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The next morning Josie convinced Marina to sit with her and the twins before the Quidditch match, telling her it would be easier with so many people around to keep Lee from focusing all his attention on her. Lee and the Twins were always more distracted than usual before a match, for good and obvious reason. Josie dressed for the occasion, pulling a red sweater over the white button up that was tucked into her corduroys before slipping on a gold headband and wrapping her Gryffindor sweater around her neck. For a moment Josie wished it was warm enough to wear the cuter clothes she owned, but it was soon forgotten as her new friend approached her. Marina smudged red streaks across Josie's cheeks with her lipstick before pouting her lips to apply it, causing the foreign girl to match the majority of Gryffindor house. Alicia was left to sleep in for a while, the door quietly shut behind them and the descended the staircase. The great hall was slowly filling up, the Ravenclaw team already half assembled at their table.
Josie took a seat at the end of where the team usually sat, Oliver Wood already picking at his food nervously as his fingers drummed on the table. Josie had gotten halfway through a sandwich before the twins sat down next to her, one on each side as the rest of the team filtered slowly down from the tower. Wood quickly fell into a conversation about today's match, Fred and George half listening as they ate.
"Do you understand any of this?" Marina asked in hush tones across the table, nodding her head down to Wood. "A bit, only what these two have explained or what I picked up on from watching." She replied, sipping at her water. "How much did you know before that?" "Absolutely nothing." "Less than nothing, she can't fly." Fred added, finishing his food and turning his body to face her. "You can't fly?" Marina asked in disbelief, leaning so far into the table that her chest almost hit her plate. Josie shushed her quickly turning a bit red. "I can fly; I'm just rubbish at it. I'm not exactly athletic, and balancing is not my strong point." She said simply, throwing a spare chunk of bread at Fred for bringing it up. "Are you sure about that?" Marina said with a smirk, her eyes darting between the twins with a raise eyebrow. The other half of the spare chunk of bread ended up in the middle of her forehead.
With a shake of her head Marina shook off the small spark of aggression. "Flying is not that hard." She said, pointing at her with a fork. Lee sat down between George and Alicia, not noticing Marina seated across from Josie until it was too late. George patted his back with a stifled laugh, going back to eating while Lee sat wide eyed. "It is for me." She said through a laugh, watching Marina go a bit red at Lee's appearance. "You know, we could teach you." George said simply, crossing his arms on the table. All Josie could muster though her glee at Marina and Lee's exchanging of glances was a confused look. "You could come over during the summer, we could help you fly." Marina waggled her eyebrows at Josie as she thought the offer over, causing her to stare in confusion. "I'll ask." "That's a yes." Fred said. "What does that mean?" she asked, smiling up at him. "Your parents love us." was all he replied.
Soon enough the team fell into their usual routine of joking around, and Josie set her eyes on Marina and Lee. They weren't saying anything, so Josie took it upon herself to introduce them. "Lee, this is my roommate Marina. Marina, this is Lee." She said gently, looking between them. They both muttered a hello before drawing back into themselves, something very odd for the both of them. "If I'm not mistaken, they've met. What I want to know how the hell you became an animagus when you're only a 5th year." Josie elbowed George hard in the side, her elbow colliding with his ribs and earning a very painful exhale of air. She stopped from scolding him through her laugh when she caught Lee look up with interest, Marina raising an eyebrow. "I asked McGonagall about it first year, and I've been studying it ever since. It's not that hard." Marina stated, smiling proudly. "You're telling me that you became an animagus in four years?" Lee asked, suddenly putting himself in the conversation. Marina nodded, but their conversation was cut short by the arrival of Harry Potter, Gryffindor seeker, and his new broom. Immediately half the table leaned to get a better look, Wood having him place it in the center of the table like it was the Quidditch World cup. Paxton and his soul mate came over from the Ravenclaw table, Lana dressed in blue to support Paxtons team, and a set of boys from the Hufflepuff table stood closely behind Bijou, all of them in awe of the broom. After getting the attention of her cousin, Josie leaned out herself to get a look, only to be playfully shoved by the large blonde when he got to her. Muscled arms wrapped around her shoulders, hugging her tightly.
"Hey Josie, haven't seen you in a while." He said with a grin, ruffling her hair before straitening up so she could turn to look at him. "For good reason." He added, glancing towards Lana. "It's alright, I've been locked up in the library." Josie said simply. "I still don't understand how you aren't in Ravenclaw." Her cousin wondered, but Josie's attention was turned elsewhere as she felt the twins staring at her, slight waves of jealousy radiating from them. She was quick to fix their thoughts. "Oh yeah, Paxton this is Fred and George." She said with a gesture to them in turn. "Fred, George, this is Paxton, my cousin." Paxton shook each of their hands in the order Josie pointed to them, grinning widely. "You can tell them apart. Well isn't that special?" he said with a smirk, winking at Josie. Her cheeks began to heat up as he walked away, George leaning close to her. "He knows doesn't he?" he asked with a smirk, his only reply a deepening blush and a shrug.
After a very loud and rude commentary from a Slytherin boy, the team wrapped up their meal and headed down for the field, Josie, Lee, and Marina trailing behind Fred and George as they walked. Lee and Marina fell into a struggling conversation as they walked far behind, leaving Josie alone with the twins. When the time came that they needed to part ways, Josie squeezed both of their hands gently with a grin. "Good luck." She said simply, throwing her arms around their necks to hug them both. Wood called for them to come into the locker room, and Josie was left with a wave and matching smirks.
Catching up to Marina, they filed into the stadium to catch a spot against the railing. Lee had already run to his place in the announcement booth, his booming voice carrying over the stadium as he made jokes before the match began. "Well?" Josie asked Marina, nudging her in the side. "Well what?" she replied with a quirked smile. "You can Lee are talking." "Thank you captain obvious." Josie rolled her eyes, settling herself against the wooden bar as the team filtered on to the field. She grinned besides herself as she spotted two heads of ginger, cheering with the rest of her house. "You know, you really should let your relationship out of the bag." Marina said, her voice almost completely lost in the crowd. "What's your reasoning?" Josie asked, leaning into Marina's ear. "Because then you three could do as you pleased." The brunettes look of confusion caused her to continue. "Fred was obviously dying to kiss you before he played, and George watched out the door of the locker room until we made it to the stairs." Josie felt herself blush, nudging Marina with her shoulder before smiling awkwardly at the confused look Bijou hag given them as she came up to stand next to Josie. She caught sight of Paxton on the opposite side, his arms covered in his old beater gear and wrapped around Lana tightly.
The team took off from the ground, zooming into the air as Lee started his usual babble, this time focusing on Harry Potters impressive new broom. Marina and Josie laughed as McGonagall's voice cut through the microphone, forcing him to pay attention to the match. The two seekers streaked past, and Josie heard Fred's voice call out in their direction. Making note of which direction Fred went, Josie caught sight of what had to be George taking off in another direction. It agitated her that she couldn't pick them apart when they were playing, so she was always trying to find ways to do it. They moved too fast to catch the numbers on their jerseys, and she never got a good enough look at their faces.
As Gryffindor scored its first point George flew close to her, watching the game play out. "C'mon George!" she yelled, clapping with the rest of her house. George turned his head at the sound of his name, and Josie grinned at him as she caught his eye, her slightly crooked teeth bared behind pink lips. His smirk grew as he took off up into the air above the field, faster than before. Not seconds later a bludger almost hit their seeker, earning a loud unpleasant groan from Gryffindor house. Josie looked up as a loud "SMACK!" echoed above her head, just in time to see a bludger barreling towards the Ravenclaw beaters and George tossing his club into the air arrogantly. The game took off again, Fred racing past his brother to give him a well-earned high-five.
Everyone was yelling, cheers, calls from Wood, and McGonagall berating Lee filled her ears. Marina nearly threw herself over the barrier when Harry Potter darted to the ground after the snitch. Josie followed suit, but stopped dead when she noticed three black figures standing on the field, and her heart immediately sank. But as Harry through a spell in their direction and flew through them to clasp the snitch between his fingers, she realized that something about those inky black cloaks was off.
Josie watched as the Gryffindor team landed in a stream onto the field, cheering and congratulating each other.
"C'mon!" Marina yelled, grabbing Josie arm and pulling her down onto the field with the rest of the Gryffindor students, her boots pounding on the wooden staircase. She quickly entered the field and made a bee-line strait for the twins, ignoring the screaming McGonagall as she threw her arms around the two of them. She was immediately lifted off her feet and spun around widely, Fred's lips pressed against her cheeks before she felt another pair of arms wrap around her from behind as George took her from his brother to spin around as well. She stumbled to the ground, her head spinning a bit as people cheered around her. Even as the world still spun she picked the twins jumping and yelling out of the crowd, the simmer of jealousy that brewed in her heart when she saw then both hug Angelina dimmed by the happiness in their features. But the feeling still sat inside her even as Fred grabbed her hand and led her off the field for the part that would follow their win in the common room, commenting that she was his good luck charm and bragging that he had hit sent a total of 14 bludgers at the opposing team and making jokes about the four Slytherin boys who had pretended to be Dementors. Josie made both the twins promise that Marcus Flint would never hear the end of it.
The party had barely even started when Fred and George dragged her off, all three of them having changed into more "appropriate" clothing. Appropriate for a part of course, not for sneaking through the castle. Josie tugged down her skirt as they snuck down the staircase, regretting letting Marina talk her into baring her legs. It didn't take long for her to realize where they were going, and she smiled softly with a sigh. "Really?" she asked, rolling her eyes playfully. "What? If you have a party-""You need food." They responded, taking the stairs two at a time before turning the corner into the corridor hiding the one-eyed-witch statue. They fell silent for a moment, still energetic and on edge from their match. They were almost at the passage way when the twins stopped unexpectedly in front of her and turned on their heels to trap her between them. Her gasp of surprise echoed in the empty hallway, the thudding of her heart rattling her chest.
"C'mere you." Their rough voices met her ears and soon after she found herself pulled into a deep kiss, George's lips crushing hers as Quidditch worn fingers gripped her jaw. The callouses on his hands rubbed against the roundness of her face, and she felt her cheeks become squished as her pulled her closer. The kiss ended quickly, Fred turning her chin with his finger tips to kiss her just as passionately as his brother, arm around her waist to hold her to him as her fingers gripped his arms. She gasped for breath when her lips were returned to her, pressing her hands to her face in embarrassment.
"What was that for?" she asked, stumbling over the words due to her accent and surprise. "Wanted to." They said simply, shrugging their shoulders with a devious grin. "Oi, Fred. Do you think her cheeks are that red from us, or because the stuff she had on earlier stained?" George asked, holding his chin in his hand in an attempt to look analytical. "Not sure George. Only way to find out is to see if she gets redder-""When we do this." The both of them leaned down to press a long, firm kiss behind each of her ears, earning a shudder and soft moan from Josie. Pulling back to appraise their work, they nodded at each other. "It's both." They turned to open the passageway, leaving Josie beet red in the middle of the corridor. It took her a few seconds to shake off her awkwardness before she followed after them, the cold tunnel raising goose bumps on her thighs. The three raced down the stone shaft, Fred opening the floor into Honeydukes quietly. Josie kept watch on the staircase as the twins shuffled through boxes and retrieved what they had come for, the prior hushing them as they laughed at their handiwork. Hands full of chocolates and Butterbeer, the disappeared back into the tunnel and headed back to the tower, smiling all the way.
Josie snuck into the corner near the fireplace, curling herself up into a chair as the twins disappeared to soak up the glory of showing up with snacks. Marina joined her a while later, sitting on the arm next to her. "You look cheerful." She commented, handing her a drink and a peppermint toad as she took in Josie's guarded stance. The negativity she had felt after the game earlier had appeared again; knees pulled into the chair, arms crossed in front of her as she watched Angelina and Katie Bell fawn over Fred and George's ability to make goodies appear. She didn't dislike either girl, she quite liked Angelina's company in small doses, but they were a little too close and flirtatious for her comfort. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn she felt her eyes turning green from the jealousy bubbling in her stomach. Marina sighed when Josie didn't respond, causing her emotional state to worsen as guilt stirred in with the jealousy. Blue eyes darted up to catch Marina following her prior gaze, the animagus rolling her eyes when she realized what was going on.
"Are you jealous?" she asked in a hushed laugh, her face utterly amused. Josie only scowled at her and blushed in frustration. "Bloody hell you are." Marina moved to crouch in front of her, glancing back at the twins and their team mates before setting her elbows on Josie's thigh. Josie barely noticed, her eyes glazing over with mixed emotions as she watched. She wanted to kick herself for feeling so terrible during such a happy time, but she couldn't push down the ache. Her mind rushed with a million thoughts, how much better the girls on the Quidditch team were compared to her, how much less other girls weighed, how much more outgoing they were, how the twins deserved so much better, how they deserved someone like them, someone who didn't get these feelings, some who could keep up. "Josie!" Marina's loud voice and her polished fingers snapping in her face stopped the thoughts and drew her eyes to the girl in front of her. "Quoi?" she asked softly, her voice cracking.
"You're starting to tear up." Josie rubbed the back of her hand across her eye, finding tears glistening on her skin when she checked. "Oh, uhm, don't worry about it. I'm fine." She stuttered, opening her drink and taking a sip to try and clear the lump in her throat. "Obviously fucking not. What's wrong?" Josie couldn't help but glance at the twins again, and she instantly regretted it. Marina scowled, getting up abruptly and walking towards the twins. Josie's heart raced as she felt herself become incredibly hot, red splotches forming on her chest and neck from embarrassment. Getting up from her seat as quickly as possible she ducked behind a group of second year boys, watching as Marina grabbed Fred by the shirt and muttered something in his ear. Josie hid as he lifted his head to look for her, backing herself into a corner behind the crowd so she could make her way up to her dorm undetected. She was almost there when a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her into the staircase to the boy's dorms.
Her heart was still beating too fast when she looked up to find Fred Weasley staring down at her, a very unpleasant and upset look tormenting his features. Guilt once again washed over her, and she couldn't stop the soft sob that escaped her throat as her hands hid her face. Muscles tensed when strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her into his chest and cradling the back of her head. "Hey, calm down. What's wrong?" his voice was gentle, nose buried in the hair at the crown of her head as he rocked slowly. "Marina told you." She replied softly, rubbing her temple with her fingers while her other hand fisted in his shirt. "You need to tell me." Her guilt worsened, internally beating herself up for causing this conversation.
It felt like hours until she could speak, but Fred didn't move an inch or give any sign he was going to until she talked. "I-I don't know. I just-I feel…jealous; like I'm not good enough. I hate it, I don't want to feel like that, but I can't help it. I don't know how to stop it; I want to compare myself to everyone. It-It makes me so angry I just-"She felt herself losing her grasp on her English, falling heavier into her accent and losing focus on her translations. She did the only thing she could do in the emotional state to release enough of her feelings to function; she screamed. Her face pressed into his chest, teeth gritted and her eyes closed in a grimace, she let out a small cry of frustration. He gripped her tighter, waiting until she relaxed to loosen his hold. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for doing this; it's so terrible of me. I'm not go-""Josie." She stopped, swallowing hard as she pulled back to look up at him. Fred ran his fingers though her hair, pushing back her bangs to see her better as he sighed. "Stop apologizing. You're fine. Everything's okay, I understand." He looked into her eyes as he spoke, his voice slow and measured so she understood him. "You're not the only one who gets jealous." He added before leaning down to secretly kiss her cheek in the shadows of the stairwell, her unease slowly melting away. "I know." She said softly, taking his hand and running her thumb across its back. "I don't think you really do."
With that he pulled the confused Josie back into the party with a smile, yelling loudly to George who was talking to Angelina, Marina and Lee. As she returned both twins wrapped an arm around her, holding her tight as they talked about the match, their strength and humor putting Josie at ease as everything started to seem alright again. The rest of the night was spent in smiles, laughing and flirting underhandedly until McGonagall shut them down soon after midnight, each of them ascending to bed in good spirits.
But despite the joy that overcame the distress, Josie kept thinking about the sadness in George's eyes when she returned with Fred, and wondered if they had been mirroring her own.