The backlash that was visible from Harry being entered into the tournament was awful. It almost seemed like no one was on his side, and he was left alone to do deal with it himself. Ron had become tremendously distant and was now acting like Harry's worst enemy. Hermione was trying to help, but couldn't decide whether to side with Ron or Harry. In Sophia's point of view, Ron had other friends that weren't against him at this point. So surely she should side with Harry, so that he at least had one friend. Whenever Harry would walk into the Great Hall at meal times or enter into the common room, the room would go silent and the stares would follow him right up until they couldn't any longer.

"This is ridiculous," Sophia exclaimed at Breakfast. She sat with Harry who was sitting away from any of the other Gryffindors at the table, glumly eating his cereal. She had seen how disassociated he looked when she came down for breakfast, and decided to keep him some company.

"Yep," Harry retorted with no interest. She had been repeating the same phrase the whole morning, leaving him to just nod his head or emotionless answer to let her know he was grateful for sitting with him. She had even taken the initiative to sit with him classes considering Ron had started sitting with Seamus instead. Hermione understood her change in seating, soon finding herself sitting with either Susan Bones or Parvati Patil.

"They're acting as if they hadn't even thought of entering themselves into the tournament," Sophia ranted again. "And now that someone has, they suddenly start treating them like utter trash!"

"Right," Harry murmured again.

"Have you said anything to Sirius about it?" she asked, forcing him to use more words than just 'yeah' and 'right'.

"I have. He says he wants to talk about it tonight in the common room," he answered.

"He surely won't be actually in the common room right?" she said skeptically. Harry only shrugged and pushed away the finished bowl of cereal, saying that he needed to head to Care for Magical Creatures. He bid her a forced goodbye and left the Great Hall. Sophia sighed and got up as well to head towards her own class, noticing Cedric Diggory in the corridor while on her way. He was surrounded by his friends who were also in Hufflepuff, laughing together as one big group. It made Sophia sad to see the contrast between one Hogwarts champion and the other being Harry. Cedric was being praised as the real champion of the school, while Harry was an outcast.

Attempting to think of something else other than Harry's poor treatment, Sophia busied herself with the thought of going on her first date tomorrow with Fred. He hadn't told her about any of the places he was planning to take her, leaving her to wonder whether they'd finally go to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. She still hadn't found out about why Lee and George were teasing them about the place when they were in Hogsmeade last year. Maybe tomorrow will finally be her enlightenment.

When the next day did roll around, Sophia had excitedly dressed in one of her comfy sweaters that she tucked into her high-waisted jeans. It was nice weather outside, meaning she didn't have to bundle herself up in layers and layers of clothes. She made her way out of the common room of Gryffindors and towards the Great Hall to meet Fred, where they would leave towards the Entrance Hall to get signed off by Argus Filch. She didn't make it very far though, as when she passed the courtyard of green grass and bench-sitting students, arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her off her feet. She squealed out of instinct and grabbed hold of the hands that were secured on her middle.

"Fred! Put me down!" she cried. The laugh that filled her ears confirmed that she was right about who was behind her, and she was lowered to the ground to let her turn around and stare up at the long-haired sixteen year old.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked with his hands still resting on her sides. He was dressed in one of the sweaters that his Mum made him every Christmas, as well as some dark jeans. Sophia guessed that if she saw George at any time today, he would be wearing the exact same thing.

"Who else would dare do that with you patrolling these parts?" she joked. No one had forgotten about how Fred had set off Dungbombs around that Gryffindor who tried to push Sophia over the barrister of the moving staircase. Unlucky for them though, the rumours still continued about them doing sinful things in broom cupboards and abandoned classrooms. While Fred just ignored them, Sophia just hoped they would eventually drown out over the news of the Tri-Wizard tournament.

"Touche."

They started making their way towards the Entrance Hall while hand-holding once again, which had become quite the normal thing for them now. Sophia had stopped worrying about the attention they gained as people had begun to treat it as normal, easing her to be more comfortable with being touchy towards Fred. Of course, Fred would have done it regardless of what people said. He obviously 'wore the pants' in their growing relationship, as the Muggles would say.

They waited to get signed off by Filch and started making their way from the castle towards the town nearby. Sophia even started to swing their en-twined hands back and forth, making her appear to be at least ten years old. But Fred didn't complain at all, only reaching out with his free hand to pinch her round cheek and ruffle her long brown hair. She whined at him and attempted to swat away his patronising hand, coming out unsuccessful as he was much taller and stronger than her.

"Why must you make me feel so inferior?" she whined and attempted to flatten down her hair that had been messed up by his teasing.

"Awww does Ickle-Soph need a nap? She's being really grumpy," he cooed and poked her cheek, letting it sink into the soft flesh.

"I think it's you who needs the nap Grandpa. Walking down all those stairs from the common room must of at least put your back out," she retorted and Fred gasped in defeat. She burst out into fits of laughter when he was able to put her into a harmless headlock, now ruffling her hair even more viciously. She squirmed in his grip and reached into her jean pocket for her wand, and was able to send a charm his way. Fred's arm flew away from her and he was blasted at least five feet away, letting her make a run for it into the village that was now only a few metres away. Fred was momentarily stunned but was able to regain his wits quick enough to begin sprinting after the running girl who was laughing uncontrollably.

She had made it to the front of Honeydukes and quickly slipped inside to hide amongst the crowd of students. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were even allowed to leave the walls of Hogwarts into the wizarding village, but had to wear their uniforms so that they couldn't get lost or wonder somewhere they weren't supposed to. It made all the shops at least two times more crowded, allowing Sophia to slip between students' frames and use the time to pick up more Chocolate Frogs and Fizzing Whizbees.

It didn't take long for Fred to enter the same shop and take in the crowded state. He started looking over people's heads with the advantage of his 6 ft height, spotting a familiar messy haired girl with her hands full of her favourite sweets. Once he had made it close enough to her, he used the Summoning charm to make the sweets fly right out of her hold. She panicked for a moment but relaxed when the Weasley appeared next to her with the Chocolate Frogs and Fizzing Whizbees in his own hands.

"Nice try Lupin," he exclaimed and immediately went to the counter, paying for the treats and handing her a familiar teal paper bag. She rolled her eyes and didn't even try to fight him on the fact that he had once again paid for her things. She just pulled out one of the Frogs and handed him one, giggling when he ate it straight out of her hand.

"What ones do you need now?" Fred asked as they exited the shop, swinging her arm around her shoulders and pulling her flush against his side. He leaned his head down to look inside the sweet box, seeing a Helga Hufflepuff trading card sitting there.

"I still need Andros the Invisible, Kirley Duke, Mopsus and Newt Scammander," she listed. "But doubles are always good. I hope to be buried in them one day."

Fred laughed and suggested that he'll ask Ron if he has any of the ones she needed, to which she declined immediately. She explained that she hadn't liked the way Ron was treating Harry because of the tournament, and didn't want to associate herself with him for the time being.

"He's just been such a..." Sophia couldn't continue in the state of her frustration.

"Git? Tosspot? Poor excuse for a Weasley?" Fred attempted to help and Sophia just huffed.

"Don't worry about it love, it's got nothing to do with you," he reasoned as they made their way up one of the steep hills of the village. "Ronald's always been like that. Did I tell you about the time George and I set a bunch of fireworks off under his bed when he was eight? You should of seen his face when he woke up to being swallowed whole by the Ultimate Tiger Edition that Zonko's had at the time."

Sophia laughed before Fred stopped walking as they were in front of an old fashioned looking shop. Wordlessly, Fred led her inside and she nearly chocked when she was hit with the sight of pink walls, tables, teacups and cakes. The overload of the colour made her eyes go fuzzy, and she turned to see Fred with a half grimace and half smile on his face.

"Apparently this is where people go for their dates," he announced. "Welcome to Madam Puddifoot's Soph."

"It's awful,"she blurted before she could stop herself. Once she realised what she had said, she blushed a deep red and looked up at Fred with a panicked expression. "I mean it's nice! Very um, thoughtful of you! Very... pink."

"Oh thank god you don't like it either," Fred whipped his brow with a look of relief, laughing lightly at her attempt to not injure his 'feelings'. "It was worth a try though."

"So we won't be spending the day here?" Sophia asked hopefully, making him chuckle.

"No we won't be."

The rest of the day was spent walking in and out of most of the shops in Hogsmeade, as well as sitting down for lunch in the Three Broomsticks. It wasn't known for its lunch menu, but it was satisfactory for the day. Sophia noticed that she hadn't laughed or smiled this much in a long time. Just the feeling of walking next to Fred was enough to give her a warm feeling that spread through her whole being. And then you add in the fact that the two held hands for most of day, as well as occasional cuddles from Fred jokingly treating her like a ten year old. She was surprised she hadn't spontaneously combusted at this point.

They soon headed back to Hogwarts when the Sun was starting to set, trekking up the steep hill towards the castle. Between the two of them, they had finished the Chocolate Frogs Fred had bought as well as half the box of Fizzing Whizbees. The sugar high that they had previously gone through was starting to wear off, leaving them dozy and in need of a nap (like they had previously joked about).

George had returned from the Great Hall that night after eating dinner. He planned to find Fred to discuss sending another letter to Ludo Bagman, who had cheated them out of the bet they had made at the Quidditch World Cup. He walked through the portrait hole and stepped down on to the floor, ready to head up to the boys' dormitory. But he stopped in his place once he caught sight of two familiar figures sitting on the sofa facing the fireplace. Sophia was curled up with her arms wrapped around Fred's bicep, her head resting on his shoulder as she slept. Fred was sitting next to her with his head lolled back against the pillows of the sofa, snoring quietly and unaware of his twin's entrance. George smiled lightly at the sight of the lovers and grabbed a blanket that was folded on one of the chairs nearby, throwing it over the two without making any noise. He then left up to the dormitories, ready to tell Lee about the sickeningly adorable situation in the common room.