Visiting Cedric
The following is some information for anyone who might come to visit. I often like to have some idea of what a place looks like so I can describe it in posts. Thus, I'm providing it for Cedric. This post will be tagged in his memories, so people can easily find it later as I doubt anybody needs it right now. :-)
ETA: Cedric is now moved into the forest house at the back of the Trio's shop. He'll be there until his own house is rebuilt.
The house.
Diggory Land
The Diggorys own between 15-20 acres south of I street, between Susan Bones' farm and the Lovegood property. This land used to be part of a small country estate with a house that dated to the mid/late-1700s. The house is gone, only the concrete foundation remaining and a bit of the fireplace, but an old field-stone barn remains and a few out buildings, also assorted fences, etc. Most are made of stone and wood (not metal or barbed-wire).
This was originally a horse farm, so while there is a patch where Cedric tried to grow few a few vegetables that summer, most is made up of pastureland (now fields). There is a gravel access road to the house area, off I Road (south of South Lane), and several dirt lanes running through the property. There's also an old (now over-grown) corral and riding track, plus a few other remains from its time as a horse farm.
Because the house has been in the Diggory family for years, it never had electricity or other 'modern' amenities. It had/has plumbing, and a working well. Cedric plans to change that and modernize.
Cedric's "House" (tent)
Cedric has a tent set up on the foundation where his house used to be, near to the old fireplace. Like most Wizarding tents, size is deceptive -- although it does look a bit bigger than a pup-tent on the outside. Entry faces west so the morning sun doesn't wake him.
Sitting Room -- Main, central room. What most people would see, and no further (beyond toilet and kitchen). It will usually be in a mild state of disarray.
There is a rather threadbare maroon corduroy couch that he covers with throws and Pendleton blankets because he dislikes the color. It's comfy, however, and Cedric's cat often sleeps on the cushions along the top -- which means it tends to be covered with (white) cat fur. There's also a matching maroon recliner that is "Cedric's chair." In addition to these, there's a bentwood rocker with blue calico cushions but it's not that comfortable so it's shoved over into a corner. There are rugs covering the floor. The overall impression is of a well-used country home.
Lighting comes mostly from lamps on stands or candelabra, and it's not very well-lit at night. There are several bookshelves, mostly overflowing with Muggle-style paperbacks, but there are some Wizarding parchment texts too. If anyone looks at the titles, s/he'd find everything from history and social sciences to science fiction to American Indian material, so the occasional odd thing like a book on sign language and Stephen Jay Gould's A Bully for Brontosaurus. He also has books of common charms, several advanced texts on Transfigurations, some History of Magic texts and assorted others.
In a bin beside the books will be a big stack of newspapers that he has to get rid of periodically: aside from The Daily Prophet if/when it's published, other (Muggle) titles might include The Guardian, Exeter Express, The Economist, The Independent, The Times, Prospect Magazine, and (just to amuse himself), The Sun. (Why yes, he is a bit left-of-center politically, how did you guess?) Cedric is a newspaper nut. He reads four of them a day, if not always the same four (although he reads The Times and The Guardian pretty religiously).
There's also a credenza, several end tables, a secretary, and a coat/hat rack. The wood is dark (walnut). Sitting next to Cedric's chair is a small, rolling computer table. There is a laptop on it, but without electricity, he can only use it with a battery so even with a backup battery, he has very limited time. It isn't hooked up the internet (obviously). The flat part of the table usually has a coffee mug, glass, book, or left-over plate from a meal.
Decor is a mishmash, but there is a strong native theme. Since I don't assume most folks will know/recognize some of these items, I'm including names and an example for a few. If someone asks him about them, he'll explain them but he tends to assume most people aren't interested, so he doesn't offer.
Medicine shield or mandala (on tent wall)
(There is a beaded golden eagle feather slipped through one of the bottom 'tails')
Ojibway medicine wheel (on tent wall near the exit)
tortoise-shell rattle (atop the credenza)
abalone shell with smug sticks (atop an end table)
Zen: Cedric's cat, blue-point Siamese, very tiny, probably purebred but he has no idea. He found her starving and bedraggled, locked in a house, scratching at the window, when he first walked through Ottery St. Catchpole after his return. Her Muggle owners had either been killed or fled and left her. He broke into the house and took her home with him. Zen, therefore, was his first 'refugee.' She can often be seen following at his heels like a dog.
Toilet
Probably the other room most likely to be seen by visitors. (G) It has a shower, not a bath, small and enclosed, and the sink area is free standing (no counter). It and the toilet are white. The back of the toilet and a small wire-and-wicker stand wedged between the toilet and shower hold his toiletries -- standard men stuff (razor, comb, aftershave, etc.) He does keep hair gel, and he wears Muggle contacts. But the place is pretty unexciting. The primary colors are white and black (checker pattern).
Kitchen/Dining
Is open off the sitting room towards the back. The dining table seats four and like the other furniture is dark walnut. There's only a doily in the middle and a centerpiece of dried flowers. Cedric never eats there. In the kitchen, the large sink is usually full of unwashed dishes. There's an old-fashioned ice-box that uses a Chilling Charm, and old-fashioned stove with a kettle, as well as an oven, and a percolating coffee maker. Cabinets hold basic dishes, pans and cauldrons, as well as one item that might be a bit unusual -- a deep-frier that he bought to make frybread but can't use because it requires electricity. Otherwise, it's a pretty standard, if messy, Wizarding kitchen.
Guest Room
Completely unexceptional. There's a double bed with a floral-print comforter, a folded blanket at the foot of it, a small wardrobe, a chest, and a dressing chair.
Cedric's Bedroom
He keeps the curtain dropped, so most people wouldn't see it without a special invitation. (Waggles eyebrows) But his main reason for keeping the curtain dropped is that it's usually even more of a disaster than his sitting room.
He doesn't make his bed (and the sheets get washed only rarely, so they smell strongly of him although not necessarily unpleasantly so). There are three blankets on it, counting the top quilt in shades of maroon, navy blue and white. Besides the usual pillows, there's a 'support' pillow for reading in bed, and a bedside table with a lamp, usually an abandoned mug or three, books (always books), and his reading glasses. The bed is a magically stretched queen-sized, to accomodate his height (he hates to have his feet hang off the end). There's also a double-door wardrobe, a 3-drawer/waist-high dresser, a laundry basket for dirty things (but which always seems to be full of clean things he hasn't folded and put away yet), a chair (usually completely covered with the dirty clothes), and a standing mirror in one corner. He has a very large painting placed on a reinforced stand against one whole wall -- the only one of his mother's to survive the destruction of the gallery when Diagon Alley was destroyed. It has some smoke damage but is mostly intact. It's Ragnarök. (I'll talk some about Wizarding painting vs. portraits in game, I hope.)
ETA: Cedric is now moved into the forest house at the back of the Trio's shop. He'll be there until his own house is rebuilt.
The house.
Diggory Land
The Diggorys own between 15-20 acres south of I street, between Susan Bones' farm and the Lovegood property. This land used to be part of a small country estate with a house that dated to the mid/late-1700s. The house is gone, only the concrete foundation remaining and a bit of the fireplace, but an old field-stone barn remains and a few out buildings, also assorted fences, etc. Most are made of stone and wood (not metal or barbed-wire).
This was originally a horse farm, so while there is a patch where Cedric tried to grow few a few vegetables that summer, most is made up of pastureland (now fields). There is a gravel access road to the house area, off I Road (south of South Lane), and several dirt lanes running through the property. There's also an old (now over-grown) corral and riding track, plus a few other remains from its time as a horse farm.
Because the house has been in the Diggory family for years, it never had electricity or other 'modern' amenities. It had/has plumbing, and a working well. Cedric plans to change that and modernize.
Cedric's "House" (tent)
Cedric has a tent set up on the foundation where his house used to be, near to the old fireplace. Like most Wizarding tents, size is deceptive -- although it does look a bit bigger than a pup-tent on the outside. Entry faces west so the morning sun doesn't wake him.
Sitting Room -- Main, central room. What most people would see, and no further (beyond toilet and kitchen). It will usually be in a mild state of disarray.
There is a rather threadbare maroon corduroy couch that he covers with throws and Pendleton blankets because he dislikes the color. It's comfy, however, and Cedric's cat often sleeps on the cushions along the top -- which means it tends to be covered with (white) cat fur. There's also a matching maroon recliner that is "Cedric's chair." In addition to these, there's a bentwood rocker with blue calico cushions but it's not that comfortable so it's shoved over into a corner. There are rugs covering the floor. The overall impression is of a well-used country home.
Lighting comes mostly from lamps on stands or candelabra, and it's not very well-lit at night. There are several bookshelves, mostly overflowing with Muggle-style paperbacks, but there are some Wizarding parchment texts too. If anyone looks at the titles, s/he'd find everything from history and social sciences to science fiction to American Indian material, so the occasional odd thing like a book on sign language and Stephen Jay Gould's A Bully for Brontosaurus. He also has books of common charms, several advanced texts on Transfigurations, some History of Magic texts and assorted others.
In a bin beside the books will be a big stack of newspapers that he has to get rid of periodically: aside from The Daily Prophet if/when it's published, other (Muggle) titles might include The Guardian, Exeter Express, The Economist, The Independent, The Times, Prospect Magazine, and (just to amuse himself), The Sun. (Why yes, he is a bit left-of-center politically, how did you guess?) Cedric is a newspaper nut. He reads four of them a day, if not always the same four (although he reads The Times and The Guardian pretty religiously).
There's also a credenza, several end tables, a secretary, and a coat/hat rack. The wood is dark (walnut). Sitting next to Cedric's chair is a small, rolling computer table. There is a laptop on it, but without electricity, he can only use it with a battery so even with a backup battery, he has very limited time. It isn't hooked up the internet (obviously). The flat part of the table usually has a coffee mug, glass, book, or left-over plate from a meal.
Decor is a mishmash, but there is a strong native theme. Since I don't assume most folks will know/recognize some of these items, I'm including names and an example for a few. If someone asks him about them, he'll explain them but he tends to assume most people aren't interested, so he doesn't offer.
Medicine shield or mandala (on tent wall)
(There is a beaded golden eagle feather slipped through one of the bottom 'tails')
Ojibway medicine wheel (on tent wall near the exit)
tortoise-shell rattle (atop the credenza)
abalone shell with smug sticks (atop an end table)
Zen: Cedric's cat, blue-point Siamese, very tiny, probably purebred but he has no idea. He found her starving and bedraggled, locked in a house, scratching at the window, when he first walked through Ottery St. Catchpole after his return. Her Muggle owners had either been killed or fled and left her. He broke into the house and took her home with him. Zen, therefore, was his first 'refugee.' She can often be seen following at his heels like a dog.
Toilet
Probably the other room most likely to be seen by visitors. (G) It has a shower, not a bath, small and enclosed, and the sink area is free standing (no counter). It and the toilet are white. The back of the toilet and a small wire-and-wicker stand wedged between the toilet and shower hold his toiletries -- standard men stuff (razor, comb, aftershave, etc.) He does keep hair gel, and he wears Muggle contacts. But the place is pretty unexciting. The primary colors are white and black (checker pattern).
Kitchen/Dining
Is open off the sitting room towards the back. The dining table seats four and like the other furniture is dark walnut. There's only a doily in the middle and a centerpiece of dried flowers. Cedric never eats there. In the kitchen, the large sink is usually full of unwashed dishes. There's an old-fashioned ice-box that uses a Chilling Charm, and old-fashioned stove with a kettle, as well as an oven, and a percolating coffee maker. Cabinets hold basic dishes, pans and cauldrons, as well as one item that might be a bit unusual -- a deep-frier that he bought to make frybread but can't use because it requires electricity. Otherwise, it's a pretty standard, if messy, Wizarding kitchen.
Guest Room
Completely unexceptional. There's a double bed with a floral-print comforter, a folded blanket at the foot of it, a small wardrobe, a chest, and a dressing chair.
Cedric's Bedroom
He keeps the curtain dropped, so most people wouldn't see it without a special invitation. (Waggles eyebrows) But his main reason for keeping the curtain dropped is that it's usually even more of a disaster than his sitting room.
He doesn't make his bed (and the sheets get washed only rarely, so they smell strongly of him although not necessarily unpleasantly so). There are three blankets on it, counting the top quilt in shades of maroon, navy blue and white. Besides the usual pillows, there's a 'support' pillow for reading in bed, and a bedside table with a lamp, usually an abandoned mug or three, books (always books), and his reading glasses. The bed is a magically stretched queen-sized, to accomodate his height (he hates to have his feet hang off the end). There's also a double-door wardrobe, a 3-drawer/waist-high dresser, a laundry basket for dirty things (but which always seems to be full of clean things he hasn't folded and put away yet), a chair (usually completely covered with the dirty clothes), and a standing mirror in one corner. He has a very large painting placed on a reinforced stand against one whole wall -- the only one of his mother's to survive the destruction of the gallery when Diagon Alley was destroyed. It has some smoke damage but is mostly intact. It's Ragnarök. (I'll talk some about Wizarding painting vs. portraits in game, I hope.)