Inheritance

I. Letting Nature

I. Letting Nature

Like the muggle world, there are physicians that treat families altogether. A family doctor, if you will. Family doctors often build a relationship with their patients—and this goes on up until the parents are greying and the children are living their own lives.

Ruby Rothwell, a Healer at St. Mungos, delivered all three of Amelie's children. Ruby handles all their routine wellness check-ups, including Xenophilius and Amelie. Over time, Ruby built a trusting relationship with the Berkshire family. For nearly two decades, if not more.

So when Ruby told Amelie that her hereditary cancer is spreading rapidly, one can imagine how devastating that conversation was. It's even worse to hear that Amelie's children, daughters in specific, are at higher risk for developing the same illness.

Ruby pressed her palm against the bottom of Amelie's neck and mumbled a diagnostic spell. As Ruby removed her hand from Amelie's body, tiny sparkles emitted from different regions of her body. She shook her head in disappointment as Amelie sighed.

"It's gone to your lungs, liver, and parts of your bones, Amelie," she said. "We can try another regimen to slow the spread. Or better yet, you can hopefully consider starting chemotherapy." Ruby muttered another diagnostic spell with her palm pressed against Amelie's abdomen. The same spots emitted tiny sparkles. In truth, Ruby felt like crying. But, she had to stay strong for the sake of Amelie.

"I'm just letting nature take its course," Amelie sat back up from the hospital bed and looked right at Ruby. "Besides, too tired to fight it off anyway."

This was true. Amelie was too tired to do anything these days.

"If you insist," Ruby replies. She grabs Amelie's neatly folded clothes from the chair adjacent to the bed and hands them to her. "Here. Go on and change and I'll step out."

Amelie laughs a weak laugh. "You really don't need to bother stepping out. You've delivered all three of my children."

Ruby chuckles softly as she makes her way toward the door. "I've got to check you out of here anyway. Did you want me to let Zeno know about your check-up?"

"No," she replies flatly. "It's just the same old stuff."

As Amelie dressed herself up, Ruby came back with riveting news.

"Have you heard about the auction?" she queried as she collected the used hospital gown from the ground. "The last living Parkinson heir is selling their estate—including everything in it."

She took a seat next to Amelie out on the bed as she held up a newspaper. Ruby read aloud the parts that stood out—'Project Fenrir Greyback'.

"I think this is the Universe's way of telling you that there is hope," Ruby insisted. "Clearly there's a reason why the estate is up for grabs at the same time you've fallen ill."

"Now, you've completely gone mad," Amelie shook her head. She stood up from the bed to collect her cross-body bag hanging from the hook behind the door. "I'm not buying a single thing the Parkinsons have to offer. Especially not an estate!"

"Oh, Amelie," she sighed. "Just you wait. The more you run away from your sickness, the faster it'll consume you, you know."

Before Amelie left the room, she turned to Ruby with a blank expression. "I'm not running at all. As I said, Ruby. I'm letting nature take its course."

Amelie apparated back home with severe nausea to follow. Casting spells without her wand in hand has gotten more difficult and made her prone to the typical motion sickness that apparition had to offer. To add, it's harder to pinpoint a specific location. Ideally, she wanted to apparate in front of her manor to show she is still well and can walk the long walk into the home and into the kitchen where her family is expecting her—it was to prove to her family that she was just fine and that her illness hasn't gotten the best of her yet,