A/N: Hello all! This is a spin-off to the other story I wrote, 'Behind the Veil'. If you're new to it you don't really have to read the other story, and this stands alone quite well. I don't think you would miss anything by not reading the other story.

Chapter 1: Reflections

For as long as Josephina could remember she had fantasied about her future. She had a dream of having a big family with a husband she was in love with, and him her. She wanted gnomes in the garden and ghouls in the attic. She wanted dirty little children with mischievous eyes and a white picket fence. She wanted to pass her Astronomy class and understand all the little nuances in conversations that she always missed.

Because that was what normal people had, what they wanted. More than anything she wanted to be normal.

But not Josephina, never her.

Everything for her was a struggle. A battle for ground that she always appeared to lose. Truth be told, Transfiguration was the only thing that came easy to her. Everything else was so difficult. She could barely scrape by in History, and there was no helping her in Astronomy. Professor Sartrus, Hogwart's resident Astronomer, had even pulled her aside and went out of her way to give her one-on-one tutoring sessions as nothing else was working. By the end of the lesson Professor Sartrus' lips were a thin line and the most positive thing she could think to say was she hoped Josephina did not have any wishes to become an Astronomer.

Of course she bloody didn't. she had grumbled once ducking out of the classroom. That was preposterous. She didn't get how anyone could locate a single star in the sky, let alone want to make a career out of it.

And these were only her scholarly difficulties.

She eyed the boy she was tutoring in Transfiguration, groaning internally as she saw him subtly switch back to his former, incorrect position. She may be hopeless at everything else but she was a prodigy at Transfiguration. The Healer told her that it was a gift in disguise, that she had been one of the lucky few to receive a savant ability while she was rubbish at everything else. Even if she had never taken any of the potions to correct her mind, she would have been good at Transfiguration. Her first bout of accidental magic was Transfiguration, turning her father's shirt to a bright red. It was the one good thing that came from her mental handicap.

Some people hated her just because of who she was: Josephina Hesper Flint. Daughter of Lyra Malfoy and the famed death eater and prisoner of Azkaban Marcus Flint. Some people were merely hesitant because they remembered what her father did in the war. Others, like the traditional purebloods, hated her because they felt some sense of betrayal. After her father was jailed her mother married a muggle and had two more children. All they could think of was the wasted, now soiled bloodlines of the Malfoy's. Some held their nasty remarks back, jaw clenched and eyes narrowed, but most couldn't stand to look at any of her family members. If her two youngest siblings were there, Armand and Patty, there was no hope for polite conversation whatsoever. They were half-bloods, from a pureblood mother and a muggle father. The fact that they had muggle blood in their veins irked these fancy purebloods, especially since the Malfoy name continued to be one of the strongest in pureblood circles even to this day.

And don't let her start on her family at home! Armand was a complete menace. He lived to annoy Joey. Usually whenever she saw him she went the opposite way because all Armand was good for was driving her insane. As the oldest she should hold the most control, but none of them had ever listened to her.

Then there was Patty, who was the youngest, that was always tattling on her and telling daddy that she was doing something suspicious. Sometimes Joey just wanted to shake her, or throw her in a closet. Whichever was easier.

And Anna, oh Anna. She was from a relationship her muggle dad had previous before her mom. Anna was a muggle just like daddy, and ever since Josephina turned thirteen Anna had been so cruel to her. They used to be best friends. They slept in the same bed until Joey was nine, played Barbie and blew bubbles at each other in the summer. Then Joey came back from Hogwarts and everything changed. Anna was like a brand new person, and Josephina missed the old Anna so much but she wasn't sure if there was anything left of her at this point.

Danold wasn't so bad, now that she thought about it. But he had been awkward around her ever since he was sorted at Hogwart's. It probably had to do with him being Slytherin. He wanted so badly to fit it, for his peers to accept him. But he couldn't do that without throwing away his own family. Not completely. So Danny usually ignored her, although was never cruel or gave her scathing marks. He was nearly two years younger than her, and they both had the legacy of their father's blood running through their veins. For him it was an asset, for her a burden. He wished to be invited to upper class fancy parties, and go to the Yule balls held every Christmas. He wanted acceptance and for people to want him like he wanted them. But Joey wasn't sure if that could ever happen. He held onto some not-so traditional ideals that he couldn't, wouldn't, let go of.

If all those things combined didn't make her life complicated enough, then her entrance into this world did. She had been born mentally handicapped. Joey had taken a potion for it when she was about two, and then took the last part of it when she was nine and verbalized to her mother a wish to fit in and be normal.

Cognitively she was almost normal. Perhaps her lack of comprehension came from that, or maybe she got it from her biological father. Her mother rarely spoke of him but she did say he was not the best at school.

But that didn't stop the other issues that came with her mental difficulties. She still had problems blocking out noise. She had to go back home her first year and be tutored until their family friend, Hermione Granger-Weasley, created a potion to help block everything out. Josephina was able to come back for her second year, but everyone remembered her as the crazy girl from first year that would start randomly screaming and throwing a fit. It wasn't so random for Joey. It was because sometimes the noise just got to her. When it was silent for other people, it wasn't for her. Screaming was a coping mechanism, because at least for a moment all she heard was herself.

In class people only heard the teachers droning on and on, but Joey heard all the quills scratching across the paper. The random call of some strange animal from the Forbidden Forest. The smooth shifting of cloth from when students adjusted themselves in their seats and the creaking of chairs. Heavy breathing from the person next to her. Whispers in the back of the class and students passing by in the hallway. Even her own heartbeat could be a distraction if she let it be! Other people were able to block those sort of things, and now with the potion Josephina was much better.

But she wasn't perfect.

She didn't scream anymore, sometimes she hummed to herself, loudly. Her father- not her birth father but her adoptive father, the only father she really knew- gave her a pair of muggle noise cancelling headphones that he made her promise to use only for absolute emergencies. They worked wonders on the worst days, but her father was afraid she would use them as a crutch. He wanted her to be able to function in society, not becomes a recluse or withdrawn.

She sighed quietly to herself, not wanting to disturb the boy. She watched as he attempted to cast Flintifors for the ninetieth time on the quill. He was truly hopeless at Transfiguration. She had lost count on the times she had corrected his stance and attempted to fix his pronunciation, but nothing seemed to work. It was probably the reason why he had searched her out. She was known in Hufflepuff for being the best at Transfiguration. If someone needed help in that subject they always came to her, even if they were in the grade above. Transfiguration was like breathing for her. It came naturally and she never really struggled with it.

She grimaced, but admired him for his enthusiasm. He was almost as hopeless at Transfiguration as Joey was at Astronomy.

No, that wasn't fair. She was pretty sure no one could beat the pitiful performance she was having in that class. She'd probably go down as the worst student in the history of Hogwarts for it. She would have a plaque and her name written on it as the first person who had the average grade of zero percent. Her mother didn't even punish Joey when she heard. She saw how embarrassed and self-conscious Joey was about it and didn't say anything, merely kissed her forehead and ran a hand through her hair comfortingly.

One of Joey's best friends, Derek Wood, had pointed out to her that it should be mathematically impossible to score a zero. That her guesses should have at the least landed her in the ten percent zone, still a Troll and pitiful but not as shocking as what she currently had. But then Joey had never liked Maths either. She had cheated off his paper the entire year and scraped by with an Acceptable. It was probably why her having a grade point average of zero was even possible.

Karma.

Maybe all of this was karma. She was paying for the sins of her father by being born mentally handicapped, by struggling in every subject but Transfiguration and scaring people away with her blunt attitude because she could never catch onto social norms with her disorder. It vexed her mother to no end. All of her siblings but her could do it, even Anna. In fact, Anna had taken to it best. As if she were the real daughter her mother had deserved all along. As if there had been a mistake and they had placed all the magic in Joey and polite sentiments and ability to hide behind words in Anna.

Perhaps that was why Josephina missed Anna so much. Despite all the years she had been tormented by her, Anna was part of her. She was Joey's first and only friend until second year. She had visits with Teddy as children, but they were too different. It had only caused Josephine more difficulties so her mother stopped the play visits until Danold was older. Even then Joey usually stayed with Aunt Andromeda, or hid behind her mother's skirts if she remained. She preferred their company over his. After all, they did not scream at her when they did not get their way. Nor scare her by constantly changing the colors of theirs eyes, hair, and face.

At least she had Derek and Aimee. They were Joey's best friends, and she had never managed to scare them away. Not when she told Aimee's crush, the beautifully handsome Louis Weasley, that she had a crush on him. She didn't know it was a secret, and did not understand why Aimee would want to hide such a thing if she liked him. If Aimee never told him then she would always just pine for him, and Joey just didn't understand that.

Derek hadn't run away either when she complimented his rear one particular morning, mentioning it was particularly bubbly looking. He had given her a strained smile and a half grin before scurrying off and avoiding her the rest of the day. But he came back, they both did. They tried to teach her what to say and what not to say, but usually if they knew Josephina was about to say something scandalous they merely covered her mouth and dragged her off. When they got older Silencio became second nature and they started to use it on her more embarrassing moments.

It was frustrating, but at least people didn't run away from her anymore or avoid her like she had Dragon Pox.

"It's FLIN-ti-fors, not FLINT-ti-fors. You're adding an extra 'T'," she corrected for the third time, attempting to be patient. The only thing stopping her from giving up on him was the fact that people had to do the exact thing with her. It wouldn't be fair if she expected other people to dedicate time to her this way but then never expect to return it.

The boy growled softly under his breath in frustration, brandishing his wand and correcting himself. When the quill finally became matches he paused, disbelief written across his face. "I did it! Joey I did it!" He jumped up and down, pumping his fists in the air with joy. "I'll definitely pass the test now. I just need to learn one more spell, Scribifors."

"Scribblifors?" she corrected in dry amusement, uncrossing her arms.

"Er, yes. That one." He blushed, standing on the balls of his feet.

"Very well then." She stood next to him, pulling his body into the correct stance. "Now, you pronounce it SCRIB-LI-fors. Okay? But I don't want you to just say the words and swish your wand like last time. I want you to envision the match turning into a quill. See it inside your mind, have a picture of it. Don't let anything else distract you, think only about the spell you're attempting to use."

With her guidance he was able to master that one in fifteen minutes, nearly half the time he took to learn Flintifors.

"I could have never done it without you. Thanks so much," he grinned happily, smiling up at her.

She ruffled his hair with a grin. "Well hopefully you'll get that Outstanding you've been aiming for."

He started for the door, but then paused. Turning around he watched her wearily. "People say you're an Animagus, that you were thirteen when you mastered it. The youngest in history. It sounds so impossible…. My brother says to not believe rumors, but I can't help but ask."

Joey attempted to hold her smile, but she feared it was more of a grimace. She slowly reached over for her bag, shouldering it with a hesitation she did not have earlier. "Yes, I have an Animagus form," she confirmed, not bothering to answer the rest of it. She knew that was really all he wanted to know, or at least he would not remember the other questions until she was far gone.

"Really? That's amazing! What is your form?" he asked zealously, attempted to keep up with her.

She peered down at him. "It's written down in the ministry if you really want to know." Not that she'd ever volunteer to tell anyone what her Animagus form. They may hold it against her, or say that was her animal because of her father and it was a reflection of her soul and deepest wishes.

She didn't really understand why she had the animal she did. Joey didn't think she was evil, or mean, or cruel. But she always felt like people viewed her differently when they discovered what form she took.

She worked her way down to the Great Hall, dropping her bag on the Hufflepuff table next to her best friends Derek and Aimee. Derek was having some conversation about Care of Magical Creatures with his friend Teddy Lupin, who had decided on a bright blue for his hair today. Derek managed a wave before diving back into the conversation.

Sometimes Victoire came over to sit. Joey also counted her as a close friend. Usually Victoire couldn't unglue herself long enough from Teddy to have a decent conversation. Ever since they had started dating in fifth year the two of them had been attached at the hip. At least they were in separate houses, as Joey would have feared for her ears if they did not have the barrier of a different common room and dorms.

Aimee was not much help either. She was easily distracted by anyone mildly good looking, whether that be boy or girl. She was horrible, and twice the trouble Derek was. While Derek could not keep it in his pants either, he was stuck to one gender. It limited his choices a bit more than hers.

Aimee appeared to view being bisexual as a blessing. Joey didn't even know she was until fourth year when she had asked in curiosity where Aimee had been, and Aimee responded quite frankly in a broom closet with some brunette with a great pair of tits.

Some traditional purebloods did not like homosexuals as it allowed magical bloodlines to die off. She had never heard of a gay or lesbian pureblood. They would probably be disowned if they admitted such a thing, or forced into some type of faux quasi-relationship with their opposite sex until they said they were deemed 'straight' once more. They didn't care what the rest of the world did, but purebloods appeared to lower in number each year and they viewed it as their children's duty to keep the lines going.

Most people in the wizarding world did not admit if they were a lesbian or gay. There was only one other outright homosexual at Hogwart's, and he was thirteen. The rest were in the closet, so to say. Perhaps bi like her friend Aimee so it was easily hidden. Aimee said she had found plenty of girls willing to make out with her, but never said who. Josephina thought it was better not to know. Aimee and Derek went through so many partners. Between the two of them they probably had overlapped quite a few times. There was no such thing as not dating exes in their friendship, but then again when Aimee and Derek dated it wasn't so much emotionally as it was physically.

Josephina herself had never been on a date. She had never found an interest in it. She liked a boy, but had never felt the need to act upon it until this year. She now wanted more from him that just being able to watch him. She needed more, but their relationship was already so complicated. She didn't want to mess anything up. They were friends, Joey just had to be careful about how she played it out.

Honestly, Joey didn't have a hope for having any tact. She would probably just blurt it out one day like she always did. She was bad with secrets, even her own.