▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 ━︎━︎ 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐘 of classes was here and Hermione couldn't help but notice the frown that was on Juniper's lips as she got ready for the day. She watched as Juniper ran a brush through her hair with one hand―︎which had gotten a lot longer over the summer―︎while the other hand was toying with her necklace. Hermione came up behind her, gently grabbing the brush from Juniper's hand and brushing it for her. She glanced at Juniper in the mirror, watching as the girl frowned as she opened the necklace, staring at the pictures inside.

     "What's wrong?" Hermione asked, setting the brush down and running her fingers through Juniper's hair. She grabbed a hair tie, gathering the top half of her friends hair in her hands, making sure to smooth out the top before putting into a half-up look.

     Juniper shook her head. "It's stupid."

     Hermione frowned, placing her hands on Juniper's shoulders. "It's not stupid. What is it?"

     Juniper met Hermione's eyes through the mirror, letting her hand drop from her necklace. "I just. . . I have a bad feeling."

     "About what?" Hermione asked and Juniper just shook her head. "Hey," she wrapped her arms around Junipers shoulders, placing her head on top of Juniper's, "you can tell me."

     "This summer was just. . . it was a dream come true. I don't want it to be ripped away."

     "It won't be ripped away," Hermione assured. "It won't."

     Juniper hesitated. "Promise?"

     Hermione gave her a small smile. "Promise." Juniper leaned backwards into Hermione's embrace, placing her hand on top of Hermione's. "It's going to be alright, Jay. Come on, we'll be late for class."

Juniper sighed and stood up, grabbing her bag and placing it on her shoulder before grabbing Hermione's hand and walking out of the dorm. She swung their hands back and forth as they walked the halls, letting go only when they made it into their class. Juniper smiled at Harry and Ron as she passed them, taking a seat beside Hermione. Juniper smiled and shook her head when she saw a paper bird flying around, she shared a glance with Hermione who had an amused smile on her face as well. Their smiles fell however when the paper bird was disintegrated and Juniper's eyes fell on their new pink clad professor.

     "Good morning, children." Umbridge was standing at the back of the class, making the entire class turn to look at her. She began walking forwards, holding her wand out as chalk started writing words on the board at the front of the class. "Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations. O-W-L's. More commonly known as OWLs." She stopped at the front of the class, turning to face them. Juniper would rather listen to Malfoy's mouth all day than hear this woman talk, her voice made Juniper want to punch her. "Study hard and you will be rewarded. Fail to do so, and the consequences may be severe." She pointed her wand at a stack of books on her desk and they began floating forwards, one book landing in front of each student.

     "Your previous instruction in this subject has been disturbingly uneven." Umbridge continued. "But you'll be pleased to know, from now on you'll be following a carefully structured Ministry-approved course of defensive magic." Her gaze turned to Hermione who had raised her hand. "Yes?"

     Hermione lowered her hand before saying, "There's nothing in here about using defensive spells?"

     "Using spells?" Umbridge asked, her face contorting into one of almost horror. "Well, I can't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom."

     Ron asked, "We're not going to use magic?"

     "You'll be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way." Umbridge said with a smile.

     "Well, that's bullshit." Juniper said, scoffing as she stared at the book labeled beginners.

     "Well, what use is that?" Harry asked. "If we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk-free."

     "Miss. Black, is it?" Umbridge asked, looking at her. Juniper nodded. "That use of language will not be used in my classroom. As well, students will raise their hands when they speak in my class."

     Juniper raised her hand and Hermione closed her eyes and sighed. Umbridge nodded towards her. "That's bullshit."

     "Miss. Black, I will not warn you again." Umbridge sternly said. Juniper just rolled her eyes. "It is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations which, after all, is what school is about."

     "And how's theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?" Harry asked.

     "There's nothing out there, dear." Umbridge said, voice so fake it made Juniper want to gag. "Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourself?"

     "Did she really just ask that?" Juniper grumbled, looking at Hermione. "Did she seriously just ask that?"

     "Oh, I don't know." Harry shrugged. "Maybe Lord Voldemort."

     Whispers echoed throughout the classroom and Umbridge stared at him for a moment, glancing around at the class. "Now, let me make this. . . quite plain." She began walking down the aisles. "You have been told that a certain dark wizard is at large once again. This is a lie."

     "It's not a lie." Harry argued. "I saw him. I fought him."

     "Detention, Mr. Potter."

      "That's bullshit!" Juniper snapped.

     "You too, Miss. Black."

     Harry continued, "So according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord?"

     "Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident."

     "It was murder! Voldemort killed him. You must know that."

     "Enough!" Umbridge yelled. Calmly she repeated, "Enough. See me later, Mr. Potter. My office. You too, Miss. Black."

     "Merlin, you're just as dumb as you look." Juniper scoffed, loud enough for the teacher to hear.

     "Miss Black, that'll be two detentions."

     Juniper shrugged. "Fine by me. It's not my fault that you can't handle the truth." Umbridge opened her mouth, but Juniper cut her off. "No matter how many detentions you give me, it will not change the fact that the Ministry is too blind to see the truth. And Godric woman, wear something other than pink!"

     "A week, Miss Black." Umbridge said.

     "Great. Can't wait." Juniper smiled sarcastically before grabbing her things and walking out of the class, sending Harry a quick wink as she walked by him.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 of Umbridge's office, staring blankly ahead of her. Harry was already inside, and now she had to wait because Umbridge claimed the two of them together would cause more havoc, and well, she wasn't entirely wrong. She sat there for thirty minutes. Her head was leaned back into the wall, eyes closed, when the door opened and she turned her head to look at Harry. She offered him a small smile.

     "Thanks for having my back," Harry whispered.

     "Always," Juniper smiled.

     "Miss Black," Umbridge called.

     "Good luck," Harry muttered before walking away. 

     Juniper stood and entered the office, closing the door behind her. Umbridge smiled at her. "Miss Black, have a seat." Juniper sat down at the chair that had been pulled up to her desk. "Tea?"

     "I'm good, thanks." Juniper dismissed.

     "Right then. Today you'll be doing some lines for me." Umbridge explained, placing a piece of parchment in front of her. "You'll be using a very special quill of mine." Juniper rose a brow and grabbed the quill. "Now, I want you to write 'I will not use inappropriate language in class'."

     "Alright," Juniper muttered. "How many times?"

     "Until you learn your lesson." Umbridge sweetly smiled, giggling.

     Juniper refrained herself from rolling her eyes as she began writing. Pain erupted on her hand causing her to flinch in surprise. She looked down at her hand, watching as the words she wrote began to be carved in her hand. "Oh, you monstrous woman."

      "You can add, 'I will not insult my teachers' on that paper as well."

     Everything in that room was pink, and quite frankly it was giving her a headache. Each line she wrote was carved into her skin, but she kept her jaw clenched and refused to give this woman the satisfaction she wanted. So she wrote, and she wrote, and she wrote until her entire right arm was covered in words and they had begun to form on her left hand as well. She didn't stop until she had filled the paper. Juniper swallowed, keeping her jaw clenched as she looked at the Professor. "I'll need another piece of parchment."

     The woman stared at her, and for once a frown was on her lips. Harry had gotten the message after the first line had been written, she had hoped the same would happen with Juniper, but clearly she had been proved wrong. She had the right mind to make the girl keep going, but she straightened her shoulders. "I will assume the message has been delivered. That will be enough writing."

     "You mean child torture, but writing works too." Juniper nodded, smiling at the woman.

     "I'll see you in here tomorrow, Miss Black."

     "I can't wait." Juniper replied before turning on her heel and walking away. Her entire arm ached, and the whole time she had been holding back tears. She closed the door behind her and allowed one tear to escape before she quickly swiped it away. She had been in there for hours, night had fallen, and she was finally escaping to her common room. When she walked in, she stopped when she noticed Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looking at her.

     Hermione shot up from her seat, grabbing Juniper's arm and looking down at her hand. "She's done it to you too." Hermione frowned when she noticed the words began disappearing under her robe. Quickly, she pushed Juniper's arm sleeve up as far as it could go, a gasp of horror leaving her lips. Ron and Harry joined her side, both of them staring at Juniper's arm with wide eyes. "Jay. . ."

     "What did you do?" Harry asked.

     Juniper chuckled. "Well, I very well couldn't give that woman the satisfaction that she wanted, so I kept writing. In fact, I filled up a whole piece of parchment."

     "Jay, you have to tell your parents." Hermione said, shaking her head.

     "It's really not as bad as it looks." Juniper tried, pulling down her sleeve.

     "It looks horrible. She's torturing both of you." Ron denied, shaking his head. "June, you got yourself a weeks worth with that woman."

     Juniper shrugged. "Yeah, I know. Can't wait to add the new words on there."

     "You have to tell Dumbledore, both of you." Hermione declared. "Nothing about this is okay."

     "Well, knowing you, you've already discussed this with Harry, and I can tell he's said he won't. So, I won't either." Juniper smiled. "Besides, I think I get under her skin. And if this is what it takes for me to see that woman frown again, then I'll do it a hundred times over. Anyways, I'll see you lot tomorrow. The pain made me slightly exhausted."

Juniper turned and walked away and the three of them stood there, sharing looks with each other. Hermione softly sighed before following after the girl. She entered the dorm, just in time to watch as Juniper cringed in pain as she attempted to take her robe off. Hermione closed the door and walked over to her, removing the robe. Hermione's eyes welled up with heartbroken tears. Juniper's entire arm was covered. She reached forwards, pushing the sleeve of her t-shirt up onto her shoulder where more words were revealed.

     Hermione shook her head. "You can't go to those other detentions, Jay."

     Juniper looked at her and gave her a small smile. "I'll be alright Hermione."

     Hermione shook her head again. "No. No, I won't let you. I'll write to your mother myself."

     "'Mione." Juniper softly sighed, but Hermione just kept staring at her arm. Juniper placed a finger under Hermione's chin, lifting it up to meet her eyes. It was true, Juniper had grown taller over the summer, not by much, but she was taller than Hermione. "I'm alright," she whispered. "I promise." She pushed a curl behind Hermione's ear, giving her a gentle smile.

     "Don't do that." Hermione mumbled.

     Juniper frowned. "Do what?"

     "Smile at me like everything's okay. This isn't okay." Hermione pulled away, her jaw clenching in anger. "This isn't right. I have half a mind to walk in her office and curse her myself for making you do that."

     "Well, let's be fair, I did deserve it."

     "For what? Saying a bad word? That's insane, Juniper! Don't you see how insane that is?!"

     Juniper chuckled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were more upset about this than me, and I was the one that went through it."

     "I am upset!" Hermione cried. "I am very upset! Neither you nor Harry will tell Dumbledore. It's not even Harry I'm worried about, it's you! You're the one that has a whole week of detention with her. I swear to Merlin if you come back with more of them, I'll-I'll kill her. And you're laughing like this is some kind of joke. It's not funny, Juniper, it's not!"

     "Love, breathe." Juniper soothed, placing her hands on Hermione's shoulders.

Hermione met her eyes, her eyes moving back and forth and she's searched Juniper's eyes. She didn't know what had gotten into her, but she was so frustrated, and she was so mad with Juniper for not seeing the severity of the situation. All she knew was that someone had hurt the person that she loved, and she wouldn't stand for it. So, she kissed her. She didn't know why she did it, in fact, she couldn't even recall her face inching closer to Juniper's, but suddenly her lips were pressed against Junipers.

Juniper was surprised to say the least. She hadn't been expecting that. Not at all. Her heart  slammed wildly in her chest, her stomach filled with butterflies and fireworks. When Hermione pulled away, her eyes widened in shock, Juniper couldn't help but stare at her.

     "I-I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that." Hermione stuttered. "I'm so sorry. Merlin, I'm so sorry, Juniper."

     "Stop apologizing." Juniper said before pulling her back in, pressing her lips to Hermione's once again. Juniper had never been sure of anything in her life. But this. . . this she was sure of. It felt right. Everything about this felt right, and if Hermione regretted it then she understood, but Juniper didn't regret it. Not one bit. After a moment, she pulled away.

     Hermione took a second to catch her breath. She hadn't expected to kiss Juniper, but she certainly wasn't expecting Juniper to kiss her back. Her face turned bright red and she closed her eyes for a moment, trying to force her racing heart to calm down. She opened her eyes, looking at Juniper. "I care about you, Jay, a lot. I won't let this happen again. Just. . . please. Please. Tell someone."

     Juniper nodded her head, tucking a strand of hair behind Hermione's ear. Softly she said, "Okay. I'll owl my parents."

     Hermione closed her eyes, her shoulders relaxing. "Thank you." Juniper gave her a small smile before forcing herself to pull away and write the letter to her parents.

Dear Mom and Padfoot,
                         To be honest with you, I really didn't want to write this letter, but I've been given no choice. Umbridge is our new DADA teacher this year, and that woman is anything but nice. She gets on my nerves and today I managed to piss her off and I currently have a weeks worth of detention. Sorry. Anyways, I went to one of her detentions today and well. . . her methods are simply torturous. She made me write lines and the quill I used was enchanted so whenever I wrote a line, that line would be carved into my skin. Now, of course, you two know me, I wasn't going to back down and give her the satisfaction she wanted, so instead of writing one line and "receiving the message" I wrote an entire parchment's worth and now my entire arm is covered in the words.
                          I didn't want to say anything, in fact I still don't, but I told Hermione I would and here we are. She's done it to Harry too, except he's a smart person and stopped after one line. Just so you both know, I am fine. No harm done. Well, my arm hurts a little. . . maybe a lot, but that's besides the point. Don't do anything drastic. I can handle this, I swear to you. Hermione doesn't know what I'm writing so she can't be mad at me for sending you a letter about telling you not to do something.
                          Anyways, how has it been without me? I assume you've been having a lovely time. How's Shadow? I miss him so much. I miss you guys too of course. I'm going to go now, but I love you both so much. And like I said, don't do anything drastic. (I'm talking to you, Padfoot.)

                            P.S. HERMIONE AND I KISSED!!! CURENTLY SCREAMING.

With love,
                     Juniper