Sanguine Secrets

Year 4, Chapter 5: Depression

Angelo felt the brief comfort in Merula's arms, an overwhelming sadness took over, no, it hurt his heart, as if it were a rope, tightening his arteries more and more. A few minutes passed, and finally the tears stopped, but the pain remained, his chest seemed too small to contain what he felt, his breathing was slow, tired, defeated.

"Are you bett-... Angelo! What is that mark?" Merula asks scared, pointing to Angelo's forehead, the mark was pulsing at the same rhythm as Angelo's heart.

"It's... A mistake... A horrible mistake I made." Angelo says tiredly, his gaze showing something Merula had never seen, he was lost.

"A-Angelo... what did you do?" She asks, trying to get closer to him, but he moves away.

"Blood magic... My mother wanted me to learn... And now I realize the mistake of trusting her." He says, looking down.

"Hey... It's not your fault you fell for what she said... But how did you learn? I thought magic involving blood was extinct and completely forbidden." Merula says scared, but doesn't move away or get closer.

"There's a book... In my family's mansion, she told me to go there and learn... I met a relative of mine but I continued with the ritual." He says, still avoiding Merula's gaze.

"Do you... Feel something different?" Merula asks with slight fear, but doesn't get shaken.

"Shame." He says, and Merula notices his gaze again, it was distant, he seemed unmotivated.

"What else happened?" Merula asks worriedly.

"I argued with my mother... I'm afraid that... My only purpose for her was to serve as a sacrifice." Angelo says, remembering the dungeon, and tears form again.

"What do you mean?" She asks unconvinced.

"There were so many skeletons there... So many before me... To learn a blood spell, you have to sacrifice your blood, and the book gets more demanding with each spell... There were so many sacrifices there... that I'm afraid I'd be the next one." Angelo says, crying, thinking about the possibility, and seeing that it was extremely possible, his own mother would see the use in only learning a blood spell.

"My God... I'm so sorry Angie, I'm sure that... She might not have wanted this." Merula says, hugging him gently.

"But i am sure she have... Eris, my ancestor, commented that after three blood spells my soul would be completely corrupted... And my mother insisted that "The more the better", in her words." Angelo says, he sighs, his lungs having difficulty holding air.

"M-maybe... She wanted you to be like her?" Merula suggests, and as strange as it sounded, it was still a good theory.

"I don't know... I just know that I left her alone in the mansion... I need some time without her voice." He says, looking around.

"Maybe it would be better Angie... I just hope you're okay." Merula says, her tone worried.

"I... I think I'll be." He says, turning around and walking back to his dorm.

"Hey, where are you going?" Merula asks.

"I don't want to disturb your night anymore... I'm sorry for throwing all this information at you." Angelo says, and she notices his gaze for the last time, another feeling, guilt?

"A-angelo... You know you don't disturb anything, right?" She asks, worried about her friend's mental health, but he doesn't answer, and Merula realizes that it would really be better for him to rest.

But little did she know that Angelo couldn't, even if he lay down and closed his eyes, sleep wouldn't come, the pain in his chest grew, it reminded him of one of the riddles that was the key to entry into Ravenclaw: "The more you take away, the bigger I get", a hole, Angelo was left with nothing, without a father, without a mother, without his friends, even if momentarily until they return.