▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐲-𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ━︎━︎ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐑 arms over her chest, eyes glancing around the woman's house as Harry helped her light a candle. Juniper had to admit that the woman was creepy, and she'd be lying to herself if she said this was anything but suspicious. as Harry walked away from the woman, she turned her attention on Hermione and Juniper, staring at them. Juniper rose a brow as Hermione took a step closer to her, looping her arm with Juniper's.

     Harry walked closer to a picture, using a lit match to see it more clearly. "Miss Bagshot, who is this man?"

     Bathilda turned to look at him before grabbing the candle and walking past him. Juniper mumbled quietly, "She's not very verbal, is she?" She shared a look with Hermione as harry followed the woman up the stairs.

     Hermione and Juniper walked through the lower floor with Juniper using her wand to guide them through. They walked by a book and Hermione pulled her to a stop, picking it up. There was a note attached it to it from Rita Skeeter. Juniper scowled at the name. Hermione lifted the letter, showcasing the front of the book that had Dumbledore's face on it. "The life and lies of Dumbledore." Juniper mumbled. "God, I hate that woman."

They continued through the home before coming to a stop in front of a door. It was slightly cracked open, flies escaping it. Juniper looked at Hermione and Hermione pulled out her wand. Juniper let go of her, gently pushing Hermione behind her as she pulled the door open. Immediately she covered her nose and mouth with her arm, almost gagging at the smell. Blood covered the room and the woman who was supposed to be upstairs with Harry was instead lying dead on the floor.

     "Harry!" Hermione yelled, turning to run for him only to trip and fall. Juniper quickly pulled her up and they ran towards Harry. They could hear ruckus coming from upstairs and they quickly ran up the stairs, finding Harry on the ground, scrambling away from Nagini who was trying to attack him. The snake turned its attention to Hermione and Juniper before jumping to attack. Hermione quickly used her wand and sent the snake flying down the steps.

     Juniper reached forwards and grabbed Harry's and quickly before crouching down beside Hermione as they hid behind the bed which Harry was on top of. After a moment, Juniper slowly stood and just as she did the snake went to attack her. Quickly she shouted, "Confringo!" Fire erupted from her wand as the snake went flying back down the stairs. Immediately Hermione grabbed both of their hands and they apparted away.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐈𝐍 the snowy forest they had appeared in, staring ahead of her as she fiddled with the locket around her neck. Hermione sat on the ground reading a book as Harry left to get some water from the nearby lake. When he came back he went inside the tent. A little while later Harry walked out, letting out a breath at the sight before him. Hermione turned her head to look at him. "Are you feeling better?"

     Harry walked towards her. "You've outdone yourself this time, Hermione."

     "The Forest of Dean." Hermione explained as Juniper walked over to her, sitting down. "I came here once with mum and dad years ago. It's just how I remember it." Harry sat down across from them. "It's just how I remember it. The trees, the river―︎everything. Like nothing's changed. Not true, of course. Everything's changed. If I brought my parents back here now, they probably wouldn't recognize any of it. Not the trees. . . not the river. . . not even me." Juniper laid her head on Hermione's shoulder, a frown prominent on her lips. "Maybe we should just stay here, Harry. Grow old."

     Juniper's heart broke at how exhausted Hermione sounded, like the life had been drained from her. She wished she knew how to fix it, but she couldn't, because Juniper herself was exhausted. She was tired of it all. She was tired of running, tired of hiding, tired of fighting. She was just so drained. Hermione continued, "You wanted to know who the boy in the photograph was. I know. Gellert Grindelwald." She reached over, handing Harry her book.

     Harry flipped through the book, looking at the pictures of the boy. "He's the thief I saw in Gregorovitch's wand shop. Speaking of which, where's my wand?"  He looked at Juniper as he asked, having seen her grab it. "Where's my wand, Juniper?"

     Juniper looked at him, removing her head from Hermione's shoulder. She softly sighed as she pulled the broken wand out. "As we were leaving Godric's Hollow, I cast a curse and it rebounded. I'm sorry. Hermione and I tried to mend it, but wands are different."

     "It's done." Harry said. "Leave me one of yours. Go inside and get warm, both of you." He stood up, dusting the snow from his pants. "I'll take the locket, as well." Juniper hesitated before standing up and giving him the locket as Hermione handed him her wand. They entered the tent and Juniper took a seat at the table, placing her hands in her hair.

     "I've went and messed everything up, haven't I?" Juniper whispered.

     Hermione, who was pouring them both a cup of warm tea, immediately turned to look at her. She grabbed the two mugs before walking over to the table, placing one in front of Juniper as she took a seat beside her. "You haven't messed anything up, Jay."

     Juniper scoffed, tears brimming her eyes. "What do you call breaking Harry's wand?"

     "I call that an accident." Hermione said. "You couldn't have known the curse was going to rebound, that wasn't your fault."

     "How is Harry supposed to fight him without his wand?" Juniper asked. "First, my mom is killed. Next, I break Harry's wand―︎"

     "Wait." Hermione interrupted her. "You don't think you're the reason your mother was killed, do you?" Juniper didn't say anything, instead keep her gaze on the tea in front of her. "That wasn't you fault. Hey, look at me." She reached over, gently turning Juniper's head so that she would look at her. "That wasn't your fault. How could you even think that?"

     "She was protecting me. Me. If I hadn't been there, she wouldn't have died. I mean, I ruined Harry's one chance at having a happy home. Who else am I to blame, Hermione?"

     "Bellatrix." Hermione easily answered. "Bellatrix Lestrange killed your mother. Not you. If she were here, she'd be appalled to ever hear you say or think that."

     "But she's not here and that's the problem." Juniper shook her head. "Bellatrix might've given the final blow, and I still plan to kill her for it, but it was my fault she was even there in the first place."

     "No. You can't think like that. You can't take yourself down this dreadful rabbit hole, I won't let you."

     "You can't exactly stop me."

     Hermione placed a hand on her cheek, wiping the stray tear that had fallen. "I can try." Hermione searched her eyes for a moment before softly saying, "It wasn't your fault." More tears started flowing and Hermione pulled her close, holding on to her tightly. Juniper had never had the chance to fully process her mother's passing, and now it seemed to have hit her all at once. Hermione ran a hand through her hair as she let Juniper cry, softly whispering, "It's okay."

     When Juniper finally calmed down, she pulled away, wiping away her tears. "I'm sorry."

     Hermione shook her head. "Don't apologize."

     "Thank you," Juniper whispered. Hermione gave her a gentle smile and nodded.

     "Now, what is in that journal?" Hermione asked, nodding towards it.

     Juniper reached forwards and grabbed it, pulling it in front of her. She opened it and flipped through the pages, shaking her head. "I think it's inside information about what went down in the Order during the first war. I also think mum knew Peter was the rat. Look." She pointed to a page, pushing it towards Hermione.

    "Entry #127. There's someone inside the Order that is not really who they say they are. These past few missions the Death Eaters have been waiting for us there, ready to strike. James and I had to fight them off and leave quickly, unable to accomplish our mission. They knew we were going to be there, but how? Someone's been feeding them information. Dumbledore has his suspicions, naturally the boys do as well, but I think I've figured it out. He's been right under our noses this whole time. The rat. My heart aches at the thought of such an accusation, but I have nothing else to prove me otherwise. I think it's―︎someone's coming. I must go."

     Hermione finished reading the entry before looking at Juniper. "How did she know?"

     Juniper shook her head. "I don't know. I haven't gotten that far. I've been reading a little bit every day and while I always knew the first was rough, I didn't realize how bad it really was." Juniper opened her mouth to say more but stopped when Harry's voice called out to them from outside the tent.

     "Hermione! June!"

     The two girls exchanged a look before quickly exiting the tent. Juniper held her wand, prepared for a strike. "Is everything alright?" Hermione asked, looking at Harry who was standing on top of the hill.

     "It's fine." Harry said. "Actually, you know, it's more than fine."

     Juniper let out a breath. "Merlin, Harry. You scared us." They walked up the hill and came to a stop when they saw Ron standing there.

     Ron smiled. "Hey."

     Hermione stormed towards him, ripping his bag off his shoulder, tossing it to the ground, and began hitting him. "You complete ass, Ronald Weasley!" She threw a handful of leave at him from the ground. She picked up his bag and started hitting him with it. "You show up here after weeks, and you say 'hey'?!" She snapped her head towards Harry. "Where's my wand? Where's my wand, Harry?"

     "I don't know." Harry quickly lied.

     Hermione ran at him. "Harry Potter, you give me my wand!"

     "I don't have it!"

     Juniper stood there with pure amusement on her face. Ron asked, "How come he's got your wand?"

     Hermione snapped her head back at him. "Never mind why he's got my wand!" She then noticed the locket in his hand. "What is that?" Ron lifted it up as Juniper stalked closer. "You destroyed it." She looked at Harry before looking back at Ron. "And how is that you just happen to have the sword of Gryffindor?"

     "It's a long story." Harry answered.

     "Don't think this changes anything." Hermione said, walking away.

     "Oh, of course not. I only just destroyed a bloody horcrux. Why would that change anything?" Ron said and Hermione turned to look at him. "Look, I wanted to come back as soon as I left. I just didn't know how to find you."

     "Yeah, how did you find us?" Juniper questioned, crossing her arms over her chest.

     "With this." He pulled out the deluminator. "It doesn't just turn off lights. I don't know how it works, but Christmas morning, I was sleeping in this little pub, keeping away from some snatchers. And I heard it."

     "It?" Harry asked.

     "A voice―︎your voice, Hermione―︎coming out of it."

     "And what exactly did I say, may I ask."

     "My name. Like a whisper. So, I took it, clicked it, and this tiny ball of light appeared. And I knew. And sure enough it floated toward me―︎ the ball of light. Went right to my chest, straight through me. And I knew it was gonna take me where I needed to go, so I disapparted and came to this hillside. It was dark. I had no idea where I was. I just hoped that one of you would show yourself. And you did." He looked at Harry as he said the last sentence.

     Juniper stared at him. "Well, glad you're back and all, but you sound insane."

     Ron looked at her and couldn't help but chuckle. "I have to say, I missed that."

     "What, me telling you your insane? I can say it more often if you'd like."

     Ron shook his head. "No, you speaking whatever's on your mind."

     Juniper managed a small smile before shaking her head. "Let's get inside. It's cold." None of them objected and Juniper grabbed Hermione's hand as they made their way back to the tent.