Guests had already begun to arrive. She could hear the chattering, clinks of champagne glasses and classical music echoing throughout the halls as she watched her pale complexion look back at her in the gold-lined mirror.
Estelle Corbin was attired and ready. Her heated curls were wrapped into a carefully formed bun, with the help of her mother due to its length, with jewels and matching charms threaded into hair strands. It was something she did for every event that her parents, Aldreda and Gabriele Corbin, hosted.
She looked like art. Her purple dress with a floral pattern sewn onto the chest topped with a lacy, thin black cardigan and corresponding gloves hugged her body which accentuated her curves. Her black jewelled necklace hung from her neck and matching earrings dangled from her ears. She glistened under the moonlight that was seeping from her bedroom window.
Estelle announced to herself that she was ready, With full blown confidence, she slowly descended from the manor's main hall stairs. Few glanced up at her as they were more fixated on the dancing couples corresponding to the music bellowing from the gramophones bewitched to play their songs heightened in sound.
The spacious room originally held the dining table but the furniture was moved to replicate a dance floor. Drinks were served from a tower and food provided by the house elves was distributed on a table for guests to help themselves.
Social gatherings weren't the light of Estelle's life. She had no interest in running her social battery out in under thirty minutes due to the number of attendees wanting to speak with such a wealthy and educated young woman. To most, that wasn't much of a surprise when coming from a powerful family with connections, and successful careers.
But the whole night required a mask full of a secretly tired smile, an achy body from high heels and a straight posture she didn't have. She wasn't social by any means and has tried to convince her parents several times, Aldreda and Gabriele Corbin, to grant her the freedom of a relaxing evening but has never been proven successful. Their excuse is always that it's one night a year. 'Okay, so?'
At the end of every summer, her parents hosted a gathering with champagne and classical music to celebrate. The tradition was passed through centuries from the original owners of their manor. High ministry workers, purebloods and people alike were invited and most typically got an invitation in return for coming the previous year.
Also used to celebrate the summer was their yearly trip to France and Italy to see any family they hadn't in the last few months. Summer was widely celebrated in their home. The ability to spend their time together without the lingering dread of school and work while also seeing family and friends. For Estelle, it's an excuse to wind down, avoid the looming presence of expectations and speak her mother tongue.
French was Estelle's first language and Italian her second. While her accent had slipped over the years and was more British than anything else, she still had the habit of pronouncing longer words a bit off. She never speaks French when away from her family except for Draco Malfoy, who is fluent in said language.
As much as they love to insult one another, they had a very much 'only I can bully you' friendship due to growing up together. Sometimes due to Draco's bigoted behaviour, she'd walk away or bring up an embarrassing memory of him as a child which would humble him to a certain extent. They were siblings and saw each other as such.
They were born in the same year and with their mothers already being close they all collectively decided to do everything together. Motherhood was hard but it was easier with each other. But unfortunately for Estelle that included seeing Lucius Malfoy from time to time. He was a bigoted prick, intimidating and cold but he cared for his family just with a funny way of showing it.
Estelle gravitated towards her parents who were standing off to one side talking among each other. Gabriele was the first to notice her. He was dressed in a black tuxedo with his brunette hair slicked back. He turned his gaze to his daughter at the sight of her entering the ballroom.
"There's la mia stella," Gabriele welcomed. Estelle smiled fondly at the nickname, my star.
"Bonjour, mon soleil et ma lune," Estelle addressed her parents. Gabriele opened his arms for a hug and she immediately leaned into her father's embrace. Hello, my sun and moon.
"You look stunning my love," Aldreda speaks, breaking them apart.
"Thank you, Mother," Estelle says into her shoulder as they hold each other. Her mother then gently holds her cheek and looks at the beautiful and talented young woman she raised. Her daughter stood before her and she couldn't be more proud.
Gabriele gazed lovingly at his two girls as they greeted one another. Aldreda then tucked herself into his side and hung off her husband's arm.
"I don't suppose you know where Draco is? I need to talk to him about something," Estelle looked expectantly at her parents.
She heard of the escapee. Everyone had and if you hadn't, you must've lived under a rock. She knew of Draco's heritage or more specifically Aunt Cissy's. Estelle wouldn't have known if she hadn't gone on a ramble years ago about how Andromeda Tonks and Sirius Black ruined her family.
"Last time I saw him was over by the food and drinks table, I suggest you check there Darling," Gabriele responded.
"Thank you!" She kissed her father's cheek and took off.
✯
After hours of talking to distant family and family friends, those of whom she doesn't remember and hearing 'Look at how much you've grown!' twenty times, she could finally escape to her room. Her comfort place. Full of scented candles, posters of Mazzy Star, The Weird Sisters, and silly pictures of her and her family.
She took off her outer layers as she entered her room. Estelle hung up her cardigan, put her necklaces in her jewellery box and stored her gloves in her chest of drawers. They had handles painted with a floral pattern which Mrs Diggory helped with one summer afternoon years ago. The drawers were placed next to a record player she begged her parents for. It was chipped with paint from age and above was a shelf dedicated to her records mostly full of her favourites like Mazzy Star, Fleetwood Mac and Abba.
Her record player was an achievement of sorts. Not only the collection of records but also the weeks of dedication begging her parents to get one. They never understood her slight obsession with muggles and their odd creations.
She stripped herself of her dress and stepped into her small crowded bathroom. It had floral tiles, gold taps and a coloured bath, sink and toilet. The edges of her bath were full of different body washes, candles and soaps all thanks to her extended family who didn't know one thing about what she liked.
Estelle turned the hot water tap on, slightly adjusted the cold to make the perfect temperature and grabbed her lighter from her sink drawer for her candles. While she waited for the bath to fill, she wandered back into her bedroom, hung up her dress, lit her favourite incense, lit more candles and played the new Mazzy Star record, 'So Tonight That I Might See'.
Estelle then dramatically flopped backwards onto her bed and stared at the hanging stars made from gold cards and thin craft rope to hold them. She remembered making them when she was ten and never took them down since. She also had a collection of dreamcatchers which she started getting from her parents when she was little. Estelle had terrible nightmares as a child mostly consisting of the dead. They haunted her sleep and somehow dreamcatchers of all things helped her. Now, they were something she innocently collected.
Estelle could hear the running water echo louder as the water reached nearer to the edge of the bath. She took to her bathroom and carefully undid her hair in the sink mirror before stepping into the hot water and relaxing into the curve of the bath. The water soothed her tense and achy muscles from the hours of standing. She was mentally and physically unwinding as the soft tune of 'Bells Ring' played throughout her room and the candles illuminated the space through flickers.
After thoroughly washing, she stepped out of the bath and into a fluffy towel then her favourite fluffy pyjamas. Estelle busied herself with packing the last few essentials into her bags which had an extension charm courtesy of her mother.
Eventually, Estelle relaxes into her 4-poster bed and finishes the last few sentences of her summer homework, an essay on the seventeenth-century burnings of witches and how they were rendered completely useless. It took her weeks as she put so much effort into every sentence. It was a passion project and she was so excited to hand it in even if it wasn't something Mr Binns gave a glance at.
She used the rich history the local town, St Ottery, had dating back to as early as the sixteen-hundreds and when most of their records sprung to life. Estelle spent her free time researching the settlements and when the village partook in witch hunts and witch trials. Despite it being several hundred years since, their witch and wizarding community was still hidden in plain sight and they walked freely among everyone else.
The village was remote and surrounded by the countryside. It had its bus that arrived every twenty minutes and its mailman once a week. With its small community, everyone knows everyone but with an even smaller one restricted to a small corner shop. The owner, Francis Benson, was a lovely middle-aged woman who portrayed the place as a crystal shop but behind the counter was a secret area to let witches socialise and let loose.
Francis had been a part of the witch community since she was a little girl. Born and raised in Ottery, she grew to love and learn its history and her family's. She embraced their history and created a place of comfort for witches restricted by secrecy. She also grew a natural talent for sensing a witch or wizard who entered through her doors so she could facade to her non-magical buyers.
When Estelle came back from France and Italy, she finally had the time to catch up on homework. Her final essay was to write about the Witch-burnings so she asked around in the library and was redirected to Francis' shop tucked away at the end of the village. Francis helped her meet the criteria of the essay and provided her with the right files and even some sources from her own family who lived in the original settlement when it was first formed in 1666. Who knew homework could create such a beautiful beyond?
Although Estelle didn't live there and was mostly occupied due to her parents and staying at Hogwarts, she visited as often as she could. She knew of other witches and they would give a small smile to one another as if to say 'good day'. It was a tight-knit and easy-to-love group of people. To everyone else, it was a group that believed crystals could solve their life problems and prayed on a falling white feather.
Francis also taught Estelle useful knowledge of crystals such as which ones to use to protect herself or calming herbs to put in tea. She had tried both and they would quickly ease her anxiety.
Living in the fields across from Ottery and sheltered by protective charms had its benefits like living near Cedric Diggory and Luna Lovegood, her best friends. They didn't see much of each other outside of school despite living so close as Estelle was busy all summer visiting family.
When coming back from her yearly summer trips and deprived of seeing her friends, she luckily had Cedric and Luna to turn to when she arrived back home. Cedric's father and Estelle's parents were all friendly with each other due to their connections with the ministry and the three of them lived within a few miles from one another. With the Weasley family somewhere in between. If she ever visited Luna or Cedric she would walk by the Weasley's home. The vulgar extensions catered to each child and the rustic exterior could be seen from a distance if Estelle looked hard enough outside her window. Whenever she was closer she would never deny how cool it looked.
Although she was friends with Fred and George she wasn't familiar with their family and it wasn't like she could just wander in. From the twins' complaints, their mother was a bit too scary for anyone's liking and the howler Ron received the year prior was scary enough so she never bothered to knock and ask.
When Estelle was younger and wasn't preoccupied with learning three languages or ballrooming despite her annoyance, she would spend her time in an old greenhouse. It belonged to the past owners and hadn't been touched since they passed decades ago. One day when catering to her newly grown plants, she heard a big thump outside only to realise a Quaffle had somehow ended up in her garden and collided with the greenhouse. A boy who looked a few years older than her, Cedric, came over to apologise and said that he was playing quidditch in the nearby field. Quickly their friendship formed and the rest was history.
They spent the rest of their childhoods growing up together and despite Cedric going to Hogwarts years before her, their friendship never fell apart. Through letters, they stayed connected until Cedric would come home for Christmas.
Eventually, when it came time for Estelle to begin Hogwarts Cedric took her under his wing. He showed her the ins and outs of the school and occasionally helped her advance in homework.
As for Luna (or as she likes to say, 'Lovely Luna') they met in Estelle's second year when Luna was in her first. They both met when Luna asked for directions to the astronomy tower and Estelle ended up being the person she asked. They soon realised, as they were walking to said location, that they had similar interests. She then officially adopted Luna and the younger didn't think twice about it. Their friendship only seemed to improve more when the two girls returned home for the summer and learned that they only lived a forest away from each other.
Cedric and Luna didn't see much of Estelle over the summer due to her visiting family. Her father, Gabriele, was born in Italy but moved to England when his grandparents passed. It wasn't something he remembered a lot of, just that his parents moved for a fresh start. Why England of all places, Gabriele was never sure but he questioned his parents when considering the gloomy weather that commonly occurred in the country.
As for her mother, Aldreda, she wasn't born in France but had connections from the past owners of Moros Manor. One of the owners was originally born in France and migrated to England for work.
The owners visited family during the summer but when they passed away they wanted their relatives in France to be visited just like they used to do. Aldreda and Gabriele kept the tradition years later and, unfortunately for Estelle, happily welcomed it to their daughter when she was born.
✯
Stepping onto platform 9 ¾ with her parents plastered a warm smile onto Estelle's face. The overwhelming smell of burning coal and the distinctive smell of leather from young wizards and witches' trunks, lifted the girl's spirits from such a dull summer.
Aldreda, Estelle and Gabriele all collectively helped put her luggage in the designated space for baggage on the train and went back onto the platform to say their final goodbyes.
Aldreda turned to her as they reached a suitable spot and said, "Well, we'll see you at Christmas sweetheart. We hope you have a wonderful term!"
She raises her hand and lovingly caresses Estelle's face. Her father nodded in agreement and gave her a slight smile when they made eye contact.
"Thank you, Mother," Estelle responds, "Can you also make sure Misty and Ziggy tend to the greenhouse for me?"
The three of them pulled in for a hug and went their separate ways after saying their goodbyes.
Then, Estelle boarded the train with her hand luggage containing her uniform, her favourite lip gloss and her lucky charms she brought everywhere. She was determined to find a carriage that was empty or with someone she knew, which wasn't a lot of people.
Eventually, Estelle found an empty carriage all for herself which was much better than socialising. As much as she loved her friends and family it could be exhausting to converse for hours.
Estelle watched the train fill up with students and was thankful for being a loner in Slytherin as it made no one else want to sit with her and as much as she hated it, she was glad that her parents dragged her out of bed so early otherwise she wouldn't have grabbed a seat on her own.
She eased into her seat on the carriage's bench and went to reach for her book, with the hope of finishing it before the train arrived at Hogsmeade, but the sight of a significant family caught her attention. Her gaze travels out the window next to her and sees who she knows as the Weasleys, identifiable by their red hair, standing near the station's pillar at the back of platform 9 ¾.
She watches in envy as Mr and Mrs Weasley smother all of their children who are due to board the train including the two odd ones out, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. She always felt sympathetic for both of them as they were often talked about among Slytherin friend groups, including Draco's, and it got annoying fast.
She was sure if someone were to look at her, her jealousy would be visibly obvious. They were the Gryffindor trio and were the golden stars in everyone's eyes. Her peers also reeked of jealousy. She felt empathetic towards them as they had plenty of danger surrounding them despite only two years at Hogwarts while being at such a young age. But she couldn't help but feel the same as everyone else. Troublemakers with the ability to get away with almost everything while supposedly being rich and famous.
All Estelle wanted was a family with no expectations and the ability to be a teenager. Be careless while under no restrictions and have plenty of friends to giggle with at the back of classrooms with uncontrollable laughter. Her envy towards the family had stuck with her since her first year at Hogwarts.
The Weasley family was a perfect example of what she wanted. Her wishes to the moon and stars were often full of wishes to have a family like theirs. Although a trade for a loving family for second-hand Estelle couldn't handle, despite being all for recycling, but the sentiment was there.
With the reminder of family, she looked for her own out the train's window to see if her parents were still among the crowd of people not of age to attend Hogwarts. Unsurprisingly, they weren't. Filled with disappointment, she eased back into the comfort of her seat but she was quickly interrupted by the inevitable arrival of Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood.
The three of them were a secret trio. Mostly due to the absolute outrage that would be caused if Estelle Corbin was caught anywhere near 'Loony Lovegood' and Neville Longbottom.
Estelle met Neville in her first year and became friends as he was kind enough to offer her help in Charms as he had noticed how she was struggling to keep up. In exchange for his kind offer, she helped and taught him potions despite Professor Snape's fuss regarding their situation.
One of her favourite subjects had always been potions. Questioned about anything and she could answer. With the idea as a young girl of being able to cure and help people with illnesses that are impossible to dictate answers to, her passion for it grew. With plentiful knowledge about herbology as well, which majority of the time is necessary, her first year at Hogwarts was a success in her books.
Despite her sensation in classrooms, outside of them, she didn't have any friends away from Neville, Luna and Cedric whom she didn't see often due to being in different houses and years, so Estelle was stuck with Draco and his brainless idiots. Unfortunately, because of her upbringing, she had to learn social normalities the hard way as being raised by two house elves, Misty and Ziggy, didn't help.
Her parents, while growing up, had a lack of self-awareness. Forcing dresses, social rules and old-fashioned misogynistic ideologies onto her. The hurt of it all softened over the years but she remembers her outrageous tantrums which she sometimes would do for fun.
Her parents also had a long period during her childhood where work was so busy they couldn't stay home long so it was up to their house elves to fill in the empty spaces including manners. She was rowdy as a child but when she got to Hogwarts and spent so much time alone, that quickly changed and it humbled her to a certain extent.
But her parents improved as she got older, seeing her maturity and dedication to school grow they became much for loving as she expressed the unfairness. They just wanted what was best for Estelle so the three of them grew and learned together.
Estelle, Luna and Neville eventually became an unofficial triad as they all collectively realised later on in their second year that they were mutual friends. It was also a shield of comfort for Estelle as the attacks at the time were giving her immense anxiety. But also for her, it became protection as the three of them never spent any time alone in the halls so they were never vulnerable to the perpetrator, whoever that was, so it eased some of her intense feelings.
"Neville! Luna! How are you both?" Estelle exclaimed with a bright enough smile to lift someone's spirits. In fact, she did. Luna thought the world of Estelle as they both felt like bonded sisters. Furthermore, Neville would often rely on Estelle. Her caring nature and her immense eagerness to help others and himself were unlike the majority of his experiences.
Estelle pulled them both in for a hug before Neville and Luna made themselves comfortable next to each other on the opposite side of her seat.
Luna's smooth voice replied, "Dad and I planted some more Dirigible plums a couple of weeks ago! I'll have to bake them into a cake over the Christmas Holidays and bring you some, I know how much you love them."
Neville butted in on the conversation, "Gran made a fuss the whole way here. But I made one last visit to my parents yesterday, was the same old. Depressing."
Luna spoke again, "How was your summer, Ellie?"
"Boring. We went to Italy and France to see family and friends again and my parents held more gatherings that they practically forced me to attend. At least I got to see my cousins though!"
They talked for a bit about the rest of the summers before Estelle retreated to her book while Luna and Neville chatted to each other about the plants they were growing. Occasionally Estelle would join the conversation when she had something to say.
Eventually, the trio fell into a comfortable silence as Estelle continued her book while stopping every few pages to admire the scenery. Green meadows and pink sunsets turned to a starry night sky and warming lights. After a couple of hours, Neville left them to see other friends but an immense feeling of dread crept through Estelle's veins as the train started to slow.
"What's going on? Luna, what's the time? I thought we weren't supposed to arrive for another hour or two."
Luna checked the purple watch hanging onto her wrist, "It's only seven thirty, we must be running early." she commented, more like a question than a statement. Confusion fell on all three of their faces as the train fully stopped in place.
Estelle made eye contact with her almost in silent agreement to take a step outside. So, she did. Estelle bookmarked her page, slid open the carriage door and took a peek. She could feel Luna standing behind her and as she turned her head she saw everyone else with the same thought process poking their heads out of their compartments. The idea was quickly shut down by the train's lights flickering and she witnessed several students return to their compartments with a shut of a door. She also heard some shrieks, presumably from first years but as soon as she was about to comment to make fun of them the train abruptly jolted.
The echoing of several doors slamming shut, including her own, echoed throughout the train. Luna slightly stumbled back into her seat while Estelle recovered from missing her footing and swiftly opened the carriage door again. She stepped into the hallway only for the train's lights to flicker and completely shut off emitting darkness throughout the train. Her eyes widen and she scans the hallway. She turns to face Luna who's still sitting on their bench but Luna only emits a small whimper as she looks behind Estelle's shoulder. She turned to face what Luna made eye contact with and saw the windows directly in front of her had a thin layer of frost and it was only then that she registered how far the temperature had dropped and the visible puffs of air the two girls were emitting.
Estelle turned back around to face Luna, "I'm going to see if I can find out what's-"
Estelle was interrupted by the sound of a small creak. She whips her head around to the source of the sound and sees a tall cloaked figure covered by the darkness. Its features were undetectable only a gaping hole for a mouth and grey, rotting skin. Frozen with fear, Estelle watched it inch closer until it was towering over her. Suddenly, she felt as if there was only sadness. That was all she could feel and it felt like it would never end, how she would feel for the rest of her life.
She could the slow rattling sound emitting from the creature as they were face-to-face. She could feel its aura of cold circling her and seeping through her as her eyes grew heavy and the energy to stand was drained slowly from her body. Estelle's eyes drew to a close and let her body fall as she was plunged into unconsciousness. The last thing she heard was a loud wail.
✯
Remus Lupin watched on as his best friend's son, who no longer recognised him, recovered from a dementor attack. He looked like a carbon copy of James and he could feel his sensitivity frailing inside him as tears crept up in his eyes.
A loud snap made Harry's friends jump. Remus broke an enormous slab of chocolate into pieces.
"Here," he said to Harry, handing him a particularly large piece. "Eat it. It'll help."
Harry took the chocolate but didn't eat it.
"What was that thing?" he asked Remus.
"A Dementor," Remus replied, who was now diving the chocolate bar to everyone else, "One of the Dementors of Azkaban."
Everyone stared as Remus crumpled up the empty chocolate wrapper and put it in his pocket but was interrupted by a shout.
"Somebody help!" A voice echoed throughout the train. All passengers in the carriage abruptly turned to the source of the noise.
"I'll be right back...", muttered Remus as he quickly got up from his seat and walked fastly down the hallway. He eventually approached a small crowd surrounding an open carriage with people inside but couldn't see who. He pushed through the bodies of students and looked inside to see Luna Lovegood cradling the head of an unidentifiable girl due to her face being covered by Luna's back.
"Everyone, back to your seats!" Remus exclaimed as he watched everyone scramble back to where they came from. He stepped in, closed the door and blinds for privacy, and examined Luna and the other girl's state. She had tears streaming down her face as she looked directly at the new professor standing before her.
"Thank you, they were starting to bother me. They just stood there like lemons," the blonde spoke out calmly with a voice as smooth as silk.
"Of course, what happened? Was it a dementor?" Remus questioned.
"Yes, how did you know?"
"I've had another student collapse due to one," Remus sighed and continued, "What are both your names?"
"I'm Luna Lovegood and she's Estelle Corbin. Can you help her, please?"
"There's not much I can do until she wakes but this chocolate will help re-energise Miss Corbin when she does. Trust me, she'll need it."
"Can you stay? At least until she wakes up? I don't think I can stay on my own while she's in this state," Luna said with tears brimming in her eyes. Remus could feel the empathy from Luna and the connection of their friendship from where he sat.
"Of course," he gave her a warm smile which she returned.
After a few minutes, Estelle was visibly pale in the face and her forehead was covered in a cold sweat but she stirred nonetheless. She was disoriented as her vision cleared and saw her best friend, Luna, looking down at her with relief. She looked at her questioningly and saw that another person was sitting in the carriage with them.
She looked up at the stranger from the floor and asked bluntly, "Who are you?"
"Professor Lupin," he broke off two pieces of chocolate for the girls, "Eat it'll help."
"I'm assuming you're the new 'Defence Against The Dark Arts' Professor. In that case, I'll wish you good luck because you'll need it," she gave him a false smile and sat up in her place, "What was that thing anyways?"
Luna bit into her chocolate while Estelle looked at it wearily.
"A Dementor," Luna and Remus spoke at the same time.
"A what?" Estelle was now sitting next to Luna and sat directly opposite Remus Lupin.
"The guards from Azkaban, they're here in search of Sirius Black," Remus replied.
Estelle followed his response, "Why did they attack me? Did they stupidly think I was Sirius?"
"Unfortunately, I'm not sure but you'll have to excuse me. I need to speak to the driver," he gave the two girls a warm smile and headed out the door.
"What an odd fellow. I wonder what caused the scars on his face," Luna spoke out after she was sure he was out of earshot.
Estelle recalled how cool he looked, "Maybe he's a streetfighter."
ENDING NOTES;
Thank you for reading!! This has been my life for months and I'm beyond happy to be sharing it with you. I'm open to criticism and please point out any grammar mistakes I want to make the reader experience nice and easy :)
This is going to explore so many things with Estelle, her character development, finding herself her relationship with Harry, etc. If you're on AO3 make sure you've read the tags (which will be updated now and again).
Also, I think I tend to switch between past and present tense quite a bit so my apologies if anything is a bit funky.