absolution calling | juniper

[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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If she still had her glass in hand, she would have raised it to the founders. Despite everything that happened to the school over the last few years, there were still parts that had survived. Hogwarts was still Hogwarts, even with the new additions and changes in the way it was ran. She personally enjoyed it the way it was now. There was no way she would have wanted to come back and tach if it was the same old boring thing that she had already spent seven years on the other side of. Juniper knew how the students felt because she’d been one. At least this way they had an opportunity to really take their education into their own hands. She could get behind that.

Preventing herself from asking when and why Rhys had walked all the way around the castle in that manner was sort of silly. She didn’t care at this point. Unless it unleashed some decade old secret that she had never known about while they were dating in school. Her policy had always been that whatever happened before wasn’t important. The same with in between their first and second go’s at it. And obviously everything since. They were adults now, leading vastly different lives than where they had started together. There had been times over the last few months where she had wondered what could have been – but also knew that this had all happened the way it did for a reason. None of it was worth finding a time-turner and trying it again.

After a bit of walking, she decided she did actually want to know what the circumstances behind Rhys’s adventure were. ”Why’d you do all of that?” she asked simply. Going to Gryffindor Tower was out of the way, unless he was walking someone there. The only Gryffindor that came to mind was Saff, but neither of them had really been close with her while in school. ”Because that’s a lot of walking,” Juniper continued. ”I’ve been up near Gryffindor before, but never went in. Did try to get into Ravenclaw once, though. Even answered the question correctly. But one of their Prefects was right behind me and kept me from going in.” Which wasn’t fair, because she should have been allowed by getting the answer right.

Juniper shrugged it off as they approached the front doors to the old part of the school, yanking the heavy oak open with both hands. They had been replaced after the fire, but were still annoying. Apparently, Professor Zabini had used the original ones during his duel in the Entrance Hall. She would have liked to have seen that. ”I’m glad they were able to retain parts of our common rooms though. After everything had settled down and they started rebuilding, I worried about that. We all spent so much time in our respective houses, it would have been a shame if they got rid of them.”

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[rhys alexander greyback]

it's like an intuition,

or a feeling in the air

July 7, 2028
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Rhys’ brow furrowed as he tried to recall that night. Merlin, it had been years. Mostly, many memories didn’t stick around, or he chose to keep some. Many lingered despite his best attempts to forget. Sometimes, Nell or Sarah would remind him of some moment he hadn’t thought of in years. But Rhys had always struggled with his memory at some point as if his brain had put up walls on purpose. The irony was that now all he needed was an object, and he could relive that moment again. It had been some months since Rhys had last used that ability. The recovery was time-consuming, and he had far too much on his plate. Not that he had people to discuss it with.

”Hm?” Rhys blinked a few times at Juniper’s question. ”Erm—lets see…” He trailed off trying to remember. ”Oh—I had an Astronomy assignment, but I had to finish it before the full moon. And the Tower was crowded all week except for that Thurs—no—Friday. And Flossie—“ Rhys let himself ramble on before switching his train of thought. ”—Wait what were you doing trying to get into the Ravenclaw Common Room?” He asked curiously. His mind definitely jumped to the thought of Juniper possibly dating someone else at some point, or she had friends in that house. Then again, the riddle challenge was probably enough to get her there.

He was about to step forward and help Juni open the doors, but the whiskey seemed to have made her stronger than normal, so he gave her space. Silently, he nodded in agreement, eyes wandering over the library. It looked the same. However, it was clearly different. Books replaced from the many lost in that fire, as well as furniture and other random things. Yet, it still hadn’t lost that feeling of a library. He even had the urge to whisper instead of speaking at normal volume. But he didn’t, of course. ”You think they still have a table in our old corner?” Rhys asked, a mischievous grin on his face.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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So something about an Astronomy assignment and Flossie. That honestly answered most of her questions, and why he was going all the way to Gryffindor Tower. But it also told her something that she had never realized: she wasn’t the only one that was apparently taken between the Astronomy Tower and the kitchens. Knowing Flossie, nothing of the sort would have happened between her and Rhys. Not to mention, this sounded like it occurred before Juniper even entertained the thought of stealing him for herself. She was about to ask further questions about it, but was cut off before she could even get a word out. ”Because I wanted to see if I could.” The same policy that she had used years later when becoming an animagus. The Ravenclaws of centuries past would have rolled over in their graves if they knew a mere Hufflepuff broke in easily. Contrary to popular belief, one could be smart and studious and not in Ravenclaw. Why everyone seemed to believe the houses meant more than they actually did was beyond her. If she were to really break it down, she would have comfortably fit into every house but Gryffindor.

The library, while a little different now, still had the same smell it always had: quiet freedom. There had always been the occasional cough or sneeze, or an unruly group of third year boys that suddenly thought they were funny and allowed to scream horribly mimicked moaning noises out. For the most part, it was a serene spot inside the school. ”Probably,” she answered, having forgotten about it until now. They had spent so much time back there studying and ‘studying’. Surprisingly, they had never been caught necking back there.

Juniper had completely forgotten that the whole reason they had come here was because she wanted to look at the Transfiguration section to see if it was up to code for her. ”They’ve changed the layout a bit,” she mumbled, forgetting that it was just the two of them in there and that she needn’t be quiet right now. Old habits plus the four shots coursing through her were definitely starting to do a number on her. ”Should be right…back…here…” Juniper said as she led the way and zigzagged from aisle to aisle, and around one last corner until she saw the old spot. ”Was it always this small?” she asked while fishing the bottle out of her purse and placing it on the table.

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[rhys alexander greyback]

it's like an intuition,

or a feeling in the air

July 7, 2028
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Even with various breaks in their relationships, Rhys felt quite proud that he still knew Juni well enough to guess her motives in that case. What a sight that would have been for a random Hufflepuff to enter the Ravenclaw Common Room uninvited. He wondered if the Slytherin Common Room would have reacted the same way or refused to open out of some lingering pride. Ravenclaws were prideful in their own way, or at least Rhys thought so. He and Nell might have fit into that house easily, but Rhys and his longtime best friend shared a drive to be more than their names, and that went beyond a simple quest for knowledge. ”Of course.”

Rhys followed Juniper as they navigated the new maze of bookshelves. This new layout confused Rhys to the point of forgetting right from left at least once, or maybe exhaustion and whiskey were not a logical combination for thinking clearly. His muscle memory was completely thrown off. But, finally, they arrived. ”Merlin…why’d they change the layout?” Rhys complained. In hindsight, the thought of an inebriated Cursebreaker lost in the school library might have amused the students. If they ever heard about it.

But, yes, this corner somehow shrank from their school days. Rhys didn’t expect Juniper to comment on it. Typically, he made those comments as he was a few inches taller and had put on more muscle than where he was at seventeen. ”You wouldn’t happen to have glasses in there, would you?” He asked Juniper, eyeing her charmed purse. With charms like that, who needed an apartment, Rhys wondered to himself. In the meantime, he picked up the bottle and drank directly from it. Not bothering to remotely measure how much, either. ”I dunno.” He looked around again. The corner looked and almost felt the same. The nostalgia and whiskey were beginning to make him feel bold.

”I don’t think we were paying that much attention.” Rhys gave Juni a knowing look. NEWT classes kept them busy with plenty of studying and assignments. But two students near the top of their class certainly left plenty of time to study different subjects (i.e., one another). He almost wanted to laugh at the memories of how young they were. Rhys is always daring, and Juniper is more skittish than anything, especially considering the risks and rules. Not that it stopped him from finding different ways of distracting her while studying. However, some memories were funnier than others. ”I remember you threatening to transfigure me into a piece of parchment or something.” Rhys did chuckle at that one. And something about choosing that form so she could tear him in half. That time, Rhys had intentionally ignored their assignment in favor of letting his hand rest on her knee and occasionally moving it toward her thigh, but then he suddenly decided the assignment was important after all. And even better, his face had its usual stoic expression the entire time. They did get the assignment done, eventually.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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The sad reality of the fire was that following it, anything that was destroyed or damaged gave the school the perfect excuse to change things around. Even though Juniper enjoyed the educational layout, as it made quite a bit of sense to her on that end, there were architectural changes that missed the mark completely. 'Their' corner existing still was merely a flaw in that. No library should have a confusing set of corridors through the aisles, or flow the way this one now did. None of that was effective and only made it difficult for the students to find what they needed.

While annoying and something Juniper could endlessly complain about, there were more important things at hand. Like fetching the bottle from her purse. "I try not to keep anything that can easily break in there..." she said, but honestly didn't know if she'd shoved a pair of glasses into it at some point. Pulling her wand out, she tried a summoning charm and nothing happened. "Guess not?" she shrugged. Taking her turn at the bottle after Rhys finished, she wiped away the dribble from her chin. This was entirely too much for her already. In about ten minutes, she was really going to be feeling it. The walk from his office to here didn't help at all either.

Pulling one of the chairs out haphazardly and planting herself into it hard, she scoffed at Rhys's memories of the time they spent here. "Maybe you weren't, but I was...sometimes. I didn't want us getting caught by that dragon of a librarian." One couldn't even whisper too loud or else that witch would descend upon you instantaneously. Juniper had theorized that the distance between the front desk and the corner was just far enough that it was out of reach by normal and magical hearing standards. That was the only way it made sense. "And you would have deserved it too," she laughed. That particular instance had drawn her ire because what he wanted to do was not proper library etiquette. Finding an empty classroom was far easier than trying to get away with in the library in the middle of the day. "Public exhibition has never been my thing. You know that," Juniper added, swiping the bottle again. She really didn't need any more but it was making everything easier.

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[rhys alexander greyback]

it's like an intuition,

or a feeling in the air

July 7, 2028
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Looks like they would share the bottle regardless, but without glasses. Really it was a scene out of Rhys’ life. Often in the little safehouses all over the world or if they camped in the field, a bottle was passed around, and there wasn’t much room in their kits for nice glasses. He couldn’t remember the last time he and Juniper could hang out like this in terms of when they dated. She used to have many thoughts about his drinking, but Rhys didn’t bring it up, knowing very well she had the high ground in that area.

Rhys could only continue to grin. His seventh year had felt like one of the best in his life. The normal bullies had all graduated and left him alone, and never in his wildest dreams as a first year would he imagine a girlfriend in the picture. Someone who said they loved him and meant it and whose feelings Rhys reciprocated. And feelings like that never entirely go away. Even when he’d fallen for Vasilia, Rhys still cared about what happened to Juni, and he always would. Drinking always loosened him up, not that he had many walls or guards around Juniper.

”She never did, did she?“ Rhys pointed out, smugly raising an eyebrow. This was another reminder that he had fallen adrift of the rules long before he dragged Juni into that world. Still, he rolled his eyes and finally dropped into the other chair beside her. ”It’s a private corner.” Rhys reminded her. Naturally, he wouldn’t have embarrassed her like that in front of other students. He didn’t like being put on the spot as such, either. ”Well, at least we’ve upgraded from empty classrooms and broom closets to my office.” Boldly, he winked at her while lazily looking to the side. The way she dramatically shared her new tattoo with him still crossed his mind now and then. As soon as Juni took another swig, Rhys readily grabbed the bottle to take a large swig of his own.

The nostalgia was heavier than he thought tonight. But the days before and after a full moon were always a little rough for Rhys. Like his body was trying to rebalance everything, including his mood, letting out a sigh full of sentiment, Rhys waited for the bottle to inevitably disappear from his hand, though he let the other one gently and naturally rest just above her knee like it used to all the time. ”We had fun back then, didn’t we?” The last decade felt like it had passed in the blink of an eye. And this wasn’t what they thought of when having all those conversations before about the long term.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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"If she did, she didn't make it known." Which was honestly worse now that Juniper thought about it more. She really doubted the librarian ever found out though, because the two of them had heard her tossing other couples out for much less. Maybe it was too far from the rest of her duties that she didn't even bother? Whatever the case was, they'd gotten away with it for a year and a half and almost no one even came close to finding the table in the back corner. There were weeks where the chairs were exactly where they had left them, day after day. Not even the ghosts made an appearance this far back into the library. "It wasn't like there was much of an option back then," she said in response, feeling her face burn slightly at the mention of the office. All she had done was show her tattoo off. Plus, where else did they have back then? Wandering down to the forest together would definitely draw some looks. Sneakily popping into an empty room was far easier.

Feeling the bottle disappear from her hand, Juniper let her head fall back against the chair. They always had been comfortable chairs, even more so when her neck hurt the wrong way from sleeping funny the night before or she was some unknown number of shots deep. The deep inhale that followed was satisfying, and reminded her of how much of her seven years of school and been spent here.

She opened one eye to look at him as she felt his hand rest on her knee. Juniper couldn't really kid herself that much longer. While she had suggested the library because she had a reason to be here, the time from then until now had started to be occupied with thoughts of this exact thing happening. Really, for the last few months it had been like this. She thought she'd done a good job at distracting herself each time they'd interacted alone together, but once she let herself go with the drinking today, she really didn't feel like
suppressing herself any longer. In one fluid motion Juniper took the bottle out of Rhys's hands, placed it onto the table out of harm's way, and straddled him in his chair. "We still could."

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[rhys alexander greyback]

it's like an intuition,

or a feeling in the air

July 7, 2028
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Rhys hoped Juniper wouldn’t throw his hand off her knee. Though if she had, Rhys would’ve left it alone. Much like all his other minor attempts at flirting and such. In the past, even drunk, Juniper had the mind to remind Rhys he wasn’t single. But that wasn’t a blocker now. Sitting beside her, hand on her knee, brought a sense of déjà vu. It was easier to distract Juniper by seeing how close he could inch up until she grabbed his hand. Her innocence back then didn’t make it difficult for Rhys to tease her. The thing that always lingered in his mind, however, was ensuring he never pushed her. It didn’t matter how much alcohol he consumed. Knowing what happened to his mother at the hands of his father kept him in line.

Feeling the bottle leave his hand, Rhys’s eyes moved to Juniper and then reacted in surprise at her next action. He fully expected her to drink more, and then Rhys would wait his turn. Not that he was complaining. How long had passed since Juni was this close to him? It felt natural…it felt right. Feeling his mouth go dry, Rhys licked his lips at her response. Rhys’s hands settled on her thighs and moved up. He told himself it was so she could remain balanced, but he knew what he wanted. ”I’ve no doubt of that…”

Everything told him to go with it, the voice in the back of his head reminding Rhys she’d shared that she had started seeing someone growing fainter by the second. He leaned in and kissed her, soft at first until he couldn’t help himself. Her eyes told him she wanted this as much as he did. And they could check the library on that old list now. They’d eventually get back to his office, one of their flats, or at least somewhere with a door and find a new bottle of bourbon to replace the one inevitably broken.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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’Fuck it.’ Was the only thought that was running through her head right now. Juniper had spent the last several months agonizing over what she actually wanted, and finally decided on it. There had been a part of her that worried this was too fast, especially jumping at it right after he had just gotten out of a relationship. Apparently only distance actually kept them apart. Every time they spent more than a month or so hanging out again, this seemed to happen. After the accident was one thing, but here she was throwing herself onto him. Literally. It didn’t help that she’d been trying to brush off his flirting the entire time. Preventing herself from going further was only going to make her frustrated too, so here she was, a quarter of a bottle of bourbon in her later, letting her wants take over.

Feeling his hands moving higher on her legs, Juniper wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. So much for looking at the books. That was going to have to wait until another time. Thank Merlin the librarian wasn’t here to witness this.

---

Waking up in a bed that wasn’t hers, yet familiar, was not how she imagined her Saturday to start off. The cottony dryness of her mouth as she blinked awake and struggled to find her glasses on the nightstand next to her. A gap of light shining through the blinds made her squint even harder, the headache finally noticeable. How much had she had to drink? And even better, when had she finally fallen to sleep? The whirlwind of a night that started in Rhys’s office, progressed incredibly quickly at the library, and ended back at his apartment. At least she was in a place that she knew.

Fumbling for her glasses, Juniper put them in place and slowly rolled her aching head to the other side of her. Rhys was there, seemingly asleep. She needed water, badly, and slid off of the bed before shuffling her way towards the kitchen. Even in her half-awake state, she still knew where to go. There had been plenty of nights where she’d walked this same path in the pitch black. The only difference now was that the whole place was child proofed. A reminder that so much had changed over the last few years. The same could be said about how long hangovers liked to stick around now. Opening a cupboard, she found an old plastic Quidditch souvenir cup that she had the twin to still. The logo and lettering were faded with time and hundreds of washes, but it still brought back so many memories. Filling it to the brim and greedily drinking it down, Juniper refilled it again before making her way back to the bedroom slowly.

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[rhys alexander greyback]

it's like an intuition,

or a feeling in the air

July 7, 2028
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Rhys was glad he didn’t need to be anywhere that morning. Some Saturdays, Sage forced him to be awake before noon to help with errands or Amelia. Aside from Sage’s plans, she knew better than to schedule much so close after a full moon. Not that Rhys wouldn’t drag himself out of bed for the sake of his daughter, but it worked out better this way. The older he got, the more physical recovery he needed after transforming. It didn’t help how much strain his career had put on his body over the years. And even when he felt fine, the physical scars were a constant reminder.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he considered a career change but didn’t dare share those thoughts out loud. For now, he tried to concentrate on falling back asleep as the bed shifted next to him, but he was wide awake despite exhaustion and a hangover. Now he remembered why he didn’t drink bourbon regularly. Whiskey didn’t seem to hit him as hard the day after. In the background, he could hear the faucet running and soft footsteps growing louder. Groaning, he rolled onto his back, blinking through bleary eyes. There was Juni in one of his shirts and tousled hair.

He was glad that hadn’t been some elaborate alcohol-fueled dream, at least. ”Morning…” Rhys greeted hoarsely. Whatever he drank the night before wasn’t enough to make him black out, though he tried to remember the order of things. Going to the library, drinking, and then how she jumped him…It was like the culmination of walking around one another for months since Rhys had signed that contract earlier in the year. Neither were surprised by this turn of events. Pushing himself to sit up, Rhys leaned his head on the headboard. The elevation change made his head throb for a moment. ”I should have some hangover potions in the bathroom if you need one.” Rhys offered. The thought crossed his mind that perhaps the night before wouldn’t have happened without the drinking, but Juniper hadn’t said anything yet.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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Rhys had woken up by the time she returned to the bedroom. The half-sleep granted by excessive drinking was a real bitch, and she’d grown less accustomed to it over the last few years. But she also didn’t drink nearly as much as she did in her early twenties anymore. The two-day-long hangovers were something to reckon with if she didn’t have any potions readily available. ”Hey,” she responded, her voice dry and scratchy. Carefully sitting herself back down onto the bed, she sipped her water more before holding it out for Rhys. They honestly both needed it right now. He didn’t look in any better shape than she currently was. It was like he had read her mind too, about the hangover potions, and he had a few in the bathroom. ”Probably in a little bit,” Juniper exhaled. She was still tired.

Now that she was starting to wake up, and hangover aside, everything hurt. It had been a minute since she had last done this, and when it was Rhys it basically never ended until they both passed out. ”I don’t think those chairs in the library were meant for that…” she admitted, trying not to laugh because she knew that would hurt her head more. Yawning, she let her head fall onto his shoulder. ”Do you have anything you have to do today?” She hoped that wasn’t asking too much. Juniper knew that he had actual obligations now as a father, and if Sage was going to be dropping Amelia off, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be around for that. Which brought up so many questions that she needed to ask herself now, like what had happened the night prior and what was going to happen going forward. Juniper didn’t even know why she asked him that in the first place, but not having to go home right away sounded okay to her.

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[rhys alexander greyback]

it's like an intuition,

or a feeling in the air

July 7, 2028
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Despite the uncanny amount of nostalgia the night before, it was clear they were not seventeen anymore. Still, everything Rhys felt was physical. Other than that, he felt alright. The pair could easily admit the physical part of their relationship had never been a source for any problems unless you consider Rhys physically away for lengths of time. It was any wonder they were able to keep their hands off one another for so long if he was honest. Especially considering Rhys’ infidelity with Vasilia. But nothing had happened with Juniper, not that either side had attempted anything.

Rhys, however, had remained faithful to Juniper when they were together. So, had that line been crossed with her while with his ex…well, it was more than just falling into bed with a woman, more like an emotional well where one couldn’t see the bottom. Somewhere inside, Rhys knew that. ”Thanks.” He responded while yawning, taking the old souvenir cup. Merlin—he’d forgotten about this thing. At some point he’d probably pushed it to another shelf to make room for whatever things he needed for Amelia in his flat. But as soon as the water hydrated his sandy throat, he almost swore off drinking alcohol. Why would anyone drink anything but water?

The hangover potions felt so far away, and his wand wasn’t on the nightstand like usual. But he glanced around and couldn’t exactly locate his clothes either, which meant they were probably strewn somewhere from the front door to the room. So, he’d have to get up eventually to get the wand or the potions themselves. Rhys suppressed a chuckle at Juniper’s comment, but he smirked nonetheless. No, they were not. Rhys had learned as much about the library before Juniper came into his life. ”Nor the table…” Merlin bless the summer term and empty campus. Rhys handed the half-empty cup back to Juniper in case she wanted more water.

As her head rested on his shoulder, Rhys let his free hand fall on her leg again. It almost felt like old times, but Rhys knew it was not the same. In fact, he had no idea what to think. Part of him braced for Juniper to write this off as a one time thing, a one-night-stand essentially. And the other half wondered the opposite. However, things were good between them, and the past frightened him enough not to bring it up. Talking about these things always seemed to invite failure. ”Nope.” He responded, letting himself relax. ”We can sleep all day if you want.” Rhys wasn’t expecting her to ask him about his schedule, and he wished she would stay even if he didn’t explicitly say so. Again, he wondered what happened now. Commitment made him wary, but he didn’t want her to go.

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She honestly hadn’t woken up enough to even feel the full effects of the table yet. Defiling their old hangout made her face burn slightly now that she was sobered up. Despite all this, the library was a far better location than the Astronomy Tower again. And warmer. She supposed with the new warming charm Rhys had shown her a few months ago, that problem could be rectified instantly. ”I still have to go back and look for those books,” Juniper groaned. Task failed successfully. That could be saved until after her first class next week. Going onto the campus during the weekend in the summer, while nice because it was empty, was also eerie. There was the occasional student or professor wandering about and it did make getting busy work done easy, but it also made the school feel lifeless. She didn’t get the same unnerved feeling from it during the fall and spring terms when the MAGIC students were there.

It was funny. This close proximity was something she had been unknowingly craving for a while now. A comfortable warmth. Juniper knew it was because she’d spent so many years with him, and problems aside, had never felt that it was wrong or a waste of time. Meanwhile, she’d never had it from any of her brief partners since. While things had been going well with her recent dates, that was still in such a honey-moon phase that she worried it would fizzle out in time. Then there was the chance that her date would go back to the US at some point, which created an obvious problem. Juniper could do long-distance; it had sort of always been that way once Rhys started cursebreaking. She just didn’t know if she could do it again. Which brought it back around to whatever she and Rhys were going to do now. The easiest answer was to keep it casual, something they should have done during the second go at it. But who knew now?

”I was thinking breakfast,” she yawned again. Looking for her phone, she saw a corner of it sticking out from underneath a pile of her clothes on the floor. Moving was exhausting though. ”Or lunch. Whatever time it is.” The idea of food didn’t make her feel ill or nauseous, so that was a good sign. It was looking like she was going to escape the previous night with a headache and sore muscles, and that was about it.

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[rhys alexander greyback]

it's like an intuition,

or a feeling in the air

July 7, 2028
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Rhys felt Juniper squirm just a little bit as he mentioned the table. When all that began, the urgency that drove them would not wait until they made it to an office or a flat. Not that it stopped them from going until exhaustion took over. Rhys felt reminded of when he would spend more than longer away from home and just wanted to get back to see Juniper. His ambition kept him focused, and his relationship the sacrifice, but it didn’t mean he wanted to stay away from home. With his most recent breakup still in the rearview mirror, he thought of these things often.

Now, he let himself laugh softly. The books, he’d completely forgotten. ”I forgot about those.” He admitted, closing his eyes while enjoying the cool feeling of the headboard behind him. In contrast, Juni felt warmly close to him and didn’t want to move. Sage always gave him the same look and response for most things, reminding Rhys he made choices and nobody else had done things for him. So would he and Juni be sitting here as they were now, perhaps without a hangover, if he’d tried harder? But in his recollections, Rhys wasn’t sure what he could have reasonably done differently. Everybody had ideas, but that’s what they would have done.

”Mm-hmm…” Rhys non-verbally agreed. ”Sleep first.” He insisted. At least another hour or several. Merlin, he was exhausted. The previous night played out like the days before a full moon rather than after. Had these few drinks come up earlier in the week, Rhys would have certainly worn the both of them out more than they were. ”You wore me out.” Rhys teased. That would probably be a first in all their years if he were being honest. He supposed only Sarah during their school days had been capable of that—werewolves. He just needed a hangover potion, a couple more hours of sleep, and he’d feel right as rain. ”You want that potion?” Lazily, he let his head fall to the side to look at her before hesitantly scooting away from her body heat. Once sitting on the edge of the bed, Rhys grabbed a random pair of pajama bottoms nearby to put on before making the short walk to the bathroom. Now, he could feel where his body ached, though not all from the full moon or last night. Returning to the bed, he handed one of the small bottles to Juniper—the only thing worse tasting than this was Wolfsbane, in Rhys’ opinion.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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Juniper had forgotten about the books too, though thinking back on it she wondered if her intentions had always been for things to end up like this instead of what she had insisted upon initially. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so willing to drink as much as she had. The liquid bravery (and foolishness) was one of her greatest vices. Throwing Rhys into the mix and trying to keep up had definitely been to her hinderance before. But it also wasn’t like she was totally against what had happened. This was fine. ”They aren’t that important, really.” If she ever wanted to get the MAGIC job, she’d need to know. She figured that came along with being hired, just as she had been allowed to select her texts for her current classes.

She probably could sleep more and was sure that once the hangover was dealt with, it would come fast. They’d need food eventually, though. ”You’re telling me,” Juniper laughed, immediately regretting it as she felt the icepick of a headache start up. ”Please,” she answered as Rhys offered to get the potions for them. So much for trying to tough it out. Watching him get up to fetch the bottles, Juniper rubbed at her eyes. ”We’re not getting any younger. The other night, I fell asleep on my couch the wrong way and had a stiff neck all week.” She felt like her parents complaining about silly mundane things now. They had been just a little older than she was now when they’d had her sister, and she could only imagine how much the lack of sleep every night must have sucked. And for years at that.

Uncorking the vial of hangover cure potion, Juniper drank it and almost gagged. ”This is awful.” Her tongue, which was still dry and sandpapery from the night before, suddenly felt fuzzy. Like the one time she’d tried licking her paw whilst in her animagus form and instantly lurched into a dry heaving attack. Lesson learned there. Not everything was meant to be tried as a cat, because she wasn’t actually one. ”Don’t suppose this has some sort of sleeping draught in it, does it?” Juniper asked as she handed the empty bottle back to Rhys. ”I don’t know how I’m going to fall asleep again after that…” She really wanted to scrap her tongue off right about now.

rhys alexander greyback ● 397

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