Professor Averett had quickly become one of the most popular professors at Hogwarts and not just among the lovestruck girls. He had an amiable nature that quickly put his students at ease and was quick to laugh and joke around with them. He had also proven to be an excellent teacher, and between his teaching and continued help from James and Sirius, Sadie found that she was grasping things much more quickly than she ever had in the past. The professor seemed to have taken a special liking to her as well, for which Sirius, of course, teased her endlessly. She would just laugh and roll her eyes, simply excited to finally be doing well enough in her hardest class to have warranted any sort of attention from her teacher.
His classes were generally quite lighthearted, and they had thus far only practiced hands on magic rather than any sort of theory work, so it was with a bit of disappointment that they entered his classroom a few weeks into the term to find that the desks were set up for the first time that year. Sadie and Lily sat together at one of the desks and chatted quietly as they waited for class to start. James and Sirius strolled casually into the classroom with only a few seconds to spare, and Sirius pouted when he saw the girls seated together.
"Evans! You've stolen my girlfriend!"
Lily glanced back him and smirked. "You snooze, you lose, Black."
He stuck his tongue out at her but grinned and sent Sadie a wink before sliding into the seat next to James. Sadie laughed and blew him a kiss before turning to face the front, where Professor Averett had just started to speak.
"Good afternoon, class." He smiled slightly as he took in their resigned faces. "I know that we're used to solely doing hands-on work in this class, but today's subject matter isn't something we can exactly practice in a classroom. Normally, this is a topic that we wouldn't go over until a bit later in the year, but due to recent events, Professor Dumbledore and myself have decided that it would be best to adjust the year's schedule." His face sobered slightly. "Now, I'll warn you that this isn't a pleasant or fun subject, but it is very much necessary. Who can tell me what an inferius is?"
A sudden chill seemed to sweep over the room as the students glanced shiftily at each other. They knew immediately why they were discussing this earlier than usual; just days before, the Prophet had announced that an army of several dozen inferi had attacked a small muggle town near Kingston. No pictures had been included in the article, and Alice, whose father held a very high position in the auror department, told them it was because the scene was too gruesome. The muggle authorities were under the impression that it had been a group of some kind of animal, and the ministry was having a nightmare of a time modifying memories to support that theory.
There were several moments of silence before Remus raised his hand hesitantly. Professor Averett gave him an approving nod. "Yes, Mister Lupin?"
"An inferius is a corpse that has been reanimated by dark magic," Remus answered quietly. "It has no will of its own but exists to do the bidding of the wizard who enchanted it."
"Excellently put. Ten points for Gryffindor." Professor Averett sighed and leaned back against his desk as he surveyed them. "As most of you are probably aware, recent evidence has come to light suggesting that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has been building an army of inferi. Because of this, it seems prudent that you all learn how to recognize and protect yourselves from these beings. Does anyone know the best way to fight off an inferius?"
Lily raised her hand, and Professor Averett nodded at her. "Fire," she provided promptly. "They fear light and warmth, and fire is one of the only forces that can truly damage them. They don't feel pain, and they don't bleed, so most spells and curses won't deter them at all. You need to damage their corpses beyond function, and fire will do that better than most anything else."
"Another ten points to Gryffindor. Beginning next class, we will be working on the Firestorm Spell. This is going to be your best defense in the event that, Merlin forbid, any of you come in contact with an inferius. For today, however, we will be discussing how to recognize one of these creatures." He flicked his wand, and the blackboard changed to show some of the most haunting images Sadie had ever seen. A bit of bile rose up in her throat as she took in the sight of the lifeless eyes of the inferius in one of the images. She had seen eyes like that before...
Suddenly, she was overwhelmed with the mental image of Caroline Prewett's body being forced, like a puppet, to do its murderer's bidding. Bellatrix Lestrange was cackling in the background as Gideon's mother advanced toward Sadie, arms outstretched and face entirely devoid of thought or emotion...
"Sadie?" Lily's concerned voice brought Sadie back to the present with a start. Professor Averett was still teaching, though he was watching her carefully as Lily grasped her arm and peered into her face. "Hey, you okay?"
It was then that Sadie realized she was shaking violently. She swallowed hard and tried her best to meet Lily's eyes, but her vision was swimming, and her stomach churned uncomfortably. She noticed Lily glance briefly behind her shoulder, and there was an immediate rustling before she was met with the familiar smell of leather and teakwood. She turned her head slowly to see Sirius crouched low next to her seat, his eyes searching her face worriedly.
"Hey, Sadie Mae," he whispered, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. He looked toward Professor Averett, and the two seemed to have a silent conversation before Sirius wrapped an arm around Sadie's waist and gently gripped her elbow with his other hand. "Let's go take a little break, you and me, yeah?" And without waiting for an answer, he carefully helped her to stand and supported her as he led her out of the classroom, ignoring the whispers and curious stares of their classmates.
There was an empty classroom right next door, and Sirius guided her into it and to a desk next to a large window. He helped her sit before throwing open the window. Sadie gulped in the fresh air, feeling some of her nausea dissipate immediately. Sirius watched her carefully, his face relaxing in relief as a bit of color returned to her cheeks. He sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her, allowing her to bury her face in his chest. They were silent for a few minutes before he spoke.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Sadie sensed that he had already guessed what had happened, and she shook her head slowly, not even sure where to begin. Sirius nodded slowly and simply tightened his hold on her.
A little while later, at her insistence, Sirius reluctantly joined her back in the classroom. He had felt she should just skip the rest of the class, but she assured him that she felt better and that she thought the material was important enough to go back. Fortunately, the rest of the period passed without incident, and Sadie was even able to contribute a few answer's to Professor Averett's questions.
Finally, their teacher glanced at the time and smiled around at the class kindly. "Thank you for participating in the lesson today. We should be done with most of the real unpleasantness of the topic. For next time, please write a two-foot essay on the properties behind and theory of the Firestorm Spell. We'll begin practicing that next class. Miss Potter, if you'll please stay behind and see me for a moment. Everyone else, you're dismissed."
Sadie sighed and put her things away slowly as the rest of the class chatted and shuffled through the door. Sirius walked to her side.
"Want me to wait for you?"
She shook her head and gave him a short kiss. "It's fine. He probably just wants to check in and make sure I'm doing better. I doubt it'll take long. I'll see you at dinner, okay?"
He nodded gave her hand one last squeeze before turning and walking out the door. He was the last one to leave, and Sadie approached Professor Averett's desk, giving him a sheepish smile when he looked up at her.
He returned her smile gently and gestured for her to have a seat across from him. "Hello Sadie. How are you feeling?"
"I'm alright, Professor, thank you. I suppose the topic just...got to me a bit, you know?" Her cheeks warmed, and she looked down in embarrassment. Nobody else had reacted to strongly to the lesson. She felt a bit pathetic.
Averett nodded and regarded her silently for a moment. Then he reached across the desk and placed a warm hand over hers. This seemed like sort of odd behavior from a professor, but Sadie didn't think much of it; Professor Averett was more friendly in most ways than any of their other teachers. "Sadie, you're an incredible witch in many, many ways, but one of the things I admire most about you is your heart and your tenderness. Don't feel embarrassed about not being the toughest or the most hardened or desensitized. The world has enough of that. What we need is more Sadie Potters." Sadie looked up and blinked at him in surprise. He smiled at her again, and there was something behind his piercing blue eyes that Sadie didn't know quite what to make of. Before she had time to analyze it though, the professor had stood. She cleared her throat and did the same. He walked around his desk and placed a hand on the small of her back as he walked her to the door, his thumb running lightly back and forth across her spine, giving Sadie goosebumps. When they reached the door, he stopped and turned to look at her, but his hand didn't move. "Sirius Black is a very lucky boy," he told her softly, eyes boring into hers in a way that made the heat rise to her cheeks once again. He finally removed his hand from her back but allowed it to trail along her waist until it fell to his side. "Enjoy your dinner, and know that I am always here if you need anything, Sadie."
Sadie's throat felt thick and dry. Unable to speak, she simply nodded her thanks before hurrying out the door and down the corridor, a heavy feeling in her gut that she couldn't quite place.
A/N: So I know I keep saying that things are going to calm down, and I'll be able to give you more regular updates? Well, clearly that has not actually happened yet. I'm so sorry about all the delays, but I really am trying to get these out as quickly as I can without sacrificing quality. Thanks so much to everyone who has stuck around!
Cebulia: Yay! I'm glad I'm not the only one who liked it. And Eddie Redmayne is just the dream. Haha yes, we definitely have not seen the last of Miss Olivia. She's got some tricks up her sleeve. ;) Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!
WindSongEnchantment: It makes me so happy that you think so! I kind of love them to death!