The Winchester Estate

[addaellis]

♥♡ SPARROW KIYA WINCHESTER
19 years || Gryffindor alumna || pureblood
_______________

By the time Sparrow graduated from Hogwarts, Wren had restored enough of the Estate to move back in. Wren had done his best to recreate or rebuild as much as he could of some of the rooms–hers, for instance. Her walls were the same bright pink, and the hanging queen-sized bed with cloud-shaped pillows was the same. The vanity and dresser were not, but they had been custom-built by the son of the woodworker who built some of her favorite pieces of furniture. They had been painted the same white. He had even replaced her makeup, and Nim had set the room off with flowers.

Flowers that Sparrow had let wilt on her desk.

She was home. Nothing had changed. Everything was as it should be.

Sparrow could barely remember the first three months–she was like a vampire, sleeping over 16 hours a day, waking up only to use the bathroom and occasionally consume food. She vaguely remembered taking Flick to Magic Clips to visit a friend while her stupid older brother argued with the too-patient Nim. At some point she had helped Robin pack xer trunk for Hogwarts. She remembered Phoebe coming home from MagiScouts with her first plant– a pot of blue and green hydrangeas that Phoebe called “Noelle. Because they’re going to die. But they will be beautiful.”

Sparrow had locked herself in her room for three full days after that, surviving on conjured water. The emptiness in her stomach– the painful gnawing—went away with sleep after all. The lightheadedness made everything feel like a dream. Dreams were good. Life was good in dreams. Life made sense in dreams.

But as the months grew colder, Sparrow was reminded that each day drew her closer to the winter and holiday season. To the one year mark. It had been a very long year. Yet she couldn’t believe it would be a whole year. What had she done? She wasn’t moving on. She wasn’t doing anything. She hadn’t even started at the Hobgoblin Theatre like she had dreamed. Instead, Sparrow was in a self-imposed quarantine, floating each day on, living with the anxiety that one day her friends would stop visiting, that people would call her out on not moving on.

She had told people she would go after the season’s production– it wouldn’t be polite to intrude in the middle of the season! Not that intruding had ever been a concern before. Sparrow used to pop in every other day during the breaks, volunteering to help with sets or just be a practice scene partner, be a background dancer, fill in shifts at concessions or ushering…all of that seemed like a lifetime ago. Now she just stayed home. Sparrow said she would go once she had cleaned her room. But she could barely clean herself some days.

She could sing and smile normally. She could laugh. Her movements felt a little off, but she could dance, and prance around, greeting friends who came to visit. But leaving…Sparrow found reasons to avoid leaving. She was suddenly tired. It was too late in the day. She would really rather just…not leave. Home was safe. It should have been. Home was safe. If she stayed home, if she had just stayed home, then she would be with the rest of her family now.

Sparrow froze when Robin brought up the usual Winter/ Yule party in a letter. Her mother had made a giant deal of the event–welcoming homeless strangers and wealthy friends. Hobby and Grandmoo would have the kitchen running all week, making a veritable feast. Sparrow would prepare a song. There would be dancing, socializing, gifts.

She hadn’t said anything when Wren and Nim announced the decision to throw a smaller party this year– just family, the Potato Gang, and a few random others. And not for a whole fortnight, just one day. The 21st. Winter Solstice.

It came. It happened. It was nice to see friends. She hadn’t needed to prepare anything and just hung out with people. It hadn’t been as bad as she expected.

29 December 2055. Sparrow didn’t want to pass the date. Maybe she could fall asleep and never wake up. It didn’t feel like a year. It had been the shortest year ever. It felt like much longer. Too long.

It came. It happened. It was nice to see friends. She hadn’t needed to prepare anything and just hung out with people. It hadn’t been as bad as she expected. Maybe she was actually getting better.

New Years 2056. It came. It happened. It was nice to have a quiet time with her siblings. This was a new normal. It didn’t feel lonely anymore. She took Robin to the train station back to Hogwarts a few days later and went out with friends. She seemed fine. She had nothing to complain about in life.

Valentine’s Day 2056. Sparrow didn’t have a boyfriend this year, but that was okay. She was getting better though, wasn’t she? She could handle things. She was learning new songs, practicing. Sure she hadn’t visited the Hobgoblin, but that was because she was learning about other things, being active in service projects. She was totally busy!

“Sparrow, how long has it been since you washed your hair?”

She could feel the oil in her hair–it had been so long since she had gotten it properly treated. The white was faded at the tips. She didn’t know. She kept it tied up in a messy bun all day anyways. She stuck her tongue out playfully at Wren. “Rude!”

Later that afternoon, Sparrow looked up from watching a movie–rewatching, and taking notes on it really. It was a normal afternoon. Someone mentioned going out. “I’m going to take a bath!” she announced.

“Wash your hair!”

“Pfffbt!”

No one really used the master bath upstairs. Wren’s room had been relatively untouched, so he and Nim usually just used his room and bathroom. Sparrow didn’t know who was going to use the master suite now. As it was, the rooms of the deceased remained undecorated, just empty rooms. But the master bathroom was functional. Sparrow fetched her wand to clear the dust.

“Scrougify. Incendio.” She lit a rose-scented candle. For fun. She sang as water filled the bathtub, and she flipped through Wren’s extensive collection of soaps and shampoos.

[b“Calla lily, carnation, daisy
Silently chase away your worries
Chrysanthemum, kalanchoe
Become your shield whenever you fall asleep…”
Aah. There was nothing more relaxing than a luxurious soak. Maybe she could just melt into the water…

“…And softly merge into the sky.

…Diffindo.”

----------------------♥♡♥♡----------------------

It had been almost a month since Sparrow slit her wrists in the bathtub. Wren had found her passed out later. She had been confined to St. Mungo’s for nearly a week. She had to talk to a mind healer. But Sparrow was fine. She was doing well in therapy. She had nothing to complain about in life. She could smile and laugh and felt better and remembered to shower and go out and was learning new songs and lived a normal life. She was totally fine!

A little shaken, but life had returned to normal. It was a quiet afternoon. Phoebe was at school. Wren was at work. Nim was with Aella and Piper in the other room, supposedly "working from home" and watching his baby toddler half-sister, but Sparrow knew he was keeping an eye on her as well. She took some film notes and turned on the telly as though to study. But she ended up just picking out an old favorite and rewatching it yet again, until the doorbell rang.

_______________

setting Great Room at Home, late March 2056 || with Just her for now
appearance 5'7", soft and squishy || hair color undyed, faded silver-gray tips at the end. || wearing purple off-the shoulder long sleeve with jean shorts and leg warmers (Option 1)
status Normal afternoon.
_______________
//OOC: Song reference: Nine Point Eight by Mili .
Trick is courtesy-tagged because Nim is mentioned a lot.

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Stefan Lee Salvatore

Trickblues

_______________

So much to say, not just today, but always.
We'll have (Feel the) early morning madness
We'll have (Feel the) magic in the making
Yes, everything's as if we never said goodbye
We taught the world new ways to dream.
♡♥
~As if We Never Said Goodbye" by Andrew Lloyd Webber, sung by Patti Lupone.

 

[Stefan Lee Salvatore]

۞ Cenek ۞ Knapp ۞
Ravenclaw Alumnus
Healer in Training ۞ Only available to Sparrow

▬▬“Critiscm is something we can avoid easily...”▬▬

Cenek had a day off - and he knew what he needed to do with it. He went to go see his best friend. Sparrow had been through a tough couple of weeks, and would be in for a lot more hard weeks to come, Cenek knew the drill. Not with Sparrow of course, but with patients that had needed mental health help - it was what he was specializing in his healing studies. But today, he wasn't here on the job, he was here to spend time with Sparrow, maybe keep an eye on her, to know that for at least a few hours she wouldn't be able to hurt herself, he would know she was still alive. It was a constant worry every time he wasn't by Sparrow's side - would he see her again. He hoped that his constant worry and pacing of his own apartment hadn't annoyed Penny too much, but he couldn't help it - he loved Sparrow.

He knew he could just walk in, no one would mind, but it was only polite to ring the doorbell.. So, he rang the doorbell, hearing it echo through the house, before opening the door and letting himself in, "Oh Sparrroooooooow I've come to spend the entire afternoon with you. Whether you like it or nooootttt" He yelled through the house, while kicking his shoes off. If he was going to spend hours here he was going to be comfortable. Or, if Sparrow needed to get out of the house...well shoes could be put back on, she would just get the pleasure of smelling his feet for a little bit.

▬▬ “By saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” ▬▬

╔══════════════╗
Where: Winchester Estate
With Whom: Maybe Sparrow?
Thinking about: I hope she's okay
Wearing: black jeans, blue jacket, white shirt
╚══════════════╝

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addaellis

_____

 

[addaellis]

✦✧WREN ADRIEL WINCHESTER
21 years || Slytherin alum || pureblood legilimens
Apprentice WandmakerxxxxxxHead of Family
xxxxxxxxOllivander'sxxxxxxxxxxxWinchester Foundation
_______________

The Estate was quiet–a peaceful quiet. Even with Wren, Nimbus, and their 4 sibling-children, Piper, and a few pets all living at the Estate, it never quite got up to the ruckus of before the massacre. Wren, with Dunce evr by his side, was coming downstairs then Cesca raised her head in hello. He nodded in return as well as Dunce rubbed lightly against her reptilian friend and chose to follow Cesca– Dunce had taken to cuddling around Cesca lately, as though sharing fur and body warmth.

”Slither slither, Francesca,” Wren replied to Cesca’s hiss seriously, as though he could understand her. He couldn’t–believe him, he’d tried to legilimens her head before, but the mind of that snake was windy and damp and foreign in a way that discouraged further probing. Cesca of course knew Wren couldn’t understand, but that didn’t discourage him from replying “Slither Slither” at her as though they were having a conversation.

Wren strolled out onto the deck alone and found his boyfriend on the porch swing, hugging his knees to his chest. “It’s raining, so you come outside? What, are you practicing poses for the cover of this month’s Edgyboi Editorials?” Wren joined Nim with a gentle hand on his back. And for a moment he just looked out at the garden in quiet peace together.

Nimbus had regrown this garden. Most of it had been burnt or crushed by debris in the fire. There were still a few young fruit trees Robin and his mother had planted, and at some point since Wren had last really looked out, Nim or Robin must have removed the sticks supporting their spindly frames. The garden was…full again, A rainbow of flowers and herbs.

”Phoebe turned in right after dinner and it seems Flick and Aella decided to have a sleepover in her room,” Wren said softly after a moment. It made sense, after the exciting day she had at MagiScouts. ”And Sparrow’s working on her script. She’s…” Wren breathed in the rainy weather air, the last words a sigh of relief: ”Better. Well.”

It meant Nim and Wren finally had a moment of genuine peace together. There was no “I need to get out of here for an hour to destress” or a “we need to talk about the kids” conversation conversation. No pressing obligations to discuss. Just the two of them, hanging out for the pleasure of each other’s company.

_______________

setting Home, Autumn 2056 || with Family
appearance 5'8", quite fit || wearing plaid shirt, blue jacket + black jeans outfit
status Finally some ******** peace and quiet
_______________
//OOC: ---

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Trickblues

_______________

Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
✧✦
"The Hollow Men" by T.S. Elliot.

 

[addaellis]

✦✧WREN ADRIEL WINCHESTER
21 years || Slytherin alum || pureblood legilimens
Apprentice WandmakerxxxxxxHead of Family
xxxxxxxxOllivander'sxxxxxxxxxxxWinchester Foundation
_______________

Wren’s eyes crinkled in amusement as Nimbus took his teasing jibe and ran with it. Nim relaxed against him, head fitting perfectly in the space between his shoulder and neck. He explained Cesca had wanted to actually hunt, and while Wren thought Cesca was mad to pick a cool rainy day of all days to go hunting, he was just glad the old snake actually felt like hunting.

They enjoyed the cool quiet until the fairy lights that hung from the porch roof lit up. Wren gave a soft huff when they flickered on in the cloudy evening– the fairy lights had been a stupid joke sometime last year. A few months ago. An anniversary? Valentine’s? Something stupid, not doubt. Wren had tied a string of fairy lights to Nim’s jacket by way of trying to get out of going out on a proper date. It became a “cheap date” remark. But now that they were strung up along the porch, he had to admit they were nice.

It was…homey. In a sappy, cliche way, but there was a reason people liked cliches. And maybe that was okay sometimes. A boring life under the fairy lights, with a pot of hot stew on the stove and the kids running around throwing mud at each other sounded great now. Granted that sounded like a pain as well, but it was the boring kind of pain. Real life was better boring. Save the evil stepmothers and legacies of generations past, the love hexagons and bloodthirsty terrorists for the stories. The fallout from all that drama were emotional fissures that no one wanted to talk about, but remained there still, gapping voids between the past and future. The process of filling the holes, covering the gaps, painting over the facades again and again was hard work. Difficult, complex, twisted and delicate. At the end, there was still a scar on the soul.

But maybe that wasn’t all bad. Scars were signs of survival. They had survived. And now they could rest easier because of it.

Wren rested his cheek against Nim’s head and let his mind wander with a soft exhale. The future didn’t seem as confusing after reviewing all the s**t they’d been through together already. And it wasn’t too hard for him to think of what that might look like. Or what he might want that to look like. There were the kids of course: more dinners with Aella breaking dishes in her attempt to help and Phoebe asking questions that made his head hurt. More conversations with Flick and Robin, assuring them that confusion was a journey, not an ending, and that they didn’t have to carry the weight of their entire family on their shoulders. More teasing jokes. More boring nights under the fairy lights, with bellies full of thick tomato stews. Teasing the rest of the “Potato Gang”--and getting on Sparrow for naming them something so ridiculous. There would be other terribly dull and exhausting events–get-togethers, weddings, kids. Maybe Nim would finally decide to do something with the old Siddall Estate– the one he’d sold to Wren’s parents, only for it to pass back into his hands. Well. Not quite yet. But it was all a formality by this point. Beyond a doubt, they were staying together.

Nimbus piped up, climbing over Wren’s lap. ”Just the two of us, anything I want?” Wren smirked. ”Well that’s easy, let’s kick everyone else out and just read. Hmhm. I can finally try some more potions. Maybe beat some bludgers around. Also I’d like you to give me a foot massage.”

_______________

setting Home, Autumn 2056 || with Family
appearance 5'8", quite fit || wearing plaid shirt, blue jacket + black jeans outfit
status Teasing my favorite person
_______________
//OOC: ---

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Trickblues

_______________

Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
✧✦
"The Hollow Men" by T.S. Elliot.

 

[addaellis]

✦✧WREN ADRIEL WINCHESTER
21 years || Slytherin alum || pureblood legilimens
Apprentice WandmakerxxxxxxHead of Family
xxxxxxxxOllivander'sxxxxxxxxxxxWinchester Foundation
_______________

Nim rolled his eyes and gave him a playful pinch. Wren smirked at his complaints. ”Aren’t we outside now?” he chimed. ”Exhausting yes, hence why we should rest.”

He held his hands up to indicate he was done and leaned his head back and hummed as Nim mentioned thinking more of a date. Wren wasn’t exactly the kind of person to want to go out on his days off, and even less of the kind of person to plan elaborate things for dates. He could arrange a fancy dinner no problem, but mostly he just enjoyed hanging out with Nim, whatever they were doing. That said, Nim deserved a break for all this. And he wouldn’t mind a nice relaxing weekend with just the two of them. Maybe a vacation. ”Hmmm~, if your tightass of a boss can give you an extra day off, I can get us tickets for a 3 day trip in Paraguay.” he asked mildly. ”Bring a broom and we can definitely do some bludgering. But it’d involve skiing and moving around in the snow and stuff like that. Too exhausting?”

_______________

setting Home, Autumn 2056 || with Family
appearance 5'8", quite fit || wearing plaid shirt, blue jacket + black jeans outfit
status Teasing my favorite person
_______________
//OOC: He's not just making this up, this is a tour offered by Terror Tours

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Trickblues

_______________

Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
✧✦
"The Hollow Men" by T.S. Elliot.

 

[addaellis]

✦✧WREN ADRIEL WINCHESTER
21 years || Slytherin alum || pureblood legilimens
Apprentice WandmakerxxxxxxHead of Family
xxxxxxxxOllivander'sxxxxxxxxxxxWinchester Foundation
_______________

Wren smirked at Nim’s pouting and stroked his hair affectionately. Nim seemed surprised– Wren met Nim’s golden eyes quickly to confirm it was a pleasant kind of surprise and he wasn’t just putting up a front for his sake. ”Yeah. I just saw it at the tour place last week,” he shrugged. ”To be honest, I was hoping you’d veto the skiing and skating and we can just do the hot springs and food.”

He made a snickering sound. And here he had been gearing up to make a joke about Aspen being Nim’s boss as the co-owner of Flowers and Fwoopers. ”Seriously. He hasn’t let you take a proper day off since you opened."

But Nim seemed to like the idea of going to Paraguay. He left the sitter logistics and getting tickets and confirming all that for later. ”Well then! With the honeymoon all settled--” Wren nudged Nim gently off and leaned towards the door, muttering a spell to open it followed by a more clear ”Accio.”. After a little bit, a small object zoomed out the door, narrowly missing where Nim had just been perched, and flew into Wren’s fist.

Wren stretched and settled Nim back in place. He held the little object up between two fingers between them: ”So Nimcat. We should actually get married.”

Usually when they proposed, it was dramatically: There was a ritzy ring, something Wren had gotten at a shop for a dozen pounds or so. They’d be getting dinner at a fancy muggle restaurant somewhere in the Isles and one of them would slip the ring in the champagne or something stupid. The more cliche and ridiculous, the better–the more laughs they could have about it later.

This ring was hand-crafted: A six-stranded puzzle ring made with six unique pieces of wand-quality wood: yew, beech, blackthorn, and potato wood, with two slightly thicker strands of ebony and silver lime. Each strand had been smoothed to a finish and magically reinforced, so the piece felt like soft sunlight against the skin without possibility of a splinter. It radiated with an enchantment that guided the wearer towards a thin, similar version of it. Along the inside, when the strands were put together, was a short message carved in morse code – In vita et mors. In life and death.

_______________

setting Home, Autumn 2056 || with Family
appearance 5'8", quite fit || wearing plaid shirt, blue jacket + black jeans outfit
status Teasing my favorite person
_______________
//OOC: Sample puzzle ring but as described and made of wood as described.

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Trickblues

_______________

Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
✧✦
"The Hollow Men" by T.S. Elliot.

 

[addaellis]

✦✧WREN ADRIEL WINCHESTER
21 years || Slytherin alum || pureblood legilimens
Apprentice WandmakerxxxxxxHead of Family
xxxxxxxxOllivander'sxxxxxxxxxxxWinchester Foundation
_______________

Wren didn’t really doubt that Nim would accept his proposal. Nimbus had plenty of time to go running for the hills, and the only time breaking up had ever been brought up was sometime in their seventh year out of self-loathing after the Siddall Bloodbath. Even their last grand fight about taking legal guardianship of Flick hadn’t involved any discussion of breakup. And with all the joking proposals, Wren knew at least that Nim wasn’t adverse to the idea of being married.

So he was a little surprised when after stunned “Yes,”, Nimbus had the gall to follow it up with “No, wait–”. Nim accused him of using legilimency, and produced a ring of his own, to which Wren gave him a raised eye:

”No, and who was counting whose turn it was?”

Wren turned the ring around on his finger, reading the runes. ”In aeternum et semper. Numquam seorsum. …’Forever and always, never to part.’ Huh. Seems you had the same idea.” he noted, with the ghost of a soft smile. It’d work well with the enchantment on Nim’s. They’d even gotten the timing similar. No doubt Nim would have done something more romantic, but that made sense. They finally had some time to focus on themselves. Stuff like this made him smile. Plans long in motion, that proved they were on the same page–not just a few words that could be easily faked, not just a few moments of connection, but evidence they were thinking along the same lines.

Nim squeezed his hand and gave a short romantic speech anyways. Wren flicked his forehead when he was done. ”You’re an incredible sap, you know that Nimcat?” But then he kissed his fiance where he’d flicked him and rested their foreheads gently together. ”I love you.”

_______________

setting Home, Autumn 2056 || with Family
appearance 5'8", quite fit || wearing plaid shirt, blue jacket + black jeans outfit
status Teasing my favorite person
_______________
//OOC: -----

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Trickblues

_______________

Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
✧✦
"The Hollow Men" by T.S. Elliot.

 

[addaellis]

✦✧WREN ADRIEL WINCHESTER
24 years || Slytherin alum || pureblood legilimens
Apprentice WandmakerxxxxxxHead of Family
xxxxxxxxOllivander'sxxxxxxxxxxxWinchester Foundation
_______________

It was one of those rare days Wren didn’t have to work and the kids were wrangling themselves. But that was because everyone–even Phoebe off in her dream world–knew there was something off about the world.

Wren hadn’t been there for Aspen’s little bowtruckle’s demise, but he had seen the devastation Aspen’s grief had caused and knew enough. The little guy was a perfect companion for Aspen, spicy when she all sweet, and a constant comforting presence to her. Wren mourned Flik quietly himself–he remembered little greeting screeches, the passing of paper and wood lice, Flik and Dunce playing around the plants as he and Aspen bantered.

Nim and Wren had discussed what to do about Aspen’s plants, and how best to help. Now, Nim was cutting new starts from anything he had. Wren had helped clean through the graveyard of plants for anything that could still be revived or salvaged as potion ingredients. So far there was a lot of fertilizer.

As he finally emerged from the potions lab, Wren spotted his favorite child–really, his only son. “Eh, what’d you do?” Wren asked, spotting a bright pink bandage on Ambrose’s knee. He scrutinized the wound and listened before grabbing his wand. It was a small enough injury that didn’t require much more. “Episkey.” The scraped skin knit itself together again. “Where’d your Appa go?”

The moment he heard Nim had gone out to the creek in the freezing snow, Wren had an aching suspicion. He grabbed a warm comforter and a flask of bottled fire. Nim probably wouldn’t feel like eating or coming inside. Fine. But he wasn’t allowed to get hypothermia.

“Piper, can you make sure all the twerps eat dinner ang get to bed on time? I need to be with Nim tonight.”

He trudged through the snow to the creek he and Nim had played in as boys. Where he’d learned Nim was a parselmouth. Where he’d met Cesca. Just the other night, having a pretend conversation with her. He was going to miss her too.

Wordlessly, Wren tucked the blanket over Nim’s shoulders and dusted the snow from his hair. Dunce, padding along quietly behind, sniffed Cesca’s body, nudging her nose and giving her a last lick before hopping up and curling in Nim’s lap. Wren ducked under the blanket and sat with him. He grounded himself in the snow, staring at where Cesca’s now-lifeless body lay. He took Nim’s hand and found purchase in his mind through the familiar touch. He wasn’t looking for anything, or seeing to impose any kind of feeling. Tonight, Wren just opened his mind up so he could share Nim’s pain.

_______________

setting The creek between their houses, December 2059 || with Nim, Dunce, Cesca
appearance 5'8", quite fit || wearing warm sweater, black jeans and boots. Giant warm blanket.
status Nim's pain.
_______________
//OOC: ---

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Trickblues

_______________

Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
✧✦
"The Hollow Men" by T.S. Elliot.