enjoy :D
A/N: I've added a bit more to this chapter.
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii"Cough, Hack, Sneeze."
"Very funny, Sophie."
"You need a housekeeper, and I'm not talking about that bug-eyed little monster you call a house elf. He's creepy." Sophie put down the feather duster that was her constant companion since her arrival in the House of Black.
"What's with all these secret meetings you and the old fart have? I'm beginning to get pissed off when he shows up unannounced and whisks you away for hours at a time and I end up playing 'hostess' to whoever was unlucky enough to be dragged along with him. Usually it's poor Tonks but now he brings that Snape guy. He's just a barrel of sunshine."
Reggie sighed and got up from the table full of scrolls left to his care. "I'm sorry darling, but it's for the best that you don't know. Should you be captured by Death Eaters, Merlin forbid, you'd have plausible deniability."
"Reg, if I get captured by Death Eaters, they'd more likely kill me than question me."
"True as that is, important information would be known by them, and we're leaking information that would mislead them. Do you understand, Sophie?"
"Yep, the less I know the better I'd be. We both know how well that ended for Sirius, now don't we?"
"That was uncalled for."
"But true. Just wanted to point out that little fact. Reg, I-"
A flash from the fireplace interrupted her, and she gritted her teeth in anger. "Regulus, important business…" the old man said as he entered the room, followed by a man in dark robes.
"Yes, Professor. Sophie, if you could escort Professor Snape to the sitting room?"
"How 'bout I pull a Lorena Bobitt and told you to shove it?"
"I love you, too, Sophie."
"Don't be so surprised if you wake up in the morning and end up with something missing."
She turned and grabbed the dark man's sleeve and led him out the door of the study.
"You may unhand me now, madam."
"Nope, you're going to wander around and if I'm in a pissed off mood I'd rather not take it out on Creepy. He's like a masochist or something, thrives on being kicked around."
"Creepy? Do you mean the house elf?"
"Yeah. Here, sit. Tea?"
"No thank you, I haven't recovered from the last cup of tea you gave me."
"Hey! The Label Was Smudged! Not my fault."
"What were you and Regulus fighting about?" He steepled his fingers as he sat in a wing chair.
"We weren't fighting."
"I've observed you well enough to recognize your moods, and you were angry. You still are."
"Even if I am I won't tell you, Nosey."
"Rude American."
"Uppity Brit."
"Sophia, really."
"Sorry, Severus. Every thing just changed when we got here. He spends his time pouring over those scrolls. I just have had it! I tried to let him know but he just ignores me."
He sat up straighter in the chair. "You're thinking of leaving?"
She nodded and sat down on the arm of the chair. He wrapped an arm around her waist for reassurance.
"If you need a flat to stay in…"
"I appreciate it, Severus, but I want to try to get a place on my own. If I fail, you might just find me knocking at your door."
"I've grown quite fond of you, Sophia. For a Muggle, you are quite charming."
"Thank you, for a nosey, dower wizard, you're not that bad yourself."
"Rude, yet flattering."
"So another school year is about to start. Looking forward to all those little impressionable youths to mold into the Slytherin ideal?"
"Oh, if only! I'd be lucky to survive the first month with the first years."
"Ick. Try not to die, I'm beginning to believe you're my best friend and that would mean that I'd have to say some pleasant things about you at your funeral."
"Have you thought about Dumbledore's proposal?"
"Uh huh, not really up to it. Just gonna do my own thing for a while."
"Pity, teaching certain students some grace may come along way in their overall teenage bumbling."
"I'm not going to teach hormonal wizards how to dance, so stop trying to talk me into it. Is that the only reason he brought you? To try and sway me?"
"Yes."
"Ah, I, uh, was being sarcastic there."
"I know."
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiSophie paced the library, waiting for Reggie's return from a mission. Sitting in his usual spot was Severus, reading a book, ignoring the constant movement of his 'friend'. Dumbledore was in a large cushy chair that he conjured, watching the woman walk back and forth, occasionally shooting him mean looks.
"So help me, old man, if he ends up dead for real this time-"
"Not to worry, my dear, he will return safely. He is simply retrieving an item that he hid during his time as a Death Eater. Remarkable how you successfully removed the Dark Mark from his arm."
"Laser surgery. He whined like a bitch for weeks after."
"What exactly is that?"
"Um, it's a concentrated beam of light, I guess. It burns the first few layers of skin that the ink in tattoos are inked on, it leaves the area pink after words but the tattoo is gone."
"Sounds rather painful." Severus commented from behind his book.
"It is."
The fireplace flared to life, depositing a dirty, sooty Regulus onto the floor. He rose with a grin. Sophie stopped her pacing and gave a relieved smile at Regulus which quickly left her face when he walked past her to Professor Dumbledore. She blinked away her tears of heartbreak.
Severus put down his book and glimpsed the look on her face before she masked it in cool resolve.
He witnessed the twisting of her engagement ring, and the jerky movements that removed it from her finger. The glance over at Regulus and Dumbledore in deep conversation and the resigned look of defeat. He rose to comfort his muggle friend, but she shook her head at him and placed the diamond ring on the desk of the library and left the room. He listened closely before he heard her soft footsteps walk down the hall and exit the Black House.
He settled back into his chair and waited for the inevitable.
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiSo ends Chapter 2
