Whisked Away

On the other side of the door, however, Corrin was nowhere to be seen. Quickly singling out the staff he left him with, Eli ran over to her.

"Karla? Where did Corrin go?" Eli asked with moderate concern.

"Well he's right here isn't he? Wait, where did go? I could've sworn he was right next to me!" she exclaimed as she looked around in bewilderment.

At that moment a customer opened the door, and Eli caught a glimpse of Corrin's signature jet black hair. As he was about to call out his name, a man with a mask burst through the door of a nearby shop and apparated away, taking Corrin with him.

As two more people came out from the shop with their wands raised, presumably the owner and an assistant, pandemonium ensued. Everyone had been reading the news about the horrifying abductions happening, but to actually witness one in person shook them to their cores.

Those with children quickly pulled them in close, trying to protect them from additional threats. Others who had been milling about ran like frightened animals.

Three people looked the most devasted. Karla, for one, was told to look after the boy for a bit. A fundamentally simple task, as he was usually very well behaved, but she knew this was all her fault. This wasn't about her job, but her emotional state. Her negligence may cause the suffering of an innocent little boy.

Eli was obviously upset, as Corrin was his son, and he was powerless to stop him from getting abducted. He was in great anguish, in fact, and his mind was working to its max to figure out what to do next.

Evelyne, debatably the most upset, was just standing there, her lip quivering. Her most important person was just snatched away, and all she could do was watch. All she knew was that he still was mad at her and not being able to fix that before he was taken hurt. A lot.

After the rest of the family was alerted, they were panicking as well. Although others would get mad at Eli for losing Corrin, everyone was worrying too much about their little boy to care about such things for now.

***

Granny Laplaus immediately started pulling the strings she had, calling in old favors and using every avenue she could to find anything related to Corrin's kidnapping.

Yet no one knew a thing. There was no chatter, no whispers about what had happened. Whoever had done it was once again proven to be a master at his craft. As the days went on, everyone grew more and more disheartened.

After the end of the first day, they had hope, yet every day after that same hope dwindled. The sixth day was especially rough. Sorrowful wails could be heard throughout the Laplaus mansion. Not just the men, but the women and children too.

By the thirteenth day, things were still grim. Arthur had been exerting all the power he could at the Auror's office to hasten the investigation regarding the disappearances, yet even that yielded no fruits.

Soon days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months. The seasons passed, each without even a sliver of information on the beloved child. The apparent loss of him weighed heavily on the shoulders of each and every one of the family, especially on Eli. Corrin disappeared under his care, and even though no one openly blamed him, they didn't need to. He knew this was mainly his fault.

Everyone was wondering where Corrin was, and they all prayed for his safe return.

***

When Corrin opened his eyes, he was greeted by a dim lit room, filled with the stench of excrements. Water dripped down the wall in front of him, splashing upon the grimy floor. A faint smell of blood also persisted, emanating from the chain cuffs around his wrists and ankles.

He tried to speak, but his throat was too dry and couldn't form words. The small puddle gathered ahead of him was looking less and less disgusting by the moment. As he was leaning forward, the door opened, the light from the hall showing the silhouette of a hooded man.

"W-who are you?" Corrin could feel like this person did not have his best interests in mind.

Without saying a word, the figure unlocked the chains binding Corrin and grabbed him by the arm, leading him out of the room. They wound through many turns, the occasional torches lighting up the way.

Eventually, they wound up at a door. This one was different than the rusted iron ones guarding every other room. This one was darker, and more detailed. A sense of misfortune and malice radiated from the skull like design in the middle of the door.

Opening the door, there was a stone table in the middle of the room . The walls were lined with many metal tools covered in red. Another hooded figure was waiting for them, foot tapping impatiently.

"What do you think the odds of this one making it through are?" The waiting one asked, its voice sounding feminine.

"Our calculations are flawless. The reason all our experiments have failed is solely due to the quality of what we have been experimenting on," the one holding Corrin answered in a gruff voice.

"So, is this one any different?"

"We will soon see."

Corrin began to cry as they tied him down to the table.

"Please, I don't wanna die!" He screamed as he tried to fight back.

"Do not worry child. If you survive, you will be more powerful than you could ever imagine! You will be the first in a new age of magic!" The larger one said trying to calm him down.

"I don't wanna!"

"This is why we should never have kids… they just don't listen, do they?" The smaller one added.

"Petrificus Totalus."

Corrin's could no longer move his body, yet could feel his freedom being taken with each wrap of the rope.

"Okay let's get this show on the road, hand me the knife, hun," the woman said as she held her hand out.