HP Starlight

England in early April is still a bit chilly, especially on this gray and dreary evening.People on the street wrapped their coats tightly and hurried home.No one cared about the few children who called themselves "Fangtooth" at the corner of the alley, chatting happily together, and didn't care about the bad weather at all.

"Today is really fun. Will the 'Willie Gang' dare to be arrogant again this time?" A tall boy in the crowd said excitedly, puffing out smoke rings.

"That's what you said last time." The neatly dressed girl next to him reminded him, her voice was muffled by chewing bubble gum.

Another boy played with a coin in his hand and said casually, "As long as Esther doesn't turn around and help them. Will you be with us next time, Esther?" Together the children looked at one of them, a very unremarkable girl.

The girl named Esther looked a little thin among the group of children who were older than her.A head of long chestnut hair is slightly curly, hanging loosely to the back.The blue-green eyes stared at the potted plants in the opposite shop window, not interested in their chat.

It wasn't until someone touched her arm that she gave them a nonchalant shrug and said casually, "As long as the pay is right."

The tall boy was not too pleased, "That's so heartless to say, Esther, I thought we were friends?"

Esther smiled lightly and said nothing.She doesn't think they regard her as a friend, they just need her to advise them.They were merciless when they bullied her before.If it weren't for the means and execution ability that she showed far surpassing her peers when she took revenge, she might have been bullied by them so much that she dared not go out.

But Esther was tired of the fights among the children, and she decided not to participate in the fight between the two "gangs" of "Fang" and "Willie" in the future.And she'll be 11 next year, and she's going to start preparing for her secondary school admissions interview early.

That middle school was registered by her father when she was born.Although her father no longer wanted her, she still wanted to go to the interview, as if she would prove her father wrong if she passed.

Her father, Mr Jed Collins, had high hopes for her.Etiquette education was given to her from the time she learned to stand, and then she had a series of complicated study arrangements such as language, dance, painting, social interaction, and riding. Fortunately, Esther was very special and could handle these heavy lessons, otherwise It is beyond words.

Esther is different from other children. She has been good at remembering since she was born, and she is also good at observing words and emotions, and it is easy to detect other people's emotions.Therefore, it is very easy for her to get the favor of others when she gets along with others, which can be seen from the love of her personal teacher and elders in the family.

But after the age of five, everything changed.My father went out frequently, kept secrets, and eventually developed to the point where he didn't even come home for Christmas.The mother went from panic to becoming desperate and helpless at the end, and finally took Esther to move out of the broken home and settle down in Aunt Connie's house.Esther also transferred to the school rearranged by her mother here to start a new study and life.However, her mother left her two years later in pain.

Mother's funeral Father did not show up, only a perfunctory letter.The faint smell of perfume on the envelope let Esther know that the new mistress had taken mother's place.Esther hated her father's abandonment.She wrote back to remind her father to provide full and timely support, which would keep them both free from court entanglements.

She received a crumpled check shortly after, and no more words were said, but Esther politely responded with a thank you note.Emotions don't help, do they?Esther kept herself busy, which was a good way to get rid of those nagging thoughts.She opened accounts to invest, and she took on gardening and errand jobs, and paid rich idiots to do their homework.

Aunt Connie lives at No. 2 Magnolia Road, Little Whinging, Surrey. She is the only surviving relative of her mother, Wen Tina, and has always regarded Wen Dina as her own daughter.Although she disagreed with Wendina and Collins' marriage, and even stopped contacting because of this, when Wendina brought Esther to ask her for help, she accepted them kindly.

In Esther's eyes, Aunt Connie is a mysterious person, and it is difficult for her to guess her thoughts as easily as she knows others.Aunt always talked with mother behind closed doors in the house and never invited Esther into her room.She also always observes Esther secretly, which makes Esther feel uncomfortable from time to time.

Esther walked home with the reward paid by the "fangs".She doesn't like to meet them near home, so she has to go far every time she comes back.

The sky gradually darkened, and a layer of mist gradually formed in the air.When she was almost home, she vaguely saw a strong boy chasing and beating another thin child.In order to avoid the fat boy, the little boy jumped towards the low wall of Esther's house without hesitation.To Esther's surprise, the little boy jumped directly onto the roof of the tool shed.The fat boy was stunned for a moment, and then he was about to break into the garden, yelling and cursing loudly.

Esther quickly walked a few steps to block him, folded his arms and said coldly, "Why, do you still want to break into my house?"

"Go away!" the fat boy roared unceremoniously.The usual arrogance and domineering made the boy less afraid, so much so that he ignored the fact that he was actually a few years younger than Esther.

Esther narrowed his eyes, suddenly rushed forward, and punched the boy's stomach with his right fist.The boy suddenly bent down and retched, he never expected a little girl to attack so hard.

Esther patted the boy on the shoulder lightly: "I think you should remember this lesson, politeness and humility will make you be treated better." The fat boy stumbled and ran away, mumbling something in his mouth.

Esther turned around and looked up the roof. When she approached just now, she had recognized the fat boy as a child of a household on Privet Drive not far from her home——Dudley Dursley, who was already a child at the age of seven Everyone around here hates the little bully.Don't think about the one on the room, it should be his cousin who lived with him——Harry Potter.

His reputation is not very good, and it is rumored that his parents are not very decent.But Esther doesn't care about this, isn't she also a wild species in the eyes of others?

Esther moved the ladder to help the little boy down, and looked at him carefully: thin and small, with messy black hair, round glasses, and a pair of green eyes, which she seemed to dodge a little.

"Thank you for your help, er, I mean, I'm sorry to break into your yard. Harry Potter, my name." The little boy said nervously.

"Hello, Potter, I'm Esther Collins. I saw that he was chasing you, it's not your fault. But how did you get up, so high." Esther made his tone seem casual.

Hearing that the other party didn't mean to blame him, Harry relaxed, scratched his head and said suspiciously, "You can just call me Harry. I don't know how I got up, I just jumped a little, maybe the wind carried me went up?"

Esther squinted and stared at him for a while, and felt that he was not cheating or perfunctory, then smiled and said, "Okay, then do you want to come in and have a cup of tea, Jumpman?"

Harry seemed a little shy, and was about to speak when a tall, thin woman walked towards them hurriedly, leading the fat boy just now, obviously looking for trouble.

The woman walked up to Esther with her hands on her hips, and shouted aggressively, "Ha, you uneducated thing, how dare you touch my baby Dada, apologize to him immediately, or I will make you look good. Harry, you Come here, do you want to be with this vicious girl?"

Harry glanced at Esther apologetically, walked up to the woman, and was dragged by her by the arm.It seemed that there was a lot of strength, and it made Harry grin.

Esther raised his eyebrows and said loudly in a gentle tone: "I think this lady must have misunderstood, he is so strong, how could I hurt him, but you insulted and threatened a minor child, I I don't think this will be a good talk for people after dinner."

The thin and tall woman was obviously very concerned about being someone else's talking point. She looked around in a panic, and stared at Esther fiercely, "Stay away from my son in the future." After speaking, she quickly dragged the two The child leaves.

Esther watched them disappear into the mist, then turned and went home too.

When Esther went out the next day, she found Harry walking up and down her door.

"Why didn't you ring the doorbell?" Esther asked aloud.

Hearing the voice, Harry looked up and saw Esther, and hurriedly said, "Be careful today, my cousin Dudley and his group of friends may come to trouble you. He was very angry about what happened yesterday, and he will take revenge today I have to go back quickly, or Aunt Petunia will find me out again when she finds out." After speaking, he ran back in a hurry.

Esther cocked the corner of her mouth, feeling a little fond of Harry. The Fangs were all using her to get out of trouble.Will worry about her, Harry is the first.

With advance preparations, Esther deliberately walked into a remote alley after seeing Dudley's group, where there was a trap she had prepared.The sand and stones turned over from the top of the wall mixed with pepper powder made them feel embarrassed.The rope under their feet made them push each other and fall together.

Taking advantage of their commotion, Esther held a sheathed silver dagger to Dudley's neck and warned him, "I hope this is the last time, otherwise I'm not sure I'll be here Go up."

With a flick of the icy sheath, Dudley gave a subconscious shudder, promising never to make trouble again.Esther let them roll around on the ground like caterpillars and left the alley.

In the afternoon, seeing Esther safe and sound, Harry finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that he would hurt her.Esther responded with a relaxed smile, and bought Harry a big chocolate ice cream on the mobile ice cream truck to express his gratitude for his report.

Esther evasively told Harry what happened, deliberately hiding the process of threatening Dudley with a dagger.

"So you just said a few words to him and he gave up revenge?" Harry couldn't believe it.

"Maybe I'm good at eloquence." Esther said mischievously with a wink.

After this they became friends and hung out together.Harry occasionally sneaks to Esther's house to have tea and watch TV.He was excited to finally be able to choose his favorite TV show.

But Esther felt that Aunt Connie's enthusiasm for Harry was a little out of the ordinary.She always looked at him with a smile, saying that he was too thin, and stuffing all kinds of food into his hands.

Maybe Harry was her grandson, and sometimes Esther would secretly slander.

It was another sweltering afternoon, and the windows were wide open in an attempt to invite even a breath of wind.Everyone is paralyzed at home and does not want to move, so as to escape this unbearable time.Even Aunt Petunia didn't bother with Harry.He finally had a chance to sneak over to Esther's house for a glass of iced orange juice.

"It's nice to be in your house." Harry said a little disappointed, "Actually, today is my birthday."

Esther froze for a moment, "You should have told me in advance."

"It's nothing, I'm used to it, they never gave me a birthday and I never look forward to it. It's just that today I want someone to be with me instead of being alone."

"Wait a minute," Esther jumped off the couch and ran into the kitchen.After a while, a strangely shaped cake was taken out of it.The base is pieced together with several small lemon cakes, and a layer of cream is evenly spread on it. The words "Happy Birthday" written in jam are smooth and powerful.

"Aunt Connie, have you seen the candles at home? I didn't find them." Esther asked while holding the cake carefully.

"I'll look in the house." Aunt Connie said and entered her room.

"It's a bit rudimentary, but it looks a bit like a birthday cake anyway, doesn't it?" Esther said a little unconfidently.

"Thank you, Esther, no one has ever treated me as well as you." Harry's eyes were a little moist.He blinked.

Esther looked away thoughtfully.

Aunt Connie came out of the house and gave Esther seven candles.

"Harry, what's your birthday today?" Esther asked.

"Seven," said Harry.

"Just right." Esther plugged in the candle and lit it with a match. "Make a wish, Harry," she said briskly.

Harry closed his eyes with his fingers crossed, opened them again after a moment, and blew out the candle in one breath.

"Come share the cake," Esther handed the knife to Harry, "I will definitely prepare a real birthday cake for you next year's birthday in advance."

"This is very good, I'm so happy, this is my own birthday cake, the first time!" Harry happily gave the biggest two pieces to Aunt Connie and Esther, and then began to taste carefully Pick up your piece.He ate slowly, as if trying to remember every bite.

A year passed in a blink of an eye, and the friendship between Esther and Harry grew stronger.Together they went to the playground in the clearing so Dudley wouldn't come looking for trouble.Together they eat Christmas candy, share Esther's birthday cake, and hunt for Easter eggs in the yard.

Harry's aunt doesn't like Esther, and every time she sees her, she will show disgust and say some unpleasant things.Although Esther didn't care, Harry still didn't want his friend to suffer such a bad treatment.He sneaked to Esther's house to play as much as possible, and didn't let her take the initiative to go to his aunt's house to find him, so as not to cause unpleasantness.

It's almost Harry's birthday again, and Esther didn't forget the promise he made last year to give Harry a real birthday cake.She prepared to go shopping a week in advance, but when she walked to the foyer, she saw a letter lying on the floor, and she didn't know when it was delivered.Esther picked up the letter and saw that it was written in emerald green ink on the cover:

Surrey

Little Whinging District

No. 2 Magnolia Road

Small bedroom on the second floor

Miss Esther Collins

The envelope is of heavy parchment, very unusual, and the back has a wax seal with a coat of arms: a capital "H" surrounded by a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake .It's strange that people still use wax seals now, Esther thought.But after Esther opened the letter, she felt even more incredible.The letter reads:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(President of the International Federation of Wizards, first-class great magician of Sir Merlin, chief magician of Wizengamot)

Dear Miss Collins:

We are pleased to inform you that you have been admitted to study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.Enclosed is a list of required books and equipment.

Semester is scheduled to start on September 31.We will be waiting for your owl to bring your reply before July [-]st.

Vice-Chancellor

Sincerely, Minerva McGonagall

"What's the matter?" Aunt Connie came over and asked Esther in a daze.

"Um, a strange letter." Esther said, handing over the letter in his hand.

My aunt hugged Esther excitedly when she saw the envelope, "Oh, God, you really received it, your mother and I thought you were a squib! She also specifically asked me not to tell you about the magic world. thing. Knowing that being a Squib is better than being a Muggle without knowing anything."

Esther looked at her aunt suspiciously, "What is a squib?"

"It's someone from a wizard family who doesn't know magic. To be honest, you haven't shown any magical ability. It's not surprising that your mother and I think so."

magic?It's not that Esther didn't realize it, but only a fool with no brains would show off his specialness.In Esther's view, being different will only get him into trouble and danger.

She looked at Aunt Connie, and then focused her gaze on a glass, which suddenly shook violently without warning.Aunt Connie was taken aback, "So you found out a long time ago, but why didn't you let me see it? I have been watching you secretly for a long time, and you have no flaws."

"Maybe it's because I found you watching me. I think this kind of thing is not normal, and it's dangerous to be seen by others." Esther smiled a little embarrassedly.

"We should have thought of it a long time ago. Of course the people of the Shafiq family are very sensitive. It's just that I didn't expect you to hide yourself instinctively since you were a child. It seems that you have inherited the advantages of the family very well. You don't know it yet, your My mother's surname is Shafik. Our family has a long tradition of magic." Aunt Connie said proudly, "Then what do you plan to do? Are you going to a magic school?"

"I haven't made up my mind yet," Esther replied honestly, "I've been preparing for the interview for a year, and it's a pity to give up now. And I'm still not reconciled... I want to prove it to him..."

"I think your mother would want you to go," said Aunt Connie, feeling a little sad for her. "She sure doesn't want you to live in the shadows of the past. If she was alive, she would tell you how hard life at Hogwarts was." joy."

Esther looked at her aunt suspiciously, "My mother also went to this school? She never mentioned a single word to me."

"Because your father was a Muggle. At that time I firmly opposed your mother marrying him. It is impossible for a family like his to accept a wizard as a wife. Your mother must live like a Muggle for him." Aunt Connie I don't know whether to be more angry or more helpless.

Esther said angrily, "But he still abandoned her, whether Mom was a wizard or not."

"No, he found out later. As much as I hate to say it, he really loved your mother before he was revealed as a wizard."

Auntie's words reminded Esther of the way her mother used to lean on her father's arms and laugh heartily.It was a long time ago, so that her mind was full of her mother's haggard appearance before she died, and she almost forgot that she also had a smile on her face.

"How did he find out?" Esther asked.

Aunt Connie lowered her face and said nervously, "Your father met Death Eaters—a group of lunatics who went around killing people on orders from people who can't mention their names. Your mother saved him with magic.

"Your father didn't have a very violent reaction at first, and your mother was lucky for it, thinking that he could accept everything about her. But who knew he was going to leave without saying goodbye. This hit your mother even more. You know hope The disappointment afterwards is even harder to accept." Aunt Connie sighed.

Est didn't know what to say.He loved her and was afraid of her. He didn't hurt her directly, but he hurt her more deeply in other ways.What if there were no Death Eaters attacking?Will he always love her?Or instead of exposing the magic in that situation, would he accept it in a different place and in a different way?Esther has always hated him for abandoning himself, but in the face of unknown forces, fear is inevitable.Esther didn't know whether he should hate his father or the Death Eaters more.

Aunt Connie allowed Esther into her room for the first time. The room was a warm dark yellow, with several pots of plants she couldn't name, and a barn owl was dozing in its cage.

My aunt showed her pictures of her mother when she was young, and the little people in the pictures could run around. "You can't tell anyone about magic. We have the law of secrecy, and we must never reveal a word to Muggles." Aunt Connie said to Esther seriously.

"And your friend Harry, he is special. Legend has it that the man who cannot be named killed his parents and tried to kill him when he was a baby, but he defeated him. No one knows why. But it seems that he You don't know anything about it, and you'd better not mention it to him for now, and his current Muggle family doesn't seem to be able to accept magic, and he has enough trouble."

Esther nodded, she was good at keeping secrets.

"Also, don't tell others that you are a descendant of the Shafik family." Aunt Connie said mysteriously, "Our family was once targeted by a mysterious person. Although he has disappeared now, we still need to be more vigilant." Ace Te nodded silently, keeping his aunt's instructions in mind.

After seeing the magical world, Esther hesitated for a long time.Deep down in her heart, she knew very well that her father already had a new life, no matter how good her grades were, he would never look at her again, nor would he say sorry for abandoning her.It's time for her to give up the path her father planned for her, let go of herself, and start her own life.

She borrowed Aunt Connie's owl, Lucinda, to send a confirmation letter to Hogwarts.Watching the owl gradually turn into a small black dot and disappear in the northern sky, Esther's heart raised expectations for the future.