As the weeks wore on, Sadie found that she didn't have much time at all to worry about Gideon's inattentiveness or Sirius or much of anything outside of homework. Their teachers were piling on assignments with increasing enthusiasm, lecturing them about their upcoming O.W.L.s all the while. Sadie typically performed quite well in her classes, but, in most cases, that was less due to mental prowess and more a result of hours of hard work and James and Sirius agreeing to help her get a good grasp on more difficult concepts. They, in contrast, had always been naturals at, well, pretty much everything they did and, much to the chagrin of Sadie and many others, managed to remain at the top of every class without studying or practicing much at all. It probably would have annoyed Sadie more if they weren't so willing to lend her a hand with her own work any time she asked for it.

February passed by far too quickly for Sadie's liking, and March began with, quite frankly, the most pathetic Quidditch match she had ever been a part of. The team had practiced a grand total of three times since the holidays, and the game only lasted thirty minutes before Hufflepuff destroyed them with a score of 280-30. The rest of the team, minus Fabian, had spent days afterward muttering mutinously about Gideon and his lack of leadership while Sadie would awkwardly excuse herself every time it came up. She didn't want to speak poorly about her boyfriend, but she was also feeling rather frustrated with him for several reasons.

It hadn't taken long at all for Gideon to slip back into ignoring her except on the occasion he decided he wanted a quick snog. He'd been growing bolder in his insistence that they go further as well. Their little interludes had become rather few and far between, and Sadie knew this was at least in part due to her avoiding him with increasing frequency. He hadn't made any acknowledgement of this, however, and had simply taken to pulling her up to his dormitory or into empty classrooms any time he spotted the opportunity.

On one such occasion, Sadie had reluctantly allowed him to lead her into one of the potions' supply cupboards after he caught her making her way up to dinner after class. They couldn't have been in there more than five minutes before the door opened, and they jumped apart. Sadie had inadvertently knocked over a shelf in the process, completely dowsing herself with armadillo bile and managing to splatter a fair amount into the face of Professor Slughorn, who had opened the door to store the leftover ingredients from their class.

She had never seen the potions professor's face turn purple quite so quickly. Gideon had always been one of his favorites, and so he was let off with a warning. Sadie was not so lucky and had been given a week of detentions. She had stomped up to the common room, seething and dripping in bile, and it had taken her several hours to cool down enough to grudgingly listen to Gideon's laughing apology.

And so it was that Sadie found herself scrubbing cauldrons in the dungeons for the fifth night in a row. She didn't mind the cleaning so much; she'd always found cleaning to be incredibly therapeutic, and she was in much need of some vigorous stress relief lately. However, her time spent in detention was cutting into her much-needed study time. She glanced anxiously at the time and sighed with relief; she was down to her last couple of cauldrons for the evening before she was meant to go report to Slughorn and head back to her dorm, and it was only just after nine. She would have plenty of time to get some homework in before she needed to turn in for the night.

Her motivation renewed, Sadie quickly finished up and put away her supplies, looking in satisfaction at her collection of sparkling cauldrons. She brushed her clothes off with a smile and exited the classroom, a cheerful spring in her step. Sadie had always thought the dungeons to be slightly creepy, and that effect was magnified extensively at this time of night. The corridors were cold and deserted, and Sadie let out a shiver as she heard the distinct groans of the Bloody Baron from someplace she couldn't see. She picked up her pace, eager to find Slughorn and get out of there. She halted in her tracks, however, when she heard a voice she didn't know speaking on the other side of the door to Dungeon Five.

"-got to speed things up! You know people are getting suspicious!"

"I can't make it go any faster!" Snape's voice snapped. "And it's not my fault that the process causes those kinds of effects! It was designed so that lighter wizards would be unable to approach it in its most vulnerable phase. I told you, we need one more lunar cycle, and then it will be passed that stage. No one will notice any ill effects anymore, and they'll just think there was something strange going on but that it resolved on its own."

Sadie's eyes widened. Were they talking about what was wrong with the forest? Her question was answered when a third voice spoke.

"And you're sure that it's sufficiently hidden for the time being? With the teachers combing the forest trying to figure out what's making people sick, we need to be sure they won't stumble upon it."

"They won't find it," a fourth voice said confidently.

"Very well," came the first voice again. It sounded weary. "I will send my report by owl in the morning."

Before Sadie could react, the door flew open, revealing her standing a couple of feet from it, frozen. In an instant, she felt a yank on her ankle, and she was hanging upside down in the air, her robes falling over her head. Her scream was silenced immediately, and she struggled in vain to tug her robes back up to cover herself. When she had at least managed to shift them out of her face, she was met with the sight of Snape, Rowle, and two other seventh year Slytherins eyeing her with smirks on their faces.

"Nice one, Snape," one of the other boys said softly. "Well, well, well, if it isn't a lonely little Gryffindor brat, sticking her nose in places it doesn't belong." He 'tsked' quietly. "Typical."

Rowle walked slowly toward her, twirling his wand in his hands. "How much did you hear?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sadie's voice shook slightly. All the blood was rushing to her head, making her feel rather woozy. "I was just walking-"

"Is that so?" Rowle smiled nastily.

Snape scoffed. "This is Potter's sister. She's always tagging along with him and Black. I can almost guarantee that she's up to some kind of mischief."

The fourth boy that Sadie didn't know sniggered. "Potter, huh? We all know how much love is lost between the two of you, Snape. Perhaps you'd like to do the honors. Let's loosen her tongue a bit, shall we?"

Sadie's heart hammered as a gleeful look crossed Snape's face. He sneered at her before pointing his wand at her exposed thigh and muttering, "sectumsempra!"

This time, there was nothing to silence the scream that tore itself from Sadie's throat as she felt her thigh slice open. Blood dripped down over her stomach and seeped into her bra, hot and sticky. She willed someone to hear her cries and come to her aid, but, as though he had read her thoughts, Rowle stepped close and murmured in her ear.

"Scream all you want. No one will hear you. We've made sure of that. Now, care to tell me how much of our little discussion you overheard?" Sadie simply glared at him through her tears. He chuckled darkly and stepped back. "Again, Snape."

A second later, Sadie felt a large gash appear in her side, opposite of her injured thigh. She let out another cry of anguish, and the Slytherins simply laughed at her, thoroughly enjoying themselves. "The map," she thought desperately. "Please let one of the boys look at the map."

"What's going on here?"

The Slytherins froze, and Sadie whipped her head around to see Regulus standing there, surveying the scene calmly. The Slytherins visibly relaxed.

"Oh, Black, it's just you," said one of the boys Sadie didn't know. Regulus glanced at him.

"Yes, Selwyn, it's just me. You're lucky for that too. Potter here was in detention with Slughorn, and he's just sent me to collect her rather than going himself." The other boys glanced at each other uneasily.

Selwyn cleared his throat. "Is, erm, Slughorn expecting the two of you soon then?"

"Within a couple of minutes," Regulus nodded. He seemed to hesitate and then sighed. "You lot should go. I'll take care of Potter and... make sure she doesn't go running to a teacher." The other boys looked uncertain. "Don't worry," Regulus smirked. "I've got my ways. Trust me."

Rowle nodded slowly. "You're a good one to have around, Black. I'll make sure it gets back to...people that matter."

Regulus inclined his head ever so slightly as the boys hurried away. Once they were out of sight, he moved close to Sadie, pulled out his wand, and, apparently, performed the counterjinx to whatever was suspending her by her ankle. She gasped as she felt herself fall, but he caught her easily in his arms, swearing quietly to himself as he took in her condition. He glanced over his shoulder before carrying her into the empty room where she had overheard his housemates talking and carefully lowered her to the floor. She hissed in pain, her eyes watering as she watched him apprehensively.

He shot her a brief apologetic glance before hesitantly pushing her robes up to reveal the wound in her thigh. She tensed uncomfortably but watched as he murmured quiet incantations, the bleeding slowing as he did so. Sadie relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief as the pain eased slightly. Regulus met her gaze, silently asking for permission, and she hesitated only a moment before unbuttoning her blouse to give him access to the gash in her side. He gave that wound the same treatment as the first and sat back, looking her over appraisingly.

"You've lost a lot of blood," he told her quietly. "You should be fine, but you'll need help getting back up to your common room. Do you have dittany?" Sadie nodded, and he returned it approvingly. "You'll want to use plenty of that. I've seen some of your healing work on Sirius. Just do what you normally would." He got to his feet gracefully. "I'll go tell Slughorn that you are just finishing up your last cauldron, and then I'll come help you up to your common room." He paused at the door. "I would appreciate it if word of this whole incident didn't get around. I could get into a lot of trouble for helping you, and I promised those guys that I would make sure you didn't tell anyone. It's ultimately up to you, but... I'd be grateful if there wasn't any reason for them to believe that I was lying to them."

Sadie stared at the door after he had gone, feeling waves of emotion that she didn't have the energy to sort through at the moment. She gingerly poked and prodded at her side and her thigh, wincing in pain as she did so. At one point, she tried to stand up, but the room spun violently, and she understood why Regulus felt she needed assistance. As she slid back down to the floor, she suddenly became aware of how very cold she was. Shivering, she drew her knees up to her chest and hugged herself tightly in an effort to warm up.

It was only a couple of minutes before Regulus returned. He strode briskly into the room and bent down next to Sadie, gently but firmly grasping her upper arms to help her stand. He wrapped an arm securely around her waist, and Sadie leaned into him, sighing at the warmth of his body. He glanced at her but didn't say anything as he began to lead her out of the room and up the stairs.

Sadie's leg screamed in protest as she tried to walk. Regulus paused to ask if she wanted him to simply carry her, but she shook her head with a grimace, remembering the last time she had allowed a boy to carry her up to the common room after an injury. They made it up one more flight of stairs before he stopped again and gave her an exasperated look.

"This is going to take us hours. You're obviously in pain. Please just let me carry you."

Sadie hesitated a moment more but then nodded reluctantly, knowing he was right and that she was being ridiculous. With a look of relief, he scooped her up into his arms again and resumed climbing the staircases, moving much more quickly now. There was a tense silence between them, which Sadie finally broke after a couple of minutes.

"Why are you helping me, Regulus?" She asked tiredly. "Especially as, like you say, it could get you into trouble."

Regulus regarded her with narrowed, calculating eyes. They were like Sirius's eyes except that they lacked the twinkle of mischief and look of soft affection that Sadie was used to. "Maybe I've taken a bit of a liking to you," he answered vaguely. Then, the barest hint of a smirk crossed his face. "Besides, I've watched you and my brother dance around each other for years now." Sadie's mouth fell open. "I can't let anything bad happen to you until all of that sexual tension gets resolved, or I fear he'll never recover. Especially now that you've finally woken up to all of it. You're so close."

Sadie gaped at him and spluttered. "I don't...you...we...not..."

His smirk widened. "Don't worry, you haven't been all that obvious. I'm just observant, especially when it comes to Sirius's wellbeing." There was a wistfulness in his tone now, and Sadie quieted, wondering why he was telling her this. He seemed to be at war with himself for a moment before he spoke again. "I'm worried about what might happen when he comes home over the summer. There have been whispers from some of my cousins...and you know that my parents don't give enough of a damn about him to protect him from anything." Sadie stared at him fearfully. "I can't say anything more than that, but...will you just be prepared? If anything happens, I'll try to get in touch with you as quickly as possible. Maybe your parents could help..." His voice was tight with anxiety, and it was the greatest display of emotion that Sadie had ever seen from him. She nodded.

"Of course," she told him quietly. "I'd do anything for him."

"I know." There was that smirk again. Sadie rolled her eyes. "Speaking of my brother, it would appear he's gotten a bit worried about you." Sadie turned her head so quickly that her vision spun, but it cleared soon enough for her to see Sirius coming at them in a dead sprint, wearing an expression of absolute fury, though, as he got closer, she could see fear in his eyes as well.

"What happened?!" He demanded, reaching for Sadie. Regulus obliged, transferring her into his brother's arms without hesitation.

"She needs dittany, rest, and warmth," he instructed quietly. "And possibly a change of clothes. I've taken care of everything else."

Sirius glared at him suspiciously. "I asked what happened!" His expression softened as Sadie snuggled closer to his chest.

"It's fine, Sir," she mumbled. Then she turned her head to look at Regulus. "Thank you, Regulus. I owe you."

He shook his head with a small smile. "Just don't let this get out, and we'll call it even, yeah?" Sadie smiled wearily as he turned and walked away with a wave. Sirius stared after him before looking down at Sadie, brow creased with worry.

"Let's get you up to the common room, and then you can tell me what happened."

Sadie nodded wearily and curled up more tightly in his arms. He gave her a reassuring squeeze before setting off at a brisk pace toward the common room, where James, Remus, Peter, Lily, and Alice were waiting anxiously.

"Does anyone have dittany?" Sirius asked as soon as they had entered the room. Lily nodded and, taking one look at Sadie's state, hurried upstairs to grab it. James approached them and stared in horror at Sadie's blood-stained clothes. His face hardened.

"Who did this?" His voice was dangerously low. Sadie didn't answer. "Was it Regulus? We saw you with him on the map..." Lily was already hurrying back into the common room, a bottle of dittany in one hand.

"It wasn't Regulus," she assured him, her voice weak. "Just some other Slytherins. Regulus stepped in and saved me from them and patched me up." James's eyebrows shot up at that.

Remus stepped forward. "Sadie, you look horrible. No offense. But...you should probably go to the hospital wing."

Sadie closed her eyes and rested her head on Sirius's shoulder. "No. I don't need it. There's nothing Madam Pomfrey can do for me that we can't do here."

"Except maybe a blood replenishing potion," Alice suggested nervously.

Sadie simply shook her head tiredly. Sirius shifted her in his arms and took the dittany from Lily. "Right then," he said quietly. "Let's go get you taken care of."

The girls protested as he carried her up to the boys' dormitory, but he ignored them. James, Remus, and Peter followed closely behind. Sirius placed her gently on his bed and pulled out a pair of pajama bottoms and a tshirt from his trunk.

"Can you get changed on your own, or do you need help?" He asked her, deciding now was not the time for modesty. Sadie reached for the pajamas but let out a cry of pain and clutched at her side. Sirius immediately sat down next to her and began helping her peel off the layers of soiled clothing on her body. He respectfully avoided letting his gaze wander, keeping his eyes fixed on her face until she was fully covered by his clothes. Then he reached over and grabbed the dittany. "Is it just your leg and your side?"

Sadie nodded weakly and pulled her shirt up just high enough to give him access to her side. He began gently dabbing the liquid onto her wound, and James sat down on her other side.

"Sadie, tell me who did this to you. I want names."

"Can we have this conversation in the morning?" Sadie's voice was faint, and she found herself relaxing as the dittany soothed the stinging pain in her side. "I'm...so tired..."

James hesitated but nodded reluctantly. Sirius pulled the shirt back down over Sadie's body and pulled her pant leg up far enough to reveal the ugly gash on her thigh. He and James both ground their teeth furiously but held their tongues as they worked together to quickly apply dittany there as well.

"You're still freezing," Sirius told her, pulling the blanket up over her. She hummed drowsily in response. He chewed on his lip worriedly. "You're sure you don't need anything else?"

"I'll fine," she told him. "Honest...I just need...to get warm..."

Sirius glanced around at the other boys. Remus shrugged. "I think she's right. She hasn't lost enough blood to be delirious or anything." The other boys nodded hesitantly, and Sirius quickly changed into a pair of sweats, leaving his chest bare, before sliding under the covers and enveloping Sadie in his arms. She sighed contentedly and burrowed deeper into the warmth of his embrace. Within seconds, she was asleep.

The other boys slowly got ready and climbed into bed themselves, though none of them got much sleep that night. Sirius, especially, lay awake for hours, wondering what had happened and what could possibly have possessed his brother to come to Sadie's aid.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays!

Guest:That's fair! They are definitely not quite right for each other!

LeeForShort:Thank you so much! That is high praise! I hope it continues to meet your expectations!

BlueHairedRaven:Hahaha I definitely giggled the entire time I wrote that bit! As always, thank you so much!