What the Heart Wants (Sirius Black Love Story)

Chapter 29

Sadie stared at the textbook in her lap, eyes moving over the same sentence over and over again but not registering what she was reading. Finally, she let out a groan and shut the book with a thud. As much as she knew she needed to study, this was getting her nowhere. She sighed and leaned her head on the window she was seated next to.

It had been a rough few weeks since her birthday. O.W.L.s were fast approaching, and she was definitely feeling the pressure, spending every spare moment studying. Most of that time she spent up in her dorm, avoiding Gideon. Their relationship had become extremely rocky after his accusations that she'd been seeing Sirius behind his back, and they spent most of their time together arguing or sitting in tense silence. It was clear that things were coming to an end, but Sadie refused to be the one to break it off. She would feel much better about Caroline's death if it was Gideon who decided that they were finished.

The rumors Gideon had mentioned had become stronger as well. Sadie could barely walk through the corridors without having to brush off whispers and pointed looks in her direction. Cynthia was apparently feeling vengeful about her breakup with Sirius, and she was more than happy to play the victim while watching Sadie get labeled all sorts of unsavory things. The Easter holidays had been a nice break from all of it, but now they were back, and things were as stressful as they had been before the holiday.

Sadie's stomach rumbled, and she glanced at the time in exasperation. She had studied through dinner, which was not an uncommon occurrence of late. A soft whine escaped her throat as she stood up and stretched. Making her way downstairs, she was relieved to see that Gideon was not in the common room. James and Sirius were lounging in front of the fire, and both raised their hands in greeting as she passed.

"Where are you headed?" James yawned.

Sadie grinned sheepishly. "Kitchens. I forgot to eat dinner again."

Sirius laughed and sat up. "Want company?"

"No, that's alright," she told him with a regretful smile. "I don't much fancy adding fuel to all of these stupid rumors. I won't be long though, and then I could really use a study partner for Defense."

He gave her a thumbs up and stretched back out, the bottom of his shirt riding up just enough to give Sadie a glimpse of his bare hips. Feeling her cheeks heat up, she looked away and hurried through the portrait hole, shaking her head furiously in an effort to rid herself of some not-so-innocent imaginings involving her best friend.

Those thoughts were immediately banished from her mind as she ducked behind the tapestry leading to one of her favorite secret passageways. All the air left her lungs in a whoosh as she took in the sight of Gideon in an extremely compromising position with a girl Sadie didn't know. The girl's eyes flew open, and she let out a gasp.

"Gideon!" She exclaimed, face turning red rapidly as she pushed him and squirmed away, hastily pulling her robes down to cover herself. Gideon looked at her in confusion before following her gaze. He blanched, and his face paled as his eyes landed on Sadie. He swore quietly and quickly adjusted himself, zipping up his trousers before turning to face her full-on.

For several tense moments, the three students simply stared at each other, none of them quite sure what to say. Finally, Sadie cleared her throat and gave them a cold smile.

"Well. Apologies. By all means, carry on." And with that, she turned and marched out of the passage, head held high. Suddenly finding that she had quite lost her appetite, she changed course and began walking toward the Astronomy Tower.

"Sadie!" Gideon's voice shouted from behind her. Her fists clenched, but she gave no other sign that she had heard him. "Sadie, come on! Wait up! Just let me explain!" He jogged to catch up with her and grabbed her elbow. "Sadie, please, just hear me out."