Sadie glanced at the time and took a deep breath as she gave herself one last anxious look in the mirror. She was due to floo to Gideon's house in a couple of minutes and had elected to wear dark, fitted jeans with a nice red sweater and black boots. She'd straightened her hair again and hoped that she looked mature enough to make a good impression on Gideon's family.
Sirius came around the corner then, still wearing a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a band tee even though it was nearly four in the afternoon, and froze when he saw her. She bit her lip nervously and turned to face him fully.
"Do you think it's too casual?" She asked him worriedly. He bit back a smile and made a show of walking around her and looking her up and down appraisingly. She giggled, some of her tension melting away at his obvious attempt at making her smile. Satisfied with his efforts, he came to a stop in front of her and tucked her hair behind her ear, giving her a soft look.
"You look perfect," he told her sincerely, and Sadie felt her heart skip a beat as her eyes met his. "The Prewetts will fall in love with you before you even say hello."
For a moment, they simply gazed at one another. Then, Euphemia came bustling into the room carrying a large platter filled with an assortment of pies, and the spell was broken.
"Take these with you, dear. You should never arrive as a guest empty-handed!"
Sadie cleared her throat and stepped away from Sirius to take the tray from her mother. Sirius gave her a quick nod of encouragement, a bit of a sad smile on his face, and quietly backed out of the room. Sadie didn't have time to process the look on his face as her mother fussed over her and ushered her into the fireplace, and, before she knew it, she was stumbling into a small sitting room where Gideon was waiting for her.
His face broke into a huge smile the moment he saw her. He stepped forward and took the platter from her hands, setting it down carefully on a small end table before enveloping her in his arms. Sadie sighed happily. They simply stood there for a moment until Gideon pulled away.
"Everyone is in the kitchen," he told her, picking the tray of pies back up. "They're dying to meet you."
Sadie took a deep breath and allowed him to lead her into a cozy little kitchen. Fabian was chasing two redheaded little boys around the floor, and three adults were standing at the counter, conversing merrily. They looked up and offered friendly smiles as Sadie and Gideon entered the room.
"Oh, you must be Sadie!" Mrs. Prewett was a tiny woman. Her chestnut brown hair was just beginning to show a few steaks of grey, and her eyes were warm and inviting. She grabbed Sadie's hands and beamed at her. "We're so happy to finally meet you and that you could join us! I'm Gideon's mother of course."
"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs. Prewett." Sadie felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off her chest as she took in the kind faces around her. Mrs. Prewett waved a hand.
"Please, call me Caroline." She turned and gestured toward the other two adults, a short, redheaded woman with a sweet face and a tall, thin man with equally red hair and glasses. "This is my daughter, Molly, and her husband, Arthur, and these are their boys." She smiled fondly at the squealing children. "Bill is five, and Charlie just turned three a couple of weeks ago. And, of course, you know Fabian."
At the sound of his name, Fabian walked over and grinned, ruffling Sadie's hair. "You have no idea how good it is to see you, Sade. Gideon's been moping about something awful without you." He ducked as Gideon took a swing at his head, and everyone else laughed.
Little Charlie ran up to them then. He grinned when he saw Sadie and puffed his chest out.
"I have a dragon shirt," he told her proudly. And indeed, he wore a grey t-shirt with a large red dragon emblazoned in the front. Sadie laughed lightly and crouched down to his level.
"I love your dragon shirt!"
He smiled and pointed at Gideon. "This is Uncle Gideon!"
Sadie grinned and looked up at her boyfriend. "Is it really? And do you love your Uncle Gideon?"
"Yeah! I do!" The little boy nodded emphatically. "I can fly on a broom with Uncle Gideon!"
Molly laughed, giving her son a fond look. "He always needs to tell everyone about his three favorite things: dragons, flying, and his Uncle Gideon."
Sadie couldn't help the smile that worked its way onto her face as she watched Charlie pull Gideon by the hand to show him some of his toys, jabbering happily all the while. Molly gave her a knowing look but didn't say anything.
Before long, they were seated around the small dining table and chatting comfortably as they ate delicious food that had been prepared by Caroline and Molly. Sadie learned that Arthur worked for the Ministry in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office and that he was delightfully curious about muggles. He and Molly had met at Hogwarts and had married fairly quickly after graduating. Bill was currently rather obsessed with the Tales of Beetle the Bard, and he spent a good portion of the dinner animatedly retelling the stories that he now knew by heart. Gideon rested his hand on Sadie's knee for most of the meal, and they continually shot each other sweet smiles, something that did not go unnoticed by the rest of their company. After they had finished eating, Sadie was helping Caroline wash dishes while the others cleaned up the dining room. Bill and Charlie had been sent to play in one of the bedrooms until the adults were finished.
"I don't think I've ever seen Gideon quite this happy," Caroline said quietly as they worked. "You're so good for him. Thank you."
Sadie felt both her cheeks and her heart warm. She opened her mouth to respond when, suddenly, there was a loud explosion. The lights went out as the ground shook beneath them and every window shattered. Shrieks and shouts came from the dining room, and both Sadie and Caroline dove for the ground, covering their heads as glass fell around them. Heart racing, Sadie looked up to see that Caroline had gone very pale and was staring out the front window with a look of utter dread on her face.
It was then that Sadie heard a blood-chilling cackle coming from outside. Her view of the window was obscured as she had landed just on the other side of a wall separating the kitchen from the hallway, but she heard the crunching of glass underneath multiple pairs of shoes. Caroline had gotten swiftly to her feet and was now brandishing her wand threateningly in the direction of the window.
"The Dark Lord does not take kindly to those who refuse his wishes," came a low voice that Sadie didn't recognize. Caroline's grip on her wand tightened. "Have you reconsidered his request?"
"I have no need to reconsider." Caroline's voice was strong and defiant. "I would sooner die than aid him in his quest for genocide."
"Pity," the voice sneered. "You could have been most useful. Avada-"
"NO!"
Arthur burst in from the dining room at that moment, followed quickly by Molly, Gideon, and Fabian. Chaos ensued then. For a moment, Sadie could only stare in horror as spells bounced back and forth across the room. Then, adrenaline hit her bloodstream, and she whipped her wand out just as a dark figure darted past her and down the hall. Sadie's blood ran cold.
"The boys," she realized in horror. Everyone else was locked in combat in the kitchen. With only the slightest moment of hesitation, Sadie tore after the figure. She rushed through the open door to the guest bedroom to see a woman standing over Bill, who was shielding Charlie with his body and staring at her defiantly.
"Poor little blood traitor brats," the woman cooed. "But Grandma should have thought of that before she made her decision." She raised her wand, and Sadie panicked.
"Stupefy!" She shouted. But the woman's reflexes were quick. She whipped around and easily deflected the spell, but it gave Sadie enough of an opportunity to place herself between her and the boys. Now that they were face-to-face, Sadie recognized her. Her stomach clenched in horror as she met the cold eyes of Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Well, well." Bellatrix sounded delighted. "What have we here?" To Sadie's immense relief, Bill had the presence of mind to take Charlie's hand and run out of the room as fast as their little legs could carry them. Bellatrix seemed to have forgotten all about them, however. "You're one of my blood traitor cousin's little friends, aren't you?" Terrified, Sadie fired another stunning spell, but, once again, it was casually deflected. "Oh, I am going to enjoy this. Crucio."
An agony greater than anything Sadie had ever imagined possible tore through her body. She was dimly aware of a scream ripping itself from her throat, but the sound of it was swallowed up in the intensity of the torment she felt. It was as though every last one of her nerves was on fire. Then, suddenly, it was over.
She was curled up in a ball on the floor with tears streaming down her face, whimpering quietly with each shuddering breath that she took. Bellatrix was laughing maliciously.
"Hurts, doesn't it? Crucio."
Sadie didn't know how long it went on like this. All concept of time or logic seemed to have fled her mind. Then, the pain stopped once more as Bellatrix paused. The sound of several loud cracks had come from down the hall. Sadie opened her eyes just in time to see a flicker of fear passed over Bellatrix's face before she turned back to Sadie.
"Well, I'm afraid we're going to have to cut the fun short, dear. Avada Kedavra!"
There was a bright flash of green light, a blur of white, and a thud on the ground right in front of Sadie just as several people flew into the room. With a crack, Bellatrix disapparated, leaving Sadie to stare in silent horror into the unseeing eyes of Caroline Prewett, who had thrown herself like a shield between Sadie and Bellatrix's curse.
A/N: ...I'm sorry.