▬▬▬ CHAPTER TWENTY SIX ▬▬▬

Someone fucking save me. First I got distracted by yandere books, now I'm getting distracted by all these 'fem!Harry x Black!OC reading the books/watching the movies' fics and I hate myself because now I'm getting ideas of combining the two and making my own fucked up book and—

I must be stopped. I need to focus on my own yandere HP storry here.

(But do you have any recs tho???)

Now speaking of the Black family... I revamped my fancast for them so if you wanna check it out, go back to Book 3 (Aporia) and check out the chapter 'THE BLACK FAMILY' to see the changes I made!

PEOPLE WERE STARING AT ESMERELDA again while she was walking to the Great Hall for some breakfast. It was the weekend and she was wearing a really cute sweater with ponies on them, so she was hoping that that was why they were staring at her. Maybe they were thinking something nice like 'oh wow! Essie's wearing a really cute sweater today!'.

But nope. That wasn't it, unfortunately.

Judging from their wary looks and not-so-quiet whispers, the Daily Prophet had most likely went back to slandering her again which she wasn't so happy about.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and the Weasley twins burst through the doors of the Great Hall, and they didn't look so happy either, but it was directed more so at the article Hermione was clutching rather than at her at least.

"Something big just happened," Hermione told her urgently. "We got to talk."

"But my breakfast—" Esmerelda tried to protest.

"—Here's a breadstick," she thrust one into her hands. "Now come on."

Esmerelda glanced down at the breadstick in dismay before following after them. At least it was a garlic breadstick.

She was led to the courtyard where they sat around stone table. Once they were all settled in, Hermione set down the Daily Prophet article in front of her.

"Look," she said.

Esmerelda looked down. Good news was that the Daily Prophet wasn't talking about her this time. Bad news was... well, everything else.

MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN! MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS "RALLYING POINT" FOR OLD DEATH EATERS

The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban.

Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of yesterday evening, and that he has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangerous nature of these individuals.

"We find ourselves, most unfortunately, in the same position we were two and a half years ago when the murderer Sirius Black escaped," said Fudge last night. "Nor do we think the two breakouts are unrelated. An escape of this magnitude suggests outside help, and we must remember that Black, as the first person ever to break out of Azkaban, would be ideally placed to help others follow in his footsteps. We think it likely that these individuals, who include Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have rallied around Black as their leader. We are, however, doing all we can to round up the criminals and beg the magical community to remain alert and cautious. On no account should any of these individuals be approached."

"This is exactly what Dumbledore warned Fudge was gonna happen," was the first thing she said when she finished reading.

"I bet he feels real stupid now," Fred said casually. "Too bad he's being a stubborn arse and refusing to admit that he was wrong."

"The only good thing is that people's beliefs are starting to waver," George pointed out, trying to find a bright side to this horrible situation. "I heard a couple kids muttering about it. Seamus even apologized to Harry for not believing him."

"You should've seen the look of Umbitch's face when he did that," Ginny said to her, grinning widely. "She looked like she was going to explode."

"Bad news is that people are going to suspect you again," Harry added, giving her a concerned look. "Since you're related to Sirius and Bellatrix Lestrange. They're going to be afraid of you for having 'Death Eater ties'."

Esmerelda just shrugged. Honestly, this was a lot better than having people call her a whore. At least with the majority of Hogwarts fearing her, they'd actually stay away (unless they were stupid).

"That's fine with me," she assured. "People would leave me alone, hopefully."

"The Azkaban breakout isn't the only thing to worry about," Hermione said grimly. "Take a look at this."

She pointed at another headline:

TRAGIC DEMISE OF MINISTRY OF MAGIC WORKER

St. Mungo's Hospital promised a full inquiry last night after Ministry of Magic worker Broderick Bode, 49, was discovered dead in his bed, strangled by a potted plant. Healers called to the scene were unable to revive Mr. Bode, who had been injured in a workplace accident some weeks prior to his death.

Healer Miriam Strout, who was in charge of Mr. Bode's ward at the time of the incident, has been suspended on full pay and was unavailable for comment yesterday, but a spokes wizard for the hospital said in a statement, "St. Mungo's deeply regrets the death of Mr. Bode, whose health was improving steadily prior to this tragic accident.

"We have strict guidelines on the decorations permitted on our wards but it appears that Healer Strout, busy over the Christmas period, overlooked the dangers of the plant on Mr. Bode's bedside table. As his speech and mobility improved, Healer Strout encouraged Mr. Bode to look after the plant himself,unaware that it was not an innocent Flitterbloom, but a cutting of Devil's Snare, which, when touched by the convalescent Mr. Bode, throttled him instantly.

"St. Mungo's is as yet unable to account for the presence of the plant on the ward and asks any witch or wizard with information to come forward."

"We were actually there when the murder weapon was delivered," Hermione said, eyes wide. "It was back when we were visiting Mr. Weasley when he got injured on a mission."

"Bode spoke to dad a couple of times," Ginny frowned. "I don't know if he was part of the Order though. If he is, then someone's definitely targeting Order members and picking them off one by one."

"What I want to know is why those blokes at the hospital didn't bother to check if the plant was safe or not," Ron fumed.

"Security sucks at St. Mungo's," Esmerelda informed him. "Like, really sucks."

She would know, of course, since she sneaked in there to slit Crouch Jr.'s throat. It was just way too easy. She Mist traveled inside, disguised by the Mist, and literally just asked a random nurse who was passing by for Crouch's room number. Nobody tried to stop the unfamiliar witch that was wandering the hallways either. It also helped that there were no cameras inside his room. Really, it was ridiculously easy.

She honestly wouldn't be surprised if there were more murders that happened in that building.

"We really need to do something about this," Hermione muttered to herself, glaring hard at the newspaper before her.

"Like what?" George snorted. "I don't suppose you're asking us to solve the murder?"

"No," she shook her head. "We can't do anything about that, but George you were right when you said that people's believes were wavering now that the Death Eaters have escaped. We just need to give them that final push, but..."

"I think I could help with that," a familiar voice offered.

Everyone turned around. Cedric was approaching them with the same news article in his hands. There was an anxious look on his face once he reached them, and the twins scooted back a bit to give him space to sit down.

"I was thinking, um," he began. "That I should finally tell everyone the truth of what really happened at the grave... during the third task. And by everyone, I mean everyone. Not just the people here at Hogwarts."

"But the sole purpose you kept quiet was because you were worried about your dad and his job," Esmerelda reminded. "I mean, I'm totally glad you feel brave enough to do this, but what about him?"

"I already talked it out with him, sort of," he replied. "I told my parents the truth over my break. Mum believed me immediately, but my dad... well, he refused to listen to me for the first week. My mum and I managed to get him to finally hear me out and he listened to the whole story."

"And?" Harry asked nervously. "What'd he say?"

"That you took advantage of my amnesia and were feeding me a bunch of lies," he finished.

Everyone stared at him incredulously.

"You don't even have amnesia!" Harry cried out.

"I know, but the medical records say that my hit on the head could have given me amnesia so he's sticking to that," he sighed hopelessly. "I don't know what he's saying now though, what with the mass breakouts in Azkaban, but I doubt he'll be changing his mind anytime soon. He's very loyal to the Ministry."

"Great," Harry muttered bitterly. Ron attempted to comfort him by patting him on the shoulder.

"Sorry about your dad, I guess..." Esmerelda apologized, grimacing. She was sort of expecting something a little better, like maybe Amos tearing up and feeling some sympathy with his traumatized son but... guess that wasn't going to happen today.

Cedric shook his head. "No, don't worry about it, it's fine. I'm still going through with this regardless of what my dad thinks. This'll probably piss him off, but people need to know the truth. And if you're right, Hermione, than this could be the final push we need."

"But how exactly are you going to tell everyone the truth?" She asked.

"I was thinking of making it public, like through the news, but the only news outlet we got is the Daily Prophet..."

Esmerelda winced. "Yeah, there's no way they would willingly cover a story like that."

"I could always go to an international news outlet, but the only one I'm familiar with is Le Cri de la Gargouille, and they've got their hands full with... other issues." He sent her a knowing look at that part, which she understood immediately.

"Actually," Ginny perked up. "The Daily Prophet isn't the only news outlet Britain has."

Before she could explain any further, the twins broke out into long 'ooooooh's.

"I see where you're going with this," Fred teased. "Thinking of getting your little girlfriend in on the plan, huh?"

"Fred, you're mistaken," George fake scolded him. "Ginny doesn't have a girlfriend. She's too much of a wimp to ask her out."

The youngest Weasley rose from her seat, reaching for her wand. "Oh that is it—!"

"Girlfriend? Is it Luna?" Cedric asked, looking at her curiously.

Ginny paled at his question. "Merlin, am I that obvious?"

"Yeah," everyone chimed, except for Ron and Harry who were the only two who were completely clueless about Luna's sexuality.

"Alright, alright," Hermione cut in. "Ginny's obvious crush on Luna aside—"

"—Hey!—"

"—Let's go back to the plan at hand," the older girl continued. "What other news outlet did you have in mind, Ginny?"

"Luna's dad is the publisher and editor of The Quibbler," she supplied, her face still red from her embarrassment. "If Cedric wants to speak out about what happened, then that's the best place to do it."

"The Quibbler..." The disdain was poorly hidden in Hermione's voice, but she seemed to realize that there really wasn't much of a choice left and just nodded in acceptance. "Alright, that could work. We just need to find someone to conduct an interview with Cedric—"

"—And me too," Harry said quickly. "They should interview the both of us together. The Daily Prophet's always pitting the two of us against each other like we're sworn enemies or something, if people read that we're both together and saying the same thing, they'll realize that the Daily Prophet's been lying about our 'rivalry' too. Plus... I'm ready to talk about what happened in the graveyard too. You should've have to do it alone."

Cedric's shoulders relaxed at that and he shot the boy a grateful look.

"So," Esmerelda clapped her hands together, all finished with her breadstick. "Any ideas for an interviewer?"

"I've got one," Hermione muttered, staring down at the table thoughtfully. "And she'll have no choice but to do as we say."

"Uh, sounds a little like extortion there, Hermione," Fred said.

"Or blackmail," his brother added.

Hermione ignored them, rising up to her feet with a determined look on her face. "I'll get us the interviewer we need. Just be ready tomorrow and meet me at Hogsmeade, got it you two?"

Cedric nodded, but Harry protested, "Hold on, I'll be busy tomorrow!"

Hermione quirked a brow. "Busy doing what?"

Harry's face turned pink and he avoided looking over at Cedric's direction. "I, um, I got... a date."

Esmerelda gasped, and Ron dropped his jaw.

"What?" The latter exclaimed. "Since when?! With who?!"

"Since yesterday, and..." He glanced nervously at Cedric. "With... er... Cho."

Much to his relief, Cedric didn't look angry about that. 

"Harry, it's fine. I'm over it already, plus I was the one who broke up with her. I wish you guys well on tomorrow's date." He assured.

Harry relaxed.

"I can't believe you didn't tell any of us that you were planning to ask her out!" Esmerelda huffed.

"I didn't tell you guys because I knew you'd make a big deal out of it," he rolled his eyes. "Look, Hermione, is there any way you can reschedule whatever it is your planning or—?"

"—No," she said sternly. "The sooner we do it the better. Just come after your date or bring Cho along. I don't care either way, just be there."

"Fine," he grumbled.

"Now that we've got that settled," Fred said aloud. He turned to Ginny with questioning eyes, "When are you gonna ask your crush out?"

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

"I hate school uniforms," Ethan grumbled across from her.

"I think you look cute," Esmerelda complimented him.

"I don't even look like me," he whined, his voice higher and less scary sounding thanks to the Mist disguise she put on him.

The two of them were eating out at Madam Puddifoots on a pleasant Sunday per Esmerelda's request. Since Ethan wasn't a student (and people were bound to notice the tall, scary looking dude with an eye patch), she figured it would be a good idea to disguise him as a Hogwarts student.

So now here he was, five inches shorter with messy brown hair, two functioning eyes, and donning a Hufflepuff uniform.

She also disguised herself as well just in case. The people here were most likely going to gossip about her eating out with a mystery boy and accuse her of cheating on her boyfriend. The Daily Prophet would definitely eat up a story like that.

"Oh stop complaining, we both look fine. Now are you going to eat you strawberry shortcake or not?" She chided with a small giggle, beginning to her cake as well.

Ethan wasn't exactly enjoying looking like some scrawny mortal kid, but the shortcake smelled delicious so he busied himself with that while keeping his gaze on the newspaper article she had given him. 

"You think this could really be him?" He asked through a mouthful of cake.

"Yes," she said, sighing heavily. "I have no doubt about it. Étienne... he hates his family. As for the other boy..."

"You think it could be Alabaster," he finished knowingly. 

She nodded. "Maxence definitely described him well and he certainly fits the age range. Our mother must have put him up to it... You don't think he'll try to...?"

"Corrupt him? Probably not," he told her. "One of the reasons why he was banished was so he couldn't corrupt any of his siblings. If the gods found out he corrupted one—especially a hybrid, they would be furious with him. Alabaster's not dumb, he knows better than to try and sway your half-brother." 

She allowed herself to relax after hearing that. 

Knowing that Alabaster wouldn't risk to try and put false beliefs into Étienne's head was a relief. But it still left her uneasy knowing that the two were together (though she had no idea who's life she feared for the most: Alabaster's or Étienne's). According to the article, the pair of them had long since left France and were spotted back in the States... Was there a chance she could see Alabaster back at Camp Jupiter? 

She hoped not. She didn't think she was ready to see him again. 

"So," Ethan went on to the next topic. "How's your progress on the spell?"

Esmerelda tried not to wince. She honestly hadn't been working on that at all... Though in her defense, it was only the second week of school since she came back from break, and her schedule was packed with homework, studies, and substituting for Harry whenever he had his after school Occlumency lessons with Snape (which apparently wasn't going very well).

"Uh, well..." She swallowed thickly. "Not much progress."

It wasn't an outright lie, so there was no way Ethan could detect it. As long as he didn't ask her 'have you been working on the spell at all?' then she figured she would be fine.

Except... he was unfortunately good at sensing when she was keeping things from him.

His eyes narrowed. "Not much progress as in nothing's changed or you haven't been working on it at all?"

Her shoulders dropped. "I'm sorry..."

"The sooner you get that spell perfected, the sooner you can come back home," he said sternly. He didn't exactly look as threatening as he hoped since his disguise made him look like an average, scrawny school boy.

"I know, I know, just be a little more patient with me please? It's literally only been two weeks," she said defensively. "I've been busy with stuff too, you know."

"Like what, homework?" He scoffed. If that was the case then he couldn't believe she was putting something as irrelevant as homework over her own goddamn life (or her uncle's).

"No. I've been given a sort of... teaching position," she said, smiling.

He gave her a weird look. "On what subject?"

"Physical education I guess? It's not really an official thing. Remember what I told you about the DA?"

"Secret after school class where you learn how to defend yourself right?"

"Yep! Harry's being given extra lessons on Occlumency after school, so he's not always available to teach the DA. That's why he's having me act as his substitute. I'm doing it a little differently than him though. Harry's training methods are very... soft. No duels, or any physical activity." She explained.

"Huh," he mused. "How are you training them?"

"I've just been giving them the general workout we do at camp, I just make it a little easier since they're mortals and all," she shrugged. "But, hm... they're still struggling. I don't know why. It should be pretty simple..."

"Mortals are weaker, babe," he informed her. "Trust me on this. The kids in my P.E. class can barely run a single mile. They always get tired and end up walking the rest of it. It's pathetic. P.E. isn't even offered in your school, right? So the mortals here are probably even worse."

"Aww," she frowned. "So should I make it easier for them?"

"No," he said bluntly. "They're teenagers, not little kids. Coddling them won't do them any good especially if there's a war brewing. I say you continue with what you're doing and shut them up whenever they try to complain."

Harsh, but he had a point.

They talked a little longer about the DA, with Esmerelda detailing her lesson plans to him and Ethan giving her some additional workouts for them to do.

"They sound slow as fuck and their stamina and endurance is weak as shit," he said with clear disgust. "I think you should start timing their runs and give out punishments to whoever fails, as extra encouragement for everyone to work harder."

"Good idea..." She said thoughtfully, making a mental note of that. "So, any word about the Argo II?"

"There's some progress," he replied, shrugging. "But it's not done yet. Give it a couple more months. Leo's finished designing our room though," a smirk crawled over his face. "He wisely decided to install soundproof walls."

Esmerelda choked on the hot chocolate she was sipping on and Ethan burst out laughing. 

"Oh my gods," she coughed, shooting him a look of incredulous horror. "You fucking didn't." 

"I didn't," he grinned. "Leo was the one who made that decision all on his own, I didn't even need to tell him to do any of that."

"I think I'm gonna die," she said breathlessly, fanning her burning face. 

"He promised us a nice big bed too," he added mercilessly. 

"Ethan!" She hissed, her face turning impossibly red. 

He laughed and was about to tease her some more when the bell on the shop's door dinged and a pair of students walked in. For some odd reason, Ethan was very interested on whoever they were, and turned around to look at them.

Esmerelda followed his line of sight and found Harry and Cho walking in.

Oh yeah, she thought. Today's supposed to be their date.

She turned back to Ethan only to furrow her brows in confusion. Ethan was staring at Harry with great irritation and she had no idea why.

"What's up? Why are you looking at Harry like you wanna go over there and strangle him?" She asked nervously.

"Why the fuck does that kid have so much good luck?*" Ethan said through gritted teeth. "It's fucking disgusting. It's almost as bad as that one daughter of Tyche."

She blinked. "What do you mean?"

"That kid over there," he jutted his chin towards Harry. "Seriously, he's radiating with too much good fortune. He's got enough plot armor to rival the main character of an anime!"

Esmerelda... honestly couldn't disagree with him. Harry always put himself in shitty situations, yet he always got out of it thanks to people being around to save his ass or 'sheer dumb luck' as he called it.

"I need to undo it," Ethan muttered darkly.

"No!" She said quickly. "Absolutely not. That crazy amount of luck is the only thing keeping him alive at this point."

"Oh come on, Essie, the amount of luck he's got is completely unfair and unbalanced. I have to fix it." He told her.

"You can fix it after Voldemort's dead and no longer a threat to Harry's life," she offered.

He huffed, sending the boy an annoyed glare.

"Fine." He grumbled, and Esmerelda had a feeling she just narrowly saved Harry's life here.

"You've met Harry before, you know, a couple years ago before you defected," she pointed out. "You're just realizing now how stupidly lucky he is?"

"That was before I knew who my mother is and what sort of powers I had," he answered, which was reasonable enough.

Harry and Cho seated themselves at a table right next to theirs, and Ethan only grew more annoyed by it. He was practically glaring holes into Harry's head at this point, and Esmerelda tried to distract him with more strawberry shortcake.

"Stop paying attention to them," she pouted a bit. "Who cares about Harry's stupid luck anyways? I'm sure it'll fade away soon..."

His glare disappeared and was replaced by a teasing look.

"Aww, are you jealous?" He asked.

"Please," she harrumphed. "Of course not. I wouldn't want you glaring at me like you've been glaring at Harry. Though, you don't exactly look so scary in that disguise I gave you."

He sent her an irked look as she broke out into snickers.

The rest of their date went on. They started talking about Ethan's upcoming debate (though let's face it, he was just going to end up winning that one too), when they were suddenly interrupted when Cho let out a sob.

"Oh, you'll talk to Hermione Granger!" She said shrilly, her face shining with tears. "But you won't talk to me! P-perhaps it would be best if we just... just p-paid and you went and met up with Hermione G-Granger, like you obviously want to!"

Esmerelda covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide. She knew why Harry needed to meet up with Hermione later on, but why the fuck would he ever mention another girl to his date? Did he even explain why?!

Beside her, Ethan watched the scene with interest.

Harry stared at her, utterly bewildered, as she seized a frilly napkin and dabbed at her shining face with it.

"Cho?" He said weakly.

"Go on, leave!" She said, now crying into the napkin. "I don't know why you asked me out in the first place if you're going to make arrangements to meet other girls right after me... How many are you meeting after Hermione?"

Ethan quietly snorted at that and Esmerelda kicked his shin under the table.

"It's not like that!" Harry said with a small laugh.

Esmerelda inwardly groaned. Why was he laughing?!

Cho sprang to her feet. The whole tearoom was quiet, and everybody was watching them now.

"I'll see you around, Harry," she said angrily, and hiccuping slightly she dashed to the door, wrenched it open, and hurried off into the pouring rain.

"Cho!" Harry called after her, but the door had already swung shut behind her with a tuneful tinkle.

There was total silence within the tea shop. Every eye was upon him. He threw a Galleon down onto the table, shook pink confetti out of his eyes, and followed Cho out of the door.

"Well," an amused smile crawled up Ethan's lips once the scene was over. "Guess he isn't so lucky after all."

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

For Harry's sake, Esmerelda never mentioned his disastrous first date to him, though he already told Ron and Hermione about how it went.

Halfway through the week, on Thursday, a bunch of owls flew in and delivered a bunch of letters to Harry. Cedric immediately knew what was happening and headed for the Gryffindor table, gesturing for Esmerelda to do the same.

"Is that it?" He asked, his eyes glued on a brown cylindrical package.

"I think so," Harry said eagerly as he ripped it open.  Out rolled a tightly furled copy of March's edition of The Quibbler. He unrolled it to see his and Cedric's grinning faces on the front cover. In large red letters across their picture were the words:

HARRY POTTER AND CEDRIC DIGGORY SPEAKS OUT AT LAST: THE TRUTH ABOUT HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED AND THE NIGHT WE SAW HIM RETURN

"It's good, isn't it?" Luna said, who had drifted over to the Gryffindor table and now squeezed herself onto the bench between Fred and Ginny (who had yet to ask her out). "It came out yesterday, I asked Dad to send you a free copy. I expect all these," she waved a hand at the assembled owls still scrabbling around on the table in front of Harry. "Are letters from readers."

"That's what I thought," Hermione said eagerly. "Harry, do you mind if we—?"

"Help yourself," he said as everyone started ripping open envelopes.

"This one's from a bloke who thinks you're off your rocker," Ron said, glancing down his letter. "Ah well..."

"This woman recommends you try a good course of Shock Spells at St. Mungo's," Hermione said, looking disappointed and crumpling up a second one.

The first letter Esmerelda opened was super rude. It was basically from an angry reader who ended their note with one last message: kill yourself. There was no way she was going to tell Harry about it, so she set it alight before anyone could ask.

She picked up another one and read it as efficiently as she could without her reading glasses on.

"This lady thinks you Imperiused Cedric into doing that interview with you," she scoffed out loud. "Oh ew, hold on a minute, I think she might be attracted to him... Gross, what a pedophile." She set that one on fire too.

"This one looks okay, though," Harry said slowly, scanning a long letter from a witch in Paisley. "Hey, she says she believes me!"

"This one's in two minds," Fred said, who had joined in the letter-opening with enthusiasm. "Says you don't come across as a mad person, but he really doesn't want to believe You-Know-Who's back so he doesn't know what to think now... Blimey, what a waste of parchment..."

"People tend not to believe in something until it's actually happening to them," Esmerelda just shrugged it off. It was just how people worked.

"Here's another one you've convinced, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "'Having read your side of the story I am forced to the conclusion that the Daily Prophet has treated you very unfairly... Little though I want to think that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned, I am forced to accept that you are telling the truth...' Oh this is wonderful!"

"Another one who thinks you're barking," Ron huffed, throwing a crumpled letter over his shoulder. "But this one says you've got her converted, and she now thinks you're a real hero— she's put in a photograph too—wow—"

"—Ron!" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Hey Ced," Esmerelda spoke up, looking at Cedric curiously. He was clutching at a letter tightly. "What does that one say?"

"It's... from my dad," he breathed out, looking defeated.

Everyone quieted down.

"...He sent me a letter?" Harry asked, having a bad feeling.

Cedric finally pried his eyes away from it, crumpling it in his fist. "Yeah. He's still on about you 'taking advantage of my amnesia' so the letter's basically demanding you stay away from me. I'm sorry about that, Harry."

"It's fine," Harry shook his head.

"What is going on here?" Said a falsely sweet, girlish voice.

Esmerelda bit back a groan as everyone turned to look at Umbridge. She was standing behind Fred and Luna, her bulging toad's eyes scanning the mess of owls and letters on the table in front of Harry. Behind her were many of the students watching them avidly.

"Why have you got all these letters, Mr. Potter?" She asked slowly.

"Is that a crime now?" Fred said loudly. "Getting mail?"

"Be careful, Mr. Weasley, or I shall have to put you in detention," she threatened. "Well, Mr. Potter?"

"People have written to me because Cedric and I gave an interview," Harry answered coolly. "About what happened to us last June."

"An interview?" She repeated, her voice thinner and higher than ever. "What do you mean?"

"We met up with a reporter," Cedric said bravely, looking at her right in the eye. "And they interviewed us about the truth of what happened in the graveyard. The truth I've been lying about. Here, you can read what we've said."

He handed her a copy of The Quibbler. She looked down at it, her eyes quickly scanning the words. Her pale, doughy face turned an ugly, patchy violet.

"Mr. Diggory," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "Why ever would you do this?"

"Because Voldemort's back," he said and several kids from the crowd gasped. "And I lied about his return. So now I'm doing the right thing and telling everyone the truth."

"Your father will not be pleased about this, and neither will the Minister." She said with barely contained rage.

"Well," he smiled dryly. "My dad and Fudge can go fuck themselves for all I care."

Esmerelda's mouth formed a little 'o'. She would've reached out to give him a high-five had it not been for the super intense situation they were in.

Cedric might as well have slapped Umbridge in the face. She looked at him with such bewilderment and betrayal that it was almost over-dramatic.

"How dare you betray your Ministry like this!" Her voice rose.

"I don't want to stand with the people who choose to keep their civilians ignorant of the danger in front of them," Cedric snapped back. "That's not the sort of Ministry I would want to live under."

"When was this?!" She demanded, looking between both boys. "When did this happen?"

"Last Hogsmeade weekend," Harry answered.

The magazine was shaking in her fingers at this point.

"There will be no more Hogsmeade trips for either of you, Mr. Potter, Mr. Diggory," she whispered. "How you dare... how you could..." She took a deep breath. "I have tried again and again to teach you not to tell lies, Mr. Potter. The message, apparently, has still not sunk in. Fifty points from Gryffindor and another week's worth of detentions. As for you, Mr. Diggory, expect to get a message from your father soon, and you'll also be visiting me for detentions."

She stalked away, clutching The Quibbler to her chest, the eyes of many students following her.

"Detention," Cedric scoffed, glaring after her retreating figure. "That's the worst she could do?"

"Actually," Harry said in a dull voice. "She forces me to cut my hand open with a Black Quill."

"W-wait what?"

"Don't worry though," Harry assured. "Essie's always there to stop her... somehow."

"Yeah, I gotchu guys," she grinned. "What we really gotta worry about is what Umbitch is gonna do next."

"I see another Educational Decree coming up soon," Ginny sighed in annoyance.

"No, that's actually good," Hermione said brightly.

Ron gave her a look. "How? You know she's just gonna tell everyone not to read The Quibbler."

"Exactly," her smile grew. "And that's the worst thing she could ever do. Anyone with a brain cell would know never to tell a bunch of teenagers what to do, because it would only make them do the exact opposite. With Umbridge's help, everyone would be reading The Quibbler."

And, naturally, Hermione turned out to be exactly right. Not even an hour later a new Educational Decree was put up, banning The Quibbler. Now everyone was trying to get their hands on a copy. Some were hiding it in their bags while others were charming it to look like their textbooks.

More and more people were starting to finally believe Harry and even better, nobody was blaming Cedric for keeping the truth. She could tell that it was a great relief to him since his smile had been so bright lately.

The only people who weren't very happy about it were the Slytherins, since the two boys had given out a list of Death Eaters who were there at the graveyard that night. Draco was especially infuriated about it, since his own father was named in that article.

Harry and Cedric's interview was so popular that it actually sold out by dinner time according to Luna. That, however, only pissed Umbridge even more off.

Esmerelda found herself at the entrance hall, watching Umbridge take her anger out on her unfortunate divination professor. Professor Trelawney stood at the very center of the hall, her things packed away and her body shaking with fear and tears.

"No!" She shrieked. "NO! This cannot be happening... It cannot... I refuse to accept it!"

"You didn't realize this was coming?" Umbridge simpered. "Incapable though you are of predicting even tomorrow's weather, you must surely have realized that your pitiful performance during my inspections, and lack of any improvement, would make it inevitable you would be sacked?"

"You c-can't!" Professor Trelawney howled, tears streaming down her face. "You c-can't sack me! I've b-been here sixteen years! H-Hogwarts is m-my h-home!"

"It was your home," Umbridge said with a sadistic smile. "Until an hour ago, when the Minister of Magic counter-signed the order for your dismissal. Now kindly remove yourself from this hall. You are embarrassing us."

Esmerelda could see Parvati and Lavender crying into each other's arms as their favorite professor broke down. Everyone was watching the scene with equal looks of horror, save for the Slytherins who seemed to be enjoying it as much as the toad.

Suddenly Professor McGonagall came forward, marched straight up to Professor Trelawney and was patting her firmly on the back while withdrawing a large handkerchief from within her robes.

"There, there, Sibyll... Calm down... Blow your nose on this... It's not as bad as you think, now... You are not going to have to leave Hogwarts..."

"Oh really, Professor McGonagall?" Umbridge challenged, taking a few steps forward. "And your authority for that statement is...?"

"That would be mine," Dumbledore said as he entered the scene.

"Yours, Professor Dumbledore?" Umbridge with a little laugh. "I'm afraid you do not understand the position. I have here," she pulled a parchment scroll from within her robes. "An Order of Dismissal signed by myself and the Minister of Magic. Under the terms of Educational Decree Number Twenty-three, the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts has the power to inspect, place upon probation, and sack any teacher she—that is to say, I—feel is not performing up to the standard required by the Ministry of Magic. I have decided that Professor Trelawney is not up to scratch. I have dismissed her."

"You are quite right, of course, Professor Umbridge," he smiled. "As High Inquisitor you have every right to dismiss my teachers. You do not, however, have the authority to send them away from the castle. I am afraid that the power to do that still resides with the headmaster, and it is my wish that Professor Trelawney continue to live at Hogwarts."

At this, Professor Trelawney gave a wild little laugh in which a hiccup was barely hidden.

"No—no, I'll g-go, Dumbledore! I sh-shall l-leave Hogwarts and s-seek my fortune elsewhere—"

"—No," said Dumbledore sharply. "It is my wish that you remain, Sibyll."

Esmerelda couldn't help but wonder why. Sure, Dumbledore seemed nice and all, but why keep her here if she was going to get fired anyways?

"Might I ask you to escort Sibyll back upstairs, Professor McGonagall?" Dumbledore requested.

"Of course," she said. "Up you get, Sibyll..."

Both women grabbed a trunk and left the hall, leaving everyone to stare at Umbridge and Dumbledore.

"And what," Umbridge said in a whisper that nevertheless carried all around the entrance hall, "Are you going to do with her once I appoint a new Divination teacher who needs her lodgings?"

"Oh, that won't be a problem," he said pleasantly. "You see, I have already found us a new Divination teacher, and he will prefer lodgings on the ground floor."

"You've found— ?" Her voice went shrill. "You've found? Might I remind you, Dumbledore, that under Educational Decree Twenty-two—"

"—the Ministry has the right to appoint a suitable candidate if—and only if—the headmaster is unable to find one," he finished for her. "And I am happy to say that on this occasion I have succeeded. May I introduce you?"

He turned to face the open front doors. Students in the crowd were parting back like wild, and Esmerelad finally saw why. A familiar centaur strode into the castle.

"This is Firenze," Dumbledore said happily to a thunderstruck Umbridge. "I think you'll find him suitable."

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

The next day was her first lesson of divination with the new professor. The classroom had been moved to the ground floor, which had been changed to mimic the forest probably to suit Firenze's tastes.

The poor dude had been kicked out of the herd for taking this teaching position—there was a large hoof mark on his chest to prove it—and Esmerelda dearly wished that Dumbledore had given him a huge compensation for doing this.

Firenze was brutally honest throughout the class period. He told them at the very beginning that most of Professor Trelawney's lessons were a sham and that it was nearly impossible for any of them to accurately tell the future without the Eye or whatever it was called. He even bashed the previous professor a little bit—yet still sounded extremely calm and polite while doing it.

When the class ended, he asked to speak with her and Harry separately. She stayed outside of the room while he conversed with Harry first, and when the boy came out, looking lost, she didn't hesitate to ask him a bunch of questions.

"What did he say? What did he do?" She asked hurriedly.

"I..." He just shook his head, shrugging hopelessly. "He just told me to tell Hagrid that his 'attempt  wasn't working'? I didn't really get it... But anyways, he wants to talk to you next."

Esmerelda entered the classroom once more, feeling nervous. She trusted the centaurs and their wisdom, their predictions—as vague and unhelpful as they may be—usually always turned out to be true. There was their warning about Mars being bright (war was coming), then their warning to beware the winter (because Ethan was going to kidnap her), and then the one about the earth stirring (Gaea was awakening).

So yeah. Whatever Firenze wanted to tell her she was for sure going to take seriously.

"Esmerelda..." He greeted her, his face grim. "I take it you are aware of what is to come, don't you?"

"I already know about the next Great Prophecy," she confirmed quietly. "And... I'm a part of it."

He nodded. "Yes. Mother Earth is rising once more and you and eight others will be tasked to stop it. If you fail to do so, everyone and everything shall be devoured by her. She controls the very planet we live on. If she were to awaken from her slumber and return to full power, no one will stand a chance."

"I know," she grimaced.

"That is why..." He trailed off. "That is why I must ask you to leave."

"Wait, what?" She hadn't been expecting that.

"You are of great value to her," he explained in a hushed voice. "There are three in all that she has her eye on, but she only needs two of you. You being here, so separated from the rest of the Nine, will put you in great danger. You cannot stay here any longer, Esmerelda."

"I... Leave...? N-now? I can't," she shook her head. "I need more time. There's—there's something important I have to finish here...!"

She needed to stay close by, finish up that gods damn spell of hers, and once that's done she could finally put it on Sirius. That way she could finally go back home and not have to worry about the distance between them because then he could always summon her to him if he was in any danger.

"Finish it quickly," he told her. "And then leave. The Earth Mother has many servants working for her. You would be too far away to be saved. And Esmerelda, I have one final warning..." 

She waited anxiously. 

"The immortal sorceress is coming for you." 

And that was it. Nothing else to add, nothing else to say. The warning was ominous and it was permanently planted into her head. 

After the warning, Esmerelda left his classroom in a rush. There were still plenty of other classes she needed to attend and dinner, but she didn't care about any of them. She went straight to the forest.

"I need to get to work," she muttered, her heart racing and her stomach going cold.

— author's note —

PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT FIRENZE SAID:

"There are three in all that she has her eye on, but she only needs two of you" Any guesses on who the three are??? :)

Also, who the fuck is the immortal sorceress??? Does it have to do with her dream in the last chapter??? HMMMMMM 🤔 🤔 🤔

* ok ok, I couldn't help but add in that lil input about Harry having SO much good luck and plot armor. It's just so ridiculous, so I had Ethan call it out for shits and giggles 😂

But... for real though... the number one threat to Harry's life isn't Voldemort. Nope, it's Nemesis or any of her kids. Seriously, think about it! Nemesis is all about balance, giving good luck to those who have little of it, and bad luck to those who have too much good luck. And what does Harry have? Waaaaay too much good luck/plot armor. So let's all thank Essie for preventing Ethan from balancing Harry's luck out and essentially keeping the boy alive 😂😂😂