Knightsbridge Hall was the center of Wizarding fine arts. The glorious theatre constructed in the mid 1700s had been perfectly preserved with it's elegant chandeliers, flawless wood finishes, gilded and frescoes ceilings and luscious interiors. There a host of fabulous fine arts exhibitions took place. The symphony played there as well as the British Society of Wizarding Players. Operas and ballets passed through the theatre as well. Apart from Paris and Moscow it was the busiest wizarding stage in Europe.
Like most things in Wizarding London it was tucked away, hidden from the masses of muggles teeming around it. Surrounded by old warehouses a long standing rumor that the building was used by artists and actors more than accounted for the odd fellow around the building now and then. Not that there were many people to see them.
It was a Thursday afternoon and the evening before the ballet had performed. Now they were preparing for the symphony to take the stage that weekend. Stage hands and musicians would do the heavy lifting of the instruments but much of the business of the theatre was left to volunteers.
Unlike most of her public appearances and publicity stunt chores volunteering at the theatre was something Farren truly enjoyed. She did all sorts of odd tasks on her weekly Thursday shifts from helping to supervise stage set up to helping with publicity for the events. Today she'd arranged for and supervised someone to service the two hundred year old grand piano that graced the stage.
Being a classically trained and rather acomplished musician herself it was something she enjoyed. The piano was a priceless heirloom and one of her favorites to play. She'd played with the symphony once before when they played her piece as part of a young artist exhibition and she hoped that one day she'd be invited to play the glorious piano to an audience. Until she was asked to do so she snuck opportunities to play it with musicians during their practices and when no one was around to care.
With the day winding down and no one left but another volunteer and the central office staff Farren had made time to tend to the beloved piano in the empty theatre. It was dark apart from a few mismatched stage lights on. She'd found the sheet music for the weekends performance and had set it on the music stand of the piano, her wand lay next to it, lit to help her see the notes.
She was dressed prettily, befitting a woman of her station. A timeless
black gown and shoes accented with her favorite
fur stole drapped haphazardly around her shoulders. Her hair was pinned back in a loose, soft updo. Smoothing her skirt as she took her seat on the piano bench she adjusted her wand bringing it closer to the music which were cast in shadows from the odd lighting above. Looking absently out at the empty theatre floor and the dozens of empty boxes she lifted the cover from the keys and gently placed her fingers on the keys. Glancing over the music once she gently began the
piece.
Within a few bars she was moving fearlessly through the notes, leaning close in to the piano as she played. The song was beautiful, peaceful yet full of energy and emotion as the lithe witch danced her fingers across the keys her brow furrowed in concentration on the difficult key strokes and sequences. As the piece closed and the tempo slowed she leaned back slightly, closing her eyes, the same thoughts she always had flooding her mind when she played. Love, loss, hope, and fear. For someone like Farren the keys of a piano were one of the few acceptable forms of public expression she was allowed.
The strings of the great piano hummed softly to silence and she sighed happily a faint smile crossing her lips.
