I hope you all enjoy this chapter! :) Unfortunately, I will have to take a little break after this due to school. Exams are coming up, and with this new job I have received, things have been crazy and have had hardly any time for anything! I promise you though, as soon as exams are OVER, chapters will be up as soon as I can! :)
Sophie had been back at Hogwarts after her father's funeral for about a month. She had caught up on her studies, continued to go to Quidditch practices, and became even closer to Fred and Louis, who had been there for her since she had come back.
It was first Saturday of November, and it was the first game of the Quidditch season. The school was buzzing with excitement, everyone uproarious as the Gryffindor and Slytherin team walked into the Great Hall. They sat down at their designated tables and began to eat.
Sitting with Fred and Louis, Sophie stared blankly at her plate. Her nerves overcame her once again as she began to think about the match that was about to happen in less than a half hour.
"You better eat," Louis said.
"With what appetite?" she responded hoarsely.
"A champion appetite!" Fred exclaimed as he spooned some scrambled eggs and a couple pieces of toast onto her plate. "We're going to whoop those serpents into the ground!"
"That's the spirit, Weasley," Sylvia said as she slapped Fred's shoulder. She then looked at Sophie and said, "Bring that piece of toast and eat it on the way down to the changing rooms. We have to go over the game plan one more time before the game begins. See you three down there."
She then left, and Sophie watched after her. Looking back at Fred and Louis, her eyes were slightly wide, and she began to feel even more sick to her stomach.
"You know, I don't think I can do this. I don't think I'm cut out to be playing Quidditch. I-I think we should just let that substitute play."
"C'mon now," Fred said exasperatedly, "you know we wouldn't let that happen. Now, grab that piece of toast, and let's get going."
Rolling her eyes and groaning, she stood up from the table, grabbed the piece of toast, and started to walk out of the hall with both of them. As they made their way out of the castle and Sophie began to nibble the piece of toast, she turned to Fred and said, "You know, you can get one someones nerves pretty fast."
"Oh, but never on yours," Fred said with a grin as his arm wrapped around her neck.
"You keep telling yourself that, mate," Louis said as he shook his head slightly.
Sophie laughed and shook her head at the two of them. They then walked into the changing rooms in the Quidditch pitch and saw the rest of the team there. "There you are! Feeling better, Sophie?"
She just shrugged and Sylvia said, "Don't worry, you'll be just fine." She then paused and looked at the rest of the team. "Alright, team, we've been over these plays over and over. We've perfected them in the last two practices, and I want them perfected out on the pitch. Think we can do that?"
"Definitely!" some of the team exclaimed as the others nodded.
"Good! Now, let's get out there and kick some Slytherin butt!"
Everyone lined, mounted on their brooms, the chasers in front, the beaters behind them with their bats, and then Sylvia and Sophie behind them. Before they came out, Sylvia looked down at Sophie and whispered, "Don't worry about a thing. Just make sure to catch that Snitch whenever you can. Scorpius Malfoy, Slytherin's Seeker, will definitely try and make things as difficult as he can, so watch him."
"Got it," Sophie said meekly as she felt the color drain from her face and her stomach twist.
Then, the whistle blew, and they flew out. As they did, Susan announced each of them, and then the Slytherin team as they came out. Each team was up in the air when Madam Penny held the Quaffle in her hand and looked up at them.
"Make this a clean game, would you?" she shouted up at them.
Sophie was looking down at the Chasers who were waiting for the Quaffle to be thrown up. She then looked up to see Scorpius. Her jaw dropped slightly as she recognized him as the boy that was with Draco Malfoy at Diagon Alley.
Suddenly, Sophie jumped as Madam Penny blew the whistle and Susan began commentate. She looked around at the game that was going on beneath her, cheering on her team. After about ten minutes, Gryffindor finally scored a goal. Sophie let out a cheer.
"Won't be cheering for too long," Scorpius sneered.
"I wouldn't talk about yourself if I were you," she said with a slight smile, "people may think you're conceded."
Before he could say anything else, Sophie flew up higher and began to scan the pitch. She looked back and forth trying to discover the Snitch while also keeping an eye on the game.
Moments passed by, and the score was fifty-forty, Slytherin ahead. Sophie's eyes squinted slightly as she continued to scan the pitch for the Snitch. Suddenly, a glimmer of gold caught the corner of her left eye and she zoomed after it. Before long, Scorpius was on her side and rammed into her. She looked at him bewilderedly, and gritted her teeth.
Flattening herself to her broom, she started to go faster. She then rose in the air as the Snitch did and she flew after it as fast as she could, Scorpius right on her tail. He was gaining on her, and Sophie held on tightly to her broom, her other hand outstretched, her fingertips seeming to brush the medal. Bumping into her hard, Sophie looked to see Louis. She rammed back into him, knocking him harder than he thought possible. As she looked towards Scorpius, she saw up in the stands to see Draco Malfoy looking down at the two of them. Her fingers brushed against the Snitch once more and was about to grab it when a bludger came towards her, rammed her in the side, and threw her off her broom and into the wooden panels of the pitch.
Scorpius caught the pitch, an outrage erupted as Madam Penny's whistle sounded off, and Susan's commentary blasted throughout the pitch. Sophie let out an agonizing scream. Slytherin's let out a triumphant scream while the guests, teachers, and the Gryffindor team looked over at Sophie who was still on the ground. The Gryffindor team rushed over, except for Fred who had gone after the Beater who hit the bludger towards her. When he reached him, he tacked the boy and began to punch him. Madam Penny blew her whistle countlessly as a guests rushed into the pitch and pulled Fred off of the boy.
"What in Merlin's name!" McGonagall exclaimed as she finally made her way onto the pitch. "What kind of ugly behavior is this? Thirty points from Gryffindor for fighting, along with three weeks of detention, Mr. Weasley."
"Well worth it," he said as he shrugged out of the person's grip.
"I think it's better you make your way up to the castle, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall said sternly.
"Not until I see how Sophie is."
Before McGonagall could stop him, he ran towards the crowd that surrounded Sophie. When he reached them, he saw that Draco Malfoy had produced a stretcher and begun to levitate Sophie out of the pitch.
"Move it! Get out of the way!" Draco snapped at the crowd as he tried to make his way through them.
He made his way toward the castle quickly and to the Hospital Wing. When he reached it, he called for Madam Pomfrey. As she rushed down the hall, Draco transferred Sophie, who was unmoving and pale, onto one of the beds.
"What happened here?" Madam Pomfrey asked hurriedly as she pulled out her wand.
"Quidditch accident. Bludger to the stomach, throwing her off her broom and into the wooden panels. There may be some head trauma."
Without answering him, she started checking over Sophie. As she did, the Gryffindor team rushed into the wing along with Madam Penny and McGonagall. Madam Pomfrey looked up and a cross look etched her face.
"Out, out!" she exclaimed. "Only the Headmistress and Madam Penny."
When the Gryffindor team started to object, McGonagall clunked her cane on the ground a couple times and said sternly, "You heard Madam Pomfrey. Wait in the hallway." The team then exited the wing grudgingly, and McGonagall shut the doors. "How is she, Poppy?"
"She'll be okay," Poppy said finally with a relieved sigh as she looked from Draco to Madam Penny to McGonagall. "The bludger knocked the wind out of her and broke quite a few of her ribs. She did hit her head pretty hard and that's what has her knocked out right now. I think though that it'd be good that she doesn't have any visitors until she wakes up. She needs her rest, and I don't want her getting upset."
"Oh, thank goodness," McGonagall replied. "The Gryffindor team won't be allowed in tonight. Take care of her, Poppy."
"You know I will," Madam Pomfrey said with a small smile. "Then I want to talk to you about Quidditch. I've been saying it for years, and I will say it again, it's a dangerous sport."
"It staying or going is not up for discussion, Poppy. I'm sorry."
Before Poppy could object, McGonagall turned to Penny and nodded. The two of them then made their way out of the wing, leaving Draco and Madam Pomfrey alone.
Draco was standing at the end of the bed and looking at Sophie with concern. Madam Pomfrey stepped closer to Draco and placed a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be okay, Mr. Malfoy, I promise."
"What?" Draco said as he snapped out of his thoughts. He looked at Madam Pomfrey and nodded. "Right. Do you mind if I stay here until she wakes up?"
"She may not wake up tonight."
"That's fine," he replied sharply.
"Okay," she said stuffily.
Without waiting, she left Draco and went into her office. When she left, he folded his arms and continued to look at Sophie, his mind spinning. As his thoughts continued to wheel, he sat down in the chair next to her bed.
A few more minutes passed when the door to the wing opened, and in came his wife, Astoria. He looked up at her, his brows furrowed. "What are you doing here?"
"Came to find you," Astoria answered. "I figured you'd come out and celebrate with your son and I on his first victory of the year."
"Sorry," he mumbled. "If it wasn't for her getting hurt, he wouldn't of even caught the Snitch."
"How can you say that?" she asked in astonishment.
"Were we not watching the same game?" he said harshly. "If it weren't for that bludger throwing her off her broom, she would've caught it."
"Are you not happy for your son?"
"Of course I am!" he exclaimed under his breath as he stood and moved closer to her.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Sophie's bed. "Stop creating drama, Astoria. You know seeing Scorpius and our old House win makes me happy. But he didn't win fairly, and should've stopped chasing after it when she had been thrown like that!"
"Since when did you become to self-righteous, Draco Malfoy? And what is it that's drawing you here to this random girl rather then saying congratulations to your son?"
He looked at her astounded, his hand falling from her arm. Stepping away from her, he shook his head slightly. "I won't be coming home until late tonight, or even at all. Don't wait up for me."
Turning his back at her, he walked back to Sophie's bed and sat back down in the chair. She looked at him, her eyes narrowed slightly, and then walked out of the wing quickly. As she walked away, he watched her through the corner of his eye. Once the door slammed, he looked back to Sophie, his brows furrowed once again.
"What has me so worried about you…?" he wondered.
He then sat back in the chair and folded his arms again once, his thoughts whirring once again.
A couple hours later, after dinner, Scorpius walked into the the Hospital Wing with a plate of food and silverware. He walked down the small corridor. Draco looked up at him and a slight smile came to his face.
"Thank you for the dinner, Scorp," Draco said as he took it.
Scorpius nodded in response and stayed quiet as Draco began to eat his dinner. Finally, after a few minutes, he asked quietly, "Dad, why are you here?"
"I want to make sure she's okay," he answered as he looked up again at Scorpius. After a moment, when Scorpius didn't say anything, Draco set his plate down on the bedside table and said, "Look, Scorp, I wanted to talk to you about your win."
"It was good, wasn't it?" Scorpius questioned as a slight smirk came to his face, an excited look in his eyes.
"You shouldn't have caught the Snitch. You should've stopped and waited to make sure whether Sophie was alright. Your mother and I taught you better than what your actions displayed this afternoon."
"'Sophie?'" Scorpius questioned condescendingly. "Since when have you become on a first name basis with strangers?"
"Don't change the subject," Draco said, anger rising in his voice. "You should've stopped, and you know that. It wasn't a fair win."
"She got hit with a bloody bludger! Since when is it a crime that I go after the win when a player gets hurt? I wanted to win for my House, just as anyone else would! Just like you would!"
"Watch it, Scorpius Xaneous Malfoy!" Draco exclaimed as he stood from his chair, his face dark. "I've given you a better life and raised you better than I was! I'm not proud of who I was, and I don't want you to be like that when you grow older. I want you to be proud of who you are! Stop and use your head, boy!"
A groan came from Sophie, and Draco turned around quickly. Her eyes fluttered slightly before opening, and she looked around wildly. Trying to sit up, she whimpered, an arm instantly wrapping around her stomach. Draco moved back to his chair and looked at her with concern.
"Don't move," Draco said gently.
Sophie looked over at him, her eyebrows furrowed in question. After a moment she moaned, "What happened? Where am I? And what are you doing here?"
"Just relax," he soothed. "A bludger hit you. It broke a couple of your ribs and you hit your head pretty hard. Madam Pomfrey will fix you up quickly though."
Before Sophie could respond, she passed out again, and Draco continued to look at her worriedly.
"What happened?" Scorpius asked, his eyes wide.
"She must've just fainted from the head trauma. She'll be okay," Draco answered. He then turned around and looked at Scorpius. "I am proud of you, Scorp. And like I've said before, I just want you to be proud of yourself when you're older and you look back at moments like these."
"Yeah, yeah," Scorpius responded sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. "Are you staying here all night?"
Draco continued to look at Scorpius. "No," he finally answered as his grey eyes looked directly into Scorpius's blue ones. "You better get up to your common room."
"Yeah, okay," Scorpius answered.
He then left and Draco sat back down in the chair.
After a little while, Sophie woke up again and looked at Draco. As she did, she asked again, "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to make sure you were okay," Draco answered simply.
"Why would you care?" she answered harshly.
"I can see your attitude's back. I think I'll go get Madam Pomfrey," he commented before getting out of the chair and walking towards her office.
Sophie watched after him. She then tried to sit, but then groaned, her eyes closing tightly and teeth gritting together. Madam Pomfrey and Draco walked to her bed. A small smile was on Madam Pomfrey's lips and said gently, "How are you feeling, dearie?"
"I'm okay," she responded.
"You're going to be in for a rough night, but I promise you'll be better before you know it."
Sophie tried to smile back at her, but then grimaced as another pain shot through her. Madam Pomfrey then poured some Skele-Gro into goblet. She then handed it to Sophie. Taking it, Sophie took a sip, and as the liquid reached her throat, her face scrunched up at the awful taste. Swallowing hard, she then looked back up to Madam Pomfrey and handed back the goblet.
"Why can't potions taste any better?"
Madam Pomfrey chuckled and answered, "Wish I could answer that. I'll be back to check on you."
She then left, and Draco looked down at Sophie. "Would you want me to stay?"
"No, that's okay," Sophie said roughly. "I'm sure you have better things to do."
"I don't mind staying, especially if you want the company. No one else is allowed in here to visit."
"Oh…," she trailed. She then bit her lip as she looked at Draco. "Well, then, maybe. I suppose that's okay."
A slight smile came to Draco's face and he sat down in the chair. When he became comfortable he said, "That was a great game you played out there."
"Yeah, until I got hit with a bludger," she said in an annoyed tone.
"It came out of nowhere," he responded instantly. "How long have you been playing?"
She bit down on her lip again as she looked away from him. Finally, she answered, "Not long. I just started playing a few weeks ago when Quidditch tryouts started."
Draco's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He quickly composed himself and said, "Well, then, you must have some talented genes."
"Couldn't tell you," she said as she shrugged. Before he could respond, she asked, "Do you mind if we continue this later? I'm getting kind of tired."
"Of course not. Get some sleep."
Without needing anymore encouragement, she moved into her comfortable spot and quickly fell asleep. When her breathing grew deep, Draco took the covers and covered her gently. He then sat back down and watched her sleep for a while before he, himself, fell asleep.
The next morning, Draco woke up to someone touching his shoulder. He jumped in his chair and looked around wildly. When he realized where he was, he rubbed his eyes and looked up to see a woman with short light brown hair with blonde highlights and stunning hazel eyes. He looked at her questioningly as she glared at him.
"What are you doing here?" she asked roughly.
"Do I know you?"
"I'm a family member of Sophie's. I asked you what you are doing here."
"Well, for starters, how about we introduce ourselves? I'm Dr -," he started before the woman interrupted him.
"I know exactly who you are."
"Okay… And you are?"
"Dawn?" Sophie asked sleepily as she sat up slightly. She grimaced as the area of her broken ribs was still sore. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to talk to you," she answered as her gaze finally moving away from Draco and to Sophie. She sat down in the chair Draco recently occupied and took Sophie's hand. "First of all, I heard about the Quidditch accident. How are you feeling?"
"What's happened now, Dawn? Every time you come here, there's always some bad news. So, what's it this time?" Sophie questioned frantically, avoiding all of Dawn's questions.
"I think we should talk in private," she answered as she looked back to Draco.
Before Draco could respond or walk out of the wing, Sophie took Dawn's arm and demanded, "Tell me, Dawn! What is it this time? Why are you here?"
"I wish I didn't have to tell you this," Dawn responded with a sigh. As Sophie was about to say something else, Dawn cut across her and said, "Well, you know Gran wasn't doing too well after Granddad passed away."
"No…," Sophie trailed as her eyes watered and head shook. "No, no…this can't be real. It's not real. This is all a dream."
"Oh, Soph," Dawn said as she moved onto the bed and hugged her.
Sophie wrapped her arms around Dawn as her tears began to well over. Her brown, watery eyes looked up at Draco, who was watching the two of them, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and his arms crossed.
Before long, Dawn moved away from Sophie and brushed away the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. A slight smile came to her face and she said, "I'm going to talk to Madam Pomfrey. I'll be back in a moment."
She then stood and looked at Draco. After a second, she walked past him and towards Madam Pomfrey's office. When she was gone, Draco continued to look at Sophie, who was biting her lip. Finally, he gained the courage and said, "I'm sorry about the loss of your grandma."
"She wasn't my grandma," Sophie sniffled slightly as she gazed down at the bed. She wiped away a stray tear that fell and continued, "She was my mum."
"I'm so sorry," he responded after he recovered from a slight shock.
Without answering, Dawn walked back to Sophie. Ignoring Draco, she said, "You got the clear from Madam Pomfrey. Are you ready to go?"
"I don't know if I can do this again, Dawn…," Sophie trailed as she sniffled again.
"Don't worry, Sophie. You have all of us and your friends. We'll get through this."
After a few moments, Sophie climbed out of bed slowly and took Dawn's arm as she became dizzy. Regaining her balance again, she stood up straight and looked at Draco. "Thank you for keeping me company last night… I appreciate it."
"Of course," he answered as he nodded his head. "I'm terribly sorry about your loss."
"Soph, do you think you'll be able to make it to the Headmistress's office by yourself?" Dawn asked. She nodded. "Okay, I'll meet you up there." Sophie then made her way out of the wing, and Dawn turned her attention back to Draco. "We don't need your sympathy, Malfoy. What's your sudden interest in Sophie?"
He looked at her, his features darkening slightly as he glared at her. "I was at the Quidditch match. I wanted to make sure she was okay."
"And staying here all night with her? What's that about?"
"If you must know," he said through his clenched teeth, "I thought she may want some company rather than be here all alone."
"I'm sure," Dawn said sarcastically. She then stepped closer to Draco, her eyes staring hard into his grey eyes. "Stay away from Sophie."
Without another word, she stepped passed him and walked out of the hall. Draco's jaw was set, and his eyes dark. He then stormed out of the castle and past its gates, and Apparated to his home.
It was the morning of Eleanor's funeral. Sophie was sitting on the mattress in Katherine's room, thinking about her father's funeral and what had gone on afterwards.
The room was crowded with all of Oliver's friends and and family. They were all seated, listening to some people's memories.
Sophie's eyes seemed to never quit watering throughout the whole ceremony, unlike her mother, who was sitting in her chair like a stone. Her stare was unblinking and her body unmoving. She had been like that for at least a couple day. She hadn't slept, eaten, or even uttered a word.
As the memory of how her mother acted at her father's funeral, the memory of her saying goodbye to her before going back to Hogwarts flashed through her mind.
After arguing with many of her family members about staying and helping out with things, Sophie was set and ready to go back to Hogwarts. She had her bag over her shoulder and was standing in front of Eleanor's closed bedroom door with Austin, one of her nephews.
"You're doing the right thing, Sophie, trust me. Granddad and Gran wouldn't want you to miss school. And Gran will be just fine. You know all of us will take good care of her and will keep in touch."
She sighed and looked at him. "You better or I will come hunt you down. I better hear from you every other day, at least!"
Austin chuckled. "I will personally write to you. Now, you better say goodbye, or we're never going to get you back Hogwarts."
"Okay, okay," Sophie said exasperatedly.
She took a deep breath as she grabbed the doorknob. Exhaling, she turned it and entered the room. She walked in to find Eleanor sitting on the wooden rocking chair, rocking back and forth, and looking out the window.
"Hey, Mum," she said softly with a slight smile as she knelt down in front of Eleanor. "I just came to say goodbye. I don't want to leave, but the family's pretty persistent. It's time for me to go back Hogwarts. I'm going to miss you, and will hope every day that you get better. You need to get better, do you hear me?"
No response came from Eleanor and Sophie let out another sigh. "Okay, Mum, I have to get going. Please get better soon. I love you."
She then stood and walked back to the door. When she reached it, she looked back at Eleanor. A sad smile crossed her lips and she exited the room.
"Come on, Soph, it's time to go," Katherine said as she popped her head into room, snapping Sophie out of her trance.
"Yeah…okay," she responded as she stood and walked out of the room.
The next day after the funeral, Austin took Sophie to the Ministry of Magic to pick up something that they had held for Eleanor that was supposed to be given to Sophie after Eleanor had passed. When they reached the Ministry and had their wands checked, they made their way to the lifts and headed up to level five.
They exited the lift, and made their way to the Minister of Magic's office. As they reached the closed door, Austin knocked on the door and a deep voice said, "Come in!"
When they walked in, Kingsley Shacklebolt looked up, and a smile crossed his lips. "Miss Palmer, it's great to see you."
"T-Thank you, Minister," Sophie stuttered slightly.
"First, I would like to give my deep condolences to you both about your losses. Second, I'm sorry to say, Mr. Palmer, that I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I have strict instructions from Eleanor that what I give Sophie is to be done between just the two of us. You can meet Sophie down in the main entrance."
Austin nodded and then turned to Sophie. "I'll see you down there."
"Okay," she said.
Once Austin left, Kingsley gestured to the empty seat in front of his desk. "Have a seat, Miss Palmer." She moved and sat down in the chair. "As I said to Austin, your mother gave me strict instructions."
"What about, Minister?" she questioned as her eyebrow rose.
"About this," he answered as he pulled up a box from underneath his desk along with a key. She looked at the box, and he said, "A few months ago, she came to me with this box and told me to have you open this after both her and your father passed.
Unfortunately, that time has come, and this is now yours. Here is the key. If you'd like, I can give you a moment alone to open the box."
Sophie bit her lip and finally looked away from the box and to Kingsley. She nodded slightly, not able to say anything. He smiled, stood from his desk, walked out of the office, and closed the door.
"What could be in here…?" she whispered. "I guess there's only one way to find out."
She took in a deep breath and held it as she inserted the key into the small keyhole and unlocked it. Taking off the lock, she paused as she held the top, and then opened it slowly. A small smile came to her face as she looked inside and could see all the photos that she had wanted to look through before. Not long after sifting through some photos, she saw an envelope with her name on it. Looking at it curiously, she took it, tore it open and took out the letter.
To My Dearest Sophie,
If you're reading this, both your father and I have passed away. I am so very sorry that you have to go through with this. Your father never anticipated this happening, but I knew at some point it would. In this unfortunate event that you're going through, along with your brothers, nieces, and nephews, I also have some news that I must share with you.
Your father and I have debated with ourselves on several occasions on whether we should tell you this or not. It's been very hard to deny you of the privilege of knowing, but we decided it was the best for you at the time, along with the other people that are involved. Not only was our intention of protecting you, but we also had to keep the agreement we made years ago.
Sophie, I hope you won't be too angry with your father or I from keeping this from you. I have prayed and prayed that when you get this letter that you will be able to forgive us. I also hope that you will find all the answers to the questions you will have. When it comes to your questions.
I hope you never question how much your father and I love you. We love you so very much. You have made our life so blessed and have filled every moment with joy. You mean the world to us.
Now, I think I've stalled enough, and I must tell you… Sophie, you were born September twenty-third. That day was the most wonderful day of our lives. I must admit though that your father and I are not your biological parents. We adopted you the same day you were born, and have loved you ever since.
Please forgive us from keeping this secret from you. I'm so sorry for any pain this causes you but you had to know. Don't forget how much we both love you - forever and ever, sweetheart.
Love you forever,
Mum
All of the air that had filled Sophie's lungs escaped her. Her throat was dry and tears welled in her eyes. Her heart was beating wildly as she began to feel sick, and the color in her face drained.
The tears that welled in her eyes escaped her, and she threw the letter into the box and closed it. She grabbed it, stood up, and hurried out of Kingsley's office. As she passed him in the hall, he shouted, "Miss Palmer? Miss Palmer, are you okay?"
Without answering, she hurried down the hall and rushed to the lifts. As she did, her vision blurred with tears, she bumped into someone. Before she could make herself apologize, the man breathed, "This can't be true…"
"I'm sorry, sir, but I must be on my way," she hurriedly said. She then made her way out of his hold and headed for the lifts.
When she entered it, she bit her lip and tried to control the tears that were coming. The lift finally moved down to the main level, and she exited quickly. She looked at Austin as soon as she stepped out, and narrowed her eyes. He looked at her quizzically. Without wasting a minute, she headed towards the Floo Network gates and Flooed back Phillip and Mary's house.
When her feet landed on the grate, she stepped out to see most of her family still gathered round. Their attention turned to her as Austin Flooed into the fireplace. He stepped out of the grate and touched her shoulder gently. Flinching away from his touch, she turned around and glared at him.
"Did you know?" she questioned harshly.
"Know what?" Austin asked.
Her eyes squinted and she turned back around to face the rest of her family. "Did you all know?!"
"What are you referring to, Sophie?" Phillip asked.
"About me being adopted! Did you know?!" she questioned loudly. When no one answered and just looked at each other, she yelled, "Tell me!"
"Yes…we knew," Austin answered softly.
"You knew and you didn't care to tell me?!" she screamed as she shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. "You were supposed to be my family! What, did you all think I was some fool?!"
"Of course not!" Dawn exclaimed.
"How couldn't any of you say anything to me?! How couldn't they?!"
"Sophie, please give us a chance to explain," William pleaded.
"No! All of you had enough enough time to explain, and you never said anything!" she exclaimed.
Before anyone could say anything or stop her, she turned around toward the fireplace, but before she could reach it, Austin stopped her and held her in place.
"We know you're hurting right now, Sophie, but we need you to listen to us."
"Listen to you? Listen to what? More lies? I don't think so," she spat as she shrugged o
She grabbed a handful of Floo powder, stepped into the fireplace, looked at her family without saying anything, and threw down the powder. Her family vanished before her eyes and she began to spin uncontrollably until her feet landed in the grate of McGonagall's office.
"Miss Palmer? What are you doing here?" McGonagall questioned as she looked at her. Noticing how upset she was, she then asked, "Are you alright?"
Sophie shook her head slightly as she bit down on her lip. "If it'd be okay, Headmistress, I'd just like to go to my dormitory and get some sleep."
"As you wish."
Without waiting another moment, Sophie exited McGonagall's office and hurried up the staircases toward the Gryffindor common room. When she finally reached it, she said the password, and the portrait swung forward. As she was about to step in, Fred and Louis were walking out.
"Sophie?" Fred asked.
"What's wrong?"
Before she could respond, she let go of the box, rushed into Louis, wrapped her arms around his neck, and began to sob into his shoulder. Fred and Louis looked at each other curiously, not knowing what was going on. After a few minutes, she pulled away from him and wiped away the tears quickly as she sniffled.
"Come on, we'll go somewhere private," Louis said as Fred grabbed the box she had dropped.
The three of them started moving along the corridors to the Room of Requirement, which was Sophie's first time being there. They entered it to find an exact replica of the Gryffindor common room, but with a larger couch. Moving to the couch, they three of them sat down on.
"Tell us; what's going on, Soph?"
"We're sorry about your mum, too," Louis said. "Is that what's upsetting you?"
"She left me a letter… S-She told me that I was adopted," she choked out.
"Oh, Sophie, that was the last thing you needed," Louis commented as he rubbed her back.
"Did she tell you who your parents actually were?" Fred asked.
"No, of course not. What am I supposed to do? My whole family knew… At least what I thought was my family."
"We'll help you find your real parents. We promise," Fred said as he gave her a reassuring smile.
"For Christmas vacation, you can come celebrate with our family if you'd like. They'd love to have you."
"Really? Are you sure?"
"Absolutely!" the two of them said at the same time.
"Thank you… You two are always there for me…," she trailed as the first smile in days came to her face.
"Well, that's what best friends are supposed to do, aren't they?"
Sophie looked at Louis and then at Fred, her smile growing wider. "You are the two best friends a girl could ever ask for!"
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