A/N: This is the completed Part 1 of The Life and Death of Estella Stroud! Please, please, please review! I'm working on Part 2 now, and this will help me get it posted faster ;) I hope you all enjoy!

June 1971

"Ellie, you're going to get us into trouble!"

"Shhhh! We'll get in trouble for sure if you keep that up!"

"But I—" Ellie threw a hand over her twin's mouth. After all her efforts, she was not going to let Ari's uncertainty foil her plan. There was a limited window for success, and she was going to continue on with or without Ari's help.

"Shut up and follow me" Ellie whispered.

Being the more troublesome of the two, Ellie was the leader in any nefarious activities the girls were involved in. Ari was much more shy and well-manned, easily persuaded by her sister into following along with her plans. In the last month alone, Ellie had convinced Ari to help her turn the cat pink, remove the roses from their mother's rose bushes, and switch their fathers shampoo with hair removal ointment.

In this way, they were just like any other eleven years olds, though probably slightly more difficult to manage. Estella and Ariella Stroud were just two pureblood twins who had a penchant for trouble. This would explain why Ellie, the eldest by seven minutes, was leading an expedition into the kitchens in the middle of the night. You see, at the moment there was a freshly made lemon tart cooling in the kitchen just waiting to be eaten. Since it was the girls' favorite dessert, they saw no reason to wait all night to dig in.

Unfortunately, their mother didn't have the same mindset, and so they were forced into secrecy.

Opening the kitchen door as quietly as she could, Ellie gestured her sister to go in ahead of her. "Do you see them?" she whispered.

Ari scanned the room until her eyes landed on the serving tray next to the sink. Letting out a small, excited gasp, she turned her head to her sister with wide eyes and nodded as a grin overtook her face. Ellie smiled and pushed passed her twin to made her way towards the tray. Not believing their luck, she peeled back the wrappings and took two squares, one for each her and Ari. Handing one to her sister, Ellie opened her mouth to take the first of many bites of lemon tart.

At least, that was her plan until the kitchen lights came on.

"Estella! Ariella! What exactly do you think you're doing?" Squealing, Ellie lost her grip on her piece of lemon tart and watched as it fell to the floor. Mournfully, she looked in to the angry eyes of her mother.

Mrs. Stroud was a beautiful woman. Her hair was long and blonde with small waves framing her face. Crystal blue eyes, despite that they never seemed to soften, were said by many to be her greatest feature. Petite and pale, Lorella Stroud was the epitome of a pureblood house wife. This extended to the disciplinary actions she chose in inflict on her children. Knowing this, Ellie took a daring step towards her enraged mother.

"It was my idea, Mother. I just wanted a piece lemon tart, and I made Ari come with me," she said boldly.

Ignoring her, Mrs. Stroud grabbed each girl by the arm and pulled them from the kitchen. Ellie cast one last longing look towards the fallen lemon tart before following her ranting mother.

"Don't presume that you can keep your sister from punishment, Estella! She is just as guilty as you. Maybe one day she will stop agreeing to your harebrained plans," Looking to Ari, who just shrugged her shoulders, Ellie doubted very much that would ever happen. Lorella dragged the twins into their room and deposited each girl onto their beds.

"Stay here while I go get your father." Lorella slammed the door shut behind her as she left.

Ellie and Ari exchanged looks with one another. After eleven years, they were used to their parents' punishments. It happened at least once a week—either the girls were forced to miss supper or they weren't allowed out of their room for the day. When father got really angry (like after the hair removal incident) they made be grabbed roughly enough to sport bruises, or have a switch pulled on them. Having grown up in the pureblood lifestyle, this was typical. The twins were expected to behave a certain way, something Ellie and Ari were usually not inclined to do.

Thankfully, they only have three months left before they would be leaving for Hogwarts, and Ellie knew that there, lemon tart would be abundant.