Hogwarts, Professor Annan's Office, September 21, 2017, 2:00 PM
Solus had waited until Saturday.
Not because he wanted to wait.
But because he needed to prepare mentally for what he might see.
Now, standing in front of Annan's office door, he felt something he hadn't felt in years.
Genuine fear.
Not battle fear. Not fear of death.
Fear of what was on the other side of that door.
On the other side of that call.
He knocked twice.
"Come in."
Annan's office was different from what Solus expected.
It wasn't dark and austere like the dungeons. It was warm.
Shelves full of books. A mahogany desk with neat papers. Windows overlooking the Hogwarts grounds. And on the wall, maps. Dozens of them. Ancient maps of Europe, Africa, the Caribbean.
'Annan is a traveler (traveller). Or he was.'
The professor was sitting behind his desk, reading a parchment. He looked up when Solus entered.
"Gray. Punctual." He set the parchment aside. "Do you still want to make the call?"
"Yes, Professor."
Annan nodded.
He stood up and walked toward the fireplace in the corner of his office. It was unlit, but when Annan waved his wand, green flames roared to life.
"The Floo Network," he explained, "allows you to communicate through the fire. You can see and speak to the person on the other side as if you were there."
He took out a jar of bright green powder.
"Floo Powder. Take a handful. Throw it into the fire. Say the address clearly and loudly." Annan looked at him. "Do you know the exact address of your house?"
"Yes. 15 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey."
"Good. Make sure you pronounce it correctly. If you stumble, you could end up in the wrong fireplace."
Annan handed him the jar.
"You have thirty minutes. I'll be outside. Total privacy."
"Thank you, Professor."
Annan walked toward the door.
He stopped.
"Gray. Whatever you see... remember you are not alone. If you need help, ask for it."
And he left, closing the door behind him.
Solus was left alone.
He looked at the green fire.
'Breathe.'
'It's no different than entering battle.'
'Except this time, the enemy is uncertainty.'
He took a handful of Floo Powder.
He threw it into the fire.
The flames roared, turning brighter.
Solus knelt in front of the fireplace.
And spoke clearly and firmly:
"15 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey."
The fire spun.
It twisted.
And then his head was sucked forward.
The sensation was nauseating.
Like being dragged through a spinning tunnel of green fire. Fireplaces flew past him. Houses. Offices. Places Solus didn't recognize.
And then it stopped.
His head emerged in a familiar fireplace.
The living room of his house.
Home.
Solus looked around.
The living room was... different.
The curtains were drawn, blocking out the sunlight. There were empty tea cups on the coffee table. Three. Four. All unwashed.
The sofa had a crumpled blanket as if someone had slept there.
And on the table, papers.
Lots of papers.
Solus narrowed his eyes.
They were... drawings.
No.
Scribbles.
'What is this?'
"Solus?"
Helen's voice.
Weak. Confused.
Solus turned his head (the only thing he could move while in the Floo Network).
Helen entered the living room from the kitchen.
And Solus felt his heart stop.
His mother looked... bad.
Not sick.
Not physically.
But she had lost weight.
Her hair, always carefully combed, was messy. Her eyes had deep dark circles.
And her clothes.
She was wearing the same sweater (jumper) she had worn on Platform 9¾.
Three weeks ago.
'Has she been wearing the same clothes since then?'
"Solus?" Helen approached the fireplace, confused. "Is that... is that you?"
"Yes, Mom. It's me."
"But... why are you in the fire?" Her voice sounded lost. "Is the house in danger?"
"No, Mom. This is the Floo Network. It's magic. It lets me talk to you from Hogwarts."
Helen blinked.
"Oh. Yes. Magic." She smiled weakly. "I always forget you can do that now."
She sat on the sofa facing the fireplace.
Slowly. As if it hurt to move.
"How are you, honey?"
"I'm fine, Mom. But... how are you?"
Helen looked around the living room as if she were seeing it for the first time.
"I'm fine. Just... tired. I've been busy."
"Busy with what?"
"With..." She paused. "I don't remember. But I'm sure it was important."
Solus felt something icy settle in his stomach.
"Mom, are you eating?"
"Eating?" Helen looked at him. "Yes. I think so. I had breakfast today."
"What did you have for breakfast?"
"Tea. And... something else. I don't remember what."
'She hasn't been eating.'
"And Dad? Has he called?"
"Your father." Helen frowned. "Yes. He called. Or maybe it was a while ago. He said something about Boston. Or maybe New York. I'm not sure."
"Mom, when was the last time you left the house?"
Helen thought about it.
And thought.
And thought.
"I don't know," she finally said. "A few days ago? A week?"
Solus looked at the papers on the table again.
"What are those drawings?"
Helen followed his gaze.
"Oh. Those." She picked them up. "Sometimes it helps me to draw. When my mind feels... noisy. As if there were too many thoughts and I can't organize them. So I draw."
She looked at the scribbles.
"They aren't very good, are they?"
"Mom." Solus's voice was firm but gentle. "You need to see a doctor."
"A doctor?" Helen seemed surprised. "Why?"
"Because something isn't right. You're forgetting things. You're not eating. You're not going out."
"It's just..." Helen searched for the words. "It's just that the house feels empty without you, honey. That's all. I feel a little lost."
"And does Dad know this?"
"Your father is busy." Helen smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "I don't want to worry him. He's working so hard."
"Mom, you need to call him. You need to tell him you're not okay."
"But I am okay." The smile faded. "Am I not okay?"
And in that question, Solus heard something that shattered him.
'She doesn't know.'
'She doesn't know something is wrong.'
Solus took a deep breath.
'I need to keep calm. If I panic, she'll panic.'
"Mom, do you trust me?"
"Of course, honey."
"Then I need you to do something for me. I need you to call the doctor. Doctor Thompson. Remember him?"
Helen nodded slowly.
"Doctor Thompson. Yes. He helped me when I had the flu last year."
"Exactly. I want you to call him and tell him you've been feeling tired. That you're not sleeping well. That you're forgetting things."
"But I don't want to bother him."
"It's not a bother, Mom. It's his job."
Helen looked at him for a long moment.
"Do you really think I should?"
"Yes. Please."
"Alright." Helen nodded. "I'll call him. Tomorrow."
"Promise me?"
"I promise."
Solus wasn't sure if she would.
But it was the best he could do from here.
"Mom, I'm going to write to Dad too. Tell him to call home."
"I don't want to worry him."
"He needs to know."
Helen sighed.
"Okay."
There was a moment of silence.
Then Helen asked: "How is Hogwarts, honey? Are you happy there?"
Solus felt his throat tighten.
'Happy?'
'How can I be happy when you're like this?'
But he said:
"It's amazing, Mom. I'm learning a lot. I've made good friends."
"I'm glad." Helen smiled genuinely for the first time. "I always knew you'd be special, Solus. Since you were little."
"Thanks, Mom."
"I miss you so much."
"I miss you too."
The flames began to flicker.
'Time is running out.'
"Mom, I have to go. But please, call the doctor. Okay?"
"I will."
"And eat something. Please."
"I will."
"I love you."
"I love you too, honey."
The flames roared.
And Solus was pulled back.
. . . . . . .
Annan's Office, 2:35 PM
Solus fell to his knees in front of Annan's fireplace.
He was breathing heavily.
Not from physical effort.
But from the weight of what he had just seen.
'She's not okay.'
'And there's nothing I can do from here.'
The door opened.
Annan entered.
He saw Solus on the floor.
"Gray." His voice was soft. "What happened?"
Solus didn't answer immediately.
He couldn't.
The words were stuck in his throat.
Finally:
"She's not okay."
Annan closed the door behind him.
He sat on the floor next to Solus.
Not at his desk. Not maintaining professional distance.
On the floor. At his level.
"Tell me."
And Solus did.
He told him about the unwashed tea cups. About the scribbles. About how Helen didn't remember when she had eaten or left the house.
He told him about how his mother didn't know something was wrong.
Annan listened without interrupting.
When Solus finished, there was silence.
Then Annan said:
"Sounds like depression. Possibly combined with social isolation."
"Depression?"
"It's a Muggle illness. An illness of the mind and mood. It makes people lose interest in things that used to matter to them. They lose appetite. Sleep too much or too little. Forget to take care of themselves."
Annan paused.
"And when they are alone, it gets worse."
Solus closed his eyes.
'Depression.'
In one of his past lives, he had seen it in soldiers after battles. Melancholia, they had called it in his time.
He knew the symptoms.
He knew the end.
"What do I do?" Solus asked in a low voice.
"You did the right thing," Annan replied. "You asked her to see a doctor. That's the first step."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Then you contact your father. He needs to know."
"He's in the United States. He can't return immediately."
"Then you need to decide," Annan said seriously, "what is more important to you right now. Hogwarts or your family."
Solus looked at him.
"I'm not saying you should leave school," Annan clarified. "But if your mother is in crisis, you have the right to take time off. To go home. To be there."
"And my classes?"
"Classes can wait for you. Your mother cannot."
Solus processed that.
'I could leave.'
'I could take the train tomorrow and be home by Monday.'
'But...'
'What if I'm exaggerating?'
'What if she just needs time?'
'What if leaving Hogwarts now compromises everything I'm building?'
"I don't know what to do," Solus admitted.
"Then I'll give you some advice," Annan said. "Write to your father. Today. Tell him everything you saw. Let him make the decision to return or not."
He paused.
"And in the meantime, wait. Give your mother a few days to see the doctor. If she doesn't improve, or if she gets worse, then you take action."
Solus nodded slowly.
"That makes sense."
"Good." Annan stood up. "And Gray. If you need to talk to her again, my office is open. Any day. Any time."
"Thank you, Professor."
Annan helped him up.
"Now go. Eat something. Talk to your friends. Don't carry this alone."
. . . . . . .
Slytherin Common Room, 3:00 PM
Stella and Albus were waiting for him.
"And?" Stella asked immediately. "How is your mother?"
Solus sat heavily on the sofa.
"Not good."
He told them what he had seen.
Stella listened with an increasingly worried expression.
Albus looked lost, as if he didn't know what to say.
"That's..." Stella searched for words. "That sounds serious, Solus."
"It is."
"What are you going to do?"
"Write to my father. Wait. And pray she sees a doctor."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Then I'll have to decide if I go back home."
Albus finally spoke:
"If you leave... we'll miss you."
Solus looked at him.
"I'm not leaving yet. Not yet."
"But you might."
"Yes. I might."
Silence.
Then Stella said:
"Then let's make the most of the time we have. Let's keep training. Let's keep exploring the Chamber. Let's keep being... us."
Solus smiled weakly.
"Yeah. Let's keep being us."
That night, Solus wrote two letters.
The first was to his father.
[Dear Dad,
I need you to read this completely before doing anything.
I spoke to Mom today using magic. I could see her and talk to her. Dad, something is wrong.
She's not eating well. She's not leaving the house. She's forgetting things. Days. Conversations. She can't remember when was the last time she went out.
The living room is messy. There are unwashed cups. Papers with scribbles everywhere.
And the worst part: she doesn't know something is wrong.
I asked her to call Doctor Thompson. She said she would. But I'm not sure she will.
Dad, you need to call her. You need to talk to her. And if you can, you need to come home.
I know your job is important. But Mom needs you.
I need you.
Please.
Solus]
The second letter was shorter.
To Helen.
[Dear Mom,
It was amazing talking to you today. I miss your voice.
Remember what you promised me. Call the doctor. Eat something. And go out into the garden. The roses miss you.
I'll write again soon.
I love you,Solus]
He sealed both letters.
Tomorrow he would send them.
And then...
Then he could only wait.
And pray to Gods.
[N/A: I'll be uploading the chapters of this story to Patreon little by little. I'll also leave my Patreon link here in case you'd like to support me and help me keep going. I'll be posting one chapter per day, keeping in mind that my time zone is GMT-3. Even so, Patreon will get faster updates and maintain a chapter advantage. For now, I'm only two chapters ahead for this story, but in a few hours I'll upload the ones I already have written in Word. patreon.com/Nemryz]