The heavy old door creaks as the old lady closes it behind you. You cannot help but look around curiously as the old woman slowly leads you through the entryway, past a large staircase and enormous parlor containing aged furniture, and further back into the house. The interior of the house does not appear to be in as much disrepair as the exterior, but there appears to be quite a bit of dust from disuse. While most of the decor is rather ominous and dark, it is a bit atmospheric in an antique sort of way. You're kind of intimidated, but intrigued too.
"P--pardon me, I was wondering...I don't mean to be rude..." you can't help but try to satisfy your curiosity.
"Oh?" The old woman stops and turns, and gives you a surprisingly sharp smile for such a frail old lady. You feel like she knows exactly what you are thinking. "Go ahead, dearie, I don't bite."
"Um, well, this seems like such a large house for just you alone...isn't it a bit difficult?" you try to be as diplomatic as possible. The old woman chuckles and gestures to her surroundings as she continues shuffling down the corridor.
"You should have seen it in its glory days, dearie, ah, the roaring good times that were had," the old lady says nostalgically. "Nowadays old traditions just aren't respected the way they used to be. Why I remember when this place was filled top to bottom with the finest conjurers the world has seen..."
You half listen to the old lady's story, but your attention is diverted as you approach the more lived-in part of the manor. You didn't think the house could get stranger, but the glimpses of the rooms you see through half-open doors as you pass kind of weirds you out. Strange markings on the walls, odd books that look like they belong in a medieval castle...and did that room have cages? You start as you realize the old woman has stopped in front of you and is viewing you with amusement.
"I don't suppose you would be interested in learning the old ways?" The old woman smirked. "Mind you, I don't lightly make this offer to outsiders, and it wouldn't be as easy a road as one born to it, but there are options." The old lady then sighed. "It's a shame to see such things die off, and you do seem the sort who might take to it."
"Learn...what old ways?" you ask in spite of yourself.
"Why, magic, of course, dearie," the old woman smiles, then waved her hand. The unlit gas lamps scattered throughout the mansion suddenly shone with an eerie green glow. "Of course, you haven't been exposed to magic enough to start as an apprentice, I would be willing to take you on as a familiar, though, until we can train you up enough to pass for a true apprentice...what say you, dearie? Fancy a trip through the looking glass?"