Chapter 61: Chapter 60
Oscar visibly deflated and rubbed a hand over his face with a sigh. "I'm sorry…"
Hu Yetao laughed, and he couldn't seem to stop laughing. His mate looked thoroughly mortified.
Hu Yetao finally stood up and came around the table to sling his arms around Oscar's neck. "Want to try that again?" he said with an amused grin.
Oscar snorted softly as he looked down at his mate. "No, you laughed at me."
Hu Yetao's responding smile was all affection as he stared back at him. "I promise I won't next time," he said, then narrowed his eyes. "Did your mum put you up to this?"
"You think my mother forced me to say that?" Oscar replied, affronted.
"She may have mentioned - and apologized for - your lack of communication skills over lunch," Hu Yetao said with a grin.
Oscar frowned. "Firstly, I should think that you knew how I felt about you without me having to say it, and secondly, the intimate details of our relationship are not my mother's concern."
Hu Yetao reached up, wanting to smooth the frown from his mate's face; he was clearly regretting the whole conversation and he suddenly felt bad for teasing him.
"How are you feeling?" Oscar asked, catching Hu Yetao's hand in his own and hanging on as he deftly changed the subject.
Hu Yetao squeezed his hand before dropping it back to his side with a sigh. "I… I'm okay," he replied with a shrug.
"And this?" Oscar said, fingers moving to rest lightly around the reddened bite mark on Hu Yetao's neck.
"It's fine," Hu Yetao answered honestly, "I think the pain potion is helping."
Oscar's gaze moved back to meet Hu Yetao's. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke."
Hu Yetao shook his head. "It's fine, your mother explained everything, and by the looks of things you needed to let off some steam. I can't believe you attacked your father."
Oscar seemed to recover from his previous embarrassment as he smirked at Hu Yetao's words. "He wounded me as well - once," he added smugly.
Hu Yetao just shook his head and wandered back over to the window seat He selected a pale green macaron for Oscar and a blue one for himself before sitting down.
Oscar joined him and poured some tea while crunching on the sweet meringue treat.
"Do you do that often?" Hu Yetao asked curiously as he drew his feet up onto the seat and hugged his knees to his chest. "Er, fight with your father while you're both in Nundu form?"
"No, not anymore," he replied as he sat back with a cup of tea, settling warmly against Hu Yetao's side. "I needed it when I was younger and still working through everything, trying to deal with the more… animalistic side of my heritage. While my mother may think that my father and I have trouble expressing our every thought and emotion, she forgets that trying to control our reactions is something we work at every single day, that it's something drilled into every Nundu from birth. If you don't, it could mean Azkaban - or execution by our Board. Sometimes it's hard to turn that off and let down your guard when you've been doing it for so long."
Hu Yetao nodded in understanding, chin resting on his knees. "It must be so difficult; living with that over your head all the time. It's hard to believe you had to deal with that at such a young age, it's amazing you've turned out as normal as you are. I mean, I still think you're a bit of a wanker but…"
Oscar glared and bumped his shoulder, causing Hu Yetao to smile. "You're one to talk; I'm not the only one with a messed up childhood."
Hu Yetao snorted. "Yeah and look at how much of a nutter I am."
Oscar chuckled in response as father and mom entered the room; Xiaocheng all patched up and with a fresh shirt on.
Hu Yetao immediately slid his feet back down to the floor. He noticed a piece of parchment in Shui Xian's hand as they walked over to join them around the table.
"I've had an owl from your Headmistress," she said, handing the short scroll over to Hu Yetao. "It seems they've found your wand at the edge of the Forbidden Forest."
Hu Yetao was immediately flooded with relief; he'd honestly thought it was lost for good, or at least until they apprehended the people responsible. He glanced up hopefully. "Were they able to track the two men down?"
She shook her head and Hu Yetao sighed as he glanced down at the short note from Mrs. Amber
"Are the Aurors investigating?" Oscar asked.
"They would be," Xiaocheng interjected. "Any attack of this nature on a Hogwart's student would require immediate action from the Ministry - particularly due to Hu Yetao being the one who was attacked."
Hu Yetao chewed his lip, wondering why they all looked so worried; surely the Aurors' investigation wouldn't include the Wangs?
"Any news from the clan?" Oscar asked his father next.
"Not yet." Xiaocheng shook his head and Shui Xian laid a hand on his forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Hu Yetao swallowed, taking in their grave expressions. "You don't… You don't think the Aurors would involve you, do you?"
"Not necessarily," Shui Xian replied gently, "but if the men who attacked you are clan members, it could pose a bit of a problem if they are caught."
Hu Yetao's eyes widened as the scope of the issue finally sunk in. "Do you think they were clan members?" he asked, glancing between Xiaocheng and Shui Xian. "They were certainly human the entire time I was with them."
Xiaocheng ran a hand over his chin briefly, looking a little weary, and Hu Yetao wondered if he'd been up all night with Oscar. "We're not sure; the Board is looking into it of course. We've given them your description of the men, and the fact that you believe they were related, but hopefully they were not our kind. This will all be much simpler if they were merely leftover idealists from the Dark Lord."
Hu Yetao nodded in agreement. Chong Li supporters he could handle. He glanced down at the Headmistress' brief note, reading her last line which stated that he could stay with the Wang's for as long as he needed and that his wand would be waiting for him in her office upon his return.
Hu Yetao sighed; why did everything always happen to him?
Oscar slid an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, obviously sensing his melancholy.
For the first time, he began to question whether he should be having children. If he and Oscar were constant targets, then what hope did their children have for survival?
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