The reflection of candlelight captured in Arcturus's eyes encapsulated his ignited curiosity as he bore into Gellert's own from across the table, hoping it would be extinguished with more comfort than he anticipated. Bellatrix, Walburga, and Pollux, on the other hand, were all leaning closer over the table as if ready to relish in each and every word of the expected news.
"It is often interesting," Gellert began, his eyes now slivers of mischief, "the more secrets revealed about someone, the less you seem to know them. More interesting still…our reputations are too often determined by our ability to be politically correct, and yet what is politically correct is too often cloaked in lies. So in turn, the better the liar, the more agile you are in the shadows…the more esteemed you are. You'll find that the great families of our time are no different. Very often they possess the greatest liars, and the worst secrets."
Taking a bite of his venison, Gellert looked up with a smile as Perseus reentered the room, his snake draped over his shoulders and coiled loosely around his neck like a scarf.
Every eye in the room darted in Perseus's direction as he took a seat. Bellatrix, who looked as though her greatest memories were now fleeting before her eyes, fought a creeping smile now tempting her lips to curl in rejoice. Only Arcturus, aside from an apathetic Cassiopeia, failed to register a sign of joy.
"The Potters were one of these families," Gellert continued, breaking the moment of silence. "And they must have considered one of their secrets, now evident here before you, too dark to allow the light of day to reveal. For how long…I cannot say with any certainty as of this moment. Nevertheless, my dear friends… you're heir is indeed a parselmouth."
As if the confirmation was needed, eyes shot wide open around the room. Even Cassiopeia managed a gasp at hearing the word, though it was just as likely elicited from Walburga dropping her champagne glass onto her lap. Without more than a moment's hesitation, however, an applause erupted. The only member of the family failing to congratulate Perseus was Arcturus, who was now summoning his scotch with a clean crystal glass already in hand.
"Well done, my boy!" Pollux congratulated Perseus over the applause. "But surely, Gellert! Come now… you don't really believe the Potters were parselmouths? It's likelier the bloody Weasleys produce the next Merlin than it is that James Potter possessed a parseltounge. Surely, this must be the work of Lily Potter! We finally have a clue to her heritage!"
"Allow me to sssilence your fool, massster…" Sampson hissed into Perseus's ear.
"That'ssss my uncle!" Perseus snapped, too preoccupied by the ensuing conversation to say more. It was a rare opportunity for him to witness a conversation regarding his parents. Even more rare, was his willingness to listen.
"Neverthelesssss…."
Looking back up at the table, Perseus swallowed a knot in his throat. The air of festivity and expressions of glee his family wore but a minute ago were now overshadowed by unease, if not fear.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Arcturus stole a glance at Gellert. His face was as stern as a nun's and his eyes as beseeching as a beggar's.
"Perhaps…" Gellert interrupted the jarring silence as he responded to Arcturus with an uneasy smile, "but I prefer my conclusions to be substantiated by evidence. I suppose we could conjure up some fairy tale about Lily to satisfy our curiosities, but evidence and honest inquiry are the only tools we have… It is all we'll ever have… to reveal the truth."
Opening his mouth to continue, Gellert paused as he met Arcturus's eyes once again. Rubbing his forehead and letting out a sigh as if the next words refused to leave his lips, Gellert continued.
"Still… what this may confirm with some finality, is that Lily Potter was in fact a pureblood. No known parselmouth has ever possessed halfblood or less. Therefore, I would wager that only purebloods could possess such a gift."
Now somewhat relieved, Arcturus resisted the urge to smile. Instead, he relit his cigar, finished his scotch, and watched the rest of his family nod their heads in approval as if more impeccable logic had never been heard.
"But allow us to get back to the evidence," Gellert moved forward. "First, I'd like to start with the Peverells, both the direct descendants of the Potters and the Gaunts. These are the two family lines that were produced by Cadmus and Ignotus Peverell, Antioch known to have never produced offspring."
"Second," Gellert held up a finger, "We know that the Gaunts exclusively married within the family. All that betrayed pureblood traditions were either killed or disowned. This leaves a small pool of available candidates for the Gaunt offspring to wed… a very small pool indeed. The Potters were among that pool for many…many years. It is not unlikely that an offspring was produced at some point throughout their history."
"Lastly," he looked over at Perseus as he began, "if an offspring…legitimate or not, was produced between the Potters and Gaunts, the Potters would have every reason to hide this. They would have desperately attempted to conceal their relations to Guants. For most, this is the only politically astute direction to take. After all, a parselmouth in the family is often akin to social exile. However, as a Black, it is now your decision. You may openly or privately embrace this gift, but I do not advise making the same mistake as your ancestors."
"And what mistake was that?" Arcturus asked, concern now reemerging in his eyes.
"The Potters had the opportunity to take this gift and make it their own," Gellert replied with a tone of finality. "Their parseltongue abilities and the familial relations attached to it did not have to be marred by shame. Had they embraced it, the reputation of this gift may be very different today. I understand this is an ability that instills fear in many. But as a Black, this gift gives Perseus both the ability to forge a reputation unsullied by the Guants and one that could potentially be useful for our cause."
"Useful?" Walburga cut in, silencing Arcturus before he could utter another word. "Forgive me for being curt, Gellert, but the boy is not even a first year in school and you're speaking of -"
"A cause greater than any single witch or wizard at this table," Gellert finished her sentence, a ferocity now surfacing in his tone. "Do not mistake my equable conduct for magnanimous patience, my dear. I will not tolerate accusations of savagery or indifference to the lives of children. His latent abilities will be developed to their full potential before any call to action is warranted. I will make sure of this."
At this, Walburga and Pollux averted their eyes from Gellert, looking down at their food or fiddling with their silverware. Perseus, however, maintained eye contact as an impassioned fervor of his own began to radiate from his eyes.
"And what if I choose not to follow you?" Perseus asked with an indignant inflection, his familiar slithering slowly around his shoulders as Bellatrix creeped her hand towards her wand.
Unfazed by either Perseus's reaction or Bellatrix's conspicuous impulse to reach for her wand, Gellert only smiled. The tempest in his eyes quelled to serenity as he began to nod his head in approval, almost as if he were proud of the boy's response.
"My boy… If the dedication of my followers are not earned through sincerity, then the trail I blaze will soon be buried by the passage of time. Only ideas worth following are timeless, and if by the time your tutelage under me is over, you will either follow me or show me the error of my ways."
Upon hearing this, the disturbance in Perseus's eyes began to subside into curiosity as Bellatrix's hand retreated from her wand. Neither seemed anxious or content, only perplexed by the words they had just heard.
Arcturus broke the muteness with a chuckle.
"Gellert has always been a fair man. He is not here to muddy the waters or coerce obedience," Arcturus smiled at Perseus before turning his attention back to Grindelwad. "But Gellert…I must ask. Perseus is known to be the heir of Regulus, how could we possibly explain that a Black is a parselmouth. It's impossible. And when Dumbledore gets wind of this, you know as well as I that he will eventually come snooping around."
"Eventually," Gellert sighed, "I will have to deal with Dumbledore. As for explaining Perseus's abilities…."
Gellert tapped his wand on the cover of the text next to him before levitating it over to Perseus.
"Nothing is impossible with a little ingenuity."