Chapter 4 - The Heir of Slytherin
The next day, the Slytherins and Gryffindors were seated in Transfiguration class, still murmuring about the previous night’s events, even while having had the whole day to discuss, when their conversations came to an abrupt halt as Professor McGonagall’s voice cut through the noise.
“Could I have your attention, please? Right. Today, we will be transforming animals into water goblets, like so.” She walked up to a bird perched at the front of the room and tapped it three times before performing the spell. “One, two, three. Vera Verto.” The bird smoothly transformed into a perfect water goblet, eliciting impressed murmurs and “whoa’s” from the class. Then followed the arduous note-taking, though it wasn’t as long as usual, since the homework was to prepare.
“Now it’s your turn,” Professor McGonagall announced, scanning the room. “Who would like to go first? Ah, Mr. Weasley. One, two, three. Vera Verto.” she encouraged, picking on Ron.
Ron nodded nervously and attempted the spell with his Spell-o-taped wand. “Ahem.” He tapped his wand three times. “Vera Verto.”
Scabbers, who was his unfortunate target, did transform– though only partially– a goblet, furry and with a wriggling tail, prompting giggles from the class.
Professor McGonagall, unfazed, commented, “That wand needs replacing, Mr. Weasley.”
Hermione, who had been tapping her foot anxiously next to Estelle throughout the class, suddenly raised her hand. “Yes, Miss Granger?” McGonagall called on her.
“Professor, I was wondering if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets.”
The entire class, including Professor McGonagall, fell silent. Estelle couldn’t shake the feeling that this was like the moment in a movie where a plot twist is revealed, complete with a dramatic sound and zoomed-in reactions. If only to one-up the Mandrakes.
McGonagall hesitated before speaking. “Very well. You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. Now, three of the founders coexisted quite harmoniously. One did not.”
Ron leaned over to whisper to Harry, “Three guesses who.”
Estelle couldn’t help but feel a slight irritation at Ron’s comment. Though she knew who he meant, it bothered her when his old prejudices against Slytherins surfaced; she didn’t protest this time, however, since he was right.
McGonagall continued, “Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. In other words, pure-bloods.” Nikolai, sitting quietly, felt a pang of shame– as a half-blood in Slytherin, hearing this made him feel uneasy for the first time. The realisation that the house’s founder wouldn’t have even allowed him into Hogwarts was a hard pill to swallow. Professor McGonagall’s voice drew them back in. “Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school. Now, according to legend, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in this castle, known as the Chamber of Secrets. Shortly before departing, he sealed it, until such time as his own true heir returned to the school. The heir alone would be able to open the chamber and unleash the horror within, and by so doing, purge the school of all those who, in Slytherin’s view, were unworthy to study magic.”
“Muggle-borns,” Hermione said quietly.
Estelle, feeling a sudden wave of protectiveness, grabbed Hermione’s hand and glanced over at her brother. “And half-bloods,” Estelle added. If this legend was true, it meant that whatever had been unleashed would target Hermione, and possibly the twins too.
McGonagall nodded and attempted to ease the growing tension in the room. “Well, naturally, the school has been searched many times. No such chamber has been found.”
But Hermione wasn’t satisfied. “Professor?” she spoke up again, “What exactly does the legend say lies within the chamber?”
McGonagall looked around the room before answering honestly, “The chamber is said to be home to something that only the Heir of Slytherin can control. It is said to be the home of a monster.” Some students gasped and Ron quickly turned to see Malfoy smirking. Before anything could be said between them, McGonagall quickly moved back to the lesson and they spent the rest of the hour in the shadow of the knowledge that there may be a monster in the depths of Hogwarts, only to be released by someone with ill intentions. If the events of last year hadn’t happened, then Estelle would be hard-pressed to believe it, but unfortunately, a monster in the basement sounded exactly like something Hogwarts would have.
They left the Transfiguration room in a flash, needing to discuss the given information between the five of them. Nikolai said goodbye to Blaise before walking in the space Ron had left for him between him and Harry.
“So that was crazy.” He said, beginning the conversation.
“Do you think it’s true?” Ron asked as they walked around the corner. “Do you really think there’s a Chamber of Secrets?”
“McGonagall was worried, of course it’s true.” Estelle related, looking out the window.
“All the teachers are, couldn’t you tell?” Hermione stated, breathing heavily. They had been walking quite fast, mainly to get away from the prying eyes and ears of the Slytherin students from the Transfiguration classroom. Estelle noticed her almost panting and slowed her footsteps, at the same time as Nikolai, who noticed as well. Ron and Harry, without questioning them, fall into the same rhythm.
“But if there really is a Chamber of Secrets and it really has been opened, then that means…” Harry began, his thoughts blazing through his mouth.
“The heir of Slytherin has returned to Hogwarts.” Hermione completed the sentence.
“The question is, who is it?” Nikolai said grimly before throwing a glance over his shoulder. He wasn’t sure why he did it, but he was met with the eyes of Draco Malfoy who smirked and walked past them, between Ron and Nikolai. He didn’t shove them out of the way, but ignored them instead.
“Let’s think.” Ron started sarcastically, “Who do we know who thinks all Muggle-borns are scum?”
“If you’re talking about Malfoy-” Nikolai tried, unsure if he was about to defend him or agree with Ron.
“Of course! You heard him; ‘You’ll be next, Muggle-borns.’”
“We heard him, but Malfoy? The heir of Slytherin?” Estelle said increasingly doubtful that the heir of Slytherin could possibly be him.
Hermione scoffed in agreement, turning to the boys, “There’s no way.”
“Maybe Ron’s right, guys. I mean, look at his family.” Harry looked up from where he had been staring at the floor– a gesture he did when thinking, “The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin for centuries. And there was all that stuff I heard in Borgin and Burkes.”
Ron’s eyes widened as he realised something, “Crabbe and Goyle must know. Maybe Nik could ask them.”
The group turned to Nikolai while Estelle shook her head, knowing her brother’s relationship with most other students in his house. “I don’t know, guys, those goons don’t like me much. I’m not even sure they can think for themselves.”
“Alright, well, maybe we could trick them into telling!” Ron exclaimed.
“Even they aren’t that thick…” Hermione paused, focus fazing her vision for just a moment before stopping and turning to them all, “But there might be another way.”
Estelle caught on quickly, they had read about a potion that would change the drinker’s physical attributes, enough to look like someone else. “Hermione, that would be crazy difficult. Not to mention we’d be breaking about fifty school rules– not that I have a problem with that.”
“If you guys are talking about what I think you’re talking about, then maybe we should think about just how dangerous it is?” Nikolai reasoned. He’d read about the same potion when he’d stolen the Most Potent Potions book from Estelle– since Potions and Herbology often go hand-in-hand. “Because most cases if brewed by non-professionals go badly.”
“Well, I think it’s worth a look.” Harry eagerly agreed and so Hermione and Estelle led them in the direction of the library.
Estelle pulled Most Potent Potions from the shelf, since Hermione wasn’t tall enough to get it and slammed it onto the table, flipping through the pages quickly to find– “The Polyjuice Potion.”
They all leaned over the book, which was difficult in the small space, as Hermione read aloud. “‘Properly brewed, the Polyjuice Potion allows the drinker to transform himself temporarily into the physical form of another.’”
“You mean, if we drink that stuff, we’ll turn into Crabbe and Goyle?” Ron reiterated. Hermione nodded, “Wicked!”
“Malfoy’ll tell you anything.” Nikolai stated, a small smirk on his face at the idea of screwing with the boy.
“Exactly,” Estelle pointed to her brother with a gleeful smile, but then looked back at the book, “But it’s tricky. I’m not the best at Potions here, but I’ve never seen one more complicated.”
“Well, how long will it take to make?” Harry asked.
Nikolai slid off the table to stand next to Hermione as they quickly discussed. “A month.” Hermione answered, squinting.
“A month?!” Harry exclaimed, “But, Hermione, if Malfoy is the heir of Slytherin, he could attack half the muggle-borns in the school by then!”
“I know… but it’s the only plan we’ve got.” Hermione replied sadly.
After a moment’s silence, each of them in thought, debating whether or not to go for the potion or find another way that may even take longer, Nikolai hit the table. “Right, well, I’ll get Blaise to ask Malfoy if he’ll be here for the Christmas holidays. We’ll do it then.” They all nodded in agreement, having already made up their minds regardless, someone had to make the first move, and they were glad Nikolai had.
They left the library and as Nikolai began to walk away from them, Estelle quickly grabbed his shoulder.
“Hang on, Hugo.” She said, before quickly turning to her friends, Harry in particular, and whispering something. They waved them off and Estelle joined Nikolai as he walked down to the Dungeons.
“Out with it, then,” Nikolai prodded her. “What is it?”
“Nothing!” She replied innocently, but Nikolai knew not to trust this act.
“What? You wanna make sure I don’t die?”
“Please, you’re only talking to Blaise.”
“Exactly.”
Estelle thought for a moment, another sign for Nikolai to be incredulous. “You know, maybe we could have some fun with the Polyjuice Potion.”
Nikolai looked at her, his eyes narrowed. “Yeah, in a month’s time, Lea.”
“Well, maybe we could start brainstorming!”
Nikolai stopped in his tracks, turning to her fully as she took a few more steps, not realising. “Okay, what is it? You don’t ever want to plan these sorts of things ahead of time– I bet us having to take a month to brew the potion is killing you and we haven’t even started! So what are you trying to do?”
“Come on, Hugo! Can’t you believe I’m a changed woman?” Estelle placed her hand on her heart dramatically, hoping he would turn on that sarcastic statement, rather than go back to inspecting her motives.
“You’re twelve, Lea.”
“I’m mature!”
“What? Are you trying to get out of going back to the common room?” Nikolai turned the subject back, to which Estelle groaned.
“Hugo.” She whined.
“Or maybe you guys were planning on going to Hagrids?” Nikolai tapped his lips, his general thinking action, “I don’t know why you would be trying to get out of that. And you aren’t trying to get me to carry on walking so you definitely don’t care about where I’m going, just about wasting time.”
Estelle glared at him. It was only a matter of time before he figured it out and she found it beyond annoying. When he started thinking aloud, there was little that could be done to stop him, and Estelle realised her mistake of not simply lying about why she wanted to come along. They would tell each other everything, but on Estelle’s side, she would never mention when she was nervous about things she deemed ‘trivial’. Unfortunately, Nikolai knew this.
“You’re supposed to have Quidditch practice, aren’t you! Malfoy was going on and on about how Flint wouldn’t shut up about- whatever. Why are you dodging Quidditch?”
Estelle sighed angrily, beginning to walk again.
“Lea!” Nikolai caught up with her and put a hand on her shoulder. He spoke much softer, knowing that his sister didn’t get worried often, and in his mind, awful thoughts piled up and up. If she was getting bullied, surely she could take care of it. But what if Wood was bullying her? The captain. She couldn’t do much against the captain without getting suspended on the spot and Quidditch meant so much to her, not to mention the fact that she knew he was living vicariously through her. What if the whole team were ganging up on her, planning to make her time hell-
“It’s the last practice before the first match!” Estelle all but shouted. She didn’t do emotions half-way, and her stress had been building up the whole time they were talking. She could tell Nikolai was overthinking, his eyes were racing across like REM sleep and Estelle hated to see him overthink on her part. So she just came out and told him. “It’s the last practice before the first match and I’m… nervous.”
Nikolai breathed a sigh of relief, bringing his sister into an embrace. She hugged back, revelling in the knowledge that she could tell Nikolai anything. “Gott, Lea, es ist nur Quidditch.” (God, Lea, it’s just Quidditch.)
“Ich weiss.” (I know.)
Nikolai pulled back and looked at her, like he had before the tryouts. “You’re bloody amazing at Quidditch and you know it. Whoever you play first will have hell against you and even if you aren’t to win, it isn’t the end of the world. Besides, today is only practice. Show them that you deserve your place as starter.”
She breathed deeply, letting his words settle in her mind. She may be the one who comforts him, but he can set her nerves at ease. “Tu es le pire.” (You’re the worst.) She punched his shoulder as he let go of her arms.
“Je sais.” (I know.) Nikolai laughed before pushing her in the opposite direction, “Jetzt geh!” (Now go!)
“Ich gehe!” (I’m going!) She ran off towards the Quidditch field, leaving Nikolai to stand in the middle of the hallway.
“Alles klar.” (Alright.) He mumbled to himself before traipsing the rest of the way to the dungeons.
****
Quidditch season at Hogwarts was a crazed affair, the twins knew this from their last year, but nothing could prepare Estelle from actually being part of it. Whenever a Gryffindor student saw her in the hallways, they would come over and wish her good luck, some more vigorously than others, and in most cases Estelle couldn’t respond with much more than a “thanks”. The first game was Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff and when Estelle stood in the stands with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, occasionally seeing Nikolai shouting alongside Blaise and Millicent in the Slytherin stands, the anxiety almost came flooding out in fear. But as she stood, clenching the barrier, her knuckles growing white, Hermione held her shoulder and said “are you looking forward to playing tomorrow?”
There was no way she couldn’t reply with a grin. “Of course.”
And once the game had finished and the Hufflepuff team chorused a massive chant for their Seeker, Cedric Diggory, Estelle bounded down the stairs, the nervous energy just an underlying hum in her ribs, and threw an arm over Harry’s shoulders.
“You excited, Harold?”
He looked at her quizzically, the name a new establishment in their friendship, but quickly smiled. “I can’t wait.”
They didn’t have to wait long at all. As Hermione had reminded Estelle, Gryffindor’s first game was the next day. Unfortunately, however, it was against Slytherin, the team with the longest track record of fouls, and who were notorious for putting opposing players, especially Gryffindors, in the Hospital Wing. Nikolai had worriedly blurted this to her in one of their library conversations, but she only smiled wider.
Estelle woke with a buzz that had stuck with her the entire night, broomsticks and maroon entering her dreams, and quickly got dressed in her Quidditch robes. Hermione was soon to wake, catching her right before she was about to sprint to the Great Hall for breakfast.
“G’mornin’, Stella.” Hermione spoke quietly, sleep drawing her words together.
“Morning, Mione!” She responded briskly as she stood up from her bed, where she had been lacing her boots.
“Are you going to breakfast already?” Hermione asked, sitting upright suddenly.
“Yep! The day can’t get started early enough!”
Hermione laughed, quickly getting out of bed. “Let me get dressed, then I’ll come with you.” She didn’t usually have to say this, but she could tell that Estelle was itching to move. The girl didn’t respond, but she waited almost patiently for her friend to rush around for her clothes. Walking through the common room, they heard a call for them from behind.
“Wait! Stella, Mione!” They turned and saw Harry, who was in his Quidditch robes as well, and Ron jogging up to them.
“You alright, boys?” Estelle asked chirpily, but not waiting for an answer as she marched to the door.
“She’s ready.” Ron said to the other two, which Estelle heard as they caught up with her.
They walked at a fast pace, having to hold onto Estelle occasionally to stop her from sprinting off, and upon reaching the hall, sliding into their seats. It was early so the hall was empty, except from the smattering of other students, blearily chomping at their food. Estelle couldn’t get her toast, having forgoed her usual bacon bap, into her mouth fast enough, her speed causing her marmalade to fall off it, to which the other three laughed.
Nikolai ambled his way to the hall, chuckling at the bad joke he had attempted to tell Blaise, who was almost stone-faced except for the affectionate smile pulling at his lips.
“It was funnier in person.” Nikolai yielded, shrugging as they entered the Great Hall, students filtering in along with them.
“You weren’t even there.” Blaise replied, shaking his head.
They began to make their way to the Slytherin table but then he heard his sister shout. “HUGO!” Nikolai and Blaise turned to see Estelle waving aggressively at them, Hermione laughing next to her. From the way Harry and Ron’s heads were bowed, they could assume they were also in tears.
“COMING!” Nikolai yelled back, but continued to walk to his house table with his friend, ignoring the amused looks from the random students throughout the hall. He had gotten used to doing that, ever since his sister had tackled him to the ground at the end of first year. He sat down opposite Blaise, helping himself to a slice of toast.
“You aren’t going to Stella?” Blaise asked, helping himself to the sausages.
“Yeah, I just suspect I won’t get much eating done over there.” He slathered a generous amount of marmalade onto his food in front of him, “I’m getting prepared.”
“You better go soon, I fear your Gryffindor friends can’t quite handle her energy.” Millicent leant over the table and gestured to Estelle with her head. Nikolai turned around, having sat with his back to them, knowing he would be over there before long, and saw Estelle munching on her food. Harry, Hermione, and Ron seemed to be in pain with how hard the giggles were erupting. What Nikolai noticed in that picture, however, was Estelle eating toast. She only did that subconsciously, usually when she was nervous. It was often followed by a slow but sudden break down, one she probably didn’t even realise was a break down.
“Oh dear.” Nikolai said, pausing for a second at the recognition, then quickly wolfing down his food, a worried expression painting his face.
“Careful there, Nik,” Blaise said worriedly, though with a smirk, “you’ll choke.”
“Gotta get over there before she kills someone.” He was muffled by the bread, holding a hand over his mouth.
“Do you have to speak with your mouth full?” Someone said from beside him. With Nikolai’s thoughts elsewhere, he instinctively responded.
“You know, Lea has a big issue with it too-” He turned to see Malfoy. He cocked his head when he saw him, surprised. He hadn’t noticed he had sat next to Malfoy, what with the lack of snarky jabs, but he did then realise that maybe he was looking at him for too long, so he quickly went back to his plate and swallowed, before turning back to study his face momentarily. Malfoy’s eyebrow twitched as he picked up his sausage roll. Something in the back of Nikolai’s mind told him that the boy in front of him was worried, especially tense. Of course, Nikolai thought, it was Malfoy’s first Quidditch game too. He sighed to himself, knowing that if he were to leave without saying anything now, Estelle’s disembodied voice in his mind would never shut up.
He grabbed another slice of toast, spread marmalade over it, and stood. “See you guys in the stands.” Blaise and Millicent bid him goodbye, and then he put his hand on Malfoy’s shoulder, leaning down and saying in sincerity “Good luck.”
He wasn’t going to end it with ‘I’m rooting for you’, that would be far too personal for someone who had mean-spiritedly insulted one of his best friends not too long ago, but Malfoy looked up in surprise all the same. Before he could say anything in response, Nikolai began to jog over to the Gryffindor table.
He could see the tables rapidly filling with students (if he doesn’t sit next to them, then would they think he wasn’t trying hard enough?), so he sped up and nabbed the empty space next to Estelle right before a Gryffindor student could fill it.
“Sorry.” He said to the girl standing behind him with a confused look on her face. A Slytherin had just stolen the Gryffindor seat right from under her nose, Nikolai would be startled too.
“Matin, Hugo!” (Morning, Hugo!) Estelle shook her brother’s arm until his toast fell out of his hand.
“Mist!” (Crap!) It landed marmalade-down on his plate. Estelle went silent as Nikolai stared at his toast, mouth partly open in despair. They sat like that for almost thirty seconds. Ron, Hermione, and Harry all watched the lack of action in confused silence. Hermione squinted her eyes and tapped Estelle.
“Er, guys?” Ron prompted, but neither his words nor Hermione’s tapping gleaned a response. Another second ticked past and Harry nervously laughed.
“Stella? Nik? What’s going on?”
Then Estelle sighed heavily and switched her and her brother’s plates. “I’m so sorry.”
It sounded so incredibly genuine that Ron choked and Hermione tilted her head, but Nikolai just nodded his head. He then picked out a bacon bap and stuffed it into Estelle’s mouth.
“Iss dein gottverdammtes Brötchen!" (Eat your goddamn roll!) Nikolai grinned, picking up the marmalade toast.
Estelle spluttered and pulled out the bap as their friends gasped in light-hearted shock. “Espece de!” (You prick!) Shoving his head forward, Nikolai’s nose hit the spread. As Harry and Hermione gawked and Ron was trying not to laugh too loudly, Nikolai seemed to be short-circuiting, unsure if he should be putting the toast down or wiping his nose. “Vous– du– dein…” (You– you– your…) He shook his head hard, sighing exasperatedly. “Oh, ich weiß nicht… I don’t know. Du bist böse.” (I don’t know… I don’t know. You’re evil.)
Estelle’s face split into a shining grin, taking a bite of the bacon bap and bringing Nikolai into a brief shoulder hug. He opened his mouth to say something else, bringing a napkin to his nose, but she quickly put her hand up, gesturing to her mouth as she chewed obviously. The twins both heard Ron mumble to Harry “the longer we hang out, the more I realise we don’t know what we got into.”
Estelle finished chewing and nodded, turning to Ron, saying “thank you.” Then to Nikolai, “I know.”
Estelle forgoed her nerves during the rest of breakfast till all the students trudged down to the stadium. Standing outside with her friends she felt them return and glancing down at her hands, she sighed, noticing the subtle tremor. She realised Nikolai must have picked up on it during breakfast, but they only barrelled back. Usually facing challenges with unflinching confidence, she found herself wrestling with the unfamiliar sensation of genuine fear. Nikolai leant on her shoulder as the group continued their usual banter, bringing her back to the conversation with the familiar action. She sent him a small smile as Ron, with a bright grin, offered his encouragement.
“You’re going to do great, Stella!” His voice was filled with certainty.
“Yeah,” Harry chimed in with a determined nod, adjusting his Quidditch robes. “We all saw how you flew last year. Plus, I’ll be right there with you.”
Their words or reassurance helped and she looked to Nikolai as he laid more weight on her. She burst out laughing when she saw his Slytherin uniform adorned with Hermione’s Gryffindor scarf. He must have asked to borrow it when they were walking down. Normally he would have worried about the repercussions, but today, they could all go to hell– supporting his sister mattered more than any house rivalry. She would be sure to search for him standing out in the green crowd.
“Viel Glück, Lea.” (Good luck, Lea.) Nikolai said to her with a grin, before running off to where Blaise walked past them, following the Slytherins up to the stands.
Ron then turned, saying, “Alright, you guys should go through. We’ll be in the stands.” But Hermione stayed back for a few more moments.
“Hey, Stell,” Hermione called softly.
“Yeah, Génie?” Estelle replied, the nickname rolling off her tongue with ease, as Hermione giggled at the sound of it, despite having heard it countless times. Estelle insisted on calling her that as a reminder of just how brilliant she was– a genius in every sense.
“You’re going to do great,” Hermione assured her, her voice filled with quiet confidence.
Estelle’s lips curved into a genuine smile. “Thanks, Mione,” she said, the warmth of her friend’s words settling in her chest.
Without a second thought, Estelle leaned down slightly, wrapping Hermione in a hug. The embrace was brief but comforting, Hermione’s arms curling around Estelle’s back as if offering her the strength she needed. It worked. With a final wave, Hermione made her way to the stands, catching up with Ron who had stopped to talk with Seamus, while Estelle steeled herself and entered the Gryffindor tent, meeting Harry with a smirk. The atmosphere inside was electric, charged with the adrenaline of the team. Oliver Wood, the captain, stood at the centre, ready to deliver his pre-game speech. His eyes were alight with determination as he looked over his team.
“Okay, men... and women,” he corrected himself after a pointed glare from Katie Bell, earning a few chuckles.
“This is a big one,” Oliver continued, his voice taking on a serious tone. “We’re going out there today to defend our title– the title that took us seven years to earn back. The title that we are not losing now.”
Estelle noticed the elated expressions on the faces of Fred and George, the notorious Weasley twins, who were usually the instigators of mischief rather than the teary-eyed recipients of motivational speeches. She leaned in between them, curiosity piqued.
“What are you two so happy about?” She asked, her tone slightly wary.
Fred wiped away an imaginary tear, his voice dripping with melodrama. “After all this time…” he began, only to be seamlessly finished by George.
“He changed his speech,” George whispered, his eyes wide with mock astonishment.
Estelle felt a mixture of relief and terror at the twins' reactions. The fact that even they were impressed by Oliver’s words was both comforting and alarming. She quickly zoned back in, just in time to catch the end of Oliver’s impassioned speech.
“Our team has only gotten better since last year, and we are going to go out there and prove it!” Oliver declared, his voice ringing with conviction.
For once, the team was genuinely motivated by Oliver’s words. A surge of energy swept through the tent as they all cheered in agreement.
Estelle assumed that they would be mounting their brooms at this point but was surprised to see the group walk ominously closer to their captain.
“Huh?” She looked to Harry for answers but before he could explain, Angelina Johnson called out.
“Touch wood!” The universal sign to not jinxing something. As they all trooped closer to Oliver, Estelle was highly amused and slightly appalled as they all started to lay their hands on him. Fred and George were borderline molesting his shoulders. With wide eyes, Estelle followed their lead and, keeping eye contact with him, stroked Oliver’s arm, in true confident Estelle fashion.
“Let’s do this!” Oliver shouted, completely nonplussed by the onslaught. The team then marched to the walkway, mounting their brooms and zooming out onto the pitch, the roar of the crowd meeting them like a wave. Estelle could feel the remnants of her nerves melting away, replaced by the familiar rush of excitement as the players took their positions above Madam Hooch on the ground.
Itching to start moving, the whistle sounding like a gun in her ears, Estelle teared away grabbing the Quaffle mid-air and speeding towards the Slytherin hoops. She glanced behind her, seeing Flint and the boy Nikolai seemed to like so much, hot on her tail, but she dodged their attack, diving before riding higher. Assessing the Keeper as she got closer, she recognised his positioning, he was ready to dart to the bottom left hoop. Is that what her stance was telling him? She smirked, holding out the Quaffle before letting it fall in the direction of the bottom left hoop. As she expected, the Keeper dived to the left hoop, but Estelle had other plans. She sped up and spun her broom, hitting the Quaffle with the tail-end, directing it to shoot straight through the middle hoop. She heard the goal bell ring from the teacher’s stand and Lee Jordan’s ecstatic voice shout the first goal of the game. She grinned, so excited she almost fell off her broom, but she gripped it tighter, turning back to the middle of the field, receiving a high-five from Katie Bell. Together they sped towards the Slytherin Chaser who held the ball. Estelle didn’t think she could get enough of this.
A few goals later, Slytherin decided to start playing dirty. Holding the Quaffle tightly, Estelle saw the blatantly illegal move from Flint coming a mile away, so she quickly tossed the ball to Angelina as Flint almost knocked her off her broom.
“And Wolfe secures the pass to Johnson before Flint manages that obviously illegal move–” Lee shouted over the speaker before McGonagall cut him off with a reprimand for being biassed.
Flint sneered at her but she just shot him a sickly sweet smile back. She flew past the two Seekers hovering above them, hearing Malfoy shout to Harry, “Alright there, Scarhead?”
She rolled her eyes as she shouted back, “Alright there, Dye-job?”
He turned and glared at her, surprised to find her flying as high as them.
“Since we’re picking on physical attributes.” She mumbled to herself as she dove from her vantage point, intercepting a throw between Slytherin Chasers. She quickly passed off the ball to dodge another illegal move where one of the Slytherin Beaters reached for her with his bat. She glanced back up to where Harry was still surveying the field, and she noticed in horror as a bludger flew straight towards him.
“Harry!” She shouted as a warning. He quickly turned and noticed the ball. He ducked, the Bludger missing him by inches, but as it soared off, Oliver came up.
“Watch yourself, Harry!”
But the Bludger returned quickly and before Harry managed to shout “Wood, look out!” it crashed against Oliver’s broom, spinning him off until he fell to the sand, fifty feet below. Estelle shouted in shock before realising that they were now short of their Keeper. She had to assume that the Weasley twins would keep a closer eye on their Seeker, as the Chasers flocked to the goals. They had gone through the possibility of losing their Keeper a few times during their practice sessions, and since the twins were busy directing one of the Bludgers at the Slytherin team, the girls all sped to their spaces, Estelle staying in front of the right goal, while the other two took the others. They knew that with the Chasers being occupied at the goal, they would be playing the defensive, so now, it was all on Harry. When Estelle spared a glance to find him, she saw a flash of green going down under the stands, followed by red, followed by a Bludger. While she was elated that Harry was chasing the Snitch, the rogue Bludger chasing him was not a good sign.
“Someone’s tampered with the Bludger!” She shouted to Angelina who was in the first goal.
“We can’t do anything now!” She shouted back, saving the Quaffle by hitting it with her broom. “We just have to hope that Harry can get the Snitch!”
The time in goal felt like years. Occasionally Estelle would look up and see Nikolai standing– almost over the edge– in his red and gold scarf, and that would fill her with a little more of a positive outlook, though she would much like to be pushing him back into the stand, keeping him from possibly falling down. Suddenly, Malfoy was thrown up out of the scaffolding with a yelp and Estelle winced as he stopped rolling with an action like he was about to throw up. It didn’t matter if she didn’t like him, it looked like it hurt. Harry then appeared and Estelle’s eyes lit up as she saw him reaching for the Snitch, she couldn’t see the golden ball but he must have been right by it. Until the Bludger that was chasing him got too close. George noticed the ball and soared towards it but Flint got in his way, making a screen as George barrelled into him. The Bludger crashed into Harry’s outstretched hand with a crunch that even Estelle could hear from metres up. Estelle shouted out in despair, wanting to comfort her friend and make sure the damage wasn’t too bad, but she knew that if she abandoned her post, Adrian Pucey, who was darting towards them with the Quaffle would have an open goal. So she stayed put as she watched Harry from the corner of her eye, focusing still on the Slytherin Chaser, as the Seeker sped up, dangerously close to the ground. Adrian held up the ball in his right hand and Estelle poised to catch it but then the end-of-game bell sounded and Lee Jordan’s voice carried louder than it had been during the rest of the game.
“Harry Potter catches the Snitch! Gryffindor wins with one-hundred and ninety points to seventy!”
The stands erupted in cheers and Estelle, along with Angelina and Katie, dove to where Harry was rolling on the grass. He seemed to still be dodging the Bludger. The rest of the Gryffindor team landed and dropped their brooms running over to him and just before Estelle made the decision to throw herself onto the rogue ball, she heard the familiar voice;
“Finite incantatem!” She turned to see Hermione with her wand pointing straight at the ball, which had just blown up. They must have run down the steps as soon as the game ended, Ron and Hagrid standing behind her. Nikolai joined them only moments after as the rest of the students rushed onto the field, and with them, much to Estelle’s displeasure, Gilderoy Lockhart.
“Are you okay?” Nikolai asked hurriedly.
“My arm,” Harry strained out, cradling his wrist, “I think it’s broken.”
“Not to worry, Harry!” Lockhart announced as he skidded to Harry’s side like a 60’s disco move, to which Estelle couldn’t help but roll her eyes at. She heard Nikolai sigh aggressively beside her, “I will fix that arm of your’s straight away.”
“Not you.” Harry said quickly, sudden fear in his eyes, and if Estelle wasn’t so worried for Harry’s wellbeing, she would be laughing at his response.
“Poor boy, doesn’t know what he’s saying.” Lockhart reached for his arm and Estelle grit her teeth, knowing that if she intervened, it wouldn’t go well. “Now this… won’t hurt a bit. Brackium Emendo!”
A white light spewed from the idiot’s wand, and for a moment, Estelle thought that he had done something correct, until he confidently held up Harry’s wrist and it sagged. There was a wave of disgust that flooded through the audience and Estelle thought she might be sick. It looked like there weren’t any bones in there. She felt Nikolai’s hand grasp onto her robes again, and she didn’t blame him one bit. Hermione, who knelt next to Harry, was wide-eyed, staring at the floppy arm.
“Yes, well… that can sometimes happen, but the point is… uh… you can no longer feel any pain.” He bent Harry’s arm back and the boy went pale. Estelle heard a smattering of heaves in the crowd, “And very clearly, the bones are no longer broken.”
“No longer broken?” Estelle exclaimed in astoundment at how self-centred the man was.
“There aren’t any bones left!” Hagrid cried, not being able to tear his eyes away from the body-horror in front of her.
“Much more flexible, though.” Lockhart tried to reason, though no one was believing him.
Estelle breathed out heavily and shouldered her way past Lockhart, subtly pushing him out of the way and helping Harry to stand up. “We have to get you to the hospital wing.”
“Of course, I’ll take him.” Estelle thought she might punch him, turning around to Lockhart to do so, but Nikolai got in her way.
He spoke clearly, “I think you’ve done enough, sir.” He then turned and smirked to Estelle who grinned back at him, proud of her brother.
The four of them left Harry in the Hospital Wing, standing to the side as the Slytherin team carried Malfoy in. They heard him whining and they all rolled their eyes at each other, walking out of the room.
“How long did Madam Pomfrey say he’d be down for?” Ron asked them as they made their way to the Gryffindor common room.
“Just for a few nights.” Estelle answered.
Blaise and Millicent rounded the corner. “Where are you guys off to?” Millicent asked.
“Is Harry alright?” Blaise asked at the same time.
“He’s okay, out cold right now.” Ron answered, a little steeled at the Slytherin, but still open.
“Gryffindor common room.” Nikolai responded to Millicent, beckoning them over. “You guys should come.”
They looked at him with a mix of confusion and surprise. Blaise asked incredulously, “You see what’s wrong with that, right?”
“We’re celebrating Stella’s first Quidditch win!” Hermione exclaimed, “And Nik comes over all the time!”
“Is that where you always go?” Blaise cocked his eyebrow.
Nikolai narrowed his eyes, “Yes?”
As they stood in the middle of the hallway, Blaise continued to stare at him, deciding something in his mind, before ultimately sighing and turning around, “Fine.”
Nikolai and Estelle excitedly turned to Millicent who shrugged. “Lead the way.”
The twins eagerly skipped ahead, Estelle occasionally crying out “On a gangé!” (We won!) To which Nikolai would only jump higher.
The noise in the Gryffindor common room felt like they were back in the Quidditch stands. The team stood in the middle, the Weasley twins holding Estelle on their shoulders above everyone’s heads as the crowd cheered around them.
“First game of the season and we blew it out of the stadium!” Oliver announced, the crowd quieting marginally. “And not only our first, and not just the second, but also our third goal of the game was scored by our newest player–”
“What are these Slytherins doing in here?!” A fourth year called out before Oliver could finish his sentence. He was pointing to Nikolai, Millicent, and Blaise. The crowd all suddenly turned to the three Slytherins but Nikolai just carried on looking at Estelle’s expectant, amused face and he grinned.
“THAT’S MY SISTER!” Nikolai yelled, Blaise and Millicent then whooping next to him. After a moment’s pause, the crowd went back to cheering, not questioning the other house’s students, Fred and George hauling her into the air as Oliver shouted over the noise.
“STELLA WOLFE!”
She beamed wider than she ever had before.