.


Chapter Nineteen: Kittens and Confessions

James could see that Juniper had something on her mind. He was definitely no empath, nor was he psychic, but she definitely wasn't the type of girl who knew how to hide her emotions. He felt the urge to ask her if she wanted to talk to him about anything, but decided against it. After all, she would tell him when she was ready and he wasn't about to nag her. Before leaving The Three Broomsticks, James bought them each a bottled butterbeer to go. The cold air nipped at the two of them as they stepped outside. James and Juniper wrapped their scarves around their necks again to keep themselves as warm as possible.

"Where do you want to go next?" James asked.

Juniper picked a piece of lint off her jumper. "Er...I kind of want to visit Zonko's."

James leaned in closer, a cheeky grin on his face. "I never took you for a practical jokester."

She blushed, much to his pleasure. "I-I'm not," she frowned. "I just like some of the stuff they have there."

"Sure, you do," he teased as he lightly tugged at her ponytail before they started heading towards the Joke Shop. On the way there, they passed by The Hog's Head, which wasn't exactly as warm and inviting as The Three Broomsticks, but students still frequented the establishment. The barkeep and the late Professor Dumbledore's younger brother, Aberforth Dumbledore was outside and seemed to be cursing as he tended to his goats that were held in a pen.

"I wonder what's wrong," Juniper asked as she glanced over at the elderly grey-bearded wizard who seemed very flustered.

"I don't know, but I definitely think it's worth finding out." James approached the pen and climbed over, despite Juniper's protests that it was probably none of their business. Still, she climbed over as well with a little help from the dark haired Gryffindor.

"Er...Mr. Dumbledore, sir?" Juniper asked, approaching the wizard. "Is something wrong?"

Aberforth spun around to face the two students. "You're damn right something is wrong! Taking care of my goats is hard enough, how in Merlin's name am I going to take care of four kittens? Bloody hell, I don't even like cats!"

James and Juniper looked at each other in confusion before peering around Aberforth. Near the pen were four small felines, two were orange with white feet while the other two were mostly solid white, but had grey stripings.

"Where did they come from?" Juniper asked.

"Well, June, when two adult cats of the opposite sex love each other very much-" James began with a playful smile, but was silenced when Juniper scowled at him.

"I really don't know. My guess is someone didn't want them and just dumped them off," Aberforth said in a flustered tone, running his fingers through his straggly beard. "They look to be a few months old, so they've clearly been weaned off of their mother's milk."

Juniper frowned. "Poor things. I can't believe that anyone would just abandon them."

"Yes, yes, it's all very sad. But the problem is that I have my goats to take care of, I can't be taking care of a couple of cats as well." He sighed, flustered and glanced at the two teenagers. "I don't suppose you know anyone who might want to take them off my hands."

Juniper shook her head. "I wouldn't mind having one, but my parents would have my head if they found out I got a cat without asking them."

James knelt down to better observe the kittens. "Who says they have to know? If I remember correctly, you mentioned always wanting a pet."

"I also remember not wanting a death wish, compliments of my mum and dad. I'm serious, my dad doesn't even like cats."

"That makes two of us," Aberforth muttered.

James picked up one of the white and grey kittens and held it up to Juniper. "Look at that face! He's saying 'Please take me home, Junie, pretty please with strawberries on top.'"

"James," Juniper said, but her resistance was failing as the kitten mewed meekly and twitched its small tail. Ever since she was very young, she had always wanted a pet, she couldn't deny that, but her parents refused to let her sister or her have one, mostly due to the fact that they didn't think the girls were two responsible enough and Juniper had always been a little too afraid to go against her parents rules.

"Even if I did take one of them, what will happen to the other three?" Juniper asked.

"You mean what will happen to the other two?" James corrected. "I think I might take one, myself."

"Great! So, then why don't you keep that one, as well?" Juniper pointed to the kitten that the Gryffindor was holding.

"Because, think of it as an early Christmas present. You're practically in love with this little guy...er...wait." He lifted the kitten's tail. "Sorry, I mean girl."

Juniper took the kitten and sighed. "My parents are going to kill me."

"Maybe I can send an owl to my own parents and make an arrangement with them," James offered as he knelt down and stroked one of the orange kittens. "I could see if they would let me take your kitten for the summer and then you take care of it while you're at Hogwarts. This way, your parents don't have to know."

"Oh, they'll find out. They find out everything, but what about the other two kittens?"

James shrugged. "You could ask Kaylynn and Eileen," he suggested.

Juniper shook her head. "I don't think so. Kaylynn actually has a dog back home that might try and eat it and I'm pretty sure Eileen already has an owl."

"Don't worry about these two," Aberforth said. "If I can't find homes for them, I guess I will have to take care of them. Two cats isn't as bad as four."

James grinned. "See? It all works out."

The pockets of Juniper's pants were rather small, so she cast a Concealed Enlarging Charm on one of them in order to expand it by a small fraction and tucked the kitten inside allowing its head to poke out. James did the same thing with his pockets and his own tiny feline.


After saying good-bye to Aberforth, they continued on their way to Zonko's. Despite the fact that Juniper was still reluctant to have a pet, she still couldn't help, but smile. Of course, James was a very hard person to resist and when he'd held that small kitten up to her face, she'd found it impossible to say no. If only she wasn't such a pushover. Still, it was worth it for the adorable ball of fur that was nestled safely in her magically enlarged left pocket.

They entered Zonko's and immediately made a beeline for the shelves that held many different prank items in order of price from cheapest to most expensive. Jaenelle was also in the shop with Marisa and Lori, giggling as they played around with a joke wand.

"I'll be right back," Juniper said to James before approaching her twin sister.

"Wotcher, June," Jaenelle said with a toothy smile before her eyes fell upon what was in Juniper's left pocket. "Am I going off my rocker or is that a kitten?"

Juniper withdrew the cat from her pocket so that Jaenelle could get a better look at it. "Er...please don't tell Mum and Dad. Apparently someone dumped four of them out near the Hog's Head. I ended up taking one and James took another."

Jaenelle sighed and straightened her back, folding her arms across her chest. "You know Mum and Dad are going to have your head when they find out. They find out almost everything."

The younger twin ran her fingers through her hair. "I know, but it was so hard to say no!"

Jaenelle scowled. "I'm a little miffed off, myself. You didn't even think to bring an extra one for me?"

Juniper could honestly say that she didn't consider her sister when she took the kitten. "Er...well...I'm sure Aberforth would love it if you took another one off his hands"

Jaenelle started laughing. "I'm kidding. Besides, I don't know how I'd find the time or the patience to actually take care of one, myself." She reached over and scratched the kitten under its chin. "I think one between the both of us should be enough. What are you going to name it?"

"I, honestly, don't know. I'll probably find a name in a book."

"Oi, Jae," James said, coming up to the two girls. Jaenelle lifted an eyebrow.

"Potter," she said nodding to him, although an impish smile played at her lips.

"Want to do me a favor and actually accept Liam's invitation to go to the ball? He's been driving me crazy with you dangling the answer in front of him on a fishhook. Please say yes to him."

"Now, why would I want to do that?" Jaenelle said batting her eyelashes in feigned innocence. "Don't worry, I already have my answer, but I just find it amusing that he asks me every other day, right about."

Marisa snorted. "That doesn't really surprise me. But what are you going to do if he ends up getting tired of waiting and asks another girl?"

"If that happens, then obviously he didn't care enough to wait for my answer."

"I don't know why you lot are even worrying, the ball isn't for another month and a half," Lori pointed out.

"True," Jaenelle said. "But some of us want to get a head start before all of the good looking people are taken, which means you'd better hurry, James. Someone might ask Juniper before you know it." She winked at the Gryffindor and her Hufflepuff sister.

Juniper's cheeks tinged pink. "Jae," she said, nervously tugging the sleeves of her jumper over her hands. "I'm not even sure if I'm going. You know I don't dance...can't dance," she added as an afterthought.

"All the more reason for us to keep up our dancing lessons," James reaching over to playfully tug at her ponytail. Juniper lightly brushed his hand away.

"Let's talk about something else than my two left feet," she said as she turned towards the large barrel that held the fake wands and picked one up, pretending to be interested in it. She didn't want to think about the ball or anything that related to the subject. It seemed that after a few minutes, the others got the hint, for they stopped talking about it. Jaenelle, Marisa, and Lori soon left the joke shop with their purchases, but not before giving Juniper's kitten a pat on the head.

"Oi! No pets allowed!" The shop owner strode over to the two of them. "Can't you two read?" He pointed to a very obvious sign. "I swear to Merlin, if those two cats have soiled my floor..."

"Keep your knickers on, you old codger. They haven't moved since we came in here," James said, glaring at the owner. "Let's go, June."

Juniper followed James outside. "Don't let it bother you, we both didn't see the sign," she assured him.

"I actually did see it, all right," James confessed. "I just didn't think he'd notice the kittens."

"So, you broke the rules once again?" Juniper folded her arms across her chest and feigned a disapproving expression.

"Yes, I'm bad. Are you going to punish me?" James wiggled his eyebrows suggestively causing Juniper to blush and stutter for a few seconds before James laughed. "I'm just kidding." He lightly tickled her side, earning a squeal from the Hufflepuff.

"Enough now. Maybe we should get these two inside. I think it's actually gotten a lot colder and I want to see if we can get some tuna from the kitchens."

"Well, I didn't bring my invisibility cloak, but since the majority of the staff are here in Hogsmeade, we shouldn't have a problem sneaking in. It's practically right by your common room. I'm surprised you haven't gone, before."

Juniper shrugged. "It never really crossed my mind. There are a lot of places in the castle I haven't visited."

James smirked. "Scared?"

"No! I just never really saw the point. Besides, there are some parts of the castle that are off limits because they're dangerous."

"All the more reason to explore them."

Juniper shook her head. "Spoken like a true Gryffindor." They began to head back towards the castle. As most of the third years and above were in Hogsmeade, the school was emptier than usual, but there were still a few students, who were unable to go, or had chosen not to go loitering around in The Entrance Hall or traversing the Ground Floor corridor. James and Juniper descended the right staircase that would lead them down into the kitchens.

"I still can't believe you've never been in here." James tickled the pear on the painting that served as the entrance. It jiggled for a moment before the painting swung open, allowing them access. The first thing Juniper saw when she stepped through were hundreds of house-elves. Well, maybe not that many, but more than she had ever seen in her entire life, each of them dressed in the same towels that were tied around their shoulders like togas and bore the Hogwarts Crest. An elderly elf noticed them and immediately made a beeline for the two students.

"Welcome, Mr. Potter!" the elf squeaked. "We have a fresh plate of ginger snaps, would sir like to try?"

"No thanks, Dolly," James said. "We actually came to see if you had any tuna fish?"

"We do, sir! May Dolly ask why Mr. Potter wants tuna?"

James and Juniper reached into their pockets to pick up the kittens, which mewed in protest to being taken from such a comfortable place, Juniper's cat clung to the threads of the denim material, but the young Hufflepuff gently removed her claws.

"We have two new pets that need feeding," James said.

Dolly called another, much younger House-elf and asked for two containers of tuna before turning back to the students and resting her large blue eyes upon Juniper. "Would the miss care for something? She looks very peckish."

"Oh, no, it's fine, really." But the moment she said that, her traitorous stomach let out a loud grumble.

James raised an eyebrow and grinned at her. "Liar." He turned to the house-elves. "How about a bowl of strawberries."

Juniper opened her mouth to protest again, but James just led her to one of the four tables that were identical to the ones in the Great Hall. "I'm fine, really. I have a few Sugar Quills in my dorm that I can snack on."

"Shut up for a moment and let yourself be waited on. Besides, strawberries are much better for you than candy."

Juniper pouted and folded her arms across her chest. "I like candy and strawberries aren't exactly a real meal, themselves."

"Dinner is in a few hours. I figured that this should tie you over until then." Dolly returned with a large bowl of very appetizing bright red strawberries while the younger house-elf hurried forward with two containers of tuna. The kittens must have been practically starving, for as soon as they saw the shredded fish, they immediately began to devour it as if it would be their last meal.

"Hungry little buggers, aren't they?" James asked, looking at Juniper, but she was staring down at her strawberries, deep in thought. "Is something wrong?"

Now was as good a time as any to tell them. The two of them were alone, aside from the House-Elves, but they knew better than to eavesdrop. "I kind of have something to tell you. Do you remember that Monday after I got out of the Infirmary when I went to the Owlery?" James nodded. "Well, when I was up there delivering my letter to my parents, I heard something."

"What did you hear?"

"Cheri and Riley talking, I overheard them mentioning the Bludger incident. From what they said, while it had been Avery's idea, she hadn't bewitched the Bludger, but had, instead, gotten someone else to do it."

James narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Who?"

"That's the thing, they never said his name. They just kept saying 'he'."

The Gryffindor sighed. "I see and you've been keeping this a secret until now?"

Juniper shook her head. "Not exactly, I just was having trouble figuring out when to tell you and I didn't want you to make a big deal out of it. I haven't even told Kaylynn or Eileen."

James looked at her a moment, then stood up. "Where are you going?" Juniper asked.

"I'm going to go get Riley and Cheri to talk! I'll string them up by their toes if I have to in order to make them reveal the person who so eagerly bewitched the Bludger for that bitch, Avery!"

"You'll get in trouble!" Juniper grabbed ahold of his sleeve.

"Do you think I give a damn? I swear once I find out the student's name, he's going to wish he'd never been born!"

"Listen, there are other ways to do this other than going in there with your wand blazing."

"Oh, really?" James sneered. "What do you propose we do? Wait for them to get to you, first?"

Juniper released his sleeve and stood back, her hands on her hips. "I appreciate the fact that you want to look out for me, but I'm not your little sister that you're obligated to protect. I'm perfectly capable of defending myself and I don't want to have to hide behind anyone."

"I'm not questioning your ability to defend yourself, but there's no way of knowing how good of a wizard this bloke is. Besides, what kind of friend would I be if I allowed you to face this alone?"

For a brief second, an wave of disappointment came over Juniper. Was James really saying that he only considered her a friend and nothing more? She mentally shook her head, pushing the negative thoughts to the back of her mind. "I think it would be best to keep an eye on Avery and her friends, watch who she hangs out with. The person who bewitched that Bludger is bound to reveal himself sooner or later."

"I don't like it, I still say we interrogate Cheri and Riley, ourselves then find the culprit and turn him into spider food for the Acromantulas."

Juniper gave him a look, to which James amended. "But, if that's too gruesome for you, we'll do it your way." The young Hufflepuff relaxed and smiled. "Thanks, James."

"Yeah, yeah, go on and eat your strawberries."


Juniper had felt a great weight lifted from her shoulder when she told James, despite the fact that he was very cross with her for keeping it a secret for so long. Yet, because she had told him, it was only right that she tell Kaylynn and Eileen as well. She had a pretty good idea of how Kaylynn would react, similarly to James. Eileen was quite an enigma and would, hopefully, be more like her usual mellow self. By the time they left the kitchens with their kittens, James had calmed down slightly.

"Why don't we drop our kittens off in our dorms and then meet on the Quidditch field? I think I need to cool my head with some flying and we can practice passing the Quaffle."

Juniper folded her arms across he chest and lifted her eyebrow. "Are you sure your teammates would like that? I mean, you wouldn't want to give away all of your secrets to me, I might bring them back to my team."

"I trust you. Besides, I know you like flying as much as I do." He winked at her. "Or are you afraid that you won't be able to keep up with me on that Cleansweep of yours?"

Juniper snorted. "It's not the model of the broom that counts, but the skill of the witch or wizard riding it."

"You must secretly hang out with my dad. He says the same thing." James ran his fingers through his dark hair, making it messier than it already was. "Right then, we'll meet on the Quidditch field. You'll probably get there before I do." They each went their separate ways with James heading up to the seventh floor and Juniper traveling down the basement corridor to her own common room.