She Traitor

Sarah was still mulling over the questions from the test when she left the Great Hall. She wasn’t sure how she had done, but it didn’t matter now—because as soon as she crossed the threshold, she found herself between Barty and Pandora. It was strange how quickly and in a coordinated way they had joined her. As if they had been arranged in advance.

It took her only a moment to understand why. A quick glance over her shoulder was all it took to see James. He was standing there, still, his jaw set, his eyes watching her. She knew that look. And she also realized that what was happening now was no accident. Pandora and Barty hadn’t just come to her. It was protection.

She said nothing. She didn’t want to discuss it. So when Pandora began to speak in a light tone, she was glad to take it.

"So, how did you answer that question about recognizing a werewolf?" Pandora asked with a smile.

Sarah winked at her. "Honestly, I was expecting something like an unnatural attraction to chocolate to come up." She noticed that this was the case with Remus.

Pandora laughed, her laugh light and carefree. They both knew the truth about Remus, but neither of them said it out loud. It was something between them, an unspoken joke that sounded like normal conversation.

But Barty wasn't particularly interested in their conversation. Suddenly, he grabbed them both and wordlessly led them away, without giving them a chance to protest. Sarah glanced back at her brother. James was still there. And Sirius too. But while James's eyes were angry, Sirius... Sirius looked hurt.

But before she could think about it, they found themselves at the group of Slytherins.  Rabastan, Evan, and Regulus sat together with Dorcas Meadowes, who was leaning comfortably against the stone wall. As Sarah moved closer, she realized something strange—her tension, the constant tightness in her chest she had felt since she had seen James, had disappeared.

Regulus, as usual, seemed perfectly calm. He held a book in his hands, his fingers running casually over the pages, but Sarah knew he had noticed her arrival. He always did.

Dorcas turned to her. "How did you feel about the tests? I remember there were three curses last year."

Sarah gave her a quick smile. "It was fine. The werewolf question could have been more interesting."

Dorcas cocked her head to the side. "More interesting? How? Were you planning on writing something creative?"

Pandora chuckled. "I bet there's chocolate in there somewhere."

Sarah smiled, but she was barely listening. Something made her look back at the Gryffindor group again. She knew it would only hurt her, but she needed to know how she was doing with James. And it wasn't the best.

James was still standing there. His gaze fixed on her. And then—he turned on his heel and left.

But it wasn't James who had made her hold her breath longer than necessary. It was Sirius.

Before James disappeared, Sarah caught a glimpse of his face. The moment he'd realized he was there, with them. That she was with Regulus Black, the heir to the Black family and his brother. And that look... it wasn't just anger. It was  Betrayal. Pure disappointment.

Sarah looked down. She suddenly didn't feel like laughing.

Regulus set the book down on his knee, his gaze sweeping over the scene before him, then turned casually to Sarah. He seemed to know exactly where she was looking.

"With your brother's personality, he'd rather forget that this happened. Ignore him just like he'll ignore you." he said in an icy calm tone. But he wasn't hostile, yet it was a far from the tone he had used to speak to her when they had walked into the kitchen together that night. "Your brother will recover."

Sarah looked up at him. "It's not just about James," she said quietly.

Regulus studied her for a moment, then shrugged casually. "And Sirius? He'll either come to terms with it or not. But don't expect him to bow down to you for allowing you to have a mind of your own."

Sarah pursed her lips. She had always admired Regulus' calmness, but sometimes it drove her crazy. How could he have thrown it off the table so easily?

"But it used to be different," she said, looking down at her shoes. "This whole... me, here.  With you all.”

“And now it’s like this,” he replied simply.

Sarah sighed. “That’s not helping me.”

Regulus smiled slightly, leaned closer to her, and in a voice that was quiet but firm, he said,

“It’s helping you more than you think.”

Sarah blinked. For a split second, she thought she heard something in his voice that shouldn’t have been there. Something she definitely shouldn’t have been imagining. But before she could answer, someone else had broken into their little bubble.

“So that’s it?” a voice filled with suppressed anger said.

Sarah flinched and turned. Benji Fenwick stood a few feet away, his face red with rage, his hands clenched into fists. There was a fire in his eyes that could easily turn into something worse.

Sarah had known him long enough to know that under normal circumstances he would have probably exploded. But something held him back.

Her gaze automatically slid to Regulus. He sat perfectly still, his hands resting loosely on his book, not a hint of tension. Yet there was something about his stance, his icy gaze, that said enough.

Benji had noticed it too. The muscles in his jaw tightened, but in the end he said nothing. He just turned on his heel and walked away.

Sarah watched him disappear into the crowd.

“You did it, didn’t you?” she said finally, turning back to Regulus.

“Me?” he raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you overestimating me a little?”

Sarah studied him for a moment, then sighed and shook her head. “No, not at all.”

He didn’t answer.  He just stared at her for a long moment before returning to his book, as if the whole situation wasn't even worth paying attention to.

But Sarah knew the truth.

Because every time she'd been on the brink of disaster, every time her world had started to fall apart... he'd been there. Not at other times, they were basically complete strangers. But he'd helped her more than anyone else in Gryffindor had.

Regulus Black was her rock. Whether he wanted to or not.

Pandora watched the whole scene with quiet amusement. It was fascinating to watch how things were changing between Sarah and Regulus, subtly but noticeably. Perhaps neither of them realized it, but to someone who knew them as well as she did, it was obvious.

Mabye Regulus knew, but Sarah did not.

Finally, Dorcas leaned over and said, gritting her teeth, "I think we should leave the boys for a while. What do you say, Sarah? Lake sounds like a good idea.”

Sarah, still processing the previous conversation, looked at her and nodded after a moment. “Yeah… that sounds great, actually.”

Evan snorted and leaned back more comfortably on the back of the bench. “So you’re leaving us to our fate?” he said in a slightly hurt tone, his gaze sliding to Barty. “That means we have to find some entertainment of our own.”

Dorcas shot him an amused look. “Please, Rosier, you always find one.”

“That’s true,” Evan admitted with an innocent smile. “But it’s always better with two, isn’t it, Barty?”

Barty looked up from his book. He's still rading that book Sarah gave him , as if he were joining the conversation only out of necessity. “I have no idea what you’re getting at, but if it means another punishment, by all means count me in.”

Evan shrugged.  "I'm not a prankster, Bartemius. I just wanted to say that if you ever get bored, you know where to find me."

Dorcas rolled her eyes. "You two are a scary combination."

Rabastan, who had been watching the conversation with amusement, crossed his legs and looked at Regulus with a faint smile. "What about you? Are you okay with Potter being taken away from us?"

Regulus didn't even look up from his book, he just calmly turned the page. "I don't see any reason why I shouldn't be."

Rabastan grinned. "Well, you never know. Anything can happen on the grounds."

Regulus finally looked up and gave him a blank look. "I'm sure Sarah can handle it."

Rabastan just briefly raised his hands in a gesture of innocence.  “Of course, I have no doubt about that.”

Sarah turned to Pandora, who grinned at her slightly and tugged on her sleeve. “Shall we go? Before these three decide to invent another disaster?”

Sarah nodded, but before she turned to leave, out of the corner of her eye she caught Regulus looking up from his book for a moment. It wasn’t a long look, nor was it particularly expressive. But it was there.

•••

Sarah knew that Dorcas would only be at school with them for the next year. The thought of her leaving then gave her a strange feeling that she couldn’t quite describe. But she didn’t want to think about the future right now—she wanted to enjoy the moment, as they walked aimlessly around the lake, laughing and just chatting.

Dorcas had slipped away from the group a few minutes ago and found herself hanging out with Marlene, who was hanging out with Lily and Mary. Sarah watched as Marlene blinked at her in surprise, unable to immediately respond to her casual flirtation. Lily just rolled her eyes in amusement, and Mary giggled quietly into her hand.

“Do you think Marlene will ever return it?” Pandora asked quietly next to her.

Sarah laughed. “Honestly? I don’t think she’ll have the courage to.  Dorcas always freaks her out.”

Pandora nodded, and for a moment they just watched the scene before them. The wind played with the surface of the lake, the sun reflected off the waves, and the air was saturated with the lightness of approaching summer.

Sarah took a breath and exhaled slowly. “You know, this school year has been the best I’ve ever had.”

Pandora turned her head to her and smiled. “Yeah? What’s that?”

Sarah thought for a moment. “I don’t know,” she finally said honestly. “Maybe it’s because I’ve finally stopped feeling like I have to belong somewhere.”

Pandora watched her for a moment, then shrugged. “Maybe it’s because you’ve finally realized that you belong where you want to be. Not where others think you should.”

Sarah smiled. Maybe there was something to that. She had known this for a while. Maybe she had known it since the moment she and James had argued. Maybe she had known it even before. But only now, with the feeling finally sinking into her mind, did she allow herself to truly admit it.

There was no version of the future in which she would return to Potter Manor and feel at home there.

She had loved the place before. It had been the fortress of her childhood, a house full of light and laughter and warmth. A place where friends gathered, where Christmas was celebrated, where she sat in the library while her mother read, and where James was always dragging her on adventures.

But something had changed. And maybe it wasn't the place itself, it was her.

Yes, it was her.

Now, when she imagined herself going back there, all she saw were images that stung like thorns. The tension in James’s jaw as he looked at her. The silence between them that was heavier than any words. Her father’s gaze, not angry, just quiet disappointment.

No, she didn’t belong there.

And maybe… maybe she hadn’t belonged for a long time. Maybe she just refused to accept that everything was changing.

And maybe that was how it was meant to be.