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Eleanora stared absentmindedly out her bedroom window as she carefully folded her belongings and placed them in her bag. The waves crested peacefully on the shore and made Eleanora feel more at ease than she had since she'd left the Burrow. After a month at Shell Cottage, she was almost reluctant to leave. Almost. In all of the time she'd spent resting, not a moment had gone by that she hadn't missed Bill. All she wanted to do was go home to him, and she'd considered it quite a few times, but she knew where she needed to be.
"All packed up, dear? Ready to go?" Marilda Hopkins was bagging up a loaf of bread for Eleanora to take on the road. "You know, it'll be lonely here without you."
"You got on well enough before me," Eleanora said, laughing. She took the bread and packed it into her bag, then straightened up and cast one last look around the little kitchen. "Well, I think that's all." She felt bad leaving Marilda, who she'd grown rather close to in that last month. She couldn't stay any longer, though. For starters, the colder weather was going to come in in the next few weeks, and besides, Eleanora needed to go home.
"Come outside to the workshop for a moment," Marilda said, shuffling towards the door.
'The workshop' was a small shed with ten or so handmade wooden racks outside of it. On the racks, hundreds of handmade pieces of sea glass jewelry hung in the process of being made. Eleanora had learned that this was where Marilda spent the majority of her time. Eleanora had tried to join her once or twice, but got bored easily and ended up taking long walks on the beach or writing letters to Bill and wishing she could send them. "Here, over here, dear." Marilda led her over to a rack of necklaces.
"These are beautiful," Eleanora said quietly. Marilda pulled a green heart-shaped pendant that glittered in the morning sunlight and hung from a long leather string.
"I want you to have this one," Marilda said, pressing the pendant into Eleanora's hand. "It'll bring you luck."
"Oh, Marilda, I can't-"
"Please, dear. Take it." Marilda left the necklace in Eleanora's hand and moved to open the door to the shed. "There's one last thing I would like to give you before you go," she called through the open door. Eleanora watched as Marilda emerged carrying a small piece of paper. "Here. It's yours." Eleanora took the paper and stared down at it. She had to read it three times to really understand what it was saying.
"Marilda.... This is the- the deed to the house!"
"I keep telling you, it's yours."
"But I-"
"You found it, dear. I only ask that you wait until I'm gone to move in."
"What d'you mean 'until you're gone?" Eleanora asked, taken aback.
"Well, I am very old, and I've lived a nice life here. I just... I don't think I have much time left." Marilda didn't look sad exactly, just sort of distant. "Anyways, when I'm gone, I'll need someone to keep the place up. I hope I can trust you to do so?"
"Ah- yes. Yes, of course you can," Eleanora said, but she wasn't so sure. What if she didn't make it back from the mission? It was a thought she hated to think about, but it was only realistic. Marilda gave her a warm smile and patted her shoulder.
"Well then, Miss Eleanora. You'd best be on your way. You have a long journey ahead of you."
~
It only took three days for Eleanora to reach Malfoy Manor after leaving Shell Cottage. With renewed energy and a solid food supply, she was in much better spirits than she'd been for the first part of her journey. It all faded away when she saw the tall gates of Malfoy Manor and the long driveway stretching out behind them. She couldn't believe she was about to just waltz right into the main hub of Death Eaters and dark wizards. For the thousandth time, she thought about abandoning the mission and just heading back to the Burrow, but she'd come all this way. She couldn't leave now, not when she was so close to getting the information she needed.
She took a deep breath and a step forward. Then another step. And another. She stayed in the tree line, creeping along the edge of the path just barely hidden by shadows. As she neared the gates, she saw that nobody was guarding them. She was free to let herself in.
this is technically half of the chapter I was going to write but i'm like rly tired
