"There are plenty of people who would like to kidnap you or Sevannah for money or whatever perverse fantasy they have about getting close to Elizabeth Evan's family."

The words echoed through Severus's mind as he ran, his boots flying over the stone floor. A prophetic statement, he thought. One he'd made almost two years before. And now, one of his beautiful little third years was missing.

He cursed the Apparation wards as he ran, until he finally reached the front doors and charged onto the school's lawn.

"Dad!" He looked toward the ward line to see Elizabeth, her dark hair pulled into a low ponytail, running toward him.

Severus slowed, taking his daughter by her upper arms. "Where's Fred?"

"He went to Molly's, just in case she went there." Elizabeth looked toward the castle. "Where's Georgia?"

"In my office. Under every ward I could think of." Severus started walking toward the property line again.

"Scorpius doesn't know anything?" Elizabeth jogged beside him.

"No. And I had to put him under lock and key as well. I thought he was going to go through the window looking for her."

When they managed to make it outside the wards, Severus pulled a Slytherin sweater out of his robes. "I tried a 'point-me' spell earlier," Severus said, brandishing his wand and pointing it at the sweater. "We'll see if this works better. Locantantrace."

The sweater jumped out of his hand, as if caught by a particularly strong wind, and flew away, toward the Forbidden Forest.

Elizabeth drew in her breath sharply. "Sevannah wouldn't have gone in there. Not without Georgia."

"Or Scorpius," Severus started toward the forest. "Send your patronus to your husband. And Remus. And anyone else you can think of. Then wait here, do you hear me?"

"I'll send the message, but I'm coming with you," Elizabeth said, casting the spell as she followed him.

"Elizabeth Weasley, if you could just obey me one time." Severus growled as they reached the tree line.

"My daughter is in there," Elizabeth fired back, sweeping her wand over her body, muttering protection spells.

"Karma," Severus frowned, casting the same spells over himself. "At least stay with me, then."

Elizabeth followed him into the Forest, her heart hammering just as it had been since Severus had firecalled, telling her that Sevannah had disappeared during the night. The searching duo stopped, listening to the Forest. Elizabeth cursed herself for not hearing anything. What good where motherly instincts if they didn't kick in for situations like this? She started to move deeper into the woods, but Severus stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"We can't search blindly, Hatchling."

Elizabeth shook her head. "We don't have anything else to use for a location spell."

Severus nodded, but drew his wand. "Maybe the point-me will work this time." He cast the spell, but the wand remained still. Elizabeth was blinking back tears when she heard voices coming from the edge of the Forest.

"We need to fan out," Fred said, jogging up to his wife.

"It's too big of an area," Remus argued. "We need a direction."

"We need a Taboo," another voice came out of the darkness.

"Mr. Malfoy?" Severus spun in the direction of the voice. "What do you think you are doing here, young man?"

"Finding Sevannah," Scorpius said simply, his wand in his hand. "My dad said that during the war, the Death Eaters found the rebels by putting a Taboo spell on the Dark Lord's name."

The assembled adults flinched at the memory, but Scorpius kept talking. "So we put a Taboo on something she's likely to say while she's out here."

Severus frowned. "Mr. Malfoy, a Taboo spell would alert us to everyone in the country saying the phrase we chose. We'd be chasing leads all night."

"No we wouldn't," Scorpius argued. "I looked it up, we can narrow the search area to just the Forest." He held up a book.

"This is from the restricted section," Severus said, taking the book. "And you are supposed to be safely corralled in the castle."

"You didn't block me from the Room of Requirement," Scorpius shot back. "And I required this book. And a way out here."

"It doesn't matter, Severus," Fred broke in. "It's worth a try."

*S*S*

Sevannah sat against the tree, magical ropes binding her hands behind her back and her body to the trunk. Her captor, a pale man in dirty robes crouched over a shallow hole in the ground, where he had been for quite some time.

Her shoulders ached from the unnatural position, and her stomach was clenching with fear and hunger. She could still taste the chocolate frog she'd had during her late-night study session. The one, she suspected, that had drugged her.

She should have known, looking back, that something was wrong. Scorpius had been overly affectionate in the library, as if they were the kind of couple that made out in the stacks. He hadn't pulled out her chair; hadn't been careful to choose a table that was away from the drafty windows. And brought chocolate frogs, but refused to eat any. Scorpius loved chocolate frogs.

When she'd regained consciousness, she had been tied to the tree, and dirty-robed man was rapidly losing the blond hair and angular features of her boyfriend. Polyjuice Potion, she'd thought dimly.

"I don't know what you're planning," she said, willing herself to be more like her sister and less like the shy flower she really was, "But it's not going to work. My grandfather will come for me."

The man didn't answer, just started poking into the hole with a stick. Sevannah twisted a bit in her bonds, noticing with a sinking feeling that her wand was not in the sheath she wore under her sweater sleeve. Looking around, she spotted it, on a rock, not far from the man's hole.

Her mother had been good at wandless magic from an early age, Severus had told her once. Unfortunately, Sevannah did not share that particular gift. She considered screaming, but wasn't sure what good it would do. She was in a forest. Even if it was the Forbidden Forest, close to Hogwarts, she couldn't guarantee that someone would hear her.

*S*S*

Severus finished casting the Taboo spell, and looked around the group. "Anything else?"

The others shook their heads. Severus had cast a dozen spells, setting up alerts on "help", "find", "Mom", "Dad", "Scorpius", and "Grandpa" as well as some generic personal pronouns and verbs, hoping to catch anything Sevannah might say out loud. There was nothing to do but wait.

"In the meantime," Fred said, running his hands through his hair, "I'm going that way," he motioned into the forest.

"No one is going anywhere alone," Severus said firmly. "If we split up, we go it pairs."

"There's an odd number," Scorpius scanned the small group.

"You do not count." Severus snapped. "In fact, I want you back in the castle, immediately."

"No." The word hung in the air. The adults in the group froze, not even breathing, visions of past students subjected to endless inventive punishments for showing the Headmaster less than disrespect than the Malfoy boy had just done.

Severus, one eyebrow raised to his hairline, waved his wand, his patronus jumping lithely from its tip. The silvery doe looked at him, waiting for his message.

"Draco, your youngest child is in the Forbidden Forest without permission. Kindly come collect him."

Scorpius paled, but raised his chin defiantly. "He won't come. He's very busy."

As if on cue, there was the distinct "pop" of apparition just outside the tree line.

"Scorpius Hyerpion Malfoy!" Draco's voice cut through the trees. "Come out of there immediately, young man. I do not have time for this nonsense."

Scorpius looked at his Headmaster. "Severus—

Snape held up a hand. "Scorpius, I have known you since the day you were born, and unless you would like me to handle you as I did when you were a toddler, by throwing you over my shoulder, you will march yourself out of these woods right now."

Fred stepped forward and put his hand on Scorpius' shoulder. "We'll find her. I promise. But we can't do that when we have to worry about you as well."

When Scorpius emerged from the woods, his father was standing, arms crossed, the morning sunlight glinting off his golden hair.

"Father—

Draco held up a hand, stopping his son's explanation. "I don't have time for the endless story right now, Scorpius. I have to get back to the Ministry."

"I'm not suspended," Scorpius protested. "I can just go back to the castle—

"I do not have time to come back in an hour when you have decided to go on another childish lark." Draco pinched the bridge of his nose. "Come here."

Scorpius wondered, briefly, where his bravado fled to in his father's presence. He walked as slow as the elder Malfoy would allow. When he was within snatching distance, Draco's hand closed on his arm, and they apparated, landing on the front step of the newly renovated Malfoy Manor.

Draco did not release his son's arm until they were inside, and had crossed the threshold into the smaller study. There, he let go, pointing at one of the armchairs against the wall opposite the large desk.

Lucien Malfoy looked up when the door opened, and watched passively as his younger brother was directed to a chair. "Rough day at school?"

Draco frowned at his eldest child. "Don't let him out of your sight," he said, jabbing a finger at Scorpius. "And you," Scorpius slumped in his chair, "Stay out of trouble."

Lucien waited until the door closed behind the lord of Malfoy Manor before raising an eyebrow at Scorpius. "You want to tell me why I've just been drafted into babysitting duty?"

Scorpius dug his toe into the rug. "Sevannah's gone."

Lucien smiled. "Come on, Scorp. You can't fall apart and have Daddy come get you just because your little girlfriend broke up with you."

Scorpius glared at his brother. "She didn't break up with me, idiot. She's gone. Like missing. Somewhere in the Forest." He kicked the carpet more viciously. "Severus won't let me look for her, and when I wouldn't leave, he called Father."

Lucien frowned. "So Uncle Severus is still in the Forest looking for her?"

"He doesn't like it when we call him that," Scorpius smiled weakly.

"That's why I do it," Lucien grinned and shut the book he'd been reading. "All right," he said, pushing back his chair. "Let's go."

"Go where?" Scorpius stood up.

"To find your girlfriend," Lucien said, grabbing his broom from the cabinet. "Is it just her, or is her evil twin in there too?"

"No," Scorpius shook his head. "Georgia is on lockdown in Severus's office."

*S*S*

Georgia Weasley kicked the corner of her grandfather's desk so hard, that it left her toe throbbing.

"Don't do that, sweetheart," her grandmother's portrait chided from the desktop. "You'll hurt your foot."

"I need to look for her," Georgia said, for the hundredth time.

"Come sit down, honey. Sev and your parents will find her."

Georgia stomped over to the Headmaster's large chair and threw herself into it. "What if they don't find her? I can find her. We have a bond."

"I know you do, Georgia," Lily's portrait soothed. "But honey, we can't have you going missing too."

Georgia grimaced. "That's what Grandpa said."

"He's wise man, your grandfather," Lily said gently. "And he's a brilliant wizard. Don't worry."

*S*S*

Severus felt a tingle in his wand hand. "There," he said, holding out his wand and letting the Taboo spell pull him in the direction of his granddaughter.

"Careful, Sev. We don't know who has her," Remus cautioned, following the taller wizard.

"A dead man, I can tell you that," Severus followed the pull of his wand. "Do you hear anything?"

Remus paused. "Hold on, my wolf-ears aren't as young as they used to be." He listened for a minute. "Nothing but wind."

Severus frowned, and kept going, trying to avoid sticks cracking under his boots.

"Wait," Remus put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I smell something." The color drained from his face. "Asphodel."

*S*S*

"Okay, let's go," Lucien tossed Scorpius's summoned broom to the younger wizrd, and threw one leg over his own.

"You're a genius," Scorpius said, kicking off the ground and flying up toward the top of the trees of the Forbidden Forest.

"I've often been told that," Lucien grinned. "Not by our father, mind you, but by other people."

"He's just like that," Scorpius said, looking down into the trees with interest. "Severus said that Grandfather Malfoy seriously messed him up."

"Not the only reason," Lucien said, but surged ahead before his brother could ask any questions. "I think we're looking for a clearing."

"Like that one?" Scorpius pointed ahead, to a break in the trees. The Malfoy brothers sank lower, looking down into the trees.

*S*S*

The dirty-robed figure was ladling something Sevannah couldn't see into a cup. "I am not drinking anything you give me," she said, holding her voice as steady as she could.

The wizard laughed humorlessly. "It only takes a dropperful. And I'm not exactly adverse to Unforgivables."

Sevannah's blood ran cold. They had researched Unforgivables in Defense class, and just the thought of Cruciatus Curse made her entire body hurt. "What is it?"

The man laughed again. "Well it is water. Mostly. Some herbs and whatnot. But this," he held up a pestle of white powder, "is the Dark Lord's favorite poison. Created by your grandfather, I think. He's so useful." The wizard mixed a generous amount of the powder into the water. "Anyway, you are going to drink this. And die."

"And then what?" The words left Sevannah's mouth before she could think about them.

"Well that depends," the man's voice was too casual for the conversation. "I'd say quite a few people saw your boyfriend carrying you out of the library last night. It shouldn't be a leap to decide he killed you. Which should be just what we need to turn the Wizarding World back into the chaos that lets a leader with the calming influence of dictatorship rise."

"Who are you?" Sevannah asked.

The man turned, and Sevannah saw that he was much older than she had originally thought.

"The name's Macnair," the wizard said swirling the potion in its cup.

"And you are going to bring back a dead wizard by… pissing people off?"

Macnair snorted. "The Dark Lord is gone. It is time for the next generation to rise. Once we have your family against the Malfoys and their allies… it shouldn't be hard to break the old gang out of Azkaban." He turned his back. "This just has to sit a bit."

Then there was a crashing sound from above, and branches fell into the clearing.

*S*S*

"Did you hear that?" Fred looked at Elizabeth, who was trying a point-me spell again.

"I'm not deaf," Elizabeth snapped, looking into the trees in front of them.

Fred reminded himself not to take her mood personally. They were all stressed, and as soon as they found Sevannah, everything would be alright. He followed his wife through the woods, and within minutes, they arrived at a clearing.

The scene was almost more than Fred could take. Sevannah, his beautiful little girl, was bound to a large tree to his right. A pile of branches littered the clearing, and among the fallen leaves and wood was a very disheveled Scorpius Malfoy, who was at the end of a wand. The wand of Walden Macnair.

Fred had just opened his mouth to yell at the man to back away from the boy when he heard his wife's wand slash through the air, and the former Death Eater fell, bound from head to toe in magical ropes.

"Or we could just do that," he commented to himself, sprinting over to his daughter, who was pulling at the cords that tied her to the tree trunk. "Careful, Angel, we'll get you out. Don't hurt yourself." He knelt beside her as Elizabeth joined them, brushing her child's hair back from her face.

"I'm sorry, Daddy, really."

Fred shook his head and freed the last rope, pulling her into his arms. "This isn't your fault, Angel. It's okay." He heard another crashing sound and looked over Sevannah's head to see Severus and Remus coming into the clearing from the opposite direction.

"Scorpius!" Sevannah struggled out of her father's grasp, and ran toward the boy lying on the ground under the tree branches.

"Let me look at him," Severus said, stopping her from going into the mess. "Just stay here." He pushed her gently toward Remus, who wrapped his arms around her as Severus knelt to pull the branches off Scorpius.

Almost immediately, another man on a broom appeared, landing beside Severus, who looked up in surprise. "Lucien. What on earth are you two doing here?"

"Scorpius wanted to find the Slytherin Weasley," Lucien said, kneeling beside his brother, who was starting to stir. "Don't move Scorp, you could have broken something."

"You could have broken every bone in your body," Severus amended, scanning the younger wizard with his wand. "Although it looks like God spared you one or two." He carefully picked up the boy. "Lucien, you apparate with the dead man," he jerked his head at the bound Death Eater. "I'll take Scorpius. Everyone meet outside the apparition wards."

"Don't tell," Scorpius muttered.

Lucien laughed. "Don't worry, kid, Father can only ground you until you're of age."

*S*S*

"Georgia Ann Weasley, don't you dare," Lily shouted, as her granddaughter picked up one of the wooden chairs from the front of the Headmaster's desk.

Georgia hoisted the chair over her head and hurled it toward the large window, the shattering sound completely obscuring the sound of the door opening.

"What the hell—

"Georgia!"

Georgia spun to find her father, and Remus standing in the doorway, looks of identical shock on their faces. "Did you find her?"

Both men paused, seemingly unable to form words, until Fred finally nodded. "Yes," he said slowly, dragging his gaze from his daughter to the window. "Did you just break that?"

"I wanted to look for her," Georgia said, the enormity of what she had just done dawning on her a bit too late.

"Let's go look in the hospital wing," Remus said, finding his voice.

*S*S*

Draco strode into the hospital wing. "Where is he?" He demanded, looking at Severus.

"Second bed," Severus said, stepping between the man and the curtain. "He has several broken bones, a collapsed lung, and a minor concussion. All things considered, he was lucky."

"Lucky?" Draco shook his head, his eyes falling on his oldest child. "I left him with you!"

"And I didn't let him out of my sight," Lucien said dryly.

"You think this is a joke?" Draco took a menacing step toward his son, but a voice from behind the curtain stopped him.

"I made him come," Scorpius said opening the drapes with his wand. "And I'm going to be fine. It's okay."

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose for the second time that day. "You are grounded. For the foreseeable future. And you might as well enjoy this time, because as soon as you're healed, I'm going to beat you senseless." He closed his eyes.

"Okay," Scorpius closed his eyes as well, obviously not phased by the threat. Draco hadn't raised a hand to him since he was eight years old, and even then, he'd retained all of his "sense".

"I should have made him more afraid of me," Draco said softly, turning back toward Severus, who put his hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"Madam Hughes says you can take him home, as long as he rests," Severus said. "Of course, I could keep him here, where he could have constant supervision."

"That might be best," Draco rubbed a hand over his face. "Seeing as his brother is useless."

"Love you too, Dad," Lucien said, rolling his eyes and patting Scorpius's shoulder. "I'm going to go tell the Weasley's that he's going to be fine."

Draco flinched at the casual title from his son, but didn't comment.

*S*S*

It was midnight when Sevannah slipped out of her grandfather's quarters and mad her way up the hospital wing. It was dark, but she couldn't risk casting lumos until she had reached her destination.

Carefully, she perched on the edge of Scorpius's bed, and cast the spell, along with a silencing charm. She winced at the bruises on his face, and reached out, carefully touching them with her fingertips.

"I don't think you're supposed to be here," Scorpius said softly, his eyes still closed. "But then again… Maybe it's a dream."

Sevannah laughed. "You're insane, you know that? What were you thinking?"

"What were you thinking? Eating something from a stranger?"

"I thought it was you," Sevannah argued lamely.

"We need a code word," Scorpius opened his eyes and took her hand. "You're alright?"

"Yeah," Sevannah nodded, but her bitten lip and unstable voice gave her away.

"Here," Scorpius said softly, opening his left arm for her to cuddle against him. "I have broken ribs on the right side."

"You should go back to sleep," Sevannah protested, but lay down beside him, her head on his shoulder.

"I'm going to do just that," Scorpius promised, twisting slightly to kiss her forehead before they both drifted off.