A Journey At Hogwarts

XVII. A Powerful Helping Hand

Warnings: One use of bad language

A week passed, and Rowan mostly recovered, albeit with the occasional chill. Still, by Madam Pomfrey's standards, she was healthy, which was good enough for Juniper, and the blue tinge on her skin had faded entirely. During that time, Juniper brought chocolate frogs, star charts, books, and the missed assignments to occupy Rowan's mind. Juniper shared her concerns that they might have a traitor in the midst who tried to sabotage her. They immediately ruled out Badeea because she would have no motive and was often seen painting in her own world, whereas Tulip was tricky. Depending on the offer, her alliance could change on a dime, while their other dormmate, Skye, could have framed Juniper. Still, she isn't that sneaky, nor would she ally with a Slytherin to get back at Juniper. She could do that all perfectly on her own.

However, Rowan pointed out that a Prefect could have just as easily snuck in and avoided suspicion. Prefects check in on the younger students all the time. With that, they were bad to square one, but something in her was nagging that it wasn't perfect.

Rowan is slightly tired by Juniper's hovering. She appreciated it, but it can be a lot, too, from Juniper.

Juniper knew how to take care of people, and that's for sure. Looking after her mum had been her job since she was six.

"I just want tae make sure that you're okay."

"I know but I also feel so useless." Rowan lamented.

Juniper sat beside her, resting her head on Rowan's shoulder. "You're not useless at all, Rowan. You saved me; remember that, at least."

Rowan smiled, but she didn't seem entirely convinced. "We'll see."

Winter was approaching faster than Juniper could anticipate. The dreaded Christmas holidays were going to be spent with her father, whom she was not pleased to see. She wrote lots of letters to Rowan and Ben. Basem was away on holiday with his family in France, so she was alone, and to add on everything else, she caught a cold. Juniper wondered if it was the rain or a build-up of stress causing her blocked nose and itchy throat.

She recovered with the help of mint teas and caught up on lost sleep. Juniper returned tired but ready to continue her quest for that cursed vault.

Dumbledore's welcome-back speech again reminded students to stay safe and report any strange activities. There was an unsettling feeling in the air. Did something happen over the break? Did Merula get to the vault while she and Rowan were gone?

"Do you think he's onto tae us?" She whispered, trying hard to hold in that cough.

Rowan leaned, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, and whispered, "I don't think so, or at the very least, I hope not."

Juniper caught the stares of another intruder in their conversation. Dark eyes matching Juniper's darted away, and red hair swished as Tulip moved her head away from Juniper and Rowan.

Juniper's hunch was correct. Dammit, Tulip is too much of a wildcard to understand her intention. The self-made chaos followed that girl. Juniper could never recall if she hung out with anyone or if Tulip even had friends. The only thing that assured Juniper was that if Tulip pointed fingers at her for the Slytherin attack, she would implicate herself.

In the common room at their corner, Rowan and Juniper just chatted. It was the furthest away from everybody; they had claimed it since the first year. It was nice having their own space. She found her fellow Ravenclaws less hostile, but they ignored Juniper. Those points of redemption really helped her image.

"Do you want to return to the cursed vault?" Juniper inquired, wondering if she might need to continue independently. She didn't like to ask Ben again, nor did Juniper want Penny injured under her care.