Juniper rubbed her eyes groggily, she had set that Muggle alarm her dad bought her, and it had done its job. She was up really early this morning, especially for Juniper, a chronic oversleeper. There were a few reasons for this. One was that she had to finish packing, much like her brother, she was a procrastinator, slightly scatterbrained at times. She still hadn't put all her books or robes in her trunk, but all her joke products were carefully packed so that was something. The other reason was that she wanted to get the bathroom first. Sharing a bathroom with James was bad enough, not to mention that all three boys had slept over last night, which meant the bathroom would be even more crowded than usual. She yawned, knowing that there were probably bags under her eyes as she made her way to the bathroom.

The water was running. That was odd. Juniper frowned in confusion, hoping that hadn't been on all night.

"Morning Potter." Teddy said, toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. He spit in the sink and turned the faucet off.

Juniper inhaled sharply, she was not awake enough for this. First of all, he wasn't wearing a shirt, just a pair of grey sweatpants that hung loosely around his waist. And no matter how many times it happened, it was always jarring for Juniper to see him in her bathroom. Despite the fact that Teddy had seen her at her absolute worst, like when she got the chicken pox the summer before first year and she was covered in scaly red scabs, Juniper impulsively crossed her arms over her chest, feeling extremely self conscious. She didn't bother to look in the mirror, she knew what she would see.

He pulled a shirt over his head, and Juniper relaxed, "What are you doing up this early Junie?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"I'm always up this early, I'm a morning person."

Juniper made a face, "Anybody who proudly calls themself a morning person needs help."

"You are so not a morning person." Teddy shook his head sadly.

"I know. I'm a coffee person." Juniper laughed, undoing the braids that did nothing to contain her black mane of hair. It was true. If there was one thing Juniper had inherited from her mother, it was an addiction to coffee.

Teddy rolled his eyes, "Are you sure you're British?"

Juniper flipped him off just as Leo entered the bathroom, followed closely by Charlie. They were dressed in a similar fashion to Teddy, both of their eyes puffy from sleep. Charlie seemed to have a black smudge on his upper lip that spread out onto his cheek.

"Charlie what the fuck is on your face?" Juniper sighed, attempting to wipe off whatever it was.

"Good morning to you to Junie." Charlie wriggled out of her grasp, peering at his reflection.

Teddy and Leo snickered as Charlie gasped with indignation, whirling around to face Teddy accusingly, "What did you do to my beautiful face?!"

"Don't look at me mate!" Teddy put his hands up innocently, him and Juniper struggling to hide their laughter.

Charlie turned to Leo, who smiled sheepishly, "Well it was supposed to be a dashing little mustache, but it seems as though it may have...erm...spread a bit during the night."

"A BIT?!" Charlie growled, lunging for Leo.

"Easy mate it wasn't my idea!! James is the one who drew it!" He lowered his voice, whispering to Juniper, "In permanent marker..."

Juniper clapped a hand over her mouth, snorting, "Where is James anyways?"

"Still snoring his arse off."

"Not for long." Charlie started to charge into James's room, but Juniper stopped him.

"Wait, let's think about this for a second, he's still sleeping, which means we have some time to come up with the perfect way to wake him up..." She smiled deviously, pulling the boys in to whisper her idea.

Teddy and Leo grinned, "Excellent, Evil Junie, my favorite."

Carefully, the four of them tiptoed to the side of the bed where James was curled up. Juniper gestured for Teddy to come forward, "Ready Lupin?"

"Aye aye captain." Teddy teased, concentrating as his features began to morph into that of a leering clown. They had watched It over the summer, and James, who had never been one for horror movies, was now deadly afraid of all red nosed creatures. Slightly ridiculous, seeing as he lives in a world full of giants and werewolves, but to each their own.

"Bloody hell Teddy it looks wicked." Charlie clapped quietly, bristling with anticipation.

Teddy's Metamorphagus abilities were the key to most of the group's pranks, and it certainly made pulling them that much more fun. It was another reason they hardly got caught, I mean people knew it was them, but didn't have any proof. Especially now that Teddy's control over his powers was increasing, meaning he could stay as one person longer.

Juniper counted down on her fingers, mouthing the numbers silently, 3,2,1...

"BOO!" Teddy put his face right in front of James's so he would e the first thing James saw when he pen his eyes.

James's eyes snapped open as he screamed bloody murder, "AAAAHHHH!!!!!!!" He shot out of bed, grabbing a pillow and holding it up against him like a shield, "Stay back clown! STAY BACK I SAY!"

Juniper, Charlie, Leo and Teddy collapse into laughter, clutching their stomachs as they fall to the floor, cackling. Teddy reverts to himself, catching sight of James's expression and chuckling even harder.

"YOU TOSSER!" James roared, tackling Teddy. As with most of their pranks on each other, the boys devolved into a good natured wrestling match while Juniper watched, giggling.

A grumpy, bleary eyed Vanessa poked her head into the doorway. Her blond hair a tangled mess as she scowled at the lot of them, "I hope you're happy James, you've woken the whole house, probably the entirety of Britain too."

The five of them just laughed even harder, red in the face

"Seriously?" Vanessa put her hands on her hips, still glaring.

The look on her face only encourage their behavior, sending them into another fit of snickering, James gasped for breath, pointing at Vanessa, "She- she's so angry! But- but she- she's so small!"

He wasn't wrong. Vanessa was the shortest of all of them, even Calista was only an inch or two shorter than her. She was tiny, but her personality was anything but that.

More laughing.

"Children. How am I related to any of you?" Vanessa sniffed, walking out of the room as she muttered profanity under her breath.

"She loves us." Juniper smiled, dusting herself off as Teddy reached out a hand to help her up, "We really do have to get ready now guys, I know for a fact that you and you have not finished packing yet." She gives Charlie and James a look

"And Mum Junie is back." Leo pretended to wipe a tear from his face, "I'll miss Evil Junie."

"I KNEW IT WAS YOUR IDEA!" James shouted, "They couldn't have come up with that on their own, no this had Juniper written all over it." He wields his pillow high and advances on his sister, who shrieks and runs out of the room. The boys hot on her heels.

They were a right sight, Leo and James were shirtless, Charlie was wearing his horrendous matching pajama set his grandmother had made for him and still had black ink all over his face. Teddy looked normal for the most part, if not slightly unkempt. Juniper's glasses were askew, her hair flying wildly behind her as she raced away from James and his pillow, and she was in her pyjamas.

Her socks caught on the carpeted stairs and she nearly wiped out, James and the rest of them deciding to take the shorter more dangerous route and sliding down the banister.

Their parents watched from the kitchen with half amused half concerned looks on their faces.

Miranda sighed into her cup of coffee, laying her head on her husband's shoulder, "Is it too much to ask for just one calm first day?"

Harry grinned, kissing her on the forehead, "Yes, yes it is."

"What is on my son's face?" Hermione groaned, palming her forehead.

"The better question is what is he wearing?" Ginny stifled a laugh.

Rose and Vanessa entered the kitchen, fully dressed and ready to go, kissing their parents good morning and joining Evelyn and Ethan in the family room.

"Well, we have them at least." Mateo commented, sipping his tea, "Wish the older ones would take note."

"It's like with pancakes, the first batch is always a bit wonky." Ron joked, eyes twinkling.

"Weasley!" Miranda gasped, swatting his arm.

"Ronald please tell me you did not just compare our children to pancakes." Hermione reprimanded, trying to conceal her smile.

The chaos continued, Juniper dodging the swipes of the pillow as she ducked behind furniture and skidded around corners. Meanwhile, their parents were busy arguing over who has to yell at them, lay down the law. In the end, Ginny is the one elected as she shouts, "OI! GET YOUR ARSES READY IN 15 MINUTES OR ALL OF YOU WILL BE RECEIVING A HOWLER DAILY!"

Leo, Juniper, James, Charlie, and Teddy obeyed dutifully, grumbling as they went up the stairs to get dressed, hearing Mateo say "Such a delicate touch my wife." And the distinct sound of Ginny or possibly Miranda hitting him.

Juniper opened her closet with a heavy sigh, tapping a finger to her chin as she surveyed her sad array of clothes. She didn't understand how Vivian just threw an outfit together and made it look awesome. Oh well, guess she was going with the classic jeans, t shirt, trainers, and a ponytail. Her mum rapped on the door just as she finishes pulling her hair up, securing the strands that fall out with a couple bobby pins, "Come in."

"Hi honey, oh good you're almost ready, I need to talk to you and your brother about something. Meet me downstairs in a sec okay?"

"Sure mum." Juniper replied, nodding.

Her mum tilted her head, "Do you want to wear you hair down today Junie? I could help you-"

"Mum." Juniper furrowed her brow, making an annoyed noise in the back of her throat, "I like my ponytail."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, her mother looked slightly hurt, and Juniper felt a pang of guilt, I'll see you downstairs Juniper."

Juniper walked next door to her brother's room, covering her eyes, "Everybody decent in here?"

A sock hit her face.

Juniper removed her hand from her eyes, giving the boys a death stare, "I'm assuming that means yes." She hurls the sock back to its owner, Leo, and turns to James, "Mum wants us downstairs, she has something she wants to talk to us about. Whatever that means."

"Alright let's go." James ran a hand through his hair and walked down the stairs with Juniper.

Their uncle and their mother were waiting for them in the parlor as James and Juniper took a seat on the ouch opposite them. Miranda and Mateo's faces looked very serious and the siblings shifted nervously.

"What did you do?" Juniper whispered to her brother.

"I didn't do anything! What did you do?" He responded indignantly, poking her

"I didn't-"

"Calm down," Uncle Matt rolled his eyes, "neither of you have done anything...that we know about at least. Your mum and I just have a few things we need to discuss with you."

"It's nothing bad," their mother reassured them, "just surprising."

Juniper and James looked between their mum and their uncle suspiciously, where was this heading?

"So as you know," their uncle begins, "we come from a long line of witches and wizards. Your grandparents, our parents, also came from a long line of witches and wizards. And some wizarding families have particular traits, genes passed down through the generations. The Nott family in particular, has some interesting attributes involving magic. As I'm sure you are aware of, twins are genetic. We obviously have a lot of twins in the family, me and your mother, the two of you, Evie and Ethan, your Great Aunt Evelyn was a twin, your great grandfather was a twin, the list goes on. Always boy girl twins, mind you, and remember this special traits I was talking about earlier? Well-" Mateo pauses, giving his sister a dirty look, "Will you stop it?!" The two stare each other down, and Juniper and James are even more bewildered.

"I just think you could get to the point a little faster, Matt," huffed Miranda. "We have a train to catch after all."

"That doesn't mean-" Another silent staring match. "Fine," their uncle turns back to face them again, "where was I? Oh yes, special traits that-"

"Merlin," Miranda interrupted, "you can communicate by thought. Congratulations!"

James and Juniper blinked rapidly, their mouths dropping open in astonishment.

"You have no flair for dramatics honestly." Mateo crossed his arms haughtily. The older pair of twins start to bicker.

"Erm- Mum? Uncle Matt? OI! You just dropped a bomb on us!" Juniper waved her arms to get their attention.

"What the bloody hell are you guys talking about?" James is equally shocked.

"I'm sure you have lots of questions," their mum laughed. "I know we did when Dumbledore told us, but the basics are, you can listen to each other's thoughts, talk to each other through your mind, and possibly read other people's minds, but I won't get into that right now. We don't know the full extent of your power yet."

"You're pulling my leg." James narrowed his eyes in disbelief, "This is some elaborate joke right?"

"Go on," Mateo encouraged. "Try it. Try to talk to Junie using only your thoughts."

This can't be real

Oh my-

Junie!

James!

It works?

No fucking way

This is so cool

James imagine the pranking possibilities

I am, oh wait you probably knew that already didn't you since we can read each other's freaking minds!!!

Mateo and Miranda shared a knowing smile, recognizing the familiar wordless conversation.

Told you so

Mum?

Yeah we can hear your thoughts too, so watch your mouth James

Aw c'mon Uncle Matt

"Pretty brilliant, right?" Miranda winked at her children.

James and Juniper spit out a series of rapid fire questions, tripping over their words in exictement.

"How long have you known?"

"What else can you do? Can we do?"

"Have we always been able to-?"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Mateo chuckled. "One at a time. We found out at the end of our fifth year, and we've been trained so we know a few more tricks. Yes, you've always had the power to do it, you just didn't know it."

"Does dad know?" Juniper questioned, looking to her mother.

Mateo gives her mum a pointed look, raising an eyebrow, "Yeah, does he?"

"Shut up, Matt. No, Junie, not all of it anyways. He has some idea, as does your Aunt Ginny, but neither know the whole story." Her mother continued, "And we'd advise you not to tell anyone about it either, I mean, you're going to tell who you're going to tell, but try not to make it public knowledge, you could say it's a bit of a family secret. Evelyn and Sirius know. Evelyn and her brother had the same power."

"Do Evie and Ethan have the power too?" James queried, wondering why their cousins weren't there too.

"We're not sure yet," Mateo explained. "Since the twin genes come from both sides of the family, they might not. But there's a good chance they do, seeing as they are boy girl twins too."

"Now for the rules," their mother said with a wry smile as Juniper and James complained.

"Yes there are rules, this is a powerful magic we're dealing with." Their mother and uncle peer at them sternly, "Don't misuse it, only use it for good and only when it is absolutely necessary. I'm sure the two of you are already thinking of a million pranks you can pull."

Juniper and James shuffled on the couch guiltily, looking down at their hands.

"And please, remember to respect each other's privacy." Miranda finished, and Mateo scoffed.

"Oh come off it Matt, that was ages ago. Besides, I already knew you liked Gin. I just got my proof."

Juniper and James laughed at that, both marveling at these new revelations. Fifth year was going to be interesting, that's for sure.

"Hey Mandy," Juniper's dad popped into the room, "you guys ready?"

"Mmhhm." Her mum nodded, rising from her seat and beckoning Juniper and James.

The entire motley crew gathered before the fireplace, each taking their turn with the Floo powder, and they arrived just in time for the train. Calista hugged Miranda and Harry goodbye, Harry did not want to let go, and Juniper assured her father that Cali would be fine. Her Uncle Ron was busy instructing an annoyed Rose to not even look at any boys. Evelyn and Sirius were saying their goodbyes to Teddy and Juniper watched this out of the corner of her eye. It was easy to forget that Sirius and Evelyn weren't Teddy's parents, Teddy didn't talk about his actual parents much. Though Juniper knew he and her dad talked some about it, but he had never confided in her. She wondered if he'd ever talked about it with James, and debated using her newfound ability to find out, but thought better of it. She was pretty sure that was a breach of the rules anyways.

Juniper boarded the train after basically having to wrench poor Cali from her dad, "She'll be fine guys, we'll take care of her."

Hermione shouted from the platform, "Try not to get in to too much trouble this year!"

Charlie grinned, "They say that every year, and it's always directed at us." James, Juniper, Leo and Teddy all shake their heads in mock confusion

Their younger siblings rolled their eyes, Vanessa replying with sarcasm "I wonder why?"

"I'm going to take Cali to sit with Alice, see you guys in a moment, Juniper took her little sister's hand, guiding her down the row of compartments.

"There!" Calista stopped in front of a compartment and pointed at the blond girl inside, rushing in the door and giving her best friend a huge hug.

Juniper smiled, glad to know her sister already had a support system going into Hogwarts. She waved to Alice, and made her way back to the boys' compartment. They always sat in the same one, James had claimed it in second year, deciding that from now on this was their compartment. It was right next to the one that Vivian, Rory, and Jade sat in, so Juniper could go between both. Usually, she spent the first half of the ride with the boys, and the second half with the girls. Vivian jokingly described the situation as "shared custody". Which was actually pretty accurate. Juniper was always splitting time between the two groups, and both always thought the other party was getting more time. And that was preposterous because Juniper obviously spent the most time with the guys, mostly out of sheer happnestance, they were literally always together.

Juniper walked over to the boys' compartment and was about to slide open the door when she saw a blond girl she didn't recognize sitting on Teddy's lap. Well she certainly wasn't going in there. She could practically hear the girl's high pitched coos. Honestly, it was enough to make a girl want to vomit. So much for sitting with the guys.

She clenched her fists without realizing, stalking over to the girls' compartment and plopping down on the seat next to Viv with a loud harrumph.

"Oh my goodness as I live and breathe, Juniper? Is that you? We never get you this early." Vivian gasped dramatically, swooning, "Rory? Jade? Are you seeing what I'm seeing or do my eyes deceive me?

"Well it's your lucky day because I'll be riding with you the whole time." Juniper responded sourly, sinking low on the cushion backed bench.

"Teddy have a girl in there?" Rory gives her a knowing glance, rubbing her arm sympathetically.

"I never said anything about Teddy! What makes you think-"

"Sweetie your fingernails are digging into the seat cushion so hard I'm afraid it's going to pop." Juniper raised her eyebrows, "What happened?"

"Nothing," Juniper's friends wait patiently, they know she'll burst sooner or later. She pauses, "It's just- well it's just-"

"Go on." Vivian says encouragingly.

"I mean he knows that I sit there during the first half of the ride, he knows that, and yet he still brings that- that girl in there. I mean she was sitting on his lap- what- what does he expect me- I mean it's not even because I like him, which I don't, I don't like him, but it's- it's the principle of the thing. That's wonderful that- that he feels so comfortable around all of us that he feels like he can do that- but- but- it's just- and I- and he- you know?!" Juniper let it out all in one breath, ranting up a storm.

"I'm sorry babe." Rory pulled her in for a comforting hug.

"It's not even that big a deal." Juniper murmured sheepishly into Rory's shoulder, watching the countryside slip past her and trying not to think about the girl on Teddy's lap.

OK SO THIS CHAPTER WAS HELLA LONG BUT I HOPE YOU LIKED IT

PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT

XOXO,

COLLEEN