Prologue

Just like their father, she mused fondly. Her two children tumbled in the grass a dozen paces beyond the deck she sat upon. Squeals and innocent war cries echoed across the manor grounds. Brandishing her wand, Augusta aimed it at her children and quietly cast new Warming Charms. As much as she fretted over her children, she stifled her concerns about them playing in the thick snow just so she could continue hearing their beautiful laughter. Precarious snowflakes fell atop her children, sitting in their messy hair before melting.

Augusta gently shook her newspaper free of snowflakes and resumed reading the article. The laughter of her children now brought chills to her arms as she read about the poor little boy who'd gone missing a few weeks ago. Augusta knew of the family – Purebloods, kept their noses clean, respectable. Augusta was by no means close with Ebony Selwyn, but her children were only a few years older than her little boy Isaac, who went missing in Diagon Alley at the start of the month.

She shivered, looking back up at her children. Only a year younger than her brother Frank, Eloise was a formidable opponent. She released high pitched war cries as she pounced on Frank's back, holding herself up by yanking on handfuls of Frank's sandy blond hair. Frank shouted incoherently in response, twisting and toppling over to plough his little sister into the soft mountains of snow. Instinctively, Augusta winced and sat up straighter, awaiting the sobs from her daughter. But they didn't come, as she should have known. Eloise wriggled out from underneath her brother, climbed over him and stumbled a few feet. She giggled madly at her snow-covered brother and ran away. Frank rolled out of the snow, staring after Eloise for a moment before he began chasing her. They were both heading to the tree line that surrounded the grounds where the sun had already hidden behind. The skies were cast pink and orange as dusk neared, the shadows of the trees darkening and almost masking her children from sight.

Augusta stood up from her worn rocking chair. "Not too far, you two," she called, "It's almost dark!"

"Yes, Mama," they both shouted back in unison, howling with laughter as they dodged between the trees. Frank tripped over a fallen branch, and Eloise threw herself on top of him with a manic squeal.

Augusta rolled her eyes lovingly at her crazy children, sitting back down on her rocking chair. She pealed open the newspaper again, her attention falling to an article about the Minister for Magic, Nobby Leach, whom had an assassination attempt on his life. Augusta blinked at the article, watching the photograph of said Nobby Leach being tended to by Healers while he clutched at his throat wildly.

Augusta had attended school with Nobby, and it brought her great unease to know someone was trying to kill the sweet boy who took it upon himself to always carry Cauldron Cakes in his rucksack in case he came across an upset peer. He was the first even Muggleborn Minister for Magic, born to non-magical parents, and that instantly made him a target in the Wizarding World - especially in times like these.

Augusta gave thanks that she wasn't unfortunate enough to be born a Muggleborn – instead a Pureblood. Safe. Her children were safe. It almost hadn't gone that way, only a few months ago.

She shook away her dark train of thought, looking up at her children.

But they were no longer in sight.

Augusta sighed, pushing herself to her feet and resting the Daily Prophet on the chair behind her.

"Frank!" She called out, squinting at the darkening tree line. "Eloise?" She moved forward, stepping down carefully off the icy deck and onto the snow-sheeted grounds of Longbottom Manor.

"Come on, you two, it's almost dinner time!" Her voice cracked slightly as she shouted. Augusta blew out a foggy breath and pulled her wand from her robes. She held it to her throat murmuring, "Sonorus."

"Eloise! Frank! Back to the Manor, now!" Her voice, now significantly louder, echoed back at her. She grimaced from the harsh volume, but continued to scan the trees waiting for a blur of sandy hair or the tell tale giggles of her rambunctious children. But after what felt like an hour but in fact was just one minute, there was nothing.

Before she could help herself, Augusta began to panic. It rose in her chest, constricting her throat and gripping her heart in its palms.

"Rudy!" Augusta cried, almost instantaneously followed by a recognisable popping sound. She looked down at her house-elf, who stared up at her with disproportionally large blue eyes. He wore a firmly pressed butler suit, a deep crimson red, with polished black slacks. His name was embroidered into the chest of the jacket, underneath the intricate Longbottom house crest. "Can you get Master Balthazar please?" Her voice was faint, wavering.

Rudy's leathery hand touched the house crest embroidered on his breast, nodding. He disappeared with the same pop he materialised with. Moments later, he'd returned from the study with Balthazar Longbottom holding his shoulder.

Balthazar stepped towards his wife, concern knotting his brows. He opened his mouth but Augusta bet him to it, pinning her sharp blue eyes on his.

"The children – they've disappeared." Without another word, she swept across the grounds, her robes billowing behind her. Balthazar immediately snapped into action, like his wife had silently begged of him. She wasn't built for situations such as these – she closed off, ignoring the world and shutting off her emotions.

"Rudy, collect the other house-elves, inform them Eloise and Frank are missing on the east side grounds; start searching from the lake back up towards the greenhouses. I will start at the greenhouses and work down."

"Yes, Master."

Augusta heard no more from her husband or house-elf as she was enveloped in the darkness of the forest. Fallen branches, twigs and dead leaves crunched under her feet – the only sound other than her ragged breathing. Swallowing the terror that had long constricted her throat, she began to shout the names of her two beloved children. It soon sounded much like a predictable chorus, repeated hundred of times as her eyes scanned the trees around her.

The light that illuminated from the tip of her dragon heartstring wand was soon the only light source in the dark, dense woodlands.

Silently, tears tracked down Augusta's cheeks. She attempted to will herself not to think about the possibilities. There were so many different things that could have happened – she muffled the darkest ideas from her mind.

Did they simply get lost? Was one of them, or heaven forbid both of them, hurt and stuck somewhere? Or were they still just playing, obliviously chasing each other through the forest?

Augusta prayed for the latter, desperately trying not to think of the fear and panic they would be feeling otherwise.

As much as Augusta was trying to avoid dark thoughts, she was a logical woman. It was now nighttime. Her children would have no light. Her Warming Charms she placed on them about an hour ago would be wearing off if they had not already. They were not dressed in nearly enough layers to survive a snowy December night.

Her throat ached and her watery blue eyes strained. "Eloise! Frank!"

She screamed herself hoarse, her echoes the only response she heard. It felt like hours had passed, but she had no measure of time – only the growing ache in her chest.

A breeze began to sneak between the trees, precarious leaves dropped from branches. The ground was wet with melted snow – muddied slush. With the breeze carried the smell of rich damp soil and moss. It was eerily calm and quiet for the emotions Augusta was feeling – terrified, desperate, nauseous.

Her eyes began deceiving her – showing her shadows and flickers of clothing. But none were her two children. Nowhere could she see her daughter's thick dusty pink woollen coat, her dirtied boots or the pompom beanie that tamed her tangled mess of golden hair.

Frank, her little boy – had been wearing a similar coat, a charcoal grey colour, smeared with mud and lone leaves as souvenirs from his adventures on the grounds and in the forest. His hair, the same sun-bleached blonde as his little sister. They were so alike and so close as siblings – their personalities almost identical if not for Eloise's slight outgoing and roguish tendencies.

She couldn't lose them. Augusta brushed her hair back from her face and steadied her trembling lip. "Frank! Ela!"

"Mama?"

Faster than a spell's light, Augusta swung around. Emerging from the trees was a little boy with pink cheeks and blue lips. He wore a thick grey coat and scuffed boots. But the most eye-catching feature he wore was his expression of utter trepidation. Wet tears hung on the edge of his chin and eyelashes.

"Frankie!" Augusta cried out, almost falling to her knees in relief as she caught her running son. She wrapped her arms around his small, chilled figure, her fingers tanged in his hair while she peppered his head with kisses. "Where have you been?" She couldn't rid her voice of the sheer exasperation she felt.

Frank didn't answer. Augusta pulled back, looking at her boy she almost thought she'd lost. She brushed back his unruly fringe, staring at him. He chewed his trembling bottom lip, avoiding her eyes while his own watered uncontrollably.

"I lost Ela, Mama," he whispered, his voice almost swept away in the light breeze.

Augusta pressed her lips together firmly, holding Frank's icy cheek in her palm. She silently cast a Warming Charm over his body before she picked him up in her arms – a luxury she'd weaned him off a few years ago.

"It's okay, Frank, I'm sure Papa has found her." She pressed a fleeting kiss to his temple before she began walking again. Unsure if even the Sonorus charm would amplify her voice enough for her husband to even hear, she held out her wand in her free arm with different intentions.

"Expecto Patronum," she called, filling her mind with the fresh feeling of having found Frank, the relief and happiness that swept over her. From the tip of her wand snaked a blinding silver light. It bloomed quickly in the distinguishable and familiar shape of a large, magnificent black bear. Frank cooed in her arms, momentarily distracted from his terror of losing his sister by the sheer light the Patronus produced. It was the size of a true bear, tendrils and wisps of silver vapour shaping the dimensional yet translucent animal.

"Find Balthazar, tell him I've got Frank, and lead him back to me." She commanded softly. The bear understood and immediately turned, trampling off through the tree. His extraordinary light glowed his path until he disappeared completely within the thick forest.

Frank, previously mollified by the appearance of his mother's Patronus, resumed crying. Augusta gently shushed him as she walked through the trees, still searching for any sign of Eloise. She followed the direction Frank had come from. She wished there was some clear trail she could follow, clues as to which way she should continue – but there was none. Frank was beside himself in her arms, very unlikely to be of any help finding his little sister, and Augusta wasn't sure if she was getting closer to her daughter or further away.

"Augusta?"

She turned, momentarily blinded by the light of her returning Patronus black bear before it dissipated into the air. Left behind was Balthazar.

His eyes were red, as if he'd been crying. He wore an expression Augusta very rarely saw – fear. He had flushed cheeks in place of his smooth and creamy complexion and his narrow, sharp nose was slightly crunched as he attempted to level his expression. His creased thick eyebrows remained. His usually impeccable head of golden and grey hair was tussled messily, carrying small leaves and twigs that had snagged during his search. His black robes had also collected leaves. He'd trampled through a few too-deep muddy puddles – as was evident by his filthy boots.

But there was only one thing that actually mattered to Augusta.

"You don't have Eloise." It came out as a statement, as she stared at her husband with an unfathomable expression.

"I'm so sorry, Augusta," he whispered, casting his eyes downward as a fresh tear slipped down his cheek. "I…"

She let Frank slip down out of her grasp as her eyes caught sight of a glinting item in her husband's curled fist. Frank ran to his father and attached himself to Balthazar's thigh, burying his face in his father's robes with several sniffles. Aside from brushing his hand briefly through Frank's hair, Balthazar paid little heed to his son, following his wife's trained eyes until they fell onto the object he clutched tightly. He loosened his grip, revealing both a locket and the deep creases it left in his palm from his firm grip.

Augusta stared. It was a beautiful pendant, a gold intricate heirloom. A bowed diamond shape, it was detailed with intertwining silver vines, revealing on its front a beautiful House of Longbottom family crest. It encompassed two stunning Hebridean Black dragons mirroring one another on opposite sides of the shield, centered around a large cursive letter 'L' for Longbottom. Below the letter was the ancient family motto 'malo mori quam foedari', Latin for 'death rather than dishonour'.

Augusta couldn't even remember the last time she'd seen her daughter without the pendant around her neck.

Augusta's fingers ran over the piece of jewellery, the broken chain dangling from the pendant.

For the first time since her children had disappeared, Augusta sobbed a heart-wrenching sob. She held the pendant to her chest – Eloise's pendant – and fell to her knees in the mud.

Tears tracked down her face as if a floodgate had been opened and her body curled over as her frame shook.

"No," she whispered brokenly, the pendent now held to her cold lips. "No, no, no, no…" Augusta stared ahead, and released a bloodcurdling scream.