Estelle and Severus were meeting more often, mostly during the evenings. It was becoming their routine to meet at Severus' quarters and enjoy some tea together and talk, especially more so after the Christmas ball. It was now the middle of January. Over the last few times, they talked about many different things. Severus's parents and how his father was a horrible man and how he pitied his mother, about his time as a spy and his part in the war, his childhood, his childhood friend Lily. Though, they didn't talk much about his past actions in great detail and she was fine with that. They also talked about Estelle's time at Ilvermorny, her research of the planets and stars with Elio over the last several years, her non existing romance which made her blush, and then her mother and father again, who were No-Maj's.
Through these talks, the two got closer together. Winter holidays were now over and it had been a couple of weeks since lessons had began again. It was also the longest Elio and Estelle hadn't talked before. She wasn't totally upset though because he seemed to be doing just fine without her, since he was always with Neville Longbottom. She was also with Severus all the time but he didn't particularly know that and it was best he didn't.
Still, her heart hurt a bit when she realized that they were spending less time together and changing without one another. She had spent practically her whole life with him, everyday. So not talking and not seeing him for days is new and strange. She felt like she was missing a piece of herself and half of her was upset and empty but the other half was okay with it, almost excited to see what her life would be like without him there 24/7.
Now that she wasn't with him everyday though, she spent most of her time with Severus. Which was starting to annoy him since she kept appearing and hanging out, mostly doing nothing. "Must you keep coming everyday?" or "Don't you have any other friends?" he would repeatedly ask whenever she showed up but still would smile and relax in her company. She would sit and say nothing while Severus worked, graded papers and simply read and drank tea. Since she only taught every second day, she had plenty of free time which Severus realized due to the fact she spent that free time with him.
It was beginning to be too much so one day, now being well into February, while he was working on his next lesson notes, and she was just sitting at one of the desk and sighing, he shot up and raised his voice, "Estelle! Please just go speak to your brother before we both die of annoyance." He pinched the bridge of his nose, tired. She had been sighing all day, not really talking.
Estelle frowned, surprised at the sudden raising of voices, "Why should I speak with him? He's the one who started it." She said childishly, blushing at how pathetic she sounded. She even had crossed her arms, looking ridiculous as well to make the whole situation better.
Severus rolled his eyes, scoffing, "You're acting like a child. Who knew such a brilliant witch as you could behave in such a manner and is afraid to talk with her own brother." He stared at her with a challenge in his voice, waiting for what she would do next.
Estelle was speechless and a bit hurt at the truth. She stood up to quickly though, the chair she was sitting on making a loud screeching noise against the ground. "I'm not scared." She lamely said, huffing in anger. She was acting even more like a child but she didn't care right now, she was just mad. And if that meant behaving like a child, so be it. She didn't care.
"Oh, is that right?" He challenged again, though he had humour in his eyes, as if he was having fun insulting her. "Because to me, you're scared and doing nothing about it. Coming here everyday, sighing and waiting for something to happen. If you want something to happen so badly, go and do it." he finished, staring at her with hard but determined eyes. He was sitting at his desk in a relaxed manner, as if this was a normal conversation rather than a heated argument.
Estelle clenched her jaw, her face feeling flushed and she stormed out of his office. She was not afraid to talk with her brother! Why should she be? He was the one who should be going to find her and talking to her, and apologising. Though, by this point she honestly didn't remember the main argument other than that he thought that Severus was not good company to be around and that she should stay away from him. Guess she remembered...
Estelle at first pointlessly stormed around the corridors, trying to calm down. She wasn't mad at Severus, well a bit, she was more mad at herself now. Severus had helped her, even if it was not the best way, and made her realize that this pointless fight with her brother must be fixed now or else she'd go insane.
So she went to find him. It took awhile since she found out that he wasn't in their office or his room or in the library or astronomy tower. Where was he? Then after what seemed obvious, she went to the herbology greenhouse. Elio had been spending a lot of time with Neville these past few months so it made sense he was there now.
She knew he would be there since it was a lesson before lunch and Neville usually had this period as a free one so Elio would most likely go there to hang out with him. When she finally reached the greenhouse she had been right. Of course Elio was here right now with Neville, the two had grown close and became friends over the several months they had been here. Estelle was happy for Elio that he was able to make friends thag wasnt her although the fact he spent all his time with him now rather than her made her feel a little hurt. She shook her head at herself though, sensing that was how he felt about her and Severus, although a bit more extreme.
Estelle knocked gently on the doorframe and walked in, the two looking startled to find her walking in of all people. She swiftly made her way over to them not saying a word, just watching their reactions. Neville's round face heated up and he began fumbling with his wand in a nervoud way. His eyes darted from Elio to Estelle's cautiously, unsure what to say during this moment. Elio on the other hand was not even looking at Estelle anymore and was smiling warmly at Neville as if no one had interrupted them. He was indifferent, his legs crossed and his back relaxed. although Estelle was his twin sister and knew him better than anyone else and could tell he was tense, his nose was scrucnhed up a bit and he had a forced relaxed smile. This was not fooling Estelle.
"Good a-afternoon, Estelle." Neville squeaked out finally after Estelle managed to stop and stand infront of the two. His wand fell out of his grasp and dropped onto his desk full of parchment with many different things on them and a few tiny plants.
"Afternoon, Neville. Elio." Estelle sweetly said, now crossing her arms. The air in the room grew more tense and awkward and Neville didn't know what else to say or do. He stared at Elio with pleading eyes, trying to signal that he wanted this moment to end and be resolved quickly.
Elio was being stubborn and simply ignored his sisters presence all together and he didnt care if he was acting like a child. He flicked his wand effortlessly and a pot of tea appeared alongside a cup. He poured himself some, took a sip and sighed happily. "I love drinking tea now, ever since we moved here I cannot get enough of it."
Estelle's jaw was clenched and she was growing more annoyed. She almost forgot the reason she was here and was about to storm out of the room but no, she had to fix this or else it would be worse in the future and she didn't want to lose her only fmaily. Not over soemthing like this.
"Elio, we need to talk." She spoke carefully, trying not to lose her temper.
"Nev, dear, did you hear anything?" Elio spoke, taking another sip of his tea while crossing his legs. Neville stared wide eyed at Elio in fear and amazement at how he was acting.
Estelle couldn't take this anymore and whipped out her wand and made a motion in the air, the next second Elio was facing her in his chair and the movement was so fast his tea fell out of his grip. Neville reacted quickly and saved it the last second with his own wand and magic.
Elio glared at Estelle, finally looking at her since she walked in a few minutes ago, "That was rude." He frowned, shaking his head. His black hair josteled a bit and a tiny bit fell in front of his eyes but he brushed it back, now gelling it back nowadays rather than keeping it in his usual mess on top of his head.
"That was rude? Says the person who was just acting like a child and not ackowledging that I was here." She rolled her eyes, her fists clenched in frustration and annoyance. She was trying to keep calm but Elio knew how to get on her nerves and push her buttons, as the No-Maj's say.
Elio shrugged his shoulders, trying to face back to Neville, who at this point was feeling incredibly awwkard that he was still here in the middle of this. Estelle hled her wand in her hand firmly and wouldnt allow him to move. Elio finally stared right at her eyes that matched his own, a bright blue that was glowing with annoyance and frustration.
"Let go." He sternly said, his eyebrows furrowing and his mouth twitching. He would not explode here he thought determindly.
"No." Estelle said back, not giving up as well. The two had an intense staring contest until finally Elio sighed and rolled his eyes, his head falling back in his chair.
"Fine, what, Estelle, what do you want to talk about?" He grumbled, fed up, throwing his hands up in the air.
Estelle internally smiled that she won, knwoing he was never patient enough to be stubborn for long. "You know what, Elio." She said, giving him a knowing look which he tried to ignore but failed. His face hardened and his eyes seemed to darken, and he monotonely spoke outloud, "I don't have anything further to say."
Estelle rolled her eyes and alughed outloud at his remark, "Nothing further to say? Elio, that must be the biggest lie you've ever told. You're dying to say everything that's on your mind right now but you're just too big of a baby dragon to say it." She challenged, trying to make him speak. While the two siblings were argunig, Neville was sitting at his desk, fumbling aimlessly with the papers on his desk and he tried to ignore the two but it was proving difficult as the two were standing right in front of him. Oh how he wished he was able to Apparate in Hogwarts right now...
This provoked him and his hardened face changed into a scrambled mess of hurt, annoyance and rage. "Fine, Estelle, you're right. I am dying to tell you what I'm thinking but I don't think your fragile heart can take it!" His fists were clenched so hard his knuckles were white.
"I'm fairly certain I can handle it Elio, I just don't think you can!" Estelle quipped back, finally getting something now from Elio.
He stood up, pointing a finger at her chest, his face contorted into an angry and hurt face, "You don't know anything Estelle that is why I am so angry and concerned for you! Do you have any idea who you are spending your time with everyday? Do you?" He jabbed his finger in the air at her, still blurting out things on his mind, "I was ignoring it because I was upset but now I need you to understand before this goes any further." He stated, trying to calm himself down, not wanting this to become anymore heated than it already was.
Estelle though was growing more and more upset, frustrated. "Do you even understand anything yourself Elio? Why are you so obsessed by the fact that I spend so much time with Severus, he has done nothing to you, nothing at all." Estelle shook her head at the fact that her brother was acting like this over something so insignificant.
Her remark just made Elio more angry, his nose crunching up and his eyebrows furrowing together, "He has done many things Estelle, many horrible and evil things. So what if he hasn't done them to me, he has done them to so many other people including people I love." He flinched, apparently saying something he did not mean to say. His anger dialled down, though he was still upset, but now he looked guilty of letting slip a secret he had been keeping from his twin sister for awhile.
Estelle paused, unsure why her brother suddenly lost his steam. Although it dawned on her as she glanced at a red faced Neville Longbottom and a hesitant Elio. It clicked then. Elio was so upset with Estelle and Severus because the way he had treated Neville when he was a student. Over the course of the last several months, Severus had told her reluctantly his behaviour towards students when he taught here as well as a few stories while he was a spy, although not in great detail. Things were starting to finally make sense, though it still didn't change anything.
"So that's it then, you can't forgive him because of Neville?" Estelle said outlaid before she could stop. She did not mean for that to come out like that and she immediately regretted it when Neville's round face dropped a bit and Elio's picked up in more anger.
"Do you not hear yourself Estelle? How could anyone ever like such a cruel and despicable man? His behaviour to his students is not tolerated even if the world seems to regard him as some kind of hero now for his small actions in the Battle." Elio was seething, in a defensive and protective stance in front of Neville as if he was keeping away Estelle's remarks away from him.
Estelle remained silent, unsure what to say. She peeked to Neville with regretful eyes, "I'm sorry Neville, I did not mean to hurt your feelings." She quietly and tentatively said.
He flushed and shook his head, "It's alright, Estelle." He whispered, his eyes darting to Elio now and then to see what would happen next.
The room was silent and the three figures in the room didn't know what else to say. Neville desparetly wished he could be anywhere but here, Elio still had plenty he wanted to say and Estelle wanted to collect her thoughts and try again. Before they could speak though, the bell signalling lunch rung and the tension broke, a tiny fraction.
Estelle was the first to speak, "We'll talk again later since this isn't finished. I should go now though. Have a good day." She sounded formal and awkward but she just wanted to get out of this tiny office and get some fresh air. She swiftly turned around without hearing their replies and practically ran out of Neville's office. She kept running, even while students yelled and jumped out of her way on their way to the Great Hall for lunch. She didn't know where she was headed until she reached her destination. She had ran to astronomy tower. She inhaled and started walking quickly up the stairs, desperate for fresh air. After several minutes she reached the top and strolled to the ledge and took a huge gulp of air.
She did this a few times and finally calmed down. She sighed, not really sure what happened or if anything even changed. Well she knew more about how Elio felt that was obvious although now this just meant the future was still going to be rocky between her, Elio and Severus and she wasn't sure if that was good for her health.
She sighed again, thinking over the past hour with her brother. She realized they didn't really say much rather just annoyed each other further, and she dreaded the next time they would have their next discussion since she knew it was inevitable and they had to work it out. She had too. She couldn't lose her only family member and she couldn't lose Severus. Both were very important to her and she wouldn't or couldn't lose them. Not like her mother, where she couldn't do anything. This time she would try anything to keep them in her lives and make them see things clearly.
As she was in her own little world and having deep thoughts, suddenly she heard footsteps coming up the spiral stone stairs. She assumed it was Elio and she rolled her eyes, "I said we would finish later, I can't think right now." She clenched her jaw in irritation and turned around but was surprised to not find her brother there but instead Severus.
He swiftly came over, his black robes flowing in the wind as he briskly walked over, his face smoothed over in slight irritation but amusement. "Can't think? That's clear since someone, a professor of this establishment, forgot about lunch. A common activity people go to at a certain time to do what we call eat." His tone was dripping in sarcasm and he had a faint smile on his lips. He made it over to where Estelle was standing, though his body was tense and he would not look over the ledge at all, instead his body was positioned away. He kept his face blank, years of experience, but after staring at him since she arrived here she knew he was putting on a mask. His onyx eyes showed what he truly felt. At first she was confused why such a place would make him so uncomfortable but then she remembered vaguely a newspaper she read about him before her time here and realized this was the place where the great Albus Dumbledore was killed. By Severus himself. It must be incredibly difficult to be here again.
She tried to laugh at his sarcastic tone but instead it came out as a weak attempt and she grimaced at herself. She reached out and gripped his arm, staring directly at his cool eyes. "You don't have to be up here you know, we can go to your office." She quietly said, realizing how difficult it must be for him. He rolled his eyes, though there was still a trace of something behind them, "I am not such a child that being here would be hard." He scoffed.
There was a long silence and Estelle was unsure what to say. He stared back, watching her and studying her face. The moment was was short but in Estelle's mind it felt like eternity and did not want it to stop, finding herself being lost in his black and endless eyes. He shook his head, his hair that was behind his face falling away and making a curtain around his pale face. "You must be hungry after all that not thinking." he smirked. He stalked away from her so fast, Estelle had to run to catch up with him.
She found herself smiling, "Starving." She replied, walking alongside him down the stairs. She watched him the whole way down, her heart beating faster and it wasn't because of how fast they were walking. No it was because of him. He turned back when he felt her staring at him and gave her a questioning look, "What is it?" He asked, his eyebrows raised in question and a bit of irritation.
Estelle smiled, "Nothing." She giggled and kept walking alongside him towards the Great Hall, feeling a bit better than earlier.