Chapter 388 - [Bonus chapter]

Rosaline let out a long breath before knocking on the door. After a moment, the door opened and Sol poked his head out from the room. His eyes widened when he saw his mother standing there. 

"Mama? Mother?" He mumbled. 

"Do you have a minute, Sol? I wanted to talk to you," Rosaline said calmly hiding her weariness. 

"Yes. . ." Sol let his mother in and immediately regretted it. 

His room was messier than the last time and he knew Rosaline won't be happy about this.  .

"Sol, your maid didn't clean your room?" asked Rosaline looking around the room, surprised. 

"No . . . I don't have a . . . maid anymore," Sol murmured looking down. "I don't . . . let anyone enter . . . my room." 

"Why?" 

"I don't . . . like people." Sol prepared himself for a long lecture about disciplined life and courtesy but Rosaline smiled. 

"I also don't like people," she said and moving a cluster of books from a chair, sat down. "But if you don't want to let them clean, at least clean yourself." 

"I will," Sol said quickly. He was surprised by his mother's sudden change of behavior, and he was cautious. 

"Good, now sit down." 

"Yes, mother." Sol sat down on the edge of his bed facing Rosaline. He nervously tugged his sleeves and Rosaline noticed how uncomfortable was her son with her. 

With everything after Ethan leaving, Rosaline got so focused on keeping Sol safe that she forgot that a kid just didn't need to be saved but cared for and nurtured. Maybe it was her fault that Sol never developed any powers and he has the problem with speaking. 

"Sol, I —" Rosaline's throat felt dry. "You used to call me, Mama, no? Then why change?" 

Sol hung his head down and bȧrėly moved his lips as he murmured, "I didn't call you for more than a year." 

It was impossible to catch what he said but Rosaline's extraordinary hearing never missed a thing but she couldn't believe what she heard. Sol hadn't called her for more than a year and she didn't even know that. 

"Sol, I am sorry." 

Sol didn't reply and Rosaline lingered in that discomfort. She was no better than her mother. 

"Sol, I am sorry I couldn't be a good mother to you." 

"I know. . . you have . . . a lot of things to do," Sol said hearing his mother's harsh declaration. Sol believed, she wasn't a bad mother. 

Rosaline's eyes filled with tears and she turned away to hide them. She looked around to say something else and her eyes landed on a book about wizard's magic. 

"I heard you are friends with Lady Christina and her friends?" Rosaline asked. 

"No. . . I mean . . . I . . ." Sol started to stammer. 

"It's fine, Sol. I like Lady Christina too and you can tell me anything," Rosaline looked back at Sol. "I promise I won't get mad at you." 

Sol thought over his mother's words before nodding. 

"Lady Christina is . . . nice but her . . . friend Luna . . . she is . . . so nice and . . ." 

Rosaline smiled as her son talked some more about the things that fascinated him about Lady Christina and her friends. Sol wasn't completely open but it was a start. A start she needed. They both needed.

Sol was in the middle of telling how Luna let him watch while she made some potions when Rosaline hugged him tightly. After a moment of hesitation, Sol hugged her back. 

"I promise Sol, we will make everything right," Rosaline whispered. She wasn't going to be like her mother, she promised herself. 

"Is Oziyat . . . back?" Sol asked freeing himself from the hug. 

"No," Rosaline smiled. "But as soon as he comes back you can join us. I won't stop you from going out or meeting new people. How about dinner? We can all have dinner together and —" 

Rosaline stopped suddenly and looked at the bedroom door. Her hearing caught a guard running towards their room. Guards never ran in panic . . . unless something terrible had happened. Before the guard could reach the room, Rosaline stepped out. Sol behind her. 

"Princess!" The Guardian bowed as he halted before her, out of breath. 

"What is it?"

⁂

Ginny was exhausted but her fight with her clone looked nowhere near the end. It was like she was fighting herself. They both knew what their next move will be. And no matter how hard Ginny tried, she couldn't defeat the clone. 

"Getting tired already?" The clone Ginny sneered laughing as she dodged yet another spell from Ginny. 

"No. . ." Ginny grumbled throwing a few other jinxes. 

"Give up if you don't wanna die," said the clone. "No one is coming to save you. You are just exhausting yourself." 

"I don't need to be saved," snapped Ginny.

"Of course, you don't. Should I remind you of your first year at Hogwarts? You didn't need saving, right?" The clone laughed.

"Shut up!" Ginny tried to blast her off but she dodged and counter attacked.

"Ooooo. . .  our tigress is angry," The clone mocked. "Someone come and save me."

The thought of changing into her Animagous form instantly crossed Ginny's mind and the clone smirked. Ginny cursed internally. The clone already knew Ginny was already exhausted and now if she turned, she won't have enough strength to fight. 

Grumbling Ginny changed her mind and that's when she noticed the clone wasn't getting exhausted at all. Her spells didn't look much powerful than Ginny's but she was still dodging and attacking as if she could go on and on.

It wasn't normal. Then again, fighting herself wasn't normal either. Herself! 

"Aww. . . look at that poor Ginny, who doesn't need saving."

Ginny tried to get her wand but the clone kicked it away from her reach. Ginny looked at the clone as she grinned menacingly but Ginny wasn't scared. She finally realized what was happening. How the clone knew every one of her moves even before Ginny thought of it.

"You can't kill me. You are me, even if in some twisted way."

The clone Ginny laughed loudly.

"You are right. I am you but that doesn't mean I can't kill you. Unless you can find a way to defeat me."

Ginny racked her brain to find the meaning of what the clone said and the first thing that came to her mind was the thing Chris said before leaving the castle. Dumbledore's words.

"Sometimes to win, you need to lose."

Maybe Dumbledore wasn't talking about losing or pretending to lose, but losing a part of yourself to win? The clone Ginny was Ginny, yet they were different. How?

She wasn't overconfident like her.

Ginny kicked the clone Ginny's leg and she toppled over. Ginny rolled away and got her wand. She jumped up on her feet and—

"Stupefy!"

The clone Ginny froze as soon as Ginny's spell hit her. And unexpectedly she burst into a grey fog leaving Ginny alone. 

⁂

Oziyat's hands were bleeding. His regeneration healed the cut but he swiped his hand over his blade again and let the blood drops fall onto the ground. He mumbled a few spells but nothing happened. From the moment, Chris, Ginny, Luna, and Colin disappeared under the ground, Oziyat had tried everything he know to open the underground place again. But of course, he failed. Nothing worked. He thought about going out and calling the guards to do something but he knew it wasn't going to work either. He couldn't do anything except wait but he didn't want to sit still while Chris fought who knew what?

Oziyat's hand healed and again he cut it and this time smeared his blood on the runes on the pillars. The runes glowed but the passage didn't open. Oziyat cursed angrily.

That's when he heard the familiar voice in his head. It was his sister, the only vampire, powerful enough to use Telepathy so far away.

"Oziyat! They are here!"

⁂