*Anos's POV*
"Yeah, yeah I'm coming." I said getting up.
" Merry Christmas man." I said opening my gate and seeing Alucard there.
"I don't celebrate but the feelings are reciprocated." Alucard said in reply.
"Potter's awake." He said as I stepped out.
"Really? It's 4:30 AM." I said surprised but before Alucard answered I heard the shuffling of feet in the common room in answer.
"Merry Christmas." I said looking at Harriet's excited face.
After reading so many books yesterday even I was surprised by how excited she was. I had slept for a whole 3 hours and even I felt mentally drained to some degree.
"Merry Christmas. Quick we got gifts. " She said in reply.
" Yeah I can see that." I said looking beneath the Christmas Tree that Hagrid had placed in the room.
It had taken even more effort to get it in here but the roof was open to anything from the inside passing through it but didn't allow snow and rain in thankfully.
'I should probably research this.' I thought before I felt a hand on my shoulder to look at Simon yawning but still smiling.
"Merry Christmas man." He greeted rubbing his eyes.
I greeted back before Lan came and we did the same. Finally after all five of us were substantially awake and had done with the greetings we focused back on the pile of gifts and it was exactly that.
A very very big pile of gifts, wrapped in different colors. Some shiny, some sleek, and others dull.
"Well who the hell are we waiting for?" I said and that was enough for us to start rummaging through all of them.
I first opened one wrapped in green and as expected it was from Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa.
'Charmed: A guide to every charm a Growing Wizard could need.' I read the cover of the book and smiled.
I was doing fine enough in Charms now but it was a good gift nonetheless, even better to polish the arts to perfection and going by the very very real looking gold on the cover and a personal signed letter from the book's writer it was also very expensive.
Draco had sent a book too, 'Dragons, Knights and DragonKnights, Part III' which was somehow even bigger and complex than the last one. It was a great book, better described as a tome with a puzzle attached to it containing the more Martial uses of magic.
We both would be using and reading it over the summer together like every year and it was fun practice though I was always more natural at the Katas and Forms in the books. The Dozens of Dragon Species described vividly were a bonus, each page had a charm on it that gave a scent of the Dragon's dwelling and thankfully it wasn't all Ash and Fire though there was a fair bit of that in each scent.
Draco should've received a new Potions Kit. It was a practical exchange we had each year. Both things that we could use and had common interest in.
"Hey Simon, this one's yours." I said handing him a box that I did my best to not peek through but still found solid, probably wood.
"Ah, thanks." He said before tearing it open and then looking the box over, it was a black box made of wood that he opened to reveal a letter.
I pried my eyes away, not intending to ask. It was his buisness.
'Probably from his Dad or Mom or both.' I thought before going back to my rummaging.
Speaking of Dads I found the gift from mine, beneath all others. It was a simple small box exactly the size of my palm and I opened it to find a Bracelet with a note attached to it.
I opened the note and skimmed it over.
'In spite of how much trouble you've given me over the years and even more so in the recent months I found it fit for you to have this, I didn't find much use of it but maybe you can. It'll keep you safe, Use it well. Merry Christmas, son.'
"Never change Dad." I said smiling before taking out the Bracelet. It was a metallic bracelet with one part Crimson red in color and the other Silver in color with both meeting in the middle to form a Ram's head.
'Aries, huh.' I thought looking the bracelet over. It was sleek and polished fairly well as expected. It was probably rare if not expensive and I'll probably have to find out it's uses myself because damm me people didn't jote down the Constellation's strengths and their known armaments like sacred knowledge.
"A fine gift." Alucard said from the corner and I had to agree.
"Help me find this thing's usages all right?" I asked Alucard who thought it over before nodding.
" If we have free time then I see no reason not to."
" Sweet." I said before putting the Bracelet back into the box. I'll wear it after knowing how to put it on,it was probably safe since Dad gave it but still I had to check if it wasn't some Stupid Pirithous Chair bullshit. I didn't want it to burn itself into my hand forever.
'Wait is Harriet crying?' I thought before turning and finding it was Simon, still holding the letter and wetting it.
"Whoa what happened." I said, patting him on the back.
"I'll bring some water." Harriet said getting up from her present opening.
"It's.... it's....from my mom. She wrote one just for me." Simon said, clutching the letter.
" Ok shhh." I said, trying to calm him down and trying to loosen his surprisingly strong grip on the letter. I had forgotten of the Belmont's strength but it seems Simon was actually keeping it under heavy control.
I could use all of my own to stop him but the letter would turn into crumpled paper. Instead I decided to rub his back. This had come out of nowhere and was a strong reaction was the only words I could describe it as.
"Shhh. Calm down." I said and Lan and Alucard both looked awkward standing there with their arms hanging, not quite sure if they should step forward.
Alucard refrained but Lan did step forward to help Simon and held his hand softly easing his grip on the paper that had wet tear marks on the elegant writing.
"Don't make haste. Take your time." Lan offered if somewhat unnaturally and helped bring Simon on the couch where he turned into a ball and curled into himself.
The letter was put to the side on the table for safekeeping and it took 15 to 20 minutes before Simon accepted the glass of water and drunk some before resuming to sob.
"She left one for me. Just me alone." He muttered in between sobs.
I decided better to ask, it was quite early and I would be surprised if any teacher had woken up.
"Your mother left the letter?" I asked, it was a guess at best but with all I knew it was the best one.
"Yes." Simon said finally curling out and rubbing his rather red eyes.
"I don't know how many she left but Dad used to read me one on my birthday each year. He stopped on my 7th one, I thought there weren't any more left." Simon said before reaching out to the letter but then refusing to touch it.
" What do you mean she Left these with you? You don't mean she-" Alucard said confused beyond belief.
" She's dead. She died when I was born." Simon said if rather violently and it took considerable strength to keep him sitting.
"What do you mean? Sephna The Magus, the Cathedral sorceress-" Alucard muttered looking genuinely confused and surprised before being cut off by Simon's next words
"She's Dead." Simon said with a tone of finality and Harriet glared at Alucard who looked like he had a thousand questions more.
".... I'm sorry for your loss." Alucard said with sincerity, coming forward and sitting besides us.
"A bit too late for that." Simon said with disdain still rubbing his eyes.
"It's never too late." Alucard said softly looking uncomfortable and a bit brooding as he stared into the fireplace.
"You would know huh?" Simon said and I had to hold his hands to stop him from rubbing his eyes anymore by holding his hands in place.
"Yes I would know." Alucard said and this time it was Simon who stared in shock.
"Yes Belmont, the Blood River is empty and the Crimson Thrones no longer has a Count and Countess who sits on them." Alucard said giving a defeated smile.
"I'm sorry..... I didn't know." Simon said eyes wide and I was overwhelmed a bit.
"Neither did I. It's not your fault anyways Belmont. I have a thousand reasons and more to hate you and your blood but this unfortunately isn't one of them." Alucard said resigned and still looking into the fire.
"I heard of the Count's death, my Dad broke through a wall in a single punch that day. I was only 5 and didn't think of it as anything other than cool." Simon admitted shamefully.
Me and Harriet were silent and looking at each other,not knowing if to stop them or let them continue.
"Ironic isn't it. For all of our Parents titles they couldn't survive." Alucard said grieving but not crying.
" The Countess. I heard she was-" Simon started but the room got suffocating and he stopped.
" I won't go there Belmont. I don't wish to talk of that." Alucard said and me and Harriet took that as cue to not ask anything more and Simon simply nodded as calm as he could though I could see his hands were shaking and Alucard's were gripping tightly onto his own flesh.
We stayed like that for a long time. All of us not knowing how to get up.
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Author's Note: Still alive, got shit grades in a test and want to collapse in a pile and sleep for a couple of hours but ah well can't afford to do that.
If any of you wanna read ahead a bit then you can on my Patreòn.
Hope everyone has a nice day/night.