1. Found

She was small, just a pitiful and dirty lump on the ground, no older than six when he picked her up and held her. He looked around the room one last time. The mangled bodies spread all around them had permeated the once peaceful hall, most were children, some were adults. Powerful witches and wizards that he had been close to at some point or another, one or two had been with him at Hogwarts. The small child had not belonged her, she was abondoned, but now she had him. That was his only solace. Her arms were limp and her entire body was chilled but she was alive, more then any of her counterparts anyway. There had been a raid by some dark wizards, on a children's hospice of all things. It was just a small building in a rual counrty side of France, in a valley full of trees and a stream or two it was made to be a home for terminally ill children until they departed, it was mostly white but had been painted with bright accents of color on every wall, and was mostly windows due to the mild climate of the surrounding area. It would have been beautiful if the walls that were once a bright mint had not been stained with blood, the orange sunset was now casting shadows on the corpses that seemed to still be cowering in the corner. He looked down at the child again, Kingsley would had never imagined that this child would be so much to him, his daughter, his friend, and his greatest heartbreak.

Kingsley had been sitting in St. Mungo's for almost an hour waiting for the girl to wake, she had been bloodied and beaten, with a broken arm and black eye to match. He was suprized that she was alive, it was not like Voldemort's followers to be careless but with his reign still strong the need for subtlety must have gone. Slight murmuring had caught Kingsley's attention. The child was waking, her eyes opened slightly and she seemed to be reaching for something, her small hand had stretched out and the glasses on the nightstand began to shake as if the earth was quaking under them. None of them moved any closer to her and her already tired body slumped again. With his brows raised he approached the girl; she turned her head to him almost unseeing eyes caught his in a wordless exchange. The color suprised him, they were light blue with honey brown rings around her pupil, making them look almost green from afar.

"Hello" he said, his thick accent filling up the quiet room, she flintched as if she was struck by an angry fist. He took a step closer to her and tried to rest a gentel hand on her head, but she scooted away afraid of him. "No sweetling, I don't want to hurt you, I am here to help." She nodded and gulped but coughed and her entire body rocked with pain. He handed her one of the glasses she had been grabbing at before so she could aid her partched throat, "Shh her child, drink this." she pulled it to her lips and gulped down the water greedily. "Thank you" she said meekly and he smiled in return, flashing her his bright white teeth. "Sir, am I dead? What happened to the hospice? Where am I?" she began to hammer out question after question no longer feeling quiet, sickly. "Well", he chuckled, "You most definatly are not dead, you are at St. Mungo's. This is a hospital, not unlike your hospice." he stroked her cheek sweetly. She nodded "Where did the dark people go? Not like you dark but worse, they were mean and that woman wouldn't stop laughing. It was very un-un-nerv-nerving." she stumbled over the word like she had just learned them and wanted to use it for the first time. Kingsley laughed again "I don't know where the other dark, but not dark like me wizards went." he chuckled, "But I was hoping you could help me with that, would like to help me?". She nodded furiously her matted blonde hair shaking all over the place, "Yes sir! I want you to get them, they were so mean! That woman, the laughing one kept waving her stick at us and it hurt! She was saying make believe words like cur-cu-crusi-cruico and things like that. Not like the words Mrs. Klein says, hers are so sweet and kind. Where is Mrs. Klein? She was running to get someone but then the lady went after her." she paused, she looked like she was trying to read a book that was to advanced for her, she squinted and kept going. "Oh, thats what happened to Mrs. Klein." she stopped and looked up at Kingsley. "Sir was anyone else okay? Was Cesare okay?He was really sick but Mama said he was going somewhere soon and that sick doesn't matter there. Did he make it there?" her eyes were full of saddness, Kingsley had made sure to check everyone there for any sign of life and she was the only one. "Yes dear, he made it there" he said with a sad smile. She smiled at him, her big eyes full of innocent joy. "Good, he wouldn't like it here" she looked around," its so bleak here, he liked the hospice, they let him go outside once a day you know!" She leaned in like it was a secret, her small hand forming a cone around her mouth and covering the upturned corner of her pink mouth. She had shed the meek demeanor entirley, she was now a curious girl with many questions and naive innocence.

She told Kingsley all she could remember before a tall old man with a silver hair and beard combo that almost reatched his belt. "Dumbledore!" said Kingsley as he stood to deliever a curt nod. "No need for such farmalities, we have more urgent matters than manners at the moment" he said with a cheery smile, he looked over at the girl and closed the door behind him. "Hello dear girl, what is your name?" he asked sweetly. "Artemisia Verrou de Fer. mister" she said quietly, she was in awe of him. "And what a pretty name you have! Now tell me Artemisia, have you told Kingsley here all about what happened to you today?", she gulped again, "Yes'sir" something made her wonder about this man, he was strange but that isn't what made her wary. "Good, you are a very well behaved young girl." He then turned to Kingsley, nodded rather grimly at him and pulled him into the hallway for a moment. "You know it is not right for a girl her age to know what happened today, you know what we have to do?" and with that Dumbledore walked back into the room holding that small, battered girl and after a muffled exchange of words there was a flash the filled the dimm hallway with light. Dumbledore was right, Kingsley knew it, he was always right. It just felt so wrong it take away everything thus girl had left, she would have no hope to find any family she might have left. Albus emerged from the room and told Kingsley that the girl would need somewhere to stay, "She will have to stay with you for the time being, if that is acceptable?" Kingsley nodded and looked back at the now sleeping girl. "Yes, that is fine, for the time being." And that is how the little girl in the hospice became a Shacklebolt. It wouldn't be an easy change but it was for the best. She stayed with Kingsley for almost four months before Dumbledore approached him with a question, "I see she is rather at home here now. You know, if you want she can stay here, we don't need to take two lives away from her" Kingsley agreed, he felt that Dumbledore knew he wouldn't be able to let her go. She was almost like family now, neither of them had any family left, they were almost two sides of the same coin Kingsley mused. She would never know why or how she came to be his daughter but she wouldn't need to.

DISCLAIMER: This is my first story and I would love reviews. This will be slightly AU and there will be multiple pairings, and this will be very mature in later chapters.