The Tale of Azure - Book I: Shades of Green and Blue

Chapter Thirteen: Those Who Rule the Night

Disclaimer: I do not own "Harry Potter", "TVD" and "Vampire Knight"

A/N: I am having a lot of fun with this crossover. Only two chapters left.

Trigger warnings: vampires as sexual offenders (some, not all), Stockholm Syndrome (in 1942, there is not a name for this, but that does not mean it doesn't exist), and castration (implied)

Riddles, codes, puzzles and enigmas. Myrtle had grown up learning about them and solving them with Grandpa and then, with Keane. However, since she turned eleven, the riddles she had come across - excluding those that allowed entry into the Ravenclaw common room; they were, in all honesty, not challenging at all - could be compared to Gordian Knots and she knew that slicing them in two like Alexander the Great did would not have the intended result.

The strange girl from Slytherin who had become one of her best friends belonged to the "Gordian Knot" category. She had many layers to her personality and Myrtle had a feeling she wasn't nearly half-done discovering them. If there was someone in her life that deserved the title of "walking mystery", that someone was Azure.

"When I was little, I bore witness to them," the aforementioned girl told them, snapping Myrtle of her thoughts. "It was not a pretty sight."

"Those are the kind of memories that do not go away," Lexi said with pursed lips. "Twenty years after our first meeting, Alexandra used the Cruciatus to save an innocent from another vampire. In the end, I killed him with a stake to the heart. It had to be done; he was a sadist who specifically targeted children...including in a sexual way."

The simple thought brought about a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Stefan narrowed his eyes. "Those are the worst and I say this from experience. At least my 'Hyde' persona never stooped that low."

"The Ripper of Monterey," Azure said softly, mismatched eyes looking at a crestfallen Stefan. "Lexi told us. We cannot judge you; you lost control but you chose to regain it. That is the most important, don't you think?"

"Agreed!" Lexi nodded, her hand lightly tapping his shoulder. Stefan rose his head and gave her a small smile. "Like Alexandra would say, live your life in a way that it won't taint your Soul!" She clinked her glass with his, grinning. "Let us make it the best because now is the moment!"

"I second that," he said, his smile becoming more genuine. "If you could redeem me, Damon...Damon might do the same thing. He is not a Ripper but he nearly shut off his emotions after I told him about Katherine's new life in Brazil." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, what happened to the vampire who turned you?" Stefan asked his friend.

"We, as in I and my friend Rose, tracked him down, finding him in Bourgogne five years after Alexandra died," she replied seriously. "He had killed an entire village except for the girls who were taken to the local ruler's castle. We had heard the rumours that he and his friends enjoyed playing with them. He also turned some of them and branded them like cattle."

"Did he die in the end?" Azure asked. Myrtle grabbed her friend's hand in an attempt to calm down the Slytherin whose expression belied a cold rage.

Lexi made a pondering sound before a satisfied smile appeared on her face. "We cut off a very important part of the bastard's body before locking him up in a vervain-infested cell. Then, Elijah himself took care of it, not just the bastard, but his friends as well."

"Good riddance. He won't be missed," Stefan and Azure said simultaneously.

"My sentiments exactly. I wish I could say the same for the girls. We couldn't save all of them." Lexi informed sadly. "Those we could save had to be compelled...except for one. She asked us to not let her forget."

"Why?" Myrtle asked carefully. "It would be the logical thing to do, considering what...he put them through."

Grandpa had told her that most victims tried their hardest to forget the horrors they had seen. But, in certain cases, they could bond with their captor to the point of protecting him or her at the expense of their lives.

"Because she called me and Rose her heroines," Lexi answered softly. "Rose was crying when she was told that; to receive compassion from a human is almost a miracle. So we did not compel her and she returned to her family, but not before she swore secrecy about us. Her name...was Maeve McGonagall." Myrtle's eyes widened in realization; Minnie's family has that name! "Not an unfamiliar name to you?"

"One of the Prefects is called Minerva McGonagall," Azure replied. "She is a Transfiguration prodigy. The best of her year and probably the next Wizarding Chess Champion or the world champion if she ever decides to compete with her non-magical equals."

"Oh, I need to meet her!" Lexi said excitedly. "Out of the disciplines that magical schools offer, Transfiguration was the one that I was more interested in learning!"

"Really? I thought it was Arithmancy?" Stefan asked. "Or Ancient Runes?"

"That's Rose's thing!" Lexi retorted with mock-offence. "But we had to split up years after that and I eventually met the person who I fell in love with...I turned Lee because he asked me; he was dying," she continued melancholically. "Unlike me, he was given a choice." She rose her hand to show them the small ring on her fourth finger. "Marseille, 1632. Our anniversary is on 10th September."

Azure grinned. "Congratulations!

"Where is your...husband now?" Myrtle asked shyly.

"New York, working as a musician," Lexi replied with a wink. "The city has a local supernatural community created by Elijah. Unfortunately, Lee doesn't have real protection against the sunlight, thus why he couldn't come. His studio's glassed windows allow the sun to pass without harming vampires. I miss travelling with him...the world is such a big place."

"But full of dangers: Salzburg, 1705," Stefan suddenly said, frowning at his friend. "The one almost incident that could have ended up badly if it wasn't for Alexandra's magic?"

"What happened?" Myrtle asked the blonde who took a sip of her drink.

"We met a Japanese vampire who was extremely rude to Lee. I got a strange vibe that told me to get away from him. Fortunately that Alexandra's magical earrings work as a shield."

"Did you feel pain when he approached you?" Azure asked with palpable concern. "Or a sudden desire to do everything he asked no matter how ridiculous it sounded?"

"I did," Lexi answered after biting her lip. "He called me a fourth level woman – yon'i onna. His eyes...were threatening: a light blue and a rusty red one. But a Hunter convinced him to go away. His name was Eren Yagari. He spoke strongly-accented English and was intimidating for a human. We stayed with him the night before continuing our journey."

"Yagari...the most renowned family of Vampire Hunters in Japan, also related to the Hunter Clan Jaeger," Azure mused. "Well, you were just passing by the area."

"Also, we are not the type they hunt except if we have turned off our human side," Stefan pointed out. "Purebloods are the root of the problem as their bite can turn a human into the fourth level and, eventually, he or she will become a Level E."

"True," Lexi said before frowning. "I've met some Purebloods before, but that one...he had a familiar scent. That's how I knew he was part of one of the clans."

"More than part of it, he was the previous Heir." Myrtle's eyes widened at Azure's sudden statement. "Lord Rido Kuran, the firstborn of Lord Byakuya and Lady Rio Kuran. Lord Haruka and Lady Jūri's older brother and also the former fiancé of their sister. He enjoys being a Vampire, in the most hedonistic way. Totally against his family's pacifist ideals."

Myrtle was shocked; how could someone like that be related to that kind couple?

Wait, former fiancé?

"Oh..." Lexi bit her lip. "That was Jūri's brother? The one who is still obsessed with her?"

Azure nodded. "My intuition tells me that it won't end up well."