✯ CHAPTER THREE ✯

❝Oh, leave him alone.❞

September 2nd, 1991.

ESTELLA STOOD IN the middle of a random corridor, looking around the place like a little lost lamb -- which is something that she pretty much was to be honest.

Needless to say, she had refused to get out of bed at the same time as everyone else, being far too tired to wake up at six thirty.

Too scared of showing up to their first day of classes late, Estella's dorm mates had made the decision to leave without her. She understood why, of course, but she was still mad, because it meant that she was now lost in a huge castle, having forgotten how to get from Gryffindor Tower to The Great Hall.

She was convinced that she was never going to get there, and knew that she was now getting closer and closer to being late to her first ever class.

"Miss Lupin!"

Estella turned sharply, the sound of her own name having made her jump. Professor McGonagall was stood behind her, holding a bundle of parchment under her shoulder with a stern but confused look on her face.

"Hello, Professor." Estella chose to ignore the fact that her head of house already knew who she was, at least for now anyway.

"I was just looking for you," McGonagall said, and she pulled an A4 piece of parchment out from the pile under her arm and gave it to the new first year. "I was giving out schedules, and I noticed that you weren't there. Just wondered if everything's all right?"

Estella nodded. "Everything is fine, thank you, Professor. I got lost."

"Don't worry about it, happens every year with new students. Would you like a map?"

Estella nodded politely, and so McGonagall pulled out another piece of parchment and handed it to her.

"You have Charms first thing. It's not far from here, you should be able to get there quite quickly. Please don't dawdle though, Lupin, the worst thing that could happen is you showing up late to your first class."

"Thank you," Estella said, shoving the map into her robe pocket. "Er Professor...." she paused for a second, taking a breath, "how did you know who I was?"

"What? Oh-" McGonagall looked taken aback. "I just remembered your name from putting the hat on your head..." Estella didn't believe this, she said nothing though. "Look, I'm going to be late to teaching, and you're going to be late to learning. Goodbye, Miss Lupin."

Professor McGonagall stalked off, without another word. Estella sighed. She had been hoping that perhaps she would be able to get a few words out of her head of house about her birth Father, as even though she had sent Remus that letter asking, she doubted she was going to get anything out of him. Oh well, she though, she would surely find out someday.

Hopefully anyway.

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September 5th, 1991.

Estella's first few days at Hogwarts were eventful to say the least. She learned a fair few things about the castle -- like shortcuts she could take if she was running late to classes, and steps that she should avoid as they would likely trip her up.

Her classes and Professors were all very mixed.

Professor Flitwick, who was her charms teacher and who's class she had attended first, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books just to see over his desk. He was lenient and kind, too, Estella rather liked him.

Professor McGonagall hadn't exactly been the same. She was nice, but nowhere near as calm and collected as Flitwick had been.

"Transfiguration is the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she had informed the first years in their very first lesson with her. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Then of course, there was the Herbology teacher, Professor Sprout. She was a dumpy little witch who loved the outdoors and who's fingernails were always black. Estella so far liked her, though.

Next was Professor Binns, a ghost teacher that Estella absolutely despised. There was nothing wrong with his personality in general (although he did keep calling Estella 'Miss London', despite her reminding him several times that it was actually Lupin), it was more the fact that he would drone on and on about stuff that the young Gryffindor didn't exactly care about, leaving her to stare out of the window daydreaming for his entire lesson.

And then there was the Professor of a class that everyone had been looking forward to - Defence Against the Dark Arts. His name was Professor Quirrel, and even though she had only been there for a couple of days, Estella already found him quite suspicious.

For example, his classroom smelled very strongly of garlic and when he was questioned about it, he said that he was using it to ward of a vampire he had once met in Romania. To Estella, this story just didn't add up.

Everytime someone questioned him about how he had managed to ward of the vampire his cheeks went pink and he suddenly changed the subject. He also made a bit of a suspicious story about how he got his turban, too.

Estella didn't think about it too much though. There was much more important things to worry about.

Now, it was the end of the school week and the first day that Estella would get to experience her Friday classes. She was sat at breakfast with Harry and Ron, who were both very proud of themselves as they had managed to find their way to The Great Hall without getting lost for the very first time.

"What have we got today?" Harry asked, pouring sugar over on to his porridge.

Estella looked down at her schedule and sighed. "Double Potions with the Slytherins. I haven't heard very good things about Professor Snape so far, and he teaches us."

"He's Head of Slytherin House," said Ron, nodding. "They say he always favours them -- but I guess we'll be able to see if it's true."

"Wish McGonagall favoured us," said Harry. Estella nodded in agreement.

Just then, a flock of about a hundred owls came soaring into The Great Hall, meaning that the post was arriving.

Estella had been hoping everyday that Remus would send a reply to her letter, but everyday she had been left disappointed and today was no different. She suspected he was probably trying to keep a few things hidden from her.

Oh well, she kept saying to herself. She'd get it out of him one day.

Harry, however, did receive a letter that day. It was from Hagrid, asking him if he wanted to go down and have a cup of tea with him after classes.

Harry quickly scribbled a note saying yes and sent it back to him, before the three of them set off to Potions.

It was hell.

Potions was held deep down in the dungeons of the castle, meaning that it was freezing, dark, miserable and relatively scary.

But if the classroom was bad, it was nowhere near as bad as Professor Snape himself. He started the class by taking the register, taking a second to pause and stare at Estella as he called out her name.

He then did the same when it got to Harry -- although, this time he actually decided to speak, and he wasn't very kind.

"Ah, yes," he said softly, his voice monotone and bored sounding, "Harry Potter. Our new - celebrity."

Estella heard Draco and his stupid friends giggling, holding their hands to their face to try and hide it, but she payed no attention to them. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. The class was silent as he spoke -- probably out of fear. "As there is little foolish wand waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with it's shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses...I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death -- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

The class remained silent as Snape's boring speech finally ended, and Estella looked at Harry and Ron with her eyebrows raised. She didn't think teachers were allowed to call their students rude words like that.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"I don't know, sir," said Harry, sounding confused.

Estella sighed. She thought it was pretty unfair that Snape was asking Harry all these questions when he hadn't even been in the class five minutes, especially when he probably knew that Harry had no previous experience of magic.

The Professor's lip curled into a sneer.

"Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything."

Hermione Granger had raised her hand, no doubt desperate to answer the question. Estella decided to do the same, but for a different reason. To defend Harry. Snape ignored them both, though.

"Let's try again, Potter, what would you do if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"I don't know, sir."

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"

"Oh, leave him alone!" Without even thinking, Estella had stood up from her seat and was yelling at Professor Snape, so angry about the way he had jist started harassing her friend with all of these questions. Both Ron and Hermione gave her a look like she was mad, but she ignored the both of them.

"Miss Lupin....Please sit down before I--"

"No!" Estella held her hand to the Potions masters face, not even scared about the consequences of her actions. "Do you know how unfair you are currently being?"

"Lupin!"

"Harry has just come from a Muggle household. He knows hardly anything about magic, and you're a Professor so you should know this....and yet you're still picking on him to answer all of your stupid questions! Choose someone else. Hermione clearly knows the answers."

"MISS LUPIN!"

Estella shut up. The whole class was staring at her -- some laughing, some visibly shocked. She sat back down on her seat, watching Professor Snape's black eyes as they flashed with anger.

"I thought you would've been made aware of the Hogwarts rules by now, Lupin. Mouthing off to your Professor's is strictly not tolerated....Detention!"

Snape looked around the classroom again. "Now, where were we...." his eyes stopped at Harry, "oh yes...What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"I don't know," said Harry, quieter this time, "but...as Estella already told you, it seems like Hermione does. Why don't you ask her?"

Estella chuckled. She then saw Snape glaring at her through the corner of her eye, however, and quickly shut up.

"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione, who had been so eager to answer the question that she was now out of her seat. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkswood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite."

His eyes darted around the classroom once more. "Well? Why aren't you copying that down?"

"You never asked us to," said Estella quietly, rolling her eyes and hoping that the cruel Professor wouldn't hear.

He did.

"What was that, Miss Lupin?"

"Nothing, Professor."

"I thought so." There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point each will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter and Lupin."

Things didn't improve for Estella or the rest of the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils.

He definitely favoured the Slytherins, those rumours had been true, although the one he seemed to favour most of all was the one and only Draco Malfoy. He was just telling the class how perfect the young boys potion was when their was a loud bang and clouds of green smoke suddenly filled the air of the classroom.

Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus' cauldron. Their potion was forming a river across the floor, burning holes into people's shoes as it did so. People were jumping up on to tables to get away from it.

"Idiot boy!" yelled Snape, pulling out his wand and making the spilled potion disappear. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville said nothing. He merely whimpered out in fear as boils started to pop up all over his nose.

"Take him to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Estella, who was working with Hermione at the table next to Neville and Seamus.

"You -- Lupin -- why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."

Estella opened her mouth. She was ready to scream at Snape again and get it through his thick skull that how he was treating her wasn't fair and that she clearly hadn't had anything to do with Neville's potion exploding -- but the way Hermione was looking at her told her not to push it, so she quicky closed it again.

Her and Hermione didn't really get along, but she had to admit that the Granger girl did make some very valid points sometimes....

"Lupin, stay behind."

The class drew to a close what felt like a year later, and Estella felt significantly worse when she heard Snape call out her name and ask her to stay after everyone else left.

Soon, it was only her and her Professor remaining in her classroom, and it was at this point that she started wishing to herself she had the ability to disappear.

"I don't like your attitude, Miss Lupin," sneered Snape, not taking his dark eyes off Estella's grey ones. "It's absolutely disgusting and I'm going to have to speak to Professor McGonagall about it. You remind me so much of your stupid Father."

"Who, Remus?" asked Estella, even though she knew that her Professor was indeed not talking about Remus. "Remus is actually the smartest man I know, although I don't really know many men. He taught me everything I've learnt so far in life."

"Maybe," snarled Snape, looking as though he didn't believe this at all, "but we both know I'm not talking about Lupin. I'm talking about your biological Father."

"And in that case, I can't really be of help," said Estella, standing from her seat and walking towards the door. "I don't know anything about him, so..." She turned the door handle, ready to leave, "Speak to Professor McGonagall all you want. The worst she's going to do is contact Remus, and he'll know exactly why I acted the way I did when I tell him how you've been treating me. Have a good day, Sir."

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Hey everyone ! Believe it or not, I didn't actually forget about this story....I've just been very busy with my exams and just college in general and I also had writers block. I think I'm going to start updating this regularly now though if I can. I'm really starting to miss writing and while my course isn't quite finished yet I'm probably going to have a lot more time on my hands over the next few months. How is everyone, btw? Did you enjoy the chapter?

Please also let me know if there is any mistakes. I edited it very briefly but I was and still am half asleep and I want to get this chapter out now.

I hope everyone is having a lovely day/night <3