What the Heart Wants (Sirius Black Love Story)

Chapter 5

Remus and Peter sat and listened to Sadie, James, and Sirius recount all that they had seen and heard on their way back from the kitchens. The five friends were huddled together in the boys' dormitory. They spoke in hushed voices despite the imperturbable charm they had placed on the room.

Remus was gazing at the wall, his brow furrowed in thought as his friends finished their tale. It was several moments before he spoke. "I know what you're thinking, but we don't have any real reason to believe they were talking about Voldemort."

James scoffed. "Come on, Moony! This is Snivellus and Rowle we're talking about here!"

"I'm aware," Remus responded calmly. "And I know that you would love to think that Snape is involved with all that. But, while he may have an unfortunate obsession with the dark arts, we don't know if he has anything to do with Voldemort or his followers."

"So, what do we do?" Sadie asked quickly as her brother opened his mouth to retort.

Remus shrugged. "I'm not sure there's anything we should or even can do. Like I said, we don't have any idea who or what they were talking about. For all we know, they could have been discussing some healing potion for Rowle's uncle or something."

Sirius snorted. "That's likely," he muttered. Remus shot him an annoyed look.

"Well," Sadie sighed. "I guess that's that. For now, at least." She glanced at the door and shuddered. "The whole thing gives me the willies though."

James laughed and reached into his drawer to toss her a pair of his pajama bottoms. "Staying here tonight, I take it?"

"If you'll have me," she grinned sheepishly as she caught them. The boys each gave her thumbs up, and it wasn't long before the dorm was filled with the quiet snores of five teenagers.

The next morning found Sadie and Sirius making their way along the now familiar route to Rhea's paddock. Like most mornings, Sirius was grumbling about it being too early to be alive while Sadie joyfully took in their surroundings. The first birds of the morning were just starting to chirp and sing, and drops of dew kissed the foliage all around them. Without realizing she was doing it, Sadie began to hum quietly.

Sirius turned his head and gazed at her for moment. Her lips were curved upward into a soft smile, and her hazel eyes were shining with childlike wonder as she watched a nightingale swoop from tree to tree just ahead of them.

'How is it possible that there is a single soul who is not in love with this girl?' He thought to himself wistfully. She looked at him and gave him a questioning look.

"What?" She asked self-consciously.

Sirius felt his face heat up at having been caught staring, and he gave her a teasing grin to try and recover. "You're such a morning person. It's disgusting, really."

Sadie's jaw dropped for a moment before she gave him a playful shove. "You're disgusting!"

"Oh, well," Sirius responded dryly. "Guess you told me, oh Witty One."

"Oh, shut up," Sadie giggled, looping her arm through his. They continued on in companionable silence until they reached the clearing, at which point they both stopped in their tracks.

Rhea, for the first time ever, had moved. She was now resting in the corner nearest them and almost seemed to be waiting for them. At Sadie's sharp inhale of breath, the unicorn turned her head toward where they were standing and let out a quiet snort. Hesitantly, Sadie let go of Sirius and approached the creature.

"Hey, Rhea..." she murmured softly. "Hey, Baby Girl...It's me, Sadie. Sirius is here too. You know us, yeah?" Rhea whinnied nervously but didn't move. Sadie knelt down next to her. "You gonna let me touch you? What do you think?" She slowly reached out and placed her hand on Rhea's neck. The unicorn gave a small start, but made no attempt to get away. A smile spread across Sadie's face, and she turned to beckon to Sirius. He stared in awe at the scene before him and moved forward to run his hand along the small creature's body. After a few moments, Rhea relaxed and rested her head on Sadie's lap.