Descent - Mattheo Riddle

Chapter one

May 10th, 4 p.m. - Peverell's estate

It was a sunny day.

This was rather unusual in the Scottish Highlands, especially when it was only spring. It was the middle of May.

Nevertheless, the sun was shining hot that day, making the freshly reblooming flowers shine in all colors and making even the grass look fresher.

It smelled of mown lawn, fruit trees, snowdrops and lilacs. Something you really missed after a long, cold and gray winter.

My parents' property was generously surrounded by trees, which not only kept the field well-hidden and protected it from prying eyes, but also created a pleasant ambience. In the middle of the large meadow that formed our front garden stood a large chestnut tree. It had just blossomed again in a brilliant green and cast a gentle shadow around itself.

I had always loved this tree. It was perfect for sitting under and enjoying the peace and quiet.

My back slid slowly along the rough trunk as I let myself sink to the ground. A deep breath, then I let my gaze glide over the grounds once more. The large house was white and stretched across half the property. You could almost think it was the white house of the president himself. It could accommodate more than one family, and even though it looked like a rather peaceful house, it was probably even better protected than the original white house. Although it was probably hundreds of years old, it still looked very contemporary and well-kept. Life was easier with magic.

On the other side of the house, opposite the chestnut tree, there was a small pond. It was too small to be a lake, but it stretched around half the house. In summer, ducks swam in it and bright fish were up lighten it up with their colorful body's. In winter it was frozen over, and although there was something depressing about it, even then it had something calming about it.

A smile flitted across my lips. I hated being here, and yet I still found it beautiful.

Since I was born, me and my siblings had not been allowed to leave the estate whenever we wanted. It was too dangerous we had been told. Almost no one knew our faces, and yet we had to keep a low profile when we were allowed to go somewhere. Even daily training and intensive study sessions didn't change that.

"You can never be prepared well enough." our father had always said whenever my siblings and I tried to convince him of our strength.

I sighed. We had everything we needed on the estate, we wanted for nothing. And yet it would be nice to see the big wide world. Something other than your own estate more often. Or at least it would have been worthwhile before Lord Voldemort took over and made Scotland and England his favorites. Since Dumbledore and the young Harry Potter had lost their lives, nothing was as it should have been.

Not far from our grounds, in the mountains where it was well hidden, was a ledge from which you had an excellent view of the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But even though neither my siblings nor I had ever attended Hogwarts, you could tell from here that even it had become much darker. As far as I know, the castle was no longer a school anyways.

My two younger sisters were twins and only ten years old. They were never meant to attend Hogwarts anyway, but it wouldn't have been possible now anyway. In a year's time, their training and education would begin here at home, just like it had for the rest of us when we turned eleven years old. Presumably it would no longer be my father doing it, but Caleb, my eldest brother. He was now twenty-nine.

We were six siblings. Caleb, the eldest. Then there was Cyrus, the second oldest, my sister Skylar and me. Last but not least the twins, Chloé and Aurélie. Younger than all of us, not even in puberty but so full of energy and life.