Refrain

Chapter I

Next second Tom felt as if he was roughly dragged in all directions at once, and also like he was flying at the same time. The sensations didn't last long, though. After another half-minute or so Tom felt solid ground under his feet again, though his dizziness remained, making his head spin and his surroundings blur.

Harry sighed loudly, as if fighting a dizziness of his own.

'Here we are,' he said, his voice a bit harsh. 'This is a cottage I was talking about,' still holding Tom by the shoulder, Harry led him forward and made an inviting gesture with his hand, demonstrating a small house in front of them. The walls of the two-story building were white, window-frames and the door were made of dark red wood, and the roof was also dark red in color. There was an almost round lake behind the house and Tom saw other houses on the opposite shore – it was probably some village or small town.

Tom glanced up at Harry before going closer to the cottage.

'Welcome home, Tom!' Harry opened the door and led him inside. 'I hope you like it! It's not much, but still comfy, I hope.'

Once inside Tom looked around with curiosity. The first floor consisted of only one room, with a small kitchen and the dining table for two in one corner. The rest of the space was almost empty with only a fireplace at one wall. Everything inside was done in the same white and red, the floor was made of dark-red wood as was the kitchen and the dining set. There was a staircase of the same dark-red wood, leading up to the second floor.

'There are two rooms, a study and a bathroom up there. You can choose any one of the two bedrooms, I don't mind,' Harry said urging Tom to go up, lightly pushing him on the back. 'I've been here for only two days, so pick any room you want. I'll move my things if necessary.'

Tom nodded silently and climbed up the stairs to look.

The second floor was the same white and red with dark-wood accents for doors and balustrade of the same material going along the stairs.

Tom opened the first door near the staircase and looked inside. It was the study Harry mentioned, but aside from huge old oak table and empty book-shelves there was nothing in there. There wasn't even a chair or anything beside the table.

Tom went to the next heavy-looking door and opened it. This looked like master bedroom: big four-poster bed with no hangings or bed-sheets stood in the middle, taking most of the space. There was also a wardrobe and a dusty vanity table with a dirty mirror above it and another fireplace on the wall opposite the entrance. Tom saw another door in one of the walls, the one in the head of the bed.

'That's bathroom there. We would need to share, at least for some time before we do something about it. If you don't like it, I mean. Or we can leave it like this,' Harry explained.

Tom went to the bathroom door and peaked inside: again the same whites and reds met his eye. The theme was somewhat broken by the old copper bath-tube and sink of the same material. The toilet was of course white, though it looked in need of good repairs and cleaning. Going through the bathroom Tom opened the second door and stepped inside the other bedroom.

This room was a bit smaller, then the first one. There was single bed with a bedside table near it and smaller wardrobe. Another door led to the corridor outside and that was it. This room, like the rest of the house seemed bare and dusty.

Tom didn't notice any of the 'personal things' Harry mentioned earlier, though he didn't look inside any of the wardrobes. Both rooms looked similar, aside from their size and beds, making choosing between them harder for Tom. He knew, of course, that logically the master bedroom should belong to Harry, as he was the owner of the house. Suspecting, that he would be told off and confined to the smaller room either way, Tom decided to pick master bedroom just for the spite of it.