They spent an hour showing her around the rest of Hogsmead after leaving Honeydukes, and the three eventually wandered near the forest near the Shrieking Shack. Sitting down against a tree, the three of them looked at what they had gotten that day, the cool breeze ruffling their hair as it knocked leaves from the branches above. Josie was chewing on candied violets at the moment Fred ate a candy that caused him to hiccup and croak like a frog, which in turn caused her to nearly choke on a petal and double over laughing. "Frog in your throat?" she asked through giggles, ducking the wrapper that was then tossed at her forehead. "That was terrible, you should have better puns than that by now." He said, clearing his throat and rolling his eyes at her. George found it quite funny, chuckling through a mouthful of chocolate. She began to dig through her bag of Zonko's goodies, looking through everything she had bought, planning in her head whom to use them on. Her father was getting the Nose Biting Teacup, that's was for sure.
After a few minutes of rummaging through her bag, she heard voices coming down towards them. Probably a student going to look at the shack, but it was still unsettling to Josie to have people coming towards her that she couldn't see. It wasn't until they came nearer and she could see who they were that dread really hit her. Three Slytherins, two girls and a boy were loudly laughing and pushing each other on the path, coming directly towards them. Josie didn't really get along with any of the Slytherins, the only one she could stand was one of the girls in Ron Weasleys year, but she only saw her in passing, and she could only stand her because the girl told off another Slytherin girl who made fun of Josie for her zipper on her skirt breaking, and helped her fix it afterwards. But none of these three were her, and she knew these three as soon as she heard their laughter.
The two girls were in her year, and both were nasty people. She never really paid attention to their names; she was always too focused on trying to be as invisible as possible when around them. Both of them were in their Potions class, but Josie also had them in Ancient Runes. They didn't like Josie at all, and Josie didn't like them in return. Her first day in Ancient Runes they had teased her for accent within seconds of her speaking, as well as poking fun at her flipping hair and…larger, figure. With them was Marcus Flint, who she only knew from hearing the twins, Lee, Angelina, Alecia, and Oliver Wood talk about him. He was the Slytherin's Quidditch captain, and absolutely terrible in every way according to rumor. And all three of them were about to pass her and the twins.
She scooted closer to Fred, hoping to hide behind him in case they looked their way. Neither of the twins had paid much attention to the three people coming towards them, they were too interested in their new toys. Sadly, her plan failed, the dark haired Slytherin girl that hated her passionately for no reason caught sight of her, a smirk rising from her lips seeing her with the twins. She turned her path farther towards them, followed by Marcus and the other girl, now all three of them sporting sickening grins.
Josie tried to act like she didn't see them, her eyes downcast as she stood up, dusting her pants off and trying to sound as chipper as possible. "How about we go back, I still haven't had anything to drink." She said hurriedly, picking up her bag and looking at them impatiently. They had only just looked up when she heard the footsteps stop beside her.
"Must be good to have someone who doesn't understand what you're saying to tease constantly, right Weasley?" The girl beside them had a voice that was nasal and loud, causing Josie to wince. The twins immediately turned to look at the three Slytherins, a flash between confusion and anger in their eyes. "I can understand you just fine." Josie said softly, crossing her arms over her stomach. "What, I'm sorry, we only speak English." Said the other, a tall girl with short blonde curls. She felt Fred and George stand on either side of her, their shoulders pulled back and their expressions hard. "Really? Because all I can see coming out of your mouth is bullshit." Their eyes turned to Fred, Marcus Flint's eyes flashing dangerously. "Oh isn't this sweet, the muggle loving blood traitors sticking up for another outcast." The blonde said, laughing at her own words. "They must be used to being around vermin, judging by what must be in their home! But they are a cute trio, a perfect match for the little French runaway. "She ended her sentence with a terrible impression of Josie's accent, causing Josie to wince and chew on her lip. "Tell us again Josie, I don't remember. Were you kicked out of Beauxbatons for being too ugly or because they couldn't order uniforms in your size?" Georges knuckles cracked as his hands balled into fists. The dark haired girl spoke up. "Now, now Seraphina, she has gotten a bit smaller since we first saw her. Must have taken my advice to stop eating. "
Marcus Flint was in stitches, nearly doubled over he was laughing so hard. Meanwhile Josie had started to hyperventilate, the interaction pushing her anxiety to the highest it had been since she left Beauxbatons. She hadn't moved from her spot since the three had shown up, and was getting to the edge of her breaking point. "Why don't you three go slither back under the rock you came from, huh?" George said. "Let the girls have their fun Weasley" Marcus said through his laughter, his grin making Josie's stomach turn. "This is fun? Fun is you with a bludger wedged between your teeth." "Fun is watching you pathetically attempt to score underhanded points while the school watches Gryffindor catch the snitch." "Fun is knowing that your crooked grin has never made anyone jump your knickers." "Fun is not watching three people with too many issues with themselves…" "And their mum" "…pick on someone because they aren't a stuck up prick." The twins spoke in turn, then finally in unison. "So shove off."
Fred had put himself between her and them so fast she hadn't seen him move, his arms crossed as he stared down his nose at the three Slytherins. George stayed at her side, but both of them were tense. She had never seen them be so serious. Marcus's smile had faded to a tight lipped scowl. "I hope you two quick are as quick as your mouth first match. "He said, crossing his arms. "Don't worry 'bout it." Fred's voice was soft and deadly as turned from them to Josie and George. "Let's go sit behind the Hogshead, it probably smells better there." George added, tugging Josie back towards town as Fred led the way.
It wasn't until they were almost into town that Josie collapsed, her knees giving way as she fell against a tree, her ankle twisting awkwardly. Wrapping her arms around her legs as she curled in on herself, she heard both twins stop and kneel on either side of her, crowding her. She needed to slow her heart rate down, needed to breathe normally. "Back. Off." She said sternly, looking up at them through her bangs as they retreated a few feet away. She was too hot, her chest and neck broken out in red hives. Ripping her sweater off, she sat down completely, stretching her legs out letting the wind roll over her.
It was a few minutes later that she looked up, her breathing slowed to a normal rate. "Je suis désolé." She muttered softly, leaning her head back against the tree. "Are you alright?" one asked, she didn't have the energy to tell who. "Do you need anything?" asked the other. "I'm better now, I'm sorry. I just needed a moment to calm down. "She felt the familiar dryness in her mouth, her head still a little dizzy. "What was that?" the question was hesitant, and she recognized that is was Fred who asked. Her sigh could have knocked over the north tower. "I have an anxiety disorder, it…it's mostly social. I've tried to get control of it; I used to take medication every day to help lessen the effects…." She spoke quickly and softly, the skin around her fingers being tugged at by her nails the entire time. Josie regretted not bringing her medication with her to Hogwarts.
Two right hands grabbed both of hers, her eyes tracing up the arms to meet their faces. "We didn't know. We would have gotten you out of there sooner." She smiled, shaking her head. "No…its fine. I probably need to learn to stick up for myself." She went to get up, wincing as she felt pain shoot up her leg. You've got to be kidding me. She must have twisted it or rolled it when she fell. Nice job Josie, ruin the entire day. George noticed her wince, immediately grabbing her elbow to steady her. "Can you walk alright?" he asked, ducking his head to look at her. "I'll be fine." She said, kicking herself for being such a bother today.
She'd only gotten a few feet when she had to stop, tears building in her eyes and her limp making her unbearably slow. Fred caught her arm. "Stop, this is even painful to watch, which means…" he stepped in front of her. "It has to be painful to walk on." She kept her gaze down, teetering a bit on her sore ankle. "I'm carrying you." She looked up so fast she could have given herself whiplash, her eyebrows almost meeting her hairline. "Non, non. You are not. I am not being more of a burden than I already have today, you can't risk my size hurting you before Quidditch season, plus it will look si-""Josie." She stopped when she caught his expression, and realized that he was most certainly not taking no for an answer. "Oui?" "Shut it." "Okay." Looking between Fred and George, the seriousness in their eyes burned into her heart, the expression almost erotic in how abnormal it was for them. "You can either get on my back, or I will carry you like a child." Fred smiled, breaking the tension a bit. She chose his back, her anxiety kicking up as she worried about how much she weighed hurting him at all. But Josie didn't dare argue with them. With George helping because of her bad ankle, Fred lifted her onto his back with what seemed like ease, heading back through town and towards Hogwarts.
They were almost back onto the grounds when she spoke up, her chin resting on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused; I seemed to have ruined your day." She felt Fred's chuckle through his back, his brother turning to walk backwards and look at her. "Rubbish, Flint and those two girls ruined our day; we had a good time with you." George said, smiling widely. Fred nodded in agreement, shifting her on his back as they started uphill, going silent for a few moments. "Oh, and Josie." She made a noise in the back of her throat to show she was listening. "If you ever try and say you weigh too much in front of us again, you'll be waking up to green skin the next morning." George stated, grinning at her. She could only nod.
It was almost a beautiful moment until she heard someone running behind them, passing them quickly and nearly knocking all three of them over. "Good on ya Princess, break his back so it's easier to knock him off his broom!" Flint yelled as he and one of the girls barreled past. "I wouldn't talk about breaking anything Flint, you're lucky you're so thick otherwise you'd be even dumber than the rocks you must have been dropped on for your face to end up like that!" Josie called after him, feeling brave with the twins beside her.
Flint rounded on her but didn't dare say anything as they neared the school, McGonagall standing ahead to count the students as they entered. Pressing her cheek against Fred's shoulder, she reached her hand out to meet George's, Fred bouncing her on his back as he cheered.
She decided that she didn't need medication with the twins around; they were all she needed to keep her at her best.