SHE'S ALL THAT ➭ SIRIUS BLACK ❨2❩ ✔︎

ACT FIVE, SCENE THIRTY SIX

GODRIC'S HOLLOW

Sage and Sirius walked hand-in-hand down the wide, cobblestone street, dressed in warm woolen coats to protect against the cold wind.

"You don't have to do this, you know. I don't think he'd be angry if you never followed through with your promise." Sirius told her earnestly, voice low enough to only be heard by her, even though they were completely alone.

She sighed and adjusted her grip on the velvet pouch in her hand. "I know I don't have to. It just feels right to follow through. I don't often break my promises, and I'm not about to start now." She replied with a far-away look.

They reached the gate and stood there for a moment, unsure whether or not they wanted to proceed and enter.

She sighed, finally breaking their silent, frozen stances and reaching out to open the gate. It squeaked as it swung open, and she cringed.

The grave wasn't hard to find—it was the most well-preserved one there, despite being fourteen years old. Although, some of the gravestones were hundreds or even thousands of years old, so a decade and a half of wear and tear was bound to still look leagues better than those around it.

She knelt in front of the grave and set the pouch down in the grass next to her, reaching out to trace the letters and numbers etched into the stone.

"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." Sage read aloud, mostly to herself.

When Lily and James Potter had died, almost fifteen years ago, she had been too focused on taking care of Harry and holding both her life and herself together to plan a funeral or arrange for a gravestone to be engraved. Remus, despite dealing with his own grief, had stepped up and accepted the responsibility. However, the quote on the stone was not his choosing, but Albus Dumbledore's.

She didn't understand it, nor did she like it, but she wasn't in the mood to get another gravestone for the Potters.

With another sigh, this one more from sadness than tiredness, Sage Fontaine-Black picked up the velvet pouch again and loosened its strings.

She reached inside and plucked out a handful of Galleons, feeling the weight of the heavy gold coins in her palm.

"James Potter, I no longer owe you a debt." She said quietly, setting thirty Galleons along the edge of the gravestone. "This is what I promised you on your birthday, eighteen or so years ago. Sorry it took me so long—had to, y'know, inheret the entire Fontaine estate first." She cracked a smile at that.

Her hands pressed over the engraving of both Lily and James's names, and she shut her eyes tightly to prevent herself from crying.

That was something she did quite often now, compared to decades ago, Sirius thought. Crying had never been something Sage did with frequency, and if she did, she hid it from anyone who might see. He could admire the strength it took for such a closed-off girl to become a woman who was one with her emotions.

"Stop looking at me like that." She muttered in his direction, not bothering to meet his eye. "I'm fine."

Sirius just smiled softly and pulled her closer, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I know. I just love you a lot. You know that, right?"

She nodded wordlessly and refocused her attention on the stone before her.

"Happy birthday, James. I miss you."