DISCLAIMER: HP belongs to JKR. The storyline and all new characters, new character development, new developments are my intellectual property.

If you want this story to be continued let yourselves be heard. And as much as I'd love to finish this, I want to know if it is worth my time. I really want to dedicate my time to my art, the series I'm writing, and to those things that make my life better.

Next chapter will contain a cheat sheet of sorts.

The children and the Dark Tower

In a corner of the older part of the Manor, four small children and a small terrier, all huddled together, had fallen into a magic sleep. One of the children with platinum hair didn't appear to be quite human, he had long claws and his semi-opened mouth displayed small fangs. He had the only girl in the group tightly held in a protective position.

Ghostly eyes were watching them from an open room. Luckily, they couldn't leave the area, besides the bubble covered the children, and they were unable to use any enticements to bring them over; the sentient eyes knew that nothing could penetrate it.

A foreboding tower stood on a small island. It was very far away from the Manor; somewhere, the prisoner thought, near the middle of the Nordic sea. The tower was a prison with only one resident, an older wizard who sat on a cot. All his needs were taken care of magically. His eyes were closed, and he appeared to be in a deep state of meditation. Regretfully, he was exhausted and had to quit for the day.

The bubble would stand out for days or hours. He hoped that they would found before the bubble gave up. Those from the far realms owed him debts, and he had been cashing them, but did not want to use all the remaining balance. He still sensed an evil presence trying to get the children. Someone had left a door open to dangerous realms, probably long ago. Later, after he rested, he would try to cash another favor and close it.

The prisoner used to be a Dark Lord. At the beginning, during the first few years, he had sent powerful messages, hoping to reach any of his children, in case any of them were alive. He'd never stopped hoping since the bodies had been quite mangled, and their identities magically masked. He was never sure why he couldn't remember looking further, strange.

Later there was the illness, it lasted for a long time; it could well be that his jailer had put him on some kind of stasis; or perhaps his jailer was also infirm and could no longer control him. In any case, he was stronger now.

Around a year ago, if his calculations were right, he sent a psychic message, and it reached someone. He saw three young children playing, and his old eyes moistened. They must be the children of his grandchildren, he could see great magic coming out the older girl. Dear god of his parents, they were so beautiful. The girl reminded him of his wife, some... One of them, the boy, was particularly attuned to him. The children saw him, but they kept it a secret. He tried to see them as often as he could, it was a joy to be able to talk or see anyone. His legacy, the real one, had stayed and lived on.

He had wondered which of his children had survived, until the day when he had finally seen the survivor. Sometimes he thought that he felt others, and his hope wouldn't wane. How he wished for those he had not chosen, for his family. He missed his family; his beloved witch, the one he had learned to love with a passion he didn't think possible, and his Blümchen, his sweet flowers. Power was just power, he had been blind and fooled by it.

He was hoping that the children would get him out of here when they grew up. He no longer hoped for revenge, let alone world domination; he wanted a life, a warm bed, a hot bath, a good meal, and to see and hold the children. He should have listened to his wife, but he was too hungry for power.

The evil-dark- wizard wasn't able to forget the intense pain when he found his family slaughtered. Albus was the only one who would know who had done it, of that he was sure. Surely the murderers didn't know they were his children, nobody knew that he had married. Because if Albus had known, he would have hurt them. If that were the case, he would destroy Albus; he would find the way.

Albeit he had not been fond of the institution of marriage or of witches, he'd wanted a legacy. His wife, what a surprise, a revelation. He had burned for her like he never did for anyone before. She had been loving and loyal and gave him five children, four boys and his girl. He was glad that at least one survived, it had to be his Marguerite; she had been the one that made it, the apple of his eye; and maybe, maybe.

And now, someone from another time and place wanted the children for their magic. With them, there were other two children that he didn't recognize, though he could feel their powerful magic. When he was able to wake up again, he would try to contact his daughter. He would call on his blood kin, and this time she'd have to listen.

-Earlier At Malfoy Manor-

"So Albus, I was fascinated to learn that you were looking for Harry Potter. By the way, Narcissa has explained to me the relation between the Black and the Potters." He looked straight into Dumbledore's eyes.

"Did you know that I checked several sources, and found out that James and his wife would have never left their child to the sister and the husband. That couple were known magic haters and called Mrs. Potter a freak. I have inquired into the matter, and after I personally talked to several people close to James and his wife, I was sure that Harry's safety was at risk." He paused and waited for the headmaster to interject, but he just sat there.

"Furthermore, I used my contacts when I found out that I was suspect of having Harry in my home. My contacts reported back that the Muggle's Social Services had made a visit to that Muggle family's home. Apparently, Harry Potter, from the noble house of Potter, was severely abused. The lady who visited their home, indicated that the child slept in a cupboard under the stairs, but when they came to the rescue someone had taken him away."

Lucius looked quite angry; he remembered the abuse inflicted upon the child; it was outrageous; the one reason why he had disliked Muggles before.

What was that? Ha, Dumbledore had just attempted to get into his mind using Legilimancy, and he had effectively blocked him.

"Headmaster, I would hope you wouldn't distrust me now that I am going to be on your side. We all know is just a matter of time before the Dark Lord makes himself known, and we must be ready, don't you agree?"

Lucius went to his desk and pulled out a copy of the Black family tree, and the Potters and Blacks they were second or third cousins, not too far away, there were a couple of links.

"Albus, so sorry for bringing the matter up, but since you are here, I thought it would be a great chance to make an inquiry. By the way, did you find Harry and how can I help you? Cissy and I, want Harry as our protégée, and you can check him as often as you want. We need him safe."

Albus wasn't sure if this had been a pre-emptive strike or what, but he was left without a lot of questions. He did however ask, "How is that you and your wife were attending a Muggle function, and with a Muggle couple, and happened to be sitting right at front of the Dursleys? You have been a declared hater of the Muggles, haven't you?"

"Funny you should ask, they are Lestrange's cousins through a Half-blood marriage, a complex situation. They aren't really Muggles, but chose to give up magic and to live in the Muggle world. Their child is fond of the children's plays which Draco found a little disturbing. Particularly since he didn't understand why they were going to kill a wolf. It was apparent when he started crying."

Dumbledore appeared as if he didn't believe a word. Nevertheless, Lucius continued, "The stout boy sitting behind, was a nuisance; as a matter of fact, he tried to pick up a fight with our children, and we had to leave. I had no idea who they were; it was a coincidence. Trust me; if I had Harry, I would be filing a request to keep him. And your interest in Harry is? Are you Harry's guardian?"

Albus was speechless, and he had nothing to answer back. So apologizing for the late hour, he left.

Upon his departure, it was decided to move the patients to the Grangers that same evening. That was when they heard the whispers, the voIce; they all heard it.

"Go back. Hurry. They are in peril, they are in mortal danger. You must find them or all is lost."

Lucius knew something awful had happened, and called Dobby and Axel to follow him. The children's owls were packed as well. At the last minute, he called the wolfhounds and hoped that they would behave.

At the Grangers

"Elly, love, something is wrong with the children, I can feel it, I hate to get up but must do it right now, we must." Remus dressed in a big hurry.

They were halfway to the room when they met with Jeanie and Grant, the Lord and Lady of the house, and Jeanie's parents as well.

"We need to check on the children."

Elly could feel that something was wrong.

Somewhere near the Ukraine

The amorphous Voldemort did not have a body or enough substance, but he still had friends in the dark realms. They had detected Harry Potter near one of the portals, and got back to Voldemort immediately. Voldemort offered them to rule over limited geographical areas whenever he came into power, if they were able to trap Harry Potter in their realm. Voldemort could get Harry out whenever he was ready for his new body, since he would need his blood.

Over the centuries of persecution, all types of wizards and witches had hidden at the manor during those times. One of them, had unwisely opened one of the gates into the dark underworld, and had left it partially opened. Since there were still wards, they could not go far into this world, but they had power in selected areas. This was one of the reasons why, parts of the manor had closed down over time.

There had been complaints about ghosts, shadows, and other ghoulish apparitions. It could had been found and closed; however, the breaking away from the Wizarding world had caused the very problem they were being faced with: open doors, gates and portals into less than desirable places, and lacking the knowledge to close the entrances.

Of course, their reach was limited to areas near the portal and would require two things, for the child or children, to be within reach, and for them to come to them by their free will.

Hogwarts

Upon his arrival at the castle, Dumbledore called for Severus and Minerva.

"Severus is already gone for the weekend. This was his night off; he should be back tomorrow by teatime, or maybe later tonight."

"Minerva, we have a crisis, Harry Potter has been missing from the Dursley's home for a few days now. He is without protection, and Voldermort can reach him if Master Potter is not behind the blood wards. "

"How did you find out?"

"Through Ministry channels, imagine, the Muggle authorities are involved. Basically, the relatives abused the child badly, and at the Ministry, I was asked of my involvement. I told them the truth that you had brought him to their door since Petunia was the only known living relative."

"Albus, you told me to take Harry to and drop him at the door. At the time, I thought it was a terrible thing to do and told you so. And now you are blaming me for one of your most irresponsible decisions? We could have safely taken him to a different place."

"I wasn't the one dropping him there. As the Headmaster I won't be judged kindly if this were to get out. We have problems, the Malfoys are going to ask to be guardians, and they might win if Harry shows up. Right now we must find him and place strong wards around him. The sister had the same blood, and it made more sense to place the wards around her home, her blood reinforces the wards."

Minerva left the room, she was disgusted with Albus. He had made an irresponsible decision and had endangered a young life. She hoped that someone nice had picked him up; she was convinced Lucius Malfoy had changed for whatever reason. And if Lucius were the one who had picked him up, so be it. How did Albus even think of shifting the blame? No, she'd not allow that to happen.

Harry had to be found, the wards could be moved to the new location. Some instinct was telling her that she had to talk to Severus in private.

At Granger Manor

Elly, Remus, and the two Granger couples arrived at the door of the nursery at the same time. Lucius had Floo back around the same time and proceeded to the nursery. The feeling of something wrong, of danger to his offspring, angered the Veela in Lucius, who was already at the edge just feeling the anxiety of his mate.

Add that to the whispers which had sounded like his father's voice; yes, the children were in mortal danger, and he knew it. However, for the sake of his great-grandfather, he tried to remain calm.

Narcissa and Lucius also rushed to the nursery. By time they reached it, the Granger were in full panic mode.

Remus took charge. He would lead the team and told them so. The moment when he detected the alcohol fumes on the nurse, Moony had wanted to rip her throat. If something happened to the little witch she is dead. Moony wanted blood, and Remus agreed.

"I don't know what would have made them leave the room. They took all their bags with them, most peculiar." Marguerite indicated, "The doors are closed, so they cannot have gone far."

Remus and Lucius both thought about Harry Potter, and about what the children might have heard during the last days. They also remembered Dumbledore saying that Harry was protected by heavy blood wards at the Dursley's.

They looked for an hour or so; Remus used his werewolf nose and wondered if Sirius would be up to helping. Two noses were better than one, but he might not get better results, within a short distance their scent was gone, it ended at a dead end, that could not be. The wolfhounds were sniffing and wanted to go and look for the children. Surprisingly, the other dogs recognized them as superior and all was calm for now.

The problem was the many rooms that were abandoned at the Manor. The doors to mothballed (not in use, but could be without major effort) areas were closed, but it had never stopped the children from exploring. The fear that they could have opened the doors to the outside was growing.

"It is going to be dark within one hour, we need to call the Estate staff and maybe the police, to organize a search," Paul advised.

Lucius was thinking to call the Aurors bppphhhhut with the Harry situation and the Azkaban trio, it was not a smart idea.

"The police are not what we need, the children are either here, or they have been taken away by magic means." Lucius' voice was heavy with apprehension. "We might be better to try on our own. I am calling some associates if you'd allow me. Whereas we will need some assistance, I am just not quite sure who can be trusted."

He couldn't see straight, he needed to calm down.

"Remus, first let's talk to Snape. He might have some ideas."

They separated in groups, all those that were healthy and able. The Lestrange brothers and Sirius were still incapacitated, and it might be a couple of days before they were strong enough.

After looking around for hours, the wolfhounds would always end up by a wall. Even the house elves searched until they were bone tired.

It was with heavy hearts that the search was stopped for the night, a light meal was served, and everyone went to bed full of aprehension. Lucius sent several messages to "specialists."

*``~~~``*o*``~~~``*

Lucius held Narcissa close to his chest, Dobby had assured him that he felt the children in the house, but they were hidden from their eyes.

She raised her face towards his. In seconds they were making mad love. After all was calm, "Cissy, I am afraid. What if something has happened to my little dragon," Lucius asked, he was anguished. He had talked to Serpens who wished they had already left the country. "I think that the Dark Lord had something to do with it. How I wish that I didn't have the mark. I am afraid."

"I am too, so afraid."

*``~~~``*o*``~~~``*

Grant and Jeanie were both holding to each other as survivors, their baby, their sweet girl gone. What had they heard to make them run? "Oh, dear Lord, I know what happened. They surely heard about someone coming to ask about Harry. It must have been that. They were afraid, and Hermione has been very interested in stories of runaway children, rather fascinated. Where have they gone?"

He held her even tighter feeling her tears wet his chest. He knew they were in the house somewhere. He remembered when he was a young boy getting lost for hours and could have sworn the stairways and doors had moved.

Both hoped to drive the fear away with their love.

*``~~~``*o*``~~~``*

Elly hadn't stopped crying. She felt guilty for not checking earlier because she had been with him. Remus told her that was nonsense. "Love, don't cry. I didn't find a trace of them around the entire perimeter of the house, they are still in. The dogs didn't want to follow outside. We will find them and by this time tomorrow we'll be laughing. They got lost and this place is so big."

He didn't believe that himself. They had been yelling and calling for them. But the house was very, very big, and they could be anywhere. He was afraid that a magical being would have taken them away.

She held on to him for dear life, and he was happy to give her comfort. He was not longer alone, Frankie and his sweet pixies would be found, he hoped.

a/n not sure if they would had gone to bed, but they know there is little they can do. I'd say they slept a couple of hours.