𝐱𝐯. HOME SWEET HOME

▬▬▬▬ CHAPTER FIFTEEN ▬▬▬▬

I GOT MORE HATE?!??! 😤

Literally a day after I post the chapter about haters, I get more hate. This person was even dumb enough to make it a COMMENT on fucking Quotev instead of sending a private message to protect their identity. I literally wrote a whole chapter calling out my haters and pointing out how stupid they are... AND THEN THE GIRL PULLED THE EXACT SAME STUPID SHIT OMG 😩

But then I saw her 'About Me' page and couldn't take her seriously anymore:

Yeah, and you can also see that she just recently made an account and one hour later, posted a rude comment on my book (so she's just a troll account, but dumber). Then more people started replying to her and she panicked and tried to play it off. 

I suggest you all go to the Quotev version of Moros to read the convo, it was hilarious. Just scroll down to find her original comment and then go back up to read the conversations she miserably failed to take over. She also claimed that we were bullying her, but that's not true. Like, no, Pepper we're not bullying you, we're building your character since you clearly think you're living in a 2013 'Jason Grace love story' Wattpad fanfiction 🙄

Anyways, as I was conversing with her... I started to realize some disturbing things. One, she's obsessed with me, which is obvious. Two, she was also trying to dethrone the Draco stan because they requested that I do an incest ship Alabaster x Essie. I'm sorry Pepper, but you can never be the Draco stan, the Draco stan was SPECIAL 🙄 💅 She sent me a passionate ESSAY, you just gave me a comment 😒

My diagnosis on her: Pepper McLean, supposedly aged "19", is a seriously disturbed individual. She suffers from severe delusions of being a fictional character's twin sister and having a boyfriend. She also has a daddy kink, incest kink, and a humiliation kink which is evident from the way she's constantly going around asking to be degraded. This, combined with her obsessions with me, her constant need for attention, her trolling persona, and her childish mentality, are a cause for concern. I diagnose her as a weird ass bitch.

This is a cry for help and should be taken seriously 😔 But don't worry, Pepper, I hear your cries, which is why I am encouraging you to take the first step and call your local mental hospital and check in for an indefinite amount of time.

I wish for you to have a safe recovery. You have my thoughts and prayers 😔🙏

I am here for you, Pepper (until I get bored of you and block your annoying ass) 💖

MR. WEASLEY TURNED OUT FINE—actually, he was more than fine. He was ecstatic to get injured, mainly because he really wanted to try out the muggle way of healing, which was to get stitches. Esmerelda had never met anyone be so happy to have stitches before, but at least he was back on his feet.

The only problem was Harry.

Ever since the hospital visit, Harry had been walking around Grimmauld Place with a dark cloud over his head and avoiding everyone.

"This is getting ridiculous," Ginny muttered, peeking her head around the corner of the hallway where Harry's room was at. He hadn't left it all day and he was already missing breakfast and lunch. "He doesn't actually believe he's being possessed by You-Know-Who, does he? Hasn't he remembered what happened to me? What we experienced were two very different things!"

"It's Harry, I wouldn't be surprised if he forgot," Hermione, who had just arrived a few hours ago, deadpanned. "In fact, I have a pretty good idea I know what he's thinking right now. He probably believes it's his fault that your father got injured and that because You-Know-Who's 'in his head', that he's giving away the Order's secrets. He's probably planning to run away right now because he thinks he's putting everyone in danger."

"So it's the usual over-dramatic inner monologue," Esmerelda sighed. "Let's just go talk to him."

Ron gave her a wide-eyed look. "Are you out of your mind? You know he'll just blow up on us!"

"It'll be even worse the longer we let him mope like this," Esmerelda pointed out.

Hermione nodded in agreement. "Essie's right. Come on. Ron, bring the sandwich. He's probably starving."

The girls headed forward, with Ron nervously coming after them. They barged into Harry's room without hesitation and found him laying on the bed, which was no surprise. He was laying curled on his side in a fetal position, which kind of reminded Esmerelda of Bella Swan after Edward dumped her.

Harry sat up immediately once he saw them.

"What are you doing here?" He asked Hermione.

"I came on the Knight Bus," Hermione said airily, pulling off her jacket. "Dumbledore told me what had happened first thing this morning, but I had to wait for the day to end officially before setting off. Umbridge is already livid that you lot disappeared right under her nose, even though Dumbledore told her Mr. Weasley was in St. Mungo's, and he'd given you all permission to visit. So..."

She sat down on the edge of his bed next to Ginny. Meanwhile, Ron stood off to the side awkwardly while Esmerelda lazily draped herself over the vacant space on the bed.

"How're you feeling?" Hermione asked first.

"Fine," Harry said stiffly.

"Oh, don't lie, Harry," she said impatiently. "Ron, Ginny, and Essie say you've been hiding from everyone since you got back from St. Mungo's."

"They do, do they?" He said, glaring at the three.

"Well, you have!" Ginny exclaimed. "And you won't look at any of us!"

"It's you lot who won't look at me!" Harry said angrily.

"How could we look at you when you're barely even around?" Esmerelda pointed out dryly. "You just stay cooped up in your room, rarely leaving and rarely eating. I even had Kreacher make a fudge cake for you but you yelled at him to leave you alone. I ate it, by the way."

"Good for you," he snapped, turning away.

"Oh, stop feeling all misunderstood," Hermione said sharply. "Look, the others have told me what you overheard last night on the Extendable Ears—"

"—Yeah?" Harry growled. "All been talking about me, have you? Well, I'm getting used to it..."

"We wanted to talk to you, Harry," Ginny exasperated. "But as you've been hiding ever since we got back—"

"—I didn't want anyone to talk to me," Harry snapped once more.

"Well, that was a bit stupid of you," Ginny said angrily. "Seeing as you don't know anyone but me who's been possessed by You-Know-Who, and I can tell you how it feels."

Harry fell silent.

"...I forgot," he finally said.

"Lucky you," Ginny replied coolly.

"I'm sorry," Harry said, and he meant it. "So... so do you think I'm being possessed, then?"

"Well, can you remember everything you've been doing?" Ginny asked. "Are there big blank periods where you don't know what you've been up to?"

"No," he said after awhile.

"Then You-Know-Who hasn't ever possessed you," Ginny said simply. "When he did it to me, I couldn't remember what I'd been doing for hours at a time. I'd find myself somewhere and not know how I got there."

"That dream I had about your dad and the snake, though—" He started to protest.

"—Harry, you've had these dreams before," Hermione said. "You had flashes of what Voldemort was up to last year."

"This was different," he shook his head. "I was inside that snake. It was like I was the snake... What if Voldemort somehow transported me to London—?"

"—One day," Hermione exasperated, sounding thoroughly tired of him. "You'll read Hogwarts, A History, and perhaps that will remind you that you can't Apparate or Disapparate inside Hogwarts. Even Voldemort couldn't just make you fly out of your dormitory, Harry."

"You didn't leave your bed, mate," Ron confirmed. "I saw you thrashing around in your sleep about a minute before we could wake you up..."

Harry rose from the bed, his eyes wide with relief or realization, whatever. Then, he took the sandwich Ron offered and crammed it hungrily into his mouth.

"I'm not really the weapon!" He exclaimed.

Esmerelda accidentally let out a snort. "Dude," she snickered. "You thought you were the secret weapon?"

"I didn't know what to think," he protested. "I thought—I thought I was a danger to everyone... I was actually even thinking about running away just to keep you all safe!"

"That's the worst idea I've ever heard," Esmerelda told him honestly, grimacing. As a demigod, she had heard of a lot of stupid ideas—hell, she conjured up a bunch of stupid ideas herself, but damn did Harry's idea take the cake. 'I'm going to run away to keep everyone safe, not realizing that all I'll be doing is stressing them out and putting themselves in danger when they try to look for me, and putting myself in danger because I'm an underage wizard who can barely protect myself on my own'. Yeah, not exactly Harry's brightest moments, but then again, his fatal flaw was recklessness (she was 100% certain of it now).

"Great," Ginny said brightly, clapping her hands together. "Now that we've all prevented Harry from doing anything stupid—"

"—Hey—!"

"—Essie, Hermione, I need to talk to you about something," she finished. "Boys. Leave."

"This is my room," Harry argued.

"I need to ask them about girl things," she glared.

Ron grabbed Harry and dragged him out of the room in record time.

She snorted. "I knew that would work."

"A girl talk?" Hermione said skeptically. "I'm not really good with that."

"You guys were the only ones I could think of," she shrugged. "That, and you're well immersed in the muggle world."

"So is Harry?" Esmerelda rose a brow.

"He's too awkward to talk to about this."

"Good point." Esmerelda conceded. "Sooo... what's up?"

Ginny took a deep breath. "Well. I'm a lesbian. I like girls."

"I know," Esmerelda said bluntly.

"Yeah, I figured it out too," Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Oh good," the redhead sighed in relief. "Well, Essie, I know you're not a lesbian and I don't know about you Hermione, but I was kind of hoping you guys could... give me some advice?"

Hermione frowned. "Oh... I don't know, Ginny, I'm pretty sure I'm straight myself. I don't know how much I can help you..."

"My half-sister likes girls," Esmerelda shrugged. "But... she's all the way in New York, so..."

"I could really use your sister's lesbian wisdom right now," Ginny grumbled. "I dunno how to come out. My family's pretty accepting to all kinds of topics, but this sort of thing is more... I dunno how to phrase it, but I've noticed so far that only muggles and muggle-borns are alright with this. I don't know if my parents will be okay with it. I keep hinting at it, but they're not getting it."

"What sort of hints have you been giving them?" Hermione asked.

"Big ones. Dad was showing off his stitches and he pointed out that they were a little crooked and I was like, 'it's as straight as I am, dad', but he didn't get it! Then when I asked mum to stitch the words 'Happy Holigays' on my Christmas sweater, she thought she misheard me! I even walked around the house with rainbow socks, but neither of them said a thing! I've got dust all over my socks now!"

She collapsed on the bed. "They probably think I'm straight, ugh. It didn't help I thought I had a crush on Harry back when I was younger, then I told him all about how I was dating Michael Corner from Ravenclaw..."

"How'd that turn out?" Esmerelda asked.

"We kissed a couple of times and held hands, but it just... didn't feel right. I started to think that maybe I was into girls after all, so I broke it off with him, but I didn't tell him why. He was okay with it anyways. Then I met Luna and that pretty much confirmed I'm a lesbian," Ginny explained.

"I knew it," Esmerelda grinned. "I knew it ever since you started glaring at me for talking to her during out first DA lesson."

She blushed in embarrassment. "I got a little jealous."

"Luna?" Hermione said incredulously. "I mean... she's a little..."

"She's not looney!" Ginny said fiercely. "She's actually pretty damn smart—she got into Ravenclaw after all."

"Right, sorry," Hermione said quickly.

"I think you guys are cute," Esmerelda beamed, patting the younger girl on the head. "And I don't think you need to worry about your family either."

"Yeah," Hermione agreed. "Your family's wonderful. They wouldn't kick you out for this or be disgusted."

Ginny nodded slowly, but she still looked nervous. "I don't think they will either... Or at least a big part of me isn't so scared of how they'd react. But there's still that chance, you know? But I want to tell them. No more gay jokes or rainbow socks. Just... be blunt about it. Then all I'd have to worry about is if Luna's gay too..."

"You guys would be so cute," Esmerelda sighed dreamily.

"Essie, how'd you and your boyfriend get together?" Ginny asked curiously. "Who asked out who?"

"Uh," she said awkwardly.

Neither of them actually asked the other out... They fought on opposite sides of the war, then Ethan betrayed his side and nearly died for it, and then they just kissed and got together.

Not exactly the ideal way for a couple to start dating.

But Ginny was looking at her expectantly and she had to say something.

"Well..." She said slowly, but a knock on the door saved her.

"Um," came Ron's awkward voice. "Ginny, you done with your girl talk? Mum needs our help with the cleaning."

Ginny inhaled deeply. "This can be my chance," she told them quietly, before replying to Ron. "Fine! I'm coming, hold on!"

She rose from the bed and shot the girls an uneasy smile. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck," they chimed.

Esmerelda offered her a thumbs up. "You'll be fine. May the lesbian gods look after you."

Ginny cracked a smile before rushing out of the room.

Esmerelda rose up from the bed next. "I wish I could stay long enough to see how it goes... Hermione, can you send me a letter in New York if it goes well for her?"

"Sure, but you're not staying?" Hermione asked in concern.

"Nope. I'm taking advantage of this early-start vacation and going back to New York. I want to spend as much time with my family and friends there. Plus, I can even surprise my boyfriend." She smiled at the last part.

"Is Sirius alright with this?" Hermione asked.

"He..." Definitely wasn't, but he couldn't stop her from going. "He's aware."

"I know you guys are still fighting," she murmured. "I don't really know what's happened but..."

"We've talked about our issues," Esmerelda said smoothly. "I gave him my opinion—finally, after months of keeping quiet. Of course, he didn't like what I had to say, but... I needed to say it. I couldn't just keep it in anymore..."

She hadn't meant to hurt him though, to scare him. That part she felt guilty about. And yeah, her words were harsh too, but... she had been holding them in for so long that she couldn't even think of a way to lighten the blow. The words just came out. They were hurtful, but they were true.

After saying her goodbyes to Hermione, she went back to her room and got ready to leave.

(She didn't say goodbye to her uncle though. She knew he wouldn't want to see her.)

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I can't wait to see Ethan, she thought to herself, a big grin on her face. The Stolls were off at work right now, so it would just be the two of them at the penthouse. She could imagine him sitting in front of the TV, watching Law and Order while doing his homework.

But surprisingly, he wasn't in the living room.

Maybe he's in his room, she thought. He liked to do his homework there too sometimes.

She traveled up the stairs, growing more and more suspicious when her ears picked up some odd sounds coming from the direction of his room.

She finally walked into Ethan's bedroom and froze at the scene she saw.

"W-what is this...?" She whispered weakly.

Ethan scrambled off the bed.

"Babe," he said, guilt written all over his face. "This—this isn't what it looks like. Please—"

Her heart broke in two. "—Who—how could you even—with that—that—"

"—She doesn't mean anything to me! Please, I can explain," he begged.

"How could you?!" She cried out, betrayed. "I let you into this house and you go and let that thing in your bed—"

"—Essie, please—"

"—Is this my fault?" She choked out. "Because I've been in Britain all the time? I don't like the distance either, Ethan, but I would never betray you like this!"

He was approaching her, his face wrought with desperation. "Essie, it's not like that at all!"

"Oh really?! How could you go and adopt a cat to cuddle with when you already have me?!" She finally blew up. "Just tell me the truth, you prefer cats more than dogs, don't you?!"

"Meow," the ragdoll cat on his bed said.

Esmerelda snarled at it.

Ethan sighed. "The Stolls got fired."

"What does this have to do with why you're cuddling with that thing?" She demanded.

"I was getting there," he said patiently. "The Stolls got fired because their boss found out they've been stealing tubs of ice cream from them. He told them to leave and that he'd report them to the cops. The Stolls retaliated by breaking into his house to steal his cat, Peanut Butter. So now they're having me watch over her while they extort their boss."

"What a dumb name," she glared. "And you still haven't answered my question: do you prefer cats more than dogs?"

He hesitated to answer. "Well... they're less rambunctious than dogs."

She let out a hurt gasp.

"But I still love you more than anything!" He assured her. "You're not even a dog Essie, you're a person!"

"Yeah, a person who can turn into a dog!"

"Baby..." He started to say.

She turned away from him. "No. I'm so upset with you."

"Wha—but—"

"—I can't believe you actually think my dog form is 'rambunctious'," she said in a small voice. "This whole time I believed you thought my animagus was cute..."

"It is!" He said desperately.

She harrumphed. "Well, until Peanut Butter is gone, I'll be in my animagus form. Ignoring you."

His jaw dropped. "But—"

"—But you wouldn't mind, would you?" She pouted. "Since you think dogs are annoying and too rambunctious, huh?"

Ethan started to protest, but she shifted into a tiny black pomeranian and scampered away from him.

"Essie, come on," he called out to the little puffball. "You can't even climb down the stairs without tumbling all the way down."

She angrily huffed and turned away from him.

He knelt down and held his hands out. "I'll give you head pats." He offered.

"..." She didn't say anything, but he knew he was getting her.

"Head pats and belly rubs," he added.

The puppy barked and immediately whirled around, running straight into his hands. He stood back up and kissed the dog on her little head before settling back on the bed.

"Sorry, Peanut Butter," he said to the cat, who merely blinked in reply.

Esmerelda let out a series of angry barks at her, which sounded about as threatening a squeaky toy being squeezed by a toddler. Ethan soothed her by running his fingers through her super soft fur.

"So," his lips quirked up in amusement. "This is how to get you jealous, huh? Duly noted."

The puppy was too blissed out by the belly rubs to hear him.

She hadn't been in her puppy form in so long, mainly because this form made her so much more vulnerable to attack. She couldn't perform any magic like this, nor could she use a weapon. She was pretty much a miniature snack to any monster who could sneak up on her...

But damn did being a dog feel amazing. Head pats, belly rubs, and warm hugs? It was like the biggest release of endorphins ever (which she definitely needed after all the stress and suffering in her life).

She forced him to keep at it until several hours later, when the Stolls arrived home and finally took Peanut Butter away. Apparently, their 'talk' with their old boss went well.

"Good riddance," she said after she shifted back into her usual form. "That thing's finally gone."

"I can't believe you got this jealous over a cat," Ethan rolled his eye.

"Cats and dogs are natural enemies, Ethan," she sniffed. "I can't believe you would cuddle with one behind my back."

"I'm sorry," he apologized in a dry tone. "But I gave you head pats and belly rubs to make up for it, didn't I?"

"Hmm," she hummed thoughtfully, laying her head on his lap. Ethan instinctively threaded his fingers through her black hair. "Yeah, yeah, fine. I guess I forgive you..."

"Thanks," he said dryly once again. "So, what brings you here?"

"My break's started early," she replied.

"Seriously?"

"Sorta," she shrugged, eyes closed to enjoy the way his fingers would weave through her hair. "Harry had this weird vision thing about Mr. Weasley—Ron's dad—getting attacked. Turns out the vision was true and we all had to head back to Grimmauld Place and Dumbledore said we didn't need to go back to school once winter break was over with."

"Ah," he said, not even caring about the vision part. "Well, I still got school tomorrow, but it's Friday. After that, we can head back to camp."

"Yay," she smiled. "I missed Lou Ellen. And I didn't have enough time to admire my new cabin."

"Neither did I," he said.

She cracked her eyes open. "You didn't even bother designing yours..."

He shrugged. "I didn't care much about what they did. I trust the Hephaestus kids not to fuck it up." They knew better then to try and do anything stupid anyways. "I just asked them to add a bathroom."

"I think everyone did that," she said. Nobody liked using the showers anyways. It was like the locker room of a high school—opened, kinda cramped, and super awkward. The Hephaestus kids had decided to remove the public showers in camp and turn it into some sort of public restroom, but with fancy hand driers, bidets, and bathroom stalls that actually covered the gaps. Everyone was all for it.

Ethan started to push her off him (gently of course).

"Heyyyyy," she whined. "What are you doing?"

"I spent two whole hours playing with your hair, in human and dog form. I need to get started on my homework now," he said.

"Nerd," she muttered under his breath.

The rest of the day was spent watching My Strange Addiction while Ethan's homework (which got more and more terrifying as he finished each assignment). The Stolls came back home around dinner time, grinning smugly and giggling to themselves. Ethan and Esmerelda decided not to ask, while the latter was just happy Peanut Butter was gone.

The next day, all three of them had to leave for school, leaving Esmerelda to stay in the house in pure boredom. The most exciting thing that happened was when she got Ginny's letter in the middle of lunch.

ESSIE!

THEY WERE TOTALLY CALM! (by the way this is Ginny)

So after I helped mum with the cleaning, I finally came out to her, dad, and my brothers (or at least, the ones who were in Grimmauld Place at the time) and they totally understood! Except for Ron who had no clue what was going on and I had to repeat it to him like a hundred times, but he gets it now!

Mum's even making me the Happy Holligays sweater for Christmas, and she said she was going to charm it so it would change colors like a rainbow to match with the socks! I think she got a little excited about it though because now she can't stop knitting me rainbow and gay themed things. It's fine, I still they're cool.

I told Harry too! He was a little confused, but he congratulated me? I think he meant to congratulate me on coming out, but whatever. Like I said, he was a little confused.

Anyways, I just wanted to keep you updated since you weren't here for it! Have fun in New York!

— Ginny

Grinning, Esmerelda wrote her back a quick reply about how all she needed to do next was get her gay on so she could ask Luna out. They would be the cutest couple in Hogwarts ever! Umbridge was probably going to faint if she ever saw them holding hands in the hallways, and that would've made it all the more better.

After sending the letter, Esmerelda was then back to boredly watching TV while the dreaded hours passed. That was when she finally got sick and tired of waiting around and decided to actually go to school to pick Ethan up.

Goode High School looked like any other high school in New York, but it was less rundown. It was actually pretty decent looking; a tall building with a fancy gate at the front with the school's name on it. Esmerelda was genuinely surprised it was still standing after having Percy Jackson, Ethan Nakamura, and both Stoll brothers attending it.

This is one tough school, she nodded in appreciation. Shit security though, she added as she walked passed the opened gates and entered the building.

It felt so foreign walking around here. She had watched so many teen dramas on the television so she was very familiar with the sight of linoleum floors and walls full of lockers, but after attending a fancy-ass school whose building was a literal castle, the inside of Goode High School just felt... lackluster to her.

But still, she could see herself walking down these hallways one day, with the Stoll brothers chatting amicably at her ears, her meeting up with Ethan at his locker, complaining about homework with Percy... as boring as the school looked, she knew she would still enjoy being here if her friends were with her.

According to the Stolls, the Ethan was still doing debate club activities but it should be almost over by now, she thought to herself, looking around. They also mentioned that it'd be held in room 250...

But the rooms she saw were weird. Some of them had letters while some didn't. How did this school work?

She saw one kid exit through a pair of double doors (probably the gymnasium). He was drenched in sweat and wearing a basketball uniform with the school colors, purple and black. Esmerelda nearly gasped in excitement, why hadn't any of her friends told her purple was one of the school colors?!

Awesome color choice aside, she still needed help navigating the place.

"'Scuse me!" She called out to him, flashing him a friendly smile. "I'm a little lost."

He looked her up and down, a curious look on his face. "Uh, do you go here?"

"No, I just needed to pick someone up, but I have no idea where room 250 is," she explained.

He lit up, "Oh that's the debate club's room. I can show you the way, come on."

He led her to the second floor of the school, but on the way there he tried to make conversation.

"Are you picking up a sibling or...?"

"My boyfriend," she chirped. "We both go to different schools, unfortunately."

"You boyfriend?" He asked.

"Yeah, his name's Ethan!"

He froze in the middle of the staircase. "Ethan... who?" He said carefully, like he needed to make sure about something.

"Ethan Nakamura," she beamed. "Tall, cute, has an eye patch? Do you know him?"

All the blood drained from his face. "Na-Nakamura?" He voice suddenly became squeaky and small.

"Yeah!" She said brightly. "Do you know him?"

The boy's eyes kept darting around and, for some odd reason, he started taking hesitant steps down the stairs.

"Um," he swallowed thickly, avoiding her eyes. "I gotta... get back to practice. Room 250's at the end of the hall."

He then sped away from her, nearly tripping down the stairs at his hastiness. Esmerelda watched go with a bewildered look on her face.

What was that about? She wondered to herself, blinking. Oh well.

The boy at least had the decency to give her directions for the rest of the way before bolting on her.

She walked to the other end of the hallway and finally found room 250. A bunch of kids were all filing out of the room, some shooting her curious looks before continuing their way. What really caught their attention was when Ethan walked out of the room, saw her, and then smiled.

"Hey," he pecked her on the lips. "What are you doing here?"

"Got tired of waiting, so I came here to pick you up," she smiled.

"Aww, thanks," he kissed her again. Esmerelda then cutely hugged his arm and the pair of them walked off, leaving everyone else to gawk at them in pure disbelief.

They looked at each other with stunned faces as if they were asking themselves, Did that just happen?

"How the hell did Ethan get a girlfriend?" One of them whispered, looking shaken.

"And she was so nice too...!" Another one trembled in fear.

"What the fuck," was all the club leader could say.

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Since there was no way Esmerelda was going to Mist travel all four of them and their luggage to Camp Half-Blood (the last time she tried, they ended up in some rundown bar in Queens where Esmerelda fainted on some guy's lap and Ethan nearly started a bar fight), they took a taxi instead.

"Is this really it...?" Their cab driver said skeptically as he looked around all the trees surrounding the road.

"Yes, this is fine, thank you!" Esmerelda reassured, handing him the appropriate amount of cash.

They grabbed their things and hauled it up the hill. When they passed through the border, they took the time to admire the camp. It was decorated for the holidays, and the weather inside wasn't as chilly or snowy like the area outside of the border.

But there was a sullen look in the older campers' faces, or at least the campers who had participated in the second Titanomachy.

Because Percy Jackson was still missing and nobody could find him.

Even the newer additions, some of which had never met the son of Poseidon before, could feel the despair in the air. It was written in everyone's faces. The loss of Percy was a massive hit to the camp, and the sad, grieving aura everyone wore reminded Esmerelda of the many funerals she had to attend in camp.

Their group parted ways to head to the respective cabins, and Esmerelda headed over to cabin 20.

Esmerelda and Lou Ellen had worked with the Hephaestus kids to design it. It was built with stones engraved with magical writing, and dropping one of those stones would turn everyone within half a mile to turn into a tree (aside from the children of Hecate of course).

The cabin consisted of four modules back to back, two on either side, and had four entrances. The cool thing about it was that it could be rearranged and moved as desired; it could be as big or small as it needs to be. More campers can fit into the same amount of space as a regular cabin with more privacy and better accommodations.

Inside, there were four main sitting rooms with two built-in cushioned benches that doubled as beds, and storage space underneath for their clothes, armor, and weapons. There was also built-in, programmable furniture that could be collapsed, moved, and reshaped; with the snap of their fingers.

The living area could even be turned into a bedroom, gym, dining room, or military command center. There were a dozen pre-programmed interior-decorating schemes. At the back wall was a narrow staircase that led up to the lofts with two more beds and an extra built-in storage underneath the stairs. The loft could be used as a meeting area, game room, whatever the sisters wanted. There were also private state-of-the-art bathrooms with large showers and fancy bidets.

All-in-all, the cabin they had designed was perfect. Even better was that it was only just her and Lou Ellen, so they had all the space and privacy they wanted.

"Welcome back!" Lou Ellen greeted her in the living room. She got off the couch to embrace her in a hug.

"Hey! The cabin looks great!" Esmerelda complimented, looking around in awe.

"I know right? Those Hephaestus kids are awesome," Lou Ellen breathed. "By the way, since you're the official cabin counselor, you get your own room. You should check it out."

Esmerelda eagerly went to her new room while Lou Ellen continued to immerse herself in some murder documentary called Don't Fuck With Cats.

Her room, just like the rest of the cabin, was beautiful. There was a four-poster bed at the very back, with twinkling curtains that seemed to magically shift from various shades of violet. Beside her bed was a vanity paired with a comfy antique chair. Up above was a levitating chandelier (definitely not as massive as the one in Étienne's bedroom). There was a bookshelf lined against the wall, full of novels and texbooks from school. An empty desk was placed next to it.

It lacked a lot of personal touches, but that was mostly because she wasn't even around once the cabin was finally finished. After unpacking her clothes, she made the mental note to go shopping for cute decor.

She joined Lou Ellen in the living room but before she could even say anything, there was a knock on the front door.

"It's probably Prince Charming," Lou Ellen smirked.

Esmerelda eagerly opened the door, thinking it was Ethan only to see Drew's face instead.

"Darling," the older girl greeted as she stepped inside the cabin like she owned the place. She was wearing a pair of heeled boots, sharp enough to kill. "Glad to see that you're back from Hogwash or whatever it was called. Anyways, you got the bubotuber pus?"

"Seriously? No 'welcome back, Essie, I missed you!', you just wanna get right down to business?" She cracked a smile.

"I have two siblings who have broken out with pimples just last week, Essie. This is urgent," Drew rolled her eyes. "But fine. Whatever. Welcome back. You were missed. Now the bubotuber pus?"

Esmerelda stretched a hand out towards the hallway, summoning two jars of diluted bubotuber pus from her bedroom.

"Here," she handed them to her. "I diluted them, but they're still super strong so make sure to tell your siblings that they should only put a small amount of it over the acne, not all over the face."

Drew grinned wickedly. "Thanks, hon. There was no way I could let my siblings walk around trying to break peoples' hearts with their faces are full of acne."

"You're... still on with that breaking people's hearts thing?" Esmerelda said uneasily. She had heard Drew mention it a couple times before she left for Hogwarts, but she hadn't thought she was serious about it.

The grim look Lou Ellen shot her from the couch confirmed it.

Drew's lips tightened. "Yes."

"Drew... Silena wouldn't want this—"

"—Love killed her," she snapped. "I'm not about to let my stupid younger siblings go around thinking love is powerful and pure. They'd just end up like that traitor."

Esmerelda realized that they were getting into rough ground and backed away from the growing argument. "Okay..." She sighed.

Drew said nothing and tucked the two jars into her purse. As she started to turn, she paused and looked back at her.

"I forgot to mention, but Chiron's putting you in charge of the junior's knife-throwing lessons for the time being. Apparently, I'm not 'nice' to the kids," she muttered with a roll of her eyes.

Esmerelda couldn't even feel excited at the prospect of teaching kids because she was still a little saddened by Drew's words. Instead, she thanked her for the information and waited until she was gone.

Esmerelda quietly closed the door and turned back to Lou Ellen.

"She's seriously been telling her siblings to go around breaking people's hearts?"

Lou Ellen grimaced, but nodded. "Unfortunately. Apparently, that's the rite of passage. You don't become a true child of Aphrodite until you break someone's heart."

"That's so fucked up," she breathed out, sitting beside her on the couch. "I didn't think Silena's death would affect her this much..."

"Not just her death, it's her betrayal too," Lou Ellen explained.

Esmerelda thought of Silena, her dear friend that was at peace within the gates of Elysium with Beckendorf, and winced because she could understand Drew's point of view.

Love was supposed to be everything the Aphrodite kids lived for. But Silena had betrayed the love of her life by feeding Luke information, and love had ruined her when Beckendorf sacrificed himself and died. Love was a beautiful thing, but it also destroyed people. It was cruel, and Drew had learned that the hard way.

The war... even though it was already over and they had won, it was still dragging everyone into ruination.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

"You're gonna be teaching a bunch of brats tomorrow?" Ethan scowled. "Chiron's having me teach the swordfighting class for the newbie campers too since Percy's gone. Ugh, the moron's not even here and I'm still stuck dealing with his bullshit."

"You'll be teaching a class too?" Esmerelda said brightly. The two of them were at the stables taking care of the pegasi, and the pegasus she was grooming whinnied as if to share her excitement. "You know, that doesn't really surprise me. You're the best swordsman here behind Percy."

"And now I gotta deal with his stupid workload," he sighed. "Do you know who's in that class?"

"The newbie Ares kids, Carina Bardell—that daughter of Kratos who came to camp two months ago wrestling a hellhound—a couple of Annabeth's siblings, Clovis—"

"—The sleepy kid?" He complained. "I gotta deal with a son of Hypnos too?"

"Yes, him, including a bunch of new arrivals that I can't remember. But you'll be teaching the batch that arrived to camp starting October right? That's gotta be twenty new kids..."

"I'll whip them into shape, but they better not bitch about it. If I see any of them slack off..." He said darkly.

She reached out to swat him with the hairbrush she was using. "Ethan! These are new campers, you have to take it easy on them!"

"No," he said stubbornly.

Those poor kids, she thought sympathetically. Ethan had been the lieutenant and right-hand man of Kronos, his training method was bound to be cruel and grueling.

While she went back to grooming the pegasus' mane, Ethan quietly stole a glance to her, his face soft. She was a lot happier ever since she arrived in New York. Her eyes were brighter, her voice light, and there was a healthy glow on her face. It was a stark contrast to how she had been whenever he visited her back in Hogwarts; always tired, anxious, and looking seconds away from bursting into tears.

Esmerelda was happy for once, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

(And if there was someone who tried to get in the way of that... well, let's just say the last thing they would ever see was the blade of his sword.)

A conch horn sounded in the distance, and that was their queue to get ready for dinner. Quickly, they put their grooming supplies away and helped the pegasi back into their respective stables.

They went to the dining pavilion, grabbed their food, made their sacrifices (though Ethan purposely gave the gods his least favorite foods), and were about to part ways.

"Well," Ethan said. "I guess I'll see you after dinner." He leaned down to peck her on the cheek before heading off to the Nemesis table where it would just be him.

Meanwhile, Esmerelda joined Lou Ellen over at the Hecate table. She looked around while eating, feeling a bit saddened when she saw the empty Hades table... but then her eyes trailed over to the Athena table and she felt even worse.

Annabeth was a wreck. Her hair was a bird's nest, there were dark circles under her eyes, and the glow her tan skin once radiated with was now gone. Rather then eating, she was obsessively writing down on a notebook where had written down a list of locations to search for Percy. It reminded her painfully of how Silena looked when Beckendorf died.

She turned away, feeling sick in her stomach as an image of Silena's melted face flashed into her mind and quickly reached out for her water.

"You okay?" Lou Ellen whispered quietly. "You look like you're gonna throw up."

She shook her head. "No, no, I'm fine."

She resumed eating after that, pushing the thoughts away.

After dinner was over, Chiron had called for another meeting at the Big House while the rest of the camp was free to do whatever they wanted.

"I had a dream last night," Annabeth began, her voice laced with exhaustion and determination. "A message from Hera."

"Hera?" Esmerelda said sharply. Well that couldn't be anything good.

Annabeth nodded grimly, sharing the sentiment. "She told me to go to the Grand Canyon skywalk and look for a guy with one shoe if I want to know what happened to Percy."

Chiron frowned, like he wasn't so certain about that. "Did she say anything else?"

"No... the dream ended after that."

"That sounds pretty vague, Annabeth," Nyssa Barrera, the temporary cabin counselor for Hephaestus after Jake got injured one too many times, pointed out. "It might not be the real Hera anyways. The gods haven't contacted us in months. It could be a trap."

"It's not," the blonde insisted. "Something about it just seemed too important to ignore. I'm certain the boy with one shoe is Percy. He's over at the Grand Canyon, I know it."

"We'll have to wait then," Katie said. "Because we already have a bunch of people searching across the country and we're low on pegasi for now. There's only what, three, left?"

"Two, actually," Esmerelda corrected.

"That should be enough to carry a chariot," Annabeth said.

"Actually," Ethan drawled, leaning against his chair in a bored manner. "The pegasi aren't in any condition for a trip. They're still resting from their last one."

"And how do you know that?" She rose a brow.

"Because Essie and I were in charge of stable duty before dinner," he answered smoothly. "We took care of them."

"Bet that wasn't all they were doing," Connor joked, and some of the campers broke out into snickers only to shut up when Ethan gave them a cutting glare.

Esmerelda sank into her seat, her face red with embarrassment as she shot Connor a scathing look.

Annabeth remained unfazed. "Then I'll go tomorrow morning."

"The Grand Canyon's over two thousand miles away, you'll be making two trips, and you're probably going to be attacked on the way," Ethan listed out. "The pegasi aren't gonna be able to handle it."

Annabeth's eyes flared, and the rest of the campers shifted uncomfortably. It wasn't a secret that Ethan had nearly killed Annabeth during the war, and that he had initially been aiming to stab Percy instead. It didn't help that Ethan didn't seem to care much about the near-murder attempts either, so it was only natural there would be some animosity between them.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," she said in a forcefully calm tone, though there was a vicious look in her eye that clashed with Ethan's callousness. She then turned her attention to Will, who sat up straight. "Will, can you lend me your chariot to use for tomorrow morning?"

He nodded. "Sure."

"As for the pegasi problem," she turned to the head counselor of the Iris cabin. "Butch, you're the best equestrian here, you mind coming with me in case I have trouble with the pegasi?"

"Got it," he grunted.

"Then it's settled..." Chiron murmured, but there was still an uncertain frown on his face, like he had a feeling that things were going to go bad soon. "Tomorrow morning, Annabeth and Butch will be tasked to the Grand Canyon in hopes to find some answers. Meeting adjourned."

— author's note —

NEW BOOK JUST DROPPED! CHECK IT OUT!

MY BUDDY SELCOUTHSERENDIPITY (SelcouthSerendipity ON WATTPAD) JUST PUBLISHED HER PJO/HP BOOK called Vespertine! We've been messaging each other for a while about our books and ooooohhhhh lemme tell you, you guys are gonna LOVE hers! GO CHECK IT OUT RIGHT NOW PLEASE!


Well guys... HOO officially starts next chapter...

Also, Étienne and Alabaster fans, you get to see how they're doing in the beginning of the next chapter as well, so look forward to that!

BUT DID YOU GUYS REALLY THINK ETHAN CHEATED ON ESSIE IN THAT ONE SCENE???? OUR YANDERE SIMP BOY??? CHEAT??? NAH, HE'D NEVER, BUT IF I MANAGED TO TRICK YOU GUYS THEN LMAO 😂😂😂


All of y'all to Ethan last chapter:





Ethan to Essie:

Ethan to everyone else (except Nico):

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