▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 ━︎━︎ 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐒 morning and Juniper woke up to the sound of the front door opening. The brunette sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes and glancing over at Shadow that was fast asleep beside of her. She smiled at her dog, rubbing his head and giving him a quick kiss before throwing the covers off of her and quickly making her way out of the room. She could hear voices in the entry hall causing the girl to grab onto the railing, leaning over it and smiling widely when she saw Remus standing there, giving her mother a hug.

     "Remus!" Juniper yelled, quickly running towards the stairs and practically jumping down them. Remus laughed as Juniper launched herself into his arms. Remus held the girl tightly as he spun her around before placing her feet back down on the ground.

     "Juno, how've you been?" Remus asked, glancing towards the stairs and chuckling when he saw Shadow lazily tromp down them, licking his chops before stretching and yawning. The dog walked up to him, sitting patiently at his side, waiting for Remus to rub him. Remus leaned down and gave the dog scratches on the head before focusing back on Juniper.

     "I've been good. School's been alright."

     "Did you hear about a troll being let loose in the castle?" Anastasia asked, crossing her arms over chest.

     Remus frowned. "A troll?"

     "Mhm," Juniper nodded her head. "It attacked me and my classmates but it's okay because Harry and Ron helped beat it."

     "Harry?" Remus asked, surprised. He looked at Anastasia.

     "Honey, you didn't tell me Harry had been there with you."

     Juniper shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't think it was important. If Harry and Ron hadn't come in there, Hermione and I would've been dead. Anyways, can I open my presents now?"

     Anastasia and Remus both chuckled. Anastasia nodded, "Of course. Come on."

The group made it into the living room, a medium sized Christmas tree sitting in the corner. The fire under the fireplace was going, making the room nice and toasty just how Juniper liked it. Her eyes darted towards the stocking that was hanging up at the mantle, smiling widely when she saw how full it was and the candy that was poking out of the top of it. She then looked at the many presents that were under the tree, smiling widely as she looked at her mother who nodded for her to go open them.

Juniper quickly made her way to the living room floor, reaching for the first present whilst Remus and Anastasia got comfortable on the couch right behind her. Remus walked out of the room for a moment, coming back a few minutes later with cups of hot chocolate for the three. He sat Juniper's on the table, not wanting her to accidentally spill it on the carpet as she was very violently ripping the wrapping paper off of her presents.

     "Whoa," Juniper smiled. "Books galore."

     Anastasia chuckled. "I've never seen a child so excited about getting books as a present. Besides you." She looked over at Remus who took a sip of his hot chocolate, smiling in amusement.

     "She takes after her Uncle Remus, of course." Remus smiled proudly.

     As Juniper opened each present, she smiled and thanked her mother for each one. Whether it be a pair of socks, a new scarf, of even a new game for her to play, Juniper said thank you after every single one of them. Her mother even got Shadow a new dog collar. "Shadow, look! A new collar just for you." Shadow sat up, his tongue lolling out as Juniper placed the new collar on her dog. Shadow barked, his tail wagging causing Juniper to laugh.

     Once she had opened all the presents and thrown all of the trash away, she sipped on her hot chocolate in delight. "Thank you, I love everything."

     "You're welcome, sweetheart."

     "Now I know your mother got you everything you could ever hope for, but I couldn't help but get you one small thing." Remus reached into his pocket, pulling out a small box and holding it out to her. Juniper reached forwards, looking at the small box. "Go ahead. Open it."

     Juniper opened the box only to find a necklace inside. She picked up the necklace, placing the black box on the ground as she held the necklace up. She looked at if for a moment before she realized it was a locket. She held it in her hand, carefully opening it. "Remus. . ." Juniper whispered, a soft smile forming on her face. On one side it was a photo of Remus and on the other side it was a picture of Sirius and Anastasia. "All of you were so young."

     "We were." Remus nodded his head. "I know that it's hard, and I know you don't believe the rumors. So I thought that maybe you'd like to have him with you at all times. It isn't much."

     "It's perfect." Juniper smiled. She stood up, quickly walking over to Remus and wrapping her arms around him, squeezing him into a tight hug. "Thank you, Remus."

     "Merry Christmas, Juno." Remus hugged her back.

     "Let's take your stuff upstairs, Remus do you mind starting breakfast?" Anastasia asked as she stood up. Remus nodded before walking into the kitchen whilst Anastasia used magic in order to take Juniper's stuff upstairs. Anastasia watched as Juniper started placing her presents wherever they needed to go, a small smile on her face.

     "You got Shadow a new dog toy, right?" Juniper asked, closing her drawer.

     "Of course," Anastasia nodded. "I always get him one, yet he still always manages to tear it to shreds after a month or so."

     Juniper snickered. "That's my boy." The smell of food traveled up the stairs and Juniper sniffed the air and hummed in delight. "Food." Juniper truly did love her food. She made her way down the steps with her mother following after her. She took a seat at the table whilst Remus and Anastasia finished making the food before they brought it to the table. Immediately Juniper started to dig in, not wasting a single second.

     "Mm, delightful." Juniper closed her eyes, smiling. The two adults chuckled at her antics.

     "So, Juniper, besides the whole troll thing, how has school been going?" Remus asked.

     "It's been alright. I've been trying to make it to the top of the class, but a certain muggle is standing in my way and she isn't backing down anytime soon." Juniper frowned. "I'm going to make it to the top spot."

     "Honey, you know you don't have to be top of your class, right?" Anastasia questioned. She couldn't help but worry that her desire to be at the top would take away all her chances at making friends. Anastasia knew that Juniper had been alone her whole life. Growing up and being told that she was a murderer's daughter, no one ever wanted to associate with her, especially no one in the wizarding world. Hogwarts was Juniper's chance to show everyone that she was an actual person that had a personality. Anastasia just feared her daughter was going to push everyone away trying to accomplish something Anastasia had gotten on pure luck.

     Juniper looked at her mother with a frown, "Yes I do. It's the only way I can prove to people that I'm more than just my last name."

     Anastasia and Remus exchanged a look whilst Juniper went back to eating. When Juniper was done, Anastasia took her plate and told her she could go up to her room if she wished. She did, leaving the two adults to clean up. Juniper washed the dishes and Remus dried them. "Remmy. . . I'm worried about her."

     Remus glanced at Anastasia, taking a plate from her and drying it. "I don't think you have anything to be worried about, Ana."

     Anastasia stood there for a moment, shaking her head. "I should have never told her about Sirius. I should've kept it hidden, changed our last name back to mine. She wouldn't be having such a hard time if he hadn't. . ."

     "If he hadn't what?" Remus asked. Anastasia said nothing. "Ana, you and I both know that even if you had done that, she would've found out anyways and that would've caused you both so much hurt."

     "What's the point of knowing who her father is if she's never going to get to see him?" Anastasia asked. "Did you hear what she said? She has to be the top of her class to prove to people that she is more than just her last name. She's just a kid, Remus. She deserves to be treated with respect and not given glares anywhere she goes. It's not fair."

     Remus looked at his best friend, watching as frustrated tears dripped down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away and Remus pulled her into a hug. "I know. You're right, it's not fair. Juniper is strong and although she shouldn't have to, she can handle anything thrown her way." Remus pulled back and looked at Anastasia with a smile. "She'll see him one day."

     "How do you know that?" Anastasia whispered.

     "I just do. Even if it's by some miracle, something tells me that she'll see him again."

     Anastasia softly sighed and nodded her head. "I hope you're right."

     Remus smiled. "I'm always right." Anastasia rolled her eyes and hit his shoulder causing him to laugh.

Upstairs in her room, Juniper messed with the locket that was now around her neck. She silently swore to herself that she would never take it off, that she would wear it wherever she went that way her parents and Remus were always with her. Juniper was convinced that people thought she was crazy. How could she defend someone that she had only met once in her life? Someone that she didn't even know. Sirius was practically a stranger to her. Juniper didn't really understand it herself, but every time her mother talked about her father, she could see the love in her eyes. Her mother was a good person and had very good judgement. Juniper refused to believe that her mother would somehow fall for someone so cruel and still talk about him with love in her eyes.

For the rest of the day, Juniper spent time with Remus and her mother before Remus finally had to go home. Juniper tried to convince him to stay the night and he promised her that next time he would. Reluctantly she gave in and watched him leave with a sad sigh. Her mother reassured her that he would be back and that it was time for her to go to bed.

     As Juniper got ready, she messed with the locket around her neck before turning to look at her mother. "Can you write to people in Azkaban?"

     Anastasia stopped, taken aback by the question. "Um. . . no, sweetheart, you can't."

     "Oh," Juniper mumbled. She had been reading up on Azkaban in her free time, and she didn't like it one bit. "Do you think father would even know who I was?" Anastasia looked at her in silence. "I mean. . . because, you know, they torture them and strip them from all of their good memories. Dad only got to see me once before he was taken. Do you think he would even remember he had a daughter? Should I. . . should I give up on that dream?"

     Anastasia swallowed back her tears and forced a smile. "It's getting late, Juniper. Get some rest." Without saying anything else, Anastasia walked out of the room, leaving Juniper to stand there with a frown as doubt started to creep into her stomach once again.