The Life of Juniper Potter
Chapter Two
The Shopping Experience
Disclaimer-I in no way own Harry Potter, it belongs to she-who-must-not-be-named.
Adam Granger understood the specifics of wizard banking fairly quickly. He understood the exchange rate, the vault system, and seemed to get over the fact that it wasn't run by humans quite quickly. Most individuals had a harder time accepting the existence of what most people called creatures of fantasy, but he seemed to take it in stride.
Until McGonagall let it slip that dragons guarded some of the more high security vaults. Then he started to freak out a little. He calmed down when he was instructed that no one had ever died in Gringotts unless they were foolish enough to try and steal something.
They had just finish picking up what they needed. Mr. Granger even changed some of his muggle money for wizard money. They were on their way back to Flourish and Blotts to pick up Hermione and her mother when Professor McGonagall noticed someone she knew.
"Hagrid, what on earth are you doing here." Professor McGonagall said loudly, it seemed to garner the attention of one of the largest individuals Mr. Granger had ever laid eyes on.
"Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall. I was just guiding young Juniper on her firs' trip ter Diagon Alley. We went to the bookstore first on her request, and I didn't quite have the heart to pull her away. I used it as opportunity to get her a birthday present." Hagrid pulled up a cage that held a snowy white owl.
"An Owl?" Asked Mr. Granger. He didn't see a great many people sporting owls as pets. Professor McGonagall nodded before explaining.
"Owls are used to deliver wizarding mail. No matter where you are, how well you hide, or what kind of protections you set up, a magical owl will find you and deliver your letter. They are inconceivably smart animals and make amazing pets. It is a beautiful owl, Hagrid." Hagrid just smiled at the praise as he gazed upon the bird.
"Saw Juniper eyeing the girl as we walked past Eyelops Owl Emporium. Thought it'd make a nice birthday gift. Muggle?" Professor McGonagall nodded in response before speaking.
"This is Adam Granger. Father of Hermione Granger, one of our new students. Adam this is our groundskeeper, Rubeus Hagrid." Hagrid reached out to shake the man's hand.
"Pleased to meet you." Mr. Granger responded with a nervous smile.
"Nice ter meet you as well. It's a step up from the muggles I had to deal with earlier today." Professor McGonagall knew what Hagrid meant, she didn't like the Dursleys either.
"Trouble at the Dursleys?" She stated it as a question, but it was meant as a statement.
"They deserve a heck of a lot worse then what I did to em. I meant to turn their son into a pig, but apparently there wasn't enough left to change and all he got was a tail." Mr. Granger looked a little horrified at the prospect of what Hagrid proposed he had done.
"Hagrid…" Professor McGonagall began to scold Hagrid but he was cut off by Hagrid going into a rant.
"Let's see how chipper you are after havin to trek out ter the middle of nowhere to deliver a letter to someone who should have known who she was from birth and then deal with the Dursleys. The place they picked out was a right decent hell-hole in the middle of a typhoon. I was afraid to knock the first few times for fear of knocking the place down. The only high point was seein Juniper and taking her out of there."
"Could someone please explain to me who the Dursleys are and why Hagrid felt the need to turn their son into a pig?" Mr. Granger was still a little pale when he started speaking.
"Not all parents are as accepting as you and Jane are. You'll find people that come to hate their own relatives when they learn that they're magical. Juniper's parents were killed shortly after she was born and she was sent to live with the Dursleys as they were her only living relatives. Am I right in assuming that the Dursleys are examples of that?" Professor McGonagall was concerned that something had happened to this girl. Hagrid nodded grimly.
"I wouldn't be too surprised if they actually physically abused her. Though I don't know anything for sure. I do know that they were horrible ter her and I intend ter lobby with Dumbledore ter let her stay at Hogwarts over the summer, or at the very least cut the stay there short." Mr. Granger seemed less apt to defend them after that rousing description.
"Wouldn't it have been more apt to hex them, as opposed to their son?" Hagrid glared off into the distance when he heard the question.
"He was the one eating the birthday cake I brought Juniper." Professor McGonagall smiled at that.
"Good choice for a hex then. I'll be sure to keep the fact that you did it under my hat." Hagrid smiled at the professors reassurance.
"So where are you two off too?"
"We're on our way to Flourish and Blotts to meet up with Hermione and her mother, if you would like to join us?" Hagrid smiled even brighter at the invitation.
"I'd love to. It'd do Juniper good to meet another of his future professors. In fact we might be able to continue on together. The only places me and Juniper have been to were Gringotts and Flourish and Blotts. It'd give Juniper the chance to hang out with another student in her year." Professor McGonagall did a double take as she listened to Hagrid. He seemed to notice this. "Hey I come up with good ideas every once in a while." The three of them just laughed and made their way to the bookstore.
Scene-Shift
Jane smiled. She had never seen her daughter quite this happy. She wasn't even in the magical world for fifteen minutes and she had already made a friend. This greatly put any misgivings she had about sending her daughter to Hogwarts on the back burner.
Hermione had not been happy going to her old school, this much she knew for fact. Her school mates often teased her for being a bookworm, a know-it-all, and an assortment of other less then savory phrases that put down Hermione's intelligence. She'd have friends at this new place she was going, and Hermione would write home often, she'd make sure of that.
She'd make sure she'd have an active role in Hermione's new life.
The girl Hermione had met seemed younger then Hermione, she looked to be seven or eight, but she talked about receiving her Hogwarts letter so that put her at least at eleven years of age. She was also incredibly shy in contrast to Hermione's fairly loud nature, but she was still braving the full Hermione rant. The girl was interesting, to say the least.
She was brought out of her thoughts when she saw her husband arrive with one of the largest individuals she had ever seen.
"Hello Adam, Professor McGonagall, tell me, who's your friend here?" Mrs. Granger looked up as she said this. Hagrid offered his hand before introducing himself.
"Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." Hagrid looked as proud as any individual could be at this statement.
"He's guiding another first year by the name of Juniper and offered to travel with us. Apparently she likes books as much as out little Hermione does. There about as far as we are and he offered to travel with us." Mrs. Granger just smiled as her husband said this.
"Would that little girl be about yay high, bushy red hair, and a set of old taped up glasses on her face?" Hagrid nodded at the discription.
"Yep, that's her."
"Let me guess, our little Hermione has already met the girl and is dragging her to various parts of the bookstore." Mr. Granger asked with a confident smirk on his face. Mrs. Granger nodded before speaking.
"There really isn't much dragging involved. She's following her to the various parts willingly. I'd like us to talk with the shopkeeper about a few books that he might recommend for people new to the magical world. Is Juniper from a non-magical family as well? She could benefit from them." Hagrid's mood seemed to shift downward a bit at the question.
"She was raised by muggles, so she should benefit from the readings for muggle-borns, hadn't thought of that. I keep thinkin' that just because her parents were magical she'd know everything there is to know about the magical world. I should probly tell her about the platform 'fore I forget again." Mrs. Granger suddenly understood the shift in Hagrid's mood.
"What happened to her parents?" Mr. Granger asked almost immediately. Mrs. Granger face palmed at her husbands lack of tact.
"You're going to hear about it eventually which is why I'm telling you now. Hagrid tends to get a bit emotional towards the end. A few years ago we had a wizard that went bad. He started collecting followers and led attacks on wizards and witches. Many people were scared to even leave there homes. Juniper's parents were a part of a movement that openly stood against him. Lord Voldemort, as he took to calling himself," The Grangers noticed Hagrid visibly tensing at his name. "decided to make an example of them. They attacked the Potter family with the intent of wiping them out. He had killed Juniper's father and mother but when he turned his wand on Juniper, the spell he used rebounded, killing the dark lord and leaving a scar on Juniper's forehead." Mrs. McGonagall had a sad smile on her face as she explained this. Hagrid was dabbing at both of his eyes with a huge handkerchief.
"So this Voldemort person was basically a terrorist, who exactly did he target." Professor McGonagall looked worried when Mrs. Granger asked this.
"Although he and his followers killed many witches and wizards, his primary targets were witches and wizards born to muggle families and their sympathizers." The Grangers went ghostly pale at the prospect Professor McGonagall proposed.
"Hermione isn't still affected by this, is she?" Was the almost immediate question asked by both parents. The professor's frown remained firmly on her face as she answered.
"Pureblooded bigotry still exists in some of the older families, but a good ninety percent of the magical world doesn't believe in it. Now then let's find us those books. If we talk anymore we won't have enough time left to shop." The Grangers nodded as they went to find the store clerk.
Scene-Shift
Hermione and Juniper had found at least fifteen different books on things that looked interesting. They quickly realized that some of the books were a little more difficult to read then others. Not in the fact that they were to advanced, but the fact that they couldn't get them to open or they actually tried to physically attack them.
"Why do you think they made the book violent?" Hermione asked in the calmest voice she could muster after trying to look at The Monster Book of Monsters.
"Maybe th-the st-stuff in th-the book is d-dangerous." Juniper said. "M-maybe we c-could ask s-someone if th-they know why th-the b-book is v-volatile." Hermione sighed.
"I doubt if they'd tell a pair of little kids like us anything. Did we get all the books we need for school?" Hermione asked.
"I ch-checked the l-list. We h-have e-everything but History of M-Magic. Maybe we c-could get a c-copy of H-Hogwarts a H-history while we're o-over th-there." Juniper said.
Hermione picked up a book before nodding at Juniper. "I think that that's a splendid idea. I think it might be a good idea to pick up a couple of books on magical law as well, just to make sure we aren't breaking any, and maybe a few books on prominent figures in magical history." Hermione proposed innocently. Juniper looked a little pale at this but thought it would be a good idea.
"I-I th-think th-that that w-would b-be a g-great idea." Juniper replied warily. She'd have to tell Hermione about her 'fame' eventually. Hermione took off to the history section with Juniper in hot pursuit.
"So why do all of the people stare at you as we walk by anyway?" Juniper paled even further at the question.
"I d-did something w-when I was a b-baby th-that a l-lot of people r-really l-like me for. I-it happened on th-the night th-that my p-parents w-were killed." Hermione looked a little meek when Juniper said this.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"I-It's not your f-fault." Juniper said. "I d-don't like t-to talk a-about it. I live w-with my a-aunt and u-u-uncle." Hermione noticed the difficulty Juniper had with saying uncle but didn't say anything. She just assumed that Juniper was having a hard time talking about her parents.
"I'm guessing your aunt and uncle are both muggles like my parents, right?" Hermione inquired.
"Th-They d-didn't t-tell me how my p-parents d-died or th-that th-they were a wizard and a witch until Hagrid c-came."
"And shame on them for not saying anything." Both girls jumped about a full foot in the air when Hagrid's boisterous voice resounded from behind them.
"H-Hagrid! Please d-don't scare me l-like that. Hermione th-this is H-Hagrid." Hermione didn't say anything in response. She just looked up and mumbled incoherently. "You seem to have th-that affect on p-people." Hagrid just laughed at that.
"Good afternoon to ya Hermione. Don't worry, I won't bite." Hermione finally shook herself out of her stupor to shake the giant's hand. "Now then, Juniper, how would you like to continue shopping with yer new friend here. I met her parents and Professor McGonagall and we're at about the same place on our lists." Juniper openly beamed at this and nodded her head vigorously. Hagrid bit back a chuckle.
"We just n-need to p-pick up a few more books and we'll b-be set." Hagrid smiled outwardly and groaned inwardly at the girl's response.
"I'll wait for ya by the door then." Was the short reply before he left. Hermione looked really happy to be able to spend more time with her new friend and Juniper smiled really big when she looked back at Hermione. It was nice to finally have a friend.
Scene-Shift
Juniper really liked Mr. and Mrs. Granger. They were both really nice to her and seemed to like her. Mrs. Granger reminded her a lot of Hermione and Mr. Granger helped her with the giant pile of books she got. She looked a bit sheepish when she saw how big her pile was and thankful for his help, he said he was used to hauling around large loads of books.
Professor McGonagall was also nice, she noticed that we were struggling a bit coming out of the bookstore and gave us each something to help.
"These bags are enchanted, they'll carry everything you put in them and will only fell like you put a single book inside. It should make things a bit easier. I'd advise against putting in something breakable. I think our next stop should be to get you girls set up with a uniform. Madam Malkin's would be the best place to go for that. Then will get you your wands." Hermione and Juniper both smiled at the professor. That was something they were both looking forward to.
"What about our other supplies, professor?" Hermione asked. Hagrid spoke up at this.
"I'll be getting that stuff for ya while yer gettin' fitted for your school robes. I'll be back by the time you get done." Hagrid replied.
"We'll be going with him, I'm sure we don't want Hagrid to feel like our pack mule." said Mr. Granger, indicating both him and Mrs. Granger
Hagrid smiled at this. The three left them and entered the quill shop. Juniper, Hermione, and Professor McGonagall continued down the road, Hermione had taken hold of Juniper's hand. Before they reached Madam Malkin's, Juniper started getting a little nervous. She didn't want Hermione to see the scars on her back.
"P-Professor McGonagall, we d-don't have t-to t-take our clothes off for th-the fitting, do we?" Professor McGonagall gave Juniper a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry Juniper, the robes are meant to be worn over your clothes. Even if you did you would do so in a private changing room. Haven't you ever been fitted for other clothes?" asked Professor McGonagall.
Hermione saw Juniper look a little nervous and quickly jumped to her friend's defense. "I'm sure Juniper just wanted to be sure we wouldn't see her in all of her glory. I've never been fitted for anything either. It's a relief to be sure." Hermione gave Juniper a reassuring smile.
"R-right, what Hermione said." was the clipped response that came from Juniper's mouth. Professor McGonagall frowned before looking up and seeing that they had arrived at their destination. She ushered them in and handed them off to Madam Malkin, who took them to the girl's fitting room, where they were greeted by a rather angry looking girl being fitted by one of the assistants.
She was short, only a few inches taller the Juniper. She had short brown hair and cold, piercing brown eyes. She was being fitted for what looked to be very fancy silk robes and her face was contorted in a horrendous scowl; it was very reminiscent to that of a pug's face.
"YEOUCH, For the love of Merlin will you stop sticking me with that needle." Hermione and Juniper both covered their ears at the screech.
"I'm sorry, perhaps if you were a bit less tense…" The attendant was cut off before she could finish speaking.
"Excuse me! Are you trying to say it's my fault that you're turning me into a human pincushion? Oh, hi, you two don't look familiar." The speed in which she changed moods gave Juniper a brief feeling of whiplash. Hermione was the first to speak as she was sized up for her robes.
"We aren't from around here." Hermione said evasively. Juniper just nodded. The girl reminded her to much of Dudley for her to want to say too much. Hermione remembered the girls that always pranked her at school.
"Well that's apparent by the way you dress, you look like a pair of muggles." The girl sounded disgusted as she said this. "My name is Pansy, Pansy Parkinson."
"Hermione Granger."
"J-Juniper."
"So where exactly are your parents, I saw you come in with Professor McGonagall, were your parents busy or something." Juniper seemed to visibly sadden at the question. Hermione noticed this and spoke up, hoping to keep Juniper from answering.
"They're at the quill shop. We figured we'd split up so we could get done with everything quicker." The girl looked confused at Herione's explanation.
"But if your parents are here, than why is Professor McGonagall with you?" Juniper spoke very timidly.
"M-My p-parents couldn't be here. Th-they d-died when I was a b-baby." She didn't say too much beyond that.
"Oh, I'm sorry." She didn't sound overly sorry, nor did it look like it affected her too much. "But they were at least our kind, right. You know a witch and a wizard."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Hermione looked livid. Pansy was about to explain before they were interrupted.
"Alright my dears, finished." Juniper and Hermione just smiled at Mrs. Malkin and quickly made to leave.
"I'll see you at school then, try to get into Slytherin house, the rest are absolute rubbish." Pansy shouted this asthe two of them left. Hermione rushed Juniper out and reconvened with Professor McGonagall.
"Whatever we do when we get to Hogwarts, we need to make sure that we stay away from Slytherin. I am not sharing a dorm room with that person." Hermione looked absolutely furious. Juniper only nodded in silence.
"Why do you want to stay away from Slytherin, and how do you know of the houses in the first place?" Professor McGonagall asked. She hadn't said anything about the houses yet. She wanted it to be a surprise, that way they'd get unbiased results.
"We were talking to a girl in Madam Malkin's. She was annoying and really stuck up. She said her name was Pansy Parkinson." Professor McGonagall just nodded in understanding.
"You just met one of the heirs to a pureblood family. Slytherin is one of four houses at Hogwarts. A lot of the children of pureblood elites end up in Slytherin because their parents were. The four houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. You'll be sorted into one of the four houses upon arriving at Hogwarts." Juniper started to look worried as the professor explained. She might get separated from Hermione just after meeting her. She was her first friend, her only friend, and she wanted to stay close to her.
"Ah, there they are. Professor McGonagall!" Juniper was brought out of her thoughts by Mr. Granger as he made his way over to the three of them with Hagrid and Mrs. Granger in tow.
"Good, now that we're all here, we can get ye yer first wands. The both of you for in for a treat. Olivander's is always a fun place to go to." They were ushered off to get there first wands before they had a chance to continue their conversation.
Scene-Shift
Olivander's had been around for decades. People often told stories about getting their first wands from the old wand maker. He was odd, eccentric, and always made sure you left his shop with a lifelong companion. 'The wand chooses the wizard,' as he always said. He had helped people find wands before Grindlewald came to power. Parent's told their children about it, and many wouldn't be comfortable getting a wand from anyone else.
Another think that endeared him to the wizarding population was his ability recall the intimate details about every wand he sold. He told the kids that came into his shop about the wands their parents had.
Olivander was a very old man. He had long gray hair and sported a pair of pale eyes that shone with a hue reminiscent of the full moon in the night sky. He had a great many wrinkles upon his face and wore a very old jacket over his shirt and tie. His shop was dimly lit and had rows upon rows of wands in beside his desk. He heard the ding of his door and rose to greet his customers. He was shocked at who he met.
"Good afternoon." Both of the girls before him jumped about a foot in the air. "I was wondering when I would see you, Juniper Potter. You look so very much like your mother. It seems like only yesterday that she came in here for her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches, swishy, made of willow. An excellent wand for Charm work." Juniper blinked, this was the same person that sold her mother her wand. Maybe she'd get lucky and he'd have a picture of her.
"Your father, on the other hand, was chosen by a mahogany wand. Eleven inches, pliable, a little more power, and excellent for Transfiguration." Mr. Olivander had gotten closer to Juniper as he explained. They were almost nose to nose when he gazed at his scar.
"And that's where…" Mr. Olivander frowned. "I'm sorry to say that I sold the wand that did it. Thirteen and a half inches, powerful, very powerful, and in the wrong hands… if I had known what that little wand was going out into the world to do…" He looked thoughtful as he gazed over to look at Hermione.
"You look new. I always get excited when I get a witch or wizard born from muggles. It's like I'm branching out into a new family of wands that will one day come and grace me with their presence. We all started out like that you know, though people seem to forget that. Your name, miss." Hermione gave a weak smile to the silver orbs.
"Hermione, Hermione Granger." Mr. Olivander smiled at her.
"Well let's get you two sized up." He pulled out a long tape measure with silver markings. "Which is your wand arm?" He pointed his attention to Hermione first.
"I'm left handed." Hermione said simply.
"Hold out your arm." Hermione did as instructed and Mr. Olivander started measuring her. He went down the third row and took a box from it. He returned and presented it to Hermione.
"Try this then. Ten and three-fourths inches, vine wood, with a dragon heartstring core. A rather all purpose wand, sure to aid you in whatever you need." Hermione took the wand and felt warm. A light blue aura enveloped.
"Splendid, a perfect fit. I expect you'll do quite well at Hogwarts. That wand is a very good wand to experiment spells with. Be sure to be open-minded with its various applications. Now then shall we see what wand will choose you, Miss Potter?" Mr. Olivander's attention shifted to Juniper.
Juniper shook herself out of her stuper; she was still amazed from Hermione's wand choosing her. Juniper doubted if hers would be that amazing.
"W-well, I'm r-right handed." She offered weakly. She raised her arm like Hermione did and watched as Mr. Olivander got another wand from the shelf.
"Why don't we try this one?" He handed it to Juniper and almost snatched it back the second she grabbed it. "No, no that's not quite right." He retreated to get another wand and repeated the process, again, and again, and again. Juniper was worried, what if she didn't have a wand would she have to go back to her aunt and uncle's. Mr. Olivander was the opposite it seemed. The more wands she went through, the more excited he looked.
"Not to worry, not to worry. There has never been an individual that I haven't found a partner for." Mr. Olivander got a thoughtful look on his face. "Hmm… I wonder…" Hermione couldn't resist asking at this point.
"You wonder what?" Mr. Olivander seemed to ignore the question and reached over to pick up a very old looking wand box. He blew the dust off.
"Try this one, Miss Potter. Eleven inches, made of holly, with a phoenix feather as the core." Juniper took the wand and was engulfed in a strange gold hue. Hermione raised a hand to her mouth and looked on in beauty as she saw it playing out. Mr. Olivander applauded.
"Yes, glorious Miss Potter, glorious. This is definitely the wand for you." Mr. Olivander looked thoughtful at this statement before uttering a single word. "Curious…" Juniper looked over Mr. Olivander.
"W-what's c-curious, sir?" Juniper asked nervously.
"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Miss Potter. The phoenix that gave the feather in your wand gave another feather. Just one other. It's curious to me Miss Potter that you would be destined for this wand, when its brother was the one that gave you that scar." Juniper went several shades paler and felt a little ill. "I think we can expect great things from you Miss Potter, after all, he-who-must-not –be-named did great things, horrible yes, but great…" Juniper just left before Mr. Olivander could say anything more, she wanted to get out of that place. Hermione gave Olivander his money for the wands before following after her worriedly.
A/N-That's that, and man it took a while to write all of that. I just wanted to get all of there school shopping done. It'll be more Hermione and Juniper next chapter I promise you that. It should be up before the end of the week. Be sure to Review.