Chapter 13: The one with the Dragon Blood

Disclaimer: I am just a mere visitor in the sublime world constructed by J.K Rowling. Anything that rings a bell is hers.

Chapter 12

KY's POV

"Toffee Flies." The Gargoyles moved aside for me. I went up the roundabout staircase and was about to open the door when I thought better to knock. Nonno, unlike Sev, maintained a social schedule and might be in a meeting or something. It was 8 o'clock in the night, but who knew what business hours were in the Wizarding world. I knocked at the door. After hearing the "come in", I entered.

"Ah, Kyrianna. I wasn't expecting it to be you."

"Is this a bad time, should I go?"

"Oh no not at all," he said closing the book he was reading. "Maybe I should have phrased that with more taste. I wasn't expecting it to be you, because you knocked. But I am glad to find that it is you. Come sit down."

He pointed at the front of his desk, and there stood an office chair, the nice leathery kind that spins and you can adjust to the right height. I smiled up at him, how did he know of my fondness of chairs that allowed you to fidget in style?

"I noticed that you tend to turn to the left and right when you sit, that you can't keep still."

"Sorry." I said, with a slight blush.

"Nonsense, there's nothing wrong with being whimsical and a little fidgety." I laughed; the word fidgety coming out of his mouth was too weird. "Why if I wasn't so fidgety in my youth, I might not have discovered some of the uses of Dragon's Blood. Cocoa?"

"Yes please. Some of the uses? I thought the card said you discovered all twelve uses."

"I did, but who's to say there is only twelve. Why they could be hundreds, it could be a source of fuel to drive a car. Numerous possibilities that I didn't venture into. It's amazing how life does that."

"Does what?"

"What starts as just a pet project to impress a girl you like, turns out to become one of your finer accomplishments."

"You were trying to find the uses of dragon blood for grandma?"

"Oh yes, you see your grandma was quite an accomplished witch. She never attended Hogwarts; she was being home schooled in Italy. We met when she was on holiday with her Aunt, a neighbour of mine. Of course, I was completely besotted with her. She came from a rich pureblood family; I had no hopes with a girl like that. We were fifteen at the time."

"So how did you make your move?"

He laughed at the way I phrased it. "I didn't. Knowing, as the youth so eloquently put it, that she was 'out of my league', I didn't approach her. And then one day, as I was walking though the village, a loaf of bread hit my head. I turned around and found her glaring at me, unabashed at her unprompted attack. Of course, I did the obvious thing. I chided her for throwing food. She shrugged her shoulders and said, 'Well my mother said food was a way to a man's heart, so I thought I'd have a go. Did it work, are you in love with me?' I laughed at her, knowing just what was happening. You see, when your grandmother was younger, she was quite the egomaniac. When she came to the village, all the boys were in quite the dither over her. And of course, she completely ignored them. That was the way of Belladonna. Naturally she took my apparent lack of interest as a personal attack on her being and sought to rectify it."

"So, what did you tell her? To get off her high horse? That the Dumbledore doesn't just trip and fall in love with bread wielding ladies?"

"As lovely as that may sound…No. I told her yes."

"What? You gave in, just like that? You didn't even pretend to be immune to her beauty just to get under her skin."

"The thought crossed my mind, I must admit. But you will see in time, and hopefully a good few years from now, there are moments in your life in which nothing short of the truth would suffice."

"What did she say then?"

"She told me to prove it. 'Make a statement so bold that I can do nothing less than love you back.' I asked her, what would you have me do, slay a dragon? She looked at me in the eye and said, 'Funny you should mention that, but that is just what I will have you do.' "

"You slayed a dragon! Sweet Salazar that should have made it on the chocolate frog card!"

"No, I did not slay a dragon. I told her mindless destruction such as that would bring me no happiness, and maybe I have no right loving a girl that delighted in such things and walked away. But afterwards I found out why she had said such a peculiar statement. It seemed that it was tradition for the Tiberion family, to choose a suitor for marriage by said suitor slaying a dragon. Quite barbaric, but it seemed it was an age-old tradition. It happened on the lady of the moment's fifteenth birthday. That was a week from the day she spoke to me. So, I portkeyed to Italy on her birthday, and while all my 'competitors' went off, trying to find a dragon heart to bring back, I walked up to her and placed a jar filled with blood on the table. Her father looked at me, with all the mirth an Italian pureblood could muster while simultaneously turning up his nose at me. He asked me what in Jupiter's name I was doing, leaving a jar full of blood on his table. I told him that it is my way of saying I wanted a chance at his daughter's heart, if she will let me. He said that I knew what I should do then, and fly off with the rest of the suitors, and he walked off."

"What did you do then?"

"Unlike her father, she knew that the blood that I brought was that of dragon. Back before its uses were discovered, you could not buy it. You had to achieve it the 'old school' way. She told me, 'I thought mindless destruction brought you no happiness.' I told her she was right. I slayed no dragon, its heart was perfectly intact, albeit a few pints short on blood. I thought the purpose of this challenge was to judge who was brave enough to face a dragon for the one he loved. She said yes, that was the challenge. Her father's challenge. A challenge she did not intend to stand by if a victor emerged. She said that her personal challenge I had accomplished a week ago. That was one of the few times; forgive me, that I was completely baffled. She said, a week ago I told you, 'Make a statement so bold that I can do nothing less than love you back.' I told her I remembered, and that's why I spent the last few days climbing mountains searching for a dragon. She laughed and said, 'Serves you right for walking away from me. Do you remember what you had boldly stated just before doing so, 'mindless destruction such as that would bring me no happiness, and maybe I have no right loving a girl that delighted in such things?' Foolish men follow the instruction of the subject of their infatuation without contest. It takes a brave man to stand up and deny his love. I've found that I quite like being in love with you Albus and let that be the last time you walk away from me.'"

We sat in comfortable silence for a while. Me sipping my cocoa, Nonno staring off into space.

"Nonno?"

"Yes Kyrianna?"

I wanted to ask him if he loved grandma so much, why he let her go so easily. I mean if you really love someone you would fight for them, right? I decided not to though, I didn't want the conversation to go sour.

"I've found out how to open that wall-door." He smiled at me.

"Harry is a good teacher, isn't he? I've learnt quite a bit from him over the years myself. Did you enjoy your visit to the Burrow?"

"It was lovely, I met Fred and George and they're just as funny as I thought they would be. I think I will visit again after the exam."

"Do you plan on writing to Molly first this time?"

"Haha…You heard about that minor technicality did you. Are you trying to distract me? I've won the bet, time to pay up!"

We reached the wall, talking the whole way down. It was quite an honour picking Nonno's brain. You know how some people felt like their grandfathers knew everything, well, mine actually did. Well close to everything.

"Now stand a little behind me. Salazar had a knack for nasty surprises."

I took a step back, and then started making the hissing sound that Harry taught me. After a few seconds, I was just about to tick the 'fail' box, when there was a deafening screeching sound as the wall moved aside. I heard footsteps behind me, but I didn't care. I took a step forward, but Nonno stopped me. The place where the door should have been, there was a sheet of falling water instead. The water blurred the view, and I couldn't tell what was inside. I looked up at Nonno, I was going to explode if I didn't get to see soon. He looked down at me after half a minute of intense staring.

"After you, milady." He said smiling.

"Why thank you kind sir."

I walked in, the water tickling me but completely absent when I reached the other side. My heart stopped momentarily. It was a bedroom. One straight out of a renaissance painting. There was a queen sized four poster in the richest green, and even with the thick layer of dust I could tell it was going to be all kinds of heaven to sleep on. The hangings were silver so shiny it looked luminescent. I turned around, wondering why Nonno didn't come in.

"Why aren't you coming in?" Just as I said it Nonno and Sev, who must have seen us walking down the corridor and joined, walked through. Sev looked confused and Nonno had that look that he pieced the puzzle together.

"It seemed the room recognises you as its owner, perhaps because you opened it. And that waterfall isn't so much a water feature as a form of protection. It seemed to only let people through upon your request."

Sev was busy trying to touch the water, but it neither wet you, nor could it be contained. It was like nothingness just pretending to be water. I walked around the room, looking at all the exquisite features. The room was large, with a warm rug that spread throughout the surface. There was a large dressing table, with a huge silver ornate mirror and a plush cushion stool. The ceiling was quite high, and right at the centre there was the most delicate and sparkling chandelier I have ever seen. It glittered with emeralds and seemed to cast the whole room into a greenish glow. There was a door near the dressing table, and I opened it to find a beautiful, claw footed bath. All I could think was 'Honey, I'm home.'

"It seems Salazar was slyer than we thought. It looks like a bedroom for a lover."

More like a sex slave. I mean if the door only opened when you spoke parseltongue, she couldn't exactly go and come as she pleased. But I'm sure Nonno came to the same conclusion, just worded it classier.

"Well, we came, we saw, and now we must leave. After milady."

"What, no! We can't go. We've got tons of tidying up to do. I want to stay here tonight so best we get a move on. Sensei you start on the dusting, I'll …"

"I'm very sorry Kyrianna but I am not letting you live here. That is most out of the question. I said that you can choose quarters, but it has to be near myself, or Minerva. This is right down in the dungeons, much too far. Anyway, you will only be staying in the quarters you choose for a few weeks during the holiday. During term you'll be in your dormitory. And naturally you will not be allowed to use your quarters during term as that would be both unnecessary and unfair. So lavish quarters like these is quite pointless. "

I wanted to argue. I wanted to stomp my feet and throw a fit. But I didn't. I sighed and left the room quietly. There would be no use arguing, I could tell. There was finality in his voice. Plus, for once in my life I was afraid of fighting. I felt like if I fought or acted like a brat, Nonno wouldn't like me. It was a childish thought, but at the same time I knew I couldn't risk it. I couldn't risk losing this newfound relationship I seemed to have stumbled upon, of sipping cocoa and storytelling. I would rather sleep on the floor than lose that.

Feedback is always appreciated,

Kalina