Chapter 20: Secret Rendezvous
They had been settled in for a couple of weeks now without incident. The boys moved a comfortable chair in her room and insisted on watching her sleep in shifts, map in hand.
It had been James's turn when he woke her up late one night. "Sofia! Get up and get dressed!"
Sofia moaned and was about to turn over and go back to sleep when James shook her awake. "Get up!"
She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "What time is it?"
James threw some random clothes at her and turned around. "It's almost midnight. Snivellus has managed to sneak off a lot since he arrived. I usually miss him since it's at random hours. He just left. Get up and get dressed! We're following him."
Sofia groaned but obliged. "He always goes off alone. It's his thing. Why do I have to go?."
"Because I'm supposed to keep track of you and I can't do that and follow Snivellus." James snapped.
"Fine!" Sofia said. She barely got her shirt on when James grabbed her wrist and pulled her along.
They followed Snape in the dark, trying to stay low. He led them to a secluded area with trees and brush. Snape took out a wand and waved it at an old shoe he had carried.
James chuckled. "He has a wand! Oh, he's in big trouble now."
Severus touched the shoe and vanished.
"Wait! What are you going to do?" Sofia asked.
"I'm going to end him. This is my chance to get rid of him for good! Come on!" James said.
Sofia felt a pang of sadness for Severus. "Why don't we see where he's going first. It might be important."
James rolled his eyes at Sofia's pity. They touched the shoe and found themselves dropped just behind someone's house near some brushes.
"Ugh." Sofia groaned, feeling nauseous, "I hate portkeys."
They watched Severus knock lightly on someone's window. A light turned on and the window opened. A girl with red hair popped her head out the window with a smile.
"Oh," James said. He took one look at the girl and a dumb smile crept over his lips.
Sofia smirked at James's reaction.
Severus climbed in through the window and she carefully shut it.
"Come on," James said.
"We can't just go inside. We don't know what's going on in there. We shouldn't get involved." Sofia protested.
James shook his head and went over to the window, staying low. "All the more reason to follow."
Sofia followed him, not liking where this was going. She popped her head up. The two had left her room. James slid the window back up and went inside.
For a moment, Sofia thought of going back. She couldn't leave James though. Who knows what trouble he'd get himself into. She slid inside as she followed James down some stairs to a basement door.
James threw Sofia a mischievous look, his hand on the doorknob. She shook her head at him, but he ignored it.
James threw the door open and pulled out his wand. It slammed against the wall. "Gotcha!"
Both Severus and the red-haired girl let out a startled scream.
Severus was on his feet, his fists clenched. "James!" He roared.
The girl leaped to her feet, "Who are you two?"
Sofia held up her hands, "We're really sorry for barging in."
James smirked. "Practicing illegal magic Snivellus? You're going to Azkaban when I'm done with you."
"Well, I'm sorry at least," Sofia added.
"Stay out of this Potter! You have no business being here!" Snape said.
James and Severus glared at each other. Snape threw a stunning spell at James who blocked it.
The girl got between them, held up her hands, and shouted, "Enough! Don't forget you are all in my house! I don't know who you are, but I can have you arrested for trespassing!"
When no one moved, the girl snatched the wand out of Snape's hand. To everyone's surprise, the girl cast a spell, and James was completely bound with ropes but managed to stay on his feet. She repeated the spell with Sofia who fell over and landed on the floor with a squeal.
"Now, once again, please. Who are you two?" The girl asked.
James had that silly grin again. He bowed, despite being tied up. "James Potter."
"Give me the wand Lilly. I'll teach him a lesson." Snape sneered.
"Shut up Severus!" The girl snapped.
It dawned on Sofia who the girl was and blurted out, "Oh! Wait! You're Lilly Potter!"
Everyone turned and looked at Sofia with confused stares. Sofia cringed inwardly at her mistake.
"It's Lilly Evans." She said looking warily at James then turned to Sofia, "Sorry do we know each other? I don't remember you."
"No, sorry, I'm Sofia. Severus, have you been secretly teaching her magic?" She said.
Snape looked at Sofia, narrowing his eyes. "You have a problem with that?"
"No! I think it's sweet actually. Everyone should have the right to learn magic and go to Hogwarts." Sofia said.
James wiggled his eyebrows at Lilly. "You know if you wanted to learn magic, you should have come to a real wizard."
Lilly put her hands on her hips, throwing James an amused smile. "Oh really? And who would that be? You?"
"Well, yeah. I could teach you way more than Snape could. He's only a half-blood, I'm a pure-blood. You don't have to sneak around with this greasy-haired wannabe." James said.
Lilly went quiet a moment and smiled, her voice sounded sweet, her eyes grew even stormier. "All I have to do I suppose is let you claim me then?"
Snape's eyes went from Lilly to James. In a soft voice, he warned, "Potter!"
All the warnings seemed to go over James' head and he continued. "Sure! That's a great idea. You'd be able to come to Hogwarts with me then!"
Snape took a couple of steps back.
Lilly took another step towards James, "So pure blood is more important to you than half-blood then?"
"Yeah. Well, only because we have more privileges than half-bloods." James shrugged.
"So I can learn magic from you but at a cost." Lilly's voice dropped dangerously.
"What? Yes, but I didn't make the rules " James said.
"Rules? As long as I'm your servant and do as I'm told you mean!" Lilly shouted. She picked up a photo frame and tossed it at James' head.
James looked confused then ducked just in time as the frame nearly hit him. "You're twisting everything! You make it sound like it's a bad thing. "
"It's not like I have free will or anything!" She shouted, throwing two more picture frames from the coffee table.
"Hey! Are you crazy?" James shouted. He ducked them both.
"Or my blood status makes us equals in the eyes of the law!" Lilly threw a vase at James, hitting him square in the face.
James fell over a sofa chair. He and the chair fell backward, his feet sticking up in the air. "Just trying to help." He groaned.
Sofia finally managed to stand up when something hit her over the head. She fell back to the ground, her head aching. Her vision started going black.
A young girl with a pinched face and dark hair held a cast-iron frying pan over her head. She was in her pajamas with a nightcap on her head. "Burglars!"
Lilly looked at the girl irritably. "Petunia!"
Sofia passed out.
James rolled on the floor, attempting to free himself. "Do you mind untying me?"
Petunia looked around, nervously clutching her frying pan.
"You're staying right there," Lilly told Potter.
James managed to grab his wand, waved it, and the ropes unbound. He jumped to his feet with a proud smile.
"Wait, are you practicing magic?" Petunia shrieked.
Lilly glared at James and turned to her sister with a pleading look.
"I'm turning you all in!" Petunia shrieked again. She turned and tried to run from the room.
James held out his wand at the fleeing girl, "Petrificus Totalus."
Poor Petunia stiffened and fell over, a look of terror frozen on her face.
"Don't attack my sister!" Lilly shouted.
James looked helpless, "I was trying to help!"
A small cry from the floor drew everyone's attention. Sofia's shirt began turning red. James rushed over and lifted up her shirt. Blood was rushing from a wound that suddenly appeared in her lower abdomen.
James looked up at the others as they stared back in shock.