A preemptive thank you for reading.

3

Dawnie

Chapter 3: In Which The Riddle Children Learn of Their New World

Sirius went down the stairs, half stumbling over the trailing cuffs of his pajama pants. He tripped across the trunk that was sitting at the bottom step. Hestia's coat was draped over it. Blinking sleepily, he frowned for a moment at it, and then turned to enter the kitchen.

Hestia was sitting, facing the door, her hands fiddling with the teacup in her hands. Sirius moved to kiss good morning her on the head, when she twitched away. He frowned again, and sat across from her. The woman examined her tea, and then looked up, her tired eyes tearful.

"I'm leaving you. I filed for divorce." The words, so blunt and brutally honest, struck Sirius in the chest, making him slump in the chair.

"What?" He asked, not truly surprised. This skeleton of a relationship was bound to break apart at one time or another.

Hestia half hid behind her sandy blond hair, brown eyes peering out at him from lank hair. "I've been having an affair, Siri. Since before we were married. I was stupid."

The dark head collapsed into hands, elbows resting on knees. "Was- was it Regulus?" a stammering voice spoke out, not really wanting the answer. "Did you marry me cause I was older? Because I was the one getting all the money? Why did you do it?"

The woman reached for him, her tears now free flowing. "Siri, look at me." The head didn't move. "Sirius Black, you look at me right now." She snapped. The face looked up, tears at the corners of dark eyes. "I married you because I loved your brother. Reggie was with the Death Eaters at the time. I couldn't be in the order and be with him. So I married you. But we both know what this is really about."

"Then tell me, Hestia. Tell me why I wasted 8 years of my life." Sirius stood and slammed his hands down on the table, glaring at the woman across from him.

"Sirius Black, you don't love me. You don't even like women. You fell in love 14 years ago and never fell out. He misses you. Please, make yourself happy." Hestia reached out, slightly hesitant, and patted Sirius's hand. "Siri, it was always sibling love between us. I still have that for you. Please don't be angry. Please." The woman watched him carefully and then removed her hand. With shaking fingers, she removed the golden band and the diamond solitaire from her left ring finger, placing the two rings in between his own.

A small smile crossed his face. "Thank you," he whispered, "thank you for being the voice of reason."

Hestia rose and walked to the kitchen door. She turned for a moment, glancing over a shoulder. "I'm sorry it had to be so soon after Tabby arrived, but I didn't want her to be…confused."

Sirius hadn't really listened to her, and was just staring at the dented kitchen table, his brow furrowed in concentration.

Tabby Riddle was not a morning person. She was not one for waking up early, or being particularly alert in the early hours. So it was no surprise to her that when she awoke with a start, her curls floating out from her head in a halo, that she was dazed. Tabby rubbed her nose, and looked around the room. Blinking quickly, she realized this was not the closet room that she shared with Tom. The room was large, and strange looking. Seemingly a nursery, a line of bunnies bounded around the walls, about head height on her. This was not the thin foam mattress she slept on at home, instead a pile of blankets and pillows, the combination being deliciously soft.

A soft knock at the door made her jump and she realized that This Was Not Safe. Daddy would not like her staying away from home. She was not supposed to leave the apartment. She was supposed to stay at home. Tabby glanced around; her eyes flickering back to the door. She looked like a small, scared rabbit, like the ones that danced around the room's walls. A large rocking chair in the corner looked safe, no, what if he sat in it? She settled on the strange bed in the bay windows. It had tall rails on it and a hanging thingy on the top, small shapes dangled from it. Diving under the 'bed', she peeked between the bed skirt and the floor to see the person enter the room.

It was a man. Something said 'male' about the new person. Immediately, Tabby's mind flickered to her father and she pressed back further under the bed, settling among dust bunnies and an odd stuffed dog. Her mind logically told her that her father and mother were dead, and yet she was shaking in fear. The footsteps came closer, walking across the creaking floor. The dust ruffle was whipped aside to reveal a pair of grey eyes and long, dark hair. Tabby let out a small yelp, her hand going to her mouth.

"Oh, sweetheart. What are you doing?" The man's voice was calm and soothing, but seemed out of place in the hardened face. Tabby shook her head and pressed back. Two heavy thumps sounded and she realized that the man was kneeling on the floor. "Come here. I'm not gonna hurt you." Tabby let out a deep breath and crept forward.

She poked her head out and the rest of her diminutive form followed. The man was probably about the age of her father, but was probably smaller. Daddy was very big compared to the very small Tabatha. He crouched on the floor, wearing a pair of red-and-white-stripped pajama pants and a grey shirt. His feet were bare, which was good. If they were bare, then that wouldn't hurt as much when he kicked her, because he had to, because she had been a Bad Girl, because- in her mind, Tabby had to take a deep breath before continuing. Because she slept in the wrong bed, because she ran away, because she hid, because she was Not Supposed to touch the strange bed, because she Left The House, because she wasn't supposed to. Tabby's body naturally contracted, her knees pulling in and her head lowering. The blows did not come. She looked up to the grey eyes, like her mother's eyes.

Tabby was going to do something that was Wrong. Capital W wrong. She asked a question. "Who are you?"

The strange man held out his hand. "My name is Sirius Black. This is my house." Tabby frowned.

"What am I doing here? I want to go home. I want to go home and see mommy and Tommy. I want to go home. I HAVE to go home." Tabby's large brown eyes filled with tears. The young girl was on the edge of an ill-fated meltdown.

Sirius started at her words. "Why do you have to go home?" His brow furrowed. What happened to the Riddles?

Tabby glowered. Now she had to explain, which was going to take more time, which meant that was more time before she could go home and find mommy and Tommy. "I have to go home because if I don't, then daddy will be mad and then he'll hit me and I'll cry and he'll get madder and he'll hit me again. Then Tommy will come home and Tommy will try and protect me, and it won't work and daddy will hit him. I don't want daddy to hit Tommy like he did last night. Last night was bad."

Sirius stared, flabbergasted at the child, who was now rocking on the floor and humming. In one swoop, he scooped up the too light child in his arms. She let out a surprised squawk, and then relaxed.

"Sweetheart, I promise never to hurt you. Ever." The girl buried her head in his shoulder, small sobs shaking the two of them.

Sirius started to pull away, but small hands gripped his shirt, drawing him in. "I never ever want to go back. Don't make me go back." Tabby's voice was muffled in his chest, but Sirius grinned all the same. He tilted her back so she looked up at him, her face blotchy and red.

"Do you want me to tell you a secret?" He asked. She nodded, fingers still woven in his damp shirt. "You get to live with me. You and Tom. This is your new home, sweetheart." The girl let out another high-pitched sound, but this one was a squeal of delight.

"So you're like my daddy?" Tabby asked, her face splitting with a smile.

"If you want to call me that, then you are more than welcome to." Sirius said, benevolently. Tabby giggled and wrapped sticky hands around her new daddy's shoulders.

Several cups of milky, sugary sweet tea and a few dozen scones smeared with strawberry jam later, Tabby sat at the kitchen table, her eyelids drifting downward into a drowsy stupor. Over the tea and scones, the man had explained the wizarding world to the blasé girl. When he questioned Tabby on her lack of surprise, she replied with a simple: 'we've always been weird'. It had taken a while to tell about the other side of London and her new life, so he was unsurprised when she laid her head down on the table for a quick snooze. Sirius gave a small laugh, and smiled at the girl. "Going to fall asleep before we see Tom?"

She sat up quickly; her brown eyes now wide open. "Yes, yes, yes!" She cheered, her hands shooting to the air in some kind of victory dance. Sirius laughed again, this time louder, and wiped off a smear of strawberry jam that had somehow gotten on her forehead.

They stood in front of the fire, Sirius ready to throw the floo powder to the flames. Tabby was still wearing her grubby clothes from the night before. He had scourgified them, and repaired the holes, and yet the garments were still sad. Sirius made a mental note to remedy that later with a trip to Diagon Alley's tailoring shops. The girl's large brown eyes stared into the flames, and squeezed tighter onto his hand. "It's okay," Sirius said, giving his own reassuring squeeze. He threw the powder into the fire, changing the color of the leaping flames from warm reds and oranges to a flickering green.

Tabby let out a yelp, and hid behind the man, gripping his pant leg. Sirius picked up the girl, and stepped into the flames, stating clearly, "St. Mungo's Hospital." With a whoosh, they disappeared.

"MUUUUUUMMMMMMYYYYYYY!"

The child's cry wailed from several floors up. Narcissa Malfoy looked to the ceilings of her luxurious day parlor and prayed that a house elf would deal with her bratty little son. Her wish was not fulfilled, as evidenced by the even louder wail of; "STOP! TEDDY AND BLAISE ARE BEING MEAN! MUUUUUUMMMMMYYYYYYY!" She sighed, marked the page in her trashy romance novella, and rose to the occasion with a swish of silken skirts.

The sight at the top of the stairs was not a welcoming one. Several suits of priceless goblin made armor had crashed to the ground, and many, many toy soldiers, stuffed animals and other miscellaneous wooden items littered the floor. Walking carefully among the debris of three small children, she ruminated on her ill-conceived thoughts that led to the play date. What a fool she had been to offer both Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott the opportunity to be at the manor at the same time, Narcissa thought as her well shod foot trod on a stuffed bunny, causing it to squeak. Not that Teddy Nott was particularly…troublesome, due to his…'delicate' nature, she amended, but Blaise Zabini was another child altogether.

Her own son, Draco, was fine and porcelain, with large silver grey eyes and the same white blonde hair that graced her head. He was a good-looking child, quiet, polite, and neat to an almost distressing amount. Theodore Nott was quite a bit smaller than Blaise and Draco, even taking into consideration the age gap of a year between him and the other two. Due to an 'accident' when he was younger, the boy's growth was stunted, but soon enough, the poor boy would be passing them both by in height. This child greeted her solemnly at the day nursery door. His dark hair was much too long, but he preferred it that way, hiding his turquoise eyes behind the brown fringe. Such haunting eyes for a child, ringed with the telltale gold, frightened many a man. However, the Zabini boy was a different matter. One look at him would tell you he would be a heart breaker growing up. He had dark skin, like coffee when cream has been added. Warm, brown chestnut eyes and close cropped dark brown hair guaranteed a string of dolorous girls trailing behind. Right now, though, he was going through the rather nasty stage of being a tease to his friends.

Blaise stood on a toy chest, his feet dancing on the lid. Blaise was a large boy for a child of 9, but was not a bully. He did enjoy teasing Draco, however. He dangled a stuffed dragon over the smaller boy, laughing when Draco jumped for the toy. Narcissa sighed at the antics of the small children. "Blaise." She said in a warning tone. "Give Draco back his toy." Blaise glanced up at the woman, groaned and dropped the stuffed animal. Draco scooped it up with a squeal, delighting in the fact that once again, his favorite toy was safely in his arms.

Narcissa sighed, then said the only thing that would stop the ruckus. "Who wants hot cocoa?" The question was answered with cheers, and Draco and Blaise thundered out the door, Teddy trailing behind. Narcissa smiled softly. Boys will be boys, she thought.

AWWWW Little Draco!

Hestia is gone now, but may reappear later. The next chapter will be on time (for the first time!)

Not to beg for reviews at all, but please, please Review.

Love, Dawnie

NOTE: I know in the first chapter I said that Tabby was 6. I reviewed my time line, and figured out that she would have to be 7. I went back and fixed that in the chapter, so no confusion, please.