▬▬▬ CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR ▬▬▬

I'M SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE 😭

I know I said I would be focusing on fixing my story... BUT I ENDED UP GETTING SO SIDETRACKED BY ALL THESE SUPER AMAZING YANDERE STORIES 😩

They're so fucking addicting too. I'll put the recommendations down at the author's note. I SUGGEST YOU READ THEM, THEY'RE AMAZING

But they distracted me sooo much omfg. I hate when I get addicted to a certain type of story because then it makes me want to MAKE one. It's happened so many times throughout the years, I've got literally 50+ drafts 💀 I'm still fighting the urge to not make my own yandere stories cuz I'm already doing this shit which is technically a fucking yandere SERIES

Again, sorry for the long wait everyone!

(On a brighter note, I finished fixing the drafted chapters!🥳)

(Also, if you haven't read my parenting headcanons for Essan, go check them out in the Church of Essie. Consider it a small peek of what Keeping Up with the Nakamuras is gonna be like)

ETHAN HAD NO IDEA HOW it happened. He was pretty sure Esmerelda left for her cabin last night, yet here she was, laying over him and nestled between his arms. He wasn't going to complain about it though. He loved holding her. She fit against him so perfectly, and he loved the feeling of having her so close to him. 

He pressed his lips against the crown of her head, using his kisses as a gentle method of waking her up. She loved doing the same with him too. 

"Essie," he murmured groggily. "Essie, wake up. How'd you even get here anyways?" 

Sometimes she would Mist travel over to his room whenever she had another one of her nightmares again, or sometimes she'd come to him whenever she felt lonely or bored. 

But... usually she would wake him up to ask for permission, or he would wake up first since he was such a light sleeper. He couldn't remember either scenarios happening in the night prior. 

When Esmerelda didn't respond, he just sighed in defeat and decided to just lay there and toy around with her hair a little. She must have been exhausted, mentally and physically. Yesterday's meeting had definitely taken a toll on her. Once it was confirmed that she was one the nine demigods of the prophecy, she had cried to him in private. 

Ethan had cried a little too. He figured he needed a way to release all his pent up hatred, anger, and pain. They had just gone through a war, and now they were being thrown at another one. The gods were too prideful to help them—even though the only way to defeat one of the Gigantes was through the combined effort of a demigod and a god. 

Ethan wished he could go back in time, back before he made the fateful decision to join the Kronos Army. Rather than doing that, he wished he could've just taken Esmerelda and ran away, lived out in the mortal world and left the godly one for good. They could grab Nico on the way too, and the three of them could just live their lives peacefully without having to deal with all the pain these fucked up deities kept throwing at them. 

But he couldn't go back in time. This was his reality now. Once the Argo II was finished being built, he, Esmerelda, and a bunch of other kids were going to embark on a deadly quest to save the world—again. 

And there was a good chance they could die while doing it. 

He sucked in a shaky breath. 

Now wasn't the time to dwell on the inevitable. The Great Prophecy had long since started, but they still had enough time to themselves before the actual danger began. 

He glanced over to the side. It was still six o'clock in the morning. There was a layer of frost building up on the other side of his window, and beyond it he could see that the skies were tinged in a cold winter blue since the sun had yet to show up. 

Suddenly Esmerelda's body grew heavier, and he could feel something wet pooling at his torso. Ethan stopped playing with her hair, staring down at her in concern, his senses going on high alert as if there was a threat nearby. 

"Essie?" He whispered. He shook her, only to stiffen when he made contact with her skin. She was terrifyingly cold. 

His hands started to shake as he lifted her off of him, and that was when he saw it. 

There was blood leaking from her stomach. At the very center of it was a deep wound, as if she had been stabbed. 

Ethan bit back his scream as he shot up into a sitting position, Esmerelda's body falling back over him. He quickly moved her over to the side, his breathing turning heavier as he looked down at her body. 

Her eyes were no longer bright green, but a faded greyish blue. Her skin had gone beyond pale—it was almost translucent. He could see every vein hidden behind her papery skin. There was a thin trail of blood dripping down from her purple lips. 

Ethan looked down, and his breath hitched.

Because suddenly there was a knife embedded into her stomach where she was bleeding—and Esmerelda's hand was tightly grasping the handle. 

"No, no..." He muttered deliriously, going onto his knees as he touched her face. She was as cold as ice, and goosebumps rose up the skin on his arms. His hands cupped around the knife like he was trying to keep the blood in—but he didn't know what he was doing anymore. The blood had stopped running and he knew deep down that she was already dead, already beyond saving, but he just couldn't believe it. 

He started to hyperventilate, his vision growing hazy and his skin tingly. He could feel tears streaming down his face, but his whole body felt numb aside from the prickly sensation coursing through him. 

"Essie—! Essie, no—!" He whimpered, a scream spilling past his lips as her body continued to grow colder and her dead eyes stayed connected with his. 

Suddenly she started to decay right before him. Her skin began to turn into dirty shades of purple, grey, and yellow, and began to sink against her skeleton. He gagged as the stench of death grew stronger. Maggots began to eat away at her flesh and Ethan finally scrambled out of bed, falling to the floor as his body shook with screams and sobs. 

And then he started to choke. He could feel something forming at the back of his throat. He bent over and hacked it out. Soggy dirt laid on the floor before him. 

Dirt? He thought, and it clicked in his head. Gaea—!

But it was already too late to do anything. More dirt piled at the back of his throat, and soon he couldn't breath. It was like he was being buried alive. 

He grasped for anything to help him, and grabbed at the bed sheets. When he accidentally yanked them down, Esmerelda's body came falling forward next. Her rotten corpse landed right in front of him, her glassy eyes forever burned into his mind as he slowly succumbed to his death. 

A second later, he shot up from his bed screaming. In the midst of Damien bursting in with a sword in hand, it suddenly dawned on Ethan that everything was just a dream. 

"Ethan?! Ethan, what happened?! What's going on?! What did you see?!" Damien was shouting at him, but he sounded as if he was miles away. 

Esmerelda was back at her cabin alive and he wasn't choking to death. 

But it didn't matter anymore. He still continued to scream and cry, Esmerelda's dead eyes permanently trapped in his thoughts. 

He could feel his mind cracking even further. 

"I need—" He rasped, greedily breathing in the air he had been deprived of in his dream. "—Esmerelda. I need to see her—!" 

In his desperation, he ran passed his brother and left the cabin. He hastily sprinted to the Hecate cabin, his fists slamming against the door. He figured he must have looked crazy to anyone who was awake and outside at the moment. He was barefoot, still dressed in his pajamas, and he hadn't even bothered to put on his eye patch before rushing here. 

But he didn't care. He had to see her. He knew it was just a dream, but it was way too real. It felt too real. He could still feel her cold skin, the blood that had dripped onto him, and the vice grip she had on the knife that had pierced her stomach. It smelled real, it sounded real, it looked real. 

Everything about it was just so painfully real despite it being a dream. 

The door opened. The second he spotted familiar black hair, he threw himself at her, wrapping is arms around her warm body and burying his face against her neck. He was crying now, his shoulders shaking as he held her tightly. 

"Ethan!" She gasped in surprise. He could hear the concern in her voice. "What—what happened?"

"Is he okay?" Lou Ellen whispered, probably somewhere from the staircase. 

"I don't know... Go back to bed, Lou, I'll handle this," Esmerelda said. 

Lou Ellen went back up the stairs, shooting the pair a worried look before disappearing. Now the two of them were finally alone. 

Esmerelda magically closed the front door to keep the chilly air out. 

"Ethan," she whispered, her hand rubbing his back. "Ethan, what's wrong?"

But he didn't reply. He continued to sob, his skin all tingly from the onslaught of emotions and the dream still freshly etched into his memory. He didn't think he could ever forget a single detail of it.

When he calmed down, he finally spoke up: "You can't leave." 

Esmerelda blinked. "What?"

"You can't leave!" He repeated, pulling away and looking intensely at her. Her eyes were still green, but it was almost as if he could picture the light inside them fading away. 

"What do you mean?" She asked slowly, her eyes surveying his face. Whatever had happened to him had frightened him so much that he had grown unnaturally pale. His lips were still quivering, like he was going to scream and cry at any minute now. 

"You die," he said, and her heart stopped at that moment before he continued, "You die, Essie, I saw it! It—it happened in my dream but it was so real! I can't—you can't go! Just stay here at camp, I'll stay with you too, just please please don't leave—" 

"—E-Ethan what are you—what are you talking about?" 

"YOU FUCKING DIED!" He screamed, and she jumped. "You died in my dream, okay?! You—you were with me, but you were dead! A knife was in your stomach and—and you were holding it like you stabbed yourself or something! You started to fucking rot and I—I couldn't breathe anymore I was—" He started to hyperventilate at this part, like he was choking on dirt again. 

Quickly, she moved him onto the couch and held his hands as she started to breath with him in an attempt to guide him back to a more normal breathing pattern. 

"You can't leave," he whispered, his voice just as desperate as before. "Please. I can't lose you." 

"Ethan," she said sadly, shaking her head. "Ethan I'm sorry, I can't stay. I have to—"

"—No." 

"Please Ethan—" 

"—No! Essie, this was no regular dream!" He shouted. 

"I know that," she said patiently, but her hands were shaking. 

"Then why?" He demanded. 

She took a deep breath before saying, "Because I had a dream too, except it was about my uncle dying." 

Ethan stared at her in shock. "When did you...?"

"Just now," she answered softly. "I woke up a few minutes before you came here. It felt... so real. I woke up in my room back at Grimmauld Place. I didn't know how I got there, so I walked around a bit. I... I found Sirius in the living room. He was just sitting there... I thought he was asleep. But then he started to bleed from the stomach. I tried to stop the bleeding but this knife just appeared and he was choking my name and... and he started to... to decay. I was terrified. I was screaming for help, but then I started to choke on..." 

"On dirt," Ethan finished. "You were choking on dirt, weren't you?" 

She looked at him in surprise. 

"Our dreams were similar," Ethan muttered, his mind going haywire. "I dreamed of you being killed by a stab wound. Your body started to rot too, and I was choking on dirt by the end of it. I woke up just before I could 'die'. Meanwhile you dreamed of your uncle being killed by a stab wound too, and his body started to rot and you were choking on dirt. We both had similar dreams at the same time. This is no coincidence." 

But what did it all mean?

His thoughts went back to the very beginning: The Fates. The three of them had come to London and revealed themselves in front of Sirius and Esmerelda. But they only cut one string. 

Yet he had a dream of Esmerelda dying while she had one about Sirius dying. It wasn't exactly giving them a clear answer of who's string was cut. Did it mean the both of them were going to die? Or was it just one? He didn't know. Nothing about this made sense anymore. 

The Fates must have been messing with them at this point, he was certain of it. He could picture them right now, cackling as they toyed around with their lives. 

"I have to go back, be closer to him," Esmerelda whispered. When Ethan started to protest, she said, "Please Ethan, I have to. Sirius, he's... he's reckless. And he's been stuck in Grimmauld Place for so long now, I know it's been driving him crazy. The house is protected, but he might try to leave or—"

"—And your fatal flaw is loyalty!" He hissed. "If he gets attacked then what would you do? I know you, Essie, I know you'll protect him. But you'll just get distracted. You'll end up taking any hit for him. He may be reckless, but his recklessness could get you killed too!" 

"I'm almost done with my spell, I just need to refine it. Once it's finally been perfected, I'll use the spell on him and come back to camp. I promise," she swore. "But for now, I have to stay nearby."

He closed his eye and shook his head, "Essie..." 

"Just a few more months," she pleaded. "Ethan, please." 

"If you died," he said suddenly, looking intensely at her. "Will you come back?" 

She didn't say anything, too shocked to speak. 

"If you died and the Doors of Death were still open," he continued. "Would you come back?" 

"Of course I will," she said without wasting a second. "You, Nico, all my friends—I could never just leave you all behind." 

(Because she knew how that felt like.)

The thought of Elysium was enticing. It was a place of eternal peace. No more pain. No more wars. No more fighting. There were people she loved in Elysium too. 

But she had loved ones here in the living world too. The ones in Elysium would have to wait. She could always see them later—much later, hopefully. 

So if she were to die and the Doors of Death were still opened, she would leave in an instant. But that would be easier said than done. There was still one problem to worry about: Hades and Thanatos. They would never allow a soul to leave the Underworld. It was against their laws. 

"But if I were to die, you have to understand that I might not be able to come back anyways," she told him gently. "Hades and Thanatos would take my soul once they regained control over the Doors." 

"Then stay alive," he said hoarsely. "Stay here so you can actually have a chance of living." 

"Ethan," she reached out for his hands, mentally pleading for him to look at her. "I will do my best to stay alive, I promise you that. But I need to keep my uncle safe too." 

Ethan looked like his heart had been ripped out of his chest, but he also didn't look too surprised. Instead, his expression was one of resignation. 

"He's never done anything for you," he told her, his voice laced with hurt and desperation. "You're always giving him everything he wants. Freedom, a house, a new identity, safety. Don't... don't give up your life for him too." 

"I won't," she insisted. 

But Ethan didn't believe her. Because Sirius' fatal flaw was recklessness and Esmerelda's was excessive loyalty. It was the worst possible combination ever. The only scenario he could think of was Sirius' recklessness putting them in a dangerous situation, and Esmerelda's loyalty getting her killed trying to save him. 

This was going to end in a tragedy, and Ethan didn't think he could stop it. Not when the Fates were in his way. 

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Andromeda and Ted stepped into Grimmauld Place, giving Moody a nod of appreciation for letting them in. 

"This place gives me Hill House vibes," Ted muttered to his wife. 

Andromeda ignored him and turned to Moody. "Where is he?" 

"Up in the library," Moody answered. 

She rose a brow. "Since when did he read?"

He snorted. "Just go check him out. Man's lost his mind. Gone stir-crazy." 

Andromeda let out a heavy sigh before crossing the room. As she did so, a familiar painting burst from the curtains, shrieking like mad. 

"YOUUUUU!" Walburga's eyes bulged in outrage when she caught sight of her ex-niece. "BLOOD TRAITOR! HOW DARE YOU SET FOOT INTO MY HOUSE AND BRING YOUR FILTHY MUDBLOOD LOVER! GET OUT! GET OUT OF HERE AND TAKE YOUR MUTT DAUGHTER WITH YOU!" 

"Hello, Aunt Walburga," Andromeda greeted her coolly. "I'm glad you're dead. Your painting isn't near as loud as the real you back when you were alive." 

"God she is hideous..." Ted murmured beside her, staring at the painting in disgusted awe. "What happened to her?" 

"HOW DARE YOU!" The painting screamed at him. "I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO THIS WAY BY A SIMPLE MUDBLOOD! YOU SHALL—"

"—As you can see, she didn't age very well," Andromeda answered, smoothly ignoring the raging painting as the pair of them ascended the stairs, leaving her behind. "I think it was the combination of having Sirius as a son and losing Regulus as an heir." 

"Ah," Ted said, following behind her with an uneasy look on his face. Despite the fact that Walburga and Orion were long gone, the oppressive atmosphere was still in the air. 

They finally reached the doors to the library. Andromeda pushed them open without knocking. 

Sirius, Remus, and Tonks were all gathered around a table, a pile of letters before them. 

"Mum, dad! Hey!" Tonks greeted them cheerily. 

"Nymphadora," Andromeda said fondly. "I hope you didn't make a mess?" 

"Mum," she complained. "Just call me Tonks!" 

"Andy?" Sirius looked up from the letter he was reading to regard her weirdly. "What are you doing here?" 

"We came to visit you," Ted answered for her, stepping closer so that he could see what exactly they were reading. Judging by spelling mistakes, he could only guess that all of the letters were from Esmerelda. "Tonks said that you were acting crazy." 

Sirius gave the pink-haired woman a dry look, "She has, has she?" 

"She even tweeted about it," Remus sighed. "She posted a picture of a mental hospital with the caption 'hope there's a family discount'." 

"I tagged you, though," Tonks said to Sirius. "Though, now that I think about it, you probably didn't see it since our phones don't work here... oops." 

Remus turned to her with an equally as dry look. "You couldn't have picked a better time to tweet that? I was in the middle of a discussion with the wolf pack up north and I nearly got a heart attack when I got the notification. They were going to kill me because they thought I was a Ministry spy." 

"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly. 

Andromeda sighed and collapsed on a nearby chair, her husband joining her and already grabbing for one of the letters. 

"Why are you reading all this?" He asked curiously. 

"Essie sent these months ago during her summer vacation," Tonks explained. "But Sirius is just starting to read them now." 

"Seriously?" Andromeda gave him a disappointed look. "What exactly prompted you to read them now?"

Sirius opened his mouth, but Tonks cut him off. 

"He's trying to find more evidence about Essie's boyfriend manipulating her," she said. 

Andromeda and Ted exchanged looks, quickly growing uncomfortable. They didn't exactly take the news well when Tonks told them all about Esmerelda's boyfriend: Ethan Nakamura. Andromeda had met the boy briefly, and Esmerelda's brother had controlled her and her daughter's minds to make them forget the memory ever happened. 

And well, the year after that, Esmerelda had gotten kidnapped by the same boy her brother was with. They found out about demigods next, and Esmerelda was finally rescued. She stayed with their family for weeks after her kidnapping. Andromeda, Ted, and Tonks all knew how deeply affected she was that year, and how much pain she was in. 

She knew about the Labyrinth too, about how the boy had tried to save her. But still, they went to war after that. Andromeda had no idea how they ended up together when they were literally on opposite sides of the war. 

"That's... a very serious accusation," Ted said, his eyes darting to Sirius. "Why do you think that?"

"Esmerelda came here with Harry and the Weasley kids when Arthur got attacked. I... I wanted to talk to her, but I just angry and...we ended up arguing instead," he admitted with a guilty look on his face. "But she said something that made me realize that Ethan had been feeding her with all these—"

"—Truths," Remus cut in sharply. "As awful as it sounds, Sirius, what she said was the truth. Regardless of who whether Ethan told her those things." 

"Wait," Andromeda said. "What exactly did she say to you while you both were arguing." 

Sirius gulped. "She called me out on a lot of things. How I was ignoring her trauma, how I kept pushing for her to be normal... how poorly I was treating her. Then she told me that 'Ethan was right' about me and that was when I realized he was the one putting all those thoughts into her head. He's been trying to turn her against me, hasn't he? I wouldn't be surprised if he tried doing it with others... That evil little—"

"—He's not wrong," Remus said begrudgingly, grimacing because he couldn't believe he was agreeing with a kidnapper of all people. Sirius had fucked up so spectacularly that a possibly psychopathic boy had to call him out on it. 

"Excuse me?" Sirius' jaw dropped. 

The brunette brought his hands up in defense. "I don't like the kid, believe me on that, but he's not necessarily wrong about what he told Essie either. You have been treating her quite poorly. You seem to have it in your head that if you ignored Essie's real issues then they couldn't possibly exist. And well, sorry to break it to you Sirius, but they exist and you need to accept that." 

His friend deflated in defeat. "I just... I wish she could just be like all the other kids," he admitted. "All they do is play around, but Essie? She went and killed someone and didn't even regret it. She thought she did a good thing. I.. what teenage girl thinks that?"

He never should've asked her to abuse her powers for his sake so much, never should've been so lenient on her. If he had just been more firmer with her like he should've been with Regulus, then maybe things would've been different. 

But Andromeda didn't see it that way. 

"Our lives are different from hers, Sirius." She emphasized. "We were raised in a society where those sorts of things are looked down on. She was not. For her it's survival of the fittest, kill or be killed. Those kids don't have laws to obey like we do, they have bloody monsters hunting them down and divine beings trying to ruin their lives. She was never going to be normal, no matter how hard you try to raise her to be. Instead of trying to change her, help her." 

"I-I have!" 

"You haven't," Remus pressed on, and Tonks nodded in agreement beside him. "Sorry, Sirius, I know you care greatly for her, but your purposeful ignorance about her life is doing a lot more damage than good. Look, we get it. You wish Esmerelda could have a normal happy life. Her life would never be normal, but it doesn't mean she can't be happy. You can still give her that."

"You gotta cut this out," Tonks added. "You and Essie."

"If you go up to her accusing her boyfriend of being a manipulative little twat," Remus began. "She would never listen. Not when you don't listen to her either." 

Sirius never liked to be wrong, he was too prideful for that, but this was one of the few instances where he needed to shut up and listen—and he knew it too. 

His shoulders sagged in defeat. "I'll... talk to her again. Properly this time. I'll apologize." 

"The kids' winter break will be over soon, and Esmerelda's going to come back here," Andromeda said. "So you better get that apology of yours ready." 

"I will," he said quietly. 

"Good," she nodded in approval, exchanging looks of relief with the others. 

"Now," Ted began. "I guess we can go back to these letters. See what Sirius missed out on." 

"They're quite interesting," Tonks piped up, grateful that the miserable air in the room was mostly gone now. "This one I'm reading is just Essie talking about what sort of cabin she's helping the, uh... He...phaestus kids(?) design. She seems really insistent on having bidets in the bathrooms." 

"It's 'cause America sucks and they don't have bidets, only in some homes." Ted explained. 

"That's gross," Tonks made a face of disgust. 

While Remus, Tonks, Ted, and Andromeda started chattering amongst themselves about everything America lacked, Sirius sat silently to himself. 

As awful as it sounded, he wasn't exactly used to apologizing. It just wasn't his thing. Back in Hogwarts whenever he had done anything to offend anyone, he'd either laugh it off or roll his eyes and tell them that they were 'taking it too seriously'.

(Yeah he was a shitty kid, he was very much aware of that.)

However, that was back in his Hogwarts years, back when he was a stupid, heartless teenager. He was an adult now. And more importantly, an adult in charge of two teenagers. He couldn't continue being childish, selfish, and stubborn. He had to own up to his mistakes and apologize to not only Esmerelda, but to Harry too because lately he had been treating him like he was a carbon copy of James. 

It's time for you to grow up, Sirius told himself, but the thought of that was daunting. 

He spent his entire adulthood stuck in a prison cell. Before that, he barely understood how to pay muggle rent and taxes (Lily had to teach him), and now he was in charge of two teenagers, both of which he rarely got to spend enough time with as babies. He always felt like he was drowning in time, everything was moving by so quickly. He still had the same mindset back when he was an irresponsible twenty-one year old, but now everyone was expecting so much more from him. He just couldn't catch up. 

But he had to. Because two kids were depending on him and he'd be damned if he failed them again. 

And with that determined thought in mind, he grabbed the next letter and began reading: 

Hi Steve! It's Essie again! Please, please reply because I have some BIG NEWS to tell you! 

So Ethan and I were on this date at this cute Italian place—

He could feel a scowl grow on his face at the mention of that boy. 

—and Nico came over. You remember Nico right? He was the boy I spent most of my time in the Labyrinth with? Son of Hades? The super old kid who was stuck in a casino that prevented him from aging?

Well, he sort of interrupted our date, but that's okay because he had REALLY IMPORTANT NEWS TO GIVE US! Try not to panic, okay?

Basically, he said that I was his—

Sirius was pulled away from the letter when someone knocked on the door. Harry walked into the library quietly, behaving more awkwardly than ever when he noticed two new additions that he had never met before. 

"Er, Sirius?" He said. 

"Yes?" Sirius set the letter down. He caught the way Harry kept glancing at the two Tonkses and swiftly introduced him to them, "Oh, Harry, this is my cousin, Andromeda and her husband Ted." 

"And my parents!" Tonks added cheerily. "Mum's the original Black who got disowned. Sirius just copied her." 

"Hey," Sirius glared. "I did not copy her. And Andy was not the first person to get disowned, there were a couple of Blacks who were blasted off the family tapestry too, you know!" 

Harry coughed slightly, and Sirius turned back to him. The poor kid looked even more awkward and out of place, if that was even possible. 

"Sorry, what was it, Harry?" 

"Essie's back from New York," he said, and Sirius' froze. "She brought food too for dinner. And a cake, for some reason." 

"She's—she's here?" Sirius stammered, looking at everyone else in the table with panic. Why was she so early? She wasn't supposed to come until the last day of the break! He hadn't even prepared an apology yet! 

"Yeah," Harry replied. 

"Right now," Sirius said. "She's here right now?"

Harry gave him a weird look. "Er... yes?" 

"Oh bloody hell," Sirius breathed out, looking understandably stressed. 

Tonks, however, didn't share the sentiment. "You said she's got food?" She asked eagerly. 

"In N Out?" Harry said uncertainly. "I dunno. I think it might be an American thing, but I have no idea how she managed to bring it all the way here... Anyways, she mentioned it being Sirius' favorite?" 

Sirius nearly drooled at the mention of In N Out. He hoped she got him three animal fries. Or more. More was good. More was always good. 

And then he snapped out of it when he realized something. Wasn't she upset with him? Why did she go out of her way to Mist travel to California to get him the food he loved and then Mist traveled over to London to give it to him? And why did she come back earlier than expected too? 

He whipped out his wand to put the letters away and stood up to his feet. 

"Well then," Andromeda rose up next, in a more graceful manner. She shot him an expecting look. "Let's go welcome her back, shall we?" 

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Esmerelda had an armful of In N Out takeout bags and she was handing them out to everyone like they were candy. 

"Is this muggle food?" Ginny asked curiously, peeking into her own. 

"American muggle food," Esmerelda corrected with a grin. "Everyone's got at least two burgers and some animal fries—except Sirius, but that's only because I memorized his order." 

"Oh Merlin, I knew smelled burgers in here," Hermione exclaimed as she walked into the dining room. "In N Out? Essie, how did you get these?"

"Secret," she sang, handing her a bag in hopes she wouldn't pry any further. 

"This is some good stuff," Fred said, giving her an appreciative nod as he chewed on his burger. 

"You're very welcome, oh and Mrs. Weasley! I'm sorry if you were planning on cooking for tonight!" She apologized to the red haired mother, but she was too busy devouring her animal fries to reply. 

"It's fine, dear!" She said through a mouthful of food. 

"Where's Harry?" She asked Ron while looking around. So far, everyone was in the dining room eating save for Harry, Remus, Tonks, and... Sirius.

"He's upstairs, he'll be coming down," Ron replied. "Thanks for the food by the way." 

"No problem. Harry better get down quick though, I gave him an extra burger to fatten him up..." 

The remaining people finally stepped into the dining room, but much to her surprise, Andromeda and Ted were with them too. 

"Aunty?" She froze. "Shoot. I didn't get you guys any burgers..."

"One of them could have mine, there's no way I could eat three," Hermione offered. 

"Weak!" Ginny called, already on her second and not slowing down. 

Andromeda and Ted were given enough food for the night and were now joining them for dinner. After giving Harry his bag, she was about to hand Sirius (who was thankfully still alive) his own, until he spoke up. 

"Essie," he whispered. "I need to speak with you—"

She shoved the bag into his hands and gave him a tight smile. "Sorry, but it's dinner time now." 

"Well yes, but I meant after dinner—" 

"—Yeah, okay," she said dismissively, wanting to go to her seat already.

"No, wait, I want to apologize—"

But she was already joining the table, his voice drowned out by the loud excited chatter. Sirius sighed in defeat and sat down beside Remus and Andromeda, right across from his niece who was busy indulging herself on some animal fries to pay him any attention. 

"You didn't miss much while you were gone, by the way," George said. "We had a Christmas party though, and a New Years Eve one, but that was pretty much it." 

"How was New York? Did you meet your special someone again?" Fred teased. 

"Fred," Molly chided him. 

Esmerelda's face went bright red, much to Sirius' disgust. He honestly had no idea how those two got together. 

"Come on, tell us something about him!" George said giddily. "Is he the fancy bloke who gave you that ring? Is he Malfoy rich?" 

"George!" Molly gasped. "You don't ask things like that!" 

"He's not a rich brat," Esmerelda told them, before looking lovingly at the expensive looking ring on her ring finger. "And he stole this for me, isn't that so sweet?"

Sirius choked on his burger. 

"I doubt your significant others would ever steal something for you." She continued, her face full of pride and adoration.

Molly had to stop eating for a second to check if she heard her right. 

"Did you—?" She stuttered. "Did you just say—"

She was interrupted by a loud burp from Ron. 

"Ewwww," Ginny scrunched her face up. 

Everyone easily changed the subject from Esmerelda's not-so-innocent-boyfriend to Ron's disgusting manners, save for a select few. 

Sirius, Ted, Andromeda, Remus, and Tonks were all exchanging looks. They all seemed to be thinking pretty much the exact same thing: She's got it BAD.

When dinner ended and everyone went up to bed with full stomachs (Harry especially), Sirius was finally able to speak to his niece in private. He waited until everyone was gone and she finished throwing the trash away with the eradication spell. 

She let out a heavy sigh once she noticed that he was still waiting for her. 

"Alright," she said. "What is it?" 

"I haven't been a very good uncle to you," he admitted. "I've been... very cruel and neglectful actually." 

She stared at him blankly, as if she was wondering if this were a dream. He couldn't blame her. Everyone knew he wasn't the type to apologize even when he was clearly in the wrong. 

Meanwhile, Esmerelda was wondering who on Earth managed to push Sirius into doing this. She could tell his apology was genuine, but his pride was so huge that he would need several pushes from several people in order to properly apologize.

Nevertheless, hearing his apology was... nice. Especially since he sounded very truthful about it. 

"I shouldn't have said those awful things about your father," he continued. "I don't hate him, those were all lies. I tried to hate him, but... I just couldn't. He was my brother. I loved him more than anything, just as I do now with you. I wanted to save him too, but... I just couldn't. I was... I was projecting I guess. I couldn't handle my own failures so I tried to 'fix' you in order to 'save' you, but only ended up hurting you instead. And I kept on hurting you... I'm sorry for that."

"Oh," she said weakly, she honestly wasn't expecting such words to come from him. A part of her was relieved to hear him say this—it meant that she had her real uncle back at last, but it hurt to even look at him. 

The dream was still fresh in her mind. His grey eyes glazed over, the blood trickling from his purple mouth, and the knife embedded into his stomach—she couldn't get rid of any of it. 

"I forgive you," she said, the sensation of pins and needles traveling through her skin. 

His face fell into one of concern. "Essie? Are you alright? You look—"

She cut him off with a sudden hug, her shaking hands tightly grasping at his back. She didn't know if she was forgiving him because of how tiring it was to keep fighting with him, or if it was because of the horrible nightmare she had experienced, or maybe it was because she was just weak like that. Ethan always told her that she was too soft, too forgiving—too easy to hurt. 

But she didn't care at the moment. 

Her eyes started to water, and Sirius must have felt it too because he slowly started to hug her back, holding her just as tightly. 

"No need to cry," he whispered softly. "I'm sorry. I'm here now." 

Yes, Esmerelda thought. But for how long? 

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Esmerelda had been reluctant to fall asleep that night, too scared that she would have a nightmare again. The house was all out of wide-eye potions, so she opted for just staying awake the entire night, but she was all drained up—mentally and physically. She slipped into unconsciousness and knew what she would see in her dreams. 

When Esmerelda woke up in the same bedroom she fell asleep in, she knew better than to hope that she was back in the real world. 

Everything about the dream felt too real, but the dark atmosphere in the air was stronger now that she knew what to expect. 

She crawled out of bed, dressed in her nightdress. She left her room and went straight to the living room. 

Sirius was there, and just like last time, he looked like he was sleeping on the armchair. She approached him slowly, her eyes taking in every other detail in the room. There had to be a hint somewhere. Something that could help her figure out what was going on—what this dream could mean. 

But there was nothing new, nothing out of place. The living room looked the same as in reality. 

She turned back to Sirius, a terrified expression on her face. She took timid steps towards him, half-expecting him to start to rot away again. She didn't think she could handle witnessing that a second time, but she had a feeling the dream would never end until she proceeded like before. 

She was standing before him now, her heart racing. Sirius looked so peaceful like this, not at all dead. His skin still had that lively hue, but his chest wasn't moving. 

Tentatively, she reached out for him and tried to shake him awake, even though she knew he would never wake up. 

"Sirius?" She whispered, a part of her hoping that he would actually wake up and that she wasn't trapped in a nightmare. 

But he didn't wake up, even after her shakes became more desperate. Instead, his body rapidly grew colder and his head fell forward against her arm, and she could feel the blood trickling down his lips. 

"No...!" Her breath hitched as she propped his head back up to hold his face. "Uncle, please!" She begged, only to break out into sobs once blood started to pool around his stomach.

Her hands pressed against the wound, but she already knew what was coming next. 

A second later, she could feel it. The hilt of the knife that was stabbed into his abdomen. Her fingers had magically wrapped itself around them.

Sirius' head suddenly lifted up to look at her, his glassy eyes wide and faraway. 

"Essie...!" He choked on her name, blood spilling past his lips. "Essie..." 

His head fell again when she pulled away and looked down. 

It was like her mind went on a standstill. She hadn't realized it in the previous dream, but the knife—

Oh gods. She was going to be sick. 

The knife was hers. 

— author's note —

😊

BOTH ETHAN AND ESSIE'S DREAMS ARE IMPORTANT SO REMEMBER THEM!

Good luck trying to figure it out!!! 😃👍

ALSO -ophee IS AT AGAIN BEING TALENTED AND SHIT! LOOK AT THE GIF SET THEY MADE:

Now here's the books that distracted me during my editing process lol:

(BTW: they're all from Quotev and they're all yandere stories)

- Object of Desire [Yandere Harem x Reader] by summerblack

My favorite boy is this asshole named Kazuki. THE SEXUAL TENSION BETWEEN HIM AND THE MC IS JUST SO 🥵 🥵 🥵

- Coven by smalldeathandbeetles

I AM A MIGUEL SIMP AND APOLOGIST! I just love his tsundere turned yandere simp boy personality okay??? And I ESPECIALLY love it when he calls the MC 'baby' 😩

- Queen of Disaster: Yandere Various Monsters x Pastel Witch Reader by Momo-chan

I love it when books include visuals of the characters and the visuals this author uses are so fucking hot omg

- Wait a minute, you WANT to give me your harem? (Yandere! Reverse Harem x Reader) by Seto Kaiba

I want to cut the teacher's dick off so bad, ugh I hate him

And that's it! I got more yandere stories in my library but I haven't read them yet. Hope you all read them because they're sooooo fucking good