( ... )

The hedgemaze and most of the shrubbery are far too well behaved to have become unruly in the absence of regular care, but there are still signs that the Lestrange garden has not seen a groundskeeper for quite a while. Ivy is slowly overtaking the nearest wall of the house, and the climbing roses that were clearly meant to be an artistic accent on ( Read more... )

Transferring the thick liquid from cauldron to flask, his breath harsh and rasping when he hums, Rodolphus is oblivious to the room's darkness. The smell, if he were paying attention, is overpoweringly acrid, as if the fumes of this malevolent philter has penetrated the walls. And he hums from time to time, hearing the melody perfectly in his ( Read more... )

He's turned every painting so they face the wall. The murmur of discontent from most of the paintings' inhabitants is just audible, not enough to be clearly understood ( Read more... )

The instant he steps in the bedroom, he can feel that everything is wrong. For a moment he can barely see; it's as if everything has been turned upside down, inverted and sullied. The air is wrong, the walls are too thin. Somebody's eaten my porridge. Somebody's sat in my chair. Somebody's ... somebody's slept, in, in my ... my bed ...One pale ( Read more... )

VI.

Is he someone who dwells in this single world? No ( Read more... )

Pouring a clear spirit into the wide, shallow iron bowl and over the cedar sticks, Rodolphus set it ablaze with a gesture. The wind was strong tonight, whipping the night wildly and sending ripples over the dark waters like the silk dress of a falling woman. The gusts set the flame flickering, but he didn't back away from the bowl ( Read more... )

You know, I look at you and it's funny, you don't remind me of myself exactly but you remind me of a certain time I remember what I used to think love was then; that it was like fireworks, the explosions, the highlights, but it is not ( Read more... )

Ever since this afternoon, when Tamarantha gave him the Idea, Rodolphus has been holed up in his study, not an unusual pasttime. Books are spread out before him, cross referenced with notes, potions ingredients scattered over the pages ( Read more... )

I do not know them.

I shall be investigating the room.