▬▬▬ CHAPTER TWENTY THREE ▬▬▬

ESMERELDA NEVER THOUGHT THAT MOANING Myrtle would ever sought her out for anything. While the ghosts were very much intrigued with her creepy necromancy ability, Moaning Myrtle never bothered to show any interest (except for that one day where they all confronted her). She usually just stayed in her toilet and moped to herself.

But not today.

Esmerelda was simply just walking to her common room after a busy day of classes when Moaning Myrtle came bursting through the walls, looking frustrated and close to tears.

"There you are!" She cried out. "I've been looking everywhere for you! You're helping me now!"

Esmerelda looked sullenly at the stack of barrels where her common room laid behind.

So close yet so far, she thought. "What's wrong Myrtle?"

"Follow me!" She ordered, then flew through the wall.

Esmerelda stared blankly at where she once floated.

Moaning Myrtle came back, looking a bit sheepish. "Right. You're alive." She started leading her down a bunch of hallways until they finally reached the girls bathroom. Moaning Myrtle's bathroom to be exact. According to her, she had died here after seeing a pair of large eyes. It made Esmerelda seriously worry about Hogwarts' security.

"Is it your toilet? Because I'm not a plumber," she told her.

"My toilet's not the problem! It's those dreadful third year girls!" She fumed, floating around the air as one would pace.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

Moaning Myrtle let out a noise that sounded very much like an angry snarl. Esmerelda was slightly impressed. She sounded like a harpy who just stumbled upon a demigod who wasn't following the rules for curfew.

"Every. Day!" She barked. "These putrid girls would go inside my bathroom and throw things at me!"

"What?" Esmerelda's jaw dropped. Whoever those girls were needed a new hobby. Antagonizing a ghost? How childish could one be? "That's really mean of them..."

"Isn't it?!" Myrtle agreed hysterically. "You can't believing how sick I am of them! Every day they come in here, giggling and calling out my name, throwing books, quills—even pads!"

Esmerelda gagged. "That's so gross. They're not used are they?"

"No," Myrtle replied, making her sigh in relief. "Not like they'd care though. I'm a ghost, I can't feel anything, wah!" She mocked.

"Did you take me here so I can tell them to stop?" She asked. "'Cause I'll do that. Heck, I'll even tell their house head for you—unless their Slytherin's because Snape's just going to let it go... And give those girls points..."

"Oh no, Esmerelda," Moaning Myrtle smiled slyly. "You're going to do something else for me..."

"Er," she fidgeted in her spot. She didn't like that mischievous look on her face. She usually saw the same expression in children of Hermes when they were planning a prank for revenge. "What exactly do you want me to do?"

"You've been practicing that dark magic, right? Necromancy," she asked.

Esmerelda frowned. "Dark magic...? A little harsh don't you think?"

"Oh, you clueless girl," she giggled. "Necromancy is a branch of dark magic, don't you know? It's illegal and very looked down upon in here. You're lucky the other ghosts like you enough to keep quiet about it."

She blanched at the mention of it being illegal. She didn't know that what she was doing was considered bad... Sure it was a bit creepy, but to be seen as so terrible it was deemed illegal? She was grateful that the ghosts were looking out for her.

"I never knew," she admitted quietly. "So you want me to use my necromancy right?"

Myrtle nodded. "Make me corporeal. I want to give those girls a taste of their own medicine." She grinned sinisterly.

"Alright. I'll hide in one of the stalls, I don't want any of the girls seeing me and growing suspicious." She was glad that Myrtle informed her of the infamous reputation necromancy had, and the fact that she had practiced on making ghosts corporeal without needing to make physical contact with them.

"Good plan," Myrtle nodded in approval, but Esmerelda didn't think she was really paying attention to all that. Mytle's transparent eyes were glimmering for vengeance. "Now hurry. Those dumb girls should be coming here right about now. They usually come in right after their Charms class is finished."

Esmerelda focused really hard on channeling her energy into Myrtle's form. She tried to ignore the piercing pain in the back of her head and waited until Myrtle's body began solidify.

Said ghost looked down at her hands and tapped a sink. "It worked, now get to hiding!" She whispered.

Esmerelda didn't say anything and quickly scurried into the nearest stall. Quietly, she lowered the toilet cover and climbed over it, crouching low. Her heart rate increased erratically, as if she had just finished running a mile while tied to the titanic.

Her face became slick with sweat and pale as paper. You've done this before, she reminded herself. You can do this again.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the bathroom door opened. She leaned forward, gripping the stall walls and peeked through the gap on the door. She saw Myrtle's transparent back, and through it were a group of girls—the third year bullies.

"Hey Myrtle!" A girl called out. She was wearing the Gryffindor uniform and appeared to be the leader. In fact, the other two girls were Gryffindors as well. "I heard people saying they spotted you out in the hallways a few minutes ago. Were you trying to run away?"

"Did the other ghosts kick you out?" Another giggled.

"Oh just shut up and get on with it," Myrtle snapped at them. "I don't have all day, throw whatever you want at me!"

Thank you, Myrtle! Esmerelda inwardly shouted. Her body was growing exhausted from all of this.

"Let's just leave," the third girl complained. "We have potions after this and Snape'll kill us if we're late again."

"Who cares about Big Nose?" The leader huffed, and Esmerelda had to bite back a snort at the nickname. The girl opened her bag and took out a book. "Bet you five galleons I can get it through her pimply face!"

"SHUT UP ABOUT MY FACE!" Myrtle roared.

"Catch Myrtle!" The leader exclaimed, lobbing it at her.

Myrtle's hand shot out, and she caught it.

There was a stunned silence.

"How... how did you...?"

Myrtle smiled deviously. "Your turn, Sylvia. Catch!" With the expertise of a baseball pitcher, she threw her arm back and swung it forward. Sylvia raised her arms up to protect herself, but she was too late. The edge of the spine hit her hard in the eye and she yelped in pain.

"HOW DOES THAT FEEL, YOU NASTY WENCH?" Myrtle cackled, swooping down on them and yanking at their hair as they screamed and tried to swat her away. "Not so fun now, is it?! Huh, Sylvia? How about you, Doris?! And Genevieve?! ISN'T THIS A GREAT LAUGH?!"

"You're crazy!"

"Get away!"

"Stop that!"

Myrtle finally stopped, too full of laughter to continue. The three girls ran away in panic and Myrtle floated towards the doorway. "AND STAY AWAY FROM MY BATHROOM!"

Esmerelda finally stopped and slumped against the wall.

Myrtle giggled maniacally, and twirled around in the air. "Oh that was wonderful, Esmerelda! Absolutely brilliant! Thank you for helping me out! How are you doing?"

Esmerelda carefully stepped out of the stall, then basically threw herself against the sink. She gripped the edges, her legs barely able to hold her weight.

"I'm fine," she breathed out, wiping the sweat off her face. "You think those girls'll tell on you?"

Myrtle giggled, and if she were alive, her face would be flushed with glee. "Of course not. They'll sound crazy if they go complaining about it. Everybody knows ghosts can't throw books unless they're poltergeists like Peeves. And I'm not a poltergeist so I'll be able to get away with it~" She sang cheerily.

"That's good," she croaked, then turned on the faucet so she could splash cold water on her face.

Myrtle saw her condition and frowned a bit. "Perhaps you should sit down."

Esmerelda waved it off. "No, no, it's fine. I'm just gonna head back to my common room and rest there. You take care, Myrtle."

"Oh, I will~!" She trilled, dancing around in the air.

Esmerelda walked out of the bathroom, leaning against the wall for support. As tired as she was, she was more glad that she was able to make the infamously miserable ghost not so miserable anymore.

The first thing she did when she made it to her common room was collapse on the nearest available chair. She didn't even care that the table was occupied by a busy student and promptly threw her arms over the textbooks and buried her head in there.

"Are you alright?" A voice asked.

She grunted.

"Wait a second... You're Esmerelda, right? Should I get Professor Sprout?"

She finally looked up and realized that the busy student was Cedric, who grimaced at her. "You look sick," he told her. "Do you want me to get Professor Sprout?"

"No!" She squeaked. She didn't realize how famous she became in her house. Did everyone know her as that one first year who kept on fainting because she was 'trying to do advanced magic'?

"Have you been practicing advanced magic, again?" He asked her.

"No," she said again. He didn't look so convinced. "Really, I haven't! I just ran here... Hey, are you doing homework?" She said, changing the subject.

He knew exactly what she was doing but decided to humor her anyways. "Studying actually," he replied. "For Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall's going to test my class on Animagus."

"What's that?" She asked, having never heard of the term before.

Cedric looked like he was having a mental debate on whether it would be safe to tell her or not. "Well, an Animagus is a witch or wizard who can transform themselves into an animal and back again at will. It's a really complicated process and it takes time to learn it."

Esmerelda stopped listening after the first sentence.

Witches and wizards could gain the ability to turn into an animal? How useful was that? Imagine how effective it would be against monsters if her form was something equally as dangerous! Or what if she could turn into the Chimera? Nobody would mess with her then!

Cedric watched her warily. He did not like that daydreamy expression on her face. "Esmerelda," he said slowly. "I really hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking..."

She snapped out of her thoughts and gave him a bright smile. "I'm not."

"It's a really complicated process that could kill you if you fail," he warned. "So you better not try it..."

"I won't!" She chirped.

"I really shouldn't have told you about it..." He sighed. "Professor Sprout's going to kill me..."

"She's not going to kill you because I'm not going to do it," she promised. "I swear."

"Really?" He eyed her distrustfully.

She nodded. "Mmhmm!"

"Alright..." He said, still staring at her cautiously, as if she was gonna attempt it right now. "I'm trusting you..."

"I promise, I'm not gonna try and become an Animagus." She vowed.

I am so gonna become an Animagus. She thought, inwardly grinning.

Unfortunately, she couldn't exactly act out on it right away. She still had detention to go to.

She thought that her week long detention from before would be the worst of it, but she was wrong. Apparently, her running into him in the hallway was the last straw. Ever since then, he was ten times meaner to her. He was so horrible that she was beginning to suspect that he was a monster in disguise and was waiting for the chance to kill her.

As the months went by, Snape would find whatever excuse he could to give her detentions. Had a small spill with a potion? Detention. Couldn't answer a question? Detention. Looked happy? A week-long detention!

What's wrong with this guy? Does he have a thing for tormenting random children? She thought as she scrubbed an empty phial. Right now, he was making her wipe all of his supplies clean. He didn't even bother making the last class clean up after themselves—something he always did but conveniently 'forgot' to do this time. This was probably her twenty-sixth detention so far (she had been counting but lost count after the tenth one).

"Do pick up the pace, Miss Esmerelda so I wouldn't have to spend my break suffering under your presence." He drawled from where he sat on his desk. He was grading what looked to be a bunch of essays. She hoped it wasn't from his first year class because the essay she turned in was shoddy at best.

"Got it," she said miserably, hurrying up a little bit. She didn't want to suffer under his presence either.

"Yes, sir," he corrected. "Obviously you were never raised in the way of manners... Then again, you were never raised at all. Runaway brat, was it?"

Her face heated up from embarrassment and anger. He knew nothing about her life, so he had no right to judge! And what sort of teacher treats a student this way anyways? Seriously, who thought it was a good idea to hire him?

"Yes, sir," she grumbled. He was honestly worse than the harpies back at camp. Speaking of camp, Ethan informed her of the slight increase of new campers, but it wasn't enough to replace the sixteen they had lost the night of Christmas Massacre. It didn't help that Chris was still missing too.

Thalia's Tree had yet to recover, and was growing sicker and sicker as the days passed. Esmerelda wanted nothing more than to leave Hogwarts and go back home—she missed Ethan and her siblings and her friends, and she grew painfully worried for their safety every time she woke up in her plush bed, safe and sound.

Snape made a clicking sound with his tongue that drew her out of her thoughts. She turned her attention back to him and saw him inspecting an essay. "How disappointing, Miss Esmerelda. You couldn't spell a single thing right in this essay. Could you really be this dumb?" He said snidely, and her face burned hot. He scowled. "Stupid girl. This is another 'Troll' for you."

He turned to her and opened his mouth to insult her some more, but froze when he saw her watery eyes. Without another word, she sprinted out of the room, the glassware she had been cleaning magically bursting into a million pieces as the door slammed shut.

She thought she had grown used to teachers calling her stupid and hopeless, but Snape really was the worst of them. He was even worse than the bullies she had in her old school! At least with them she could punch them and be done with it, but she couldn't exactly attack a teacher...

Why was Snape such a horrible person? What terrible thing had to happen for him to become a jerk? Or was he naturally like that?

She finally slowed down when she reached her fourth hallway. She turned a corner and WHAM!

She fell onto her bottom, smelling like manure and used public restrooms. She looked down at herself and saw the familiar stain of a dungbomb.

She promptly burst into tears, unable to hold it in anymore.

"Oh no," someone above her said.

"Uh oh," another agreed.

"Fred, you made her cry!"

"Shut up George, it was an accident!"

Two figures crouched in front of her. Through her tears she could see that they had the same shade of vibrant red hair and looked very similar to one another. They were most likely twins.

"There, there, don't cry!" One of them said awkwardly. "I didn't mean to run into you! Or drop my dungbomb on you! Come on now, don't cry! George, help me!" He hissed.

"Er," George said, then winced as she sobbed harder. "Are you hurt anywhere?" He asked, sounding more gentle and comforting than his brother.

She kept her face covered and shook her head.

"Let's get you up," he said. "You wouldn't want anyone seeing this, would you?"

She sniffled loudly and lowered her hands. If Draco or Snape or Zacharias saw her like this, they'd spread the word for sure...

"Oh, what pretty eyes!" Fred cooed, then offered her a hand. "Come on, love, let's get you to the kitchen. You like food, don't you?"

She nodded her head. Stuffing her face with food sounded nice right about now. Plus, she always wondered where the kitchens were located...

Hands on her shoulders, they led her through a door in the entrance hall and down a staircase. She recognized the path immediately. This was the way to the Hufflepuff basement!

"M-my common room's here." She said.

"You're American?" George said, staring down at her in shock.

Fred dismissed the fact immediately and bopped her on the nose. "Silly girl, you never knew the kitchen was located in the same hall as the Hufflepuff's?"

"No," she frowned. "It explains the nice smell though..."

They took her down the hall and stopped in front of a painting of a bowl of fruit.

"Watch and learn, young first year." Fred grinned, then reached up and tickled the pear. The pear squirmed and suddenly let out a high-pitched giggle. Then, it turned into a large green door handle.

Esmerelda gaped.

Fred twisted the knob and opened the door. "Welcome to the Hogwarts Kitchens!" He announced, stepping aside and allowing her to enter first.

She marveled at the interior. The kitchen reminded her a lot of the Great Hall. It was a huge, high-ceilinged room with five tables in the same placement as the Great Hall. The stone walls were covered in various types of pots and pans, as were the counter tops and stoves. At the far end was a large brick fireplace that was lit up.

But the one thing that really alarmed her were the familiar little creatures bustling around.

She stumbled back into the twins. "K-Kobaloi?"

She shouldn't have spoken. All of them—and there were at least a hundred of them—stopped what they were doing and stared at her, eyes wide. She placed a hand over her brooch and bracelet, hoping they wouldn't try to snatch them from her.

"Bless you," Fred said, probably mishearing her. He then greeted the kobaloi cheerfully. "Hello elves! George and I are back again and this little first year's in need of some cheering up! Whip her up something good to make her day, would you?"

The elves didn't reply and continued to stare at them—no wait, their large eyes were actually trained on her as if the twins didn't exist. Esmerelda began to grow weary under their stares and got ready to throw a knife at them when they suddenly burst to life.

"Child of our goddess!"

"It's her! It's her!"

"She's our Dark Lady's daughter!*"

The elves squealed about, dropping to their knees and bowing or curtsying furiously. Esmerelda's eyes widened in realization. Wizards and witches weren't the only things her mother created, it turns out she made the... creatures too. But unlike the three-headed dog in the forbidden corridor that wanted to kill her, the elves seemed to worship her.

"Alright, alright, calm down now," Fred chuckled. He looked as lost as his brother, but the need for food won over his curiosity. "Care to give us some food?"

They reacted instantly, beaming and grinning as they went back to work, though much more enthusiastically as before.

"Oh of course, of course, sir! We is going to make our creator's child happy!" They exclaimed.

"These are... elves?" She whispered to one of the twins, hoping they'd disregard what they were saying.

George nodded his head. "Yep. Hogwarts' got hundreds of house elves working for them. They're all brilliant cooks and bakers."

So they're not kobaloi! She sighed in relief. Now that she had calmed down, she could see some differences between the elves and the kobaloi. The most noticeable difference was how nice they were and the fact that they didn't have any sharp and glinting teeth.

In an instant, a bunch of plates were placed in front of them. There were petit fours, buckwheat cakes, blueberry scones, and other things she could barely pronounce were all being offered to her by eager house elves. They were so happy that they even tied a bib around her (after cleaning up the mess with the dungbombs) and the twins' necks and shoved utensils into their hands.

"Please enjoy!" They said, smiling brightly.

"Oh we will!" The twins said, giving them a thumbs up. A lot of them squealed with joy. Esmerelda couldn't help but think that these elves were really adorable.

"This is really good!" She moaned in delight. The elves looked ready to pass out from joy.

"Isn't it?" George beamed. "By the way, your name wouldn't be Esmerelda would it?"

She blinked at them. "How'd you know?" She asked, her mouth full with strawberry tart.

"Our little brother, Ronnie, told us about you," he replied. "Said you were an American witch. Wouldn't shut up about how you can do wandless and nonverbal magic."

"Can you?" Fred asked, leaning closer.

"I'm not that good..." She mumbled, cheeks turning pink. Was being wandless and nonverbal magic really a huge thing to these people?

They looked at each other, grinning. "We'll be the judge of that."

She turned her attention to the plate of half-eaten glazed strawberry rhubarb cake and focused on it. Within seconds, the half-eaten piece was floating in the air in front of the brother's wide eyes. She lowered it back down when she got too tired.

"I-It's easier if I'm levitating a feather," she said sheepishly.

"That..." George began.

"Was amazing," Fred finished. "We thought Ron was kidding when he said that! You... you really can do wandless and nonverbal magic! You're not related to Dumbledore, are you?"

"No!" She said quickly. She still shuddered at the thought of her being called Esmerelda Dumbledore.

"Or maybe she's related to Merlin himself, Fred!" George said, making her choke on a slice of chocolate banana bread. One of the twins reached up to pat her on the back.

Gods, you have no idea how hard you hit the nail on that one! She thought incredulously.

"So Esmerelda," Fred began, lathering a thick layer of icing in his cinnamon roll. "What got you so tearful back there?"

"Was it Fred's face?" George joked, and Fred punched his arm. "Ow!"

"It was Snape..." She said dully.

"Snape?" They said in unison.

"Not a surprise." Fred said.

"Yeah, Snape's face makes everyone want to cry." George snickered.

"What'd Snape do to you?" Fred asked.

"He's been really really mean to me," she said. "He's been giving me a lot of detentions lately. I think I'm on my twenty-sixth one—"

"—Twenty six!" They interrupted.

"Impressive!" Fred grinned. "That's almost as much as ours when we were in first year!"

"I think we had about forty or so, right?" George mused. "Why's Snape giving you so much? We would've known if there was another prankster competing against us so it couldn't have been for pranking."

"It's not," she said. "I don't really know why, but Snape just really really hates me... Lately he's been giving me detentions for little things like making a small spill, or writing my notes too loudly, or smiling... Today, he was making me clean up while he was grading essays and he was mocking me for not being able to spell that great. He called me stupid and all that. I was really upset and I ran away..." She gulped. "I'm probably in a lot of trouble with him now."

"Now that's just plain bullying!" Fred cried out.

"Yeah!" George heartily agreed. "Don't you worry, Esmerelda, we'll get him back for you, and we'll get him good!"

She stared at them with wide eyes. "Y-you're not gonna kill him are you?"

They laughed.

"'Course not," George assured.

"We're just gonna give him a really hard time." Fred grinned evilly.

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She had no idea what to expect when the Weasley twins promised to get Snape back for her, but she wasn't expecting this. Potions class was cancelled for her the next day because the classroom was suddenly covered with dungbombs. They were all over the walls, all over the desks, chairs, and everything. According to Professor Flitwick, someone had stuffed a bunch of dungbombs inside Snape's personal cauldron and left it to boil. Once it reached it's boiling point, it promptly exploded everywhere. The staff managed to clean up the place and replace the putrid air with a more floral scent within minutes, but Snape was deemed too furious to teach.

"It was Potter I tell you, Potter and his scheming friends!" He was heard howling from his office with Dumbledore.

Amused to no end, she skipped over to the twins and expressed her thanks in a series of bone-crushing hugs and awed compliments. They truly were amazing pranksters. In her opinion, they were probably on par with the Stoll brothers!

Now that she had a whole bunch of free time, she went straight to the library to do some research on Animagus and how to become one.

She searched through the shelves, skimming through tens of books until she finally found the right one. It was about transifiguration and it had a whole chapter dedicated to Animagus. She ignored the long paragraph full of warnings and started reading the instructions.

THE PROCEDURE

The first step is for the wizard or witch to hold the leak of a mandrake in their mouth for a full month. They must never remove it, not even to sleep or eat, or anything. It is prudent that the leaf stays in their mouth for the duration of the month. Failure to do so means that the wizard or witch has to start over.

The next step is to wait for a visible full moon. If the moon is covered in clouds or not directly visible, they must redo the process with another mandrake leaf. If the moon is clear, the next step is to put their spit-soaked leaf in a phial within the range of the moon's pure rays (moonlight). In addition to the moonlight, the Animagus potion requires another vital ingredient: dew that hasn't been exposed to sunlight or human feet for a full seven days (it is wiser to collect the ingredients before beginning the process).

Once the wizard or witch reaches this step, they will need to keep their potion hidden and away from sunlight (sunlight is VERY bad for the potion). After this, they will have to wait for a lightning storm. Every day while waiting for the storm, at sunrise and sunset, they have to say "Amato Animo Animato Animagus". Once the lightning storm comes, they can, at last, drink the potion, repeat the incantation, and gain the ability to transform at will without the use of a wand.

ANIMAGUS POTION

Warning! Failure to brew correctly can result in permanent half-human half-animal mutations! Tread carefully!

1. Place the now-soaked Mandrake leaf in a small crystal phial where it is struck directly by the light given off by the moon (if the night is cloudy or the moon is otherwise obscured, the entire Mandrake Leaf process will need to be repeated).

2. Add one strand of hair to the phial.

3. Add a teaspoon of dew to the phial.

4. Add one Death's-head Hawk Moth chrysalis to the phial and place the mixture in a dark, undisturbed place until the next lightning storm.

If executed correctly, the potion will turn blood-red at the instant lightning first strikes during the next lightning storm, signifying its completion.

Holy Hera, she thought, the instructions whirling wildly in her head. Cedric wasn't kidding when he told her that it was a complicated process. But it only made it more worth it. If she could turn into a huge, ferocious beast, then no monster would want to mess with her now...! She continued to read more about it.

EFFECTS

It is advised to drink the potion in an open, out of sight area, so as to not disturb or startle those nearby who are unaware of the transformation the drinker is about to undergo. They may feel uncomfortable or panicked in a new body, and this may cause them to destroy their surroundings.

Instantly after consumption, they will feel "a fiery pain and an intense double heartbeat". The shape of the creature they will transform into will appear in their mind directly before the transformation.

Didn't exactly sound pleasant but she was used to pain so she was still all for making the potion!

If successful, the drinker will now have the ability to transform from human to animal by envisioning the animal with the intent of transforming in mind, and vice versa. If unsuccessful, the drinker may experience gruesome half-human half-animal mutations that are permanent, and cannot be fixed.

FORMS

Animagi can only take on the form of one specific animal. This animal form is not chosen by the wizard, but determined by their personality and inner traits.

Determined by their personality? Esmerelda looked down at herself. She wanted to be a huge, scary monster but did she have the personality for it?

I can be scary, right...? She thought unsurely.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

"Wizards can even shapeshift?" Ethan asked, bewildered.

"Isn't that cool?" She beamed at the Iris Message. She was in her dorm's bathroom with the water running loudly so nobody would be able to overhear them. "It's the perfect defense mechanism if I were to run into a monster! I just turn into a scary beast and voila! Easy win!"

"Well yeah, but the process sounds really exhausting," he pointed out. "And what did you say about the consequences? Something about mutations?"

She waved off his concerns. "Who cares about that, I'm certain that I can do it! Ooh, I can't wait to see what I turn into!"

"You don't get to choose?" He quirked a brow.

She shook her head. "Nah, the book said that it's determined by the user's personality and inner traits."

He stared at her silently, mouth slightly hanging open. And then:

"Essie, if the form you're taking is based on your personality then I'm a hundred percent sure you'll turn into a bunny rabbit." Ethan stated firmly.

Her cheeks turned pink. "It won't! I-I'll be something really big and scary!"

He snorted. "Or maybe a little kitten."

"Ethan!"

He snickered. "I'm sorry, but it's true, Essie. You do not have a mean enough personality to turn into a huge, bloodthirsty monster. Maybe it's possible for the Ares kids, but you? No way."

She glared as fiercely as she could at him, but he was still grinning. "You're as threatening as a newborn hamster."

"Ugh, stop doubting me!" She cried out as he finally burst into laughter. "You know what, I bet you'd turn into something really really ugly!"

"See what I mean? You can't even say anything mean!" He choked out.

"If this wasn't an Iris Message I would slap you right now." She snapped.

"Ohhh, so mean." He snickered.

She sighed in defeat. "Oh whatever... Once I turn into a big, sharp-toothed monster, I'm going to bite you for this."

He scoffed. "Riiiight."

"Anyways, how's camp?" She asked, eager for information about her favorite place in the world.

His face fell slightly. "Thalia's Tree is still sick and it's not getting any better. Zeus' still angry 'cause, you know, his daughter-turned-tree is basically dying and all that. There's still no cure that could be found..."

She frowned. "Any good news at least?"

"Um," he had to think about it for a while. "Three of our newest additions were claimed recently."

"Really?" She brightened up. "That's wonderful? Do I have a new sibling?"

He shook his head. "Nah, sorry. One of them, Lacey Maxwell, is a daughter of Aphrodite. Jared Strongman's a son of Kratos, and Louisa Young's a daughter of Hebe."

Esmerelda couldn't help but grimace. "They're children of minor gods..."

He nodded sullenly. "Our cabin's getting way too overcrowded now... It's so stuffy in there, especially during the summer time."

She nodded in agreement. "Believe me, I understand. I wish that Chiron could do something about it. I mean, he gave us an extra table at the dining pavilion..."

"We'd have to ask him to give us an extra cabin," he said dully. "It's not gonna work. Especially not now. He's stressed enough as is..."

Speaking of stress, Ethan didn't exactly look so relaxed either. The bags under his eyes were more prominent then hers, and she hoped that it was because of patrol duty and not dreams... Or staying up late to make suspicious Iris Messages with other people.

"I gotta go," Ethan said. "The Ares cabin needs help making sure all the weapons are in good condition. I'll talk to you later, okay? Stay safe."

"You too," she returned, and reached up to swipe the message away.

She sighed, leaning against the sink for support. She prayed and prayed that Ethan would stay safe... She didn't know what he was doing, but she had a terrible feeling about it.

That night, she sneaked off to the greenhouse once she was done with dinner and managed to snag herself a mandrake leaf. She put it in her mouth right away and went to bed with it still in her mouth. She was determined to succeed on the first try and, much to her relief, the leaf was still in her mouth the next morning. She ate her breakfast carefully, placing the leaf under her tongue to keep from accidentally chewing or swallowing it.

After that, she breezed through the rest of her classes. She didn't dare speak in fear anyone would notice the leaf in her mouth and so far, nobody questioned it.

Everything went downhill after she finished her transfiguration class.

"Miss Esmerelda, may I speak to you?" Professor McGonagall called out to her before she exit the room with the rest of the students.

Esmerelda tensed up, hoping she wasn't in any trouble. She walked back in and placed herself in front of the scary teacher. She simply smiled questioningly at her, not daring to ask what was wrong.

"I've noticed that you've been oddly quiet in my class," she noted, and Esmerelda could feel her hopes draining away. "Usually you're talkative... Is there something wrong?"

She made a noise of denial and shook her head.

McGonagall rose a brow. "Is that so? May you open your mouth for me?"

Oh no, oh no, oh no. She was in for it now. But then a light bulb lit over her head.

The Mist! She realized. I can use the Mist on her! Okay, focus... There's a mint in my mouth, not a leaf. It's a mint, it's a mint!

"I'm waiting, Miss Esmerelda." She said.

Ever so slowly, she opened her mouth. Please be a mint, please be a mint!

McGonagall's lips thinned and she plucked the leaf out of her mouth. "This leaf better not be for what I'm thinking it's for." She said, giving her a very disapproving look.

"Um," she swallowed thickly. "It's a mint?"

She looked unamused. "Are you attempting the Animagus Potion?"

"Er... no?"

"Miss Esmerelda!" She exclaimed harshly. "The process for becoming an Animagus is very dangerous, especially for a first year! Do you know of the repercussions? Young lady, I ought to report this to your House Head! She's informed me of the risks you've been taking and I'm sure she will be most displeased with you if she was aware of this!"

Esmerelda shrunk under her angry gaze and gulped at the mention of Professor Sprout hearing about this. She'd be digging her grave for sure...

"Who on Earth gave you the brilliant idea to do this?" McGonagall asked with narrowed eyes.

"Nobody," she said quickly. She didn't want to throw Cedric under the bus. "I found it in a book."

She sighed. "I underestimated you when Professor Sprout told me about your determination to learning magic much too advanced for your age. Now I fully agree that you must be watched over for. Constantly."

Esmerelda paled. "Please don't!"

"If I see you attempting this," she waved the saliva-soaked leaf in front of her. "Again, I will have you watched like a hawk. Do you understand?"

She bowed her head. "Yes ma'am..."

"Good," McGonagall straightened her back. "In the meanwhile, I will alert your House Head about this. Along with your guardians. I reckon you should brace yourself for a scolding."

She didn't worry much about Chiron finding out—he'd most likely praise her anyways—but Professor Sprout...

"You're dismissed now," McGonagall said. "Heed my warning Miss Esmerelda, because I am very serious about this."

"Yes ma'am..." She said miserably, and trudged out of the classroom.

— author's note —

* Hecate is called 'The Dark Lady' by the Empousai, so I figured that the other magical creatures that she created should call her that too. And yes, I'm fully aware that the wizards call Voldemort the 'Dark Lord', I'm doing this on purpose.