Shopping. Sofia dreaded the word but for some reason she was roaming the streets of Diagon Alley. To be more specific Sofia was doing what could otherwise be termed at guilt shopping, possibly the worst sort of shopping known to mankind. Not that Sofia was unhappy by any means - she was actually quite ecstatic. She was in the midst of a wonderful relationship... with a man that reminded her of the man she was quite possibly still in love with.

Dillan.

Wendell.

To completely different men yet so similar at the same time. One was so right for her the other, well he was dead so that did detract from the acceptability factor. The root of the problem was not that she was dating Dillan but that she hadn't completely gotten over Wendell. Guilt was a hard thing to conquer, especially when one hadn't had proper closure. Was it wrong to be dating someone because they had just enough of a former love to make them bearable? Was she not going to realize if she fell in love with Dillan until he also died?

Sofia needed something sparkly to make the world right. It was as if Diagon Alley was listening to her very thoughts for a blinding flash crossed the street and momentarily blinded her. Sofia's first reaction was to volley a spell back but then the clouds shifted, revealing a heavily decorated door. An educated guess would lead one to believe shiny objects were inside.

With a shrug Sofia pushed open the door and stepped inside and almost ran back out again. There were messes and the there were messes. The shop looked like it had been subject to many a ministry raid and just hadn't bothered to put itself back together again. Something neighed by her foot.

Where was she? Color hell? Sofia pulled at her dark grey ensemble feeling suddenly like the queen of drab objects and not at all like the polished pureblood her mother assured her she was.

"Hello?" She called out, not sure if she should step further into the mess of a shop. Maybe she should have just gone to Christie's Jewels for Discerning Witches and Wizards. Even if the man had implied she and Wendell had had a thing. There wasn't a color explosion in progress there.

Arty placed a large bag of those fuzzy puff balls back on the shelf of random craft supplies in the storage room. Apollo had been debating the merits of bringing them back into fashion, but in the end had feared the public was not quite ready for them yet. Any mishaps from an impressionable yet misguided young fashon follower and they could slip irretrievably into the realm of the horrifically unfashionable. Decision made he had hurried off to deliver his most recent fashion article to the Daily Prophet, leaving Arty to mind the shop for a couple of hours.

The happy jingling noise of the shop bell alerted her to the arrival of a customer, so once the bag of puff balls was deposited she returned to the front of the shop.

"Hello?" Came a concerned sounding voice somewhere near the door.

Arty wound her way through the intricate maze of shelves to reach the front door, where stood the most out-of-place looking woman imaginable. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, and her outfit was a singular dark grey. It was an outfit that spoke of wealth and class. Arty was immediately drawn to a memory of another person who had wandered into her shop looking utterly out-of-place:

Logan.

She shook the thought from her mind. She didn't him on her mind any more than he already was.

"Madame Malkins is just up the street, four doors on your left." She said not bothering with a proper greeting, this woman certainly could want nothing in the store apart from directions.

"I just came from there." She responded holding up a bag that indeed said Madame Malkins Robes for All Occasions.

"Oh, I'm afraid that Dixie Green's Dress Emporium closed down several weeks ago." She said methodically straightening a selection of hats.

"I- never heard of the place, But thank you for telling me..." She replied looking a tad confused.

"Christie's Jewels, Flourish and Blotts, or the Apothecary? Certaintly not SHOP..."

"Um-actually, it was here I wanted. Your door caught my eye." She replied looking the slightest bit bewildered by Arty's behavoir.

"Oh..." She turned back to the severely dressed young woman. "I'm sorry, I just assumed. It's just, our normal clientel aren't quite so..." She gave the woman's outfit a once over.

"...polished. Please, forgive my rudeness. I'm Artemis Sinistra."

The shopkeeper was beyond strange. She seemed rather intent on kicking her out, an unusual reversal of sales tactics but one to be noted as working. Now Sofia was determined to stay. With every helpful question that was secretly saying get out of my shop Sofia became a bit more rooted in her spot. Even the odd neighing was failing to phase her now. In fact it took several questions before she flat out refused to go. The other woman had the sense to look abashed.

"Oh...I'm sorry, I just assumed. It's just, our normal clientel aren't quite so..."

Did everyone have to inspect her appearance? Sofia raised her eyebrow slightly.

"...polished. Please, forgive my rudeness. I'm Artemis Sinistra."

At least she was getting some sort of complement after the inquisition. The woman was short, trendy, and colorful, just like what Sofia was going to assume was her shop. Essentially her polar opposite on the fashion scale. "Charmed I'm sure. Sofia Robards." She answered a bit mechanically shaking Artemis's hand. "Do you think you could direct me to your accessories?" Social greetings were always so boring. Always the same conversation over and over again until someone broke down and said something worthwhile. She needed that Cal character to come round for tea or something. He was a fun one. Though not anywhere near as fun as Dillan... and he was a far cry from Wendell.

Sofia gave a little sigh, momentarily forgetting about the other woman. Men. She should just give up on their lot and continue on with her life long goal of being a spinster. Mother would be oh so pleased. A rather loud neigh reminded her she was in still in the rather odd shop with the peculiar woman.

"Charmed I'm sure. Sofia Robards. Do you think you could direct me to your accessories?"

"No. Well, I mean yes I'll help you, but there's not really a specific place where we keep the accessories. There's no organization." She looked at the teetering piles of items around her with a somewhat helpless shrug. "My brother's the creative genius, everything is placed where he finds it most convenient." She tried to explain, but the woman didn't seem to be paying a whole lot of attention to what she said anyway. She had distant, almost sad look in her eyes. She let out a soft sigh.

She recognized that sigh. It was the sort of one she heard from herself quite often. Though she considered herself a pretty good judge of people, she didn't really have to be to see what was troubling Sofia. It was a man. Perhaps whoever was weighing on her had even pushed her out into a forgetful shopping binge, one that brought her to a store wholly unsuited to her personality or her wardrobe.

"Guy trouble is it?" She inquired lightly. It was really none of her business, she was quite aware. And the woman probably wouldn't appreciate her curiosity. But frankly, listening to someone else's problems had the curious effect of distracting her from her own.

One of Apollo's latest My Little Pony creations gave a whinny in the distance. They were far more trouble than they were worth, in her opinion. They sort of tottered along, and if a strong breeze (or a mischievous teenager) came along they would tip over and were unable to right themselves. So she constantly had to go along and help stand them back up or they would make an almighty racket until she did.

"Guy trouble is it?"

Sofia had attempted to keep all her emotions in nicely contained boxes with little labels that read 'Never to be opened' in perfect script - yet the stranger's question nearly was her undoing. Thankfully for both of them Sofia's floodgates didn't start up saving them both the embarrassment of that sort of awkward moment. Instead there as a slightly awkward silence, much better than awkward crying if Sofia was allowed an opinion on the matter, as she tried to form an answer.

How could she tell a complete stranger that she was absolutely right? That very thing went against her very nature. Opening up to someone either than.... well herself was a Herculean effort in its own right. Really there was no way she was going to talk about her guilty conscious to some perfect stranger that ran a pigsty.

"Isn't it always? I have the worst luck with men out of everyone I know." She remarked, turning purposefully away from the other woman. There dismissed. Or that should have work if the other woman - Artemis - hadn't insisted on still standing there. She seemed to be standing there laughing like a maniac.

Sofia turned back to face the other woman, kicking away some pink thing that seem to have wandered under her feet. "Really now, what did I say?"

The woman was silent for a few moments. Artemis' intuitive declaration left the shop in an awkward hush. Really she oughten have said anything at all, but it was a little too late for her to retract her statement now. Finally, however Sofia seemed to recover herself, or at least her words.

"Isn't it always? I have the worst luck with men out of everyone I know."

And then she turned abruptly away, determined to have nothing more to do with Arty. It wasn't really a funny statement, Arty had no doubt that woman was sincerely having relationship issues. Perhaps she had experienced a truly awful date. Perhaps her boyfriend had cheated on her with another woman, or even a man? But honestly, after all the horrific dates that Arty herself had been on it was just so absurd that she couldn't help but give a little snort of laughter. And that little chuckle quickly blossomed into several more. Until she found that she was laughing just a little too much to be considered at all polite.

"Really now, what did I say?" She asked looking quite affronted at Arty's improper outburst.

"I'm sorry. It's just...as bad as you think it is. It's probably not really that bad. Trust me. I am the reigning Queen of bad dates, and worse boyfriends. Everyone thinks they've had the worst experience imaginable. But I can promise you, as bad as you think it is, it could be much worse."

Okay, so maybe she was feeling a little bitter lately. But if anyone had room to judge the various levels of bad and humiliating dates, it was probably she. Time and time again she had whiney teenagers trampling through the shop wailing about their terrible experiences, but one story from Arty and they suddenly left the shop feeling like they were dating Prince Charming, or at the very least thanking Merlin they'd never experienced half the things that poor shopkeeper had.

This woman claimed to have experiences more traumatic than her own? Sofia almost giggled. The Dillan Wendell thing was just the tip of the ice burg - after all as a young and budding pure blood in society she had been forced to go on dates of her mother's choosing. Had anyone failed to notice that the older a family line got the odder its decedents became? It was a little wonder she didn't have a wild mix of mutations and rare diseases.

She raised an eyebrow and gave an uncharacteristically genuine laugh - somewhere Wendell was beaming over the fact that she could still do it on occasion she knew - as her competitive streak reared its head.

"That could qualify as a challenge - I've been confined to a more limited dating pool." She managed.

Artemis didn't looked convinced, merely intrigued. "How limited?"

"The older families don't get much new blood if you catch my drift." Sofia replied, trying to at least remain loyal to her blood. " They are all... unique, but didn't make for amazing dates."

"Unique? I bet you can’t beat any of my dates. They have been at best mentally insane.”

"During my third year at Hogwarts my mother had me date some boy who quite possibly refused to call me by anything other than girl who will bear my children." Her first date. Such fond memories.

"Well during my fifth year my date took me to the Hog's Head." Artemis snapped back.

Sofia laughed. "You call that a bad date?"

Artemis shook her head. " No, no let me finish. He took me there so that he could pick up an illegal supply of ….well I don’t even really want to know, considering what he does now…to sell around school. I sat by myself at a table most of the time.”

By now all awkwardness had disappeared between the two, in the spirit of sharing their lists. “That’s not too terrible considering my profession. I’ve had worse. After graduation my brother set me up with some ‘family friend’ who was my second cousin with a walking impairment and couldn’t eat anything but puréed foods, wealthy though. I was treated to an entire five courses of various objects that should have been cooked, nether the less pureed. He spent the entire time slurping and playing with what I later found out was his hairpiece. My second cousin is 30 years older than me I later found out.”

Artemis had the grace to look slightly horrified. “ Sounds ghastly. One time I went out with guy named Larry. He was really sweet, brought me flowers, took me to a nice restaurant, the whole shebang. Then he took me back to his place to meet Marsha, Alison, Prudence, and Stacy – his wives.”

Sofia began to laugh uncontrollably, not so wisely using a rack of clothing for support. “You poor dear. I shouldn’t be laughing. Are those still allowed? At least you weren’t humiliated beyond belief. I had this thing for this one guy that was so wrong he was right. Anyway I was undercover and my role called for me to make a distraction and since he didn’t recognize me and I was his ‘hired’ woman for the night I took advantage of the role and maybe made out with him in the middle of the bar. Probably would have done more damage if that table hadn’t been there… Anyway I thought I was safe, got the kiss out of the system he doesn't know yeah? But as I pulled away he muttered my name. As in real name. No one was fooled. Our attraction only got worse after that.” Sofia was blushing now, but enjoying herself to much to care. Someone out there understood her.

Artemis looked around the shop to make sure they were still alone. “Alright this doesn’t leave the room.” Sofia nodded in agreement, leaning in closer. “Well my brother is a little bit accident prone. So I have to take him to St. Mungo’s a lot and I developed a crush on one of the healers there. And my brother found out somehow and tried to help out by setting up a double date … thing. But as it turns out the guy was completely oblivious and uninterested. The day got so awkward that I was looking for almost any way to get out of it. So my brother hands me this piece of gum promising it will ‘help’. I knew it was an untested Weasley product but I didn’t care, I wanted out. So I started crewing on the gum. My hair, my nose hair, started to grow at an exponential rate and took on a life of its own. It tried to strangle me. I passed out from lack of oxygen and I awoke with my date trying to hack the nose hair back. I didn’t leave my room for a week.”

By this point the two of them had somehow ended up sitting on a bed of feather boas, their stories having made them fast friend as they sat laughing. Anyone having walked in on the scene might have thought them long time friends, not newly made acquaintances as a couple escapee ponies frolicked around them.

“I don’t think I can beat that one. Nose hair? What kind of brother do you have?” Sofia managed to croak out once she had gotten her giggles under control.

"He doesn't think things the whole way through sometimes. Just because he doesn't mind being treated like guinea pig for those crazy prank spells, means that no one else should have a problem with it either." She replied exasperatedly. "But then I can't really blame him for most my absmal dates. I bring them on myself. I daresay between the two of us we've probably managed to find nearly all the crackpots in London!"

She idly played with one of the bright purple feathers from the pile of boas they had made their makeshift confession couch. She was surprised that she had actually confessed as much of her bad dating experience to this woman as she had. Usually, people only heard bits and pieces of her dating experience, only her close friends ever got the whole picture of her disasterous dating life. In spite of her initial reaction to the new woman, Arty found that she liked her quite a lot. There was a bond of comradery that came from sharing unfortunate experiences.

With most of her friends scattered around the UK she didn't get to see them very often. It was nice to talk with another girl every once in a while. And though most people mistook him for one, Apollo just really didn't work.

"So...I'll tell you my latest and greatest disaster, if you tell me yours." She said a little bit more soberly. Arty really did need to talk to someone about what had happened. She didn't have anyone to really confide to about Logan.

There was something about the other woman that made Sofia actually want to open up. Usually she would never even dream of bringing up her past dating experiences to someone she didn't even know - and she had even confessed the Wendell bit! Instead of feeling horrified she oddly enough felt light hearted, almost giddy.

From underneath lowered lids she assessed Artemis. Definitely not someone she would have though she would ever have anything in common with yet somehow they did. A mutually large pool of terrible dates. They would have to compare names and form a data base... so she could pawn off unsuspecting acquaintances she didn't very much care for on them! She might not tell Arty about that last bit.

"...I daresay between the two of us we've probably managed to find nearly all the crackpots in London!"

Sofia laughed along. It was so different to be getting along with another female. It had been ages since she had done that - not since she was in school. All her friends in Hogwarts has disappeared leaving her friendless and alone. It wasn't until Wendell that she even began to have regular conversations with anyone outside of her mother's demands.

"So...I'll tell you my latest and greatest disaster, if you tell me yours."

Talking about Dillan about the guilt about Wendell. Sofia bit her lip, gnawing on it steadily as she thought over her next words. Best see how much Artemis gave before she herself said anything to incriminating. Sofia was not naturally a trusting person - not matter how well she was getting along with someone.

"My latest isn't so much a disaster... its just complicated. I just don't know if I am doing the right thing is all. I could be worrying and ruining about a perfectly wonderful relationship. See the thing is I didn't realize how in lo- how much I had fallen for this one man till it was to late. He was dead - no body - but confession from the murder and witnesses. A couple weeks later I start seeing this perfect man who reminds me so much of We..." Sofia caught herself, saying the name usually brought about a gradual misting of the eyes. "him its uncanny. I get this overwhelming sense of guilt every time I see the new guy and I don't know why. What if he's not dead?"

Sofia's lip biting increased if anything as she gave Artemis an abashed smile. "Sorry for the abrupt mood shift. I've not really spoken about it aloud before." The reassurance floating about in Sofia head about it not being illegal for her to erase the other's memory the main reason bolting hadn't occurred to her - yet.

She cocked her head to the side as she listened to Sofia explain her current situation. Well, sort of explain it. As forthright as she had been earlier, she seemed to clam up quite a bit when it came to talking about her current scenario. A clear sign that she was much more emotionally involved in these relationships than she had been about the guys in any of her other stories. Arty could understand her reluctance to confide in someone who was a relative stranger. And yet, there was something slightly familiar about her. She felt sure that she had seen her before. The obvious answer was at Hogwarts. It was rare that you came across English witches or wizards that didn't go to Hogwarts. And Sofia was certainly near to her in age, though it was difficult to tell whether she was a few years older or younger than Artemis, herself. She felt certain they hadn't been in the same year, nor the same house. She would have remembered her then. But this vague recollection of the woman's face, and even her voice niggled at the back of Arty's brain. It felt like they had been a more recent acquaintance, if only she could remember.

"...its uncanny. I get this overwhelming sense of guilt every time I see the new guy and I don't know why. What if he's not dead?"

Interesting. What sort of man had she fallen for who wouldn't even let her know if he was still alive? Unless he was trapped somewhere, but that seemed a bit farfetched, especially if the killer had confessed. No, it seemed more likely she was simply holding on to a sort of vain hope that he might be still alive. Not having a body, made it rather difficult to have closure. She knew that her brother (despite his strong appearance at the funeral) had been quite upset at the death of his good friend Wendell. They hadn't recovered his body after his bizarre escape from prison and untimely death.

She still didn't understand exactly what had happened to Wendell. Although, she hadn't really approved of Wendell, he had always been a good guy underneath his over-abundance of flaws. But it seemed to her that upon escaping from prison the first place he would go, would be to either Jasper or Apollo's house to hide out. Not wander off to some strange pub, picking fights. He had always been more concerned with self-preservation than anything else. She doubted the authorities were too interested in uncovering these character inconsistencies, he had been a thorn in their side since he stepped foot into London.

"Sorry for the abrupt mood shift. I've not really spoken about it aloud before."

"Not at all. It sounds like a really difficult situation for you. You haven't really asked for my advice... but it seems to me that there will come a point when you're ready to move on. No one can really make you do it before you're ready, but you don't want to let too much of life pass you by before you do. If this guy cared for you at all, he wouldn't resent you for trying to be happy." She tried to comfort the woman.

"I guess I promised to tell you about me, eh? I guess when it comes down to it, I was just really taken in by a guy who wasn't who I thought he was. He was so smart, had a good job, actually seemed to really like me. And coming after the terrifying gum episode that was a serious concern, I assure you. He was a little awkward but I thought it was rather endearing."

She didn't really know how to go on. Whereas Sofia could be as vague as she pleased, Arty's tale of woe only really made sense if you knew who was involved. But Logan's deeds had been splashed all over the Prophet, and it was only by some miracle that their association hadn't been made public. She certainly didn't want to be grouped together with him.

"I--I couldn't have known. But I just, feel so stupid. And now he tries to apologize! As if you can ever make up for doing something so horrible! So evil!" She probably wasn't making a bit of sense to the other woman. But her feelings were pouring out in a rather haphazard, though vehement manner. She rose from her perch next to Sofia and took to pacing back and forth.

"I mean really, how can you not realize when you're doing something intrinsically evil?! There's not a justification for it!"

She realized at this point that Sofia was staring at her in shock. And decided that in lieu of looking like a crazy person, and getting herself bundled off to St. Mungo's, she'd offer a slight explanation.

"His name was Logan. Logan Fletcher."

And there it was. She waited almost fearfully, to see Sofia's reaction.

" If this guy cared for you at all, he wouldn't resent you for trying to be happy."

Artemis' words were intended to be comforting but failed to do so. If Wendell was the romantic he had lead her to believe he would be a tad bit resentful she hadn't waited more than a month to find someone else. Really most people would. It was almost as if her sudden connection with Dillan was more the trigger to her guilty conscience than anything else - that and her still unparalleled desire to kiss Wendell...

Thankfully Artemis carried on the conversation, not seeming to mind Sofia's characteristic silence, and brought out her own tale of woe... that was seeming more like a betrayal of sorts. How could someone do such a thing to another person? Sofia had just met Artemis but already the woman's character had managed to make its appearance - it was almost as apparent as the fact that she was apart of the shop. That or maybe it was that spark of familiarity Sofia felt every time she made eye contact, as if she had seen Artemis before. Somewhere. At sometime. In someplace.

Artemis grew more passionate as she continued on with her story, the wounds still as fresh as Sofia's, possibly even fresher.

"I mean really, how can you not realize when you're doing something intrinsically evil?! There's not a justification for it!"

Maybe he had done whatever it was for family? For her? For the greater good. Truly it was quite easy to step into the realm of evil when something else was controlling your logic. What was causing Sofia some amount of concern though was not the philosophical evil question but Artemis' increasing fury at the unnamed man. Really she ought to stop her before she...

"His name was Logan. Logan Fletcher."

Oh.

Well then. There was at least some reason for all the anger. She herself had been rather surprised that Fletcher had been involved with the whole affair. It had been rather unexpected, like her breaking Wendell out of jail on a whim. In fact she was rather sure they had shared the front page. Irony. Sofia bit her lips trying to repress a burst of completely inappropriate laughter. And failed.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh. You were so respectful only..." Sofia choked back what threatened to be another fit. "I really should put this into perspective. We both like headliners." She took a deep breath. "Your Logan shared the front page that day with a smaller article, one about the breakout of one Mr. Wendell Darrow. My guilty secret."

The sudden rush of heat to her cheeks told Sofia she was now flushing furiously. Dam. "I knew Logan. It came to as a shock to most of us. He didn't seem the type." She tried, attempting to make amends for her earlier insensitivity. Reason number one why she no longer had many female friends.

And her much awaited response to Artemis’ deep dark secret liaison with a now infamous evildoer…laughter. Well aside from being completely unexpected, it was a bit rude. Honestly, she was a bit biased but she felt her scenario had been a bit more traumatic. I mean death was bad, but at least she didn’t suddenly discover that her boyfriend was one of the masterminds behind the fourth unforgiveable. She was sure that her expression displayed a bit of the hurt she felt at her new found confident laughing at her emotional distress. At anyway she began to apologize, though clearly struggling to contain the rest of her giggle fit.

"…I really should put this into perspective. We both like headliners." She took a deep breath. "Your Logan shared the front page that day with a smaller article, one about the breakout of one Mr. Wendell Darrow. My guilty secret."

Wendell Darrow?

“No…” She said slowly her eyes widening in recognition. Sofia’s belated attempts at consoling her over Logan’s deception was brushed aside in light of this new piece of information. Sudden memories of Wendell’s funeral came rushing back to her: the empty casket, the ridiculous speeches, and finally the quiet woman who sat in the back.

“Of course! It’s you! That’s where I know you! You were the woman at his funeral!”

Her previous annoyance was instantly forgotten. Sofia’s story had just gotten infinitely juicier. Sofia had said a few words at the funeral, though Arty was unable to recall what they might have been. Her interest had been only momentarily peaked to see the woman that even she had heard mentioned once or twice. It was no secret that he had been on a mission to get at least one date out of the aurors he had fondly dubbed ‘Brunette Hottie League.’ But it seemed with Sofia it had been more than just his usual talk.

She glanced at her appraisingly. “Really? Wendell? I mean he always did have an obsession with the aurors, but we all thought he was full of tosh when he claimed that he was making any headway.”

Sofia watched in a sort of horror struck awe as Artemis' eyes lit up with recognition and she let out a slightly horrified no. Perhaps Wendell had done her or her family wrong? Had he robbed them? Now she was being even more insensitive... "Of course! It’s you! That’s where I know you! You were the woman at his funeral!”

The funeral! Sofia gave a sigh of relief. Merlin help her that was why the other had looked slightly familiar! He hadn't wronged them - he had been a friend. Merlin! The people who all seemed to know more about her relationship with Wendell than she did! Upon second thought the only other female there had not said a wilt about her in her speech. Really it had just been every single one of his male friends with those looks, and Will! Will with those cursed words. She would be merely moping after Wendell, not feeling guilty for never being able to tell him the feeling was more than mutual, if only Will had never said the "L" word.

“Really? Wendell?

Sofia's cheeks were now tainted a permeant pink. " Yes, Wendell really." She mumbled back suddenly feeling ashamed of her life choices.

"I mean he always did have an obsession with the aurors, but we all thought he was full of tosh when he claimed that he was making any headway.”

Sofia laughed, a slightly lovesick look stealing across her face. "He was - full of tosh that is. Its not as though we... well...you see its not as if... dam it all. It wasn't till Will and the funeral that I even knew that he cared! Knew about love. I thought I was just his favorite to tease and I couldn't let myself go any further. Foolish but safe but a complete lie. We never even dated yet I still...This guilt isn't irrational I promise! It's my fault he's dead Artemis, I should have listened. Seen reason." She finished the embarrassed flush now heighten by her rising emotions as the trail of 'if onlys' began to float across her mind.

Sofia needed to stop. Needed to cool down else she would be confessing to Artemis she had masterminded his escape - and loved every minute they spent in a closet together. Or how sweet his goodbye kiss had been. Sofia gave a sad shake of her head, focusing all her attention on the bed of feathers. "I know I'm fooling myself. Reading more into Will's words than I ought to have. I fell for a criminal and a flirt and am trying to do right by making thing work with my mother's ideal pureblood husband that reminds me of him. At least yours was brilliant and awkward. Probably at least said he cared about you and meant it. That and your feelings weren't some terribly amusing joke or bet to be won." She concluded, with a sad smile. "Comparatively speaking you and Logan at least had a broken relationship for you to be upset about, and you didn't get him killed."

"Comparatively speaking you and Logan at least had a broken relationship for you to be upset about, and you didn't get him killed."

"Sofia, you didn't get him killed." Artemis stated with a hint of authority. "He did that on his own. I'm not sure what hand you think you had in his death, but it was no more than the dozens of other people in his life. His family for ignoring him, his friend's for never trying to put a stop to his destructive lifestyle, but mostly himself. He thought he lived some sort of charmed life, and he tricked the rest of us into believing it with him. We just realized our mistake a little too late."

She wished there was something more substantial she could say or do. But the only person who could really assuage Sofia's guilts was Wendell. But seeing that he was in no position to do that (or anything at all) it was up to her to do the best she could.

“Logan is not really a good comparison to this situation. I only ever met him because he needed some information about muggles for his work, and he heard our shop sold muggle merchandise. Imagine that would you? I thought perhaps he was studying something along the lines of how magic is inherited. But he wasn’t. Who knows what sort of perverse use he put his information to? Now tell me…who should feel guilty?”

It was true; she did worry about that from time to time. But the point of her story wasn’t really about that. Arty had no way of knowing what her pearls of wisdom would be used for. She didn’t even know if they were useful at all. But even so, it wasn’t really her fault if what she said had been used to create that twisted spell. She didn’t kill Darien. She wasn’t responsible for Kate.

“You should miss him, and be sad. But you can’t hold yourself accountable for someone else’s poor decisions. He got in that fight by himself.”

"Sofia, you didn't get him killed."

Ha! Right. She only broke him out of a high security holding block and let him walk off into the dangerous night. By removing him from the safety of prison she had killed him. She should have just let him go to trail and contributed to Ivy's damming list of evidence. Wendell would have been out of her life for good and she would have been able to have a sweet and proper relationship with Dillan.

"No I did. I might not have shot the curse but I most certainly helped." She whispered, her words going unheard by the other.

"...I only ever met him because he needed some information about muggles for his work, and he heard our shop sold muggle merchandise. Imagine that would you... Who knows what sort of perverse use he put his information to? Now tell me…who should feel guilty...He got in that fight by himself.”

Sofia shook her head, unsure of how to voice why her guilt was so deep. Artemis was likely assuming she felt bad for not getting to know him better, not for knowing him well enough to know that being locked away was not going to end well for either of them. Wendell would either get further entangled in the lovely world of crime or get himself killed (well apparently he didn't need prison for that to happen) while she would have tried to concoct a way to get him out without anyone being able to pin it on her. They would have both been lifeless shells.

"Not counting the first time we met at Hogwarts which resulted in a makeshift duel... I only met him because of work. He was a lovely informant when he chose to be. That fight - it would have never happened if not for me. I can't explain much more than that but I think we both are in a similar situations. If you hadn't spoken to your Logan and if I had thought things out, both of us might be happier."

Sofia gave a shrug, no longer wanting to think about it. "Now lets think of... of whatever it is in this shop you might have for someone like me." She threw on a bright green lime scented boa that seemed to shoot out puffs of glitter every couple of minutes. "Unless you think this will do? I've always had a fondness for green."

"Now lets think of... of whatever it is in this shop you might have for someone like me. Unless you think this will do? I've always had a fondness for green."

Arty laughed as the lime green boa Sofia had wrapped around herself shot out a giant poof of glitter. It was an exceedingly popular item among the five year old girls demograph, but somehow she didn't think it would particularly suit Sofia. Unless she somehow managed to regress in age, in that case Arty might be able to sell her one of the My Little Ponies and the pink sequin and tulle tutu.

"As flattering an accessory as that is, I think I can find you something a little less gaudy."

She pulled Sofia up out of their makeshift confessional couch and proceeded to help her spice up her wardrobe (minus the feather boas).