It was around midnight when Squeaky woke me up. I wasn't angry nor surprised as I instructed her to do so when my Father returned home. I tried to leave my room as silently as possible to not wake up Quincy, who was sleeping in the opposite room to mine, and I headed straight to the study.

"Let me see you!" My Father laughed as I entered, trying to rub out the sleepiness from my eyes. "Hey, you have grown!"

"Have I?" I asked with surprise, tilting my head left and right, but of course, I would be hard-pressed to confirm it.

"Sit!" He signaled to one of the chairs in front of the fireplace that was crackling with orange fire, painting the whole room in a cozy, welcoming light and warmth. "You can go, Squeaky!"

"Yes, Master." The house elf bowed, leaving us alone, and I knew it would be something important, or Father wouldn't have sent her away.

"I heard about what you did."

"How much?" I asked, but he just raised his hand.

"Enough to get a broad picture. But I want to hear it from you."

"It is not a secret." I smiled and told him everything from the start. From the first day, I arrived at Hogwarts, right up to yesterday, when Squeaky told us why he was in the Ministry all day long.

"..." He remained silent, sitting in his chair, leaning back, playing with his wand that appeared between his fingers, who knows when. "Well…" He looked at me with a weird smile, "You are my son…."

"Eh?" I flinched, feeling weird about how he said it.

"I wouldn't take humiliation mixed with torture silently, either!" Tapping his armrest, he said, "Personally, I can't help you. Not directly, as teachers in there are protected, but if you manage to kill that hag, I will do all that I can to keep it covered up!"

"I..." I wanted to say something, but he continued without giving me any chance to do so.

"Just be mindful of your circumstances and be smart about it! Leave no clues behind!"

"Father-"

"Say no more!"

"Yes..." If Father didn't want to talk about my plans anymore, then it was a silent understanding... an agreement between us. He gave his blessing; all the rest was up to me.

"Let's talk about your spell! Are you sure it worked? As you describe it?" He asked instead, continuing to look at me, and I performed the lumos spell without speaking out. "Very good!" His eyes flashed, leaning forward, watching me intently. "Can you cast it on me?"

"I can try." I nodded, already expecting it, and when he stretched out his arm, I repeated the spell in my head while pointing my wand at his wrist. "Sanguis Linea!"

It was only a momentarily blink, my Father's eyes diluting before regaining their clarity. But… that was all.

"That is it?" He asked, describing the weird and sudden feeling of rushing through a tunnel but… nothing more.

"You… didn't meet with him?" I asked, furrowing my brows. "Didn't see anything weird?"

"No… I did not…"

"Maybe you will after sleeping! It happened to me in my sleep too!"

"Are you sure it is our bloodline and not your mother's?"

"Yes! I checked, Father!" I said, almost standing up from my chair, but he just smiled, pushing me back as he started pacing before the fireplace.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"I immediately suspected when I heard what happened to you from Headmaster Severus... He already had a basic understanding, I think. However, being your Father, knowing your reoccurring dreams and what you just told me, I am sure you must discover this... Alone. You can't do it for others. What kind of achievement is that? Being given the solution…."

"But…"

"If it were me, I would have made it this way! Only the best is worthy of getting my legacy!" He grinned, waving his hand, "No matter! I am not important; you are, son!"

"I can teach you the spell!"

"I don't think it would work. But sure… I will try." He patted my head, and I could feel the warmth coming from his palm, calming me down. "As long as you succeed me, stronger than I, I am going to be satisfied! Now!" He sat back down, "What is this ritual you are going to do? Explain it to me!"

"Y-yes, Father!" I nodded my head like a little chick before telling him everything I knew about it.

"Hmm… I can start gathering the things you brought up. Give me a written list, and I'll see what I can unearth! There are some rare kinds of stuff in there, but I could pull some strings!"

"The real question is about the language… how am I supposed to do that when I don't know snake language?"

"Sacrifice." He said, rubbing his chin, smiling as he saw me shudder. "It is the only sure way. You will need to capture a strong enough snake and sacrifice it. We are talking about this dark magic, son; it is always the most foolproof way! Boil its essence down, and you will inherit its skills!"

"I… I see…" I won't lie; I did think about it, but… it was a scary thought… and it did not become more manageable, hearing it from my Father's mouth. "I guess it has to be a snake with magical properties."

"It is a given!" He nodded, "That part… is something I will have to look into. Gather some options before we… before you decide."

"Thank you…"

"Pft, don't thank me, I am your Father! Hmph! Now… about another important thing!"

"Yes?" I perked my ears up.

"That girl, Quincy, are you fancying her?"

"Eh?" I did not expect this question, and it froze me in my seat at once. I even forgot to blink until my eyes started stinging. "I don't think so… I… Well, we… We are just friends, Dad!"

"Dad?" He grinned, "You only call me Dad when you are trying to weasel out of some kind of questioning or play the innocent boy! Ahahaha! It is okay; I don't mind!"

"But-! We… We are truly just friends!"

"Good enough!"

"Eh?!"

"Two more years, and it is your time to swear allegiance to the cause. Many of the prominent families' kids are going to be engaged right then and there!"

"What?!" I stood up and then fell back into my chair. This was the first time I was told something like this… I knew about Quincy's situation, but…

"It is just an engagement! A pact between families. You know how it is!" He sighed loudly, "Purity and blah, blah, blah!"

"Blah… blah?" I froze and saw my Father's expression stiffen as if he had let slip something he shouldn't have. I just now noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the dead tiredness inside them.

"What I mean," He continued, sidestepping my questioning look, "Is that you will have to be engaged to some other girl from the Sacred Twenty-Eight… or you will end up like your old man!"

"What do you mean?"

"I was assigned your mother to… help rebuild and purify a sullied line with my blood! I did not choose her. She was chosen for me. But I thought that was obvious."

"Y-yeah… I… suppose… Or…” I murmured, and he just laughed.

"She can sleep around for all I care! I hope she gets pregnant so I can shame her and throw her out! Anyway, I am doing the same, too, so… who cares?"

"Errr… Dad… I think you are tired… you should rest and not say silly things!"

"Maybe!" He nodded, catching himself blabbering again. "What I mean is that I am planning to smooth it out with that old hag Walburga! So we will make the deal and make Quincy engaged to you!"

“I… Damn it…”

"You don't want to?" He asked, surprised.

"We are friends, but that is all! She is already frustrated about her position… with this… I think she will be angry with me! A LOT! And I would fully understand where she is coming from!"

"Too bad!" Father grinned, looking like some kind of evil mastermind from the old tales. "It will be your job to placate her! Look, think of it as a play! You don't need to love each other, but it is best if you can get along! Believe me, it is much better than the alternative! You simply can't love who you want in this day and age!"

“Dad… did you ever…” I asked, a new idea rooting itself in my mind, one that I couldn't throw out, watching him with surprise.

"I did… once. And I won't talk about it, Son. She is buried deep, just like my memory of her inside my heart. This was the first and last time we talked about this. Understood?" He said, and his voice was strict, cold, and frightening.

"Y-yes… Father." I bowed, standing up immediately.

"Good… Go back… sleep… and enjoy your holiday! I will call upon you when I manage to gather everything!" He said in a much more gentler voice as I was excused from his study.

"Master?" Squeaky asked as she saw me standing in front of the door after exiting the room, unable to start walking again.

"S-sorry… I just… had some things to think about. Can you get me a hot choco?"

"Certainly!" She nodded eagerly and left for the kitchen while I returned to my room.