Capítulo 412: Bitter Smiles
The night was eerily quiet as if it could feel the tension surrounding the lonely vampire standing near an ordinary mountain cliff. For miles, there was no sign of any other figure but the next second a blur skidded through the dirt path before stopping in front of the vampire.
"Prince Oziyat," the figure bowed to the vampire.
Oziyat slowly turned to look at the person in a dark cloak with a grim expression.
"Do you have any news for me, Mariam?" Oziyat asked very calmly but the grim expression of the person's face did not fill him with confidence. He knew the vampire spy didn't bring any good news.
"Your Highness, the protection around Titian had not come down yet. The colony is still under lockdown to prevent any traitors from leaving. Unfortunately, it means I couldn't get in as well and I decided against any infiltration," Mariam, the vampire spy paused and sighed. "However, the magic around Titian is still . . . mourning, You Highness. I thought it was because of the guardians we lost that night. But mourning rain is still pouring which normally lasts this long only if —"
"Only if it's a royal family member the kingdom is mourning," Oziyat finished the sentence, clenching his fist so hard that the nails drew blood from his palm.
The vampire spy immediately smelled the blood and looked worried but didn't dare to say anything to the vampire prince. The stoic expression of Oziyat did not break even the slightest, even though his heart twisted itself with the worse thoughts.
Despite many beliefs among humans, the Vampires didn't have many customs apart from their birth ceremony and the day of mourning. After a vampire is gone, the vampires close to the dead would gather together and release their powers to the world around them, which often translated into rain and came back to them. As custom dictates if there is a war, the vampires, who lose their lives had a mourning rain for two days, for Royal Guardians the rain is extended to a week, but if an important royal member dies the people continue the rain for a month. And it has been close to a month since Oziyat had fled his palace with Sol, Christina and her friends, a rain till now could only mean one thing. They were mourning an important royal family member. Rosaline was . . . dead.
"Anything else?" Oziyat slowly breathed out and spoke in a low voice.
Mariam shook his head, looking a bit terrified.
"But I will find you as soon as I have any new news, You Highness."
Oziyat waved his hand dismissively and Mariam disappeared in the night just like he appeared. The wound in Oziyat's hand healed instantly as soon as he opened his palm. Only if the pain inside him was healed as quickly. With lightning speed, Oziyat turned and punched through several large tree trunks. All of the trees collapsed around him with loud crashing noise but it was nothing compared to his heart-wrenching scream.
"AGGHHHHHHHH!!!"
Oziyat wanted to mourn his sister or rip the throats of every person who was responsible for his sister's death, or both.
"I WILL KILL YOU, MALIGNO!! I WILL KILL YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS!!" Oziyat screamed into the night as he punched the ground near the cliffside in quick succession. The rock on the cliff broke and many hard chunks of the mountain fell down into the river below but Oziyat did not move. Breathing heavily he stood under the moonlight as the fresh wounds on his knuckles healed.
After a long moment, Oziyat pulled himself together as he realized as much as he would like to go hunt Maligno right this moment, there is another person, who would be destroyed by the news. Sol. He couldn't do that to Sol, not right now. He needed to be there for him now more than ever and probably hide this news as long as possible. The boy had gone through enough and just when he was just becoming normal with Chistina's help, Oziyat couldn't break him again. The right course of action right now would be to help Christina find Maligno and keep Sol safe. But first, maybe it's important to talk to Christina. Oziyat looked at the expansion of nature and the sky in front of him as if gaining strength from it, and then like a blur raced towards London.
It still surprised Oziyat, how much these wizards trusted Christina as they didn't even hesitate to give Oziyat the address of their secret meeting house. As Oziyat stopped in front of the place he looked around and after a minute the gate to the Grimauld Place materialized. However, before Oziyat could find Christina to talk, he heard raised voices as soon as he stepped over the threshold.
" . . . Chris always has been. How she always put us first and then thought about herself. Even when things got deadly, it was her, who put herself in front of the danger. You knew it. You know it, then how could you say those things to her?"
Oziyat stopped in his tracks and looked up the stairs. It was Harry Potter screaming at one of his friends?
"Harry, I was —" The curly-haired girl, Hermione Granger who always looked angry around Chistina could barely explain herself with a trembling voice.
"When all of this started you knew how we all were feeling, weren't you? You knew that even I wanted to go alone to find the Horcruxes but it was you and Chris, who stopped me. It was Chris, Hermione. She told me that I wouldn't survive without you. She understood you. She understood me, she understood us and why we were so worried about her. That's why she apologized, repeatedly. Does all of this mean nothing to you?" Harry Potter yelled and Oziyat realized something must have happened in his absence.
"Of course, it's not — Harry, you know it wasn't like that. I know how Chris is but you know, you are like a brother to me and she broke your heart, not once but —" Hermione Granger sounded close to shrieking and Oziyat blinked very slowly absorbing the information. Christina had already broken Harry Potter's heart more than once. But then he remembered the way she looked at him when they first met at the graveyard, the way her dark aura always turned full of colors and rainbows when Harry Potter smiled.
"And do you know how many times she was broken, Hermione? How many times did she suffer alone? Do you know how many times she thought there was no one with her? No one that she could trust, no one she could love? You didn't see her the night Dumbledore died, Hermione. She was betrayed, she was broken, she lost her control and she decided not to feel anymore. She left everything because of us. Because she loved us. She cared about us. She still does, that's why she is back. And I don't care what anyone else thinks about her but I will not listen to any of this again. None of you will talk to her like that. None of you has the right to blame her decision when she took that decision to save all of us. To protect all of us." Harry Potter finished with a look of daring on his face as if he would like to see who disagrees with him, who dares to insult Christina again.
Nobody did but his friend Hermione ran upstairs crying and Oziyat processed the information and the way Harry's aura was filled with intensity when he spoke of Christina.
"I never thought it would be Hermione, who would make Chris set off like this." Ginny broke the silence.
"I don't think anyone thought that," Harry Potter's other friend Ron said and even though they were speaking quietly Oziyat's vampire hearing clearly received what they were saying. "So do we inform Sirius and Aurelia because I don't think Chris is here? What do you think, Harry?"
As soon as Oziyat heard Chris was missing, he almost ran upstairs to ask what happened but then he heard Harry.
"I don't think Chris left Grimauld Place," Harry said firmly.
"I think so too, Harry. Maybe she just turned herself, so we can't see her." Luna said.
"Turned herself, what do you mean?" Ron asked the same question which came to Oziyat's mind.
"It's nothing," Ginny got nervous, which was not a good sign. "Maybe Luna is talking about Chris turning herself invisible with an invisibility cloak or something."
"Ginny, if they know it will help us find Chris," Luna told Ginny calmly. What was going on? Was Christina missing or not?
"How would that help?" Ginny said angrily.
"Ginny, Harry is a parselmouth," Luna said matter-of-factly which made Oziyat more confused.
"You understand what's happening here, Harry?" Ron asked.
"No, Luna, please tell me if there is a way to find Chris quickly." Harry Potter sounded as impatient as Oziyat felt.
"Ginny, Luna is right. I think Harry can help" Colin said after a moment. "You can sense snakes, right Harry? Call for Chris in Parseltongue and try to sense where she is?"
"Chris speak parseltounge?" Harry asked.
"Chris is a snake?" Ginny's brother Ron almost shouted.
"What? Ron, what are you . . ." Harry sounded confused while Oziyat felt his jaw drop. "How . . .? What . . .? I don't . . ."
Christina was a shapeshifter? How did he not know this?
"Harry, it will be better if Chris answers all of your questions. We already broke the promise of not telling anyone unless we all agree to it. But desperate times need desperate measures." Colin sounded very worried.
"Harry, quickly look around, We need to be sure if Chris is still really here or left?" Ginny said dragging Ron away with her as he tried to ask questions. "I want to know first."
"But —" Harry began but Colin spoke first.
"Harry, Hermione wouldn't have gotten under Chris's skin if she wasn't feeling so guilty in the first place and I think you are the best person to remind her that it wasn't her fault. She told me about the message you sent her through your Patronus, she said it was the thing that made her get up again after she thought me, Luna, and Ginny were dead," Colin spoke very quietly but Oziyat didn't miss it, though after hearing Colin, he wished he had.
Harry Potter also didn't know about Christina's shapeshifting ability but he knew enough about her. Whereas Oziyat . . . how much he really knew about the girl he loved so deeply?
Harry Potter hissed in parseltongue and suddenly smiled at Colin.
"You were right, Colin," Harry said before running upstairs and Colin went down into the room Ginny and Ron were.
Oziyat stood at the threshold without moving. He already knew he lost but after listening to Harry Potter and how much he cared for her even after she broke her heart, maybe his loss meant Christina could win in love. A bitter smile touched his lips as he remembered the first day he saw Christina. There were several women in his life but Christina was his first love.
"And she always will be," Oziyat muttered under his breath and let out a long sigh.
After a few seconds, he sensed Sol's aura and followed it to a room on the third floor. Oziyat arranged his face in his usual amusement before knocking and pushing the door open.
"Sol?" Oziyat peeked inside to see Sol huddled in a corner of the room with a heavy-looking book. He glanced up as soon he heard Oziyat's voice.
"What are you reading?" Oziyat asked as he walked inside looking around the room. Books and magical artifacts and belongings were spread all over the room and it looked like a mess.
"Sol, we are at a guest's house, you can't make their room this messy," Oziyat said shaking his head and smiling. "Are these appropriate manners of a prince?"
"It's Christina's room," Sol said and chuckled as Oziyat's eyes widened.
Sol probably thought that Oziyat was surprised at how messy Christina was but in reality, Oziyat was surprised at Sol's words. He didn't stutter or hesitate. It was a small sentence but he managed. Before Sol could blink, Oziyat pulled him in a hug and held him tight. His mother would have been so happy if she could hear him right now.
"You ok?" Sol mumbled trapped in Oziyat's hug. He didn't like hugs much unless it was from a few selected people. Oziyat was ok, but he barely hugged him usually.
"I'm ok, Sol," Oziyat replied and held him close one more time before letting him go.
"I think Christina had . . . a fight with her friends," Sol informed looking worried suddenly.
"I know."
"Are you not going . . . to help her?"
"I think her friends handled it," Oziyat smiled at Sol.
"So do you have any . . . news from home?" Sol asked after hesitating for a bit.
The smile almost dropped from Oziyat's face but he quickly caught himself.
Forgive me, Rosa. But I promise I will protect Sol as long as I am alive, Oziyat repeated in his mind before speaking,
"I didn't get any news but I think everything is fine back home, Sol. Don't worry."
[To be continued. . .]
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
Mystical_Snowflake
Mystical_Snowflake Hey, my favorite readers,
Here is another chapter. Don't forget to tell me what you thought of this chapter.
Enjoy.
Next chapter coming soon.
Love Snowflake . . .
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