Updated: Friday 11th March 2005

Disclaimer: See Chapter One

Chapter Forty Six: Voldemort and Vigils

It all happened so fast. One minute Estella was having fun joking and laughing with Hermione and Harry in the library, the next minute she was rushing to the hospital wing to visit them. In a mad panic, the Gryffindor trio had rushed to defend the stone when they had heard Professor Dumbledore had left the school for the night. Hermione told her in hushed tones that she and Harry had wanted to call on her Uncle for help – because unlike all the other teachers they would have been able to call on Estella for credibility – but Ron was convinced they were going down the trapdoor to protect the stone from Snape.

Estella had heard all about what happened during their detention in the Forbidden Forest – both Harry and Draco had spun her rather vivid accounts. She also had heard from Hagrid as he collected her from school one day how he had been fooled into sharing the secret of how to tame Fluffy. Yet despite all she knew, she hadn't anticipated that the three Gryffindors would go after it alone.

Thankfully, everyone was alright in the end, and the stone was saved. Estella was shocked to discover the nature of Professor Quirrell's dilemma. He was always one of the teachers she disliked the most, but she never thought he would have been capable of such evil, let alone have the Dark Lord embossed on the back of his head. She'd rather foolishly suspected McGonagall as being more sinister than the man! When she'd told her Uncle Sev as such, he'd suggested that she ought to apologise to the transfiguration professor for merely entertaining the idea that she was in the same league, if not worse, than a teacher that was in cahoots with Voldemort. Needless to say, Estella adopted her Uncle's Slytherin ethos and rather forcefully suggested that what the old witch didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

She was lucky her Uncle had a soft spot for Slytherin qualities.

The end of Spring came altogether too fast. She had finished her last day at the Hogsmeade Day School and said goodbye to the institution with no amount of remorse. She could hardly wait to start her educational career at Hogwarts. Many of the students whose taunts she had to endure over the years were either squibs enrolled to learn how to read and write or were students from families that chose to send their children to Europe, away from the familiarity that Hogwarts' proximity to Hogsmeade, to learn. She was overjoyed to learn that only the most tolerable of her peers were following her to Hogwarts.

However, finishing school meant that the Hogwarts students would also be heading home for the holidays within the next couple of days. It would be strange to spend time in the library without her most recent omnipresent companions, and she found she would miss even Draco's stoic attempts at gentlemanly behaviour towards her!

Watching forlornly as the last carriage of the Hogwarts Express disappeared from view, Estella turned around walked back to the eerily empty shell that was Hogwarts. It was the same feeling year after year, but it hardly ever got any easier.

"Estella!" A familiar voiced called from further on down the path. Estella looked up to see her Godfather running towards her. "There you are, cub! The train leave?"

"Like clockwork," Estella replied gloomily. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to be your knight in shining armour and rescue you from your dungeon prison." Remus said gallantly before adding in a more sincere tone. "Really though, how would you like to spend the Summer with your boring ol' Godfather in London?"

"The entire Summer?" Estella asked, in shock. "Wha? How… when?"

"Your Uncle flooed me about it last night. We both kind of agreed that it wouldn't be fair on the other students if you were to have outside visitors on the weekends once you became a student, so now the holidays are really the only time I will get to spend with you." Remus explained.

Estella's eyes darkened. "That's not fair and you know it, Moony! I'll still get to see Uncle Sev everyday! I've never not seen you for a whole term like that before!" She said anxiously.

"But that's normal, cub." Remus soothed. "Everyone starting Hogwarts for the first time are leaving home for the first time. Even you will leave your room in your Uncle's quarters to live in the dorms with your house mates."

"No, Uncle Remus. What would be normal would be if I lived with you all the time before I started Hogwarts. Then I would have a home to leave! It's not fair. Weekends and part of the holidays are hardly enough time as it is, now it's just going to be holidays?" Estella said, her voice reaching a higher crescendo with each statement. "No. I won't stand for it."

"Estella." Remus said firmly, gripping the raving child by the shoulders. "Stop this at once."

Estella paused. Remus sighed. "Now I can see why your Uncle didn't want to be the one to tell you."

"Oh yeah, always giving you his dirty work, isn't he, Uncle Remus?" Estella snapped prissily. "Well he'd better not expect me to visit him or call him Uncle during the term then either! He wants to play it that way, I'll play it that way!"

Remus smiled softly. "That's it Estella, now you're getting the idea. I'm not entirely sure if that's quite what your Uncle had in mind, but fair's fair, right, cub?"

Estella smirked evilly. "I can't wait to see his face when I declare to the sorting hat not to put me in Slytherin!"

"Estella." Remus said, starting to laugh. "Why you'll get into Slytherin just by the nature of that comment alone."

"You want to bet on that?" Estella said, raising an eyebrow. "I'll wager my collection of chocolate frog cards against your Muggle record collection that I'll get into any house but Slytherin."

"Deal." Remus said, holding out his hand. "On one proviso. You swear on your Mother's good name that you haven't been talking to the sorting hat lately."

"I swear." Estella said truthfully.

"Right, shall we see about getting you packed then?" Remus asked as they continued their walk back to the Castle.

End Chapter: Voldemort and Vigils