alanis and arias selwyn bought the townhouse the day after their wedding. bristol was nice and busy, but not too populated. It was the perfect convenience for work. unlike grimmauld place, however, they never charmed to hide it. by all appearances, it is as normal a house as any. there were plenty of rumors about the eccentric blended couple that lived there that was all explained away by saying rich people were just like that™️. they never came out to the community very much with the exception of alanis's shopping habit. that changed with apollo, however. their son was outgoing and curious. he had a bit of a rebellious wild streak and liked to sneak out at night to visit the bar scene. when he moved away and got married, people noticed. when arias passed away, they noticed again. the neighborhood could see how it had changed alanis. she was more patient when she was out shopping and spoke more frequently when she passed.
they were still watching the family when the infant dorcas was brought into her grandmother's care. eventually, though, people forgot about apollo and arias altogether as new faces moved in and out of the houses around them. as dorcas got older, alanis was very strict about who she associated with. given what her son had ended up doing, she was firm that dorcas wasn't allowed to speak with the muggle kids. she was not to go out on the town. if she left the house, it would be with alanis or to go somewhere alanis knew the people she'd be with. when they did go out shopping or the like, alanis always spoke for dorcas.
but with fire in her eyes and mischief in her smile, dorcas was silent as she walked with her grandmother. the pair made an intimidating silhouette. dorcas aged and only became more of a mystery. the rich, quiet girl who plays rock records from her balcony window and piano sonatas at midday from the baby grand in front of the window leading to the street. she becomes more beautiful and less refined by the day. her perfectly polished dresses are traded for her warm hued crop tops and bell bottoms. her sleek hair is left crazy more and more often. she disappears to boarding school for half the year and whenever she comes back whispers buzz. the boys in the neighborhood all look for their chance to catch her eye or talk to her. some people think she's just a ghost.
alanis loves a modern look. she is always up to date on what is sleek and fashionable in her house. she loves herbology, potions, and was born a skilled artist so she likes to fill their home with knick knacks and trinkets that mean something and are beautiful. it's a four story townhouse. the first floor has the foyer, a sitting parlor, the kitchen, and a study/office that arias used to work in. the second story is alanis and arias's bedroom, an art studio, a living room, and a dining room. the third floor is the library, apollo's old room, a music room, and den/game room. the fourth floor was once an attic, but is now dorcas's room despite her grandmother's protests that she should move into her father's old bedroom. dorcas will not. the room has a small greenhouse area and the basement is used for brewing potions. there are two balconies. one from the attic (which is dorcas's room), and one off of alanis's room. it's a very open floor plan with a very studio feel to it. it's decorated in mostly browns and blacks. very dark coloring with a few exceptions. it's not too big, but it's enough that with only two people in the house, you could go a few days without ever seeing the other.
