Amortentia

The first time Regulus Black laid eyes on Juniper Keatz, he was smitten. He was ten-years-old, sitting in the living room of Black manor, trying to read a book but staying distracted by his older brother, Sirius, who was pacing madly as he waited for a friend from school to arrive by floo. Orion and Walburga Black also sat in the room, perfectly still on the ornate couch by the fireplace, eyes fixed on the chimney.

At last, there was a faint wooshing sound that grew louder and louder until there were two spinning figures in between the bricks. Orion stood, taking a brush off of the mantle to hand to their guests once they stilled. Before the Black family was a man who looked only slightly older than Regulus’ own parents and was fairly tall, of athletic build with sharp features, pale blue eyes, and a perfectly manicured goatee. Beside him was a young girl with strawberry blonde hair and the sweetest face Regulus had ever seen. Both brushed themselves off quickly before stepping from the fireplace.

“Junie!” Sirius nearly yelled, springing forward and embracing the girl. She giggled and squeezed him back, and a fire rose in Regulus’ stomach that he would later recognize as jealousy. At the present time, however, he was simply confused by the feeling, rubbing his stomach absentmindedly as he stared at his brother’s friend.

“Sirius, behave,” their mother scolded as she rose from her seat. The adults introduced themselves.

“Jeffrey Keatz, pleasure to meet you both.”

“Oh, the pleasure is all ours. I am Orion Black and this is my wife, Walburga.”

Jeffrey shook one hand and kissed the other, then put his own on his daughter’s shoulder. “This is my Juniper.”

The girl smiled kindly and shook hands. “Thank you so much for having me, Mister and Missus Black.”

“Of course! Sirius has told us much about you. We couldn’t resist getting to know his friends, especially a sharp Ravenclaw such as yourself.”

Juniper beamed at them, but her amber eyes soon flit to the corner Regulus was sitting in. His skin prickled under her gaze and he stood and cleared his throat before stepping forward politely. He held out his hand to her, cursing it for trembling slightly and let out an icy cold breath when she took it.

“Regulus Black.”

Another sugary smile that the young boy tried to soak in.

“Ah, pay no attention to that one,” Sirius said, “Just my little brother.”

Regulus scoffed and dropped her hand, turning to walk away but stopping when he heard her soft voice say, “Well, it was still nice to meet you.” It dropped even lower as she whispered to her friend, “Don’t be mean, Sirius!”

Regulus hid a smile as he continued to his room, his heart thudding heavily in his chest. His mind raced with fairy tales and romance novels, and as he collapsed on top of his four poster bed, he thought to himself, oh, is this what love feels like?



Juniper couldn’t have been more excited to return to Hogwarts for her seventh year. She had spent the entire summer break missing the castle, her professors, and most of all, her friends. She squealed in an undignified way as soon as she laid eyes on them on the train, flinging herself into Lily Evans’ arms first and then making her way around the compartment to hug Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter.

“Gods, I’ve missed you all so much!”

“Well, you didn’t have to. You always could have spent the summer with Prongs and I like we had suggested,” Sirius told her with a wriggle of his eyebrows.

She took a seat in between him and Remus, sighing, “I already told you, my parents wanted to travel.”

“Where did you go?” Lily asked, getting comfortable and leaning against James.

“We went to Spain first, stayed there for two weeks, then to France, and ended the vacation in Germany. It was all very lovely. Lots of history.”

“Which was your favorite?” Remus asked thoughtfully.

Juniper grinned widely and immediately answered, “France. The museums there are just… They’re amazing. We went to see Monet’s flower gardens and the pond in Giverny and I nearly shed a tear.”

“Nearly,” Sirius laughed. “Don’t lie, Junie. We all know you cried.” She narrowed her eyes at the raven-haired boy then stuck her tongue out.

“Oi,” Remus swatted his friend. “Just because you can’t appreciate art doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t, you uncultured heathen!”

All of them laughed and Juniper described all of the sites she had visited, her eyes shining as she talked about her favorites.

The vacation was good, she thought, but it’s nice to be home.