((Next chapter they'll be at Hogwarts! And something interesting is going to happen...well...exciting, maybe not interesting.))
Josie woke up at exactly nine thirty every morning with a throbbing headache for the days after the twins left. Each day was spent helping with house work, shopping around with her mother, or laying in her room reading while listening to music. She had been in a constant state of melancholy since the twins went home, their visit leaving her feeling empty rather than joyful. Delephine upon noticing this had compared it to when she stopped eating chocolate. She gave chocolate a clean break, telling herself she was giving it up for days before she actually did. The craving for it was there, she missed it, but it wasn't overwhelming and she could find other things to fill her urges. But then she told herself she was going to have some chocolate soufflé on her birthday, and she looked forward to it but wasn't obsessed with the idea. After she had eaten the chocolate, all she wanted afterwards was more. She craved it so intensely that she broke down and ate an entire chocolate cake a few days later. Josie had stared at her dumbfounded at the explanation, until her mother had clarified. "When you leave something you have strong emotion for the first break can be easy and you get used to not having it, until you get another taste of it that re-sparks the emotion and then it's all you want."
Josie was glad when she began to re-pack her bags with clothes new and old, making sure to have enough for the coming spring and the continuing winter. She dressed up on New Years day, not feeling the pressure to look perfect for this occasion. This holiday was spent at her aunts home, her family spending the day with her father's side of the family. Josie fit in much better with this side of her bloodline. It was the side that introduced her to Hogwarts, where her cousin Paxton called home, and generally was more accepting. Her father lugged her fully re-packed suitcase to the fireplace; her mother glaring at it, upset her daughter was leaving again. But it was easier for her to return to Kings Cross with her cousin than for her parents to make the long trip to London and then back home again.
Dressed in a black long skirt, red blouse, boots and her hair braided into a band across the crown of her head, she followed after her father and mother through the floo after kissing Jones on the head and scratching his ear, Georgette hooting softly as the green flames surrounded them. When they died down and her feet touched the soot of the fireplace at the large country house, Josie was pulled into the arms of her aunt, crushed under her bosom. Her aunt Andrea, Andre's older sister, was adorned in a long flowing tunic and tall red boots, two things that matched her personality perfectly. Andrea was a very tall woman with a bright personality, and a very obvious child of the 70's. Her flowing blonde hair was parted very deeply down the middle, curls tumbling down and bouncing as she helped Josie to the guest bedroom, her father trailing behind them with the suitcase. The room she was led to was simple, a rustic wooden bed, peeling white dresser, and a large wall of windows with stained glass panels that flooded the room with color and tinted the flowers that rested on top of the dresser in a mosaic vase. After making sure she had her suitcase in the right place, she followed Andrea back down into the dining room.
Josie's aunt and her mother were two sides of the same coin, almost as if Delephine was meant to be part of their family all along. Each had a love for art and decorating, even though their tastes were much different. Andrea loved all things rustic, earthy and natural, while Delephine loved to be bold but elegant. Josie was left sitting somewhere in the middle; perhaps a ridge on the coin's edge. She watched them set the food for later on the large wooden table in the dining room, comparing the two in her head as they placed ornate plates on the red oak surface. Her mother with her chestnut hair, small elegant features, slim figure, short stature and dark eyes, and then her aunt with blonde wild curls, wide hips, towering height, thick brows, and dark eyelashes surrounding the bright blue eyes that passed through the Desmarias bloodline. Both of them had the striking beauty and strong personality, something Josie believed she had clearly missed when fishing through the gene pool.
It wasn't till hours later that the rest of the family arrived, and Josie was whipped back and forth between cousins, aunts and uncles that all wanted to know about her going to Hogwarts. She was saved by the arrival of Paxton and Emanuel, his father, both large blonde men crushing her in welcome bear hugs. "How's school? Is everyone treating you alright?" Emanuel asked as they sat on the staircase, away from the rest of the party. "Yeah, I mean…of course I have a few people teasing me, but it's much better than Beauxbatons. For me at least." The two spoke softly, Emanuel's deep voice rumbling the still air around them. Josie's uncle was a very quiet but clever man, saying nothing until knowing you and then showing all the charm and wit he had stuck to his sliver tongue. His short blonde hair always looked ruffled, Andre often joked that it was because he was so tall the wind was much wilder around his head due to his height. Emanuel was at least 6'7, wide shoulders and muscular arms balancing out the length of his body so he would not topple over if a strong breeze came by.
"Tell Paxton, he'll help. Where are you being bullied exactly?" He asked as they both watched the mentioned 6th year twirl a pretty girl with patchwork skin to the song on the radio. Paxton's bright green eyes crinkled with a grin, his father's matching set doing the same as his son dipped the girl and kissed her cheek. "Mostly the bathroom, I guess it's pretty easy to pick on someone in a place that's more secluded or when they're vulnerable. I stopped taking baths at regular times to avoid people. I used to be picked on in class, but my… friends have made sure that people don't bother me there." She replied, smiling at the memory of the twins bomb that had been placed in the desk of the rotten girls that teased her along with Marcus Flint, the wooden tops flying open in the middle of class and the two snotty Slytherins revealed as the smoke cleared to be covered in bright orange sludge. "Ask Paxton. Maybe he has a way to get around it." With a wink Emanuel got up and headed towards the kitchen, most likely to flirt with Andrea and sneak food off the party platters. Josie followed after him, and Paxton came in minutes later for drinks, his guest in tow.
It took a moment of Josie looking at them awkwardly for Paxton to realize what was wrong, stopping talking in hushed tones to his father to introduce them. "Oh! Josie, this is Lana, my girl-"Paxton's mother smacked him across the back of the head abruptly, causing him to stop in his tracks. Josie stood dumbfounded as he and his mother shared glances, Emanuel choked on chuckles in a corner, and the girl and Andrea high fived. "Fuck! Significant other, this is my significant other, Lana." Paxton was said quickly, obviously upset with himself as he raked a hand through blonde curls and set his chin on top of his partners head, holding them tight and muttering an apology. "Uhm….what's wrong with girlfriend?" Josie asked moments later, feeling a bit awkward in the tense atmosphere. "Well…I'm non-binary, and my preferred pronouns are gender neutral, like they or significant other…or significant otter." They said with a giggle, their speech slurred with a lisp from the metal braces on their teeth. Paxton had is nose buried in poofy dark curls, blonde streaks matching his own hair, and his hands intertwining with fingers of mixed skin tones. All of their skin was a mix of dark and fair, patches of both covering their body. Josie thought they were very pretty, and that the two older students seemed to fit together nicely.
The three Hogwarts students squeezed into a corner behind the food table close enough to eat what they wanted but far enough not to be in the way. Josie learned that Lana was a Hufflepuff, that they had been dating Paxton since the end of their 5th year, and that Lana's interesting skin color was caused by vitiligo. The teenagers had talked for a long while, Josie avoiding the subject of her self for as long as she possibly could. "Josie, is Hogwarts going alright?" Paxton's question made her wince, blue eyes looking up at his green pair. She could tell he was going to lead into something, the worried look on his face revealing his intention. "Its fine." "No bullies or anything?" "Not at a-" "I know about Flint and the girls in the bathroom." Josie sighed, rolling her eyes. "Its fine. My friends and I handled Flint."
Paxton smirked a bit, looking down his crooked nose at her. "I know. I heard Marcus ranting about it, and I know about what the Weasley's did to those two girls. That's not what I'm worried about." Her ears started to burn with embarrassment, her eyes downcast. "The twins can't help you in the girls bathroom…at least, I hope they can't. Not exactly the best place for flirtatious advancement. " He chuckled, and Josie flushed as her eyes widened in surprise. "Yeah, I know. It's not hard to tell. I know how to tell when something is going on. I've been through it enough." "Well excuse me doctor love." Josie muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "Anyway, about the girls in the bathroom. You could always use a different bathroom." "There is no different bathroom besides the ones out of the tower, and those aren't exactly meant to bathe in." "You could always use the prefect's bathroom." Paxton answered with a crooked grin.
Josie was stunned for a moment, not fully understanding what he was saying. She sighed deeply when she realized what he was insinuating. "And you could stop being a prefect if you let me in there." She said, leaning against the wall. "If you go in there at odd times, no-one is going to be in there. I'll just give you the password and you can use it as you please. But if anyone catches you and tries to get you in trouble, say you overheard some students talking about it. And make sure those students aren't me." Paxton offered, oozing with pride in his idea.
Josie thought about it. The idea wasn't a bad one, it was actually quite good. It was so good that Josie found herself slipping a piece of parchment with the password written on it into her school bag before scuttling back downstairs to watch it turn midnight. She watched the multiple couples pull their significant others into New Year kisses, Paxton picking Lana up and twirling her, Andre chastely kissing Delephine at the corner of the mouth, and she felt a pang of sadness inside her as she thought of the twins
Hopefully they would stick around long enough for her to receive a dual kiss next year.