The Lighthouse
The end of Cleveland Way outside Withby marked the borderline from the muggle civilization to the wizarding world. Leonor soaked the salty wind into her lungs. The stunning view across the sandy beach and the fierce waves of the ocean gave a feeling of freedom. Gringotts ordered to wait at the beautiful spot and message Leonor's arrival to Greengrass Manor for pick up. Pauline clasped Leonor's arm with her talons.
"Pauline, listen carefully. Deliver the message to the Goblins and return here directly. You've to be fast. I want you to follow me and the Goblins secretly. Inform Severus if something happens to me, right? You remember, the dark tall teacher at Hogwarts? I fix the message within your feathers. The Goblins must not know."
Pauline hooted in consent, circled upwards and flew determined along the coastline. Leonor considered Severus' offer a couple of times, but she couldn't call for him. There was no trust in the Goblins. They'd observe the cliffs, there were enough hiding holes and Severus would be trapped easily. The owl had to be the emergency help. Pauline wouldn't fail.
A large rock served Leonor as a seat. She leaned back with her head in the neck and eyes closed. The breezy wind brushed over her face and played with some loose strands. After a while, Leonor investigated the distance. It would take a while before the Goblins arrived. Her thoughts wandered along the horizon. There had been plans, feeble plans to escape the criminal family and it didn't work out. Leonor was too young to run away before her mother died. She worked hard to become a muggle doctor but ended with forensic investigation to hold the promise of MACUSA for getting a new identity. The university seemed perfect when Daniel stepped into Leonor's life, but it lasted only short. Daniel denounced her with the truth of the past. Leonor fled to New York, exchanging the countryside against the anonymity of the city. It hadn't helped. Juan found her and even worse, Leonor was glad to leave again, forgetting a few friends to escape their young family luck. She travelled Europe, but did she ever arrive somewhere? She had again a plan to settle in Scotland, to work with the living, to keep and improve life, but the Gringotts assignment would be difficult. Severus was right; the money wasn't worth it. It could cost the plan of working as a healer; it could cost her life. Plans are necessary to find the way to the target, but not all plans made happy. The wish to arrive somewhere home was stronger than ever when Pauline returned with a tiny scroll of parchment at her left leg.
The letter contained the information about the location of the treasure chest. The Goblins wanted her to apparate to a lighthouse further north. Leonor stroked the owl and repeated her request to follow blindly. A sharp twist transported the witch at the foot of a rocky bank. Two grim looking Goblins waited at the entrance of the old rusty lighthouse. The red and white colour peeled off the old disused place. All searchlights were out of order for a long time. The waves nudged hungrily at the round rocks. Cold spray water made the air moist and clammy. A dark cloud covered the sun like an undesired Djinn. The manor house of the Greengrass family was invisible. A hilltop overlooked the rocks and the sea with a loopy path near the far end of the bank. A person stood watching at the path, little heightened to overlook the scenery. The Goblins and Leonor shook hands. The treasure chest was placed in a larger coffer with an official Gringotts' lock, and the lock was removed by the Goblins after Leonor's final signature to the handover of the heirloom. They receded towards the sloping path, muttering under their breath and joined the solitary individual. Pauline slid silently in a low-level flight to the lighthouse and landed on a bent railing.
It would be the last Gringotts assignment. Leonor vowed to herself and gave Pauline a final encouraging nod. The owl settled in a safe distance overlooking the scene. Leonor was prepared and decided to direct all powers into the 'Alohomora'. The spell hit the little treasure chest with a strong force and shook it violently before releasing the empathic-curse. It hit Leonor square into stomach and chest, and she landed hard on the metal remains of the lighthouse door. Leonor didn't realize it; she just fell into a golden silence of the curse. She watched memories of a blonde woman and a youthful man in a yellowish shimmering light. It looked like sepia photographs of warm summer days. However, the pleasure faded into dark arguments, tears, and loss of love. The beauty of the woman collapsed into pain and misery. The photographs showed the eerie roaming of Cathy into absurd magical places searching for dark witchcraft. Every memory of séances with evil hags took more of the strength of the expecting mother. The young woman was riven by grief and despair when realizing the death of the unborn. All energy wasted by summoning back the father while sacrificing the child; the heartbreak drowned in the icy waters of the North Sea followed by more overlaying fateful pictures of the unknown.
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A sting suffused Leonor's head. With closed eyes, she noticed every muscle in her body. The ground was stony and uncomfortable. A seemingly heavy item weighted on Leonor's left shoulder. Right cheek and arm ached from the weight of her own body. The blackout of the recent past vanished slowly. More stings at the left ear combined with a tickling like from a soft toy heaved Leonor back into the presence.
"Pauline? Stop biting my earlobe," said Leonor with a low voice. There was no energy left in her soul. The owl hooted soothingly. Leonor moved clumsily; the stiffness hurt. The sun shone again behind the hilltops, but the evening cooled the air and a fresh breeze curled the sea. The coffer stood abandoned at the rusty railing with an open treasure chest. Leonor closed her eyes once more before moving forward to check the heirloom. There laid a small bag of white diamonds embedded in silk cloth and sealed with the family crest. Leonor read on the golden inscription of the white silk — 'Only true love deserves white diamonds; may the rightful couple break the curse and get married!'
Leonor crept upwards, leaning her back to the lighthouse. Footsteps announced the Goblins. She had to keep her poise against the weakness of the limbs. The Goblins looked grislier with the flickering greed in the beady eyes.
"Well done, Ms Scott. Your cheque; to be cashed within seven days at Diagon Alley."
The Goblins eyed Leonor suspiciously; their curiosity plain in combining the success with the curse breakers pitiful state. Whatever the Goblins concluded, they locked the coffer and turned quickly to present the treasure to the waiting client. They grinned and called with malice, "See you soon at the cashier!"
Leonor dropped back to the cold ground while the owl ruffled the feathers to remind Leonor of the hidden letter. Pauline was ready to fly away, but Leonor shook her head.
"I'm fine and send Severus a note later. I'll apparate to the coffee house at Cleveland Way. It's feasible, alright?"
There was little confidence in Leonor's voice and the devoted owl hooted in disagreement. Leonor pulled herself together and rose. Her brain worked slow, and the curse brought about a strong physical and magical exhaustion. The growing dark supported the chill and made Leonor shiver; she needed to get away. The café was close; she had to muster all remaining strength to apparate the short distance and use some simple spells to look civilized. A few steps into the friendly looking cottage felt like a hike. The restaurant had only some guests, and the landlord greeted with a wave of his hand serving dinner plates to a family.
"Hi, there! You can sit inside or outside, your choice!"
Leonor walked through the dining area and chose a table in the corner of the terrace. She sat on a bench invisible from the bar. The wall of the cottage emitted the warmth of the sunny day. The terrace had a view across the coast. She didn't recognize it until the deep voice of the landlord said, "Welcome! Here we go, the menu for you. Drinks?"
Leonor looked up and met the drolly expression of the man.
"Interesting outfit, invited to a fancy-dress party? Looks like you need something stronger! Cheer up girl; you'll find a new partner."
Leonor nodded, but the landlord was already behind the bar, pouring a whiskey.
"It's on the house." He put the Scotch on the table and Leonor ordered the menu of the day and a picture postcard with the lettering 'Withby'. The card was delivered promptly including a muggle stamp and the kind landlord patted Leonor on her shoulder with an understanding smile.
Pauline circled above the coffee house and when the last guests left the terrace the owl joined the witch at the small rustic-style table. Leonor freed the owl from the old letter and burned it with a blue flame. Pauline took the postcard into her beak. The place name was underlined and on the back page the phrase 'THANKS' showed in capital letters.
"Find Severus and then return to our house in London, right?"
The owl hooted and left the restaurant before a waitress served the hot vegetable soup and ranted about the nervy sea mews coming to feed themselves even in the dark. Leonor gave a knowing smile to the elderly woman and spooned the starter ravenously. The home-made meal, the whiskey followed by several large hot chocolates brought Leonor back into controlling herself. The staff didn't snoop around and was busy with the new arrivals filling the dining area. A radiant heater had been plugged next to Leonor and the warmth from inside and outside restored a more vital feeling. The frightful pictures of Catherine were detached from every context and Leonor believed the memory of it was already partially erased. The physical pain was the leftover of the empathic curse. Leonor suppressed the hurt in head, limbs, and back and concentrated to the next steps. The apparition to the London' house needed to work. There she would find the necessary potions to heal. In any way, Gringotts would pay out and even if everything in her body was sore; the triumph would be hers in receiving the money. She would walk upright to the cashier and present the cheque. Jackson's daughter sent already an owl with the congratulation, asking for a final decision about buying the apothecary. It was time to buy a new house. The sale of the house in London could wait with the money from Gringotts. Leonor would hand in the request for a healer's licence and claim the patent application for her own 'household' medicine. Leonor left the muggle restaurant inhaling the sea breeze deeply. With a little luck, all official authorizations would be completed in September. Leonor took notice of a swish in the near bushes and stopped wandering her thoughts. She listened attentively sensing an intensive magic. Leonor drew her wand and turned on the spot quickly. She arrived at the backyard in London, before any magical creature could snatch her. She felt neither in the mood nor strong enough for an encounter with 'unknown' witches or wizards.