Hogwarts, September 27, 2017, 8:00 AM (Saturday)
Mark arrived at the castle early in the morning.
Solus was waiting for him in the Entrance Hall with a small backpack.
"Ready?" Mark asked.
Solus nodded.
He didn't trust his voice.
Three days had passed since the news. Three days of classes. Three days of pretending he could function normally.
And now, finally, he could see his mother.
'Do I want to see her?'
'Or am I afraid of what I'm going to find?'
"The hospital is in London," Mark explained as they walked toward the castle doors. "We're going to use the Floo Network from Hogsmeade. It'll be faster than the train."
"Okay."
They walked in silence toward the village.
. . . . . . .
North London Psychiatric Centre, 10:00 AM
The building was old but well-maintained.
Red brick. Tall windows. Manicured gardens.
It didn't look like a scary place.
But Solus felt a knot in his stomach when they entered.
The receptionist gave them visitor passes.
"Room 237. Second floor. You have one hour".
Mark signed papers.
Then they climbed the stairs.
The second floor smelled of disinfectant and something else. Something Solus couldn't identify.
Despair.
Medications. Concentrated sadness.
They passed closed doors. Some had small windows. Solus tried not to look.
Finally, they reached Room 237.
Mark knocked softly.
"Helen? It's us."
A weak voice from inside: "Come in".
Mark opened the door.
And Solus entered.
Helen was sitting in a chair by the window.
Not in bed.
That was good.
She was wearing hospital clothes. Gray (grey) trousers. White sweater (jumper). Slippers.
Her hair was combed. Clean.
Also good.
But when she turned to look at them, Solus saw her eyes.
Empty.
Not completely. There was something there. Recognition. Maybe relief.
But the spark he had always seen in his mother's eyes—the life, the warmth—was extinguished.
"Solus," Helen said softly. "You came."
Solus walked toward her.
He knelt in front of her chair.
"Hi, Mom (Mum)."
Helen extended a trembling hand.
She touched his cheek.
"You look good. Are you eating well at that school?"
"Yes."
"Good. That's good." Helen smiled weakly. "I don't want you to worry about me."
"Mom..."
"I'm fine, honey. The doctors are taking care of me. They give me pills. Lots of pills." She laughed humorlessly. "I don't remember what they're all for. But they say they'll help."
Mark sat on the bed.
"Helen, the doctor said you're improving. That your mind is clearer."
"Clearer?" Helen looked out the window. "I don't know if it's clearer. I still feel... noise. Like my head is full of static."
She paused.
"But I can think more. Remember more. That's something."
Solus didn't know what to say.
'How do you talk to your mother after she tried to die?'
'Do you ask why?'
'Do you ask how?'
'Or do you pretend it didn't happen?'
Finally, he asked:
"How do you feel?"
Helen looked at him.
"Tired. Very tired." She touched his hand. "But better knowing you're okay."
"I should have been there," Solus said in a low voice. "I should have noticed something was wrong."
"No, honey." Helen squeezed his hand. "You're a child. It's not your job to take care of me. It's the other way around."
"But..."
"Solus, listen to me." Helen's voice was firmer now. "What happened wasn't your fault. Nor your father's. It was... it was my brain. Something in me broke. And I didn't know how to ask for help."
Tears began to run down her cheeks.
"I'm so sorry. Sorry for scaring you. Sorry for not being stronger."
Solus stood up.
He hugged his mother.
"You don't have to be strong, Mom. You just have to be alive."
Helen cried against his shoulder.
Mark joined the hug.
And the three of them stayed there, held by a fragile moment of connection.
After a few minutes, Helen pulled away.
She wiped her eyes.
"Tell me about Hogwarts. I want to know everything."
Solus sat on the floor next to her chair.
And he began to speak.
He told her about his classes. About Potions and how he had made a perfect potion on his first try. About Transfiguration and how he had turned a match into a needle.
He told her about his friends. Stella, who was brilliant and impulsive. Albus, who was loyal and kind.
He only told her the parts a mother would want to hear.
The parts that would make her smile.
And it worked.
Helen smiled genuinely for the first time.
"Sounds wonderful, honey. I'm so proud of you."
"Thanks, Mom."
Too soon, a nurse knocked on the door.
"Visiting time is over."
Mark nodded.
"Thank you. We're leaving."
They stood up.
Helen took Solus's hand.
"Will you come back?"
"Yes. Next week."
"Good." Helen looked him in the eyes. "Solus, I want you to promise me something."
"What?"
"That you're going to live your life. That you're not going to put your life on pause for me. That you're going to learn and grow and be happy."
"Mom..."
"Promise."
Solus hesitated.
Then he nodded.
"I promise."
Helen smiled.
"Good. That's all I need."
She kissed him on the forehead.
"I love you, Solus. More than anything in this world."
"I love you too, Mom."
. . . . .
Hogsmeade, 12:00 PM
After leaving the hospital, Mark and Solus walked through Hogsmeade.
They didn't speak immediately.
They just walked.
Finally, Mark broke the silence.
"That was harder than I expected."
"Yeah."
"But she's better. The doctors weren't lying."
"Yeah."
"Solus, are you okay?"
Solus stopped.
He looked at his father.
"I don't know if I'm okay, Dad. But I'm here. And that's something."
Mark nodded.
"Yes. That's something."
They had lunch at The Three Broomsticks.
The pub was full of Hogwarts students. Third years and up, enjoying their weekend in the village.
Solus saw some Slytherins at a back table. Marco Zabini was there, talking to a group of fifth years.
Marco saw him. He nodded slightly.
Solus returned the gesture.
"Is that a friend?" Mark asked.
"Something like that. It's complicated."
Mark laughed weakly.
"Everything in your life seems to be complicated lately."
"Yeah."
They ate in silence for a while.
Then Mark asked:
"What's that project you talked about in your letter? The ball."
"It's a Cultural Exchange Ball. To celebrate the students from other schools who are here." Solus took a sip of his Butterbeer. "I'm going to do a presentation on Corvus Slytherin."
"Who?"
"Salazar Slytherin's younger brother. One of the founders of Hogwarts."
"I didn't know Slytherin had a brother."
"No one knows. History forgot him." Solus looked at his glass. "But he left an important legacy. And I want people to remember him."
Mark studied him.
"Why is it important to you?"
Solus thought about it.
'Why is it important?'
'Because Corvus died alone defending something he loved.'
'Because I understand that now.'
'Because sometimes legacy is all that's left.'
"Because someone has to remember him," he said finally. "Someone has to say his name out loud so he doesn't disappear completely."
Mark nodded slowly.
"Then do it well, Solus. Give him the honor (honour) he deserves."
"I will."
. . . . .
Hogwarts, Map Chamber, 5:00 PM
When Solus returned, he went straight down to the Chamber.
He needed to be alone. He needed to process. He sat in front of the map table. He looked at the sixty-one points of green light.
Each one a legacy of Corvus.
Each one a reminder that he built something that lasted.
'Will I build something that lasts?'
'Or am I going to disappear like him?'
He touched the map.
A point in England pulsed.
The image of Gringotts Vault 7 appeared.
Money. Weapons. Books. Tools.
But tools mean nothing without purpose.
Solus closed his eyes.
'What is my purpose?'
'To protect. To teach. To build.'
'Like Corvus.'
'Like Lucius.'
'Like everyone I was before.'
'But this time...'
'This time I don't want to die alone.'
He opened his eyes.
And he made a decision.
'I'm going to do the presentation.'
'I'm going to talk about Corvus.'
'And I'm going to use his story to remind people that legacy is not just what you leave.'
'It's how you live.'
. . . . .
Slytherin Common Room, 8:00 PM
Stella and Albus were waiting for him.
"How was it?" Stella asked immediately.
Solus sat down.
"Hard. But good."
"How is your mother?" Albus asked.
"Better. She still has a way to go. But she's alive. She's lucid."
"That's good," Stella said.
"Yeah."
Silence.
Then Solus said:
"I finished the presentation. For the ball."
"Really?" Stella sounded surprised.
"Yes. And I want you guys to hear it. Before the event. To make sure it works."
"Of course," Albus said.
"Tomorrow," Solus said. "In the Chamber. I'll show you what I have".
. . . . .
Night, 11:00 PM
Before sleeping, Solus wrote in his private journal.
September 27, 2017
I saw Mom today. She's better but not well. She still has that emptiness in her eyes.
She made me promise I would live my life. That I wouldn't stop for her.
It's a hard promise to make. Because part of me wants to stay in that hospital until she's completely cured.
But I know it doesn't work like that. Healing takes time. And I can't stop my life waiting.
So I'm going to continue.
I'm going to do the presentation. I'm going to train Stella and Albus. I'm going to infiltrate the Verus Ordo.
I'm going to live.
Because that's what she wants.
And because Corvus taught me something important: legacy is not what you leave when you die.
It's what you build while you live.
So I'm going to build.
Even if it hurts.
Even if I'm broken.
I'm going to build something that lasts.
He closed the journal.
He lay down.
And slept.
This time, he dreamed of Corvus.
Not of his death.
But of his life.
Teaching. Building. Living.
And when he woke up, Solus knew what he had to do.
Five days until the ball.
Five days to honor (honour) a man no one remembers.
And five days to prove to myself that I can keep going.
Even when the world is falling apart.