The Age of Innocence is Just Beginning

By Phoebe Halliwell

Chapter four

Harry once pushed Draco out of the way and withdrew his wand, pointing it at David who lay sprawled on the floor. "We just want to talk David." Harry said warningly, "Nothing more, it's important."

David picked himself up, scowling, "I'm not interested, whatever it is, I don't care." He said, "So just leave me alone."

"No, not until you hear me out, I meant what I said, this is important." Harry said, he knew that there was only one thing that would draw his attention in a split second so he used it, "It's about your daughter."

"What, but I don't have a daughter." David said in bemusement. The three vampires that had escorted the trio this far, now satisfied with leaving them where they were, departed so to give them some privacy.

"Yes you do, Draco obliviated your memory on my request so that you wouldn't know about her but she wants to track you down, she wants to know you."

"And you don't want her to know me, is that it?" David asked.

"I don't mind if she knows you or not David, I don't want her hurt, she is still my baby girl, she's already made a lot of bad choices in her life and I don't want you to be the reason that we loose her completely."

"What do you mean by bad choices?" David asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Harry sighed, he hadn't wanted to bring Piper into this but David had a right to know and he had asked, "She had a daughter a few months back, Samantha named her Piper."

"So not only am I a father but a grandfather as well?"

"Yes, Samantha is a very confused young woman right now, she thinks that finding you will have all the answers, I know different, it'll only make things worse."

"So what is it that you want me to do, if this girl turns up on the doorstep asking to see me, do you want me to refuse to see her, scare her witless, tell her to shove off?"

"I don't care, you do what you think is best but I want her to come home to me, if she is hurt in any way shape or form I will hurt you David, I don't care if a army of blood thirsty vampires come after my blood because of it because I am a protective father, as far as I am concerned Draco is Samantha's real father, you may have put her inside me but he is the one who raised her."

"Then how come she went so bad? I think you just can't admit that she is more like me than you want to admit, that your precious daughter isn't like you at all, she's so much more than she seems."

"What are you doing on about?" Draco asked, he didn't like the sound of where this was going.

"Thomas Riddle, the father of Tom Marvolo Riddle, did not father only one child, I am his nephew. Your child is Lord Voldemort'sniece once removed, she holds his power. I despised you, I was sent to father a child of yours if Tom ever failed, I thought that I had failed in that until now, thank you for telling me."

"Samantha will never …"

"Oh won't she, yet she appears to be uncontrollable, I bet you've been wondering where you went wrong, I can happily say that you went wrong when you slept with me and kept her."

"No child is born evil, Samantha will never serve the purpose that you want her to, I won't allow it." Harry said defiantly.

"It doesn't appear as if you have a choice, she is already on her way here to find me, upon her arrival I will tell her of her heritage, it will be up to her whether or not she follows in the footsteps of her family or not."

"She's nineteen years old …"

"And therefore an adult and old enough to make her decisions" David countered before Harry could even finish his sentence.

"Samantha may be a little lost at the moment but she would never turn her back on her true family, we are the ones that have raised her, cared for her and loved her, you have done nothing for her, you didn't even know that she existed until half an hour ago." Draco said in defence of his step-daughter.

"But then again Draco you can never tell, because when it comes to blood people can do very stupid things, and believe me I know." David said with a grin, it made Harry sick to the stomach to see David loving this so.

"Come on, lets go, this was a waste of time, we'll get Samantha back another way, I hope you rot in hell David." Harry said spitefully before turning and storming out, Draco and Severus following close behind.

"I'm already there." David shouted back, "And I'm loving it." He added with a cackle of joy at seeing Harry so upset, he had never forgotten how Harry had thrown him out of the house and chosen Draco over him.

They were stopped at the foot of the stairs by the male vampire that had welcomed them in, "I am sorry if he has been unhelpful, he is lacking amusement down here and not to mention friends, I hope that you find your daughter, if she turns up here I will not be able to deny her entry to him but I can contact you so that you know that she is here."

"Thank you, that would be a great comfort to us, to at least know where she is," Harry said, "Thank you for your hospitality, but we really must be going." The vampire nodded and allowed them to pass.

Once outside on the street once more, the cool weather chilled their skin, Harry for one was glad to be out of there, however he loathed to think that what David had said was true.

He looked to Severus as he asked, "Is it true, what he said, is Sammy related to Him?" Severus for a moment pondered this but it was not to search for the answer, it was him debating whether or not to answer at all.

"It is true that David is indeed related to the Riddles, although I am unsure how this would effect Samantha, she would indeed be Voldemort'sniece but also his only remaining descendent, however distant the relation is. If such information was broadcasted there could be uproar, those who craved the uprising of Lord Voldemort would now rally around her."

"Then we keep it quite, it's a distant relation and no ones ever noticed before, the short relationship that David and I had wasn't that well publicised, his name was mentioned a couple of times and it was also said that I was pregnant again but other than that there was no big scandal, no one made the connection so if we say nothing then it should just …"

"It won't disappear Harry, she is looking for him and one day soon she is going to find him and we cannot prevent that, we don't even know where she is, unfortunately this isn't over." Draco said, Harry knew that he was right, however much that he didn't want to admit it.

Severus escorted them both back to the castle where they picked up Piper, refused an offer of staying for dinner and headed home. On the Knight bus back Harry asked, "Why do you play nice with Severus, I know you don't like him."

"He is an old friend of my fathers, we've discussed this before Harry, he is also my godfather, I may not like him, especially not after what he did to us but I have to be civil to the man, besides he's a useful babysitter."

"I suppose, but why did you ask him to watch David?"

"Because I don't trust him and I was right too, besides he owed us a favour after what he did and I needed David to be watched so I used him, besides with him doing that for me it assured that he wasn't hitting on you."

"I know all this, I'm sorry, I'm just so frustrated, I should have known about him and yet I didn't, how could I have been so stupid?"

"Everyone makes mistakes Harry, it's more my fault than yours anyway, when I left you were lonely and raising twins on your own, it was only natural that you would immediately like someone who showed an interest in you, I know what your like Harry, you are the representative of love on this earth."

"I don't know whether to be insulted or except that as a compliment." Harry said quietly with a hint of a smile.

"Go with compliment, means your not mad at me." Draco said placing a kiss on Harry's cheek and then ruffling Piper's hair.

With Christmas in two weeks time and Timothy home in one they were stressed enough as it is, Lucius and Narcissa would be coming to stay around the same time as their youngest son, Callie was due in that evening and Samantha was no where to be seen not to mention the fact that it seemed that Harry would be stepping into a mothering role once more so to raise Piper.

An hour after they had got home Callie turned up, hugging both of her parents and then her niece. They had just settled down for dinner, which was heated leftovers from the previous night, there was plenty so Callie helped herself and sat down.

"So where's Sammy?" She asked, "I thought she was still living with you guys."

"She is supposed to be but we don't know where she is," Draco said, Harry was beginning to feel as Mrs. Weasley had when Percy had left her, he just wanted his little girl back.

"She just left you guys with Piper, that's just so unlike … Okay, I can't even pretend to be surprised, she never was the one with brains in the family."

"But she is still your sister so you'll be nice." Draco said, he noticed that Harry was being far too quite and hurriedly changed the subject to what Callie had been up too while she had been away travelling.

What do you think? Don't forget to leave me a review. Phoebe.