SHE'S ALL THAT ➭ SIRIUS BLACK ❨2❩ ✔︎

ACT THREE, SCENE FOURTEEN

FONTAINE MANOR

August slipped into September, and September slipped into October without hesitation or delay. Time passed at a cruel, fast pace, and pretending to no longer love—as well as not having seen—Sirius Black was wearing on Sage.

With the end of October and her nineteenth birthday quickly approaching, she was not in a celebratory mood. Before Sirius, birthdays didn't matter to her. She would quietly go about her day as if it was like any other, but at his insistence she had grown used to her birthday being a day of importance.

So when October thirty-first rolled around, she was severely underwhelmed.

Of course, Anna-Lee was there to spend the day with her, but without Sirius, the day lost its sparkle.

However, the post arrived via owl that morning, an unassuming and unknown owl laden with a large package wrapped in brown paper.

Upon unwrapping the parcel, Sage found a folded piece of parchment attached to the top of a sturdy box.

Green,
Happy birthday. Wish I could be there to celebrate with you.
I do have to warn you that your house is being watched, by two different groups, if my observations are correct. The good news is that I'd assume the first group that's watching the house is for your protection—there's someone there twenty four hours a day, and I recognized the Prewett twins. Glad they're good for something.
Unfortunately, the bad news is that the second group is made up of Death Eaters, checking in sporadically to make sure you're not double crossing them. They've got Snape outside your house most of the time.
Luckily, though, the Order and the Death Eaters haven't realized they're both watching.
Anyway, happy birthday. Hope you're doing well.
Sending my love from a confidential location.

Leo.
PS: I hope you're hiding the locket well for me. Keep it safe.

She found herself grinning as she read the note; Leo was the constellation that the star Regulus was a part of, and Green was the nickname Julien had for her while the two of them were at Hogwarts at the same time.

That bastard, Sage thought to herself. Regulus had said he wouldn't be keeping in touch with her. After all, he'd said he'd be dead to her. But here he was, sending her a birthday gift and keeping an eye on her.

She opened the box with shaking, excited hands, she lifted the lid off of the box.

Inside was framed photograph of the two of them and Julien, smiling and laughing. In the picture, which moved the way all wizard photos did, Julien and Regulus were on either side of Sage, who looked to be only twelve or thirteen, with their arms around their shoulders.

Her heart ached, missing both of her brothers with everything in her. Oh, how she longed to be back in her second year with them, when the only thing that was wrong was the fact that her parents were distant at best, emotionally neglectful at worst.

There was a crash from the living room, and as she stood up, alarmed, voices and laughter came echoing in through the open doorway.

Sage pulled out her wand to defend herself, but dropped it almost immediately when a painfully familiar head of shaggy black hair appeared in her line of sight.

"Sirius?" She said quietly, silently panicking. "What the hell are you doing here? Death Eaters are watching my house—if they see you here, they'll know—"

Sirius Black, charming and suave as ever, kissed her before she could continue on her tangent. "Relax, love. We portkeyed into the living room. And before you ask, no. No one saw us."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Who is we and us? Who else is here?"

At her words, Lily, Maia, Marlene, Charlotte, Rowan, Remus, and James came rushing in, arms loaded with sweets, baked goods, flowers, and, thankfully, no presents.

"Happy birthday, Sage!" They all shouted at once.

So on the thirty-first of October, 1978, Sage Fontaine was surrounded by friends.

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