"You and Fred Weasley are friends now, then?" Cedric asked as he walked down the hallway of Hogwarts with Juniper by his side, leaving the pottery room.

"I don't know, I guess so, I don't want to string him up anymore." Juniper said with a nod of her head as Cedric hummed, "George says he likes my company but I think he was just trying to be nice."

"You're lovely company." Cedric said back to her with a half grin, making Juniper grin and watch the painting as she walked.

"I once came out here in the middle of the night and got into a huge argument with one of these paintings. They called me a filthy blood traitor so I smashed the painting on the stairs. They just moved to the painting next to them but it still felt good." Juniper said as she looked around at the paintings that spoke to each other casually, recalling her midnight episode last year.

"But you aren't a blood traitor." Cedric said with a frown of his eyebrows, Juniper looked to him quickly as his eyes widened, "Not that I think blood traitors are a thing, I don't care about all that."

"My aunt, the one who raised me, she married a muggle so they like to think I am too." Juniper said with a sigh as the pair walked down the stairs together now, "I don't care about it either but I kinda like the idea of pureblood children if I were to have any, so they can have a long line of magic and not have to worry about stupid paintings telling them off."

Cedric grinned as he spun her slightly to uplift her mood, "You want kids?"

"Yeah, I think so." she nodded her head, dark curls bouncing as she did so, "I don't know if I want to have them myself though."

"Yeah, giving birth sounds intense. I couldn't-" he began before Juniper cut him off.

"It's not the intense part. There's plenty of spells that help with pain." she said with a sigh, sensing him waiting for her to go on, "I just don't think I could be so selfish to pass down my genes to a child that didn't ask to be born."

"What do you mean?" Cedric asked her. Juniper felt like slapping him for the question. What could he possibly be thinking? That she wanted a child to have any part of her?

"I don't want them to turn out like me, and if it's genetic they could." Juniper said with a shrug of her shoulders, "I know it seems like I don't know... I do know, I just don't want anyone to think I know that i'm crazy."

"You're not crazy." Cedric spoke to her suddenly, grabbing her shoulders to hold her against the wall gently, "You're perfect."

Juniper had to laugh at his words, she blushed, but she laughed, "You think that, and I'm so glad you do. But i'm not perfect, and i'm okay with that now. But I couldn't do that to my own kid, I couldn't imagine them waking up terrified of themselves ever morning."

Cedric watched her eyes looked down. He always thought Juniper handled her mind well, he knew there was a lot of chaos up there, but he figured she could learn to love it like he had. He could see her being scared of herself now, he just wished he would have known that.

"You're not crazy." he spoke, leaning forward and kissing her right check. Juniper gasped at the contact before he kissed her left check again, "You're not terrifying."

He moved to kiss her forehead, "You're not vial."

"You're not horrible." he kissed her chin.

"You're not her." he then kissed her nose, holding her face. There was a tear rolling down her face, his thumb whipping it away, staring into her eyes with their nose touching, "You're absolutely perfect."

Juniper breathed heavy, her eyes watery. She couldn't remember anyone reassuring her, couldn't remember anyone ever looking past her inherited traits and seeing her. Cedric had, he'd seen her flaws and he still stayed, he saw her weaknesses and he stayed, he saw so much more then what the public eye knew.

"Cedric." she whispered, he hummed, waiting for her to go on. Juniper shut up, not knowing what to say but wanting to scream at the top of her lungs. Instead she clapped her hands on her cheeks, holding tightly and violently as her lips where pressed into his roughly and sudden.

Cedric hummed against her lips, more in shock then anything. After a moment he melted into her, grabbing her hands on his cheeks to hold, showing her how to be easy, how to be gentle. Junipers finger tips ran across his cheek, showing him she could be gentle and that it only took her a moment.

When the pair pulled back, he laughed. He laughed beautifully and with so much joy, making her grin as well. He kissed her again, like he couldn't feel it the first time. When Cedric pulled away from her, Juniper was the one to laugh before he spit out the question, "Go to the Yule Ball with me."

Juniper grinned, putting her arms around his neck as her eyes widened in joy, fear, panic, love, and everything in between, "Only if you kiss me again."

Cedric grinned, smiling as he crashed his lips onto hers, pulling her in close as the pair spend their evening just like that.

Juniper let out a scream into the pillow that night as she crashed into the Slytherin common rooms green couch. Blaise and Theo shared a grin while Pansy and Draco gave a odd look.

"Have you dangled someone off the side of the stairs again?" Pansy asked her, sitting up more, "That was the last time i've seen you so happy."

"Or maybe you've hexed someone?" Draco asked as Juniper rolled onto her back, her face red as blood, eyes wider then ever, staring up at the elegant ceiling with nothing but glee and overjoy in her eyes.

"No, cousin!" Juniper laughed as she sat up, "I've got a boyfriend."

"A boyfriend?" Draco asked with a crazy look.

"Yes!" Juniper yelled as she fell back onto the cushions with a scream, startling a few first years near to fire place.

"Diggory then, was it?" Theo asked, shaking her leg as Juniper sat up again.

"He asked me to the Yule Ball so I got on one knee and ask for his hand in being a couple." Juniper said as Blaise slapped his forehead, "He said yes."

"Aw, June, that's exciting." Blaise said with a laugh, moving to kiss her on the head.

"I don't approve, he's a Hufflepuff." Draco said with a pleasing look, "Whats his blood?"

"Pureblood. And who cares? Hufflepuffs are amazing, our cousin was in Hufflepuff." Juniper said knowingly, reminding herself she was to sent Tonks a letter tonight telling her all about it.

"Your cousin." Draco corrected as he looked down at his book.

"Oh, be happy for her, Malfoy." Theo said with a eyeroll as he looked to Juniper who hadn't let the blondes words get to her, still looking over the moon, "A boyfriend, woah. Did you kiss him?"

"Yes! He was so good at it too! Soft lips." Juniper said as she put a hand on her heart, "I want to cut them off and keep them forever."

"Maybe don't tell him that." Blaise laughed as he stroked Junipers hair, "Did he have abs like I said?"

"I'm not listening to this." Draco said as he stood up, "Go to sleep soon, Juniper."

"Goodnight!" she called out to him with a giggle, "And I don't know, Blaise! I didn't strip him in the middle of the hallway!"

"Oou, why not?" Theo asked in a teasing manor, moving closer to her.

"Because she has some form of modesty." Pansy suddenly cut in with a huff, "Or so we thought."

"Whats that suppose to mean?" Juniper asked as she sat up with a huff, "You don't approve either?"

"I don't think you should be dating at all." Pansy said as she huffed, Juniper stared at her, "It's not safe, you have to know that."

"Shove off, Pansy." Blaise snapped at her with a eyeroll, "Just forget it."

"No, I wanna know what she means." Juniper stared, staring with round, mix emotioned eye, "Whats not safe?"

"Don't." Theo said to the brunette who stood up, staring at Juniper who hadn't left her eye.

"You're not safe." the girl stared toward her friend, "You're my friend and I know you better then he does. You dating isn't safe, all you'll do is physically hurt him somehow."

"Merlin, Pansy! Shut your mouth!" Theo snapped at her as Juniper stood up quickly, pushing her pillow into the ground.

"I'd never hurt him!" Juniper shouted at her in annoyance, "You don't know anything about me, you're a liar!"

"I know everything about you." Pansy said, throwing her bag down, "You can't control yourself, ever! You hurt people without realizing it! You won't even realize it until he's in the hospital wing with his blood on your hands!"

"Shut your mouth you disgusting tosser." Juniper snapped as her quickly, her chest heaving in anger. Her eyes watered, not because she was sad, but because she was filled with rage.

"You shut your mouth! Admit it! You know that's how you are! You'd kill him before you could even plan your first date!" Pansy's words were venom. Juniper knew she was far from kind, though she had never use such foul and vial words with her of all people.

"Liar!" Juniper shouted at her, throwing her body at the girl as the pair fell onto the ground.

"Guys!" Theo yelled as he tried to break the pair up. Junipers fist collided with Pansy's nose, having her hair yanked as Pansy elbowed her into the jaw. Juniper yelped as the pair wrestled, grabbing her wand.

"Eat slugs!" she yelled before Pansy could get another hit in. The girl gagged as a slug came from her mouth. Juniper rubbed her head, moving to feel her nose pouring with blood. Pansy's did as well, though it was hard to tell with the slugs pouring from her throat.

"What's going on in here?" Snape scolded as he stormed into the common room, staring at the pair of bloody girls while Theo and Blaise shared a look.

Juniper sat in the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let her leave until her nose was done bleeding, which was taking a while.

"Would hate to see the other guy." a voice spoke. When Juniper looked up she found Harry standing in the doorway, "Are you okay?"

"Feels like the time I hit my head on a rock running from a fish in the pond behind my house." Juniper said as she held her head in pain, the tissues stuffed up her nose, "Do I look horrible?"

"No, I don't think." Harry said as he sat infront of her. Ever since Harry had gotten into contact with Sirius last year, him and Juniper had a close bond. Being near her felt like he was being close to the only family he had left in his life, that being his godfather who was Junipers blood cousin. Juniper liked Harry, she felt protective over him, like he was more family then the Malfoys were, "Thats gonna leave a bad bruise though."

"M' gonna look horrible for the Yule Ball." Juniper complained as she drank the water on her bedside table, "Maybe I could cancel."

"Are you kidding? Cedrics basically telling everyone already, he's so excited to take you." Harry said as Juniper flushed and looked down at her bedsheets, "Does he know you're here?"

"No, don't tell him please." Juniper begged as Harry gave her a confused expression, "Pansy and I got into the fight in the first place because of him, I know how he'll get if he knew that."

Harry could imagine Cedric blaming himself for Junipers bruised jaw and bloody nose, nodding understandably.

"You'll have to tell Sirius, you know." Harry teased, making sure no one was around to hear, "I'm sure he'll think you having a boyfriend is just brilliant."

Juniper laughed at the thought, "He'd bust his nose in."

"Probably." Harry agreed as the pair laughed, "Cedrics great, he really likes you."

"So you approve?" Juniper asked hopefully as Harry nodded, "Glad someone in my family does."

Harry flushed at her words, "Fam-"

"You know what I mea-"

"I do." Harry reassured her, feeling warm and soft. Family, family wasn't about blood and he knew that. Sirius was his family, so was Juniper, "When can you go back to your dorms?"

"Whenever my nose stops bleeding, but I'd rather not. She's my roommate, I don't wanna see her right now." the curly hair girl said with a loud sigh, picking as her fingers.

"Want me to stay for a little bit?" Harry asked as she flicked her eyes his way, "You can tell me stories about Sirius and Andromeda, he talks about her all the time."

Juniper patted the seat next to her as Harry crawled over, pushing up against her as Juniper began telling him the first memory she had with his God Father.

•

kylie speaks

how sweet was
all this? SO SWEET!