Long time, no see! I'm all settled up in my new city so I'm trying to get back in the habit of writing again. Reviews definitely help!
A big thank you to Wikked and .2019 for their reviews!
Slowly, but surely, Sage came alive again. The darkness of that numb still threatened to engulf her from time to time, but all she had to do was seek out one of her friends, or her boyfriend (Sage still had trouble coming to terms with that phrase, but never when she was with Sirius), and it became easier to hold it at bay. She would have never gotten through it without Sirius. After all, it was he that made her reach out to their friends first.
"You need us, and we need you. Talk to them." Sirius said when, after hours spent under the magical sun, they ventured from the Room of Requirement. Kylie was her first choice, seeing as they had been closer than anyone else.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Kylie wanted to know when Sage finally found her in the Owlery sending a letter to her parents, thanks to the Marauder's Map.
"I didn't want to bother you," Sage replied honestly. "You've been so happy with Remus."
"I want to be bothered by this, Sage," Kylie sighed, running her hand over her face as the school owl flew out of the window. "You're my best friend. I want to know how you're doing."
"I'm sorry," Sage said simply. After a moment's study of Sage's face, Kylie pulled her into a hug.
"It doesn't matter," Kylie said. "I know now and I'm here."
James was the second person Sage sought out, though she insisted Sirius come with her. After all, it was better to tell James sooner rather than later. They found him lounging on a sofa near the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room.
"You two at it, then?" James asked after taking one look at their slightly guilty faces. "About time, really."
"You're okay with it, then?" Sage asked with a ghost of a grin.
"Better Pads than anyone else, really," James said with a shrug. "Though no snogging in front of me, alright? And if I catch you in the dormitory, I'll kill you both."
"Wouldn't want that, now would we?" Sirius asked with a grin, flopping on a chair and pulling Sage on his lap. She settled into his frame with dignity, and James looked away pointedly.
"Don't ever push me away like that again, Sage Marie. We're all we have." James' face fell into serious lines as he gazed into the fire. The corners of Sage's lips twitched at the sound of her full name.
"Done, James Hardwin." The serious moment was broken by the arrival of Lily.
"Oh, you two finally together?" She asked brightly, perching herself next to James on the couch.
"Yep." Sage heard the smugness in Sirius' voice and turned her head to look at him. He took the opportunity to plant an obnoxiously wet kiss on the tip of her nose, causing her to grimace and pull away.
"Gross." She said, scrunching her nose as she wiped it with her sleeve.
"Couldn't have said it better myself," James muttered, slinging an arm over Lily's shoulder.
"Hey Lils," Sage said quickly. "Sorry about the whole non-verbal act."
"Hey, it happens to us all," Lily said, waving a hand. "Well, not James. Or Sirius. But normal people, sure." The aforementioned boys let out a squawk of indignation and Lily and Sage dissolved into giggles.
Remus and Peter were the easiest by far. When Sage joined them for the walk to the Great Hall for breakfast the next day, Remus pulled her into a tight hug and Peter clapped her on the shoulder, saying, "Good to have you back."
Perhaps it was the relief of having her friends back or the guilt that in a way, Marlene was right, but Sage found herself rising from the table when she spotted Marlene leaving the Great Hall with Alice. "I'll be right back," she said and rushed after the pair before anyone could object. They were headed towards the library when Sage caught up with them.
"Hi, Alice! Hey Marlene, can I talk to you for a moment?" Sage asked, startling Alice and Marlene from their conversation.
"I guess," Marlene said slowly. Alice looked from one of her friends' faces to the other.
"Should I stay or can you two finally have a civil conversation?" She asked, a hint of exasperation in her voice.
"I come in peace, I swear," Sage said, holding her hands up.
"Fine," Marlene grumbled. Alice looked doubtfully at them but nodded and headed towards the library.
"So, I wanted to say that I'm sorry and I never meant to hurt you. Hell, I didn't even know that I fancied Sirius until a few months ago. And I really didn't try to get in the way of you two." Marlene nodded curtly and Sage heaved a sigh before continuing. "And I want to know what I can do to fix this. With everything happening right now, friends are more important than anything. I don't expect everything to be alright, we both hurt each other too much to go back to the way we were, but I'd like to be amicable again. So, I'm sorry."
After a few tense moments, Marlene sighed, shoulders slumping. "I'm sorry too. I was jealous. I mean, it felt like I was constantly being compared to you. Beautiful, funny, brilliant Sage Potter, Quidditch Star and friends with the coolest people in Hogwarts without even trying."
"Well, I was friends with you, so that speaks rather highly of you, doesn't it?" Sage said lightly, and Marlene gave a grudging smile. "But really, Marlene, it isn't like that from where I'm standing. You're beautiful, funny, and brilliant too. I was always jealous of how easily you interacted with boys, your fashion sense, your brains, and your wit. I mean, you're the best in our year at Potions and Charms. Hell, you got an O in Charms and your tester didn't even fall asleep!"
"I am rather brilliant, aren't I?" Marlene said with a teasing grin, and Sage felt a flicker of hope.
"Yeah, Mar, you are." Sage held out her hand. "Friends?"
"Well," Marlene tilted her head and drug out the vowel. "It's a start." They shook and Sage felt a grin grow on her face. "Now get back to that smoking boyfriend of yours." Sage let out a laugh and waved, turning on her heel and making her way back to the Great Hall. She felt eyes on her as she plopped down in between James and Sirius.
"Go well?" Sirius asked, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Yep! All good," Sage said with a grin, taking a swig of pumpkin juice with one hand and lying the other on his knee. Kylie raised an eyebrow as Sage placed the cup back on the table. "What?"
"I just can't believe you forgave her that easily," Kylie said.
"It's not worth holding a grudge," Sage said, shrugging.
"Still." Sage rolled her eyes; this was always a sticking point between her and Kylie. Sage forgave easily, but Kylie held onto grudges with both hands and her teeth.
"Ky, I know you don't understand it. Hell, you still hate that one kid for stealing your popsicle when you were 6. But with everything that's going on, it's not worth it."
"I'm with Kylie on this one," Sirius said. "He stole her popsicle! Who does that?"
"I'll curse him," James offered.
"I'll kick him straight in the bollocks if you want," Sage said, trying to hide her grin.
"Just give us his name and he's dead meat," Remus smirked.
"I hate all of you," Kylie grumbled, albeit with a small smile.
The remaining months of Sage's sixth year seemed to fly by at light speed. She spent her time much the same as she had before, though there was definitely more snogging and other heavy petting than usual. Her relationship with Sirius was the talk of the school for a while, though it was much more bearable now that at least some of the things they were accused of were actually happening. Plus Marlene wasn't the one making the accusations, though their relationship still wasn't as good as it had once been.
Gryffindor had won the House Cup, though narrowly, depending on a harrowing match between them and Slytherin. What followed was a Marauders' party to end all parties. After all, as Sirius had pointed it out, it was their last chance to celebrate before they became full-fledged adults.
Indeed, after much firewhiskey, Sage and Sirius found themselves carrying on in the boys' dorm room. He had disposed of her shirt and was working on her bra when, also highly inebriated, James and Lily stumbled in. The high pitched shriek James let out after seeing his almost-naked sister in the embrace of his best friend would live in infamy. It was maybe because of this that Sirius and Sage left the dorm unharmed. Overall, Sage was grateful for James' unfortunate timing because while she loved Sirius, and was sure she wanted to lose her virginity to him, she thought a drunken tryst was not the most preferable of ways.
Before she knew it, exams were over, she had turned 17 (with a very small celebration at her request because honestly, she couldn't be bothered with her birthday) and the graduation of most of her friends was looming ever closer. Sage knew that it wasn't the end, of course, but she couldn't help feeling dejected at the thought of returning to Hogwarts without the Marauders, and indeed, Lily. Though, she would still have Kylie, so she wouldn't be completely alone.
It was this that she thought about one particularly fine day, as she laid under a beech tree with Sirius, her back against his chest as he leaned against the trunk. They were watching James, Remus, Kylie, and Lily play frisbee near the lake as Peter watched with Dorcas under the shade of another tree a bit away. This was a daunting task as that particular frisbee had fangs, prompting the possessor to throw it as quickly as possible to avoid losing a finger or two.
"What are you thinking about?" Sirius' murmur was close to her ear and caused the hair on the back of her neck to rise, though in a pleasant way. Sage sighed, settling closer and leaning her head up to look at his face. The proximity meant that doing so brought their lips together and Sage groaned softly, bringing her hand up to tangle in his hair and kiss him harder. After a few moments, he pulled back with a grin. "Don't try to distract me. Your face was all serious for a moment. What were you thinking about?"
"It's the end of an era," Sage said, shrugging and looking back at the group. James was attempting to throw Remus into the Great Lake, though Remus was putting up a good fight, while Lily and Kylie laughed and egged them on, the frisbee apparently forgotten.
"Mm, I know what you mean. I'm going to miss this place," Sirius sighed, absently fiddling with a hole in Sage's jeans.
"You'll come and see me, right?" Sage asked, voice small. "On Hogsmeade weekends?"
"Wild hippogriffs couldn't stop me," he said, wrapping his arms around her and leaning his cheek on her head. Sage wrapped her hands tightly around his forearm, watching as James, who had gotten Remus to the edge of the lake, fight to push him in. "Stay with me over the summer? When I get my flat?"
Sage's heart kept in her throat and she pulled away to look at Sirius' face. His timid expression gave her pause, as she had never, ever seen Sirius Black look timid. She cleared her throat but when she spoke, her voice was still hoarse. "Are you sure? I mean, we've only been together for a few months. Are you sure you won't get tired of me?"
Sirius let out his bark-like laugh. "Six years and I haven't gotten tired of you yet, so I think we're safe."
Sage's face split into a smile and she placed a hand on his cheek. "Of course I'll stay with you." She leaned in and kissed him. She could feel his grin grow and deepened the kiss. From the distance, heard a huge splash and shrieks of laughter that proved James succeeded in his quest but they continued on. Not even James' indignant yells as he spotted them broke them apart. For that moment, Sage felt blissfully happy and at peace with the world.