Now that Jinx was a year older and an established seasonal worker, Madam Rosmerta began trusting her with more tasks this summer. Jinx was now allowed into the back storerooms and to help out with basic plating for meals. She also finally met the House-Elf that Rosmerta employed: a diligent little elf called Juny. Unlike most House-Elves in the Wizarding World, Juny wore clothes, a symbol of her freedom. She chose to work for Rosmerta and got paid a fair wage along with living quarters. Juny mainly worked in the kitchen, and Jinx found elf magic fascinating. It was truly impressive how Juny was capable of managing so many different objects and tasks at once with her magic.
One early July morning, Rosmerta gave Jinx a box of bottled elderflower wine to gift to each of the Hogsmeade shop owners. Jinx learned that Rosmerta always gave the shop owners a complimentary taste of the newest drinks and foods she added to her inn menu to gauge their opinions on it. Just from the smell of the wine, Jinx figured that this newest addition would be a popular one, but she figured it would be best to get the ratings from people who could legally consume it.
Jinx saved Ceridwen's Cauldron Shop as the last store to stop by. She hadn't been able to speak to Atticus and Coretta Lang at all during the school year and wanted to catch up with the couple. After about an hour of lugging around crates of wine and making small talk with the various residents of Hogsmeade, Jinx finally arrived at the cauldron shop. She knocked on the shop door: it was still early enough that none of the shops had officially opened for business.
Coretta peered through the window, and her face lit up when Jinx waved at her. The woman ran to the door and threw it open. "Oh Jinx, how lovely to see you!" she cried out, pulling Jinx in for a tight embrace.
"It's great to see you too, Coretta," Jinx grinned. "Madam Rosmerta wanted me to drop off some of her new elderflower wine."
"Oh how marvelous," Coretta said as she closed the door behind Jinx. "You can just bring that right on up to the pantry in the attic. I'm afraid our kitchen is a bit messy right now."
"No problem," Jinx said. She picked up the crate again and looked around the corridor. "Er, which way is the attic?"
Coretta laughed. "Just three floors up these stairs here." She pointed at the flight of stairs behind the register. "I still have some things to tidy up down here, but just come back down once you're done."
Jinx nodded. Adjusting her grip on the crate of wine bottles, she made her way to the back of the store and up the stairs. The shop and house were unnervingly quiet. Although only three people lived in the building, Jinx would not have thought that Coretta would be the only one awake at this hour. She wondered where Talbott and Atticus were. Talbott was certainly the quiet type of person, but no person could be this silent.
There still was no sign of either of the two as Jinx finally reached the attic at the very top of the staircase. Balancing the crate between her left hip and the doorframe, Jinx used her free hand to take out her wand and unlock the door. The attic was small but inviting: warm string lights hung from the ceiling and around a cupboard. The cupboard shelves were stocked full of jars and wooden boxes, and a rich, sweet smell wafted from them. Jinx knelt on the ground beside the cupboard to see if she could fit the crate in the opening on the bottom shelf.
After a few minutes of re-sizing the wine bottle box, Jinx got the crate to slide onto the shelf perfectly. She stayed seated on the floor for a minute longer to look over the Lang's attic pantry. She couldn't help her curiosity, and if Coretta hadn't wanted her to look at what food they had, she wouldn't have sent Jinx up to the attic in the first place. The pantry just seemed to have a lot of jams and jellies and mixes of spiced herbs. Surrounded by the sights and smells of an assortment of food made Jinx felt very hungry. Perhaps she could convince Juny to-
SQUAWKKK!
A rather large eagle suddenly flew into the attic. Jinx hadn't even realized there was an open window until the eagle landed on the pantry shelf right above her head. The bird glared down at her with angry hazel eyes, then hopped down next to her.
Jinx screamed.
Then, she took out her wand and pointed it directly at the eagle.
The eagle screeched and seemed to jump backward. Jinx waved her wand, preparing to put up a shield charm in case the bird wanted to attack her. She wasn't sure how well the Shielf In a flash of golden light, it suddenly transformed into a very familiar Ravenclaw boy.
"Talbott?" Jinx sputtered. "What the hell are you doing?"
"I could ask the same of you!" Talbott snapped. "This is my house!" He was still sprawled out on the ground, an angry, panicked look on his face. He narrowed his eyes, and Jinx couldn't help but notice how similar his eyes were to the eagle.
"Your aunt told me to bring a delivery from Madam Rosmerta up here," Jinx explained quickly. "I swear I wasn't snooping around or anything!"
But Talbott looked as if he didn't believe her for one moment. His face twisted in suspicion before he crossed his arms. "Get out," he said coldly.
Not wanting to anger the boy any further, Jinx tucked her wand away, nodded, and sprinted out of the attic and down the stairs. She nearly tripped as she re-entered the first-floor shop, and had to grab onto the railing for support. Coretta was polishing up a set of silver cauldrons when she saw Jinx hurry out the door.
"Is everything alright?" Coretta called out the door as Jinx ran down the main street of Hogsmeade.
"Yes, I just have to get to work in time!" Jinx yelled back. "It was nice seeing you though!"
Coretta simply waved goodbye. She looked confused, and Jinx didn't blame her, but she was sure Talbott's inevitable sour mood would give Coretta enough hints.
For the rest of the day, Jinx was plagued with the image of Talbott's face up in the attic. As she ran around The Three Broomsticks carrying trays of food and drink, Jinx could only focus on trying to pinpoint the emotions Talbott had been feeling. She couldn't quite tell if he was angry, upset, scared, or just plain hurt. Whatever the case, he was certainly not feeling great about Jinx, even though what had happened was an accident. Jinx wasn't even entirely sure what had transpired in the attic. All she knew for certain was that an eagle had flown into the attic, and had turned into Talbott in a flash of light. She didn't know what sort of magic could completely transform a human into another creature or the other way around.
The moment her shift was done, Jinx dashed toward the fireplace in Rosmerta's office. This was another privilege she had earned this summer: using Rosmerta's private Floo network to travel between the inn and her mother's townhouse. Rosmerta even allowed Jinx to use her Floo powder for free for the journey back as long as Jinx only traveled to her house. Tonight, Jinx's mind was so preoccupied with Talbott that she nearly missed her fireplace.
Sofia Raider was waiting by the dining room fireplace, her arms crossed as she watched Jinx tumble out of the fireplace. "You need to pay closer attention," Sofia tutted.
"Mum," Jinx whined, "I haven't missed our fireplace at all in the past month that I've been working!"
"You've had several near misses though."
Jinx sighed. She did not want to argue with her mother tonight, especially when she actually needed her mother's knowledge and advice. Sofia seemed to sense this shift in Jinx's attitude because she unfolded her arms and sat down in one of the nearby armchairs.
"How was work?" she asked her daughter.
Jinx groaned and pushed her hair out of her face. "It was meh. Not work itself, but I had a bit of a weird situation before my shift even started," she said.
"What happened?" Sofia asked.
Jinx appreciated that her mother wasn't searching her mind with Legilimency, as she easily could have. "I was delivering a new beverage to the shopowners, and I saved Ceridwen's for last because I wanted to chat with the Langs," she explained. "Then, when I was upstairs in their attic putting the wine away, I saw…something that I shouldn't have. It wasn't inappropriate or anything, and it was a complete accident, but I think I might have ruined a potential relationship with one of my classmates," Jinx sighed.
Her mother nodded thoughtfully. Although Jinx had only given her a vague description of what had happened, Sofia seemed to have a good grasp on the situation. "I think you need to talk to this friend of yours," she finally said, "and make it clear that it was an accident and you did not mean to cause them any distress. And that you promise you won't reveal whatever it was you witnessed to anyone else. Even your mother," she added.
Jinx felt a small smile form on her lips at this. "Unforunately, he does not like to talk," Jinx said dryly.
"When has that ever stopped you?" Sofia countered.
"Fair enough," Jinx chuckled. Then, in a more serious tone, she said, "Thanks, mum."
Sofia's face softened at this. In the dim light of the fireplace, Jinx could see that her mother looked tired. Perhaps her day at work had also been frustrating. Jinx made her way over to the armchair and sat down on the ground next to Sofia. She leaned her head against her mother's leg and closed her eyes.
Animagus.
The word suddenly sprang to Jinx's mind. She must've heard Rowan rambling about some sort of human-to-animal Transfiguration months ago, and that's what Talbott must have done. She tried to remember exactly what an Animagus Transfiguration entailed, but all she could hear in her head was Rowan mentioning Animagi, then talking about her plans for the winter holiday. No matter, she would try to weasel that information out of Talbott, one way or another.
A week had passed since the Attic Accident (as Jinx now called it in her mind), and Jinx still hadn't been able to get a hold of Talbott. She stopped by Ceridwen's every day, but there was only Coretta in the shop. Jinx had asked Coretta where Atticus and Talbott were each time, but Coretta only replied with Atticus' whereabouts (he was visiting his parents and younger sister, who had just given birth to triplets). She felt bad for upsetting Talbott and needed to let him know that. But Talbott seemed determined to avoid her, and with Coretta not letting anything slip, Jinx had no choice but to leave him alone for now.
Although, Jinx was soon distracted by the arrival of her two cousins, Raul and Hudson. Her mother had forced her to clean the entire townhouse in preparation, even though Jinx insisted that the boys did not care about the tidiness of the house given how messy their rooms were. Still, Jinx couldn't help but appreciate her mother's dedication to welcoming in her ex-husband's family. Even Uncle Newt and Aunt Tina were excited for the Mative boys to visit, and they had even made Tina's birthday celebration 2 weeks earlier just to invite the brothers.
So the morning that Raul and Hudson came tumbling through the fireplace was a hectic one. Both Jinx and Sofia were getting ready for their respective workdays when they heard a loud banging noise come from the dining room. They both hurried down the stairs to see the two boys sprawled out on the ground.
"I just cleaned the carpet," Sofia groaned as she levitated her nephews back up into the air.
Meanwhile, Jinx was already running over to hug them both. She didn't care that they were covered in soot and would dirty her clothes too, she was simply happy to have her cousins with her for a little while. Raul held onto her tightly as he laughed at Sofia's fussing.
"We're sorry, Aunt Sofia," Hudson chuckled. Nonetheless, he waved his wand and cleaned the carpet with an elegant swoop.
"Oh, it's not that big of a deal," Sofia smiled softly. She leaned against the door frame and watched as Raul drew a smiley face on Jinx's ash-covered forehead. "Jinx, you'll want to wash up before you head out for work."
"It's alright," Jinx shrugged, "I'll probably get dirty again coming out of Rosmerta's fireplace!"
Sofia sighed. "If you insist then," she said. Then, she straightened her dark dress robes and headed for the front door. "I'm going to work then. Hudson, watch over your brother and please make sure Jinx leaves for The Three Broomsticks in time."
"Will do," Hudson laughed as he saluted. Jinx and Raul rolled their eyes in unison.
As Sofia locked the door behind her, Raul turned to Jinx, a wide smile on his face. "Soooo, is today Take-Your-Cousins-to-Work Day?" he asked.
"It can be," Jinx giggled. She walked over to the kitchen sink and quickly wiped the ash off her face. She supposed it wouldn't make the best first impression to introduce Rosmerta to her family if she had childish drawings all over her face.
Once she was all set to head to the inn, Jinx grabbed a handful of Floo powder and motioned for her cousins to follow her back to the fireplace. In a loud clear voice, she said, "The Three Broomsticks!" and tossed the emerald powder into the fireplace. She stepped into the familiar green flames, and a few moments later she landed in Rosmerta's office.
Rosmerta was seated at her desk, running through some accounting numbers. She looked up when Jinx arrived and gave the girl a cheerful wave.
"Good morning, Jinx," Rosmerta smiled. "Where are-"
She was interrupted by the sight of Raul somersaulting his way out of the fireplace and Hudson following upright behind him.
"There they are," Rosmerta laughed as Raul landed on his back.
"Hello Madam Rosmerta," Hudson said. He stepped over his brother and extended his hand out to Rosmerta to shake. "I'm Hudson Mative, Jinx's cousin. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine," Rosmerta grinned, shaking his hand.
"And I'm Raul!" Raul called out from the ground. He was too busy laughing with Jinx to bother standing up.
Rosmerta bit back a smile as she shook her head at the young man lying on her office floor. She could tell right away that Jinx got along with Raul the most out of her extended family. It was bittersweet for Rosmerta to watch this all unfold: Jinx wasn't aware of the extent to which Rosmrta had known Jacob, and Rosmerta planned to keep it that way for now. Still, she was happy to see Jinx smiling with her family, and a bit taken aback to see Hudson, who looked so alike his missing cousin. At that moment, Hudson tilted his head to the side and gave Rosmerta a bit of an intense look. For a second, Rosmerta thought that the young man was trying to look into her mind, but when his eyes flickered back towards Jinx and Raul, Rosmerta figured that he wanted her to put an end to their fun.
"Alright, alright, Jinx," Rosmerta said hurriedly, "you should start getting ready. Juny's already got the early morning drinks set up, so you need to get on that." Then, she turned to Hudson and Raul and said, "You two are welcome to stay for as long as you want, provided you don't serve as a distraction to your cousin."
Raul chuckled at this. "Me? A distraction to Jinxy here? Never!"
Rosmerta could only shake her head as Jinx and Raul started laughing again. She shooed them all out of her office and trusted that Jinx would get her cousins settled down somewhere.
As Jinx tied her work apron around her waist, she stuck a foot out and pointed at a door. "That'll take you into the dining area of the inn," she explained. "You guys can wait here, or explore the village on your own."
"We can stay for a little while," Raul said. "Neither of us slept much, and we could use something to eat and drink."
Hudson nodded in agreement, and Jinx watched as the two of them headed over to the empty bar. Jinx glanced over the early morning crowd: except for two elderly couples, there was nobody else waiting to be waited on. Still, she was sure that some of the people staying overnight at the Inn had put in breakfast requests, and she would have to help Juny with the preparations for it.
It was strange to work while her family watched her. Jinx had repeatedly told her mother, grandmother, Aunt Tina, and Uncle Newt to not come to the Three Broomsticks while she was working. She felt that the pressure would be too much, and she felt self-conscious running around and joking with customers if people she actually knew and cared about were there. To Hudson's credit at least, he was making an effort to not distract Jinx and pretend as if he weren't there. Jinx smiled to herself as she saw him talking easily with an elderly couple from Germany about Quidditch. Raul, on the other hand, was always trying to catch her eye and make her laugh. Jinx tried very hard not to look over in her cousin's direction, but she and Raul got along so well for a reason: their minds just seemed to link together.
Unfortunately, that connection persisted even when she desperately didn't want it to.
Such as when Talbott walked in with Corretta Lang and the two of them sat down right next to the Mative brothers. Jinx's eyes widened in panic for a fraction of a second, and Raul gave her a puzzled glance. He started to lift his hand to wave Jinx over, but Jinx dashed back into the kitchen before Talbott could turn around and see her. Peeking out from behind the doorframe, Jinx could see Hudosn turning his attention to Talbott and Corretta. He stared at the older woman for a moment, and she looked back at him with an unusually piercing stare. Then, the two started talking.
Jinx banged her head lightly against the wall. Perfect. This wasn't how she wanted to talk with Talbott for the first time since the Attic Incident. But there wasn't anything she could do about it: Rosmerta was hollering at her to bring in another tray of coffee and tea. So she sighed, gritted her teeth, and re-entered the dining area of the inn.
"You're so slow, Jinx!" Raul shouted from the bar.
"You don't have to shout, I can hear just fine!" Jinx yelled back. Some of the patrons laughed at this exchange
Talbott, on the other hand, whipped his head around and glared at Jinx. She had just arrived at the bar, and Talbott had already leaped off his stool and was gathering his jacket. Corretta looked at him with confusion, then she sighed when the realization hit her.
As Talbott stormed out of the inn, Corretta gave Jinx an apologetic smile. "He'll come around, Jinx," she said softly, resting a hand on Jinx's shoulder. "That boy can be so stubborn though, especially when it comes to matters so close to his heart."
"Yeah, stubborn is definitely a word," Jinx murmured. Then, in a brighter voice, she said, "Have a lovely rest of your day, Corretta. I hope he isn't too cloudy in the store."
Corretta chuckled and gave Jinx one last squeeze on the shoulder before she hurried out after her nephew. Jinx leaned against the bar counter. She let her head drop for a few seconds, forgetting that her cousins had witnessed that entire exchange.
"What the hell was that, Jinx?" Hudson asked gently. He looked slightly concerned, and Jinx felt her skin prickle under Hudson's stare. She had never noticed it when she was younger, but sometimes Hudson could get a very intense look on his face. It reminded her of the way that her mother and grandmother sometimes looked at her, with their strange way of peering into others' minds. But as far as she was concerned, Hudson had not inherited the Legilimency abilities passed through her mother's line. Which could only mean that he-
"Did you break that kid's heart or something, Jinx?" Raul snickered. He seemed unaware of his older brother's questioning stare. Or was he just choosing to ignore it? Jinx felt the prickling feeling again as she turned to look at Raul.
"Something like that," she sighed dramatically, trying to lighten the situation. Raul laughed at this and reached up to put his arm around her. "Oh Jinx, those poor poor Hogwarts boys."
"I know, having to go through Cursed Vault after Cursed Vault," Hudson said evenly.
Jinx froze, torn between running back into Rosmerta's office and dumping what remained of Raul's tea on top of Hudson's head.
"Oh come on, Hudson, we know she's not opening them," Raul rolled his eyes.
"And what's this change of tune?" Jinx demanded. She still had not forgotten how angry her family had been over the summer when they learned
Raul shrugged. "The Times ran another article about you and the vaults at the start of the summer," he explained. "I think we all pretty much expected it, but it was refreshing to read that you only seem to be cleaning up the mess, and not causing it.
"Well of course I wouldn't't be the one causing it," Jinx snapped. "Not that I even know how I would if I-"
"Alright, alright," Hudson said, raising his hand to silence her. "We know, and before you scold us, we know that we should've asked for your side first. But mom and dad and the aunts are all a bit worried, that's all."
"Do you really believe I want to be spending my time putting myself in life-threatening situations," Jinx whispered angrily.
"No-"
"The most trouble I want to be in is getting caught sneaking into Honeydukes after hours!"
"So breaking and entering?" Hudson snorted.
"Yes!" Jinx spluttered, her anger dissipating when she realized that neither of her cousins was truly angry with her. They were only concerned, and as much as she hated being patronized, she supposed it was reasonable for them to worry so much, being a whole ocean away unable to do anything. Raul suddenly started giggling again, and Hudson was smiling into his coffee mug
"Ahem."
Jinx spun around to see Rosmerta leaning against the bar behind her. Jinx was fully prepared to start spouting out some defense of her lack of work, but Rosmerta was smiling at her.
"Just take the day off, Jinx," Rosmerta told her. "You'll owe me a shift sometime l-"
"Oh, thank you!" Jinx said, hugging the woman tightly. Rosmerta let out a surprised yelp, but she quickly started laughing too.
"Alright, alright, just go, go!" she said, shooing Jinx towards the exit.
Raul and Hudson followed after the blonde woman, matching grins on their faces. Raul joined Jinx by the door, but Hudson stood back for a bit. "I want to talk to Madam Rosmerta for a bit," he explained.
"Why?" Jinx asked.
"Just a few questions, that's all," Hudson said.
"But-"
"Come on, Jinx," Raul said, tugging at her shirt sleeve. "Just let him be weird, alright?"
"I don't want him to weird out my boss," Jinx hissed as they left The Three Broomsticks. "You two are ridiculous you know that, almost costing me my job."
"Don't worry, you have permission to come to Chicago anytime to bother me at my workplace," Raul smiled.
"Chicago? You're moving?!"
"Yup!"
"Aunt Marigold is allowing that?" Jinx asked, half-joking but half-serious too.
"Well, she can't not allow what she doesn't know," Raul said cheerfully.
Jinx laughed at this. "You, Lilah, and Hudson keep pulling this on her, she's gonna faint one day."
"Yeah, well, she can't expect us to want to live in Cleveland forever," Raul shrugged. "Besides, I think Hudson and Lilah are both so much happier living their own lives some distance away from her."
"It Lilah still with the Quidditch guy?" Jinx asked as she led Raul into Honeydukes. His eyes lit up at the sight of walls upon walls of candies and sweets.
"Give me a second, Jinx," Raul gasped. "I've literally never seen every square inch of a wall covered with sugar."
"Honeydukes is special," Jinx agreed.
After a few minutes of just silently walking around the store, taking in the complete stock of choices in the store, Raul finally spoke again. "Yeah, Lilah's still with Charles. They're doing really well - Dad's happy about that." It was not lost on Jinx that Raul didn't mention Aunt Marigold's stance on Lilah's relationship.
"That's good to hear. Have you guys been going to a lot of Quidditch games?"
"Oh yeah," Raul grinned. "You'd think that Charles would be sick of all of us asking at this point, but he's been great about getting us great seats whenever we want. I think Jo and Aunt Wilma are gonna be devastated if those two ever break up just because of the Quidditch.
A little while later, while Jinx and Raul were still looking through Honeydukes, Hudson bounded into the store. Jinx waved him over, and he shared Raul's initial awe at the sheer amount of sweets inside the shop. She wanted to question him about his talk with Rosmerta but knew that Hudson would not tell her a thing if he didn't want to. And she was certain that he was not going to let her know at all.
Still, it was nice to spend the rest of the day giving Raul and Hudson a tour of the village. Hudson bought a little disappearing Snitch from Zonko's, a gift for Aaron, he told Jinx, who was trying out for Seeker this year at Ilvermorny. Raul had been less than pleased at Zonko's: a Nose-Biting Teacup had nearly chomped his right pinky figure off and he had hurled the offending teacup at a wall, nearly hitting an elderly woman. Jinx also made sure to steer clear of Ceridwen's Cauldrons, not looking forward to running into Talbott again. Thankfully, neither of the boys seemed interested in looking at cauldrons and instead insisted on going to the Magical Menagerie to look at cats.
Back at home, Jinx noticed that her mother was in a much lighter mood with Raul and Hudson staying over. Although they had no blood relation, Sofia was genuinely fond of the Mative brothers, and Jinx was grateful that her family seemed to get along. For the first time in a long while, dinnertime was full of conversation and chattering and food being passed around. And Sofia enjoyed grilling the boys about their studies and careers (and Jinx enjoyed the attention being off of her for once).
It seemed that the Scamanders were also excited about Raul and Hudson being in town, especially with Tina's birthday. Jinx hoped with her whole heart this year's event wouldn't be tinged with the sorrow of the past years, and that her cousins being there would provide some source of entertainment that was distracting enough. And as it worked out in her favor, that's exactly what Raul provided - a distraction - when Great-Aunt Tina asked for advice on the cake. It was fitting, Jinx thought, that Raul was planning to start working for a magical catering company in Chicago in the fall: this unique passion of his simply had to have some sort of career.
They eventually agreed on a magnificent lemon and lavender cake (although lemon was not Sofia's favorite, as she told Jinx several times). Jinx had to remind her mother that it wasn't her birthday and that she would make sure to tell Raul to send her a whole box of lemon candies on her birthday. But even that wasn't even enough to dim Sofia's mood as they celebrated Great-Aunt Tina's birthday. The crups were thrilled to meet new people, and Hudson spent the entire afternoon running around the Scamander estate, chasing the creatures around.
Uncle Ellis was missing from this year's celebrations again, but Jinx figured he would probably dampen the festive air with his usual brooding. Besides, Jinx was fairly certain that he, like her mother, was not particularly fond of lemon, and would surely have something less than pleasant to say about Raul's choices.
After her cousins left, the rest of the summer seemed to pass by in a blur. Rosmerta was back to making sure Jinx was hard at work as more people came into the village before school started again. There were so many more people now, families and old professors and old students and visiting scholars and Ministry workers - it was sometimes quite overwhelming. Jinx supposed that it was a good exercise in sharpening her magic skills, however, as the sheer number of people during lunch hour rushes required the utmost concentration and precision to not cause a mess.
To her surprise and gratitude, Juny had helped her perfect the Non-Verbal casting of Accio. The little House-Elf was shocked when Jinx told her that Hogwarts didn't teach them how to perform Non-Verbal magic until Sixth Year, and the creature insisted that Jinx learn just one spell to make her working life a bit easier. And Jinx was never one to turn down an opportunity to learn more magic.
So for a week, during every lunch and dinner break, Juny would teach Jinx how to focus on casting the Summoning Spell. On the fifth day, Jinx finally succeeded in summoning a whole tray of Butterbeer glasses without saying a word. She had surprised Rosmerta, who clapped in delight with Juny as they watched Jinx become more familiar with summoning larger and more complex objects.
And Jinx immediately knew the perfect situation to use her new-found spell for.
It was a sunny Saturday morning when Corretta and Atticus came in for a relaxed brunch. To Jinx's delight, Talbott trailed behind them. She quickly ducked behind the bar and waited for him to be seated and for Rosmerta to take their orders. She figured that Talbott would not want to make a fuss over leaving after getting his food, and her guess was right. As she brought out the three full plates of English breakfast, she could see his eye twitching. Jinx fought hard to bite back a giggle, and she was saved by Corretta gushing over the bacon.
Jinx waited until the family was just finishing up their meal and heading out. She knew that Talbott would trail slightly behind his aunt and uncle, and took that as her opportunity to Summon the quiet Ravenclaw to her. Surprisingly, the spell worked, and Talbott let out a strangled gasp as Jinx's magic pulled him into the kitchen where she was waiting. He fell on the ground when Jinx released the spell, and Jinx took this moment to lock the doors.
"What the hell do you think you're doing Raider?" Talbott snarled, still sprawled on the ground.
"I wanted to apologize," Jinx said, suddenly feeling very defensive.
"Yes, you should be apologizing for dragging me by force into the kitchens!"
"Well yes, I suppose that too! So two apologies then," Jinx's voice softened at the end. She couldn't truly find it in herself to be mad at him.
But Talbott certainly had the energy to glare at her.
"First, I really am sorry about what happened in the attic," Jinx rushed to say. "I swear to you, I swear on my - on my life even! - that I haven't told anyone, and I never will for as long as you don't want me."
Talbott's jaw was still clenched, but he stopped furrowing his eyebrows. He blinked a couple of times, ran a hand through his hair, and sighed. "I know that it was an accident, Raider, and that you would have no reason to tell anyone, but it's just…"
"Really personal?"
Talbott nodded. "And I could be in big trouble if anyone else knew."
Jinx pursed her lips in understanding. She knew, perhaps more than anyone else at Hogwarts, how precious some secrets could be. And she wanted Talbott to understand that, but she wasn't sure how best to reassure the jumpy Ravenclaw that she truly had no ill intentions.
"Talbott, I really do understand the importance of keeping secrets and being involved in things that could endanger myself," Jinx said bluntly.
"You mean about the Cursed Vaults."
"Yes. Although I suppose that isn't much of a secret," Jinx frowned.
At this, Talbott's face fully relaxed. He snorted and gave Jinx a look, as if he couldn't believe that she truly believed her adventures were not public knowledge.
"Alright, alright, it's not on the same level," Jinx rolled her eyes. "Although you don't know the whole story behind the vaults… Anyways, not the point!" Talbott's stern face returned Jinx to the topic at hand. "I guess I just wanted you to know that whether or not you choose to believe me on this, I promise I won't tell anyone about your…furry little secret."
"Birds aren't furry," Talbott rolled his eyes.
"Exactly! See, I said I wouldn't say anything about your secret," Jinx laughed.
It looked as if Talbott was fighting back a smile, which Jinx considered to be a win in her slowly budding friendship with the boy.
"So I guess this means that you don't hate me, then?" Jinx asked.
"I wouldn't go that far," Talbott grumbled.
"I'll take th-"
"JINX RAIDER!" Madam Rosmerta yelled outside the door. "IF YOU DON'T-"
"Alohomora!" Jinx quickly recited, opening the door to the kitchens. Rosmerta stood outside the door, hands on her hips, an angry look on her face that disappeared when she saw Talbott.
"Mr. Winger," she grinned, "what are you two doing back here?"
"My aunt didn't like this one bottle of the elderflower wine," Talbott said smoothly as he headed for the door. "I just wanted to ask if there was something inconsistent in the batch."
"Ah, I see," Rosmerta said, clearly unconvinced. But Jinx knew that she had a soft spot for Talbott, and would let this slide for not.
Talbott practically ran out of the kitchen, leaving a still-confused Rosmerta behind.
"Jinx, this is a workplace-"
"His Aunt asked me to talk to him," Jinx blurted out, knowing that Coretta had not directly asked her, but had most likely wanted her to do so. "I'm sorry, Rosmerta, but you know how stubborn Talbott can be."
Rosmerta sighed and leaned against the doorframe. "You and your brother are always getting into some sort of trouble," she said softly.
"It's in our genes I suppose!" Jinx said cheerfully, still very pleased with herself for patching things up with Talbott.
Rosmerta could only shake her head; as usual, she relented and let Jinx go forward with her shift without any other reprimand. Besides, even if Rosmerta was angry with her, Jinx still thought it was worth the trouble to get Talbott back to not despising her. The change even seemed permanent, as the following week when the Langs showed up for brunch, Talbott gave her a small wave. Both Coretta and Atticus seemed surprised, even slightly impressed that Talbott had forgiven her. Her work at Hogsmeade could finally return to normal.
The only other memorable moment in those dying days of summer was when Uncle Ellis summoned Jinx to his apartment. He had missed out on Great-Aunt Tina's birthday yet again, but insisted that Jinx "bring him his rightful portion of birthday cake immediately." Of course, the "immediately" referred to "immediately after Uncle Ellis returns from his mysterious business", which he always announced in a rare, brief letter to Sofia.
So Jinx found herself taking the Floo to her uncle's tiny, untidy apartment in London. When she rolled out of his fireplace, nearly smashing the cake against the floor.
"My cake!" Ellis cried out from his desk. He had been scribbling over a piece of parchment when Jinx had arrived. In fact, Jinx was shocked to see that he was actually in the apartment at the time he said he would be. The last three times her mother had gone to visit him, he hadn't shown up for hours (hours in which Sofia had tidied up the apartment).
"Maybe if you actually organized this place, Ellis, then I wouldn't have tripped!" Jinx kicked at a pile of books on the ground.
"My history books- be careful, Ginnette," Ellis glared at her. He marched over to her and snatched the slightly-squished box out of her hands. "What flavor this year?"
"Lemon and lavendar."
Ellis frowned at that. "And whose bright idea was that?"
"Tina asked Raul and Hudson what they wanted, and Raul insisted on lemon and lavendar," Jinx shrugged. "It's good, you could use some vegetables!"
"Lemon is not-" Ellis sighed sharply. His lips twitched at the corner, and Jinx snorted. That was the first time she had ever made her uncle laugh (yes, she considered that to be a laugh). It was strange, she thought, how as she grew older she slowly resented her uncle's…difficulties less and less. Perhaps it was because she was not burdened by his presence as much now that her mother trusted her to watch over herself, but Uncle Ellis was becoming more tolerable.
"Anyways," Ellis said as he made his way over to the pantry, "how has the summer been for you so far? How are your cousins doing?" His apartment didn't have a real kitchen, only a temperature-regulated cabinet where he stored food. Jinx figured that he probably truly hadn't eaten a vegetable in at least a week. She would remind her mother to bring him some food next time.
"Raul and Hudson are good," Jinx said, sitting down on the one couch cushion not cluttered with boxes. "Raul graduated Ilvermorny and he's moving to Chicago."
"Staying out in the Midwest."
"Yeah, he suppose he wants to be kinda close to Aunt Marigold."
"Why anyone would want to, I have no idea," Ellis snorted. Then, noticing Jinx's glare, he cleared his throat and said, "What I meant to say was, what a good son your cousin Raul is."
"With both Lilah and Hudson in New York, I think Aunt Marigold would actually have a heart attack if Raul left any further."
"Not a heart attack, Ginnette, she'd throw a fit as large as her ego itself."
Jinx didn't say anything about that last comment: she knew that her aunts did not get along well at all with Ellis, not that he ever attempted to rectify that.
"I do actually have a question for you," Jinx said cautiously.
Ellis raised an eyebrow at her, then nodded. "As long as it's not about my vegetable intake-"
"Can one learn Legilimency?" Jinx interrupted.
Ellis blinked a few times, clearly not anticipating that to be Jinx's question. He sighed and cleared away the boxes on the couch so he could sit next to Jinx. "Yes," he answered simply. Then, narrowing his eyes, he asked, "Why? Why do you want to know?"
"I-I… it just occurred to me," Jinx mumbled. She suddenly regretted bringing this up with her uncle. She wondered why she hadn't just asked her mother instead, then shook her head when realizing her mother would never even let her ask the question in the first place.
"Legilimency is a strange magic," Ellis continued to say. "It's not wise to dabble in it without a proper teacher."
"Oh, I'm not trying to learn myself," Jinx clarified. "I was just thinking…why are mum and grandma both Legilimens, but Great-Aunt Tina isn't? And nobody else in the family is? It just seems strange."
"I wasn't worried about you trying to learn," Ellis said, a cryptic smile on his face. "The question just surprised me is all."
"And what about my other questions?"
"About Sof and your grandmother and Tina? That's not for me to tell you," Ellis shook his head.
"But-"
"I wish I could, Ginnette, I really do," Ellis said in the gentlest voice Jinx had ever heard him use. It scared her for a moment; she didn't know what about her questions would warrant such a carefully-worded answer. "But it's not up to me, really. Ask your mother when you get home."
"As if she'd tell me anything," Jinx groaned.
"You'd be surprised," Ellis shrugged. "But as I said, it is not wise to start exploring Legilimency without the right guidance."
"What about Occlumency?" Jinx asked, suddenly remembering a conversation she had overheard between her mom and Ellis from a while ago. "Can that be taught?"
"How- nevermind," Ellis sighed. "Yes, yes it can be, but-"
A quick two knocks on Ellis' door interrupted him. He twisted his head over at the door, then looked back at Jinx. Jinx already had her wand out, and Ellis copied her movements. With his free hand, he waved at the fireplace: a shower of green Floo powder fell like rain and the familiar emerald flames lit up the room. He jerked his head at the fireplace; Jinx understood immediately and walked backward as quietly as she could.
"Mum's townhouse, Edinburgh," she whispered, her lips barely moving. Then, she stepped into the flames. Before her uncle's apartment completely disappeared from her view, she thought she could see a flash of white light enter the room.
As she fell out of the Floo network back into her home, Jinx couldn't help but fear for her uncle. Whoever it had been at his door was a threat, a danger to her, and most likely Ellis too. She didn't like leaving him behind, but supposed that this was part of his strange life he didn't let anyone else into it. She suddenly thought about her cousins, Quentin and Harry, living in the United States, far far away from their father. It was for the best, she realized, that they were not around Ellis.
"Jinx, Jinx, Jinx?" Sofia's concerned voice brought Jinx to open her eyes again. "My goodness, you're shaking so badly right now, what happened? Do I need to lecture Ellis about anything?"
Jinx stared up at her mother's brown eyes, eyes so similar to Jacob's. She stifled back a sob and leaned into her mother's arms. "If you visit him again, can you bring some vegetables?"
"Of course," Sofia said, a puzzled expression on her face.
"There was a knock on his door, two sharp little knocks," Jinx explained shakily. "And then he turned the Floo network on. I don't know if he's ok or if-"
"Two knocks?" Sofia repeated, her eyebrows furrowing together. "Like this? One two?" She rapped her knuckles against the wall, next to the now-dark fireplace.
"How'd you know?" Jinx frowned.
"Later." Sofia shook her head.
"Is he safe though?"
"He's managed to survive this long," Sofia shrugged.
"Mum! That's your brother," Jinx chided.
"Brothers… it's so hard to understand them sometimes…" Sofia's voice trailed off.
Jinx felt the familiar anger at Jacob's disappearance surge through her again. "Yes, I know," she said quietly.
Sofia looked down at her again, with Jacob's eyes again. With the conversation with her uncle still fresh in her mind, Jinx wished she had her mother's gift. She had always wondered, in the very very back of her mind, what it would be like to be able to read minds, to peer into the thoughts of another person with just one glance at their eyes. And she wondered, for not the first time, why her mother didn't use it more on her. She supposed she was grateful that her mother respected that boundary well enough, but perhaps there wouldn't be this strange distance between them if she did.
And then the moment was gone.
Sofia gently brushed Jinx's hair behind her ears, and kissed her forehead. "How are your summer assignments coming along? No problem with them?"
"No, no problem."
And there would be no more problems that summer.