Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter or anything else you can recognize real or fictional. I make no profit from this story and it is purely for entertainment purposes. All real names and statuses are used fictionally.
Claimer: I do own my original characters, fanfiction plot, original works and anything else you don't recognise real or fictional.
Summary: Gideon and Fabian were supposed to die but Dorcas Meadowes changed their fates after hearing her mother predict their deaths. Dorcas and Gideon married in the middle of a war after Dorcas found out she was pregnant. She had two little girls during the war with little time between them.
WARNING: Torture, Mild Swearing, AU
NOTE: This is quickly made to describe my view on the Seer ability. I believe that there are different levels of Seer ability. A C level, the lowest level, would be like Professor Trelawney. A B level, middle level, would be like Inigo Imago. An A level, the highest level, would be like Professor Mopsus, Cassandra Vablatsky and Cassandra Trelawney. When a seer marries a muggle that is what muggles know as psychics or mediums.
"Don't Go,"
Cardiff, Wales was the only place in the world Dorcas Meadowes truly loved. Her Hogwarts years were fun and all but nothing beat home. She actually didn't mind living in a muggle neighbourhood. She actually liked it. No accident quaffles breaking windows, no weird pets and no man-eating plants. She did miss all of her friends.
It was a breezy December night. Dorcas had trouble falling asleep. Something wasn't right. She found herself nervous and anxious for no reason at all. Then a small cry alerted her to the fact she wasn't the only one not sleeping well.
Dorcas turned the light on in the nursery. Elizabeth was crying in her crib and had rolled herself over onto her belly. Alexandra, the older of the two, was crying because Elizabeth's crying had woke her up. Dorcas picked up Elizabeth and paced the nursery. Alexandra stopped crying and went back to sleep. Dorcas shook her head, Alexandra slept like a rock like her father.
"Izzy, what's the matter," cooed Dorcas. Her daughter just looked at her with big blue-green eyes. Dorcas already knew the answer. Elizabeth was a seer like Dorcas's mother. She didn't want to admit it though because that would be admitting something bad was going to happen.
Dorcas tensed up when she could hear the creaking of the front door. She put a silencing charm on her two daughters. She hid Elizabeth and Alexandra in the closet in a secret hideout under the floor boards. She then slowly travelled down the hallway wand drawn as she knew she could be walking into her death. Her mother had predicted she'd meet a sudden, untimely and tragic death.
Soon the living room was lighting up with bright flashes of green, red, blue, yellow, orange and purple. Dorcas was going to go without a fight. She had to fight for her daughters. She had to fight back against fate even if it was futile.
Then the curse hit her. It brought her to her knees screaming in pain. She couldn't feel anything but pain. She couldn't even think. Pain. All there was pain. She could hear a woman laughing. She knew that was Bellatrix Lestrange. She was going to die some sick twisted way.
It never seemed to end. It was to the point she no longer was thinking properly. She could no longer feel the pain. Everything was starting to go black. It was slowly fading away. She wanted to welcome the darkness but a nagging feeling told her she had to fight. That she was fighting for someone but she couldn't remember who anymore. She saw a small little toddler girl with medium red hair come crawl into the room. She felt an instant desire to protect the girl. She threw her body over the girl protecting her. She wouldn't let go of the little girl.
"Get away from her you bitch!" yelled a male voice. Two men with red hair suddenly appeared in the living room. Dorcas was barely aware of the surrounding world.
More voices but Dorcas couldn't place them. The little girl was crying. She reached out and put a hand on Dorcas face. The girl was so young. But who was she? Dorcas no longer knew.
"Mum-mum," cried the little girl repeating it several times. The nine month old little girl had just said her first word. Dorcas didn't light up with joy. Who was the girl calling mummy? She was so confused. Who was the little girl?
One of the red headed men scooped up the little girl and knelt down next to Dorcas. She moved away frightened of being hurt. She didn't want to feel any more pain. People caused pain. So she was afraid of people.
"Dorcas, its Gideon," said the man. Dorcas looked distantly at the man. Who was Gideon? Did she know this man? Who was he?
"Dory, it's your husband," pleaded Gideon the concern in his voice pure and desperate. Dorcas still looked at him blankly. What was a husband?
"Gideon," said the other redheaded man.
"Fabian, she's fine. She's just traumatized," told Gideon his voice shaky. He knew his wife was not okay. She was never going to be okay.
Everyone besides Fabian and Gideon went after the attackers leaving the family alone. Gideon slowly fell apart beginning to accept that his Dory was alive but let gone. He could see that she was alive but all emotion was gone from her eyes. He knew what insanity looked like. Fabian tried to comfort his brother but was pushed away. Fabian went down the hallway and retrieved the other little girl.
"It can't be! NO! I kill them! I kill them!" yelled Gideon putting the little girl in his arms done. He banged his fits into the ground. When that wasn't enough he began to throw furniture around.
The little girl's wails got louder and louder. She was terrified. She just been through a hell of a night. The yelling scared her. She hated yelling. Then all of a sudden one of the light bulbs exploded. This silenced her father. Her screams of fear and anger still continued. She had displayed her first magical abilities.
"Daddy," cooed the other little girl reaching for her father. Gideon's face slowly softened. He couldn't act like a boy. He had to be a man. A father. He had to be strong for his young daughters.
"It's okay Elizabeth. Daddy wasn't mad at you," soothed Gideon picking up the girl off the ground. She cried for several minutes before it turned into whimpers.
"Daddy! Daddy!" screeched the other little girl holding out her pudgy little arms kicking her uncle. He was barely able to keep hold of her.
"Alexandra your fine," said Gideon. Fabian handed Alexandra to Gideon unable to listen to the screaming in his ear. Gideon had one girl on one leg and the other on the other leg.
Next to each other it was hard to believe that Alexandra and Elizabeth were sisters. One would be sure there weren't sisters if it wasn't for their birth certificate. Alexandra had golden blond hair while Elizabeth had bright red hair. Alexandra had bright blue eyes while Elizabeth had blue-green eyes. Alexandra was twenty-three months while Elizabeth was nine-months old. Elizabeth had been a surprise but welcomed gift.
Healers from St. Mungo's took Dorcas away. Fabian took Elizabeth since Alexandra would scream every time he'd pick her up to St. Mungo's. Gideon took Alexandra. The waiting room was rather empty. The off-duty healers cooed over Alexandra and Elizabeth until Alexandra bite on of them so their attention went to Elizabeth who tried to hide by her uncle hating the attention.
"Girls! Get back to work!" ordered the one of the older healers. She felt like she was babysitting her co-workers.
"I'm sorry gentlemen. Young woman and babies," joked the elderly woman. She had frizzy long grey hair and hazel eyes. She had a mothering feeling to her despite her harsh attitude towards her co-workers.
"Well this one bite one of them so she got her revenge," said Gideon. She wasn't quite two-years-old. She had been a very stressful night. He didn't see the need to discipline her.
"Has that one been to a doctor yet?" asked the elderly woman pointing to Elizabeth who was trying to crawl back up in Fabian's lap. He picked her up and put him in her lap.
"Only the general doctor stuff. Why?" asked Gideon.
"We've all been briefed about what happed. It's one of those cases everyone needs to know about it. You should have them checked out to see if they'll need memory charms and to make sure they weren't injured at all," said the elderly healer leaving Fabian and Gideon to go chase after slaking co-workers.
The Head Healer walked over to Gideon and Fabien. She had a very serious look at her face and was rather pale looking. The Trauma Team that consisted of the best healers in the field was standing outside of Dorcas room talking to each other. It was a group of six members, three woman and three men.
"Which one of you is her husband?" asked the Head Healer.
"I am," told Gideon. He knew it wasn't good. He tried to keep his hopes up. But he knew what he saw in Dorcas's eyes. He saw nothing, just emptiness.
"It's not looking good Mr Prewitt. I'm not sure we will be able to help her. She has severe brain damage. She will always have memory problems to say the least. In my own personal experience I have never seen as case this bad. My personal opinion is that we will have to put her into the Spell Damage ward. I fear outside of here she could be a risk to herself, to you and to those kids," said the Head Healer.
Gideon took a deep breath. He had to put Alexandra on the floor next to Fabian and walk down the hallway and back. He couldn't believe this was happening. Why his sweet Dory? She'd never hurt anyone unless she had to. She didn't deserve this. It wasn't fair that a sweet and good person like Dorcas had a fate like this.
"Can you please check the girls for an injuries or tell us if they'll need memory charms?" asked Fabian. He wasn't sure where this money for all these hospital bills were going to come from. But he wanted his nieces to be happy and healthy as possible.
"Of course," said the Head Healer. She picked up and took away Alexandra first. Alexandra didn't cry until she saw her father down the hallway. He had to go into the examination room with her for her to stop crying.
When the Head Healer came back for Elizabeth she clung to Fabian. She wouldn't let go of his shirt. She screamed bloody murder. Fabian had never heard her scream like that before.
"Erm, sir you might have to come with," said the Head Healer.
"She's very done this before," said Fabian confused when Elizabeth was clinging to him not her father. He supposed her was a lot calmer then her father at the moment.
"She's been through a lot. She's clinging to a sense of normality. Which is you at the moment," said the Head Healer.
Fabian carried Elizabeth into the examination room. He put her on the examination table. She held her arms out to her uncle but he refused to pick her up. Which made her upset. That's when one the hospital overhanging lights exploded. The Head Healer protecting Fabian and Elizabeth from harm with the Protection Charm and repaired the light. It wasn't uncommon occurrence in St. Mungo's. She yelled out the hall that everything was fine just accidently magic.
"How old is she?" asked the Head Healer.
"Nine months. Born February 17, 1981," said Fabian.
"Only fourteen months between them," said the Head Healer shaking her head. She didn't understand why families had children so close in age. It was nice when they were older but the first few years were hell.
"We all were shocked," said Fabian with a chuckle.
"She doesn't have enough fat for memory charms. Was she premature?" asked the Head Healer.
"I'm pretty sure she was full-term. Dorcas never said anything about her being premature," said Fabian.
"She's healthy besides being underweight," said the Head Healer.
"Why would she need fat for a memory charm?" asked Fabian.
"When we use it on children they have to a certain amount of fat protecting their organs," explained the Head Healer.
"What else can you tell us magic wise? Should be expecting more exploding lights?" asked Fabian.
"She does have a very strong magical core. She will have outbursts like that until she's around four. She is also showing signs of being a seer. Though she is very young and hard to tell yet but she has nearly all the signs. Being underweight often is seen in babies with strong seer abilities due to lack of sleep and they are very picky eaters. They pick up on if an animal was mistreated before it became food or if a product came from a distressed animal," said the Head Healer.
Fabian sighed. He knew Dorcas's mother was a Type B seer, rather powerful for seer. He was worried about Gideon taking care of two young children so close in age alone with paying medical bills for Dorcas. Especially, when one of the children was a seer. Seer children required a lot of care and attention.
"Do you think mentally he can care for a seer child and another child close in age?" asked Fabian seriously.
"It's not my call to make but he is not ready to take on two children alone. Elizabeth is going to require a lot of care. She's going to have more medical care, feeding needs, attention and patience then the average magical child. She might scream for days on end, refuse to eat. She might collapse during one of her first few predictions. Due to the traumatic experience she has gone through she is going to require a lot of patience and gentleness," said the Head Healer.
Fabian wouldn't have asked if he wasn't worried. He did care about his brother and nieces deeply. He didn't want any of them not having what they needed. He didn't want to see his brother go into a depression like he did when their parents died or be unable to provide for both children finically. He only wanted to help.
Fabian took Elizabeth from the room and re-joined his brother and Alexandra. He knew he wanted to get a few words in to his brother before anyone else did. He knew Gideon would listen the best to him. The last thing he wanted to do is bring the wizarding community into family affairs.
"Gid, listen to me for a few minutes," said Fabian. Gideon look at his brother expectantly.
"Elizabeth is showing signs of being a seer. Dorcas and her are both going to rack up a lot of expenses. How are you going to do this?" asked Fabian.
"This just keeps getting better," said Gideon rubbing a hand through his hair.
"I'm just worried about you," said Fabian.
"I know I'm a mess. Alex won't let anyone but me hold her so I can't even give her to Molly for a few days. She's become a bit of little monster but I can't deal with that right now," said Gideon.
"So what are you saying?" asked Fabian. He understood Gideon was in a hard place at the moment. But it was only a matter of time before Molly and Arthur arrive.
"I want either you or Molly to take Elizabeth for now. Maybe have Molly take her for a while until you figure out what you are going to do," sighed Gideon. He knew he wasn't going to be able to take care of two kids, one with a more demanding upbringing and care for his disabled wife. He also knew Molly and Arthur didn't have a lot of money either.
"Molly can take care of her for now. I'll get a stable non-deadly job, a house and have a lifestyle change then I'll take care of Elizabeth. We will keep the girls close but it's for the best," said Fabian.
"I know it is," said Gideon. He felt horrible for 'giving up' Elizabeth. But she'd be with her uncle. He'd be able to give her things he couldn't with how finically stressed he is going to be. It wasn't fair to either of the girls to have him so far finically stressed they won't get their other needs filled. With only one child to care for he'll be able to find a way to make it work.
Right on cue, Molly and Arthur arrived. Moly engulfed Fabian and Elizabeth then Gideon and Alexandra. Arthur tried to act strong but Fabian could see he was upset by the news too. Arthur knew how easily it could have been Molly instead of Dorcas. It was hard for any of them to be strong at the moment.
"How is she?" asked Molly her voice breaking. She looked tired and worn. Her four-month-old baby girl kept her awake all night many nights of the week. Plus her one and half year old was very clingy during the day. The twins were always getting into things they shouldn't. The older three boys behave for the most part but they were boys.
"It isn't good. The Head Healer told me she will be better off in the Spell Damage ward," said Gideon. There was no emotion to his voice. He was too scared to feel emotions. He didn't want to scare anyone. He had remain emotionless to be calm.
"Oh Gideon," cried Molly hugging her brother. Alexandra squirmed to get away. She didn't want to be hugged.
"Then I was just told that Elizabeth is a seer," sighed Gideon. He felt so over-whelmed. He knew seer abilities were genetic and that Dorcas's mother was a seer. He just felt like everything was happening all at once.
"Merlin, are they sure? She's so young?" asked Arthur knowing some about the seer abilities. He did take divination at Hogwarts, for stupid reasons. He did however understand how the gift was passed on and how a seer was diagnosed.
"The Head Seer did say that but she has all of the signs already. Chances are is a seer and if they are right she is going to be a powerful one. Seers don't usually show signs of their ability at such a young age," explained Fabian. He didn't need to tell his brother-in-law and sister about how costly a seer can be, they knew. St. Mungo's teaches new parents this but the teachings had been somewhat lacking since the war started.
"Gideon, what are you going to do? Dorcas's bills are going to be ghastly and young seers cost a lot of money. They need a lot of things," gasped Molly. She honestly felt for Gideon. He was so young and had so much reasonability now. She had seven children and she knew how hard to was to provide for a child. But when a child needs more than a regular child it can be stressful and finically a nightmare.
"Fab and I were just talking about that. I decided it would be best that Fab takes Elizabeth. He doesn't have any other children to tend to and will be able to provide for Elizabeth. She is also quite attached to him," said Gideon. This was so hard for him to say. Part of him wanted to keep Elizabeth but that would be selfish. He would hurt her in the long run. She already acted so much like Dorcas. Could he really live with a mini-version of Dorcas? Yes, Alexandra looked more like Dorcas but that was different. Elizabeth was going to talk, walk and act the same.
"Are you sure of this?" asked Molly a bit shocked. Gideon was doing something no father should have to do. She couldn't imagine giving up one of her kids to even a family member.
"Yes it's better for Elizabeth," affirmed Gideon. He kept telling himself that. But he knew that Elizabeth wasn't going to see him as her dad if he did but part of him felt very sad by that but knew sometimes the hardest choices or are best choices.
"She's going to be very confused on who her father is," said Arthur.
"Let her believe what she wants. Chances are she will think Fabian is her father but I'm okay with that I suppose. Some things are better left as forgotten family secrets," said Gideon.
Everyone was shocked by this. They were all supposed to let her believe she is Fabian's child. Well, she did look like she could be. She had his nose. It sounded so wrong.
"How are you two going to raise kids? Your job is too dangerous to be single parents. A flat is no place to raise a child," asked Molly. She would not let her nieces leave more than a few weeks in a flat.
"I'm taking Alex back to the flat. She won't stay with anyone else. She would through a fit at the moment," said Gideon. He didn't really know what Fabian's ideas were. His own mind was in overdrive.
"Well, Molly I was hoping you and Arthur could take Elizabeth for a while until I get my life organized," said Fabian. He had to get a new job. Buy a home. Tell his girlfriend what is going on. Change his lifestyle. It was a lot of change.
"Of course we will! What's one more child," said Molly. She didn't even think twice. Ginny had her up most nights anyways. She had seven kids what harm would one more child do.
"Why not? We already have seven kids, one more really couldn't be much different," said Arthur. It was one more mouth to feed and she was going to need a lot of care. But Arthur knew it was right thing to do. He loved children. They could handle one more child.
Molly took Elizabeth from Fabian. She fussed a bit. But now clung to Molly. She rubbed her eyes. She was exhausted.
"I'll get all of her things from the Dorcas's house to you two soon as possible," told Gideon. He wanted to get this over fast as possible. He didn't want to change his mind. He didn't want to go back on his word.
Molly left with Elizabeth to relive Helena Lovegood from babysitting her herd of children. Fabian left to begin his change his life. Arthur stayed for a few minutes. Gideon was getting ready to leave after setting up the first few months of care for Dorcas.
"Gideon," said Arthur trying to get the attention of his son-in-law. He knew Gideon had to hear advice from a father. The young man was in desperate need of advice.
"Yes Arthur," said Gideon while signing the last bit of paperwork.
"Any guy can raise a child but it takes a real man to do what is best for his child," said Arthur. He admired Gideon's strength and courage in deciding to let Fabian raise his daughter. He knew that couldn't be a hard choice. But had a feeling it was the right choice.
"Thank you Arthur. It takes a true man to raise an army of kids the right way," said Gideon. He admired Arthur love, compassion and fearlessness. He was taking on a child for a while that wasn't his. Plus he already had a herd of children and he was taking one even more children. It was impressive.
Arthur patted Gideon on the back. He apparated to his Burrow. It was a full home and that's how he liked it. Full of love, happiness and positivity. He never could have a bad day with seven, correction now eight, gleaming young faces beaming at him whenever he came home from work.
Thank you for reading and please review. This is my first fanfiction in a very long time. Let me know if I missed any mistakes.