*** 10 – Searching The House ***

Within a few minutes of Dobby's announcement that the 'Little Miss' was nowhere to be found, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place was in complete chaos. Everyone was running around the house searching for Draco's daughter. They checked the parlour, all the bedrooms, everywhere that they thought she might be hiding.

Liz went to Dobby. She knew that he would have some idea of where she could look. She didn't know the house as well as everyone else, and didn't want to slow them down. So she went to the one person that would help.

"Dobby?" she asked gently. The creature looked up at her, tears still falling from his big eyes.

"Yes Miss?"

"Can you think of anywhere she might be? Maybe somewhere that the others wouldn't think of?"

"Master Draco knows all of her usual hiding spots."

"But is there somewhere new that he doesn't know about? I know this house is quite large, and there are probably rooms that they wouldn't even think of."

"Dobby does not know Miss. But the Little Miss has been quite taken with the sunroom, as well as the basement lately."

"Does Draco know this? Or anyone else for that matter?"

"Dobby does not know Miss."

Liz smiled at him. "Ok then. Dobby, why don't you go check the sunroom, and I'll look in the basement for her. She must be in one of those places, if they can't find her anywhere else." Dobby suddenly looked hopeful. "Can you lead me to the basement?" she asked him. He nodded eagerly, and led her to a door just down the hall from the sitting room. She tried the knob, but it was locked. She was reaching into her hair for one of her bobby pins, when Dobby waved his hand at the door, and it popped right open.

Liz stared in disbelief at what he'd done. She then smiled widely. "Thank you Dobby." He beamed with pride, and her smile got even bigger. "Can you do one more thing for me?"

"Of course, Miss."

"If the Little Miss is not in the sunroom, and the others can't seem to find her, tell them about her finding the basement. Let them know that I've gone down to look for her, and they'd be wise to check anywhere else in the house that she might have discovered. Can you do that?"

Dobby nodded vigorously, and spun to run towards the sunroom. Liz stared down into the darkness of the basement, and tried to repress the chill that passed through her. The last time she had gone down a dark flight of stairs, things hadn't turned out so well. She carefully stepped forward, and into the blackness.

A few steps down, the basement door slammed behind her. She jumped, and had to grip the railing as the stairway was plunged into complete darkness. Liz felt her breath coming in short and fast, and she knew that she had to calm herself before she passed out. If only she could light her way.

She heard a noise down below her, and started. Her hand flew out in defense again, and she once again uttered something on instinct.

"Lumos!"

A bright blue light was suddenly emitting from her palm. Once again, she stared at her own handiwork, shocked, but pleased. Maybe there was something to this magic idea after all. With a little more confidence, she carefully made her way down the stairs and into the basement.

It was a dark, dank place, but it was full of intriguing objects. If Draco's daughter had found this room, Liz could easily understand why she would want to come back. Every object she saw caught her attention, and she knew that a curious little girl would feel the same way.

There was a table covered in amulets to her left, and a tall cloak rack on her right. She could see several large chests and hutches full of interesting trinkets in front of her as well, and behind the cloak rack there was a large bookcase. Perhaps she would come exploring on her own later…

A soft sound behind her made her spin. She heard the rustle of cloth, and saw the bottom of a tablecloth ruffle halfway across the room. Cautiously, she moved toward the sound, trying to avoid the random boots and books on the floor. Whatever was hiding under the table was trying to stay as quiet as possible, but couldn't help the soft cries escaping into the silence.

When Liz reached the table in question, she slowly dropped down to her knees. She had a sneaking suspicion that she was about to meet Draco's little girl, and did not want to frighten her more than she must already be. Carefully, and very slowly, Liz reached for the edge of the tablecloth, and lifted it up so she could see underneath. What she saw there took her breath away.

Under the table huddled a small girl who couldn't be any more than five years old. She had her face in her hands, but Liz could see a mop of dark blond curls atop her little head. She slowly sat down on the floor, pushing the tablecloth on top of the table so it wouldn't get in her way.

"Hi," she whispered gently.

The little girl's head shot up, and in the dim light from her hand Liz got her first full view of Draco's daughter. She was beautiful. Her eyes, though bloodshot from crying, were silver, exactly like her father's. But the nose and face shape was entirely different.

"My name's Liz," she tried, hoping that the girl would not run. "What's yours?"

The little girl sniffled, and wiped her nose with her hand. She seemed wary of Liz, and Liz was about to speak again when she heard the little voice. "Isabel Sophia."

"Isabel Sophia?" Liz asked, her heart leaping to her throat. Those were the names she had decided on for when she herself eventually had children. "That's a very pretty name."

"Daddy says that Mummie picked it out."

"He did? Well, I think it's a very good choice." Isabel looked at Liz, a curious expression on her face. "What are you doing hiding under the table?" Liz asked.

"I heard a bang. I don't like bang."

Liz chuckled softly. "Neither do I. Bang is a scary sound. But I think that you may have heard the door closing behind me. It scared me too."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Why did you come down here?"

"I'll tell you why I came down here if you tell me why you came down here."

Isabel narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brow at this, a gesture that was entirely the same as one Liz had seen Draco make earlier that day. The familiarity of it brought a smile to her lips again. She could tell that Isabel was trying to figure out if she could be trusted with such information, but she quickly made her decision.

"I came down here yesterday, and found some pretty things on the table. I wanted to come back and see them."

"Does your Daddy know where you are?"

"No. I wanted to surprise him with them."

"Well, I'm sure he'd love the surprise, but it might not be a good idea."

"Why not? Daddy loves my surprises!"

"I'm sure he does sweetie, but now might not be a good time for one."

"Why?"

She was persistent. "Because right now your Daddy is upstairs, trying to find you. You left Dobby alone in the kitchen, and scared him. Everyone's trying to find you."

"They are?"

"Yes. That's why I'm here. Dobby told me that you'd found your way down here yesterday, so I thought you might be here."

Isabel stared at her long and hard. "You're smart," she stated.

Liz let out a soft laugh. "Thank you," she replied gently. "Now, what do you say we go on upstairs and make your Daddy stop worrying about you?"

"Can I come back here soon?"

"Only if you bring a grown-up with you." Liz knew she had no right to demand this, but she didn't want Isabel scaring any of them like this again.

"Will you come with me?"

Liz was taken aback at the little girl's trusting nature. But she quickly pushed away her surprise and nodded. "Deal."

Isabel's smile lit up her whole face, and Liz knew that she had won her over. She pulled herself out from under the table, and held out her unlit hand. Isabel took it, and followed her out from under the table. She reached up for Liz, and Liz obliged by leaning down and scooping her up into her arms. Holding her securely, and making sure that her arms were latched tightly around her neck, Liz carried Isabel up the steep steps, the hand around the girl's back lighting the way, and the other hand gripping the railing tightly.

They reached the top of the steps, and Liz carefully opened the door. They were met with the soft light of the hallway, and Liz breathed a sigh of relief. "Nox," she whispered, and the light in her hand was extinguished. Now able to hold Isabel more securely, she closed the basement door behind her, and started to walk the length of the hall.

"Liz?" She turned at the sound of Ginny's voice. She could see the relief flood into Ginny's face, and she turned and shouted behind her. "Draco! She's here!" Ginny quickly moved towards Liz, and stared at her in disbelief. "How?"

Liz smiled at her new friend. "Magic," she said, rolling her eyes heavenward. Ginny let out a chuckle, but both women's attention was caught by heavy footsteps hurrying towards their location.

"Isabel!" Draco shouted as he rounded the corner. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Liz standing there with a soft smile on her face, holding his beloved daughter in her arms. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the sight. Instead, he chose to move towards them slowly, trying to calm his nerves. He stopped just in front of Liz, and she beamed at him. Draco wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms right then, but he had to be careful. He didn't want to scare her off.

Instead, he opted to carefully take Isabel from her arms. Isabel, realizing who was now holding her, let out a happy squeal, and grabbed onto him tightly. He finally released the breath that he had been holding, as he clutched his daughter close to his chest, and breathed in her wonderful scent. She smelled like her mother, always of lilacs, and he pressed his face into her soft brown curls. Draco forced the tears back, and breathed deeply to try and relax. A gentle hand was placed on his arm, and his eyes snapped open to see Liz's lovely face smiling at him. He mouthed a quick 'thank you' to her, and she sent him back a 'you're welcome.'

"You, young lady, scared your dad half to death," Draco said tenderly, turning to the little girl in his arms. "Why did you run off on Dobby?"

"I'm sorry Daddy. I found a new hiding place yesterday, and wanted to explore. Dobby went to get lunch, but I wasn't hungry."

"Well, you need to tell him when you leave. I haven't seen him cry like that in ages."

"Dobby was crying?" Isabel looked stricken, as if she'd just lost her best friend.

"Well, he loves you very much, so of course he was worried. We all were."

"I'm sorry Daddy. I promise I'll tell someone when I leave next time."

"Ok princess," Draco whispered, pulling her close for another hug.

"Why don't Izzy and I go find Dobby so we can show him that she's ok, and so that she can say sorry," Ginny suggested.

Draco looked at Isabel, who nodded in agreement. He set her down on the ground, and she took Ginny's hand. Ginny sent both Draco and Liz a sweet smile before ushering the little girl down the hall and around the corner.

Just as she disappeared from sight, Liz felt warm arms envelop her in a hug. She wrapped her arms around Draco's back, and gently rubbed it as he tried to calm his racing heart. "Thank you," he whispered again. "I was so scared…"

"I don't blame you for being scared. I'd be terrified." Liz hesitated for a second, before continuing. "I was terrified."

Draco stiffened, and pulled back. His stormy silver eyes searched her chocolate ones, and for a moment Liz thought he might close the distance between them and kiss her. But he refrained, and she decided that it was time to confess her suspicions once more.

"She's mine too, isn't she?"

His eyes widened. "How did you know?"

She smiled sympathetically. "Well, if I didn't take into account that we're apparently married, the timeframe, and that she's your daughter," she trailed off for a second, and he let out a soft chuckle. "Besides all that, looking at her is like looking in a mini mirror. Except for the eyes." He looked at her again. "She has your eyes and mannerisms, but everything else screams me."

"I didn't want you to find out so soon, and not like this." Liz could hear the nervousness in his voice, and wanted to ease his fears.

"I know. I'm not mad. I think I'm too shocked by everything that I've found out today to even think about being mad." She saw him smile with relief. "How old is she?"

"She turned five the week before Ron, Harry and I left for Canada." Draco could practically see the wheels turning in Liz's head as she did the math. Her eyes widened as she finally realized a truth.

"That's why I was in the hospital, wasn't it? They took me right after she'd been born."

Draco nodded sadly. "The healers had just taken her back to the nursery, and I went to get you some water. When I got back, you were gone."

Liz wanted to help him through this, but she had a lot to process first. She squeezed his hand in reassurance, and he clung to her fingers. "It's not your fault," she whispered. His head snapped up, as if finally getting the forgiveness he needed. She smiled sadly at him, and squeezed his hand once more before detaching her fingers, and turning down the hall.

"Where are you going?" he asked quietly.

Liz turned back to him. "It's been a long day, and I have a lot to think about. I'm going to go up to my room and try and sort through some of this," she replied. Draco nodded slowly, and watched her as she climbed the stairs to her room.

A/N: And here we have a few more answers! Bonus points to the guest reviewer who figured out my line of thought when Draco said it was 'his' daughter missing. There's a lot more questions and answers on the way (we're only a third of the way through the story), but I want to take a minute to thank everyone who has read/followed/favourited/reviewed this story so far. It's the first piece of fanfic I ever wrote (too many years ago), and it's nice to know it's being well received. :)