The next morning, Sadie made her way down to breakfast and slid into the seat next to Sirius, giving him a peck on the cheek as she did so. He smiled warmly at her and wordlessly passed her a plate filled with her favorite foods. Her eyes lit up, and she beamed at him in gratitude before going to town on the breakfast.
"How was your run?" He asked her once she started to slow down. She swallowed and took a sip of pumpkin juice before replying.
"Good! Much better than a year ago!" She laughed with a shake of her head. "No broken ankles, no falls in the lake, and most importantly, no charming redheads!"
Sirius chuckled and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Good to know I won't be needing to duel anyone for your affections this early in the year."
"Eh," she shrugged. "I don't think red hair and freckles do much for me anymore anyway." She shivered slightly as his fingers slipped just underneath her shirt to trace light circles against her hip. The barest of smirks graced his face, but he gave no other indication that he had any idea the effect that he had on her.
"That's what I like to hear."
Professor McGonagall was making her way through the Gryffindors, handing out and making last minute changes to their timetables. When she reached Sadie and Sirius, she seemed to take brief note of his arm around her waist and the way that she leaned into him almost subconsciously. A knowing look flashed through the professor's eyes, and Sadie could have sworn she almost looked pleased. She made no comment on the matter, however, and simply pulled a sheet from the stack she had in her arms.
"Miss Potter, I must say that I was most pleased with your Exceeds Expectations on your Transfiguration O.W.L. I know it isn't your easiest subject, and I appreciate the work you must have put in to prepare." Sadie smiled shyly in acknowledgement of the rare bit of praise from her head of house. "You told me that you wish to become a healer, is that still the case?"
"Yes, Professor," Sadie nodded earnestly. She bit her lip nervously. "I know I scored well enough in Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, and Herbology to continue on to N.E.W.T level, but I wasn't sure if an E would be high enough for the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to take me."
McGonagall nodded. "Professor Averett is happy to take Exceeds Expectations students." At the sound of Professor Averett's name, several girls looked up and giggled, causing McGonagall to purse her lips tightly. There was no question that the new professor was good looking, but it was clear that McGonagall disapproved of the immediate crush that most of the female student body had developed upon his introduction. "I am assuming you'd like to continue with Care of Magical Creatures as well?"
"I would," Sadie affirmed. "Are they going to be offering a Healing Magic course this year?"
"Perhaps next year if there is enough demand and we are able to find someone to teach it. You may try speaking with Madam Pomfrey. She has been known to take students under her tutelage on occasion, and I know that she has always been mightily impressed by your work." Sadie beamed. "This is already going to be a heavy course load, Miss Potter, and you'll have Quidditch as well, but are there any other classes that you feel you'd like to continue in?"
Sadie hesitated but shook her head. "No, I think I'd best leave it at that. Thank you, Professor."
McGonagall gave her a rare smile and waved her wand over the timetable before handing it to her and moving on to Sirius. Mary and Marlene had already gotten theirs and quickly leaned over to compare with Sadie.
"Slughorn first thing," Mary remarked upon looking at Sadie's. "I've got to say, I'm not sad to be dropping that class. But we've all got Averett this afternoon!" She giggled. "With times as they are, I think everyone should be taking Defense no matter what, but...it certainly doesn't hurt to have a professor who's so easy on the eyes, eh?"
"Maybe he'll agree to give me private lessons," Marlene grinned. Sadie laughed and shook her head, glancing up at the Head table, where the object of their conversation was currently in deep conversation with Professor Flitwick.
"He really is handsome," she thought. "I mean, he's certainly no Sirius, but...as far as men go..."
Suddenly, Professor Averett's eyes shifted to meet hers. She gulped and quickly averted her gaze, feeling her cheeks warm at having been caught staring. When she glanced back up several moments later, however, his eyes were still on her. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and he seemed to very deliberately hold her gaze for a few seconds before giving her a pleasant smile and turning back to Professor Flitwick. What in Merlin's name...?
She jumped when Sirius groaned next to her. "I thought we just established that I wasn't going to have to duel anyone for your affections so soon! But, come on! The new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor? That's hardly a fair fight, Sadie Mae, and don't even pretend you weren't just staring at him." He was giving her a teasing grin, and she knew her face must have been crimson.
"Shut up, I wasn't looking at him like that," she muttered, swinging her leg over the bench to stand up. Sirius followed suit, grabbing both of their book bags and threading their fingers together as they made their way down to the Dungeons.
"Don't be embarrassed, Love," he laughed. "Even I can admit that he's hot. Just try not to moan his name while we're snogging or anything, deal?"
"Helga's tits, Sirius!" She rolled her eyes, and he nearly choked in shock at her language. "I was just trying to see what all of the fuss is about! If you must know, while I certainly see the appeal..." She paused and turned to look at him, eyes softening as they landed on his face. "He's got nothing on this other guy that I know."
She was quite pleased when a small blush appeared on his cheeks, and he looked away from her, apparently fighting a wide smile. "You're corny," he told her after clearing his throat. She grinned.
Potions class was quite uneventful that morning, as was Care of Magical Creatures after that. Sadie was the only one of her friends continuing that class, but there were a couple of students from the other houses that she got along well with. Lunch passed quickly, and before they knew it, Sadie and her friends were all crammed into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Several of the boys were looking annoyed as the girls around them whispered and giggled, standing on their toes in an effort to get a good view of their newest professor, who was bent studiously over his desk, seemingly unaware of the attention he was receiving. When he finally looked up, however, there was a slight spark of amusement in his deep blue eyes that told Sadie he was not as oblivious as he seemed.
"Good afternoon, class." His voice was smooth and pleasant, and there was a collective sigh from many of the girls in the room. "As Professor Dumbledore announced last night, my name is Professor Thomas Averett. I'm looking forward to working with you all this year." He flipped through a couple of pages resting on his desk. "From your collective O.W.L scores, it looks as though most of you have at least a basic grasp of the subject up until that level, which makes my job easier. I think we'll be able to jump right into sixth year curriculum." His gaze swept around the room, and he gave them all a kind smile. "One of the major focuses of this year is going to be nonverbal magic, and I won't lie to you, that can be an incredibly difficult thing to truly get the hang of if it isn't something that comes naturally." Sadie rolled her eyes at Sirius's smug grin. He and James had been bored enough with their schoolwork that they'd begun working on nonverbal magic back in their fourth year and had both mastered it quite quickly. "It is worth the difficulty, however. Who can tell me the main advantage of a nonverbal spell?"
Sadie hesitantly raised her hand along with Lily, Alice, and Remus. Professor Averett smiled at her. "Yes, Pigtails?"
"It gives you a slight element of surprise. If they don't know you're there, you can cast something without them hearing until it's too late. And if you're in the middle of a duel, they don't know exactly what spells you're casting."
"Precisely. Ten points to Gryffindor. Now, you should have all read Chapter 6 of your textbooks, which covers the basic theory of nonverbal magic, over the summer. Go ahead and divide into pairs and take turns attempting to hex each other nonverbally - nothing too nasty now! - and casting shield charms nonverbally as well."
Sirius gave Sadie's hand a squeeze. "Do you want to try hexing or shielding first?"
"Oh..." She looked at him sheepishly. "You really don't have to partner with me, you know. James would be a much better match for you." He shook his head with a laugh.
"James and I don't need the practice. You do. No offense."
"Yeah, yeah..." she grumbled. "Alright, it's probably safer if I start with hexing. You'd be able to hex me nonverbally easily, and I'm not sure I could block it."
"Fair enough," he grinned.
By the end of the period, Sadie was exhausted, but she had managed to cast a weak inflating jinx. Sirius, of course, had blocked it easily, but had beamed at her with pride over successfully casting anything nonverbal at all. Professor Averett announced that it was time to leave and assigned a two foot essay on the theory behind nonverbal magic to be turned in next class. The students chatted tiredly as they packed up their things. Sadie and Sirius were among the last people to leave the room.
"Good progress today, Pigtails!" Professor Averett called as they disappeared through the door. Sadie flushed and bit back a smile at the praise. Sirius shot her a teasing glance.
"Do we need to find an empty classroom so that I can remind you how much you like me, Pigtails?"
She rolled her eyes but giggled. "I don't care what excuse you use, but yes, an empty classroom sounds lovely."
Sirius grinned and tugged her along the corridor and through a door that Sadie could never remember seeing open. He quickly shut, locked, and silenced it before turning around to face her, eyes gleaming. They lost track of how much time they spent in there, but by the time they left, there was no doubt in either of their minds how much they both meant to each other.
A/N: Aaaand back on schedule for the moment at least! Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!
WindSongEnchantment: As always, thank you so much! I appreciate all of your support!
GingerGryffindor: Haha I mean...when is stuff not brewing with the snakes, really?