Chapter 22

William always ran around Hogwarts in the morning for exercise. Sage knew the route he took and that was where the kiss would take place. It was early in the morning when Sage and George walked down to where William would pass by. Sage was extremely nervous. George was anxious. They reached the spot with five minutes to spare. Sage's eyes darted around.  George stole a sidelong glance at Sage as she nervously looked around for William. They had positioned themselves so that they could see him before he could see them. Sage's cheeks were flushed from the early morning cold. George tried to dissipate the tension.

"I see you're nervous for our kiss, eh?"he said, winking. "Completely understandable, what with my good looks and charms and all."

Sage shot him a murderous glare.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, raising his hands in a shower of surrender. " Just trying to lighten the mood, is all."

Sage started to pace nervously. George kept watch for William since Sage was clearly too nervous to do a good job of it. It was a few minutes later when he heard the sound of brisk jogging. It sounded far off but was rapidly coming closer.

"Sage!" George hissed. "William is coming!"

Sage whirled around, her stomach bursting with anxious butterflies.

"Are you ready?" George asked, stepping closer to Sage.

Sage hesitated, unsure if she really wanted to break it off with William this way. But her hesitation was a mistake. William burst out of the line of trees, jogging at a quick pace. However, when he saw Sage and George, he skidded to a halt, sparing up tin rocks. Breathing hard, he suspiciously narrowed his eyes.

"What are you doing here, Sage?" William huffed out, walking towards Sage. He bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Sage didn't move. Her mind was racing; she was angry with herself for ruining everything. She decided to just make it up as she went along.

"Just out for a walk," she said breezily.

"With him?" William asked, shifting his gaze to George. "You could have asked me to go with you, love."

"I didn't want to," she said simply.

William gaped at her. George decided to take his leave, knowing Sage could handle William without him around.

"I'll see you around, Sage," he said, giving her a wink and walking away.

William saw the wink and turned around to glare at George's retreating back.

"No, you won't be seeing her around," he called out to George.

"Actually, yes he will," interrupted Sage.

William turned to face her, an incredulous look on his face.

"Excuse me?" There was a spark of anger in his eyes. "Sage, dear, I don't want you anywhere near that fellow."

"And who are you to control me?" asked Sage, her temper flaring.

"Your boyfriend," William retorted. "And I don't want you to spend anymore time with that boy. Surely you understand, don't you? Listen to me, alright sweetheart? I'm your boyfriend."

Sage's face suddenly broke into a sweet smile. William smiled too, thinking he had won the argument.

"Not anymore, you're not."

William's grin faltered and he frowned a little as if he wasn't sure he had heard correctly.

"I beg your pardon?" he ventured timidly.

"Oh, you heard me." Sage said, the smile still plastered upon her face. "We're done. Over."

William staggered backwards as if he had been hit. His smile had dropped from his face; a look of confusion and devastation was etched into his handsome features.

"W-w-why?" he stammered out.

Sage gawked at him, unable to take it anymore. William sure had some nerve, pretending he didn't know why she was breaking up with him.

"Why?" she exploded. "Why? You filthy, lying, deceitful, pathetic arse!"

Sage started to advance upon William, who backed away fearing for his life.

"You sneak around behind my back with Luce and then you ask why I'm breaking up with you?"

Sage got so angry that she whipped out her wand and pointed it at the boy's pale, trembling face.

"What have you got to say for yourself, William?" she nearly screeched.

William gently put a hand on Sage's wand arm, but she sent him a glare so venomous that he quickly withdrew his hand. He spoke in a soft voice.

"I know this explanation won't do much good to fix our relationship, but I was extremely drunk that night. I--"

Sage interrupted with a hiss.

"You seemed sober enough when your hands were ravishing Luce's waist," she said, glaring at William. "As well as when you were talking to her. I didn't hear you slur once."

The remaining color drained from William's face when he realized that Sage must have witnessed him cheating on her. He opened his mouth to speak, but Sage didn't let him.

"Not another lie out of you," she spat out. "Don't ever talk to me again, you hear? If you do, you will regret it."

And with that, she lowered her wand and walked past William, knocking into him with her elbow. He turned to watch her go, at a loss for words.

To Sage's surprise, George walked into view mere moments after her final words to William. She thought that George had left, but he had only hidden behind a bush. She offered him a small smile to let him know that everything was alright. George strode towards her with a smile of his own. He had a twinkle in his eyes. With William watching, he grabbed Sage by the arms and pulled her in close.

Still clutching her arms, George gazed down at her for a moment before winking. Confused, Sage arched an eyebrow. Then, George leaned down and kissed her.

Sage stood there for only a moment before kissing him back. George let go of her arms and wrapped his strong arms around her waist. Sage wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him. Kissing George was different than she thought it would be.

His lips were soft against hers but moved with a passion that had been bottled up for several months. Sage felt an odd emotion stir within her but ignored it, unable to figure out what it was. She left herself enjoy the kiss.

With a furious roar, William charged towards them, hellbent on stopping their heated embrace. He shoved George away from Sage and fumbled for his wand. He pulled it out just as George drew back his fist and hit William across the face. Sage shouted for them to stop, but they paid her no attention. William stumbled backwards and dropped his wand. Swearing furiously, he turned to face George. His nose was bleeding; it seemed to be broken because George had hit him with such anger. William wiped away the blood that was flowing down his face. Sage watched in horror as William picked up his wand and pointed it at George.

"Crucio!" bellowed William. However, Sage had jumped in front of George right before William had spoken the Unforgivable Curse. She had hoped that William would stop when he saw her, but he didn't. Not until it was too late. Sage collapsed onto the ground, screaming and writhing in pain. Her entire body was in a massive amount of pain: it felt like every bone in her body was on fire. Sage could barely breathe; her lungs felt as if they were being crushed by a mountain troll's foot. All along her body, from head to toe, was the sensation of being stabbed repeatedly by knives with serrated edges.

Sage was vaguely aware of two boys hovering over her. She barely registered George sending up multiple red sparks in an attempt to call for help. She could only hear her own ragged breathing and see the red haze that had settled over her vision. Even though William had immediately stopped casting the Curse, the pain didn't stop right away. Soon, teachers and other students started to rush into the clearing they were in. But once again, Sage barely noticed. The pain had subsided, but her whole entire body was throbbing. Tears leaked out of her eyes.

Someone, a teacher, perhaps, made Sage levitate and started the trek to the hospital wing. The students started whispering among themselves. The last thing Sage saw before her vision fell dark was George and William, walking apart from each other. The boys were following whoever was taking Sage up to the castle. More tears dropped from Sage's eyes until they closed, allowing her to fall into a restless slumber.