Blood On You

In the light of day things were certainly clearer but under the haze of London’s dim skyline it was hard to make out your hand in front of your face. For Elijah, London was a refreshing sight after the imposing, almost suffocating countryside he’d been forced into once the students had been ferried out of Hogwarts into the waiting arms of their parents. Elijah hadn’t been met by his father and the woman he’d decided against his better judgement to marry. No instead, Elijah had been met by a handful of his cousins who had truly looked as if he and his sister were inconveniencing them with their presence. Elijah would admit that they probably had better things to do than insure the heirs were secured but he knew that his father didn’t trust him to return his self and his sister home safely to Bulgaria. Elijah was confident in his ability to Apparate but he did accept the fact that from London to Bulgaria, it was a fair old hike. He’d managed it though, this time. It was a wonder he hadn’t splinched himself and as he checked himself over he was relieved to find that the blood on him was not that of his own - but his now late uncle’s.

His breathing became deeper and began to slow but his chest still heaved as his heart pounded against his ribcage. His fingers, slick with sweat, blood and wine, lost grip of his Cypress wand. It clattered against the cobbles of the alley he’d Apparated into and he let his head fall back against the brick wall of the building he had pressed himself up against. He did all he could to keep himself from falling apart then and there but he knew he needed to get out of the alley and, most importantly, out of London. They knew all his haunts and though Elijah had good reason to have done what he did - Unforgivables were still illegal in Europe; and certainly in Bulgaria. He wasn’t in trouble yet, he figured, but that still didn’t mean he could get ahead before they started looking. Stefan Krum III was no more and Elijah felt a weight leave his chest at the thought of the man’s suffering and then death. His mother could now rest knowing he was dealt with, that the son whom she loathed for so long was still devoted to her in a way he’d promised himself to never be. The locket stained with blood and stuck to his chest with the heat of his body told the story his actions had illustrated earlier. He was his mother’s son - a Krum and a Harrow and no one was going to hurt his family and get away with it. He’d promised Marina revenge and he’d dealt with Stefan at a cost he would later have no choice but to realise. He knew though that he didn’t care now and he certainly wouldn’t care later.


Elijah gasped, his hands grasping at his throat as he heaved, throwing himself forward in preparation for the emptying of his stomach. It didn’t come though. His blood thumped through his ears and he blinked rapidly, encouraging his eyes to focus once more as he attempted to regain his countenance. Slowly, he reached for his wand and while sitting in the sodden, disease infested alley he’d Apparated into, he cleansed himself of blood and the like before rising to his feet and stepping out into the glare of the capital. He melted into the crowds with little trouble and slowly made his way down the road, searching for a cafe or something that was unfamiliar to him. It wasn’t difficult either considering he’d Apparated somewhere he only knew the name of but not the layout.

Elijah entered a cafe that looked to be about as old as the Houses of Parliament and took a seat at one of the wooden tables. In the corner, an elderly man was smoking something that clearly wasn’t tobacco from the smell of it and was chatting idly to his companions. Elijah slumped a little in his chair and tucked his wand back in his pocket, allowing himself to breathe for a few moments. As he sat there, he began to sort through his thoughts, wondering what on earth had led him to this day.

Michael had spent the evening talking with Khaat and finding out her thoughts about Christmas. She simply wanted a family Christmas. That was all she wanted. And that wasn't easy to deliver to a woman in exile from an evil wizard and his cronies. That whole business about her and Robert being on the top of wizarding England's most wanted list was a sham. And most of England knew it now. They were too damned slow on the draw, but they were getting it finally.

And so,for her, he had ported from the place they were using as a safehaven at the moment and had gone back to England. There wasn't much that he could give her, materially, that she seemed to want, or that she could not afford for herself. Besides, Khaat rarely was attracted to material things anyway. She was far more attracted to either people or the sentiiment that some material item had for her. So, it was, in a way, a twisted bit of Christmas shopping, in Michael's own unique style. Particularly, he was in search of Krums. Well, one particular Krum. And all his "attachments." He had checked the lad's most usual hiding places and then he had relied upon his street contacts and had sent them scurrying about, paying them well for information to shorten the search.

At last, a tip that sounded promising. He walked in and saw Eli. The boy had been through some sort of trauma. He needed a firewhiskey, but that was unlikely in a tea shop. So, he tabled the idea of firewhiskey temporarily He would make sure to offer it to Eli later. He bought two mugs of Earl Grey and when he got them, he took one over and deposited it on the table that Eli sat at. He sat down with Eli, now seeing the blood on him.

"Looks like you could use a bit of support and protection about now, Lad," Michael said quietly, but cutting right to the heart of it. "If I were you, I'd consider seriously the offer I am about to make to you."

There was a pretty little dark-skinned girl stood in the corner of the cafe next to a jukebox, polishing some of the tableware and glasses that were all stacked up neatly having been washed moments prior by the looks of them. From her gaze, which was stuck hard and fast on him, Elijah could deduce what she wanted. He chuckled to himself and dropped his eyes to his hands that were still unhelpfully stained with blood. He didn’t know where it had come from but he remembered deflecting the cutting curse his uncle had cast. Elijah could only hope it had gotten his uncle and not someone else. He hadn’t gotten that close though - or at least, he couldn’t remember getting that close - and so an unsettling feeling began to turn his stomach. With the adrenaline still coursing through his veins, he couldn’t help but wonder whether he had deflected the curse properly or not - or whether most of the blood on him did actually belong to him. Either way, Elijah was still grimly satisfied with the fact that the man he’d loathed in silence for so long was now finally dead. The timing was poor, he was willing to admit, but he had no sympathy for his family anymore, or for his father. Viktor had left his son feeling agitated already. Stefan had rocked the boat and revealed something Elijah hadn’t wanted to know.

And of course that coupled with the death of his daughter, Elijah was feeling both empty and satisfied. He didn’t have time to properly mourn now and he certainly didn’t have time to talk to Chase about it. He just needed to get out. He trusted in Harry to look after Fauve and Thierry but when the time came to get them back, Elijah wasn’t entirely sure where he was supposed to go. He was eternally grateful that they could only freeze the trust fund if they did want to keep him grounded money-wise wherever he’d gotten to once they managed to freeze everything. No, he would get away from them. He knew he would. He just needed to get round to sorting himself out. He’d promised Khaat he’d see out his school year. He’d managed to go back to school for a while but he was beginning to wonder whether he was destined to complete Hogwarts or not. He knew he could do it - it would just take a while. He was definitely beginning to consider looking after Fauve and Thierry and studying by night in order to get things done. Art was only going to get him so far. Work wasn’t drying up but he was tiring of the same old factory stock of women that poured themselves onto him, to delight his self with. He wanted something different for once. He didn’t quite know what he was looking for yet, though. Not yet, at least.

Blinking up at the sound of a familiar voice, Elijah smiled slightly at the sight of Michael standing over him. He accepted the tea with no protest and ran his hand through the dark locks that had been clean that morning. Not so much now, regretfully. “I’m fine.” Elijah responded half-heartedly. He sighed heavily and blinked a few times before shrugging his shoulders. “Okay, so maybe I’m not. It could be worse though. I could be the dead one.” He chuckled humourlessly and shook his head. “I hate Christmas. My father sends his greetings though, I am sure. His new son is something he wishes to parade to everyone. Expect pictures.” And with that, Elijah took a sip of his tea, the bitterness he felt disappearing as he felt the warm liquid slip down his throat and into his stomach, settling him completely.

Michael had clearly seen the traces of blood and had caught the self defense reference. "Don't ever feel guilty about defending yourself," he said quietly, his voice lowered so that only Eli could hear him. "No matter what. However, since the ministry does have a trace still on the juse of magic by Hogwarts students off school grounds, you cannot stay here. Your mother sent me looking for you. However, for your own wellbeing and your safety, I do think it would be best if you came with me. The safehouse is unplottable. The trace can't follow you there. Where are your kids? We need to not let the ministry use them as a pawn, and Grindlewald is getting desperate enough to maintain control that he wouldn't hesitate to use anything to make himself seem righteous in the eyes of the public--or to make one last shot at undoing your mother and family. We need to get them from wherever they are if they're in England. They are no longer any safer here than you are. " MIchael was hoping Eli's children were already out of England. If not, they needed to move quickly. If the children were already safe, then all Eli needed to do was come. Khaat and Brian would more than make sure Eli had clothes and whatever he needed.

"Besides, I do believe you have siblings you haven't seen yet," Michael said. Michael had seen Eli with his own children enough to know he was a wonderful father. He knew that Eli would delight in the almost 2 year old Abbey and Dakota and the 7th month old triplets. "Khaat misses you, you know. We've asked her what she wants for Christmas and in all honesty, she says the only thing she wants is to see you. She doesn't know I'm here. It was my thought to come and see if I could find you and ask if you wanted to slip out from under the Ministry's security net for students and slip off to the safehouse for awhile. It looks very much to me like it is the very thing you need to have tucked into your Christmas stocking as well. "

A man in his 40's, with dark hair and dark eyes, wearing a long tan wool dress coat came into the tea shop and bought himself a cup of tea in a paper cup. Michael was watching every person who came in or out of the tea shop. He made brief eye contact with the man and the man took a seat at the counter. Michael was glad to see one of his underground contacts here. If Eli consented, getting the trace on his magic turned off at the Ministry was about to get considerably easier.