Summer Discoveries
Chapter 2 : Summer Discoveries
As Clarke had grown used to, days at the Meadow seemed to pass by in a flash. Nathalia was still training them at Quidditch; and although Clarke had explained over and over again that she did not play in any team back in Hogwarts, Nathalia had insisted that it was a family tradition and that she should keep practicing anyways. There's no way you're gonna suck at Quidditch while I'm alive, my cousin, Nathalia had said.
Timothé was helping Clarke with classes and vice-versa; Clarke had written to Lexa, asking about potential homework from Beauxbâtons, but the Brunette had yet to answer back. It was weird, actually, that Clarke hadn't heard from Lexa at all since the beginning of the summer; the girls had said they would write to each other and Clarke had indeed written a couple letters, so she was now starting to wonder why the Brunette hadn't written back to her yet.
The Blonde had gotten a couple letters from her other friends, though; one from Hermione, telling her more precisely when they would meet in London and telling her a couple things about how Harry and Ron were doing. She had gotten one from Octavia, Raven and Bellamy each, all explaining in their own ways how it was to stay at Anya's house. Or mansion, if you wanted to use a more correct term. They seemed pretty ok - except for Raven who had almost blown the whole house trying to cook some cake, much to Anya's displeasure - but the fact that they sounded ok managed to settle Clarke's nerves with her decision to leave them behind.
Louison and Andrew were working; so they were only there for early breakfast - which was actually always early, with Nathalia waking them up to train - and dinner. The rest of the meals was spent between cousins and Iago, sometimes all together, sometimes in small groups, depending on the everyone's daily activities.
Iago and Diana were often together as they were preparing their departure for the Auror Academy; Clarke couldn't remember exactly when, but it was soon. After the fight they had had on Clarke's first day at the Meadow, the two of them had made themselves more discreet; even though Clarke could clearly feel the air was still thick from the tension.
Speaking about Diana, Clarke hadn't seen nor heard much of her older cousin; the Viny girl, who had always been very prompt to look after Clarke each time they were in the same room, seemed to put herself out of reach, always her nose in a book. Unreachable.
As the days were going by, Clarke began to worry; Diana had never acted distant like this with her. In fact, the only people with this behavior Clarke knew were her own mother and Lexa. And each of them always had a secret they were hiding to justify trying to avoid Clarke.
They had just finished their dinner when Clarke spotted Diana coming up the stairs, probably to isolate herself from the rest of them to study in her room - it was really all that Diana was doing, these days - so Clarke took her chance and followed after her, now ready to ask a few questions. After all, they were family; and as such, Clarke could ask any question she wanted.
Gently knocking on the door, Clarke waited for her cousin to answer before entering the room.
"Come in" Diana said through the door, as Clarke was pushing it open.
Diana's room was as Clarke remembered; light orange-like paint on the walls, the shelves as full of books as they were last year - maybe even more. The only thing that had changed was that the room was messier; clearly showing that Diana was preparing herself to move out of the house. A couple of suitcases were empty but open, ready to be filled.
"Hi Clarke" Diana gently said when she spotted her cousin entering the room, "is everything ok?"
Clarke nodded, watching her older cousin as Diana was putting away books, probably sorting through all of them to decide which ones she would bring with her to the Auror Institute.
"I don't know which ones I'll use" Diana sighed, talking as much to Clarke than to herself, "I guess they do have books but you can never be sure..."
"You sound like Hermione" Clarke snorted, sitting down on a corner of the bed.
"Well, she's a very clever witch" Diana chuckled, doing a little twist of her wand with her wrist and putting a couple books back on the shelf by magic. Diana had met Hermione a couple times in Hogwarts, whenever she had come to check up on Clarke, and had been impressed by the girl's cleverness; and if Diana was truly honest, Hermione was good at magic, very good for someone born in a muggle family.
"Yeah" Clarke agreed in a lower voice, looking at her hands resting on her knees, "She is."
It was not that Clarke was jealous of Hermione or anything; she truly liked the girl. It was more than between the witches and wizards in her family and her brilliant friends, Clarke was beginning to feel that she would never be as good as them. Diana must have sensed the change of tone in Clarke's voice, because she stopped shuffling and sat down next to her cousin.
"I'm sorry I haven't been more available for you since you came here" Diana said, apologetic. And she meant it; she hadn't mean for Clarke to feel left out but in all honesty, Diana was struggling herself, with everything that had been going on.
"It's ok" Clarke brushed off, not really caring about it. Then, she waited a couple seconds, waiting to see if Diana was going to open up about what seemed to be weighting her down; but when she did not, Clarke asked about something she had been wanting some clarification on.
"Your father mentioned the English and French Auror Academies. There're multiple schools?"
"Well, yes" Diana frowned, a bit confused about the question. "Each country has its own; although their roles and missions tend to differ from one country to another, depending on their Ministry of Magic." Then, looking at Clarke, she realised the Blonde probably did not know that. "Wait, did you think there was only one Auror thingy?"
"Hum, yes" Clarke sheepishly answered. "I mean, I didn't even know about aurors a year ago, so..."
Diana chuckled, agreeing that it was fair.
"Each country has its ministry; thus, they have aurors against dark arts and schools to train them."
"Is the Academy you'll go chosen based on your magic school?" Clarke wondered then, trying to make sense of all the different structures.
"I guess it works like that, yes" Diana shrugged, not really having given it a thought before, "Although I'm not sure. Maybe you can apply to a different academy than your country's."
"And those schools, they don't always take students?"
"No they don't" Diana confirmed. "They recruit students when they need some and even then, they only take the ones they deem good enough to succeed."
"So they'd rather have no students at all than average ones?" Clarke asked, frowning.
"Something like that, yes" Diana nodded. Clarke could see the well-hidden pride in Diana's eyes, even if she was always trying to conceal it. Clarke understood better now, how big of a deal it all was.
"That's why everyone was surprised both you and Iago got in, the same year. Because it never happens" Clarke said.
"Yeah" Diana hummed. "But there's three of us, actually. There's another girl, I heard."
Clarke shook her head, clearly impressed. She wanted to ask more questions about aurors but Diana already seemed to have her mind on something else entirely. Clarke had noticed it before; her cousin, who had always been so focus-driven, had her head in the clouds most days and Clarke had a vague idea why.
"Diana, what is happening with Iago?" Clarke asked, leaving room to her cousin so she could choose not to answer if she didn't want to talk about it. "I don't want to push you to talk about it or anything, but there is definitedly something there."
"I..." Diana started, then sighed, her head held low - which was very not Diana-like. "I have to tell you something."
Clarke frowned, sensing that it was important, but a bit afraid of what it could be, based on Diana's behavior for the past year.
"Iago's name isn't the one he was born with; I don't know if you know this, but his mother passed away young and after she died, Iago's father decided to change his children's name to their mother's instead of his own : de Beaufort."
Clarke nodded, letting her cousin know she was following. But deep down, Clarke's mind had done the math; she knew the rest already.
"Iago's name is..." Diana took a deep breath in, "... Griffin."
"I... What?" Clarke frowned, "does this mean...?" Clarke trailed off.
"Yeah..." Diana nodded with a smile which probably ought to be reassuring and happy; but Clarke could only read her cousin's sadness in it.
"Well I wasn't expecting that " Clarke snorted, still a bit in shock. It was suddenly all making sense; how Iago and Diana used to be so close you could almost think they were meant for each other, had met each other in a thousand life times already. How they suddenly went from best friends to constant fighting and anger and push-and-pull. They had discovered they were family. The same blood was coursing through their veins; and although it should have meant the start of the most strenghtened bonds... It was actually the only thing that could have broken them.
"I didn't, either" Diana sighed, laying down on the bed, hands on her belly. And that was how she was feeling; spent.
"Diana, I..." Clarke started to talk; then stopped. She wouldn't know what to say to comfort her cousin, anyways.
"I know" Diana nodded, grateful for Clarke, even without magical words to make the pain go away. "It's ok. We'll get through it."
"Does everyone know?" Clarke then wondered.
Diana understood the hidden question in Clarke's words. "Nathalia figured it out on her own. Mom and Dad know; I couldn't have hidden it from them. We discovered it last summer" Diana said. "When you met Iago."
"What does it have to do with me?" Clarke raised a brow, curious.
"Iago and Lilia have an older brother, who died in the war" Diana explained in a low voice, "When he passed away, Iago lost his ability to do extra-corporal magic and his brain kind of wiped all memory of ever doing it."
"Like a response to a traumatic event?" Clarke asked, wanting to understand how the man could have forgotten he was able to do such a brilliant thing. But she also remembered her mother talking about her few of her patients with amnesia; in times of great stress or traumatic event, the brain could force you to forget things in self-preservation, until you were ready to face it again.
"Sometimes like that, yes" Diana nodded. But the magic came back when he met you. I don't know how, he never explained; but he understood then we were all linked, and told me."
"He recognised the magic" Clarke continued her cousin's explanation as she was putting the pieces together, "Because he had seen you guys do it, growing up. He knew it was Griffin magic, because he had learned it from you."
"Exactly" Diana somberly confirmed. "He confronted his father after that, who eventually confessed the bond between all of us."
"So he's another cousin" Clarke asked, wanting to get everything right, "And we share..." She trailed off, needing Diana to fill the gaps in their family tree - which seemed to grow bigger and bigger every year, Clarke thought.
"We share a great-grandfather" Diana completed her cousin's sentence, "Anthony Griffin. He had three sons; my grandfather Louis, Iago's grandfather Tristan and your grandfather, Jacob."
"I think I'll need to write this all down soon" Clarke sighed, laying down on the bed, noting how her own grandfather's name was almost the same as her father's. "There are so many of us... People I didn't even know about two years ago...!"
"I know" Diana hummed, "To be honest I'm sure even we know about every Griffin there is on this Earth" She confessed. "The secrecy makes it so much harder to find each other. Which was kind of the point at the time, actually."
"But why?" Clarke asked, confused as to why the man could have hidden such a secret when the kids had grown so close over the years. "Why would Iago's father hide this from you, knowing that you two were so close? He must have known you'd find out, eventually?"
"For the same reason your parents hid you from us, I guess" Diana sighed, not really having a logical explanation that could make sense of it all. "And I don't think he planned for us to..." She stopped, taking a breath in to help herself finish her sentence. "I don't think he anticipated we would grow close like this."
Clarke nodded as wheels were turning into her head at lightspeed; Iago was family. It could explain why he had always been so curious about Clarke this year, why he had helped her any time she needed some help, why he seemed to know a lot about her. It hadn't been just out of loyalty to Diana because Clarke was her cousin; it was because Clarke was Iago's cousin as well.
"Won't you tell Jade and Timothé?" Clarke wondered then. To be honest, she was a bit surprised the siblings were still in the dark on the matter; and in their shoes, she would have probably been a bit hurt about it.
"Iago wanted to wait after we graduated" Diana explained - although she did not seem reall convinced it was a good justification. "Nathalia only knows because she figured it out on her own, with the fighting and all... I think a part of her knew as well, you know...?" Diana trailed off. "Anyways, I'll have to tell them this summer eventually."
"Is this why you've been fighting?" Clarke asked, mentioning the multiples shouting matches between her cousins, "About whether or not to tell us?"
"Yes and no" Diana sighed for what could as well be the thousandth time of the evening, "I don't really know how to explain it. We've always been drawn to each other, you see? From the minute we met until now. But everything about feelings and stuff take a whole other dimension when you suddenly discover you have the same blood. It closes some doors... And ends some hopes with it."
Clarke understood well what her cousin meant; they would have been lovers, that was what Diana was saying without ever putting words on it. They would have grown closer still, if reality hadn't caught up with them so fast. And who knows when they would have find out anyways? After the first couple of children? When their hair would start to turn grey? With this new link between them had also come the loss of a future they were barely allowing themselves to picture... And that couldn't be easy to digest.
"And it doesn't help our relationship that Iago chose to apply to Auror Training because, like a brave knight or something, he feels the need to protect me" Diana huffed, not liking that Iago would think she needed anyone to protect herself.
Clarke chuckled; Diana was the strongest witch they knew, so Clarke was aware it wasn't only because Iago thought she was some damsel in distress. But it was hard to see good intentions when your whole word was changing..
"At least you won't do this on your own" Clarke offered, hoping it would help her cousin see the positive side of it.
"Yes well, I'm still very angry with him" Diana huffed, but without much passion into it.
"Are you excited?"
"About Auror Training?"
"Yes."
"Well, it is what I always wanted to do, so I'm excited to finally start in that direction" Diana explained. "And to actually do something that matters. And not feel useless, or powerless..."
"You're not powerless, Diana" Clarke frowned, sitting back on the bed to look at her cousin better.
"But it feels like it sometimes, though" Diana sat back too, taking her hair out of her braid and starting braiding it back. "And it's weird, thinking that I won't see my sisters and brother as much as I grew used to."
"That, I can understand" Clarke hummed. "It feels weird whenever I'm away from Octavia and Raven, too."
At that, Diana frowned, looking like she was just remembering that Clarke had sisters of her own, whom they had also invited to spend the summer at the Meadow.
"About that, how come you're here alone?" She asked, "Did they not want to come with?"
"Turns out Anya Woods has invited Bellamy to stay for the summer" Clarke told her cousin, "And Octavia's loyalty is to her brother, always and foremost, even if she wasn't too thrilled to follow him into Woods Territory. Raven went along because Octavia needed her more than I did."
"Anya Woods has invited them?" Diana raised a brow, suspicious. "It can't mean anything good."
"I don't know, I think her and Bellamy are friends" Clarke shrugged, finding it weird too but choosing to trust Bellamy with his frequentations.
"You can't be friends with a Woods" Diana snorted - then, catching herself as she realised who she was talking to, she gave an apologetic smile to her cousin. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
"I know what you meant" Clarke hummed in a tiny voice. "And I agree with you most of the time because she's almost always insufferable" Clarke continued, knowing they were now speaking about Lexa, "But... I don't know. There's something."
"Listen, Clarke" Diana said, her tone serious. "We don't trust the Woods clan, we never have, and I don't trust Anya and I don't trust Lexa, even if both of them haven't given me a reason for it. Yet. But I know you see something in her" Diana added in a gentler tone, "But I just... I just want you to be careful, alright? For now, she seems to want to protect you, but it can't last forever; when it won't fit her agenda, she'll stop."
"You don't know that" Clarke huffed, suddenly getting weirdly defensive of the brunette. And she didn't really understand this defensiveness, either; because Diana was mostly right, Clarke was very aware of that. She knew Lexa had an agenda of her own, who would not include Clarke at the second it would stop to benefit her. But still. "And they actually helped us this year, protecting us."
"I just want you safe, is all." Diana only answered, knowing it was a touchy subject and choosing not to push too much. After all, Clarke had lived a lot of difficult events those past two years, had crossed obstacles and came close to dying so many times Diana had to admit she wasn't a defenseless child anymore.
"You won't be able to protect me for ever, Diana" Clarke sighed, getting up, a bit sick at hearing people telling her she couldn't handle herself. "You're doing with me the same thing Iago does with you."
Diana sighed, having to recognise her cousin was right. "Yeah well, I love you, Clarke. And I wouldn't forgive myself if something was to happen to you."
Clarke smiled, feeling a sudden rush of affection for her cousin that had looked after her from the minute she knew she existed. Throwing her arms around Diana, Clarke hugged her hard.
"I know" Clarke murmured against her cousin's chest. "And I trust you with my life. But you have to trust me back, too."
"Okay" Diana chuckled, putting her arms against her cousin's body to hug her back, "Alright."
"Talk to your siblings, Diana" Clarke then told her, parting from the hug and heading for the door. "You owe them that; and we know first-hand secrets don't help..."
"I will" Diana hummed, "Good night, Clarke."
"Night, D" Clarke smiled, getting out of the room and closing the door behind her.
Trying to be as quiet as possible, Clarke made her way upstairs to Nathalia's room, where she had been sleeping everytime she came to the Meadow. Aska lightly walking in front of her, the both of them silently slipped into the darkened bedroom; trying not to wake her cousin, Clarke quickly got changed into her pyjamas and slided under the sheets. Aska knew the house and its inhabitants well; so, instead of jumping on the bed and sleeping at her feet like he always did in an unknown environment, he settled at the foot of the bed instead, content to stay on the carpet.
As the months were passing by, Clarke was actually noticing how secure she felt with him by her side; without words, she was feeling like they were always in sync, almost as if Aska was a real part of her, like some kind of shadow. She could feel certain things, only based on his behavior. And here, at the meadow, Aska seemed at peace; so Clarke was, too.
He didn't even move from his spot when light footsteps could be heard on the wooden floor; he didn't raise a ear when Clarke's bed dipped down under the weight of a second person. No harm would come to Clarke; Aska knew this. This was Nathalia Viny, scootching in bed with Clarke; and Nathalia was made of the same blood as Clarke, Aska could smell that. And so much more.
"Hey" Clarke whispered into the quiet of the room, only lightened a bit by the full moon piercing through the curtains.
"Where were you?" Nathalia asked. It wasn't any reproach, but merely curiousity about what could have kept Clarke before coming to bed when they were so used to go to bed at the same time, sleeping in the same room and all.
"I was talking with your sister" Clarke said. She braced herself for the conversation that would come. And indeed, Nathalia didn't ask which sister she had been talking to; she knew already, judging by Clarke's tone.
"So you know."
"I know" Clarke hummed.
"And?"
"And I don't know what to say" Clarke sighed, turning on her side so she was facing Nathalia. "I mean, it doesn't really change anything, for me" Clarke said, thinking about how this discovery had rocked Diana's world. "But I'm glad he's family."
"Yeah" Nathalia agreed, "It's a good thing. Mostly."
Clarke knew her cousin was refering to Diana and Iago's relationship - that couldn't exist anymore because of the family bond now between us.
"Are you ok?" Clarke asked then, having noticed that Nathalia had thrown herself into training them and managing things around the house. Which was very Nathalia-like, but not that much.
"I don't know" Nathalia sighed. "I mean, growing up, Diana was always just... There, you know?" The girl explained, "At the house, in school... Next year, she won't be waiting around the corner of some corridor after our classes to check on us or make sure we are ok. I mean... It's kind of a big change."
"I get that" Clarke nodded. "Are you scared your sister won't be there?"
"I'm not scared, not really" Nathalia thought about it. "I mean, we can look after ourselves, but... She's home, you know. Solid ground to go back to in case of trouble."
"I understand" Clarke hummed. "I feel that way with Raven and Octavia, too. They're like... They are like something that will never change, no matter the obstacles. It's like the only one certainty I'll ever have."
Nathalia nodded, staying quiet for a couple of seconds. Then, she spoke again.
"I'm sad that we couldn't be that for you, growing up" She told her cousin, a certain sadness audible in her voice, like a picture of grief for all the time lost. "But I'm glad you found people who were."
"You are, now" Clarke gently said, squeezing her cousin's hand. "And I'm glad we found our way to each other."
"Do they understand?" Nathalia asked then, talking about Clarke's friends, "That you have a family now?"
"I already had a family before, Thalia" Clarke slowly said, not wanting to hurt her cousin but wanting to make it clear that she would never choose between her blood family and her found one. "For me, they were family. It just got a little bit bigger those last two years."
Nathalia nodded. "They are your sisters."
"Yeah" Clarke hummed, turning in the bed. "This, and so much more."
"People are drawn to you, Clarke" Nathalia then quietly said. "People look up to you for leadership, regardless of blood. That kind of loyalty they have towards you... I hope it'll never change."
Clarke didn't answer; for one, she didn't know if it was some kind of warning, or if it was only an hopeful thing to say. For second, it was way too late to discuss serious matters like this.
"Good night" Clarke murmured in the dark of the night. Already half-asleep, Nathalia hummed in response.
Like most nights at the Meadow, Nathalia didn't go back to her own bed, staying with Clarke instead. Like most nights, Aska raised his head at the pale halo of red light emaning from Clarke's body when she fell asleep, levitating a couple seconds over the two girls' bodies, effectively removing all residual tension from Nathalia's body, putting her at ease enough to fall into a peaceful sleep. Like most nights, Aska put his head back on his paws, knowing that Clarke would be safe.
It was Sunday the next morning, so all Vinys would stay at the Meadow; Nathalia had graced Timothé and Clarke with an off-day - which seemed like a precious gift to the two cousins - so they could all spend the day together as a family.
Groaning, Clarke opened her eyes at the feeling of two feet in her ribs.
"What the hell" She said, her voice raspy with sleep. She then saw Nathalia, a big smirk on her face, already wide awake, pushing her with her feet.
"Stop it!" Clarke warned, very aware that she was very close to the side of the bed, "Stop this or... Shit!!"
Clarke didn't have time to word a frightening menace as Nathalia had already pushed her over the edge of the bed. Clarke fell down on the floor in a resonating sound. Nathalia exploded in laughter at the sight of her young cousin faceplanting on the wooden floor, hair all over the place.
"I'll get my revenge" Clarke groaned as she was trying to pick herself back up. Then, looking at Aska who was still laying on the floor and who hadn't move a single paw in Clarke's distress, "I thought you were supposed to protect me?!"
Aska only tilted his head to the side, as if he didn't understand what seemed to be the problem; and it only made Nathalia laugh harder. Then, there was a gentle knock on the door.
"Yeah?" Nathalia managed to answer between two laughs.
Louison opened the door, chuckling at the sight of her daughter's hilarious state and Clarke grumbling, still on the floor.
"Breakfast is ready, girls" The mom said walking towards them, looking amused at Clarke. "We have beds, Clarke. No need to sleep on the floor."
Clarke rolled her eyes, and Nathalia, once again, laughed hard; even Louison cracked a laugh at Clarke's falsely uspet expression.
"We're waiting for you" Louison said, gently kissing Nathalia's hair once they had stopped laughing. Clarke noticed how her cousin always melted in Louison's presence, as if the weight she was carrying on her shoulders was dissolving everytime Louison was near. It made her miss her own mother; because it had been quite some time since Abby had been that gentle or caring with her. And that feeling was a new one, too, because it had also been a while since Clarke had missed her mom, having grown used to do things on her own.
Louison got downstairs, and Nathalia offered a gentle smile to Clarke, probably knowing what her cousin was thinking about.
"Come on" The girl said, getting out of bed and offering a hand to Clarke so she could get off the floor, "Let's go, or they'll all come barging in."
They quickly put on some clothes and got downstairs, where the rest of the family was sitting down at the big living-room table, already engaged in playful banter.
"I'm telling you there's no broom faster on the PLANET" Timothé was arguing with Jade, waving a newspaper into his sister's face.
"Did you actually see how much it costs?!" Jade retorted, huffing at his brother, "There's no way you'll have it for Christmas!"
"Your sister makes a good point" Andrew Viny hummed into his coffee, a smile on his lips at his children's behavior.
"And it's the player that makes the difference, Tim" Nathalia chuckled, settling down on a chair and winking at Clarke. "It doesn't matter which broom you have."
"Well it certainly helps" Timothé huffed, biting into his slice of bread.
They all laughed at his face as he was understanding he would not have a new broom. Then, Clarke noticed that Diana was looking at the newspaper her brother still had in his hands, a frown growing on her face.
"Dad, did you..." She started. Somberly, her father nodded, knowing what she was refering to.
"Yes, I saw. I got a call from the Minister of Magic this morning. It doesn't concern us for now, but he's worried" Andrew told his oldest daughter.
"As he should" Nathalia murmured.
"What's happening?" Clarke asked, not understanding what they were talking about.
Jade grabbed the newspapers and showed it to Clarke. Clarke had noticed that they were always reading a couple different newspapers, some french, some english... This one Jade was showing was the same Ron was reading in England. On the front page, there was a man, long beard and long hair, screaming at the photograph, handcuffed. The picture was alive and moving, of course, as all magical pictures were. It was a terrifying sight; Clarke didn't know him, and had not heard of him, but she could already tell it was not one of the good guys.
"Who's Sirius Black?" Clarke asked, reading the title of the article, mentioning he had escaped Azkaban, the most secured magic prison in Europe.
"A death eater" Louison Viny answered, her voice unusually small. "A supporter to Voldemort. He killed a lot of people, back then. Good people."
The mood had suddenly dropped, and Clarke couldn't help but wonder if Louison was really telling her the whole truth; Diana seemed preoccupied, too.
"Do you think Black will go in search of Voldemort again?" Clarke then wondered. They knew Voldemort wasn't dead, that somehow, some part of him still lived; they had discovered it the hard way during Clarke's first year in Hogwarts and then, in the journal from last year where Harry and her had almost died - again.
"We can't know for sure" Andrew Viny sighed. "But people are looking for him. Don't worry about that, children."
Iago and Diana exchanged a meaningful look; and although Clarke couldn't decifer what it meant, she knew the cousins were thinking the same thing. Then, a bird sound was heard; a white owl that Clarke knew well entered the room, coming to rest on Clarke's chair, holding a couple letters in her beak.
"Hi, Hedwige" Clarke greeted the snow owl, gently petting her a couple times before retrieving the letters.
"Who's this from?" Louison curiously wondered, "Your friends from home?"
"Harry Potter" Clarke answered, opening up the enveloppe, wondering what Harry had to say that couldn't wait the next week, where they were all supposed to meet in Diagon Alley to shop for the new school year. The other one had Raven's handwriting, but Clarke put it away for now, opening Harry's letter first.
After a couple of minutes of reading, Clarke frowned, turning over to Nathalia, sitting right next to her.
"Hum, what is a Knight Bus?"
"What?" Diana chuckled, never having heard of something of that name before.
"Harry said he ran away from his aunt and uncle's place, and got picked up by the Knight Bus or something" Clarke said, showing the letter to her cousin, then turning to her own uncle. "Do you know of it?"
"I can't say I do" Andrew Viny shrugged, taking the letter from Diana to look at it. "It might be a british thing."
"He says he got dropped off in Diagon Alley where he's staying at the leaky cauldron" Clarke continued, telling them all about Harry's words in his letter. "Our Minister of Magic was there to welcome him. In person. It's weird. Right...?"
The adults stayed silent as Louison and Andrew were exchanging a meaningful look.
"Maybe the Ministry heard that Harry had gone from his uncle's and they made sure he was safe" Andrew offered to his niece - although Clarke could clearly see he was hiding part of his thoughts. "He's an important person, in England. They might want to add extra-security around him, with what happened back then."
"And what has happened the last two years, too" Louison added in a chuckle, an heavy funny look directed to Clarke - as she always seemed to find herself deep in trouble alongside the young english wizard and the rest of their friends.
"Do you want to meet him earlier than planned?" Diana asked Clarke then. "Looks like he'll spend the whole week in Diagon Alley."
"I don't know" Clarke hummed, folding back the letter in four and putting it back in the enveloppe. "He doesn't really ask for me to come, but..."
Clarke paused, looking at her cousins. She knew Diana would leave the next morning to go to the Auror Academy, so it wouldn't change anything for her if Clarke was to leave early; but for the rest of the siblings, it meant the end of their summer together and Clarke had no idea when they would see each other again.
"If you want to go meet him, I'll drive you" Andrew then said in a gentle voice, guessing Clarke's difficult choice. "But you don't have to decide now."
He got up, picking up a few plates and cups to clean the table a little and got outside. Diana and Iago got up too, as they needed to finish their bags for their departure.
"It's ok if you need to go find him" Jade then said, lightly squeezing Clarke's hand before getting up. "Maybe he does need you and doesn't know how to ask for it."
"Yeah" Nathalia softly agreed with her sister and noticing that Clarke still hadn't opened the other letter, she added : "Check in with everyone; we'll do whatever you choose."
Timothé didn't say anything, but only offered a light smile, telling his cousin he agreed with his sisters and would stand by them. Clarke gratefully smiled at her cousins, relieved that they didn't seem to be mad at the idea of her leaving early than planned; and it comforted Clarke even more knowing that they could listen to her and respect her choices, not matter what she might choose.