Summer Holiday

Chapter 39

A few weeks had passed. It was now late November and Blaise had transitioned into spending all his evenings at the pier with the rest of the group. He was generally accepted by everyone, but Draco couldn't stop himself from feeling jealous whenever Blaise and Sophie spent time alone.

It was mid afternoon and Sophie walked through the corridor to her next class.

"Soph!" A voice boomed behind her. She turned around quickly. Bronson was weaving his way through the busy corridor trying to catch up to her. "I've been calling your name for ages. You walk quickly." Bronson slowed his pace and walked alongside Sophie.

"Oh sorry! I didn't hear you." Sophie apologized.

"Let me carry those for you." Bronson took Sophie's books from her arms and they continued walking.

"Thanks." Sophie smiled at Bronson.

"Where ya headed?"

"Transfiguration." Sophie answered glumly.

Bronson chuckled. "Why the long face?"

"McGonagall hates me. I know it." Sophie sighed.

"Ha!" Bronson snorted. "She is rather grumpy, isn't she?"

"Tell me about it." Sophie rolled her eyes.

"So I heard you've been spending a lot of time alone with Blaise." Bronson commented.

Sophie eyed him from the side warily. "So?"

"So.....?" Bronson looked at her.

"So he's helping me with something. Big deal." Sophie shrugged.

"With what?" Bronson asked eagerly.

Sophie scoffed and took her books back from Bronsons arms. "Well if you must know, he's been giving me advice on how to end things with Fred. Whatever things may be."

Bronson's eyebrows shot up on his forehead. "Really? Wow."

"What?" Sophie snapped feeling embarrassed.

"Nothing, I just..... I'm proud of you." Bronson smiled at Sophie who was avoiding his eyes. She finally looked up at Bronson.

"Well thanks." Her heart warmed at Bronson's words. It wasn't very often she heard someone say they were proud of her. "Keep this between us okay? Well and Blaise."

Bronson laughed. "You got it. My class is the other way. Catch you later?"

"Of course." Sophie smiled and they parted ways.

It was true what she told Bronson. After Blaise had bluntly asked why she kept Fred in her life, she couldn't get the thought out of her head. She liked the way Blaise carried himself. He was always calm and observing those around him while still offering support when needed. She asked him to meet her at the pier before dinners to establish how she would properly handle Fred. The conversations always lasted a long time because she always circled back and considered keeping Fred in her life anyways. Blaise never judged her, just offered what he would do if it was him. Sophie hadn't considered it was strange they were meeting every day or that anyone would notice. She couldn't help but wonder if Draco had noticed the new friendship blossoming between her and Blaise, but that wasn't the main problem to focus on. She needed to decide what she wanted to do about Fred, and she needed to do it quickly. It was starting to take a toll on her.

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Draco, Theo, and Blaise sat in the Great Hall eating lunch. The three boys were silent as Crabbe and Goyle bickered loudly.