Here I am again, ya'll! I don't own any of the ideas except for Cassiopeia Malfoy. Everything else belongs to whydoyouneedtoknow and JK Rowling. Oh! Spoilers for Living With Danger up to Chapter 20. God Bless!

RiverSong DreamShadow

Chapter One

Danger's vision grayed for a moment, and she stumbled backward. Aletha moved to catch her with her free arm. Must be tireder than I thought.

"Was that you?" Remus asked, looking grave.

"Was what me?"

"You spoke."

"I don't remember saying anything. What did I say?"

"The flower plucks itself; it withers even now," Sirius recited.

"Great, now I don't even have to be asleep to be cryptic."

"We're all half-asleep, I think," Aletha said. She looked at Meghan, then at Hermione and Harry. "Some of us more than others. Let's finish this conversation at home, shall we?"

"Sounds like a good idea."

One by one, they stepped into the fire, called out "The Marauders' Den!", and vanished.

Chapter 20
Living with Danger

Sirius allowed the others to go first, waiting for Draco to relax in his arms. He slowly reached to grab his Floo powder when a small voice stopped him.

"Wait! Please… please, sir, can I come with you?" Sirius' gaze carefully examined the room until he found what he was looking for. A small pile of grey rags began to uncurl itself to reveal a tiny figure. As she stood, Sirius noted her remarkable resemblance to Draco. A sister, maybe?

"Come here, little one. What's your name?" Sirius gently beckoned her forward.

The girl cowered, but answered in her frail voice. "Everyone calls me Girl, sir. Nothin' else, just Girl."

Sirius frowned, which in turn became even deeper when he saw the girl cringe and start backing away. A bastard daughter of Lucius', maybe…

"What do you do around here, little one?" He refused to call her by that… that name.

She swallowed, and answered, "I help the house elves in the kitchen, sir. I can cook, and clean, and wash dishes, and sew, and if you take me…" she paused for a breath before continuing. "If you take me with you, sir, I'll be the best servant you've ever had. You'll never even see me, I'm that quiet, sir!" Her voice contained some small pride in her… accomplishments.

Sirius was paying her little attention by now. Most of his attention was focused on ways to torture and maim Lucius Malfoy in the most painful way possible. He had no doubt why the child didn't even have a name.

(Section Break Here)

Aletha felt her wedding band grow almost unbearably warm, and turned to Remus. "Why isn't Sirius through yet? It shouldn't take this long… and my wedding band's gone warm. If it takes to much longer, I'll go back for him…"

Remus took on his Alpha-voice and gently chastised her. "Letha, you're the one who can't go… The Ministry still doesn't know about you."

Or you, my love. He added silently to Danger.

I know. But she's right. It shouldn't be taking this long.

He addressed Aletha again. "We'll give him a few more minutes. Then I'll go."

(Section Break Here)

Sirius was pulled back into reality by the girl's voice. "Will you take me with you, sir? Please? I'll be good, and do whatever you say. I already know all of Master Draco's favorite foods, and I can cook 'em real good. So can I come, sir? Please?"

Sirius looked at her, examined her. She was small, yes. Much too thin, as well. He was reminded of Harry, the first time he saw him after Azkaban: small, frail, much too thin and so pale…

"Child, if you come, it's not servant's work you'll be doing. You'll be family. Do you understand what that means?"

She nodded emphatically, and timidly asked, "Doesn't it mean I'm not beat as much? Only when I do bad stuff instead of all the time?"

Sirius groaned inwardly, but kept a calm, cool expression on his face. This was turning out to be much worse than he had originally thought. He knew there was no way he would not take her, but he didn't know how to get both her and Draco to the Den…

The fireplace flashed green, and Remus stepped out, stopping abruptly at the scene before him.

"Padfoot, who is this?" Remus scented the tension in the air, and accordingly kept his voice calm.

"This, Moony, is our new cub." Sirius sent a grin in the girl's direction. She stepped forward, and bowed politely before speaking. Her frail voice echoed through the silent room. "Thank you, sir. Thank you very much."

Remus simply shot Sirius the look. As he passed the now-asleep Draco to Remus, and picked the girl up, he caught a faint "I hope you know what you're getting us into, Padfoot."

End Chapter

I hope ya'll like the length better than the prologue's. I don't really know where this is going to go, but it'll work itself out. I really am sorry for the length between updates… I have two minor surgeries planned for the next three weeks, so everything has been- and will continue to be- a little hectic for a while. Again, if phoenix catcher and rookraven would email me lucas(underscore)warrior (at) hotmail (dot) com about beta stuff, that would be great. God Bless

RiverSong DreamShadow