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Chapter Nine: Transfiguration Blunders

That Friday, the Hufflepuff team donned their yellow and black Quidditch robes and met on the field. Aside from Juniper and Kaylynn, there was only one other fourth year on the team, Chaser Matthew King. The other Chaser was their captain, Sean Amos. Many of the team members hovered on their broomsticks as Sean addressed everyone. Juniper was eager to get practice started, but she knew she would have to endure a long lecture from him, first.

"Lamdar, stop standing on that broom before you fall and break something. Right, we've had plenty of fun over the years, won quite a few matches and I'm proud of all of you. But, this year, I really want to be able to hold that Quidditch trophy. I think we deserve it. We definitely have a good team this year. I want each and every one of us to have fun, but I also want us to, at least, strive to win." His eyes fell on Juniper, who blanched. Winning had never been important to her during Quidditch matches. She was definitely the least competitive of the Hufflepuffs, and that was saying something. "This is my last year as your Captain. I have to say that I'm going to miss all of you, some more than others." He winked at his sixth year girlfriend and other Beater besides Kaylynn, Rachel Wilson. "That's why I definitely want us all to try our very hardest!"

"Enough with the lecture!" said fifth year Keeper, Grant Williams. "Let's start the practice!"

Sean had a faraway look in his face. Juniper was sure he was probably thinking about that Quidditch Trophy. She didn't blame him. After all, it had been years since Hufflepuff had held it. Still, it would be hard to beat the other three Houses, especially Gryffindor and Slytherin, both of whom had an outstanding team.

"All right, let's see if any of you actually practiced over the summer!" He mounted his broomstick and took off into the air. The rest of the teammates followed suit. Up here, Juniper didn't feel so awkward anymore. The spread her arms outwards as she flew and tilted her head back. This was what freedom was all about. If she was an Animagus, she'd defintitely be a bird of some kind.

"Clayton, pay attention before you're hit by a Bludger!" Sean yelled. Juniper veered to the left to narrowly avoid a Bludger that Kaylynn had hit towards her, then caught the Quaffle as it came her way. She was forced to perform another loop-de-loop to dodge another Bludger, before passing to Matthew, who passed to Sean, who took the shot, but Grant caught it.

"Good job!" Sean praised the Keeper. "Clayton, pick up the speed! King, don't hesitate before passing, just do it!"

After a few more passing sessions, a Golden Snitch was released. The team Seeker, Aiden Long was given the task of trying to catch it as quickly as possible.

"Great practice, everyone!" Sean said when they all finally came back down to the ground. "Don't forget that we have another practice next Friday!"

The team members walked off the field before going their separate ways. "Hey, Juniper!" a voice called. Juniper turned around to see James striding over to her. At first she wondered what he was doing here, but then she remembered that he'd said he was going to come watch her practice.

Kaylynn, deciding to give the two some alone time, clapped Juniper on the shoulder. "I'll see you later," she said before heading off towards the showers.

Juniper tugged at the hem of her striped Quidditch jumper. "So...you were watching me?" she asked, lightly biting down on her bottom lip.

James nodded. "You looked good out there. Amos is right though, you definitely need to work on your speed. I swear a turtle could probably pass you," he teased, grinning impishly.

Juniper gave him a playful shove. "Shut up," she said, giggling, her cheeks slightly tinged. The two of them walked back up to the castle together. James seemed very much at ease with his hands folded behind his head. It was very cool outside today. Juniper loved the Fall, it was definitely her favorite season.

"Nah, but seriously if you want, maybe I could show you a few nifty flying tricks, sometime," he suggested.

Yes! In your face, Avery! Juniper thought, remembering that James mentioned the Ravenclaw wanting some flying pointers from him, but he'd declined her request. "I don't have a problem with it, but are you sure your teammates would be okay with you fraternizing with the enemy?"

James rolled his eyes and slung his arm around her shoulders. "You're hardly the enemy."

Juniper was actually beginning to look forward to her tutoring session with him on Monday.


"Are you sure you don't to change," Kaylynn asked that next Monday evening after dinner while watching Juniper run a brush through her unruly hair.

"Why should I? We're just going to be in the library for a few hours, that's all," Juniper said. "There's no point in me putting on something else."

It was about fifteen minutes after dinner and both girls were in the Hufflepuff dorms. Kaylynn was on her bed, laying on her stomach with her legs propped up in the air and a pillow under her arms, while Juniper stood in front of one of the full length mirrors.

"Maybe, I'd just think that you'd want to look good around James. He'd really appreciate it, probably."

Juniper stopped running the brush through her hair and lowered it. Was it true? Would James prefer if she looked more girlish? She mentally shook her head. "Of course not. He'd never said anything about her appearance before, so why should he now?"

"Well, at least take off your tie and outer robes and put on some chapstick. Your lips are looking pretty dry right now."

Juniper did as suggested. She lay the tie and robes on her bed and borrowed some strawberry scented chapstick from Kaylynn. She even allowed Kaylynn to add two spritzes of body spray as she didn't really have time to take a shower, not that she smelled bad.

"Accio satchel!" The bag flew into her arms and she shouldered it, placing her wand in one of the outer pockets. "I'll talk to you after I get back, if you're still awake."

Kaylynn smirked. "Oh, I'll definitely be awake to hear all the dirty little details." She winked at the blushing Hufflepuff. Most of the Hufflepuffs were out of the dorms and common room, save for a few, including Eileen who was working quietly on her History of Magic essay. She looked up from her parchment.

"Juniper?" she asked in her usual thick accent.

Juniper checked her watch, making sure that she wasn't about to run late before approaching the dark skinned girl. "What's up, Eileen?"

"You are good in Charms, yes? I've seen you get quite a few points for Hufflepuff in that class."

"Er...I'm all right at it," Juniper said modestly. "Why, what's wrong?"

"I was wondering if you could, maybe help me with a few spells that I've been having trouble with. I try to move my wand the way the book tells me, but they don't work."

"Sure," Juniper said without hesitating.

"Where are you going?" Eileen eyed Juniper's satchel.

"I'm going to the library to get some help from James. He's going to tutor me in Transfiguration and some other classes I've been having trouble with." She wasn't even sure if Eileen really knew who James was. She rarely talked to anyone, and came off as a bit standoffish. Juniper just figured that she wasn't entirely comfortable in the new environment, yet.

"He's very handsome," Eileen said matter-of-factly, using the same tone someone talking about the weather would.

At first, Juniper wondered if Eileen might be harboring a crush on James, but there was nothing in her expression to indicate that she did. In fact, she didn't even blush.

"Er...I suppose he is." Juniper tried to remain as casual as possible, although she couldn't help becoming nervous. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later," she said.

Eileen nodded and Juniper left the common room and began heading towards the library.


"Have fun," Lily called looking up from her spot near the fireplace where she and a couple of her friends were giggling over a young witch's teen magazine at some of the latest celebrities.

"Why do you read that?" James asked. "All those guys in there look like girls with really short hair."

Lily gave her brother a look. "You're just jealous because you're not as good looking, rich, and famous as these guys in here," she said, lightly slapping the magazine with her hand.

"I don't know, I think your brother is definitely hotter than some of the guys in here," Noelle Stragers said, giggling.

Lily looked at the brown-haired girl with the utmost horror. "Ew! That's my brother you're talking about!"

"I don't know, he does have a certain appeal to him," Laura Hale admitted, eyeing James who felt like Lily's two friends were undressing him with their minds.

"Er...right, well, I'll be back later," he said, slowly backing out of the common room leaving his little sister to her friends and heading to the library. The only other people there, besides Madame Pince was a Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, bu tthey seemed more interested in each other than books or homework. Not wanting to watch them snogging, James found a table to sit at far away with a large bookcase blocking his view and began setting everything up. Now, all he had to do was wait for Juniper. He stood up and chanced a glance around the bookshelf, despite the couple snogging on the other side and saw her walk in. While she wasn't looking in his direction, he quickly checked his breath to make sure it didn't smell foul before unwrapping some chewing gum and popping the stick into his mouth.

Juniper was directed by Madame Pince to the table where James was sitting at and walked over. "Sorry I'm late," she said setting her satchel on the table before she sat across from him.

"I actually just got here not two seconds before you did, so it's all good," he said watching her take out a few books.

"Really? Did something keep you?" she asked.

"Not really, unless you count my sister's creepy friends trying to flirt with me," he grimaced. "It was a little scary.

Juniper laughed. "Er...I guess to them, you're a hunk."

James gave her a look. "A hunk, huh?" His eyes twinkled playfully.

Juniper blushed. "It's what my mum calls my dad whenever she refers to him."

"What do you think of me?" James leaned forward.

Juniper suddenly began to fumble around with her Transfiguration book. James watched her for a moment, grinnnig. He had to admit, flirting with her was fun. He loved her reactions. "Sorry, why don't we get started?"

She seemed to relax and nodded. "So, let's look at the areas your having trouble with," he said as she began to flip through the large book.

"Everything," she muttered dejectedly.

"Hey, stop talking like that. You'll be fine. Why don't we start with something simple and basic." James dug around in his bag and produced a box of matches. He lay one of them on the table between them. "I want to see if you can turn this match into a needle. It's a simple first year spell."

Juniper pointed her wand directly at the match and gave a sharp jab. James wasn't surprised when she was able to succeed and the match was replaced with a small silver sewing needle. It was one of the first Transfiguration spells that a student learned.

"The first few Transfiguration spells came easily for me. I can transform small things just fine, but I have a lot of trouble with bigger stuff."

"That's okay. Why don't we focus on something simple for now. Try turning that chair over there blue," he said pointed.

Juniper turned in her seat to face the chair he was indicating and jabbed her wand in its direction. The spell hit, but instead of changing the chair's color, it broke and splintered apart into a heap on the floor, which Juniper quickly repaired.

"I told you," she muttered, pouting a little bit.

James reached across and put his hand over hers. "Don't worry about it. Try again," he suggested. "Don't jab your wand so hard. It's a firm movement, but you're not trying to stab someone." Her hand was really soft, he noticed, and so small, as well. Realizing that he was still clutching it, he quickly let go and cleared his throat. "Now then, picture the chair in your mind, and get a clear image of the color."

"Okay..." Juniper said uncertainly. She tried again, this time the chair turned a lightly lighter shade of brown, but still wasn't close to the blue she was trying to achieve. She slumped down in her own seat. "This is hopeless. I can't even do something as simple as changing the color of a stupid chair."

"It's not hopeless." He pointed his wand firmly at the chair, turning it blue, then changed it back again.

"It's easy for you, you're good at this sort of thing. Who knows, maybe next year I'll fail my O.W.L. in Transfiguration and not have to take the class in my sixth year."

"It's a very vital piece of magic. You don't want to throw in the towel just because it's hard," he chuckled. "Clear your mind. You're just getting stressed out, that's all."

Juniper took a deep breath and did as he suggested. This time the end result was a blue chair. "I did it! Did you see that, James?" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Good." James smiled. "I told you, you could do it. Let's try it again a few more times to make sure you've got it down."

Juniper tried three more times, successfully transfiguring the chair twice. "Two out of three isn't bad," he said. He had her attempt to Transfigure a few more things, such as a book and even a banana. The banana proved to be a little easier than the banana. Soon, the practical half of the tutoring had ended, and now it was time to get to the written half, the homework. James helped her improve upon an essay that was due before the next Transfiguration class, pointing out areas that needed work. Juniper had to admit that she was having a lot of fun with him. He definitely made her laugh and he wasn't stiff like she thought a tutor would be.

"By the way, I heard that Hugo made the team," she said pausing in her writing.

"He's pretty excited about it. I'm sorry that you weren't there at the tryouts. Was everything all right?"

"Oh, yeah. I just wanted to find a quiet place to read, that's all." Yet, she was avoiding looking at him. He frowned slightly.

"Did something happen?" he asked.

"Huh? No, nothing happened. I was just a bit tired after Care of Magical Creatures. So, I didn't feel like going back outside."

James had a nagging feeling that she was hiding something, but he had never been the type to really press. If there was something she didn't want to share, he woudln't force her. "All right, but you know you can talk to me about anything."

She nodded. "I know." She continued writing in silence and he worked on one of his essays as well occasionally glancing over at hers to give her a few tips. Unfortunately, the tutoring session soon ended.

"We forgot to work on Potions today," James said in a disappointed tone. "I'll see about talking to Slughorn so that we can use his classroom to help you with your Potions. I doubt that ol' Pincey would like us brewing up anything in here."

Juniper laughed. The old librarian was certainly a female version of Mr. Filch, the caretaker. They put their things away, then James walked her back to her common room as he usually did.