Chapter 34: Eleanor
Basingstoke, Hampshire, South East, England
November 28, 1986
Corinne Branstone smiled as she took in the aroma of the freshly brewed coffee that was placed before her by her family's maid. "Thank you, Darla," she said to the woman who gave her a small curtsey and then swiftly left the room to return to other duties.
It was well known in the family that Corinne preferred coffee to tea. Her natural family, the Rathbone's, had always had a preference for coffee over tea. She supposed it came from their industrialists' background. Coffee was far preferable as a means to stay awake and alert for those long hours of work. She didn't need to drink it to keep herself awake and alert for long hours, at least not anymore. She needed it when she was younger but now that she was mostly retired, she could relax and enjoy time with her granddaughter.
Her retirement had come about, in part, because she believed some family member should be at home to assist in raising her granddaughter, Eleanor. Her sweet little Elle was the child of her only son, Torrance Branstone. Torrance worked long hours as a Solicitor for Branstone and Rathbone, and so he rarely had time to spend with little Elle. His wife, Katherine, was far too busy gallivanting about with her socialite friends. Corinne had not really approved of Torrance's interest in Katherine Bainbridge, but the girl did come from a very respectable family so in that regard Corinne could not object to their marriage. She had hoped that Kitty would swiftly become pregnant and take on the joys of motherhood. She had hoped that Kitty would enjoy parenting. She had many foolish hopes then. Kitty did not have the temperament to be a good mother for any child. The woman liked to shop for Elle and dress her up as a doll and she liked for Elle to put on little performances for her friends to show off, but that was all. It was Corinne that tended to the little girl's hurts and it was Corinne who tucked the child in at night.
The return of Darla to the doorway caused Corinne to feel trepidation go down her spine. "Darla?" her unasked question hung in the air.
"Ma'am," Darla said gently. "Mistress Katherine is here with a few of her friends. Each of the ladies are acting strangely. I think that," she paused for a moment as though battling whether to continue but then she soldiered on. "They seem to be under the influence of some substance or other. I cannot tell if it is only alcohol or if it is more. But the worst of it, is that Mistress Katherine bid Colleen to fetch Mistress Eleanor to her."
Corinne grimaced then and set her cup of coffee down. She growled in frustration as she arose from her chaise lounge. "That woman needs to learn that my granddaughter is not some sort of toy that she can show off or a show dog that will bark on command for a treat," she grumbled.
"They are in the back parlor overlooking the garden Ma'am," Darla reported as she fell into step behind Corinne.
"You await me in the hall. I will summon you to remove Eleanor from the room soon enough," Corinne issued her orders. She knew better than to simply storm in and remove Eleanor if Katherine was under the influence of substances. She feared that Kitty had a drug problem and had spoken to Torrance about it, but as of yet nothing had come from their talk. Though she hated it, she usually let Katherine show off with Eleanor for a little bit while she watched, and then Kitty would become bored of Elle and Corrine would be able to take her granddaughter to safety.
She heard the raised voices before she reached the room and somehow knew that today was going to be different. She shared a worried glance with Darla but waved her hand to remind Darla to stop and wait to be called and then she entered the room and froze two steps in. Her eyes went wide as she stared at the room in amazement.
The other women were likewise staring and they were giggling as they pointed to the many objects that were dancing in the air, spinning around each other in some strange sort of aerial combat. It reminded her a little bit of the World War II Aerial Combat programe that Torrance had watched with Eleanor just two weeks past. She would have to tell Torrance about this so he might keep such things from her in the future. Then her mind truly caught up with her and she realized that her beloved Granddaughter was making objects dance in the air.
"What's this then?" she asked in a tone that was meant to be light, but she knew it had come out with an edge. She was terrified, worried.
The objects fell, breaking upon the coffee table. This drew more giggles from the obviously intoxicated women. It was Eleanor who answered her. "I was just entertaining mum and her friends," she said softly.
Corinne nodded and smiled at her granddaughter. She could feel the insincerity of the smile though. Worry had her in a tight grip. "And you have done a marvelous job," she praised. "Why don't you come with me now sweetheart. It's about time for your afternoon nap."
Eleanor nodded and dutifully came to her. She took Corrine's offered hand most willingly, and then Corinne was able to lead her away from the women who wanted her to perform for them. It was Corinne's most fervent hope that all of the ladies there were so thoroughly gone on their substance abuse that they would think that what they saw was a figment of their substance fueled imaginations.
"Darling, how long have you been able to do that trick you were showing your mummy?" she asked her granddaughter.
Eleanor seemed to think about it for a moment. "I've been able to do it for a few months now," she admitted. "It started when I was littler. I could lift things by thinking about it and putting my hand like so," she demonstrated and a book on the hallway's side table rose briefly into the air before she dropped her hand and it fell back into its place. "It makes me feel tired to pick up heavy objects, but small trinkets and stuffed animals are great. I started with just one but then got better and better so I was able to do more."
Corinne nodded her head along with Eleanor's story. On the outside, she seemed calm but on the inside, she was reeling in shock. She had seen something like this years ago, while she was staying with her then lover, Marius Black. Marius had not done anything remotely peculiar, but she had noticed members of his household staff doing strange things. Marius had told her that they were gifted when she had asked him about it. Now here she was with her little Elle who was obviously gifted like those people that Marius had hired to work for him.
Well if she wanted to know more about what was going on with her little Elle, she supposed she would have to reach out once more to Marius Black.
November 29, 1986
Corinne glanced at her granddaughter as the car drove through the streets of Basingstoke, taking them away from the town and toward Winchester. Eleanor was glancing out of the window, watching the buildings and people that they were passing by. Eleanor was humming a song softly to herself and she was clutching her backpack to her chest. The backpack was an interesting contraption that Darla and Colleen had made for Eleanor. It was one part back pack and the other part teddy bear. The backpack had been a hit amongst the little girls at Eleanor's school.
She idly ran a hand over Eleanor's glossy dark brown hair. Today Eleanor's hair was styled in loose pigtails. The girl glanced at her then and she smiled at her and then moved closer to Corinne, letting herself be cuddled. Corinne smiled down at her and then leaned down to place a kiss upon the girl's head.
She had contacted Marius the previous afternoon, after she had put Eleanor down for a nap. She had told him of what she had witnessed and reminded him of the fact that she had seen his servants do something similar many years ago. "You said they were gifted back then. Is my granddaughter like them?" she had asked of her former lover and longtime friend.
There had been silence for a few moments too long and then Marius had spoken. "Bring her to Longview tomorrow. I think this conversation should be face to face and I would be honored to become reacquainted with your Granddaughter."
So, it was that Corinne and Eleanor were now leaving Basingstoke heading toward Winchester. Marius lived at Longview Manor which was on the outskirts of Winchester. Corinne was well acquainted with the manor from her days as Marius's lover.
Corinne had never been one of the naïve little girls who had latched onto Marius with the hopes that he would marry them. If he had wanted to marry her, Corinne was not sure what she would have done. She had admired him. He was sixteen years her senior. She was twenty when she met him and became enamored of him. She had enjoyed being his lover, Marius really was a very giving and considerate man. She had loved him and she would have been happy as his wife, but there was something mysterious about Marius. While it intrigued her, it also worried her. She had been relieved, in a way, when Marius had introduced her to his protégé, Reginald Branstone. He was five years older than her, a much more age appropriate man for her to marry, or so her mother had told her. Her mother had initially wanted her to marry Marius, but had finally realized that Marius was more likely to keep her as a permanent Mistress rather than a Wife. Corinne had allowed Reginald to court her and she ended things peacefully with Marius. She still suspected that Marius had introduced her to Reginald to test her. She had probably failed his test by choosing Reginald over him.
She glanced again at her granddaughter and smiled. If she had not chosen Reginald she would not have had her son, Torrance. And without Torrance she would not now have Eleanor. She would not lament her choices.
She felt her nerves curl within her as they pulled through the gates of Longview Manor. She cringed at the thought of what Marius might have to tell her about Eleanor. Just what was her granddaughter? She was grateful to Marius for agreeing to see her so soon though. She doubted she could wait in nervous anticipation for another week.
"It's very pretty," Eleanor said as the house came into view.
Corinne sighed softly as she looked at the familiar Manor House. She could see small additions to the place from the last time she saw it several years ago, when she had been a guest to the Christening Party of Marius's son, Antares Dudley Black. What a silly name Marius had chosen. She did prefer his young wife's view to call the boy Dudley. A good British name.
Their car came to a halt in the drive before the doors of the great house. The butler, whom was awaiting them on the steps came forward then with an umbrella in hand. He opened the door for them and assisted Corinne out of the car. "Madame Branstone, it is good to see you once more," he greeted her. "You and young Miss Eleanor are expected."
"Thank you, Mr. Stanley," Corinne said as she allowed him to lead her within the home that she still, in her heart, considered her other home. "Marius really doesn't deserve you," she teased him. "Why do you stay? You could come work for me."
He smiled at that. "You are correct Madame, he does not," Timothy Stanley replied. "But Mistress Petunia does deserve me and all the help with Master Marius than I can possibly provide."
His answer both amused Corinne and raised her curiosity. The last time she had visited Longview, years ago, she had caught the hint that most of the staff were not very fond of Marius's young bride. Now wasn't this curious that the young woman had won over Timothy Stanley? She had always thought Mr. Stanley had good sense. Perhaps there was more to Petunia than she had thought. Her initial thought about the girl was that she was a gold digger who had managed to win Marius through getting pregnant with his child and giving birth to it. That he had to take care of his sister's grandson had aided the little gold-digger in gaining Marius's consent to marry. At least that had been Corinne's belief. Now though, she wondered if she might need to invite Petunia Black around for lunch and try to get to know the woman better.
"Master Marius awaits you and Mistress Eleanor in the blue room," Mr. Stanley said as he led them in that direction.
Corinne followed, holding Eleanor's hand and running her thumb soothingly over the top of the girl's knuckles. She didn't really think that Eleanor was nervous, but she certainly was. What was Eleanor?
Marius Black looked as handsome as he had the last time she had seen him. His black hair had a little bit more silver at the temples and there were a few laughter lines around his eyes that she didn't remember, but that was all she could find to show that he had even aged a little bit. He looked healthy and happy. He was seated upon the sofa with a pretty blonde woman, and it took her a moment to realize that the woman that was teasing him and making him laugh was his wife, Petunia.
Petunia was in her mid-twenties now and had a confidence about her that she hadn't when she had married Marius. Corinne had heard that Petunia was a feature in Winchester society. Petunia donated her time to charitable works and she had mustered other local women of means to do the same. 'Yes, she might be worth knowing,' Corinne decided she would invite her to lunch soon. It would not hurt to be closer to the Black's and to let Eleanor associate with Marius's son Dudley.
"Ah, Corinne, it's a pleasure to see you again," Marius said as he spotted her with Eleanor. He arose from the couch and extended his hand to his wife. The woman took it immediately and allowed him to help her rise. "Corinne, you remember Petunia?"
"Yes, it is good to see you again Petunia," Corinne said. "I was thinking just a few days ago, about how I really should invite you to lunch sometime so that we might have the opportunity to get to know one another better."
Petunia smiled at her. "I look forward to receiving your invitation," she said with delight in her tone of voice. "I know what busy women we both are," she then smiled at Marius and gave him a lingering kiss upon his cheek. "I must be going now or I'll be late for my meeting with 'Cissa," she explained to her husband and then looked at Corinne and Eleanor. "It was nice to see you again Madame Branstone. It was lovely to meet you dear Eleanor, I do hope we can host you sometime to play with our boys Dudley and Harry."
Eleanor smiled at that. "I would like that Ma'am," she said.
Petunia smiled at her and then nodded to Corinne before leaving the room. Corinne then looked to Marius. "Eleanor, this is Marius Black, an old friend of mine. He's going to help us understand your special gift."
Eleanor nodded and then looked to Marius. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Black."
Marius nodded. "It's my pleasure to meet you, Eleanor. Please come and be seated," he said. He poured a cup of tea from the tea service for himself and then he poured a cup of coffee from the coffee pot for Corinne. Then he placed a cup of hot chocolate in front of Eleanor. "There, now we each have beverages for this lengthy conversation."
"You think that it will be a lengthy conversation?" Corinne asked mildly.
"Would I have made you drive from Basingstoke if I thought it were something I could merely explain over the telephone?" Marius asked back with a raised eyebrow.
She glared at him, but there was an old playful glint in her eyes. "What is she Marius?"
"Based on what you told me, I would say that Eleanor is a Wixen child," Marius said casually before taking another sip of his tea.
"A what?" Corinne asked him, truly baffled.
"Eleanor darling, would you please show me the trick that you play for your mummy?" Marius asked of the child, ignoring Corinne entirely.
Eleanor glanced briefly at Corinne but once her grandmother nodded she happily nodded. "It works best with lighter objects," she murmured even as she pulled three stuffed animals out of her backpack. She arranged them on the floor and then stared at them for a moment and they slowly began to rise. Once they were over Marius's head she began to wave her right hand around and they began to move in a circle.
"I see, yes, this is very well done my dear girl," Marius murmured as he watched the stuffed animals and then glanced to Eleanor's hand movements as she made their air dance more intricate. They were now weaving in and out of each other. "Can you gently return them to the floor?"
Eleanor nodded and slowly she ended their air dance by lowering them back to the floor. She looked at Marius and smiled when she saw his face looking at her with approval.
"That was very well done, Eleanor. You have very good control for such a young age. We are still working on Harry's control. He got angry at Dudley just last week and we had to repair the window."
Corinne frowned. "He threw something at the window and broke it?" she was beginning to wonder just what sort of boy Marius's nephew was.
"Oh no," Marius said as he sat his now empty tea cup back on its saucer. "He was angry so he couldn't control his growing magic. These sorts of things happen sometimes with Wixen children."
Corinne frowned once more. "That is the second time you have used that term and you never answered my question," she chastised. "Marius, what is a Wixen."
Marius met her eyes then. "Wixen, my dear Corinne, is a genderless term to refer to Wizards and Witches. Those who have the capability to wield magic."
Corinne stared at him for a moment and then glared at him. Was he having her on? This was no laughing matter. She sat her coffee cup down. "Is this some sort of joke?"
"Those people in my employ who I said were gifted all those years ago, they were gifted Corinne. They were Wixen," Marius informed her.
"So, I'm a Witch?" Eleanor asked of him with wide gray eyes.
He smiled as he looked at the girl. "Yes, my dear, you are a little Witch."
"This is ridiculous!" Corinne said.
"Do you have a better explanation for why Eleanor can so expertly play with her stuffed animals all by herself?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
Corinne stared at him. "Do a magic spell then. Prove that magic is real," she urged.
"I cannot," Marius said regrettably.
"See!" Corinne declared, feeling vindicated for a moment.
"I cannot because I am not Wixen," Marius informed her. "I'm what is called a Squib. It means that I was born of Wixen parents but my magical core is closed off to me. I cannot make magic yield to my will. I can feel magic all around me but I cannot make it do my bidding."
"Feel it, you mean like when we came up the drive?" Eleanor asked of him.
Corinne looked to her granddaughter. "What are you talking about?"
Eleanor looked at her then. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I didn't know that I should," she said softly. "There was this tingling as we passed the stone archway that was at the foot of the drive."
"What you felt was the edge of the wards on the property," Marius told them, but his attention was mostly fixed on Eleanor. "This property has been in my family for many generations and the wards have only been added to over the years. My cousin Arcturus and my older brother Pollux improved the wards again just last year."
Eleanor nodded. "The magic didn't hurt, it just tingled."
Marius nodded. "It would have hurt you though, if your intent had been to harm anyone in this house. That is the point of the wards. It is to protect those within."
"Oh." Eleanor said and then she fell silent thinking about that.
"You expect me to believe this?" Corinne asked again because really, she wanted him to say that it was all just a joke.
"Mr. Stanley, please come here," Marius called out.
Corinne watched in confusion as the Butler came into the room. Why on earth was Marius calling for his Butler?
"Master Marius?" Timothy Stanley asked of him.
"Perform magic for Corinne and Eleanor," he ordered.
The man looked taken aback for a moment. "Master, the Statute of Secrecy," he began but Marius raised a hand and cut him off.
"Eleanor is a Witch, Mr. Stanley, and she needs to see that she is not alone. Corinne might be a Muggle, but she needs to see that what I am telling her about Eleanor is real. Please, I would not ask you to expose yourself if it were not this important," Marius explained to him.
"Very well then Sir," Timothy Stanley said and his posture was more relaxed now, some tension having bled out of him with Marius's explanation.
Corinne watched fascinated as he drew a long stick from his inner coat pocket and then he aimed it at the wallpaper. With a slight muttering of his lips and a sort of zig zag movement of the stick she watched as part of the wallpaper changed color from the soft blue to a rich vibrant yellow.
"Hufflepuff's!" Marius muttered as he stared at the yellow wallpaper. "I trust you'll return it to blue before Petunia arrives back home."
"Actually, I might wait to see what Mistress Petunia thinks of the change. She has been considering new colors for the lounge. She wants something cheerful," he said.
"I like yellow," Eleanor said then as she looked in awe of Mr. Stanley. "Can I learn how to do that?"
"You certainly can, when you are old enough to attend Magic School," Mr. Stanley told her.
Magic School? Corinne didn't know if she liked the sound of that. "Magic School. There are schools that can teach her?" She was slowly beginning to believe Marius and she wasn't sure if that spoke well of her sanity. She had witnessed her grandchild making objects twirl in the air. She had witnessed a man use a stick to change the wallpaper color. Marius's explanation, as crazy as it sounded, did seem to be more and more believable.
Marius nodded. "Of course," he replied. "Admittance is age eleven. It is felt that a Wixen child's magical core has matured enough at that age for them to be able to handle a wand and be able to handle learning how to hone their gifts at that point. Some parents begin teaching their children earlier than eleven though, depending on the child's capability. I would say that Eleanor could handle some light tutoring. Petunia has Dudley and Harry enrolled for light tutoring with my relative, Narcissa. She has a Wixen son and the proud guardian of two more. Harry and Dudley avail themselves of tutelage from the tutors she has hired for her boys."
"How is she a Wixen? How does that even work?" Corinne asked finally willing to accept that Marius's explanation was actually the truth.
"We aren't really sure, though I believe I know why," Marius began. "You see, Eleanor would be designated as a Muggleborn, because her parents are not magical and neither are her grandparents, at least as far as we know. I always thought that Reginald was a Squib who just didn't know about the Magical World."
"Is that why you took him as a protégé?" she suddenly asked of him because she had always wondered.
He nodded. "Yes," he admitted easily. "Squibs are often cast out as soon as it is known that they are not Wixen. Most often they are sent to orphanages and their families never know what happens to them after that. My own family did not choose to do that. The head of my house at the time, Lord Sirius Black, he chose to gift me Longview as my home and he staffed it with Squibs and Wixen alike to continue to raise me and oversee my education. He paid for my education and then I went to work for the family. I was fortunate for a Squib, Corinne. Most families just throw them away to the Muggle world and act as though they were dead. So, when I met Reginald and I thought for sure he was a Squib, I made the choice to look after him."
"And your wife? What is she?" Corinne asked, less out of curiosity and more out of a need to keep her mind from feeling both sadness that this was the first time she got to learn so much about Marius's past and curiosity that her Reginald might be a Squib like Marius.
"She is a Squib. Her sister was a Witch," he said. "In fact, Harry is not just my sister Dorea's Grandson. He is Petunia's nephew. Her sister, Lily, married my nephew James. When Lily and James died, Harry came to live with her. It was for this reason I sought her out, again."
"So, you didn't know that your encounter with her before had produced Dudley?" she asked. "And she had not contacted you about the baby?"
"No, I had no idea," Marius said simply sticking with the old story that he and Petunia had once met and had an affair that produced Antares Dudley Black.
"Then I owe you an apology for my thoughts," Corinne confessed feeling remorseful. "I had not attempted to get to know Petunia before now because I had thought she had held Dudley over your head to force you to marriage."
Marius nodded in understanding. "With how rushed everything was in the end, I cannot blame you. I am sure that Petunia will not either. It is not the first time that others have thought her a gold-digger," he said and watched his former lover flinch. "Petunia is a resilient woman and she is stronger than she looks."
There was such warmth in his voice that she could not doubt that Marius loved Petunia. She wondered if the woman was smart enough to realize how amazing it was. Marius had been a man who had many lovers, but he had not been in love with any of them. He had felt affection for them. He had loved her a great deal and Corinne still wondered if he would have married her if she had chosen him instead of Reginald, but she hadn't and there was no point in thinking about it further. Besides, would he have loved her as deeply as he seemed to love Petunia? She didn't think so.
"Back to my point though," Marius caught her attention once more. "I believe that all of the children that are being called "Muggleborn" are actually the children of Squibs. Petunia and Lily are good examples. One of her parents was a Squib but the other was not. In such a case, it produced Petunia as a Squib and Lily as a Witch. Then there is my son. I am a Squib and so is Petunia but our son is a Wizard. He was four the first time I saw him doing magic but I do suspect that it was not his first time."
"It is an interesting theory," Corinne agreed and she glanced toward Eleanor who was talking softly with Mr. Stanley. "Is there a way to test to see if she has some sort of Wixen genetics or whatever?"
Marius seemed to ponder this for a moment. "There are the Heritage Tests. They are performed at Gringott's, the Wixen Bank."
She watched him closely and sighed. "I guess it would not be easy for me to just walk in and demand this test for my granddaughter?"
Marius shook his head in the negative. "No, but I can arrange it. I'll ask Pollux if he will arrange it with his estate manager," Marius assured her. "Then, I'll take Eleanor to Gringott's and watch over her as the Heritage Test is done."
Corinne nodded and reached again for her cup of coffee. "Thank you, Marius," she murmured.
"You must tell no one of what she is," Marius told her then. "They will not understand and they'll try to use her or hurt her."
Corinne thought for a moment of her daughter-in-law and felt her anger at Kitty sweep over her. "Oh yes," she said with gritted teeth. I know that people would try to use her. I will not tell anyone. I don't want Eleanor harmed," she vowed.
With such important discussions, out of the way, Corinne spent another hour in Marius's company before she had to pry Eleanor from Mr. Stanley and usher her back out into the November rain for them to return to Basingstoke. She left with the promise from Marius that he would be in contact with her soon about Eleanor's Heritage Test.
As always, thank you for reading. I know that many of you want to see more of Leonis and of Sirius. I ask that you hang in there. I have to do things with a few characters first that way it doesn't come out of nowhere later with readers wondering "When did that happen?" In a few more chapters we shall begin to see a lot more of Leonis and Sirius. Next Chapter: Marius Black takes Eleanor Branstone and Hermione Granger to Gringott's for a Heritage Test and the tests reveal some surprising results.