-Stella Hart-
Somewhere along the way home my eyes fluttered close and when they opened again, I was snuggled up in my bed on christmas morning, the shrilling sound of my mother's voice waking me as she rapped on the door.
I had no idea how I got here but I bet my life that my oh-so-affectionate parents didn't carry me here. It was probably one of the cute house elves (my only friends growing up in this horror show of a house).
"Estelle Rosalie Hart, Get up! We don't have time for you to lay around all day. Christmas festivities are about to begin." My Mother yelled through the door.
I groaned and pressed my face into the black silky sheets as I listened to the sound of my mothers footsteps walking away and down the stairs. I knew that I had to get up because if I didn't she would come back with twice the heat and I couldn't deal with that right now.
Not when I was so hopelessly happy.
Last night was a storm of emotion, wild and beautiful and unexpected. It completely took my breath away. It all started when I picked that fabric, that whimsical fabric that Sirius liked. I wasn't entirely sure why I picked it since Lily and I were set on a baby pink fabric that made my skin look all golden and lovely but I guess there was just something about the way my heart raced when he gave it to me that made me want to wear it.
And then there was my grand entrance, I was a couple of minutes late, I had a thing for dramatic flare. I told Lily that it was all for Mathieu but there was asecret part of me that hoped Sirius would be there at the bottem of the grand stairs.
And he was.
He was looking at me, really looking at me. In a way that made my heart swell. In that moment I felt something, I don't know, shift. But then I was wisked away by Mathieu and the ceremony and the lights and the party, all of it almost making me forget all about that moment on the stairs.
Almost.
I then I got unceremoniously dumped and all of a sudden I had no one. No Mathieu, who was off with some slut of the day. No Sirius, who was off with with that totally unfair sexy Beauxbatons girl. Lily was off with James (about time).
And I was on a balconey, alone, crying. What a night.
But then my balconey became the home of two broken hearts. It seems that totally unfair sexy Beauxbatons girl was a tricky bitch. Who would've called that? (everyone). But maybe I should send her and Mathieu a Hart christmas card because it brought us together on that fated but freezing cold balconey. It was the start of the most amazing waltz of my life.
The words that he said to me that night seemed to etch onto my heart and dancing with him made me feel infinite. That night, that moment, changed everything.
My heart, shifted.
"Miss?"
Deep in thought, I didn't notice my door open slightly and the little figure that tip toed in.
"Dipy." I sighed, a smile crossing over my face. I let my eyes flutter open.
Standing infornt of me was one of the many house elves that scurried around Hart Manor. My favorite House Elf. His smile melted turning completetly apologetic as he clasped his hands behind his back.
"I'm so sorry, Miss Stella but your mother is requesting you down in the living room." He said.
"I know, I know, I'm coming." I grumbled, but not even my mother could pull me out of this glowy mood.
Dipy's eyes were wide with wonder as I sat up in bed, raking a hand through my tosseled curls. I laughed at his expression.
"What." I asked playfully and Dipy smiled.
"I'm just suprised. Ususally you kick up much more of a fuss when it comes to your mother ordering you around." He explained in his tinkly little voice.
"Dipy, do you remember those rom com films I used to watch on repeat back in my hopeless romantic phase?" I asked him swinging my legs around and sliding my feet into my slippers.
Dipy nodded, eyes wide.
"Do you remember those happy glowy people that I envied so much?" I continued and he nodded again. I crossed the room to my wardrobe and slipped into my pearly white robe. I turned to him with a silly smile.
"Today, I am one of those happy glowy people and not even my mother can screw it up." I finished and Dipy giggled.
I skipped out of the room and down the stairs, Dipy hot on my heals. I flew into the living room, one of them anyway, and grinned.
"Merry Christmas!" I sang.
My father gave me a wan smile and my mother barely glanced in my direction.
"You're late." She deadpanned and I felt the grin fall from my face.
Do you remember thirty seconds ago when I said there was nothing my mother could do to screw up my happy glowy mood? I was trying very hard to remember.
"But I'm here now!"I tried, plopping down into my usual armchair beside the christmas tree.
Dipy lingered by the doorway, giving me an encouraging smile.
"Away, Elf." My mother barked and Dipy let out a squeak, disappearing in a flash. Anger made my cheeks flush.
"His name is Dipy." I blurt out and my mother finally fixed her gaze on me.
"Mind your tone, Estelle." She said sharply. The hot anger turned to a chilling cold, the kind of cold that only my mother could settle over me.
"I just-" I began but she cut me off.
"Open your presents." She stated and I clenched my jaw.
I picked up the nearest gift, it was wrapped perfectly in shiny black wrapping paper. My brow creased, Dipy probably stayed up late last night wrapping all of the presents under this tree. Guilt panged in my chest.
The wrapping revealed a tailored green coat. I had wanted one ever since my mother got one except where hers was an ebony black, mine was a deep green, the colour of Slytherin. It was a label, I was being branded. It seems because I didn't act like a Slytherin they were going to make me look like one. I hated it.
I gave her a dazzling smile.
"I love it."
~~~
I slammed my bedroom door closed behind me and slumped against it, letting out a sigh, trying to find my happy glowy place. Thats when I noticed the the new addition to my black comforter.
I walked tentatively over to my bed to get a better look.
My mother had picked out something for me to wear to christmas dinner. Laid out on my bed was a snow white dress with little pearl buttons up the middle with a slight v neck and loose floaty short sleaves. The skirt would drop from just above my waist and end at my knees. It was a perfectly respectable dress that screamed my mother.
I yanked off my robe angrily and kicked off my slippers so hard that they flew across the room. I was still in my corset slip from the ball, Dippy probably took me up to my room last night and would've been too shy to completely change me into my pyjamas, and I left it on. I didn't want to let go of the ball just yet.
I grabbed the dress off my bed and discovered that it was actually made of a beautiful lace with a satin backing. That just made me angrier. I tore the buttons open and shoved the dress on and over my head. It fit perfectly, of course it did. I left the last button undone, my tiny streak of rebellion.
I sat down at my dresser, slamming my hands down and breathing hard, looking at myself in the mirror.
Happy and glowy. Happy and glowy. Happy and glowy.
Because I had a little bit of rebellion left in me that needed to be stifled before dinner I grabbed a gorgeous bright red lipstick and painted my lips. Once I was finished I looked at my reflection and smiled, all the anger out of my system.
I spoke too soon.
My door opened and my eyes darted to it in the reflection, my smile broadaning, thinking it was Dipy. It was not Dipy. My mother waltzed into the room, catching sight of me she crossed over and stood behind me, her hands coming down on my shoulders firmly.
I looked at her in the mirror. Throughout my life people would tell me how much I resembled my mother and I guess I could see it too. We had the same golden hair, the same blue green eyes, we were both petite with small waists and long legs an we both had the same olive skin. But through all this sameness there were differences that dipy whispered to me at night so that I could fall asleep.
Where her golden hair was pin straight, mine was tossled and full. Where her blue green eyes were cold and sharp, mine were warm and deep. It was these differences that got me through the night.
"That dress is beautiful." She said simply and I smiled wanly.
"Thank you." I said softly.
"That lipstick is..." She trailed off, a slight frown appearing on her face.
"Brave." She said carefully.
"But it's not you." And with that she plucked a makeup wipe from a box and swiped it across my face, roughly, taking the lipstick with her. She rubbed until any remanant of the red was gone.
"That's better." She smiled condesendingly and turned to go.
"Come down soon, Estelle. Guests will be arriving in an hour." She called over her shoulder.
I stared down at my hands, my lips raw from her wiping them.
"And Estelle?" She called and I looked back at her.
Her eyes were sharp and cold,
"Behave."
Happy and glowy. Happy and glowy. Happy and glowy.
Those were the words I chanted to myself throughout the night, just to get me through.
When she pulled me close and at first I thought she was going to hug me but instead she buttoned up the top button of my dress, eyes cold and calculating, I let my mind wander back to the look in Sirius' eyes when I came down the stairs in my dress.
When she took away my champayne glass, replacing it with sparkling grape juice, I downed it and thought of Sirius lauging at James around the punch bowl whilst lily whispered "You're staring" into my ear.
When she assured my cousins that I would be a Slytherin prefect next year, I gripped my fork tight and pictured Sirius' grin when he told me to tell the world 'fuck that'.
When she smacked Dipy for tripping and knocking a christmas decoration off the tree I held my breath and remembered how right it felt to be in Sirius' gentle arms just before the clock struck midnight.
When my mother demanded I kiss her cheek before going to be at then end of the night I closed my eyes and let myself think of the vulnerabilty written all over Sirius' face when I brushed a kiss onto his cheek and wished him a merry christmas.
I guess you could say my body was at that christmas party but my mind was elsewhere.
After checking that Dipy was okay I scaled the stairs quickly, despite the ache in my feet due to wearing heals the whole night. I just wanted to bed, I was so exhausted of my fucked up family.
I tore the dress off getting into my short blue silky pyjamas that Lily gave me for my birthday. I loosened my hair out of its constricting bun and let it tumble down back. I kicked off my heals and was just about to get into bed when I saw it.
A pitch black owl with startling black eyes sat on my window sill. I let out a squeak and tore over to the window flinging it open and almost taking out the bird in the process. My heart was going a million miles an hour.
Stella Hart was scrawled in god awful handwriting and my heart lept. There's only one person I know with writing that terrible. I opened the envelope with utter care, trying to savour it. I got impatient with myself and grabbed the letter quickly from the envelope. I opened it and in contrast with the handwriting on the outside, this one perfect word in the middle of a blank page was written beautifully.
Anything.
I let out a laugh, my cheeks tinging pink. The bird was waiting for an answer so I flew over to my mahogany desk and grabbed a thick piece of parchment, I quickly dipped a quill into black ink. I wrote a single word in the middle of the page in lovely cursive.
Tosser.
I smiled to myself and stuffed the parchment into an envelope and carefully held it out the owl who took it gently from my hand and flew off into the night.
I threw myself onto the bed grinning like an idiot and slipped under the dark covers. I fell asleep with that stupid word stuck in my head, swimming in my dreams, sticking to the inside of my eyelids, burrowing into my heart.
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AUTHORS NOTE
I'm so great that there's another double update for you guys this week! And the next chapter is my favorite I've written so far and the longest I'v written so far.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter as you got to see a little bit into Stella's home life and what makes her who she is. I love character development!
Don't forget to vote and comment because it means the world to me!!!
*loves*
-J xx