just for me ⚘ a Fred Weasley Fanfiction

20. the difference between envy and jealousy

The Three Broomsticks was always busy on the weekends, with the Hogwarts student that had permission to visit Hogsmeade, and the Witches and Wizards that visited on a regular basis. But with the two new schools visiting during their spare time, and the Triwizard Tournament spectators, it was almost impossible to get a table, but as soon as Juniper's grandmother Esmerelda entered, there were older wizards practically begging for her to sit at their table, offering their booths for her and Juniper to sit at. They took their seat at one hidden in the back corner, able to have a somewhat private conversation.
Juniper sat facing out towards the rest of the pub, her eyes tracking everyone's movements. Now knowing that there actually were some devoted Death Eater's still around, she became a bit paranoid in public. She took a mental note of Hermione sitting alone and talking to herself. She saw Fred, George and Ron sitting with their friend Lee a few tables over, Ron stared at her as soon as she had entered, and watched her as she and her Grandmother made their way to their seats. She was surprised that Hermione wasn't sitting with them, but she had bigger things to worry about. Esmerelda entered her view, the crowd parting as she made her way over, holding two glasses of Butterbeer and her smile wide.

"I love being beautiful." Esmerelda sat down across from Juniper, placing their drinks down. "You save a ton of money." Juniper took a sip from her glass, her knees bouncing up and down rapidly and her eyes continued to trace over the people in the pub.

"Why are you so stressed?" Esme asked casually, relaxing into her seat. "Your wrinkles have really come through."

"Thanks." Juniper placed her drink back down, placing her hands on the table, anxious to have the conversation. "Um, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"And you couldn't have told me with an owl?"

"No. It's a bit more... important, than just something you'd send with an owl."

"Are you sure?" Esme's eyebrows raised slightly. "Because my fox friend had just come back and then I had to make the journey here, so he's off again."

"Es." Juniper snapped at her Grandmother, trying to show how important it was to her that they were together. She took another glance at their surroundings before leaning in to whisper. "We need to disappear."

"It was an exaggeration, Junebug. You don't save that much money by being beautiful." Esme rolled her eyes. "I can't afford one of those... invisibility cloaks, let alone one that would cover two people."

"No I- ugh." Juniper ran her hands through her hands through her hair, stressing more and more by the second. "We need to disappear, like, relocate. Cut off all ties, disappear from everything, completely."

"Is this a nervous breakdown?" Esme asked, reaching out to hold Juniper's hands.

"No, you're not listening." Juniper took a deep breath. She leaned in closer, barely whispering. "Lucius Malfoy wants me to be a De-."

"Don't say it." Esme's demeanor completely shifted. She sat back in her seat and her face was alarmingly serious. "Do not finish that sentence Juniper."

"That what I mean. We need to disappear." Juniper repeated. "We can go to... Alaska, or somewhere, I don't know. We just need to get out of-."

"That's not going to help, Juniper." Esme looked ill, her cheeks had sunk in and her face turned a very subtle shade of green. "Did they give you any sort of choice, or a-."

"Lucius said that I knew too much." Juniper said, already thinking ahead. "You can still go though. I haven't said anything about you, they don't know anything. You can take my savings and inheritance, all of it, and go."

"I'm not going to leave, Juniper." Esme answered without a second thought. "Has Draco said anything?"

"He said he was going to try and find a way out, but he's like a different person time I speak to him. One minute he's trying to help, the next he's-"