If there was one thing that Sirius loved, it was Christmas with the Potters. He, James, and James's parents had just finished dinner and were finishing up last minute preparations for Christmas the next morning. James and Fleamont were hanging strands of garland along the walls, and Sirius was helping Euphemia arrange a pretty plate of biscuits and a glass of milk on a table next to the Christmas tree. They may have all been teenagers, but that didn't stop them from continuing the happy Christmas traditions from James and Sadie's childhood.
The fire in the fireplace turned green, and Euphemia glanced at the clock with a frown. "Is that Sadie already?"
In answer, two figures appeared in the fireplace. The tall, thin form of Professor McGonagall was supporting Sadie's small frame, gently guiding her out of the fireplace and into the room. There was a pause as everyone stared in shock at Sadie's appearance. She was deathly pale, trembling violently, and her eyes held a haunted look as she stared blankly ahead, seeming to be looking right through all of them.
Fleamont was the first to recover. With an air of deliberate calm, he walked forward and pulled Sadie gently away from McGonagall and led her to the sofa, guiding her into a sitting position. Euphemia was at her side in an instant, whispering soothing words and stroking her daughter's hair comfortingly. James crouched in front of her as Fleamont turned to walk back to McGonagall. Sirius slowly moved to sit on Sadie's other side.
"What happened?" Fleamont asked McGonagall quietly. The Transfiguration professor was equally quiet as she responded.
"Death Eaters," she explained grimly, and Sirius felt his stomach drop as Euphemia let out a gasp. "Albus is with the Prewetts now, but he'll be here shortly to give you more details. Sadie doesn't seem to be in much of a state to do so."
Sirius grabbed Sadie's hand and gripped it tightly. In her first direct reaction to anything since arriving at home, she looked down at their hands before turning her head to lock eyes on Sirius.
"Hey, Sadie Mae," he whispered. She blinked a couple of times. Then she slowly moved until she was curled up in his lap, face buried in his chest and hands gripping fistfuls of his shirt as though it was the only thing keeping her grounded in reality. Sirius swallowed his surprise that she had turned to him in favor of her brother or parents and wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her close. To his relief, Euphemia was looking at him warmly, no trace of resentment present in her expression.
The flames in the fireplace turned green once again, and Albus Dumbledore stepped into the room, looking weary. Euphemia stood quickly and invited both him and McGonagall to sit down. They quietly murmured their thanks and accepted her offer. Euphemia and Fleamont also sat, looking at Dumbledore expectantly. He sighed.
"Caroline Prewett is dead." He glanced at Sadie, who had stiffened and curled up even more tightly against Sirius's chest. Euphemia gasped quietly, and she, Fleamont, and McGonagall bowed their heads sorrowfully. "The others have sustained only minor injuries." He turned toward Sadie and leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. "Miss Potter." She barely turned her face away from Sirius to look at the headmaster. "Young Bill Weasley has been asking about you. He tells us that you saved him and his brother, Charlie, from Bellatrix Lestrange." Sirius felt all the air leave his lungs in a whoosh. "That was incredibly selfless and brave of you. Though they are eager to thank you in person, Molly and Arthur wanted you to know how grateful they are." When Sadie didn't respond, Dumbledore sighed and pulled a vial from his robes. "Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, perhaps you could help her get to bed. Here is some Dreamless Sleep Potion. She's been through quite the ordeal this evening."
Knowing that this was a ploy to get them out of the room so that the 'grownups could talk,' James and Sirius normally would have protested strongly. One look at Sadie, however, was enough to quell those urges, and they obeyed without complaint. Sirius shifted Sadie in his arms so that he could carry her bridal-style up the stairs and into her bedroom. James went to her dresser and pulled out a set of warm pajamas as Sirius set Sadie down gently on her bed. She reluctantly let go of him to take the pajamas from James. The boys turned away politely so that she could change, though it was hard to ignore the soft whimpers that came from her mouth as she did so. When she had finished, they turned back around and sat on either side of her.
"Are you hurt?" James asked in concern. She shook her head slowly, eyes filled with tears. He looked at her skeptically but pulled out the potion that Dumbledore had given him. "Is there anything else you need before you sleep?" She started to shake her head again, but then she paused and looked up at Sirius pleadingly. He brushed the tears from her eyes with his thumbs.
"What can I do?" He asked gently. Her hand had found its way to his and was gripping it tightly.
"Don't leave," was all she said. Her voice was hollow. Sirius glanced at James, who nodded and stood up. He gave Sadie's hand a squeeze and handed her the bottle before walking slowly out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Sirius stood up to peel the comforter back before crawling into bed, pulling Sadie gently underneath the covers with him. She quickly downed the contents of the vial with shaking hands and then assumed a position much like her earlier one, hands gripping his shirt with her face pressed tightly against his chest. He held her close and ran his hands up and down her back until her breathing evened out and he felt her body relax against his own. Even then, he simply held her for what felt like hours, his mind racing, before he was finally able to drift into an uneasy sleep himself.
Sadie awoke in a panic early the next morning. She sat bolt upright, startling Sirius awake, and scrambled out of bed. Her breathing was rapid and uneven, and she muttered to herself as she rushed to her closet and began rummaging through her clothes. Sirius stood up and approached her cautiously.
"Sadie..." He reached out hesitantly and placed a hand between her shoulder blades. She jumped and whipped around to face him, eyes wide. "Sadie, everything is okay. You need sleep. Come back to bed?"
But she only turned back around and resumed her search for clothes. "Everything is not okay, Sirius," she told him firmly. "Gideon lost his mother last night, and I've been too focused on myself to be there for him. I need to go."
Sirius gaped at her for a moment before grabbing her hand gently. "You need to take care of yourself!"
"Why?" She asked shrilly. She was shaking again. "I'm fine! Gideon is the one who-"
"Just because you didn't lose a family member doesn't mean that you're okay!" Sirius interjected. "I don't know exactly what happened last night, but I do know that I've never seen you look as traumatized as you did when you got home." She didn't say anything, simply pulled her hand away from him and reached into her closet to take out a pair of pants and a shirt. Sirius ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "Sadie, do you even know where he is?"
She scoffed. "Of course, I..." Then she paused, realizing that he had a point. The house was in terrible shape and was probably swarming with aurors all night. Gideon and Fabian would most likely have gone to stay with Molly and Arthur, but Sadie had no idea where they lived. Sirius let out a sigh of relief that she had at least slowed down enough to listen to him.
"Why don't you write him a letter? Find out where he is and if he's even feeling up for a visit. Then come back to bed until you get a response." She hesitated for a moment still but didn't protest when he gently pulled the clothes from her hands and laid them over the back of her reading chair. "I'll bet that Dumbledore gave them some of that Dreamless Sleep potion too. They're probably all still sleeping, which is what all of you need right now anyway! No need to go waking them up unnecessarily."
Sadie nodded slowly, and Sirius led her over to her desk. She pulled out a quill and a bit of parchment and scribbled a quick note. When she had finished, Sirius grabbed the letter and walked toward the door.
"I'll go send Daisy with this-"
Sadie leapt to her feet. "I'll come with you!"
Sirius gave her a strange look. "I'll only be a minute. You can just go back to bed." But she was already standing at the door, waiting for him. He sighed and scratched the back of his head bemusedly but decided not to argue with her. They quickly made their way downstairs, tied the letter the Daisy, the Potters' family owl's, leg, and sent her off before heading back upstairs and climbing back into bed. Sadie lay with her back to Sirius's chest this time, his arms hugging her tightly. It wasn't long before Sirius was sound asleep, but Sadie lay awake for a while afterward, trying to force the mental images from the night before out of her mind. She shuddered as a particularly vivid picture of Caroline's face flashed before her eyes. Gideon had his mother's eyes.
Swallowing a lump in her throat, Sadie turned in Sirius's arms to bury her face in his chest once more, breathing in the scent of leather and teakwood that was so distinctly 'Sirius.' She couldn't put into words exactly why she suddenly felt so attached to him. All she knew was that he, too, had experienced being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange. Even though she didn't think she could bring herself to talk about it yet, not even to him, it was comforting to know that someone would understand at least some of what she had been through. With a shaking breath, she pulled the blanket up tighter around her shoulders and burrowed deeper into Sirius's embrace. He mumbled incoherently in his sleep and drew her closer, making her smile a bit in spite of herself. She breathed deeply and allowed her fingers to play absently with the fabric of his shirt until her eyelids grew heavy, and, at last, she fell asleep.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! I've got a little bit of flexibility in the plot coming up, so let me know if there is anything specific you would like to see!