Juniper woke up on Christmas morning to a crack at the foot of her bed.
"Wake up!" Fred and George screamed at the top of their lungs, shaking Juniper and Ginny's beds. "It's Christmas and we want breakfast."
"Go make yourself breakfast then." Juniper groaned in annoyance, turning over and shoving her face into her pillow.
"Will you two ever comprehend the concept of privacy?" Ginny hissed at them, getting up from bed. "What if we were getting changed? What would you have done then?"
"Claw my eyes out." George muttered.
"But you weren't getting changed. Call that divine intuition." Fred sassed back to Ginny, walking his way over the Juniper, lightly shaking her by the shoulders to wake her up. "Come on! It's Weasley Christmas time."
"I'm a Jones, not a Weasley." Juniper said into her pillow. "I sleep my Christmas days away."
"Not this year you don't. I'll see you at the table when you're ready" Fred said, followed by another crack as the twins disappeared.
"Freaks." Ginny muttered under her breath. "Ooh, presents. Hermione wake up, there's presents."
"Should we look through them now?" Hermione whispered, thinking Juniper was asleep. "I mean... I don't want to rub it in or anything."
"It's not like she didn't get anything. And she's asleep, she won't notice." Ginny shrugged it off, looking through the presents on the end of her bed. At that moment, Juniper decided to keep her face pressed against the pillow, It would be way too awkward if the girls knew she was awake and listening to them talking about her. She listened for a while as they excitedly talked about what they had gotten from everyone, listing off names of who their gifts were from, just about everyone that was living in the house for the holiday's, including Juniper. They remained silent as they looked at the gift she had gotten each of them, making it impossible for Juniper to know their reaction.
Eventually, they had decided to visit the boys room, tiptoeing out of the room and gently closing the door behind them, at which point Juniper's head snapped up from her pillow, looking to the end of her bed.
For the first time ever, she had Christmas presents, her heart swelled with warmth as she crawled over to look at them. They were both from Fred. His "I ♥ Egypt" t-shirt that she loved to wear so much and the horse statue from the shop the visited yesterday, shrunken down to fit in her hand.
Her giddiness faded once she saw how big Hermione and Ginny's piles were, remembering the all the names they had listed. She wasn't a materialistic person, and she knew she was more than grateful for Fred, his gifts, and everyone who had accepted her into the house but that couldn't push the overwhelming jealously creeping through her body.
Refusing to sulk and feel bad for herself, she forced herself out of bed, heading through the house to the kitchen, where she assumed everyone would be eating. Instead, she found Mrs. Weasley alone at the table, sobbing.
"Uhhhh..." Juniper began to panic, turning on her heel to leave.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Mrs. Weasley lifted her head from her hands, her eyes red and puffy. "I didn't hear you walk in."
"I didn't really walk in, I can just... go." Juniper insisted, continuing on her way out.
"That's fair." Mrs. Weasley sniffed, before bursting into another sob. "All my children leave me!"
"Oh, I'm not your-." Juniper hesitated, looking back towards the stairs, then to the knitted sweater on the chair beside Mrs. Weasley. One that was identical to the ones on Ginny and Hermione's beds, but with a 'P' knitted on the front. "Did you want me to stay while you talk about it?"
"No, no, you can go." Mrs. Weasley insisted, waving Juniper away, before bursting into sobs again. "I just don't know why he'd choose the ministry over his family!"
Juniper fought with herself in her head, as she walked over to the chair beside Mrs. Weasley, taking a seat and patting her on the back. She ungritted her teeth to talk. "Who chose the ministry over you guys?"
"My third eldest, Percy." Mrs. Weasley wailed, pointing out the letter on the sweater. "I knit a sweater for all my kids and their friends for Christmas, and he's sent his back. All because his boss doesn't believe You-Know-Who has returned. It's split up our family! He hasn't even asked about his father, not even a word! Just his sweater, balled up. Not even folded! Even Moody kept his sweater."
"Oh... gosh." Is all Juniper could say, as she continued to rub Mrs. Weasleys back, encouraging her to let her sobs out. "I don't think I've ever met Percy, so I can't really-."
"The first time anyone has ever given back a sweater! Not even Ron has turned one down." Mrs. Weasley continued to cry loudly. "Percy was always such a good boy. Why has he turned on me now!"
"Sometimes families just... have different political views. But you're still family?" Juniper suggested. "I don't know if it helps, but if I had one, I would've kept it."
"Thanks, honey." Mrs. Weasley smiled sadly at Juniper, patting her on the cheek with red eyes. "We'll see if you're still around in a few years, then you might get one."
"Oh." Juniper's breath caught in her throat, a very sharp sting striking through her chest. She knew Mrs. Weasley was going through something, but she was hoping for a nicer response, instead of a backhanded rejection. She slowly stood up, keeping a poker face. "Well, I'm going to go find someone who's better at advice, and that actually knows who Peter-"
"Percy."
"Percy! Someone who knows who your estranged son is." Juniper smiled- more sneered- before stomping up the stairs. She made her way to the bathroom, one of the only placed that guaranteed privacy in this house, and closed the door behind her, leaning against it. Her mouth hung in shock, still surprised by Mrs. Weasley's comment. She wasn't expecting that sort of harshness, especially around the holidays. And Juniper seemed to be the only one that bothered to try and comfort Mrs. Weasley, at least a trace of gratitude would've been nice, even if it was fake.
As Juniper sat against the door, replaying the events that had occurred during her short time awake, the conversation coming from the boy's room grew louder and louder, mixing with Ginny and Hermione's voices, talking about their past Christmases together, almost reminding Juniper that she was somewhat of an intruder in their group. At least, that was the way Juniper's brain interpreted it.
The group passed the bathroom, and Juniper sat in silence for a few minutes, before there was a soft knock on the door.
"Juniper? Are you in there?" Fred called through the door.
"Yeah." Juniper answered, her voice a lot quieter than she wanted it to be.
"What's wrong? Can I come in?" Fred said in almost a whisper. Juniper curled her fists up, irritated that Fred could tell there was something wrong with her, she wanted to sulk for a little longer. She very quickly wiped away the cold tears that had settled on her cheeks without her knowledge. Clenching her jaw and putting on her strongest front, she stood up and opened the door.
"Merry Christmas!" She beamed, her eyes pried open, wider than they had ever been before. She tiptoed to kiss Fred on the lips. "Is breakfast ready? I'm hungry."
"I don't think so." Fred said, stepping into the bathroom and closing the door behind him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing! What makes you think something is wrong?" Juniper continued to smile, knowing she wasn't convincing him in the slightest. Fred waved his wand around, locking and silencing the room, "What's everyone doing while we're waiting for breakfast?"
"Hermione's dragging Ron and Harry along to give the house elf a present. Ginny, George and I were going to go talk to mum, she's upset 'cause of Percy."
"Yeah, I heard..." Juniper trailed off. "Hermione's giving the house elf a gift?"
"Yeah, she made him a quilt or something? I wasn't really concentrating." Fred shrugged, bringing the conversation back. "What's wrong? Your face is getting angrier by the second."
"Nothing's wrong." Juniper forcibly relaxed her face.
"Buuullshit." Fred dragged jokingly. "You should know by now that you can't lie like that to me. Why were you crying? In the bathroom. By yourself. On Christmas morning"
"Can't a girl just cry for no reason?" Juniper turned away from him, pacing towards the shower.
"Obviously. But I don't think this is for no reason."
Juniper felt her chest constrict, debating whether to confide in him, or let it go, and let him enjoy his Christmas with his family. He stood in silence, giving her time and waiting for her response. Juniper fought to take a deep breath, turning back to Fred with a smile.
"It's stupid, hormones and stuff." Juniper waved her hands around to dismiss it. "Girl things."
"Oh. Oh." Fred nodded. "Got it. No more questions. Do you want me to get you anything? Chocolate? Flowers? I can ask Ginny if she has-"
"No! No, it's okay." Juniper stopped him, wrapping her arms around him. "Just go talk to your mum, I'm sure she needs some love today."
"Okay. I'll come and get you for breakfast." Fred squeezed her back.
"I think I'm going to go back to bed, I'm not that hungry." Juniper shrugged him off, sending him on his way to the kitchen, while she sat back down against the bathroom door.
⚘
"You have to promise me you'll give this to him." Juniper gritted her teeth at Fred, staring him straight in the eye. "I will find out if you don't, and bad things will happen to you."
"Don't threaten me with a good time, Junebug." Fred laughed.
"I'm serious, I'll make sure no one can find your body." Juniper remained serious, putting the cowboy themed rubber duck into Fred's palms.
"I love you. I'll see you when I get back." Fred smiled, kissing her on the forehead. Juniper waved as the Weasley's, Harry, Hermione, Moody and Remus walked to the cars parked out the front of the house, closing the door as they drove of, her joyful smile dropping as soon as she turned around. She marched to the kitchen to find leftovers from the Christmas Lunch that she decided to not attend.
"Molly took it all with them, so Arthur can have some." Sirius Black slurred, walking into the kitchen as Juniper raided the fridge. He had a bottle of Firewhiskey tucked under his arm, and made his way onto a chair.
"Of course she did." Juniper slammed the door of the fridge, taking a seat across from him. "Can I have some of that?"
"Only a little, it's my last bottle for the month. Moody's cutting me off." Sirius slid the bottle towards her.
"How rude of him." Juniper said, taking a swig and handing it back to him, trying to hide her reaction to the taste. Sirius laughed to himself, taking his own sip with no reaction.
"How come you didn't go with them all?" He asked, watching her closely.
"I don't want to intrude on their family time." Juniper shrugged.
"Harry and Hermione aren't their family, and they're going." Sirius countered.
"They're more family than I-"
"I think Fred would disagree." Sirius cut her off, challenging her to continue. "This house is like... a curse. It makes you feel trapped, even though the door is right there. It's a horrible place to be."
"The house is fine." Juniper shrugged.
"What about the people in it?"
"I don't have a problem with the people here." Juniper defended quickly. "Everyone has been more than accomodating, given what's happened and is still happening. I couldn't thank them enough. I can't thank you enough for letting me stay here."
"But..." Sirius encouraged her. She saw a look in his eyes that she had only ever seen in the mirror, like he was hiding that same feeling of loneliness and guilt, the one that comes when you feel no one around you trusts you.
"But none of them like me. No matter what I do." She confined, watching him nod in understanding. "They don't trust me. If I slip up once, Mrs. Weasley would throw me out without a second thought. Even though I've told them, and shown them, and proved to them that I have no ulterior motives, Fred's the only reason I'm here."
There was a profound silence once she had finished, the two sitting with the words still in the air, thinking about what was coming next.
"I ran away from this house when I was still in school. I cut off my entire family. My cousins, my lovely mother, my brother." Sirius began speaking, staring at the table with a heavy sadness. "And while Effie, Monty and James Potter were the closest thing I had to family, I think the biggest mistake I've ever made, was leaving my younger brother."
"Was he..."
"He became a Death Eater, as most of my family was." Sirius confirmed for her. "But I think if I had kept him close, I would've stopped it, he would've made it out with me."
"I'm sorry, that sounds horrible." Juniper said, unable to look anywhere but at Sirius.
"I'm sorry Molly hasn't been anywhere as near as accommodating as the Potter's were to me. I mean... using Veritaserum, not giving you a Christmas sweater, trying Legilimency against you. And the things she says when you kids aren't here. I wouldn't want to stay here either.
"What? Legilimen-"
"I think you should talk to Fred about it, he's holding onto as tight as I would've held onto Reggie." Sirius suggested, standing up with his bottle. "But if you do decide to leave, I'll keep it a secret, I'm pretty good at keeping those."
"Thank you." Juniper said, sitting quietly as Sirius walked off, singing Christmas carols loudly to himself.
She sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to decide what she was going to do, before bolting up the stairs to pack her bag.