Sadie had trouble focusing on her lessons throughout the next day. so great was her anxiety. Sirius kept shooting her worried glances but didn't get an opportunity to talk with her until they were leaving dinner to walk to their respective detentions. As they exited the Great Hall, he pulled her gently into a small alcove.
"You're really feeling nervous about him, aren't you?" He frowned. "Why? Has something happened that you haven't told me about?"
Sadie bit her lip, unsure how to respond. The fact was that Averett hadn't really ever done anything beyond acting friendly with her, and she didn't have anything substantial to justify her worries. She wasn't even sure what she was concerned about, if she was being honest. "No..." she answered Sirius hesitantly. "Nothing like that. I don't really know how to explain it. I'm probably just not used to a professor being so...well...nice. It's probably nothing."
Sirius held her gaze searchingly for another moment before looking down at his watch and frowning. He reached into his bag and pulled out a mirror that she recognized as one from the set he and James often used to chat when they were in separate detentions. "I snagged this from James earlier. I've got mine. You know how to work it, right? Just look at it and say my name clearly. I'll be there in a flash if you need me, okay?"
Sadie took a deep breath and stowed the mirror in her own bag, smiling at him gratefully. "Thank you for not telling me I'm being ridiculous. I know I probably am."
"Maybe," he shrugged. "I hope you are and that there's nothing to worry about. But I'd rather you have a way to get ahold of me. Just in case." He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and another to her lips before they ducked out of the alcove and went their separate ways.
The sight that greeted Sadie upon entering Professor Averett's office was anticlimactic to say the least. He was sitting at his desk, brow furrowed as he scanned the parchment in front of him, occasionally marking things in red ink. A tea set with two cups and a plate of biscuits sat in the middle of the desk. He glanced up at her and smiled wearily, gesturing to the seat across from him.
"Good evening, Miss Potter. Have a seat."
Sadie took a deep breath and slid into the chair, setting her bag down on the floor next to her. Professor Averett was looking back down at the paper he was grading. He made a few more marks before sighing and placing it on the top of the stack of essays to his left. He straightened and clasped his hands together on the desk, smiling pleasantly.
"How do you like your tea, Miss Potter?"
"Oh! Um..." The truth was that Sadie didn't actually like tea, but she was rather caught off guard, her professor was looking at her expectantly, and she hated to be rude. "Cream and two sugars, please."
He nodded and gave his wand a quick flick to send the kettle and spoons into action before handing her a cup. She thanked him quietly and forced herself to take a small sip. To her surprise, she found it to be quite delightful and took a longer drink before setting the cup down. Professor Averett sat back in his chair and regarded her carefully.
"I feel I owe you an apology, Sadie." Sadie blinked in surprise, and he gave a tired chuckle. "Yesterday was a rather...trying day for me. I was just about to get ready for bed when a student came and informed me that she thought she had seen a couple of students getting up to some mischief in one of the classrooms down the hall. I'm afraid I was in quite a foul mood already when I walked in on you and Mr. Black." Sadie felt her face heat up, and she looked away from him uncomfortably at the memory of just what he had seen the night before. "I conducted myself in a manner that I'm not proud of, and I hope that you can find it in you to forgive me for my harshness."
Sadie coughed and glanced at him briefly before looking away again. "Oh! Um, yes, of course. I'm...I'm sorry to have made your day worse than it already was." When she looked back at him, he was grinning in amusement, but he quickly sobered again.
"There is one other thing." He held her gaze seriously, and she was surprised to find a note of concern in his eyes. "Please be honest with me. Is Mr. Black forcing you into anything you aren't comfortable with?"
Sadie gaped at him. "No! No, of course not, we're...I'm..." She knew her face must be bright red with mortification over having this conversation with her professor. She cleared her throat. "Absolutely not, sir. He's...I'm...that is...um...everything is completely consensual." She resisted the urge to hide her face in her hands and held his gaze. There was a flash there of something she couldn't quite name, but it was gone before she could analyze it too closely.
"Very well," he said quietly. "Please know that you can come to me if that ever changes." Sadie swallowed uncomfortably and nodded, taking another long sip of her tea, if for no other reason than to have something to do with her hands. She resisted the urge to sigh happily as the taste of the drink hit her tongue. How odd. She truly had never in her life enjoyed a cup of tea until this moment. She drank deeply and was surprised and disappointed when she found that she had finished the cup.
Professor Averett watched her as she finished her tea and then smiled at her, handing her a stack of essays. "These are from my second years about the properties of the disarming spell. You shouldn't have much trouble helping me grade them." Sadie nodded and took them and the red ink and quill from him. It was rather dull work, but she soon found herself quite relaxed as she read through the essays and marked whatever errors she found. She glanced up at Professor Averett every now and then, and he would look up and offer her a pleasant smile and ask if she needed anything. She would return his smile and shake her head before returning to her grading, wondering what on earth she had been so anxious about. Professor Averett was delightful, if anything. It was very good of him to check in on her, even if he had been completely off base and if the conversation had been somewhat uncomfortable. And he had apologized for being harsh, which was something she'd never heard from a professor before. A fond smile worked its way onto her face, and she suddenly had the strangest urge to throw her arms around him and hug him tightly. She laughed out loud at the thought and shook her head. How inappropriate that would be!
Professor Averett looked up at her with a questioning smile. "What's so funny?"
"I'm not sure," she giggled in response, feeling it would be best not to share the thought that had popped into her head. "Maybe I'm just tired and getting a little slap-silly."
He glanced down at her empty teacup with a curious look on his face before giving her an indulgent smile. "Perhaps we had better call it a night then. Are you sure you're feeling alright?"
Sadie nodded giddily. "I feel great, actually! Really great! Thanks, Professor!" And with that, she picked up her bag, gave him a wave, and practically skipped out of the room.
"Good luck with your Quidditch match in the morning!" He called after her, and she turned to give him a dazzling smile before making her way back to the common room.
When she climbed through to portrait hole, it was to see James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter gathered together in armchairs around the fire, joking and laughing loudly. Upon noticing her, Sirius sat up straight and scanned her face quickly, relaxing into a soft smile when he saw no sign of distress in her features. "How was it?" He asked.
"Fine!" Sadie grinned. "I don't know what I was worried about. Professor Averett really is wonderful, don't you think? And! He makes the most amazing tea!" The boys' brows all shot up at that, knowing how she felt about tea, but she didn't seem to notice. She flounced over to plop down in Sirius's lap and snuggle as close to his chest as she possibly could. She was feeling the strangest need to be close to...someone. She just wanted to be held tightly, and she hummed happily as Sirius's arms wrapped around her. He gave a somewhat confused chuckle and kissed the top of her head.
"Well, I'm glad that there wasn't anything to be concerned over."
She sighed happily. "I love you," she announced. "So, so, so, so, so, so much."
Sirius exchanged a bemused glance with the other boys. "I love you too, Sadie Mae. You...feeling alright?"
"I feel wonderful! Maybe I'm just relieved that nothing bad happened with Averett." She beamed up at him before scrambling out of his lap and throwing her arms around each of the other boys in turn, planting sloppy kisses on their cheeks. "Gah! I just love all of you so much!" They all stared at her oddly, but she didn't seem to notice as she grabbed Sirius's hand and pulled him up to standing. "Come to bed," she ordered. His head tilted to the side for a second as he regarded her curiously, but he nodded and exchanged a look with James before following her upstairs.
The second the door was shut behind them, Sadie turned and smiled at him adoringly. "Take off your shirt," she commanded, pulling her own top over her head as she spoke. Sirius hesitated for a second, but ultimately complied, letting his eyes wander over her stomach, bra, and chest. Her eyes shone happily as she looked him over and climbed into his bed, holding her arms out in silent invitation. He chuckled lightly and crawled in next to her, pulling her tight against his chest. She sighed at the contact and pressed a kiss to his collarbone.
"Are you drunk?" He asked, only half joking. She giggled.
"No! I just..." She paused thoughtfully. "Professor Averett asked me if you were pushing me into anything I wasn't comfortable with, and...I guess I'm just so grateful that I was able to answer honestly and reassure him that you have never and would never do that. I just really, really love you."
Sirius's mouth quirked up into a half smile. "I really, really love you too, Sade." She hummed contentedly, and there was a definite drowsy tone to it. "I've been a little worried about that though. Just...after last night...before Averett walked in, things were getting kind of...intense."
"Hmmm," she mumbled in agreement. "I think I would have had sex with you if he hadn't shown up." A choked noise escaped Sirius's throat. "What a shame that he did..."
Before Sirius could even begin to think about how to respond to that, her breathing had evened out, and she was fast asleep.
A/N: Hi. I know. I'm sorry. It's been way too long again. The story is still not abandoned. Life just got away from me a bit. I'm sorry.
lovelylizy2000: So glad you loved and followed! I hope you still do! Thanks for the review!
GingerGryffindor: Thanks so much! Definitely interested to hear what your thoughts are after this chapter!