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Hogwarts: 365 Prompts
Prompt - Snatch

Hogwarts: Writing Club
Love in Motion - Marauder: Emmeline/Gideon
Disney Challenge - Character 1. Alternatively, write about someone being treated as a slave.
12. My Name - (word) Strong

Hogwarts: April Auction
Day 8 - Auction 1 - Dialogue: "I've got you, okay? You don't have to be afraid anymore. I'm here. I've got you."

HPFC: Favorite House Bootcamp
Prompt - Tidy

HPFC: Character Diversity Bootcamp
Character - Gideon, Prompt - Juggle

HPFC: Pairing Diversity Bootcamp
EmmelineGideon, Prompt - Pot

Her Knight

"Clean that up," Mr. Vance ordered.

Gideon sighed and got to his knees, scrubbing the floor with the rag. He tried to keep things as tidy as possible, but his owners had two dogs that ran wild through the house.

"That smells nice," Mrs. Vance complimented, leaning over and looking into the pot that Gideon's sister hovered over, a wooden spoon stirring the stew.

Molly blushed and bowed her head. "Thank you, Mistress."

Gideon shook his head. Molly actually liked this type of life. She liked cooking and cleaning, so she didn't seem anything wrong with it.

Gideon knew it was unfair. They were slaves because of their hair color. Life would have been so much better if they weren't born redheads.

"Prewetts," Mr. Vance said in a stern voice.

Gideon got up on his feet while Molly hurried over. Fabian came out of the garage, his face smudged with dirt and his blue eyes dark with indifference.

"Today is our dinner party. You're the ones that will be in attendance, serving the guests. My wife has your jobs. Mess up and be punished." With that threat, he turned and strode out of the room.

Fabian and Gideon shared a look over their little sister's head. Would their hell ever be over?

X

Molly juggled three glasses of wine on a tray, presenting it to the neighbors that lived down the street.

As Gideon took coats into the coatroom, he heard snatches of conversation. Mostly gossip. It was boring.

Fabian was at the bar, mixing drinks for partygoers.

Gideon took a deep breath and caught a strong whiff of the perfume the clung to the pristine white coat he carried into the coatroom. He wrinkled his nose at the sickly sweet scent.

He walked back out of the room and walked over to his post. He'd be there to the last guest arrived, collecting coats to put in a safe place.

He looked around and saw his master's daughter. Emmeline Vance was a beautiful woman. She was smart and had a witty sense of humor. She didn't look down on Gideon like he was trash because of his station. She asked him to call her Emmeline instead of her proper title of Miss Vance. Even in public.

Gideon couldn't help the slight smile that came onto his face at the sight of her. The smile turned into a frown when a man came up from behind her and grabbed her wrist in a tight grip. Emmeline's face paled, and she tried to pull away without making a scene. The man pulled her outside. Emmeline looked around. Her eyes meant Gideon's and they screamed for help.

He'd be punished if he left his post, but he couldn't worry about that. He wasn't sure who that man was, but Emmeline was scared of him, and that was good enough for Gideon.

He rushed out of the back door, uncaring if he was seen. When he searched the extensive gardens, he found the pair. Emmeline was pushed up against the wall of the gardening shed. She was wiggling as the man's hands hiked up her dress, exposing creamy thigh. The man's lips were dangerously close to her neck, and Emmeline's eyes were squeezed shut, her hair no longer nice and neat, but now, it was a mess of curls.

He ran over to them and unthinking of the consequences—after all, he was a mere slave—he grabbed the man and pulled him away, throwing the scum onto the ground.

The man growled fiercely. "You'll regret this. Just wait until I tell your master."

"Make sure you tell him why I did it. I'm sure he'd be interested to know how his daughter was being manhandled." It was a bluff. If Emmeline didn't back him up, it would be his word against the man's, and no one would believe a slave over someone from respectable society. And Emmeline might be too ashamed to admit the truth to her father.

The man blanched, not calling him on his bluff and hurried away, his trousers falling down to his ankles.

It made Gideon sick to see more evidence of what the man had planned to do to Emmeline. He turned to the woman. The usually strong and fiercely independent woman was trembling.

Gideon touched her hand. A soft touch, not meant to startle her, but she jumped anyways. "I've got you, okay? You don't have to be afraid anymore. I'm here. I've got you," he whispered.

Emmeline opened her eyes. "It was stupid to do that."

"I can't stand seeing a woman in distress."

"In Medieval times, you might have been a knight."

Gideon shrugged. That was something Molly had once told him. "Are you okay?"

"He's a friend of my father. He has always made passes at me, but he's never been so bold or forceful. I think the alcohol made him braver."

"You never told your father?"

Emmeline averted her eyes. "I was ashamed. When girls are targeted in such a way, everyone always says they were asking for it. I didn't want to be gossiped about if it got out."

Gideon shook his head. "This can't continue. If I hadn't noticed something was wrong inside the house, it could have been a lot worse. You need to tell your father." He didn't think much of Mr. Vance due to his harsh treatment of him and his siblings, but Gideon did know Mr. Vance loved his daughter fully and would never stand for her to be treated in such a filthy way.

"I know," Emmeline whispered. She looked into his eyes. "Although I hate feeling like a damsel in distress, thank you for being my knight in shining armor." She stood on her toes and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. Her sweet apple perfume was intoxicating.

He swallowed nervously when she pulled back. "No problem."

Emmeline smiled and slipped from between him and the shed, walking back to the house. Before she entered the house, she turned back and gave him one last searching look.

There was a moment, and then it was gone, and Emmeline walked into the house.

Gideon let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Emmeline was beautiful, but she was his master's daughter. Untouchable. His thoughts would only lead him to a bad decision. He had to banish them from his mind before it was too late.

(word count: 1,071)