The Serenade of Persephone [tom riddle]

THE SEER, THE SPECTATOR AND THE LISTENER || 04

LUCRETIA
THE SEER, THE SPECTATOR AND THE LISTENER

       THERE WAS SOMETHING THE PHANTAMAGORICAL ABOUT SCOTLAND'S LANDSCAPE. Ancient tales of wizardry, fabled bards, and voyagers always eulogized its land for the miracles it was concealing before muggles' agnostic eyes. Stories about fearsome creatures, deceitful witches, and deadly curses haunted every child's dream, converting them into a living nightmare.

Lyrists chanted about their twisted nature regarding beings such as kelpies and selkies who rule in the waters of rivers or terrifying ogres and bloodthirsty bugbears who roamed in forests and swamps. Muggles knew about these creatures only through fairy tales with swashed letters upon parchment which became fantasy books, but for wizards and witches these were their reality; coexisting with these kinds of creatures was their norm.

The journey to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was, in a few words, an exhausting ordeal that stretched from noon until evening. Students hailing from southern England were required to catch the morning train from London, bound for the Scottish Highlands. Meanwhile, those who lived closer to Scotland or Ireland had their routes to follow.

When the train departed, the students who were there seemed more than any other school year. In past years, many parents trusted no place other than the safety of their homes to protect their children from the ravages of war. However, because the tide had turned back into the wizardry world, not to a great but a reassuring degree, the trust in the ministry's ability and effectiveness to protect its citizens had been restored.