Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and settings from the Harry Potter world, which is trademarked by J. K. Rowling. I do not claim any ownership over them or the world of Harry Potter and will not receive any money or other financial profit for presenting the work on this site. The story I tell here as well as certain original characters are my own invention, and are not purported or believed to be part of J.K. Rowling's story canon.

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Chapter 26

Today's lesson went anything else but smoothly. Neville, Ginny and Luna appeared to be absent-minded ever since arriving at the meadow, continuously struggling to follow her instructions. Sage wasn't exactly annoyed at their strange behaviour; instead, she worried, wondering if something had happened between them.

"Ginny! Luna! Would you mind staying around for a bit longer? There's something I'd like to talk about with you," Sage asked, a look of concern on her face.

They both agreed without showing any signs of protest. At least it didn't have anything to do with her, then.

"Well, everyone.. That's it for today!" Sage announced, loud enough for everyone to hear.

As Sage wrapped up the lesson, she thanked everybody for their participation and proceeded to lower down her shell of protective charms. Neville stayed behind like he always had for the past month. Ginny and Luna joined him, though none of them spoke a word.

"Thanks for taking the time," she remarked, stepping closer towards the trio

They must have sensed the concern buzzing beneath her skin, because they seemed to be equally worried now. She didn't want to unsettle them, not in the least, but she just knew that something was up between the three. Sage hesitated to raise the issue, not entirely sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"Is everything alright?" Neville finally asked, a genuine look of concern on his face.

"Well.. that's what I wanted to ask you," she admitted.

"Me? Why?"

"All three of you, in fact. You've all seemed somewhat rattled today and I wondered.. what might be occupying your mind?" Sage carefully inquired.

Ginny immediately looked at Neville, who appeared as if just having been caught out. Luna had a faint trace of a smile spread across her face. Sage wasn't quite sure what to think of that. But then again, that was how she usually felt about Luna. The girl had always had something mysterious about her. Unsettling, yet fascinating.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, Sage. I'm sorry we didn't stay focused during your lesson," Ginny explained, nothing but candour behind her voice.

Though she might not have admitted it out loud, Sage hurt at the fact that they obviously didn't trust her enough to confide in her with their problems. Of course she had only been her for about a month, but she always had assumed that the connection they shared was of deep and genuine nature. Apparently she was wrong.

"Look, I don't want to force you to tell me what is going on.. I just want you to know that you can trust me, whatever it is about. I'd hate to see you fight and maybe an outsider's perspective can help to set the record straight," Sage suggested, trying to not make them feel pressured into trusting her.

As she finished speaking, Neville's face mended into something that she could only describe as.. soft? He gave her this genuine, empathetic look, before finally speaking up (even if only a little).

"Don't worry, Sage. We aren't fighting. There's just a lot on our mind right now, and.. we think it's safer for you if you don't know about it," he explained, though still sounding somewhat cryptic.

She would have been lying to say she was entirely convinced by this claim. Why would she be better off not knowing about what was going on with them? It just didn't make sense to her.

"You'll have to trust us on this one, Sage," Ginny demanded, slightly squeezing her shoulder as she spoke.

"You'll know soon enough anyway," Luna suddenly claimed in her usually dreamy voice.

Sage knew there was no point in further interrogating him. They wouldn't tell her, as much was clear.

"I'll always trust you. Just be careful.. whatever this is about," she ultimately decided to tell them.

All three of them agreed and Sage felt best to let them leave. She didn't want to hold them back any longer, in fear of things becoming weird between them. She felt uncomfortable about being left out like this, but as of now, there was nothing she could really do about it.

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Author's note: What could possible be going on with the three of them? I've always felt like Neville, Ginny and Luna would be tied together not only by friendship, but also strong a sense of responsibility. For a stranger (even Sage) this should be quite hard, if not impossible to break through. So I wanted to show that in this chapter.

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