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Chapter Ten: Does She Have A Secret?

September melted into October. Aside from going to class, tutoring sessions, and Quidditch Practice, nothing eventful really happened at Hogwarts for James and Juniper. During one of their sessions in the library, James had suggested that they find a way to communicate when they weren't together. They came up with an idea to use a Protean Charm on an object that would allow them to talk to one another. Juniper recommended that they use their watches as a mirror and even set a time as to when that spell would be active. Of course, they could always change the time to anything, especially during emergencies.

Now it was the second week in October and a notice had been posted regarding the first Hogsmeade visit. James and his fellow Gryffindors came in from Herbology after having cleaned up. Seeing the notice, James' first thought was to invite Juniper along. Then again, she might be going with Kaylynn, so it was possible for him to meet up with them at The Three Broomsticks.

"Oi, Jaenelle!" Liam called to Juniper's twin who was standing a few feet away with two of her friends, Lori and Marisa. She stopped talking to the other girls and turned to face the blue-eyed Gryffindor.

"Come with me to Hogsmeade this weekend! You know you want to!"

Lori and Marisa giggled while Jaenelle smirked and walked over. "Really, why would I want to?" she asked in a rather flirtatious voice.

"Because you secretly want me." Liam smirked. "Don't deny it."

Jaenelle glanced back at her two friends who grinned at her before turning back to the fifth year Gryffindor standing in front of her. "Now what makes you say that?" she said playfully.

"Come on," Liam pretended to whine. "Don't tease me like that."

"I kind of promised that I'd hang out with Marisa and Lori," she said.

"Why not go with him?" Marisa suggested. "He's kind of cute in that puppy-dog kind of way. You can lead him around on a leash and everything if you want to."

James, Jordan, and Seth burst out laughing while Liam scowled. Thanks a lot, you guys," he muttered.

"Don't listen to Marisa," Lori said, glaring at the girl standing beside her. "She has some weird fetishes."

Marisa hit her friend on the shoulder. "I do not!" she protested.

Jaenelle shook her head as she glanced disdainfully at her friends. "Remind me to dump pudding on both of your heads later," she said before turning back to Liam. "Sure, I'll go with you this weekend, but you have to pay for everything. Oh and, a little warning, I'm not a cheap date." She waved good-bye to James and his other two friends before sashaying off with Lori and Marisa.

"See, mate," Liam said to James once the girls were out of earshot. "That's the kind of girl you should be dating."

James glared at Liam. "First of all, Juniper and I aren't even doing anything close to dating. "Second of all," he pointed his wand at his friend and shot a stream of water in his face with the Aguamenti spell, similar to a watergun. "Gotcha!"

Jordan and Seth laughed as Liam chased James all throughout the corridor. At that moment, Juniper and Kaylynn came to stand near the two amused Gryffindors, both of them each holding a chocolate cupcake with strawberry icing.

"Why's Potter chasing Sorse?" Kaylynn asked, biting into the pastry in her hand.

"Hey, where'd you get that?" Seth asked pointing to the delicious looking treat in the girls' hands.

"Juniper's mum sent them to her and, apparently Jaenelle I guess, and she let me have one."

Juniper scowled at her best friend. "Yeah, I said you could have one, but you ended up taking four and I wanted to share a few with some other people.

James soon stopped chasing Liam when he saw Juniper. Shoving his hands into his pocket, he walked over to her. "Hey, June," he said grinning at her, pleased to see her blushing. There was a bit of pink icing on her bottom lip and he felt the urge to lean over and lick it off. Realizing his thoughts, he mentally shook his head. He was sure to make her run for the hills if she ever did that. However, when she stuck her tongue out to lick the icing herself, he felt that intense electric shock throughout his body. Juniper had never been the seductive type, but she had no idea what she did to him.

"So, June," Jordan said, getting the Hufflepuff's attention. "Enjoying your tutoring sessions with James?"

Juniper nodded rather shyly. "He's a very good teacher," she said smiling at James.

"Oh, I bet he is. So, tell me, do the two of you do anything else besides practice spells and study?" His eyebrows wiggled as he smirked.

"N-No," Juniper said, tugging at the sleeve of her blouse uneasily, clearly uncomfortable at the shift in the conversation.

James was about to say something, but Kaylynn beat her to it. "Shut up, Marks," she sneered at Jordan before Juniper and she left to go to the Great Hall for lunch.

Jordan feigned being confused. "What the bloody hell did I do?"

Liam snickered while Seth and James took turns cuffing Jordan over the side of the head.


Juniper was so excited when the weekend came. She absolutely loved Hogsmeade, especially Honeyduke's, which was her favorite place to go. She definitely had a sweet tooth and her parents were always sending her treats, like the cupcakes the other day. That morning, while they were in the Great Hall eating breakfast, Juniper glanced over at Eileen who was having a small conversation with Marianne and had an idea

"I'll be right back," she said to Kaylynn whe could only nod as her mouth was full of a mixture of toast and sausage. She stood up and walked over to the dark haired girl.

"Hey, Eileen, Marianne," she said smiling. "Are you two going to Hogsmeade?"

Marianne shook her head. "I actually need to catch up on some of my homework."

Juniper winced slightly for she knew that she had two essays to write, which were due on Monday, but she pushed them out of her head. "What about you, Eileen?"

"Well, since I did finish everything that I needed to, I think I will."

Juniper's eyes lit up. "Er...well then, why not come with Kaylynn and me?"

Eileen glanced over at Kaylynn. "Are you sure she's all right with me coming along?"

Juniper followed Eileen's gaze. She had briefly forgotten to ask Kaylynn. "Er...I'll be right back." She walked back over to the other Hufflepuff. "Hey, Lynn, do you mind if Eileen comes with us to Hogsmeade?"

Kaylynn's mouth was full, so she could only shake her head. "Great, thanks." Juniper came back to Eileen again. "She says she's okay with it."

Eileen nodded. "After lunch, right?"

"Yeah, we'll all meet outside in the courtyard." Juniper turned away to go back to her seat.

"Hey!" Eileen called. Juniper turned around.

Are you only inviting me along because you feel sorry for me?" she asked. Juniper opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. How could she answer? It was no secret that she felt pity for the girl. She'd even told Kaylynn more than once, but how could she say the same thing to the source? She remembered that she'd tried to lie to Eileen once before, but was caught almost right away. She didn't know if it meant Eileen knew whenever someone was lying, or if she was just a bad liar. She decided that it might be best to be honest this time.

"Part of me sort of does, but the other part really wants to get to know you."

Eileen didn't speak for a moment and only studied Juniper, who shifted uncomfortably under under her piercing gaze. "It's nice to see you're being honest for once," she finally said before turning back to her plate. Juniper sighed in relief and walked back over to her own seat.


The morning went by fast and after lunch, the students, ranging from third year, all the way to seventh, stood outside in the courtyard as Professor Longbottom, the Deputy Headmaster read out the names of people going and making sure that people who didn't have permission slips to begin with, wouldn't try to sneak past.

"Where is Eileen?" Kaylynn asked standing on the tips of her toes to try and see over the small sea of students.

Juniper spotted her, weaving through the crowd. "There she is. Hey, Eileen, over here!"

Eileen finally joined them. She actually looked very pretty with her hair pulled back in a thick french plait draped over her left shoulder and a white knit hat. She picked off a piece of lint from her mint green jumper and straightened the pockets of her khaki skinny pants. Juniper felt like a homeless person in her large dark blue hoodie and baggy jeans with a few tears in them. They walked together in silence, finally coming into Hogsmeade.

"So, Eileen, were there any wizarding villages at your old school?" Kaylynn asked as she waved to Albus, Rose, and Scorpius who were just outside The Three Broomsticks. Juniper wasn't too sure, but she thought she saw her friend smile a bit more widely when she looked at Albus. Kaylynn had never talked about it, but Juniper briefly wondered if her best friend might have had a small crush on the younger Potter boy.

"We had a village, yes, but students weren't allowed. It was very, how do you say, not good?" she said trying to come up with a better word.

"Seedy?" Juniper suggested.

"Yes." Eileen nodded. "That. It wasn't an appropriate place for students, but some of them still managed to sneak there."

"Hey!" Rose called as the three neared The Three Broomsticks. "Come sit with us! Albus said he'd buy us all butterbeer, right?"

Albus gave his cousin a look. "I don't know if I'd have enough."

"You'll have enough," Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Your parents are loaded and definitely made sure you had more than you need before coming here."

"Your parents more than mine," Albus argued, but his lips twitched slightly in amusement.

"I can pay for my own," Eileen spoke up. Juniper, realizing that they probably didn't really know her, introduced them.

"Can we please go inside?" Kaylynn whined. "It's cold out here."

They found a table in the warmest part of the pub. As soon as they were settled, Albus stood up again. "I'll just go get the butterbeer."

"I'll come with you." Kaylynn followed him to help carry the mugs. Eileen and Juniper slid over their money, despite protests from Scorpius, who insisted that they didn't have to. Rose, being the generally friendly person, addressed the new girl.

"So, Eileen, how do you like Hogwarts so far?"

"It's a lot smaller than my old school."

"I find it hard to believe that a school could be smaller than this one," Scorpius said as Albus and Kaylynn returned, each carrying three mugs of the warm light brown liquid, which they set down on the table before sitting down, themselves.

"What about Houses?" Kaylynn asked as she pulled her butterbeer close. "Did you have any of those?"

"No, we slept in dorms based on our year." She took a sip of her own drink. "This is good," she said with mild surprise.

"So, what happened that made you transfer?" Albus asked. He wasn't asking in an interrogative manner like Kaylynn had, but more out of curiosity.

Eileen looked down at her foamy drink. "It's kind of hard to explain."

There was some uncomfortable silence before Scorpius spoke up again. "Hey, so I can't wait for the match on Thursday," he said and, fortunately, the topic shifted. While they talked about the upcoming Quidditch match between Slytherin and Hufflepuff, Juniper glanced at Eileen. What had happened to force Eileen to transfer? It had to be something deeper than just one of her parents getting a new job. If that was the case, she would have no problem saying anything. Eileen was an anomaly to say the least. Would she ever open up to anyone about the clear reason? Or would it remain a mystery, forever? Juniper was sure that it was something rather big.


Author's Note: I hope that everyone enjoyed me giving Albus, Rose, and Scorpius a slightly bigger role in this chapter. I definitely haven't forgotten about them and they will make more appearances. I really have no plans for Rose and Scorpius to get together, or Albus and Scorpius. I also want all of my readers to know that the hint to Albus and Kaylynn crushing each other wasn't a spur of the moment thing. It's something that's been planned since the beginning. The two of them just don't really talk too much about it with their friends as, right now, it's so small that it's almost insignificant and that's why it really hasn't been touched upon. I hope you are all enjoying these chapters and feel free to leave me a review with your thoughts. I also like constructive criticism as well.