Marjorie raised her sleeve, flicked her wand slightly and whispered the code. The door slowly appeared, opened, and then disappeared as she she passed through. As she walked in Leedra started pouring her a glass of gin. Marj sat at the bar and brushed her hair out of her face. The man in the household she worked with tonight was far more suspicious than she was comfortable with. He made her very nervous, but he was treating the elf that worked for him so poorly that something had to be done. Freeing mistreated elves was a dangerous job, but one that she knew needed done. Leedra was proof of that. Before she worked at the pub, she was beaten regularly by a cruel mother and daughter in Manhattan. Now she runs an (illegal) pub at night, and helps other elves in the process. With the prohibition being on, the pub was magically hidden, but any witch or wizard who wanted to imbibe knew Ledie was the one to see.
Marjorie was always so thankful that Ledie wanted to help. Without her she wouldn't be able to accomplish half of what they do together. Marj would do the footwork to get the elves free, then she would then send them to Leedra who would help them get set up with homes and legitimate(and sometimes not so legitimate) work with fair pay. At first it was just Marjorie by herself. She had no idea what she was getting herself into when she walked up to that first house in Manhattan and knocked on the door. She thought she was just doing a favor for a kind house elf in her neighborhood, little did she know it would start a passion in her to help any and all house elves that needed it.
Marj sipped her gin and updated Leedra on the current case they were working on. A very young house elf(only a child really) named Tilly was in a bad situation. Her so called "master" (Marj hated that word) has developed an opium habit and has become irritable to the point of abusive. He has also started sending Tilly to Chinatown to do his dealings there, causing her to have to deal with several unsavory characters who treat her just as poorly as he does if not more so. Whats worse is that Tilly has heard whispers that hes running out of money and may soon use her as a thief to pay for his habit.
Tilly would prefer to be out of the house before that happens. It put a bit of pressure on Marjorie to come up with an escape plan soon. This was always tricky and different for each case. Because the only way an elf is truly free is if they are presented with an item of clothing from their "master". So the trick was to take something from the "master" that was meant for the elf, and slip in a clothing item before it reached the elf. Most of the time it was a small pair of stockings or a scarf, something that can go unnoticed until it's supposed to be noticed by the elf. It was alot easier said than done.
Usually this meant Marj would develop a disguise and befriend the witch or wizard who was responsible for the elf. Then once they were comfortable enough with her in their house she would make her move to free the elf. Normally to lower suspicions she would still come around for a few days after the elf was free, then have some excuse that she's moving or being relocated for work. If the people were nice she would also occasionally help them learn or re-learn some of the chores they had the elf doing so they wouldn't feel the need to get another one.
The wizard who controlled Tilly was proving hard to win over. His habit made him naturally suspicious of people, fearing someone would out him. She was disguising herself as a dancer who worked at some of the underground clubs that he would frequent. She figured this would be the easiest for him to get along with. Her hair was magically changed from her normal long red locks, to a short sleek black bob, and she changed her body shape to be more long and thin to suite the short fringed dresses. He seems to like her but is still keeping her at arms length. She has been pursuing him for over a month now, and she can tell time is running short for Tilly.
Marj decided that tomorrow night she would make her move to get to his house. She could tell the situation was getting urgent and she couldn't wait any longer. Leedra agreed but also cautioned her to be careful. Addicts can be dangerous and unpredictable. His mood could change at any time and Marj should be prepared for that. Marj understood the risk, and was nervous about getting caught, but was not concerned with the wizard himself. She was top of her Defense Against The Dark Arts class at Ilvermorny and had lived in The Bronx long enough to know how to handle herself. She stayed up with Ledie a while longer, finishing her drink and discussing details of the mission. Once they both felt comfortable with their next move, she headed upstairs to her apartment to retire for the evening. She was still a little nervous as she always was before a job like this, but she went to sleep feeling confident that she could finally win over this wizard.
She woke up later than she had wanted and realized she had a bit of a headache. She had to take a second to not to take this as a bad sign. She went down to the kitchen and fixed herself some eggs and bacon. She always made sure to try to have a good meal before working to get her head in a good place. She cleaned herself up and took a moment to breathe and make sure she knew the charms she would need. It seemed silly because she used the same ones for every job almost, but it was comforting to recite them. She headed out around 3 when the first clubs started opening. She's learned that when you don't have an actual job or hobby, you can start your drinking(or smoking) as early as you want.
The mans name was James. She had been calling him Jimmie. The character she was playing, "Frannie" had been flirting with him this whole time, and thinks tonight's a good night to make a move. Her goal isnt really to do anything with him, its really to get him just buttered up enough to invite her over for a night cap. She walked into the first place he usually goes and was immediately hit by a strong smell of incense and sweat. Everywhere she looked there were people sunken into ornate velvet sofas and leaned back on lush red and gold cushions smoking from elaborately decorated pipes clearly already "chasing the dragon" as they called it.
She looked around, and not seeing him at first, began to worry a little. She kept walking through the dimly lit room wading through clouds of cigarette and opium smoke. She coughed a little and made her way to the bar in the back of the room. She sat down and ordered a gin neat, and a water. She drank the water first. The cigarettes she didn't mind, but the opium smoke always made her throat itch. She sipped her gin and watched the crowd for a few minutes, trying to determine if he would show up, or if she should try another place. A couple minutes after ordering a second gin, she spotted him.
By the looks of it, he had already had his morning dose, and would be in the mood to have a couple drinks before hitting the pipe again. Once he made it halfway through the room she put on a big smile and started to waive at him. He wasn't a bad looking guy. Marjorie thought it a shame she hadn't known him before he started smoking. He smiled and joined her at the bar. He ordered some drinks for them both. They sat for a while and drank for a couple hours before he wanted to smoke again. She sat with him while he smoked for what felt like an eternity, but made sure to show no sign of her boredom. After sitting a while being extra attentive while he told stories (that weren't making too much sense) she noticed it was getting late, and mentioned to him that it was a lovely night for a walk, and how she would love to talk to him in a less crowded setting.
She could see him thinking about it for a minute before he agreed. She breathed a sigh of relief. As they were walking to his house she double checked her purse for the silk scarf she packed for Tilly. Thankfully it was still there, and she was one step closer. They made it to his house pretty quickly as he only lived a couple blocks away.
He stumbled to the door but was unable to get it open, and started getting upset.
"Tilly open this stupid door! The stupid keys broke again!" He started banging on the door.
"Tilly if you don't open this door, when I get in there, I'm knockin' your lights out!" He started screaming and banging on the door more.
Tilly opened the door and he almost fell from leaning on it. She peaked out from behind the door. She was supposed to pretend she didn't know anyone was coming.
"Tilly is deeply sorry master! Tilly did not know master had a guest! Tilly will have refreshments in the parlour straightaway!" she said in her sweet high pitched voice as scurried off hurriedly toward the kitchen.
"Useless elf. Leaves her master and his guest out in the cold like that. Unbelievable!" He exclaims, showing her to the parlour.
She noticed he was struggling taking off his coat, and saw an opportunity. When his head was turned she slipped the scarf in his pocket.
"Here let me help, all that key business has you flustered." she helped him out of his coat, straightened the coat and handed it back to him.
He took the coat and smiled. He was about to sit down when he realized he was still holding his coat.
"Damn it Tilly! Take this damn coat! I'm clearly trying to relax with my guest here, you are so useless!" He yelled for her and she ran into the room.
She was attempting to stammer out an apology when he stood up and violently threw the coat at her. She fell underneath it and he went and stood over her. She started to cry. This enraged him and he picked her up by the rags she was wearing.
"Don't you cry! You better hang this in the closet now or I'm hanging you with it!" he shouted in her face, shook her and then dropped her. She sank to the floor in tears, and tried to pick up the coat. Thats when she saw the scarf. She knew that according to the arrangement, she wasn't supposed to point it out until after Marjorie had left the house, but she was scared and desperate.
"Master...master gave tilly a scarf?..Tilly is free.." She stood up, bracing herself for whatever was about to happen.
Majorie saw Jimmies eyes grow wide with shock and his face twist with anger. Jimmie pulled out his wand and pointed it at Tilly. Before he could say anything, Marj ran over and scooped her up and apparated. She apparated back to the pub and looked at Tilly in her arms. The apparating caused her to faint. She looked so peaceful and sweet. She was truly just a child. Marj knew she should not have taken her that way, but felt it was the only way. She was now feeling lost, wondering what she would do with an elf that was too young for a job or a life on her own. All that melted away a moment later.
"Tilly is free?" she barely opened her eyes and whispered.
"Yes Tilly is free." Marjorie whispered back and embraced her.
Authors Note:
School-Mahoutokoro
Theme-1880s-1940s
Prompt-house elves
Year-5