Hermione.
"You don't know how happy I am to see you." Ginny breathed, sitting up straight. "Being the only teenage girl here sucks."
"I could imagine." Hermione laughed, throwing her bag on the nearest bed and jumping beside Ginny. Juniper watched them whisper to each other, awkwardly walking past to put her bag on the furthest bed.
"I think Fred is in the boys room." Ginny spoke up. "I have no idea what they're doing in there, they've been making noise all day."
"I'll go find out." Juniper said, leaving the room as fast as she could.
As she crossed the hallway to the boys room, the faint banging and yelling got louder and clearer, only hinting at the chaos that the room was in. She knocked on the door softly, causing the room to go silent. There was a brief silence before a voice called out from the other side.
"Who is it?"
"Um... Professor Umbridge." Juniper joked.
"Sorry, no one's in here." The voice called back.
"Let me in! It's Juniper." She banged her palm against the door, leading to another pause from the other side.
"Just a second!" There was more crashing and banging before another yell. "Come in!"
Juniper rolled her eyes to herself, sighing as she turned the handle, pushing the door open.
Red confetti exploded in her face, streamers flew through the air, and tiny trumpets played a little song.
"What the hell is this? Am I under attack?" Juniper held her hands over her head, ducking in case something hard came at her head. When nothing hit her, she opened her eyes slowly, looking at the display in front of her.
George and Ron were holding up a giant banner with the words 'I Love You' written across it in red glitter. In front of it, Fred was holding a bouquet of wild lavender, tied together with a pink ribbon, a lopsided grin sprawled across his face. He slowly made his way towards her, handing her the flowers.
"Hello." He said, grinning down at her. She looked up through her eyelashes, happy tears pricking her eyes. He cupped her face with his hands, bringing his head down to kiss her on the forehead. "I love you." He whispered.