"Cedric Diggory." Juniper spoke as she marched onto the court yard the next evening, stomach full with her lunch as she held the badge in her hand, "Harry smells lovely, like fire wood."

"The badges weren't my idea." he spoke quickly, pushing his friends away to hurrying toward her and point to his chest, "See, no badge."

"Well, let me have a word with your friends then." Juniper said as she pushed past him, stronger then she looked as he stumbled before she marched closer to the group she'd met a few days ago in the common room, "Excuse me but these are not funny."

"Potter stinks!" Max called out with a laugh as he offered Juniper a badge which she slapped away. Cedric pretended like he hadn't seen her do so, looking up at the sky as Max stared at her in disbelief, "Did you hit me?"

"No, but if you'd like me to-" Juniper began as she balled her first, Cedric let out a laugh as he got between the pair again, "Tell them not to wear those ridiculous things."

Cedric looked at her with a small sigh before looking back at his friends, "Guys, come on."

"Not our choice anymore, Diggory." Archie said with a small laugh, eyeing Juniper who stared with a flash of what seemed to be vial in her eyes, "They're all over school, we're not even the ones handing them out."

"Liar!" Junipers words were so sudden it even made Cedric jump as he looked back at her. She was twitching, mumbling about something as her eyes seemed to be seconds away from bulging out of her head. With a loud groan she turned and walked away, her words speaking to herself getting louder and louder.

"Control your lady, wound you?" Logan asked with a odd look across his face, "Something not right up there."

Logan pointed to his head. Cedric glared at his friend before he scoffed, "Shes perfectly fine."

He walked off, hurrying after Juniper and calling out her name, "Hey! Juniper! June! What was that?"

"What was what?" she asked with a scoff as he caught up with her, walking fast to keep up but still falling slightly behind, "You're friends suck."

"It's- it's complicated." he said, feeling the need to grab her and keep her still but was frankly scared of how she'd react if he did.

"It's not actually." Juniper said as she stopped, which he was great full for, looking at him with a heaving chest and a twitchy face, "You're too scared to say anything to them and feel too threatened to let a woman do so!"

Cedric stared at her in shock, "I am not."

"You are." Juniper corrected him, "I'll have you know I would have been completely fine handling it on my own if you didn't have the need to jump in and show you were just as capable all of a sudden."

She was reaching for things now, though she couldn't help it. Juniper didn't know why it happened, why her every thoughts flew from her mind when she felt over powered her angry. Another trait passed down from her mother.

"Professor Moody was out there." Cedric spoke quickly as his eyes flickered around her pools of stormy chaos, something he found so much comfort in, "I didn't want you to get detention and miss the first task."

She went silent for a moment, chest heaving as her body stopping twitching, slowing coming down from the episode as she inhaled.

"I would have let you bite their heads off if I knew you wouldn't have to miss it." Cedric said with a smile, gorgeous teeth on display for her flickering eyes, "I do really want you there but if it'll make you feel better, go on back and take your anger out on them."

Juniper considered it for a moment, thinking about how many horrible situations Harry had gotten her out of, the protective nature she had over him nearly getting the best of her before she sighed, "No."

"No?" he questioned her with a frown of his eyebrows that were perfectly shaped and threaded.

"No." Juniper repeated with a huff, "I want to be there, at the task, for your sake. If you end up hurt i'll want to collect your blood and put it in a small charm."

Cedric smiled at her words, once again finding so much peace in her violence, "How does that work?"

"Look." Juniper said as she pulled the necklace from her robe pocket and dangled it between the pair. It was a silver chain with a small, clear charm at the end, "You put the small bit of blood in there and i'd wear it around my neck."

Cedric found it odd and rather creepy but was slowly becoming use to odd and creepy being a large part of her. Maybe that's why he enjoyed it a bit more each day that passed, seeing more and more of her, learning more and more.

"I'll have to find you next time I bleed." he said with a odd look but half smile.

"Yes, you will, or I could slice you." she said while the pair began to walk down the hill together, hearing the bell ring from inside.

"No slicing." he said knowingly ad Juniper nodded understandingly.

"Understandable, slicing isn't much fun anyways, too slow of a process." she spoke with a nod as Cedric shook his head with wide eyes at her words, thinking how he went from friends that only ever talked about quidditch or girls to being connected at the hip with one who spoke about blood and death like it was the most beautiful thing.

"I'll have to remember that." he nodded, letting her walk into the doors first before following close behind.

"Bets! Place your bets! Ten for Fleur! Thank you very much." the twins both spoke in much deeper voices then they usually did, walking around with a open brief case and having people place money inside. George's eyes set of Juniper as she rubbed her leather gloves together, "Ah! Miss Lestrange, come to place a bet on your boyfriend, I see."

"Bets are for the weak." Juniper said as she stood before the younger twin, "You're the weak, Weasley."

"Am I now?" he asked her as Juniper nodded her head, "What makes bets so weak?"

"That's for me to know." she said with a shrug before pulling out two galleons she kept in her shoe, "For your own good judgment, tell me who you predict will do best."

"Oh, Krum." George said with no hesitation in his words, "You can't put a professional quidditch star against two students and a girl we don't even know about, though, she could be bloody good too."

Juniper gave a grin at his lack of misogyny, "I have something to pick your brain for."

Fred was walking toward the pair when he noticed George not close behind, walking over just in time to hear Juniper start to speak, "What if you made a product that had to do with cracking bones. I did a survey last night, more then ninety percent of hogwarts cracks their knuckles every morning. Maybe it could be disguised as a liquid, a free hand made mug to go along with it which i'd pitch in to help you with."

"What's this liquid do? Just crack the lots knuckles for them?" George asked. Juniper saw the amused grin on Fred's face and held herself back from lashing out at his ability to not take her serious. George did though, he looked rather interested and curious.

"No, of course not, that would get you so much as a bloody tooth in return for it." Juniper said as George frowned his eyebrows and widened his eyes at her words, "Because after you crack them once, it takes nearly all day until they stiffen up again. The liquid stiffens then immediately so you can crack your fingers and knuckles all day long without having to wait."

Juniper looked pathetically pleased with her idea, smiling like a idiot as George thought about it.

"Oh yes, i'm sure only lunatics will buy those." Fred joked as he stood by his twins side. Juniper knew Fred didn't mind her, unlike Ron, but she noticed over the years he seemed to not understand that she completely caught on when she was getting made fun of. Perhaps her different nature confused him in thinking a subtle joke wouldn't make any sense to her, though Junipers mind was a lot sharper then what he thought it was.

George took notice of her narrowing eyes and twitching fingers before he spoke, "I like your idea, depending on how much we make here, i'll get back to you on it."

Juniper forgot about Fred as she smiled at the boy with a grin, "Bye George and Fred, happy betting!"

George nearly collapsed at her words, he couldn't remember a time when anyone said George and Fred rather then Fred and George.

"A bit odd that girl is, wonder what's going on up there." Fred spoke as he knocked his own head while the pair began to walk off again. George rolled his eyes at his brothers words.

"I think she's brilliant." he spoke before they began to yell about the bets again, getting passed money they certainly wouldn't be giving back.

"Ced, Cedric." Juniper whispered as she poked her head into the tent, seeing the boy in yellow pacing around just as the other did. Cedric looked in shock to see her, eyes wide.

"You shouldn't-" he began before she cut him off.

"Be here, I know." she spoke with a quick nod, walking into the tent anyways, "I wanted to come wish you luck though, dragons, they're extremely misunderstood creatures. You'll want to try and bond with it, don't appear scared or they'll take it as a threat and really try and blow your head off."

"June." Cedric said with a adored grin, "You told me all this last night."

"Did I?" she asked with a blink as Cedric nodded, "Suppose maybe I did. Anyways, you'll need to make sure they feel like you aren't there to hurt them. Wild dragons are taught to fight anything they see, ones that are trained in a good space aren't and are much kinder. These are wild, I bribed Hagrid in telling me so, meaning you need to act as their mother."

"Mother? You mean father." he corrected her, not remember this part being said. Juniper shook her head so hard he was scared she'd snap it.

"No, mother, they'll feel much more connected to you if you act as their mother. Their fathers aren't too important to them, Charlie Weasley told me that." Juniper said as she took a deep breath after speaking so fast, seeing Dumbledore walking in, "I have to go pretend like I don't exist, good luck."

Juniper hugged him tightly as a flash went off, the pair turning and finding a woman gushing at the pair with the camera in hand, talking frantically as her quill moved. Juniper went to yell at her before Cedric cut in, "Let's go to the Tea Shop after, I told my friends I was spending the afternoon with you."

Juniper flushed as she nodded, "I'll be sure to go rub it in everyone face, don't forget to be a mother."

And with that, she was gone.

•

kylie speaks

aren't they so
sweet? i keep
dreading getting
to the end of
goblet of fire.