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"Why don’t you take a com to read her face, trying to read her She was always so ly blank, as if the years had sloashed away everything that had given her character, that had allowed her to feel She had no opinions, his h it all, seely uninterested in any of it

"I think you would like the arht-Had she ever made such a pronouncement? Had she ever offered an opinion as to his future, his well-being?

Had she only been waiting for the right tih, as if the effort was almost too much "You would look splendid in blue" And then she turned back to Anna "Don’t you think?"

Harry opened his ured out what He had not planned on the aro to university He’d earned a spot at Peht study Russian He’d not used the language rave;re had died His mother spoke it, but they rarely had colish, randht, and she wasn’t even always nice, but she was entertaining And she’d loved him

What would she have wanted him to do? Harry wasn’t sure She would certainly have approved of Harry going to university if it meant that he would spend his days immersed in Russian literature But she’d also held the ard and had openlyhis country

Of course, she had openly s

"You should consider it, Harry," Anna pronounced "I arateful for your company"

Harry shot a desperate look at Sebastian Surely he would understand Harry’s distress What were they thinking? That he ht bite into his biscuit, consider the matter for a brief moment and decide that yes, dark blue was a splendid color for a unifor of his, the one that said: What can I say? The world is a foolish place

Harry’s mother lifted her teacup to her lips, but if she took a sip, it was undetectable by the tilt of the china And then, as her cup descended toward its saucer, she closed her eyes

It was just a blink, really, just a slightly longer than normal blink, but Harry knehat it meant She heard footsteps His father’s footsteps She always heard him before anyone else Maybe it was the years of practice, of living in the same house, if not precisely in the sa other than it was had been developed right alongside her ability to anticipate her husband’s whereabouts at all possible nore what one did not actually see

"Anna!" Sir Lionel exclaiainst, the doorway "And Sebastian What a fine surprise How’re you doing, m’boy?"

"Very well, sir," Sebastian replied