Hey y'all, it's been a while. I'm sorry for the lack of updates; this new job is hell on my depression. But I'm getting through it. To Raven that flies at night and Brooklyns Finest Hufflepuff, Fleamont seems like the option most go with but in that Quora article...thing..., they make a good argument against it. According to Pottermore, Fleamont Potter was teased relentlessly for his name so it seems unlikely that he'd pass it on to James. But hey, to each their own!

Anyway, on to the chapter. It's the longest so far, and probably will be the longest moving on, but I just couldn't find a good stopping place. Plus, with my lack of timely updates, I really didn't want to leave y'all with a cliffhanger. This is another one I've been envisioning for a while. Let me know how it is!

-fancy blood


An hour later, Sage was standing with her back to the blank stretch of wall on the seventh floor, studying the tapestry. She felt a bit foolish waiting in the empty corridor and had just decided to give another five minutes before leaving when Sirius magically appeared at her shoulder. She jumped, throwing a hand to her chest.

"Where in the hell did you come from?" Sage gasped, and Sirius let out his bark-like laugh, leaning his shoulder on the wall, facing her.

"What a wonderful way to greet a date," he said, and Sage rolled her eyes.

"Well, hopefully, a real date wouldn't be late. Also, forty-five minutes is really not enough time for any girl to get ready for a date." Sirius took in her appearance, flared jeans, blouse, and curly hair trailing over the shoulders of a leather jacket.

"This is more about how the guy should act than how you should look," he said shrugging. "But you do look...nice," he finished after an awkward pause.

"Thanks, I guess?" She laughed.

"Anyway, let's rock and roll," he said, moving away from the wall to show her a door that had definitely not been there ten minutes ago. She eyed him suspiciously and walked into the room. She stopped just inside the doorway, gasping at the sight in front of her.

The room wasn't actually a room at all. Instead, they stood on the crest of a hill overlooking a forest of ancient ash trees. Sage stepped into the impossible place and felt the soft wind on her face. She took a deep breath and smelled the pungent scent of an invisible flowerbed and heard the trickling sound of a creek nearby. The sun was shining, though it was still cool, cool enough to make Sage glad she brought her jacket. She could see a blanket set up on the edge of the forest, barely in the shade, far enough out that they wouldn't be freezing.

"Impressive, huh?" Sirius asked from behind her.

"It's amazing," Sage said breathlessly. "What is this room?"

"The Room of Requirement. It changes itself into whatever a person needs, exactly what they need, when they need it. I've hidden here a couple of times," he said, coming to stand next to her.

"Handy," she laughed, starting down the hill towards the blanket. "Is it common for dates to happen on my land, though?"

Sirius shrugged, keeping up with her strides easily. "This is the place I imagined when I was asking the Room for a location to do this. It is gorgeous, you have to admit."

"Absolutely. When I was a kid, I used to pretend that I was a princess and the manor was my castle. Sometimes I could even convince James to be the dragon that I slew," Sage laughed, reminiscing.

"Isn't it supposed to be the knight that slays the dragon?" Sirius asked, smiling crookedly at her.

"Not in my stories; the girl always saves the day."

"Makes sense," he conceded. "How did James take that?"

"With surprising grace. He never once complained about being the evil dragon."

"Yeah, well, he'd do anything for you," Sirius shrugged, jumping off the slight cliff where the hill been eroded from decades of use and floods from the creek. He offered his hand to steady Sage as she followed. "We all would." Sage jumped and landed close enough to bump Sirius' chest lightly. She looked up at his grey eyes and hesitated, trapped in the intensity of his gaze. For a breathless moment, Sage thought he'd kiss her, or she'd kiss him, and she wanted it. Then he cleared his throat and stepped back, releasing her hand as he led her to the blanket. She noticed the basket full of food sitting on a blanket and gave him a quick grin.

"I figured you'd be hungry, what with skipping dinner to yell at us and everything," Sirius said, plopping down on the blanket.

"Well, you lot deserved it," she replied with grace, hiking up a shoulder as she sat cross-legged in front of him.

"Too right," he sighed. He glanced at her for a moment before busying himself with laying out the food.

They ate their way through fish and chips and a flagon of pumpkin juice, finishing the meal with a healthy serving of treacle tart, all while joking and chatting. Sage felt none of the anxiety she had with Gideon; in fact, there was a sense of rightness being here with Sirius, and she refused to put much thought in it. Instead, she reclined onto her back when he did, putting her hand on her very full belly and let the feeling of contentment wash over her.

The sun had set at an incredible rate, much too fast for reality, and the stars were out in full force before she had a chance to appreciate the sunset. She couldn't complain though, the darkness gave them a blanket of intimacy that wasn't there before. She chanced a look at the boy lying next to her, heart thudding when she noticed him staring back at her.

"Do you know any constellations?" He asked suddenly, with the air of someone grasping for a topic.

"Just a few," she said, looking back up at the sky. "Dad liked to take James and I stargazing when the nights were clear. Funnily enough, the only one I can always find is Sirius."

"Well, it is the brightest star. Mum got that one right, at least," Sirius chuckled. Sage let out a small groan and rolled her eyes. "You see those three stars there?" He asked, pointing up. She tilted her head towards him and made an affirmative sound deep in her throat as she spotted a cluster of stars in a row. "That's Orion's Belt. And that," he said, pointing slightly up, "Is Betelgeuse."

"Any of those in your family?" Sage joked.

"Nah, not regal enough, I think," he said. "Betelgeuse Black. Nope, doesn't fit."

"Ah, I kind of like it," she said, giving him a teasing smile. "It's much better than Sirius, anyway."

"Whatever you say, Sagey." She glared at him playfully and he smirked. Their gazes lingered in silence, neither of them willing to break the connection until a particularly large gust of wind made Sage shiver. "Cold?"

"A bit, yeah," she said honestly, hoping he'd offer to put his arm around her or something, anything, to break this tension. She wanted desperately for him to touch her, and she felt her stomach drop at the thought. This is Sirius, she thought furiously. Nothing can happen. Nothing will happen. He's just being nice. "We should probably go, it must be getting late," she said, sitting up quickly.

"Err, yeah, of course." He sat up as well and began gathering their trash and depositing it in the picnic basket.

Sage reached out a hand and touched his wrist lightly. "Thank you, Sirius, really." He gave her a dazzling smile, which she returned. "It was the best platonic date I've ever been on."

"Enough to make up for all the lack of dates I may, or may not, have been the cause of?"

"Up until you said that, yes," she replied sardonically.

"Good," he said, closing the lid to the picnic basket and bouncing up. He held out his hand for hers and pulled her up, vanishing both the basket and the blanket before leading her up the hill.

"So, how many girls have you brought here?" Sage asked, then immediately regretted the question. Sirius threw a sharp look at her, hand dancing up to the back of his head.

"Err, none, actually. I mostly use it when I need to get away from the lads for a bit. In fact, I'm not entirely sure they were aware of it before we started the Map," he said the last in an undertone.

"Map? What map?" Sage asked sharply and Sirius reached in his pocket, pulling out a thick bit of parchment and offered it to her. She took it with a questioning look, watching as he tapped it with his wand.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Sage watched in awe as thin lines of ink crisscrossed all over the parchment, forming a huge labyrinth of passageways and rooms. "Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers, are proud to present The Marauder's Map," she read aloud, flabbergasted. "Sirius, blimey, this is impressive."

"Always with the tone of surprise," he said lightly, watching as Sage scanned the map, face flushed and soft with astonishment, full lips slightly parted.

"Looks like the corridor is clear," she said, still staring at the map.

"Let's go then." He led her out the door, smiling as she remained enraptured with the map. They turned the corner and she looked up, handing him the map. "Mischief managed."

"Of course," she muttered, watching him stow the map back in his pocket with a smile. "You lot are so predictable."

"I liked it better when we were impressive," he teased.

"That is also predictable. Impressive, yet completely bonkers." Sirius opened his mouth to reply when they were interrupted by a cold voice.

"Well if it isn't my brother and his little slag." The two looked further down the corridor to see Regulus Black walking towards them, followed by Severus Snape and Walden Macnair. Sirius stiffened beside Sage, hand clutching his wand so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"Alright then, Regulus?" Sirius called, anger and disappointment clouding his voice. Sage bristled at being called a slag but, given the circumstances, she'd let it go. They were having such a wonderful night and she didn't want to ruin it by having a row with Sirius' misguided brother.

"Better now that you joined the other blood traitors and left me alone," Regulus sneered. Sage let out a hollow laugh. "Something funny, Potter?"

"Oh, just the fact that both of you were force fed the whole blood purity rubbish and yet, Sirius was the only one to realize how stupid it is." Sage cocked her head to the side tauntingly. "Pathetic, really, how little brains you actually got."

"Like the Potters had much brains to begin with," Snape said, stepping forward.

"Brains enough to best you, it seems." Snape snarled, unsheathing his wand from a pocket like a sword. The other two followed.

"Sage, go find James and Remus," Sirius muttered, keeping his eyes on the group of Slytherins.

"Like bloody hell. I'm not leaving you," Sage growled, raising her wand and trying to contain the fine tremble in her arm. Somewhere deep in the recesses of her mind, she knew this wouldn't be anything other than a dangerous duel. There was too much animosity built up for either side to go easy. Sirius cursed under his breath.

"Watch where you point that thing, Snivellus, I doubt you know how to use it," Sirius said with a curled lip.

Snape snarled at Sirius' and yelled, "Impedimenta!" Sirius blocked it, and the duel began.

Sage ducked and weaved to avoid curses, throwing every jinx and hex she could think of at the Slytherins, but they were better than she, faster. It was nearly all she could do to avoid getting hit. Sirius, on the other hand, held his own despite her lack of aid, wand nearly a blur as he sent spell after spell hurtling down the corridor. Sage managed to hit Macnair with a Trip Jinx, but in that one moment of distraction, Regulus sent a curse hurtling towards her. Sirius cast a shield charm around her at the last moment, her blue eyes caught his grey ones in surprise as the curse bounced off to leave a crater in the stone floor.

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" Everything seemed to stop as Sirius jerked with the force of the curse. Sage watched in horror as blood soaked the front of his shirt. He collapsed to his knees and Sage collapsed with him, cradling his torso in her lap as even more blood seeped out of the wound she couldn't see.

Sage glanced up at the group of Slytherins; Snape stood there with an expression of mingled defiance and shock; Regulus stared at his brother, looking slightly ill; and Macnair had a strange smile on his face. Sage sucked in a shaky breath and did the only thing she could think of: she screamed. She screamed like she had never screamed before, wailing and bellowing for help. The Slytherins, shocked into the present by the ungodly sound, turn on their heels and ran.

Sage turned back to Sirius, who looked much too pale and was still losing blood. "Don't die on me, dammit," she croaked as his eyes fluttered shut. She wouldn't lose him like this, not because she couldn't keep her mouth shut. This was her fault. She goaded both Regulus and Snape. "You're not going to bloody die," she said, this time determined, not scared.

She ripped his shirt open to see a long, slightly curved gash bisecting his chest. The gash, nay slash, was deep and still gushing blood. She raised her wand and began an incantation, ignoring the way her voice cracked with emotion and the tears pouring down her cheeks. The blood stopped, slowly but surely, and the skin mended clumsily. By the time she heard footsteps running towards them, she had discarded her wand and had Sirius' head cradled to her chest, face buried in his hair, still crying.

"Sage, what in the bloody hell—is that Sirius?" Sage let out a sob of relief at the sound of her brother's voice and raised her head, wisps of Sirius' long hair clinging to her wet cheeks. James stood there, thunderstruck as Lily Evans skidded to a halt beside him and let out a loud gasp, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Slytherins—attacked—too quick—he saved m-me." Sage knew dimly that her hiccuped explanation made absolutely no sense but she couldn't make herself elaborate. Words had completely failed her.

James dropped to his knees, wading in a pool of blood to get to his best mate and his sister. He touched Sirius' face and was terrified to find that his cheek was cold. There were more thunderous footsteps leading to their corridor and Professor McGonagall rounded the corner.

"What—?" McGonagall started, taking in the scene. "Miss Potter, please stand back." Sage laid Sirius' upper body down gently and scampered back, slipping and sliding in the blood. McGonagall magicked Sirius on a stretcher and looked at the still-crying girl with a face full of sympathy. "Follow me to the Hospital Wing, please." She started down the corridor, Lily following in her wake.

James stood and looked at his sister, who was still on her knees staring at the blood on her hands uncomprehendingly. He crossed the corridor to her, grabbing her sticky hands in his own. "C'mon Sagey," he murmured, hoisting her up. She stumbled into his body and he tucked her into his side, leading her down the passages to the Hospital Wing.

By the time they arrived, Sirius had been deposited into a bed, stripped from the waist up. Madame Pomfrey worked over him, siphoning the blood from his torso, the jagged, barely-healed gash becoming clearer with each passing second. Sage let out a strangled gasp and James' arm tightened around her shoulders. McGonagall looked up and closed the hangings around Sirius, walking towards Sage.

"What happened, Miss Potter?" Her normally brisk voice was soft, almost hushed. Before Sage could do anything more than blink, however, the doors on the other side of the wing opened and the Headmaster came striding. Sage watched his silver hair flowing backward with great interest, entranced by the way the light shimmered against the strands. She saw Dumbledore's mouth moving but didn't care to make out the words.

"Miss Potter?" The sound of her name filtered through her fuzzy brain. She looked vaguely into Dumbledore's bright blue eyes and felt a sharp grip on her shoulders. Dimly, she realized that Dumbledore's veined hands were gripping her shoulders tightly but she couldn't focus on any one thing for long. "She's in shock. Minerva, James, please escort Sage to my office. I will be there shortly."

James cast a conflicted glance between his sister and the hangings concealing his best friend, fighting for his life. Lily watched his torment for a moment, then stepped towards him, placing a soft hand on one of his closed fists, and said, "I'll go with her. You stay here."

"You sure?" James whispered harshly. Lily saw the glittering of tears in his eyes and nodded. "Thank you."

"C'mon Sage, let's go," Lily said softly, taking Sage by the upper arm, avoiding her blood-stained hands.

"Sirius," Sage mumbled protestingly, straining against Lily's grip.

"You've helped him here as much as you can. Now you must speak with the Headmaster." McGonagall told her sternly, leaving no room for argument. Sage let herself be guided by her professor and Head Girl out into the hall. She was dimly aware when Lily magically cleaned her hands and grasped them in her own. Sage appreciated the show of support, especially since she and Lily didn't have much to do with each other.

In the years to come, Sage would never remember the walk to Dumbledore's office, nor would she remember standing on the revolving spiral staircase. It was as if she suddenly appeared in a chair in front of the Headmaster's desk, blinking at the sparkling devices cluttering every available space. She stared at his majestic pet phoenix for a moment before rising and walking to his perch.

McGonagall and Lily watched in silence as Sage reached out to stroke his crimson plumage. The bird closed his eyes contently, nudging her hand softly and letting out a quivering note. She felt that note slip through her, warming her throat as if she had swallowed her favorite hot cocoa and chasing the soft edges cluttering her brain away. The phoenix let out two more and Sage's shock fell away.

Sage felt the stickiness of Sirius' blood through her clothes and let out another sob. She was incredibly grateful Lily had thought to clean her hands, though if she could still see rings of red embedded in the edges of her fingernails. She felt the sharp poke of another sob, possibly a scream, fight it's way up her throat and the bird let out one last note, calming her at once.

"It seems Fawkes has taken a liking to you," Dumbledore's voice said from behind her. She whirled around to see him with a serene smile on his face. "Quite right, too. He has a fantastic sense of character."

"Thank you, sir."

"Please, sit," he said, gesturing to the chair she vacated earlier. She settled herself down beside Lily, and McGonagall stood at her shoulder. "Minerva, would you like a seat as well?"

"No thank you, Albus." Now that Sage could think straight, she noticed McGonagall seemed anxious and thought it curious. She had never seen her professor as on-edge as now.

"Very well," Dumbledore said, turning his attention once more to Sage. "Miss Potter, please tell me what happened tonight."

Sage took a shuddering breath. "Sirius and I were walking back to the common room when we ran into a group of Slytherins."

"And who might those Slytherins be?" Dumbledore asked. Sage worried at her lip for a moment, debating on saying she didn't know, didn't recognize them or couldn't see them clearly. But as she glanced at Dumbledore's bright blue eyes, she knew she wouldn't get away with lying.

"Severus Snape, Walden Macnair, and R-Regulus Black." She stuttered over the name, hoping Sirius wouldn't be too cross with her for dragging his little brother into this mess. Then, she realized with a painful shock, that Sirius could have died, no doubt would have, had she not known the spell to heal him. She began again with a newfound vigor. "We had a row with them and dueled. I don't know who hit him with sectumsempra, but someone did. And then I started screaming and they ran. He was losing so much blood so I—" The knot in her throat grew four times over and fresh tears spilled over her cheeks.

"You healed him," Dumbledore said softly. "Make no mistake, had you not performed some very impressive magic, Mr. Black wouldn't have made it to the Hospital Wing. The curse hit vital organs. As it is, he is expected to make a full recovery." Sage let out a breath of relief. "We're transferring him to St. Mungos now and we've contacted your parents. They are going to St. Mungos tonight and will be here tomorrow to take you and James to visit him." Sage felt even more relief at the fact he contacted her parents, not Sirius'. He needed support and love, not cold indifference.

"Thank you, Professor." She hoped he understood everything she was thanking him for. By his soft smile and nod, he did.

He turned to Lily. "Miss Evans, what did you see?"

"Not much, sir. James and I were patrolling the sixth floor when we heard the screaming. We immediately headed towards the noise and we were discussing the best way to find a professor when he recognized the voice as Sage. Then it was all I could do to keep up with him. By the time we found them, it was just Sage and Sirius in the hall," she replied dutifully.

"I found the group not long afterward and didn't see any trace of the attackers," McGonagall interjected.

"Very well. I will send for the students in question, and Horace. Miss Potter," Dumbledore said, looking back at Sage. "Madame Pomfrey has readied a bed and potion to help you sleep in the Hospital Wing. I would like you to stay there until your parents collect you. You have permission to stay home until you feel ready to come back. Minerva, would you oversee the packing of Miss Potter's things?"

"Of course," McGonagall said.

"Very well, I will walk you to the Hospital Wing." They followed Dumbledore out of his office, McGonagall departing at the hall to head to Gryffindor tower. Sage expected Lily to follow McGonagall and was shocked to see her continue striding after Dumbledore.

"Miss Evans, please follow Professor McGonagall. You need rest as well," Dumbledore said, glancing at the redhead next to Sage.

"Sir, with all due respect, I'd like to check on James." Sage threw a sharp glance towards her. She was shocked to see Lily's face, though flushed, was resolute.

"Very well," Dumbledore said lightly, opening the doors to the Hospital Wing. Sage's heart sank as she saw James slumped in a chair, staring blankly at Sirius' empty, newly-changed bed. Madam Pomfrey was bustling about, clearing up the rest of the sullied supplies. After a moment, James looked up and saw the group, then bounded to Sage and grabbed her in a tight hug.

"He'll be alright, they took him to St. Mungos. Mum and Dad are there now," he murmured in her ear. Sage nodded, clutching at James as if he was the only thing keeping her grounded.

"I know, Dumbledore told me," she said, equally as quietly, then fought off another sob. "I'm so sorry, James. It's all my fault."

"Don't be stupid," he growled. "Of course it wasn't." He released her, holding her at arm's length and peering into her eyes. "What happened, though?"

"Mr. Potter, I'll be happy to answer any and all questions you might have," Dumbledore interjected before Sage could say a word. "I believe what Sage needs now, more than anything, is some rest."

"Of course," James said, releasing her at once.

"Miss Potter, a word, if you may." Dumbledore beckoned her towards a bed where Madam Pomfrey was setting up a bedside table with spare pajamas and a container with some sort of potion. "Are you absolutely sure you that you didn't see who cast the last curse?"

Sage thought hard before speaking. "I'm sorry, I really don't know."

"Very well. I beg you when you do speak to James about what happened, please make that absolutely clear." Sage threw a glance at James who was speaking softly to Lily, hands grasping hers. She knew that James wouldn't take this lying down; he was fiercely loyal and protective of both her and Sirius.

"Yes sir, I'll do my best."

"Thank you. Now, get some rest." And with that, Dumbledore turned on his heel and ushered James and Lily through the doors. Madam Pomfrey ushered Sage into a small lavatory, complete with a tiny shower stall, and allowed her to shower before changing, as the blood had thickened to a tacky brown sludge. Sage stared determinedly at the wall, not allowing herself to think that it was Sirius' life source running down her body into the drain, lest she have hysterics again. After she was sufficiently clean, she dried and changed into the pajamas and emerged to see Madam Pomfrey had also changed into her own dressing gown.

"Ah, here we are," Madam Pomfrey said as Sage climbed into her own bed, a considerable distance away from Sirius'. The matron handed her a potion as she settled against the pillows. "Now, drink up."

"What exactly is this?" She asked, staring into the cup.

"A potion for dreamless sleep. It'll help." Sage nodded and drank it in one gulp. Her head hit the pillow and she was dimly aware that Madam Pomfrey snatched the cup before it fell and shattered. Sage was out before the matron put the cup back on her bedside table.