The Scamanders, Marlena believed quite firmly, were cursed when it came to matters of the heart. Alright Amina and Louisa appeared fine of the surface but neither of their husbands were especially interesting as far as Lena was concerned, Helga was days away from selling herself to the highest bidder, Eugene had all but been abandoned and she didn’t have the mental energy to think about her own disasters.

Better to think about her brother’s instead.

Astrild had seemed like a good enough fit. For all their schooldays Lena had know her only as the odd girl in ____ house, had spent previous little time thinking about her until years later when she had been presented with her new sister-in-law. And now she was gone – or at least it certainly seemed that way – and Eugene, barely equipped to survive life, now had another life to maintain.

Upstairs she knew he was dozing and she opted to leave him like that for the time being, making herself a sandwich which she waited on the counter, patiently chewing on bites as she flicked her wand at patches of the ceiling to remove the cobwebs.

“Change your maid,” she said by way of response, holding out the untouched half of her sandwich. “They’re taking you for a fool if they think this is clean.”

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MJ: still raising the graphics bar as of 2022