11 October: Honeydukes.
"Okay we have acid pops, chocolate frogs, exploding bonbons, What else?" Lily asked as she looked at the jumble of candy in the bag.
"Sugar Quills?" Alice asked.
"Yeah, that to."
The girls were stacking up their candies while the marauders left to the Zonko's Joke shop, shopping for their upcoming pranks.
"How about we stop by the three broomsticks and meet the boys there, my feet hurt from walking" Marlene whined.
"Sounds good." Josette said as they began in their knew path but stopped when they saw the three boys coming straight towards them.
"Awe lovely ladies, got everything you wanted?" James asked.
"We did and by the look on your face, it seems like you already have lots of prank planned." Lily commented. They grinned in response and entered the pub.
"Look at the Love birds!!" Sirius smirked seeing the couple sitting in the corner of the pub.
"Leave them alone." Alice warned. But they are not Marauders if they listened. All of them joined Remus by his side. Leaving no choice for the girls to join as well.
"Sorry for ruining your date. Just so you know, not our idea." Marlene shrugged eyeing the boys.
"Don't worry, I expected that." Remus sighed. And they all fell into easy conversation, but Josette was having this felling that something bad is going to happen.
"Mor, you are awfully quite." Meredith said.
"Why do you call her that? Nickname or something?" Sirius asked.
"Yep" she said popping the 'p'
"What does that mean?" Peter asked.
"It's... complicated." Replied Meredith.
Unknown to them, a man entered the pub keeping a close on the group of fifth years.
"Mere, we should go something doesn't feel right." Josette panicked.
"Relax Jo, we are in Hogsmeade. What can happen here?" Alice shrugged.
"Mere please. Let's just go." Meredith caught on her intuition. "She's right. We need to go."
"Come on guys, we are not going to ruin our trip because of some gut feeling." James said.
"Would you just do what you are told for once. Now get your ass up we are going." Josette hissed anger filling her eyes. Everyone nodded not wanting to anger her more and got up to leave the pub.
But before they could get out of the door someone grabbed Meredith's wrist. "So, you are the one. Should have known you can sense me." The man said smirking.
"Hey!! leave her alone." Remus yelled defending his girlfriend.
"Wrong daughter." Josette said standing in front of him. He let go of Meredith's wrist. "So, you are the friend's" the man said looking at Meredith.
"What's happening guys?" Lily and Peter asked in Unison. Meredith was trying to get them out of there but no one was listening to her.
"You are coming with me." The man said looking at Josette.
"I don't think so." She retorted.
"I have other ways too. But if you don't want to make a scene here and get your friends hurt. You will come with me." He smirked.
"Who the hell do you think you are,??" Sirius said standing between them.
"Sirius, this is not a time to play hero. All of you just leave." Josette whisper yelled.
"Yeah, like that's gonna happen." James scoffed.
The man waved his hand and sent Sirius flying into a wall and James to other. The girls shouted, their hands on their mouth. Everyone in the pub started to panic and started running out.
"Now you have done it." Josette hissed. Grabbing the man by his neck and slamming him into the table breaking it.
"We need to leave, Remus, come on." Meredith said grabbing his hand dragging him out along with the girls and Peter.
"What about Potter?" Lily asked "And Sirius?" Remus added.
"I will get them out." Meredith said.
"You are not going in there, it's dangerous. Who's that man?" Remus asked worried about her safety.
"Not the time to explain, I will be fine." Meredith left them behind going back into the pub.
Everyone was out of there. Tables crashed and broken lying around. Sirius was unconscious lying under a table, so was James. Josette was fighting the man using her powers as no one was there seeing them. Both were equally powerful none of them backing down, heavily wounded. Until, Meredith joined her friend helping her. Just as Josette was going to use a blast on him, he apparated away, as he was outnumbered by two to one.
They started looking for their friends. Josette found Sirius unconscious. "Hey, wake up!!" she said shaking him. "Aguamenti" she whispered her wand pointing at his face. He woke up with a start. Trying to remember what happened, looking around the now destroyed pub. "What the fuck happened here?!" He shouted, his head in his hand, hurting from where he got hit.
"Welcome to my world." She smiled giving him a hand. He took it. "Merlin!! Jo, you are bleeding." Sirius exclaimed pointing at her head. Josette touched her forehead and then looked at her fingers, they were covered in blood.
"It's fine. Let's just get out of here." She took his hand pulling him out. Her friends were still waiting for them outside.
"I think I told you to leave." Josette growled.
"Jo, oh my god you are bleeding." Lily muttered pulling her friend into a hug, the others joining in.
"Where's Meredith?" Remus asked.
"She's not here yet?" They shook their head. Just then Meredith came out supporting an injured James. Lily went to help him.
Meredith and Remus hugged. "Thank God you are safe."
"We should leave before anyone sees us." Josette said ready to leave. But guess they were not in luck. "What are you doing here??" McGonagall shouted "You were supposed to evacuate the scene."
"We are the reason of the scene" Sirius muttered and earned an elbow in the ribs by Josette. Unlucky for them McGonagall heard it. "All of you to Headmaster's office, now."
"I think some of us need to go to the Hospital wing first." Lily said. McGonagall nodded.
The injured ones were all patched up by Madam Pomphrey and currently everyone is standing in Headmaster's office along with Professor McGonagall and two Aurors. Edward Rowle, a pureblood in his 40's and Alan Smith, one of the young new recruits in the Auror office.
"You all were found at the location of the incident. Any reasons why you stayed there?" Smith asked.
"James and Sirius were trapped inside and Meredith went inside to get them. So, we were waiting for them." Remus explained.
"Can you tell us in detail what happened?"
"We were sitting in the pub drinking butterbeer when suddenly Josette said we should leave as she was having a gut feeling that something bad was going to happen." Marlene started explaining. Josette sighed she doesn't want to tell the aurors anything but her friends are ratting her out.
"Who is Josette?" Rowle asked. Josette raised her hand. The auror nodded "continue."
"So, we were leaving when this man grabbed Meredith's hand." Alice said. Meredith Raised her hand to let them know it was her. "And said... What did he say?" Alice tried to remember.
"He said 'so you are the one'" Marlene butted in "and then Josette said 'wrong daughter.' And the man told her to come with him but Sirius and James tried to stop him so he threw them against the walls." she said pointing at the said boys.
"And that to wandless magic he just flicked his hand." Peter added.
"And then Josette grabbed that man's neck and slammed him against the table." Lily continued.
"It was amazing!!" Marlene added earning a glare from others.
"And then Meredith pulled us out and went inside to find them." Remus said, again pointing at the two boys.
"And then they all came out and McGonagall found us." Peter finished.
"Okay, So, who was this man?" Rowle asked looking at Josette.
"I don't know. " she replied looking down.
"Any reasons why he was after you? You said 'wrong daughter' that means you knew he was looking for you."
"I don't know."
"Do you think we are fools? Tell us everything you know." The auror said with a bit of anger in his voice. She didn't reply. "Look, that was a powerful wizard doing wandless magic after a 15-year-old girl. That's not something we can ignore."
Josette sighed she knew once ministry got involved into this there is no backing out. "I really don't know who that man was or what he wanted. Maybe he was angry for something my mother did to him. So, he came to take revenge."
"Who is your mother? We don't have any record of your family at all." He said looking thorough some files.
"I can't tell you."
"Where is she?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know where your own mother is??" he chuckled. "Where do you live??" Josette didn't reply. The auror sighed "When was the last time you met your mother."
"Three years ago."
"What about your father?"
"I don't have one."
"Where do stay at holidays?"
"At my house."
"Alone?"
"Alone."
"And you can't tell anything about your mother?" Josette shook her head.
"Very well, just so you know we will be seeing each other a lot. And you will have to answer those questions someday." He hissed and dismissed them.
"Well, that was a lot of information to get in thirty seconds." Marlene muttered once they were outside the office.
Josette started walking towards the dungeons "Where you do think you are going?" Remus clasped her arm.
"Common room?" Josette said.
"Jo, you lied to us for past 3 years. You told us you spend holidays with your parents, that they work for the ministry. Don't you think we deserve some explanation?" He asked.
"How about we talk about that tomorrow? I am really tired and I need some rest. Please." She pleaded.
"Fine. Tomorrow morning Gryffindor common room at ten."
"Deal." And with that she left.
"She's just so calm about this. I am really worried!" Lily muttered watching her best friend go.
"Mere, you must know something about her. Tell us." Marlene said.
"I can't. She said she will tell you tomorrow, just wait." Meredith shrugged.
That night no one slept peacefully. Everybody was waiting for the morning to arrive. Next day everyone gathered in the common room but Josette was late.
"She's coming or not?" James asked eager for the answers.
"Relax prongs it's just five minutes in. She'll come." Sirius said.
Josette arrived fifteen minutes late. "You are late." Alice said as soon as she entered through the portrait hole.
"Very keen observation." Josette smirked and sat down on the couch between Peter and Marlene.
"So, are you telling us??" Sirius asked.
"What do you want to know?"
"Tell us about your parents??"
"My mother is pure evil bitch. She taught all pureblood drama and magic. Never let me out of the house not even at Hogwarts. Then when I turned thirteen al- my grandfather took her so, I got a chance to come here." she explained.
"Where did your grandfather took her?? and why don't you live with them? Why do you live alone?" James attacked her with questions wanting to know everything.
"I don't know where he took her. I don't live with them cause I'm not allowed to. I live alone cause I don't have any choice." she answered his every question.
"What do you mean 'you're not allowed to' they are your family." Remus said.
"My family's not as good as you think. It's a bit complicated." Josette said sadly.
"Why didn't you tell us earlier?"
"Tell you what? I live alone cause my own family don't want me?" Nobody said anything after that.
"Don't worry. We are your family." Lily sat down next to her and brought her into a hug.
"Yes we are." Others said in unison. Josette smiled glad to have such amazing friends.
"So, you live alone at your house?" Marlene asked after some time. Josette nodded. "And now that we know that, you will invite us to your house, right?" She asked and everyone chuckled at her childish behaviour.