Short Stories and Oneshots

Family Forged in Blood

Author: GhostIsReading

Platform: AO3

Type: Hannibal x Harry Potter

Warning: murder (because Hannibal)

The boy reminded him of Mischa and his relatives were rather rude.

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For translations, see end of chapter.

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Hannibal had been sketching the painting of Pallas and Centaur by Botticelli in the Uffizi Gallery when the smell of poorly washed child and malnutrition filled his nostrils. He was then interrupted by a small voice speaking in a mix or poorly pronounced Italian and English.

"Ah, Scuzi Mister?"

He looked up from his charcoal drawing and saw a small child who couldn't be older than seven years old staring up at him with wide emerald eyes. He was dressed poorly in oversized clothes that were no better than rags. He reminded Hannibal of a little mouse, a Topino.

"Si?" He had time to spare so he might as well humor Topino.

"Um, d-do you speak English?" The small child fiddled with his poor fitting glasses.

"I do indeed," Hannibal smiled kindly. It wouldn't do, to cause a scene in such a public place but he had to wonder where the child's parents were. "How can I help you?" Topino was probably lost and needed help to find them but if that was the case then would he not have approached one of the museum guards?

"Um, the painting." Topino pointed to the 'Pallas and the Centaur'. "Can – I mean, could you please tell me about it? I can't read the in-insrcb, no inscribion." How delightfully surprising!

"Inscription." Hannibal gently corrected and found himself warming to the boy who so politely asked to know about the art piece. "It is called Pallas and the Centaur and was painted by a man named Sandro Botticelli sometime in the fourteen hundreds..." And so he went on explaining the history behind the painting and some of the meanings attributed to it. He made sure to keep his explanations child appropriate so as not to upset the boy's parents when they eventually collected him.

"Wow, thank you so much Mister!" Topino's face lit up with a beaming smile which included two missing front teeth. His heart twinged, somehow the child reminded him of Mischa.

"Little one, where are your parents?" He asked although he should have perhaps questioned their absence sooner.

Topino's face fell. "They're dead."

"I am sorry for your loss." Hannibal made sure to show the appropriate amount of sympathy. "May I enquire who you are here with?"

"What does enquire mean?" was asked instead of answering the question. Cunning Topino.

"It means 'to ask' or 'to question'."

"Ohh." The child nodded as they understood before sighing and looking at his shoes. "My Aunt and Uncle."

"And where are they now?"

"Uncle has a meeting with someone important." Topino shrugged. "I was told to make myself sc-sca." He stumbled over the last word frowning. "Scarse?"

"If you mean that he told you to leave them alone for a period of time then 'scarce' is the word that you are looking for."

"Ah yes, that's what I mean!" He beamed.

"Does your uncle often ask you to make yourself scarce?" Hannibal asked, keeping the frown that wanted to emerge off his face.

"Uh huh," Topino nodded his head. "A-and when I'm not doing that I'm earning my keep!" He looked proud at the statement and suddenly Hannibal was overcome with the urge to rid the world of this child's uncle.