𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 | b. black

✧.*┊xx. remembering her

CHAPTER TWENTY
remembering her

.·:*¨༺ ☾ ༻¨*:·.

𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 that made her so drawn to Bellatrix Black. Even when Bellatrix supposedly loathed her very existence, they never could seem to stay away from each other. Juniper was like a moth to Bellatrix's enchanting flame and vice versa, and now she finally knew why.

There was a prophecy. It was fate. It was written in the stars that they would come together to aid in the defeat of Lord Voldemort, but Juniper couldn't see how that could be when Bellatrix was so loyal to her master.

But she did have a weakness in the petite form of Juniper Harrison, and if the time came to choose between saving her or allowing the Dark Lord to destroy the wizarding world, she would choose her.

"Juni?" Andromeda pushed open the door to Juniper's room and poked her head inside. Juniper was sitting in the open window, one leg hugged to her chest as she stared up at the stars above them. Andromeda pushed the door open all the way and entered, Ted behind her with a cup of tea, which he gave to Juniper when she looked up at them.

"Thanks," she whispered, taking a small sip. "How is Thea?"

"Still not talking," Andromeda said, taking a seat across from her best friend. "That's three days now. She's never had shutdowns that have lasted this long before. Juni . . . " She put a gentle hand on her arm. "You saved my daughter's life."

"Yeah, but I couldn't save Sirius!" Juniper cried, her eyes filling with tears. "He was our family, too! I-I failed—"

"You did everything you could," Ted said. "You can't blame yourself for this, June. This was all Bellatrix's doing. She's even more dangerous now than she was during the first war. Azkaban's made her absolutely insane."

"There's a reason why I can't stop remembering her." Juniper looked back out at the night sky, easily finding the Bellatrix star. "I'm not supposed to forget. I'm not supposed to let go. Our souls are tied together. We have the same fate. It almost feels like a curse, even if good is meant to come from it."

"What did it say?" Andromeda asked quietly. "The prophecy?"

"It said that Bella and I are meant to stand together and bring about You-Know-Who's downfall. It explains everything, yet I still have so many questions . . . Does she even know about our prophecy?" Juniper shook her head, her brows pulling together. "No, she can't, can she? She surely would've said something if she did."

"If you had the chance to tell her that night, would you have done so?" Andromeda questioned, pursing her lips slightly.

Juniper thought for a moment. She chewed on the inside of her cheek. "No. I suppose not. I'm heartbroken and want nothing to do with her . . . But all the same, if it was the other way around, I would want her to tell me. I'd have the right to know." She took a drink of her tea.

"Still think you can fix her?" Ted asked, attempting to sound sarcastic, but the concern for his friend made it hard to do so.

"Maybe I can't," Juniper whispered, a single tear falling down her cheek. "I love her . . . I think I always have since I first met her. Maybe I just need to leave her be and hope she'll come to her senses on her own. I think she has a heart in there somewhere . . . it's just been hardened for a long time."

"She's happier when she's with you," Andromeda said, sighing sadly. She looked out the window, the night breeze gently blowing her hair. "You brought out the best in her. She was nicer when she was with you. If you guys could somehow be like that again . . . " She trailed off; her eyes locked onto Juniper's. "There's a reason why you were the only one to break through her icy wall. While she might've had soft spots for me and Narcissa, it was always you who was able to get through to her."

"And it's me who needs to do that again." Juniper ran a hand through her hair. She drank the rest of her tea and set the cup aside. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the warm wind blew through the open window.

She couldn't think of the Bellatrix she just faced at the Department of Mysteries. She had to remember the Bellatrix that she fell in love with. If she could get close to changing her heart back then, she was sure to change it for good now.