James booked the pitch for Quidditch tryouts as soon as McGonagall would allow it. The Prewett twins had graduated, leaving open keeper and beater positions, and Shawna Larsen had regretfully told them that she wasn't planning on keeping her spot as a chaser as she was already feeling the stress over N.E.W.T.s and didn't think she'd be able to handle it. That had been a blow; she, James, and Sadie had worked together as chasers for years, and they'd be hard-pressed to find a replacement who could replace Shawna with the same chemistry. Nevertheless, it was with a growing sense of optimism that Sadie, James, Sirius, and Astrid gazed over the large crowd of students who had come to try out. Tryouts would probably take several hours, but it meant that they had an enormous pool of players to choose from.
They started with the beaters. There was a small portion of those tryouts that required Sadie to be in the air, but for the most part she got to just sit with James and watch as the contenders worked with Sirius. Several girls who were there to try out for the chaser position were whispering and giggling excitedly as they watched. Their level of excitement didn't change depending on which beater was trying out, so it was pretty clear that they were talking about Sirius. Sadie glanced back at them and noticed that they all seemed to be centered around one fifth year girl who was watching Sirius closely with a cool, confident smile on her face. She was absolutely gorgeous, with long blonde hair, flawless skin, and the kind of figure that even one couldn't help but admire. Sadie quickly turned back around the watch the rest of the tryouts, rolling her eyes with a snort. It was easy to feel at least a little threatened when the girl mooning her boyfriend looked like she belonged on the cover of a muggle magazine, but Sadie wasn't really worried. She knew Sirius was completely devoted to her and wouldn't so much as look twice in another girl's direction.
James glanced at her, then behind his shoulder, and then back at her with a knowing look on his face. "You know Sirius would give up just about anything if it would make you happy. He's so bloody nuts about you. It's actually pretty disgusting."
Sadie felt her face heat up, and she scoffed lightly. "That's rich coming from you, brother dear. Written Lily any love poems lately?" He rolled his eyes and poked her in the ribs, making her squirm away from him.
"I'm just saying. You really don't need to be worried about him getting distracted by other girls."
"I'm not worried," she grumbled. "It's just annoying is all. Anyway, shouldn't you be paying attention to the beaters?"
James gave her a lingering look before shrugging and turning back to the tryouts.
Whatever slight insecurity she might have been feeling was washed away as soon as the last beater tryout was finished. Sirius landed lightly next to her, his hair windswept and looking even more effortlessly alluring than usual. He was looking at her with the soft gaze that she knew he reserved only for her, and his arm slipped almost automatically around her waist as they and Astrid quietly discussed the beater tryouts with James. It didn't take them long to come to an agreement on who they thought would be the best fit for the team, and James announced to the crowd that fifth year Brendan Hatch would be taking the beater position. The other contenders for the spot gathered their things and walked dejectedly to the stands as Brendan tried and failed to hide the ecstatic grin on his face. Sadie couldn't help but giggle slightly.
Chaser and keeper tryouts were up next and taking place at the same time. James quickly instructed Sirius on how he wanted them run before he and Sadie rose into the air. Sadie grinned as Sirius leaned back in his seat and threw his feet up on the table in front of him as he began casually directing different players into the air. They went through several tryouts before it was Miss Model's turn. She stepped up, gave Sirius a flirtatious smile as she tossed her hair behind her shoulder, and introduced herself as Olivia Fontwell. Sirius wrote her name down on his clipboard and gestured for her to join Sadie and James in the air.
To Sadie's chagrin, Olivia turned out to be an excellent player and quickly outperformed all of the other people who had tried out so far. With only two remaining hopefuls for the position, Sadie had little confidence that they would find anyone better, and sure enough, by the time she and James had landed again to discuss their options with Astrid and Sirius, there was no arguing that Olivia was the clear choice for the spot.
James stood and announced that Olivia and a fourth year named Spencer Bell had been selected for the positions of chaser and keeper, respectively and dismissed everyone else. He kept the team back long enough to let them know what their practice schedule was going to be and give them a quick pep talk. When he finished, everyone moved to collect their things. Olivia made an immediate beeline for Sirius, who had just begun walking toward Sadie. Sadie's eyes narrowed slightly as she watched her place her hand on his bicep, flashing him a dazzling smile.
"You're an incredible flyer, Sirius. I'm really excited to work with you."
Sirius paused and looked down at her. "Oh, thanks!" He smiled politely but strategically shifted his broom to his other shoulder so that he could casually shrug off her hand. "Good to have you on the team. Erm...Atwell, right?" Sadie had to turn away for a second to hide her snicker. Sirius was great with names; there was no way he had actually forgotten his teammate's name, no matter how new she was.
Olivia's smile faltered a fraction, but she recovered quickly, letting out a tinkling laugh and tossing her hair. "Fontwell, actually, but my friends call me Livvy."
"Oh, that's right, Fontwell," he nodded. "Sorry about that. Anyway, I'll see you around, yeah?" And without giving her a chance to respond, he strode past her to plant a brief kiss on Sadie's lips and wrap an arm around her waist as they walked away.
Knowing they were still within earshot of several of their teammates, Sadie refrained from saying anything about Olivia right away. Instead, she decided to focus their conversation on the more positive things they had observed during tryouts.
"So, you and Brendan seemed like you worked really well together," she pointed out. "I like him a lot so far. He seems like he'll mesh really well with everyone."
Sirius nodded in agreement. "I like him too. He reminds me a bit of a male version of you, actually. Just really innocent and sincerely excited about life. At any rate, it'll be nice to work with someone I actually get along with. Prewett was a great player, but he and I always had our issues."
Sadie couldn't help but laugh. "You never really liked him at all, did you?"
"I may have been a tad jealous of him at times," Sirius admitted sheepishly.
The continued to chat casually about their Quidditch prospects for the year until they had reached the boys' dorm, finding it empty. They tossed their things aside, and Sadie glanced sidelong at Sirius.
"So...Olivia Atwell, huh?"
His lips quirked upward in amusement. "I've been informed that it's Frogwell or something like that, actually." She snorted and turned to face him.
"She was flirting with you," she stated, feeling a bit embarrassed that she was so bothered by the situation.
"Yes, silly of her, wasn't it?" He yawned as he picked up his broom and stowed it in his trunk.
"She's really pretty," Sadie pressed. "And really good at Quidditch."
Sirius shrugged. "I guess so. I mean, she's no Sadie Potter in either department, but as far as the average person goes, she's alright."
Sadie frowned at him. "Come on, Sirius, I'm being...well...serious!"
"So am I!" He sighed and walked toward her. "So, she's objectively good-looking. So what? Aside from blonde hair, she's not exactly my type." He smirked slightly and kissed her nose and then each of her cheeks. "Her face is entirely devoid of freckles, for one thing. Did you know that you have the most perfect little smattering of freckles?" Sadie flushed, and she couldn't help it when her lips curved into a small smile. Sirius pulled back just enough to search her face. "What is it about this that's got you so agitated?"
Sadie bit her lip. "I'm not totally sure..." she mumbled sheepishly. "It's not that I don't trust you, because I do! It's more something to do with her. It just seemed really bold of her to approach you like that right in front of me. It honestly felt kind of humiliating. I don't really know how to explain it." He looked at her sadly.
"I'm sorry, love. I mean, you're not wrong that it was bold. In fact, I'd say it was downright disrespectful. Honestly, it should have been more humiliating for her than for you. Everyone knows I've been crazy about you for years. And it says a lot about her character that she would come at me with you standing right there." He cupped her face in his hands and gave her a gentle smile. "Listen, every girl in the world could try and throw themselves at me, but none of them would be you, and there's no way that I'd risk losing you for anything. So let Olivia Funkwell do her Olivia Funkwell thing, whatever that may be. We can laugh at her later and certainly not feel threatened by it at all. Just remember that she's silly and vain and only embarrassing herself and that no one is ever going to compare to you in my eyes, okay? You're bloody amazing, Sadie Mae, and I fall asleep with a smile on my face every night just because I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have been chosen by you."
Sadie cleared her throat and blinked away a couple of tears. "You're being cheesy," she told him with a shaky laugh. But her heart felt warm, and she certainly didn't object as he drew her face closer to his.
"For you, Sadie Mae? Always," he grinned just before their lips met, and she practically melted into him. His thumbs stroked her cheeks gently as his lips caressed her own. She hummed softly and ran her hands up and down his chest, smiling against his mouth when he shuddered slightly.
"Oh, sweet Merlin," James's voice grumbled from the door, and they broke apart. "You guys know this is a shared space, right?"
Sadie rolled her eyes, and Sirius grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. "Sorry mate. Got a bit carried away I guess." James shook his head disapprovingly, and when he turned away, Sirius nipped lightly at the skin of her neck, making her gasp, before reluctantly pulling away. They were soon joined by Remus and Peter, and the five of them spent the rest of the day plotting and laughing until they were all exhausted.
That night as Sadie lay awake in Sirius's sleeping arms, she glanced up to see that his mouth was, indeed curved into a slight smile. She knew it was probably a coincidence, but that didn't stop her from biting her lip to contain a giddy grin as she burrowed further into his embrace and slowly drifted off to sleep.
A/N: The semester is finally over! Man, it's been a rough one, my friends. But it's done, and I can't decide whether to dance or cry! Maybe a little bit of both. Also, I feel like the last couple chapters feel kind of fluffy, but I promise they are laying some important groundwork here...Anyway, thank you all for your support! You keep me motivated!
WindSongEnchantment: Ohhhh Professor Averett...I certainly have plans for him. He might be a biiiiiiit problematic haha
GingerGryffindor: Thank you so much! Oh, we have all definitely been there!