Sophie was dismissed from the hospital wing at dinner time on Sunday. Fred had stayed with her the whole time and she was glad he did as she had hardly spent any time alone with him. She heard all about his family, especially George, and he heard about hers. Fred was surprised to find that her family were very focused upon blood status and Sophie even admitted that she was worried what her mum would do if she ever found out about her and Fred.
"But, it wouldn't matter to your mum, would it?" Fred asked, "as long as you're happy?"
"Nope, she only cares that our 'Noble Pure Blood heritage" is upheld." Sophie replied bitterly, grimacing at the thought.
Fred stared, unable to take in the fact Sophie had just told him.
After dinner Fred and Sophie took another walk around the lake, discussing the recent Quidditch World Cup Semi-Final Match that had just taken place.
As the sun began to set, turning the lake a shiny orange, they turned to head back to the castle. A light breeze ruffled their hair as the sky darkened.
"Do you want to come to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?" Fred asked, looking into Sophie's eyes as they stepped into the warmth and light of the entrance hall.
"That would be great." Sophie answered, smiling at the thought of their first official date.
Fred smiled back and leaned in close to steal another kiss. Sophie kissed him back; she moved her hands around Fred's neck and felt him place his on her waist, pulling her closer. Sophie breathed in Fred's scent, a scent she had grown so accustomed to and felt his strong, tall form, wrapped around her, never going to let her go.
Too soon, however Fred pulled away and smirked at her. He bade her goodnight and turned to head up to Gryffindor tower.
The rest of that week passed in a daze. Deandrea had pressed for every detail of the time she had spent with Fred and was beside herself with girly giggles when Sophie told her about that final, amazing kiss they had shared on Sunday night. When Sophie told her they were going to Hogsmeade together the coming weekend, Deandrea started giving her tips on everything from what to wear to where to go.
This had made Sophie nervous. What if she didn't follow what Deandrea said and Fred decided she wasn't girly enough or pretty enough or…
Though, she had spent a few good hours with Fred over the week too. She had met Fred's brothers and sister, all of whom were nice, except Percy, he didn't make much of an impression on her. Sophie's mother was quite high up in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and Percy tried to ask all sorts of questions about her mother's job. She found Ron funny, the things he said were quite amusing at times, although, a lot of the time he didn't mean them to be. Ginny was just an ordinary little sister, cute and sweet. George was just like Fred in looks, but there were tiny differences here and there, but she liked George too.
She also met Harry Potter, who was Fred's brother Ron's best friend. She had never had a conversation with him before, and thought for an internationally famous wizard he acted remarkably normal.
On Saturday morning, Sophie awoke to the usual greenish light cast by the glow of the lake through the windows. She glanced in the mirror as he pulled a brush through her dark blonde hair and put on a simple t-shirt and jeans. She cursed as she noticed a red spot under her eye, the perfect day to get one.
Fred was waiting for Sophie by the entrance to the dungeons and greeted her with a swift hug and a grin. They walked hand in hand down the sloping lawns in the fresh summer air. They chatted happily about their plans for the holidays and the coming exams.
When they got into Hogsmeade, Fred made a beeline for Zonko's, which made Sophie laugh. After Fred had stocked up on Dungbombs and Frog Spawn Soap, they headed to Honeydukes and Fred bought two cauldron cakes and gave one to Sophie.
"How about a butterbeer?" Fred suggested.
Sophie would have liked a butterbeer, but she remembered Deandrea telling her that the place to be for couples was definitely Madame Puddifoot's.
Sophie had never been to Madame Puddifoot's before and was therefore horrified when she saw the pink, frilly décor. She looked up at Fred, but instead of looking shocked, he looked like he found the tea-shop hilarious. Luckily, there were only a few couples in the shop, and none of them took any notice as the door closed with a soft, musical tinkle from the bell. They crossed to the other side of the shop and sat at a table, decorated with lacy napkins. Madame Puddifoot, a plump women with her black hair tied back in a bun, came to take their orders. Sophie nervously ordered a cup of tea and Fred ordered a coffee, still smiling like he'd heard some funny joke.
"It's a nice place." Fred said, with a prominent grin spread across his face.
"Yeah, it's not bad." Sophie replied, with a quick glance at the other couples, all of whom were kissing intently across their tables.
Fred reached out a finger and touched Sophie's chin, lifting her face so she was looking into Fred's eyes. He was frowning slightly at the unhappy look on her face.
"Are you okay?" Fred asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sophie answered in a tired voice, "it's just, this place isn't what I expected."
"Well, it doesn't matter where we are, as long as we can…"
Fred leaned in close and kissed Sophie lightly on the lips. Sophie kissed him back, feeling her heart beat faster every second. She put her arms around Fred's neck again and began to pull her hands through his hair and Fred placed his hands on Sophie's back. She couldn't tell how long they stayed like that, kissing each other passionately, longingly, all she knew was they broke apart when Madame Puddifoot brought them their drinks.
They drank them quickly and left their money on the table then walked out into the warm afternoon air. Fred slipped his hand into Sophie's as they set off up the lawns to the castle.
"I'm not ready for dinner yet," Fred said, as they were passing the lake, "Want to go for a walk?"
Sophie was tired and didn't feel like walking any more, but each second alone with Fred was irresistible to her.
So they strolled around the lake until they came to a beech tree and sat down under it, watching the sun sink lower in the sky, talking vaguely about what Fred was planning to do with his frog spawn soap (put it in the staff bathrooms).
Still sitting in the shade of the large beech tree, Fred leaned his face close to Sophie's again. This time Sophie kissed Fred, and he kissed her back, with just as much passion and heat. She put her hands back in Fred's hair and began running it through her fingers. Fred gently pulled Sophie into his lap, but continued kissing her intently. Fred started running his hands through Sophie's hair; she felt tingling lines of heat where their skin met.
Sophie pulled back, gently, her hands still in Fred's hair, his hands still in her hair. They were surprised to see that it was getting dark, realising they were going to miss dinner, they walked back up to the castle.
Later that evening Sophie sat in the common room, reliving her date with Deandrea, whose eyes were alight with an emotion Sophie had never seen before.
"You lucky, lucky girl Sophie!" Deandrea exclaimed as she finished her story.
Sophie smiled, she hadn't stop smiling, she didn't think she ever could.
"Sophie," A horribly familiar silky voice called.
She turned around in her seat, to see, Draco Malfoy, looking terribly pleased with himself.
"What do you want?" Sophie asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
"I just thought I'd let you know," he began, not taking his eyes off her face, evidently waiting for the reaction his words were going to make, "that I wrote to your mother."
Sophie felt a bucket of ice cascade into her stomach and settle itself there, leaving her cold and empty.
