Chapter 12: The Invitation

Disclaimer: Nope, still not morphed into JK Rowling ... damn.

Author's Notes: Firstly, thanks go to DracoGurlFurever for passing her trained beta eye over this chapter. Secondly, thank you to the readers who have stuck with this story and shown your support through your very kind reviews. I know the last part of the story has been very emotional, but now things take a lighter, and hopefully, happier turn. I hope you enjoy it and, please, let me know your thoughts. :-)

Also, my updates might take a little longer than usual from now on. When I started posting this story, I waited until my beta had looked at the first five chapters but now I've caught her up! So, as soon as I get a chapter back from her, I will post it here. However, the good news is, the whole story is fully mapped out and I've at least started, if not yet completed, all but two of the total thirty chapters. :-)

And now I shall be quiet and allow you to get on with the story!

Chapter 12: The Invitation

The remaining part of November passed all too quickly under a haze of homework, class tests, and essay deadlines. However, Sophia found that, with each day that passed, she felt a little bit more like her old self again. It was still a slow process, but Sirius had been right; because she had talked about her feelings, she had begun the healing process – she was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

After her breakthrough – or possibly breakdown – with Sirius in the Shrieking Shack, Sophia had finally been able to confide to Lily and Remus how she was really feeling. Both had been equally supportive, and both had also given her the same advice that Sirius had. Sirius was still being as compassionate as ever; every once in a while, they would have a heart-to-heart during their free periods. Although she was now more open with Lily and Remus, she found that Sirius always seemed to draw more out from her than the other two ever could. She often marvelled at how close she had grown to Sirius in such a short space of time, but then, she reasoned, they had gone through an extraordinary event together.

One day, at the end of November, while sitting at breakfast with the rest of the girls from her room, Sophia's family's small barn owl landed in front of her.

'Hello, Neasa,' she said, greeting the owl with an affectionate rub of the feathers under her beak. Neasa clicked her beak and closed her eyes as Sophia rubbed her, then shook her wings importantly, holding her leg out. Sophia quickly removed the note that was attached to it and gave Neasa scraps of bacon from her plate. Neasa happily ate the offered bacon before flying back out of the hall. Sophia recognised her mother's handwriting immediately and opened the letter to read it while she finished off her pumpkin juice.

Dear Sophia,

Mum and Dad x

Sophia felt her stomach clench uncomfortably as she read the short note. She had been so absorbed in her school work that she hadn't spared much of a thought to the Christmas holidays, which were now only three weeks away. She folded up the letter carefully, placing it in her bag as she stood up from the table.

'Where are you off to?' Lily asked, giving Sophia an enquiring look.

Sophia jumped at the question, snapping her attention to Lily as she tried to come up with a plausible excuse. Stuttering slightly, she replied, 'I've ... er, left my Herbology textbook on my bed, and I'll need it later. I'm just going to get it; I'll meet you in the library.' She didn't give Lily a chance to enquire further, striding quickly out of the Great Hall before she could say anything else. It was a true enough statement – she had forgotten to pick up her textbook, although the book was not the reason behind her headache and the nauseous feeling rolling around in her stomach.

Once in the common room, Sophia slumped down on the sofa near to the fireplace. She was deep in thought, concentrating on the letter her mother had sent and the upcoming holidays, when Remus came in. He gave her a quick smile and a wave, which she returned half-heartedly. Sensing something was wrong, Remus made a detour on his short walk across the room and joined her on the sofa.

'What's up, Soph?' he asked, flopping easily into the space next to her, his long legs sprawled out in front of him.

'Oh, it's nothing important,' she replied with a forced smile.

Remus looked at her sternly. 'You know that won't wash with me. Come on – out with it.'

Sophia glanced at Remus to see him studying her, curiosity and worry competing for dominance in his expression. Taking a strengthening breath through her nose, she gave him a tight smile. 'I just got a letter from my mum this morning, and it's thrown me into a bit of spin, I suppose,' she answered softly, almost ashamedly, as she fiddled with her fingers. 'She's so excited that I'll be coming home for Christmas.'

'This is a problem because ...?' Remus asked gently, letting the sentence hang in a prompt for her to elaborate.

Sophia took a deep breath as she thought how to answer. 'Well, obviously I want to go home for Christmas, but I'm worried that Mum will know something is wrong with me. My parents will keep asking me what is wrong until I'm forced to tell them, and I don't want to have to tell them what has happened. Mum will be hurt that I didn't tell them sooner, and Dad is likely to go into a rage.

'Yet, if I stay here, I know I will regret not seeing them and not going to the Hogmanay party that our friends hold every year. They're even letting us stay with them just so that we can visit my grandmother. I'm just not sure what to do for the best, I guess,' she finished sadly with a sigh, scrubbing her face with her hands.

Remus sat pondering for a moment before he spoke. 'I have an idea that might just work.' Sophia looked up at him despondently, not very confident that he would have a practical solution. Instead, she presumed he would tell her to come clean with her parents – a thought that made her feel nauseous.

'We, and by that I mean the Marauders, are all staying here for the holidays, right?' he said, looking to Sophia for acknowledgement. She gave a small nod, a slight frown of bewilderment on her face. She really had no idea where he was going with this. Remus smiled, obviously noticing her confusion before he carried on. 'So, why don't you stay here, with us, over Christmas? Write home and tell your parents you have to study or something, and then arrange to see them for a few days over New Year so that you can go to this party and see your grandmother. That way, you can do both the things you want.' He grinned triumphantly at Sophia as he finished.

Sophia mulled over the head quickly. Her parents certainly wouldn't protest too much if she said she had to stay here for academic reasons. Yes, they would still be upset that she wasn't there for Christmas Day, but they would accept it a lot easier than if she wrote saying she wasn't coming home because she didn't feel like it. Besides, she could be with them for the New Year. If she could arrange to get home for a few days over New Year, it would be perfect. She would still see her parents and ease her guilt on that front, and if they were at the Douglas' then there would be enough distractions to avoid any uncomfortable questions. A large grin grew across her face. 'You know, that's not a bad idea at all,' she said brightly.

'Well, I'm not a Marauder for nothing you know,' he said, with a chuckle. 'I have been known to come up with a good plan every once in a while. The only problem I can see is getting out of here during the holidays.' Remus turned serious in his silence as he tried to come up with a solution.

'Oh, I don't think that will be too much of a problem. I'll just speak to Dumbledore – I'm sure he'll let me Floo out to my home,' Sophia said dismissively.

'What makes you so confident?' Remus asked suspiciously.

Sophia wasn't sure how to answer. 'What do you mean?' she asked, noticing Remus' confused expression, which caused her to continue. 'Didn't Sirius tell you?'

Remus still looked confused. 'Tell me what?' he asked tersely.

Sophia frowned slightly as she answered, 'I honestly thought he would have told you. Dumbledore is my great-uncle.'

Remus' eyebrows shot up as he stared at her. 'What?' he nearly shouted, his mouth gaping at her slightly.

Sophia nodded, trying desperately not to chuckle at his expression. 'My mother's father is Dumbledore's brother.'

'Bloody hell,' Remus muttered in astonishment.

'That's why I never told Dumbledore what happened with Rosier – though I dare say he knows anyway,' she continued quietly, Remus nodding sombrely in reply. 'I don't understand why Sirius didn't tell you; I told him he could if he wanted.'

'You are full of surprises sometimes, you know,' Remus said, the dumbfounded look still in place. Shaking his head slightly, he continued, 'Sirius never told us any of this. When did you tell him?'

'The night Rosier attacked me,' Sophia replied. Remus swallowed as he looked away from Sophia, blinking rapidly as he absorbed the information. In an attempt to move the conversation on, she continued speaking. 'Anyway, my point is, it shouldn't be too hard for me to arrange getting home for New Year.'

'No,' Remus snorted, 'I suppose not.' He remained quiet for a short while; Sophia just sat there, nervously wondering whether she should speak or not. Eventually, though, Remus turned back to face her, smiling warmly. 'Well, it sounds like we have a plan, then.'

Sophia breathed a sigh of relief and found herself grinning. 'I think we most certainly do. I'll write to my parents right away and see what they say. Thanks, Remus.'

'Not a problem – I'm just glad I could help,' he responded as he squeezed her knee and stood up again. 'Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find the others – I told them I would only be gone a few minutes.' With that, Remus turned and headed up to the boys' dormitories.

Sophia smiled to herself, a sense of relief settling over her after her talk with Remus. Sighing happily, she stood and made her way up to her room. Her textbook was sitting on her bed, exactly where she had left it. She grabbed it quickly, and then made her way to meet the other girls in the library, feeling a great deal more hopeful about the approaching festive holiday.

~~~~~

Sirius and the other Marauders were all seated in the comfortable chairs around the fireplace as it crackled merrily, its warmth staving off the November chill that was beginning to seep through the castle walls. He was lounging in his favourite chair, his forgotten Potions book still lying open in his lap. Only Remus was still working, and even that was a half-hearted attempt. It was only when Sophia came bounding up to them, a smile wide on her face and her blue eyes twinkling, that Sirius focused back on what was happening around him.

'What's put you in such a good mood?' Sirius asked suspiciously as Sophia dropped down into the seat next to Remus.

All four boys were now watching her with avid interest, but she only focused on Remus, a fact that caused Sirius to press his lips into a thin line of pique.

'I got a response from my parents,' she said excitedly. Sirius watched, becoming more confused by the second as he saw Remus' body tense in anticipation. Clearly, something had happened that he hadn't been told about. That hurt him more than he would care to admit, and he couldn't stop his look of pique turning into a petulant frown. In an ironic kind of way, it was a good thing Sophia was solely focused on Remus, because it meant she was oblivious to his childish reaction.

'So, what did they say?' Remus asked eagerly, leaning closer to Sophia as he did.

'They said that they were sorry, but that they understood, and they were happy that they would see me for a few days at least. That's not the best part, though.' Sophia stopped, but her grin was even larger now.

'Well, don't keep me in suspense!' Remus said quickly.

'Hold on a minute – what in the name of Merlin are you two talking about?' James butted in. Sirius took a quick look at his friends and saw that they were obviously as much in the dark as he was. That should have been a comfort to him – no, actually he shouldn't care that Sophia hadn't told him something in the first place – but he did care, and he wasn't comforted.

'Oh, sorry,' Sophia said apologetically, snapping her attention to the other three boys for the first time since she sat down. 'I'm just so excited!' Her smile was contagious as she looked to Sirius, and he couldn't help but smile back at her, his proverbial feathers smoothed back down. 'Let me get the girls over, and I'll explain everything to you all together.' She got up quickly and left to go up into the girls' dormitory. Sirius gave Remus a questioning look, but Remus made no comment and just gave him a shrug of his shoulders.

Sophia returned a few minutes later with the other four girls, who all took up places on the floor. Lucy was mildly complaining that she was going to lose her train of thought in her Muggle Studies essay, but Sirius thought it seemed to only be a half-hearted protest. Once everyone was settled, Sophia spoke again.

'So, you all know that the Christmas holidays are coming up soon.' Everyone nodded their heads, and Sirius silently wished that Sophia would get on with whatever it was she had to say. 'I know that you girls are going home, while the Marauders are all staying here at Hogwarts, and I have decided to stay here for the holidays with them.'

Sirius inwardly smiled in triumph, immensely pleased that she would be at Hogwarts over the holidays. The other girls, however, didn't seem to know how they were supposed to react to Sophia's statement; they remained quiet, each sharing not-so-subtle questioning glances.

'However, I am going to go home for a few days over New Year, and this is why you are all here.' Sophia smiled, but Sirius noticed that everyone else seemed confused at that statement – even Remus; again, that comforted him. Sophia continued. 'You see, every year my parents and I go to a Hogmanay party that is hosted by our friends Donald and Mary Douglas. They are Lairds, and they have an estate in northern Scotland. They live in a small castle on the estate; every year, they throw a Hogmanay party for the local village. Donald and my dad grew up together and are still really good friends.

'When Donald found out that I would be staying here for most of the holidays and that some of my friends were doing the same, he offered to extend our invitation to anyone that I wanted to invite too. So, I'm asking you guys now if you would like to come to a Hogmanay party with me! What do you say?' Sophia sat, beaming at the group, obviously happy with the news she had just shared.

The whole group sat in bewildered silence for a moment before Peter piped up with a question. 'Sorry, Sophia, but what exactly happens at this party, and how would we get there?'

'Sorry – I guess I should have elaborated a bit. Okay, the plan is that we would all Floo to my parents' house – the boys and I would use the fireplace in the Headmaster's office, and Melanie, Niahm and Lucy would Floo from home. Lily, my parents have said that one of them will Apparate to your house and collect you, if your parents are fine with that idea. Then, from there, we will have to catch the Knight Bus up to the estate; Donald and Mary are Muggles, and they don't know a thing about magic.

'They have invited us to stay with them for as long as we like; as my Gran still lives in the village, my parents and I will see her quickly on New Year's Day. We'll probably arrive there at some point in the afternoon on New Year's Eve and leave on the morning of the second, if that's okay with everyone?' There was a quick nodding of heads from everyone before Sophia continued.

'As for the party, it's a very traditional Scottish celebration. There is a meal where traditional Scottish food is served, then there is a ceilidh, and then we celebrate the New Year. It's always really good fun – I promise you will enjoy it.' It looked to Sirius as if Sophia was recalling a wealth of fond memories as she enlightened them all about what she had invited them to.

'So, what's this traditional food we have to eat, then?' Lucy asked, obviously keenly interested.

'Well, I expect there will be haggis, neeps and tatties–' Sophia started, before she was interrupted.

'Whoa, hold on a second ... haggis, neeps and what-ies?' Niahm asked.

'Sorry,' Sophia said, a slight giggle in her tone. 'Neeps is the Scottish word for turnips, and tatties is the Scottish word for potatoes. Haggis is a bit more interesting. It's traditionally made from mincing up sheep's heart, lungs and liver with onion, oatmeal, suet and some other stuff, then putting all that in a sheep's stomach and then boiling it.'

'That's disgusting!' shouted Melanie and Lily together, looks of utter revulsion on their faces. There wasn't much that Sirius wouldn't eat, but this description of Haggis was definitely making his stomach churn; he was sure his face was pretty similar to the two girls'. He had to wonder how a girl who wouldn't eat a banana could stomach minced-up sheep entrails.

'It's not disgusting!' Sophia protested. 'You can't comment on it if you've never tried it.'

'I think you'll find we can!' Lily protested, though her tone was teasing. 'No sane person would enjoy eating that,' she added, smirking at Sophia as she did.

'Yeah, but whoever claimed Soph was sane?' Remus joked, earning him a slap to his arm from Sophia. Sirius had to muffle his laughter at Sophia's disgruntled look.

'Anyway,' James said pointedly, drawing the conversation back before it turned into a teasing match. 'After the weird food-fest,' he said, Sophia glaring at him slightly as he spoke, 'there's this ... what did you call it?'

'Ceilidh,' Sophia answered quickly, her face softening and her eyes glinting with excitement once more. 'Oh, I do love a good ceilidh,' Sophia said wistfully, Sirius presumed it was more to herself than anyone else. 'You know, I can always tell how good a ceilidh has been by the size of the bruises on my arms – the bigger the bruise, the better the ceilidh,' she finished with a grin.

'Hold on ... you mean, you are seriously telling us that you enjoy this ceilidh thing more if you get big bruises?' Sirius said with surprise. He suddenly became worried that the crazy gene the Headmaster seemed to have could be inherited. Lily might have been joking with her comments over haggis, but really it couldn't be normal to enjoy doing something that left you black and blue.

'Yeah,' she said, still holding her matter-of-fact tone.

Sirius couldn't quite get past this revelation, but carried on with his questions regardless. 'Okay,' he drawled slowly, 'so what makes a ceilidh so great then?'

'It's all the traditional Scottish dances – the steps are really easy, so you'll pick it up quite quickly; and most of the dances are lively and ... well, it's just good fun,' she said with a grin. The four girls seemed more impressed with the description of the ceilidh, but Sirius was even more dismayed at the description of this part of the evening than the food. 'Of course, you guys will have to get kilts–'

'We will not!' the Marauders all exclaimed in unison.

'What do you mean? 'Course you've got to wear a kilt; all the men will be in kilts,' Sophia retorted firmly.

'I am NOT wearing a skirt,' Sirius responded; the other three nodded fervently.

'Firstly, a kilt is not a skirt – don't ever let my Dad hear you say that, or you'll wake up a week later – and you will all wear a kilt if I'm ever to speak to any of you again.' Sophia had a note of finality in her voice which let the boys know that she was not messing around. Sirius internally groaned, knowing that there was no way out.

'I'll come with you and make sure that you all look okay, so don't worry. Besides ... I've always found that a guy in a kilt is quite attractive. What do you girls think?' Sophia said smoothly with a sly smile. Taking their cue, the four girls all nodded and voiced their agreement. This pacified Sirius and the other Marauders slightly, thought they still maintained their mild mutinous looks at the idea in the hope that Sophia might take pity on them – she didn't.

'Well, if you're looking forward to it, then so am I,' Lily said, smiling at Sophia. 'You'll have to thank your friends for being so generous in inviting us all.' Sirius found himself silently agreeing with Lily on this one. However bizarre and socially embarrassing this night would be (and it would be embarrassing, for sure, if he was wearing a skir–kilt) if it made Sophia happy, then it had to be a good thing.