Summer Holiday

Chapter 8

A few weeks had passed since Quigley and Bronson started spending their evenings with Theo and Sophie at the lake. At first it was strange to no longer share the space with just Theo, but she quickly grew comfortable with the other boys and was thankful Theo introduced them, though she would never tell him that.

The four of them had agreed to never tell anyone about the lake, or their friendship. It was better for Theo if people didn't know about the four of them.

It had been months since Sophie's break up, and she was finally growing comfortable in her own skin. She no longer relied on Fred's company, and she actually had friends of her own. There still hadn't been an interaction between her and Fred. She had managed to avoid him entirely, and she also managed to avoid all of his friends as well. She was walking down the corridor before lunch when she heard a voice call out to her.

"Sophie! Hey Sophie! Wait up!" She turned around to see Neville Longbottom jogging towards her.

"Oh hi Neville." Sophie smiled as he caught up with her.

"How are you?" He asked. They both stopped near a less busy part of the corridor.

"I'm good. How are you?" Sophie didn't really want to be talking to Neville, but she knew it was best to be polite.

"Oh you know me. Things are okay." He stopped talking and Sophie began to chew her cheek as awkward silence filled the air. "Um..... I haven't seen you around much. Everything okay?" He asked.

"Oh yeah. Things are great." Sophie gave a polite smile and glanced around the corridor.

"Are you sure?" Neville asked intently watching her face.

"Is there an answer you're looking for or something Neville?" Sophie snapped as she felt herself growing irritated.

"Well no.... It's just that nobody has seen you around for a while. I didn't mean to pry, but Fred asked me to check on you." Neville saw Sophie's eyes gloss over with anger as the realization of why Neville was speaking to her clicked. Neville quickly began to try and back pedal. "I didn't want to do it! I swear! You know how he and George are! They know how to get anyone to do anything!" Neville began to panic as the air grew hot.

Sophie placed her hands on her hips and straightened her shoulders. "Well you can tell Fred, if he wants to know how I'm doing, he can ask me himself!" She whipped around and took off down the corridor away from Neville.

She could feel her blood boiling in her veins as her feet thudded on the concrete floor.

How dare he send someone else to check on me?
Does he even really care?

The idea of Fred sending someone else to check on her was outrageous. They had not spoken in months and he didn't even have the decency to check on her himself. She was growing increasingly angry the more she thought about him. Hot tears began to swell in her eyes as she continued to stomp down the hallway. She paused near a bench away from any students as the tears stung her cheeks.

"Hey! Hey? You alright?" She looked up with her tear filled eyes to see a blurry Theo cocking his head to look at her face. He began to glance around the castle to see if anyone was nearby. "Come on." He grabbed her elbow and guided her into an empty room nearby. "Colloportus." Theo spoke as he waved his wand and the door locked behind them. "Okay we're alone. What's wrong?" He placed his hands on her shoulders.

Sophie sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Fred is sending people to check on me. He can't even do it himself." She felt hot tears dripping down her cheeks. "Merlins sake! Why do I always have to cry? I'm angry, not sad!" She shouted as she clenched her fists and stomped her feet. Theo couldn't control the smile creeping upon his lips.