do i wanna know? | juniper

[rhys alexander greyback]

have you no idea

that you're in deep?

December 2016
juniper minerva mcgonagall

”Are you really arguing with me about the Wolfsbane Potion?” Rhys looked at Juniper incredulously. In these moments, Rhys could look at Juniper, or Juni, as it took too long to get a word in if he was saying ‘McGonagall’ or her full first name, and not get a little distracted. Since his agreement to partner with her in Potions, they had spent an inordinate amount of time together. Even Nell very not-so-subtly would comment on it here and there. But she was likely still bitter that Rhys had dropped her and left her with less than ideal Potions partners. Rhys didn’t see the big deal. He was allowed to have friends, wasn’t he?

And Juniper proved she was still the know-it-all in some cases, but he had to remind her that he was supposed to help during these class assignments and she not do everything herself. And then, they began to work on their assignments together. The recent and rather dull section on Cheese-Based Potions had been relatively easy. Their Professor offered extra marks if any students wanted to tackle a seventh-year potion. Naturally, Juniper had dragged Rhys to the library to work on it. Since it was nearing the end of the fall term, the only available tables were near the back, where all the dust tended to pile up, but it was much quieter since students didn’t tend to gather here. And since Rhys did feel a little bit of guilt at leaving Nell in Potions, he promised he would help her later that day.

”You can’t add sugar to it.” Rhys insisted. It was something he had asked for consistently as a child. A five-year-old would never understand why sugar voided the entire potion, and he really didn’t understand it until recently. Who knew it took at least an OWL-level knowledge in Potions to comprehend such a thing? On this, he put his foot down, but he wondered if the girl next to him knew that she could so easily distract him. Things had begun to change between them, not in a bad way, but Rhys was still trying to wrap his brain around it. And at least for the last few days, he’d avoided dark dungeons alone with her. But then again, he’d told himself that the week before, and he hadn’t stuck to that either.

template by vee

[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

▲

"Merlin, of course I'm not arguing with you about it," Juniper rolled her eyes. She was, obviously, and the sarcasm that rolled off her tongue was extremely thick. Getting Rhys riled up was beyond easy, and she had figured it out within two class periods working together. The dagger-like glares from Nell Ollivander had been to die for too, as it seemed she was not happy to have to work with someone else as punishment for the incident at the start of term. After toying with the apology for the first week after everything had gone down, Juniper finally got annoyed with the pleading from the other girl and relented. She didn't think she was cruel for letting it go on for so long - quite the contrary actually. The recovery period in the Hospital Wing had been elongated by a few extra days, meaning she ended up missing almost all of her first free weekend at Hogwarts for the year. Hearing multiple, increasingly exasperated and heart-felt apologies from an Ollivander was amazing. Others were starting to catch on though, and not wanting to come across as the bad guy anymore, Juniper gave in. But now she could get under Nell's skin through other means: her budding friendship with Rhys.

Today she had forced him into a quiet part of the library that was barely visited by anyone that wasn't accidentally lost, mostly so she could tease him, but also because once they did get to work it they wouldn't have any disturbances. She sort of hated when younger students rounded aisles and then gawked because they didn't know where they were or if they were being annoying. The answer was always yes, they did annoy her, and no, she wouldn't tell them where in the library they were. They could learn the hard way just like every other Hogwarts student.

"But what if you, I don't know, rim the potion bottle with it like how margaritas have salt," she explained. It didn't technically go in the Wolfsbane, thus shouldn't mess it up. This was another distraction because she already knew what they were supposed to do with their assignment, but preferred to actually spend the time with him talking about other things instead of school work all the time.

With the Christmas break fast approaching, there would be two weeks without getting to talk, and that felt weird to her. She already knew he was staying, and technically she had to do the whole shebang of going back to London just to come back to Hogsmeade...the thought of just sending a letter to her parents and saying screw it and staying for the entire break was definitely something she'd mulled around about the last several days. "What's the Slytherin Common Room like during the holidays? The house elves always leave a cart for hot chocolate out every night leading up to break..."

rhys alexander greyback ● 483 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[rhys alexander greyback]

have you no idea

that you're in deep?

December 2016
juniper minerva mcgonagall

It had taken a little time for Rhys to grow accustomed to spending with someone who wasn’t a longtime friend. His small inner circle was mainly comprised of other students who had befriended him in their first year. Rhys was guarded by nature, and things like his life story would take years to pull out of him. In this corner of the library, he appreciated the lack of the usual noise, such as students giggling or talking far too loud. Some of his classmates habitually vocalized their thought processes as they completed their assignments or studied.

Rhys had also noticed Nell’s demeanor changed while in Potions or even at the mention of the class. Truthfully, Rhys hadn’t thought partnering with someone else would be that big of a deal. Or, rather, he had known it would have some effect. Maybe it just fell under the category of how oblivious Rhys could be, or so he was told. It wasn’t a sentiment he agreed with. But the weeks and months had gone by, and Rhys had grown more comfortable with the Hufflepuff. It was far less awkward than their initial conversation, although she still bossed him around, and he still dug his feet in or let his temper flare. Blinking at her a few times, disbelief still written on his face, he paused for a second. ”No. That would be the same thing.” Admittedly, Rhys was still a little cranky since it was around the full moon but comparing it to a margarita was ridiculous.

Sometimes Rhys could be too stubborn for his own good, but he persisted mainly when he was right. And Potions were one of his stronger subjects, alongside charms and defense against the dark arts. In other subjects, such as Herbology, he was hanging on by a thread but still keeping up. But they had the Christmas break approaching. For Rhys, everything felt normal and on track. He would stay in the Castle with the other handful of kids that also stayed behind. It was peaceful during those times, and he rather enjoyed it. The other students weren’t scared of him or anything, so while he missed his best friends, he didn’t feel alone either. ”Cold.” Rhys responded. The subject changing so quickly was not atypical for them. ”Just like it is all year.” Surely, she’d know that since her Common Room also resided in the dungeons. He had forgotten about the hot chocolate, probably because he never had any. In fact, he didn’t really like chocolate all that much.

template by vee

[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

▲

Curse Damocles Belby and his extremely useful but unstable potion! Wolfsbane had been one of the potions that had frustrated her the most since she first learned about it, mostly because it's ineffectiveness if done incorrectly could cause serious problems. Like a suddenly raging werewolf let loose in the general public. Or Hogwarts. Obviously the school made it clear that there were contingency plans and anyone with half a brain could figure it out (or just ask one of the various werewolf students like she had). But things that didn't work frustrated her. "That's like having a flobberworm that doesn't produce mucus," Juniper responded, finally starting to wind herself down from the idiocy of the Wolfsbane potion. "If I was any good at potions and wanted to make a career out of it, I'd probably focus on improving it. There has to be a way to make it taste better." Even better would be something that didn't need to be taken the entire week in advance. There were so many parts where everything could be screwed up. It was a waste of time and money like that.

She had no idea if the concept of Christmas bothered Rhys, only knowing what he'd given her piece by piece over the last few months. Learning not to pry was difficult because she honestly didn't know how to tactfully ask about certain things. Getting to the point and being blunt has always been her thing. That didn't always work though and she had enough of a conscience to not barrel straight into his life story if he wasn't ready for that. So far, she knew she probably didn't deserve any of it. They were only Potions partners after all.

But that was also the problem she was having now. Trying to discern the difference between getting excited over talking about Potions with Rhys, who actually understood way more than most of their other classmates, and talking to him in general, was difficult. She kept finding reasons to 'go over assignments again' or have meetings like with what they were doing today. And then there was this whole Christmas debacle, because she wanted to go home, but then it became a huge ordeal, when if she stayed she could get work done quickly and quietly, and she could still talk to Rhys the entire time. "I've been thinking of maybe staying during the break. Never done it before though...I don't really feel like riding the train all the way to London just to come right back to Hogsmeade, you know?"

rhys alexander greyback ● 426 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[rhys alexander greyback]

have you no idea

that you're in deep?

December 2016
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Staying behind for the Christmas break had stopped bothering Rhys about his third year. The first few times, it had been anxiety-inducing. The combination of being left behind and left alone when he was used to being surrounded by kids of all ages was an adjustment. Other things hadn’t changed much. Wolfsbane for a week if the full moon occurred, but at least he wasn’t being pushed downstairs or into suits of armor in the corridor. So that in itself was a nice Christmas gift. He’d gotten into the habit of roaming around and learning where specific portraits were. The astronomy tower wasn’t crowded with students finishing assignments because they’d all chosen a constellation that only appeared in the same month as everybody else’s.

Rhys raised an eyebrow at the comparison. He wasn’t about to argue that and continue this ridiculous discussion. ”I think it's perfectly fine considering the alternative.” Rhys muttered. What more could he want? It wasn’t the total control he sought and dreamed about, but better than nothing. And better than being let loose like some bloodthirsty unhinged animal. The probability he would ever be was incredibly low, but the fact that it wasn’t zero always left him wary. Maybe it was the nightmares he still had and those eyes he always saw in them. ”You’re ahead of most of the class. You could probably work with potions if you ever were bored of Transfiguration.” Rhys flipped another page in his book. It was a compliment, but Rhys had never been all that great with words.

But she had probably figured that out by now. It didn’t typically take people long. While he tried to act with good intentions, something happened to those intentions when it traveled from his brain to his mouth. If you wanted an eloquent Rhys, you had to get him at just the right level of anger. Or maybe it was simply because he wasn’t used to talking that much. He was more social with his close friends because he was comfortable. Everybody else needed to find their way into that zone. Rhys looked at Juniper when she spoke. Why stay when she hadn’t for five years? He was aware the scenic route home was not her favorite. She ranted a few times a month about it. ”Erm—I guess you could walk home, then?” The thought hadn’t really crossed his mind that any of his friends would stay behind, and certainly not for him. Rhys had been spending more time with Juniper the last few months, and it was part of his routine now. The breaks always broke his routines which unsettled him. ”It gets quiet here…I think you’d like it.” Was he a little hopeful? No, of course not. Rhys knew better than to ever get his hopes up about anything.

template by vee

[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

▲

Rhys was obviously right - about the alternative to taking Wolfsbane being worse - but that didn't mean she wasn't allowed to be irritated by the fact that it was either one or the other. The same could be said about imperfect transfigurations, where the accuracy of the incantations was so unbelievably important that botching it could potentially lead to a life of eternal damnation as a life preserver getting shit on by seagulls and poked by grubby children fingers. She had thought a lot about getting stuck while transfiguring herself, and thus hadn't attempted anything past changing a finger or two. Not that she understood what a horrifying transformation monthly was like, as only Rhys and his fellow werewolves knew that. Arguing about the potion in the name of trying to help clearly hadn't worked though, so she decided that was that. Even if she was ahead of the class, turning away from Transfiguration when she was so deeply invested already wasn't an option. Juniper merely nodded in silence at her friend's compliment, unsure of how to respond to it.

There were more important topics to be furious over. Like the Hogwarts to London to Hogsmeade travel she had to do four times a year, every year. "Its not allowed. Believe me, I've tried. I can visit my parents on Hogsmeade weekends, but all travel from school has to be by the train," Juniper repeated the words exactly how they had been told to her, trying not to sound bitter but failing at it. There were no exceptions, even for family members of the Headmistress. She had been reminded for years that even Aunt Minerva had to travel the same way during her time at Hogwarts, so they all had to do it. It was preposterous and a waste of everyone's time, but it was only a couple more trips back and forth at this point. Usually she used the ride as a way to get work done or read a new book. There had never been any friends to catch up with up until now with Rhys, so that was sort of a useless too.

"I could show you my common room if I stay. No one in Hufflepuff will care," she stated, carefully eyeing him to see what his expression would be. She wouldn't even know who in her house was staying, since she had never bothered to learn most of their names. In past years though, there had been a list of those that were remaining for the break. Hopefully it was to be the same this year as well. Even better if it was basically empty.

rhys alexander greyback ● 441 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[rhys alexander greyback]

have you no idea

that you're in deep?

December 2016
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Rhys couldn’t rationalize the school’s reasoning for such a rule. It seemed silly, but then again, he grew up far different than the other kids. Maybe there was something to it? Student safety and all that was always a good excuse for any rule or change. Anything that threatened that was typically met with resistance. Rhys could only imagine what the fight was like for students who were werewolves or otherwise, different to attend. And he also didn’t have the luxury of a famous name versus an infamous one. But he kept those comments to himself, considering there were Weasleys in his own house, and he was friends with an Ollivander and now a McGonagall.

”Probably an outdated rule they haven’t bothered to change yet.” That was his best guess, but at least the older a student was, the less of a problem it could end up being. ”You could apparate next year too.” Unfortunately, Rhys still had to spend his entire summer before his final year as an underage wizard. His birthday occurred less than a week before the start of term. It would also be his final summer at the orphanage, and he had to figure out what to do with his life after and hope that his plans worked out. But for now, he was only thinking of the upcoming Christmas break.

People likely didn’t notice, but most of the time, Rhys could feel when someone was looking at him for an extra few seconds more than normal, a consequence of his first few years and the curiosity of other students. So he could feel Juniper looking at him, though he hadn’t the foggiest idea why. Her question was simple enough. Looking away from the unimportant Potions book, he answered. ”You sure?” Rhys was curious if students often hopped Common Rooms. Whether it was against the rules was another matter, but he wasn’t a stickler for those details. He supposed if she did show him, it had already made this Christmas break far more interesting than his last ones.

But there was also the fact that, for the first time, he’d have someone to talk to over the break. Well, at least outside meals or small talk with the other regulars. Rhys hadn’t grown close to any of them. They seemed to prefer their own space as well. It reminded him of when Nell had sat purposefully beside him in Potions. Rhys had assumed she’d sat next to him on accident or by chance, but suddenly he’d made a friend. ”It's near the kitchens, right?” At least that’s what he thought Renfri had said at one point. Rhys never made it a habit to look hopeful, and he typically didn’t, even if his eyes betrayed him sometimes.

template by vee

[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

▲

"Don't remind me." It was impossible not to roll her eyes at the mention of being able to apparate. If she had more than a year and a half left at Hogwarts, she'd probably challenge the current rule and try to fight for the half a dozen students that currently lived in Hogsmeade. Then no one could call her selfish again. And being able to apparate actually made it slightly better, only because then she didn't have to wait for one of her parents or a sibling to show up at Platform 9 3/4 to get her. Not that she found the whole exchange infantilizing, but there was a point where it was exhausting to have to rely on them for everything when she already felt that she was more than capable of doing things on her own. Her brother and sister despised the amount of independence that she was allowed during her breaks from school, noting that their parents always had strict guidelines on when they had to be home and whatnot. She assumed that it was only going to get worse once she was able to apparate. Getting crap from them when they were supposed to be adults always pissed her off. That was the exact reason why she was trusted with floo powder and they hadn't been. There was a very clear maturity line there.

Juniper was absolutely positive that she was fine with bringing him to the Hufflepuff common room. What else was there to do for the two weeks? If Slytherin was as cold and unwelcoming as he made it seem, she didn't want to spend time there. Outside of the library, that only left her common room and the Great Hall. Holding private conversations in both was easier when there were hundreds of fellow students around, but not so much when it was dead quiet. She wasn't too keen on having others being privy to the things she wanted to talk about, even if it was just about school work or theories on Transfiguration. "I can't see why it wouldn't be fine. Who's gonna stop us?" Aside from the fighting, Rhys probably fit better with the Hufflepuffs than she didn't. Maybe the Sorting Hat had gotten mixed up and switched them on accident. "Yeah it's nearby. I've heard that during the break, the house elves will give out extra cookies if you visit them. So we could always try doing that."

rhys alexander greyback ● 407 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[rhys alexander greyback]

have you no idea

that you're in deep?

December 2016
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Rhys meant what he’d said in the Hospital Wing at the beginning of the year. Juniper was not what she seemed. Well, not entirely. She was still herself and the girl he had known from a distance since first year. But the last few months had been the most they had conversed about anything over the last five years. He supposed that his circle of friends had been so consistent that it was just a surprise that one more was added. But they got along well, even when disagreeing. And She was probably grateful that he didn’t knock over any cauldrons in her direction during class. Even when he was back in the Hospital Wing and would miss potions, she usually knew to find him there.

Still, she was nothing if not consistent. This whole business about the train ride to and from Hogwarts was a hill she would die on and then later haunt like an angry poltergeist. Sometimes it made him grin a little to see her so passionate about it. And she seemed pretty relaxed about this invitation to the Hufflepuff Common Room. ”Probably nobody. Most who stay behind are in Slytherin or Ravenclaw.” Sprinkled with a few Gryffindors and at least one Hufflepuff. ”They do.” Rhys confirmed. He’d learned you could visit the kitchens relatively easily, especially during Christmas break.

Well, that was settled. It was nice Rhys wouldn’t be alone. Selfishly he’d always wished other people would stay, but he understood they wanted to be with their families. Still, he was curious about something. ”Your family—they won’t mind?” Rhys actually hated asking these questions. He felt eleven again, thrown into a new world that was Hogwarts and finding out that people lived far different lives than himself. But he just had to ask since he didn’t know. And he’d already heard the earful from Nell about what would happen if she didn’t go home and a million things Veronica would do. But he cleared his throat and thought about the break again. ”We’ll have that herbology assignment then, right?” They hadn’t been kidding about the NEWT workload. Plus, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms assignments and practice. Though Rhys did fairly well in basic non-verbal spells, he wanted to improve.

template by vee

[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

▲

The less people around the better, in her opinion. Not that any of them would approach her in the first place, but thinking about how to explain to other students why she chose to stay for the break was exhausting sounding. Because she honestly didn't know yet. It was mainly because she wanted to spend time with Rhys and felt bad about him having to spend the holidays alone. As much as she disliked her family at times and their prodding about everything she did, they had somehow instilled in her that the holiday was important and meant for being around those you cared about. So she supposed she cared about him, or at least that was how she was rationalizing it in her head currently.

The confirmation about the house elves handing out cookies was exactly the distraction she wanted before her mind started to wander. "I usually don't believe rumors like that, but it seemed too realistic to not be true," Juniper mused. "Then we're definitely going to see them at least once." Having everything planned out was the best way to not waste away the entire break. They'd have work to do as well, which would take up a good chunk of it, but she didn't want to lay around for two weeks like she did at home.

Speaking of home..."I mean, they probably will. My sister is bringing someone home for them to meet, and honestly? I don't really want to see that train wreck happen." The endless questions and pretending to care about some significant other that would probably be forgotten by the following Christmas. It had happened before, so why wouldn't it happen again? She had decided a long time ago not to repeat the follies of her siblings, only because it was annoying to be an unwilling party stuck witnessing it. That was probably why they disliked her at times. Or because of her personality. Probably both.

Rhys mentioned the herbology assignment that they already knew about, and she nodded her head. "And Charms for sure. I doubt we'll have to worry about Potions after we finish this one..." Which had sort of been pushed to the side since the conversation on Christmas took over.

rhys alexander greyback ● 372 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[rhys alexander greyback]

have you no idea

that you're in deep?

December 2016
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Rhys hadn’t really noticed exactly how much extra time he had spent in the library or whatever empty Potions classroom was available when the library was overcrowded. It just felt normal. It was studying and completing homework assignments, so nothing that was not expected for their year. But there was a difference. Rhys didn’t give that eyebrow raised in suspicion or eye roll when Nell asked him to test yet another test wand that contained some new combination of wand wood and core. Actually, that still made him flinch quite a bit ever since he’d singed off an eyebrow completely in their third year.

Rhys probably wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he did like spending time with Juniper. And even just confirming the rumor she’d heard was exciting because Rhys knew more about what went on in the Castle during times like this than she did. Basically, he knew an answer she didn’t. All these wonderful little details made staying behind a little easier and more pleasant. Rhys could show them to Juniper if she didn’t go home. ”You can get extra cookies anytime, but they make these cinnamon ones, and they stop when everybody returns.” But he loved cinnamon and felt it deserved a higher status than chocolate. Rhys had wandered into the kitchens from time to time. He was an insomniac for most of his life, so it was somewhere to walk at night. And he was always hungry. Rhys could eat three meals daily with multiple servings and still be hungry later. Maybe it would catch up with him one day, but he had always been slim, though the taller he got, the leaner he was. At least he didn’t have the build of a troll.

Juniper didn’t seem all that concerned about her family and what they would think. And she mentioned a sister, he assumed older. There were people in Rhys’ life that were sort of like siblings. Merely growing up in proximity to one another, he didn’t have any blood relatives he knew of outside his father. Rhys was reminded of things his friends would say. Nell about Veronica or Sarah about one of her sisters, Renfri, and her large family. And Rhys struggled because, on one end, he liked to listen. But on the other, there was always that heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach. The jealousy he felt because his life didn’t have these things. It was difficult to push down, but it added to his constantly simmering anger. ”Sounds like she does this often?” But this was more interesting than arguing about the Wolfsbane potion and its inadequacies.

Rhys wasn’t looking forward to the Herbology assignment. It wasn’t that interesting of a subject for him, but he supposed it helped with potions. He shrugged, looking back at their Potions work. People were often surprised by how studious he was. Perhaps he might have done well in Ravenclaw, but Rhys pushed himself for a reason. He’d make something of himself. ”We can finish this one tomorrow. There’s time.” It wasn’t due until after the break, and he felt a little tapped out on studying. ”I could use a break.” Rhys leaned back in his chair, relaxing his posture and looking over at Juniper as he spoke.

template by vee

[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

▲

Special cinnamon cookies? Could this get any better? Everything that the house elves made was good, so she could only begin to imagine what it would be like to get something that the general student populace didn’t even know existed in the first place. Her eyes widened as her interest instantly grew. “Then it’s settled. Once I get an owl out to my parents and see my Head of house, we’ll mark down a day where we could stop by.” Or literally every day if they ended up being as good as she assumed they would be. Getting a date down helped with her overall scheduling, which was a little ridiculous considering this was for a break, but it ultimately kept everything in line for her. Flipping open the planner that she kept on her at all times, Juniper scribbled above the next day ‘COOKIE, DATE’ – her own shorthand to remember exactly what she needed to do over the next twenty-four hours. Except looking at it after the fact made it seem like there was actually supposed to be a date with cookies involved. She stared at it for a few moments before quickly slamming it closed, catching her finger in it. The stinging pain of her finger would hopefully take away from the burning she felt in her face, because that had been almost instantaneous upon realizing what she had written. “I’ll just tell you when…” she mumbled to her Potions partner as she tried to hide the planner at the bottom of her bag.

Thankfully the conversation was bound to shift, and having brought up her sister meant she had a good distraction now. “Sort of, I guess. She says I wouldn’t get it, but it’s hard not to get that she has horrid taste,” she explained, as if Rhys would know what she meant by any of that. “They’re all these Ministry paper pushers that have zero personality outside of their department. One even worked in the Broom Regulatory Control. He wouldn’t shut up about the proper bristle length that every broom is required to have until he had an allergic reaction to the pudding we had for dessert.” Juniper was positive that her brother had hexed the guy under the table, because the speed at which his tongue enlarged was certainly unnatural. Of course, her sister had a new person she was gushing over the next time Juniper saw her, so to say there was a string of odd and brief encounters the McGonagall family had wouldn’t be selling it short.

“What else do you normally do during it?” she inquired as it seemed that Rhys was done working for now. He wasn’t wrong, there was plenty of time to go before this specific Potions assignment was due. It occasionally made her nervous that he liked to take time off of classwork instead of barreling through them, but she’d quickly learned that doing so relieved a lot of unknown stress that had been quietly building up. NEWT classes were no joke despite being enjoyable. Finding herself with two weeks of free time without being dragged around all of Diagon by her family meant she needed something to do other than homework.

rhys alexander greyback ● 535 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[rhys alexander greyback]

have you no idea

that you're in deep?

December 2016
juniper minerva mcgonagall

For the life of him, Rhys couldn’t remember the name of the cookies. Just that they were full of sugar and cinnamon, and he very much looked forward to them. ”Mmmhmm.” Rhys sort of acknowledged that Juniper had said something. Though only most of the words had entered his skull. The house elves didn’t mind when students stopped by. They were always so happy to help. And anyone else he had bumped into down there was also polite to them, as they should be. Rhys was hardly any kind of advocate for magical beings, but he supposed he was biased as a werewolf.

His attention was brought back as Juniper loudly closed her notebook. At least it hadn’t been a textbook. ”You alright?” Rhys looked for only a couple of seconds as she rifled through her bag. Obviously, he had missed something while in his own head, but he wasn’t about to ask. Rhys had learned over the years at the Orphanage and at school that girls didn’t like it when you told them you weren’t actually listening to them talk. So, he did his best to keep up or figure out what was happening, whether it be context or things other people said in the conversation.

But now Rhys did listen as Juniper spoke of her sister and this bad habit she apparently had. ”Does she work at the Ministry?” Rhys only knew of a few careers there. The famous ones in Law Enforcement—Aurors and Hit Wizards. The Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries. His favorite, The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and a few others. But he supposed it made sense that someone needed to do all the paperwork. It didn’t sound terribly exciting at all. At the mention of ‘proper bristle length’ his face shifted to an incredulous expression. ”Sounds like an eventful time.” He wasn’t sure if it would be considered good or bad. Though any food allergy sounded like a bad time.

Rhys hadn’t really been prepared for a question. Some found it odd at first to walk around such a quiet and large castle, but Rhys enjoyed the lack of noise. Crowds had never been something he enjoyed, there was something claustrophobic about it. ”Erm—work on assignments.” He looked away for a bit, as if that would somehow kickstart his brain. ”The Astronomy Tower is always empty, you can watch the meteor shower sometimes.” If the moon lets you. The closer the full moon occurred to Christmas the less likely you could see it. But a few times he’d gotten lucky. Rhys paused. He really didn’t do anything terribly exciting during that time now that he thought about it. ”If there’s a full moon I don’t do much of anything.” He finally added. And so far, three of the five break’s he’d spent here had been mostly in the Hospital Wing. ”But it passes before break this year.” Three breaks he had been able to do almost whatever he wanted. And three where half the break he was sick and irritable and the other half basically sleeping as he rested afterward.

template by vee

[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

▲

Maybe if she wasn’t trying to seem like a normal person around Rhys, she would have said a few choice words following her finger slam. But she desperately wanted to seem like she was a regular person despite her academic quirks and awful personality. Rhys apparently didn’t have an issue with it like some of his friends did now that she was taking him away from them more and more. At the same time, she didn’t want to be one of those people – the one that suddenly appears seemingly out of nowhere and latches on and refuses to let go, causing chaos in their wake. That perfectly described her sister, so preventing herself from following in her footsteps was ideally how she wanted to approach this budding friendship. She secretly hoped that other students would finally see her toning down and step in as well. A leap of faith was sort of needed after how she had treated some of her classmates over the years. She found it hard to blame them and was already contemplating the Nell route of apologizing profusely until they gave in. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she responded through gritted teeth, rubbing at her finger gently. It was going to throb for a good while if she didn’t use a healing spell on it. But which one? “Just overly excited for cookies, I guess,” Juniper attempted to deflect. She hoped he hadn’t seen the way the note was written down.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t actually know what she does,” she elaborated, her finger shoved in her mouth as she figured that would help with the swelling a bit. “She’s some sort of intern still, but she keeps changing departments so I haven’t the foggiest about what she’s up to now.” Basically her sister changed careers and who she was dating so frequently that Juniper was always surprised with what she had to say when they were both home. Apparently the Ministry was fine with inter-department changes like that, though she didn’t really understand why. There was absolutely no way she was ever going to be working for them though. “My brother has an actual job at the Ministry though. I think it annoys her since she’s the oldest…” Maybe that was part of it too. The fact that she hadn’t settled on a career yet and he had. Whatever it was, enough whining over the dinner table happened during the summer and holidays that she was excited she could finally skip it this year. “It’s okay,” she answered, not going into it any further. Just okay was fine, after all.

“Right, well I’m getting my work done immediately so we’ve got time to do whatever the rest of break,” she interjected. The Astronomy Tower would definitely be an interesting thing to go up to. She didn’t take the class anymore, so that was going to require a fair amount of sneaking from their common rooms all the way up, or at the very least, back down at the end of the viewing. She’d never broken a rule before though… “Do they have scheduled viewings where we’re allowed out after curfew?” Juniper asked dumbly. She really didn’t know how that worked.

rhys alexander greyback ● 534 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[rhys alexander greyback]

have you no idea

that you're in deep?

December 2016
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Rhys wasn’t sure what he’d missed in the last few minutes, but it didn’t seem all that important except that her finger was somehow injured. ”Right…” He let it go. These little eccentricities he’d noted quickly, but most people typically did. Still, even when Nell asked him how he could stand being around Juniper for so long he found himself shrugging. Juniper wasn’t as bad as everybody made her out to be, and she hadn’t berated him as she had done years ago in Transfiguration class. They were friends, able to talk and work together on homework and whatever else students did.

Now she’d absent-mindedly stuck her finger in her mouth. That was a new one, but he forced himself to focus on the conversation at hand. Juniper’s sister seemed like a wild one, or at least unsure of what to do. And there was a brother too? ”I didn’t know you could just switch jobs like that in the Ministry.” Rhys admitted. There wasn’t much information available on hand and they wouldn’t get to the career fair until the Spring. ”It seems so competitive to get into some departments.” Well maybe just Law Enforcement anyway.

Juniper seemed rather excited about the upcoming break. Though he couldn’t rationalize why, but he wouldn’t ask. ”Erm…no.” Rhys answered to both questions simultaneously. Another student—a girl from Ravenclaw had shown it to him a few years prior. And then he’d snuck out on his own, which was easy enough when patrols were basically non-existent. ”But I’ve never gotten caught.” He added. And he felt the Professors that remained behind also loosened up a bit. ”It’ll be easy to sneak out.” But then a thought came to mind. ”You have gone out after curfew before, right?” Rhys hardly knew a soul that hadn’t. Whether it was for a trip to the kitchens or the library or activities reserved for broom closets, everybody did it. Rhys had for several reasons, though he wouldn't share all his stories.

template by vee