▬▬▬ CHAPTER TWENTY TWO ▬▬▬

ESMERELEDA WAS IN A DARK forest again and for a terrible second, she thought she'd stumble upon another one of Ethan's suspicious Iris Messages with the mystery person again, but thankfully, that wasn't it.
       
The trees were were too thick and full of wavy branches that created creepy shadows. The bushes were full of thorns. There were too many bulging tree roots and brambles. And it was a lot darker than the forest back in camp.
       
She was standing in the forbidden forest in the middle of the night. She began wandering around, glad that she was at least able to move in this dream.
       
She came across a small stream where a pure white horse was drinking from. Then, it looked up, as if sensing something nearby.
       
That was when she realized she wasn't looking at a horse.
       
There was a horn on it's forehead.
       
It was a unicorn.
       
Esmerelda had seen pegasus a hundred times before, but never unicorns.
       
"Whoa," she marveled, and the world must have been deaf to her voice because the unicorn didn't react. It kept staring to the left where a thicket of trees were so closely packed together that Esmerelda couldn't see anything suspicious.
       
But then a figure stepped out. It was decked out in a black cloak, a hood propped up to hide their face. She would've been able to see what it looked like if only the person was facing her.
       
They kept their wand pointed at the unicorn, who was beginning to run away.
       
The person—a male, judging by the voice—said something that Esmerelda thought she heard wrong. Abracadabra? That was an actual spell?
       
No wait, I think he said Avada Kedavra? She wondered.
       
A stream of green light shot out from the tip of his wand, and it struck the fleeing unicorn. It crumpled to the ground right away. It didn't twitch, or neigh, or anything. It just stayed motionless.
       
Is it... dead? She thought, feeling unsettled. She tried moving forward to check on it but found that she was rooted in the same spot. Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!
       
The cloaked man hurried over to the fallen unicorn and took out a small knife from his pocket. He stabbed the unicorn in the neck, and a stream of liquid silvery trickled out from the wound. The hooded figure lowered his head and, without removing the hood, started to drink the blood. She only knew what he was doing because of the loud slurping sounds he was making.
       
Gods, that's gross! Was he some sort of monster or something? The only other blood-sucking monsters she could think of off the top of her head were her sisters, the Empousai. But they were female...
       
No, he can't be a monster because he was using a wand. He's a wizard!
       
"Not enough!" A voice hissed angrily. It sounded a muffled, and sort of faraway. She was certain it didn't come from the cloaked figure, so where did it come from?
       
"Forgive me, my lord," the figure said breathlessly, noticeably trembling as he wiped the blood off his face. "I shall find another one."
       
"No!" It snapped. The man flinched. "Too many killings would be noticeable, you fool! It will draw too much attention! You must wait."
       
The figure nodded fervently. "Yes, my lord."
       
"Now leave the forest. Else that bumbling giant finds you." It instructed.
       
The figure rose to his feet. "Understood, my lord."
       
He turned to Esmerelda's direction, but the dream ended before she could even catch a glimpse of his face.
       
She opened her eyes and saw the very familiar hospital wing. She could hear Madam Pomfrey walking around the place and squeezed her eyes shut, knowing that another scolding was inevitable.
       
She sat up and Madam Pomfrey snapped her neck towards her so fast she was sure the woman got whiplash.
       
"Miss Esmerelda!" She boomed, and said girl began to shrink. "Do you know how worried Pomona and I have been? You've been unconscious for over a week!"
       
"Pomona?" She said dumbly.
       
Madam Pomfrey's face reddened. "Professor Sprout—your house head! We've been worried sick, young lady! Practicing advanced spells again, have you? I have half a mind to tell your guardians about what you've been doing!"
       
She was pretty sure Chiron wouldn't mind. He'd probably encourage it too, but she didn't dare voice her thoughts out loud. Instead, she settled with a very sheepish look. "Sorry?"
       
"You're very lucky the Fat Friar was there when you collapsed! The corridor you were in was empty and all the classes in there would've taken another fifty minutes to be finished!" She huffed. "Honestly, someone ought to follow you around and make sure you weren't doing anything too dangerous. I know Professor Sprout would be all for that!"
       
"I-I'd rather not..." She said nervously. The thought of someone following her around creeped her out a lot.
       
"I'd rather you not practice advanced magic, but not everyone gets what they want." She retorted. "Drink this, it's a nutrition potion. You've been unconscious for thirteen days. That's almost two weeks, by the way."
       
"Thanks," she said gratefully before drinking it all up. "Sorry for worrying you... Again."
      
"Honestly," Madam Pomfrey sighed, shaking her head. "I may as well just label this bed as 'Esmerelda's' since you're always stuck using it—unconscious!"
       
"So should I be expecting Professor Sprout to come storming in here?" She asked miserably. It happened the last couple of times she knocked herself out.
       
"Unfortunately, she's teaching her class," Madam Pomfrey said dryly. "Once you're ready to move, you have the free day today, so don't bother going to any of your classes. I strongly suggest you to rest up in your dormitory or catch up in what you missed, but I highly doubt you'll do that..."
       
"I think I'll go find the Fat Friar," Esmerelda said aloud. "I need to apologize to him."
       
She nodded in approval. "Good. I reckon you gave him a heart attack—again."
       
"But he's dead so he can't—"
       
"—Go."
       
"Yes ma'am."
       
It took her a while to hunt the friendly ghost down, but she found him floating miserably near the hallway outside of the Great Hall. He gave a strangled cheer when he saw and she apologized profusely for giving him a heart attack (or as close to a heart attack as ghosts can get) and she promised to stop practicing her necromancy for at least two weeks (she still needed to perfect it after all). He accepted her apology and her promise, and the two went on with the rest of their business after a cheery goodbye.
       
Luckily for her, it was Friday, which meant she could spend the weekend catching up on everything she missed. There were a few tests and quizzes that she was excused in, but she had an essay for Potions and the Defense Against the Dark Arts, and some new charms to learn.
       
She managed to write up a very sloppily done Potions essay and decided to do the rest over the weekend. Once night fell—and after reassuring her classmates that she wouldn't pass out again—she waited for her dorm mates to fall asleep before sneaking out to the forest.
       
"You have been gone for a week." Rumbled Magorian, the leader of the centaurs in the forest. He had long dark hair, high cheekbones, and always wore a proud expression. Except for tonight that is. Now he just looked irritated with her.
       
"Sorry. I was unconscious. Again." She said sheepishly. "Anyways, um—"
       
"—Over a dozen dracaenae slipped through us! They almost made it into the castle," he growled.
       
"Sorry, but—"

"—And—!"
       
"—Magorian?" Firenze kindly interrupted. "The godling is trying to say something."
       
Magorian stopped and glared at them.
       
"I had a dream," she began, and inwardly chuckled at how much she sounded like Martin Luther King Jr. "There was a cloaked man in the here—the forest, I mean—and he killed a unicorn. He was... drinking it's blood. I don't think that was the first unicorn he killed either. Has there been any dead unicorns lately?"
       
The centaurs looked at each other.
       
"We've spotted some fallen unicorns scattered throughout the forest," Bane said quietly. "But we didn't catch a cloaked man."
       
"But we could smell his scent. It still lingered on the bodies," Magorian said gruffly. "It's someone from the castle."
       
"Most likely a professor," she muttered to herself. "Why would anyone need to drink unicorn blood?"
       
"The blood of a unicorn will keep the drinker alive, even when they are close to death," Firenze explained. "It comes at a price though. Killing something so pure and innocent... The drinker will suffer. They will be cursed for their entire life."
       
"Who would be dumb enough to do that?" She asked.
       
"A very foolish, greedy human," Bane said, expression full of disgust.
       
"Voldemort." Magorian clarified, scowling.
       
"Voldemort?" She echoed, furrowing her brows. "I thought he was dead. This dude—Harry—killed him when he was a baby or something like that."
       
Firenze shook his head. "The humans are wrong—"
       
"—As they always are," a centaur muttered under his breath.
       
"The Potter boy merely banished Voldemort, but did not kill him. He still lives on, weak and powerless but he will regain his strength soon. And magical Britain will soon find itself in dark days once again." Firenze sighed heavily.
       
"Well, that sucks," she said, shrugging. "But it's not demigod business so it's not my problem."
       
Firenze gave her an nod. "Understandable. You demigods lead such chaotic lives."
       
"Your fate will continue to grow worse." Bane added unhelpfully.
       
"...Thanks."

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Esmerelda was walking towards her Defense Against the Dark Arts class when she overheard Ron hiss.

"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?"
       
Esmerelda slowed down her walking. Dragon? They're getting involved with dragons? She thought, mentally shaking her head. Those three were dragging themselves into terrible situations. They've been acting suspiciously for the past few months now. Lately, she'd catch them in the forbidden charms corridor with their ears pressed against the door where the knock-off Cerberus laid. She wondered if they knew all they had to do to get passed him was to play some music.
       
Hermione hissed back, equally as angry, "We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing—"
       
"—Shut up!" Harry whispered, and Esmerelda thought that she had been caught, but they were looking over at Draco's direction instead. And the pale blonde had a very smug look on his face.
       
Knowing that the conversation was over, she returned to her regular pace and continued ambling over to her DADA class. Her face scrunched up in disgust the second she stepped in. It was as if the stench of garlic grew stronger as every day passed. She didn't understand how anyone could bear with it.
       
Professor Quirrell greeted the class in his usual nervous voice and stuttered something about their lesson being on snails (yippee). A large part of her wanted to just leave the class, but that was hard to do since she was seated at the very front. Honestly, what was she thinking when she decided to sit there?
       
Her day of classes ended at last after finishing up that useless lesson. She did the bare minimum required of her homework, didn't bother to study for anything, and once night hit and everyone was asleep, she sneaked off to the forest again as per usual.
       
Three hours passed midnight and nothing exciting happened (much to her relief). There were no run-ins with any monsters and it was a relatively quiet night. Yet Esmerelda still kept her body alert and ready. Demigods learned the hard way to never let your guard down—even in your sleep.
       
Suddenly, she saw a brief flash of orange in the corner of her eyes. Fire? Tightening her grasp on her labrys, she cautiously approached the direction she saw the flash come from. Whatever caused it was nearby because it was currently shaking up and thorny blackberry bush.
       
A couple yards away was a small hut. The lights were on, so she had to hide herself in the shadows to avoid being seen.
       
She was less than a foot away from the bush now and it was rustling harder than ever. Labrys raised high, she looked into the bush...
       
...and paused.
       
Huh?
       
Tangled amongst the thorns was what strongly appeared to be a dragon. A small one though. Barely ten inches long or so. It's scales were black and it's snout was huffing fumes out of frustration as it tried to de-tangle itself.
       
Esmerelda didn't know whether to kill it or just let it go. It didn't look like a Greek monster, but it was still a dragon.
       
But it's a baby dragon, she told herself.
       
She came to a decision.
       
Her labrys morphed back into her brooch and she pinned it to her shirt. Bending down, she gingerly tried to free the little thing only for it to spit a small amount of fire at her.
       
She recoiled immediately, glaring. "You're going to set the whole bush on fire!"
       
Suddenly, she heard a burly voice calling out: "Norbert? Where are yeh? Norbert!"
       
Norbert? Who's that? She looked over and saw a hulking figure coming closer with a lantern in his hand. She recognized him immediately as Hagrid, the gamekeeper. Uh oh. That must be his hut! Gotta hurry!
      
She quickly went to work, hastily but still somewhat gently prying the thorny vines away from the baby dragon. It seemed to understand that she was helping it because it finally stopped trying to spew flames at her.
       
Finally! She only just managed to get the dragon out of the bush when Hagrid found her.
       
"Hey! It's passed curfew!" He scolded. "What do yeh think yer doin'?"
       
Dragon cradled against her chest, she hesitantly turned around to face him. "Er—"
      
He cut her off with a gasp. "You found Nortbert!"
       
You named it Norbert? She wanted to say, but settled with: "Uh, yeah." She handed Norbert back to him. "He was tangled up in that bush. It was thorny so you should probably check if, uh, Norbert has any scratches."
       
He gasped again, full of motherly worry. "He's got scratches?"
       
"You should check," she suggested. "Also... I never knew we were allowed to keep dragons in here..."
       
She watched his reaction and much to her relief, he stiffened up. Good. Now she could make a deal with him.
       
"I won't tell if you won't," she promised.
       
He nodded his head furiously. "I won't! I promise! Thanks fer gettin' Norbert. I was worried I'd never find him 'ere. Forest is huge."
       
"It's no problem," she smiled, before casting Norbert a wary look. "You should be careful of him though. Where I'm from, dragons won't hesitate to eat you whole."
       
He chuckled. "Oh no, Norbert's a sweetheart, right buddy?"
       
It tried to bite his finger off as response.
       
Esmerelda smiled tightly. "Right... Good night sir, and Norbert."
      
For Hagrid's sake, she hoped he got rid of that dragon soon. At least put it some sort of dragon shelter if such things even existed. But really, it was better off dead in her opinion.
       
Days passed by and so far, there were no signs of a dragon gone loose in the forbidden forest, which was good news because she wasn't eager to go fight a dragon at the moment.
       
She had to stop by Madam Pomfrey's hospital wing since she was now forced to do weekly check-ups per Professor Sprout's insistence. Madam Pomfrey had no complaints with it. Only Esmerelda did, but her opinion didn't matter in the situation.
      
When she walked into the hospital wing, she was surprised to see Ron sitting on one of the beds. Looking miserable as ever. His hand was bandaged badly, and it was swollen up like a balloon. His skin, which she could see through the small gaps of the wrappings, was a nasty shade of green.
       
"Hey. Esmerelda, right?" He greeted her, sullen. "What are you doing here?"
       
"Weekly check-ups. What happened to your hand?" She asked.
       
He opened his mouth to answer, but Madam Pomfrey came stomping over. "Yes, what did happen to your hand, Mr. Weasley?"
       
He paled slightly. "Dog bite." He said.
       
Esmerelda rose a brow, as did the elder witch. "A dog bite." Madam Pomfrey repeated flatly. "You expect me to believe you got this from a dog?"
       
Ron nodded silently, his eyes practically begging her to buy it.
       
She obviously wasn't, but luckily for him, her policy was to not ask questions. "Right then, Mr. Weasley. I'll fix up this 'dog bite' of yours. Unwrap it while I get you a potion and some salve. Esmerelda, you'll have to wait."
       
Esmerelda shrugged and hopped onto her bed. It wasn't actually her bed, but it might as well be since she always ended up there anyways. As she boredly swung her legs around, Ron turned towards her with curious eyes.
       
"What'd you need weekly check-ups for? You're not dying are you?"
       
"Nah. This is just Poppy and Professor Sprout are just ganging up on me." She replied.
       
"It's Madam Pomfrey for you, Miss Esmerelda." Said woman called out.
       
She ignored her. "Anyways, they think I'm a 'danger to myself'," she quoted, snorting. "I faint like a few times and suddenly I'm endangering my health. Ridiculous."
       
Ron looked a bit disbelieving. "Uh, don't you faint, like, three times a week on average?"
       
She froze. Did she really? "Uh, I don't recall."
       
"And didn't you also fall off the moving staircases a couple times too?"
       
"Ummmm, can't remember."
       
"Must be from all the times you've landed on your head." He said smartly.
       
She pouted. "Hey, now you're just attacking me!"
       
He grinned a bit, and then leaned a bit closer as if to share a secret. "Is it true that you're able to do wandless magic though? I hear people saying that that's why you've been fainting so much—because you've been doing advanced magic or something like that."
       
Her eyes widened slightly. "People are saying that?"
       
"Can you?" He asked eagerly.
       
"Er, well, sorta."
       
"Can you show me?" He whispered excitedly.
       
"It's nothing really cool," she said sheepishly. She directed her gaze towards a potion bottle on the table between them and it levitated into her awaiting hand. She sighed in disappointment. "Ugh. I'm still having trouble doing that. I can't seem to carry anything more than a pound."
       
"Who cares?!" He hissed. "Do you know how cool that is? You just did wandless and nonverbal magic! Do you know how hard that is?"
       
"I'm guessing it's hard?" She said lamely.
      
"Really, really hard." He emphasized. "My parents say that only really powerful wizards and witches can do that... You're not related to Dumbledore, are you?"
       
I hope not, she thought, inwardly grimacing. Esmerelda Dumbledore did not sound cool.
       
"I'm pretty sure I'm not," she replied. "That would be awkward..."
       
Madam Pomfrey finally returned with a potion and a jar full of dark green cream. "Drink up, and remove your bandages. In the meanwhile, Esmerelda, I'm going to start your checkup."
       
"Yay," she said with false enthusiasm.

While it was rare for Madam Pomfrey to resort to 'muggle' methods, she at least knew the process of it. The check-up was quick and ended in the same result, Madam Pomfrey clicking her tongue and scolding her about sleeping well and not exhausting herself. As usual, she dutifully nodded her head while her fingers were (mentally) crossed behind her back.

"Do be careful Esmerelda... If you get any sicker or any more injured, I might not be able to heal it. My magic doesn't seem to be working on you, meaning I'll have to rely on potions a lot, and I'm not the greatest at potions."

"Okay, Madam Pomfrey. I'm sorry..."
       
Once her check-up was done, she bid Ron goodbye and good luck on his 'dog bite' before sprinting over to her Charms class where she heard today's lesson would be on the Softening Charm. It basically softened the target and turned it rubbery and bouncy. It'd be a useful spell to learn. Imagine the Ares cabin's faces if she were to soften their weapons during a game of capture the flag! They'd kill her afterwards, but her team would win for sure!
       
Through all her excitement, she forgotten to watch where she was going.
       
"Oof!" She stumbled back, landing hard on her butt. She looked to see what she had collided with and turned as white as paper.
       
"You," Snape hissed venomously. He had just barely caught himself in time and saved himself the embarrassment of falling over. He glared furiously over her, and she wished she knew the spell to shrink oneself.
       
Her throat ran dry. "I'm sor—"
       
"Thirty points from Hufflepuff," he seethed. "And detention."
       
"I'm sorry, it was an accident—"
       
"—A whole week of detention!" He snapped, baring his teeth. "And no more excuses, you brat! Now get out of the way!"
       
Knowing that he wouldn't hesitate to kick her over, she hastily scrambled over to the side, heart pounding.
       
"A detention, great..." She sighed once he disappeared down the hallway. Oh well... I was bound to get one soon...
       
Her first detention started Friday night at eleven o'clock. According to the note Snape gave her, she would meet with the caretaker, Filch, at the entrance hall. When she got there, she saw Harry, Hermione, Neville and Draco.
       
At first she wondered why they were there, but them remembered all those rumors flying about. Apparently, they were all caught out after hours by Professor McGonagall and lost fifty points each. Slytherin lost fifty points, but it worse for the Gryffindors since that was 150 points they lost in total. Their house was furious with them which was understandable, but for some reason everyone else hated them too. Harry especially because he was famous (honestly the world needed to give the poor kid a break).
       
"Hey guys," she greeted them happily, even Draco.
       
"Essie?" Neville stared at her in confusion. "What'd you do to get detention?"
       
"Nearly bulldozed Snape in the hallway," she said, which made Harry and Hermione snort in amusement. "Now I have a whole week of detention starting now."
       
"A whole week?" Harry echoed, looking horrified. "That's awful!"
       
"I know right?" She moped.
       
"That's enough now!" Filch barked, coming in with a lamp (haven't these people heard of flashlights?). He gave them all a nasty sneer and ordered, "Follow me."
       
He started leading them outside, turning over his shoulder to give them an ugly look ever now and then. It made Esmerelda wonder if he had ever tried out toothpaste before.
       
"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" He said, leering at them. "Oh yes... hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me... It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out... hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed... Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do."
       
Poor Neville was shaking like a leaf from his threat. Meanwhile, Esmerelda was unamused. She'd heard of scarier threats.
       
The moon was shining brightly outside, and it filled her with a sense of energy. She was always a lot stronger during nights or when it was dark, so whatever Filch was going to throw at her, she'd be ready for it.
       
They approached the familiar hut that belonged to Hagrid and soon enough, heard his familiar voice too.       
       
"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."
       
Harry and Hermione looked at each other with hopeful faces, which Filch caught. "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again, brats—it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."
       
Esmerelda almost laughed. The forest? Puh-lease, going in the forbidden forest was like a walk in the park for her!
       
I just hope we don't run into any monsters, though... She thought, eyeing the mortals with worry.
       
"The forest?" Draco said fearfully. "We can't go in there at night—there's all sorts of things in there—werewolves, I heard."
       
Neville made a choking noise.
       
Filch looked happy at the thought of them meeting werewolves. "That's your problem, isn't it? Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"
       
Hagrid finally reached them, with a dog at his heel. In his hands was a large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder.
       
"Abou' time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Harry, Hermione?" His eyes trailed over to Esmerelda, who he gave a nod of acknowledgment to. She waved briefly at him.
       
"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," Filch sneered. "They're here to be punished, after all."
       
"That's why yer late, is it?" Hagrid frowned knowingly. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'Snot your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."
       
Filch scowled. "I'll be back at dawn," then he smiled. "For what's left of them." He then walked back to the castle.
       
Draco whirled around to face Hagrid, looking terrified. "I'm not going in that forest," he said, as if anyone cared.
       
Hagrid narrowed his eyes at him. "Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it."
       
"But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this, he'd—"
       
"—Tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid growled. "Copyin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on!"
       
Malfoy looked insulted and scared. After a second, he dropped his gaze.
       
"Right then," Hagrid said gruffly. "Now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."
       
He led them to the edge of the forest and pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. Esmerelda instantly spotted the small puddles of unicorn blood on the ground.
       
"Look there," he whispered. "See that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."

"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" Draco said. There was a tremble in his voice.
       
"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," Hagrid promised, motioning to his loyal dog. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff 'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."
       
"I want Fang," Draco said immediately.
       
"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," Hagrid said. "So me, Harry, an' Hermione'll go one way an' Draco, Neville, Esmerelda an' Fang'll go the other. Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now—that's it—an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find ye—so, be careful—let's go."
       
They delved into the forest, where they reached a forked path. Harry, Hermione and Hagrid went left while Esmerelda, Neville, Draco, and Fang turned to the right.
       
They were five minutes into the path when Esmerelda couldn't take the silence anymore and tried to make a friendly conversation.
       
"So you guys got detention for being out passed curfew?" She asked.
       
"Potter and his friends had a dragon with him!" Draco snapped. "But they managed to fool McGonagall into thinking something different!"
       
"Oh you mean Norbert?" She blinked.
       
Both boys gaped at her.
       
"You know about the dragon?!"
       
"So there really was a dragon?!"
       
They exclaimed in unison.
       
She nodded, waving her hand dismissively. "Yeah, but who cares. What I don't get is why your punishment for being out passed curfew, is to be out passed curfew."
       
"It's absolutely bloody ridiculous!" Draco exploded in furious agreement. "I bet that old fool Dumbledore was the one who thought it up!"
       
"You need to chill," she said, eyeing him warily. "Our detention's not that bad."
       
"Essie, we're in the forbidden forest." Neville pointed out.
       
"Yeah, it's a bit dark. Could use some flowers." She commented, looking around.
       
A few feet ahead of them, a rather large bird took flight off of a branch, causing it to shake and make some noise.
       
Neville jumped and clung onto her while Draco ducked behind them.
       
"W-w-what was that?" Neville whispered.
       
"It was just a bird, don't worry." She assured.
       
"How do you know?" Draco whimpered.
       
"I'm not blind, that's how." She rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's keep looking. I feel bad for this unicorn. We should find it before it goes through any more pain."
       
"Who cares about the stupid unicorn," Draco whined in a hushed voice. "I want to get out of here!"
       
"The sooner we find the unicorn, the sooner we'll be out of here." She reminded him.
       
They continued searching—well, Esmerelda and Neville continued searching. Draco just kept muttering things like 'stupid oaf' and 'stupid Potter', and something about his dad again. She did her best to block him out, which turned out to be a big mistake ten minutes later.
       
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Neville suddenly shrieked, then jabbed his wand in the air where red sparks shot out into the sky. Fang was barking wildly, panicking alongside him.
       
"What?! What is it?!" Esmerelda asked furiously, checking the terrified boy for any injuries.
       
Draco let out a howling laugh, and she knew what had happened.
       
"What is wrong with you?!" She nearly shouted. "You have issues, you know that? Come on, Neville, let's leave this jerk behind."
       
Draco darted forward and gripped their clothes. "You're not leaving me!"
       
"L-let go, Malfoy!" Neville stammered bravely, then shoved him away.
       
"That was childish," Esmerelda scolded the blonde harshly. "We're in the middle of a dark forest where deadly creatures lay. Your idea of a joke could've attracted their attention."
       
He pointed an accusing finger at a shaking Neville. "It was Longbottom's fault! How was I supposed to know he'd shriek like a banshee?"
       
"Right now you're the only one shrieking like a banshee," she said dryly. "Now let's walk forward before—" she paused, spying a large figure hurrying through the trees. The two boys turned around to see what she was looking at and paled considerably.
       
"IT'S A WEREWOLF!" Draco screeched. He tried to run away but tripped on a tree root and faceplanted on the ground.
       
"It's going to kill us!" Neville squeaked, hiding behind Esmerelda.
       
"It's Hagrid." She told them.
       
"Oh." Neville relaxed as Draco pushed himself back up to his feet.
       
"I saw the sparks," Hagrid said, breathing heavily. "What happened?"
       
"Draco purposely scared Neville," she informed him. "Neville panicked and sent up the sparks. He didn't realize it was just Draco."
       
"I didn't know the idiot would—"
       
"—Shut it, Malfoy!" Hagrid rounded on him. "Does the forbidden forest look like the place to play pranks? No! Get yer act together, boy!"
       
Draco's face turned as red as Ron's hair. He opened his mouth to argue back but Hagrid was done with him.
       
"Come on, we're gettin' back to Harry and Hermione." Hagrid said, then turned to walk away.
       
Hagrid's way back took only four or so minutes. Harry and Hermione were waiting patiently by some trees, relatively unharmed, but tired nonetheless.
       
"Kid thought it'd be a good idea to play a joke on poor Neville," Hagrid explained to them. "We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you two were makin'. Right, we're changin' groups—Neville, you stay with me, Esmerelda an' Hermione, Harry, you go with Fang an' this idiot."
       
They parted ways, and Esmerelda was relieved to be separated from Draco. Good luck to Harry though, Draco seemed to hate him more than he enjoyed bullying Neville.
       
Her new group was a lot more quieter now that Draco wasn't there to go on whining. It made it easier for them to listen to certain sounds. After a few more minutes of fruitless searching, they didn't come across a dying unicorn or anymore of it's silver blood.
       
And then, they heard someone shriek in the distance.
       
They dashed towards the direction and ran into a pale Draco. He thrust Fang's leash back into Hagrid's hands and cried out, "No more of this! I'm done! I'm done!"
       
After that, he sprinted back to the castle.
       
"What happened to Harry?!" Hermione shouted after him, but he was already too far gone.
       
"He ditched Harry, didn' he?" Hagrid roared. "Why, I oughta—"
       
"—We need to find Harry." Esmerelda cut in, and he nodded in agreement.
       
"I hope they didn't run into anything too dangerous," Neville whimpered, but joined in on the search. "I've never heard Malfoy scream like that though..."
       
Hagrid growled, "Malfoy's gonna be in a whole world o' trouble after this, I promise yeh—"
       
Hermione suddenly gasped. "There he is! Harry! Harry, are you alright?" She ran down the path, where Harry was riding Firenze a few feet ahead. Esmerelda paled. Why was Firenze with him? Did they run into a monster? She, Neville, and Hagrid ran forward.
      
"I'm fine," Harry assured them. "The unicorns dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there."
       
"This is where I leave you," Firenze murmured as Hagrid hurried off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now."
       
Harry slid off his back.
       
"Good luck, Harry Potter," Firenze said, looking down at him with an oddly sad expression on his face. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."
      
He turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest.
       
"That's amazing, Harry," Neville said, awed. "Centaurs rarely ever let humans ride on their backs..."
       
"He seems different from the rest," Harry mused. "A lot nicer too."
       
"What did he talk to you about?" Esmerelda asked immediately.
       
"I, er, well..." He scratched the back of his head. "He talked about the Mars and how it was bright, and um... he also mentioned you."
       
"Me?" She said. Uh oh.
       
"Do you know each other?" Hermione asked.
       
"Nope," she said swiftly. "But what did he say about me exactly?"
       
"It was weird," he shrugged. "He said that I should stay with you if I wanted to be safe."
       
Oh Hades no, she inwardly grimaced. Harry seemed like a great dude and all, but she did not want to be dragged into whatever mess he was in. No thanks. She had her own mess to deal with.
       
"Huh, must be a different Esmerelda then." She lied.
      
"Yeah," he agreed. "Must be."

— author's note —

Harry: The centaurs said that if I ever wanted to stay safe that I should stick with you because you could protect me

Essie, who does not want to get involved with whatever fucked up shit Harry dragged himself into: Must be a different 'Esmerelda'