Disclaimer: we all know I don't own Harry Potter…lets get on with it.
A/N: OMG!!! It's the next chapter!!!!
back at the mansion the next day
Tommy and Andria were still in locked debate over their sister. Andria was positive she'd been kidnapped. Tommy thought that she'd runaway, despite Andria's ridiculing.
Somehow, they missed her. Even though they hardly got to play with her or even talk to her. But when they needed someone extra for one of their games, she was usually there wasn't she? That is, as long as she wasn't in the library. And when she was in the library no one could enter, not even their mother.
"I hope she comes back soon. Mum and dad are so upset. Mum's been crying so much and daddy's been pacing back and forth all the time, thinking. I'm sure he's gonna crack one day…" Tommy said.
They were sitting in the main room, looking at a catalog of all the new toys. Absently, they circled just about everything in the book, certain that they would receive it soon. It didn't have to be their birthday or even a holiday. Daddy just had to be in a good mood.
But then again…his mood had been rather unhappy. Kristen's disappearance took a toll on him. Maybe they should ask about the toys later…
As they continued discussing their theories, their father walked into the room. He looked horrible. He hadn't slept at all that night.
"Don't worry, dad. She'll be fine. She's brave." Tommy said.
"Yeah." Andria jumped in, "She's safe, I'm sure."
She smiled up at him, trying to be reassuring. But he didn't look comforted.
They decided to leave him alone and go up to Tommy's room and play. On their way there they saw their mother who was not in much better shape than their father.
"Daddy's upset." Andria told her.
The entire mansion was in a state of depression since Kristen's disappearance. Although the servants were mainly just afraid that one of them would be blamed for not watching her.
Tom's POV
He wanted to try to contact her through Legilemency. But he couldn't find a decent quiet place to do so in. Everyone always interrupted. When Ginny came into the main room, he wasn't entirely annoyed, though. She was always very calming.
Silently, she sat next to him and took his hand. He looked at her and tried to smile, but it was strained. He thought back on the last few years of his life. He had never before imagined caring for anyone…other than himself. Now suddenly he had a whole family to worry about.
And most people would probably think that he only cared about Kristen's disappearance because she was the heir. But that wasn't it at all. He actually cared about her. It amazed him. He'd never seen himself as the family man type.
"We'll find her, don't worry." Ginny whispered. He wrapped his arms around her. He sometimes wondered how she loved him. He barely let her leave. And that was because he was afraid of what would happen.
"I know, love. I know. But she must be so scared. She's brave but…she's a child. I still haven't told the press. No one knows that anything is wrong, but I've got my best men on the job. So far…nothing.
"Use legilemens." Ginny urged. Tom sighed…he was horribly tired. But he decided to try anyway.
"It'll work best if she's asleep. But I guess it's worth a shot.
He concentrated, saying the words very carefully. He started to go into a trance-like state as he sought her out.
He found her.
She was asleep…which meant she was dreaming. Which meant he could go to her.
He kept it simple. Everything was white. He was standing in the middle of the vast dream-world and he saw her walking toward her. She looked around, confused, and stared at him.
"Hi daddy." She said.
"Oh, Kristen, are you alright?"
"I'm fine…I'm tired though…I'm asleep, aren't I?"
"Yes, honey, you are. Where are you right now? I need to find you."
"Daddy I don't wanna go home…" she said nervously.
"Why!? What's wrong? Where do you want to go then? We'll go wherever you want. France? Italy? America? Australia! Do you want to go to any of those places? Or how about Japan! Or Spain! Anywhere, sweetie."
"I don't want to come back because I'm tired of studying. And why does it matter to you? You're not real…you're a dream."
"No! No, honey, I'm not. I'm using magic to talk to you. And I won't make you study anymore, or practice dark arts. Or do any of that boring stuff anymore."
"I don't believe you." She said sadly, "I think I'll go back with them…"
"With who? Who were you with?"
"I can't tell you that. But I can tell you who took me."
"Who?" At least he could punish the bastard who caused him so much trouble.
"Lucius Malfoy! Can you believe that, daddy? He was jealous! He wanted his grandson to take your place when the time came. What are you gonna do to him? Are you gonna kill him? Can you use that one curse on him first? The one that makes people hurt real bad. I want him to suffer."
Tom was rather pleased to hear his nine-year-old child say this. At least she was following in his footsteps.
"I think I'm gonna wake up now, daddy. If you're real, tell mommy I said hello, and I love her. And tell Tommy and Andy hi as well. Tell them I love them. I love you too, daddy. Very much. Bye bye."
"No!" he shouted. But the world started to fade away. And he was back in his mansion. Ginny was looking at him anxiously. But she didn't ask him anything. She knew he hated questions.
"She's alright…I think. Malfoy is the one who took her, though. He will pay. I can guarantee that. But she wouldn't tell me where she was. And usually I can figure such things out…but its like she has a wall up. A filter, so to speak."
Whatever powers she had, she was obviously using them now. This made Tom worry. Of course he wanted her to be strong…but not quite as strong as himself.
Forty miles from the mansion.
Kristen.
She woke up immediately. Had that been real? Or was it really just a strange…specific…dream? Nevertheless, she got up from the bench she had fallen asleep on and continued. She would not be found. Not yet.
But she was getting hungry. And rather distraught. Maybe she should-
"Kristen! There you are! We've been looking everywhere!"
She turned around to see where the voice was coming from. Oh, it was just the mudblood. What did they call her again? Something that started with an H, she was sure.
The mudblood came over and grabbed her hand. Kristen, feeling incredibly insulted, sharply snatched her hand away from the woman.
"Don't touch me! Do you know who I am?" Kristen snapped.
"Don't speak to her like that!" Someone else said. Kristen hadn't noticed Harry Potter coming up beside the mudblood. He took her by the arm and dragged her along with him. It happened so abruptly that Kristen fell down and hurt her knew in the process.
"Owww!" she yelled. A couple walking by on the opposite side of the street glanced over, but they didn't pay anymore attention.
"Oh, you poor thing, are you okay? Harry, you need to be gentler. She's tiny for her age." The mudblood fussed over Kristen's hurt knee for a full five minutes before scooping her up and carrying her along the sidewalk.
"Sorry." Harry muttered, "Do you want me to carry her?"
"No, it's alright."
"Hey mudblood…what's your name? I forgot it." Kristen muttered sleepily.
"My name is Hermione. And I would very much appreciate it if you didn't call me 'mudblood'."
"Why? It's what you are. I heard them say it. Your parents are muggles."
"Mudblood is a derogatory term. It's meant to put down muggle-borns."
"Really?"
"Yes. Now, you seem tired. Go to sleep."
Within minutes, Kristen was asleep on Hermione's shoulder. She didn't even remember Hermione taking her inside a house. She woke up the next morning on a couch. The smell of breakfast lured her into the kitchen. Hermione was at the stove, cooking.
There were a few people she didn't recognize, and a few she did. There were about ten people gathered around a table in the kitchen. They were all talking quietly and she strained to hear them. Finally, someone noticed her.
A man with long black (slightly graying) hair looked over at her and smiled warmly.
"Well, now. Finally awake, I see." He said cheerfully. Kristen nodded shyly.
She studied him carefully. He looked bit worn out. But his eyes showed so much life.
Everyone else glanced over at her and said hello and good morning. Then they continued their conversation. The man, however, stood up and walked over to her.
"Now, you don't want to sit in here listening to a bunch of boring adults talk, do you?"
He led her out of the room.
"What are they talking about in there?" she asked.
"Trying to figure out who you'll be staying with."
Kristen folded her arms.
"And who says I'm staying?"
"Oh, no one of course. You're free to go whenever you please. We just thought you'd prefer a warm bed to sleep in than a street. But of course, the door is right over there. Here, I'll get you some food to take with you and send you on your way."
"Really?"
"Yep. I certainly don't need some kid taking up space in my apartment. And they were thinking about sending you to stay with me! How awful and miserable would that be?" He made a face.
"Now wait a minute, what's so bad about me? I don't take up that much space! What kind of person are you? You can't just let me walk right out that door! It's dangerous!"
"Well…" he sighed, "I suppose you could stay with me. It's so horribly inconvenient though."
"I don't care! I'm staying with you whether you like it or not!"
Kristen could not believe he was being so rude to her. Did he know who she was?
"Well anyway, my name is Sirius Black. You may call me Padfoot, if you like."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Padfoot. My name is Kristen. You may call me Krissie."
Padfoot smiled and lifted her up. He carried her into the kitchen where the adults were still arguing. He cleared his throat and waited until he had their attention.
"She's staying with me. It's been decided. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going home. I have to get the spare room set up."
"Sirius, wait a minute-" Hermione said.
"She wants to stay with me. Now would you rather her stay were she doesn't want to be and chance her running away again?"
"But…you sometimes act like a kid, yourself. Are you sure you can manage…"
"Don't worry. We'll be fine. Now I think I'll apparate. It'll be much quicker. She'll need clothes too. And probably whatever else nine-year-olds need. Toys I suppose."
"Sirius-"
"Bye."
They disappeared with a CRACK! and re-appeared in a small apartment.
"It has two bedrooms. Yours is kinda small, sorry. But you're not that big anyway. So if you don't plan on growing much more, it'll be fine."
Two Days later….
They had bought all the necessary things in order to keep Kristen happy. Her room was completely pink as well. And she had lots of clothes too. Apparently, Sirius Black had a small fortune saved up.
"My birthday is in three days."
Kristen was standing beside a sleeping Padfoot's bed. He opened his eyes and looked at her, slightly confused.
"What?"
"My birthday is in three days. I'm gonna be ten."
"Krissie, why didn't you mention this before?"
"No one asked."
Of course, that was perfectly logical.
So far, he had done a good job of hiding her. No one, not even his landlord, suspected that a child was living there. He knew that search parties might come soon but he would worry about that later. He had read in the Daily Prophet that Tom Riddle was having everywhere within 50 miles searched. But they would miss places. And it would take a while for them to get to him. There had to be many, many houses between here and-
There was a knock at the door.
"Open up. By order of Tom Riddle, failure to open your door immediately will result in being taken in for questioning."
Sirius was trapped.
A/N: dun, dun, dun. Okay, well I'm gonna stop here for now. Be nice to me and review please.