Chapter 1
Estelle had spent days of the holidays flitting between excited and relaxed. When it came to the day they had conferred with their friends to meet in Diagon Alley for some back-to-school shopping, Estelle found herself in the familiar state of jumping around the house and shaking Nikolai’s shoulders whenever she saw him, and when they sat down for breakfast she realised that in an underlying line down her spine, she was calm again. They had made use of their summer perfectly, meeting with friends almost every week, playing board games with their parents every weekend and visiting their father’s family on the other days. In the rare hours, or even rarer days, the twins would be at their instruments, plucking and playing, or at their desks, thinking and scribbling, till their dad would come by their rooms and tell them dinner was ready. She took another bite of her toast and a smile wriggled its way onto her lips.
“What’re you grinning at?” Her brother prodded her shoulder from across the table.
“We get to see Hermione and Ron again,” she smiled a little wider.
“Shame about Harry, though,” Nikolai said, eyes turning to his marmalade-covered bread as a frown appeared on his face, “I hope he’s alright.”
“Yeah,” they hadn’t heard from Harry all summer, even their owls which wanted a reply went unanswered. He told them that this would happen, but they weren’t expecting absolutely no replies, “I’m sure he’s fine.” She suspected that she was lying to herself, but she didn’t want to think about the awful time Harry would be having with his evil aunt and uncle.
Their father walked through the open french windows, an empty bowl in his hand, their parents liked to eat their breakfast in the garden during summer, “Right, well, I’m off.” After heavy conversations, though the twins didn’t wholly disagree– more on principle– they had conceded to reading through textbooks of muggle lessons. Their parents called it a fall-back, if they didn’t fancy getting wizarding jobs when they got out of Hogwarts, then they would still have muggle qualifications. They would study for their GCSEs alongside their OWLs during fourth year and would, therefore, need the basic knowledge to be able to do so. They would take GCSEs that homeschooled kids take and then move on to studying for their A Levels with their NEWTS. Only when their father had made a list of their necessary textbooks did they realise quite how much work it would be. So, today, while they were in Diagon Alley, their father would get the train into London and search for the books. Lucky them.
Their mother followed him in, placing their bowls in the sink, “We’ll be back here at around six, darling.”
“I’ll see you here, then,” he kissed his wife then in turn hugged his children, “wieder, Geraten Sie nicht in-” (again, don’t get into-)
“Schwierigkeiten,” (trouble) the twins completed his joking warning.
“Wir wissen, Papa.” (we know, dad) Nikolai smiled at him as Henrik ruffled his hair.
“Say hi to Hermione and Ron for me.” He grabbed his bag and heavy, brown leather jacket that the twins often steal and wear around the house when he isn’t home, and walked out the door as they called out goodbyes. Just one more hour then they will also be going.
That hour seemed to go by in a blink when their mum brought out the exploding snap cards, and soon enough, they were walking around the cobbled, bustling streets of Diagon Alley, making their way to Flourish and Blotts, where they would meet with Hermione and Ron. They stood and waited, but only for a moment before Hermione came barrelling towards them, arms wide with a smile lighting up her face.
“Stella! Nik!” They hugged tightly, the twins mirroring her energy.
“Hey, Hermione.” Nikolai pulled back and patted her arm.
“How are you, Mione?” Estelle asked, doing the same.
“Quite well, actually. I’m really looking forward to the new term!”
“Us, too!”
They greeted each other’s parents and went back to talking between the three of them, waiting for Ron and the rest of the Weasley family to show up. Once again, they didn’t have to wait long, as soon a gaggle of red-heads walked towards them, faces a strange shade of worry.
“Hiya, Ron,” Estelle greeted, her voice tinged with the concern she felt, “what’s wrong?”
“It’s Harry.” He replied, borderline distraught.
“We know, he couldn’t make it-” Hermione began in understanding.
“No, we got him; me, Fred, and George rescued him from his house with the car,” he said as though it was the most normal thing ever, while the three who had some understanding of the driving laws were wondering how on Earth they had managed to not get stopped by the police, “but when he went through the floo, Percy says he said ‘diagonally’.”
“Oh no.” Nikolai mumbled. He would always chant ‘diagonally’ whenever Estelle went first in the floo network, but neither of them actually wanted either of them to go there. Before anyone else could respond, however, Molly Weasley, Ron’s mum, squealed.
“It’s Lockhart!”
They all looked through the windows into the shop behind them and saw a man with fixed blond hair and a celebrity smile, grinning as he surveyed the audience, laughing like he had too much money to count.
“Look,” Estelle turned back to the three, “how about we go inside, keep by the window, and if he doesn’t get here in ten minutes, we go out.” They all nodded and began to follow the Weasleys into the shop where a growing crowd was pushing each other to get a better look at Gilderoy Lockhart. The twins knew who he was, of course they did, there wasn’t a wizard around who hadn’t heard of him. He would perform these incredible feats of bravery, saving people, defeating wild beasts, and then would write a book about it. Overall, the twins thought he seemed like a pompous arsehole with a lucky streak, though they couldn’t deny that his performances were impressive. What they really didn’t understand, however, was why everyone seemed to have a crush on him– he looked like the epitome of false modesty and the twins could tell he was hiding something, even if they couldn’t figure out what it was.
“There he is!” Hermione cried, pointing out the window. Harry was wandering outside the shop, Hagrid by his side, and the four of them rushed out to hug him. They hadn’t seen him all summer and they were quite delighted to see him relatively unscathed. Except for the copious amounts of dust and ash covering him, likely from his floo powder mishap.
“Harry! Where did you get to?” Ron asked, astounded at his state.
“Knockturn Alley,” Harry said grimly, “Borgin and Burkes.”
“Wicked!” The twins exclaimed in unison.
They all noticed Hagrid muttering about Knockturn Alley before turning to leave. They all chorused a ‘bye Hagrid!’ to which he responded in kind.
“We’ve been once.” Nikolai recalled.
“Yeah, but mum dragged us away before we could get a proper look at anything.” Estelle hunched at the memory.
“Guess who I saw in there,” Harry began leaning in to be quieter, “Malfoy and his dad.” In shock, the others all looked around to make sure no one was listening in but were happy to find Arthur Weasley pulling Hermione’s parents to the nearest cafe while the rest of the Weasleys and Valentina were still inside the bookshop. Ginny waved through the window to which Estelle and Hermione waved back, before turning back around to Harry.
“Were they buying something?” Nikolai asked lowly, knowing what sort of cursed objects lay in that shop from rumours and whispers.
“No, he was selling.”
“Lucius Malfoy.” Ron stated, “He works at the Ministry, too. Dad really wants to get him done for something but mum says the Malfoys are trouble. Says he’d be ‘biting off more than he can chew’.”
“Well that’s not sinister.” Nikolai quipped.
“Wonder how much Draco knows,” Estelle wondered aloud, “about the sinister things.”
“I don’t know,” Hermione glanced back inside the shop, “but we should get back in there or Lockhart might be gone by the time we do.” The twins exchanged surprised looks.
“Not you too, Hermione!” Estelle exclaimed.
“What? He makes up basically the whole booklist! Come on!” She tugged on Estelle’s wrist who instinctively lashed out to catch onto Nikolai’s sleeve to catch her balance, which caused them both to stagger forward as Hermione pulled them both through the crowd, finding Molly Weasley and Valentina quite close to the front. They heard Ron and Harry laugh from behind them as they followed them, pushing past people to reach where they stood.
Estelle and Nikolai had tuned out the monologue that Lockhart was spewing as soon as he started talking about himself, which was instantly, instead, they turned to looking around the people, observing the books, and trying not to grimace at the countless photographs of Lockhart winking at them from the shop. Suddenly, Estelle felt a nudge in the ribs and turned to see her brother subtly gesturing his head skyward. Glancing up, she saw Malfoy leaning over the bannister. Gaining her attention, a flash snapped from the front of the room before a small gasp from the man himself.
“It can’t be,” Lockhart mumbled, “Harry Potter.”
The crowd turned and, while the twins felt bad as their friend was whisked to the front to stand next to Lockhart, they had to stifle their laughter at how out of place he looked with the ornate bookcases behind him. After taking a few loud and bright pictures, Lockhart announced to the audience that Harry would be leaving with his entire collection and the twins exchanged more amused glances. He was pushed back into the crowd, stunned, as Molly Weasley took the books from him to get them signed, though he didn’t seem to care and then the group turned to leave. As they walked towards the door through the crowd, while their mother stayed back to continue talking to Molly Weasley, Nikolai nudged Estelle’s ribs again and she looked to the stairs. Malfoy was walking down, slightly ahead of them, placing a nice-looking, blue book on a stack, folding a sheet of paper in his other hand.
“Three galleons says he's gonna mention someone’s blood status.” Estelle whispered to her brother.
“I’ll take that action, I bet he’ll say something about ol’ Pottah over here.” Nikolai responded, shaking her hand as the deal was made.
Malfoy sauntered down the last few steps right as Harry almost made it to the door.
“Bet you loved that, didn’t you, Potter?” He sneered as the whole group emerged. Nikolai balled his fist in an act of joy as he laughed mockingly and turned to Estelle who looked over-dramatically disappointed before laughing as well, “Famous Harry Potter can’t even go into a bookshop without making the front page.”
“What? Jealous?” In a weak moment of impulsivity, Nikolai blurted out.
Malfoy snapped his head in his direction, and through the glare he shot him, for a moment Nikolai thought he saw surprise, “And what are you laughing about, you filthy half-blood?”
Estelle laughed louder, holding her stomach, as Nikolai bit his lip as an obvious attempt to keep the chuckles down. “Your predictability!” Estelle croaked between laughter and trying to breathe. At this, Nikolai lost it again and clutched onto his sister who was also doubling over. Their laughter cut out abruptly when a cane latched over Malfoy’s shoulder and his face blanked, he glanced at it then was pushed aside as a silvery voice began.
“Now, now, Draco, play nicely,” a different brand of high class to Lockhart, he had long blond hair and a cashmere cloak, “Mr Potter. Lucius Malfoy. We meet at last.” He held out his hand to Harry who took it cautiously, but was then pulled in as Lucius Malfoy scrutinised his scar. “Forgive me. Your scar is legend, as, of course, is the wizard who gave it to you.”
“Voldemort killed my parents.” Harry jerked away. “He was nothing more than a murderer.”
Studying him, Mr Malfoy hummed, “You must be very brave to mention his name, or very foolish.”
Hermione stepped forward, narrowing her eyes at the man. “Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself.”
Mr Malfoy turned to her as though he was surprised she would dare approach him. “And you must be Miss Granger. I’ve heard about your parents, muggles, aren’t they? Let me see,” his cold gaze landed on Estelle and Nikolai, “twins wearing muggle clothes, the Wolfes, I presume? Tragic how you inherited your father’s genes.” Nikolai saw Estelle’s jaw clench as she prepared to step forward and let the man have it, but he pulled on her arm to stop her. Neither were quite sure of his intentions behind that statement; was he insulting their father’s blood status, or his race? In uncertainty, Estelle became increasingly angry at trying to figure out what type of racist this man was, but Nikolai’s arm on her kept her put. She shot him an exasperated look but stayed back, opting to glare at Lucius Malfoy instead. “Hmm, red hair, vacant expressions,” he picked up the book that Ginny was holding in her cauldron, “tatty, second-hand books. You must be the Weasleys.” Before any of them could stand up for themselves, the twins’ mother appeared from behind them.
“Children, it’s mad in here, let’s go-” she turned to see what was blocking the way and her face hardened. “Luci.”
Mr Malfoy grimaced with distaste. “Val. I see you’ve made quite a family for yourself.”
“Yes, I have, Lucius. I wonder if you notice how happy we are.” She spoke with a sharp precision and then Nikolai mumbled to Estelle.
“Was zum Teufel ist da los?” (What the hell is going on?) His mother barely picked up on the use of the language she knew they used when they didn’t want her to understand.
“Keine Ahnung.” (No idea) Estelle whispered back.
Lucius Malfoy sneered, dropping Ginny’s book back in her cauldron. “I’m sure you are. See you at the Ministry.” He walked out the door, his cane tapping across the ground. Draco then moved in front of them and sneered the same sneer his father just had. He glared at them all, settling momentarily on Nikolai.
“See you at school.” Then he left behind Lucius Malfoy.
All the children turned to Valentina, expecting something as a sort of explanation.
“Maman?” Estelle asked, but her mother just shook her head.
“Ne t'inquiète pas, chérie. Let’s go.” (Don’t worry, darling) And that was that.
Having finished their shopping and forgetting about the Flourish and Blotts incident, Estelle, Nikolai, Hermione, Harry, and Ron, ended up sitting at a table outside a cafe, ice creams in hand, and eagerly chatting about the school year ahead. But soon, they split ways, Hermione returning through the wall to the Leaky Cauldron, the Weasleys staying behind in Diagon Alley for the rest of the family to finish their shopping, and the Wolfes travelling through the floo network back home.
That night, the twins tossed in their beds, unable to sleep consistently with the excitement of the first day only being weeks away and the cold grey stare of Lucius Malfoy. It was safe to say that they didn’t much like him.
The Wolfe twins arrived at the train station twenty minutes early, their excitement plain as they prepared to return to Hogwarts. After the usual goodbyes with their parents, they boarded the train, eager to find their friends and relax into the surprisingly comfortable upholstery. As they made their way down the narrow corridor, they quickly located their compartment, the same one they would use each time they rode the train, where they found Hermione, Millicent, and Blaise already deep in conversation. Millicent and Blaise, with their new-found curiosity of the Muggle world, were peppering Hermione with questions about how various Muggle gadgets worked, while Hermione, in turn, was asking about different aspects of wizarding culture. The trio greeted the twins warmly as they entered, their voices a pleasant mix of enthusiasm and familiarity. Millicent had claimed the window seat, with Blaise beside her, and Nikolai slid into the spot next to Blaise. On the opposite side of the compartment, Hermione was sitting near the window, but she quickly scooted closer to the door, making room for Estelle, who preferred the window seat. Estelle smiled appreciatively as she settled in, Nikolai chuckling under his breath, the view of the bustling platform outside always bringing her a sense of calm.
After about ten minutes of animated chatter, Estelle glanced around the compartment and asked, “Where are Harry and Ron?”
Hermione looked out the window, scanning the platform. “Well, there’s Mrs. Weasley,” she said, pointing to the familiar figure, surrounded by her large family. Estelle leaned over to look as well, smiling as she spotted the Weasleys and giving them a wave, which they enthusiastically returned. But her smile faded and hand stilled as she noticed that neither Harry nor Ron was with them.
“I don’t see Ron or Harry,” Estelle said, her voice tinged with concern.
“They’re probably just running a bit late. I’m sure they’re coming,” Nikolai reassured her, sensing her worry. His words offered some comfort, but Estelle’s unease lingered, growing as the train began to move. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Millicent tried to ease her mind, suggesting that maybe Ron and Harry were simply in a different compartment, but Estelle remained unconvinced. The anxiety weighed heavily on her, and for most of the journey, she sat unusually quiet, her eyes glued to the window, scanning the passing countryside as if hoping to spot her missing friends waving from the hills.
As they neared the end of their journey, the landscape still blurring past, something caught Estelle’s eye. At first, she thought she was imagining it– a flash of something blue out of the corner of her vision. But as she focused, her eyes widened in disbelief. Flying just outside the train was a blue Ford Anglia, and inside, she could clearly see a panicked Ron and Harry, yelling something that was drowned out by the roar of the wind and the train.
“Did you see that?!” Estelle exclaimed, her voice snapping everyone’s attention to her.
“What?” Nikolai asked, startled by the urgency in her tone.
“Ron and Harry! In a flying car!” Estelle said, her words tumbling out in a rush.
Nikolai, ever the sceptic, raised an eyebrow, teasing, “Lea, are you sure you’re not seeing things? We’ll get you your meds soon.”
“I’m being serious, Hugo,” Estelle insisted, the rare intensity in her voice making Nikolai pause. It wasn’t often that his sister was so adamant about something without a joke.
“You’re serious,” he muttered in realisation, turning to look out the window just as the car reappeared, hovering dangerously close to the train. This time, he could clearly see Ron and Harry, their faces a mix of panic and desperation as they tried to communicate with the group inside the train.
“Heilige Scheiße!” (holy shit) Nikolai swore under his breath, his disbelief turning into wide-eyed shock as he and the others pressed against the window, trying to make sense of what they were seeing. They all strained to hear what Ron and Harry were shouting, but the words were lost in the chaos. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the car pulled away, and the train plunged into a dark tunnel, cutting off their view. When the train emerged into the light again, the car was gone. The compartment fell into a stunned silence as they pulled into the station, each of them replaying the bizarre encounter in their minds, trying to wrap their heads around what they had just witnessed.
Still reeling from the events on the train, the five students made their way to the carriages that would take them to Hogwarts. Estelle, an avid reader, had recently devoured a book that went in detail about Thestrals and was eager to share her newfound knowledge with her brother. As they approached the carriages, she excitedly whispered to him about the misunderstood creatures, explaining how they could only be seen by those who had witnessed death. Nikolai listened intently, intrigued but also still shaken from seeing their friends flying alongside the train in a flying car. The group finally arrived at the castle and entered the Great Hall, where the Sorting Ceremony was about to begin. Estelle promised Nikolai she’d fill him in on everything once she got a chance to talk to Harry and Ron, since they couldn’t spot them at the table. They parted ways to join their respective house tables, but Estelle’s mind was still preoccupied, her eyes frequently darting to the empty seats at the teachers’ table, where she noticed a few notable absences. The usual excitement of the Sorting was dampened by her worry, and she found herself barely paying attention, not even noticing Nikolai’s attempts to meet her worried eyes– until she heard a familiar name.
“Weasley, Ginevra!” called out Professor McGonagall.
Estelle’s gaze snapped to the front as a nervous-looking Ginny Weasley walked up to the stool and had the Sorting Hat placed on her head. Estelle held her breath, fingers crossed under the table, but it only took a few seconds before the hat called out, “GRYFFINDOR!”
The Gryffindor table erupted into cheers, with Estelle, Hermione, Fred, George, and Percy clapping the loudest. Estelle’s heart swelled with pride and excitement as Ginny ran over to the table, her face beaming with joy. Ginny quickly found the seat next to Estelle and Hermione, directly across from Fred and George, who were already teasing her about joining the best house.
After the feast, the Gryffindors made their way up to their dormitories, and as they climbed the stairs, Estelle’s mind was racing with questions. Where were Harry and Ron? What had happened to them? When they finally reached the Gryffindor common room, they spotted the two boys sitting by the fireplace, looking both exhausted and relieved. Ginny was the first to move. With a squeal of excitement, she ran to her brother, nearly tackling him with a hug. “Ron! I got into Gryffindor!” she exclaimed, her grin wide and infectious. Ron, despite his weary appearance, managed a proud smile for his little sister. Estelle and Hermione wasted no time and rushed over to Harry and Ron, their faces a mix of relief and urgency.
“What in God’s name happened?!” Estelle demanded, her voice laced with both concern and exasperation.
Harry and Ron exchanged a look before launching into a breathless explanation.
“We were on time to the station,” Harry began, his words tumbling over each other in his haste to explain.
“But the wall was solid,” Ron continued, his expression still one of disbelief. “We ran right into it.”
“Yeah, and we had to get to Hogwarts somehow,” Harry added, his voice tinged with frustration.
“So we took Dad’s car– the one we used to break Harry out,” Ron explained, his tone growing more defeated as he recounted the day’s events.
“We tried to follow the train, but we ended up landing in a tree.” Harry recalled desperately.
“A tree that punched back!” Ron interjected, still wide-eyed from the encounter. “My dad is going to be so mad at me.”
Harry looked down, his shoulders slumping in resignation. “Yeah, we’re in quite a lot of trouble,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.
Estelle’s initial shock began to fade as the full absurdity of their story sank in. She couldn’t help it– a small, incredulous laugh escaped her. “You two are unbelievable,” she said, shaking her head in both disbelief and honest admiration.
Hermione, though still clearly worried, also couldn’t suppress a smile. “You’re both lucky you weren’t expelled on the spot,” she said, but there was a warmth in her voice that took the sting out of her words.