chapter twenty-five : Bubble-Head Charm

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When midnight arrived, June's feet hurt like hell. She had pulled off her shoes somewhere between eleven and eleven thirty, and was now dancing on her bare feet. Charlie had loosened his tie and unbuttoned his top three buttons. June didn't mind, though, it gave her a clear view of his muscled upper body.

When the Weird Sisters played their last tune of the evening, applause filled the Hall. June turned to Charlie, who's cheeks were burning up from all the dancing.

"How long will you stay?" she asked him.

"I'll be leaving soon," Charlie said, the smile fading off his face. "But I'll come back for the second task."

June smiled slightly. "You better."

He leaned towards her and pressed a soft kiss on her lips. "I had an amazing time," he whispered.

"Me too," she hummed, slinging her arms around his neck. "Thank you for coming."

"Anything for you."

Juniper smiled and looked up at him. His blue eyes were shining brightly as he looked down at her.

"You look absolutely stunning, June," he said, his eyes trailing down her dress. "Navy blue is really your color."

June grinned. "Thanks, I try."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't have expected any other reply from you."

June laughed, but that quickly ended when she saw Hermione sitting on the stairs, her cheeks stained with tears.

"I'll be right back," Juniper said, hurrying towards the crying girl. "Hermione?"

She looked up while trying to wipe her tears off. June sat down next to her.

"Are you all right?"

For a moment, June thought she would lie and saw yes, but then, she let out a sob and started crying again.

"No," she sobbed, tears forming once again in her eyes. "I'm not."

"Do you want to talk about it?" June asked, carefully placing her arm around the girl's shoulders.

"It's Ron," she said quietly.

Juniper hummed. "I see."

"D'you think he likes me like that?" Hermione asked so quietly that June had to lean in to catch it.

Juniper stayed silent for a moment, pondering of what she should reply.

"I think he does, but he doesn't quite know it yet," June eventually said.

Hermione looked at her. "You think?"

"I'll talk to Harry about it," June said. "He knows Ron the best. Although I'm not sure he could give me a straight answer. He's quite obvious."

Hermione let out a chuckle. "Yeah, he is." She glanced at Charlie, who was waiting a couple of feet away from them. "You got lucky, June, he's one of a kind."

June followed her gaze and smiled. "Yeah, he is."

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Charlie left not long after that. Once again, June felt rather empty as she watched him go. An arm slung over her shoulders and she looked up to see Fred staring down at her.

"Don't worry, he'll be back," he said, squeezing her gently.

"I know," June sighed.

"Let's head back to the common room," Fred suggested. "I heard we're playing Hufflepuff in two weeks?"

Juniper nodded, thankful for the distraction. "Next week we'll start to train for that match. There are a couple of tactics I've been meaning to use . . ."

They talked about the upcoming match until they reached the Fat Lady. June didn't realize how tired she was until she exchanged her dress for her pajamas and fell onto her bed.

"It has been a great night," Angelina said, looking up at the ceiling.

Juniper hummed in agreement and she shifted her pillow beneath her.

"It certainly has."

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The next two weeks, June and her team trained extra hard for the upcoming match against Hufflepuff. They all know how much June wanted to win this match and so did the rest of the team. No one of them had forgotten the last match they played against Hufflepuff.

"Okay, team," she said, after one especially good training. "Good work!"

As they made their way back up the castle, the Hufflepuff Quidditch team came down to the pitch.

"Black," Cedric greeted her, giving her a smile.

"Diggory," she said, nodding at her.

"Hello June!" a voice squealed and Liam pushed his way to the front.

Juniper smiled. "Hello, Liam."

"Ready for the match tomorrow?" the young Hufflepuff asked, bouncing up and down.

"Yes," June said, grinning. "You better get to practice, you'll need it," she teased him.

"Thanks for the heads up," Liam said, smiling. "I better follow your advise," he added, seeing his team make their way towards the pitch. "See you tomorrow!"

And with a wave, he was off.

"I don't think he'll mind losing to us," Fred pointed out, as he gazed at the young Hufflepuff. "He really worseships you."

"You are exaggerating, Freddie," June said, as the team made their way up to the castle. "He's just excited for the match."

Fred shrugged. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."

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Fred was not entirely wrong. When June's feet touched the ground again after Harry got the Snitch once more, Liam walked up to her.

"Good game," he said, extending his hand.

June switched her broom from her right to her left hand and shook it. "It was. You were pretty good out there," she added, nodding at the sky. "You'll be a great Chaser."

Liam's eyes sparkled. "Thanks!"

Cedric landed next to them.

"Good job, kid," he said, placing his hand on Liam's shoulder. "And congratulations, Black," he added, a bit more stiffly.

"Thanks," Juniper said, smiling. "You did a great job, too, Diggory. You've been by far the best Hufflepuff captain I know."

"You only know like two," Cedric said, raising an eyebrow. "But thanks."

June rolled her eyes. "I'm off," she said, giving them a small wave. "See you later."

She turned around and walked back towards her team who were standing together, laughing.

"Good job, team!" June exclaimed, ruffling Harry's hair.

"I told you we'd beat them," Angelina said, grinning. "There is no way we'd lose to them again."

"Well, last time it wasn't our fault," Juniper said, noticing the look on Harry's face.

"Now there's only Slytherin in our way to the Quidditch Cup!" George said, grinning broadly. "I'm looking forward to that!"

Alicia looked grimly. "Be prepared for a lot of bruisings and broken noses."

"It won't get that far," June assured her. "I'll make sure of that."

"Party in the common room?" Fred suggested, as they returned with the rest of the Hogwarts students towards the castle.

"Actually, Harry and I had decided to go to the library to prepare for the second task," June said, exchanging a glance with her cousin. "So, raincheck?"

"Sure," Fred replied. "Come on, guys!"

Harry and June parted from the group and made their way towards the library while quietly talking to each other.

"So the next task will be underwater," Harry said.

"I remember Professor Flitwick telling us about a spell that could work," June said, frowning. "I'm going to dive into that."

"I'll just — er — read some other books and see if I can find anything else," Harry said.

They entered the library and June headed towards the Charms section. Her fingers tracing the back of the books as she searched for a book that might help. Eventually, her eye fell on the book that Professor Flitwick had used when explaining the charm. She pulled it off its place and made her way towards a table. Harry was nowhere to be seen. He was probably still busy looking for something that could help him.

Juniper opened the book and flicked through the pages until she found the spell she was looking for.

"There you are," she said quietly, reading The Bubble-Head Charm on top of the page. Her hazel eyes darted down and she started reading the description.

The Bubble-Head Charm is used to allow a person to breath underwater. An enormous bubble appears around the head of the person casting the spell, which makes their features look oddly wide and stretched.

She then read the incantation and the hand movement.

"This should do," June said, satisfied.

The sound of a pair of feet made her look up. Harry made his way towards her, carrying a pile of books. He put them on the table before taking the first one and opening it on the table.

"Have you found what you were looking for?" Harry asked, as both he and June were flicking through the pages.

"Yeah, it's the Bubble-Head Charm," June said. "I can teach you if you want."

Harry shook his head. "Then it's obvious we're working together. No, I'll have to find something else."

"They're dumb if they don't expect us working together," June pointed out. "We're family, Harry, and family sticks together."

Harry smiled. "Thanks, June."

"Anytime," she said. "Now, let's see what we can find for you."

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Published 27.01.2021

I hope you enjoyed it & tell me what you think of it!

This was a rather short chapter, I know. The next one will be longer since it'll involve the second task!!

Who do you think June will have to save? Let me know!!

Ps: my exams are finally over so expect me to write and publish more!!

Until next time!
Laura