((Sorry for the lateness guys! Its gonna pick up soon, I promise. I know I'm begging for reviews but please, please review. I would really appreciate it. I will get more descriptive from here on our, it was just getting started was a little hard. It will be /very/ descriptive regarding anything sexual later on, because...I guess I just like writing it. But it will get better, I'm sorry it's terrible so far))
From then on she felt much more comfortable in her skin around people. Realizing that she actually had friends in this new place made her more open to talking to new people, and from there she was more confident when people reacted positively. It wasn't till close to Halloween that people started calling her, Fred, and George a trio jokingly, a phrase which Josephine didn't know how to feel about. She didn't see them as anything special, just classmates, friends. But she could see how people could see them as a trio. Ever since the day they had trapped her in a pile of goo, they'd been hanging out together multiple time a week, at meals, in the library, in the common room. Of course, part of that was doing homework for their classes, but they usually ended up ignoring it at the end anyway.
Another part of their interactions was watching the twins practice for the upcoming Quidditch season, something that fascinated Josephine to no end. She was not the best at flying, she could really only do it for travel purposes, never anything that took as much skill as Quidditch. She knew she would surely be hit dead on with a bludger as soon as they were released, or she would fall off her broom trying to avoid it. But the twins held their own against them, maybe even out matched them. Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor captain called them "human bludgers", and they lived up to the name.
Josephine wasn't allowed to sit in the stands and watch them because Wood was so protective of his team's chances at winning the cup on his last year, so instead she would sit on the grass far enough away to see the pitch, but close enough to tell what was going on so she could watch. It was hard to tell which twin was which from that distance, but she could at least pick the two of them out by their clubs. She really enjoyed watching them, and was able to read when Wood was giving them speeches, planning strategies, or while they talked amongst the rest of the team after practice.
It was after Quidditch practice one evening when she realized what it meant when people called them a trio. Standing up as she saw the crowd that was the Gryffindor Quidditch team, all of them chattering loudly as they came towards her, Josephine discovered she had been nicknamed. "Hey Josie, the twins are at the back." Angelina commented as she passed, gesturing behind her. Josephine hardly even recognized that the comment was directed at her.
Confused, she followed Angelina with her eyes as she passed, a question on her lips. "Josie!" she heard a pair of voices call out as the rest of the team passed her. "Oi, Josie!" Confused, she turned her head to see the twins walking up the hill grinning widely. "Pardon?" Josephine was very confused; she'd never heard anyone refer to her as that before, she'd only ever been referred to as her full name. Fred grinned at her he passed her, turning himself around to walk backwards as they headed up the hill. "We've decided that Josie is a better name for you." "It's short and less complicated. " Said George as he matched her strides. "Are you calling me short and basic?" she questioned, pushing hair behind her ear. They shook their heads. "It's just more suitable." "It doesn't hurt that it sounds cute either." Fred chuckled, linking his hands behind his back. "Shut it." Josephine retaliated quickly, looking down at her feet as she walked. They two of them still wore their uniforms, causing them to look taller and broader shouldered than normal, meaning they seemed to tower over Josephine, her short-ish stature putting her eyelevel with the twin's collars normally. As the three of them walked into the castle, she thought about their so called "trio". They were confident, outgoing, charming, full of energy, intelligent and talented, while she was only good at some classes, usually quiet, anxiety ridden and still trying to bring out her inner confidence. They probably seemed an odd group, and she thought the twins fit in much better with Angelina, Lee and Alicia than with her.
But it wasn't like the twins cared if she didn't fit in with them or not. None of the other three seemed to care either. That was the beauty of Gryffindor though. There wasn't the stigma of social groups like at Beaxbatons or in a house like Slytherin. In Gryffindor everyone just belonged, it was family. A loud, rambunctious, odd mix of a family, but a family.
On the way back to the tower, the twins had told her to stay in the common room while they changed, ignoring her worry about it being after dark. Waiting for the twins, Josephine laid herself out on the couch, crossing her ankles and looking up at the ceiling. A few minutes later, the two of them came down the stair so quietly she didn't even notice them, their appearance hovering over the back of the couch startling her. As the three of them laughed at her surprise, the twins laid out their plan.
"We're sneaking out to Honeyduke's cellar, we've never gotten another person out with us before. But we'd like to give it a go. " George explained, giving her a pleading look. Fred had draped himself over a chair by the fire, and was concerning himself with a large folded piece of parchment. Josephine wasn't convinced.
"You two are going to end up getting me expelled. And I am not going home because I snuck into the cellar of a sweets shop." She did not want to get sent back to Beauxbatons when she was just now finally getting settled, but sneaking around with the twins did sound very appealing. While pondering, she had begun picking at the skin around her nails, nerves forcing her hands to keep themselves occupied, even if she would soon bleed from the torn flesh.
"We're not going to get you in trouble. If we get caught, and we won't, we'll take the blame." Fred said from the chair, sitting up and folding the map back up. "Besides, Filch is in the Astronomy tower now, we have plenty of time." Josephine didn't even bother to question how he knew that.
Ten minutes late she found herself sneaking down the staircase with a twin on each side of her. Her heart beat widely in her chest, the list of things that could go wrong forming in her head. Filch could catch them, his cat could catch them, a teacher could catch them, she could get left behind, they could get in trouble for trespassing, for theft if they took anything, a dementor could be too close to the school, she could mess them up, then they would hate her, and so many other situations ran through her head, some more farfetched than others. She guessed they sensed her apprehension; because as they ducked into any empty classroom, George leaned down to speak near her ear.
"Calm down. It'll be fine if you just relax." Fred turned at his brothers' voice, raising an eyebrow. " Yeah, plus we know what we're doing. Don't you trust us?" Josie snorted at his question. "That statement is a trap and you know it." She muttered, following them as they snuck through a door behind a tapestry. All she got in response was a chuckle. Their reassurance did calm her down a bit, the rest of their adventure going smoothly. It wasn't until the trip back that trouble almost caught them.
As they headed up the corridor towards the staircase, weighed down with pockets full of sweets, the sound of claws on stone broke their muffled laughter. Grabbing her arm, Fred pulled her behind a very large stone statue of a dragon while his brother ducked behind a partially open door. Mrs. Norris was stalking the landing ahead of them, pacing back and forth in front of their exit.
Fred had pressed himself into the corner, his hands covering her mouth and holding her waist to keep her quiet and still. Her heart pounded in her chest, her eyes squeezing shut, and she was sure Fred could hear her heartbeat in this position, her back pressed against his chest. Fred's fingers dug into her ribcage as Mrs. Norris padded past them, pacing back and forth in front of their hiding spots, and Josephine's fingers grasped his arm and squeezed in return. She could feel how hot her skin had gotten along her chest and cheeks, and she slowly opened her eyes to watch the mangy cat walk by them once again. After a few minutes of this, Josephine got an idea, and despite her better judgment, went with it.
Slipping her hand into her pocket, she took out a single Berti Bott's Bean. She felt Fred stiffen behind her, but she ignored it. Slowly lifting her hand, she threw it down the corridor so it bounced off the wall and around the corner. She was surprised she didn't miss; she was surprised that it actually worked. Mrs. Norris took off after it, disappearing around the corner and the sound of her feet fading away.
They took off immediately, sprinting up the stairs and through the portal. As they collapsed on the floor, Josephine's heart pounding in her chest, they started to laugh. First some giggles, then some quiet chuckles which progressed into a full fit of laughter. The three of them collapsed on the couch, trying to keep their laughter down so no-one upstairs can hear. As they sat there, watching the fire burn, unwrapping their candy and talking about what they wanted to do next weekend, Josephine…Josie, realized that it wasn't the nervousness that had her heart pounding all night. It was them.