Lost in spells and shadows

Chapter 1: The begining of Everything

September of 1971
There were some days that Lady Adelaide Ruth Winchester wanted to disappear from the surface of the earth and not to be found ever again.

Her room was filled with light, when her mother pushed her curtains aside letting light to come in.

"Heidi dear, get up it's time. We will be waiting for you downstairs."

Adelaide begrudgingly got up from her bed, rubbed her eyes to adjust to the light in her room. "Alright mama." She went to her washroom and looked at her face. Her blue eyes were puffy and she had some eye bags under them. Some of her long dark brown hair had exited the loose braid that she put her hair in last night, it was all a testament of the rough night that she had last night. She barely slept and her anxiety had gotten the better of her. She even looked paler than usual and her rosy cheeks were nearly white. She washed her face. "Get yourself together Adelaide. It's just the first day of school. It's normal to be stressed, but get yourself together. Everything shall be fine." She drew some shuddering breathes.

She wore a white cotton dress with spaghetti straps that reached her knees. She wore a blue cardigan on it with white tights and blue laced-up shoes. She brushed her long brown hair and continued to whisper soothing words to herself. She put a blue silk headband on her hair and let her hair loose. She looked at her room one last time before leaving. Her room had light blue wallpapers with silver flowers on it. Her bed was big with blue quilts and lots of pillows, it was made of white wood like the rest of the furniture in her room. Beside her bed was her nightstand that had piles of books on them. There was also a family photo that was taken a year ago with her family member beside the sea. There was a large window with soft white tulle curtains over it with heavy blue cloths that were elegantly draped on each side. Under the window was a small sitting place. On the other side of the wall was a huge bookcase with lots of books and musical notes in them. Some of the books were muggle stories but some were written by wizards and witches. By her bookcase was a desk with a beautifully carved chair that was in front of it. On the desk were other books with pens, coloured pencils, ink and quills with some paper parchments. There were some other pictures and photos perched on the desk, bookcase and the walls. She had a table with drawers filled with  perfume, headbands, creams and accessories. Above the table was a mirror. In her room was a walk- in closet and a bathroom. In short, a room designed for a princess.

She quickly went down the stairs. Her family members were sitting around a table with hot breakfast. Despite the sight, she had lost her appetite and had no interest in eating anything. "Heidi, were where you? Took you long enough to finally join us." Her father said cheerfully waving a newspaper in his hand enthusiastically. Robert Winchester was a very kind man who enjoyed joking with and teasing his children. He was tall and had dark blonde hair that had many grey strands with green eyes.

Her mother was sitting beside him and was drinking her tea and looked worried at her daughter. Adelaide was pretty much her mother's daughter in appearance. Annalise Winchester had short brown hair that had one or two strands of white in them. She had greyish-blue eyes with thick eyelashes and wrinkles surrounding them. She had become frail due to some happenings in her early life and giving birth to  five children certainly didn't help her. She still looked lovely but she looked  years older than her real age of 45, whomever looked at her would always know that she had been very beautiful before.

She also always smelled like Hyacinth, her favourite flower.

"Come now, Heidi. Eat something. After all, today is a very busy day for you."

Adelaide sat down. She saw her younger sister, Helena , whose curly brown hair reached her shoulders and had some of her hair strands pulled away with a pink silk bow. She shyly looked at Adelaide and waved at her, her bluish-green eyes falling down slowly. Helena was 2 years younger than her and the fact that she was leaving her behind was a news that she had taken very hard. Her younger brother, Edmund, who was five years younger than Adelaide was the happiest around the table as he stuffed fresh bread in his mouth. He had straight dark blond hair with their mother's eyes.

"Where are those two?" Her mother's question was answered when a loud crash came with shouting and screaming. Then came a sound of laughter. Elizabeth, Adelaide's older sister by 4 years came down from the stairs with her hands crossed over her chest. She elegantly sat on her chair beside their brother with a huff and said:" Good morning everyone. Sorry mama, i was trying to convince Victoria to finish packing her bags but like always, she was being an idiot. She also read some of my letters too." Elizabeth was a great beauty. She inherited their mother's elegance and charm. She was a social butterfly and managed to charm everyone with her personality and tact. She had her long dark brown hair in a bun pinned to her head, she had her bangs that reached her eyebrows straightened and her bluish-grey eyes were filled with annoyance. She wore a white pullover with long turquoise skirt that reached a little bit down her knees. She had pearl earrings that moved with her head. She wore brown boots with black tights. She had a silk white ribbon around her neck. She was a hard-worker and was sorted in Ravenclaw. This year she had been announced as a prefect too.

"Don't you be so dramatic Lizzie, you know i always pack at the last minute so don't waste your breath. You were annoying me so i began reading some letters of yours." Came an amused voice belonging to Victoria, Adelaide's older sister by 3 years. Victoria came in wearing a red pullover with jeans that had red roses sewn on them(courtesy of Elizabeth) she wore black boots and had her long straight light brown hair in a ponytail, with a red ribbon. She had the same eyes of Helena, a mixture of the colour of her parents' eyes. She was very attractive and had freckles on her cheeks , a dimple on her right cheek and slightly upturned nose. Unlike Elizabeth, who was known for her tact, Victoria sometimes put her foot in her mouth, was passionate and had a little bit of a temper. She was witty and her remarks had landed her in hot water many times. She was sorted into Gryffindor, like their paternal grandmother, after a hatstall. All of the Winchester kids were enrolled in a muggle school in their village, because their parents wanted them to learn to interact with muggles and learn some «social skills» so that the wouldn't be dependent on the magical world, and when Victoria was in the school, she sometimes got into fist-fights over who was stronger or smarter,etc. Even though Victoria enjoyed annoying Elizabeth, they were devoted to each other.

"Well, it seems Heidi had her face in a bag of flour! You do seem awfully pale sister." Victoria exclaimed loudly.

"Fancy seeing you having brushed your hair, Toria." Their mother said amused and annoyed by her second daughter's antics.

Their mother thanked one of their housemaids who brought them tea. Adelaide's parents were against having house elves so they had 4 young women for their household. 2 of them were squibs and the other  two were witches.
"Now girls, i want you two to finish packing your bags, rest a bit and after we came back with Heidi from some last-minute shopping in Diagon alley , we all shall leave for the train station." Announced their father with enthusiasm.
"I have finished eating let's go." Adelaide muttered and got up from her table. Her parents said their goodbyes and followed their third daughter out the door.