((Hopefully this chapter came out in a delightfully speedy manner. I have some information I would like to share with you!
I received a message from the very sweet user APheonixRising asking me if I would like to join The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition (found here- forum/The-Quidditch-League-Fanfiction-Competition/134505/ ) I told her I would give a shout out because I cannot join due to lack of time. It's a fanfiction writing competition, and I think it's really quite interesting. If you are curious, go read the Rules and Regulations and see if you want to try out! I didn't know stuff like this existed, it's really neat!
Keep reviewing, and forgive me if I make the title of this chapter really cheesy.))
The next morning Josie rolled out of bed and began to dress for school. It wasn't until she was attempting to tie her tie that she realized it was a Saturday, which prompted her to rip off said tie and begin removing her uniform. Her roommates seemed to be all gone, so Josie stripped herself of her clothes near the furnace before changing into more comfortable, casual clothing for the day. It wasn't till she was far into attempting to button her corduroys over her stomach, which was bulging over the top of the thermal tights she had layered underneath, that she heard the soft patter of feet. Josie paused for a moment, blue eyes darting around the room before she pulled the dark red sweater her father gave her over her thermal top. Shoving thick sock'd feet into her boot, she bent down to grab its pair when she noticed the pair of sea-green cat eyes peering out from under her roommates bed, nearly hidden by the red curtains.
"Marina?" She asked softly, the cat ducking into the darkness with a soft mew. Josie sighed, pulling on her other boot before sitting on her bed to tie them. "Marina come out. It's just me."
A few minutes passed before the fluffy haired girl emerged in human form from the far side of her bed, and Josie assumed that she had transformed back on the other side of the curtains, out of her eye of sight. Peering from around one of the beds four posters, sea-green met pondi blue as they looked at each other, Josie breaking the long silence. "Marina I'm sorry, I really didn't know I wasn't trying to embarrass you." Her accent became thicker as she talked faster from nervousness, her lip becoming caught between her teeth. She watched Marina's brain turn as she tried to keep up, her face softening a bit as she stepped out from behind the bed. "I'm not mad at you Josie, I know you had no idea." She moved to sit on the bed next to her, her hip bumping into Josie's through her candy colored sleep pants. "Are you sure?" "Yeah. I'm upset sure, but you had no idea I was an animagus, no-one knows except for my parents and a couple of teachers. I'm more upset that Lee found out it was me."
They fell silent for a few moments, the only sound Josie's boots squeaking as she shifted her feet. "So…I'm guessing you have a thing for Lee Jordan?" Josie asked in an attempt to lighten the mood. Marina laughed, nodding her head. "Oh yeah," she said, drawing out the syllables. "For quite a while now." Silence once again covered the room. "He took it pretty well to be honest. He was a bit shocked but then sobered up when Fred mentioned that you may like him." Josie said softly, watching as Marina's cheeks turned a bit pink. "Of course he did, any guy would be flattered, but I doubt the idea of someone nearly stalking him is…endearing." "You never know; Lee's kind of a character." Josie trailed off, rolling ideas of what to say next around in her brain. "You two may actually get along quite well." Marina said nothing afterwards, instead staring at her hands with a small smile on her face.
Josie took his as an invitation to leave, shoving gloves, scarf and mittens into her back before draping her coat over her arm. Heavy black boots thudded on the wooden floor as she headed for the door, turning as she opened it to look back at Marina. "Why don't you sit with us at lunch, tomorrow or whenever you feel ready? You don't have to," she paused watching her as she raised her head. "It's just a suggestion." Marina nodded slowly, curly bangs falling in her face. "Hey Josephine?" the use of her real name made her stop in her tracks as she moved out the door. "Thanks." "You're welcome" She replied, smiling brightly. "Oh, by the way," "Yeah?" Marina grinned a mischievous Cheshire cat grin. "You have really nice tits." Josie turned scarlet, stuttering a bit before leaving the animagus, a soft laugh following her as she disappeared out the door and down the staircase.
She was halfway down the staircase leading to breakfast when a snowball whizzed past the tip of her nose and broke her flustered train of thought. The frozen ball curved impressively down and to the left, hitting a tall and dark third year Slytherin in the middle of his forehead. Josie watched as a dark haired Slytherin girl in very tight jeans and a fraying grey sweater doubled over laughing, recognizing her as the girl that had stood up from her in the bathroom against another Slytherin girl during an incident in the fall. Josie quickly walked the rest of the way down the stairs and ducked into the Great Hall, avoiding the oncoming storm signaled by the boy yelling the girl's name, Charlie. She quickly slid into a seat next to Angelina and Alicia, the only other people she knew well enough to talk to besides the twins and Lee, all three of whom were missing. After quickly eating some toast with jam and some scrambled eggs with tomato, she got up and wandered around the castle.
Josie enjoyed the short time by herself, wandering around the castle and enjoying her free time. Even with the creeping worry that the twins had gotten themselves into trouble and knowledge that she had a paper due Monday morning, her feet continued to wander up and down corridors. It wasn't long that she found a small hidden passage beneath a staircase, slipping into the low and narrow space. One thing that never bothered Josie was enclosed spaces; she preferred them to wide-open ones. Her hands brushed rough stone as she moved towards the soft light steaming from the opening at the end of the tunnel. When she did find the lights source, her boots crushed snow, the sound confusing as she blinked into the light. When her vision cleared, Josie found herself in a small area, castle walls on all four sides, and an open roof. A small overgrown garden with a stone bench was covered with snow, the white powder falling from above. Despite the snow, the area was warmer than where she had come from, the surrounding high walls blocking the wind chill.
A small smile crept onto her mouth as she looked around her newfound "secret garden", making sure to memorize where she found it before leaving, sneaking out of the small hole in the wall after a large group of Hufflepuff Quidditch players walked by, heading in the opposite direction. Josie was about to head back to the common room when she heard the all too familiar yell of her boyfriend. The low-pitched voice of George Weasley echoed off the walls, beckoning Josie to trace it to its source. She followed the sound, finding herself stepping out into the snow between the castle and the Quidditch pitch, narrowly escaping a barrage of snowballs by ducking behind the door.
Lee Jordan had been tricked into a two-against-one snowball fight, both Weasley twins mercilessly pelting him with snowballs. He found refuge when Josie called out to them, slipping on her jacket as she walked towards them. "So this is where you've been." She said as she wrapped her arms around George's waist, hugging him good morning as Fred ran up the hill. All three boys were flushed from physical activity and the cold, George's hard breath blowing in visible puffs from his lips. Fred joined the group, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Care to join us madam?" He asked playfully. "I can't keep up with either of you and you know it." She replied, slipping on her gloves to keep her fingers from tingling in the cold. Fred slipped her bag off her shoulder, setting it down next to what she assumed was Lee's bag and coat. "Neither can Lee, but he's out here. " George said, earning a hard elbowing in the side from Lee. "We could pick teams." The twins said together, and the idea was quickly accepted.
"I call the good looking one." Fred said, nudging his brother with his shoulder. "Sorry Freddie but we can't be on the same team." George replied, nudging him harder back. Josie snorted in laughter, but blushed when Fred grabbed her hand and she realized he had meant her. "You always pick first." George teased. "Yeah, cause you don't act on it first!" Fred called back as he dragged Josie over to a small pile of snow, which she guessed was a protective barrier of some sort. Each team hurriedly made piles of snowballs, Fred grinning widely at Josie as they waited for Lee to call go. As he started the count down, Fred suddenly leaned over and kissed Josie softly. She was speechless, her heart thudding in her chest. She was so dazed she barely recognized that Lee's booming voice had yelled "Go!". But she quickly recovered, a nudge from the ginger next to her breaking her spell so she could grab snow balls and throw them as hard as she could in Lee and George's direction.
The four battled for a long while. It was a very brutal battle, with many casualties. Josie ended up with snow down her jacket, Lee lost his earmuffs, and Fred's hat was knocked off his head. Luckily, Josie had landed a few good hits, one of her snowballs hitting George in the cheek and causing a large red mark. Lee surrendered, claiming he couldn't feel his feet anymore and that his fingers were turning blue. The four teenagers all stood from their barracks, heading towards the middle to draw a truce. But of course, there had to be an anarchist.
Fred took a running start off their snow barrier and launched himself over Josie's head, the tip of his sneakers mere inches from the top of her head, and landed right in front of Lee just in time to shove the last snowball down the front of his sweater. Josie and George fell into a fit of giggles as Lee took off running after the long legged beater up the hill, kicking snow up behind him. Her blue eyes fell on George's stung cheek, her face falling a bit when she realized she might have hurt him. "Are you alright?" She asked softly, pressing her gloved fingers against the skin gently. He smiled, turning his head to kiss her fingers gently before taking her hand. "It's fine. It's probably just red from the cold." She nodded, watching Fred come back down the hill towards them, her back in hand, and noticing Lee heading back towards the castle. "What's up with him?" George asked, nodding his head towards the retreating Gryffindor. "He's tired, which is code for pissed I beat him." Fred responded, yelling the last part loud enough for Lee to hear. And it was obvious he heard him, because he raised an obscene gesture in their direction.
After a minute of laughter, Josie remembered the promise she had made to herself last night. She suddenly grabbed George's hat off his head and took off running, grabbing Fred's fallen hat off the ground. She successful filled them both with snow by the time they caught up to her both of their faces confused. "What was that about?" Fred asked, tilting his head at her. "Oh, just being playful." She answered innocently, pouting her lips and rocking back on her heels. "Did you get hit in the head by a hunk of ice?" George asked, chuckling at her. "Non." She pulled their icy hats onto their heads and over their ears one after the other, as quickly as she possibly could so she could take off running again. Josie's muscles and lungs burned from the cold air and physical exertion as she called behind her. "But you did!"