the beach

Sage's eyes fluttered open. Her head was pounding, it took her a moment to process what was going on. Harry was standing in the corner. It hit her, she was no longer at the Malfoy's. She was free. "Harry?" She questioned, as she sat up.

"Sage," he said quietly. "Feeling better?"

"My head feels like it's gonna explode..." she mumbled, looking at him. This was the first conversation Sage and Harry were able to hold. That wasn't them arguing. At least since Dumbledore died.

He nodded. "Well, you put up a fight. At least that's what Ollivander said."

She nodded. "What's the plan?" She asked.

"The plan?"

"Yeah, to get the rest of the Horcruxes?" She questioned. "You know?"

"Oh right," he said. "Uh. Cmon."

Harry pushed the door open and walked out, Sage got up to follow him. They were greeted by Ron and Hermione.

Hermione had a string of hair in her hand. "You sure that's hers?" Ron asked.

"Positive," Hermione said. Ron took the strand of hair from her.

"How do we know what it is when we get in there?" Ron asked, looking at the other three. "Horcruxes can be anything."

Harry sighed and looked down. "I'll know."

"How?" Sage asked.

He shook his head. "I don't know how to explain it," he told them.

Suddenly Fleur came into view. "This is the closest to what I could find by what you described," she said, Hermione turned around.

"Perfect," she said. "Thank you, Fleur."

Bill was standing in the distance, and Fleur walked over to him. "You're leaving aren't you?" Bill asked.

"In the morning," Ron told him.

"And Griphook?" He asked.

"He's coming with us," Harry told him.

"Listen, I know Goblins. If you struck any kind of bargain with Griphook. You must be exceptionally careful to live up to it," Bill explained. "If you don't, he won't be forgiving."

Sage nodded. "Okay," she said.

—

Sage sighed, resting her head on her head. Ron was sitting across from her. "You alright?" He asked, glancing at her.

"My head is killing me," she mumbled and nodded. "But yeah I'm fine."

Ron bit his lip. "I'm sorry we didn't find you earlier—"

She shook her head. "No," she interrupted. "It isn't your fault."

"Sage..."

"Ron stop, it isn't your fault, alright?" She told him. "I'm okay, I'm alive."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah... right," he said. "So Elizabeth's... alive."

Elizabeth. She had nearly forgotten. Her mind was elsewhere. "Fuck," she mumbled. "Yeah, I guess she is. She's a death eater..."

Ron tilted his head. "Why?"

She shrugged. "As if I know," she told him. "I really trusted her, she was my friend."

"She was a friend to all of us, Sage," he admitted. "I mean I thought she was a good person. We've known her since we were 11."

She sighed and buried her face in her hands for a moment. "I hate this."

"Hey... hey," Ron said softly. "It's gonna be okay... once this war is over— everything will be easy."

"I hope you're right, Ron," she said quietly. "I really hope you are."

"You and Malfoy will get married and all that stuff, then live a happy ever after," he told her, a small smile on his face.

She looked at him and shook her head, with a smile. "Jesus Ron," she said. Her smile faltered for a moment. "Do you ever feel like, you're going crazy?"

He slowly shook his head. "No... not really."

Sage chuckled lightly. "Thank you for... talking with me," she mumbled.

He nodded. "Of course. You're like a sister to me," he told her, another smile growing across his face.

She smiled at him. "Thinks Harry will forgive me anytime soon?" She asked.

He shrugged. "I'm not sure, I hope so," he said. "I see where he's coming from. But he didn't let you even explain yourself."

"I hope so too..." she admitted. "It's what my dad would want... and everyone else."

"What do you mean?"

"James Potter and Remus Lupin's kids?" She pointed out. "Destined to be the best of friends, since they were."

He shook his head. "Bloody hell, it's never been like that anyways. You've always been best friends with Seamus and Dean. Then Harry with well... us. Hermione and I."

She shrugged. "I dunno, Ron."

There was a knock at the door and he bit his lip. "I have a surprise for you, someone."

"What? Someone?" She asked. Ron got up and started walking towards the door. She expected Draco, and if not Seamus or Dean.

But it wasn't. It was Cho. The familiar Ravenclaw girl stood in the doorway. "Cho?" She questioned, smiling.

"Hey Sage," she said, Sage immediately hugged her.

"How are you here?" She asked as she pulled away.

"Took a lot, that's for sure," Ron said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Everything is hell Sage, I'm glad to just get a bit of a break," she told her. "How've you been?"

"Stressed, tired. Shit's been crazy that's saying the least," she explained.

She nodded. "Yeah well, we're in a war right now."

"How are Seamus and Dean? Have you heard anything about them?"

She shook her head. "No I haven't" she said. "Been hiding out at home for a while."

Sage sighed. "I haven't heard from them, not sure if they're allowed to send letters."

"I doubt it, with everything that's going on there."

"What do you mean?" Sage asked.

"With the death eaters, taking over Hogwarts and everything."

"Right... that's right. I forgot. I stopped going back after Christmas break," she explained. "Was already useless, I wasn't learning anything."

"Fair enough. Carrows are a piece of shit then?"

Sage nodded. "You wouldn't believe it. And Snape running it all is absolutely horrible. It's all about discriminating against anyone besides the Slytherins. Lots of kids didn't return either, smart of them."

A/N:
Bruh this chapter sucks I'm sorry. I'm like sick right now and it's hard to find the motivation to right but I wanted to update.