I'm Not Afraid, Anymore (Sophie)

[Gabriel Michael Cavaliere]

Gabe had been watching the clock nervously for an hour. He'd contacted Sophie, asking her if she'd like to spend the day with him, just him. When he'd received a letter to the affirmative, they had decided on this day. Lexi and Julius were spending the day with their aunt Eliza (who had mentioned some air show on her way out the door. Silly girl and her obsession with planes...), and the others had agreed to clear out of the Salla for the day. Pyre was with George on her own date; Jared was taking Jak out for lunch and a movie, and Damie was taking Brooke to look at china patterns for their fast-approaching wedding (God, why?).

All that was left was Sophie's arrival.

He glanced down at the bouquet of sunflowers in his hands as he sat on the steps of the Salla and waited for her. He hoped that she liked flowers...but what if she didn't? Then he'd screwed up! Hell...maybe this was why he hadn't dated in a very, very long time.

[Sophie Marietta Lupin]

Sophie was rushing, she had tried on several different dresses, starting with a lavender one but then she remembered. Gabe didn't like the color purple. So she changed into a green dress that didn't really look right. Next one! Too frilly. Next, too short. Why couldn't she find the right one! She settled for a blue one that tied in the back. Then she reaized she'd made a mess and had to clean it up. She put all the dresses back in their respective places then looked at the clock. She was late! Oh dear, oh dear! she thought grabbing her shall. She ran out the door saying goodbye to Tom on the way out. He was a nice man, no matter what everyone said. Still, she thought he was a nice man, he'd let Teddy and herself stay here for the year.

She rushed the Salla wasn't that far away, but still. She did have a long way to go...

She got to the building a bit out of breath, she'd been sprinting. She'd stopped to catch her breath even. Then, she walked up to the door. She smiled at Gabe and appologized for being late. "Sorry, I had a bit of a dilema... But it's all fixed now, and everything is a-okay!" she couldn't be any more sorrier than she was. He'd asked her out, and miss punctuality was late! She felt really bad about it all...

[Gabriel Michael Cavaliere]

He smiled and stood when he saw Sophie approaching. She looked so pretty; he didn't mind having to wait a little while. Kids had taught him patience...hell, Bri had taught him patience. She'd made him a half-hour in her living room when he'd picked her up for their first date, claiming that she didn't like what she'd put on.

"It's fine! It's fine! You look great, Sophie," he added. "I'm not sure if you like them, but I got these from the garden for you."

He handed her the bouquet of flowers with a smile.

[Sophie Marietta Lupin]

Sophie smiled and took the flowers. They were beautiful, but she had to admit, sunflowers weren't her favorite but she'd deal. She sniffed them, they did smell good. She fixed her hair thinking it was a mess. She kept thinking her hair was standing on it's ends like it did when she tensed as a dog.

"Thanks, um... You look great too.." she said scratching her arm a little bit. Oh no.. not this again... she thought. Her nervous scratch was on over drive. "It's fine, they're beautiful. These aren't my favorite flower, but I'm sure they'll brighten up the room. Oh! My favorite flower is actually pink roses." she smiled.

[Gabriel Michael Cavaliere]

"My cousin Pyre loves roses," he noted. "When she finds a place that sells them, I'll get you some."

He hadn't thought of that...stupid. He was lucky that Sophie was generally a very forgiving girlfriend. They didn't really fight much because of that, which was completely fine by him.

"C'mon! I wanted to show you something."

He took her hand and laced their fingers together before gently pulling her down the street towards heir destination: the Italian District of Diagon Alley, where the apartment he usually stayed in was.

[Sophie Marietta Lupin]

"I know where to get them, I could show you." she suggested. Sophie smiled, of course she was always looking on the bright side of things. She started behind him wondering where in the world he was taking her. She had an itch on her shoulder and fought the urge to scratch it. Stupid nervous itch.

"Where are we going?" she laughed.

She flushed a shade of red when he grabbed her hand. Was it hot out or was she just that nervous.

[Gabriel Michael Cavaliere]

"Please do; Pyre's been bugging me about it for weeks. I was about to lock her in a closet," he admitted.

Now that he was thinking about it...did Jared know that his little sister was on a date with George Weasley? For that matter, weren't George and Jared the same age? They were supposed to graduate the same year from Hogwarts. Oh, Jared was going to be furious...

"You'll see!" he replied over his shoulder.

He pulled her down a side alley until they reached the dead end then tapped the bricks with his wand. He grinned at her over her shoulder when the door to the Italian Section opened.

"Welcome to the Italian District of Diagon Alley!"

[Sophie Marietta Lupin]

"Doncaster has a wonderful surplus of them." Sophie smiled. She knew exactly where to find them. "We can go there next time, and we can get some tea at one of the shops there." she chuckled.

"Okay, okay." she shook her head.

She stood there in awe, she had no idea there were any other parts to the alley!! She stepped through the barrier and did a quick turn around. It wasn't like the Diagon Alley she knew.

"Oh my..." she put her hands to her mouth. She had no words to describe what she was thinking.

[Gabriel Michael Cavaliere]

"Tea time...I never understood how te British could devote an entire hour to drinking tea," he grumbled.

He grinned at Sophie's reaction, looking around. The grapevines that grew up the lampposts needed a little pruning, like always. He would have to talk to Anabelle. A few Italians smiled and waved to him or tipped their hats. He bowed his head politely with a smile. He liked the Italian District with it's quiet bistros and villas-for-rent. It reminded him of his childhood home in Sardinia.

"Do you like it? I thought you'd like to see the part of the Alley that Lex, Jule and I live in," he explained sheepishly.

[Sophie Marietta Lupin]

"Um, I only go for half an hour. It doesn't take me every long to drink my tea, plus I don't eat any crumpets.. And my gran raised me to be a proper lady so only dedicating half an hour to it is like a sin to her." Sophie rolled her eyes.

She didn't care how the street looked, she almost felt as if she were really in Italy even if she'd never been. Smiled and waved to any passerby, which in return got her a few waves and hat tips.

"I don't like it, Gabe." she said seriously, "I love it! I feel like I'm actually in Italy! This is great!!"

[Gabriel Michael Cavaliere]

"I would go crazy...er," he admitted. "I cannot sit still for that long for the purpose of drinking tea. My great-aunt Celesta does, though, but she's Aunt Celesta. We don't question her."

He gently directed her down the street, still smiling as he watched her looking around and greeting the other Italians that called the District their home. They were a friendly bunch, the ones that lived here. They did Italia proud.

"We pride ourselves on how well-kept our part of the Alley is. It reminds me of where I grew up back in Sardinia," he noted. "My Aunt Celesta lives around here. Would you be interested meetng her?"

[Sophie Marietta Lupin]

"We don't question my gran either.." Sophie raised her eye brows. Ah gran, the world's number one cleaner, chef and care taker. That woman did it all by herself and never complained. She loved doing house work! Sophie was good at cleaning and taking care of people but she always got too attached with kids and she hated having to pick up. It was all just too much work.

She waved to everyone she saw, it was almost as if she were a little kid again. Well, about eight or so she'd started to wave to people again. She'd been too afraid that people would spit at her, smack her or just get mad at her for waving and being kind. She hadn't known how to trust people for three years, and it didn't show in how she was now, she refused to like that part of her surface ever again. If it did, it would mean depression, paranoia and maybe the looney bin.

"Sure, but she won't make fun of my skinniness will she?" she placed an arm around her stomach, she often got told she didn't eat enough but she ate a fair amount for a girl. It was just a miracle she'd gotten over a hundred twenty pounds. She'd always been light, but she was a dog noramally; She'd even gotten used to sleeping as one so she wouldn't take up too much space. "You people could sure teach the ministry a thing or two about cleanliness."

[Gabriel Michael Cavaliere]

"Aunt Celesta is my grandmother's younger sister. If I don't question my grandmother, I sure as hell won't question Aunt Celesta," he explained, shuddering. He loved his Nana Marguerite, but, Dio, that woman could be scary when the mood struck her. Aunt Celesta was cut from the same cloth, so he made it a point to avoid making her angry. He liked not having a pizzelle iron thrown at his head. Those things were heavy!

His neighbor smiled and tipped his hat to Gabe.

"Signore Gabe!" he said happily. "Is that your girlfriend? She seems charming."

"Ah, Signore Caprielli! Si, this is my girlfriend Sophie."

Caprielli smiled and tipped his hat to Sophie before talking his leave. He usually ran his errands early in the morning.

"That was my neighbor. Him and his wife are really nice. As for my Aunt, she won't. She'll just force a pizzelle cone on you. My aunt runs an icecream store, by the way," he added. "Damie, Sel and I used to love helping her out as kids. And we probably could teach the Ministry a thing or two about cleanliness, if they'd listen."

[Sophie Marietta Lupin]

"Yikes, she must be scary then." Sophie said playing with her hair. Luckily she wasn't scratching like she normally would be. She hated that itch, every time she got nervous and thought she was going to say something stupid it looked as if she had fleas.

"It's nice to meet you." Sophie smiled. She still wasn't used to being called Gabe's Girlfriend. "Goodbye!" she called after the man. "He seemed nice."

"Well I know where Tonks will be going next... never, EVER, show her this part of the alley... She'll be in there everyday getting the same kind of ice cream.." Sophie shook her head.

[Gabriel Michael Cavaliere]

"They're both Veela. Enough said," he concluded.

They reached the icecream shop where his great-aunt worked and lived. He smiled a little when he smelled the pizzelle iron going. He'd missed this place, with its antique chairs and bookshelves. His great-aunt looked up and smiled at him from behind the counter as he and Sophie approached.

"I'll remember that," he promised with a laugh. "Buon giorno, Aunt Celesta!"

"Buon giorno, Gabriel. Your girlfriend?" Celesta asked, looking at Sophie.