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Sarah Settimini. Everyone in Naples knew her name. Of course they did.
Daughter of the renowned Settimini lawyers, Sarah had it all: wealth, status, a family whose name opened doors and silenced rooms. She grew up in one of the city's most prestigious neighborhoods, among elegant homes and elite schools. Yet none of that had ever truly defined her.
Sarah was a firebrand. Rebellious, vibrant, often too much, too much for a family held in such high regard. And yet, her parents, even in their moments of concern, couldn't help but feel pride. Because Sarah was different. And they knew it.
She was twelve years old, but she already believed she knew her destiny. She was certain of it.
She wasn't alone. She had Max and Alice, her siblings.
Max, sixteen, was a puzzle, aloof, preoccupied with his image and what others thought of him. Their relationship was a constant tug-of-war between love and exasperation. Sarah longed for his attention, challenged him, and he... often pulled away.
Alice, on the other hand, was just four. A sweet, innocent child, untouched by the weight of the world. Sarah adored her. She felt an overwhelming sense of love and protection for her little sister—something deeper than words.
But Sarah's story didn't truly begin there.
It began years earlier. On a rainy night. In 1981.
FLASHBACK
Rain lashed against the rooftops of Naples like impatient fingers, tapping urgently at the windows. It was a strange evening, charged with an energy Miriam Settimini couldn't quite explain.
"Maybe I should make us some tea... what do you think?" asked Gabriele, holding out a box of herbal blends, his voice tired but gentle. "Then we can go to bed."
But Miriam couldn't settle. A restlessness had taken root in her chest. She felt something coming. And she was right.
"Max is already asleep, love. You should rest too. Court was tough today," he added, trying to comfort her. But his words drifted into the uneasy silence that blanketed the room.
Then, a sudden crash echoed from the kitchen.
"Stay here. I'll check," said Gabriele, picking up one of Max's toy swords from the floor, as if it could fend off danger. Miriam followed him anyway. She couldn't let him go alone.
When they reached the kitchen door, they flung it open—
And froze.
Standing before them was a tall man, dressed in flowing azure robes, with half-moon spectacles and a beard that nearly reached his waist. He didn't speak. He simply looked at them.
"Get out of my house. I won't say it again," Gabriele snapped, eyes blazing. How dare this man enter their home? What if Max was in danger?
"There's no need, Mr. Settimini," the man replied, his Italian marked by a curious accent. "And that toy... won't be much help. I come in peace. I only wish to speak."
Miriam, unlike her husband, felt an odd calm in his presence. There was something about this man—something that inspired trust.
It was she who invited him in and offered him tea. He accepted, with a quiet smile.
"I apologize for the hour. I've been quite occupied with... other matters. My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he began, watching their faces twist in confusion. "I don't expect you to know the school. Or the magical world. But I assure you—both are real."
The Settimini couple listened in stunned silence.
"I need your help," he continued. "Our world is facing dark times. Shadows are rising. Families are being torn apart. Children are losing their parents in an instant. It's... brutal."
Miriam looked at Gabriele, eyes wide with disbelief, but said nothing.
"There is a little girl," Dumbledore went on. "Her mother is dead. Her father is in prison for crimes too grave to explain. She has no one left."
He paused.
"I believe you can give her what no one else can, a home. A family."
The room fell silent.
"Why us?" Miriam asked softly. "Why not you?" Dumbledore replied. "I've searched for the best possible future for this child. She has no nearby relatives. She needs love."
Miriam felt a sharp pang in her chest. Was it right to accept?
She looked at Gabriele, and with a simple nod, let him know her heart had already decided.
He didn't answer at first, he was still stunned. But seeing the certainty in his wife's eyes, he allowed love to rise above confusion, as it always did.
He stood up, extended his hand to Dumbledore. "We'll raise her," he said.
The old wizard smiled—and in that smile, there was something like relief. "Sirius Black, the child's father, was a wizard," Dumbledore added. "We believe she may possess the same gifts. At eleven, she will be invited to attend my school."
But Gabriele interrupted him before he could go on.
"No. We will decide her future. If we believe it's necessary, she will go. That's our only condition."
Dumbledore nodded solemnly. And with that, their lives were changed forever.
End of flashback
Sarah grew up unaware of the truth. Unaware of the magic that pulsed within her veins.
At twelve, she was happy. Proud of her family, her life, her future. But that happiness wouldn't last.
Because one day, Albus Dumbledore returned.
And the pact her father had made was broken.
Sarah had to go to Hogwarts. Because the most feared criminal in the magical world... had escaped.
