It's the how I met your mother version for Jacob and Juniper's parents.
Warnings: Alcohol and not office appropriate behaviour
A loud pop echoed through the office, followed by the workers' cheers in the International Co-operation department. Tinsel lined the office walls while some witches charmed the Christmas tree with glittering bobbles that turned on their own. This would be Julia Moss' fourth Christmas office party since starting working there before spending Christmas day with her father and her sweetheart, Thomas O'Brien.
Usually not a drinker, Julia sipped on a glass of champagne. It was the few occasions she allowed herself to drink something. The glass almost slipped out of her hand when someone bumped into her.
"Sorry," The wizard behind her said. There was a slight Arabic accent. Julia turned and recognised him, Jalil Hasni. The first Algerian representative in the British Ministry. He was handsome, with his dark skin smooth and silky to admire. He looked down at her wine-red jumper; some champagne managed to cause a dark stain. She noticed it, too.
"Don't worry about it. I can clean it." Julia laughed it off. However, the wizard refused to move past the incident.
"No, here, I can clean it if you allow me?" He offered. The stain was gone with a click of his fingers and some sparks. African wizards were indeed in another league, Julia wondered. They never used wands.
"Well, look at that. Just like magic, ta." Julia shyly grinned. Jalil squinted at her slightly, unable to make out her accent. Her voice was rough compared to her round face and softer features.
"You're welcome." He politely said. Instead of leaving, he stayed with her. His dark stare lingered, looking at every curve. "I've seen you around often."
"It's the hair, isn't it? "Julia pointed towards her styled blue hair.
"Perhaps. "Jalil gave a slight smirk. "I haven't properly introduced myself. My name is Jalil Hasni, and your name is?"
"I'm Julia Moss. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Likewise."
The two continued chatting as Julia sipped on more champagne. She wondered if the bubbles made her mind fuzzy as she was drawn to his quiet confidence, leaning closer. They spoke in an odd mix of English and French, laughing loudly and spending most of the party enjoying each others' company. Jalil didn't even mind when they made out under the mistletoe as she explained to him the European tradition. It was a harmless kiss that she was sure her lover, Thomas, back home, didn't need to know about. Just a Hogwarts sweetheart who was all that Julia had. She didn't have many friends, if any, only a few work colleagues that she was friendly with.
The night ended with her sitting on his lap. The champagne confidence was convincing her to not care about any office rumours when she would come back to work. Jalil was sweet, unlike Thomas, who was recent not paying much attention to her. He hadn't even sipped a single drop of alcohol to show her such tender kindness and truly listened to her. Why not have more for the rest of the night before coming home?
Juniper spends her summer holiday with friends from Hogwarts as well revisiting an old one that she hasn't seen in a while.
Warnings: mention of substance abuse, mild bad language, emotional neglect.
The summer before Juniper's second year was one that she actually looked forward to. Despite looking through the little archived newspapers of Jacob's expulsion and disappearance, she couldn't progress much further thanks to her mother and herself, who threw away most of the news articles. But she enjoyed her correspondents with Rowan and Ben that they had.
They promised to write regularly to each other and have a sleepover at each other's homes. Rowan was first; the Khannas welcomed Juniper with open arms. Ben arrived a little later. Mr Khanna offered Ben's parents that he could pick up and drop off Ben. Despite having worries about all sorts of issues, they reluctantly agreed. Mr and Mrs Khanna made it very clear since the two girls were alone with a boy that, Ben had to sleep in Rowan's older brother's room and that if the three were alone, they must keep the doors open at all times.
Rowan gave a tour of the tree farm, explaining in excruciating detail from the type of tree down to its grains before her brother jokingly told her off and that she should relax. She bathed in the refreshing smell of sawdust and country air. Juniper chuckled out that this is what Rowan finds relaxing. He mostly kept himself but helped out whenever Rowan needed him. Juniper had to be careful not to watch them closely for too long. She was happy for Rowan that she got along so well with her brother, but the green-eyed monster peaked at his ugly head. Jealous of Rowan's functional family unit while hers was in tatters.
She ignored that feeling as best as she could and focused on the fun. Mrs Khanna made butter chicken for them. It was Juniper's first time trying, but despite the spiciness, it was delectable. She had more laughs than envy moments, causing the little jealous monster to retreat to its slumber.
Juniper had to take the train at Ben's turn to host the sleepover. Due to Ben's parents' house not being connected to the floo network and Juniper living in Scotland, she had to navigate from St Andrews to Edinburgh and then down to Birmingham. Ben's father picked her up and took her into a suburban neighbourhood in his silver muggle transport. Juniper had seen cars before, but it was her first time riding in one, though she felt queasy throughout the journey. Her hair was colovera to black to make the Coppers more comfortable. Rowan was already there as she lived closer. Ben had his father's hair but his mother's brown eyes. His parents seem old, with flakes of white in their hair.
"Um, the door has to be left open. My parents are just excited that I actually have some friends over." Ben mentioned as Juniper looked around the room. It was plain, the walls were pale blue, and the walls looked sparse.
"Your parents are like mines." Rowan chimed in.
"Ma pa is like this too." Juniper added. "Actually no. He would kill you."
"Kill me! I don't want to be killed by your dad!" Ben exclaimed, frightened.
"Oh, don't worry. He'll kill me after you for bringing a boy home." Juniper said in a serious tone. Ben's eyes grew wide like saucers before Juniper laughed. "It's a joke. Don't worry. Ma Pa is far away from England."
Ben awkwardly chuckled, but Rowan distracted them by asking about all the usual muggle games. There was the snake and ladders, the game Ben had introduced when they started regularly hanging out. She browsed through his books, constantly asking one query after another. Ben patiently answered all their questions before informing them of their trip to the cinema. Ben had written to them about the muggle's own moving pictures. They use theirs to tell stories rather than take photographs.
When they finally arrived, Rowan and Juniper were in awe of the place. Ben's father also bought them popcorn which was corn burned with butter. As the muggles called it -the film- was about a girl from Kansas with a small dog. Ben gave a brief synopsis of the prequel story where she ends up in this magical place and an emerald city with small people and magic. There was a scarecrow, a lion and a tinman. In this film, there was also a princess and a pumpkinhead.
When he came to collect them, Rowan and Juniper talked nonstop about the cinema and the moving pictures. It went on and on at dinner too. They had pizza; Rowan and Juniper knew what it was but never had, so the excitement of new and exciting muggle things returned late to the night. However, they had to sleep in the guest bedroom, but Juniper convinced Ben to sneak in the middle of the night so they could chat all night long. They snacked on sweets that Juniper smuggled in and played card games.
Ben seemed relieved that the girls had a fun time before leaving, and his parents looked less anxious, especially his mum chewed on her nails less. They couldn't wait until their third one.
The rest of July came and went as her letter for the second year arrived. During that time, she practised spell casting, looking through Jacob's old school notes to see if she could perform more advanced spells.
July was always the hardest on her mother. The reminder that Jacob had been missing for another year caused her mother to become more irascible and spend more time with her bed. The glass potion bottles would increase in her room. Juniper went shopping again, but when she returned, her mother told her off grumpily for not considering the dangers of being alone before crying about how sorry she was for not being there for Juniper.
One day, an owl brought the Daily Prophet and dropped it on the table, almost landing her cereal. Typically, she would scan through it and tear out any pages she knew would trigger her mum into an episode. However, this particular headline caught her eye.
Curses of the Moss coming back sooner than later?
Written, of course, by Rita Skeeter. That journalist made the most scandalous and shocking headlines throughout Jacob's expulsion and subsequent disappearance. She hid every one of her articles in a box, but none ever had any substance.
Jacob Moss' disappearance felt like it just happened yesterday when he endangered Hogwarts when it was supposed to be a place of sanctuary. Now five years later, his younger sister has seemingly continued on his delusional quest of the fabled cursed vaults-
Juniper stopped reading on at this point. She knew better than to fall for the vindictive lies of Rita Skeeter and start looking at more credible sources. She recalled that her neighbour, Gedeon Doughlas, had collected newspaper clippings about almost everything during the fiasco. Gedeon had always been there for her and her mum. He was Jacob's prefect, so he also watched out for her brother. Well, their families have been friends since the 1800s when his great, great grandfather and her three times great grandfather founded and co-owned their infamous pub, the Naughty Cliffs. Though in hard times, her grandfather had built up a lot of debt, and her mother wasn't fit to work; thus, it ended with Jimmy, Gedeon's father running the place as of late.
She crept quietly past her mother's bedroom down the hall and grabbed her bright red raincoat before heading out into the forest of Tentsmuir. The Doughlas house was a five-minute walk, a stone structure similar to her home.
Her wet knuckles rapped on the dark wooden door. A few minutes passed before Juniper determined it was a stupid idea anyway. Besides, she was also getting soaked in the drizzle.
"Junie?" Behind her, the door was outstretched, and a tall, blonde man leaned against the door frame.
"Ged!" She excitedly ran up to him and almost knocked the wind out of him.
"Well, look at how you've grown, Tern." He hugged her properly and spun her right around before putting her down. A wet stain was marked on his shirt where the raincoat touched. "It's been almost a year right?"
"Aye, we keep missing each other." Juniper remarked. Gedeon invited her in and placed her soaked raincoat by the fire while he made some tea. Uncle Jimmy was away at work, leaving the two alone.
"What brought you over here anyway?" Gedeon leaned against the countertops with his cup of tea in hand.
"I wanted tae look over the old articles when Jacob went missing. You still have all the articles?" Juniper warmed her hands against the puffin-covered mug.
"Aye, I do. I think I have them in my room. Wait one second till I find them." Gedeon left Juniper alone for what felt like a while. She heard his heavy footsteps running around the room.
Before long, her tea was gone, and Gedeon's went cold. He came back and plopped down a massive stack.
"Whoa! I did nae expect you have this much." The girl commented. Her fingers carefully flicked through, scanning each headline to see if it was a grabber or if it contained genuine information.
"Why'd you want tae read this anyway?" Gedeon queried, helping Juniper sort through. "Wait, you're searching for the cursed vaults, aren't ya?"
"Aye..." Juniper felt herself go quiet. She had forgotten that Gedeon was also an adult, yet most always stopped her from finding Jacob, but Gedeon was her side. When her brother disappeared, he looked after her and her mum. Besides, he would know what Jacob was doing for at least three years.
"Are you gonna tell ma?"
She put on her best puppy eyes at Gedeon, and he just laughed at her plea attempt.
"Aye, no worries. I'm no going tae tell your ma, I promise." He winked at Juniper.
"How is it going anyway?" Gedeon inquired, growing more interested in Juniper's adventure. She updated him on everything that had happened for the past school year, including her strange visions.
Gedeon seemed supportive and even offered his help where he could. Well, he first allowed Juniper to take the article clippings that appeared to hold the most information and put it into her evidence notebook. Keeping everything in one place was handy instead of relying on Rowan's incredible memory archive.
He charmed the bits of newspaper articles with a waterproof charm to protect them from the rain before she said her thanks and goodbyes to him, forgetting all about her mother tossing in bed.
***
Finally, when it was Juniper's turn, it was the complete opposite of her mum. Julia didn't mind that the doors were shut and if the tweens wanted some privacy. She trusted Juniper would be responsible enough, as always. Her mum really went the extra mile for Juniper, helping her set up a tent charmed to be rainproof as the summer rain ceased to end, and with sleeping bags, they found lying about the house.
"What else do we need?" Juniper asked.
"I think I have some games somewhere for you guys," Julia stated. "Wait here, I'll get it."
Over fifteen minutes passed as Juniper grew more concerned. She had finished putting up the fairy lights. The girl rushed inside and up the stairs to the attic; she peaked her head over to find her mother weeping quietly.
"Ma?"
"Oh, Junie," Julia quickly wiped her tears. "I was just getting ludo."
Juniper wrapped her arms around her. "You don't have to say anything. Don't we need the sweets too?"
"You're right, Juno. I'll go make up a bowl." Julia thinly smiled, using her daughter's distraction.
Juniper took the magically modified ludo board. Jacob had tinkered about with it after finding the board game in a muggle market.
Mr Khanna brought Rowan and Ben outside their stone cottage. He asked if Rowan had everything she needed, but she knew that Rowan would be over-prepared.
"You're finally both here!" Juniper squished them both in a bear hug. "Come, I have so much to show you. Me and Ma set up the tent for us to sleep."
"That's so cool!"
"It looks small," Ben commented.
"It's bigger on the inside." Rowan and Juniper said simultaneously. Ben didn't look as surprised. A year at Hogwarts would make anyone ready for the unexpected.
Ben was amazed at the change in size perception. There were three camping beds with sleeping bags and a separate bathroom that her father had enchanted. Now that Juniper thinks about it more, her father did most of the transfiguration and put all this effort into it. Yet, they only camped once together, which ended in an absolute disaster from the patchy memories.
"I was thinking we could down tae the beach first, how does that sound?"
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Rowan said.
"Wait here, I need tae ask Ma tae colovera ma hair since muggles are there," Juniper excused and rushed to the kitchen. The bowl was there, but her mum wasn't. She quickly looked into her mum's bedroom.
Crap.
That was her mum out cold for a whole day. Juniper went outside, grabbing her tulip hat and a bobble before she squished her hair up inside the stripey hat.
Juniper peaked her hair around in the tent and forced a smile. "Mum is quickly out shopping so I could nae get my hair colovera but we can still go tae the beach."
Rowan raised her eyebrows in suspicion but left it.
"Okay, lets go then."
Juniper guided through the forest and onto the trails where the muggles tend to trek. Down to the sandy beach, many muggles dotted about with their kids. Juniper kicked off her shoes.
"This place is so nice," Rowan remarked, looking comfortable for once. "I wish I could live in a place like this. It must be nice being able to go the beach whenever you want."
"Not to mention the terriying creatures that lurk at night in the forest." Ben added
"I can assure you the most terrifying thing here are the seagulls." Juniper chuckled, pointing up at the seagulls encircling.
To prove her point, one of the seagulls daringly swooped down and snatched a family's chips as they ran shrieking. The man tried to whack the seagull with a rolled-up newspaper, only to trip over the bags.
The seagull laughed in its victory, eating away at the chip. Juniper saw the look of horror on Ben's face. She tried her hardest to stifle her laughter but to no avail. Rowan quickly followed suit.
"It's not funny!" Ben stomped.
"I'm sorry, Ben," Rowan wiped away a tear before clutching her stomach.
"I was nae expecting that," Juniper howled with laughter. "I'm sorry, Ben but I swear I did nae plan this. This is just too perfect."
Ben moped around briefly, but he started to enjoy the day. The trio at first kept to themselves the rest of the day but somehow managed to play with the muggle kids. Juniper had a few close calls with her hat flying off, but they walked back home soaking, sandy and weary in the best way possible.
Juniper checked on her mum, still out like a light, so she had to get creative. She made grilled cheese sandwiches and brought the sweetie bowl. She claimed that her mum went to bed early. Technically not a lie.
They stayed up all night, maybe getting hyper from the sweets or the excitement from that day, but at some point, they somehow fell asleep. Julia was still so knocked when Juniper checked in again.
Two days and one night were all that Juniper asked for.
The girl calmly assured her friends that her mum was just tired and made them breakfast. They grew concerned, but Juniper plastered a smile, repeating that everything was alright.
Juniper was forced to put on an apologetic smile while asking Mrs Khanna if she could disapparate Ben back to his parents. Mrs Khanna raised concerns over her mother's lack of presence. Still, Juniper immediately shot her down, saying she was fine and could handle it alone.
Once the goodbyes were over and she shut the front door, the floodgates of anger opened. She heard a creak from her mother's bedroom, and her mum's head popped out, blue tuffs sticking out where she had lain.
"Where are Rowan and Ben? Did I miss them?"
"Aye, Ma! They just left right there." She snapped. Her mum physically reacted as her face showed deep hurt. Juniper wanted so badly to run and comfort her mum, but another part felt deeply pained that she couldn't just have woken up. Just the days of sleepovers, that's all she wanted. How hard was it for her mum not to take sleeping draughts and sleep in? Just simply be there and give her the sense that everything was alright.
"Auch, what a shame. I wanted to chat to Mrs Khanna for a wee minute." Her mum grimaced before returning to bed.
Juniper wanted to scream at her mum for being careless but stayed calm. Screaming would just induce a panic attack and make her mum cry that she was a lousy mother, and if things got worse...Juniper didn't want to think about that.
She left the cliff cottage and walked through the wood. Before she knew it, her hand punched a tree, and every pent-up frustration was released on the bark before she screamed that her small frame could muster.
"Poor tree. What did he deserve tae get such treatment?" Juniper turned around and saw a blonde man bearing a crooked grin.
"Oh, hey Gedeon" She covered her bruises, hands behind her back. "Nothing much."
"You sure?" He slowly approached her, getting his wand out. "Let me see, Tern."
Juniper, ashamed, put out her hands as Gedeon healed the bloody and bruised knuckles.
"There, all better now." He said softly. "Do you wanna talk about it?"
Juniper shook her head. She knew she could confide in Gedeon, but she didn't want to say.
"Wanna come bird watching with me?"
"Beats being here."
Juniper took his offer. She needed to escape from here and be secluded in nature's life. She took his arm and disapparated to the Isle of May. It was a small, rocky island off the coast of Fife.
They apparated inside the abandoned light tower. Gedeon quickly checked that no muggles heard or saw anything, but it seemed good of people that day. Maybe the rain driving most tourists off, or they're on the boat.
"Tie your hair up, Junie."
"Why?" Juniper asked as she obediently followed his instructions, twirling it into a messy bun.
"Just in case any muggles pass by. Don't want tae to make them jealous cause of your amazing hair." He joked. Her hair was causing trouble, as per usual.
"Aye, so the usual then," Juniper said. Gedeon placed his fish hat on her head, almost swallowing Juniper whole. "Are we going to see the puffins first?"
"Aye, you always loved the puffins." Gedeon laughed.
"What's so wrong about that?" Juniper huffed and pouted, which seemed to make Gedeon laugh more.
"Aye, nothing." He pulled her out of the lighthouse. "Lets go."
When they got out, the wind wasn't as bad as Juniper had expected though she had to hold on tight to the hat. He took her to the rocky side and crawled down onto their stomachs at a safe distance.
Gedeon pulled out a pair of binoculars and observed the flock of puffins either idling by at the rocks or flying about.
"Look at that one!" Juniper pointed towards the bird, swooping down on its prey. "He's got a big fish!"
"I think that's actually a she." Gedeon corrected.
"How'd you ken?" She asked.
"I ken cause the bill is small and her overall size." Gedeon explained.
"Obviosuly, I can't see very well from here." Juniper commented snarkily. They could get closer, but Gedeon didn't want them to disturb their habitat.
Gedeon sighed and passed his binoculars on to her. "Here, use this and tell me what you see."
The rock was filled with loud squawks and little chirps as Juniper scanned with her binoculars. There were a lot of puffins feeding their chicks.
"Lots of baby puffins," Juniper watched a mother puffin feed her chick a fish. She watched the birds in a fit of strange jealousy, and the mother birds were more of a mother than her own.
"Do you want tae talk about your ma?"
Juniper sighed, "I asked ma if she can no take sleeping draughts when ma friends come over. I don't want them to see her all moody and depressed."
"I get that," Gedeon sympathised. "I was embarrassed to bring my friends over when I was your age."
"Really?"
"Aye, but don't forget that yer Ma is dealing with a lot at this time."
Juniper sighed as Gedeon was right. Her mum was trying hard not to think about Jacob, but a part of her couldn't help but feel overlooked. She looked through the binoculars.
"A whole lotta puffins...Wait." Juniper scrunched her eyes to look closer at the foreign bird. "There's another, white except for the head and the beak is orange."
"Pass that back," Juniper gave back the binoculars, observing Gedeon. His eyebrows knitting as he focused on the other bird. "Look it's an artic tern. Also known as sterna paradisaea in Latin. They're common around here."
"You ken Latin?" Juniper sounded surprised at this new knowledge.
"Only for birds," he quietly laughed. "It helps knowing if they're part of the same family."
"Oh? But why do you keep calling me tern? I don't think I'm anything like them."
"On the contrary, Junie, you are exactly like them."
"How so?"
"They are tenacious and hopeful creatures. They migrate the longest distance and they continue to persist despite the dangerous weather conditions leading to hope."
"That's pretty cool," Juniper said, smiling to herself.
Juniper determined right then that terns were her new favourite birds, and she would be an arctic tern pursuing the cursed vaults.
A/N: This is my darkest story, the rest will be more fluff I promise. Juniper is pretty much spiralling downwards into a dark place so this is another side to her. Warnings: Mention of drug abuse, possible alcohol abuse, swearing, family argument, depression.
Spring Break Masterpost here
"Jacob? Is that really you!?" The short woman rushed out of the stone house. She pulled the tall boy now young man into a giant embrace. She pulled back to take a closer look at both how he changed and yet hasn't at the same time. Juniper stood and watched the reunion. Oh, how their mum must have aged ten years to Jacob. Julia finally lets go and hugs her daughter, Juniper was afraid her mum would be mad at her but it was quite the opposite. Relief. Relief for both her children back home and safe. But also different. None of them was the same people ten years ago, practically three strangers to one another.
"Let's go inside and have some tea," Julia suggested. The last thing anyone of them wanted to talk about was pretty much everything that had happened from the past years.
The house hasn't changed much. Even Jacob's bedroom was left exactly how he left it. Mr Mosley rubbed himself against his leg, the tabby had more silver hairs flaked throughout nonetheless, he still remembered Jacob. It was a weird feeling to be back after so long. The kettle steamed up with hot water as Julia got out the finest china teacup. She usually sets them out for special occasions.
"I have noticed yer hair is much shorter than it used to," Julia commented. Starting some small talk between them.
"Aye, but I'm growing it oot now," Jacob chuckled.
"Aye, it looked better long than short," Juniper chimed in.
Mewles flew through the kitchen window, dropping a bunch of letters. They said either from Penny, Ben, some Talbotts and lots of Charlies and many others were written on the envelopes. They're probably off on their spring holiday right now. This was meant to be Juniper's last end of term holiday, before the whole expulsion. She wanted to write back and tell them she was okay but another part of her just wanted to be alone.
Julia poured the teas carefully, "I'm just happy yous are both safe. My heart almost stopped when I heard about the expulsion in the newspaper."
Juniper looked away with shame. Her mum was taking it quite well, having not just one but two kids expelled from Hogwarts.
"Sorry ma," She said just loud enough for them to hear, "I ken I promised you that I wouldn't get into serious trouble-"
"Trouble runs in our family," Julia assured her but also felt like an excuse. A simple explanation to cover problems that run deeper, "It can't be helped."
"I ken that but I mean for oor future, how we get money," Her voice wobbled a little. She hated how nonchalant her mother was about their financial situation. They can't rely upon her dad forever and his family. It felt like they were indebted to them, which was something Juniper hated. She wanted nothing to do with the Hasni family anymore.
"We always have the pub," Her mum deflected.
"We don't own the pub, not since Grandpa racked up so much debt to uncle Jimmy!" She exclaimed, horrified by the suggestion.
"We can always work it off," She shrugged.
"Aye, it would be a great way for me to work," Jacob backed behind their mum, "It doesn't require any NEWTs."
Juniper stared at them. Neither of them really understood the gravity of their situation. She finally gets why her father pushed her so hard in maths and accounting. The responsibility of keeping their finances in check has been thrown on her shoulders since she was seven. Both Jacob and her mum probably have never even seen the family accounting book.
"Even if we work at the pub, it still won't make enough to pay back fully plus pay taxes on time!" She argued, "One of us is gonna need a better paying and stable job!"
"Aye, like either of us actually have any NEWTs." Jacob remarked. His words pierced Juniper in the gut. That's their new reality. Job prosperity is pretty much down the drain for them, but Juniper doesn't want to give up yet. She still has her OWLs and youth to find something.
"I'll find something, I promise," She can't be bothered to explain in detail why it was so important to her to find a good job. The mood sour significantly.
"I'm sure you'll both find something," Julia held their hands, but Juniper moved her hand away rejecting the comforting gesture.
"Juno, don't be like this," Her mum sighed. It bothered her, that her mum and her brother's concern doesn't match hers. Her next words are something that she knew was going to regret, "Why don't you get a fucking job!?"
"Juniper!"
"Pip!"
Her words plastered their faces with shock and appal. Should she stop and say sorry or dig her grave deeper? Oh, screw it! Screw it! Screw it! Screw it! She didn't care anymore. Nothing mattered now. Her future was ruined, by both her and by either people trying to kill her or stopping her in other ways. The ministry of magic is gonna be a pain in her ass for the rest of her life.
Everyone will treat her as wasted potential anyway. What was the point? What was the point of any of this?
"You've been moping around for years at home drugged up on fucking draughts," She started.
"That's no fair Pip!" Jacob butted in.
"Let me finish," She glared, "I looked after you and the hoose! I did the cooking! I did the cleaning! I did our banking! I did the shopping and what did you do? Nothing! I practically raised maself!"
Julia sat there, taking in the verbal onslaught silently. She quickly wiped away tears. Jacob rushed over with a hankie, hugging and soothing his mum. Juniper's own cheeks were wet from angry tears. Without much thought, she grabbed a bottle of firewhiskey from their liquor cabinet and left the room. Jacob followed her and grabbed her arm, "What the fuck was that 'bout!?"
"Just fucking leave me alone," She released herself from his grip.
"Go back and apologise to ma!" He commanded.
She had no retorts or rebuttals left in her. Juniper just wanted to be alone and empty her mind. They stared in a battle of wills, well, for Jacob but the young woman had made up her mind and marched out of the door with a slam. Unconsciously, she found herself at the cliff that she and Jacob would play nearby when they were younger. The good old days. She opened the firewhiskey and downed it in one go. The liquid burned her throat but she didn't care. She stared out at the sea with her wish of emptying her mind.
A/N: Lots of the dialogue is from the game. Also forgot to mention in the prologue that there will be heavy Scottish accents used so feel to ask for translation if you're struggling.
Warning: Emotional neglect, a bit of child neglect, reference to substance abuse.
Three years has past since the incident and you-know-who was defeated by a child not long after. The wizarding community felt safe again but neither Jacob nor their father Jalil was seen in Scotland again. Up in the north, the once lively stone house now only contained two residents, three if you counted the cat, Mr Mosley. The youngest resident, Juniper, woke up bright and early, giddy with anticipation for today. Her mum has promised to take her out to Diagon Alley to buy her school supplies when she received her acceptance letter from Hogwarts. She rushed to the kitchen and makes breakfast of toast and eggs for both of them. Mr Mosley came up and rubbed himself against her, meowing eagerly hoping for seconds.
"No Mr Mosley, you had yer meal." She chuckled at the grey tabby. She fixed up a tray of toast and egg, and a cup of tea and brought them to her mum, Julia's room. Her excitement waned a little as she entered the room, her mum still passed out on the bed.
"Ma?" Juniper hesitated, she puts the tray on top of the drawers and went over to shake her, "Ma? Wake up Ma!"
Her mum groaned and mumbled incoherently, Juniper quickly saw the empty bottle of sleeping potion on her bedside table. She knew immediately that her mum was going to have a bad day. She only drank them when she has nightmares or worse, can’t fall asleep. The potions always made her sluggish causing her to sleep in all day and later when she does wake up all moody.
"I've left you breakfast here," Juniper left her room, trying her best to hold back her anger. Ma promised her that they would go to Diagon Alley together. She didn't wanted to get too upset otherwise it would make her mum get even sadder if she saw. Juniper picked at her breakfast alone in the dining room, the mood soured in minutes and the sun has barley been out in the sky.
Juniper got ready, still angry and heated up with frustration, decided impulsively to head out on Diagon Alley on her own. It’s not like she hasn’t anything as crazy before. She left a written note saying that she'll go ahead to Diagon Alley without her, it’s the least she can do and try not make her mum panic. She grabbed a bag containg everyhting she needs; the list with her acceptance letter, a shopping bag, money pouch and floo powder. Juniper braced herself in front of the chimney, she had travelled with the floo network before. Well, always with her mum by her side.
“Diagon Alley!” She shouted, chucking the green powder on her.
With a poof, she is infront a old, dark building, almost stumbling face flat to the ground. As the dizziness passed, she read the sign above; Ollivanders. The Ollivanders that she has heard so much about and one of the shops that she is going visit to get her wand. Juniper took in her surrounding, the colours, the bustle of the people. She caught a couple already glimpsing at her, particuarly at her hair and quickly whispering. The once braveness she had faded. Nervousness replacing it rapidly. She shouldn’t have come here alone. Juniper has never been to London by herself and the last time she visited was three years ago. She pulled out her list with shakey hands, not far from her, she spotted a girl with shiny black hair and glasses about her age. Maybe she can help Juniper navigate around. She puts on the bravest face she can muster and walked towards her.
"Hi, um, could you help me?" The girl turned and gave her a friendly smile.
"Hi, I'm Rowan Khanna!" She introduced herself eagerly, "Are you getting ready to start at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry too?"
Feeling more at ease around Rowan, she answered, "Aye, but Diagon Alley is a bit confusing. I'm no sure where to start..."
"I can help!" Rowan said, struggling to hide her enthusiasm, "I've been reading Hogwarts: A History in anticipation of my first year, so I'm something of an expert on Hogwarts. You should start by finding all of the books you need at Flourish and Blotts." Juniper is relieved that she picked the right person to ask for help.
"Ta, you've been a great help. I'll be off there now."
"I'll be here in the area. I need to get a few things too but if you need help I'll be here.”
Juniper went to Flourish and Blotts and exactly what she imagined, shelves lined with books from the ground right up to the ceiling. She knew Jacob would love it here, his room resembled something similar with his books piled up in stacks. She tried to read some of his books but she found that she didn't have the patience for reading many big words together. Looking over at the list, next to it, she has written the estimated price and has brought a little over the budget just in case the prices have suddenly changed. Luckily, when it was time to pay for all her books, she was off by a sickle. She went out of the antique shop and found Rowan in front of Ollivanders.
Rowan spotted her and Juniper ran up to her with her bag filled with heavy books lugging behind, "Hey, thanks for yer help, Rowan. I was able to get all of ma books."
"Cool! I realised I'm so excited for Hogwarts that I forgot to ask for your name..." Rowan blushed a little from embarrassment.
"It's cool, my name is Juniper Moss," Juniper reassured her, she didn’t want Rowan to be uncomfortable around her.
"Pleasure to meet you Juniper. Look at that! We both have plant names, well my name is a tree while yours is a berry but it feels like we match a little," Rowan rambled.
Juniper giggled, her mood has certainly lifted ever since she has to meet Rowan, "You too. I couldnae be mere excited to get tae Hogwarts."
"I know! I haven't stopped staring at my acceptance letter since it arrived. Can I see yours?" Rowan asked curiously.
"Sure." Juniper handed over the acceptance letter to Rowan which read;
Miss Juniper Hasni-Moss
Ground Floor
Cliff Cottage
Fife, Scotland
Dear Miss Hasni-Moss,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Pleased find the enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl by no later than July 31st.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
"Hasni-Moss?" Rowan looked at Juniper puzzled. Juniper forgot that her full name would be on the letter. She didn't exactly like telling people exactly why she doesn't call herself Hasni-Moss, so she quickly came up with an excuse, "Well, you see ma parents designed ma name so I could use it for here and in Algeria. I prefer being called by ma British name, Juniper Moss."
"Alright, well..." Rowan wasn't fully convinced that was the full truth but she left it alone, "I already got my school supplies, but my mum gave me just enough to buy something special for school. I want to let everyone at Hogwarts know that I'm a serious intellectual who is well on her way to becoming Head Girl. What do you think I should get, Juniper?"
"How 'bout a nice scarf?" Juniper suggested, not like she's someone to ask for fashion advice. Especially just at looking at her, she just chucked on an old top paired with mum jeans. Lucky for her, Rowan was keen on her suggestion, "Great idea! Scarves make anyone look scholarly. While I get my clothes, you should get your wand from Ollivanders!"
"Should we meet here after we've done our shopping?" Juniper asked, hoping to speak with Rowan for a little while longer. It has been ages since the last time she actually had a normal conversation with someone her own age.
"That would be great, then I'll see you soon enough." Rowan left and heads into a shop nearby. Juniper headed towards Ollivanders. The dark mahogany shop was behind her, waiting for her to enter and experience the magic. The place where she can finally, after eleven years of waiting can get her wand. She cautiously walked in, nervous. The place was filled with boxes to the brim. Juniper started to imagine, what wood would her wand be like and the core too? She's overheard once at her grandpa's pub that a wand says a lot about a witch or a wizard. Behind the counter stands an old man with kind yet wise eyes.
"Hello...Garrick Ollivander is my name. Here to receive your first wand, yes?" Juniper nodded, Ollivander bended down and brought out a wand, "I have just the thing. Applewood wand, dragon heartstring core, nine inches, rigid. Go on. Give it a twirl!"
She took the wand and just as he said, twirled the wand. Paper swirled around her like a tornado as she ducked and dodged to avoid being hit. As the wind of paper stopped, Juniper immediately handed back the wand, embarrassed by the mess she created, "Sorry 'bout that."
"It's not your fault. The wand chooses the wizard, and that is clearly not the wand for you." His words put Juniper more at ease about the incident, "I recall your brother exploded my favourite inkpot when we tried his first wand."
"You knew ma brother?" Juniper was surprised by the fact. She shouldn’t have though. Afterall practicaly the whole of Britain witches and wizards come and get their wands here.
"I remember every wand I've ever sold," Ollivander said proudly, he must have a photographic memory like her second cousin, Clover. "His was maple wood, dragon heartstring core, ten inches."
He added, "A fine wand. Shame they snapped it in half when he was expelled. I understand that he ran away from home after being expelled and has been missing ever since. That must have had a profound impact on you..."
Juniper gulped down her emotions, and tried her best to stamp out the memories of Jacob leaving her and their mum, "I just want to restore ma family's name, and prove myself to as a great witch." The Moss' name has been dragged through the mud time and time before, but this is more personal since it impacted her heavily.
"Hmm..." Ollivander pondered over, "I appreciate your passion and determination. I may have just the wand for you..." He pulled out a box and there is a beautiful dark wand with a swirl design carved into it, "Hornbeam wand, heartstring core, eleven inches, inflexible. My own wand is made of Hornbeam. Give this a try."
Cautiously, Juniper took the wand. She already had a better feeling about it. Like before, she gave this wand a twirl but unlike last time, she could feel the magic flowing out of her almost like a glow, but controlled without the tornado of papers.
"Splendid! I'll be interested to see what path you choose." Juniper paid for the wand and exited gleefully. She finally has a wand of her own. Her dad would probably have commented on how uncivilised and restricting a wand is compared to wandless magic but now she has a reason to use magic on her own. Well, despite the age restriction on it but it's a step closer. Rowan was waiting for her with a brand new stripy scarf.
She spotted Juniper, pushing her glasses up, "Hey, Juniper! How do you like my scarf?"
The brightly mismatched colours scarf stood out but it was aligned with Rowan's style, "It suits you. You'll look like the smartest first-year at Hogwarts."
"It was your suggestion! I'll be coming to you for all of my future fashion advice." Juniper just smiled, unsure how to tell her that she is the worst person to ask for fashion advice. Rowan looks down at the wand peeking out of her bag, "Wait! Is that a hornbeam wand?"
"...Aye. How did you know?" Juniper queried. Not only does Rowan know about Hogwarts and Diagon Alley but the wood too.
"My family's tree farms supplies wood for wands and brooms," Rowan started, Juniper is now intrigued, "That's why I love staying inside and reading. It keeps me from going outside and farming. That and the fact I don't have any friends..."
Juniper saw a chance. This girl would make a great friend and like Rowan, Juniper never has friends either, "Well I don't have any friends either, so we can be friends..."
"You don't think I'm too weird? People usually think I'm too weird." Rowan, says worriedly.
"People say the same things about me," Juniper related, containing her excitement. Not only has she found her friend but potentionally someone who understands her.
"Why would anyone say that about you?" Juniper gave her a look. One, her hair is freaking blue, most wizards and witches knows that blue isn’t a common colour. Naturally. Two, she is a freaking Moss. Moss’ get a bad rep no matter what they do. Three, Jacob…well Jacob is another matter. Juniper took a deep breath, "Ma brother is Jacob Moss."
"The same Jacob Moss who was expelled from Hogwarts for breaking school rules in search of the fabled Cursed Vaults?!" Rowan's eyes widened in surprise, "That was a massive story in the Daily Prophet. Everyone at school will know about that."
"Aye, I know. And they'll all think I'm weird."
"We'll be weird together!" Rowan laughed and Juniper joined in, but her face shifted to a little more serious tone, "What should I do if someone gives you trouble over your brother?"
"I can stand up for ma self, but I'd feel better if I knew you were on ma side." Juniper smiled. She already dealt with enough crap from the neighbourhood kids and her biggest worry before starting Hogwarts would be that she would be alone. But now, Juniper's confidence increased and with Rowan on her side. She didn't have to worry too much about bullies.
"Understood, I'll use my extensive vocabulary to verbally pummel anyone who attempts to besmirch your reputation."
Juniper laughed again, "I'm glad we met, Rowan. It will be nice to see a friendly face at school. Especially one who knows Hogwarts so well."
"Me too, Juniper! That's my mum over there." A short woman with the same long, shiny black hair waved in their direction, "See you in September on the Hogwarts Express!"
"You better save a space for me," Juniper joked. She waved Rowan goodbye and they disappeared into the crowd. She looked back at her list, she just needed to buy some school robes and clothes. Juniper was secretly hoping that she could buy an owl but felt that it would be unfair without her mother here. Deciding that was enough time spent in Diagon Alley and about this time her mum would be up, she goes to find a chimney connected to the floo network at the Leaky Cauldron. While waiting in line, a woman appeared from the chimney. With blue hair? Wait a second, that's her mum there.
"Ma?" Juniper was startled by her mum's presence.
"Juno? There you are." She pullsled Juniper into a tight hug, "I saw your note and got worried. Do you know how dangerous it is to be by yerself!?"
"I didnae want to disturb you." Juniper said quietly, hanging her head.
"You still could nae wait for me? What if you wandered into Knockturn Alley or a dark wizard kidnapped you?" Panic setted in for both of them. Juniper could see her mum starting to spiral. If she kept it up, she could get hysteric in public. Last thing she needed is her mum in St Mungo's again.
"Ma, I'm safe and your here with me now. Let's go buy that owl, we need one since I'll need a way to write letters to you." Juniper stroked her mum's arms gentlely. A comfort that her mum took and calmed down, "That's a good idea, Juno. And then we can go for some desserts afterwards. A little treat for us."
The little glimpse of her old fun mum peaked through the cracks of her current empty self. Juniper smiled out of relief. They headed out and found a pet store and bought a barn owl, named Mewles. Mewles rested in her cage, as the two ate their cake at the Leaky Cauldron. Sitting in a comfortable silence. Juniper wondered how long this will last and will her mum cope without her for majority of the year. She considered asking their squib neighbour, Tilly to check-in and owl her if anything happens. She also needed to bring the family finances book with her and make sure her mum spends responsibly and her dad sends the money on time. Juniper is excited to be finally away from some of her responsibilites but can’t help to be worried over her mum. After the appetising desserts, they headed back home.
Juniper took her stuff and Mewles to her bedroom. She freed the owl from it's cage and lets her fly around. Her face crashing straight into her pillow. The entire time she couldn't stop thinking about Rowan, her friend. She couldn't believe that she made her first friend. The only thing she wished for that August flies by and it's September already.
MC though the years challenge which I found and yes a year late. I believe it was created by @ leah-demarco . Correct me if I'm wrong. This is part 1 out of 3 maybe? Even though my timeline actually goes up to 2020 so if you guys want more, I'll do more.
1980
Let's start there since that's where shit hits the fan. Juniper is 7 and alot happens. Her brother Jacob was just expelled from Hogwarts and their father was so ashamed by it, that he left them and transferred to Algeria. He still remained married to Julia and sent money to provide for their kids. Months later, Jacob dissapeared causing their mum to have a mental breakdown and was sent to St Mungo for help. What didn't help was the harrasment, cursed letters and the cold shoulders they recieved from the wizarding community. When released, she remanied in a catatonic like state for almost a year forcing Juniper to take care of her and the household. Their nearest neighbor who is a squib, Tilly took pity and helped with shopping and cleaning. Juniper's mum recovers but there is an emotional rift between the two.
1984
Juniper is 11 years old and starts first year of Hogwarts and is sorted into Ravenclaw alongside with Rowan who is her first friend ever. It was tough on both Juniper and Rowanas they were constantly teased and bullied by majority in their year, particualry the Gryffindor girls in their year even though all they wanted to do is stay off radar and focus on finding Jacob and the cursed vaults. Ben joins later and forms a trio with them, the three became known as the weirdos. First years aren't the nicest. But Juniper did feel more comfortable at Hogwarts than at home and befriending Penny did boost her social standing.
A/N: Okay, so Alvina is here, @oneirataxia-girl OC and I realised that some things are different from Alvita’s story so let’s call this an alternative timeline from each other where the relationships are the same but the whole missing brother and vaults thing are slightly different same goes for others who will be appearing throughout.
OCs mentioned: Carewyn Cromwell @carewyncromwell OC and Ywa Hana another of @oneirataxia-girl spawns.
Warnings: Heavy used of the Scottish accent, discrimination against another house.
The scream of the alarm ringed in Juniper's ears. She set it up nice and early so she could get ready on time, including her mum. Her mum promised that this time she would make it. The smell of dough flooded the entire house which was unusual, as normally it was Juniper in the kitchen. To her pleasant surprise, she found her mum busy making pancakes.
"Your up early, ma," Juniper quipped.
"Well, I thought since this is yer first day at Hogwarts I would make you something this time."Julia smiled without reaching her eyes, it had the same glaze over when she realised Jacob disappeared, "And I have to learn to stop depending on you so much Juno."
Juniper doesn't say anything, decided it was best to not comment. Julia planted a kiss on Juniper's forehead as she gave her her breakfast. Her mum took small bites of her pancake but left the plate unfinished. It was more than usual, however, Juniper could sense that her mum was going through a lot today. A bittersweetness that was going to stalk them all day. After their breakfast, they finished packing the final things and brought all the luggage to the living room.
"Let's take a picture together. For the photograph album." Julia took her wand and levitated their old camera, "Smile."
The smile pained her, probably pained her mum even more. The uneasiness worsened in her stomach. It felt wrong not having her brother, heck, even her father too. He only sent one letter to say that he has high expectations of her and to not get into trouble. Juniper dressed up in her casual wear and helped her mum to grab all her luggage. They travelled to Kings Cross Station, something that Juniper never understood why all the Scottish wizards and witches have to travel down to London when they could just take a train in Scotland to Hogsmeade. They found a cart to carry all of Juniper's things. Mewles flapped about, squawking as she was startled by the rattles of the wheels. Juniper hushed Mewles as they make their way to platforms 9 and 10.
"Now, we just need to go through there, remember" Julia held onto the cart, "Together?"
"Together."
They pushed the cart into the brick pillar. Juniper closed her eyes tight while knowing that they would walk through but somewhere deep in her mind, terrified that for some awful reason they do crash. Slowly, she lifted one eye. Platform 9 3/4, a familiar sight. The last time she was here was when they watched Jacob be sent off to Hogwarts for the last time. Now it was her turn, only without Jacob and without her dad. She felt the stares from everyone. Naturally, they would stand out. Pity, disgust, ignorance, even anger show in their eyes. Julia clung to Juniper feeling the same.
They manoeuvred through the crowd, most avoided them as if they jad some sort of virus and left her luggage to be collected to put with the other luggage and took Mewles with her on board the train. She looked in and out of different compartments only to be quickly rejected but soon enough finds one. There she saw the shiny, black hair that she has been missing for a month now.
"Rowan?"
"Juniper!?" Rowan shoot up and squeezed her tightly, "I missed you."
"I missed you too, Rowan," After what seemed like an eternity passed, they finally let go. Rowan pulled Juniper to the window, "Juniper meet my parents."
Rowan introduced Juniper to her parents. She had her mother's face except for the eyes, they belonged to her father. Her older brother who just graduated the year before also showed up. He is helping out with the family farm while recently working at the ministry. Her parents seemed happy for their daughter to have found a friend. Juniper was secretly thankful that they didn't bring up Jacob and treated her normally and did not look at her pitifully. Not long after, Julia caught Juniper and ran over to the window.
"There you are," she huffed, out of breath.
"This is ma mum, Rowan." Juniper introduced her mum not only to Rowan but to her family too. The two mothers hit it off. Juniper hoped that they maybe could be friends too. Goodness, Julia needed someone that can keep her occupied and give her some company. The toll of the bell alerted everyone that it was time for the train to leave and said their last goodbyes until the next time they met. Rowan and Juniper stuck their heads and waved goodbye and off North to Hogwarts. The girls sat down once their parents were out of sight.
"I'm so happy we found each other so quickly," Rowan remarked. Juniper couldn't help but nod in agreement, "Aye, I have tae confess. I couldnae wait to see you again."
Rowan sighed out a relief, "I'm glad I wasn't the only one who felt that way."
A couple of people passed them by, a few saw Juniper's hair and immediately scurried away to find another compartment. Rowan constantly looked at Juniper with concern, unsure if she was offended. The blue-haired remained indifferent towards the judgement. Too be honest, she would rather have people whisper and ignore her than harass her. Her main goal is to find Jacob and to be left alone. Well, she added the goal of making some friends. Juniper wasn't expecting much but a few would be nice. At least she has Rowan on her side. They snacked on their confectionary bought from the trolley witch, comparing and swapping their frog cards.
"I have two Dumbledores, do you want one?" Juniper asked, Rowan's eye widen, "Oh that would be great Juniper, thank you! Dumbledore cards are really rare." She took the card and added it to her collection.
"Dumbledore was in Gryffindor, wasn' he?" She wondered out loud.
"Yeah, he was," Rowan affirmed, she paused, "Do you wonder what house you'll end in?"
Juniper shrugged, "I haven' got a scooby. Maybe Hufflepuff? Most of my family were in Hufflepuff." She never really thought about houses, she knew that her mother's side usually ended up in Hufflepuff. She changed the subject back at Rowan, "What about you?"
“Well, I wouldn’t mind Ravenclaw because that’s were most intellectuals are,” Rowan answered, but added, “But I wouldn’t mind Hufflepuff, they sound very nice too.”
“Well, whatever house we end in, I hope we’re in the same house.” Juniper remarked. She really didn’t want to be alone with other strangers in a dorm. Having Rowan would be so great for her.
The train chugged on as the sun starts to set and the lights inside brightened to accommodate for the changing lights. Everyone was changed into their school uniform, the first years' black ties ready to be determined for their new colours for the next seven years. The motions of the steam engine slow to halt at a wizarding village.
"All firs' years! This way 'ere," The deep voice boomed across the platform. All the first years head turned to the giant figure illumenated by the glow his lamp. Juniper noted her surroundings, the many students that followed along the path until they reached to a lake. Boats with little lanterns hanging were prepared. "Don' push. Only four people to a boa'" The giant instructed the students.
Rowan and Juniper made sure to stick together, unseperable. A boy with tidy blonde hair and perminant worried look to his face joined them in their boat. He was skittish, constantly looking around while fiddling with his fingers while a more calmer red headed boy climbed in with them. They gave a quick little greeting but their attention was more focused on towards the enormous catsle that was awaiting them up on the hill. The castle looked very similar to a muggle castle ruins nearby Juniper mused. The boats moved on their own and took them steadily across the lake and once everyone has left the boats. The giant took them inside through these grand wooden doors. It was like being in a fairytale or medival era history book. Many students gasped audibly in awe, they were certainly feeling the same way too. A woman with a stern look and round spectacles waited for them. Her presence alone quieten down the first years students.
"I am Professor McGonagall, deputy headmistress and one of your teachers during your time at Hogwarts. Now follow along to the great hall." She opens another set of grand, dark brown, wooden doors. The great hall was certainly great, grand even. There was four sets of tables for each house and looking up the ceiling seemed to merge with the night sky lighten by stars and floating candles. Porfessor McGonagall lead them down the middle and to the front of the teacher's table. In the middle of the raised platform stood a stool and an old, dusty matted hat on top.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. Before the Welcoming Feast, we must sort all the first year student into their proper houses." Professor McGonagall's posture was straight and almost feline if Juniper had to describe. "The Sorting Ceremony is very important. While you are, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts." Juniper hopes those words will be true.
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, the brave and chivelrous," Chivelrous my- Juniper cut her own thoughts quickly. That's the only house Juniper vowed to never be in, no matter what it takes. Her brother told one too many horror stories how a group of older Gryffindor boys bullied Jacob for befriending someone, "Hufflepuff, the kind and diligent. Ravenclaw, the witty and wise. And Slytherin, the cunning and ambitious. Each house has its own noble history, and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards."
Professor McGonagoll paused, "I hope you all will be fine additions to their ranks. When your name gets called, please sit up here and the hat will be placed on your head. First up Ali, Badeea."
The girl with the starry blue head scarf behind Juniper pushed through and sat on the wooden stool. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on top of her head.
After a couple seconds passed, the hat yelled,"RAVENCLAW!"
The ravenclaw table cheered for their first new addition. Badeea's tie and robes correlated with the blue colours of Ravenclaw and joined the table.
"Arcane-Zheng, Alvina." Professor McGonagall read out the next one. An Arcane, in her year. Everybody knew about the Arcanes, powerful and rich from their enterprise Vistas industries. Funny thing is, is her beloved second once removed cousin worked with one of the bosses of the business to help bring down you-know-who. Though Juniper does know a fair bit about the Arcanes but she has never heard of Alvina but to be fair, all she knows is their reputation and not much about the family.
The short girl wore her sleek black hair in a ponytail walked up to the stool. The sorting hat was placed on her head. It took considerably longer than Badeea but the hat came to a final conclusion.
"RAVENCLAW!" Another Ravenclaw. There was a Diego Caplan out into Hufflepuff, the skittish boy from earlier was a Benjamin Copper who was sorted into Gryffindor ironically. A girl with gorgeous red hair, Carewyn Cromwell was put into Slytherin. Professor McGonagall goes through the list. Juniper's stomach churned as her name gets closer and closer to being called. She prayed that the teachers listened to her request of being referred as just Moss not Hasni-Moss.
"Haywood, Penelope." Juniper breathed a sigh of relief as the blonde girl excitedly stepped on the platform.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat cried instantly.
The students gathered in at the front shrunk in size as more and more names are called out. There was almost half left, "Khanna, Rowan."
"Its my turn now. I hope I see you soon," She whispered, she brushed her fingers against Juniper's. Rowan's turn to be sorted, Juniper bets she would make Ravenclaw, it suited Rowan the best.
"RAVENCLAW!" Juniper clapped along the rest of the Ravenclaw students. She almost yelled out how happy she was for Rowan. She glanced around as Professor McGonagall listed through Ks and Ls. The red haired boy from earlier standing next to her was unusually calm. At closer inspection, she noticed how his hair wasn't just red but a fiery red. He stood out almost as much she did with their hair. She focused back on the sorting ceremony, rightly so, "...and now for..."
She glanced at her list, "Moss, Juniper."
Finally her turn, the students whispered amongst themselves. Juniper face flushed bright red. She thought she was over this. The whispers. The stares. The assumptions and falsehoods spread by rumours. But this is her life now and it would always follow her. She stepped up the platform and took her place at the stool. Her nose wrinkled slightly at the dust residue that fell as the was placed on her hair.
"Hmm...a Moss, very interesting," A voice tickled in her ear, "It's a tricky things when families have long lines in the same house. Now, now...where to you place you. A very determined little thing you are and an incredible loyalty you possess...ah...like your brother, you hold a certain darkness deep in your hearth too. I wonder how to handle that darkness...hmm..."
Could you hurry up please, I really couldnae care less what hoose I'm in. Juniper thought to the hat. That was a lie, she really didn't want Gryffindor but if she had to choose it would Ravenclaw as both her friend Rowan and her brother were in.
"Impaitent too. I believe Hufflepuff would not be suited for you," The hat amused, chuckled even, "And thus the chain of Hufflepuffs is broken for the Moss family…but what about Gryffindor. You certainly are daring and bold, facing your obstacle head on.
Please no! Any hoose but Gryffindor. Juniper tensed up, she started to crack her finger one by one. "I see…what a shame however I cannot put you in a house which you seem to detest which leaves us to Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Both worthy houses but which is worthier? You certainly have intelligence but also individuality, you know who you are and what you want, but with Slytherin, that could untap a flood of potential waiting to be explored and an ambition to be achieved in you."
Great, could you just put me in whatever hoose that would help me the best to find Jacob, Juniper thought increasingly more frustrated by the hat's hold up. The hat mused, "Hmm…You care deeply for your brother, alright then. I know now, best put you in;"
Juniper edged against the sit, for the annoucement, "RAVENCLAW!" The hat roared.
The Ravenclaw table cheered with mixed emotions. Some happy others a little disgruntled but Juniper couldn't focus on that. She jolted towards Rowan and the two shared a hug.
"I'm so glad we're in the same house." Said Rowan as the sat down, "Aye, me too."
Juniper sat between Rowan and a boy with tight curly short afro and deep brown complexion. Professor McGonagall moved onto the next person.
"Murk, Ismelda." A girl with dark hair covering her face merged from the group with was now down over half it's number. The girl was sorted into Slytherin. Juniper started to lose focus on the sorting ceremony, clapping anytime a new Ravenclaws entered their midsts.
The ceremony was almost over when two boys and a girl where left, the red headed boy was still there. Juniper felt bad for him having to stand there for so long. The other was a skinnier boy with his brown hair slicked back and the girl was really short compared to the rest.
"Weasley, Charles." Announced Professor McGonagall. Juniper noticed the boy that she had been staring the entire time finally moved to be sorted to his house. Weasley was a familiar name to Juniper, she heard about them before. Apparantly there was this joke in the Scottish wizarding community that the Weasley family were the English Moss; distinctive hair, poor and blood traitors. The hat took a minute, maybe it was debating like it did with Juniper.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat annouced. Charles seemed overjoyed by the choice and ran up towards a taller boy with the same fiery red hair. That must be his older brother, how nice. It pained Juniper a little and made her think of Jacob, he would be twenty-one now and was past his Hogwarts years but still, if he was around Juniper could write letters to him and have the brotherly advise she needed. Professor McGonagoll called out the next name which tore Juniper away from her thoughts, "Winger, Talbott."
The last boy, cool and collected approached the hat with no hesitations. The hat was placed for a couple seconds before making the last decision of the year, "RAVENCLAW!"
He joined the table across from the Arcane girl. Finally, the last girl was announced, “Ywa, Hana!”
The hat deliberated but finally concluded with Hufflepuff. With the final sorting, closed the sorting ceremony to an end.
Everyone settled down very quickly for the headmaster's speech. The teacher was decked out in a purple robe, lined with golden threads and embroidery fashioned on top of his head was a matching golden hat. His eyes twinkled of something curious behind his half-moon rimmed glasses to all that laid eyes on him.
"Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts." He began from the rusty golden podium shaped like an owl, "The past few years have seen a great weight lifted from our world. The boy who lived, Harry Potter, is safe. Years from now, young Harry will be old enough to attend Hogwarts...But for now, it's your turn!"
Deep down, Juniper had the feeling that he was talking about her. Not that she wanted to be pretentious or anything but something in her gut was telling her, it has to do with Jacob. That she will find some answers about him, just something. Dumbledore resumed with his speech, "Remember, while you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you House Points, while any rule-breaking will lose House Points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded with the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to your house. Please enjoy the feast."
The room bursted into chatter again as the food popped upon the once empty platters. She never had such good food before, she wanted to complement the chefs who made the food, where ever they are. Juniper was stuffed beyond belief but the food never seemed to disappear. Rowan was the same, the girls laughed and no dared to approach or ask Juniper anything about Jacob so it seems that this was a good day, for now.
Okay I wanted to show Juniper’s parents before completely giving up on inktober and give some info about them. I’m trying to experiment with a different style here.
Jalil Hasni: Oldest of 3 children, grew up in Algeria and had his education in Uagadou wizarding school in Africa. Jalil was raised with wealth and made his way up in the international magical cooperation department in Algeria. Later, transferred to Great Britain where he meet Julia Moss. He starts an affiar with her despite having a fiance back in Algeria and after a couple months they found out that they were having a baby and got married out of obligation. He’s very disciplined and ambitious but does have a temper which flared out more during his marriage as he felt trapped but just did because his parents and Julia’s parents were all about ‘saving their honour and reputation.’
Julia Moss: Comes from the infamous Scottish Moss family, well known for blue hair, poverty (like poorer than the Weasleys), a little ecentricity, a long line of Hufflepuffs and recently blood traitors because her dad John married her mother Agnes, a half blooded witch. Julia was hella confused that her kids are Ravenclaws but put it down to they inherited their dad’s brains. She is a compulsive daydreamer, has green thumbs and is a bit of a francophile. Her dream was always to save enough money to move to Paris and meet a French wizard to sweep her off her feet. Reality was different however, she was working as a secretary in the international magical cooperation department in the minitsry of magic and meet Jalil whom she found out much later doesn’t like France (cause Algerians were colonised by the French and became independent from the French in 1962, a little history lesson there).
Family Motto: En la rose je fleurie; I flourish in the rose
Family Emblem:
A coat of arms crest
A fetterock argent (emblem from clan Grierson)
Scottish Bluebell (plant emblem from clan Grierson)
Notable Family Member:
Allistor Grierson ☠️
Robert Moss ☠️
John Moss ☠️
Aileen Sweets (nee Moss)
Agnes Moss (nee McLaughlin) ☠️
Julia Moss
Jalil Hasni (by marriage, later divorced)
Pierre Dupont (by marriage)
Jacob Hasni-Moss
Juniper Hasni-Moss
Charlie Weasley (by marriage)
Tarragon Weasley-Moss
Status: Extant
Relationship
Related Families:
Clan Grierson
McLaughlin Family
Sweets Family
Hasni Family
Dupont Family
Weasley Family
Affiliation
Houses:
Hufflepuff
Ravenclaw
Loyalty:
Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry; Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw quidditch team, Circle of Khanna, Cursed Vaults
Order of the Phoenix
British ministry of Magic; International Magical cooperation department
Gringotts Wizarding Bank (formerly)
The Naughty Cliff Pub
Overview
The surname Moss is considered to originate from muggles which caused many to speculate on their blood purity and it comes from the family once having lived near a peat bog but it could have came from a pre-existing name of a town, village or parish. Earliest known magical Mosses came from England but they travelled up north at some point in the 11th century, to Scotland. They managed to marry into a Scottish Clan Grierson but managed maintain the surname Moss still to the present day. They are considered blood traitors first for their stance against pure blood supremacy and second for losing their pure blood status.
The Moss family have distinct characteristics that have persisted through the years. Most notable is the iconic blue hair which have been a source of fascination for genealogists as blue hair seem to dominate genetically but yet there are fewer than 30 people in the world with this gene meaning that they are easy to trace back. They produced many natural born legilimens but over time, their numbers seemed to wean out and even ended up for over a century not a single natural born legilimens was produced until mid 20th century. They were also in extreme poverty due to poor money management but in recent times due to some family members they were able to finally maintain some form of stable wealth. They were also synonymous with Hufflepuff due to their tolerance and openness for all beings but can be considered too soft and a little airheaded at times. The Mosses have a repeated history of being outcasted and ostracised by the wizarding community and then accepted back in until they have another reason to kick them out again.
Family History
Early History
The Moss family seem to originally come from Allistor Grierson, a Scottish pureblood Wizard and well known legilimens practitioner in the 10th century who helped create and build the cursed vaults to keep something contained. He built the vaults in such that anyone can open them but curses are sent as warnings to discourages those who seek the ‘treasure’ to stop and only those of his blood and legilimency ability can seal them. He also speculated to the first confirmed wizard that has the blue hair gene through an accidental genetic mutation. His lineage acted like guardians for the cursed vaults until after time, they no longer could uphold their responsibilities.
Later, in the 11th century, Allistor’s direct decendents changed their surname to Moss by marriage and had many family branches spread out throughout europe with many different names but Moss remained the most prominent and direct bloodline. The 1300s to 1700s, saw the rise of the witch hunts, and they became main targets due to their unique hair, particularly for the younger ones as they can’t easily conceal it. On top of that, rumours were spreading world wide to both magical and non-magical beings alike of the blue-haired family in europe and saying that their hair contained magical and medicinal properties which can make one powerful and if it’s a legilimen then even better. All the family branches were hunted down by muggles and magical kind whitlling the family line down to just one branch which is the Moss family. They survived through the horrific times by hiding their hair and ability and had to be careful who to trust when anyone married into the family. It wasn’t until the 1600s when rumours cleared up and the Moss family could finally come out of hiding and were accepted back by the wizarding community.
While the Moss family belived to be the only branch left of Allistor Grierson, what they didn’t know was that a unnamed girl from a family branch of the Moss in the 1500s was kidnapped and brought to Thailand where she seemed to have settled down and have a magical family line of blue hair.
Recent History
Robert Moss and his close friend, in the early 1800s became famous for opening an all inclusive pub called the Naughty Cliffs up in Scotland and was the first to implement a no discrimination tolerance code in Britain and manage to cast a spell in which anyone discrimanting against for whatever it may be, they get kicked (better word is yeeted) through the roof and implemented a 3 strike system. Many of those who hold racist ideals turned their nose up and tried to shut it down, but it became a popular hangout place for werewolves, vampires, goblins, giants, etc that they fought back and the ministry of magic allowed it to remain open. The pub was passed down throughout the family until John Moss passed away in 1972, so for a while it taken over by a close family friend until Jacob took over the family business in 1990s.
For a while it was just the Moss family and the one in Thailand until John’s sister Aileen married an American wizard and passed on the blue hair genes thus creating a new branch for the Moss. In the 20th century, the Moss family went through a lot, first when Julia Moss got pregnant and had a shotgun wedding with Jalil Hasni, a rich Algerian wizard causing many to see her as social climber despite not being her intentions to have wealth. Jalil felt that he married a woman way too low for his social standing and that always caused issues between the Moss and Hasni family. Their firstborn son Jacob showed promise that the Moss reputation could be changed for the better when he became the first to be sorted into Ravenclaw and also was the first natural born legilimen since over a centruy of the last one. But he uninentionally made the family’s reputation worse when he hunted for the cursed vaults which he found a handwritten book in their attic by accident. His expulsion caused many in the wizarding community to turn on the Moss yet again leaving it to his little sister Juniper to restore their family name again.
Juniper was the one to finally truely break the family mold, like her brother she was sorted into Ravenclaw thus breaking the long line of Hufflepuffs and through her father was taught at an early age how to manage money so when Jalil left, Juniper took over the role of family banker. Proving the vaults exsistent alone helped the family’s image tremedously and when Juniper sealed the final vault, her family’s honour was almost fully restored. Until, the ministry of magic realising that only Jacob and Juniper can seal the cursed vaults so they threaten them into silence by threatning to ruin their friends careers so Juniper helped them by creating the cursed vault taboo rumours. The Moss family took a hit but they could shift the focus away and onto Juniper’s curse breaking career but after some time the Moss family became less and less center of attention, finally giving them peace after recieving so much grief throughout the years.
