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The Headmistress has chosen her house in London. Well, it's just out outside of London, really, in a neighbourhood called Chiswick. It's a house that belonged to someone named William Hogarth, a bloke who was famous for the paintings and engravings he did in the 18th century.
I like the house, although I was a little surprised she didn't pick something fancier. Some of the others in the Lord Protector's inner circle have chosen buildings that are almost castles, really. She sniffed when I ventured to ask her about it, and said that it was certainly big enough for the likes of her. She's not going to be holding any fancy parties or anything, and why anyone thinks she would need fourteen beds to sleep in is beyond her.
The house was built around 1700. There are all sorts of interesting pictures on the wall, engravings of some of Mr Hogarth's works, although the original paintings they're based on are in museums. Some of them make up a series of stories. One of them is called 'Gin Lane' and shows all the nasty conditions in the slums at the time. Another series is called 'The Rake's Progress'--I guess a 'rake' used to be what they called someone who is, well, the sort that never gets picked to be a prefect. There are little signs up by the pictures, explaining about how the Rake gets into more and more trouble, doing more stupid and terrible things, until he ends up dying in a madhouse. From one of those diseases you get if, er, you do stupid and terrible things. The Headmistress says Hogarth has really enjoyed a revival since the Lord Protector came into power, because the Ministry likes how he showed so many ways that people--muggles, I guess--did terrible things and lived in what she calls skwaler and then died horribly as a result. 'But I think they're rather missing the point.' she said. When I looked surprised, she looked over her glasses at me and added, 'Hogarth was really quite sympathetic to the poor. He also opposed cruelty to animals.' Which made me wonder a bit: I wasn't sure if she meant animals like your sort or not. It's not always easy to tell what she's thinking. And then she sent me off to finish arranging some of the books on the shelves that she's planning to keep here.
Then I started wondering what sorts of pictures Hogarth might have done about muggleborns, if he'd been alive today.
Like I said, the house isn't terribly big, three stories, but it is certainly cosy and in good repair. The first two floors are open part-time as a museum so that people can come to see the pictures, but that doesn't bother the Headmistress at all, because most of the time she won't be here anyway. If you continue down the lane outside toward the Thames river, you come to a famous old pub called the George and Devonshire. The Headmistress took me there once one afternoon, because she said she had a craving for pub fish and chips. There's also an old churchyard near the Thames river where Hogarth is buried, although I haven't had time to explore it.
There are three house elves with the house, and they're good cooks, although they don't like me so much. I guess they're afraid I'm going to do some of their work or something. There's not that much here for me to do. Of course, with the Headmistress' magic, it doesn't take hardly any work to unpack and arrange everything. She has a small salon where she receives visitors in the mornings, and I think she's been to Court once or twice. I can tell she doesn't like going. She works on letters and her research in the afternoon, and she usually has me read to her at night. She'll send me on little errands once in a while, but usually, I'm left to myself. I'm studying all I can with the books from her library, but I don't take out my wand at all. I don't want the house elves to spy that I'm using it and tell her.
Hermione, I hope I'll be able to see you sometime in the next week. The Headmistress said she thought she could arrange it. Which is awful nice of her.
I see from her calendar that Lucius Malfoy is expected to visit next week, too. I'll do my best to stay out of the way when he's here. That man really scares me, and I don't want to see him if I can possibly help it.
I like the house, although I was a little surprised she didn't pick something fancier. Some of the others in the Lord Protector's inner circle have chosen buildings that are almost castles, really. She sniffed when I ventured to ask her about it, and said that it was certainly big enough for the likes of her. She's not going to be holding any fancy parties or anything, and why anyone thinks she would need fourteen beds to sleep in is beyond her.
The house was built around 1700. There are all sorts of interesting pictures on the wall, engravings of some of Mr Hogarth's works, although the original paintings they're based on are in museums. Some of them make up a series of stories. One of them is called 'Gin Lane' and shows all the nasty conditions in the slums at the time. Another series is called 'The Rake's Progress'--I guess a 'rake' used to be what they called someone who is, well, the sort that never gets picked to be a prefect. There are little signs up by the pictures, explaining about how the Rake gets into more and more trouble, doing more stupid and terrible things, until he ends up dying in a madhouse. From one of those diseases you get if, er, you do stupid and terrible things. The Headmistress says Hogarth has really enjoyed a revival since the Lord Protector came into power, because the Ministry likes how he showed so many ways that people--muggles, I guess--did terrible things and lived in what she calls skwaler and then died horribly as a result. 'But I think they're rather missing the point.' she said. When I looked surprised, she looked over her glasses at me and added, 'Hogarth was really quite sympathetic to the poor. He also opposed cruelty to animals.' Which made me wonder a bit: I wasn't sure if she meant animals like your sort or not. It's not always easy to tell what she's thinking. And then she sent me off to finish arranging some of the books on the shelves that she's planning to keep here.
Then I started wondering what sorts of pictures Hogarth might have done about muggleborns, if he'd been alive today.
Like I said, the house isn't terribly big, three stories, but it is certainly cosy and in good repair. The first two floors are open part-time as a museum so that people can come to see the pictures, but that doesn't bother the Headmistress at all, because most of the time she won't be here anyway. If you continue down the lane outside toward the Thames river, you come to a famous old pub called the George and Devonshire. The Headmistress took me there once one afternoon, because she said she had a craving for pub fish and chips. There's also an old churchyard near the Thames river where Hogarth is buried, although I haven't had time to explore it.
There are three house elves with the house, and they're good cooks, although they don't like me so much. I guess they're afraid I'm going to do some of their work or something. There's not that much here for me to do. Of course, with the Headmistress' magic, it doesn't take hardly any work to unpack and arrange everything. She has a small salon where she receives visitors in the mornings, and I think she's been to Court once or twice. I can tell she doesn't like going. She works on letters and her research in the afternoon, and she usually has me read to her at night. She'll send me on little errands once in a while, but usually, I'm left to myself. I'm studying all I can with the books from her library, but I don't take out my wand at all. I don't want the house elves to spy that I'm using it and tell her.
Hermione, I hope I'll be able to see you sometime in the next week. The Headmistress said she thought she could arrange it. Which is awful nice of her.
I see from her calendar that Lucius Malfoy is expected to visit next week, too. I'll do my best to stay out of the way when he's here. That man really scares me, and I don't want to see him if I can possibly help it.