The Marauders and the Eye of Merlin (Harry Potter Fanfiction)

Chapter Eight: Gringotts

Sophie stepped out of the fireplace and stood a few meters away from it waiting for Sirius. She thought about what she'd overheard in Sirius's house. Regulus was a death eater and so were Sirius's parents. She had been staying in the house of followers of the dark lord for weeks. What could Regulus's task be? It was clearly a big task as Regulus's parents had been arguing about it. 

She heard the sound of her friends approaching as she stood. 

"Sophie!", She heard a voice exclaim from behind her. She spun around to see Remus and Lily running towards her. 

"Lily!", She replied excitedly, they embraced in a hug smiling brightly. 

"Hey Remus", Sophie said as Remus walked over to them. They hugged as well and then the three of them stood in a small circle waiting together. 

"How was your Christmas?" Sophie asked. 

"It was okay", Lily replied, "my sister was awful as usual. But it was really cool showing my parents everything we'd learned so far this year." 

"What about you though?", Remus asked, "how was staying with Sirus." 

"It was pretty great", Sophie told them, feeling a brush paint its way across her face. 

"Really?", Lily asked, looking surprised. 

"Well Sirius's family basically ignored Sirius and me the whole time", Sophie explained, "so Sirius and I just spent most of our time hiding together in his room." 

"Ohhh", Lily teased, nudging Sophie suggestively. 

"Nothing happened", Sophie replied, feeling her face turn an even brighter red. The three of them continued to catch up for a few minutes talking about what they'd done in the holidays and what Christmas presents they'd received. With every passing minute, dread was growing in Sophie's stomach. Why hadn't Sirius come out of the fireplace yet?

Eventually, after several nerve-wracking minutes, Sirius emerged out of the fireplace. 

"What happened?", Sophie asked him quickly walking towards him. 

"Nothing bad", he assured her, accepting her hug, "mom and dad just wanted to talk to us about catching the train tomorrow. Jock and Regulus are going to stay at home and keep studying." 

"Thank goodness", Sophie sighed. She went to go walk back over to Lily and Remus but Sirius caught her arm. 

"Hey", he said, "would you mind keeping what we heard just to you and me for now." 

"If that's what you want", Sophie agreed. She understood where Sirius was coming from. If it had been her brother she wouldn't want her friends knowing either. 

Together the two of them rejoined their friends and then headed over to their first stop on their shopping. They decided that if they were going to find their friends anywhere they were likely to be in the quidditch shop. As they walked down the streets they could see several of their school friends shopping for last-minute supplies as well. 

Eventually, they found their way to the quidditch shop and Sophie could overhear Stella whining about something James had just said. 

"Prongs", Sirius called, grabbing James's hand and giving him a pat on the back. 

"Sophie!", Stella cried. They embraced in a hug along with Lily. Stella began to tell them about her dates with Mathew Peters that she'd been on over the summer. 

"He's just so great", she was telling them, "so sweet and understanding. It's like he really gets me in every way." 

"I'm so happy for you", Lily told her.