april 7, 2009 date: December 1, 1997 characters: Xenophilius Lovegood, Marcus Flint, a Death Eater to be named later.... location: Lovegood House private/semi-private/public: Private summary: Xeno meets some folks who've been reading The Quibbler. Let's just say they're not fans.... status: Beginning
Xeno had just finished his daily work in the garden, and thought he would head inside for a warm cuppa. Today he'd been bedding down the Dirigible Plum bushes for the winter and the icy wind, which had appeared out of nowhere a few days ago, had chilled his nose and cheeks quite severely. He lit a fire in the fireplace with his wand, and with another flick also set the burner under the kettle going. He moved to unwind his scarf and take off his hat when the hairs on the back of his neck prickled.
The quiet solitude of the house, which usually only bothered him because it meant Luna was not home, suddenly had taken on a tinge of something that was not quite right. Following a hunch, Xeno left the kettle and, checking his pocket for his wand, quickly climbed the spiraling staircase.
He passed through the printing room, then Luna's sadly vacant room, then his own...climbing faster and faster the higher he went. When he reached his bedroom he pulled out the small stepladder he kept near the end of his bed and climbed up so that he could open the trap door in the roof. Clambering outside he grabbed at the gigantic brass telescope sitting on its stand near the center of the roof. He peered into the eyepiece, swinging the telescope around the horizon and sweeping closer and closer to the house. He saw nothing unusual in the fields, everything seemed as it should be near the river, and all was in order at the edge of the woods.
It was only when he straightened and felt a presence directly behind him that he realized his mistake.