Chantage | Solo Fin

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It was finally the day of the match between Durmstrang and our designated opponents: that of Ilvermorny and Beauxbatons in the form of their blended team. Fifteen minutes after seven was the time that I had woken up and after very quickly freshening up and throwing on my uniform, I snagged Hugo Schnell's broom--yet another gift of Valentin to me after we had worked together to refresh and shine it up to its former glory--and strode out of the Stargazer Tent with eyes glued on the London Quidditch Stadium. I was going there as a player, as a captain, and as a determined title-holder alongside Valentin himself. I was willing to put out of my mind the things that had transpired during this camp and before it--I couldn't afford to let anything distract me today at this point. Apologies had been meted out, an entire team banquet prepared by myself had been given to the team--it had been a time for team bonding just as much as it had been an attempt to help alleviate nerves.

And yet, I still knew that it was likely not enough. The incomplete moments and confusing pieces of the great fight with the two creatures of vile darkness that had seemingly mysterious origins but had somehow found themselves attached to Valentin and myself still danced rampantly through my mind. I had seriously hurt my own teammates in that encounter, could have seriously harmed them more than I had. I wouldn't have blamed my team for simply up and refusing to put up with me anymore after that moment--that would have been the most natural response, after all.

But that was something to be fretted over at a later time, something that I couldn't afford to think about or allow to get in the way of my having to conduct the affairs of the quidditch team alongside Valentin on this day in only a few hours. This was the big day of the year, the thing that not only I and he had been waiting for, but that the entire team had been sharpening and refining their skills in preparation for. As we always had, we had come so far--Durmstrang would be loathe to drop the quaffle now, now that we were inches away from final victory for this year's season. Failure simply wasn't an option, and being distracted by anything else other than the game was similarly not an option.

Breezing through the grounds, the chilly wintery wind of 'summer' threw back my red cloak emblazoned with the Durmstrang emblem. There were only a few people in the vicinity, a few individuals that were early risers or that had things to do early on this day for the sake of the sport preparations or perhaps so that they would get first dibs on the spectator stand, and for the most part the morning sun was cold and crisp in the frigid environment. I was running plays through my head to myself, playing out the game in my head and recalling the roster of the opposing team with its strengths and weaknesses that Durmstrang would have to open up and expose. It truly was a shame that Hogwarts had withdrawn its teams from the summer games altogether, and while there was speculation as to the reason behind the decision to permanently withdraw their teams... I was of the personal belief that it had something to do with the unfortunate conclusion of the 2023 game just last year against team Hufflepuff. One of its captains had been the Hogwarts representative of the 2022 Hexwizard Tournament--there had been much hotbed discussion about him both in and out of the press, and no doubt the scandal of the 2023 game did not help his cause.

Ah but perhaps it would all be for the better in the end. Hogwarts could be as cloistered as it liked in what was obviously an attempt to preserve what little scraps remained of its dignity in sporting endeavors and simultaneously to isolate itself and its bad reputation in the papers concerning all manners of dark and evil happenings in its walls--I had my suspicions that the slug creatures that had once infested Valentin and I more than likely had their origins within the halls of that very same highland school.

Passing by a holly-entwined lamppost, I became aware of a shadow that began to increase in size as its strange shape wavered on the ground before me. With a noiseless symphony, a medium-sized Eurasian Eagle-owl whose underbelly and underwing was a pale blonde hue fluttered to a stop on a nearby tree stump covered thinly in white snow. Its great claws sank deep into the wood, and the beak snapped demandingly, calling my attention to it and the decently-sized parchment scroll that was pinned beneath its talons with a sharp urgency.

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There weren't other people around to convince me that this raptor had been trying to deliver the letter to many other people. This creature had undoubtedly been sent to come and find me and me in particular. Yet, I let out a frustrated breath of air. "I don't have time for this." I grumbled before begrudgingly collecting the letter, which the owl stepped off of as I drew close and proceeded to preen its own feathers with a near unmatchable pride. Large amber orange eyes watched keenly as I broke the unmarked seal on the scroll and rolled it open to behold the contents.

It read as such:

Orso di Durmstrang,

Non volerai oggi.

Non consiglierei nemmeno di mettere da parte questa lettera come un mero scherzo o una bufala. Non se apprezzi ciò che potresti perdere se scegli di ignorare il mio avvertimento molto educato.

Conosco molti dei tuoi amici, Romeo. Le loro presenze non sono difficili da rintracciare, né lo sono i loro cari. Molti di loro, infatti, sono altrettanto aperti a minacce e ricatti come lo sei tu, se non di più a causa... alcune verità relative alle loro famiglie di alta razza. Fortunatamente per te, molti di loro saranno nei cieli con te, o almeno vicino al tuo fianco: incluso il tuo piccolo ratto bianco.

Tuttavia, e sfortunatamente per te, c'è un certo qualcuno che è piuttosto accessibile a me. Accessibile, quasi ridicolmente facile da avvicinare, e-a giudicare dal profilo che ho acquisito-ancora più ridicolmente semplice... fallo sparire. Dopotutto, dopo quello che ha fatto, oserei dire che sarei giustificato nel far partecipare il piccolo mago al suo ultimo e più impressionante atto di scomparsa.

Ora, permettetemi di essere chiaro: le mie parole sono una minaccia solo se vi conformate, Romeo. Nient'altro che la conformità, e quelle parole sono invece una realtà che presto diventerà realtà. La vostra conformità sarebbe molto apprezzata. Veramente aiuta quando si tratta di evitare il peggio di un business tipicamente sgradevole.

Metto in guardia dal cercare di trovare una scappatoia nelle mie parole, Romeo. Tendo ad avere un po ' di un dito grilletto pruriginoso nel migliore dei casi, e un innesco dei capelli quando ottengo l'impressione di essere doppiamente incrociato. Il risultato, in sostanza, si basa principalmente su come reagisci a tutte queste informazioni... ma confido che tu sia intelligente enough anche se non intelligente enough abbastanza da fare la scelta giusta per te e il tuo più caro e piuttosto bello piccolo moccioso di un gemello.

Il bastonatore e ' ora alla tua corte, Romeo. Mi chiedo se riuscirai a sconfiggerlo... di se ne prenderai uno per la squadra.

Auguro bene a te e ai tuoi cari. Soprattutto se scegli di essere abbastanza sciocco da provare a segnalare questa piccola nota a qualcuno di cui ti fidi.

Per sempre quello che ha a cuore i migliori interessi tuoi e dei tuoi cari,

The longer I read the letter, the more my hands tightened on the neat if slightly cramped cursive words. Of course I knew who 'GV' was. I would be a fool, a buffoon, if I didn't. Of course he was vengeful after what had happened this summer only barely a month ago by now--my brother's harebrained scheme that had, admittedly, worked exactly as we had intended. We had learned who 'GV' was in relation to us, despite his unsavory reputation and this newest piece of information that only sealed his coffin as being the unsavory type that should have been tracked down long ago and made to be locked away without a chance of finding his own key.

I also knew that he did not make empty threats. He hadn't had to restate such a fact in this letter for me to know that in the slightest. His vengeance had been something I had experienced firsthand, the suddenness of his 'hair trigger' something that I had suffered once and had no intention of enduring again if I could help it. Certainly it was something that I had to, at any cost, prevent Piérre from falling into the hands of.

Which, ultimately, left me with my Oakshaft, now trying to rapidly recalculate my position and determine the sincerity and severity of any option that I could take.

Though the choice and the decision of the course of action did not come quickly nor did I think it was the best option--it was the one choice and option that had the best chance of working for the situation that I had been forced into in the time crunch allotted. I could neither completely bow out of Quidditch, but neither could I stay in and play the game actively left I blatantly ignore the most likely very real and very easily obtainable threat on behalf of Gitano. That left one option remaining, something I would really have to explain when I got to the Stadium, which I was now running at top speed for.

How in the world I would be able to explain my need to be changed over to second string on such short notice was something I was not sure of yet--but determination was a very powerful persuasive element. I would find a way regardless of if I had one planned out ahead of time or not. I had to, for this little feud now no longer involved simply myself and my father: real consequences were coming, and they were knocking on my door for repayment. My brother had dug himself a hole, and I was trying to dig him out and bury the things that he had unearthed in the process. These were our fights--ours--and all I could do was help to ensure that as few people as possible got caught in the crossfire as humanly possible.

The blonde-underbellied owl took to the skies on silent raptor wings among snowflakes and artificial Christmas-like cheer... off to the master that had employed him with a lazy swiftness that indicated the satisfaction of a job well done.