On the morning of the 29th, shortly before noon, you Apparate to Number Twelve, go through the business of greeting everyone, and make your excuses to steal Sirius away. As far as anyone else knows, it's confidential Order business. You have Moody playing your back-up if anyone asks, and also in reality, because if you and Sirius can't handle one wizarding solicitor, he can, and if the two of you plus Moody can't handle him, well, there's nothing short of Dumbledore that will be able to.
Shortly after noon, you dig a hand into Padfoot's ruff and Side-along him to a couple blocks away from your intended destination.
The country house is squarely in the middle of a rich portion of Muggle Wales; unlike most wizarding properties, there's nothing much hiding it from prying eyes, just a handful of bare-minimum wards to keep intruders out. That is probably because, unlike most wizarding properties, it hasn't been passed down for enough generations to lose track. Hades Solus purchased it himself on the Muggle market, shortly after the death of his father during the last war, and that's about all you've been able to find out about the place. It's registered on the Floo Network under the address "the Nonsense House."
The entire walk up the drive, your impression of the place matches the official registration. Hades Solus is waiting for you at the gate; he's in the plain black robes he's always seen in in public, though without a cloak against the December chill. You see him glance over you, blink slightly at Padfoot at your side, and then snaps his fingers high above his head. The gate swings open not quite soundlessly, and you glance at the dog at your side, who shrugs in a decidedly humanlike way, before entering.
"I admit I didn't expect my comment on dogs to be quite so literal," Solus says, faintly amused, as the gate swings shut behind you. Almsot as soon as it does, you feel something like a ripple over your skin, as the wards fall back into place. It's not a ward you recognize.
You glance up at the house, and note that it looks different now that you're within the property. The grey stone is somehow bluer, with blue-toned stained glass windows where there were previously only normal ones, and there's a half-dozen twisted trees leaning over the back patio, in full lilac bloom in spite of the season. Minor cosmetics, by the standards of wizarding houses, especially those belonging to old pureblood families.
"We assumed from the comment that you knew," you say, frowning.
Solus rolls his eyes. "No, I was simply making reference to the astronomy that we theoretically all studied in school. Wizarding nominative determinism strikes again, I suppose." With that, he heads off in the direction of the house proper, leaving you and Padfoot to follow after him. You do so after exchanging another set of looks. "Do wipe your paws," he throws over his shoulder at the doorway, before opening it and letting you inside.
You obligingly wipe your shoes on the mat. Padfoot shoots you an incredulous look before doing likewise.
The entry hall, in contrast to the exterior, is clearly magical in an undeniable way. In place of a more typical chandelier, a glowing crystal, pale blue and floating in the air, occupies more than half the space, which is clearly magically enlarged. It rotates slowly where it hangs about five meters above the floor, surrounded by a walkway entending from the third story that wraps around it in a perfect, fenced-in circle. Underneath it, a small fountain shoots water in geometric arcs around what seems to be a model city.
Padfoot shakes his head, and in a blur it's Sirius standing next to you again, looking relatively put-together considering the circumstances. "Nice place," he says mildly.
"Smells like the ocean," you say. "Is it a salt water fountain?"
"Despite my best efforts, yes," Solus grumbles. "I've never been entirely able to get the smell of the ocean out of my memories of the place, and it's impacted the results." He seems to be more speaking to himself than you, because you certainly don't recognize the city when you look at it more closely; it looks more Muggle than magical, with buildings akin to skyscrapers that have windows in a similar style to the ones on the house.
"No point in standing around in the hall," he says after a moment of silence. "This way, I took the liberty of setting up lunch," and he leaves you to follow after him again into one of the side doors.
no subject
Shortly after noon, you dig a hand into Padfoot's ruff and Side-along him to a couple blocks away from your intended destination.
The country house is squarely in the middle of a rich portion of Muggle Wales; unlike most wizarding properties, there's nothing much hiding it from prying eyes, just a handful of bare-minimum wards to keep intruders out. That is probably because, unlike most wizarding properties, it hasn't been passed down for enough generations to lose track. Hades Solus purchased it himself on the Muggle market, shortly after the death of his father during the last war, and that's about all you've been able to find out about the place. It's registered on the Floo Network under the address "the Nonsense House."
The entire walk up the drive, your impression of the place matches the official registration. Hades Solus is waiting for you at the gate; he's in the plain black robes he's always seen in in public, though without a cloak against the December chill. You see him glance over you, blink slightly at Padfoot at your side, and then snaps his fingers high above his head. The gate swings open not quite soundlessly, and you glance at the dog at your side, who shrugs in a decidedly humanlike way, before entering.
"I admit I didn't expect my comment on dogs to be quite so literal," Solus says, faintly amused, as the gate swings shut behind you. Almsot as soon as it does, you feel something like a ripple over your skin, as the wards fall back into place. It's not a ward you recognize.
You glance up at the house, and note that it looks different now that you're within the property. The grey stone is somehow bluer, with blue-toned stained glass windows where there were previously only normal ones, and there's a half-dozen twisted trees leaning over the back patio, in full lilac bloom in spite of the season. Minor cosmetics, by the standards of wizarding houses, especially those belonging to old pureblood families.
"We assumed from the comment that you knew," you say, frowning.
Solus rolls his eyes. "No, I was simply making reference to the astronomy that we theoretically all studied in school. Wizarding nominative determinism strikes again, I suppose." With that, he heads off in the direction of the house proper, leaving you and Padfoot to follow after him. You do so after exchanging another set of looks. "Do wipe your paws," he throws over his shoulder at the doorway, before opening it and letting you inside.
You obligingly wipe your shoes on the mat. Padfoot shoots you an incredulous look before doing likewise.
The entry hall, in contrast to the exterior, is clearly magical in an undeniable way. In place of a more typical chandelier, a glowing crystal, pale blue and floating in the air, occupies more than half the space, which is clearly magically enlarged. It rotates slowly where it hangs about five meters above the floor, surrounded by a walkway entending from the third story that wraps around it in a perfect, fenced-in circle. Underneath it, a small fountain shoots water in geometric arcs around what seems to be a model city.
Padfoot shakes his head, and in a blur it's Sirius standing next to you again, looking relatively put-together considering the circumstances. "Nice place," he says mildly.
"Smells like the ocean," you say. "Is it a salt water fountain?"
"Despite my best efforts, yes," Solus grumbles. "I've never been entirely able to get the smell of the ocean out of my memories of the place, and it's impacted the results." He seems to be more speaking to himself than you, because you certainly don't recognize the city when you look at it more closely; it looks more Muggle than magical, with buildings akin to skyscrapers that have windows in a similar style to the ones on the house.
"No point in standing around in the hall," he says after a moment of silence. "This way, I took the liberty of setting up lunch," and he leaves you to follow after him again into one of the side doors.