freya mckinnon may share the same face as her aunt marlene, but she was more than just the niece of a war heroine, though no one seemed to see that. no one but george weasley, her rival on the quidditch pitch who quickly became so much more.
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CHAPTER NINE: THE FIRST MEETING
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ESTELLE DAVIES DESCRIBED FALLING in love with Fraser McKinnon as drifting off to sleep and waking up from a good dream. For most of her life, she felt detached from reality. Like her head was in the clouds and her heart was on her sleeve. Her relationship with her parents and brother was strained. Her parents wanted her to get a job in the Ministry where her father worked in the Department of Law Enforcement. They wanted her to be just like her older brother, Chester. He was four years older and by the time she'd graduated Hogwarts, he had a stable job in the Improper Use of Magic Office and was engaged to a pureblood of high standing. Estelle felt lost, stuck between what she wanted and what people expected from her. But then Fraser came along, and suddenly everything made sense again.
He was two years her senior and the older brother of her friend, Marlene. The two knew of each other when they were in school but ran in completely different social circles, the older boy not even noticing his younger sister's quiet friend. It was only when she came by his house one day to spend time with Marlene that he made an effort to speak with her, and the fall was hard and fast. Fraser showed Estelle what it was like to live. They travelled the world together, just the two of them and the clothes on their backs. Estelle's parents despised him, but that only made her love him more. He encouraged her photography, cheered her on rather than controlling her. Fraser was her biggest supporter.
Even when she fell pregnant at the age of nineteen, he stayed. He was excited to be a dad, to start a family with the girl he loved so much. Fortunately, his parents were far more open-minded than hers, and they welcomed her with open arms where Mrs and Mrs Davies expressed their disappointment. For a moment in time, Estelle had hoped they'd be happy, proud of her. She'd seen their excitement when Chester announced his pregnancy with his wife. They were expecting a little boy, Roger, and Mr and Mrs Davies couldn't be more overjoyed to meet their grandson. However, when Estelle informed them of Freya, they turned their noses up and left her to fend for herself. She would've been entirely alone had it not been for Fraser and the spot he had offered her in his own life.
Falling for Fraser McKinnon was one of the best dreams Estelle Davies had ever had. She created a name for herself, gave birth to a daughter whom she adored just as much as her boyfriend. If Freya and Fraser were the earth spinning on its axis, Estelle was the sun, the warmth and the light.
And when Estelle died, Freya's light went out. Over time, she created her own light again, but never did it shine as bright as Estelle Davies. No matter how much she wished it would.
In the days after her confrontation with Umbridge, Freya's light was an inconsistent flicker, a singular flame threatening to burn out. She dreamed of her mother's face staring down at her in her baby crib, the ghost of a loving touch along her cheek. She dreamed of Marlene lifting her up in her arms that night before the Death Eaters came. What would've been had life not been so crushing.
