Another morning, in the basement.
Gray daylight filtered in through the small window, while snow swirled outside.
Vaughn lay sprawled over a laboratory table. Several desk lamps focused their light before him, then magic gathered it together and spread it evenly, like a pool of viscous liquid.
Countless glass slides floated around him in neat formation.
The crimson blood on the slides gleamed like gemstones, with magical halos occasionally flowing through it.
"Specimen No. 763!"
At Vaughn's murmured words, one slide floated beside the microscope. No. 762 automatically withdrew, allowing it to take its place beneath the objective lens.
Time passed amid the tedious verification of one specimen after another. By the time Vaughn straightened up to stretch his aching back, the sky was already fully bright.
Rubbing his rumbling stomach, Vaughn did not persist any longer. He drew his wand and gave it a flick. A box on the laboratory table opened, and the floating slides automatically filed themselves away inside. The microscope extended little arms and legs, then covered itself with a dust cloth.
With a snap of Vaughn's fingers, a sweater, jacket, and velvet suit drifted leisurely over from the coat rack in the corner.
His lab coat slipped off automatically and stuffed itself into the laundry basket beside him.
His everyday clothes, meanwhile, rushed over and dressed him. A considerate iron also sprang up, circling around him as though searching for wrinkles.
This was the magic belonging to the house.
Vaughn covered his mouth with a yawn and muttered, "The professor really knows how to enjoy himself..."
He was currently at Snape's home: No. 19 Spinner's End, in the remote outskirts of the remote town called Cokeworth.
One could tell from the town's name that it belonged to Muggles—coke meant coal fuel, representing industry. Looking out