Lost And Found

CAPTURED

Jean woke up with a splitting headache. She couldn't open her eyes. Her eyelids felt as heavy as stone. But even with closed eyes, she could feel the darkness surrounding her. It was not just the lack of light. It was that scary darkness that crept through her bones, making her shiver involuntarily. It was cold too. And damp. She was lying down in a fetal position on what seemed to be stone floor. The uneven edges were poking at her ribs. Her whole body was freezing, except...

Except a small portion of her back, where the warmth from another body sipped in. Still eyes closed, she tried to focus on that. The body was small and breathing.

Jean tried to turn around and see who it was, but failed. She was under the some binding curse. She was unable to move a finger.

The little child was beyond scared. She forgot to breathe for a few moments.

Where am I?

What's happening with me? Why is this headache? Why am I bound?

Who is lying down beside me?

Where is everyone else? Mum, dad, where are you?

Thousands of questions swarmed in her head, intensifying the headache.

She moaned in pain, "Mum... Daddy..."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... Mummy and daddy are not here, deary."

Someone said in a sugercoated voice.

It sent chills through her bones.

With great difficulty, Jean opened her eyes. It took some moments for her eyes to get adjusted to the unknown surrounding.

She was correct in her assumption. It was indeed a dark room, with stone floors and wooden walls. Fractions of sunlight was peeping through the cracks and holes on the walls. There were no windows, only one door was standing shut, in front of which, stood the man with his wands out, in a relaxed pose, looking directly at her.

Jean squinted her eyes to have a better look at the person in the semi darkness. He was old, with shoulder length diamond blond hair, wearing a black wizarding cloak. She could not remember seeing him before. But from the eery grin on his face and the situation she found herself in, the little child could very well realise that he was not a friend.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" She asked boldly.

"Owww... Sweetheart, you really are adorable, aren't you?" The man cackled, "As brave as your Mummy and Daddy, huh?"

Jean didn't say anything, just kept on glaring at him.

"Don't you worry, deary, I want nothing from you... Or your brother... Or your little friends..."

Jean's eyes widened at the mention of her brother and her friends. She remembered her last memory before waking up at this room. She remembered clearly how she was playing in the snow with Hugo, Fred and Roxanne at the backyard of the Burrow, when Fred had this mischievous idea of sneaking in to the brooms closet, take out some brooms and fly to the nearby forest. Fred had been raving about the interesting magical creature he spotted there in his previous visit with his father. But none of his friends believed him. So, he wanted to go there and show them for real. He could have easily asked his parents or grandparents to take them there. But, the creature told him that it only comes near children with no adults around. Also, going with adults wouldn't be adventurous enough.

Jean remembered herself protesting against that idea, warning her friends against trusting unknown creatures. But she lost against the majority of the group. All others were excited about the adventure. She remembered her moment of hesitation when she couldn't decide whether to go inside to warn the adults or to follow his friends. In the end, she didn't want to be tagged as the "bossy girl, not so cool as her friends" and followed them.