Harry Potter and the City of Masks
by Josephine Taylor

Chapter Eleven

Harry sat down in Matteo's kitchen. Things looked the same. The kitchen was just as clean, just as neat, just as homely, but there was something ... missing.

As soon as they had sat and Matteo had opened his mouth the door burst open and two little children came running in, laughing and shrieking together. They ran up to Matteo and began talking, loudly, at the same time, making it difficult to understand what they wanted.

Matteo hushed them with a single world. 'Ari, Rodolfo, go play. I've got a visitor.'

Harry watched, bemused, as the small children (a girl the spitting image of Matteo's wife, Lorna, and a young boy with Matteo's locks) cast him suspicious glances and trooped out through the backdoor. Unless he was very much mistaken, Harry had just met Matteo's children, an event that he never thought would have happened.

'Harry. Where did you go?'

The question bought Harry back to the present and in the very real situation of being in a Bellezza that he no longer knew. Taking a breath, Harry filled Matteo in on everything that had happened to him in the past two weeks. About how he had woken up on that morning to two Death Eaters in his flat, intent on strangling him; how he hadn't been able to retrieve the amulet during that time as his home had been on 'lock down'; and how he hadn't known that time would pass so quickly in Talia.

'It's only been 15 days in my world. How long has it been here?'

Matteo hesitated before answering Harry's question. '15 years.'

Harry was gob smacked. He knew that it had been a while, just not that long! Everyone he had started to get to know would be older and different, the oppressive air in the atmosphere suggested that something drastic had changed within the city. Suddenly, the original purpose for Harry's continuing translations to Bellezza, surfaced again.

'Did you find Viola?'

'No.' Matteo shook his head sadly. 'We searched everywhere we could, had members of the old Brotherhood in other cities searching in ways that would get them burnt for witchcraft, but there was nothing. It was just like she dropped off the face of the earth. It crushed the Duchessa.'

Harry frowned. 'What do you mean, 'old brotherhood'?'

Matteo sighed. 'So much has happened in 15 years, Bellezza now is very different from the Bellezza you knew.'

Standing, the Bellezzan fetched the pair glasses of prosecco and some sweet cakes before launching into his story.

'About a year after you left, we'd almost given up hope of ever finding Viola. Signor Rodolfo seemed to take his brotherhood's lack of success to heart and he was not the same man. He never smiled, or joked and the only people he saw where those in the Brotherhood and his daughter and son-in-law. My apprenticeship with him ended at that time. A few months later, Bellezza got word that the Grand Duke of Tuschia, Fabrizio, had formed an alliance with the last city states of Romula and Cittanuova, meaning that Bellezza was now the last free state in the whole of Talia.

Under his new laws, Fabrizio issued a warrant for Duke Luciano's arrest on the grounds of murder of Fabrizio father, the Duke Niccolo. The Duchessa was ordered to hand him over to the Talian army. Naturally, you can imagine how she reacted. After loosing her daughter I don't think she could comprehend loosing her husband. She refused and Luciano disappeared. Fabrizio, well I guess he just took it as an outright act of aggression ... kind of snubbing our nose at him. Nether-the-less, he invaded Bellezza.

We fought back of course. Our city has been free for centuries and we weren't about to give in now! But in the end, the di Chimici forces were greater than ours. Rodolfo was killed during the fighting that lasted several days, which was unknown to us for a little while, so many lives were taken during that time. The commander of Fabrizio's army, Abrizo, took over control of the city and placed the Duchessa under arrest, taking her to the mainland. We found out later that there were many attempts to free her during the following months that they held her at Padavia but none succeeded.

After the death of Rodolfo, who was then in charge of the old Brotherhood, the stravanganti seemed to disappear. To just vanish like Viola and Luciano. Nothing has been seen or heard from them since. There are rumours that the Brotherhood is still around but under new leadership. There have been some myths that it is the Duchessa's long lost daughter, or even Luciano, as there was never a body found for the young duke. No one knows what has happened to him.'

Harry's mouth was now hanging open in astonishment and horror. 'What happened to Arianna? Is she still in Padavia.' He knew that out of all the people in Talia, he was probably the one most likely to be able to free her.

'No.' Matteo took a sip of his sparkling wine, trying to steady himself. Even after 13 years, the memory was still fresh and painful. 'She died. I believe that at the knowledge that she had lost her father, her daughter, her husband (whom she was told was dead, I believe to just torment her) and her city she lost the will to live. She died in Padavia about 2 months after she was captured.'

Matteo stood and walked to the window, he back to Harry he carried on speaking, bitterly. 'For 13 years, Bellezza has been forced to injure the republics rules that out way our own. All our traditions and heritage has been stripped away. We have been ruled by the di Chimici and haven't had a Duchessa, and nor are we likely to get one from the islands now. As of next week, Bellezza will have a new Duke, Niccolo di Chimici, son of Grand Duke Fabrizio.'

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Vittoria stood at the window of her parlour room overlooking the formal gardens of her families palazzo. Her rooms were richly furnished in the style favoured by many of the Talian nobility and this meant extravagant fabrics and rich colours. Not that she minded of course. Vittoria had grown up amid the splendour that was Romula and the richness that came with the di Chimici name. Being the oldest of her generation had its perks, but also its downfalls.

Vittoria turned from the window and crossed the room of sit at her mahogany desk, writing materials spread across her table. A half finished letter sat there and Vittoria looked at it sadly, knowing that it would need to be finished soon if it was to be sent with the night courier.

'Vittoria?'

Niccolo entered the room and saw his cousin at her desk. Walking slowly towards her, she turned. Vittoria smiled to see Niccolo. After Eleonora he was the closest to her in age and they got on very well.

'Good-morning, cousin, I hope that you are all packed for your journey?'

She still couldn't believe the announcement that he had made at dinner the previous evening. Duke of Bellezza indeed! That was a city so far from Romula that they would not be able to visit as often as they had done growing up.

'Yes I am.' Niccolo took a seat on the edge of a plush sofa opposite Vittoria. 'Are you ok with this?'

'Of course I am. Why would I not be? Bellezza was never going to be mine.'

Niccolo's brows knotted. 'I know. I meant with me leaving so soon after arriving and becoming Duke is going to take a lot of my time from now on.'

'I know.' Vittoria turned her head as that he wouldn't see the sadness in her eyes. The truth was she was feeling, not only sadness at his leaving, but also jealousy at his gaining his title and land already. Who knew what Uncle Fabrizio had in store for her? Vittoria worried, not being a close kin, that she would be shoved to the side and made to marry to bring another family into the fold. 'But we all have to do what's best for the family. I'm going to have to live with this. Besides, Bellezza is not that far away ... only on the other end of the country!'

Niccolo smiled and then his eyes brightened as an idea formed in his mind. 'I have an idea!'

Vittoria just looked at him, eyebrows raised. When Niccolo di Chimici got an idea it usually ended up worse than what was before.

'Why don't you come to Bellezza with me? Father hasn't forbidden it and Eleonora I know would love to go back with Uncle Gaetano, she hardly sees him anymore!'

As the idea sunk in Vittoria's face broke into a smile.

'Nic, this is the first good idea you've had in ... well forever!' She jumped up and enveloped her cousin in a hug. 'Of course I'll come. This is going to be such an adventure!'

Niccolo stood and gently peeled off his cousin, pleased that she had taken the idea so well. 'That's good. Now, you have to starts packing. I want everything ready for this evening as we're to leave first thing tomorrow!' Giving Vittoria a quick kiss on the cheek, Niccolo hurried from the rooms to inform everyone of the change of plan.

Vittoria stood still for a moment, happiness washing through her. She was going to the floating city, the city of masks...

A/N - Hope some questions were answered in this chapter! The next might take a couple of weeks as im now enering exam period and revision has to be done!