we made history | s.b. (1)

Chapter Two

Juniper hated walking into the Great Hall by herself.

The giant double doors opened wide, granting entrance into the giant dining room. Juniper was standing behind the sixth year Hufflepuffs, who were behind the seventh years. In front of the Hufflepuff house, the Gryffindor's stood proud, ready to enter.

Each house would line up in a certain order (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin) and enter the hall one by one. Starting with the seventh years, Gryffindor started strutting into the hall. Next we're the sixth years, then the fifth, the fourth, and so on.

Juniper nervously shifted. Even though they were the second house to enter, she didn't like walking out in front of the Gryffindor's. Mostly because the Gryffindor's seemed so confident in themselves. Plus, the four boys that called themselves the Marauders always watched intently, for some odd reason. Juniper didn't know why, but it made her self conscious. Maybe it was because four extremely good looking fifteen year olds were staring at her like she was a piece of meat.

Once the Gryffindor's second years walked through the doors, Hufflepuff's seventh years started through. They walked with bright smiles, all happy to be back home. Juniper could practically feel their happy attitudes radiating throughout the Great Hall.

Next were the sixth years. Juniper glanced down at her feet. Sixth year was full of beautiful girls with paper white teeth and perfect bodies. Everyone knew that you apparently "glow up" in sixth year. Juniper found that hard to believe, but she would just have to wait and see.

Finally, it was the fifth year's turn to walk into the Great Hall. Juniper sighed miserably as they started moving forward.

She stepped through the double doors, hoping the other Hufflepuffs shielded her from being seen. She felt as though everyone in the building was staring directly at her, judging her every movement. Scowling at the way she walked, snickering at her childish hair choice, or pitying how skinny she was. Even though she knew in the back of her mind that this was impossible, not everyone was looking at her, Juniper couldn't help but get squirmy. Her fingers absentmindedly started dancing around at her sides subtly. Juniper didn't know why she did this. It never helped, but it was just something she always seemed to catch herself doing in intimating situations like this.

No matter how much Juniper wished for people to keep their eyes to themselves, there was one boy at the Gryffindor table that just couldn't. Sirius had been searching for her the second the fifth years started entering. When he spotted her, he couldn't look away. Sirius always liked the way she looked in her robes. It made her look sophisticated. He glanced down at her hand, seeing that her fingers were moving at a speedy pace. He could feel her nervousness from across four tables.

Juniper felt her fingers slow as she took her seat at the Hufflepuff table. She didn't bother to look up at the Ravenclaw's and Slytherin's entrance. She knew that she would only pick out the girls that looked prettier than herself.

She sat with her hands folded in her lap, her mouth curved down, and her eyes staring down at the plate in front of her. Juniper was thankful for the feasts at the beginning of the year. This gave her time to stuff herself with as much food as she possibly could. Mother wouldn't let her have second helpings. Sometimes, she would put less food on Juniper's plate, just because she could, and call her ungrateful whenever she asked for more.

Here at Hogwarts, Juniper could have as many helpings as she wanted. She could fill her plate to the rim and not feel guilty. Although, it was slightly awkward for her to eat in front of people. She didn't want to look like a pig.

Juniper decided to look up once the fourth year Ravenclaws started in to see her sister. When Juniper spotted the brunette, she sent her sister a little wave. Only Lavender did not acknowledge it. Instead, she was chatting it up with one of her fancy Ravenclaw friends.

Of course, Juniper thought. Like your sister would make it known that she's related to you in front of all of her friends.

Juniper would get thoughts like these all the time. A little voice in her head would scold her for thinking something she shouldn't. And it always happened to sound exactly like her mother. She hated these thoughts. It reminded her that her mother was inescapable. She was everywhere. Even at Hogwarts, the place that was supposed to be her home away from home. But no, Mother was here, too. Mentally, of course.

The Hufflepuff slumped down on the bench, feeling embarrassed.

Once the Ravenclaws were done, the Slytherins started piling in. At least Juniper didn't have to walk in in front of them. That would just be plain embarrassing. She could hear it now, the sound of laughter and whispers coming from the far table to the right.

If only Juniper could just disintegrate into nothingness, then her life would be so much easier. She wouldn't have any worries. No more insecurities, no more Mother, no more whispers of pity, no more judgmental stares. Just nothing.

Although, that would mean losing the boy from Potions. Juniper knew for a fact that a boy like that wouldn't even look in the direction of a girl like her, much less have a conversation with her out of class. At least she got to sit by him. Of course, it was by force, but she was thankful for it.

Juniper scrunched her nose up at her thoughts. Why in the name of Godric am I thinking about Sirius Black? He's not even relevant to this topic!

She looked down at her hands. The fifth year Slytherins were now walking in. Juniper couldn't help but look up to see them. She always admired the Slytherins. They walked with such confidence, such power. It was hard not to envy them.

Juniper spotted a girl with beautiful light brown hair hair in the crowd. She held her head high, but instead of a hard, smug look, she held a soft one. A smile was stretched across her face. Her eyes were glimmering with excitement. Juniper was slightly taken aback by her. None of the other Slytherins held this kind of expression.

She then spotted a boy with platinum blonde hair. Unlike the girl, the boy held the signature Slytherin look. A smug smirk was held on his lips, his eyes cut around the hall, looking to find fresh meat to pick on this year. His buddies followed behind him like lost puppies without a home.

Juniper shook her head. Classic Slytherins.

Bet you wish you had friends like them. The little voice taunted. Poor little Juniper, sitting at the Hufflepuff table with the rest of the weak mudbloods. May as well be one yourself.

The girl had to hold her hands together to keep them from shaking. She didn't want to be think about this now. She had only been in the Great Hall for twenty minutes and she was already thinking horrid things. Dinner hadn't even started yet!

Juniper always tried to ignore these thoughts, but it was just so hard. They came more often than they should. She couldn't do anything about it. No one ever cared enough to listen to her problems, so she was left to deal with them herself. The problem was, she didn't deal with them. She just let them flow through her mind, and she was left to absorb the information, thinking it was true. It was her mind, after all. So why wouldn't it be?

Finally, all the second through seventh years of each house were sitting at the respected tables. Now, the first years were all that was left. They needed to be sorted into their houses.

Juniper remembered when she got sorted into Hufflepuff. She had been extremely nervous. The one thing that kept her grounded was the fact that she knew she would get into Ravenclaw like her mother. Juniper was so excited that she would make her mother proud.

Then, she heard the talking sorting hat call out Hufflepuff, not Ravenclaw. At first, Juniper thought it was a mistake. Maybe she just misheard the hat.

But she didn't. In fact, she heard it loud and clear. The sorting hat did say Hufflepuff. When Juniper realized this, tears started clouding her vision. Her heart dropped. She knew how much getting into Ravenclaw meant to her mother. And now, Mother would be so disappointed.

There were no more picnics in fields of daisies after that.

Hiiii.

Here's chapter two! I didn't really know where I was going with this for a while. I'm actually pretty content with how it ended.

But yeah. That's all I have to say, really. Um, don't forget to comment and vote! Love you all!

Bye!

-k-bug🌿