Ethan stared quietly at the man sitting across from him.
Herbert looked as though he had skipped directly from middle age into the grave within a single night.
For a moment, Ethan seriously considered explaining the truth.
He was no longer Herbert's son.
Not physically.
Not mentally.
According to alchemical theory, once the final product surpassed the original materials, the materials themselves no longer mattered.
Stars created the atoms inside the human body.
That did not make humans identical to stars.
Still—
Herbert probably would not survive hearing that right now.
The old man had sacrificed everything and spent more than ten years imprisoned beside cursed ruins purely because he hoped Ethan might someday return.
"…Damn it."
Ethan sighed heavily.
"You've become so emotional that now I feel guilty."
He leaned back in the chair.
"Fine. I'll reluctantly grant your wish and spend Christmas here."
[Ding! Favourability +100]
There it was.
Ethan had been waiting specifically for that notification.
If helping a lonely old man experience genuine happiness during endless isolation did not count as a good deed, then Herbert must have been lying.
But the system never made mistakes.
At least not with nearly broken old men.
"Really?"
Herbert looked as though he had suddenly become ten years younger.
His hands trembled violently as he rubbed them against his ragged robes.
"You—you're hungry, right? I should—I'll make food—"
He hurried toward the fireplace so quickly that Ethan briefly worried he might trip over his own feet.
The fire inside the cabin had already gone out, and Herbert no longer possessed a wand.
Fortunately, Ethan still had one.
"The fire burns brightly."
Flames instantly roared back to life inside the hearth.
"That rabbit stew is practically drowning itself," Ethan complained while glancing at the pot. "Count, go catch more rabbits."
"I was just about to praise you for developing basic empathy," the Count muttered while rolling his eyes.
Still, he spread his wings and flew outside obediently.
Herbert stared after him in confusion.
"…Your owl can talk?"
"Of course," Ethan replied casually. "Custom order. Ten Sickles."
At least he would not spend his first Christmas in this world completely alone anymore.
Herbert suddenly fumbled nervously through his pockets.
"I still have some money somewhere…"
Then he froze.
The small pile of silver and copper coins Ethan had returned earlier still sat neatly on the table.
Among them rested one lonely gold Galleon.
The Aurors certainly had not given him charity.
Herbert slowly realised Ethan had secretly left it there himself.
His throat tightened instantly.
This child…
No matter what terrible things had happened, he had not become evil at all.
He was practically an angel.
Herbert's eyes suddenly turned red.
"Absolutely not," Ethan said immediately while pointing at him in alarm. "You are not allowed to cry."
Herbert sniffed hard.
"I'm serious. I have no idea how to comfort middle-aged adults. You're like fifty years old. Please maintain some dignity."
The old man quickly wiped his eyes using his sleeve.
"No, no… there's just dust…"
"Good. Keep it that way."
A little emotional atmosphere was acceptable.
Too much became dangerous.
If Herbert continued acting like this, Ethan might actually start feeling guilty.
Honestly, it would have been easier if Herbert had possessed selfish motives.
"I should go hunt something for dinner," Herbert said weakly.
Then he stopped again.
He had nothing.
No money.
No gifts.
No family.
Nothing he could actually give Ethan.
The old man visibly deflated.
"Then tell me about the past," Ethan suggested casually.
Herbert's emotions were a complete mess right now.
Joy.
Relief.
Sadness.
Fear.
It felt like crushing every flavour of Bertie Bott's Beans into a single cup and mixing them with pumpkin juice.
Human emotions really were exhausting.
"Tomorrow can be my Christmas present," Ethan continued. "Tell me everything you know about the experiments. There wasn't much useful information left in the basement."
Herbert slowly sat back down on the bed.
For several seconds, he simply stared at Ethan's face in silence while clenching his hands tightly together.
"I know some things," he admitted eventually. "But not everything."
His voice became hoarse.
"I just… I don't want you thinking of yourself as some kind of…"
"Monster?"
Ethan shrugged.
"I already know most of it."
He counted casually on his fingers.
"Human. Dementor. Nightmare unicorn. Probably several other horrifying creatures."
Then he leaned back again.
"Honestly, I don't care very much. Nobody else can tell anyway."
Outside, the gloomy weather made the firelight inside the cabin seem even warmer.
"Should I start from the beginning?" Herbert asked quietly.
"Can we start somewhere less depressing?"
"…No."
Herbert's expression grew distant.
"We should start at the beginning."
He swallowed hard.
"Back when you were five years old… before the experiments…"
Then he stopped completely.
His lips trembled.
"At that time… I couldn't… there was…"
He physically could not say the word dead.
Ethan watched him for several long seconds before sighing again.
"Would Legilimency be easier?"
Herbert nodded silently.
It seemed speaking the truth aloud would genuinely destroy him.
Deep down, Herbert already understood.
The original Ethan Burke had died years ago.
Saying it directly would make that loss real forever.
"Legilimens."
Silver magic flowed from Ethan's wand and connected directly to Herbert's forehead.
The old man offered absolutely no resistance.
Instantly, memories flooded into Ethan's mind.
It felt like watching a gigantic film stretched across decades of life.
He could pause scenes.
Skip forward.
Replay moments.
Search individual memories.
Everything Herbert had experienced existed here.
Ethan focused mainly on memories involving himself.
In 1976, Herbert Burke and his wife Belvina Black welcomed their youngest child into the world:
Ethan Burke.
In 1978, Herbert's eldest son died unexpectedly.
Dark wizard violence was common during those years, and the Burke family never publicly admitted weakness. Herbert never even learned exactly who killed the boy.
Around that same period, Herbert and Rose had already become notorious within the family for sympathising with Muggles and "impure" bloodlines.
Then came 1979.
Herbert's daughter lost control of her magic.
The Obscurus inside her killed several cousins who had been bullying her.
The Burke family patriarch sentenced both mother and daughter to death immediately.
Two Killing Curses.
One struck Belvina when she tried protecting her child.
The second killed Herbert's daughter.
After that—
Herbert only had one child left.
Young Ethan.
Instead of seeking revenge, Herbert fled the family entirely and moved with Ethan to Godric's Hollow.
Around the same time, Rose permanently severed ties with the Burke family and married Edward Norton.
Then came 1980.
The original Ethan died.
An unexplained curse.
Herbert never discovered who cast it.
The loss shattered him completely.
His entire family was gone.
Then, in 1981, Voldemort fell.
While magical Britain celebrated, several younger members of the Burke family approached Herbert secretly.
They claimed they could resurrect the dead.
The family had already begun developing an artificial lifeform.
A "Man in the Bottle."
A replacement Dark Lord capable of surpassing Voldemort himself.
But they needed a corpse.
A young corpse carrying Burke blood.
Herbert accepted immediately.
Blinded by hope, he dug up Ethan's body and returned to Burke Manor. Over the following months, he helped gather illegal magical materials, dangerous creatures, and alchemical ingredients.
He became little more than a slave desperately trying to resurrect his son.
Then—
The experiment succeeded.
And failed.
The artificial lifeform survived.
But the moment it awakened, it devoured nearly every soul inside the manor.
Only Herbert survived.
And the imprisoned unicorn underground.
Afterward, the Ministry arrested Herbert and sentenced him to remain guarding the cursed ruins permanently.
Since Ethan could not be destroyed, Dumbledore arranged for Rose to adopt him instead.
Then Herbert waited.
Ten long years.
Until Ethan finally returned.
Even if their reunion began with Stunning Spells and rope restraints.
The final memories aligned perfectly with what Ethan already knew.
Herbert escaping the ropes.
The Aurors arriving.
The basement battle.
Everything.
…
When the Legilimency ended, Ethan finally understood almost the entire truth behind his creation.
Unfortunately, Herbert himself had never directly participated in the actual experiments.
He transported materials.
Nothing more.
That meant Ethan still lacked information regarding the final two unknown bloodlines inside him.
[Race: Dementor / Human / Nightmare / ? / ?]
"Do I look like an idiot?" Herbert whispered weakly afterward.
The lingering effects of Legilimency meant he had partially experienced Ethan reviewing those memories again.
And now all the missing pieces fit together.
The Burke family itself had cursed Ethan originally.
They planned everything from the beginning.
Herbert had simply spent years helping the same people who destroyed his family.
"Victims aren't stupid just because bad people manipulated them," Ethan replied calmly. "That's called victim blaming."
Then he shrugged.
"Besides, all the important Burkes are dead now. I ate them."
"You're right…"
Herbert lowered his head weakly.
Not long afterward, the Count returned carrying two rabbits suspended magically in the air beside him.
Apparently holding a wand prevented proper rabbit carrying techniques.
Fortunately, the missing Aurors had not been scheduled for regular patrol routes. Their disappearance would not immediately expose the manor.
That Christmas night became the happiest Herbert had experienced in over a decade.
The cabin filled with so much joy that Ethan had to consciously stop himself from absorbing it.
Herbert insisted Ethan sleep on the bed while he wrapped himself in blankets on the floor.
The old man barely slept at all.
Ethan heard him turning constantly throughout the night.
Probably too excited to close his eyes.
Meanwhile, sometime after midnight, the Count secretly flew away again.
Apparently he had forgotten to deliver Ethan's Christmas present to Rose and Edward because he became too distracted by his new wand earlier.
[Ding! Favourability +300]
[Note: Congratulations. You have learned compassion.]
[Reward: 300 Stones]
"…Seriously?"
The system notification woke Ethan early the next morning.
Outside, the sky remained almost completely dark despite the hour.
Fortunately, Ethan owned a mechanical watch.
7:35 AM.
Time to return.
The Count had likely already delivered the gift back to Gryffindor Tower by now, and staying longer would only complicate things further.
Besides—
The cabin bed was terrible.
Ethan suddenly missed the Hogwarts dormitories deeply.
Herbert still slept heavily on the floor.
After a night of emotional breakdowns, excitement, and overwhelming relief, exhaustion had finally knocked him unconscious.
Ethan had no intention of waking him.
If Herbert saw him leaving directly, the old man might genuinely collapse.
Quietly, Ethan levitated Herbert onto the bed before taking out a scrap of parchment from his homework supplies.
He wrote a short message.
[I'm heading back now. Don't commit suicide. I'll visit again later.]
Then he placed Herbert's wand on top of the note.
"…Why does this feel like one of those awkward morning-after messages?"
Ethan frowned.
"'You were lovely last night. I left money on the table.'"
Still—
Leaving Herbert hope was probably better.
Someday, after becoming Minister for Magic, Ethan could clear Herbert's criminal record completely.
Maybe even turn the story into propaganda.
A tragic father waiting over ten years for his lost son to return.
Housewives across magical Britain would cry themselves unconscious.
Fudge's reputation would collapse instantly.
Perfect political material.
Before leaving, Ethan pointed his wand one final time toward the sleeping Herbert.
"Obliviate."
He erased only a few specific details.
Ethan's face.
The two Aurors arriving.
Certain dangerous conversations.
Everything else remained.
Now, if the Ministry investigated, Herbert would only remember his beloved son visiting briefly before leaving peacefully.
A perfect story.
[Ding! Favourability +50]
The notification appeared again.
Good deeds really did generate enormous rewards.
Unfortunately, Herbert's rewards had already begun diminishing significantly.
Resistance.
The same effect occurred whenever Ethan bullied the Count too often for Sin Points.
Clearly, he needed new methods for farming both currencies efficiently.
After carefully erasing all traces of his visit, Ethan finally rose back into the sky above the heavy clouds.
Time to return to Hogwarts.
And judging by current events, Harry Potter was probably about to start wandering around the castle invisibly at night thanks to the Invisibility Cloak.
Some people were simply born with dangerous instincts.
....
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