#ft jacob and little em's reunion

[hphm-etched-engraved-everlasting]

21. Clara

Author’s Note/Table of Contents

I was no stranger to Knockturn Alley, but I couldn't say the same about my sister.

The darkness enveloped me the further in I ran, swallowing what light streamed through the bustling friendly atmosphere of Diagon Alley until the warmth had completely leeched out of even the air around me. Wizards and witches shrouded in fabrics of pitch black, skin as gaunt and pale as a ghost's, loitered in the shadows, away from the streetlights that flickered with its dying power. As I turned a corner, eyes resting upon the storefront of Borgin and Burkes, I felt my arms tense up with the cold draft that blew past, and I shivered, goosebumps forming over my skin. Who knew that, in the span of only a few days, the place would feel like a freezer?

I quickly fished in my bag for something, anything, to wrap over myself to grant me some sort of warmth. My fingers brushed against the smooth surface of dried paint, and I instantly pulled the set of paint-splattered robes out into the open, throwing it on without a second thought. Andre suggested this to perform my chaos for Peeves in style, and it did serve a good souvenir and reminder of all that I went through to get my brother back. Handing Peeves the mischief masterpiece in exchange for the vault portrait was a major obstacle I had to leap over--needless to say, I was happy I executed it to the poltergeist's standards, but even happier that it brought me one step closer to bringing my brother home.

"Clara!"

The sound of my younger sister's voice as I slipped my left hand through the sleeve made me freeze, and I glanced up to see her jog towards me, almost tripping over the uneven cobblestone in her haste.

"Em!" I sprang forward just in time to catch her, and she fell into my arms, a heavy breath escaping our mouths simultaneously in a loud whoosh.

"So this is what Knockturn Alley looks like," Em remarked, her tone suggesting no admiration as she straightened up. "And this is why our parents didn't want us to come here."

"Sorry, Em. I just remembered last year, Duncan Ashe--"

"Hold up." Little Em slowly raised a finger toward another familiar figure, standing on the other side of the shop with her violet eyes gazing intently at the dark artefacts in the shop. "What is she doing here?"

Oh no. Somehow, without my knowing, Merula Snyde had entered Knockturn Alley as well. Last time it was Ben, and now...

I'd imagine this wouldn't be the last time I'd come here, but hopefully it would be the only time I'd be here to stop Merula from concocting whatever stupid scheme she had in mind here and return to finding Jacob.

"Merula Snyde," I eventually said, approaching her with my little sister behind me. "Fancy seeing you here at such a late hour."

"Should have known you'd come here," Merula sneered, looking up at me and little Em with a look of pure disgust on her face. "Come to take me back to Hogwarts and try to convince me that the 'kill or be killed' mindset is all but a waste of time?"

"What are you doing here anyway?" I asked her, folding my arms.

"Shopping at Borgin and Burkes. Not like it's any of your business," Merula responded. "Have you seen the cursed opal necklace in the window? It's supposedly claimed the lives of nineteen Muggle owners. It'd be perfect for Rakepick, don't you think?"

"You're right. That isn't my business to know," I retorted. "I should have known that you'll still be out here plotting to kill Rakepick."

Beside me, little Em pulled out her wand from within her robes, and she pointed it at Merula. "Don't you dare get any ideas," she warned her.

"Right. Like a little baby badger's supposed to threaten me well enough to stop me from performing the perfect payback for Rakepick," Merula said with a scoff, shaking her head. "You're both awfully quick to judge for someone who's slumming through Knockturn Alley, too."

"For a better reason than yours, I'll bet," little Em growled. "We're here to find Jacob. Clara thought he might be here, though I'm not sure why. Have you seen him?"

Just as the words left her mouth, a sudden crack pierced through the air, and I placed a hand on Em's shoulder as the person materialized in front of us, the effects of the Apparition he performed leaving him completely unfazed. His finely cropped black hair still bothered me completely to this day, but the firm expression he had on his face, the stony glint in his brown eyes, remained familiar to my memory, his long brown coat slightly dirtier now after his release from the portrait in the last vault.

"Now I have," Merula piped up meekly.

Little Em just stared in absolute shock at our older brother, who changed so much from the last time he saw either of us at home. Her eyes were wide, her mouth was agape, and she had completely lost hold of her wand, which fell to the ground with a hollow clatter. Years of absence from the family rendered him almost unrecognizable to her--and, admittedly, to me when I first saw him again after so long. She just looked at him as if he was suddenly a stranger, and for a few tense seconds, no one moved.

"Jacob." A smile slowly made its way over my face as I eventually ran forward and hugged him, just like we did when we reunited in the last vault. "There you are! We've been looking all over for you since I heard you were spotted at Hogwarts."

"It's good to see you too, Pip," Jacob said, nodding as he took a good look at me. "I'm so glad you're alright." Then his eyes landed on little Em, still trembling slightly on her feet. "And...is that our little sister? Em?"

"You've...changed so much," little Em remarked quietly. "Is that really you, Jacob?"

Jacob nodded, extending an arm to her. "Of course it's me, little Pipsqueak! I'd never forget about my youngest sister. And you've just started at Hogwarts, too!"

"Yup." Little Em's tense worried face soon melted away, and as she hugged her older brother I felt a spark of warmth tingle through my limbs, a bubble of hope rising through my being. If only our parents were here to see this family reunion. At least then they'd see that Jacob was alright, and we'd fix everything together after all.

Meanwhile, Merula looked just about ready to puke. "Ugh, come on. Anymore of this sappiness and I'll perform the Slug-Vomiting Charm on myself."

"Where have you been?" I asked Jacob then. "I haven't seen you since the Cursed Vault."

Jacob glanced up at me, though his arm was still firm around little Em. "I know, Pip. I'm sorry. But I had to try to stop Rakepick from getting away," he explained. "Besides, I knew you'd trust me to find you again, like I said I would. Along with the added bonus that is our sister," he added, smiling down at little Em who just nodded, squeezing Jacob's hand.

"I suppose all that matters is that you're here now," I said. "Which is great, because I have so many questions..."

Instantly, Jacob's face fell, and he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Clara. As much as I'd like to indulge you in your inquiries, we've got no time for that. Right now, we have to duel."

"Wait. Duel?" I swore I didn't hear that right. Why would my own brother want to duel me?

"This family reunion just got interesting," Merula remarked snidely, a low chuckle escaping her lips, and I made a mental note to slap her the next moment I got.

"Yes, Clara. I think an assassin is after both you and Merula," Jacob told me then. "And only you two specifically, though I'm not sure why--but there's no time to explain. You're just going to have to trust me."

Now little Em turned just as pale as one of the Knockturn Alley denizens, and she shook her head in disbelief. "Jacob, you're being serious, are you?"

"They know nothing about you, little Em, so you're safe for now," Jacob reassured her--or at least attempted to. "Or as safe as you can be. I'm doing whatever it takes to protect you and stop any assassin in case my suspicions do end up being true. But you may find yourself coming face to face with them one day, so you must be prepared. Duelling will help me make sure you are prepared, in the case that an assassin does attack."

An assassin, and a possible attack. Of course I knew that with all the events that preceded this very moment, more and more danger would continue to tumble towards me, snowballing until it reached the point where it could spin me off my feet--and not in a good way, either. At the sound of this, Little Em immediately leaned into Jacob and shook her head at me, her hand gripping tighter on his. I almost didn't even notice how she still looked like the little Em she had been even before Jacob went missing--so tiny, so helpless.

So vulnerable.

"Let an assassin try. I'm ready for them! It'll be a good warm-up for Rakepick," Merula piped up then, puffing her chest in pride. "Your sisters, on the other hand, don't understand that it's kill or be killed."

"Just because neither of us agree with your mindset does not make us weak," I shot back. "Besides, there are many ways to settle arguments. Killing doesn't have to be the only way."

Jacob shifted his weight to his other foot, and he let go of Em's hand. "As much as I hate to admit it, Merula has a point. Dark witches and wizards like Rakepick won't hesitate to hurt or kill you. You have to do whatever it takes to survive."

"Ha. Serves you right for disagreeing, Lin," Merula chipped in. "At least someone in your family has some sense."

"Wait, but--"

"Clara, we can't keep at this right now. We have to duel," Jacob interrupted me.

"Jacob, hold on just a second, alright? Everything's happening so--"

"Don't hold back. I want to see everything you've learned while at Hogwarts."

And hence, Jacob moved away, his wand at the ready. I barely got myself prepared when he shouted, "Slugulus Eructo!"

If Merula had her desires to choke up slugs, well, she'd get her wish sooner than expected had she been here in my place. The slick, slimy substance held such a vile taste as I burped up a slug, squishing it firmly under my foot, raising my wand at him. "Confringo!"

The blasting charm should have had a major dent in his stamina, yet Jacob still remained standing firm. He managed to recover in time to Disarm me, and I almost lost my wand to the gutters three feet away.

Spell after spell was cast with relentless power and force, and I felt the sweat break out on my forehead in a fine sheen, my wand arm feeling heavy after every spell. This shouldn't be different from all the other duels I've had before--with Merula, with the Troll, with Acromantulas and the Hungarian Horntail and the werewolves and even several dark wizards. Yet I knew Jacob wouldn't go easy on me. In some way or other, he did have more experience with magic. My only question, then, was when did he get his new wand?

"Episkey!" he cried next, healing himself with a wave of his wand over his head.

"Incendio!" I shouted then, watching as a jet of fire emerged from the tip of my wand.

The burns eventually did it. Jacob sighed and nodded as the flames died away, and he put his wand away, approaching me and my sister again with a nod of approval.

"Huh. I'm impressed, Clara. You've really learned how to hold your own," Jacob remarked, beaming. "Clearly you're not the little kid who needs my help chasing the Ghouls away anymore."

"No, of course I'm not, Jacob. We've all grown to learn how dangerous everything has become," I told him firmly. "That's why you should let me help you with Rakepick, with this assassin...with everything."

But Jacob shook his head. "I told you, this is my fight. I dragged us into this, so it's my responsibility to finish it. I can't let you all get hurt any more than you already have."

"We have to do something to help!" little Em chipped in then, shaking her head in refusal. "Everyone back home misses you terribly, Jacob. At least give us something to hold on to!"

"Pipsqueak, you already do. You'll always have your sister to hold onto. I'll come back when I can, but I have to go. I can't afford to let the trail go cold," Jacob said.

Now Merula jumped in surprise. "Wait, but what about my duel?"

"Jacob, at least answer some of my questions first," I said then, eyes widening in worry. "Like, how could you come to Hogwarts and not see us? Why are you looking into Mahoutokoro? And what do you know about the last Cursed Vault?"

"I'll explain when I can, I promise. But right now there's no--"

"No time, I get it." I sighed and shook my head, gesturing little Em to come over. "You don't seem to have much time for either of us anymore--or any of our family, really."

"Pip..." Jacob sighed as well and gave me one last hug, his arms firm around me before extending another arm to little Em. As the three of us hugged each other, I thought I could hear Merula fake-gagging, but I couldn't care less. It wasn't easy to get this opportunity to see him in this tight circumstance. Who knew when I would get this kind of chance again?

"We'll talk again soon, Pip and Pipsqueak," Jacob promised us. "Until then, watch your backs."

That said, he Disapparated with a loud crack, disappearing into nothingness in front of our eyes.

"Jacob, wait!"

No, there was no calling him back. I sighed again, holding my little sister close as she hugged me round the waist.

"You can't seem to hold onto anyone anymore, can you, Lin?" Merula teased me then with a laugh.

"Shut it, Merula!" I snapped, raising a hand and slapping her hard across the cheek. I know I shouldn't have, but at this point I was tired of Merula trying to butt into what was meant to be a meaningful reunion, even if it did have that foreboding note in the meeting. The sting from the slap tingled in my fingers, red hot in my anger. "My brother is trying to protect us from this assassin and Rakepick. I'm sure he'll come back once this is all over."

Merula visibly flinched at the sudden slap as well, her hand raised against her cheek which began to swell and redden beneath her fingers. "Yeah. I hope so. I'd like to see him again," she simply responded then once she's recovered well enough to volley another attack. "He's surprisingly...cool for someone who's related to you."

Cool, huh? That was the first time I've heard Merula say something that wasn't trash at my brother.

"What do you mean, someone cool?" little Em asked Merula then, folding her arms.

"Nothing. Forget I said anything," Merula snapped at little Em then, though I could see both her cheeks reddening and flushing--definitely not a side effect from the slap I gave her.

"Wait a second. Are you interested in our brother?" I inquired her carefully, the words dripping carefully from my tongue like venom.

At this, Merula shrugged and smiled sheepishly, her expression suddenly bashful. "N-no, of course not!" she denied. "We just share similar priorities is all."

"I'm not buying it. My brother is nothing like you, Merula," I told her defiantly.

"Right. Keep telling yourself that," Merula responded, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "But it's clear that your brother understands that when you're up against someone like Rakepick or this assassin, nothing is off the table."

Nothing. Right. Everything for me has already been laid on the line, but that didn't mean I had to kill to prove my worth and way of dealing with the circumstance. Jacob may have agreed with Merula on that point, but I still found myself disagreeing wholeheartedly with this mindset. Doing something unforgivable when your own life is on the line...would such an exceptional case still be made an acceptable one that leaves no guilt upon the conscience?

"Anyway, shouldn't you be worrying about your own social life instead of mine?" Merula asked me then.

"My social life? My friends are still as well as they can be, and I'm still connecting with them as best as I can," I said. "Or at least my sister's trying to keep our ties going. We're doing fine with that, thank you very much."

"I truly admire how naive you are, Lin."

"What do you mean anyway?"

"Cedric Diggory, the new star of Hogwarts," Merula responded finally. "He's only a first-year, but he's all the school can talk about. And that means you and your sister are no longer topics of gossip."

"Oh, I know Cedric, alright," little Em said then. "He’s my housemate and friend. If anything, I'm kind of happy he's found his place at Hogwarts. So what does it matter if my sister and I are no longer topics of gossip?"

At this, I thought I saw her hand raise toward the rose in her braid, but she lowered it after five seconds of holding it in the air. Something must have really bothered her more than I thought.

"You say that now, baby Lin, but see for yourselves the attention Diggory gets and we'll see if you feel the same way," Merula said.

"Right. Whatever," I groaned. "Anyway, we better head back. You can stay all you want if it makes you happy."

And just as little Em and I reached the tunnel to head back to Diagon Alley, Merula called us back.

"Remember, it's kill or be killed. And if you're not careful, your popularity won't be the only thing you'll lose this year..."

#merula you bish #and jacob's returned yippee! #ft jacob and little em's reunion #and a duel?! #hphm spoilers #hogwarts mystery #year 6 spoilers #etched engraved everlasting #hphm jacob lin #hphm clara lin #hphm em lin #hphm merula snyde #returning to knockturn alley