Harry Potter and the Lost Cities

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Keefe?!" Sophie exclaimed.

Keefe just flashed his trademark grin in return.

"I―" Sophie glanced at the rest of her friends, now staring at her wide-eyed.

"Keefe?" Biana repeated. "Wait― is he―?"

But Sophie couldn't wait any longer. "Sorry," she muttered, shoving her imparter in her pocket. Then she sprinted off.

The last thing she heard was Dex calling, "Wait for us!"

Then there was a crash of thunder and Sophie disappeared into the void.

A moment later, Sophie crashed onto the ground in front of Foxfire. She barely took time to notice the pain on her backside from her not-so-smooth landing before she rocketed to her feet and practically flew towards the glass pyramid and down the halls, which were thankfully empty on the weekend, to the Healing Center.

Elwin jumped as she threw the door open. "Sophie? How'd you get here so fast?!" He exclaimed.

"She just couldn't wait to see her boy," Ro replied from the corner. She was examining her bright pink nails. "I gotta say, it's a relief Hunkyhair's finally awake, don't you think? Elwin wouldn't let me paint my nails in here, and they were getting pretty bad, look out how chipped they are! Now we can finally go home so I can paint them. Not to mention you two can finally figure it all out!"

"I can't stand the smell of nail polish," Elwin muttered, bringing a few vials over to Keefe.

Meanwhile, Sophie was more focused on the last part of Ro's sentence. "Figure what out?"

Ro sighed and rolled her eyes in reply.

"Figure out how to play the most epic prank on... I don't even know who. But I've fallen pretty behind on my pranking the past week, so might as well get everyone! We should start with my father though. He's always a good option." Keefe flashed a wicked grin before drinking from a vial Elwin pressed to his lips, gagging at the taste. "Ew! What is that?"

"How many times do I have to tell you, you don't want to know," Elwin replied with a grimace.

Keefe made a face before he turned to look at Sophie. He looked almost... nervous. Meanwhile, Sophie had so many emotions brewing up a storm inside her, she couldn't decide what to say first.

"Ah, look at them! They're staring into each others' eyes! Almost like an updating version of Fitzphie! Except a whole lot better."

Sophie cringed at the mention of her former relationship with Fitz. She and Fitz may be on good terms now, but thinking about their failed relationship was something she tried to avoid.

Luckily, for once, Keefe decided to ignore Ro. "So?" He asked. "I know, you're angry with me for coming to Loamnore and everything, but―"

"Keefe I'm not angry. I just― I dunno what I'm feeling." Sophie sighed. "I'm not saying I'm glad you came, but I know you didn't have much of a choice. It's just been― I don't even know."

Keefe gave a weak smile. "Well, I'm fine now."

Before Sophie could say anything else, the door to the Healing Center opened, and in came Team Valiant, looking a little bit angry.

Or maybe a lot.

"Sophie Foster!" Biana exclaimed. "Seriously? You couldn't wait two seconds to link hands with us so we could teleport with you? We had to go inside, explain everything to Edaline, and then use your Leapmaster, 'cause none of us had a pathfinder on us!"