((Please keep the reviews coming guys! I appreciate it so much and it really helps me with motivation. Next chapter will have the twins!))
The week was a whirlwind of normality, and Josie became thoroughly annoyed with it very quickly. Days without the twin's antics were days that passed far too quickly, no pranks or flirtatious happenings to make one stand out from the other. She hung around the pastry shop and her mother's studio, her father away during the day time to work at the French branch of the Ministry of Magic obliviating muggle memories of magical happenings, her mother usually locked in her studio painting the day away.
Her quill scratched against her parchment as she sat in the shop below her room, the smell of rising dough and caramelized sugar filling her lungs as cool air blew in from the constantly opening door, people filling in to get the first batches of pastries hot from the oven. She sat in a corner by the window, a cup of hot chocolate and a platter of fruits and baked goods in front of her, wrapped up in the sweater that she wore in rotation with the scarf, both of which did not belong to her. The sleeves fell around her hands as she wrote in languid strokes, her writing bubbling across the parchment as she signed it.
"Dear Fred and George
I hope your break had been okay so far, even though it's only been a week or so. I'm sure Percy has a giant stick up his ass; so I hope you're doing your best to "entertain" him. Just make sure to keep Ginny out of the way. She doesn't deserve to have her hair turned violet right before Christmas, as lovely as it would look on her.
I can't wait for you two to come over; I'm going to need friends after the ordeal that is Christmas with my grandmother. She's definitely not someone you would like, very stuck up, and likes for me to act like a proper lady. She is a muggle though, and so many of them are obsessed with looks and how others perceive them. Many wizarding folk are too, especially in this region, but she's the worst of the worst. "Back strait. Legs together. Always serve men first. Eat small bites. Don't clean your plate. Never eat more than a few bites of desert. You should have a boyfriend. You're not flirting around with too many boys are you? Don't dress like that you look like a harlot. Why are you dressed like that, you look so plain. Have you learned how to cook better? You have to be polite. Keep your thoughts to yourself, its improper to share them all. You need to dress up more, you can't wear sweaters constantly. " Blah blah blah. Some of her rules are so strange; they're not even from our culture. She reads all these translated magazines from America, they're from decades ago. It's going to be hell, I know the manners I once had have faded from being around you two and Lee constantly. Luckily my mother seems to have realized that I'm not to be molded by her or my grandmother after seeing how much better I've gotten since starting Hogwarts.
I told mother that she hadn't known what she was getting into by inviting you two over; she's taking me out today to buy food to feed you two, since neither of you have an end to your stomach. She's probably going to bombard you with questions and fawn over you. She's very excited that I have friends, even more excited that I feel anything besides anxiety and worry towards someone. She doesn't know about what happened in the locker rooms, though she'll probably badger me enough about if anything…like that… had happened to drive me to tears and she'll know soon enough. She doesn't let up, she's besides herself with the fact that I actually…well, like the both of you.
Anyway, I apologize in advance for any badgering or awkward moments she may give. She'll probably ask you a thousand questions even though I told her we're not even sure what to do about it being three of us liking each other. She doesn't seem to think it's an issue. She keeps going on and on about how much I've changed in the last few months. I guess I have, I didn't really notice. I don't know if anyone else did.
Tell your mother I said thank you for letting you come over, and to expect a box of pastries and probably other things coming home with her sons.
P.S. Fred, your scarf is very warm and I'm guessing your mother made it. George, my cat has grown fond of your sweater being his bed, you may have trouble getting it back.
See you soon,
Josie Desmarais"
Her mother walked in at that moment, a small golden bag nestled in the crook of her arm as she sat across from Josie at the small table, watching her daughter roll up the parchment and tie it closed with a red ribbon.
"I always wondered why you send your letters like that." Delephine said with a small smile, Josie rolling her eyes and sipping her hot chocolate. "That's how you've sent your letters ever since I was born." she said back, taking a bite of a strawberry. "This is very true." Her mother picked a raspberry from the plate, glancing at her daughter. "Don't cross your legs like that dear, it's not how a lady sits."
Josie sighed, sliding her legs closed and sipping the last of her drink. Her mother had been so good about not nagging her about her manners or being proper, but old habits were hard to break. She knew Delephine had been told the same things by her own mother, but that didn't change that it bothered her. Soon after her mother sat down, it was decided they should leave to shop for Christmas and groceries before it got too late and the shops filled up.
They were in a boutique on the muggle side of downtown, her mother busily shopping around for presents for her sister in law. Josie sat on an overly stuffed fainting couch, staring at her daydreams reflected the crystals of the chandelier hanging over head. She was lost in an embarrassing vision of red hair and freckled skin when her mother threw a pile of clothes onto her lap with an exclamation of "Try these on!" Causing Josie to jerk violently and almost throw herself into the floor from surprise. Looking at the pile of fabric in her lap, she sighed loudly and stood to face the terror that was a dressing room.
The door shut behind her, and she tried to not look in the mirror as she changed into the first thing her mother had picked out, a white dress that clung far too tightly to her stomach. The only thing she could say nice about it, which she tried to do with any clothing she tried on, was that the tightness did keep the extra squish around her middle from jiggling as much if she jumped. Which she did before taking it off and putting it back on the hanger, reaching for the next garment her mother had thrust upon her.
To her surprise she found that a skirt her mother had picked out hung off her full hips loosely even after being zipped up. Quite a few of the clothes her mother had picked out hung looser than needed off her, which puzzled Josie greatly. I couldn't have gotten smaller; I eat too much at school. She thought to herself, but upon further inspection she realized the clothes were indeed her size. She sat on the ornate chair in the dressing room in her underwear in confusion, not moving until her mother knocked on the door softly and asked if she was okay. Josie poked her head out the door, ill-fitting clothing in hand.
"I think I need a smaller size." She muttered softly, not sure how to feel about the situation. Her mother must have noticed her apprehension, because instead of over reacting like she usually would, she simply smiled and went to find smaller sizes of the clothes handed to her.
Josie felt off the rest of the day, not sure how to feel about the change. She wasn't too insecure about her size, but it did bother her at times. Her mind was mostly boggled at the fact that she had lost weight at all eating the way she did at Hogwarts. She expected the large quantities of sweets and food would cancel out the constant running around with the twins and stair climbing, but she was obviously wrong. She didn't think long about it, her mind pulled elsewhere as they arrived home, her father instantly bombarding her and her mother with the story of today's work as he helped them carry their bags up the metal staircase, his tale continuing through Josie sending Georgette off with her letter to the twins and the dinner her father prepared that night.
Soon enough Christmas came, Josie's mother beside herself with preparing presents before they left for her grandparents' house, a large old home in the country side near Paris which members of the French side of the family met every year on Christmas Eve. She was thankful she was on the wizarding side of the family, the three hour trip shortened to a few minutes by her father's magic. Josie kept her hand in her pocket, fingers brushing the parchment of Fred and George's latest letter to her as she waited for the very large front door to open, her other hand holding a bag full of gifts for the children of the family to open in the morning, and for the adults on her mother's side to open on New Year's day. Since the families lived so far apart from each other, they had long ago decided that Christmas would be spent with her mother's side and New Years with her father's.
"Dear Josie
Don't worry; Percy is more excited to have us out of the house than mom is. His skin was blue for a few days, he "accidentally" ate one of our experimental sweets, and he found his badge inside his dinner bread last night, he's had an interesting break so far. We'll tell him you send your love and miss him greatly. I'm sure he'll swoon at a the thought of a girl as pretty as you giving him the time of day.
Your grandmother sounds like she needs a good shock to set her strait. We could bring a box of our newer (and untested) items for a late Christmas gift. Maybe a bulbous green and purple boil on the end of her nose would get her to keep it out of other people's business, a few fireworks under her shoes would send her into this century…or blow her toes clear off but a little collateral is expected. Fred thinks we should shove her into a trunk and send it off on a faulty broomstick.
Don't worry about her, it's not worth it. You're great, and if she can't see that past the ulcers on her eyelids from the toxic fumes off those stupid magazines than forget it. Muggles don't see what's right in front of them most of the time anyway. You're brilliant Josie, don't let her make you think any differently. Just because you're different from her does not make you lower than her, it makes you a thousand times better and there's no comparing you to anyone else.
If your mother does ask us anything, and we're sure she will, we'll be sure to thoroughly embarrass you and give her all the details of how you passionately shoved us to the floor of the locker room and snogged us till we passed out from lack of oxygen. She's not going to be any more nagging than our mother, stop worrying about it. And stop worrying about what you, Fred and I are. Oh wow, two guys like the same girl and she likes both of them, weirder things have happened. Besides, Lee says there's actually a word for it, and that we're not the first. It's polyamory or something like that. You like us, we like you, you kissed us, we kissed you. It's done. Calm down and just enjoy it love.
Mum says thank you and Happy Christmas. You can keep the scarf and sweater, we have loads.
See you soon, the boyfriends
Fred and George Weasley
Mostly George since Fred couldn't write legibly to save his life."
See you soon. Josie kept repeating that over and over in her head, telling herself that if she could just get through tonight she would see them tomorrow and have a day to enjoy their company. Her heart had not stopped beating widely since she read the letter the evening before, the sweetness shown in the writing giving her a permanent flush which her mother commented on many times as she tried to get Josie to tell the details of her first kiss. Of course her mother had gotten the news out of her, jokingly threatening to intercept the next letter if she didn't tell. Josie knew that her fingers wouldn't leave her pocket the entire night, and probably not until the next morning.
The door swung open, Josie's grandfather standing in the doorway wearing an apron and a grin. Josie's grandfather was a very sweet and soft spoken man who spent most of his time in his large kitchen, a complete juxtaposition to her grandmother. She was immediately pulled into a tight hug and kissed on both cheeks, his stubble tickling her cheek as he exclaimed how much she'd grown and how pretty she looked before greeting her mother and father and ushering them into the warm house. It was as annoyingly clean as always, at least by Josie's standards, every color pale and untouched by dust.
She felt very out of place in the sparkling foyer, her dark tights, bright red flats, pale gold skirt, black sweater and knitted scarf contrasting to the pale pink and yellows around her. Her parents disappeared through the arch into the living area, the loud talking signaling that the room was filled with the rest of her family. Unraveling Fred's scarf from around her neck, she slowly followed after her parents, reminding herself to speak in French as she was bombarded by her extended family. Their numbers weren't large, most of the people there her second and further cousins. Her mother had no siblings, so any family came from her grandmother and grandfather.
The females in the room gathered around the large white sofas, talking to Delephine rapidly about what she had been doing lately. Soon enough Josie was pulled into the conversation, all of her great aunts and second cousins asking about her life and the change of schools. Josie's answers remained as short and polite as possible, hoping they would grow tired of her and move onto another subject. The idea seemed hopeful, until her aunt grabbed the edge of the scarf and examined the bright red F that was sewn into the corner.
"Whose scarf is this?" she asked in a teasing voice, raising an eyebrow suggestively at the younger girl. Josie froze up immediately, beginning to stutter and blush, which was not the best reaction she could have had in this situation. Her cousin caught on to her embarrassment immediately. "Do you have a boyfriend?" Before the breath needed to answer could be taken, someone cleared their voice from behind the couch, the entire room turning to look at the newest addition to the party.
Josie's grandmother stood with her hands on the back of the couch, adorned in pearls and pale pink, bright blonde curls surrounding an overly powdered face. Josie immediately felt her stomach clench, meeting her grandmothers gaze despite her instinct to look away. Her grandmother smiled slightly, the twitch at the corner of her lips barely noticeable. "I don't think badgering a young girl about her love life is a proper topic of conversation, no matter how improper it is to wear a lovers clothing to a family gathering." She said, her voice sickeningly smoothed and rehearsed. Josie kept her eyes from rolling, thankful that her mother soon came to her aid. "It's her friend's he gave it to her took keep over the break to calm her anxiety. It's better than filling her full of chemicals. "Delephine said simply and curtly, a smile on her face as she looked up Josie's grandmother.
The rest of the night was spent with her grandmother scolding her for everything she did and was. "Your hair needs cutting; it's grown out at that school." "Your hands are stained with ink. Have you forgotten how to keep yourself clean?" "I thought I told you to stop wearing clothing like that. You'd think you'd dress better with an example like your mother." "You don't need any more food, that school has stretched out your stomach." "Delephine, are you sure she got smaller?" Each remark was met with a retort from Delephine and a grimace from Josie, her heart sinking lower into her stomach. But her usual dry mouth, shaking hands and twisting stomach were accompanied by white hot anger pooling in her chest. The tenseness in her muscles was released when her grandmother made a comment a little too far into personal territory after dinner, when everyone was wandering in and out of the dining area to talk.
"I don't think we have to worry about anyone wanting to seduce the girl, but you really should monitor who she hangs around with. From what you've told me they don't seem like the highest of quality. And who knows what low level of standards those people have, especially the boys her age. Unlike the people from this side of the channel, those people will go for anyone with enough bosom to hold. And those two friends of hers, the twin ones who play that frightfully violent game, sound like the type who would take advantage of someone as naïve as her. I've read stories you wouldn't believe."
Josie's hands met the table with satisfying force, the glasses shaking and her father's wine toppling over. The entire room fell hushed, and she could swear she saw her father grin from his seat next to her. "Shut up! Those two are the best thing that's ever happened to me and more family to me than you have ever been. I am beautiful with a good group of friends that like me for the person I am, and you can't stand that I'm successful and happy without your stupid regulations. Guess what? I make good marks, I have friends who care about me, I made a decision to change my life that you had no say in and it was the best thing that has ever happened to me besides being born to my mother and father. I'm sick of starving myself and shaking from anxiety, worrying I'm going to do something wrong that upsets you, I'm sick of holding my tongue so I don't cause a scene. This is my scene, not yours. I caused it, and I am its star. Get used to it."
She couldn't breathe, her entire body was shaking violently and she felt like she might faint. Josie had never said so many words to her grandmother, let alone words like that. The hairs on her arms stood up as she became aware of every eye in the room trained on her, her mother shocked behind her chair and her father a grinning bundle of pride at her side. Looking at each person in the room, she found a mix of shock, amusement and joy, most of them looking like they had waited for her to snap for a long time. Josie could barely hear her grandfather mutter "She is her mother's child…" as she sped past him and out the front door.
Hands fisted around her letter and the scarf, she curled herself up in the snow under a scrawny tree. Struggling at slowing down her breathing as tears rolled down her cheeks, she felt the air shift as her father sunk down into the yard next to her, thick arms wrapped around her as her lifted her up and carried her out the gate. Delephine came laughing out the front door with bags of unopened presents in hand, her worried words for Josie drowned out by a mutter in her ear. "That's my girl."