We walked along the path through the field, but I felt as if I were walking in a dream.
The sun was shining brightly, but not hot — softly, in an autumn way. The grass beneath our feet had already withered and rustled like paper. In the distance the lake could be seen — smooth, прозрачное, surrounded by bare trees.
Elinor walked beside me in silence.
As for me, I stole glances at her. Up close she was even more beautiful than in the shop. Dark hair gathered into a low bun, several loose strands falling onto her face. Delicate features, a high neck, long fingers with which she held the basket with rosemary.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked at some point, without turning her head.
"Nothing," I lied at once and turned away. "Just looking around."
"It's beautiful here, isn't it?" she gestured toward the field. "I love England. Especially in autumn. It's beautiful in France too, but differently."
"Do you come here often?" I asked.
"To my grandmother? Sometimes I come for the holidays. My grandmother is French, but my grandfather was English. When they met in France, they began to live there. But after his death, Grandmother decided to come and live in England, because Grandfather often missed his homeland. In this way, she pays tribute to his roots."
"…I'm sorry," I said at once. "I didn't know."
"It's nothing," Elinor shrugged. "It was a long time ago. I'm used to it."
We approached the lake. The water was transparent and motionless, like a mirror. Bare branches and the gray cloudy sky were reflected in it.
"Beautiful," I exhaled.
The girl beside me smiled and looked at me.
"Sit down," Elinor lowered herself onto the grass right by the shore, tucking her legs under herself. "It's dry here."
I sat down next to her. There was less than a meter between us, and I could feel the warmth coming from her.
"Tell me about yourself, Merope," she said. "You are a witch too, but for some reason you live in a Muggle village. Why?"
I swallowed.
"I… I really am from a family of wizards. But my family was not very good, so I had to run away from them. Since then I've been living here."
"Can you tell me what exactly happened to you?" Elinor asked seriously.
I hesitated a little, but in the end sighed and decided to tell her. For some reason, the girl beside me inspired absolute trust in me, as if I really could tell her everything.
"It was… not good there. My father and brother are wizards, but I was a burden to them because I couldn't do magic. They called me a Squib and despised me."
Elinor listened to me silently, without interrupting.
"…But one day a man from the Ministry came," I continued. "Because my brother attacked Muggles. There was a fight, my father and brother were arrested. And I was left alone and left. Mrs. Cole took me in then."
"How much time has passed since then?" Elinor asked.
"I don't know exactly. Probably already half a year."
Elinor nodded.
"You seem like a good person, Merope. Despite everything you've been through."
I didn't know what to answer to that and remained silent.
"And you?" I asked a little later. "Tell me about yourself."
"What should I tell?" Elinor smiled. "I study at Beauxbatons, in the Étoncelle house. I live with my aunt. I love reading, walking and… meeting interesting people."
"Interesting people?" I repeated.
"Yes," she turned to me. "Like you."
At her look everything inside me turned over.
"Why am I… interesting?" I forced out.
"Because you are not like everyone else," she said simply and smiled. "And it's not only because of your family and your past. I feel it."
"You… feel it?"
"In our family it is passed down through the female line," Elinor lowered her voice slightly. "My great-grandmother was a seer. I don't see the future, but I feel people. I can see their essence."
For a moment I held my breath from excitement.
"And what do you feel in me?"
Elinor was silent, simply looking at me.
"That you are not from here," she said quietly. "I mean… your soul did not come from here."
My breath caught.
"You… you really feel that?" I murmured almost unbelievingly.
"I do. And you yourself know whether I am telling the truth right now or not."
The girl beside me sat calmly and smiled, as if she had not just said something completely unbelievable. And I was so confused that I couldn't even say anything.
Could this girl really feel it? That in this body, in fact, there was not its owner's soul at all, but someone else's?
But if that was really so… why wasn't she even asking me any questions? Wasn't this information shocking in itself?
We sat in silence for some time. The wind stirred the water, raising ripples.
"May I ask a question?" Elinor asked at some point.
"…Yes."
I expected Elinor to ask about my origin. About what kind of soul was actually in this body, and how it even happened that I ended up here.
But instead…
"You said that your family despised you because of weak magical abilities. But have you ever tried to do magic yourself?"
I was even taken aback.
Why did she ask me exactly that question now?…
Nevertheless, I shook my head.
"No… I was afraid. Afraid that I wouldn't succeed. What if my relatives were right and I really am a Squib?"
In fact, these were first of all the thoughts of the real Merope. After all, that was exactly how she had thought about herself all these years from the fragments of her memories that were now in my head. Merope had in fact never even tried to study magic, since she considered herself worthless in advance.
As for me… since the moment of appearing in her body, I had already become convinced that Merope Gaunt definitely was not a complete Squib, as she herself believed. She definitely had the beginnings of magical abilities. And, moreover, it was precisely the unexpectedly awakened magic that had already saved me several times in dangerous situations.
And nevertheless… all this had only been flashes of magical power, which until this moment I had not even controlled. In other words, until this moment I had never once tried to use magic truly consciously.
And therefore, Elinor's next sudden proposal truly stunned me.
"What if it works?" Elinor smiled. "Do you want to try? I can show you the simplest spell."
I hesitated.
"Here? Now?"
"Why not?" she looked around. "There's no one here except us."
At first I looked at her warily, but then suddenly realized that I truly wanted to try. Very much.
"Let's do it," I exhaled, almost immediately agreeing to this proposal.