I'm not entirely happy with this chapter but I've been staring at it long enough, trying to figure out if I should put some filler between this one and chapter 6 and decided to say screw it. Please let me know what you think!
The weeks flew by quickly, as Sage had never been busier. Between her lessons, homework, Quidditch practice, and Charms lessons with Sirius, she felt as if she barely had time to breathe. Soon it was late October and when the date of the first Hogsmeade trip, set for that weekend, was posted on the notice board, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Finally, something fun," She muttered, hearing a masculine laugh from behind her.
"What, Quidditch practices aren't fun?" Sirius asked, raising his brows sardonically. She snorted, thinking back to the last two hours. James, who took his role as captain a little too seriously, ruled his team with an iron fist. It was only her loyalty and desire to win the House Cup that kept her from introducing his face to her own iron fist.
"Do you want to study tonight?" Sage asked, choosing to ignore his statement. Sirius shrugged, then looked around the common room and grimaced.
"Sure, but in the library." Sage followed his gaze to see Marlene, looking directly at the pair with a smile.
Marlene had a habit of crashing their study sessions, and while Sage didn't mind, Marlene had a tendency to be so forward that half the time, Sirius ended the night early with an uncomfortable look on his face. Sage really didn't understand his hesitancy with Marlene; sure, she was forward and slightly crass, but she was pretty and nothing she hinted to was anything he hadn't done with someone else. Maybe it was Sage's comment about settling down that made him uncomfortable?
Sage sighed and nodded, telling him to meet her in the library in half an hour. She raced up to her dorm, grabbed her bag, and made her way to the library. Their tutoring sessions turned into general studying, as they both seemed to work well together. Sirius was actually putting forth effort, as it was his last year and he needed top marks on his NEWTs to become an Auror. James had his eyes set on that career as well; it seemed that everyone she knew wanted to fight in the impending war and the Ministry was making unprecedented efforts to hire more and more Aurors for the cause. And while James accompanied the pair from time to time, he was spending increasingly more time with Lily Evans, the declared love of his life. According to Remus, whom Sage cornered after noticing the trend, James had deflated his ego a bit (not that Sage had noticed) and Lily had come around, especially since they were forced together for Head Boy/Girl duties. Sage wondered briefly if he'd finally find the courage to ask Lily to Hogsmeade and hoped that Lily would say yes. Sage liked Lily, even if she was a stickler for the rules.
When Sage walked into the library, she did a quick scan and couldn't see Sirius' shaggy hair. So she went to their usual corner table, far from the prying eyes of Madam Pince. She sat with her back to the wall, eyeing the group of Hufflepuff seventh years sitting at the table in front of hers as she pulled out her materials. Gideon Prewett caught her eye and gave her a warm smile, which she returned hesitantly before looking at her DADA book.
"Hello, Sage," She looked up at Gideon's voice, who had left his table to sit directly in front of her. He ran a hand through his golden hair, bringing attention to his brown eyes.
"Err, hello Gideon," She replied.
"How's it going?" He asked, smile still planted firmly on his face. She couldn't help but notice his lips were thin, barely visible when stretched over his teeth. She shrugged back, looking at those eyes, which were easily his best feature. Rich and lively with flecks of amber, almost like firewhiskey, they brought character to his otherwise plain face.
"Fine, just studying. How are you?" She asked pleasantly, wondering what he actually wanted and if he'd get to the point before she graduated.
"I'm doing great. Excited about the Hogsmeade trip." Ah, there it is.
"Er, yeah, me too. It'll be nice to get out of the castle for a bit." She said, biting a back a smile.
"Do you have any plans for it?" Dear Merlin, just ask already, Sage thought, shrugging.
"Not really. You?" He looked down bashfully for a moment, before returning his gaze to her face. Sage noticed how he lingered on her lips for a breath and bit her bottom lip in response.
"None at the moment," He said, before taking a deep breath. "I was actually wondering if you'd like to accompany me?" She considered Gideon for a moment; she hadn't spent much time with him but he was always nice to her in passing. Figuring she should give it a shot, she nodded. After all, it wasn't like she was getting many dates. Or any, for that matter.
"Yeah, sure." Gideon's face lit up and his smile grew even wider. Sage wondered how his lips stretched that thin without breaking.
"Great!" His exclamation was louder than necessary, and the few groups of students nearby shushed him. He looked around nervously and lowered his voice so that Sage had to lean in to hear him. "I'll meet you in at the front doors, say ten?"
"Sounds good." She replied. Seconds later, the sound of someone clearing their throat made the pair jump back and whirl around. Sirius stood behind Gideon, staring hard at the back of his head. Gideon looked from Sirius to Sage and stood.
"It's a date. Black," Gideon said pleasantly, nodding to Sirius as he made his way back to his table. Sirius stared at him hard before plopping into the now empty seat.
"What was that about?" He grumbled, looking at Sage. She shrugged and focused her attention flipping to the right chapter in her textbook.
"I'm going with him to Hogsmeade," She replied, shrugging. She felt the tension coming off Sirius in waves and squinted up at him. "What?"
"You're going with Prewett to Hogsmeade?" He asked, dumbfounded. Sage bristled at the implication.
"Is that a problem?" She asked evenly, though Sirius could hear the undercurrent of anger and tried to backpedal. He remembered distinctly how good she was with the Bat Bogey hex and would prefer to escape her wrath.
"Not at all," He said, busying himself with pulling out his Transfiguration essay.
"Good," Sage stated, switching her focus back to her book.
"It's just—" Sirius started, faltering as he looked at her glowering face. "Never mind."
"No, spit it out so I can tell you how stupid you're being and we can get back to studying." She stated. He sighed and shrugged.
"He's kind of a prat. And a womanizer." He held up his hand as Sage opened her mouth, presumably to point out the obvious. "Yeah, I know how rich that is. But like it or not, you're my responsibility, as both my mate and my best mate's sister. And I don't trust him."
"Sirius?"
"Hmm?"
"You're being stupid. Let's study." Sirius let out a breath and nodded, looking back down at his essay, thinking of ways to disrupt their date.
Sage couldn't help but notice that Sirius' lips were perfectly plump.
