Thinking
"Ok, we have the letter as a threat, plus pensieve memories of your imprisonment," Sirius began, jumping into the case eagerly. Severus sometimes joked that he should have been a lawyer instead of a cop.
"Doubtless Malfoy will try to bring me up on a kidnapping charge," Alyssa sighed, accepting the cup of tea from Remus as she thought about how to get around that.
"You're his godmother, right Lyss?" Remus asked, settling into the chair beside Alyssa.
"Yes, Sev's his godfather, I'm his godmother. Where are you going with this wolf?" Alyssa asked curiously.
"Moony, you're brilliant," Sirius crowed as he realized what his friend had thought of.
Severus and Alyssa shared partly confused, partly annoyed looks for a moment. "Would one of you two kindly explain what you're so happy about?" Severus asked, his tone conveying his annoyance.
"Before you left and took Draco, you had evidence that Malfoy was abusing him, right Lyss?" Sirius asked, realizing that the Potions Master and Mistress had no clue about the loophole Remus had just found them.
"Yes," Alyssa replied, frowning as she tried to see what Remus and Sirius obviously saw, "He was upset, told me things that went on in the house. I could tell he wasn't lying because he had a bruise on his face, shaped like a hand, indicating that either his father or mother had struck him. He preferred to stay in a dank dungeon with his godmother he hadn't seen in two years rather than go with his father. And at the end, when Lucius crucioed me, he only did that because I stood in front of Draco."
"Exactly," Sirius said, smirking even though the evidence Alyssa rattled off made him slightly ill, "You pledged to protect him, by any means necessary, when you were appointed his godmother. If you have significant cause to think that he was being mistreated…"
"Then she was perfectly within her rights as his godmother to remove him from his situation and question him," Severus said, comprehension dawning on his face, "Lupin, you really are brilliant."
"Will it hold up in court?" Alyssa asked, smiling slightly at the light flush on Remus's face. Still as modest as ever, my heart.
"Without a doubt," Sirius said confidently. He knew law, had studied after his mother had disowned him, and he knew that if this went to court, Lucius Malfoy would be lucky if all of his money and connections kept him and his wife from facing the Kiss. "Threats, kidnapping, child abuse, conspiracy to revive a Dark Lord, plus his other charges from when he attacked us in Britain; there's enough there that he'll face a lifetime in Azkaban, if not the Kiss."
"The Kiss is too good for them," Alyssa muttered, her eyes blazing with midnight fire, "They should have to face the consequences of their actions every day, and remember what they did to that little boy."
Her eyes grew haunted as she thought about the few times she and Severus had been called to visit Malfoy Manor, the most recent being when Draco was sick two years ago and she retrieved the Horcrux that the elder Malfoys had hidden. Was the abuse going on even then? Did I miss it simply because I didn't want to be reminded of my past?
The others looked at each other. They all knew something was wrong, Alyssa doesn't just zone out like that. It's not a vision, that much is certain, but what could she be thinking about that's haunting her that badly?
"Lyss?" Remus ventured, taking her hand in his, "Lyssa, are you alright? C'mon Lyss, say something please."
"How long?" Alyssa's voice was barely above a whisper, and her eyes still had that faraway, pained expression.
"How long what?" Sirius asked, confused as to why Alyssa was basically acting like a robot when minutes ago she was vowing revenge.
"How long was Draco abused?" Alyssa said, her voice now carrying the same haunted tone that her eyes reflected, "How did I miss it? How did we miss it Sev? I was there, and all I saw was a doting mother and a spoiled son. What did I miss? When did they start torturing the poor boy?"
Severus realized what his sister was talking about, and it sent a cold chill through him as well. We were there half a dozen times each year; how did we miss this? Did they only start this after they tried to kill us, or were we too blind to see what was right in front of us?
"It's not your fault," Remus said, looking from one to the other. Both had identical expressions of horror on their faces, trapped in memories of the past. "If he was abused when you were visiting, you would have noticed."
"Yeah," Sirius agreed, patting Severus's shoulder reassuringly, "Besides, I think Malfoy Sr. only got physical after his plan for world domination failed, so you wouldn't have noticed anything because you didn't see Draco."
"Possibly," Alyssa said, still distractedly thinking back to the spoiled, pampered boy she remembered and comparing him with the sweet, yet obviously abused child upstairs. When did it start?
"That doesn't matter now," Remus said, anticipating the thought that was tumbling through his wife's head, "He's here, he's safe, and no one is going to hurt him again."
"You're right wolf," Alyssa sighed, leaning so she could rest her head against his shoulder, "But I still worry."
"You always worry," Remus said, only half-joking.
"Maybe we should call it a night," Sirius suggested, noticing that both twins still were paler than normal, worrying about things they can't change. "Tomorrow, Alyssa could take the boys shopping for some things for them while we discuss this?"
"Is there a reason why I'm the automatic babysitter?" Alyssa asked, faint amusement creeping into her voice.
Sirius just shrugged. "You just are; I don't actually have a valid reason."
"Only you," she muttered, standing to go, grabbing Remus's hand as she did so. It may have been selfishness on her part, but Alyssa didn't know if she could face the nightmares that were certain to strike without Remus.