Chapter Text
“You’ll teach me all your quidditch moves once I get a broom, won’t you?” An 8-year-old boy said, looking up at the auburn-haired man playing with him. The little boy was the spitting image of the other, in all the ways they could see. It was too early to tell if he’d have his wide shoulders or tanned skin yet, but he was excited to find out.
“Won’t you, Uncle Fabian?”
“I don’t know, Charles. Gideon might help you out, too. Considering Hufflepuff’s stellar performance.” Fabian let out a laugh, his voice soaked in that particular brand of sarcasm purebloods used. It sounded almost sincere if you weren’t listening closely.
“Okay, we lost to Ravenclaw every year. No need to keep rubbing it in,” Gideon said, shaking his head. Fabian’s younger brother was leaning against the back door, watching him play with Charles. He was younger by only a few minutes, but the twins were nowhere near identical. Thus he looked almost nothing like Charles, their sister Molly’s second son and Fabian’s godson. They watched him often at the Prewett estate when they weren’t off doing missions for The Order of the Phoenix or doing their jobs. Gideon was an investigative auror and Fabian worked at the Department of International and Magical Cooperation. It kept the two busy, but not busy enough they couldn’t take care of the Weasley kids when needed.
Fabian has been training the tiny boy in his spare time, schooling him in everything heirship. Molly argued he didn’t need it since Fabian was bound to settle down and have his own kids after the war, but Fabian knew there was a high chance of nothing being after the war. It’s the risk they both took when they joined the Order and took every day they fought the Death Eaters.
Fabian shook his head. This wasn’t the time for those thoughts. It was a perfect autumn day, the sun shining on the trio as leaves fell towards them. Charles smiled up at them both, a stuffed dragon held in his arms. It had been bright green this morning, but with every pile of leaves, it got browner and browner. Leaves wove their way through his choppy auburn curls. He giggled, the slight chill of the late September air making his nose run. He wiped his long nose with his dragon, an excited sparkle in his brown eyes about life that Fabian wished he still had.
“We’ll have to leave our quidditch lesson next time. Your mum will be here to pick you up soon.”
“Do I have to go?” Charles groaned. “Can’t I stay another night?”
“You’re missing home a little, aren’t you?” Fabian asked, flicking up the last of the leaves to reform the pile.
“No,” he whined. “I like it here. It’s so loud all the time now with two babies. And it’s worse now that Bill’s going to school. All I’ll have to talk to is Percy, and he’s a brat!”
“Well, I’ll have to talk to Molly to see if you can stay another weekend. Maybe if I mention I want ideas for a certain birthday?” Fabian said with a smirk, tapping Charles’s nose with a gloved finger.
He giggled at the motion, rubbing the dirt off his face.
“Fay, my birthday’s not for a long, long time. Mum never lets me have my own party anyways with Bill’s birthday before mine. She says two parties in two weeks doesn’t make sense.”
“Well, I’ll be having some words with her about that,” Fabian grumbled. “I know December seems far away, but you can’t have too many present ideas.”
“It’s useless telling him he’s being overly prepared,” Gideon joked. “I’m just happy we don’t study together anymore.”
“Let’s see how Charles feels about my study habits when he actually has to take tests on things.” Fabian scoffed, “how about some hot chocolate until she gets here?”
“Can I play more until it’s ready?”
“Of course, Charles,” Fabian smiled as the boy flopped into the newly made leaf pile. He walked up to Gideon, who was leaning against the doorframe with a grin.
“You know it wouldn’t kill you to call him Charlie like Molly does.”
“Hell is the point of naming a kid something if you're just going to call him something else?” He scoffed making Gideon snicker. “How’d she even get Bill out of William?”
“Could have named him after that Billius relative of Arthur’s if she wanted a Bill,” Gideon nodded, “or better yet, just Bill.”
“We still have that raspberry-flavored one with those pink marshmallows he likes in the pantry don’t we?” Fabian asked and looked to Gideon, who just shrugged. “Tts, you’re no help.”
“Oh, like you cook so much more than me.”
“Warming things up isn’t cooking.”
“Ditto,” Gideon jived back. “Come on, there are a million shelves. One of us is bound to find it.” He motioned for Fabian to follow him inside the house. The Prewetts didn’t have the biggest manor in the wizarding world, but they were by no means poor. Fabian walked in after his brother, leaving Charles to keep playing in the leaf pile.
===
“What do you think, Waffle? Bigger pile?” Charles asked the dragon, floppy head swaying on its fat body in response. “Yeah, it’s losing its pile-ness.”
Charles started kicking the leaves back to the peak of their foliage-made hill. He couldn’t rake them up without a wand, but it was getting the job done. It was muddying his tiny shoes, but eight-year-olds shouldn’t care about mud.
He only stopped kicking when he heard a pop coming from the back of the property. He turned, seeing the wards of the back garden become foggy, the shields rippling. The dome let out a mighty crack, shaking the entire property and knocking the boy off his feet. Another great boom and the dome fractured, glass-like cracks appearing all over. Five figures dressed in black robes stood at the new hole, black mist surrounding them as they stepped onto the property. Dark magic rattled the estate to its core.
Death Eaters.
“Fabian!” Charles cried, running to the house as fast as his little legs could carry him. The twins almost collided with him at the door. Gideon already had his wand out.
“Hide him!” He commanded, marching outside
Fabian ushered his godson through the house, room after room going by in a blur.
===
Fabian guided Charles to a large cabinet in the back room. The sounds of spellfire were already thick in the air. Charles’s brown eyes were filled with pure terror as they met Fabian’s determined gaze.
“Stay here until it’s over, you hear me? Not a sound, Charles. No matter what. We love you.”
“Fay-“
“No matter what!” Fabian repeated, handing Charles Waffle the dragon before shutting the cabinet. It left Charles in the dark, only a sliver of light from the old door and the noises of attack around him. He could only see the dirty wood floor right in front of him.
Charles held Waffle for dear life, squeezing him so tight he could feel the stuffing starting to break the stitches. All he could hear were the spells outside and his own panic. He wanted so desperately to cry. But he had to keep quiet. No matter how scary the noses he was hearing, they weren’t getting closer. He was safe in here. He repeated it again and again in his mind to keep himself calm.
Charles heard heavy boots enter the room.
===
Fabian threw out spell after spell, back to back with Gideon. His brother had held off the wizards as he hid his godson, but he had proved too slow. They had seen Charles, seen him in the garden when they broke through to the property. Now they were taunting them both with it, saying what they’d do to the boy when they found him. The sick bastards were spewing it between spells, making Fabian’s anger pump his magic even harder. They could have him if they wanted, but they weren’t getting Charles.
“Maybe I’ll make you two watch him die” Antonin Dolohov taunted, blasting a curse into Gideon’s shield with the sickest of delights. “Or maybe, I’ll make him watch you die!”
Fabian turned to see Charles being dragged out of the house. There had been another person with the five, but he was no wizard.
“Little bat found his treat!” One wizard laughed. “He’s friends with Greyback if you catch my drift.”
A vampire. The creature threw Charles to the ground, his knees thudding on the hard stone patio. His little body was rigid and paralyzed, limbs twisted into agonizing angles. His mouth moved like he was screaming, but nothing came out but the sound of choking. His head was lifted by one massive clawed hand, pulling him up off the ground as his feet kicked helplessly. The vampire lifted him by his neck, back pressed up against the creature’s chest. It gave Charles a hungry grin before its black eyes met Fabian’s.
“Gideon,” Fabian cried. He couldn’t let it happen, but the two were pinned. Gideon couldn’t hold off all five on his own. They both knew that. Not with them this close and circling the two like tigers.
“Go!” Gideon commanded, breaking the two’s back-to-back formation. Gideon on the attack facing the five. He threw Fabian towards the house, wand pulsing out his best spells. One quick motion and Fabian was racing towards Charles.
He felt a stun hit his back, numbing pain shocked him to the mud. He heard the worst of screams. Charles had fangs deep in his collar, his hands gnawing at the creature’s head as his face contorted in agony. Gideon yelled something, a spell of sizzling white shooting over Fabian’s paralyzed form towards the house. It never reached. With the split concentration of magic Gideon’s shield’s broke, the five death eaters bombarding him. There were so many greens and reds Fabian couldn’t even see it happen, just heard the weighted thud.
Fabian broke. His magic exploded, black-colored masses exploding from his body and coursing through the air in every direction. His limbs moved, the paralysis beat out of his body, and his heart pumping so hard he could feel it in his ears. He charged towards the vampire with one final battle cry, gripping his wand.
One slice and its head was rolling at Fabian’s feet. Charles’s body flopped into his arms. His eyes were pure black, his shirt soaked in blood. The teeth were still stuck in his left collar. They were still sputtering a vile-smelling yellow liquid where they had snapped off from the force.
“Charles?” Fabian sobbed, holding his head up. His body was a rag doll, limp save for the small shocks of pain making his back arch and his breath choke. He was dying.
Fabian gripped his hand, skin and the creature’s black hair still tangled under his fingernails. He looked up as he heard more yells. Black masses of magic wove their way through the death eaters as Dolohov sprinted for the hole they made in the wards. The rest lay either on the ground or tried to fight off the spell. Fabian’s flesh sweltered with rage.
He placed Charles down on the soft grass, and for the first time in his life, he attacked alone.
Under the green glow of the dark mark, he called out killing curse after killing curse. He had to be quick.
Quick was the last thing they deserved.