Chapter 6:
Empty plates and glasses littered the small table still standing in Jamie and Lily's room. The children were all laying on the bed, sound asleep for afternoon naps. The house elves snuck in to clean up and left without disturbing the children. Or so they thought. For nearly her entire short life, Samantha Snape was a very light sleeper. Any slight noise would wake her, starting shortly after the Final Battle. Something must've registered in the small babies who were brought to the ancient Shrieking Shack with their mothers and Grandma Molly while the Final Battle raged on. Sam's light sleeping was credited to that since nearly everyone in her immediate family were heavy sleepers and the only sleeping problem was her father's occasional problems falling asleep. As for the Lupin twins, they were very independent. But during a thunderstorm or if a loud boom resounded, the girls immediately clutched the other's hand.
But with the house elves cleaning up, no matter how quiet they were, Sam still awoke. She decided to remain lying still…that always worked. She would remain perfectly still as if she were asleep and eventually go back down. However, a storm was brewing and a clap of thunder prevented her from doing so. She sat up as the twins jumped and grasped hands. The others slept on, undisturbed. The six-years-old looked around them as rain began pattering down on their window. They would've tried to look outside, but an earlier attempt by Rawlins proved that the curtains were charmed to remain closed.
"Now what?" Lily whispered, hugging her knees. Normally when it rained, her daddy was there to lift her up and make her forget about the loud noise. "We just sit here?"
Sam placed her arm around her friend to comfort her. Jamie, however, looked at her twin thoughtfully. "I know how to chase away the storm," she said, smiling an impish smile. "What do you say to a little adventure around the mansion?"
"Jamie," Lily said. "You heard Mr. Malfoy. We're supposed to stay on this floor." Jamie shot her sister a look and ran out of the room. "JAMIE MARIE!" Lily called after her.
"Lily, Mr. Malfoy told us everything but this floor was forbidden to us. She's now on a mission to prove him wrong," Sam said. "We should go save her before he kills her."
"What about us?" Lily and Sam turned around to see Giachi rubbing his eyes while Rawlins was sitting up. Madison and James were still sleeping. "I'm coming with you."
"Alright," Sam said, "but Rawlins, you stay here so not to scare Madi and James if they wake up alone." Rawlins nodded and leaned back down as Madi and James rolled closer to him. Sam smiled before she, Lily, and Giachi left the room to hunt down the other Lupin girl.
The three walked down through the halls and down the back staircase. They tried to figure out where their friend would go first. "Let's split up. It'll be easier. Just remember that we are on the fourth floor of the mansion. It doesn't look like Hogwarts' moving stairs are here," Sam said. The other two nodded and split up.
Giachi walked down the second floor corridor anxiously, prepared to fight off whoever crossed his path. He wasn't expecting a house elf. "Young Master shouldn't be down here," the house elf said, hands crossed.
"I'm looking for someone."
"There haven't been any other children down here. Perhaps I should tell the Master." The house elf crossed his arms. "Who is the Young Master?"
"Like I'm going to tell you!"
"You is a Black! I can tell. I severed the Mistress of the Blacks."
"My grandmother?"
The house elf's face darkened and Giachi suddenly realized he and the elf were the same height. He feared being hurt significantly by this house elf. "Evil Master treated Kreacher badly! Evil Master married the mudblood and spoiled Mistress' line! FILTH!" The house elf lunged at Giachi, but a hand collided with the creature's stomach. Giachi opened his eyes to see Jamie standing there with a balled fist.
"No one attacks my friends and gets away with it!" she said, shaking her fist at the curled over house elf. Kreacher shot the two a look, but once Lily and Sam showed up, he backed off. He wasn't stupid enough to cause that much trouble. With a crack, Kreacher disappeared and left the children alone. Jamie whirled around. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Giachi said, still shaking. Lily grabbed his hand and the three went back to their floor to find their relieved siblings.
Draco stopped by his cousin's office before going to meet Melissa for their dinner date. "Hey, how's the investigation?" he asked, plopping down between Tonks and Kingsley. Harry and Ron were sitting across the desk and acknowledged the Malfoy boy.
Tonks smiled sadly at her cousin. "I wish I could say it was going really well, but we're stalled. All we know is that Lucius took seven children ranging from the ages of two to six from three families who were prominent in the final defeat of Voldemort. He's definitely working with Cornelius and Narcissa Fudge while we speculate he's in cahoots with former Deatheaters and Fudge's Army."
"Okay," Draco said.
Harry took over. "The bad news is we don't know where they are operating out of. For all we know, Lucius could have taken them out of England. Maybe not out of the United Kingdom, but he could have them mainland."
"Hey, Weasley, wasn't your brother a follower of my 'beloved' stepfather?"
"Unfortunately," Ron said, "but we have no reason to believe that Percy's left America and has returned to Europe. He was wrongly sorted when we were in school."
"Percy did strike me more as a cross between a Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Of course," Draco recalled, "he was a stickler for the rules."
"They would've had to create a separate house just for him," Kingsley laughted. "But that still won't bring the kids back."
Draco shook his head. "Well, I have to go pick up Melissa. I'll take to you later," he said, waving to the crowd. "Please, keep me updated."
"No problem, Draco. Tell Melissa that we all say hi," Tonks said. Draco left while Harry walked over to his desk. He pulled open a drawer to grab a picture frame. He took the picture out and walked over to the group bulletin board. He pinned up a picture of the seven children taken at the last picnic.
"We'll want to get individual shots of them, but until then, we leave that shot up," Harry said.
Ron looked over. "What gave you that idea?"
"Ginny and I have been watching some telly lately and there's this one American show about missing people and the agents who find them. They do this while working a case," Harry explained. Tonks and Kingsley nodded. A small woman hanging by the wall smiled as she wrote something down in her notebook. Within minutes, she was gone.
"WHAT! Oh, I have half a mind to ring someone's neck! How in the world did Lucius Malfoy sneak back into England?" Grace Wright shouted, sloshing tea around and out of her cup. Kiki was grateful Severus had refused to hand over their son to his grandmother. Grace was so worked up she would forget her little grandson was in her arms! Mrs. Wright had shown up after reading about the attack the day prior and wanted to make sure her family was fine. However, the Daily Prophet didn't print the part about the kidnappings just yet since it did involve one of their own. So, Grace was highly surprised to learn where her granddaughters really were.
"I don't know, Mom," Kiki sighed, sipping at her tea. "Severus and I are more worried about getting our children back from Lucius rather than figuring out how he came to be here."
"Of course, it makes perfect sense. At least Severus was home with Garret when it happened. I daresay you would be in a right state if all your children were taken."
"He wasn't interested in babies. The youngest Lupin and Black were both left behind," Severus interjected, tired of being talked over the entire time. Even when his wife tried to bring him into the conversation, his mother-in-law would balk. It was quite off since Grace Wright, he deemed, would talk to anyone about anything. He reckoned she would tell you her entire life story if you just sat down next to her at a bus stop!
"Really, Kiki, I hate to think of what that man is capable of doing to your children!"
"Kiki darling, I'm going to go put Garret down for his nap," Severus said as he watched his son yawn again. She nodded and kissed her son's forehead when Severus brought Garret down to her. She smiled as the two left the room before whirling on her mother.
"MOM!"
"Kiki, dear, don't yell," Mrs. Wright said.
Kiki sighed and rubbed her temples. "You were completely rude to Severus just then! He was sitting in between us and you were carrying on as if he weren't there!"
"Oh, I knew he was there…"
"And it would've killed you to acknowledge him?"
"…but I believe I taught you children that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."
"What? What bad things do you have to say to my husband—the father of your grandchildren?"
"Two of whom are now being tortured by one of his maniacal friends."
"Former friend, Mom. He hasn't been a Deatheater, in years…WE EXPLAINED ALL OF THIS!"
Grace Wright tsked and took another sip of her tea. "I still say it's all Severus' fault," she said.
"Mother, I love you dearly…but if you are going to sit here and blame my husband, you can just leave!" With that, Kiki stormed out of the dungeons and was on her way to the Lupins' chambers before her mother and husband could blink.
Dumbledore knocked on the Lupins' door. Remus opened and let the Headmaster in without a word. Kiki was still upstairs with Harmony since the argument with her mother. In the mean time, Garret woke up and started to fuss, so Severus was now up there while Kiki rocked their son. Dumbledore refused the tea Harmony offered him and took a seat. "The Prophet is going to break the story," he announced.
"They already did, Albus, that's why I had a lovely meeting with my mother this afternoon," Kiki responded. Albus shook his head sadly. "You mean…about the kidnappings?" Albus nodded.
"I don't want the entire magical community to know that my children were kidnapped!" Harmony cried. "What if Lucius feels threatened by the headlines? What if he decides to move or hurt the children?" Remus walked over and embraced his wife to calm her down.
Meanwhile, Severus looked like he was ready to kill any reporter that dared print a word about his daughters. "Has Bianca been told? I guess the Prophet isn't going to worry about the feelings of one their columnists. Maybe if she threatens to pull…"
"I was just about to contact Mrs. Black to see if she knws anything. I doubt the news room will be prepared for Hurricane Bianca," Albus chuckled as he stood up. He turned around. "I was able to wrestle out a preview of the article." The article was placed on the table and the four parents waited about a nanosecond to pounce on it as soon as the door closed.
Harmony grabbed it and read the lead. "Seven children from families who fought in the Final Battle against He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named have been kidnapped by a former Deatheater. The false explosion two days ago hid the abductions by Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy was sentenced to an exile in Canada seven years ago during the Second War.
"The children are: Samantha and Madison Snape, six and two; Jamie, Lily and Rawlins Lupin, six and three; and Giacomo and James Black, four and two. Severus Snape is the current Potions Master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry while his wife Kristin is a top Auror. Harmony Anderson-Lupin and Remus Lupin also teach at Hogwarts as Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. Sirius Black is a trainer at the Auror Academy and Bianca Black is a columnist for the Dialy Prophet. All three families have strong ties to Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. All six were present when the Dark Lord was defeated six years ago.
"And it keeps going," Harmony said, tossing down the article. "I dare say what the headline is going to be." Remus walked over and embraced his wife, rubbing her back.
Severus pulled out his wand and magically copied the article. He picked it up and helped Kiki up. "We're going to go back. Leave you two alone," he said, as Kiki opened the door.
"Thank you, Severus," Remus replied as Harmony clutched his shirt. "It won't be too bad. I'm sure Bianca will raise holy hell there for all of us." Harmony laughed and buried her head into his chest, having opened the buttons. He smoothed down her hair a few times before moving to see the article himself.
"What are you looking for?" Harmony asked, sniffling a little.
"The by-line."
"Oh, if it's that Skeeter leech, I swear I will kill her myself! After what she's done to Harry, this will just be icing on the cake." Harmony sat down. "So, who is it?"
"It's not Skeeter. It's someone named Evelyn. Evelyn Wita," Remus read. He tossed down the article and went to go pick up that day's Prophet.
"Hunch?"
"How do you know?"
"I've been married to you for seven years. Plus we've been friends since we were eleven," Harmony replied, smiling. "Anyway, care to share your hunch?"
Remus flipped through until he reached the end of the paper. "I found Evelyn Wita to see how big a name she is in the Prophet."
"And?"
"She covers the floo connections and portkeys," Remus said. "She's obviously new to the press."
"She's trying to prove herself. This is the story that could make her career," Harmony replied.
"Or break it. I highly doubt Bianca's going to be running to congratulate Ms. Wita." Remus put down the paper and patted his lap. Wordlessly, Harmony sat down on it and once again rested her head on his bare chest.
Bianca stormed through the pressroom until she found Evelyn Wita. Wita was a small woman with brown hair twisted into a bun with black square framed glasses. She was dressed in a blue shirt and black jumper skirt underneath plain black robes. She was only out of Hogwarts a few years and currently was studying in a muggle university for journalism but getting practical experience at the Prophet. Bianca knocked on the cubicle wall and plopped herself down on the desk.
Evelyn Wita had never seen Bianca Black before. She didn't know many outside of the usual reporters for whom she was their personal quill gofer. Columnists were especially unknown to her since many of them rarely showed up and often worked from home. She was confused when a finely dressed witch showed up at her desk. Her chocolate curls were free, but combed nicely. She wore a pink button down shirt with a black skirt underneath pressed black robes. Wita figured it must be one of the editors coming to congratulate her on her scoop. She had been coming back from getting the next day's portkey and floo reports when she overheard about the Malfoy kidnappings. It was her perfect opportunity and someone was coming to tell her good job!
"Can I help you?" she asked, smiling.
"Are you Evelyn Wita?"
"Yes, I am."
"You wrote the article about the kidnapping by Lucius Malfoy." Wita nearly jumped out of her skin. This woman didn't pose it as a question, but as a statement. The journalist remained cool though, as if she wrote such important articles all the time.
"Yes, yes I did."
"Good." Bianca wanted to strangle this woman. Wita was trying to keep her enthusiasm under wraps, but Bianca was able to tell she was bursting inside. She had been the same way after handing in her first column. But now was not the time. This young woman was undoubtedly unaware of who she was talking to. "Because I wanted to tell you that I'm going to ask the editor to remove it from tomorrow's issue."
"You can't!" Wita replied, standing up. "Who are you to demand such a thing?"
"Bianca Black, the mother of two of the kidnapped children. I don't like the fact that you're reporting something that could potentially compromise my children's safety or harm the investigation," Bianca said. "But I'll leave it up to the editor."
Wita began storming down to the editor, Bianca walking calmly behind her. Veteran reporters watched interestingly as the new girl who only covered transportation was going to contest a popular columnist. The editor, however, was a tough guy. He may lean towards Bianca and take out the article until the children were home safe and sound or he may let the news prevail and run the story. Either way, it was going to be interesting as both sides began to argue the sides.
A/N: Wow, it's been long since I last updated, huh? Well, I caught a summer cold and now, I'm getting ready to go back to school. I return to college on Sunday, and then classes start Monday. Where did the summer go? Thanks to all my reviewers:
Roxy Black: Thanks!
cerzee: Thank you. I tried to make each child as different as I could.
Brielle Lupin: It's good to have you back! And that's the type of situation where you knock yourself out and sleep for most of the trip.
SarahtheBardess: As you'll learn later, someone else is in charge of the children's clothing. And no, I was thinking that while I was writing Malfoy's "rules." As for Malfoy's sanity, the plot bunny that hit me earlier this month will really have everyone questioning his sanity. I know I am. Arden's clapping at her father's antics. And yes, family vacations are highly overrated.
Proffesional Writer: Uh, thanks!
Well, looks like the next update will be when I'm at college. Then you'll get to hear about my wonderful adventure with first week Add/Drop. Lucky you. Mac