The house on the hill was large and unkempt. Dead ivy clung to the outside of the stone, snaking upwards and stopping three quarters away from the weathered roof. Whether from a lack of maintenance, or planned purposefully for added privacy to the occupants within, all windows on the first floor were covered by the wilted vines. The hedges encircling the property were untrimmed and patchy, and they remained varying heights from years' worth of being neglected.
Apart from the soft glowing light that peaked through a single window on the first floor, Marlene would have believed the house to be completely abandoned.
It was later in the evening than Marlene would have liked to pay visit to the gloomy looking manor, but she was pressed for time and she trudged up the winding pathway on mission.
The porch boards creaked from her added weight, letting whoever was inside know that she had arrived. Her hand poised to knock on the withered wooden door that was peeling with paint, but it opened before she could bring her fist down.
Nobody was there as it slowly moved inwards revealing the dark, deserted hallway within.
A shiver shot down her spine like an electric current, and Marlene felt her heart pounding against her rib cage. A wreck of nerves on the inside threatened to turn her away, but she swallowed her fear and called out with forceful courage.
"Hello?"
"Come in." A woman's voice, older, replied. Marlene could sense movement and the sound of soft shuffling of feet strode across the floor somewhere within, but the sound did not move towards her.
Marlene hesitated at the threshold. She did not feel threatened like she imagined she should be. After all, she could be walking into a trap. But she stepped through the doorway into the shadowed corridor, and the door flew backwards shutting her inside and quite unable to allow her to change her mind.
"I'm not going to boil you into soup." The woman laughed from a distance somewhere that Marlene couldn't see. "Come into the living room. I'm making some tea."
There was no turning back. Marlene moved slowly into the living room and her eyes immediately analyzed her surroundings. The walls were covered in yellowing wallpaper and littered with dozens of elaborate picture frames. Some of the pictures were enchanted with moving portraits, while others stood frozen alluding that they were possibly of muggle quality. The witches and wizards within the frames stared down at her, watching her every move with careful consideration. She felt their judgement following her around the room and tried to ignore the unsettling feeling of being watched.
There were bookcases lining four of the five walls that enclosed the peculiar room, and each one was filled with books and trinkets of random variety. Marlene walked the perimeter to look at the items carefully as she waited for the host to make her entrance.
There was a large hour glass with purple sand in both glass bowls as though the sand had frozen on its descent. She admired it only briefly before moving on to a long ivory scepter that hovered mid-air. It was omitting a soft buzz that sounded comparable to that of muggle electricity, and she reached her fingertips towards it. A spread of warmth and a light tingle coursed her hand despite the fact that she hadn't touched it.
Then her eyes focused on the large cabinet that rested in the corner of the room.
It was tall and rather old looking, which only made it seem to fit into place all that much more. Two crescent moons embellished the front of what once had likely been a brown exterior. But in its diminished state it was now greying and beginning to rust at the door hinges. The cabinet was closed so she could not see inside, but figured it was definitely large enough that it could fit an entire human body or two.
Beside the cabinet was a table that was draped in gold cloth and upon it rested a glowing orb. She suddenly felt compelled towards it and her feet involuntarily began to wander.
A purple and blue haze danced around inside the glass. It was beautiful and mesmerizing; her eyes trailed the hues that swirled around like painted silk. She unconsciously reached her hand out to touch it like she had with the scepter, but the voice brought her back out of the trance it had captured her in.
"I wouldn't touch that." The woman's voice was firm but not angry.
Marlene swiveled around to observe the elderly woman in the frame that separated the living room from what she assumed to be the kitchen. She had striking white hair that was short and neat, and she wore eccentric orange and purple robes that had gold swirls creeping the length of the fabric. Her eyes were narrowed with contemplation and she analyzed Marlene for longer than seemed necessary. It was almost as if she were trying to read her mind.
"Marlene McKinnon." Her eyes finally relaxed and a mysterious smile tugged at her lips. "I've been expecting you."