"A shame," Septimus said when he heard that Keith wouldn't be taking his course. He'd have him for Chemistry, though, so all was not lost. He intended to see for himself just what this boy was capable of.
When Keith asked him about his age, Septimus smiled tightly. "For a determined witch, there are no limits," he said which made Murmur chuckle inside his head: a tickling sensation and a sound like dry leaves skittering in the wind. "I am older than I look." It was an answer, but a diversion from the real truth. There were ways for a witch to prolong his natural lifespan, but alone one could never have achieved what Septimus had. It was one of the many secrets that Murmur shared with him.