Good Enough | hp

17| Cupcakes and Staccato

Still, she reserved this feeling to herself and herself alone, locking it away in favour of smiling fondly after Harry as he revelled in this newfound peace.

Their days were spent leisurely, ending most of the time with the Weasleys and Harry playing Exploding Snap by the fireplace and Estella providing a light hum of music with her guitar, Hermione chatting mindlessly beside her.

The melody was always punctuated with occasional shouts of joy or disappointment from the boys.

Ginny often sat beside Estella and Hermione and they welcomed her. The attacks had frightened her and Estella could tell that she was in a more subdued mood.

They told her stories of their time before Hogwarts and their adventures last year. These chats had the effect of cheering her up, and a plate of sugary iced cookies placated their stomachs as they talked into the night.

The time flew by, day after day, and Estella could almost convince herself that everything was normal.

Christmas morning dawned, cold and white. Estella was shaken away by a lively Hermione, who pulled open the closed curtains, effectively blinding her as she sat up blearily.

"Merry Christmas!" she sang.

Estella rubbed her eyes and looked around. 

The twins were the only two left in their dorm; Lavender and Parvati had gone home for the holidays, muttering about how it would be better to stay at a safe distance from Harry. The thought made Estella scowl, and she shook her head, focusing instead on the fresh sheet of snow that coated the grounds of Hogwarts like a layer of paint.

A stack of varied presents made a border around her bed and she smiled when she saw the note on the one nearest to her: Lots of Love, Mum & Dad, it read. It was a finely wrapped box: Mr and Mrs Granger had always excelled when it came to wrapping presents - Estella supposed it was a side-effect of being dentists and needing steady hands.

Hermione bounded over and sat down beside her, sitting on her own bed so that the pile of gifts sat regally between them. It was a tradition for them to always open their presents together - birthdays, Christmas - they shared it all.

The twins looked at each other and grinned.

"Ready?" Estella asked, pushing her curls behind her ear.

"Set," Hermione continued, leaning forward eagerly.

"GO!" And they both lunged at their presents.

A little while and a lot of torn wrapping paper later, the girls sat in a pile of books, candy, music sheets and enchanted hairbrushes.

"That was fun," said Estella, slightly breathlessly. 

"My presents are better," Hermione teased good-naturedly.

Estella laughed. "You wish."

"Come on," said Hermione, pushing a stray ribbon into the rubbish pile with her foot, "Let's go see Harry and Ron."

Estella nodded and leapt up off her bed.

She hummed a faint tune under her breath as she got dressed. Hermione waited impatiently by the door for her, clutching two neatly wrapped presents.

Wrapping one more scarf around her neck, Estella scooped up the presents that she herself had wrapped and joined her sister.

They stepped carefully down the stairs, relying on the dark indentations on the stone floor to guide them down.

"By the way," Estella said absently to Hermione as they trudged across the common room, "Why were you up so early? Not doing homework, were you?" She sent her a teasing grin to which Hermione responded with an eye roll.