just for me ⚘ a Fred Weasley Fanfiction

29. its only forever, its not long at all

Draco informed Juniper that more and more Deatheaters were visiting Hogsmeade, to secretly reacquaint with each other before the third task. Lucius told the two to start going on dates, so that they'd see Junipers loyalty to Draco, and in turn, her loyalty to Lord Voldemort.
Juniper only remembered a few faces from Malfoy Manor, and held herself close to Draco whenever she saw one, hoping that it'd be enough to convince them.
But it wasn't.
Lucius' letter was delivered at dinner, ordering Juniper and Draco to keep up the act inside of school as well, as Deatheaters began asking their children about the couple and if they were as devout to each other when no one was monitoring.
So Draco and Juniper were attached at the hip, kissing at every opportunity, in front of as many people as they could. Starting their day with a good morning kiss at breakfast for everyone to see, and ending the day with a goodnight kiss in the common room. And while Draco would sneak back out for his secret meetings with Professor Snape, Juniper went to her room to her own secret.

Before she left the Three Broomsticks, Esme had given Juniper a big bag, ordering Juniper to memorise and familiarise herself with the stuff inside. That night she emptied it out on her floor and tried to understand what she was looking at.
It was just... junk.
Juniper counted through it, trying to identify something, anything, but she was clueless. There were 109 items, all with absolutely nothing in common. Some items were big and colourful, some were small and plain. It was all completely random, there was no easy and quick way to memorise it all. Over the weeks, Juniper eventually fell into a rhythm. During the day she'd be madly in love and completely devoted to Draco, and once she closed her bedroom door, she'd pick up and item and study it until she fell asleep.
The first night there was a yellow rubber toy that honked when she squeezed it. A few days later, it was a small cube puzzle which was broken up into different coloured squares, Juniper solved it after about two hours of playing with it. Several weeks later, she picked up a small book titled 'Toaster instructions', which Juniper read front to back. Her favourite was a statue with a glass dome over the top, and when she turned it upside down, white glitter floated around the inside.
By the time the night before the third task had come, all the items were packed back into the bag except for one that was left on the floor between her bed and the door. It was a tiny yellow duck made out of rubber, that could fit in the palm of Juniper's hand. It didn't do anything, but Juniper stared at it in her hand all night, wondering why Esme had put it in the bag and what it was meant to do. She tucked it into the pocket of the hoodie she was wearing to bed, hoping it would ease her mind. Maybe she'd keep it in her pocket and squeeze it when she was anxious. Or she might forget about it and it'll just take up space in her pocket.

The next morning at breakfast, an owl dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet on Pansy's plate, knocking over her water. After cursing out the bird and cleaning up the water, she caught a glimpse of a headline. Her face lit up and she began waving it at Draco, trying to grab his attention.

"Hey. Hey! You two!" She let out a high-pitched whistle, interrupting Juniper and Draco's conversation.

"What Pansy?" Draco groaned turning his head to glare at her, his face immediately relaxing when he saw the headline. Juniper rested her head on his shoulder, really trying to make her display of affection at least look natural, despite how stiff she was around Draco. She caught Fred's jealous gaze for the millionth time, having to clear her throat and redirect her attention out of guilt. She tried to read the headline quickly, but Draco ended up jumping out of his seat and waving the paper around before she was finished.

"Potter! Potter! How's your head? You're not going to go all bezerk on us right?" He and Pansy laughed obnoxiously. He chucked the paper back to Pansy, spilling her water again, and sat back down, snickering with Crabbe and Goyle. His face froze and he fell silent, seeing a black envelope on his plate. "Jones."