𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑅𝐺𝑅𝐸𝐸𝑁 𝑀𝐼𝑆𝑇 || 𝐷.𝑀.

twenty two

Juniper smiled as she read the last bit of Draco's letter, love always rang through her head over and over as she studied his handwriting. She liked the way his writing was neat compared to other men who had terrible writing. Draco's was precise and sharp, but soft and curved at the same time. She debated on writing back to him, but knew the letter wouldn't arrive to him in time as they were leaving to go back to Hogwarts tomorrow.
Juniper and Draco met on the train in the Slytherin car on their way to Hogwarts, both of them equally thrilled to see each other and get back to school. However, Juniper could tell that something was a bit off with Draco; he was a bit more quiet than usual and laughed a little less, causing questions.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Juniper asked him for the third time as they sat in her dormitory on the bed. "I'm sorry I keep asking, you're just so quiet." She sighed. Draco sighed as well and nodded his head, he was reading the transfiguration book as Juniper read the potions, preparing for classes to start tomorrow.
"I'm alright. I think being home just drained me a bit." He said while giving her a weak smile. "If you could see how...dark it was you'd understand." Draco told her. Juniper nodded and gave him a smile that read sorry across her face. Draco felt terrible though for two reasons. One, he was lying to her, something he never wanted to do. Two, he was tasked with something terrible and avoided it, but couldn't any longer as second term had now begun and that meant he would have to finally carry out the task. He only lied for her protection though, to keep her safe. If she was ignorant to his situation, not only would her mind be safe from the Dark Lord, but so would her life.
"At least you're away from there now, love. You can be happy here." She said softly as she leaned her head up to give a soft kiss and then went back to reading, leaning her head onto his shoulder. Draco had a pit in his stomach and a lump in his throat, all he wanted to do was cry. He so badly wanted to tell her everything, knowing she could help him, but he couldn't risk her safety. He wouldn't risk her safety. He'd never forgive himself if something happened to Juniper because of him.
As classes went on, Draco's stress only grew deeper. In the span of two weeks, he'd been accused by Harry Potter three times for bewitching Katie Bell, to which, yes he did do technically, but never meant for her to get hurt. In the span of two weeks, Snape had been breathing down his neck, watching him like a hawk to assist him in his task given by the Dark Lord. It was quite irritating for Draco, he had nothing else to do but to suppress those feelings, and with that suppression he began suppressing Juniper little by little.
Lucky for him, it wasn't enough for her to truly notice yet. She knew he was being quiet, but assuming it was more from stress of classes already and his family as she was stressed over classes as well. Even though she gained an Outstanding in potions on her exams before the holiday, she was struggling a bit in Snape's class. Thankfully, Draco was still able to help her study, taking his mind off of his struggles and stress. Their system was working well up until the duel. Their system of studying together, being together, it was blissful and soothing for them both, especially Draco. The way Juniper let him lay against her as he took notes for classes was blissful, he could hear the consistency of her heartbeat that helped him focus and helped him to lose the knowledge of his own stressors for the time being. It was up until the duel during the second month of the second term that everything was alright, after that though, things began to go south.