just for me ⚘ a Fred Weasley Fanfiction

35. an illegal use of veritaserum

Once she was finished in the shower, Juniper receded back into her cramped corner of the girls room, passing out after the long night, and morning, that she had. She was shaken awake a few hours later, Ginny hovering over her.

"You're wanted in the kitchen." Ginny said, as apathetic as possible, walking back out of the room before Juniper could even process what she had said. Juniper eventually crawled out of her bed, trying to tie her damp hair up, so she didn't look and feel like a total slob. She made her way down the stairs reluctantly, with no idea what could possibly be waiting for her in the kitchen. She was glad to hear more than one voice, someone to help defend her if Molly was able to talk again.
She rounded the corner, eyes adjusting to the bright, white light that had been turned on at the switch. She had much preferred what the kitchen looked like when there were candles and the muted colour of the early sky peering in through the curtain, but she wasn't going to complain.

"Here she is!" Arthur cheered by himself at the table, holding a bag of frozen peas to his forehead. Remus, Sirius Black, Molly, and Fred all snapped their heads to look, each with a different expression on their face.

"Hi." Juniper waved slightly, wandering in slowly. She stood awkwardly at the sink, waiting to be ordered around, while everyone murmured quietly.

"Take a seat." Sirius Black gestured to the empty seat at the head of the table. Juniper sat in it cautiously, not pulling herself in, just incase she needed to make a quick getaway.

"What's going on?" Juniper asked, tryin to break the tension. Arthur was on her left, looking through the bag of muggle trinkets that she left on the table, and Molly was on her right, staring her down.

"We've had a discussion with everyone in the house, about how they feel about you living here for the time being." Remus said, from beside Arthur, eyeing off the round disc that said 'Yo-Yo'  that Arthur was playing around with. "And while the majority of the house is more than happy to have you here, there are some people that are not."

"Right." Juniper nodded, looking straight at Molly. "Is this you guys kicking me out?"

"No! No, no. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need." Sirius said, leaning back on his chair to rest his shoes on the table. He fiddled with his rings, finding what to say next. "We'd just prefer it if we could... confirm what your intentions are."

"Okay, how do we do that?" Juniper asked, looking at Fred for an answer. When he didn't look back at her, she swallowed hard. "How do I do that?"

"Veritaserum." A rough voice said from behind her. She whipped her head around, caught completely off guard by his sudden appearance.

"Professor Moody?" She asked, recognising him straight away.

"Oh no. That wasn't me. Alastor Moody." He said, limping over to the empty seat between Molly and Fred.

"Alright." Juniper said, confused by whatever he was talking about. "What's Veritaserum."

"It's a potion that makes you tell the truth." Fred said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, still avoiding eye contact. "It's illegal to use on someone."

"Who's going to tell?" Alastor asked, looking around the table, his magical eye whirring around in its metal socket. He looked to Juniper, leaning in closer. "Are you?"

"No. I'll take it." She shrugged. "I don't have anything to hide, and I need somewhere to live."

"This is the stupidest idea, ever." Fred spoke up again, finally looking at her. "It'll be like giving up all control of your thoughts for who knows how long."

"I'm okay with that." Juniper lied. She hoped that he wouldn't going to be in the room when she took the potion. "Like I said, I have nothing to hide, nothing to lie about."