It seemed Albus had much the same idea. They both left the dining room and went to their separate areas, but it didn't take long before Albus texted her, asking her to meet him at the pub he had shown her the first time they went out together. Where Scorpius met informants. Sophia couldn't help but smile at the memory. It was one of the first times Albus showed that he trusted her. He took her with him, when he didn't really have to.
She Apparated to the pub and went inside. Apart from Albus, there seemed to be only one other customer, a blonde witch. At least she assumed the person was magical. She didn't know if this pub was visible to Muggles or not. She sat down next to Albus. He looked a little nervous.
"I think we need to talk," he said in a serious tone. Sophia didn't like how he said that.
"If this is about what Mary said, I haven't said anything to her…"
"That's not it. Or not only that. She's not the first one who thinks the two of us are dating. Pretty much my whole family thinks so too. The ones that know about you anyway."
"They do? So does my aunt, though miraculously, she didn't seem to realise who you are."
"It's become something of a habit to only use my first name when introducing myself to new people."
"I can understand why."
Neither of them said anything. The bartender came with their drinks. Could Sophia pick up her courage and ask what she wanted to ask? Why was this a more daunting task than searching for the Knocker?
"Do you…"
"What do…" they both talked at the same time. Sophia blushed.
"You first," she said. She didn't think she would be able to start again.
"I was just wondering, what do you think?"
"About what?"
"Do you think we are dating? I have to admit, I've thought about it myself."
"Have you? And what have you decided?"
"You first."
Sophia drew a deep breath. It was time to go all out.
"I don't know what to think. I mean, from an outside perspective, I can see how it could look that way. But I know that I probably made a horrible first impression and since then things haven't exactly calmed down."
"I probably didn't give you a very good first impression either. We both spent the first few days being suspicious of the other. At least I did. But I'd like to think that we've moved on since then. I enjoy spending time with you, more than I have enjoyed spending time with anyone other than my family. I don't have a lot of friends, but I feel that I can call you one."
"I feel that too. I wanted to trust you from the moment you fell down into the Base. I've never felt that way about others. I think even Mary was surprised by it. I don't trust easily, hence why I invented the truth serum. I used that on Mary too, though her reaction to it wasn't nearly as bad as yours. Maybe that's why I didn't think about how it would feel for you, being forced to spill all your secrets to someone you didn't know."
"That was mainly because I was annoyed at myself. I had heard you talking about that, so I should have been on guard for you using it anyway. Not that I think it would have mattered. Contrary to what you believe, I haven't trained how to withstand the effects of Veritaserum. But I also wasn't supposed to talk about all of that stuff with the Knocker. I'm not supposed to talk about many things I do for work. The fact that I did anyway was a clue as to what had happened."
"You mean you wouldn't have told me about that, if I hadn't asked?"
"No, not at once anyway. I would have told you about the raids being for something else, but not as many details as I did. I hope you can understand why we didn't want to spread the details."
"To some extent, yes. Certainly about the chain, as you mentioned. But why so secretive about searching for the Knocker? We would have taken other precautions if we knew that that was what you were doing."
"That was a discussion we had as well. Some said that we had to keep it a secret, but Scorpius, among others, said that those we tried to keep it from already knew. In the end, it mostly made us more unpopular among regular groups, like the Order. Like you said, it made it harder for anyone to get much else done."
Sophia took a gulp off the mead, to avoid having to reply to that at once.
"Anyway, we got a bit off track. We were talking about the two of us." Albus continued. "I feel that ever since that disastrous first meeting, we have gotten a lot closer. And we've been through several challenges already that most people wouldn't survive. I have never been so frightened in my life as when I saw him holding you in front of him like a shield. Or when I saw you fastened to the floor."
Sophia shuddered at those memories. She had tried very hard not to think about that.
"I'm sorry," Albus said. "What I'm trying to say is that you mean a lot to me. And I wouldn't mind it if we tried to be what everyone seems to think we already are."
"I feel the same way. I mean, my life has certainly become more complicated after you came into it, but it has also led to many good things. And I consider you a friend, a good friend. I wouldn't mind if we tried to be more either."
Albus smiled and they clinked their goblets together. Neither of them noticed that the blonde witch in the other booth got up and left. If they had, they might have seen the contours of Scorpius in disguise. He was smiling but didn't want to interrupt their first real date. Besides, he knew that Rose would want to hear about this.