Chapter 19: New Beginnings and an Old Shadow

Disclaimer: Yeah, still not mine.

Author's Notes: As normal, beta credit to DracoGurlFurever for her hard work and a huge thank you to all the Admin staff here who grapple with my grammar each time and make these chapters readable. I promise, I really am trying to learn! Also, thank you to you for reading ... I do hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you so feel inclined, I would love to hear your thoughts on it. :)

Chapter 19: New Beginnings and an Old Shadow

'So, did you get everything sorted out?' Melanie asked.

Sophia stopped in her tracks. Thinking that everyone would be asleep, she had crept into her room quietly, but she had been very wrong. All four of her friends were huddled on Lucy's bed, each dressed in pyjamas, all with an expectant look on their faces.

'I would say so, judging by the size of that grin she's wearing,' Niahm said, trying to suppress a giggle.

'What are you guys still doing up?' Sophia asked.

'What do you think we are doing up?' Lucy asked with astonishment. 'We want details!'

Sophia felt herself blushing and hesitated before she joined the girls on the bed.

'So,' Lily began, 'what happened?'

'I think you already have a fair idea, don't you?' Sophia replied evasively. She wasn't sure if she was quite ready to actually talk about what had just happened.

'Did you kiss?' Niahm asked, leaning forward in excitement.

Sophia didn't need to speak – the grin that spread across her face as her cheeks went from pink to deep crimson was enough of an answer. The four girls squealed with delight and piled in to hug her. They quickly let go of her and resumed their seats on the bed, although they were all sitting slightly closer together now.

Melanie continued the line of questioning. 'Well, how was it?'

Sophia, again, hesitated before answering. 'It was ... it was just amazing.'

'Sophia and Sirius ... got a ring to it, wouldn't you say?' Niahm teased, causing Sophia to blush even more.

'Well, I, for one, am very happy for you,' Lily stated, 'but, if he hurts you, then he'll have me to deal with.' Lily's McGonagall impression was back.

'I don't think he will,' Sophia replied, a secret smile gracing her face as she remembered everything Sirius had told her a few minutes ago.

The next day, Sophia woke early, a satisfied smile on her face. She got out of bed and prepared for the day ahead with breakneck speed, then waited impatiently for Lily before heading down for breakfast. She could feel the butterflies fluttering round her belly as she walked down the stairs to the common room.

As she rounded the corner, she saw the unmistakable, tall figure with black hair propped up against the back of one of the sofas. Sirius had his head bent down and was playing with a lose thread in the fabric while listening to James, Remus and Peter talking. Her butterflies seemed to multiply by ten when she saw him, but they were joined by a smile that broke out across her face.

She saw James look in the girls' direction, and he gave Sirius a nudge in the ribs with his elbow. Sirius looked up, breaking into a happy grin as their eyes made contact which caused Sophia's cheeks to turn slightly pink. He stood up from his spot and moved a step in her direction as she and Lily reached the Marauders.

'Morning,' Sirius said, wrapping his arm around Sophia's waist and giving her a peck on the cheek.

'Morning,' she replied, thankful that the butterflies had finally decided to settle down.

'Aww ... Sirius has got a girl,' James teased in a babyish voice. 'I think I might be sick,' he added drolly. Sirius grabbed a cushion from the sofa and hit James round the shoulder with it.

'Just because you're jealous,' he retorted with a smirk. Sophia looked at Lily, who had dropped her gaze to the floor; James gave Sirius a murderous stare.

Peter quickly cleared his throat. 'Well, shall we get going?'

'Yeah, good idea,' Remus agreed, grabbing hold of James's arm and dragging him out of the common room. Peter followed them, with Lily being a step or two behind him. When they were safely out of earshot, Sophia rounded on Sirius.

'What were you thinking?' she whispered harshly as she slapped his shoulder.

'Ouch!' he muttered as he rubbed where she had hit him. 'I'm sorry ... I just didn't think. I didn't mean to tick him off or make Lily uncomfortable. I was just larking around.' He gave her his best puppy-dog look ... the one which she had yet to resist, despite her best efforts.

Sophia felt herself melt at the look before she rolled her eyes and sighed. 'Oh, look, I know you didn't mean any harm, but just think for a second next time will you? She's my best friend and she's starting to warm to you lot. I don't need you proving all her theories right.'

'And what theories might these be?' he inquired with a raised eyebrow.

'That you are all insensitive prats,' she replied with a smile. 'Anyway, we should probably get going – they'll wonder where we've got to, and I do not want that rumour starting.'

They sat next to one another during breakfast, and as she had predicted, she was subjected to some rather nasty looks, but even those couldn't get rid of the goofy grin that was spread across her face. Sirius' sprits seemed to be particularly high today as well, and he and the rest of the Marauders spent the whole of breakfast trying to come up with new prank ideas.

Sirius and Sophia had Charms class first while James and Lily had Ancient Runes and Peter and Remus had a free period. As the weather was once again fine, Peter and Remus turned to spend their time outside, leaving the remaining four to climb the stairs up to their classes.

'We'll meet you outside, then, after this?' Sirius asked James as Lily left in the direction of the Ancient Runes classroom.

'Sure thing,' James called over his shoulder as he hurried to catch up with Lily.

'Tell me one thing,' Sirius said wearily as he looked at James's retreating form. 'Does he have a snowflakes chance in Hades of ever getting her?'

Sophia chuckled softly, linking arms with Sirius and dragged him in the direction of the Charms classroom. 'Let's just say that I don't think all hope is lost just yet.'

~~~~~

James, Sirius, Peter and Sophia sat underneath the beech tree while trying to work on their own various assignments. Peter was working on an essay for Care of Magical Creatures; James was trying to decipher some particularly tricky runes, and Sophia was reading up on some of the defence spells they had covered in Defence Against the Dark Arts the day before.

Sirius, however, wasn't working. He was feeling far too exhilarated to work so was content for the time being to sit with his back against the tree, watching Sophia work. He picked at pieces of grass, watching her features become taught through concentration as she scanned her book before she lifted her head and closed her eyes, making small movements with her wand in an attempt to visualise what she had just read. Occasionally, her lips would move slightly as she quickly whispered to herself the directions for the spell. She would then divert her attention back to her book, and the process would start again.

While he watched her, he thought about the events of the night before and smiled to himself. He still couldn't quite believe that she hadn't noticed his interest in her. She was normally so good at picking up subtleties of people's actions, not to mention the fact that she was also the great-niece of Albus Dumbledore, one of the most revered wizards in the world; despite all that, she still hadn't twigged.

For all her smarts, she sure can be dense on some occasions, he thought with a soft chuckle, causing Sophia to look at him intriguingly. He gave her a smile, gently shaking his head to tell her it was nothing. She returned the smile briefly before going back to her book.

It didn't really matter that she'd not guessed ... she now knew how he felt, and better than that, she felt the same way. His stomach swooped as he remembered the kisses they had shared the night before, and it was enough to make him feel fidgety. He pulled out a bit of parchment and his quill and scribbled a note down quickly.

I can't stand the fact that you are giving that textbook more attention than me. By way of an apology, I insist that you come for a walk with me.

He folded the note up and levitated it over to Sophia, placing it carefully over the page that she was reading. As it landed, she looked up at him, confusion and curiosity playing across her face, so he smiled encouragingly at her. He waited impatiently as she read, but finally, she folded the note back up and grinned at him. Taking that as his cue, Sirius jumped to his feet as Sophia hurriedly packed her things away.

'Leaving so soon?' James inquired drolly.

'What can I say, James ... you just don't hold the same appeal as you did yesterday,' Sirius quipped as Sophia joined him and he took hold of her hand.

'I'm hurt,' James replied, somewhat over-dramatically, causing Remus and Peter to chuckle.

'You'll survive.' With that, Sirius turned and led Sophia off around the lake.

'So, did you get the inquisitorial squad as well last night?' Sophia asked, humour lacing her words.

'Yeah, I did, but nothing too bad. Remember, I'd already faced ... and narrowly escaped ... death by firing squad,' Sirius chuckled in reply. 'Though Remus did do a "big brother" type speech.'

Sophia chortled. 'I can imagine. I should probably warn you that Lily would join Remus in hunting you down if you hurt me.'

'Is that so ... well, I guess I shall have to stay in your good books.' He let go of Sophia's hand and placed his arm round her shoulders, pulling her closer to him as he did, and he placed a kiss on her hair as they continued to walk. He was pleased when she took hold of the hand that was on her shoulder and interlaced her fingers with his.

They walked around the lake just enjoying one another's company before Sirius stopped and turned Sophia to look at him. He placed both his palms flat against hers, interlacing their fingers and pulling her slightly closer. Sophia was smiling at him, and though she looked slightly puzzled, she didn't speak.

'Soph, would you like to come to Hogsmeade with me on the next visit? It would just be us, for the day.' He didn't know why, but he felt slightly nervous asking her this question. After baring his heart and soul to her the previous night, it did seem slightly ridiculous to be nervous, but there was no denying his quickened heart rate.

'I'd love to,' she responded shyly, causing him to break into a grin before pulling her closer and pressing his lips to hers.

'Good.' He slipped one arm round her waist and they started to walk again.

~~~~~

They finished their tour of the lake and ended back at the beech tree, where James and Peter had just been joined by Remus and Lily since it was now break time.

'Hi, Lils – how was History of Magic?' Sophia inquired.

'Oh, you know Binns ... it was riveting, as always,' she replied sarcastically.

'I honestly do not know why you two chose to keep going with it,' Sirius stated. 'If you ask me, you both must be nutters.'

Remus was about to retort when a cold voice filtered through.

'Well, well, lads. Seems old Black here has decided to take up my cast-offs.'

Sophia's blood ran like ice through her veins. James and Peter climbed to their feet instantly as Sophia felt Sirius tighten his grip round her waist. Evan Rosier stalked over towards the group, closely followed by Severus Snape, Regulus Black, Rabastan Lestrange, Barty Crouch, and Jonathan Avery. Rosier wore a malicious grin as the others smirked at his comment.

'Back off, Rosier.' Sirius's voice was low and dangerous, and Sophia caught sight of him reaching for his wand out of the corner of her eye.

'Now that's not very nice, is it? Here I am, just trying to give you a few tips on how to handle her ...' Though Rosier's tone was light-hearted, his words were laced with venom.

He looked Sophia up and down in a way that made her skin crawl, but it also made her angry. She had worked too hard to put this behind her; she was not about to give him the satisfaction of crumbling again. Sirius let out a low growl at Rosier's words and moved to hex him, but Sophia grabbed his arm quickly to stop him.

'This is not your fight ... it's mine.' She turned her gaze back on Rosier and carefully freed herself from Sirius's protective grip, taking a cautious step towards the man who had haunted her nightmares for too long.

'You think you're so smart, don't you? You and your little cronies,' she said as she let a small, knowing smile form. 'Well, you're not. You see, I'm not afraid of you, and there is nothing that you can say or do that will ever make me scared of you.'

She could see Rosier's anger begin to play across his face; the rest of the Slytherins seemed unsure about what to do.

'You see, Rosier, I hold all the power. I never went to Dumbledore ... I never wanted this to get out. Push me, or my friends again, and I may just change my mind. I have witnesses, and even if I didn't, who do you think they would believe?'

'Are you threatening me?' Rosier growled, his grip tightening over his wand.

Sophia quickly cast a look down at it, one corner of her mouth quirking up into a half smile. She knew she was aggravating him, and there was a large part of her that was enjoying it.

'Damn right I am,' she said as quietly and menacingly as she could before lightening her tone. 'Now, I'd appreciate it if you left us alone.'

Sophia turned to go back to Sirius, but as she did, she glimpsed Rosier's wand arm begin to move. Without thinking, she quickly spun round to face him, silently casting a powerful shield charm which caused Rosier's spell to bounce back and hit Avery square on the face. Avery dropped to his knees, yowling in pain as he did as angry-looking boils erupted over his face and neck.

Before Sophia could fully register what had happened, the rest of the Slytherins started hurling hexes at her, Lily and the Marauders. She felt Sirius and Remus grab her arms and pull her behind them, placing her next to a scared looking Lily. The four Marauders were in full retaliation mode, with Sirius and James, at least, looking like they were enjoying themselves.

Remus was duelling with Rabastan; Remus' face was contorting in grim determination while Rabastan had a manic glint in his eye. Remus had initially used defensive spells only, but that changed after a few minutes, and Remus began to return Rabastan's hexes with added intensity.

Peter had his attention fixed on Barty. Barty had a svelte frame and was a similar height to Peter. Neither showed any mercy towards the other, and neither seemed to fight with the grace and tack that the other duelling pairs showed. There was no doubt in Sophia's mind that this was purely reactive duelling, with little pre-meditation taking place.

James and Snape were duelling as well. Unlike Peter and Barty, there were regular pauses in this duel where each party thought of their next strategy before carefully and exactly implementing it. James was already sporting a tear down one arm of his school robes, where he had been too slow to avoid one of Snape's hexes. Snape, for his part, was having trouble walking after James had successfully hit him with a sponge knee curse.

Meanwhile, Sirius was taking on Rosier and Regulus. Sophia looked on as Sirius blocked hex after hex that the two Slytherins rained down on him. At every possible opportunity, Sirius would retaliate, seeming to concentrate his attacks on removing Regulus from the fight first. However, the two brothers were evenly matched, and there was a part of Sophia that was deeply disturbed at seeing the vicious hexes being exchanged between the pair.

Lily and Sophia were huddled together, desperately trying to avoid being hit by any of the stray curses.

'We have to do something!' Sophia said, watching Remus dodge a jet of purple light before firing his own streak of blue back at Rabastan.

'There's not much we can do,' Lily replied, her eye's transfixed on James and Snape. 'We are going to need help to break this up. I'll go and see if I can find Professor McGonagall.'

'Okay, I'll stay here in case anyone gets seriously hurt,' Sophia responded. She flinched as she saw Sirius drop to the ground to avoid a hex from Rosier. Lily nodded before she ran back to the castle.

Sophia watched helplessly for a few minutes longer. Each of the boys were now looking worse for wear, but none of them seemed ready to back down. Sophia worried how far each party would be willing to go in order to win; she hoped that Lily would return with help quickly.

Indeed, Sophia didn't have to wait long, spotting Lily's red hair re-emerging from the castle. As she drew nearer, Sophia saw that Lily was being followed by both Professor McGonagall and Professor Ward, the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. However, the boys seemed oblivious to their approach, and the two professors were forced to cast four shield charms in order to stop the duels.

'What in the world do you think you are doing?' Professor McGonagall asked coldly, looking around the group. All the boys were breathing heavily, each still focused on the person they had been duelling with, unquenched fury in all their eyes. 'Well, is anyone going to answer me?' she demanded.

'You should ask Rosier, Professor,' Sirius sneered, his stare never leaving Rosier's face. 'He's the one who started it.'

Sophia saw McGonagall give her a quick glance before the teacher rolled back her shoulders and turned to Evan. 'Mr Rosier ... what do you have to say for yourself?'

Rosier was flexing his grip on his wand, his upper lip drawing back over his teeth as he continued to glare at Sirius. Sophia's heart was still beating furiously, and the level of tension in the air seemed to grow exponentially as McGonagall waited for Rosier's answer.

'Mr Rosier, you are already in a world of trouble; I suggest that you do not try my patience any further. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?' McGonagall once again demanded.

'Nothing, Professor,' Rosier replied, his normal smooth tone in place.

McGonagall took a deep breath before speaking again, 'Very well, Professor Ward, will you please escort those who are in need of Madam Pomfrey up to the Hospital Wing, and I will see to the rest.'

The professor gave a nod of his head before herding Snape, Avery, Crouch, Peter and James up to the Hospital Wing ... clearly positioning himself between the two sides in case either decided to try to start round two of the fight.

'Mr Black, Mr Lupin, you will both report to me for detention tomorrow evening at eight o' clock, and you can notify Mr Potter and Mr Pettigrew that I will expect them at the same time,' McGonagall stated.

'Professor!' Sirius exclaimed. 'You can't be serious! They started it!'

Professor McGonagall shot Sirius a quelling look that froze him in place. 'Mr Black, do not question me again. You will all face detention for duelling on school grounds. You know very well that it is against the school rules, and I have no choice but to give you all detention.' McGonagall gave Sirius a firm look before turning to face the remaining Slytherins.

'Mr Rosier, Mr Black, Mr Lestrange, you will report to my office this evening for detention at 8 o' clock and you also can tell Mr Snape, Mr Crouch, and Mr Avery that I expect their presence at the same time. I shall also be notifying Professor Slughorn of your behaviour.

'Slytherin will also lose one hundred and sixty points ... that is, forty points each ... for this display, while I am also forced to remove a total of forty points ... ten points each ... from Gryffindor for their part. Now, the bell is about to go shortly, so I suggest, Mr Rosier, Mr Lestrange, and Mr Black, that you head off to your next class. I wish to have a final word with my Gryffindors.'

Without another word, Rosier, Rabastan and Regulus turned and left in the direction of the castle. Sirius and Remus moved slowly back to Sophia, with Sirius placing an arm about her waist. Lily and Professor McGonagall walked over to join them.

'I don't suppose that I need to be a genius to understand how this fight started. Miss McKinloch, are you quite all right?' McGonagall asked, her face softening from the harsh look she had held throughout her reprimand.

'Yes, thank you, Professor,' Sophia affirmed.

'Very well, rest assured that I will see to it that they are all suitably punished for their behaviour. Mr Black, Mr Lupin, I know that your actions were well meaning, but I'm afraid I cannot let this rule-breaking go unpunished. I hope that should this situation arise again, you will all think twice before retaliating.' She raised an eyebrow at the group as she looked over the rim of her glasses. A murmur of consent echoed amongst the friends. 'Good; I do hate having to remove points from my own house. If there is nothing else, I shall leave you all to make your way to your next class.'

The group waited until McGonagall was out of ear shot before speaking again.

'Sirius, are you okay?' Sophia asked, her concern evident in her voice.

'I'm fine; it was nothing I couldn't handle.' He gave her a winning smile while tightening his grip on her waist.

'How about you, Remus?' Sophia asked.

'I'm fine,' he replied, giving Sophia a confident smile. 'I just hope James and Peter get out of the Hospital Wing quickly – I don't see why they should get to miss double Potions when we have to go through it.'

'Too right!' Sirius joked; both boys laughed.

'Speaking of which, we should probably get going,' Lily stated as she picked up her bag.

Sophia, Sirius and Remus followed suit, with the two boys picking up James and Peter's bags, before they made the journey up to the castle, Sirius maintaining his grip on Sophia's waist all the way.