Howling wind and rain lashing against the window roused Hestia from her already fitful sleep. She stirred, her arm reflexively stretching to the other side of the bed, only to stop abruptly when she encountered naught but the bedclothes tossed and furled during her restless sleep. Tears immediately pricked her eyes when she realized that the stretch of bed next to her was cold and empty—as it would always be now. Unable to stop herself, she crawled to the once-occupied space and drew the pillow close to her body, inhaling deeply the lingering scent of the man that had, until recently, slept next to her. She allowed the memories of him to flow through her mind as the tears that had threatened fell from her eyes in earnest. It wasn't supposed to end this way...

.

"Prewett!"

Mad-Eye Moody's barked exclamation caused Hestia to jump closer to Emmeline.

"Not you, boy, the other Prewett. Gideon! Come stand next to Jones, here."

Hestia edged still closer to Emmeline to make room for the man that was to come stand next to her. There had been many recent inductees to the Order of the Phoenix, herself included, and Dumbledore wanted a picture taken to proudly show off their ranks. Mad-Eye was becoming impatient—not that it seemed to take much to send him into a temper—at the constant prank-pulling, mischief-making behavior of the younger men of the Order as he was trying to make sure everyone was positioned so they'd be seen in the photo. He'd gone so far as to threaten the next person who didn't follow his instructions with one of his more colorful hexes.

"How could you possibly think that was a good idea?" Mad-Eye growled at a smiling Sirius Black as he flicked his wand to cast the counter-jinx to put Peter Pettigrew back to rights. "Finer wizards than you have lost more than just buttocks when fooling around with their wand."

As Hestia leaned in to ask Emmeline whether Mad-Eye was as terrifying as he seemed, a masculine voice asked, "Are you Jones?"

Hestia turned from Emmeline to look at the man who'd spoken to her. Gideon Prewett wasn't much taller than her and had a stocky yet muscular build. She thought his warm brown eyes and ruffled bright red hair went well with his easy smile.

"Sorry?"

Gideon's smile broadened. "I wanted to make sure you were the Jones Mad-Eye was banging on about. I don't fancy being turned into a slug if I didn't follow his directions."

His grin made her heart skip a beat. "You can call me Hestia."

.

The way his eyes had lingered on hers after they had shaken hands had made it feel as though Hestia had just downed a dose of Euphoria Elixir. She was sure that she had been smiling like a fool moments later when the camera flashed. Over the next several weeks, she watched Gideon at Order meetings, daring to speak to him a few times. Briefly, of course; the last thing she'd wanted was to seem daft as a bush. It was almost too good to be true that she'd finally met a fanciable wizard. With the responsibilities of being the first year out of her Healer Apprenticeship along with Order duties, it was certainly not easy to meet new people. Perhaps this was the chance she had been patiently waiting for. She was certainly tired of waiting, dreaming someone would come along.

.

"Merlin, isn't he gorgeous?" Hestia whispered. "Do you suppose it's too much to hope he's single?" She'd leaned in close to Emmeline while the object of her query gave his report to Dumbledore at their weekly Order meeting.

"You're the one with an ear for gossip," Emmeline whispered back. "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out since you've been mooning over him for a fortnight."

"I've exhausted all resources at the hospital," Hestia replied with a sigh.

"Anything you care to share, Miss Jones?"

Hestia sat up to attention when she heard Dumbledore's voice address her. "I was just telling Emmeline that I'd exhausted all resources at the hospital this week and still haven't been able to find anything that supports what Gideon was just saying," Hestia said, glad for her quick recovery.

"Indeed," Dumbledore replied, his mustache twitching, indicating a slight smile. "In that case, you should continue your query on the subject."

Fighting the blush that was slowly creeping up her neck, threatening to bring more color to her already pink cheeks, Hestia had the sneaking suspicion that the Headmaster saw right through the load of tosh she'd just delivered. She wondered if his awareness went so far as to know she fancied the handsome wizard who had just been reporting what he'd learned on the Dark Wizard activity surrounding a ring of wizards dealing illegal potion ingredients.

Her eyes flitted to Gideon Prewett sitting beside his brother, and her heart sped when she met his eyes. She found herself smiling in response to his grin, but looked away quickly.

"I think you should join the group this week when they go to the pub after the meeting," Emmeline murmured. "It's time you went straight to the source for your gossip."

Hestia chanced a quick glance back to where Gideon was sitting and found his brown eyes still watching her, a ghost of a smile still present. Perhaps she would finally make good on the open invitation for a visit to the pub after the meeting.

.

The sweet memory of their early attraction made her heart ache in response. Clutching his vacant pillow, Hestia remembered how she had joined the group that night at Emmeline's suggestion and had been delighted when Gideon had stolen Sirius' seat when the man had gotten up to use the loo. They'd chatted easily, and she had learned that he was indeed single. He'd kissed her tenderly after seeing her home that night, and from then on, they were together whenever work or Order duties hadn't kept them apart. And when duty kept them apart, coming back to each other felt like coming home.

.

Hestia's eyes fluttered open when she felt the bed dip and the covers pulled back. She smiled sleepily as a strong arm slid around her waist and drew her close. A low groan of approval rumbled against her back when Gideon's hand ran the length of her body to find that there was nothing separating their skin but the thin fabric of his boxer shorts.

"I hope you were waiting for me, love," he said before trailing kisses across her bare shoulder. "Not some other bloke."

Hestia smiled at the sentiment. It was as close as the pair had gotten to admitting their feelings for one another out loud.

"I was hoping you'd be back tonight," Hestia replied, sighing as Gideon's fingers softly traced circles on her abdomen before trailing lower.

"I'd have told Mad-Eye to leave off if he'd made us stake-out another night."

Hestia couldn't find words to form a reply as she focused on the soft caresses of Gideon's hands. Soon his gentle teasing had her turning in his arms, her mouth finding his. They kissed passionately as their need for each other took over. Although gentle as ever, he made love to her urgently, as if he'd just been told it would be the last time they would be together.

Hestia blinked back tears and smoothed Gideon's fiery red hair off his forehead before he lowered it to hers, both of them still breathing rapidly in the wake of their passion.

"I've not told you I love you," he whispered, his forehead still resting on hers.

She swallowed thickly and asked, "Do you?"

Gideon straightened his arms so he could look down into her face. "I do," he said seriously. "I feel like the world's gone mad, and...It's because of you I can carry on, do what needs to be done so I can come home."

"I love you too," Hestia whispered, unable to keep a few tears from falling as she gazed into his eyes as he lowered his head to kiss her gently.

"I want you to be mine," Gideon murmured, pulling back only slightly to look at Hestia intently.

"I am yours."

"Forever," he said with a small smile. "I want you to be mine forever."

.

Missions became more dangerous, Order members fell, but Hestia and Gideon quietly dreamed of their future. It seemed like every week they lost someone, but it didn't keep them from wondering what their life would be like after the War. Sometimes it felt wrong to think of the future when faced with death and tragedy at every turn, but they all had hope that You-Know-Who would be defeated one day—and that felt right. Hope was what kept them all moving forward.

.

Hestia had scarcely landed her Apparition before she began jogging through the garden toward the back door of the Burrow, her pace quickening as she recalled the urgent tone of Emmeline's voice in her Patronus message. She yanked her lime-green Healer's robes free from the grasp of an errant branch of shrubbery and hurried through the gate, pulling the back door open sharply when she reached it.

She knew Gideon and Fabian had been out on a mission—Dumbledore had sent them out hastily the day before after intelligence had come in about the location of a Death Eater hide-out. The Prewett brothers could take care of themselves; this was a well-known fact amongst both Order members and their enemies. She was holding fast to this fact—just as she always was when Gideon was sent on a mission—as she pushed her way into the kitchen.

"Why's it so quiet?" Hestia asked breathlessly, looking around the kitchen as she sat her bag on the large scrubbed wooden table.

Usually, if they called her in after a mission, it was to help heal some sort of injury, and there was a maelstrom of Order members crammed into whatever location they'd decided on for safe-house. Her heart pounded as she realized that this was the first time The Burrow had been used as a safe-house; she'd been to the Weasley home a number of times, but because she was involved with Molly's younger brother, not due to Order business.

Hestia looked up to see Emmeline and Mad-Eye watching her. "Well?" she asked impatiently, wondering why the two of them were simply staring at her. "Are they not back yet?"

After a few moments of tense silence, Mad-Eye said, "It was an ambush, lass." His voice was softer—and somehow more unsettling—than she'd ever heard it before. "They fought like heroes."

"Alastor," Emmeline whispered pleadingly.

"Someone's got to tell her!"

Alarmed at her friend's plea, Hestia crossed her arms protectively over her body to fight the chill that had suddenly swept through her and looked back and forth between the two people standing before her, willing one of them to tell her that Gideon was fine, that he was coming back.

Emmeline's face crumpled, while Mad-Eye gazed back somberly.

Hestia shook her head as tears stung her eyes and her body began to shake. "No," she said forcefully as if the word itself would make her greatest fear vanish into thin air. Although as she looked at Mad-Eye's determined face, she knew she couldn't deny the truth in his eyes.

She wouldn't believe it. Couldn't. They'd dreamed of their future. They'd spoken of marriage, of children. It couldn't be lost.

"Hes—"

"No!" she sobbed, her voice breaking as tears blurred her vision and her friend's arms wrapped around her.

.

The rain continued to pound on the windows as Hestia lied in her bed, her arms still clutching Gideon's pillow like a lifeline. She'd cast a spell to ensure the trace of him would never leave her flat. They'd never officially declared her flat their shared space, but they hadn't needed to. Claiming his own side of the bed and his own pillow had been as natural as when his clothes and shampoo invaded her wardrobe and bathroom. Now, these things were keepsakes of a life she'd never have again.

Earlier that day, they had buried Gideon and Fabian. There had been a memorial service at a remote location surrounded by magical wards that Mad-Eye had insisted upon so that there was no way that the Death Eaters could track them. She had sat numbly, listening to Molly's quiet crying as Order members spoke of the Prewett brothers' life and sacrifice. She'd declined to speak. What could she say? That he'd lit up her life and given her hope, and now hope was lost?

Hestia cried softly into the quiet darkness of her bedroom, knowing she would never see light again—her life as she saw it was forever shrouded in darkness. Exhaustion finally took hold, urging her body to take solace in sleep. As she closed her eyes, Hestia could only hope that sweet dreams would save her from the reality of Gideon's death. She let sleep take hold, drifting off with the image of her love's smiling face in her mind and the whisper of his name on her lips.

A/N: This is round 10 of the Quidditch League Fanfiction competition. I'm labeling this fic AU because the bio of Hestia Jones states that while there is no hint that she was a member of the Order during the First Wizarding War, the possibility cannot be excluded.

Challenge: Music through the decades

Prompts: 4. (Dialogue) "How could you possibly think that was a good idea?", 8. (Object) camera, 14. (Word) remote

word count per Google docs: 2195