Perseus woke up to the sound of gentle tapping on his window. A snowy owl was waiting outside, presumably with a letter tied to its tiny leg. He got out of bed and opened the window, letting the owl hop in. The envelope bore his name and he could easily recognize his cousin's handwriting.
Perce had shifted in with his aunt and uncle shortly after they had come to visit him for the first time at the Whitburg abode. Both Belvina and Herbert had grown rather lonely after Demi's marriage and so she had insisted to her nephew upon moving in with them.
In that way, they now had him as their support and weren't as desolate as they used to be. Furthermore, Belvina's motherly instincts towards Perce hadn't allowed him to part with them again either.
However, he visited the Whitburgs often; much more frequently than the older Burkes did, to be honest. The past five years had worked as a sufficient recovery period for him. Reconciling with his family and getting to know his past self better through the accounts from his loved ones had helped him come back to normal. He had also begun to use magic again, practicing along with Eridanus, under the careful supervision of Demelza and her parents.
The letter in his hands was from Demi asking him to join them on their trip to Diagon Alley. Eridanus was starting Hogwarts that year, therefore a trip to Diagon Alley was a must as it was the only place from where they could get all of his school stuff.
He gave the owl a few tidbits to devour before it hopped off the window sill soaring away to Hogsmeade. A small smile danced on his face; Demi had written that they would be getting him a wand from Ollivander's as well. He was no doubt rather excited for that.
Of course he had had his own wand; an ancient family heirloom treasured to the Burkes which had been handed down since generations and was given to him by his father. But that wand was currently in Riddle's possession so the only other alternative was buying a new one.
The clock chimed eight in the morning. Knowing that it would soon be time for breakfast, Perseus carefully placed the letter back in the envelope and headed to the bathroom to freshen up.
As usual, his aunt and uncle were waiting for him at the table. He bid his greetings upon entering the room and took his seat.
"Someone is in a very good mood today," Belvina remarked playfully with a soft smile upon noticing his cheerful outlook.
"I got a letter from Demi this morning," Perseus replied, "they are going to Diagon Alley to buy Danny's school stuff."
"And you're going with them, aren't you?"
He nodded in affirmation, "she said I could buy my wand from there as well."
Herbert affectionately patted him on the back, "I see, so that's why you're so glad."
"Now son, you might want to hurry up with your breakfast," Belvina spoke, "because I'm quite sure they'd be here soon to take you with them."
She was quite right in saying that because true enough, the doorbell rung shortly after they had finished breakfast, announcing the arrival of the Whitburgs. The door opened and a rather excited Eridanus rushed in, hugging both Belvina and Herbert in his usual way of greeting his grandparents. After them, he turned to Perseus and shook his hand, "how are you, Uncle Perce?"
"I'm fine," Perseus smiled at the boy, "however, you seem quite excited than usual."
"Is it too obvious?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, his features morphing back into a rather serious look.
Perce held back an urge to laugh, "now it isn't."
"But I guess it's normal to be excited," he resumed, "I'm going to Hogwarts and as far as I know, that's quite a big deal."
He gently ruffled the child's head, "of course it's a big deal. Nathan must have told you enough about the school already to make you even more intrigued about it."
Perseus still felt his instincts warning him that young Eridanus wasn't human whenever he was around him, but over the years he had learnt to ignore it. The boy was quite harmless and just as innocent as any other child of his age. Moreover, he had grown quite fond of his Uncle and liked to spend time with him. Therefore, Perce had thought it best to stop being uncomfortable in his presence and accepted him as a family member.
Demelza and Nathan had entered too and after the familiar greetings Belvina had taken them to the parlor, bringing tea for them as well. Perce had stayed in the living room with his nephew who was rather eager to provide him company. Nathan, however, seemed a little under the weather to Perseus, who had been rather quick to notice that the former wasn't in high spirits like the rest of them.
"Dad's not well," Danny spoke up, realizing that he was probably wondering about Nathan's health, "I don't know if Mum told you yet but he lost his job at the end of the term."
"But why? The Headmaster was quite satisfied with his conduct."
"It wasn't due to his conduct or teaching method, Uncle Perce. You know Dad's really good in the Defense subject. His office caught fire, when the OWLs exam was being conducted, from a Hinkypunk that got loose," he explained, "it had been rather dangerous as the fire soon got out of hand. Many parents were blaming him for not putting such creatures safely so he had to resign."
"Did he get hurt?"
The boy nodded, "it seemed as if that Hinkypunk was thoroughly offended at him since it was continuously propelling fireballs in his direction. It had been rather difficult to get Dad out of the fire. He's got a few burns and was kept in the Hospital Wing for a whole day."
Concern flickered in his blue eyes, "and is he okay now?"
"Much better. I had asked him to delay the trip for next week if he wanted to rest but he refused. Seems as if he's just as excited about going to Diagon Alley as I am."
"He cares about you, that's why," Perce remarked with a soft smile, "you're lucky to have him around, Danny."
Even though Eridanus was just eleven, he was still very observant to the feelings and emotions of other people; an empathetic trait which he shared with Demelza. He had noticed the sadness in his Uncle's eyes when he had uttered that sentence. "Uncle, where's your father?"
"I don't know."
"Would you like to meet him?"
He kept silent, letting himself wonder what it would be like to finally see his father after so long, to talk to him and tell him that he had never meant to cause them all so much pain. He shook his head, grief taking over his features, "I wish I could."
He was about to say something when Demelza entered, "Perseus, Danny, it's time for us to leave."
The two got up and followed her to the fireplace. They were going to use the Floo Network which would transport them to the Leaky Cauldron from where they were going to head to Diagon Alley.
"Bye Grandma, bye grandpa. I'll show you all my stuff when we return."
One by one, they stepped in after sprinkling the Floo Powder. Perseus wasn't doing it for the first time, Demi had shown him how to use it earlier and had also accompanied him once before. After that he had often used Floo Network whenever he had to visit the Whitburgs. Knowing that nothing could possibly go wrong, he sprinkled the powder and stepped in after saying The Leaky Cauldron, just like he was instructed to.
An eerie spinning took hold of him but he had been expecting that as he braced himself for it. Shortly after, the spinning subsided and he found himself stepping out into a dingy old pub where Demi and the others were already waiting for him.
***
The trip to Diagon Alley had been rather pleasant for each one of them. It had elevated Nathan's mood as well and he was back in his cheerful demeanor, joking around with Eridanus about his new school.
They had almost completed shopping for all the school supplies. Both Eridanus and Perce had got their wands as well. While Danny's wand was made of Cedar and held phoenix feather core, Perce now possessed a Hawthorn wand with unicorn hair core.
Nathan had taken them to Florean Fortescue's Ice cream parlor in order to treat them just before they left. He had taken Perce with him to bring their ice creams from the shop, while Demi and Eridanus had gone to find a comfortable spot outside for them to sit. The order had been given at the counter and the two of them were simply waiting for the ice creams to be delivered.
"Danny sure looks very happy today," Nathan remarked, in attempt of making small conversation with him. He knew Perce talked very little but whenever he did, he preferred listening to his views due to the very different outlook he had on everything.
"He does," he agreed, "it's a bit out of his usual character but to be honest, today is one of those days when he's behaving a lot like normal children."
Nathan was aware that Perce was extremely observant hence he could sense a lot of things which normal people didn't regarding others. "Well, he is a little ahead of his age if you ask me, but other than that, he's quite normal."
"Nathan, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, anything."
They had received the ice creams and were heading back towards the family.
"Have you ever felt that Danny is a little different as compared to others?"
He understood why Perce was asking that. Nathan knew the reason was probably because Tom Riddle was the boy's father instead of him and he also knew that Riddle had created Horcruxes which made him inhuman. But he had never before thought that those inhuman traits could have passed down to Eridanus.
He recalled how Perce had told him back when they were both imprisoned that the less human a person became, the more easily he could differentiate him or her from other people. He wondered if that was the case with Eridanus too, if Perseus was able to tell that the child wasn't human just like he could easily do so with his father.
"To be honest, yes he's different. But I figured as long as it doesn't affect us in any way, we shouldn't question it."
Perseus dipped his head in a low nod, "you really care for him, don't you?"
"He's my..." he was about to say that Danny was his son but paused before rephrasing his words, "of course I do."
Over the years, Nathan had grown rather close to the little boy with grey eyes. Even though earlier his eyes always reminded him of Riddle and all the torture he had had to face due to him, he had somehow come to terms with accepting Eridanus as a wholly different individual. The saying "like father, like son" could be very much true, but Nathan could feel that Danny was too empathetic to turn into a heartless monster like Riddle.
He knew the boy looked up to him as a father figure and he took pride in it. There were times when he almost forgot that Danny wasn't his own, times such as these when it became difficult for him to acknowledge the truth.
"So you know," Perseus remarked all of a sudden which took him by surprise.
"Know what?"
"Don't worry, Nathan, Eridanus is nothing like his father. He's a hundred times better and worth all the love and affection you give him."
They had reached the table so both of them had left the conversation incomplete. However, Nathan seemed to have understood his words very well. He could see the soft smile on Perce's face as he handed the cone to his nephew, and at that instant he knew what he had just said about the young boy was quite true.
The laughing little boy who called him Dad and shared all his little fantasies with him could never become a ruthless monster like Tom Riddle had done so. He could never be like him because he hosted a kind heart, Demelza's heart, which made him think about the happiness of others rather than thinking about power and dominion for his own self.
"Dad, your ice cream is starting to melt!"
He looked up, shaken out of his thoughts by Danny's voice, "oh... I just... Never mind."
Eridanus could never be like Tom Riddle. And he knew he had to do all in his power to prevent him from ever treading down the doomed path which his father had chosen. For the path of the Dark only brought misery and Nathan never wanted anything bad to happen to little Danny.
***
The four of them were heading back towards the Leaky Cauldron since all the shopping had been done and it was time to return home. However, they happened to pass by the sinister path which connected Knockturn Alley to Diagon Alley and it was exactly at that point where Perseus stopped as if quite confused.
An inexplicable force seemed to be tugging him towards the mysterious path, it seemed to him as if his past was calling out to him from within the twisting cobblestones that led deeper down to Knockturn Alley.
Demelza was discussing something with Nathan so she hadn't noticed that Perce had stopped there, however, Eridanus took note of it.
"Uncle Perce, what happened?"
He got no response from him and was a bit worried to see him standing there as if mesmerized, staring ahead as if something magnetic was pulling him in.
"Mum," he called over to Demelza when Perce started walking down the path completely oblivious to the rest of the world, "I'm going after Uncle Perce."
Demelza stopped and turned around in surprise just in time to see Danny following Perce into the Alley calling out his name but receiving no answer.
"Where are these two going?"
"I think Perseus can feel that he's been here before," Demelza replied, "we should go after them. By the looks of it, he's completely following his instincts."
True enough, Perce seemed to be in a trance as he descended down the pathway and deeper into the sinister street. People bumped into him but he paid no heed, it was almost as if he had no control over himself anymore.
"Uncle Perce," Danny caught up with him and grabbed his arm, "where are you going?"
However, his Uncle didn't reply and made no attempt to release his arm from his grip either, but kept moving forward until they reached a building marked 13B on the street. They were standing in front of an old shop's display, the banner on top read Borgin and Burkes Wizarding Artifacts, Knockturn Alley.
He pushed open the door and stepped inside, as a result of which the old bell on it clanged announcing his arrival. A man in his early thirties was sitting behind the counter pondering over the sales register through thick spectacles that covered half his face. He looked up to see who the visitors were and closed the register, "good day, Sir. How may I help you?"
Perce seemed to have not heard him at all for he simply ventured inside the shop, heading straight for the book shelf. Eridanus followed still tugging on his arm to stop him but it was to no avail as he was completely absorbed by whichever sense that was leading him on deeper and deeper in.
"Please do not touch any of the items on display," he was rather vexed at not getting any sort of response from the visitor who was simply absorbed in examining the empty book shelves, "and we currently do not have any books; all sold."
Shortly afterwards, the bell clanged again and Demelza stepped into the shop along with Nathan. He turned to face them and recognized her immediately, "ah Miss Burke, such a pleasure to see you after so long."
"Felix," she acknowledged him, "has Perseus been here?"
Felix Borgin was the youngest son of Mr Borgin and was currently the one responsible for taking care of the shop. Over the years as Caractacus had become too old to handle the business, Mr Borgin had taken over receiving the major share from the sales and placed his son in charge soon as he had graduated from Hogwarts. His two elder sons had set out on an expedition earlier, hence Felix had been the only person aside from himself that he could entrust with the shop.
"Perseus...?" his features morphed into a completely surprised expression, "you mean the apparently deaf person who just came in with a kid? No way..."
Felix had been rather young back when the Burkes still lived in Knockturn Alley but remembered the two cousins very well. He couldn't take in the fact that the brilliant Perseus Burke he had known long ago had changed so drastically that even he had failed to recognize him.
"Where is he?" she chose not to explain further and asked, getting slightly impatient.
"He went to the book shelves," he led the way to the farthest corner of the shop, "but... Perseus... I can't believe it."
However, when they reached there no one was standing by the book shelves, instead the gate to the backyard stood ajar. Demi realized that he must have followed his instincts back to his old home and taken Danny with him.
"Is Uncle Caractacus at home?"
He nodded, "he's been very ill lately. Never comes to the shop and stays in bed. Don't worry though, he has an elf to take care of him and I visit him frequently. But he just doesn't like to have anyone's company and even drives me out if I stay too long."
"He must have gone there then. We'll see you later, Felix."
Both of them stepped out through the backyard gate as well and Demelza led the way to the Burke's family home.
Perseus, on the other hand, had reached the old cottage before them and finding the door conveniently unlocked, he had gone in. A house elf had tried to stop him at the entrance but like earlier, he was utterly oblivious to every other person or occurrence at that moment.
The only thing that mattered to him was figuring out what was the source that was drawing him towards it like a magnet. He could feel a certain connection to the whole place, an odd nostalgia filled him as he took each step.
Soon enough, he stepped inside a room where an old man was lying on the bed propped up a bit by the help of pillows. He tried to sit up soon as he saw him standing on his door, but his ailing body refused to cooperate.
Perseus went up to him and stood right beside him. There was only one word echoing through his brain.
Father.
He could sense the man in front of him was none other than his father, Caractacus Burke; his father who had disowned him years ago and who presumably still blamed him for all the misfortune on the Burke family.
There was a long while of silence in which both of them were merely looking at the other as if in a state of disbelief. The house elf had come stumbling in the room in order to kick the two out but Caractacus raised his hand slightly and dismissed the elf.
"Perseus...?" he spoke up at last, each feature contorting in extreme pain and sorrow.
Danny let go of his arm and soon as he had done so, Perseus fell down on his knees as if he didn't have the strength to even stand upright anymore, "Father... Father... I... I'm sorry."
Even though in all those years after his disappearance, Caractacus had managed his tough exterior rather well, but seeing his only son before him after so long with tears ceaselessly running down his face, he just couldn't maintain the austerity anymore.
He raised his hand with effort, struggling against himself, and placed it on top of Perce's head, "where... have you... been?"
"In hell," he replied, "I... I never wanted to cause you so much trouble, Father. I wanted to be your support, a son you could take pride in... But I couldn't. I couldn't because I had no other option left."
Caractacus was looking at him closely, observing how drastically his appearance had changed. He had noticed the limp in his right leg, the lengthier graying hair and overall gauntness of his figure. Even after five years of being well taken care of by Demelza and the others, Perce couldn't completely shed off the after effects of being tortured and deprived both physically and mentally for such a long time.
"Why? Why did... you... leave us?" his voice was heavy since it was taking him a lot of effort to even speak. Caractacus had been half paralyzed and grown rather weak due to extreme old age. Moreover, all the losses he had to suffer after Perce had contributed in his ailments further.
The old man had lost everything; his son, his wife, his family and his happiness. The thought of running his shop had kept him standing for so long but even that had been taken over by his partner, Borgin, and now he had no reason to keep himself going any longer. He had no reason that could prevent him from being bedridden and edging so close to death.
"I never left intentionally, Father," he replied and the words took Caractacus by surprise, "I was captured. Imprisoned for six years and lost in the forests of Albania for three months after I was released until the Ministry officials found me. Since then I have been living with Uncle Herbert."
"Who... captured you? And... why?"
"Tom Riddle was behind all of it. He imprisoned me because he wanted to know of all the knowledge I had on the Darks by reading the books you kept in the shop. I refused to give in to him and he destroyed everything I loved and cared for."
The shock was visible on the old man's face. He had trusted Tom Riddle and even treated him just like he treated his son. Yet he had been the snake who bit all of them and poisoned their lives with his deadly venom. Tom Riddle had been the actual traitor instead of Perce.
A wave of silence overtook them and tears shone in Caractacus's brown eyes as well. His son had endured so much and yet he had kept blaming him for all the losses they had had to endure. Everything was slowly starting to make sense to him then. He realized that Riddle had indeed shrewdly taken Perseus apart by stealing away his loved ones, all the while making sure that he was the one blamed for it entirely. "Renata... Renata didn't... commit suicide... then?"
The name harrowed up his soul but he shook his head, "I don't remember. I don't remember anything. All I know is that she died because of me."
His statement took him by alarm and his eyes narrowed, focusing more on the demented look on Persues's face, "what do you... mean... that you... don't... remember?"
"He tortured me to madness, Father. I don't remember anything anymore. My time with you, the things I learnt, the life I had before Riddle destroyed it... Nothing. I remember nothing."
The horror was evident on his exhausted features and his hand trembled as he withdrew it from Perce, "Perseus... Oh Merlin... My poor son..."
Perce grabbed his hand in his own and spoke, "please Father, I just want you to forgive me. That's all I ask."
Caractacus was thoroughly distressed. He could never even imagine that his frail little boy, his miracle child, had gone through such a lot of trauma and had been tortured so mercilessly. And yet still he was asking for forgiveness, even though none of it was his fault.
He felt awful that he had always underestimated him, always thought that Perce was the unworthy one, the weak one who could do nothing. Never once had he imagined that his poor little boy could have known such lethal information and be used in the ploys towards evil. And now replaying it all in his head caused nothing but grief to him, sorrow and guilt stabbed through his worn out heart.
Demelza and Nathan had come there as well but were standing silently in a corner. Danny had gone to his mother and the three of them stood together, waiting to see what would happen next.
After a long while of silence, Caractacus finally spoke, "I forgive... you. And... in return I... ask... you to... forgive me."
"You never did anything wrong, Father, there's no need to ask for forgiveness."
From the past few months he had had only one wish; to see his son for one last time before he died. His hand rested on his son's head, gently stroking it. His last wish had come true; he was able to behold Perseus at last, he had received the answers to all his questions and now he could finally die in peace. He closed his eyes as a few tears streaked down his cheeks, "God bless you, my son."
***