Harry Potter and the Lost Cities

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Can I just say... um... 

Sorry for the cliffhanger...? 

Today was the day.

It was the first thought Sophie had when she woke up that morning. They'd been waiting for weeks, planning for days... okay, maybe only, like, three days. But the point was, it was time.

She hurriedly got ready for the day, showering before throwing on her comfiest leggings and a simple red tunic. She had just finished when there was a knock at the door.

"Yeah?" She asked.

Edaline poked her head through the door. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Sophie agreed, sitting down on her bed.

Edaline sat down next to her. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," Sophie said, fidgeting with her hands.

"You sure about that?" Edaline asked, and Sophie met her worried eyes. They had dark circles beneath them. She hadn't been sleeping again.

"Yeah," Sophie sighed. "I've just been busy."

"You know you can't lie to your mom, Sophie. She always knows," Edaline said, raising her eyebrows.

Sophie glanced at the worried face of her mother. She was surprised at how that was the first word that she thought of for Edaline― not her adoptive mother or her guardian. Her mother. And she could trust her.

"Sophie?" Edaline nudged her gently.

"Biana yelled at me the other day," Sophie admitted. She wasn't sure why that was the first thing that she blurted. Maybe it was because she'd gone through a lot the past couple of years; she was used to the craziness of her life. But she'd always had her friends by her side. Sure, she and Biana had had a few bumps. But it'd never felt quite like this.

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry," Edaline said softly. "Fighting with friends is the worst."

"But how do you fix things?" Sophie asked.

Edaline cocked her head thoughtfully. "I wish there was a formula I could give you to mend everything. But it really just depends. The best advice I could give you is to be there for Biana."

"Be there for her?" Sophie repeated, confused. "How can I be there for her when she clearly wants nothing to do with me?"

"I highly doubt she doesn't want anything to do with you," Edaline corrected. "Sometimes, people do things that hurt us, and it feels like they have no reason. But usually, they do have a reason. You never know what someone else is going through, and often those mysterious trials motivate them to do strange things. If Biana is a real friend, then she'll open up eventually. Until then, you just gotta make sure you're ready to listen to her and help her with whatever she needs."

"So you're saying Biana has something else going on that I don't know about? What?" Sophie asked.

Edaline shrugged. "You won't know until she tells you."

Sophie nodded slowly. "Thanks... mom."

"Anytime," Edaline replied, smiling.

"Oh, what's going on in here?" Grady asked, entering the room.

"Oh, you know, just girl talk," Edaline said casually.

Grady made a face. "Ugh. Glad I missed that. Sorry to interrupt, but everyone's downstairs. We're ready to do this."