The Stained Glass INN
"So the Nursery is in fact shut down right?" Neville asked as they arrived in the small Scottish town of Gealbohn in the early morning. Thankfully it wasn't raining. However, it was colder than Hogsmead. She wrapped her cloak around herself tighter as the wind whistled around them.
"Yeah, well technically it was supposed to be destroyed." Samantha explained. "Death Eaters, it's what started the big divide between Kai and Jade. She apparently gave away their location and they stole several dragons. Kai moved most of the dragons to America."
"So, no more dragons at all?" He asked.
"I hope not." Samantha said scratching some of the scars on her back. "I've had quite enough of them."
"Except Duke?" He asked looking at Duke on her shoulder.
"Well, he doesn't exactly give me a choice does he?" Samantha asked taking Duke off of her shoulder and putting him inside her bag in case they saw any muggles. She had rare moments where Duke left her completely alone. It was known to make certain situations rather awkward.
"Where did George say that INN was?" Neville asked looking around. It was a muggle town, but there were quite a few witches and wizards locally. They planned to get a room at an INN George had suggested to organize their stuff and do a bit of recon about the Nursery.
"He said it was within the stained glass window of a church." Samantha nodded towards a dilapidated stone church. They made their way inside. It was a pretty basic old fashioned church, with pews and a nun praying in the front row.
In the foyer was a big stained glass window. A dove was flying above a large oval sunshine.
Samantha went up, and checked around her before tapping the window with her wand three times. The dove began moving and flying around the sunshine.
The sunshine opened revealing itself as a door and they both stepped inside.
It was dark inside, with the walls being completely covered in stone. There were more stained glass windows. Even though it was late, it looked like the stained glass windows were still letting light through. The light reflected like a rainbow everywhere.
"Welcome to The Stained Glass Inn." A young man with a long curly beard stood behind the counter. He had a smile as he looked up to greet them. His expression switched instantly, his eyebrows narrowed and his smile downturned.
"We don't have vacancy after two-am." He grunted at them looking back down at a charter he was writing in.
Samantha pulled out her gold watch. "It's one-thirty am." She explained, "We can get other accommodations if you are full though."
"Well, we don't serve Brenna's anytime, so it's best you do." The man insisted with a gruff tone and closing the book.
Samantha's heart sank, she'd never been identified as a Brenna before. It had also never been a negative thing outside of her immediate family before. Normally, she was greeted with shock or high regard.
"We aren't Brennas." Neville said, noticing Samantha's shock and walking up to the counter. "My wife and I just need a place to sleep."
"You are definitely not." He looked Neville over with a nod and laugh. "But your wife looks like one."
"I'm not a Brenna." Samantha insisted. She'd said it so many times it didn't seem unconvincing.
The innkeeper looked directly at Samantha in her eyes. "Dark curly hair, a freckled face, and a stern expression. You look like a Brenna to me. Not to mention your sweater and your cloak seem to be made of Auguery feathers.
"I bought it from a store in Diagon Alley." She explained, only lying a little bit
"Only Brenna's are known to have those around here."
"We just need a room." Neville interjected. "She is not a Brenna, and we'd like to stay."
"What's your surname?" The man asked getting more aggressive, not looking at Neville at all.
"Trevor." Neville blurted grabbing Samantha's hand.
"I didn't ask yours." The man shook his head. "I asked for her's."
"We have the same last name." Neville was leaning against the counter now.
"We don't like Death Eaters here."
"Neither do we."
"So I need her family name or I'm going to call the authorities."
Neville said handing the man some money, "I don't appreciate you insinuating my wife is even remotely related to a rotten family like the Brenna's."
"My maiden name is Rebel." Samantha interjected trying to calm the situation. "Please. We just need a room."
The man slammed a set of keys onto the counter. He grunted out, "Room 218 Mr. and Mrs. Trevor, it's at the end of the hallway. We also have complimentary breakfast in the morning. I hope you like scones."
"We love them." Samantha smiled uncomfortably.
"Enjoy your stay."
They awkwardly and quietly made their way to the room. It was also made of stone, but it had a colorful stained glass window overlooking the hilly green countryside.
They got inside and Samantha looked at him with an inquisitive eyebrow. "Trevor? Like your toad?"
"Only name I could think of." He rolled his eyes. "He was making me upset."
"I couldn't tell." Samantha joked.
"He didn't need to be like that towards you."
"Neville, I know I like to disown that side of my family. But, he's obviously been through it with a Brenna or two." Samantha shook her head and took a deep breath. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was one."
Samantha reached into her bag and pulled Duke out of it. He huffed a little as he woke up fully. She went over to the window, opened it and pulled out a box. She opened it up.
"What's that?" Neville asked.
"Wireless extendable ear." Samantha held it up to show him the unattached ears. "New product. I would have loved this during the war."
She handed one ear to Duke.
"Take this to the nursery and drop it. Yummy steak if you do it without being seen." She whispered to the dragon who put it his claws around the ear and flew out the window. She watched him soar over the hills and he seemed to know exactly where he was going.
She left the window open so Duke could get back in.
"Sorry Sam, I didn't mean to get upset." Neville said before dumping all of the Weasley products on the floor from his bag. He sat down beside the bed and began organizing the products.
"Well, I mean unfortunately, I am related to them. Mum has always said that is where the freckles and curly hair come from." Samantha shrugged. "And we are close to the family estate. The one where my mum grew up." Samantha said looking out over the rolling hills, scanning for Duke.
"I don't know exactly where it was, but she always said it was close to Gealbhonn. So I assume, there are a lot of Brenna's still around here. I can't imagine how bad it was around here during the war."
"Ever been to their estate?" Neville asked as he warily looked over a box of fireworks.
Samantha thought about it briefly before sitting down beside him and pouring out her stuff, "Once, when I was very little and my family had just moved back from America. Only time I've ever met my Grandparents in person."
"What was it like?"
"I can't remember a lot. I just remember the house was big and it felt cold. My father wasn't allowed to come with us. I remember my Grandparents, Uncles and Aunts took my mother away to talk in another room. I don't know what was said." Samantha shook her head and wracked her brain.
"My cousins were nicer to Jack when we waited with them." Samantha remembered the nursery they'd been dropped into. "He had a traditional family name, which I think gave him a bit of an edge."
"I thought you were named after a famous witch." Neville asked packing away one package of Peruvian Darkness Powder into his bag. "That's what your mum said."
Samantha laughed, "One created by muggles for television. Mum liked the show because it was about a witch who married a muggle. I mean they don't call him a muggle, but my mum related a bit. Samantha wasn't a real witch though. I'll show the show to you sometime if you'd like."
"What happened after the talk?" He asked, taking her out of her laughter. "The one the Brenna's had with your mum."
"We left and never came back." She shrugged making them both go quiet for a moment.
"What about your muggle family? You don't talk about them much, but your dad says they are nice." Neville asked after looking over another box of explosions.
"They are nice, but we never see them." Samantha shook her head and put a Fanged Frisbee into the 'useless' pile. "Maybe once every few years. It became hard to explain Jack's absence and my scars are hard to hide. My grandfather died thinking my brother went missing in the Swiss Alps. They all think I was scarred in a house fire."
Samantha had felt so much remorse at his funeral. She'd been a different person when she'd seen her muggle family before that. She'd been unscarred and full of life back before he'd died. When she arrived and had scars on her back and hand, her muggle family was in utter shock.
"I can't imagine not having a big family." Neville looked somewhat forlorn, "You've met most of them now."
"I can't keep track." Samantha laughed wracking her brain. "I know your Uncle Algie's the one who dropped you out a window."
"I bounced though. He's not that awful." Neville insisted. He looked like he was going through a family tree in his mind.
"He dropped you out a bloody window to prove you weren't a squib." Samantha grimaced.
"Yeah, but he meant well. Most of my family does." His eyes looked down. "I'd trade all of them to have my mum and dad though."
Samantha put her head on his shoulder. It had always been her little family of four, and she'd never felt completely alone. She couldn't imagine growing up how he had, with his parents in their condition.
He kissed her forehead. "If I had the chance to make them better, I'd take it."
She figured it was one of the reasons why he'd understood why she did what she did for her brother. He understood on some level.
Duke came flying through the window. He was without the ear.
She reached up and grabbed the ear off the bed behind them. It wasn't making any noise yet, she had to activate it. She did so and listened carefully.
A man's voice came through first, "I can still call for our whole operation mam. It may be best to cover more ground to find Fyre."
"That won't be necessary Kent." Freya's voice seemed agitated. "I'll smoke her out of hiding eventually. I don't need to pay anymore men than necessary. This is personal."
Samantha rolled her eyes, "Well, she's frugal at least."
"Samantha's one little thorn in my side, and I will not spare my whole operation because she is difficult to extract. If I can't get to her I'll get the next best thing."
"What's that mam?" Kent asked with a cough.
Samantha's heart sank.
"I figured since she killed my love, I should kill her's. If we can't find that lug she's marrying we move onto her family." Freya laughed maniacally.
"How creative." Neville rolled his eyes. "I can probably out duel her."
"I'm sure you can." Samantha lied a little. She knew he was good, but she hated even the smallest inkling she could lose him.
"I recognized a few people in Diagon Alley from when my Kai died. If they are willing to come save her, she should be willing to kill for them."
He insisted at her, "We do have some information now and she doesn't realize we are here."
"This seems odd though doesn't it?" Samantha whispered listening to the ear.
There was a set of footseps and the voices became silent.
He reflected, "No body guards or goons. Didn't you say she had quite the operation?"
Samantha nodded. "Yeah, back in America."
"She could be tricking us into thinking she's alone. Maybe she recognized Duke." Neville surmised.
"Wouldn't he be dead?" Samantha asked looking back at Duke who had curled up on a pillow. It did seem a little too good to be true. "You may not be wrong. Maybe she's threatening you and everyone I know, to get me to attack without thinking it through."
"Only one way to find out, George certainly gave us enough fireworks to distract a crowd, no matter how big." Neville chuckled.
"We can probably do this, whether it's just her, or a whole crowd." Samantha chuckled and took a deep breath. "Let's just hope we survive. I wouldn't want to prove my brother right, although he probably is."