All things are three at Hogwarts

It was not that Alan had never been to Aunt Josephine's house before, but this was the first time he entered through the front door.

The car drove into the manor surrounded by high walls.

Allen looked at it and felt that although it was majestic, the whole house seemed to be shrouded in darkness, hiding in the shadow of the tall peaks behind it.

Emily had just gotten out of the warm car, and a chilly wind made her shiver.

Although the weather was indeed cold, Allen felt that the closer he walked into the house, the more chilling he felt.

Emily involuntarily approached Allen's direction. She was a little frightened. She tugged on Allen's sleeve and motioned for Allen to look towards the second floor of the manor.

Allen looked up and saw two large bay windows side by side, like two black eyes staring at them.

"Do you want to live in those two rooms?" Aunt Josephine obviously misunderstood what Allen meant. "Children do need more space for activities and a better view. Of course you can live there."

Passing through the living room with its huge fireplace, they followed a branching corridor to an upward staircase.

This time they didn't walk long because the rooms Aunt Josephine prepared for them were all on the second floor.

"Look at these rooms, do you like them?" Aunt Josephine took Alan and the others to look at every room on the second floor.

Emily was starting to feel excited. This house is really nice, so many rooms, so many closets. She couldn't imagine how many rooms there were here.

There are many toys that little girls like in the room assigned to Emily. She happily caressed a fluffy kitten doll that was washed a little white.

Albert volunteered and took on the responsibility of taking care of his sister.

Aunt Josephine moved on with Ellen.

They hurried along the narrow passage.

Allen noticed that the walls on the second floor were all portraits of men and women.

They were very rich in strange costumes of silk and velvet.

The person on the screen stared at Allen silently, unusually quiet.

The room Allen was assigned was very large, with a bathroom and an old-fashioned window seat. He could sit at the window overlooking the estate below.

"Okay, I think you need some time to pack your luggage. I'll prepare the food first. You can come down after you've packed it up."

Aunt Josephine glanced at her watch and walked toward the front door of the room.

The room was so big. Allen liked the bay window with the window seat. He walked forward and looked out the window.

Through the falling snowflakes, he saw the little Honda parked in the driveway.

Beyond the wall, he saw a number of high and low farmhouses scattered across the wilderness.

After packing up and saluting, Allen walked towards the door.

At this moment, he saw the girl who impressed him deeply.

The girl who used to guard the door of the room where he lived.

The girl in the red dress embossed with gold and silver threads.

There was a dark green toad squatting on her hand, standing expressionlessly at the door with sharp eyes, but in just a second, she turned around and disappeared into the corridor.

"Hey!" Alan shouted, running down the hall, then stopping outside his bedroom door.

He looked around, "Who is she?"

But there was no one in the long corridor, and all the doors were closed.

"Albert?" Allen called Albert's name loudly, but no one responded to him.

Allen took one last look at the dark corridor and hurried downstairs.

"Aunt Josephine," Ellen calmed her heartbeat, "is this house haunted?"

Aunt Josephine glanced at Ellen casually and chuckled, as if she found the question comical.

"Sorry, it's not haunted," she said, and then she looked at Allen with her blue eyes with slightly wrinkled edges. "Although this manor is very old and huge, it is not haunted."

"I...I seemed to see a little girl in a red dress." Allen said, while staring closely at Aunt Josephine's face, he believed his eyes.

"You may have seen the portrait of Miss Clark. She is the only one who can move freely around the estate."

Aunt Josephine said, directing a line of hot dogs to jump into the frying pan.

Allen was sure that his eyes were right. She appeared at the door, not in the portrait.

He was about to continue asking questions, such as who Miss Clark was; why she was the only one who could move around freely in the pictures in the entire manor; why the characters in those pictures neither spoke nor moved...

But with a knock on the door, Aunt Josephine stopped talking to Ellen.

Alan didn't miss the flash of relief on her face.

Mr. Harris and Lunn came in, carrying several suitcases.

"Ah, the snow is getting heavier and heavier! I hope your mother and Daisy can come here soon." After placing the luggage, Mr. Harris took off his thick coat and walked down wearing only an ordinary shirt.

He said while tucking the hem of his shirt into his pants.

Alan was surprised to find that Mr. Harris was a little overweight after not seeing him for a short time. His shirt seemed to be unable to be tucked in and would always fall apart.

Mr. Harris gave up trying to tuck his shirt into his pants, rolled up his sleeves, and sat next to Allen.

"Ha, they look really alike." Aunt Josephine nodded in the direction of Len and Allen and said to Mr. Harris.

Allen couldn't tell whether this was a compliment or not.

He and Lunn were both tall and thin, with the same blond hair and light blue eyes as Mr. Harris.

Still, Ellen disagreed with Aunt Josephine's words. He is not as "serious" as Lunn.

Emily is a child after all. After playing in the living room for a while, she started making noises about going out to build a snowman.

Allen walked with her to the yard.

In the heavy snow, Allen used Mr. Harris's wand to pile up various small animals, which made Emily very happy.

Allen was also affected, putting what had happened before into his mind.

Mrs. Harris and Daisy finally arrived before dark.

After receiving a big hug from Mrs. Harris, Allen considerately accepted the gifts she brought, which were all her homemade snacks.

Emily skipped ahead and led the way, followed by Mrs. Harris and Daisy.

But Allen stopped, and something caught his eye.

He looked up at the two identical bay windows above the porch.

He put his hand on his forehead and squinted his eyes to look through the falling snowflakes.

Yes, he saw it.

A face, in the left window.

that girl.

It was the same girl, upstairs, looking down at Allen below.