Weasley took a deep breaths as a sense of dizziness and fatigue set in.
He was now fully drenched in sweat and looking up at the skies, he could see that the sun had reached its zenith.
The morning and had passed and it was noon.
Weasley picked up his water container from the ground and emptied what was left. The water was warm from being heated by the sun and tasted abit like leather. But, it was better than nothing.
" Let's go back Young master" Henner said. She could see that Weasley was tired and that he was dangerously close to mana depletion from the long training session they had just had.
Weasley gave a dull nod and dragged his feet back towards the manor. He would probably take it easy for the rest of the day and continue at nighttime. For now, he had to rest as he was too tired to even think.
The sound of pattering of feet suddenly entered his ear. A flash of pink was also visible as Weasley looked up just in time for a pair of giant yet all too familiar breasts to ram into his face as his mother enveloped him into a bear hug that lifted his small body cleanly off the ground.
Weasley's mother was wearing a dress that carried varying shades of vermillion and pink. The chest area of the dress was one of those that could be adjusted to fit one's cup size and thus allowed one a great upper view of her giant peaks and greatly accentuated her feminine charm.
It was for moments like this that Weasley felt lucky not to have already reached puberty. If not, he would be having a rather big crisis on his hands right now. Mother or not, raging hormones didn't always get the memo to make a distinction.
Weasley could only give muffled protests as his mother hugged him to her heart's content before letting him down.
" GASP… Wh-What brings you here…..today mother?"
Sylvia made an hurt face when she heard his question.
Weasley quickly clarified.
" I mean, I simply didn't expected you to be here that's all. Do you have any purpose to be here?"
Sylvia's face contorted even more.
" Need a mother a reason to visit her only son? And here your mother made the effort to come all the way here just for you. You don't welcome me yet you even re-reject me!"
Sylvia made a dismayed expression and started to cry.
" My son doesn't love me! Sob. Wa- Was I such a horrible mother?! That my son doesn't love me anymore!" She wailed as she used her hands to cover her face and conceal her nonexistent tears.
Weasley snapped out of his tired daze almost instantly he did a double take on the situation.
He made his mother cry? Oh shit! He made his mother cry!
Panic surged up in his chest.
" Uh.. it's going to be alright mom! Your son loves you I-I mean I do!" He stammered out.
Sylvia only wailed even harder.
Weasley blanked out as if he had short circuited. His panic completely overwhelming him.
He looked around to find Henner for help but she had been no where in sight.
" That woman! She left me here all alone!"
As Weasley's panic reached new levels, Sylvia secretly watched on through the gaps in fingers. Deep down, she enjoyed this interaction quite a bit.
Serves him right for not giving her enough attention for the last few weeks!
However, she also pitied him so she decided to let him off this time.
Sylvia sniffled a little and made an elaborate show of wiping her tears.
" Do you promise mommy that you would spend more time with me?"she said between sobs.
Seeing the lifeline tossed to him, Weasley went for it as quickly as a hungry fish to bait.
" Yes! Yes! I promise! "
" Do you promise to be more caring towards mommy?"
" Yes! I promise!"
" Do you promise to always obey whatever mommy tells you to do?"
" Yes! Yes! So please stop crying mom!.
" Promise?"
" Promise!!" Weasley cried desperately.
Sylvia smiled devilishly as she witnessed how Weasley had naively fallen straight into her trap.
Sylvia popped up onto her feet in an instant and fixed Weasley with a beaming smile.
" Okay!"
No matter how stupid or tired he was or could be, Weasley could tell that something was wrong.
What was that transition? Was the woman standing in front of him even the same person from a few seconds ago? What the he-
Realisation struck Weasley like a lightning bolt.
He had been played!
Wealsey became red in the face with embarrassment as he chased his mother back towards the manor as she went' oh ho ho ho' like a third rate villain. As her laughter echoed through the field and faded to the winds, so did Weasley's pent up frustration from his morning training.
Afterwards, Weasley cleaned himself up and made his way to the dining hall. It was lunchtime and the hunger that came from the aftermath of his morning training was making itself very noticeable.
As he pushed open the door, the mouth watering smell of freshly cooked food wafted into his nose and he started salivating madly. Piles of delicious food had already been piled high onto the table just waiting for him.
Weasley immediately rushed over.
All thoughts of minding his table manners instantly went out the window as the delicious looking food coupled with his hunger proved too strong a tide for the dam of his willpower to hold back.
The last vestiges of his self control melted away and Weasley dug in with ferocity.
'Oh the bliss! This truly was life!' Weasley thought as he stuffed himself with mouthful after mouthful of meats, vegetables and bread. His hands were alsmost a blur as he went after every morsel of food he could get his hands on.
Eventually, Weasley filled himself and let out a small burp as he slumped back on his chair with a satisfied look on his face.
At the side, Sylvia looked at her son with a complicated expression
While she was glad that he was eating lots as a growing boy, the way he did it had been extremely painful to watch.
If they had had people from the neighbouring noble families over as guests or god forbid, members of the royal family themselves, the image of Weasley's horrid eating habits would have had definitely made front page of the morning news.
Luckily, that wasn't the case. She also figured that since he wasn't even two years old yet, putting off the matter to a later date wasn't that bad an idea either.
Putting the matter aside, Sylvia focused on putting forward another matter she had on her mind. Sylvia cleared her throat.
" Rumius, from tomorrow onwards, you will have something new added to your schedule." Sylvia said with a mischievous smile.
Weasley( note that his new name is Rumius Zy Ashbrone) frowned, not understanding.
He had been going about the same routine for the past few months where he would spend the morning and evenings practicing spell casting and the rest of the time he would spend in the library or sleeping. He had only expected to be doing something extra when he had broken through and started his training with his mother, or come to five years of age where he would start learning other topics like Geography, Botany and History.
" Eh? Why mother?" He asked when a ridiculous hope suddenly swelled in his chest. ' Was his training over? Would she start teaching him wind magic?'
Weasley blurted out, " Are you going to teach me wind magic already? Even when I haven't finished my task?"
A incredulous expression came over Sylvia's face for several moments before she threw her head back and laughed!
" Hahaha silly child.. ob-obviously not! Oh gosh that was face was too good! Hahahaha!"
Weasley's face fell as he felt cheated for the second time in the same day. Seeing this, Sylvia laughed even harder!
Wheezing and holding her stomach, Sylvia struggled unsuccessfully to stifle her laughter.
Weasley was not amused.
" Well you're not there yet darling wheeze…. You can't even cast the basic spell yet so even if I wanted to, I couldn't teach you anything."
Hearing this, Weasley's head drooped in submission. He could offer no resistance against that. Reminded of the bottleneck that he had been stuck at for two months already, Weasley frustration couldn't help but surge up again.
" However! I have something even better than that!" Sylvia said in a loud voice, catching Weasley's attention.
Lowering her voice suddenly, Sylvia leaned in close and whispered.
" You will be coming to a very special place to train with me! "
The way his mother's eyes twinkled like stars immediately tipped weasley off that she had something big in store for him.
Weasley's interest was piqued.
' What did she mean by a special place? Was it far away from home or something?'
Weasley's mind drifted off and he started fantasising about serene landscapes that could aid one in achieving mastery of one's craft.
Snapping back to reality awhile later, Weasley opened his mouth to ask what she meant but realised a little too late that Sylvia was already walking out of the door.
" Stay in your clothes! I'll come to fetch you at midnight!" She said mysteriously before she disappearing from view, leaving behind a very confused Weasley.
Naturally Weasley chased after his mother. When he had caught up and asked what that had all been about, her reaction shocked him even further.
Sylvia had acted like their conversation hadn't even happened! When he kept on insisting, she even went as far as to express worry about his mental health!
This greatly befuddled Weasley and he wondered why his mother was acting this way. After repeatedly trying and failing, Weasley could only leave with even more questions than he initially had.
He went back to his usual routines of visiting the library and reading books. Unfortunately, the memory of their conversation stuck in his head like glue and he couldn't help but feel restless.In the end, Weasley couldn't focus to get anything done for the rest of the day.
That night, Weasley sat uneasily on his bed as he looked fixatedly at the clock. If he could, he would have willed the clock to tick faster as he waited with bated breath for the short hand to hit the twelfth mark.
A light CLACK sounded through the room and Weasley reflexively spun around, searching for the sound of the noise.
The door to his room was ajar and he could see his mother through the small opening. She was dressed in a pink coloured night gown and held her hand to her lips, signalling him to be quiet.
Weasley tip toed his way over and hissed in a hushed tone.
" Why are you dressed for bed when you asked me to stay in my clothes?"
Sylvia frowned and shot back.
" Easy for you to say! I can't imagine how many eyebrows I would raise if word got out that the First Lady was going somewhere in the middle of the night!"
" Oh so no one would say a thing if the young master did it?"
Silence.
As his mother turned away in indignation, Weasley's felt a small sense of triumph and internal meter added a point to his side of the score.
Wealsey : Mother
1 : 2
Eventually, their little squabble reached its end and Sylvia indicated to Weasley to follow her.
The two walked through the halls of the residence in silence. Sylvia had warned Weasley to not make a sound and do his best to tread lightly. As far as everyone in the manor knew, they were both sleeping, not sneaking around like a bunch of midnight vigilantes off to rob the bank.
Weasley followed closely behind his mother as the two took turn after turn through the corridors and walkways. They would occasionally stop and press themselves against a wall to hide against the servants who were doing their night rounds. The select few servants who could use magic sense Sylvia had made sure to avoid as she slipped around their patrols with practiced ease.
Eventually, the two made it to the first floor of the manor and Sylvia made a bee-line straight for the left wing of the floor.
Weasley wordlessly followed behind although slightly confused as the door to leave the manor had been straight forward.
Sylvia stopped. They were at an isolated corner of the house on the first floor. It was far away from the living quarters and dining quarters of the servants and retainers and if memory served, Weasley rarely frequented the place as there was literally nothing there.
Just as he was about ask why they were here, Sylvia took a step forward and walked through the wall!
Weasley nearly choked on his spit.
A few seconds later, his mother's face stuck out through the wall and she hissed.
" Quick! Hurry up!"
Weasley abandoned all rational concept as he walked through the wall as well.
Darkness engulfed his vision momentarily before clearing and Weasley appeared behind his mother who was looking at a spiral staircase that seemed to go down into the abyss.
Sylvia was already walking down so Weasley scrambled to follow, trying not to trip over his own legs and fall down the stairs to his doom.
' Imagine getting transmigrated only to die by falling down the stairs' he thought in apprehension. ' Can't be me.'
After what seemed like walking for eternity, the two arrived at a massive black door.
It was at least twenty feet tall and five feet wide, built from top to bottom, hinge to hinge from what seemed like a purplish black metal.
Weasley was hit by one of those grand moments that he would always see in anime back on earth were the main character was on the cusp of discovering something amazing.
From the side of her peripheral vision, Sylvia caught sight of her son's awed expression and chuckled lightly.
' Wait till you see what happens next.'
She walked up to the door and placed a hand on it. Almost instantaneously, Red coloured veins started stretching out from the point of contact and across the entire door.
A pattern in the form of an emblem flashed across his eyes, drawn in red thus standing out starkly against the black coloured background. It was a dragon and a lion circling a castle with flags proudly raised on the side.
Weasley recognised it as the Ashbrone crest. Moments later, the door rumbled and swung inwards.
And the sight that had greeted Weasley could only be described as paradise.