Through the Pages of Time: Joey’s Hogwarts Tale

Fred couldn't understand why Joey had been so fixated on George lately. It made his stomach churn with frustration.

"Hey, Fred, where's George? Didn't he come with you?" Joey asked early one morning as Fred sat down beside her.

Fred groaned, resting his head in his hands. "Why do you always ask about George when you see me? Is he more interesting than I am?"

Joey stared at him, clearly uncomfortable. She tried to scoot away, but Fred grabbed her collar, his cool fingers brushing against her neck. Joey shivered, goosebumps rising on her skin.

"Let me go!" she hissed, swatting at his hand. "Don't touch my neck!"

Fred smirked, enjoying her reaction. He let go of her collar but couldn't resist teasing her further. "You're so jumpy," he said, laughing as Joey glared at him.

Joey, fed up, grabbed his hand and bit it—hard. Fred yelped, but his laughter didn't stop. The other Gryffindors at the table watched the two of them with amused expressions.

"Eating people this early in the morning?" George appeared, dropping his bag on the table and sitting down. "What's going on here?"

Joey released Fred's hand, leaving a clear set of teeth marks. "He started it!" she said, pointing accusingly at Fred.

George raised an eyebrow. "Fred, you can't just bully her when I'm not around. That's not fair."

Fred shrugged, grinning. "You're right. My bad."

Joey, still fuming, asked to switch seats with Angelina, but Angelina refused. "I'm sitting with Lee," she said, sipping her milk and giving Joey a knowing look.

"Everyone's against me!" Joey thought, angrily biting into a chicken wing.

---

Despite Professor Quirrell's odd demeanor, Joey found his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes surprisingly decent. Sure, he stuttered, and the Gryffindors often mocked him behind his back, but Joey appreciated his adherence to the textbook, "The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection." Even the Ravenclaws seemed to respect his teaching.

Joey and Angelina were in the library, working on their Defense Against the Dark Arts essays, when Cedric approached. He set his bag down next to Joey and glanced at her parchment. "Working on the essay too?"

"Are you done?" Joey and Angelina asked in unison, their eyes lighting up.

Cedric nodded, pulling out his textbook and a neatly written essay. "Just finished."

Joey eagerly grabbed the parchment. "Twelve inches! Professor Quirrell only asked for eight!"

Cedric smiled modestly. "I got carried away."

"This is perfect! We can each copy half!" Joey said excitedly to Angelina.

But before they could start, Fred appeared, snatching the parchment from Joey's hands.

"Hey!" Joey turned, glaring at him. "Give that back!"

Fred ignored her, turning to Cedric. "Mind if I sit here?"

Cedric glanced between Fred and Joey, then moved to the seat across from Angelina without a word.

"Where's George?" Joey asked, pushing Fred's arm away. "And why do you smell like sweat? It's disgusting!"

Fred shrugged. "Maybe he got lost."

At that moment, George was outside, dodging the Whomping Willow's branches. "That liar!" he muttered. "He said the first one to touch the trunk wins, and then he ran off!"

Joey frowned. "Aren't you two usually together?"

"We're twins, not conjoined," Fred said, smirking. "We can't always be attached."

"But you're "always" together!" Joey insisted.

Fred leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Well, we can't marry the same girl, can we?"

Joey's face turned bright red. "Who cares how many girls you marry!"

Fred's ears reddened too, and he quickly changed the subject. "This essay is really good, Cedric."

Joey lunged for the parchment, but Fred held it out of her reach. Their scuffle earned them a stern look from Madam Pince, who promptly kicked them out of the library.

---

The Halloween feast was one of Hogwarts' grandest traditions. The Great Hall was decked out with enormous, magically carved pumpkins, and the air was filled with the scent of roasted nuts and spiced cider. Joey was in heaven, especially when she bit into a slice of pumpkin pie. "This is amazing!" she said, her mouth full.

Fred and George joined her at the Gryffindor table. George, covered in snow and looking exhausted, slumped into his seat. "You liar!" he said, glaring at Fred. "The Whomping Willow nearly killed me!"

Fred laughed, patting George on the back. "You'll live."

George groaned. "You're only doing this because I keep getting in the way of you and Joey."

Fred's grin widened. "Exactly. You're the world's biggest third wheel."

Joey, oblivious to their conversation, was too busy enjoying the feast to notice. But as the night went on, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Fred had been acting stranger than usual, and she wasn't sure what to make of it.

Little did she know, Fred had a plan—and it involved a lot more than just teasing her.