cat people | juniper

[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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"Both of them." All of it? Anything that brought her closer to being like a certain older McGonagall relative that shall not be named. Never in a million years did she want her sister's advice on any of this. Ewan wouldn't balk and give it to her, so if he figured out what was going on (assuming he didn't already know because he seemingly had a sixth sense for these things). Juniper didn't want this whole thing to fall into the same category as every ex-partner of their sister. Rhys wasn't anything like the stupid Blishwick dates brought to Christmas who were 'the ones'. Merlin, just thinking about it frustrated her. Because there were going to be questions eventually. Her parents were going to want to know why, or at the very least a short version of it. Six years down the drain warranted some sort of explanation.

Distractions were the best way to escape it all though. Ewan seemed to have picked up on that quickly and was already employing some sort of tactic to get her away from thinking about the bigger problem. "It wasn't anything special," she responded before taking another chunk of muffin and putting it in her mouth. "I studied a few star charts to find the perfect day to begin, and then sort of hoped the weather worked out in the area I was doing it." And if it hadn't worked, or magic-forbid she failed, then she had the rest of her vacation to do absolutely nothing. More thinking at that point in time wouldn't have saved her relationship, but it may have gotten her to the answers she wanted faster. That was all in hindsight now.

"To be fair, I definitely took it a lot more seriously than what the average aspiring animagus would take it..." Juniper added. She could feel a bit of life start to return to her voice, if only momentarily. Her ego would definitely be the part of her that eventually dragged her back to the surface. Wading was better than drowning.

ewan caelus mcgonagall ● 343 ● Song by Artist

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[ewan caelus mcgonagall]

a judgement made

can never bend

Late August 2022
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Ewan pretended to briefly consider her request. He kind of liked how this younger generation described things, and honestly, ‘dumpster fire’ was a pretty straightforward description. But he wondered how soon he’d tired of it because of its association with their tiresome and predictable older sister. It wasn’t the time or place to bring it up, but Ewan recalled the first time Juni had brought Rhys to meet the family—including their Aunt Minerva. He supposed he got lucky that day. Their sister had implied something about a future brother-in-law, and he swore Aunt Minerva overheard it as well. But, for once, he was thankful she dumped that one. What a spectacle he’d been. Ewan had to give the Werewolf some credit as he behaved appropriately, and his parents seemed to think he was alright.

Taking a sip of his coffee, Ewan listened to her brief explanation. She made it sound so simple. And truth be told, the steps themselves were not complicated, but the timing and patience are where people would fail. Thankfully all the patience his older sister did not have seemed to come to him instead. ”I’m shocked.” Ewan responded before drinking the last of his coffee. If Juni had told him that she had only done this adventure casually, he would have been concerned. Ewan knew how his younger sister was. She put everything into what she wanted to get done because that meant success.

He used to resent it because his actions flew much farther under the radar his entire life. But it also made sense why he found her in such a state. With how Juniper approached things, she had probably put everything into making it work with Rhys. Well, Ewan would always contend that the Werewolf was just trouble. And not because of his name or those things, Ewan could get past that but simply the way he was. But he returned to her first statement. ”How many tries did it take you?” Ewan wondered what the odds were of perfect weather on a first try. Clouds were one thing, but the thunderstorm was the tricky part.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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She didn't do things off the cuff that often, did she? It was sort of hard to tell if Ewan was being sarcastic or not. A lot of the normal sensors that helped her with that sort of thing had become emotionally spent over the last few months, and an overall lack of human interaction outside of what was necessary had her second guessing it. "Well, I didn't want to screw it up and have to do it again. Not that I think that would've happened..." she defended herself, immediately covering it with a sip of her coffee. Maybe it was more embarrassment than anything else. But taking the animagus process seriously was sort of integral to getting it done correctly.

"Just the once," she stated as she set her cup down again. "I needed something to distract me, and it worked perfectly. Don't really want to thing about where my mind would have wandered to without it." More doom and gloom, perhaps. Or a way to fix things that were not fixable. Obviously now that she'd had the time to reflect back on everything, she knew she was more at fault for the way she'd distanced herself than Rhys had been. That had always been the way she was, and he'd evaded it for so long. Until it finally happened. She shook her head to dash the thoughts, before continuing again, "Its all about the commitment to it. With the right planning anyone can do it." And assuming they had the magical capabilities to pull it off. She was sure that not everyone could do it. If that was the case, it would be an entire lesson plan at Hogwarts to figuring out your animagi. Similarly, she knew that not everyone could produce a fully formed Patronus. Anyways, it had been easy for her. Maybe too easy.

ewan caelus mcgonagall ● 308 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[ewan caelus mcgonagall]

a judgement made

can never bend

Late August 2022
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Ewan looked at Juniper curiously. Normally she easily tracked his sarcasm. The older one took everything literally or let it fly over her head, completely missing it like a lost golden snitch. Her whole ordeal was probably a factor, and he supposed he couldn’t blame her. Who would have frayed nerves after that? His mind wandered back to the star charts she had previously mentioned. ”The star charts, did you note any other dates that would work?” He was particularly interested in waiting a year to try this. It would give him preparation time but a lot of preparation time. And Ewan had been so bad at Astronomy that even he wasn’t afraid to admit it—which was saying a lot for a guy like him.


He needed just enough time to perfect everything, or it would take over his mind until his attempt. Juniper explained that it had worked as her one and only try. ”It is a lot to keep track of.” He supposed it was the perfect distraction to keep one’s mind under control in any situation. Ewan knew all too well that spiraling feeling. It could happen for just about anything, but his tunnel vision at times was enough to drive one mad. And naturally, he inferred that her situation with Rhys had not improved since they last spoke and before she began her Animagus preparations.

Juniper’s comment didn’t fall on deaf ears, but Ewan had already set that goal, so commitment would not be a problem. It appeared he had some planning to do, but another unrelated thought came to mind. ”Maybe you can convince our sister to try this just before Christmas.” It wouldn’t be entirely peaceful, but at least without her constant talking about nonsense. But Ewan let out a small sigh. ”It’s a shame she can’t go more than five minutes without saying something.” Ewan finished the last of his pastry. While the crumbs annoyed him, it was all forgiven for the quality of the food.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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Technically there had been a back-up plan in case she bungled the process during her first attempt. It would have coincided with Christmas though. Not that she was against disappearing for the entire month of December. Being free of her sister's nonsense would be an enlightening experience, especially because Rhys's absence was definitely going to be brought up at this year's dinner. Merlin, now that she thought about it, she should have pushed it all off until then. The only negative of December was that the cold would have been maddening during some of the steps that required being outdoors. And she wasn't paying a ton of money to travel somewhere warm just to become an animagus when the same process could be done at a different time of year. "I did find a few others...it seems like there are two to three chances per year. But then weather comes into play as well, and that's only predictable up to a few days before."

Ewan was right: it was a lot to keep track of and became a game of time management and resolve, rather than luck. No one ever said it was easy, and there was probably a reason that one of the most difficult forms of human transfiguration required that many steps. Thankfully she was the type to want that sort of challenge and make it fun at the same time. "Do you honestly want her spitting out the Mandrake leaf every time she wants to talk over Christmas dinner? Because I'd rather not see that." Juniper didn't want to be judgmental of their sister...but she was such an easy target for it. Everything she did was self-serving and over the top. If she attempted to become an animagus, she would, without a doubt, fail. And then all the two of them would hear about for years was whining about how unfair it was that Juniper got to be an animagus but she couldn't be one. "I honestly don't want the headache," she groaned, in anticipation of how her sister would react.

ewan caelus mcgonagall ● 344 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[ewan caelus mcgonagall]

a judgement made

can never bend

Late August 2022
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Ewan grimaced. "No." They could probably sit here for hours discussing how their sister's mere existence annoyed them. Often he wondered why it hadn't bothered him so much when he was younger, but this was before she turned into a boy-crazy narcissist, or at least it was more pronounced. Then again, their parents' obviously different treatment of the three probably had some effect. In any case, Ewan still felt loyal to his family, and that never wavered. But he did wonder how this Christmas would go without Rhys's present. Everyone had adjusted to his presence, especially when it was clear he had basic manners and wasn't keen on causing any kind of scene. In fact, Ewan noted how much he didn't want attention despite Ewan's father peppering him with constant questions over a glass of whiskey.

He had to admit the coffee hadn't been bad, just a bit above tolerable. In fact, he thought he might order it again someday since this bakery didn't serve tea on their menu. And the quality of their baked goods wouldn't keep him away. "I suppose she'll find out when she finds out." Ewan wasn't about to bring up the topic with their sister. He didn't want the headache either. But, it would be impossible to hide it forever, nor should Juniper hide it, in his opinion. Perhaps he could convince his father to invite their Aunt for all holidays for the following year. One stern look from her was almost enough to make anyone quiet.

Clearing his throat, Ewan thought back on the topic of his little quest. "I would appreciate any notes you've kept." It would save him the trouble of working on a star chart, and while he was meticulous, he trusted Juniper to keep detailed notes. There would hardly be a need to redo any of the work, unlike what he dealt with at the Ministry on a day-to-day basis. Glancing at the clock, Ewan figured he should probably head back before the interns found themselves under a mount of scrolls, parchment, and ink. "Unfortunately, I'm due back." He announced, looking at his sister. Ewan didn't want to leave her in such a state. That was probably the distinction that had pushed the sorting hat to place him in Gryffindor rather than Ravenclaw—he would happily help family or a friend if they were in need.

"I can ask them to bring you more coffee if you like." Ewan offered. "But you should consider taking some time." He repeated per their initial discussion. She could help him with his animagus journey. Maybe that would be a sufficient distraction or she could visit their parents and get out of London for a bit. Pausing for a moment, Ewan spoke again. "For what it's worth, I didn't hate him." He assumed he didn't need to be specific. "And I am sorry it didn't work." Speaking as her older brother and regardless of everything. "I want you to be happy….and not a hot mess." Ewan added. Ewan's sisters were not very alike in his eyes, so he felt sure she'd recover and continue with her life without the dramatics.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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Juniper could already hear the screechy tone her sister would have once she found out about the animagus. Though nothing would be worse than the smug look on her face once Christmas rolled around and Rhys wasn't there. She didn't think her sister had ever disliked him, more so that she was jealous. The pool of interns to pull from always grew though, so it wasn't like she was lacking in new, helpless souls to drag into her spider's web. "She'll find out eventually. Better to tell her myself so I can get it out of the way," Juniper states with an exhausted exhale that somehow felt worse than the entire last week combined. It was merely another pain to add on to the already pounding stress headache. Strangely, she had assumed living on her own for the first time would be harder than it actually was, seemingly forgetting the fact that she had been by herself for more than half of the relationship she had just ended. The little realizations like that occurred almost hourly and fully contributed to her current state. It sucked.

"I'll give you the book I used. I just have to unpack it first." Or maybe she had already? At this point, it was hard to even remember. All it took was a couple waves of the wand and all of her belongings went to where she wanted them to. But at the same time, everything was in a new place, gone from their usual spots that they'd inhabited the last four years. The book she was speaking of was Humans To Animals: Animagus Anatomy. In terms of advanced Transfiguration, it was easily the densest book she'd ever read. Probably a good thing she did it before the breakup instead of after, otherwise she would have worked on an amendment with her own experiences of going through the process.

Obviously they couldn't sit here all day and avoid work, as much as she wanted to do so right now. Ewan was right, and while he had to get back now, she could probably stay until her coffee was finished. Hearing her brother talk about Rhys felt like being stabbed a thousand times with the guilt of failure. But she wasn't going to let herself turn out like someone in their family. "I don't hate him either. I can't, really...but yeah..." she trailed off as her voice started to waver. That was supposed to have dried up days ago. "Go. I'll be fine. Probably leave early and take tomorrow off or something," Juniper sniffled. Fuck, she didn't want to do this in the middle of a coffee shop. The barista was bound to see it, and then she'd never be able to come here again.

ewan caelus mcgonagall ● 459 ● Song by Artist

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