Ignorance is bliss
Of course, Albus pursued him. Grey hadn't expected otherwise. Every step he took was a bellow to the embers of anger he felt. It stoked and raged inside him so furiously that he hardly understood it himself.
Behind him, Grey could hear Albus calling his name. He defiantly ignored him. However, all that brought was a swift leg-locking curse that sent him tumbling into the dirt. As he scrambled to sit up, Albus caught up with him.
"Is that really what you think?" His father sighed.
Grey stopped trying to separate his legs. He wasn't sure if his anger was fading or the anxiety was joining it. Either way, his throat felt like it was tightening.
"Do you?" He muttered, glaring at his feet.
"Do I what?"
"Do you think I'm too much like Grindelwald?"
The words caught in his throat. Albus flicked his wand, releasing the curse and helped Grey to his feet. When the Ravenclaw was stable, he gently cupped his son's face.
"Not at all. You are nothing like him Grey," He stated firmly, "Is this why you haven't been talking to me?"
But Grey ignored the latter question, unsatisfied. He moved away from the man.
"But I've caused people's deaths, I manipulated Aurelius, just like he does."
His words were wobbling as the tightness grew painful.
Albus surveyed him with unmasked sadness.
"How often must I tell you that you are not to blame for Derric or Richard's deaths?" He sighed.
Grey couldn't believe him, he knew the truth.
"I don't want to talk about them," He mumbled, "And it doesn't matter. I did manipulate Aurelius."
"I don't think you did," Albus interjected, "But regardless, you did what had to be done to survive. You cannot change that."
Survival. The state of existence he had so eagerly claimed. Yet, he didn't believe that it excused his actions.
"Why haven't you talked to me about all this?" Albus added, stepping towards him again.
Grey stared at the floor.
"I can't talk about it anymore," He muttered, "I just-"
But he had to pause as his voice cracked. Swallowing down the tears, he forced himself to continue.
"I can't talk about it anymore Albus. I just want to move on. I don't want to think about any of it."
His tears were stubborn, refusing to be so simply quelled. Grey had to hastily wipe his eyes to prevent them from falling.
"You cannot ignore the past," Albus sighed, "How can you expect to heal?"
"By moving forward!" Grey snapped.
His father laid a hand on his shoulder.
"You cannot successfully move forward without dealing with where you came from. Running away won't solve anything."
"I'm not running away!" Grey moaned but he was silenced by a stern look from his father.
"Forgetting is running away. It isn't healthy, Grey." Albus continued.
Grey didn't care if it was healthy or not. The alternative hurt too much. He wanted to move past pain yet Albus was saying it wasn't the way.
"It hurts," He whimpered.
The hand on his shoulder moved to cup his face again.
"The pain will only fester if you ignore it."
Grey released a short breath, leaning his head forward to rest on his father's shoulder in defeat. The professor gently cradled the back of his head, giving him space without an embrace but still offering support.
"I'm sorry I've been so uptight," Albus remarked as Grey let his tears fall onto the man's shoulder.
"We can discuss you having more freedom. But, you have to talk to me. Is that fair?"
Grey nodded into his shoulder. It was a fair deal, he couldn't deny it. But all he was feeling at that moment was too much to appreciate it.
Ignoring everything had been so much easier - pretending he could snap his fingers and make it all better. But when had life ever been that simple?
An involuntary sob shook Grey's body. He reached up to wrap his arms around his father, longing for any sort of comfort.
"I'm sorry," He sniffed, his voice muffled in Albus' shoulder.
The professor embraced him back.
"It's alright."
"No, it's not," Grey murmured.
"I won't lie to you."
They stayed like that for a few moments until Grey felt calm enough to move away. As he did, he inhaled deeply and let the fresh air fill his lungs.
He caught a gentle aroma of flowers. Remembering his promise to Ariana, he hurried over to a patch of wood anemones and gathered a small bunch.
"What are you doing?"
Grey glanced at the confused visage of Albus.
"I told Ariana I'd bring her some flowers," He explained.
His father blinked in surprise.
"Excuse me?"
It wasn't a tone of accusation but rather one of undeniable disbelief.
"She said she missed flowers," Grey shrugged.
Albus' expression was vieled. It took him a minute to respond and all the while, Grey watched a distant sadness grow behind his eyes.
"She spoke to you?" He asked sullenly.
Grey wasn't sure how to proceed so he just nodded.
"You had a conversation with her?" Albus pressed.
The Ravenclaw was beginning to understand as he nodded again. It seemed he had experienced a rare privilege.
When Grey confirmed he'd spoken to Ariana, her brother glanced at his shoes. The young man recognised the stature of someone trying to mask their emotions. It was odd. Grey was learning to be more open with his emotions around his family, but it occurred to him that Albus had only been transparent with him on a few rare occasions. Moving forward, Grey wanted his father to feel comfortable enough to express his emotions too.
So, cautiously, he approached Albus and touched his arm, just like he did for him.
"You should give them to her," He suggested, holding out the small bouquet.
Albus looked up, their eyes meeting. His fathers swam with unshed tears.
"Thank you, but I don't think that's best," He smiled sadly.
Grey recognised the hidden anxiety in his tone.
"We'll give them to her together then," He insisted.
Albus gave a watery chuckle, knowing how persistent Grey could be.
"Alright," He relented.
Grey offered him a small smile.
The professor quickly wiped his eyes as they began to stroll back towards the village.
"You know," Albus started, back to his usual calm tones, "Narain is a good student. He has a very positive attitude. I can think of worse people you could have hit it off with." He mused.
"I do have a good judge of character," Grey retorted with mock annoyance.
Above their heads, a thestral was flying in a sweeping arc. hooves grazing the canopy of the trees.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back at the Hogs Head, Grey was pleased to see his uncle again so soon. When they entered, Abe looked tense - understandably so considering how they had parted. But Albus approached the bar and muttered something Grey couldn't catch which seemed to put his uncle's mind at ease.
"He's just going to close, he'll meet us upstairs," Albus stated.
Grey nodded.
Together they proceeded to the upstairs room. Grey noticed his father hesitate slightly at the door so he entered more briskly and straight away went to the large portrait. A wide smile blossomed across Ariana's face when she noticed him.
"You came back." She hummed.
Grey heard his father inhale sharply when she spoke.
"Of course," He exclaimed, mirroring her smile, "We brought you flowers."
"We?"
Grey remained silent at her question, allowing his father to take the cue to enter. He did, albeit hesitantly. The Ravenclaw took a step back to let the portrait acknowledge the presence of her brother.
The moment of silence stretched for an eternity.
Finally, Ariana smiled again.
"Those are pretty flowers," She beamed.
Glancing at his father, Grey saw him process the situation with a furtive expression. But eventually, he managed to speak.
"Where would you like them?"
They were the most tentative words Grey had ever heard Albus utter. He was glad that Ariana responded almost instantly.
"By the open window?"
A smile tugged at the corner of Albus' lips as he relaxed slightly.
While he busied himself with conjuring a glass, Grey took the opportunity to slip out. He thought they could benefit from some time alone. Grinning to himself, he wandered downstairs. Abe was in the process of cleaning up the now-closed inn but he looked up immediately when he heard Grey.
"What are you smirking about?" He asked with friendly suspicion.
"They're talking to each other," Grey replied casually.
Given Abe's reaction, anyone would have thought there had been some great weight to the boy's words.
"Merlin's beard," His uncle breathed, putting down his cloth.
He opened his mouth to speak again but seemed at a loss for words. Running a hand through his hair, the man approached Grey, looking towards the stairs.
"You're a blessing to this family," He muttered as he passed, briefly clapping the boy on the back.
Warmth and a touch of pride filled Grey as he watched his uncle proceed upstairs. Unable to hide his smile, Grey leaned on the bar, pleased with the outcome of such a stressful day. As he pondered things, his eyes grazed the mirror and his heart gave a jolt.
The words were back. Only this time they were different. Grey's heart pounded in his chest as he read the smudged inscription in the condensation.
'Do you know what it's like to be alone?'