… The Carrion, Blackmore Alley…

Juni wrapped her frail arms around her knees, sitting against the wall at the far end of the room. The room that she had been thrown into with a number of other girls, was well lit and there was a large bed in the middle of it, random chairs and cushions littered around.

She glanced at the cuff on her wrists, it was made of thick, solid metal, there was no getting it off without the keys or magic. Talking about magic, she hadn't taken her wand with her to the store, not like it would matter because the men that had taken them took their wands away.

But even then, they should at least be able to use wandless magic but there wasn't even a spark of it. It had to be the handcuffs causing it because if the room was already heavily guarded on the outside, there was no need to cuff them up.

Juni looked around, she looked to be the youngest, the rest of the girls were obviously older than she was. Some of them had given up hope and were sitting quietly just like her, others were silently crying and there was a third group. These ones were quietly talking, no doubt discussing their fate.

Juni was the only one who sat away from the rest, she sighed and let her head drop against the wall. She wondered how her brother was doing, knowing Ji-hun, he wouldn't be fine, it made her worry about him.

She might act like he was overbearing and nosy but she knew that if their roles were reversed she would baby him even worse. She also knew that her older brother would blame himself for her disappearance even though there was nothing he could have done to prevent it.

Her brother's jacket had been taken away from her while she was unconscious as well as her lilac dress, instead, she was put in a short sheer dress just like the rest of the other girls.

This sucks…

How awful was her luck that a few years after she woke up from a coma, she got kidnapped to be sold off as a slave or worse?

Juni could hear the noise from what had to be the auction hall, it was getting louder over time which meant that the hall was rapidly filling up. From the direction the sounds were coming from, they were probably kept in some hidden backroom behind the auction hall.

It was so easy to lose hope, she didn't believe that Ji-hun or Master Albeline could find her. She didn't even know how she ended up here in the first place. The last thing Juni remembered was trying to use the toilet and then it all went black.

She woke up to find herself on a strange bed, with about ten other girls around her. She was one of the first to recover from the effects of the flower of the sleeping nightshade and she had immediately found a corner to hide in.

No one tried to approach her, yet, and she preferred it that way. There was no use trying to make friends, they would probably all be sold off to different people. The thought of that made a shiver ripple over her skin and it wasn't because of the flimsy clothing she had on.

"Hey," A soft voice called from beside her.

Juni looked up reluctantly, wishing that the girl would just leave her alone. She said nothing in response, merely staring up at the older girl.

"My name is Luisa, what's yours?"

Juni forced herself to take a deep breath so that she didn't lash out at the poor girl that was probably just trying to comfort herself by being nice to others. "Juni." She muttered in a clipped tone.

"Pardon my forwardness but you look really young, how old are you?"

Juni couldn't help the furrow in her brows and how her cheeks inflated slightly in her disgruntlement. "Sixteen."

"Oh? Ohh…" Luisa mumbled, trying hard to hide her shock and failing. "Well, I just noticed that you weren't sitting with the rest of the group and got concerned…"

"Leave her alone, Luisa." A cold voice came from one of the cushions where a girl was curled up on.

"M-Miranda…"

"She thinks she's too good to sit with the rest of us commoners, well too bad! We're all gonna be sold! I hope you get a particularly sick owner who'll…"

"Miranda!" Luisa cut her off sharply, sounding troubled.

Juni chuckled coldly. "You heard her, I'm too good to sit with the likes of you, you should leave." She dismissed Luisa, wrapping her arms around her knees again.

Luisa had no choice but to return back to her group, guilt settling faintly between her shoulder blades, maybe she should have just left the girl alone.

She had to admit that she had seen the expensive golden jewelry on the girl's hair and had gotten curious but she wouldn't deny that she also had thoughts that Juni was sitting apart from them simply because she was richer than they were.

It was why she hadn't tried too hard to defend her, for all they knew, she would get rescued while they would be the ones getting sold off. When faced with danger, humans tended to despise those who got saved instead of them.

-*-

... Albeline Manor, the outskirts of Slough...

I tugged down the sleeves of my inner shirt, making my way down the hallway of portraits, or more like what used to be the hallway of portraits. I had taken them all down because I got sick of their opinions.

I didn't put on my overcoat, leaving it to hang over my shoulders. Ji-hun was already waiting at the foyer for us to set out for the auction that would be taking place tonight. After we got back to the manor house from Blackmore Alley, Ji-hun immediately disappeared into his office for the rest of the afternoon.

I didn't bother him, knowing that he needed the time alone, besides, I had things to attend to as well. I hadn't been bluffing when I said I was willing to spend a hundred thousand Galleons and more, it was an unplanned expense but it would serve multiple purposes.

I walked down the main stairs of the manor, Ji-hun waiting tensely at the end of it. "Ready?" I asked. It was a rhetorical question, Ji-hun had been ready ever since we found out Juni's location.

He nodded anyway and I led the way out of the manor, it was 7:27 pm and the sun had set long ago so all of the servants were gone for the night, except Wilkins who was currently preparing a large supper as I directed. Juni would be hungry after not getting to eat for a whole day, it was important for her to get nourishment.

Ji-hun had shown up with a Portkey and two temporary cards after he finished dealing with the entrance Witch. There were multiple ways of getting into Blackmore Alley but apparating there wasn't one of them, he had been given the Portkey because the Witch deemed us a special case. Not that it mattered but it was a straightforward way to get to our destination. 

There were a handful of exits and entrances to Blackmore Alley, there was one in 'Dead Street' that led to a dingy backstreet just a couple of lanes from Mill Street.  Another was from the main part of Blackmore Alley, through a pub that had a similar outlet in Mill Street and there was another in Nox but had no idea how to use it.

The Portkey took us to a side street not too far from the Carrion. It was done this way because of the number of people likely to be in and around the Carrion. People using Portkeys would end up crashing into other people if the Portkey had taken us straight to the entrance.

Blackmore Alley was brightly lit, music and conversation spilling into the crowded streets and maybe it was just because there was an auction tonight but it seemed to be a lot more lively after dark.

I led the way to the entrance of the hall, walking up the steps that led to the two large doors. There were Witches and Wizards either doing the same or hanging around the entrance of the auction hall.

The auction seemed like a free-for-all, as long as you could afford the access card, you were free to attend it. The familiar huge guys were waiting inside, standing menacingly in front of a barricade as they checked the guests' access cards.

I smiled politely when I got to them but it didn't touch my eyes. Ji-hun stepped forward to show them our access cards and they spent a little too long studying them.

I kept the polite smile on my face, knowing that there was no way they didn't remember me, I had an eyepatch that really stood out. Also, I knew that word of me destroying the warehouse must have gotten out.

I knew that the rat who preyed on underage girls that we found in the warehouse wasn't the mastermind behind it, nor was 'Fabien'. For an operation that big, it had to at least involve one of the Dark Wizards that ruled the Wizarding Underworld. 

I didn't know any of them except Carleton and I only found out after he died from his shattering ribs stabbing him through the heart. It was really difficult getting information out of Blackmore Alley, the folks here were really tight-lipped.

I needed an introduction to one of the top guns, and what better way to say 'hello' than through violence?