Hey everyone! I'm terribly sorry for the month-long hiatus, but holidays with the fam plus writing a masters dissertation makes writing fanfic a tad complicated. I'm back now, and the posting schedule is gonna get regular again.

Thank you so much for your kind and lovely comments, they fuel my creativity.

Without further ado, enjoy the chapter!

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The drive to Salem is a long one, and they do it in two parts, stopping halfway to rest, before continuing. When they reach the Entering Salem, MA sign, the sun is setting.

Dean follows Andrea's instructions through the town, and then through some woods, until they get to an old, large, and weird-looking gates, in the middle of the road. As he stops the car, she gets out, grabbing her backpack, without saying a thing.

They exchange a brief look, before doing the same, and walking a few steps, they stand behind her. "Andrea? What are you doing?" Sam asks as he sees her grabbing her pocket knife.

"There's a barrier spell around all of the property. My blood is the only way through," she explains quickly and turns her attention back to the knife. She slashes her left palm, and closing her hand shut, Andrea lets the blood fall on the ground. The brothers notice her saying something under her breath, and less than a second later, they see the air above the gates tremble, waving in a way that looks like some special effects of a movie. "There," she declares, standing up. "All done," Andrea waves her bleeding hand, and the gates open on their own.

It takes them a moment to follow her inside the car, still amazed at what they saw. Dean drives in, and just as they enter, the gates slam shut.

Dean drives for a couple of minutes before stopping the Impala in front of an old, but still beautiful colonial mansion. "Is this your house?" He asks, surprised.

Andrea smiles, but the smile doesn't reach her eyes. "This is my family's house, not mine," she corrects quietly. "But yeah, home sweet home," sighing, she gets out. "So," she continues as they get out of the car. "Fair warning, there's a resident ghost in the house, but he's pretty much harmless,"

"Resident ghost?" Dean echoes in disbelief.

Andrea nods and smiles again. "Well, witches have lived here for centuries. Any respectful witch house has gotta be haunted. Or at least, that's what my grandmother used to say, so come on in," muttering another spell, the door opens up and they walk inside.

If the outside was surprising, the inside is impressive, and the brothers feel as if they'd stepped into those houses where movies about the colonial south era are filmed. From the entrance, they can see two other doors and notice the large white sheets thrown over the furniture. There are other doors down the hallway parallel to the stairs, and Dean wonders just how big this house is.

While they stand there, looking around somewhat dazzled, Andrea carelessly throws her backpack on the floor, and all but kicks off her combat boots, leaving them muddy on the pristine carpet.

Before anyone can say anything, the room's temperature drops, and their breaths become visible. Dean and Sam immediately tense up, looking around worriedly. Just as Andrea takes a step forward, an annoyed expression on her face, a translucent form appears in the middle of the room, and the lights start flickering.

"Go away," she tells the ghost. The form flicks again, a vicious expression on its face as the ghost stares at her. Suddenly, all the doors and windows start shaking, opening and closing repeatedly, in a clear and rather strong poltergeist. "Drop the show, Marco. You don't scare me anymore," Andrea replies. "Leave now, before I make you," Again, the form flickers, and the boys notice the expression of pure hatred on its face. She raises her hand towards the ghost, and a moment later, the form disappears and the temperature goes back to normal.

Andrea offers them a smile. "Sorry about that,"

"Uh, this resident ghost of yours doesn't like you very much, does it?" Dean asks her, still trying to come to terms with what had just happened.

"That's an understatement," she pauses, thinking. "Uh, why don't you make yourselves comfortable in the living room while I go and prepare the rooms upstairs? I'm sure you're tired from the long drive. We can start the research in the morning,"

They don't really have a chance to say anything, because she's already going upstairs, leaving them standing there.

"Is it just me or she's weird since deciding to come here?" Dean asks, grabbing his bag from the floor and walking to the room Andrea had pointed at in her hurry.

Sam grabs his own bag, thinking. "There's definitely something going on with her,"

In the living room, although all of the furniture is covered with large white clothes, there are still several pictures and paintings on the walls. Curious to know more about Andrea's family, Sam and Dean walk around, looking at the frames.

Most are old and individual portraits from different women, and others are just artistic and somewhat mystical paintings with weird drawings and symbols. However, right in the middle of the fireplace wall, is a large family portrait, a photograph. There are five people there, an old woman with a stern face is right in the middle, a little more forward, on her right, is a man, and in front of him is a young boy. On her right is a woman, and in front of her is a pre-teen girl, who looks just like- "Dean, check this out,"

Dean walks up to Sam and stares at the photo. "Is that Andrea?" He asks, staring at the girl with long curly brunette hair.

"I know," Andrea says from behind them. "The curly hair did not favor me, but it took me some time to figure that out," Walking closer, she continues. "That's my grandmother Agnes, my uncle Aldo, my aunt Joan and their son, Finn," Her face is neutral as she says their names, but something in her voice tells them this isn't easy for her. "So, there's a lot of dust everywhere, but the rooms are ready," she says, changing the subject.

Sam and Dean follow her to the first floor, where two doors are opened, lights on. "There are clean sheets and towels on the wardrobe. They might smell a little moldy, but they're clean," Andrea explains. "Uh, what else?" She says more to herself. "Oh, yes, the bathrooms. Feel free to use all of them, even the ones upstairs. I guess that's all. Just yell if you guys need anything, ok?"

Yet again, Andrea leaves them standing there and goes to the second floor, without waiting for a reply.

Sam shakes his head, but doesn't say anything as he enters one of the rooms, and grabs his things to take a shower. As soon as he's inside the bathroom, Dean goes after Andrea.

As he climbs upstairs, he notices there's an open door by the end of the dark hallway, from where the only light on the entire floor is coming from. He walks to it, and he sees Andrea standing in the middle of the room, holding a frame. Walking closer, Dean manages to see that it's a photo of a younger Andrea and a man. He can't really see details from where he is, but he can see her face. It has a weird expression, as if she's about to cry, something he had never seen her do since they met.

"Hey," Dean starts, getting her attention. "Are you okay?"

Taking a deep breath, Andrea turns to look at him. "Yes," then she shakes her head. "No. I… I don't know," she shrugs, running a hand over her face.

"Is it because of the picture you're just holding?" He asks tentatively, knowing well he's prying on her personal life.

Andrea nods, looking at the photo in her hands again. "It's a photo of something that never came to be anything, it just makes me…" Sad, lonely, hopeless, her inner voice says in her head, but she completes with something else. "...thoughtful, I guess. I… I haven't been back here in a long time, and it's just… complicated. I guess it's a place with too many memories,"

For a moment, Dean remembers the time he and Sam had gone back to Lawrence, back when they were looking for their father. It hadn't been the same thing, but he could understand what she was going through. "Wanna talk about it?"

There's a brief pause, and she looks as if she's thinking about it, but then her eyes are attracted to the picture in her hands and Andrea shakes her head. "Not really, but, uh, thanks for the offer," she says, turning away from him, and Dean pretends not to notice how she wipes her eyes.

"Okay, we'll be downstairs if you need anything," she just nods, not looking at him as he leaves.

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Early in the morning, Sam finds Andrea in the kitchen. She looks fresh out of a shower, hair wet and loose as she drinks something from a mug, and he notices grocery bags near the back door.

"Morning," he says, announcing himself. "You went to town?"

"Hey, Sam," as she turns around, he notices the bag under her eyes and the tired expression on her face. "We had no food in here and I couldn't let you boys starve, could I? Sleep well?"

He laughs and nods. "Yeah, the bed's great. How about you?"

"I never sleep well in here," she replies, taking another sip of whatever's in her mug. "Nightmares torment me most nights, and last night wasn't an exception. Hopefully, we'll be gone soon," Andrea sets her mug on the sink. "I was just about to make some coffee," she states, going to grab the groceries.

"Coffee sounds great," Sam replies.

They have just sat down to eat the eggs and bacon she had also bought when Dean walks in. Andrea waits until they're all done, before leading them to the library, so they can start searching for the spell she needs.

"What are we looking for?" Dean asks, staring at the four walls, filled from the ground to the ceiling in books.

"According to Ruby we might find something in the witchcraft from Northern Europe, which is on that shelf," she says, pointing at the shelf near the window. "My initial research also said something about South American magic. If I still remember correctly, South America is there," she points at the shelf straight in front of the door. "I'll also check the old grimoires we have, just to be sure,"

"Sounds like a plan," Dean says, nodding. "I can look at South America, and Sam can check Europe while you do the grimoires,"

The library is quite large, the result of many contributions over the years, so the hours go by without them noticing it.

At some point, they stop to eat and go right back to their research. They keep going until tiredness becomes a problem and Andrea insists they go to bed and rest, claiming both of them will be useless if they can't think straight. After they go to bed, she stays in the library, still halfway through the grimoires.

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It's the middle of the night when Sam's phone rings.

"Hello?" He asks with a sleepy voice.

"Sam, are you and Dean still in Salem?" Ruby questions and the urgency in her voice wakes him up completely.

"Yeah, what's going on?"

"You need to get out of there, now. Lilith knows Andrea's there and she sent a horde of demons after her,"

In a second, Sam's out of the bed, grabbing his things.

"How fast can you get here?"

"I'm already on my way, but you need to grab Dean and get the hell out of there!"

He doesn't say anything and hangs up. Putting his t-shirt on, Sam goes to Dean's room.

"Dean," He only needs to call once and his brother wakes up immediately, fully alert. "Get up. Demons are coming after Andrea. We need to get out of here, now,"

Without questioning, Dean gets up and while Sam is grabbing his things, he goes upstairs and knocks on Andrea's door. When she doesn't reply, he opens up the door, only to find the room empty.

"She's not upstairs," he tells Sam, already walking to the stairs.

Thankfully, they find her in the library, in the same place, still reading.

Upon seeing them in the double doors, Andrea immediately senses something is wrong.

"What's going on?" She asks, standing up too.

"We need to get out of here. Demons are coming," Sam replies.

It takes Andrea a second to process what he said, as fear ran cold down her spine. "Demons? Are you sure?"

"Ruby said Lilith knows you're back here and they're coming for you."

Through the fear that has a tight grip on her heart, a light shines in her mind. "The barrier," she says after a moment. "T-they can't go past the protective barrier. We'll be safe, and, and I can still try to find the spell we need,"

The brothers exchange a look, silently considering her words. "Are you sure that protection spell can hold them?" Dean asks. Andrea nods.

"But what if they just sit and wait for us to leave?" Sam questions. "Barrier or not, we'll be sitting ducks,"

"If the protection holds them back we'll have time to get ready for them. Holy water, an exorcism in Baby's speakers… we can make it work," Sam stares at his brother, not confident that this plan of his can work.

"We should leave while we still can," the younger Winchester argues. "We can find another way to find the spell. Hell, we can take your books with us if you want. But we should go,"

"Too late for that, Sam," Ruby replies, materializing in the middle of the room.

Upon seeing the demon, Andrea's legs all but fail under her and if not for the table, she would have fallen. "H-how?" She manages to ask, struggling to focus due to her ever-growing heartbeat.

The demon studies her for an instant, not sure of what she's asking. Dean, understating, voices her concerns.

"How did you get through the protection spell around the property?"

Ruby's eyes widen. "A protection spell? Oh, so that's what tickled me when I got here. Sorry to inform you, but whatever spell you did, it's not working. What a shocker,"

The demon's sarcasm annoys Andrea enough to snap her out of the fear. "I didn't do anything. That spell is as old as this house, maybe older. It was done by an ancestor of mine, and it has been reinforced by every generation. The only way through it is with my blood. It can't fail!"

Ruby pretends to consider her words for a moment before realization appears on her face. "You're not linked, are you?"

Dean and Sam don't understand most of the witchcraft lingo they're using, but they see how pale Andrea gets with Ruby's question. When she doesn't reply, Dean speaks up.

"Care to translate to the non-witches and non-demon bitches?"

Ignoring his jab, Ruby explains. "Being linked is another way of saying belonging to a coven. When a witch is connected to other witches, their power gets stronger because it allows them to tap into different magic than their own. The magic from the coven is fortified by the blood of the participants and it only gets stronger over time, giving them room to do incredible stuff. When a witch is not linked to a coven, they can't access the, let's say, communal magic, which makes them weak and vulnerable,"

Sam looks at Andrea, who remains silent, before turning to Ruby. "What does that mean to us, Ruby?"

"It means that when Andrea here, bleed on the barrier, seeing as she has no link to her family's magic, she interfered with the spell, rendering it useless. I got through and so will every demon Lilith is sending our way as we stay here talking about magic,"

Dean runs a hand through his face, holding back a groan. "Demons are coming, fine. We got it. What I don't get is how Andrea made the spell weaker if she has the same blood and the same magic as the rest of her family,"

Ruby looks at Andrea. "Do you mind giving this next lesson, or should I continue?" Andrea looks up at her, venom in her eyes, and doesn't respond. "Fine, I'll continue then. Being part of a coven, even a family coven, isn't something automatic. It takes a whole ritual, and the initiate has to fulfill some requirements before becoming part of the coven. I guess, that Andrea never did it, or she did and manage to screw it up,"

"I didn't screw it up," Andrea finally says, in a quiet voice. "I never did it. I never wanted to. I never wanted any of this!" She finishes almost screaming.

They all see how on edge she is, so Dean takes the front, and taking a step closer, he speaks. "What didn't you want?"

Andrea looks up, tears shining in her eyes. "All of it. I never wanted to be a witch. I didn't ask for these powers and, and I never asked for this curse! All I wanted was to be normal!" She pauses, furiously wiping away the tears that started filling her eyes. "All I wanted was a way out, so I ran. The first opportunity I got, I ran from this place, from my family and I never looked back. That's why I never did the coven ritual. Still, no matter how far I went, I never really escaped this… This curse and my magic took everything from me," Feeling vulnerable in a way she hadn't felt in a long time, Andrea turns away from them, not wanting them to see her like this.

A wave of sympathy hits Sam, as he, other than anyone in the room, understands exactly what she's saying. "I'm sorry, Andrea," he says after a moment. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that,"

Annoyed at the excess of heart feelings in the room, Ruby clears her throat. "Sorry to interrupt this uh, heartbreaking moment, but we still need to get the hell out of here," Sam gives Ruby a pointed look, but she shrugs, giving him a stare. "You know I'm right," she mouths soundlessly.

"Guys," he says to Dean and Andrea. "Ruby's got a point. We need to go,"

Dean hates it, but he knows Sam's right. They're leaving empty-handed and all of this has been for nothing, but at least they'll leave safely. Taking a step closer to Andrea, he gently puts a hand on the back of her shoulder. "We'll find another way to get the spell,"

"What?" Ruby says from her place. "You didn't find the spell?!" She asks outraged. "You've been here for two fucking days! What were the three of you doing all this time?! We can't leave without that spell!" Sam gives her another look, but this time, the demon doesn't stop. "Don't give me that look, Sam. You know I'm right! We need the spell to stop Lilith from jumping to another body, and once she's trapped, you use your powers to kill her. That's the plan. Or, we have door number two, which is game over," the demon suddenly stops and looks at the witch. "Unless… unless she does the coven ritual. If you do it, you can bring the barrier up and buy us time to find the spell,"

"No," Andrea says in a loud and firm voice.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Ruby retorts.

"No is no," Andrea replies, turning around with a determined face. "I won't link myself to my family and that's final."

"Great. Well, seeing as you won't do anything, how about you stay here then and die?" Ruby responds, raising her voice and tone.

"Knock it off, Ruby!" Dean exclaims, coming to stand in the middle of the two, just as a precaution.

"I didn't say I won't do anything. I just said I won't do the coven ritual," taking another deep breath, she continues. "I have an idea. If the three of you can buy me some time, I'm going to find the spell."

"How?" Sam asks, not sure about any of this.

"I'm going to do a séance, and talk to someone who will know exactly where I can find the spell,"

At her words, Dean hesitates. He looks at her and then at Sam and Ruby and he needs a second. Finally, he turns to Andrea and walks to stand in front of her. "You sure you can do this?"

Andrea sees the doubt in his eyes, and breathing again, she nods. "Yes. You can trust me, Dean,"

That's all he needs to nod back and turn to his brother and his demonic girlfriend. "Alright. Let's do this. We need salt, holy water, the usual. You two get what we need from Baby, I'll start with the holy water and the devil's traps,"

When Sam starts moving, Ruby touches his arm stopping him. "Are you serious?" She asks Dean.

"You can always leave if you're not happy," the older Winchester challenges, but instead of replying, Ruby just shakes her head and follows Sam outside.

Alone, Dean looks at Andrea again. "What do you need?"

His tone is all business and she replies immediately. "Candles and an object that belonged to the person I want to talk to," she pauses. "I need to go into the basement for the last thing. Can you come with me?"

Even though her request surprises him, he nods and follows her through the house to the kitchen, where under the rug is a trap door. Before she can ask, he's already pulling the door open, revealing a set of long stairs down. Just on the top of them is a switch, and turning on the lights, Andrea walks downstairs.

The basement is quite large, and Dean's pretty sure it covers the entirety of the house. The place is filled with boxes and hangers and shelves with more books and jars with things he can't name inside. She walks further and on the farthest end of the room, is a pile of boxes that's separated from the rest. He sees her hesitating to reach it and can't help but ask, "Who'll you, uh, contact?"

Andrea sighs. "The guy in the photo I have in my room, his name was Ellis. He was my grandmother's, uh, assistant. I met him in the library, actually. I was sixteen and rebellious and he was the cute new and a little older than me guy. Ellis used to spend most of his time in the library. He knows everything in there, so I'm hoping he can tell us where to find what we need," with that, she walks to the boxes, and opens the first one. After rummaging through, Andrea takes a leather-covered book. "This was his notebook," she says with a sad smile on her face.

"Do you mind if I ask how he died?" Dean asks, letting his curiosity get the best of him.

"A hex bag. He was murdered. Since he was under my grandmother's wing, as a young warlock learning the craft, we thought it was the work of an enemy coven or a witch with a grudge, sending a message. No one never found out who did it, though,"

"I'm sorry for your loss," he says. Andrea knows comforting isn't Dean's forte, but she appreciates the attempt, anyway.

"It was a long time ago, Dean. But thank you,"

Dean nods. "No problem," he says, looking at her. Andrea stares back and for a moment, she feels a weird need to tell him more, to hear what he might have to say about her screwed up life, but just as she's stopping herself from opening up, Dean continues. "We should get going,"

"Yeah, we should," she replies, hurrying out of the memory-haunted basement.

In the library, Sam and Ruby have prepared most of the things they'll need. "I got more chalk and spray for the devil traps," he tells his brother as they enter the room.

"I get started on that," Dean replies, grabbing the spray can.

"I'll help," Sam says. Dean stops for a second, realizing that Sam's offer means Andrea and Ruby will be alone.

"Nah, Ruby can help me. You stay here and watch Andrea," His words make the witch roll her eyes.

"I'm not a baby, Dean," she says out of habit. He shakes his head, holding back a smile at her comeback, and walks away.

As Andrea starts lighting candles, Sam comes to help her. "Where do you want them?"

"They're fine where they are, all over the room. While you do that, I set these big ones here to form a circle in the middle of the floor. Lighting candles is also a way to salute the dead, and uh, appease their souls, and I'll need all the appeasing I can get," they continue in silence until they finish, and Andrea walks to the candle circle. "I'm gonna get started, Sam,"

The younger Winchester stares at her with curiosity-filled eyes and nods. "Okay,"

"You mustn't interrupt me, or break the circle, ok? No matter what you see. Séances can get quite, uh, eventful depending on the spirit being called," she tries to smile at the end, but Sam doesn't miss the reluctance in her eyes.

"It'll be okay, Andrea,"

She smiles again, before closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath. Andrea sets her hands on Ellis' notebook, focusing on him, on the memories she has of him, memories she struggled so much to hide in the deepest corners of her mind, his face, his manners, his voice. Once she feels she's gripped him tight on her mind, she begins chanting. "Phasmatos manex, un domo fax, fero audivex. Phasmatos manex, un domo fax, fero audivex. Phasmatos manex, un domo fax, fero audivex…"

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She feels the exact moment the spell works, and opening her eyes, the library around her has changed, and Sam is nowhere to be found. Suddenly she sees something moving in the corner of her eye, and without leaving the circle, she stands up, to look around.

"Ellis? Is that you?" She asks slowly.

She doesn't see anything, but then she feels something weird on her chest. Turning around, she all but jumps at the sight of the deceased face of the first and perhaps only person she ever loved, Ellis. He looks like himself, only translucid and way too pale. "Ellis?"

Ellis' spirit blinks, of all things, something so human and natural that aches in Andrea's chest.

"Damn it, Rea," He curses, but beyond the anger, his face shows concern. "I told you to never come back here!"

"I know," she replies softly. "But I really need your help, El."

Next chapter will be up next week!

Thanks for reading!