break my fall | juniper

[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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”No, I’m tired of the bureaucracy…I think I’m done with it completely.” Everything was exhausting about work. It had beat her down over and over again, and over the past year had proved that it was part of the reason she had been so snippy during their breakup. She hadn’t noticed it until after the fact, though it should have been apparent when going through with her animagus training. Thinking her change of mind was solely relationship based was silly now that she looked back on it. Her boss and coworkers were equally as frustrating to her on a daily basis and combining it all together with Rhys had led to what happened. ”I still have what? Six months to go? Seven?” It all blended together these days. The second it had popped into her head and she realized that this was the next big change she had to make in her life, she had committed to it. Once the tournament was over, so was her time at the Ministry.


What she really wanted to do was to keep creating educational material. The problem there was that the magical community had very few avenues to successfully do that. Her options were: teach at Hogwarts (which she was still too young for, nor did she feel like she was ready for such a thing), in her current department at the Ministry, or as a private tutor for a wealthy pureblood family. Something would have to come up eventually though. Their world was changing quickly, and there were already whisperings the Ministry starting to lean into more progressive, muggle-like ideas. She took that to mean technology. If that were the case, literally anything could be done as soon as they figured out how to get it all to work.

”I don’t really know what I’ll do…but there has to be something better than this. I only took it to begin with because they had an opening.” She let out a long sigh, letting her head hit the back of the couch. Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine how great it would feel to put in her letter of resignation. Pure bliss. And if Rhys was willing to change careers, she could too. Remove all of their previous stressors from the equation. ”Anything that doesn’t have me writing curriculum anymore. I only want to do that if I’m a professor some day.”

rhys alexander greyback ● 400 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[rhys alexander greyback]

there is no end to me

or beginning to you

September 2023
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Hearing Juniper and other friends' war stories from the Ministry of Magic had made Rhys quite grateful they had rejected him all those years ago. While the rejection still hurt, he also hated sitting behind a desk. It happened infinitely less at Gringotts, although his paperwork sometimes did pile up. Merlin knew he still had overdue reports from before his accident that still needed filing regardless of his inactive status. The Museum would probably allow him time to work on those as needed. Trying to get them all done at once might actually kill Rhys. ”Something like that.” It was probably more than that, but Rhys didn’t know what her department was planning.

But Rhys could see she meant what she said. A certain desperate frustration in her eyes that Rhys knew well because he’d brought it out in her so many times in the past. Without an immediate solution in his mind, Rhys remained quiet. He let his thumb move lightly above her knee to show his reassurance. Juniper had supported his career for years as he rolled the dice with death almost daily. ”The Prophet has listings. Maybe that’ll spark an idea?” Rhys was at a loss for an answer. He didn’t know what other careers required in terms of experience. ”Or work at the Prophet?” That could work now that he’d mentioned it. She was certainly stubborn enough to fit in as a journalist.

Rhys let a soft sigh through his nose. He wished he had more words of support, but mentally, he always hit a wall in times like this. For all his talent and skills, knowing what to say and when to say it was not one of them. ”Why don’t we think of ideas over dinner or something.” Sitting there focusing all their brainpower on this single question would only give him a headache anyway. As Rhys turned slightly in his seat to see her better, his hand slid a tad higher. His brain had always easily led to the ‘something’ idea, but Rhys wanted more time with her. Juniper had her own flat now, so she didn’t often spend the night, and her presence back in his life and this hope he harbored for them pulled him to her. In hindsight, Rhys really didn’t know why he’d spent all that time pushing her away.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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The reassurance was nice. She really hadn’t had that at all over the past year aside from her family and Saff. Her sister’s poor attempt at trying to get her to ‘move on’ was definitely gross in its own ways. Juniper wasn’t one for fraternizing with coworkers in the same department as she was. The mere thought had made her gag a few times. But this sort of absolute confidence that she had always gotten from Rhys – before everything fell apart – had been missed. The kind that listened to her weird rambles about work and life without ever questioning them. In a way, that had led to the issues they had because she specifically stopped communicating her thoughts correctly. Hopefully she didn’t repeat it again this time.

At the mention of working for the newspaper, she nodded a few times slowly. That was definitely an option. Her writing had always been clear and concise, and while she definitely did not have journalistic qualities, there were other pieces of written form that the paper did. She had also scoured the job listings section, but most were usually about assistant potioneer positions, or part-time work at one of the restaurants. No offence to any of those, of course, she was just far enough along in her working career that doing one of those wasn’t really what she was looking for. ”Media writing is definitely an idea,” she responded. Too bad that only left the aforementioned Daily Prophet and a handful of tabloid magazines. None of which were educational, which is sort of what she wanted.

Juniper had almost forgotten that his hand was on her leg until he started to move it up at the mention of getting food…or something. She knew exactly what he meant by ‘or something’. Looking down at it, she raised her eyebrows before turning her attention back to him again. ”Dinner first,” she gave him a long look before standing up from the couch. ”Merlin, I’m starting to think you’re fully recovered. Or something…”

rhys alexander greyback ● 337 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[rhys alexander greyback]

there is no end to me

or beginning to you

September 2023
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Juniper didn’t dismiss his idea to work for the Prophet, but he’d also successfully distracted her. In a way, the last few months felt like that new relationship honeymoon period, including the physical part. But, seeing as much of that time had been spent physically healing and grieving, he supposed it made sense. And, not for nothing, he’d never been the pushy type. So, as their lives settled down, more of that playful flirting returned. Rhys still wondered how much of that was in his own head and if he would say something one day only to get shut down. But he realized more and more he’d been in denial this past year.

Rhys and Juniper locked eyes in a staring contest for those few moments, but then she stood up. However, the subtle mischief in his expression didn’t leave as his eyes followed her. Slowly, Rhys stood up as well. Occasionally, he’d stand up too fast and see a few spots before he was settled, or his body felt heavier than usual getting off the couch. He felt fine that day, or maybe just confident because she hadn’t rejected him. ”Well…” Rhys inched forward, his hand lightly touching her face before he kissed her—intentionally not being gentle.

Pulling away, he finally spoke. ”If I end up back in St. Mungo’s, they’ll know whose fault it is.” The corner of his mouth upturned. Moving his hand from her face to her hand, he slightly stepped back. ”Dinner, then.” At the same time, his eyes didn’t leave hers, almost daring her to skip dinner or make them wait.

[ end rhys ]

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