The Life of Juniper Potter
Chapter One
A Chance Meeting
A/N-I'm posting this chapter, the previous chapter, and the next chapter at the same time, that way we can get straight into the good stuff. Aren't I nice person? Also, I apologize if I butcher Hagrid's accent.
Disclaimer -I in no way own Harry Potter, it belongs to she-who-must-not-be-named.
Juniper had seen a great many strange things in her life. She had teleported herself to the school roof once. She did it to escape a beating at the hands of her cousin and his gang, though it was completely unintentional and unexpected, and she didn't even know what happened at the time. Man she got in a lot of trouble for that. She was accustomed to weird things happening to her.
What she was not accustomed to was having an entire tavern full of drunken wizards gawking at the scar on her forehead. She got that she had 'saved' them from their supposed dark lord, but she wasn't even a year old when it happened. What did they expect; a detailed narrative of how he died?
Then you had the procession of people coming up to shake my hand. She didn't mean to be rude. She just really, really didn't like being touched by drunks. She really didn't like the admiration coming from a few of the patrons in particular; they had this weird glint in their eyes. Hagrid started sending them off after a bit.
"I think we should get out o' here before we attract another mob." Hagrid said with a smile on his face.
"Th-That would p-probably be wise." spoke an unfamiliar voice. She looked up to see a strange man dressed in a turban.
"Ah, Professor Quirrell, great ter see ya again. Juniper this will be yer Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrell. Professor Quirrell this here is…" Hagrid was cut off at this point.
"Juniper Potter…" He seemed awestruck as he gazed upon her scar. It was at this time that she started developing a headache. The exchange between Hagrid and Professor Quirrell became muffled. She felt the strong urge to turn around. She did so to see a dark skinned woman with frizzy black hair and a bandana. She was glaring at her scar. Juniper felt a very strong urge to leave; people that glare at her like that never have the best of intentions. She turned to see that Hagrid and Professor Quirrell were saying their good-byes. She urged to Hagrid that they should hurry up.
Hagrid ushered her downstairs to the cellar. She gave him a strange look. "Don't worry. This is the best part when I get people from muggles." Hagrid had a grin from ear to ear and had gotten his pink umbrella out.
"M-muggles?" she asked; yet another term that she had no idea of the meaning.
"Non-magic folk," Hagrid explained. Juniper nodded in understanding. She made a note to grab a dictionary for magical terms when they stopped by the bookstore. This was getting confusing. "Now stand back." Juniper did so post-haste.
"Three up, two across…" Hagrid muttered as he tapped the bricks. The stones suddenly began to shift as though they were part of a giant rubric's cube. They gradually formed an arch that led outside. A sign was visible off to the side.
"Welcome, Juniper, to Diagon alley." Hagrid grinned at Juniper's look of pure amazement. The nearest shop had a big sign up that proclaimed a sale on star charts and fortunes, the window looked like the night sky. Just beyond that was a potions shop with all different kinds of fancy cauldrons. There was a gold one, a silver one, and there was even one with jewels encrusted into the handle. The other side of the street was home to a store with a set of three birds in the window the highest banister had a snowy white owl, she thought that the owl was one of the most beautiful things that she had ever seen.
"Hagrid, how am I g-going to pa-pay for all this?" Juniper asked with a dour expression. "D-does the school h-have a t-trust fund for th-those who c-can't afford t-to come?"
Hagrid just smiled at this. "Well they do, but I doubt if you'll need it. Ye didn't think yer parents left ye with nuttin' did ya?" Hagrid inquired with a look of mock indignation. Juniper just stared at Hagrid confusedly. "Next stop, Gringotts."
Hagrid led her down the road. She took this as an opportunity to look around some more. Each store seemed to have its own unique flare to it. There was a place called Florean Fortiscue's that sold sweets. It looked so inviting and had a very long line. Next to that was a sign that led out to a place called Knockturn Alley. She noticed that not many people were going down that particular alley. She did however see the same girl she saw in the pub wander down its darkened streets. She also saw a man with greasy black hair follow after her.
The final place that caught her eye however was a bookstore. Flourish and Blotts was the name that loomed over a book on the signpost in big white letters. The words were surrounded by a set of two quills. The window showcased a rather large tome labeled Hogwarts a History. The door looked so inviting that she had to fight to stay with Hagrid.
'Money first, books later, money first, books later,' was the mantra that she kept repeating in her head. When they finally reached the bank, Juniper raced straight through the door, eager to get to all of the different shops in the alley. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the creature that stood by the door. She had never seen anything like it in her life. "Ha-Hagrid, what kind of c-creature is th-that?" The creature sent a glare to Juniper that made her shrink back behind Hagrid. Juniper went several shades paler.
"That, Juniper is a goblin. Good morning Griphook." The goblin turned his attention to the giant and muttered a good morning in return.
"I-I'm sorry for being r-rude, I-I'm still t-taking everything i-in and I got a l-little excited." Griphook just nodded his head and went into the building. Juniper then noticed the sign on the door.
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
"Basically, don't steal nuttin'. Not that you could if ye tried. Ye'd have to be mad to try and rob Gringotts. The only place safer in the world is Hogwarts, after you me lady." Juniper smiled as Hagrid held the door open for her. He ushered me to the front desk where Griphook waited patiently. "We've come to access the Potter vault."
"Do you have her key?" Griphook asked critically.
"Hold on got it 'ere somewhere." He began to fish through his different pockets pulling out an assortment of dog-biscuits and keys, none of which were the ones he was looking for. Griphook looked on it what Juniper believed was disgust until he finally pulled out her key.
"I also have a letter from Dumbledore, 'bout the you-know-what in vault seven hundred and thirteen." Hagrid pulled out a small faded envelope. Griphook read it very carefully before asking them to please follow him. He led them to a large mine cart and motioned for us to get in.
"I hate this part." Juniper didn't have time to ponder what he meant, it seemed to answer itself when she was hurled to the back of the cart as it very rapidly picked up speed. There were a bunch of rapid twists and turns and they eventually ended up at what he figured was his vault. Hagrid looked like he was about to throw up.
"I hate these things. I hate 'em so much." Hagrid was muttering under his breath as he tried to recompose himself. One hand was on the cart keeping him steady.
Griphook opened the vault and led them both inside. Juniper paled when she saw it. Gold! Lots of gold! Enough to swim in! Hagrid just smiled.
"All yours." Was Hagrid's response to Juniper's expression. Juniper gaped. All of this was hers. The Dursleys had gone on and on about how she was a freeloading wench and she had enough money to buy their house twenty times over. They couldn't have known about this.
Hagrid helped her pile some of it into a bag. "Don't spend it all in one place now, ye here. That bag should last you a couple of terms." Hagrid just smiled and laughed a little at the fact that her mouth still hadn't closed.
"Now then, on to vault seven hundred and thirteen. Could we maybe go a little slower this time?" Hagrid almost pleaded. Griphook had an evil smile on his face.
"One speed." He slammed the lever and they were barreling down the tracks once more.
Juniper was expecting mounds of gold or something really big and expensive to garner all of this special attention. She was a little shocked that a vault larger than his own was home to a single package wrapped in cloth, small enough to fit in Hagrid's pocket. They got back into the cart, much to Hagrid's chagrin and were quickly among the witches and wizards in Diagon Alley.
"So then, Juniper, do you have any preference on where to start?" Hagrid asked through a pained expression. Juniper smiled and softly asked to go to the place she wanted to go since she got here.
"C-could we go to th-the bookstore, please?"
Scene-Shift
Hermione had never been this excited in her life. She was a witch, she was going to a new school, and the school was paying for her to go! They were slowly making their way to a pup that Minerva called the Leaky Cauldron. As the boarded the train, they heard Professor McGonagall mutter that muggle transportation was so slow. When we got off she took us to a tall and dark building that had a sign overhead.
"Here we are." Professor McGonagall had to bite back a chuckle at the Granger parents shared look of confusion.
"We are?" Asked Jane Granger, Hermione's mother. She looked like an older version of Hermione. Her hair hung down to the middle of her back and was the same color as Hermione's, but a lot less frizzy than the preteen's. She had deep brown eyes and a tall slender figure that Hermione was hoping she would eventually grow into.
"There's nothing here but a condemned building." Said Adam Granger, Hermione's father. He stood just a little shorter then Professor McGonagall with deep blue eyes and dark brown hair that looked like it hadn't seen a comb in years.
"It's right there. It has a big sign overhead. It says the Leaky Cauldron." Hermione exclaimed as she pointed to what her parents saw as a group of boards.
"Oh, right, the wards. You two take my hands, we'll lead you into the building. Whatever you do don't let go." Professor McGonagall offered both hands to Mr. and Mrs. Granger. As they walked, Hermione's parents got increasingly more anxious and even fought to free their hands from McGonagall's grasp. They eventually got through and were standing in a pup.
"What the heck was that?" the professor smirked at Mr. Granger's response.
"That, Mr. Granger, was a ward designed to keep muggles out. It disguised the place as a condemned building and had a compulsion charm that made you want to leave. It's what keeps this place hidden. That was the hard part, and now that you've gone through the wards on this pub, you'll be able to come and go as you please, though you'll still need Hermione to get to the alley if you take this route. There are a number of quicker ways to get there, but that was needed to get you through the wards on Diagon Alley." She turned to Hermione. "Remind me to connect your parents' house with the floo network. It will allow easier transport for them, and they don't even need to be wizards to use it.
"Floo network?" Hermione asked.
"A magical way of transport. It lets you travel between fireplaces, as well as talk through it like a telepone." Professor McGonagall seemed completely oblivious to the mispronunciation.
"That's telephone." Hermione corrected. Professor McGonagall blanched a bit.
"I'm sorry, the magical world is a bit out of touch with the muggle world." She had a sheepish expression on her face. She considered herself fairly knowledgeable on things in the muggle world.
"It's alright, we had the no idea the magical world existed. You can be patient with us, we can be patient with you." The professor gave Mrs. Granger a smile for her kind reassurance before turning to gaze toward a set of stairs leading down.
"Right then, follow me please. The entrance to Diagon Alley is just down these steps." They followed her down to the cellar, where they came upon a solid brick wall. "Now, watch carefully." She tapped her wand on a few bricks and the whole wall started to shift. The bricks parted and started to form an archway for them to enter. "Welcome to Diagon Alley." The Granger family gaped throughout the proceedings.
"Right, so where to first?" asked Mr. Granger.
"Bookstore!" was the immediate reply from Hermione.
"The bank is our first stop. You'll need to know how that works and I need to get money from the student trust fund." Hermione deflated at hearing these words. Her mom saw this and thought she'd let her daughter enjoy her trip here a bit more.
"We could always split up, Adam can go with you to show us how things work and I could start pulling out books from her list at the bookstore. Plus whatever else she would like to look at." Professor McGonagall pursed her lips.
"Are you sure, we might be a while at Gringott's." Mr. Granger laughed at this statement.
"Professor, Hermione would keep herself busy until we got all of her school supplies if we left her in the bookstore, and then we'd have to drag her away." Professor McGonagall agreed but told them to be careful, she led them to the entrance of Flourish and Blotts and carted Mr. Granger off to Gringotts. Mrs. Granger was quickly enveloped in a massive hug.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" were the words that came from Hermione's lips. She rushed through the doors at a lightning fast speed, only to run full on into another individual.
Scene-Shift
Juniper got hit, hard. She was lying on her back, and everything seemed really blurry. She reached up and touched her face when she realized what was missing. She shot upright in a panic. Her glasses! She was basically blind now! She started to scramble all over the floor in a desperate attempt at sight.
Hermione was slowly starting to regain her wits. She got up slowly and saw a girl with long red hair rubbing her head. She started to move fast after that, offering a hand to the girl she knocked down and apologizing profusely. The other girl ignored her hand and started scrambling furiously on the ground.
"W-Where are th-they?" Juniper said frantically.
"Where are what?" Hermione asked with a confused expression on her face.
"M-my glasses. I c-can't see anything without th-them." The reply was very short and clipped. Hermione looked around and noticed a pair of glasses on the floor. They were cracked on one side and Hermione began feeling a little nervous. Fifteen minutes in the magical world and she had already gotten on someone's bad side.
"Are these your glasses?" Hermione put them on Juniper's face carefully and the girl relaxed almost instantly.
"Th-thank you." Hermione looked a little downcast when she heard the response.
"Don't be, I'm the one that ran into you. I'm really, really sorry." said Hermione. Juniper just smiled.
"D-don't worry a-about it. Th-these b-break all th-the t-time, b-but th-there always r-right as rain th-the next d-day. I n-never kn-knew why until a few d-days ago." Hermione got excited when she heard that.
"So you're from a muggle family as well?" Hermione asked. Juniper tensed a little bit, but nodded.
"Sort of." Juniper responded nervously. Hermione got even more excited.
"I was so excited when the person from Hogwarts came. I think Professor McGonagall said that I had my mouth on the floor for about a minute and a half after she told me I was a witch. I just couldn't believe it. Magic was real, we're able to do it, and we even get to go to a school where we can learn anything we want about it. It's a great opportunity isn't it?" Juniper just nodded and smiled before responding, no one ever talked to her this much.
"It w-was a b-bit of a shock. I am e-excited to be going t-to Hogwarts. I d-didn't h-have a l-lot of f-friends at my old s-school." Hermione frowned, thinking of her own school when she heard this.
"Well we'll just have to change that then, my name is Hermione Granger, and yours would be?" Juniper stared on in shock for a minute before choking out a response.
"Ju-Juniper. Juniper Potter."
A/N-There are going to be quite a few difference between this and the original. Parts of it are going to be brief because it's the same or similar to the book. That said, be sure to take note of the subtle differences between the book and this. Those will be important later on. Be sure to review.