Get your FREE! Tarot reading today!

Just step inside my humble little abode, and careful not to trip on the Abyssinian shrivelfig! Sit down on the little lap pillow there at the circular table, and I shall predict your future written in the cards! No refunds if you don't like your fortune! What? Oh, right, it's FREE! Lucky you! Perhaps after the reading you would like a tour of the mansion? I can show you my collection of luncheon masterpieces! That's art from food, you know. Very specialized stuff. I am ever so proud of it. Well, what are you hesitating like that for?! Come on in!

Ellie was run down from her usual cheery self. The loss of her best friend Foster had hit her harder than she had thought. The boy was stupid- the fact that she had a boyfriend has transformed her in his eyes. Losing Foster's company meant losing a lot of Judd's as well. That meant that both of her childhood friends rarely spoke to her now. Even having a sexy boyfriend couldn't make that all right.

During a Hogsmeade weekend, she decided to apparate from the village and explore a small neighborhood that she knew housed other wizards. She strolled down when she remembered something one of housemates had said, about some guy living around her that read tarot cards. That could definitely kill some time.

She adjusted the guitar that she was prone to carrying on her back. She walked as quickly as her dress would allow. This was probably the last dress she would be able to wear for the year. It was time to break out the sweats.

She hurried up to the door and knocked, quickly fixing her hair.

Mathias had been sitting at his kitchen table for the last two hours, engrossed with his latest 'masterpiece.' The potatoes were stiff with cold, and the gravy was becoming jellied, prompting Mathias to give it a poke with his wand to warm it up and make it runny again. He looked up at a knock on his door. Putting the finishing touch, consisting of a toy woman rowing a canoe, on his potatoes and gravy waterfall, Mathias stood up with the plate still in his hands.

Stepping carefully around his unstable bookshelves full of unusual objects and books, Mathias arrived at his door and opened it to reveal a young woman on the doorstep. Still holding the plate of food, Mathias smiled in greeting, stepping back to allow her entrance into the house.

"Welcome to my humble abode!" Mathias said graciously, bowing slightly, but very careful not to upset the plate he was holding.

He looked around at some of the finer objects on display, then decided that statement must be retracted.

"Well, perhaps not quite so humble," he admitted unashamedly, "but you are certainly welcome regardless. Now, what can I do for the young lady today?"

(lmao, I can't believe I actually found a picture of the mashed potatoes and gravy waterfall. XD I just put a toy lady and canoe on it, because it would have taken to long to try and cut her from the picture....damn external links. I'll pm it to you on James' account.)

The door opened and Ellie's eyes fell upon... a plate full of mashed potatoes. The real thrill was the woman rowing a canoe through a flow of gravy. Ellie's face brightened and her smile stretched out, breaking her face into two halves. She let out a gasp, putting her hands to her chin. "It's beautiful!"

She looked up, holding out a hand. "I'm Elliot Hansen!" She glanced at the plate and dropped her arm. "You're a bit occupied. We can skip the shake." She smiled. "I was just in the neighborhood and someone said something about this house having someone who reads fortunes or something." She shrugged. "And I'm bored."

Mathias' face lit up. Finally! Someone who appreciated the art that can be attained from the numerous shapes and textures of food.

"So you like it!" Mathias cried jovially, "Most people find my taste in art a bit odd, but the world of art cannot be fettered by the blind eyes of the general populace. This world would be so dreadfully boring without the eccentric minds of those like the Lovegoods and, of course, Sibyl Trelawney! What would the world be like without them?"

Mathias smiled inwardly. Like Trelawney, much of his odd behavior was putting on a show. He enjoyed the shocked and dubious expressions received from those who consider him a bit eccentric, as most musicians are. He liked to envision the world as one large stage, and he was the lead actor. It did make life more interesting.

"After all, what more is perception, than each person performing in their own personal play?" he added, mainly to himself, though loud enough for Ellie to hear.

"Well," Mathias said, now directing his words towards her, "I need to put this beauty in with the others before I can serve you. I wouldn't want the gravy to become jellied again."

As Mathias turned away, he paused as a thought hit him.

"You know," he remarked, "This would be the perfect opportunity for a tour of my mansion, should it please you. Would you like to see the place before receiving your reading?"

Ellie blinked up at him with an expression of serene agreement and joy. "Art itself is the act of making what cannot be fully understood!" Ellie said, pleased to already be engaged in a meaningful conversation. Who knew she would have been so engaged so quickly in this stranger's home?

He muttered more but, as it did not seem directed at her, she didn't respond, merely humming her appreciation.

He spoke up again and she said, "Don't mind me! I wouldn't want it to become compromised."

He quickly suggested a tour and she nodded eagerly. "Yes, please!"

((Now I lost my muse! D: ))

"Perfect!" Mathias proclaimed, "I would clap my hands with glee, however; well, you know..."

Mathias lifted his plate of food slightly to effectively express why he was unable to clap. Wielding his mashed potato laden plate, Mathias squeezed by Ellie and indicated the spiraling staircase to the left of the room.

"Upstairs, we shall find my room of art, a small room for tea and chit-chat, a bathroom, and of course my bedroom, but we shall not go in there. They say you can tell a genius based on the messiness of their room, and well, frankly; mine is a disaster area."

Mathias sighed slightly, shrugging his shoulders slightly, "Being a genius can be a burden sometimes...but you would know that. Everyone is a genius in their own manner, therefore everyone has the burdens which come with genius!"

The stairs ended to become a balcony, which followed the curve of the wall. Though you could not tell from the outside, the interior of Mathias' house was slightly curved, like a cylinder within an ornate box. Mathias led Ellie by the bathroom, which was right at the top of the stairs, and on to the next room.

"Behold!" Mathias said dramatically as he used his elbow to flip on a switch, "The art room!"

Also following a cylindrical design, the art room was lined with shelves, which fit the curvature of the room. There were no windows; only blue lights which lit up each art piece in its own mini-spotlight. As Mathias approached a set of shelves labeled, 'The Fruits of My Labor,' the shelf began to stretch slightly, allowing a space just the right size for his potato masterpiece, and a tiny spotlight to go with it.

"I abhor empty spaces," Mathias explained, setting the mashed potatoes waterfall gently down into the empty space, "So each of the shelves have a stretching charm that activate whenever I enter with a new art-piece in my hands. In this particular area, there is also a spell which allows for me to keep my food art unspoiled for as long as the food is within the spell boundaries. Feel free to browse."

Spoiler: