Drops of Juniper (Discontinued, Rewrite On My Profile)

Chapter 6: The Letter

It had been a few days since I had given Snape his gift; the weather outside was dull and gloomy and drained your body of warmth the minute you stepped outside. Everyone seemed less bubbly and loud due to the seemingly never-ending lousy weather.

On the other hand, I was a lot more bubbly, and I felt like I had been drinking Felix Felicis. Snape was nicer to me, well; nicer than to other students, and the girls and I have been spending more quality time together, which we missed out on quite a bit from 17 to now. I also studied more; the girls and I had nightly study sessions alternating between our common rooms. I felt like a teenager again, with no adult responsibilities and no nagging fear lingering in the back of my mind.

That was until the letter arrived.

I was sitting in the Great Hall at breakfast one morning, conversing with the boy I had spoken to on my first day here, who was named, Cedric Diggory, and quite friendly; he was even civil to Draco Malfoy. The thought of Draco made me want to gag on my toast. He had been after Kara since she first arrived, and no matter how many times she told him how repulsive he was, he wouldn't let up.

Suddenly the post started to arrive, and the sound of hoots and flapping feathers filled the Great Hall as the owls tried to find their owners. A scrawny grey owl dropped two letters in front of me.

"Post is my favourite time; my dad is always sending me letters about what's been going on back at home," Cedric said, ripping open his letter with a big smile and a shine in his eyes; I smiled back weakly. I never got any mail, considering my parents disowned me and the people I care about are right here in the Hall with me.

I swallowed hard and started opening the first letter, my hands shaking; the first letter was just a flyer for Gladrags Wizardwear announcing a sale on dress robes. I breathed a sigh of relief and put the flyer aside. I started on the following letter but realised, unlike the other letter, there was no writing on the back of the envelope; it was blank. I opened it, anxiety creeping back into me.

The words written sent me into a wave of goose pimples, it made my stomach turn, and I swear my throat was closing in on itself, making it harder to breathe.

It read:

I wholeheartedly believe you already know that I know you took something very dear to me before running away.

That's what you do best. Run away and hope you can outrun me. You hope that I won't catch up, hope I'll leave you alone and choose someone else. That's where you're wrong, you have something of mine, and you ARE mine. The other piece of my soul. Let me tell you, my sweet Juniper, you're running out of places to hide, and it's only a matter of time before I catch up. You're running out of time, my love.

All my love, 

~Chasin

P.S Don't think that I don't know your little friends are helping you. They, too, are running out of time.

I let the letter fall from my hands; my vision started to blur

"Hey, you alright, Juni?" Cedric asked; there was serious concern in his tone; I shook my head and got up from the table. Running towards the door, I heard people shouting at me, but I didn't look back.

"Juniper, stop! Please!" I recognised Serenity's voice; I slowed down and let them catch up.

"What the hell is going on!?" Kara demanded; tears ran down my face like an endless stream. "Tell us right now!" she had her hands on my shoulders; her face twisted with intense worry. Sapphire and Serenity were pale and worried. 

"He...he wrote a letter to me", I managed. "He said we're running out of time" My voice shook, and I let out quite a loud sob that echoed off the hallway walls. The girls looked back at one another, fear replacing their concern.

"Where's the letter?" Kara asked me

"In the Great Hall at the Hufflepuff table" She nodded at my response and took off back towards the Great Hall.

"We have to tell Dumbledore immediately," Sapphire said, a slight edge in her tone. "He isn't going to leave you alone until something gets done."

I shook my head. "I don't think anyone can help me; it'll have to be my fight" tears started to well back in my eyes; I was scared because my chances of survival were as slim as Slytherin winning the house cup.

"At least let us help you, Juniper", Serenity said, placing her arm around me, "You've been our best friend for ages, and we're not about to lose you now." her voice shook slightly as she said that, Sapphire came over and joined the hug.

Kara returned promptly, the letter clutched in her hand, a figure in black following behind her. I gulped; Snape was the last person I wanted to see right now.

"Once again, it's you four causing disruptions," he said, slowly eyeing each of us; Kara turned around to give him a look I wouldn't have dared to try on Snape.

"With all due respect, sir, this is more than what you believe to be silly antics; I requested you to come with because maybe you'd understand this" She thrust the letter into his hands.

He stared at Kara hard before unfolding the letter and beginning to read; once again, I noticed his face soften.

"What exactly did you take, Miss Bane?" Snape asked me slowly; Kara nudged me,

"Show him", She whispered.

I gently took the necklace out from under my shirt; it was a beautiful delicate silver chain with a silver ring acting as a pendant. The ring had a snake curling around the band, and two gleaming emeralds made up its eyes. It was quite a piece of jewellery, although anything but ordinary. Snape's eyes widened.

"Where did you get that!?" He demanded. His voice rose slightly.

"I took it from Chasin; I have no idea where he got it, though", I answered, placing the necklace back into my shirt. Snape eyed me with suspicion.

"Well? Can you help or not?" Kara asked him in a slightly irritated tone

"Yes, you," he pointed at me ", be in my classroom at 8:30, not a minute later; if you truly need my help, you won't take it for granted." He gave a sneer and turned, heading back to the dungeons, his cloak billowing behind him. Classes were about to start; at least, it was some kind of distraction.

The girls gave me final hugs and told me that they would be with me every step of the way before heading to grab their supplies for the first period.

There was nothing more I could do but try to push the thought of what awaited me aside and get on with the day. 'You have to be strong,' I thought to myself before heading towards my common room.