Through the Pages of Time: Joey’s Hogwarts Tale

As the first-years shed their soaked raincoats, their chatter filled the air. Hagrid soon arrived, accompanied by a small wizard. The contrast in their heights was almost comical, making the already massive Hagrid appear even larger.

"Professor Flitwick, hurry up! Look at these poor little fellows—it's raining buckets today!" Hagrid called, his booming voice cutting through the drizzle. Strangely, despite being outside in the storm, he didn't seem to have a single wet spot on him—not even his beard.

As the students wrung out their robes, whispers and complaints spread among them. Joey overheard a few particularly disgruntled voices.

"If my mother knew I'd be caught in the rain like this, she'd regret sending me to Hogwarts! Beauxbatons would never let a lady get wet!"

"Look at my hair! My house elf spent all morning styling it, and now it's ruined!"

Joey rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Shame you didn't go bald instead. What a pity."

Beside her, a brown-skinned girl let out a snort of laughter.

"You think this is funny?" snapped the girl who had been lamenting her hair.

"Don't you?" The brown-skinned girl raised an eyebrow. "No one else is whining, just you."

"You filthy Mudblood!" the haughty girl shrieked, pulling out her wand to cast a spell.

But Joey was quicker. "Wild Bees, Fly!" she incanted, sending a swarm of tiny magical stingers toward her opponent.

"Ahh! My face!" The girl shrieked as red welts bloomed across her skin.

"Flami! Your face!" another student gasped.

So, her name was Flami. Joey smirked, committing the name of her first enemy to memory.

"You're finished! I won't let this go!" Flami screamed, clutching her stung face.

Professor Flitwick finally arrived, breathless from running on his short legs. He quickly instructed Hagrid to take Flami to the hospital wing, reassuring her that Madam Pomfrey would heal her in no time.

Then, he turned to the gathered students. "Who cast that spell? A Wasp Jinx… impressive—oh, I mean, unacceptable!" Realizing his mistake, he straightened up and fixed Joey with a stern look. "It's wrong to hex a fellow student! I ought to deduct points—but since you haven't been sorted yet, I can't! Mark my words, though—if you don't earn twenty points in my class, I'll be taking them off you later!"

Joey folded her arms. "She was about to curse us first," she pointed out.

"It's true! Joey was just protecting me," the brown-skinned girl interjected. "Angelina Johnson, by the way."

More students chimed in, corroborating the story. The Weasley twins were the loudest of all, passionately describing how dangerous the situation had been.

Flitwick sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Enough!" With a flick of his wand, he cast a powerful Drying Charm, instantly evaporating every drop of water from their clothes.

The students gasped. They had seen drying charms before, but never one that worked on so many people at once. Flitwick smirked, enjoying his moment of admiration.

"Now, let's go to the Great Hall. I'm starving!" he declared, leading the group onward.

Joey had read about the Sorting Ceremony countless times and seen it in movies, so nothing about it surprised her. Still, the talking Sorting Hat intrigued her—she found herself wondering where its "eyes" were.

Fred and George Weasley were quickly sorted into Gryffindor, as expected. They waved Joey over to sit between them when her turn came.

She briefly entertained the idea of arguing with the hat, just to see if she could get into Slytherin and shock everyone. But the moment it touched her head, it bellowed, "Gryffindor!"

Well, that was that. The fate of a side character, she supposed. No dramatic debates, no rebellious sorting.

As she pulled off the hat and handed it back, it grumbled, "Rude!"

Joey ignored it and took her seat between the twins, who cheered and welcomed her to their house. The older Weasley brothers clapped her on the shoulder, offering warm congratulations.

At the Ravenclaw table, a boy named Cedric Diggory was sorted. His name tickled Joey's memory, but she couldn't quite place where she'd heard it before. Maybe from her mother's patient list? Oh well, she quickly pushed the thought aside.

Near the end of the ceremony, Flami returned from the hospital wing, her face completely healed. She was sorted into Slytherin. Unsurprising.

After Dumbledore's long-winded speech, the feast appeared on the tables. Joey dug in without hesitation.

"I wonder where the Hogwarts kitchen is," Fred mused between mouthfuls of food.

Joey paused, considering. She had no idea. She only remembered the major plotlines, the Horcruxes, and Professor Snape's tragic backstory—maybe some fanfiction mixed in too. Details like the kitchen? Completely forgotten.

"I'm sure you two can find it," she said, downing a goblet of pumpkin juice.

Having an older brother at school with you? A nightmare.

Ryan wasted no time introducing her to everyone he knew, ruffling her hair and saying, "Look, this is my sister!"

"You're petting me like a cat!" Joey swatted his hand away. "I'm eleven!"

Ryan chuckled as she stormed off with her fellow first-years.

"Ryan really loves you," Fred teased.

"Want me to call Charlie and Percy to pet you too?" she shot back.

Fred gasped. "No, I take it back!"

As they reached the Gryffindor Tower, Lee Jordan ran up to them. "You won't believe this—the entrance is a portrait of a fat lady!"

Joey smirked. "Why don't you tell her that? She'd love the compliment."

Lee grinned. "Gryffindors are fearless, but we're not stupid."

The common room was already filled with older students lounging on the sofas. Charlie Weasley sauntered over and clapped the twins on the back.

"How was dinner?"

"We nearly exploded," Fred and George groaned in unison.

Charlie turned to Joey. "Ryan wants to make sure you're settling in well."

Joey groaned. "He's not going to barge in here, is he?"

"Well… if he gets the password, he could," Charlie admitted.

"Oh, Merlin's beard!" Joey wailed. "You guys didn't tell him, did you?"

"Of course not!" the twins swore.

Relieved, Joey slumped onto the couch. At least she'd have some peace… for now.