Taking a rest and chatting(Sirius, Norah, Amy)

[Peter Pettigrew]

Jeez. Peter thought these boys were supposed to be smart. "Sirius think about it. The woman is not a witch, but Kris is! You have stick your wand out for the bus to appear! The woman probably used Kris' wand," said Peter in a 'I can't believe you didn't think about that' voice. "If you're a muggle and you're trying to kidnap a witch, you're going to try to get away from people that would come looking for her. The only way you could really get away with out anyone really knowing that you left would be the Knight Bus. It's the only thing that makes sense. We just have to think were she could have went. I'm guessing she may not know our world that well since she is a muggle after all. So, where would you go if you were trying to hide someone?"

[Sirius Black]

Sirius slapped his forehead. "Of course! Right... She could have had Kris hold the wand and forced her to hold her hand out," he said, realizing. He frowned for a minute, trying to remember what Kris had told him about the woman who had raised her. "It's just odd, really... I mean, if she's really a muggle, how would she know about that stuff? At least... Kris always told me that she was a muggle. Do you think she could be a squib? Then she would probably know about this stuff, but just not be able to do it, right?"

He scratched his head and tried to rack his brain. "So, OK, let's say she's a squib and she knows about all this stuff, and she summoned the Knight Bus using Kris's wand. Where could she have gone?"

It seemed hopeless. They could have gone just about anywhere, he realized. If they took the Knight Bus, they could be halfway to China by now. "Wait!" he said, remembering. "Um, not that I normally take my mum's word on just about anything, but I remember she said once that Knockturn Alley was the perfect place to hide." He looked at both of them worriedly. "Do you think she could have taken Kris there?"

[James Potter]

James shook his head. Why couldn't he have thought of that? Maybe it was a good thing Peter was around for the time being. "A squib? That's possible." He forced his mind to start to work. Where could have the woman taken Kris? Diagon Alley? Knockturn Alley? Somewhere else? This was starting to become frustrating. "Knockturn Alley," repeated James. "Maybe. I mean only those witches and wizards you want to stay away from go there. It's a good place to hide if you're trying to run away. There's a few good places to hide there I believe. You know Sirius, maybe you listen to you dear loving, caring mother a bit more carefully." He let a quick grin spread across his face, before letting it disappear. "It's a start. I mean she's obviously not in Hogsmeade anymore. Knockturn Alley would be a place to look plus it's the only thing we've got right now."

[Albus Dumbledore]

Albus Dumbledore had been having a very good day, working in his office, talking with an old friend, and enjoying some lemon drops, when suddenly all that had changed. First he received a rather alarming owl from Rupert Lupin, informing him that one of his students, Rupert's daughter Kristina, had been kidnapped and was being held for ransom. Almost immediately after that, a student, one Robin Slater, burst into his office to report the exact same information. She further told him that the girl's boyfriend, Sirius Black, and several of his friends, were in Hogsmeade and were planning to find her.

With so many of his students involved already, Albus had no choice but to step in. So he took one of the old passageways back into Hogsmeade and stepped out into Honeydukes candy shop. After stopping to buy a bag of lemon drops, Albus walked out into the town in search of the boys.

It didn't take him long to find them. They were standing in a group, outside the Hogs Head, looking confused. He approached them quickly. As he did, he could hear them talking about Knockturn Alley, sounding as if they were resolved to going there.

"If you're planning to go to Knockturn Alley, I had better be going with you," he said pleasantly. "Boys your age have no business going to a place like that alone."

[Sirius Black]

Sirius stared at Dumbledore in shock. Even though Robin had gone to get Dumbledore, he was still a little surprised that the headmaster had come. Up close, he was a very impressive wizard--maybe even a little bit intimidating. "Um, hello, Professor Dumbledore, sir," he said politely, wondering if he should bow or something. "I, uh... I suppose you're here because of what happened to Kris... Can you help us find her?" He started to squirm a little bit, wondering if Dumbledore could somehow sense what had really happened to cause this whole thing.

[Albus Dumbledore]

Dumbledore smiled down at Sirius. "Hello, Sirius, James, Peter," he greeted them all in his pleasant tone. "Yes, I'm here about Kris. Your friend Robin came and told me what happened. I also received an owl from Kris's father, explaining that he'd received a ransom note. Now, it doesn't matter how it happened, but we do need to find her as soon as possible. I believe you are on the right track with your suggestion of Knockturn Alley." he glanced around, realizing that one person was missing. "But where is Remus Lupin? Is he aware of what happened to his sister?"

[James Potter]

James felt a little at ease when Dumbledore appeared. He knew that he would have an answer to something. His eyes widened a little bit when Dumbledore noted that Remus wasn't there. "Remus is somewhere with Lily Evans, sir," replied James. "I'm not quite sure where they went to, so no sir. He doesn't know yet what happened to his sister. I was hoping we would run into him actually so we could tell him."

[Albus Dumbledore]

Dumbledore frowned at this information. Then took out his wand and uttered, "Expecto Patronum." A silvery-white bird erupted from his wand and flew off into the distance. "Hopefully he will get the message and come here right away," he said. He looked at the boys doubtfully, wondering whether he would be able to convince them not to come along. Obviously, it would be dangerous, but he recognized the determination and desperation on Sirius Black's face. There was no way the boy would stay behind.

[Remus Lupin]

After walking back from the zoo with Lily in virtual silence, Remus finally approached the Hogs Head. He was surprised to see Professor Dumbledore standing with James, Sirius, and Peter Pettigrew. Something about this just wasn't right.... He let go of Lily's hand and ran over to them. "I got the message," he said anxiously. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"

[Albus Dumbledore]

Dumbledore nodded at Remus, his expression grave. "I'm afraid so," he said. "Your sister, Kris, has been kidnapped. The woman who raised her has taken her prisoner and is holding her for ransom. We believe she is in Knockturn Alley. Your father is going to meet with her tomorrow to make a deal with the woman."

[Remus Lupin]

"What?" Remus cried, shocked. A feeling of panic welled up inside him, mixed with anger. They had to do something! "Well, what are we standing around here for? Let's go find her! Come on!" He pulled out his wand and seemed about ready to take off for Knockturn Alley at a full sprint.

[Albus Dumbledore]

Dumbledore put his hand on Remus's shoulder, holding him back. "Not so fast," he said. While they had been waiting for Remus, he had made a decision. The boys wouldn't like it, but it was the best choice for the moment. "You children are to head back to the school right now. Knockturn Alley is too dangerous for children your age, especially since it will be dark in an hour. Knockturn Alley at night is even worse. Besides, the best time to rescue her is going to be tomorrow morning, while she is meeting with your father in Diagon Alley. She'll have to leave Kris alone while she's there, and she has no magical powers of her own to hold Kris against her will. Now, I am going to see if I can figure out where in Knockturn Alley she is being held, and we'll rescue her tomorrow. But you children shouldn't be involved. Go on. Go back to the school. We'll take care of it. I promise your sister will be fine."

[Remus Lupin]

Remus stood firm, looking angry and determined. "No, I want to find her now! Who knows what this woman is capable of! She lied to Kris and told her that our parents didn't want her back. She even hid Kris's letters to us! She's crazy... we have to find her now!"

[James Potter]

James glanced up as Remus and Lily made their way over to them. He wanted to help find Kris as much as Remus. He couldn't stand to know that his best friend's sister and his other best friend's girlfriend was missing. Dumbledore spoke sense about night time not being the best for them to go to Knockturn Alley. James wanted to go right then too, but he knew better than defy Dumbledore. "Remus. Dumbledore's right. We don't need to go barging in. It'll be best when the crazy lady isn't there," said James with a sigh. "Before you go off on me, I know that you want to find Kris. I want to find her too, but you know as well as I do what lurks in Knockturn Alley. If we go down there, there are higher chances of us getting attacked than us finding Kris right away. It wouldn't do her any good if you were attacked while you tried to find her."

[Remus Lupin]

Remus stood, his eyes filling with tears of frustration. "But... we can't just leave her there..." he murmured helplessly. He looked around at the faces of his friends, and his eyes fell on Sirius. "You!" he shouted, abruptly running at his friend. "She was with you... how could you let this happen? You were supposed to keep her safe!"

[Peter Pettigrew]

Peter swallowed as Remus showed up. He sort of hid behind Sirius, thinking of what he could say if anything. What could he say to Remus? He wasn't that great friends with him, so he couldn't really 'comfort' him in the sense of they would find Kris. However, once Remus started to go off on Sirius, Peter decided to step in without second thought. "Calm down Remus," Peter stated stepping in front of Sirius. "It really isn't his fault! I happened to in the back of the Three Broomsticks looking for my Gryffindor pin that one of the Slytherins threw back there. Sirius happened to come back there to use the restroom. I still was looking for it, and then I found it just as he stepped out. I started talking to Sirius. I didn't realize that he was there with Kris, nor some lady talking to her. I thought he may have been here with you guys or something. Sirius and I talked for a few moments and then we both headed back out, because he invited me to go sit with him. When we got there Kris wasn't there. Sirius started thinking of places that crazy lady could have taken her and then we ran into James and Robin."

[Remus Lupin]

Remus stared at Peter, confused. He hadn't even noticed the other boy standing there behind Sirius. Slowly, he relaxed his fists, which had been poised to punch Sirius. Unfortunately, as his anger faded, he felt more upset than ever. He began to blink back tears. "OK, fine, let's just get out of here, then," he said sourly, not looking any of them in the eye. He suddenly wanted to be alone to cry.

[James Potter]

James looked from Peter to Remus. He never expected Peter to just step in like he did and stand up for Sirius. Maybe the kid had more courage than James gave him credit for. James went up and patted Remus on the shoulder. "We'll get her back. I promise. You've got to trust Dumbledore on this," he said to Remus to reassure him. "We'll see Kris again tomorrow." James turned back to Peter, Lily, and Sirius. "Come on guys, let's head back to school. There's nothing else we can really do." He looked to Dumbledore and gave him a 'thank you' nod before leading Remus and the others back towards the school.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius stood silently, even as Remus rushed at him and looked as if he was about to hit him. He deserved it. He he had let Kris down, he couldn't deny it. And even when Peter spoke up for him with the lie about the two of them talking while Kris was being kidnapped, Sirius stared down at the ground, ready to just let Remus hit him. He couldn't ignore the truth... the fact was, he'd been kissing another girl while Kris was being dragged out of the Three Broomsticks against her will by a crazy woman.

He was scum. He was lower than low. He was practically a lying, cheating Slytherin. Maybe he was more like his brother than he wanted to admit.

He didn't say a word as they all turned around and headed toward the school.

[Peter Pettigrew]

Peter looked to Sirius and then back to Lily. He knew that his cheeks flushed once he looked at her, but it didn't really matter. "Come on Lily and Sirius," he said turning towards the direction Remus and James headed in. He walked in between the two on their way back to the school. Peter wished that there was something else that they could do to help find Kris. After all, that's what he told Sirius he wanted to do.