Hello all, it's been a while. Life has been crazy, as usual. But this is, by far, my favorite chapter and quite possibly the longest. I'm really excited for everyone to read it! Please drop me a review to tell me what you think! And thank you to Raven that flies at night for the review on the last chapter. I agree, Sirius could be much worse than Gideon.
Sage stood in front of the mirror in her dorm on the Sunday of her Hogsmeade date, pulling her curls into a ponytail. Behind her, Kylie sat, watching for any signs of anxiety from her best friend. Marlene and Alice had already left for their dates, Alice with her boyfriend Frank, Marlene with someone who was not Sirius, but still fit (in her exact words).
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Sage asked, eyeing Kylie in the mirror's reflection. Kylie shrugged, absently petting Lumos.
"And be a third wheel on your first date? Nah. I'll probably just walk around a bit." Sage felt bad for leaving her friend alone, even though Kylie kept insisting that it was okay. Sage knew Kylie got invitations to Hogsmeade; with her petite stature, cute face, incredible intelligence, and dry sense of humor, Kylie was definitely a catch. But she insisted that she wasn't interested in dating. Sage took that as she wasn't interested in dating anyone other than Remus.
"Will you meet us at the Three Broomsticks at least? Around noon?" Sage asked, turning to face Kylie.
"If you insist," Kylie said, shrugging again.
"I do," Sage nodded definitively, then gestured to her outfit. "How do I look?"
Kylie eyed her outfit; jeans that were fitted around the hips and flared out towards the ground, sneakers, and a loose, ruffled top in vibrant colors. "Casual, but cute. I like it." Sage grinned and grabbed her black leather jacket, throwing it on over her blouse. "Are you nervous?"
"Surprisingly, no. I'm excited though. It'll be nice to be doated upon." Sage said with a wink, grabbing her wand and wallet. Kylie snorted and stood, following Sage out of the dorms. The girls chatted as they made their way to the doors of the castle, only falling silent as they spotted Gideon waiting. "I'll see you at the Three Broomsticks?"
"Yes, go, be doated upon!" Kylie laughed, waving her friend away. Sage smiled and darted in for a quick hug, before leaving Kylie for Gideon. His signature thin-lipped smile grew as he saw Sage coming towards him.
"You look incredible," He said, making her beam. Sage couldn't understand her hesitation, or Sirius', as she thanked Gideon and together, they made their way towards the village. They chatted about classes and Quidditch as Sage tried not to notice how small he was. Granted, she was tall, one of the tallest girls in her class, but she was so used to the giants that were James, Sirius, and Remus that she never really noticed. Even Peter, the shortest of the four, didn't make her feel so...gargantuan. Gideon was her around height, give or take a few centimeters, but had a slight build, and she felt a little awkward walking next to him. Indeed, she caught herself slouching a couple of times and had to straighten her shoulders immediately.
"So, did you want to do anything specific?" Gideon asked as they neared the Hogsmeade shops.
"Not really. Though I did want to ask, would you mind if we met my friend Kylie for lunch at the Three Broomsticks? I feel a little bad for ditching her," She admitted, and Gideon shrugged, still donning that smile.
"Not at all. She couldn't find a date?" Sage snorted, though she was a little ticked at the underlying accusation.
"Not necessarily. Let's just say, she's waiting for the right person, and that person is being thick," Sage said cryptically, causing him to glance at her. "It's a long story."
"Fair enough," He laughed. "Do you want to go into Honeydukes for a bit?"
"Sure," Sage said with a smile. It was then that she noticed a large, black blur from her peripheral but when she went to look over her shoulder, there was nothing there. Still, she felt the prickle of eyes on the back of her neck as she followed Gideon into the sweetshop.
They stayed there for a spell, trying different toffees and laughing at the looks of wonder and excitement on the faces of the younger students. After a while, though, the shop became crowded and noisy and they took off down the road.
Sage noticed the black blur again while they were walking to Dervish and Banges, and as they were exiting Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, she finally caught a good look at what was following them. A big, black bear of a dog darted around a trash can, just long enough for Sage to see him. She stiffened, recognizing that dog, though she was sure he had no idea she would.
While in Zonko's, she noticed the dog peering in through the corner of the window and decided to take action. She tapped Gideon on the shoulder and leaned in close, as the shop was as crowded and noisy as Honeydukes.
"I'm going to try to find a loo, I'll be right back." She said, giving Gideon a reassuring smile. He nodded in consent and she slipped through the rarely-used side door that opened into an alleyway. She sneaked to the road, watching as the dog looked frantically in the window. Taking advantage of his distraction, she grabbed the dog by the scruff of his neck and pulled him into the alley, feeling her arm move upwards as the dog grew in height until it was Sirius that she slammed into the brick wall.
"Sirius Orion Black, you bloody idiot!" Sirius stared at her in disbelief as she let go of his jumper.
"How did you know it was me?" He asked sharply.
"Because only you would be thick enough to flounce around in your illegal animagus form!" She whispered harshly, aware that while the alley gave them some form of privacy, there were still people everywhere.
"But how did you know?" He repeated, looking at her with awe. "Did James tell you?"
"No, you idiot." She took a few harsh breaths before crossing her arms over her chest in an attempt to calm down. "I saw you and James sneaking into the woods outside my window over the summer. I thought it odd that a dog and a stag were being so friendly and then it hit me. Prongs and Padfoot. You two idiots became animagi illegally for only Godric knows why. And now you're using your illegal form to spy on my date!" She shoved him into the wall again as he continued to watch her, wide-eyed.
"Did you tell anyone?" He asked, gulping. She watched as his Adam's Apple bobbed and shook her head angrily.
"Of course not! Do you think I want to be the one to explain to my mother why my idiot brother and his equally-idiotic best friend were carted off to Azkaban?" Sirius let out a shaky breath and nodded in relief. "Now, why are you spying on my date?"
"I just wanted to make sure you were safe," He said simply.
"From what?!" She screeched, finally losing her temper.
"Gideon's prat ways." Sage rolled her eyes so hard, she was surprised they still worked.
"You're an idiot," She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest again.
"So you've said," Sirius stated with a smirk.
"You're also an insufferable bastard. Go play with your other idiot friends and leave me alone."
"James is on a date with Evans, Remus disappeared with Kylie to the bookstore, and I have no idea where Peter is." Sage's mouth dropped open in astonishment at his confession.
"So you're spying on me because you were bored?" Sirius shrugged, mirroring her cross-armed stance. "Leave before I hex you into next week."
"Ah, c'mon Sagey, don't be like that!" Sirius said, throwing her a guileless smile. Sage glared at him until his face dropped and he looked at his shoes. She felt a streak of pride at making Sirius Black look sheepish, which was immediately dampened by the reminder of what he was doing.
"Don't let me catch you again, dog-form or otherwise." She huffed, walking towards the side door.
"I won't!" He called, then as she flung the door open and walked back into the shop, added with a smirk, "Let you catch me, that is."
Sage stalked back into Zonko's, taking a few calming breaths before pasting a radiant smile on her face and saddling up to Gideon. "Hey there," She said brightly, causing Gideon to turn to her.
"All right?" He asked, smiling softly at her expression.
"Fantastic," She replied before glancing at her watch. "It's almost noon; want to head to the Three Broomsticks?"
"Sure," He said, throwing an arm around her waist as he led her through the crowd. She tried to relax into his embrace but it felt awkward, wrong. He kept his arm there all the way to the pub and she tried to keep up with the small talk he was making, but all she could focus on was how small his hand felt on her hip. So he's on the small side, she thought. So what? Is that really a dealbreaker?
She didn't want to be so shallow, and it wasn't like she was primarily focused on looks when it came to a partner. Physical attraction was nice, sure, but she knew plenty of beautiful men who were complete and utter prats and it wasn't attractive in the least. One Sirius Black came to mind.
No, what Sage wanted was a connection beyond the physical. She wanted in-depth talks about the world; moments of comfortable silence where they both were satisfied with just being near each other; sweet, insignificant touches; inside jokes and glances and laughing so hard that their stomach aches. In short, she wanted love, the kind she sees reflected in her parents' eyes when they look at each other.
Unfortunately, she felt none of that connection with Gideon. But those things take time, right? It would make sense that the first date is awkward. Yes, she should definitely give it a shot before she threw away what could be a lovely relationship.
So when he released her, she fought off the shudder of relief and watched as he opened the door for her. She gave him a grateful smile and walked into the Three Broomsticks, scanning the room for her best friend. The small smile fell off her face as Gideon slipped a slender hand into hers. And at the same time, she noticed not Kylie's strawberry blonde locks but Sirius' shaggy black hair and grey eyes staring right back at her, plump lips in a smirk as he took in her expression of discomfort. Sitting across from him at the booth were Kylie and Remus, surprisingly, with their backs turned. It was then that Sirius' earlier words about their friends sank in and she raised an eyebrow at the implications.
"I see her," Sage said, pulling Gideon by the hand through the crowd. As she got closer, she noticed that the only available spots were next to Sirius and cursed inwardly. After a small moment of hesitation, she slid into the seat beside Sirius, allowing Gideon to sandwich her between him. Due to the lunch rush, there was very little room and she wound up touching both boys from shoulder to hip.
"Hello," She greeted brightly, taking in Kylie's and Remus' joyous faces. "Gideon, you know Remus and Kylie, right?"
"Yes, hello," Gideon said before shooting a glance over my head at Sirius. "Black."
"Prewitt." Sage could feel the testosterone rising and searched for another topic before they could whip out their wands and start measuring. "So, James is out with Lily, huh?"
"Yep, seems they've been spending quite a bit of time during Head duties," Remus replied swiftly, having picked up the tension Sage was sitting between. She bit her lip to keep the inappropriate comment from leaving but Sirius snorted. "Oh come on."
"You make it too easy, Moony," Sirius replied, throwing his arm behind her shoulders to lay across the back of the booth. The sudden movement shifted her into his side and she jumped back towards Gideon, who responded by putting his hand on her thigh. Sage jumped again, her knee hitting the underside of the table painfully, causing Kylie to look at her in alarm. She shook her head almost imperceptibly, not wanting to discuss anything that was happening on their side of the table.
"So, where did you guys go today?" Kylie asked quickly.
"Oh, everywhere. Honeydukes, Scrivenshaft's, Dervish and Banges, Zonko's," Gideon replied.
"Not Madam Puddifoot's?" Sirius piped up. "Isn't that where you go on a date?" He put a not-so-delicate emphasis on the last word and Sage's head whipped up to glare at him.
"Only if you're boring and unoriginal," She replied. "Madam Puddifoot's is ghastly."
"Better than just wandering around like a couple of firsties." Gideon cleared his throat uncomfortably and Sage's eyes narrowed.
"I'm not very hungry anymore," She said, turning back to her date. "You?"
"Not really."
"Let's go then." Sage followed Gideon out of the booth as Remus leveled another glare at Sirius and Kylie looked at everyone, wide-eyed. "Remus, Kylie, I'll see you later." The couple left and started off down the street in an uncomfortable silence.
"I'm sorry about him," Sage said finally, putting her hands in her pockets lest Gideon tried to grab one. She was jumpy and agitated enough, if he tried to put a move on her, she might jump all the way to France. "I don't know what's gotten into him. I guess James put him up to it since he's on his own date."
Gideon hummed before clearing his throat. "Maybe. Or maybe he fancies you."
Sage let out a very unattractive snort, shaking her head. "No. Not a chance. I'm ninety-nine percent positive that he thinks of me as a sister more than anything." Gideon made a noncommittal grunt deep in his throat. Sage stopped and laid her hand on his arm. "Even if he does, and that's a huge if, I'm not here with him. I'm here with you."
"Okay," He said after a moment, grabbing her hand in his with another thin-lipped smile. Sage ignored her cringe at the contact and prepared to enjoy the rest of her date to the fullest.