Poison Ivy | T. Riddle ✔

[22] Paying The Price

When Perseus woke up there was a painful hammering sensation in his brain and it seemed as if it was throbbing hard and would explode out of his skull any time. His hands automatically reached up to grab his head, but to his surprise he didn't feel any wounds like he had thought there would be after all the banging and smashing he had deliberately done on the mirror.

With effort, he sat up and looked around after his eyes adjusted to the surroundings. The living room was all cleared up and he was wound up in a blanket on the couch. There weren't any bandages on his head but the wounds seemed to have cleared up without a trace.

His eyes fell on his hands once again and the thought of how he had seen them covered in black dust earlier hit him hard. He had used the power. And now he will have to pay the price.

He shuddered at the mere thought of it. Perseus clearly remembered the day he had taken oath never to use all he had learnt in any way other than that for the betterment of the wizarding world. And yet now he had lost control of himself and the power had burst forth from him.

The oath had been broken.

It didn't matter that it was broken by accident, what worried him most was that the deed had been done and now he would better be prepared to pay the price for it.

For oaths and vows bound by magic are much darker and powerful than those taken verbally in the Muggle world. The Unbreakable Vow can take a person's life if it is broken. Similarly, a Forbidden Oath could make a person's life an utter and complete hell if it is not upheld.

But then the circumstances in which Perseus was forced to live in were nothing short than hell itself.

He hardly doubted whether anything would happen to him that could be worse than all he had suffered up till now. Still, an awful feeling of dread gnawed at his heart, indicating that something disastrous was about to happen.

The calm and tranquil nature of Perseus Burke hated disasters, but it seemed as if fate itself had intertwined and now his life was nothing but a whole cyclone of disasters striking him fatally one by one, waiting for when he would fall. The effects of the previous disaster had not even faded yet but another was ready to strike, poised as if waiting for the right moment.

It was indeed a miracle that he was still sane. Or so he thought. After all he had suffered, an average human would have long broken down under the pressure of his sufferings.

But he also knew that he was still standing as firm as before because there was a strong force which motivated him. While Tom was driven by his worldly ambition, he was motivated by a force much more powerful than Riddle's selfish and power hungry desires.

It was none other than the power of love. A force so strong that it surpassed all the ambition Riddle possessed. A force so complex that Tom could never be able to understand it. He thought of it as a mortal weakness but failed to realize that the very same mortal weakness was Perseus's greatest strength.

The woman he loved truly and sincerely had sacrificed herself for the betterment of the wizarding world and to save people from the likes of devilish monsters like Tom Riddle. And it was his love for Renata which had kept him resisting, which had given him enough strength to stand up against Riddle himself, even though he had nothing else to defend himself with.

Tom's ambition had kept him going up till now, but it was Perseus's love which had prevented him from surrendering.

At first, he was keeping the knowledge away from Riddle for the sake of the wizarding world. But now it was also for the sake of Renata's sacrifice, for the sake of the love he still had for her in his heart.

***

The day came soon for Demelza to leave her parents and go to stay with her cousin Aquila Malfoy and her husband Abraxas at the Malfoy Manor. Aquila was the daughter of Belvina's younger sister, Cassiopeia, who had been married into the Greengrass family. 

The Malfoys welcomed her with open arms into their Manor. Aquila was overjoyed to have her as a companion since both the girls had met on family functions and bonded well due to their similar nature. Abraxas told her that she could stay with them as long as she wished and that he was honored to be of any service to her.

Aquila and Abraxas had been married for about three years now and had a son, Lucius, who was almost three years old. The boy had platinum blonde hair that shone like pure silver in the moonlight and even though he was just a toddler, it seemed that he had a clear idea of his family and lineage by the way he acted as if he was entitled to all the luxury he received.

"Here's your room," Aquila showed her a beautiful bedroom which she had prepared for her, "if you need anything do let me know. Make yourself at home."

Demelza smiled, "sure, thank you."

"No problem," she affectionately tapped her shoulder, "I'm sure you will have a great time with us."

She nodded in reply and after making sure that she would be fine on her own, Aquila left as well.

Demelza placed her stuff in a corner and sat down on the bed, mentally preparing herself to start unpacking. Those days, she sometimes felt quite lazy and didn't want to even take a step but she also knew that this wasn't her own house, so she would have to get used to the customs of the Malfoy Manor.

The one relieving fact was that Aquila was her friend, just like Renata had been. Even though she was not as close as Renata, still she had an understanding nature and Demelza knew she wouldn't judge her even if she told her everything.

She badly needed a companion at the moment and Belvina had taken the right decision to send her to her cousin. She hoped that staying in a different atmosphere would help her cope with the loss of both Perseus, whom she had always considered as a brother, as well as Renata, her childhood friend.

And as she laid down on the bed to sleep, all she could do was look up at the ceiling, wondering where on Earth could Perseus be. There were also times when her mind would drift off to Tom Riddle and the unfathomable way in which he had bewitched her.

Never would she ever have dreamed to be facing a situation as the one she was stuck in. But what was done could not be changed and deep down she realized that she had to cope with it in the best way possible.

***