HP - Shadow Monarch! [BOOK 1]

Chapter 147 - Forbidden Feelings.

[Chapter Size: 1900 Words.]

Third Person POV

Romania.

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Weeks had passed since Snape had been inside that painting while the vampires could do nothing but wait, with sentinels watching the painting for any changes. He remained in a continuous state ever since he began receiving the abilities of the Dark Monarch.

"He's losing strength... but at the same time, we can't go in there... Have the wizards managed to discover anything?" In the dining hall, several vampires were drinking blood served to them in goblets. They no longer hunted humans during this time, instead purchasing their blood, disguised as a government blood donation system in Romania.

It was a much simpler system and made their lives easier. Not only did it provide blood, but it also avoided terrorizing common humans or prompting groups to hunt them down.

"No, Father... None of them have figured out what is happening with the painting... no one can enter it either... we don't even know how that human you saw managed to get in there," Milicia, his eldest daughter, said while Dracula appeared deep in thought.

"It's been 16 days..." Dracula murmured, still pondering how that human was unlike anything he had ever seen. Though not altered in any discernible way, it was hard to believe that the human possessed such physical strength. At the same time, he radiated a powerful aura of death—more potent than anything Dracula had encountered in any other creature. Moreover, the human wielded unique magic, raising the question of whether the wizarding world was evolving once again.

"Lord Dracula... we'll stay as long as it takes. We won't let that human escape," one of the vampires at the table commented as Dracula nodded.

"Very well, we have no choice in this matter. Milicia, I want you to check on your sister... you know..." he said as the white-haired vampire nodded.

Rosaria was always distant from them, keeping away due to her aversion to the scent of the vampires present. While she found the smell of her family bearable, the stench from others was almost intolerable.

In her room, Rosaria was eating regular human food, lost in her own thoughts about everything that was happening.

Outside Romania, Snape was still considered a student on holiday within the country. However, those who corresponded with him noticed he no longer replied to their letters. There were no more responses, though few had written, such as Pandora, the Greengrass family, and some other individuals with business dealings.

The headmaster of Hogwarts had also tried contacting him during this time but had received no replies since sending his invitation to Hogwarts.

"Are you certain you're going, Albus?" a painting asked as Dumbledore prepared for his trip, organizing the final details to leave the school for a while. Only a few professors were present, preparing for the start of the term in less than a month.

"I have no choice. I'll have to meet Snape in person since he isn't answering my letters and declined my initial invitation to come here. I had prepared for this, knowing I would deal with him now, without the students around," he muttered.

"I think you're being overly paranoid about this student, Dumbledore. You already wagered on the girl and gained nothing. By Merlin... you used that potion on her... because of that, you know you're doing things that would bring shame to all of us," a woman who had once been a headmistress said from her painting.

"You don't understand. I need to protect the wizarding world! Snape is as dangerous as the other one, perhaps even worse... I dismissed the second despite his dangerous thoughts and the direction the wizarding world has taken... We must keep an eye on him and understand what he has become, for that is no longer the boy I once knew," Dumbledore said with a stern tone.