Sage | H. GRANGER

thirty five

The night before the Order was to meet at Harry's home on Privet Drive, they all met at the newly built Burrow. They spoke of the mission and the tactics they needed to follow. Sage had sat a little farther from the group, her head resting on her hand as she listened intently to the voices talking over one another. She could hear Mad-Eye Moody becoming increasingly annoyed with both Remus Lupin and Arthur Weasley. He had seniority over the both of them with his experience fighting and capturing Death Eaters, but the two other men were relentless. The plan to safely move Harry had already been talked about and agreed upon, but there was still a slight problem; Sage.

    Remus and Arthur had disagreed with Mad-Eye's plan regarding her. Mad-Eye wanted to use her to their advantage. A back-up plan if you will. Sage had stayed quiet as they spoke about her as if she weren't right there next to them.

    "Mad-Eye, she is just a child." Arthur spoke, his voice deadly serious. Before he could continue with his point, Mad-Eye cut him off with a sarcastic laugh.

    "So is your son, Arthur. The only difference between the two nitwits is that Whitaker understands how Death-Eaters think. She managed to escape deaths grip which means that she has information we can use. She can be a distraction."

    "Bloody hell, Mad-Eye. That also means she has a bounty on her head, that alone can jeopardize this entire mission and everyone involved. It would be a bloodbath. Do you want that blood on your hands?" Remus snapped at the man on the other side of the table. "She isn't a distraction, but rather a target on each of our heads. Leave her out of this, the polyjuice potion will be more than enough of a distraction."

    Sage flinched at Remus' words, but she could hear the truth in them. He was right after all. The moment she fled Hogwarts she practically dug her own grave. It was risk enough to have her sheltered at the Burrow,

    "Remus is right." Sage spoke, her voice tired. "I wouldn't be useful, at least not for this. They would kill you all for sheltering me. It's not worth the risk, Mad-Eye. I'm not worth the risk."

    The rest of the Order had gone radio silent, all eyes on her, but she made sure to keep her unfaltering gaze on that of Mad-Eye. She could faintly see his jaw clenching in anger, but finally he nodded.

    "Very well." Mad-eye spoke, his words short and deadly. Sage sighed and moved her gaze to the table she sat at.
She ignored the talks of the war and focused of the dainty ring that sat on her ring finger. It had been a gift from Draco, sometime ago. They were just kids then, full of hope and life. She remembered tearing open the parcel and the way her heart swelled at the beautifully simple ring. She could faintly hear Draco telling her that he had picked the ring for its stone. The stone was a storm grey, a perfect replica of Draco's eyes.

    "It's a reminder that I will always be with you, Sage. No matter what happens, I'll always be there watching over you."

Sage was pulled from her memory when she heard Remus calling her name.

"Sage?" Remus asked once more, watching her with worried eyes. Sage glanced up at him, her eyes glossy. She glanced around the table and noticed most of the occupants had left already. She looked back to the man who patiently waited for her attention. She noticed that Tonks had stood in the doorway, with her kind eyes watching Sage.

"Are you okay?" Remus asked, taking a seat in front of her. Sage gave him a thin-lipped smile.

"I'm anything but okay, sir." Remus' frown deepened, but Sage paid no mind to it. She was never really one for accepting pity. "But, in time i will be."

Remus looked back at Tonks, who met his worried gaze with one equally worrisome. He looked back at Sage and let a deep sigh leave his lips. He was tired, they all were.