Chapter Text
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PROLOGUE
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ESTELLE HART HAD ALWAYS DREAMED OF BECOMING A MOTHER, ever since she was a little girl, she would talk about it to her older sister Aurora; how she couldn't wait to one day have a daughter and raised them; take them to Hogwarts, braid her hair, dress her in cute clothes and with someone who she really loved.
That day she found out came September 1979, when Estelle found out she was having a daughter.
She'd always wanted to live the joy of raising children, with a man who would love her when she was at her lowest, support her through her troubled moments and love her unconditionally, and she managed to find that,
With Sirius Black.
It wasn't exactly picture perfect. In fact, it was one of the worst periods in Estelle's life, when she'd risked it all to be with Sirius.
Her family has never been the kindest, so called 'blood supremacists' and believed that anyone that wasn't Pureblood was below them; her biggest enemy was her mother. They'd always been salty at one and other, because Estelle believed that Muggle-borns and Half-bloods were just as much witches and wizards as Pure bloods were.
Serila, Estelle and Aurora's mother blamed her ways of thinking on her friend group— they liked to call themselves the Marauders. When she returned from Hogwarts, to tell her mother about the friends she'd made in her second year, after a year with pretty much only her sister by her side, she purposely left out the fact that she'd become best friends with Lily Evans, a sweet Muggle-born girl.
"Have you made any friends this year, Estelle?" her mother spoke in a tight, high-pitched voice that matched her usual tight, black bun. "Or, did you wallow away, like you always do? Why can't you be like your sister. ."
Estelle was used to being compared to Aurora, a fourth-year, popular at Hogwarts, on the Quidditch Team, and a Slytherin. Everything that Estelle was not.
When Estelle was sorted into Gryffindor, it frankly outraged the Hart family. They punished her cruelly, giving her a week with no dinner, and locking her in her bedroom as they all sat down to have supper.
She cried so much she thought her eyes knew something she did not.
"Oh, er—yeah," Estelle croaked, playing with her food. "I've made some friends..."
Serial gave a scoff, "Couldn't have been many, I suppose. I can't imagine anyone wanting to be friends with such a disgrace."
Estelle's eyes stung with tears, but she refused to let them fall. She knew that if she cried, her mother would only call her weak, futile, pointless.
"I have a few, mother," she spoke timidly. "I've got a lot, actually."
"Really?" Serial's eyebrow raised. "I cannot suppose they actually enjoy your company. You know, Estelle, if you were more like your sister—"
"Mother," Aurora finally voiced, her tone laced with confidence. "Estelle has many friends, and they like her for her."
"Whatever you say," she trailed off.
Estelle spent that night crying in her bedroom wondering to herself why she couldn't be like her sister, why was she not good enough, and why could she not impress her mother and father no matter how hard she tried, how hard she worked, how much work, how many meals she skipped, how many times she let her mother slap, shout or scream she was never good enough.
"Elle?" a knock came at her door, it could only be one voice, because there was only one person that treated her like a human instead of an object.
"Leave me alone, Rora."
"Oh, just for a minute, then I'll leave you, I promise," Aurora said softly.
There were a few muffled footsteps before the door opened; Aurora took notice of Estelle's red, puffy face.
"What do you want?" she swallowed.
"I just wanted to give you this," Aurora reached out her hand, and placed one chocolate biscuit in her palm. "Mum went to bed and I snuck one out, I know you're not allowed, but—"
The corners of Estelle's lips upturned, "Thank you. You're the only person who can make me smile in this house, you and Aruna." their house elf.
"That's what big sisters do," she nudged her shoulder.
"Miss Rori," Aruna snuck up behind the red-head, in her high, squeaky voice she continued, "Mr Hart orders you to go to sleep and wants to know what is making so much noise up on the third floor."
"I'll come down soon okay," she smiled.
"Okay, Miss Rori!" Aruna nodded and then turned to Estelle, "Miss Estelle! I won't tell Mr Hart that you were out of bed, past your awake hours!"
"Thank you."
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IN THE SUMMER OF 1976 ESTELLE HART AND AURORA HART, RAN AWAY FROM HOME, they'd both agreed to meet Sirius and Dorian ( Aurora's boyfriend ) in the Potter mansion, where James had agreed they'd all stay.
Serila found out about Estelle being best friends with a Muggle-born and punished her to the severity where Aurora screamed at her mother, knowing she'd get punished too,
"CAN'T YOU SEE WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING TO HER, MOTHER!" her voice was so loud, it scratched against her throat. "YOU TORTURE HER, STARVE HER, AND GIVE HER SO MUCH MORE SHIT, BECAUSE SHE'S NOT A WHAT? A SLYTHERIN? IT'S A STUPID REASON TO DESPISE YOUR DAUGHTER, WE'RE ALL THE SAME, JUST IN DIFFERENT COLOURS!"
"DO NOT! Raise your voice at your Mother!" Serila roared, the hairs on her black hair stood up statically.
"You're as much of my mother, as you've ever been hers," Aurora spat, her voice full of hatred and anger. "We're leaving. Come on, Elle, let's see how she does without me here."
Serila watched her daughters leave her house with a heavy smile on her thin lips, "You'll die within a week, without anyone to fend for you."
"We'll die within a week, maybe," Aurora had a firm grasp on her sister's wrist, "But if you were the one leaving, you wouldn't last two days."
She slammed the door shut.
"What are you doing?" Estelle asked with a small smirk on her face. "We'll die if we're not careful."
"D'you think I'd leave the house without having some sort of plan first?" she looked at her sister, as they walked, with nothing but each other. "We're meeting Dorian, then going to the Potter mansion. That's our new home."
That was how Estelle lived the rest of her Hogwarts days. In Potter Mansion, with people that treated her like she was someone.
After graduating, she and Sirius moved into a small house; they settled down, and regularly brought everyone over. They were happy, no one was harming them. Estelle was loved. Aurora was loved. Sirius was loved.
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SEPTEMBER 15TH 1979 WAS A MEMORABLE DAY FOR ESTELLE AND SIRIUS, it was the day they found out they were having their first child, they were panicked at first glance. After all, they were only nineteen and had barely been out of Hogwarts for a year, now they were raising a child.
But it was also a dream come true to Estelle.
Sirius on the other hand wasn't sure, and was constantly worried he'd be a bad father. Estelle would find him reading copies of 'A guide to fatherhood' and 'What to do if your daughter threatens to hex you.'
It soon became the most anticipated nine months of their life, as two months into the pregnancy they found out that James and Lily Potter were also expecting their first child too.
On May 14th 1980, Alora Rosalie Black was born, looking just like her mother: hazel eyes, which were more brown than green, wavy black hair, freckles and dimples.
She was perfect. They were perfect. It was perfect. Remus and James were made her godfathers and Lily was made her godmother.
A couple months later Harry James Potter was born on July 31st. The two had clicked almost immediately, never wanting to be apart from the other, and it was impossible to pry them away. They'd fight over the same toy, and push each other over.
"Shhh, Harry, it's alright," Lily whispered, gently rocking Harry in her arms as he continued to wail. "Mummy's here."
James stood beside her, attempting to cast bubble-like enchantments to distract him.
"He's still at it?" Estelle hurried into the nursery, holding Alora against her.
Lily glanced up and gave a tired nod, lowering Harry into the crib, "I can't seem to figure out why. Nothing's working."
At Harry's weeping, Alora's tiny head of black hair lifted from Estelle's shoulder and attempted to seek out the source. Once she spotted the boy, she reached out instinctively, striving to reach the crib and squirm from her mother's grasp.
"Maybe put them together, Elle," James quickly said, jerking his head. "They've been inseparable all week."
Estelle nodded and carefully leaned over, placing Alora beside Harry.
Alora quickly wrapped her arms around his, toppling over in the process; Harry's hysterical whimpers at once came to a halt. His small fingers locked around her and it wasn't long before the two drifted into a peaceful slumber.
"Wow, would you look at that," Sirius breathed, placing an arm around Estelle. "Those two will be unstoppable."
"She protects him," Lily smiled. "Oh, they're so cute."
The few lingering bubbles that had released from James's wand floated softly around the two babies as they quietly slept, safe within the walls of Godric Hollow.
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NEVER ONCE IN ESTELLE'S TWENTY-ONE YEARS, did she believe that war would break out. On October 31st 1981, the wizarding world fell into the depths of despair and families were left in tears, half of what they used to be.
Photos were now memorials, and people were memories.
It wasn't long before the news of Lily and James Potter's deaths awoke the world; nor Sirius or Estelle could quite recall the moment they found out, too choked up in emotion to comprehend it all.
Alora was asleep in her crib; it came quickly to the mind of Sirius that he didn't want to wait around, he wanted to kill.
"I need to kill him," he spoke through the rough, cold silence of the once warm, chattery house.
"No, you can't do that," Estelle shook her head, sniffling. "You'll get yourself killed before you could reach him."
Sirius paused for a moment, looking into the hazel eyes of his wife that reminded him of his daughter; staying meant that he and his family had a chance of being safe, but also meant that Pettigrew would get away with killing someone he loved as much as a brother.
"I can't," he spoke, holding onto her cheeks in his hand. "You know I can't. . . Pettigrew's going to get out and live his life, and get away with killing James and Lily, he needs to be killed. You don't know who else could die tonight, but I'm not letting it be you or Alora."
Estelle's eyebrows lifted as a cry fought to escape her lips, "It can't be Lora."
"It won't be," he nodded firmly. "It won't be you either. Because I'll come back, and we'll be safe. ."
Estelle looked down, not quite able to find anymore words to leave her trembling lips. Sirius brought his hand to her chin, causing her to look up at him. He gave her the only smile he could possibly muster.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Sirius leant down, pressing his lips against hers for a final time before hurrying out the door and shutting it behind him.
When the door finally closed, Estelle allowed the rest of her tears to fall; a small wail came from the nursery, its door ajar. She hurried inside and picked Alora up, stroking through her black hair in an attempt to soothe her.
"Shhh, it's okay, Lora, my love," she kissed her head. "I'm sorry. . .Daddy will be back soon. . .and he'll bring Harry, you'll be alright, I promise you. Because, Mummy loves you, more than anything in the world."
VROOM.
Estelle lifted her head, holding Alora against her chest. Carefully she walked out to the front-door, and peered out the window to inspect who it was.
She gave a gasp of relief and opened the door.
"Hagrid," Estelle's voice shook. "Take Alora, and take her to Aurora and Dorian's. I'll come and get her soon—I just—I just have something to do."
"Are you sure?" Hagrid asked. Estelle gave a firm nod, "I'll tell Aurora that you'll pick 'Lora up."
Estelle lowered her voice, "I love you, Lora. I'll see you soon."
She then handed Alora over.
But Estelle never came to pick Alora up.
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ESTELLE HART HAD DIED. DUE TO THE ARROGANCE OF SOMEONE ELSE. Sirius Black was imprisoned for a murder he didn't commit. Aurora Hart was left looking after her niece as her own, mourning her sister who had a few years of freedom. Alora Black never knew her mother. She wouldn't see her father for twelve years. Harry Potter was dropped far away from his once best friend and they'd live childhoods as strangers.
Until they met again, ten years later.
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