A Surprise, a Gift and a Horror Solo

Date: April 10, 2022 (Sunday, evening)

Location: Kerr Manor, Inverness, Scotland

Father's idea to bring a gift to the party had been a splendid one; she wished she had come up with it herself. However, there wasn't much time to get something, and she did not intend to gift some old, forgotten belonging that had no meaning to her, and would have no meaning to the recipient. Liana hailed from a rich family, and she was receiving enough allowance to pick a real, well thought-out gift, as a respectable pureblood should. Only she couldn't go purchase it herself, since she'd need an adult guardian accompanying her - Father wouldn't appreciate having to make the trip, and Lady Ophelia would never agree to help her in anything.

Difficult as this situation might appear, the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place quite smoothly. She would need to send a servant to carry out the task; the servant that she also needed to get to know better, and recruit for her personal purposes. The servant that, unlike most humans, actually enjoyed serving - only usually wasn't treated with respect when doing it at the Kerr household. Some kindness could go a long way here, and Liana felt like it wouldn't take much to show more grace than Father or Lady Ophelia did every day when interacting with the poor creature.

It was getting dusky outside. Entering the kitchen, where she knew the house elf would be cleaning up after supper, Liana hoped that the shops in Diagon Alley would still be open at this hour.

"Young Mistress! How can Tolby be of assistance?" the elf croaked as soon as she stepped in through the doorway. He was standing on the countertop, putting clean plates into a cupboard; behind him, above a sink, a dish brush was scrubbing a pot on its own, as if held by an invisible hand.

"I need to buy a gift for my friend who I'll visit tomorrow, but I can't go out myself at this time. Could you go to Diagon Alley and find something suitable?"

The elf blinked in momentary confusion, clearly not used to being asked for favours instead of outright ordered to do something. "Of course, Tolby will be glad to do as Young Mistress wishes. What is the item you want, and from which shop?" He put the last plate into the cupboard and clambered down, coming to stand in front of Liana. The top of his head barely came up to her chest level.

"That's the tricky part - I don't know what exactly can be bought, and where. My friend likes the most bizarre things - spiders, strange dolls, hole digging; she enjoys everything creepy, chaotic and violent. The budget for her present is ten Galleons," she took a pouch out of her robe pocket and handed it to the servant, coins clanging inside. "I haven't spent enough time in Diagon Alley to know what shop could be selling objects fitting this description; you'll have to look around and find something, going by the description I gave you. It's a complicated request, sorry about that."

"No need to apologize, Young Mistress! Tolby will look for the right item, Tolby knows just the place." With that, the creature snapped its fingers and disappeared.

She walked back to her quarters, wondering what gift the house elf would end up picking. Whatever it was, she resolved to praise his good judgement - even if it didn't seem all that good. Her main goal, after all, wasn't to get the perfect gift; it was to get the perfect spy.

✦✦✦

As she sat on the bed, trying to read The Dark Arts Outsmarted, emotions were catching up with her. In the moment of confrontation with her stepmother, the electric flood of anger and fear somehow gave her clarity, pushing unwanted feelings away. Afterwards, she was so busy fleshing out and implementing her strategy that the shock of the whole situation didn't find any space in her mind. But now, when she was unable to do anything but wait for the house elf to return, Liana had too much time to think. What if the baby is a boy? It would be all over for her in September. Just as she would go away for the second year of studies, Lady Ophelia would stay at home, her position strengthened by having produced a male heir. The woman would make sure to use her newly found importance to fully destroy Liana. Transfer her to another school perhaps, out of the country; bar her from coming back for summer, so the girl couldn't undo any of the damage. She would lose not only her inheritance, but also her friends. The mere thought of possibly having to part with Maggie and Aurelius was bringing damp heat to her eyes and making her vision blurry.

This could already be a losing battle. She wasted so much of the valuable time by not being able to come back home for the winter holidays. Had she recruited Tolby then, he could have informed her of the pregnancy months ago. Now, the knowledge was kept from Liana, so she'd know how powerless she is in this household. What could have been carefully planned over a long span of time would have to be rushed now, and rushing meant mistakes. How could she go off to Vale's party and enjoy her time there, with the knowledge of another potential heir being on his way to this world? Lady Ophelia's goal of ruining the event for her had worked spectacularly. Impeccable timing. Liana loathed the woman.

"Young Mistress, Tolby is back."

The voice made her start. She quickly wiped at her eyes with the corner of her sleeve before shutting the book and getting out of the bed. The rag-wearing creature was standing in her doorway, hunch-backed and holding the ugliest, filthiest doll she had ever laid her eyes on. It looked exactly like the type of toy that Vale would own; more precisely, one of those she had already 'buried', and multiple times. Not exactly a brand new gift - more like something plucked out of a trash can. So much for obtaining a new, unused item.

"Come in, Tolby. Where did you find this doll?" she had no idea that there was a store in Diagon Alley selling such shabby items. When the house elf walked up to her and handed her the purchase, a single glance told her that the doll had never been pretty. The limbs were not proportionate, the eyes shone creepily, the dirt on its 'skin' looked like something that had always been there, and could never be removed.

"There is a shop in Knockturn Alley, Tolby had heard about the wares they sell. A grim place, it made Tolby feel very uncomfortable, but Tolby doesn't mind. The doll is called Morbid Molly. Tolby is sorry, Young Mistress, but the item was expensive - it cost half of the money you provided," the elf handed her the pouch, now much lighter than it had been a few hours ago.

Liana held her expression unchanged, ignoring the unpleasant, regret-like feeling of being swindled that tried gripping at her chest. Five Galleons for a dumpster doll? This 'inflation' thing that Muggles were having was going to wreck the wizarding economy, too, it seemed. "Don't apologize. Thank you for going into that unpleasant place for me, I really appreciate it. The gift is perfect - I know my friend will adore it, and that's all I wanted. You did well, Tolby. You can go and rest now."

The elf, looking both delighted and baffled at the same time, bowed and retreated from the room. Liana watched him go, remembering how the creature used to scare her when she was smaller, and later how she had tried to be polite with him - before being told off for doing so, because 'house elves did not warrant respect'. Hopefully, the humanity she was showing him now was not too little and too late, to win the servant over and gain his trust. She felt a slight twinge of guilt at the thought of using him for her own purposes, but quickly suppressed it. She wouldn't be asking Tolby to do anything that would outright put him in danger; well, if he was to be found out, it would end badly for him, but he seemed smart enough to not get caught - if he even agreed to help her, that is. And the creature did need someone to be civil with him. In the long run, if everything went well, her plans would end up doing good for him, too. Should Lady Ophelia's child become Tolby's master one day, the elf would know nothing but suffering. If Liana retained her heir status, the servant might some day know freedom, or at least be treated with kindness in his old age.

She put the doll on a chair next to the door. Morbid it was, indeed. Was this some sort of weird collection item, to cost that amount of money? The girl shook her head. It didn't matter, she reminded herself. The actual objective of this endeavour was reached - probably. She would have to think of how to speak to the elf on the matter, but that would wait until after the party. This interaction had reignited her hope. Perhaps she would even manage to get some sleep tonight.

Date: April 11, 2022 (Monday, morning)

Location: Kerr Manor, Inverness, Scotland

Her whole night was spent floating in a peculiar dream, the memory of which began trickling out of her mind the instant she emerged into wakefulness. There had been shabby huts scattered all over a rural landscape; it was cold all the time, the people there spoke a language she barely knew, and she was being forced to mount a full-sized tree for a Flying lesson. The dream had been so nonsensical it could not even count as a real nightmare. There was no way Father would ever allow his first-born to be sent to such an impoverished school, not even if Lady Ophelia gave him ten male heirs.

Liana opened her eyes that were still feeling heavy with sleep, sat up and reached for the water jug placed on her bedside table. She only caught the sight of the doll sitting at the foot of her bed with the corner of her eye, and it took a long moment for her brain to register what was wrong with that. When it finally did, the girl leapt out of her four-poster as if it was covered in hot coals, forgetting all about her thirst. A stifled shriek-whimper left her throat, her heart rate seemingly tripling in a single second. Somehow she had managed to grab her wand off the night stand and was now pointing it at the morbid toy, her back pressed against the wall, her whole body tingling and her chest almost aching from the sudden jolt of fear.

She had placed the doll on a chair far away from the bed before going to sleep. Yet now it was leaning into one of the posts at the end of the bed, it's dark gaze directed at the spot where Liana had been laying just moments ago.

It was a few more tense moments before a realization finally came to her. The damn thing was jinxed. That's where its high price came from. In all likelihood, the spell placed on it made the doll move to a different location once in a while, for the sake of spookiness. And she, a defensive magic prodigy, reacted like some terrified Muggle girl. Liana was suddenly feeling quite embarrassed as she lowered her wand. Tolby had done a fantastic job of picking the gift. Vale was going to love it, no doubt. And her dorm-mates would run a high risk of suffering a heart attack, especially the younger ones, and the Muggleborns.

Glad that nobody had witnessed her unwarranted terror, Liana put down her wand and took a few refreshing sips of water. Then, somehow still unwilling to turn her back on the doll, she started getting ready for the trip while keeping her eyes on the thing.

She came downstairs about an hour later, carrying only a small bag containing a set of spare clothes and a book. The doll was in her hand, so it wouldn't decide to disappear from the bag before the girl got to the Ashwood Mansion (it had moved to a different spot twice more while she was packing). Marcus Kerr was there, waiting to see her off - something that surprised her, but only until he began speaking.

"Remember that you represent the Kerr name. While the Ashwoods are blood traitors, they are still pureblooded and well-off. See how they live, what they are like. Perhaps their name can yet be redeemed, and their power used to form an alliance. Play along with their oddities, if they're not overly harmful, but do not embarrass yourself. You are to come back on Thursday. I'll be expecting to hear some useful information from you."

There wasn't much she could say to that, other than "Yes, Father."

"Now go. It wouldn't do to show up later than arranged." He picked up the ornate bowl of Floo Powder from the mantle and offered it to her.

Liana took a fistful with her free hand, and stepped into the fireplace.

Liana has left the thread.