Severus watched his son carry his mate from the room. He was incredibly proud of the man he was but saddened by the fact he hadn’t had a chance to be involved in his life.
“Would any of you care to explain what is going on?” Dumbledore asked after a long pause.
“My niece has cursed us, what more is there to explain?” The first Prince demanded.
“That was nothing you did not deserve!” The young man from the common room snapped.
“Bastian,” the second prince began.
“NO!” The young man thundered. “For years, our uncle has abused Vi without remorse. He’s beaten her bloody more times than I can count! She’s been locked in a cage with nothing for weeks on end! And you want to defend this bastard to me? You would choose your brother over your own daughter?”
“Blood is thicker than water,” the man replied.
“Actually, your highness, the saying is: the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. Meaning the family you choose, those bonds are stronger than those of family or even duty,” Severus told him.
Vi’s father seemed at a loss after that. Her uncle, however, did not.
“That doesn’t matter!” He snapped. “What matters is that she is punished!”
“Sir, I have no grounds on which to punish her,” Dumbledore sighed. “Even if I could, the most I could give her is detention.”
“Bastian, is it true?”
Severus looked to Vi’s father. He looked so destroyed. Bastian, whom Severus assumed was only called Iv by Vi, nodded just once. He was angry enough that he couldn’t use words.
“Sir, if I may?” Severus began. “As Hadrian is my son and Thana his mate, I suggest that I take the three of them away from Hogwarts for the time being. They need time to adjust to their bond and accept it. I feel that the environment at Hogwarts is not conducive to that, especially after what has occurred here today. It is also my recommendation that her uncle not be allowed anywhere near her in light of the things Bastian has revealed today and that his claims be investigated in order to ensure it does not continue to occur. As well as to make sure punishment is meted out should it be required.”
“Thana is not an English citizen,” the second Prince sighed.
“Actually Nobunaga, as she is a magical creature and mated to two magical creatures of English citizenship she is automatically an English citizen,” Dumbledore pointed out.
“How many times must I explain to you that my name is not Nobunaga?” The second prince sighed. “Ryunosuke, my name is Ryunosuke. And why would I agree to let my daughter go off on her own with two boys she barely knows?”
“Father, Vi knows those two better than you have ever known her!” Iv snapped.
“Bastian, this is none of your concern go back to fucking your mates,” his uncle snarled.
“It is my concern because neither one of you have ever had my sister’s best interests at heart!” Iv thundered. “One of you abused her for something she could not control while the other neglected and blamed her for the theft of her own twin! You never stopped to consider the damage that did to her, especially after mother’s death with Hotoke! She was 3! She didn’t understand what was happening or why mother was no longer there! You should have been there! You were her father! But you CHOSE to neglect her in favor of your grief and she looked to obaa-san to understand what was happening. When obaa-san died, you should have stepped in but again you chose to ignore her and pawned her off to Mahoutokoro to deal with her growing power. Not to mention the fact that you brought this curse on her in the first place! I had to take your place and be the father figure you should have been to her! I risked EVERYTHING when her hunger started and we discovered that she couldn’t feed from humans like the rest of us. As for you, uncle, you’re just lucky she hasn’t killed you and has only cursed you. And you won’t get away with what you’ve done to my sister all these years. I kept silent because that’s what she asked of me but also because I had no proof. I agree there must be an investigation but I believe it should be conducted not only by the English ministry but the Japanese as well. Professor Snape was it?” The man in question nodded briefly. “I agree that my sister should not be here at the school for the time being. There has been too much that has transpired between her arrival here and this morning. Add to that the fact her bonds have yet to settle and strengthen, it makes her particularly volatile. I would feel better if you could keep an eye on them but with your position I understand that that may not be possible…”
Snape held up a hand, stopping him.
“My son, Hadrian, is one of her mates,” he told Iv. “My godson is her other. I would rather keep an eye on them while their bond settles. I don’t think your sister will trust anyone else to look after her.”