When will I be good enough?
Self-assured, outgoing and gregarious on the outside, Estella Lena Granger is the last person one would expect to be hiding a personal dilemma. But underneath her confident exterior, Estella struggles under the self-impos...
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October arrived, dressed in a gown of ice-cold gossamer, sweeping over the grounds and into the castle.
Madam Pomfrey, the matron, was kept busy by a sudden spate of colds among the staff and students. Estella was not exempt from this and was often left with smoking ears after ingesting the (almost too) effective Pepperup Potion.
Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end; the lake rose, the flowerbeds turned into muddy streams and Hagrid's pumpkins swelled to the size of garden sheds.
Estella spent most of her time with her friends in the warm, fire-lit common room where they sat on squashy armchairs and attempted not to fall asleep while doing essays on the Medieval Assembly of European Wizards and The International Warlock Convention of 1289.
Halloween drew nearer and while rain lashed relentlessly at the windows, the inside of the castle was a coven of bright firelight and jubilant students.
"I'm so excited for the feast this year!" Charlotte cheered, waving her wand so that streaks of green appeared amongst her light brown hair. Estella was in her friends' dorm and they were all getting ready for the long-awaited Halloween feast.
"That reminds me," Estella perked up as she struggled to brush through her curly hair, "I've been meaning to ask: do wizards dress up at Halloween?"
"Dress up?" Lucille furrowed her brows. "What do you mean dress up?"
"Well, in the Muggle world, children- and adults usually dress up as witches and ghosts and vampires for Halloween," explained Estella, "Stuff like that."
Larisa laughed. "Why would you dress up as a vampire? And dressing up as a ghost is just silly."
Amelia's green eyes flashed with hurt. "It's not silly," she protested. "I used to dress up and go Trick Or Treating with my dad. It's really fun!"
"What is Trick-Or-Treating?" Belle asked, pulling her thick, black hair into a high ponytail. "I've never heard of that before."
"Me neither," Hazel agreed.
"It's exactly what it sounds like," said Estella. "People - Muggles - go around to houses and say "Trick Or Treat" and the owner of the house will give you candy, which is the treat."
"The trick is the bad part," Amelia added, "But it's usually just harmless pranks - getting candy is more common. It's amazing!"
Estella nodded and her eyes shone. "I remember one time, Hermione and I dressed up as witches for Halloween. Ironic, isn't it?"
In the back of her mind, a scene played out on a loop: a small girl - no older than seven - with curly, toffee-coloured hair, her blue eyes shining with delight, holding hands with a girl that mirrored her expression, except her eyes were brown and her front teeth a little buck-toothed.
