Harry Potter and the City of Masks
by Josephine Taylor

Chapter Seven

The next few weeks passed in a daze for Harry. His days in London seemed to drag by, but his nights in Bellezza flew passed. Although there was a seriousness in the air of that floating city, Harry was fully enjoying himself.

After further questioning of his magical abilities that morning in Rodolfo's place, Harry had been enlisted to help search for Luciano's lost child, Viola, who they believed had been kidnapped by their rivals, the di Chimici, even though no ransom note had been delivered. Harry, had been only too happy to help. He felt immediately drawn to Matteo and the whole of Bellezza and had seen how much they had been affected by the missing child.

A few days after his arrival Harry had been introduced to Luciano's wife, the Duchessa of Bellezza. To Harry she had been beautiful. Her brown curls had been tied up in an elaborate style with diamonds and precious jewels set in. Although she had greeted him cordially, Harry could not help but notice how lifeless her eyes had looked and how tired and worn she had seemed upon closer inspection.

'Harry!'

Harry jerked his head up from his daydream. Early morning light settled onto Matteo's face, which was peering at him anxiously.

'We must hurry. Signor Rodolfo has just sent word, he believes that they have found a lead. A young girl matching Viola's description was seen in Volana. Come.'

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The streets of the ancient city were quiet as a coach rumbled over the cobbles, making the occupants joint around. The only sound was the quiet roar of a fountain set in the courtyard and a few early morning birds chirping to brake the silence. The carriage came to stop and the footman jumped down to help out an elegant but simple dressed woman.

'Are we there yet?' A tired voice called from the dim light of the carriage. The woman turned and helped out a small girl, dressed in a rich purple cloak. To anyone looking they would have seen a nurse helping her charge out of the carriage.

Once the girls feet had touched the ground, the nurse took her hand in a firm grip. 'Hush darling, nearly there. Soon you'll be sound asleep in a comfortable bed.'

The elder woman led the way across the street to a large, magnificent, yet imposing building. Mounting the steps, she knock three times on the heavy door. The door creaked open and a tall, gangly man with white hair looked out at the them. For a moment, no one said a thing, then the man stepped back to allow the visitors entrance to the house.

Firmly the nurse prodded the girl forward into the house. As she took a step, the girls purple cloak slipped from her head and a mass of black curls came tumbling down. Slowly the door closed behind them.

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'I don't know how much longer I can last, Luciano!'

Arianna and Luciano were sat together on their bed in the Ducal Palazzo. Luciano looked across at his wife in concern. Viola had been missing for three weeks now, but he had always held the belief that they would find her again. That belief would be a lot harder to hold if Arianna gave up hope. Placing an arm around her shoulders, he drew her too him.

'Don't give up hope yet Arianna. We're a lot closer now to finding Viola with this new stravagents magic!'

Luciano tried to work as much lightness into his voice as he spoke. He knew it would never do to show his wife how much he was worried and not just about their daughter. He had never seen Arianna look so dejected before. She had always been a strong-willed individual, that was one of the thinks that he loved about her. Seeing Arianna like this was scaring him to no end.

Arianna didn't respond to Luciano's words and simply curled up close to her husband. It took a while for her to fall asleep but eventually her even breathing told Luciano that she had finally fallen asleep. He debating whether he should move but knew if he did it would wake her.

Suddenly a knocking at the door had his head shooting up.

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'I'm afraid it's worse than we thought Signor.' Rodolfo stood in his rooms holding a hand-held mirror up to his face. He was not looking into the glass due to vanity (them years had long passed) instead he was speaking to it. Indeed, it was not his own image reflected in the mirror, but one of his fellows. 'I'm not sure there's much I can do now.'

Weariness settled over Rodolfo. Everything was happening at once and he didn't know how much he could take. Sighing he rubbed his fee hand over his eyes, determinedly trying to get a hold on himself.

'Just do what you can for him Brother Sulien. I will inform Luciano.'

Sulien's face bowed and faded from the glass. For a few minutes Rodolfo stood there collecting himself. Grabbing his black cloak he turned and quickly made his way to the Ducal Palazzo. After being admitted by the guards, he made his way to the Duchessa's suite, where he knew Luciano would be. Taking a deep breath, Rodolfo raised his hand and knocked on the door.

A/N - Sorry about the length folks, but this had to be short and sharp chapter. Hope you liked. Things are increasing in dramatics! Dum dum durrrnnn!