Sophia didn't know what to do with herself, now that Albus had his own area. Should she continue trying to find a location for the Knocker? Now that he wasn't here, she could try to find the computer with her not-so-legal means. And he had said that he didn't care about that.
Her fingers raced over the keyboard as she started backtracking where the adverts had been written. She had already established that it was the same computer that wrote all of them, now she needed to see if it was still active. Even if the computer was in an area under the Fidelius Charm, she should be able to track it. If it was Unplottable, she wasn't sure.
She pumped her fist in the air as she saw the little beacon that pointed to the place where the ads were made. A warehouse area in Sandwich.
She quickly printed out the results and started thinking about how best to get this information to the Ministry. Preferably with her name staying out of it.
"I take it you found something then?" Albus said from behind her. Sophia jumped and all the papers went flying.
"How long have you been there?"
"About 15 minutes or so. I was going to ask if you wanted to go to lunch with me, but I didn't want to disturb you, so I waited until you were done. What did you find?"
Sophia hesitated, but she might as well tell him. He might have an idea of what to do with this.
"I found a possible location for the computer where those ads were created. I don't know if it is the Knocker or if he outsourced that to someone else, but either way, it is a clue, isn't it?"
"You found him!?"
"I found the computer. Maybe. It hasn't moved from that location in over a week, so if it is him, it is likely the main base. But it could still be hidden from view by magic." She summoned all the papers on the ground up into her arms again. Magic was so convenient; it would have been such a drag having to pick up all of those by hand!
"That's great!"
"We need to take this to the Ministry. We can't go there alone."
"You're right." Albus was silent for a few moments. Then his face got more serious. "Do you trust me, Sophia?"
That was the second time he had asked that question. Why did that matter so much to him?
"I want to. Why do you ask that now?"
"I have an idea, and I would prefer to have you as a back-up. Can you do that?"
"What would that mean, exactly?"
"Mainly, stand guard and make sure no one approaches us. And be ready to hand off those papers, to confirm your findings."
"I suppose I can do that. I've done similar tasks for the others. What are you going to do?"
"You'll see. Come on, we need to hurry, if we want to catch them before lunchtime is over."
Catch them? Lunchtime? What had she just agreed to? She made copies of the papers, another thing magic could do very quickly, then took the hand Albus held out for her.
Sophia's heart plummeted as she saw exactly who came out of a nearby restaurant. Rose Granger-Weasley. No, Rose Malfoy now. What did Albus plan to do? She barely had time to react as Albus leapt out from their hiding place, grabbed hold of Rose, and pulled her into the alley. She resisted at first but evidently recognised who it was just from the grip.
"Albus?"
"Sorry. I wasn't sure if you would follow a guiding light or not."
"You should be glad I didn't have my wand out."
"I checked that first."
Sophia didn't want to watch this, so she looked back at the alley. That was what Albus had asked her to do anyway. Her heart sank further as she saw another person moving with determination towards where Rose was last seen. That was probably Scorpius Malfoy.
"Uhm, I hate to break up your reunion, but there is another man heading this way." Neither of them seemed particularly worried about this, not even when Scorpius Malfoy burst into the alley with his wand at the ready.
"Let my wife go or I'll… Albus?"
Albus waved awkwardly. Scorpius cursed.
"Was that really necessary? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry. I wasn't sure if you would have to report meeting me or not, so I didn't want to be seen."
"Who's that?" Rose had finally noticed her. She didn't know what to say, so she let Albus explain.
"That's Sophia. She's been very helpful. Listen, can we go somewhere and talk, or will you be missed?"
"Let's meet at the pub. No one will report you there." Scorpius said.
"Things aren't as bad as you think, Albus," Rose said before the pair of them Disapparated.
Sophia turned to Albus.
"What on earth are you doing? I thought you said that no one in your family could know about you."
"They can't. But I need to know what has happened since I left, and the two of them are the ones that are the least likely to report me but will have the information I need. And they are the ones best placed to give that information to my father."
"Couldn't you just have sent an owl? I saw that your owl had found his way into the Base this morning."
"That owl has a knack for knowing when I need him," Albus said with a smile. "But no, I couldn't send an owl. They can be traced, if not in origin, then in content. Rose and Scorpius still can't know where I am. They probably won't even ask."
Sophia hesitated. Should she ask to come with him, or did he want to meet with them alone? She really had no right to ask, but the idea of him going out without her gave her a sense of panic. Why would she feel that? He didn't owe her anything. Albus looked at her.
"Are you ready?"
"Ready?"
"Were you going to stay here all day? They're already waiting for us."
"You want me to come with you then?"
"Only if you want to come. I won't force you. I know it can be weird, meeting people you've read about in the papers, but you didn't seem to have a problem with me…"
"It's not that. I was just surprised. I thought you wanted to meet your friends alone."
"I'd prefer if you were there as well. I might need you to explain a few details in the story, such as how we found the Knocker's location. Provided you are okay with giving them the information directly."
Sophia had to see how this would go. it might give her a clue to Albus' true intentions.