Author's Note: For the purposes of this prompt, there is no foster system in the Wizarding World. If a child has no parents or relatives to raise him or her, that child is sent to an orphanage.

"Every time I try to send a letter to him," Mr. Nott told the head of the Auror department, "the owl just comes back to me, with my letter unopened. That's not like Abraxas. He always writes back. And I'm also concerned about his young son, Lucius."

"What about Mrs. Malfoy?" the head Auror asked. "Why hasn't she come here yet if her husband is potentially missing?"

Mr. Nott paused for a moment before saying, "There is no Mrs. Malfoy. She died in childbirth. It's just Abraxas and Lucius at the manor."

"I will send some of my men to Malfoy Manor to check on both of them," the head Auror said.

"Thank you so much," Mr. Nott replied. "There's probably a reasonable explanation behind all this; but I consider Abraxas a very good friend, so I want to make sure that he's all right. And little Lucius, he's not even Hogwarts age yet.

"I understand," the head Auror responded.

When the two Aurors sent to Malfoy Manor arrived, the gates immediately opened for them. They then walked down the pathway that led to the front entrance.

They were greeted at the door by a small, pale boy with shoulder-length platinum blond hair. With his almost whitish hair and his pale face, the boy looked very much like a ghost.

"Lucius Malfoy," one of the Aurors inquired.

"Yes, I'm Lucius," the boy spoke, his voice sounding strangely detached (especially for someone his age). "What can I do for you today, sirs?"

"Where is your father?" the other Auror asked.

"Gone," the boy said simply.

"Gone?"

"My father leaves the manor from time to time to go on trips to different places," Lucius explained. "He never really tells me where he goes. He just leaves."

"Is it normal for him to be gone for long periods of time?" the first Auror asked. "And why doesn't he take you with him? Who takes care of you?"

"The house-elves cook for me and they clean my clothes," Lucius replied, "but I otherwise take care of myself. I'm not completely helpless. And to answer your first question, yes, it's normal for my father to be gone for months at a time. But there's no need for you to worry. I'm just fine. I hope you both have a good day."

The boy began to close the door.

"Do you ever hear from your father while he is on his trips?" the second Auror asked.

"No," Lucius answered bluntly as he reopened the door.

"So, he just leaves you alone in this huge manor, with only house-elves to look after you," the first Auror spoke matter-of-factly.

"Basically, yes," Lucius confirmed. "Are we done here, or would you like to come in? I could have the house-elves bring you two gentlemen some wine. Or if you feel like it's still too early in the day for wine, I can have the house-elves make you some tea instead."

"Actually," the second Auror spoke, "we would like for you to come with us."

"Why?"

"Because we can't just leave you here alone," the Auror explained. "While I have no doubt that your house-elves are wonderful servants, they are no substitute for a parent."

"Where exactly do you plan on taking me?" Lucius asked.

There was no fear or apprehension in the boy's voice. There wasn't even a hint of curiosity. To be truthful, the boy's voice was emotionless. In fact, the boy had yet to express any type of emotion that would typically be normal for someone his age. He seemed perfectly at ease, but at the same time he didn't. However, he didn't appear to be uncomfortable either. He was just there.

"Well, we're going to be searching for your father," the first Auror spoke up. "But until we're able to locate him, we think it would be for the best if you were at an orphanage. You need adults looking after you, kid."

"I'm not a kid," Lucius snapped, for the first time showing a trace of genuine emotion. "I can take care of myself just fine. I don't need anyone. Now, could you gentlemen kindly leave?"

The boy's last statement was not a suggestion.

The two Aurors glanced at each other.

"You seem very mature for your age," the first Auror finally spoke, "but you shouldn't be having to look after yourself. You will have plenty of time for that when you're an actual adult."

Lucius shifted slightly on his feet. "How long do you think it's going to take for you to locate my father? He's not exactly an easy person to find, especially when he doesn't want to be found."

The boy was once again back to sounding emotionless. He didn't seem to be concerned in any way. In fact, he appeared to be indifferent to the whole situation.

"Hopefully not long," the second Auror responded.

"May I pack a few items before I leave?" Lucius asked.

"Of course."

Lucius held the door open so that the two Aurors could enter the manor.

As Lucius was making his way to presumably his bedroom, though, the two Aurors could not help but notice that he was limping ever so slightly. For the most part, the boy was doing a good job at hiding it, but he wasn't able to do so completely.

"What happened to your leg?" the second Auror inquired.

"I had a little accident on the stairs," Lucius answered calmly. "It's nothing to worry about. I'll be just fine soon enough. My bedroom is this way."

The two Aurors followed Lucius up the stairs (did he have his accident on these stairs?) and down a hallway.

Lucius paused in front of a door and opened it up.

"I'll be just a moment," he said.

"Take as much time as you need," the first Auror returned. "We'll be right out here if you need anything."

Lucius walked into his bedroom and closed the door behind him. He didn't, however, close his door with any rush or panic. He was still nothing but calm and composed.

"Do you think he's all right?" the second Auror asked.

The first Auror shrugged his shoulders. "He seems all right, but it's clear to me that he's very good at hiding his emotions. A little too good for his age."

The second Auror began to look around. "I wonder where all the house-elves are at."

"They're probably all hiding," the first Auror responded. "They have a tendency to do that when there are strangers in their master's house, and their master has not called for them to serve the strangers."

Several minutes went by. Neither Auror heard a single sound coming from the boy's bedroom.

The first Auror knocked on the door. "Kid, are you all right in there? Do you need help with anything?"

There was no answer.

"Kid," the first Auror repeated, knocking on the door again.

There was still no answer.

The second Auror reached for the doorknob and opened the door.

The two Aurors stepped inside the room. They looked around, but they weren't able to see the boy anywhere.

"Look," the first Auror suddenly hissed, pointing towards an open window.

Bed sheets and other items in the room had been tied together to form a makeshift rope. One end was tied around one of the bedposts. The other end was hanging out the window.

The two Aurors approached the window and looked down. The makeshift rope wasn't quite long enough to go all the way down to the ground, but they boy was nowhere in sight.

"Did he jump the rest of the way down?" the second Auror asked in amazement.

"We weren't standing outside his room for that long," the first Auror remarked.

"He's done this before," the second Auror commented.

"He couldn't have gotten far, especially on that bad leg of his," he first Auror then said.

The two Aurors made their way outside, and they searched the entire grounds for the boy. They even used Homenum Revelio. The boy, however, was nowhere to be found.

"He's definitely done this before," the second Auror spoke. "How could he have just disappeared into thin air? And why did he run like this? Was he that afraid of being sent to an orphanage?"

"We need to get some of our colleagues on this case," the first Auror said.

Despite an extensive search by the entire Auror department, however, not a trace was found of either Abraxas or Lucius Malfoy. The disappearance of both Malfoys quickly became one of the biggest mysteries in the Wizarding World.