An ice cold wind blew in off the ocean. Taylor looked out over the seaside cliff. In the distance, she could just make out a small village. She tried recalling how many similar villages she had visited in the past eight months, but she long ago lost count. The trail of the Dark Wizard had led Taylor up and down the eastern coast of the United States. She now stood in Maine, just outside the village of Schooner Bay.
Krikky and Aramis were carefully secreted away in a safe-house Taylor set up only a few weeks into their mission. The Dark Wizard, whose identity still eluded Taylor, was one of the most vile she had ever encountered, eclipsed only by Voldemort, and some of his most trusted Death Eaters. This Dark Wizard could easily have fit in with the Death Eaters, but what little intel Harry Potter had sent Taylor indicated no connection. Taylor had determined, though, that during times of travel, Krikky and Aramis would stay at the safe-house, until Taylor found safe lodging in whichever area the trail led to.
The specialized equipment Taylor carried that detected unusual spikes in magic indicated that such fluctuations were occurring somewhere in the vicinity of Schooner Bay. So, with all senses on high alert, Taylor walked into town, hoping to look like a normal visitor, and not an Auror hunting a Dark Wizard.
The quaint seaside town was a pleasant blend of quiet busyness. People milled around, going about their errands, but leaving the atmosphere peaceful. Taylor made a quick note of important buildings, like the Sheriff's Office, the hotel, and the restaurant, which was called Norrie's. There was also a building with several signs on it, indicating the occupant fulfilled many positions in town. Realtor, Justice of the Peace, and Town Clerk, just to name a few. Taylor noticed to men sitting just outside Norrie's, and decided to ask them a few questions.
"Hello!" she said cheerfully as she approached. "Do you gentlemen mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"Not at all," the man sitting on the left said. He was tall, and thin, with a long nose. The other was shorter, with gray hair, and glasses. "I'm Ed Peevey, and this is Deke Tuttle!"
"Taylor Clark." She shook hands with both men. "I'm doing research on coastal communities in America, so I'll be staying around for a month or two. Would you mind telling me a bit about Schooner Bay?"
"Why, wouldn't mind at all," Mr. Peevey said. "Pull up a chair!" For the next fifteen or so minutes, the two men regaled Taylor with stories all about the little town. Taylor specifically asked what the best places to go were, and if there was anyplace no one ever wanted to go. The look the men gave each other gave Taylor high hopes she was close.
"What is it?" Taylor asked excitedly. "Come now, you must tell me!" Deke shook his head.
"There's a house, a mile or two out of town, called Gull Cottage…" Mr. Peevey looked around nervously, then leaned in so he could whisper. "Rumor is, it's haunted!"
"No one goes anywhere near that place," Deke said.
"I'll be sure to steer clear," Taylor said, all the while knowing that was exactly where she wanted to go. After a few more minutes of conversation, Taylor made a polite exit. She strolled around the village for awhile, not wanting to make it obvious where she intended to go.
By the time Taylor found Gull Cottage, a dark overcast had formed, and the wind was blowing even colder off the water. She pulled her cloak around even tighter. She looked at the house, which was clearly in a state of disrepair. While not the worst she ever saw, it definitely needed a lot of care. Pulling out her wand, Taylor performed a quick sweep of the area.
"Hominum revelio," she said quietly, just in case there was anyone around. Nothing revealed itself. Using one of the instruments given to her by Harry Potter, Taylor then checked for signs of magical activity. It indicated some detection, but nowhere near the levels she expected. Her hopes were starting to fade that the reason for the "haunting" described my Deke and Mr. Peevey was the Dark Wizard. The results indicated that there was some magical activity in the general area, but Gull Cottage was not the source.
Another gust of wind blew, and Taylor could smell rain. Rumbles of thunder echoed off the bay. Not wanting to walk back to town in this weather, nor wanting to alarm anyone by suddenly apparating, Taylor made the quick decision to seek refuge for the night in Gull Cottage. As she carefully swung the wooden gate open, a bolt of lightning shot across the sky. Taylor jogged up the flagstone path as rain began pouring, and practically jumped the steps up to the porch. Half hoping, being so isolated, the door might be unlocked, Taylor let out a heavy sigh when she tried it, and found it locked. She lifted her wand to the knob.
"Alohomora," she muttered, and the door swung open. She stepped into a small entryway, and illuminated her wand. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, and that was covered in cobwebs on top of cobwebs. Overhead hung an ornate chandelier, but Taylor doubted it would light. A narrow staircase stretched up in front of her, to the right looked to be the kitchen. To the left was a set of double doors. Taylor carefully opened one, and looked inside. It was a sitting room with a fireplace. Over the fireplace was a large painting of a sailor, a bearded man who stared out at anyone who entered the room. The look on his face was stern, but with an air of playfulness. Taylor smirked, wishing it was a magical painting, so she could interact with it. Another flash of lightning lit up the room even more than the light coming from the wand. Even though it was a Muggle painting, it still gave the impression the subject was watching everything happening. Taylor decided to go with it.
"I do apologize," she said, bowing slightly to the painting, "I don't normally break into places, but the weather outside prevented me from finding normal lodging. So, while it may seem a bit presumptuous, I will be staying the night. I do promise to leave in the morning." With another bow to the painting, Taylor turned, and went about examining the rest of the house.
Upstairs, she found a handful of bedrooms. A couple of them were single rooms. One had two beds in it. Then, she looked into what must have been the master bedroom. It had a bed, a seating area with a fireplace, and a set of glass doors that led to a balcony. An antique telescope sat pointing out at the sea.
"This looks like the best place for me to get a decent night's sleep," Taylor muttered. She walked over to the fireplace. "Lacarnum Inflamare." Magical fire sprang up, instantly lighting, and warming the room. Then, she turned her attention to the bed. Like everything else, it was covered in dust, and cobwebs. A few cleaning spells later, the bed looked almost brand new. Taylor climbed inside, and exhausted, fell almost straight to sleep.
This prevented her from seeing the man standing in the corner. Tall, wearing a naval uniform, with wavy light auburn hair, and a beard, it was the man from the painting. Captain Daniel Gregg stepped forward silently, and looked at the young woman now asleep in the bed that was once his.
"You are quite an interesting lady," he said quietly. "Certainly like none other I've ever encountered." The Captain studied the fire burning in the fireplace without kindling. He also mulled over the way Taylor had opened the front door, and how she had cleaned off the bed. "Who are you?"
The next morning, Taylor was awoken by the sound of the ocean, accompanied by sea birds. The storm had long passed, and a light breeze blew in through the glass doors. After a split second of enjoying the fresh air, Taylor grabbed her wand out from under the pillow, and raised it defensively. Looking around the room, there did not seem to be anyone else there. She pointed her wand at the closet door, and flung it open. A cascade of items poured out on the floor.
"Definitely no one in there," Taylor muttered. She turned her attention to the balcony. Very slowly, she climbed out of the bed, and crept to the glass doors. Sheer curtains fluttered in the breeze. Stealthily, Taylor poked her head outside. Looking up each side, the only thing she found was a large ship's wheel mounted to the balcony. "Maybe the wind blew it open during the storm?" Taylor pondered. Just in case, she quickly performed another reveal spell. Once more, it showed the presence of no one else. Shrugging, Taylor extinguished the fire, and headed downstairs to the kitchen.
The kitchen was perhaps in the worst condition. It looked like it had once been a quaint cooking space, but all the appliances were antiques, and in horrific disrepair. Taylor checked the faucet at the sink, and it groaned horribly as it struggled to give water.
"Why did I think I was going to be able to cook in here?" Taylor wondered aloud. She dug around in the small satchel she carried with her, and pulled out a sizable lunchbox.
"How in the blazes did she fit that in there?" Captain Gregg said from the doorway. Taylor jumped back, and raised her wand. She blinked several times when she realized the man standing there was the same one from the painting over the mantle.
"I apologize," Taylor said quickly, stashing her wand. "It was storming last night, and I sought shelter in here. I… thought the house was abandoned."
"You can see me?" The Captain blurted.
"Well, yes," Taylor replied. "You're not exactly hiding."
"But I didn't will for you to see me!" The Captain took a defensive stance. "Who exactly are you?" he demanded. "You've been doing very strange things since you got here last night!" Taylor realized he had seen all the magic she performed.
"I'm sorry about all this," Taylor said. She pointed her wand at the Captain, and muttered, "Obliviate."
"You can't make me disappear!" the Captain said pompously, and Taylor realized the spell had not worked.
"I wasn't trying to make you disappear," she explained. "I was trying to erase your memory."
"You board my ship without permission, and you have the audacity to try erasing my memory? Women!"
"This isn't a ship," Taylor said slowly, "this is a house…"
"Semantics," Captain Gregg said patronizingly. "The point is, I live here, you do not."
"You live here?" Taylor blurted incredulously. "Not much for housekeeping, are you?" She pointed to the decrepit stove. "And how do you eat?"
"I haven't needed to eat in century."
"You haven't needed to what?" Several thoughts spun through Taylor's brain. "Wait…" She jogged out of the kitchen, and into the sitting room. She looked at the painting, recalling there was a date in the corner. 1832. "You're a ghost…" She turned back to look at the Captain, who had followed her.
"Of course," he said. "I do say, you're the first person I've encountered who's been able to see me without my willing it to be."
"That's because I'm a wizard. Well, witch, but so many people use that word negatively, I prefer to just say wizard. But yeah, we see ghosts all the time. The school I went to had dozens. One of the instructors is a ghost! Thing is, you don't look like any ghost I've ever seen."
"I suppose that means we have that in common," Captain Gregg said.
"Well, I did promise last night that I would leave in the morning, so I supposed I'll be going…"
"I wouldn't be much of a host if I threw you out before you had a chance to eat. I do apologize for the state of the kitchen, but I should be able to compensate." The Captain snapped his fingers, and a steaming hot breakfast platter appeared on the kitchen table. Taylor walked over to it hesitantly, long familiar with the type of food ghosts usually served. However, not one item on the plate looked decayed or rotten. It looked fresh, and smelled delicious.
"Thank you…"
"Captain Daniel Gregg," he said, finally introducing himself formally.
"Professor Taylor Clark," she replied.
"Professor?"
"I'm an instructor at the the wizarding school I graduated from," Taylor explained. "And in my spare time, I hunt down Dark Wizards."
"Is that why you're here?" the Captain asked. "You thought there was a Dark Wizard in Gull Cottage?"
"No," Taylor said, her mouth full of food. "There's indication they're somewhere in the area, but I could tell they weren't in this house. That's why I sought refuge from the storm in here." She took a few more bites. "I've gotten the best indicators I'm on the right track of this entire mission, so he must be somewhere nearby. The only reason I did venture out here was because some of the townspeople mentioned that Gull Cottage was haunted. I thought they were mistaking Dark Magic for ghost activity, but apparently I was wrong…"
"They don't know for certain there's a ghost here," Captain Gregg scoffed. "Not one of them has ever seen me. All I ever do is insure the security of my ship!"
"Why do you keep calling the house a ship?"
"Because that's what I call it," he said matter-of-factly. Taylor decided to drop the matter.
"Well, thank you for the breakfast," she said, standing up. She grabbed the lunchbox, and pushed it back into the satchel.
"How do you get that in there?" the Captain asked.
"Undetectable Extension Charm," Taylor said. "You wouldn't happen to know if there's a house to rent in the area?"
"I believe there might be. If you return to the village, you can find a barnacle of a man who refers to himself as my relative, by name of Claymore Gregg. He fancies himself a real estate agent, among others…"
"Oh, yes, I think I saw his office when I arrived in town yesterday."
"He should be able to arrange a place for you to stay. However, I do warn you, he's a scoundrel through and through. Don't let him fool you!" the Captain warned.
"I should be able to handle him," Taylor said. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve…"
"No doubt, no doubt." They walked toward the door, and with a wave of his hand, the door swung open. "Fair winds and following seas, Professor!"
"Thank you, Captain," Taylor replied, and she walked outside.