▬▬▬▬ CHAPTER THIRTEEN ▬▬▬▬

"I'VE GOT DEFENSE FIRST THING in the morning and I'm about to throw up," Cedric said anxiously to her in a hushed voice during breakfast.

"If you fail, I'm going to rip your teeth out. I did not tutor you for a whole year just for you to fail." Esmerelda muttered, looking like the walking dead. She only managed to get about three hours of sleep after visiting her dad. It didn't help that she was itching to leave the castle to help her uncle look for the goddamn rat.

If only Ron kept the hairs... Her initial plan was to use the tracking spell to find Peter. She remembered hearing that Ron found a bunch of fur from his rat before he up and 'died', but Ron threw the hair out so now she was back to square one. She needed something personal from him, but there was nothing that she could use...

"Aren't you nervous too?" Cedric asked her. "I mean, you look like you pulled an all-nighter. Or well... several all-nighters, actually."

"I could use a nap," she admitted. "What about you? I heard you had a 'late night study session' with your girlfriend."

His cheeks pinked. He still wasn't used to having his crush now be his girlfriend. "It was not a late night study session! We were just studying together after dinner—and there were people around us!"

She snickered at his expense and he shoved a spoonful of omelet into his mouth.

For today, the last exams she had to take were charms, DADA, and divination. Three classes that stressed her out the least due to how easy they were (for her, of course). She wasn't that great in divination though, but she pretty much copied what everyone else did, which was to make fake predictions about tragic things that would befall her.

"Almost time for classes to start," Justin said after checking out his watch fifteen times in the last minute. "I reckon we should head out now?"

Essie and the other third year Hufflepuffs in their little group nodded in agreement. After bidding Cedric good luck, they headed off for their charms class where Professor Flitwick was waiting for them.

For that exam, Professor Flitwick had them perform the Cheering Charm on their partners. Hannah and Esmerelda partnered with each other and succeeded on making the other burst into a fit of giggles. Esmerelda left the classroom knowing she received a high mark.

Her next exam was Defense Against the Dark Arts. The exam Remus had designed for them was a sort of obstacle course that took place outside of the castle. First they had to wade across a deep pool with grindylow, cross a series of potholes full of Red Caps, walk through a marsh while trying to ignore purposely misleading directions from a hinkypunk, and then climb into a trunk to battle with a boggart. Since Esmerelda was literally the only one with any battle experience and was highly athletic, she made it first in record time and even got a high-five from the teacher.

Needless to say, that was the best exam ever.

After lunch came the last exam for the week: divination.

Esmerelda, joined with Hannah, walked up seven flights of stairs only to see the rest of their class sitting on the spiral staircase leading to Professor Trelawney's classroom for some last-minute studying.

"She's gonna test us all one-by-one," Dean informed them.

"I heard she was going to test us on what we can see in the crystal ball," Hannah whispered. "Has anyone even managed to do that?"

"Nope," Esmerelda said, not at all bothered. She would just make something up for the exam, and in the offhand chance that Professor Trelawney was aware that she was just bullshitting, she could always... twist her mind around a little. Though Esmerelda would never really made a teacher give her a good grade, it was definitely tempting.

As time passed, the line outside of the classroom shortened. Every time someone climbed back down the ladder, the rest of the class would ask them, "What did she ask? Was it okay?" but they all refused to say a word.

According to Neville, who finished his exam, Professor Trelawney pretty much threatened that if they told, they'd meet with a 'horrible accident'.

"Hannah Abbott," a misty voice said from above. Said blonde grimaced before climbing up the ladder. She was gone for about twenty minutes and came back looking perfectly fine.

"So?" Esmerelda rose a brow.

"It was easy," Hannah said reassuringly. "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

When it was Esmerelda's turn, Professor Trelawney greeted her in her usual mystical fashion.

"Come take a seat, dear," she said softly, leading her towards a plush chair. Esmerelda tried not to make her nose curl when the awful scent of strong perfume wafted into her nostrils before plopping down. In front of her was a table draped in velvet. The crystal ball stood at the very center.

"If you would kindly gaze into the Orb... Take your time, now... then tell me what you see within it..." Professor Trelawney instructed.

Esmerelda nodded as she gazed into the crystal ball, fully prepared to make something up... until she actually saw something.

The swirling white fog in the orb actually started to part ways, which had never happened before. Esmerelda stiffened in shock before glancing discreetly at the Professor, who didn't seem to realize what was happening.

What the hell...? She thought, as something dark showed up in the orb.

"Well, dear?" Professor Trelawney pressed.

"U-um, I see a... a cave...?"

"A cave? Good, good, and?"

Esmerelda swallowed thickly before a bunch of grooves appeared in the orb. They moved around randomly, sometimes ending short while others seemed to go on forever. It suddenly clicked in her mind. "I think... it's a maze in a cave...?"

The grooves kept moving and moving until everything went dark. She furrowed her brows in confusion, but then another image appeared. It was a face. It was—

"Excellent!" Professor Trelawney said breathlessly. "This is good indeed Esmerelda! You've done wonderfully. You may—"

"—Nico?!" Esmerelda suddenly shrieked once she recognized the face in the darkness. She jumped up from her seat, the chair flying back as she grasped the crystal ball desperately.

Professor Trelawney squeaked. She was so startled that she looked like she was about to have a heart attack. "M-miss Esmerelda?!"

"No, no, no...!" She muttered as Nico's face faded away and the white clouds returned. The crystal ball went back to normal.

"Why, Miss Esmerelda, you have me impressed!" Professor Trelawney exclaimed, and Esmerelda remembered that she was still in the middle of an exam. The older woman took the ball from her and set it back down, positively beaming. "I never expected that I would have another student with a keen Eye! Expect good grades for this exam dear!"

"Thanks, professor..." She said exhaustively.

When she was finally dismissed, she went straight for the girls bathroom. There were still several students in there washing their hands, but after she ordered them to leave, she immediately tried to IM Nico.

"Show me Nico di Angelo..." She begged, tossing a drachma into the misty rainbow.

Nothing.

"Show me Nico di Angelo!" She demanded, throwing another drachma.

But nothing, and nothing, and nothing, just as she had expected. She could've stayed there forever and used up all the money she earned from Hades, but she knew nothing would come of it. She ran a hand through her hair, feeling more stressed out than ever.

He promised he'd be safe, she told herself. I can't just be overreacting. Whatever happened in divination was a warning. Nico could be in danger...

There were no coincidences in the life of a demigod. That vision she saw in the crystal ball was a warning, and it involved Nico somehow.

She pulled out another drachma and tried to contact Percy. Thankfully, he was already at home when the Iris Message was received.

"Essie," he said, wide-eyed. "You look... terrible, what happened?"

"A lot, but that's not important right now. Something—something weird happened during my divination exam."

"Divination? Didn't you say that class was fake?" He rose a brow.

"It is, which is why I wasn't expecting anything to happen, but something did. We were supposed to look into this crystal ball and tell the teacher what we were seeing. We've done this before tons of times in class and nothing ever happened, but—but then I saw a cave, a maze, and Nico."

He stilled. "You saw Nico in the crystal ball?" He asked slowly.

"It has to be a warning for something." She muttered.

"Did—did he look like he was in danger?" He asked worriedly. "Like, was he hurt?"

She shook her head. "No, I just saw his face. He looked okay, though."

"What else did you see?"

"That was it." She replied sullenly. "Nico was the last thing I saw before it all disappeared and I had to finish up my exam. Look, I... I'm just as clueless as you here. Do you mind telling Annabeth and Grover about all this? They might know more. I'd do it, but I have to help my uncle clear his name..."

"The one who everyone thinks is a mass murderer?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Ah, cool."

She shrugged. "I have to go now, okay? You'll tell them, right?"

Percy nodded. "Yeah, alright. I'll make sure to tell Annabeth and Grover everything."

She swiped her hand through the message and went to go look for her uncle. She managed to find him prowling around the forbidden forest.

"How were your exams?" Sirius asked eagerly upon seeing her.

"They were... weird." She muttered, recalling her divination exam. She shook her head. "Have you eaten?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, mum."

She gave him a dry look. "Good. Well then, let's get searching. You stay out here and I'll try to see if he's inside the castle. The elves might be able to help..."

Her search ended up being hopeless. Not even the elves knew where Scabbers had gone and most of the ghosts didn't even know that Ron had a pet rat in the first place. Sirius ended up being unsuccessful too and he was determined to keep searching for them even when dinner time came around.

"No, you need to eat." Esmerelda insisted. "We'll take a break for now, alright?"

"But—" He began to protest, then sighed in defeat. "Fine, we'll eat."

She nodded in satisfaction. "Good! Now what would you like? I can get you whatever you prefer."

He perked up a little. "Well... I'm really fond of those Muggle chips. I think you Americans (well, technically you're English) call them french fries?"

Her face lit up. "You like french fries? Oh I can definitely get you those! Have heard of In n Out? It's this fast food restaurant that sells these things called animal fries. They're french fries with cheese, chopped up onions, and their signature fry sauce! It's delicious, you'd love it!"

There were practically hearts in his eyes. "Can you get me those?"

She nodded excitedly. "Yes! Just stay here, okay? I'm gonna Mist travel over to California. It won't take a while... unless there's a line."

"California?" Sirius repeated nervously. He trusted her Mist traveling abilities, but California was quite far...

"I can handle it," she beamed. "Just meet me at the Shrieking Shack, alright?"

He nodded and she Mist traveled away. Quickly, he shifted back into his animagus form and made for Hogsmeade. Just as he passed by Hagrid's hut, a familiar stench reached his sensitive nose.

All reasoning left his mind as he saw red. He knew immediately who that scent belonged to.

Peter, he inwardly snarled.

He sped towards the direction of the smell, so fast that he was nearly a dark blur. He reached a hill and the smell grew stronger. He could even smell several other humans and Crookshanks nearby.

"Get away from him—get away—Scabbers, come here—" There was a loud thud. "Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat—"

"Ron—come on—back under the cloak—Dumbledore—the Minister—they'll be coming back out in a minute—"

Sirius growled and ran faster towards them. He saw them all scattered on the grass, but his eyes zeroed in on the red haired boy's pocket, where the squirming rat was. One of the boys—it was Harry but he didn't realize it until it was too late—aimed his wand at him, but Sirius jumped, his front paws smacking him straight in the chest and pushing him back.

There was a high-pitched scream as he sunk his jaws into the Weasley boy's arm. He started to drag him towards the Whomping Willow, the adrenaline keeping him from focusing on the pain of having his fur being yanked.

Ron was thrashing around wildly and screaming as they drew closer to the tree, but he couldn't do a thing once Sirius finally reached the large gap in the roots. He dragged him inside, one of the boy's leg's snapping from the force.

When they finally reached the Shrieking Shack, Sirius' mind seemed to have cleared.

Oh shit, he thought. He had just attacked a bunch of students. He really lost it and even worse... his niece was going to kill him.

He took the boy upstairs and tried to get him to sit on the bed and rest his leg, but he wasn't having it. Instead, Ron crawled away desperately to the other side of the room and stared at him fearfully. The fear heightened when he shifted back as a human.

"Y-y-you're Sirius Black...!" He squeaked, trembling. He clutched his broken leg tightly.

Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but he could hear footsteps coming from outside. Swiftly, he stood beside the door just as Harry and Hermione burst in.

"Ron, are you okay?!"

"Where's the dog?!"

"Not a dog," Ron moaned, teeth gritted with pain. "Harry, it's a trap—"

"What—"

"—He's the dog... he's an Animagus..."

Sirius closed the door with a slam and they whirled around to face him.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

The only In n Out Esmerelda had ever been to was the on in San Francisco—the one that Ethan took her to last summer. It didn't exactly bring back good memories, but she had no idea where else to go. She had planned to just get the food and go, but...

This line is taking forever, she thought boredly as she stood somewhere in the back of the order line.

Hopefully Sirius wasn't getting too impatient. Though perhaps she should've used the Mist to let herself be first in line. They were still trying to look for Peter after all...

Oh shoot, I didn't even ask what sort of drink he'd like! Should I get him water? Maybe he'd like a milkshake? I think I should just stick with water...

After about ten more minutes of waiting, it was finally her turn to order.

"Hi, welcome to In n Out, what would you like to order?" The guy up front asked her.

"I'll have two animal fries and two cheeseburgers." One for each of them, naturally, since she was hungry too. "With one bottle of water and... a strawberry milkshake. Oh and can you add some of those extra sauce packets please? And everything's to-go."

"You got it. Would you like some ketchup with that?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Alright... Just wait for your number to be called up."

Esmerelda took the receipt and glanced down at her number before going to find a table to wait at.

I hope Uncle Sirius is doing okay... she thought.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Harry roared before lunging forward and punching Sirius on the side of his head.

"Argh!" Sirius cried out, stumbling back into a wall. Everyone was screaming and he could hardly pay any attention as his godson tackled him to the floor and started punching every bit of his handsome face that he could reach. All he could see were stars and he blindly flailed his hand about before wrapping them around Harry's neck.

"No," he hissed. "I've waited too long—"

A foot came out of nowhere and kicked him on the side. With a grunt, he released Harry just as Ron came and wrenched his wand away.

It was a mess. They were kicking and screaming and even Crookshanks had joined in on the skirmish.

Harry thundered towards him, wand out and aimed straight at his heart. Sirius froze against the bottom of the wall.

"Going to kill me, Harry?" He whispered.

"You killed my parents," Harry said, his voice trembling with pain and anger.

"I don't deny it," Sirius admitted quietly. "But if you knew the whole story."

"The whole story?" Harry repeated furiously. "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know."

"You've got to listen to me," he said urgently. "You'll regret it if you don't... You don't understand..."

"I understand a lot better than you think," Harry snarled. "You never heard her, did you? My mum... trying to stop Voldemort killing me... and you did that... you did it..."

Before either of them could say another word, Crookshanks leapt onto Sirius' chest and settled himself there, right over his heart. He blinked and looked down at the cat. "Get off," he murmured, trying to push Crookshanks off him. But he didn't. Instead, he stayed on him and turned to look up at Harry.

Harry stared at them with hardened eyes. Sirius had no idea what was going through his mind. Was he going to kill him?

Suddenly, muffled footsteps echoed throughout the floor. Someone was coming.

"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed suddenly. "WE'RE UP HERE—SIRIUS BLACK—QUICK!"

The door burst open not even a second later and Remus entered the scene. Sirius' eyes widened at the sight of him.

"Expelliarmus!" Remus shouted, and all wands jumped towards him. Then he moved towards Sirius, looking ashen.

"Where is he, Sirius?"

He knows, Sirius realized, feeling hope once more. Slowly, he raised a hand and pointed it straight at Ron.

"But then..." Remus muttered and he could almost see the gears shifting around his head. "...Why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless—" Remus' eyes widened and that was when Sirius knew it finally clicked. "—Unless he was the one... unless you switched... without telling me?"

Sirius nodded, his sunken gaze never leaving his.

"Professor..." Harry interrupted. "What's going on—?"

The question faded as Remus pulled Sirius back up to his feet and embraced him like a brother. Sirius nearly collapsed into the hug. How long has it been since he's been hugged like this before?

The moment was ruined when Hermione screamed, "I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" 

They pulled away and Remus turned to her. She rose to her feet and pointed at him, wild-eyed. "You—you—"

"—Hermione—"

"—You and him!"

"—Hermione, calm down—"

"—I didn't tell anyone!" She continued to shriek. "I've been covering up for you—"

"Hermione, listen to me, please!" Remus shouted. "I can explain—"

Then Harry joined the shouting fest. "—I trusted you! And all this time you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong," Remus said. "I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now—Let me explain..."

"NO!" Hermione screamed. "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too—he's a werewolf!"

Fuuuuuuuck, Sirius thought, grimacing. This was all spiraling out of control! Where the hell was Esmerelda when you needed her?!

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

"Order number 217!" One of the employees called out.

Finally! Esmerelda jumped to her feet and headed over to the counter. After showing them the receipt, she grabbed her order and turned around only to freeze when she saw who was standing behind her.

"E... Esmerelda?"

"Jason...?!"

Esmerelda had to wait for Jason to grab his order before they both found a table to talk at. Again, that same repelling sensation seemed to surround him but it was weaker this time. She wondered if Jason felt the same thing from her too.

"You look a lot better than when we last saw each other," the blonde commented as he dipped his fries in ketchup.

"Same with you," she chirped, smiling. "I didn't really expect to see you here again. Do you live around this area?" The only other demigod she knew that lived in the Bay Area was Annabeth. Most demigods avoided the Bay Area for any longer than necessary for obvious reasons.

"Yeah, I just came here 'cause I like the food. Plus, I needed a little break from all the war preparations...*" He sighed heavily.

Esmerelda nodded in agreement as she unwrapped her burger and took a bite. "Yeah, it's been stressing me out too. Sometimes I just want to stop school altogether and just focus on that..."

Jason frowned, as if she had said something that he didn't understand. "School? You're... going to school?"

"Yeah. I stayed year-round for several years before I switched to summer-stays only." Weird, she thought everyone at camp knew about her going to Hogwarts. It wasn't every day camp received a witch kid after all.

Jason looked even more lost. "I didn't know it was possible for anyone to go to school outside of camp**."

Okay now it was her turn to be confused. How long had he been staying at camp? Everyone should know that it was alright for kids to go to school outside, it was initially a summer camp after all.

Had she even seen him before aside from their first meeting? He couldn't be from the Hermes cabin—she would've been aware of that. Could he be a new camper that had been claimed while she was gone?

Burger now finished, she set the wrapper aside and pulled in her animal fries. "Well... I guess it isn't that common? So you're a year rounder then?"

"I've been at camp since I was three***. Hey, can I borrow your ketchup?"

"Uh, s-sure," she stammered, in shock from what she had heard.

"Thanks," he gave her a brief smile before nabbing her ketchup packets.

He had been in camp since he was three? But she thought the youngest camper to arrive was Annabeth, who was seven years old! She definitely would've heard of Jason if he came to camp at age three!

"Hey, uh," he began nervously. "When we first met... you were... scared. You said you needed help. I tried to look for you when I got back to camp, but I couldn't find anything. I really wanted to help you, but... I'm sorry."

She shook her head and gave him a reassuring smile. "No, it's not your fault. Besides, everything's okay now."

"Who was that guy?" He asked her. "You called him Ethan. Did he... was he...?"

She bit the inside of her cheek. He should know about this. How could he not know about what happened? There was something wrong here... "He was my friend. And he kidnapped me from school under orders of the enemy army."

He nearly dropped a fry. "He's part of the enemy army? He took you to them?"

"I got away with some help." She shrugged. "He... even helped me. I guess he had a change of heart at that moment."

Jason's eyes traveled to the hair framing the side of her face. There was a grey streak on it that hadn't been there when he last saw her. Swallowing inaudibly, he muttered a soft 'oh' before taking a big gulp from his soda.

"He doesn't seem too bad then," he said, smiling weakly. "I mean, if he helped you in the end. That has to count for something at least, right?"

She stared at him, before a soft, almost longing smile appeared on her face. "Yeah... yeah, you're right."

She had finished her fries at the same time Jason finished the last of his meal. After throwing their trash away, Jason turned to her shyly.

"I can walk back to camp with you, if you'd like?" He offered.

Walk back? What strange wording... It was almost as if he believed Camp Half-Blood was nearby, which was impossible since it was literally on the other side of the country. 

"I'd take the offer, but I have to help my uncle with something." She inwardly grimaced. She had nearly forgotten about her poor uncle...

Jason looked disappointed. "Oh, well. Wish you luck on that. It was nice meeting you, Esmerelda." He said as he held out a hand.

So formal, she couldn't help but think as she grasped his hand. "I told you, you can just call me Essie—ahhh!" She jumped back as a shock traveled through her hand and up her arm. Did she just get... electrocuted?! It was minor, but it still scared the shit out of her!

"I'm so sorry!" Jason said quickly, retracting his hand. He was completely flustered, his face, neck, and ears, rapidly turning red. "I-I didn't mean to do that. It just sometimes happens when I get nervous, I'm sorry..."

She struggled to close her mouth. He actually shocked her? Was he a son of Zeus or something?! "It—it's fine. I sometimes lose control of my powers too. Anyways, I should, um, really go now. I'll see you again, hopefully?"

The poor boy was still too embarrassed to even look her in the eye. He just nodded multiple times and smiled nervously.

"I hope things go well with your friend," he told her earnestly. "Maybe... maybe he'll come back."

Esmerelda tried not to get her hopes up. "Maybe..."

They finally parted ways. After she hid herself from mortals' view, she Mist traveled to the Shrieking Shack where Sirius was hopefully waiting.

Though she couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong about their conversation.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Everything was going well until Snape showed up.

"Two more for Azkaban tonight," Snape said, with madness all over his eyes. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this... He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin... a tame werewolf—"

"—You fool," Remus said softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"

BANG!

Thin cords burst from Snape's wand and wrapped themselves around Remus' mouth, wrists, and ankles. Unable to keep balanced, Remus fell to the floor. Sirius let out a roar and started for Snape, but Snape pointed his wand right at him.

"Give me a reason," Snape whispered venomously. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."

Sirius glared viciously at him, wishing and praying that he had Esmerelda's destructive powers so he could finally just kill this man already.

Hermione spoke up, looking worriedly between Remus and Sirius. "Professor Snape—it—it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w-would it?"

"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," he spat. "You, Potter, and Weasley are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, hold your tongue."

"But if—if there was a mistake—"

Whatever sanity he had left finally snapped.

"—KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL! DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" A few sparks shot out from his wand and Sirius flinched back. Hermione fell silent. Snape turned back to Sirius, looking deranged and satisfied. "Vengeance is very sweet. How I hoped I would be the one to catch you..."

Despite being in the face of possible death, Sirius opened his mouth. "The joke's on you again, Severus. As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle," he jerked his head at Ron. "I'll come quietly..."

Snape looked amused. "Up to the castle?" He echoed. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black... pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay..."

Sirius paled. "You—you've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat—look at the rat—"

Snape watched him beg with vindictive pleasure. "Come on, all of you," he ordered the rest. He clicked his fingers and Remus' bindings flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for him too—"

But Harry wasn't going to let that happen. Before Snape could get any closer to the door, Harry strode forward and blocked his way.

Snape glowered. "Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already. If I hadn't been here to save your skin—"

"—Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," Harry defended. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons against the dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then?"

"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," Snape hissed. "Get out of the way, Potter."

"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Harry yelled. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN—"

"—SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape yelled back, volume rising. "Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black—now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!"

When Harry didn't move, Snape had finally had enough. Snarling like a beast, he reached out and shoved the boy aside with enough strength to send him to the ground. He reached the doorway and turned to face them all, wand out.

Hermione was pulling Harry to his feet and Ron had hobbled over to them. Remus was still on the floor and Sirius had frozen over.

"This will be the last time I say this," Snape breathed out heavily. "You will all—"

But whatever he was about to say was brutally cut short. A small pale hand reached out from behind him and grasped the side of the face and smashed his head against the side of the doorway. It was strong enough to noticeably damage the wooden frame. Snape crumpled to the ground, revealing Esmerelda standing behind him.

"Sorry, I'm late. I brought food, though!" She said cheerfully, standing over the motionless body of the potions professor. Though nobody could ignore the simmering rage in her eyes.

— author's note —

* I don't think PJO/HOO ever specified whether Camp Jupiter went to war before the events of HOO. All I know is that the Romans attacked Mount Othrys and that Jason was the one who destroyed the Black Throne and defeated Krios which led to him being praetor. I'm just going to assume that the Romans went into war too and that the attack against Mount Othrys wasn't just something random

** I'm gonna go with the HC that Camp Jupiter is super fucking intense and year-round rather than a summer camp like CHB. Like, once the kids in CJ, they don't leave to stay with their mortal parents and whatnot. They just live in CJ permanently and go to school there and shit.

*** Just to clarify, Jason was sent to the Wolf House at age two, but he had to stay there for a period of time for training. I'm guessing that he was around three years old when he was released and reached Camp Jupiter.

Anyways, Jason and Essie have NO IDEA that the other is a different kind of demigod. Those two idiots actually thought the other was talking about their own camp rather than two different camps. I put Jason here so Essie could get sus and figure things out on her own.

AND NOW ABOUT REGULUS, SIRIUS, & ESSIE!!!

Some of you had voiced your concerns about Regulus not wanting to tell Sirius about where he is, and I totally agree with you. Regulus would want Sirius to know that he was in the Underworld and not completely gone. Essie would probs act as a messenger for them so they could communicate and shit. 

BUT!!!! I couldn't have it that way because of plot convenience... sorry.

Cuz think about it guys, Sirius would WANT to know the truth of how/why Regulus died, and Reggie would have to tell him about the horcrux shit... Which would lead to Essie getting involved and she'd go horcrux hunting and Voldy would be defeated in an instant without needing Harry and co.'s help

:/

So yeah. I can't have Voldy defeated so early on and I don't want Essie to steal Harry's spotlight, so for now, only she can know that Regulus is in the Underworld and can talk to him. But don't worry, Sirius will find out in a future book :)