My heart skipped a beat as the photo came to life. There we were, Jacob and I, jumping up and down and grinning at Mom. She must have thought it was because we were excited. Mischievous, giggling, and making silly faces at each other. Little did she...
This is what I want: I want to grab my brother's hand and run back through time, losing years like coats falling from our shoulders.
— Jandy Nelson, "I'll Give You the Sun"
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The spiral staircase led us further down beneath the castle. Tap-tap, tap-tap... The corridor was narrow and neglected, illuminated by sporadic enchanted torches. I noticed rust and mold on the railings and ancient chests peering out from small alcoves. Merlin knows what prompted me to open one of them, but neither I nor Tulip found treasures inside, just a Boggart sitting there.
When we were done dealing with it, we breathed heavily, more from surprise than fear.
"You, Mia Gelider, are a bigger problem than I am," Tulip chuckled weakly.
The silence and the damp walls of the corridor pressed on us. I strained my ears for the distant sound of water, Tulip's steps, and the rustling in the darkness. Lumos! But the dense, deceptively thin darkness quickly smothered the light of my wand.
"Did you see," Karasu suddenly giggled, "Merula's face when Barnaby hit her with that spell? That was the best thing I've seen all day, even better than an unconscious Pince."
"I hope Merula's okay," I said. Tulip didn't reply, but I sensed a tangible question mark hanging in the air, so I continued, "Barnaby and I have had a dozen duels. Beating him is as difficult as catching a Diricawl."
"Either way," she huffed, "I hope he gave her a hard time."
Another step, and another, and... Tulip suddenly grabbed my shoulder and pulled me close while raising her wand. The darkness ahead took shape, with lavender eyes and unruly hair. Riddikulus! — and the Boggart disappeared.
Karasu finally relaxed her grip. I winced, imagining half-moons from her nails on my shoulder.
We took a few more cautious steps downward, and then she said,
"I betrayed her," and there was an inexplicable weight in her words, something that could only be felt with the heart.
"Betrayed?" I asked.
"We were looking for the Cursed Vaults together. Found your brother's study, sat in the library for hours, searching for clues. I... I couldn't resist and... hid something from her, so I could get there first," Tulip chuckled, but there was no real mirth in her laughter. "You probably don't know what it's like to be a bad friend."
I sharply turned to Tulip — so much so that I almost collided with her face. Physically, only a few inches separated us.
"I think I've been a bad friend too. But that doesn't make us bad people or unworthy of friendship."
Her cheeks flushed, her eyes like little devilish fires. Karasu opened her mouth to reply, but a piercing, agonizing cry echoed through the corridor. Merula? Ismelda? Or, in the worst case, Barnaby? We didn't waste any time on speculation and hurried down.
And lower.
And even lower.
Finally, darkness swallowed us, and Lumos instantly faded. A shiver passed over my skin.
"I p-propose we discuss our fears to make them less frightening," Tulip's voice came from a distance. "On the count of three."
One. Two...
"Merula!"
"Voldemort!"
"Clowns!"
I flinched in surprise — clowns? What on earth clowns? Someone laid a hand on my shoulder, wide and heavy, resembling a Manticore's paw. I quickly turned around to see...
"Barnaby! Are you okay?"
"Yeah," his voice was weary but laced with a smile," managed to stick Merula to the floor and tie Ismelda's hands into a knot."
We fell silent for a moment.
"No offense," Tulip cleared her throat, "but I don't want to imagine that."
The three of us descended deeper, into the very heart of the Vault. Breathing became harder, and the shadows clung to us like cold, clammy fingers. Restlessness seeped into our bones. Barnaby blew a puff of air, and in the light of Lumos, his breath turned into vapor.
Everything was calm, and then — then a faint rustling reached my ears. Shuffle, shuffle! Carefully, we moved towards the sound, gripping our wands tighter.
"At last, Mia Gelider."
He took on those repulsive features again — the snakelike smile, crimson eyes, and his lithe, supple figure in robes. Voldemort emerged straight from the darkness, towering over us, nearly three times taller than Hagrid.
His presence was suffocating, like an impending storm.
"Come for my pocket Death Eater, have you?" Voldemort bared his teeth, pressing something that resembled a body closer to him. His other hand menacingly pointed the wand straight at...
"Jacob!"
I lunged, rushing toward him, but Barnaby grabbed me by the arms. I lunged again! And again! Lee held me back as firmly as Voldemort held my brother. Jacob's face was flushed, his legs helplessly kicking in the air.
"Jacob, no! No! Barnaby, let go! Can't you see?..."
Anger surged within me — or maybe it was just an illusion, because suddenly, Tulip appeared, so close that her fiery tendrils licked me, like Chester used to do.
Karasu seized my face and looked bluntly into my eyes.
"That's not your brother, Mia. It's," she said emphatically, "just a Boggart!"
I didn't reply, my gaze still on Jacob. He was desperately struggling with the hand around his throat. The painful groans that escaped him tore me apart.
"Say goodbye, cowardly Hogwarts hero. Now your brother—"
"Riddikulus!"
Voldemort's face briefly contorted in surprise, and Jacob's figure lost its clarity. So, it really wasn't Jacob... Strangely, this realization didn't bring the relief it should have. Tulip raised her wand next, followed by Barnaby. The Boggart's attention shifted, sensing their presence.
Then, the darkness transformed, blending Voldemort, Merula, and the colorful clown, searching for vulnerabilities. The Boggart hunted our fears, and among them, mine was the greatest.
"Riddikulus!" Tulip shouted, Barnaby echoed, and so did others. I recognized Bill's voice, Rowan's, and Tonks' cheerful tone.
And when our spells finally hit the Boggart square in the chest, it staggered, shifting through dozens of forms, and... disappeared with a loud crack. Bang! And nothing remained.
The air lightened, and yellowish, sickly light spilled from the ceiling, outlining our features and blinding our eyes. Bill let out a heavy breath, dropping a sack from his shoulder that turned out to be an unconscious Ben. To our silent questions, he simply shrugged his shoulders.
"He had a bit of a meltdown," Bill explained, stretching his arm.
At last, I looked around, spotting what I had been searching for all along — the giant yellow column, the Cursed Vault. It seemed out of place, like a faded blotch in the middle of the darkness. Rowan squeezed my hand, and as we took a step closer, and another, and another, nearing the column, I suddenly turned to Barnaby and asked:
"But... clowns? Why clowns?"
The others looked at me as if I were out of my mind, then shifted their gaze to Lee. His face suddenly flushed red. He shrugged as if it were just a gust of wind and softly answered:
