THE MAGICIANS [t.r.]

ONE

act one, chapter one
beatus and bethulia's

13B KNOCKTURN ALLEY has a door that leads nowhere. the cracks in the facade extend to the building's cements, the walls are bulging with damp, peeling off the old wallpaper, and the wooden beams are eaten away by termites. Borgin and Burkes occupies the entire ground floor of the building while the owners' personal quarters are upstairs accompanied by a plague of spiders and vermin. the stench of rot and black magic corrupts every unfortunate soul who wanders into the building by misguided chance.

Borgin and Burkes is full of secrets, each one darker and bloodier than the last. it is for this reason that the curiosity to know what kind of mysteries lurk behind that door is impossible to contain.

having finished his education cum laude and being turned down for the teaching position at the castle that had given him shelter in the dark nights and a purpose in life, the boy who talks with snakes accepted Corruptio Borgin's offer to work alongside him and his partner in that unlit corner of Knockturn Alley.

there is never a day when work is scarce, but it is a playful job that brings with it unique opportunities. the clients belong to a particular group of individuals among whom Tom (Riddle by surname, Gaunt by soul) is particularly comfortable. some are more deluded than others but all share the same distinctive characteristics: pure blood, morals corrupted by ambition, contempt for muggles and a blasphemous curiosity towards all that's forbidden and dangerous.

Tom, whom Mr. Burke has taken to call Thomas because of a confusion and chronic deafness in his right ear that prevents him from hearing anything he doesn't wish to hear, found a remedy for his boredom in the customers who visited the shop, more specifically, in their children. since the noble educational institution of Hogwarts had denied him the position he undeniably deserved, Tom decided to educate the minds of the future on his own, as a private tutor.

for months he planted in them the seed of hate towards muggles and the desire to discover all that was forbidden, instructed them in the dark arts and provided them with the means to become, in a not too distant future, his most loyal subjects. it was one of those children who mentioned, during a casual visit to Borgin and Burkes, the existence of the door that led nowhere.

            TOM
            what door?

            CHILD
            the door without a door,
            the one that has no knob
            or lock, that is nothing more
            than a blurred line on the wall.

curious, Tom counted every single door and window in the whole building as he inspected every wall; in the end, he counted a total of twenty-three windows and six doors:

            the main door

            the basement door

            the back door