▬▬▬▬▬ CHAPTER TWO ▬▬▬▬▬

IT TOOK A WHILE FOR Esmerelda to get used to switching between different forms, but she got the hang of it after some practice. One of the very few pros to being a small pomeranian puppy was that she was easy to carry, and she was exploiting that by having the Stolls take her to London while in her puppy form. They had to carry everything; her luggage and Ethan Jr's cage while she lounged about in the hood of Travis' jacket.

People gave the Stolls weird glances because of the owl cage they carried and the fact that they seemed to be taking directions from a puppy, but other than that, the trio were ignored. Nobody even gave them a second glance even as the brothers sneakily stole their wallets and expensive accessories.

They made it to King's Cross Station with some time to spare and the brothers were currently looking around for the right platform.

"Essie, where's 9 and three quarters supposed to be at 'cause I don't see it," Connor said, scratching the back of his head.

Esmerelda let out a small bark and hopped out of Travis' hood only to regret it when she landed harshly on the floor. She wished she had more durable paws...

Wait here, she told them, only to pause when she realized that they couldn't speak dog. So instead she raised a paw up hoping they'd be able to translate that before hurrying over to the women's restroom. When she came out, she was a girl again.

"The platform's over here," she said, leading them towards the magical brick walls. The Stolls blinked in confusion, but she paid them no mind as she grabbed them and pulled them through the wall with here. When they stumbled out the other side, they were understandably awed.

Some of the witches and wizards around were openly using magic, to carry their luggage, clean up a spill, or whatever, and it left the brothers awed.

"Holy Hera, this is so cool!" Travis said wide-eyed. He turned to Esmerelda incredulously. "Dude! You should've taken us here sooner!"

Esmerelda smiled at their obvious excitement as she tried not to think of Ethan. He had been just as awed as them (though he wasn't very open with it)...

Connor cut her off from her thoughts when he suddenly pulled out a random wand out of nowhere. "Look at this cool wand I stole from some kid," he grinned. "Awesome, right? Think I can do any magic tricks?"

Esmerelda grew worried. "Wait, don't—"

It was too late. He waved the wand around like a maniac and announced, "Abracadabra!"

Much to her relief, nothing disastrous happened. Just when she was about to snatch the wand back and take it to the lost and found or whatever, a familiar voice snapped, "Thieves! You stole my wand!"

It was an angry looking Draco Malfoy.

Oh great, Esmerelda thought.

"More muggles, Puff? I didn't think you could get any more disgusting!" Draco sneered at her before glaring at the brothers who no longer looked like they were having a fun time. He reached forward to try to get his wand back. "Give me that!"

Connor grinned evilly as pulled his hand away, keeping the rude blonde from getting it back. Travis sneaked over behind the younger wizard and motioned at Connor.

"Alright," Connor agreed. "Catch!" Snickering, he threw the wand over Draco's head and Travis caught it.

"Wha—?! Give it back!" Draco fumed, stomping his foot like a pissed off five year old. Travis and Connor spent the next few minutes playing monkey in the middle with him, throwing the wand back and forth just out of the owner's reach.

"Nah," Travis replied, catching the wand and twirling it expertly between his fingers like he sometimes does with knives. "How about this: You apologize for being a little brat and then maybe we'll give the wand back to you?"

"I won't listen to the orders of a bunch of common Muggles," he spat out hatefully. "Now give me the wand back or I'll tell my father about this!"

"Ooooooh," Connor made a face of faux fear. "Didja hear that, Trav? We got a little daddy's boy here!"

"I'm so scared," Travis said sarcastically, giving Draco an unimpressed look. "What's next? You're gonna go crying to mommy when going to daddy doesn't work?"

Esmerelda watched in a mix of amusement and satisfaction as Draco's face flushed scarlet. She almost felt bad for him, but he seriously needed to find a better threat. Perhaps this would be the push he needed.

"Guys come on, stop it." She sighed, before a small grin appeared on her face. "He looks like he's about to cry."

Draco gawked at her. "I am NOT! Just—give me back my wand!"

"Fine," Travis shrugged, tossing the wand back. It was funny watching Draco fumble with it before finally grasping it in his hands. "I was getting bored anyways. Hey Essie, this kid your classmate?"

"Sorta," she replied. "We're from the same year."

"That sucks," Connor frowned, patting her sympathetically on the back.

"Still waiting for that apology kid," Travis said, narrowing his eyes at a heavy-breathing Draco.

"Apology?" He repeated in a shrilly voice. "You should be apologizing to me!" His grey eyes zeroed in on Esmerelda, who stared back blankly. "I'll be telling my father about this!"

"And there he goes running to daddy." Connor snorted in amusement as Draco stormed away.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess that that kid was the Draco dude you told us about," Travis theorized, remembering Esmerelda describing him as a snooty daddy's boy. "Man, you weren't kidding about how stuck-up some kids are... And this is just because of their—what was it—blood status?"

She nodded in confirmation and explained in a low voice, "The so-called Purebloods here think they're more superior because they don't have any 'muggle' blood in them."

"Don't they know about Hecate? She was the one who blessed a bunch of mortals or muggles or whatever. I thought they would worship her or something..." Connor pointed out.

She shrugged. "From what I learned in my history class, they don't know anything about their origins." Then again, she barely stayed awake in that class so who knows. "Too late to educate them now though, they'll bury themselves in denial—especially the Purebloods."

The train horn blew, signaling that the train would be departing soon.

"I have to go now!" Esmerelda gasped, hugging the two boys before quickly grabbing her things. "I'll write to you guys soon! See you!"

"Bye!" Travis waved at her as she rushed away.

"Cause some mischief!" Connor called out.

She waved bye to them one last time before boarding the train, putting her things away, and finding a compartment that wasn't too full. Luckily for her, she found one that was completely empty and rested there, laying down on the comfy seats.

The lazy position she was in, the quietness, and the softness of the seats quickly lulled her to sleep against her will.

"You didn't bring her." A voice said. It was Luke.

She snapped her eyes open and nearly had a heart attack from all the monsters surrounding her. Or well, they weren't really surrounding her since she was invisible to them, but she was standing at the very center of their circle along with Luke and... Ethan.

Ethan looked worn down. His clothes were ripped on some parts, his face and arms were bloody, and he was completely wet from head to toe. She looked around and saw that they were on some large cruise ship.

This is the Princess Andromeda, she realized. Did Ethan swim all the way here?

Ethan's lips began to shake. She didn't know if it was from the hypothermia or Luke's statement. "No," he said hoarsely. "She didn't... want to come with me. She sort of ran away." He muttered. She expected to hear some resentment in his voice, but all she heard was hurt and bitterness.

Luke, who looked a lot scarier now that she knew he was the bad guy, nodded wordlessly, his cold blue eyes never wavering from Ethan's shaking form.

A new voice entered the conversation, one she knew very well. "What do you mean she ran away from you?"

Her head snapped towards the source and she had to bite back the urge to cry. Alabaster stood amongst the monsters. Their siblings surrounded him. She let out a breath of a relief, they all looked perfectly fine though something about them was different. They looked... stronger. Luke was probably training them. She wondered if he was harsher than he was at camp.

But that didn't matter to her. Because her siblings were alive. They were safe and they were healthy. Ethan, however...

She turned back to her best friend and her heart almost broke at the expression he wore when he faced Alabaster. He looked guilty, ashamed, and miserable, something she had never seen before.

"I'm sorry," he said to him. "I... I scared her off."

"How?" Alabaster demanded.

Ethan winced, looking between Luke's cold gaze before deciding that facing Alabaster would be better. "I... sort of exploded on her. I think I m-might have scared her? I-I'm sorry, I was just worried and I was running out of time—it all just came spilling out."

Luke sighed, as if his dinner plans were just ruined. "I'm a little disappointed in you, Ethan." He said calmly. "Though I'm not surprised. Kronos was right, the Olympians have scared her into submission, but that's fine. We just have to be scarier."

Esmerelda gulped. She definitely didn't like the sound of that. But something kept bothering her... Why was Luke so desperate to have her join them? Ethan and her siblings she could understand, but what about Luke? They weren't that close back at camp, so what else could it be?

She wasn't the only one that turned scared at his words. Her siblings paled. The younger ones shuffled closer to their elder siblings, looking lost but it was clear to her that they could read the situation well. Her older siblings turned stiff and Alabaster looked at a loss for words.

Ethan was pale too, but he found the courage to speak. Gulping inaudibly, he asked, "What do you mean by that, Luke?"

Luke smiled wryly. "What do you think? You and her siblings failed to bring her to us. Since manipulation doesn't seem to work on her, we'll just have to resort to more drastic measures."

"...How?" Alabaster finally asked.

Luke waved him off. "Don't worry about it. I already have a plan. I'll be killing a whole flock of birds with one stone."

And with that, Esmerelda woke up. She shot up only to remember where she was at when she toppled off her seat. She shakily got off the floor, pacing back and forth around the compartment.

Her siblings were safe. Good.

Ethan was... somewhat okay too. Also good.

Luke had a plan for her. Definitely not good. Maybe she should go back to camp, she felt safer there after all. But then again, Luke could easily sneak back in and harm her since the borders won't stop him.

She needed to contact Chiron about this.

She fished her pockets for a drachma and thanked the gods that she left a few of them in her pocket while the rest was in her luggage. She grabbed her wand and created a fine mist with them before making an offering to Iris.

Chiron was in the middle of teaching master's archery when she contacted him.

"Chiron!" She called out, and he turned to her. He muttered something to the camper he was assisting before galloping over to her.

"Esmerelda," he greeted warmly. "Something the matter?"

She opened her mouth and began spilling every detail of her dream, watching as his face grew more and more grim.

"It's weird, isn't it? Luke seems to be trying really hard to get me on his side. I don't know why. He knows that I don't want to, so why would he bother trying?" She asked helplessly.

There were worry lines all over poor Chiron's face as he thought of this. "You are not just the average demigod, Esmerelda," he told her, and she nodded in understanding. "Perhaps because of this he sees you as a valuable asset he can't afford to lose. Though what troubles me is this 'plan' of his..."

Her frown matched his. "Yeah... He said he was gonna kill a 'flock' of birds with one stone. What could that mean? Is he planning on targeting other people too?"

"That's what I fear," he nodded. "The question is who and how."

She was silent for a few tense seconds before opening her mouth to ask: "Do you think I should go back—"

"—Esmerelda," he suddenly cut in, looking at something over her shoulder. "I just saw something behind you. We'll have to cut this short."

Quickly, she swiped her hand through the Iris Message and whirled around. All she saw through the windows was the green hills, the clear blue skies and—

And a flying car with a boy dangling out of it. She spotted a familiar red head—Ron Weasley—reaching down desperately for the dangling boy's hand and figured it was probably Harry Potter.

She blinked once. Then twice. Then decided she wanted no part of their mess and quickly drew the curtains together.

She had other things to worry about.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

News of the flying car spread around like wildfire and by the next morning, Ron and Harry were famously known as either the daredevils of Hogwarts or the idiots of Hogwarts. People were talking about it and looking at them even during breakfast, which was suddenly interrupted by an explosion.

Esmerelda nearly had a heart attack and started choking on her cereal while wildly looking around for Luke to magically appear out of nowhere. There was no Luke. Instead, everyone's attention was drawn to the angry yelling letter that was practically spitting flames and a pale Ron.

"—STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE—"

It was Mrs. Weasley's voice that was coming out of raging letter, and it was a hundred times louder than usual. So loud that the plates and spoons on the Gryffindor table started to rattle.

"—LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED—"

Harry looked like he was about ready to join Ron who was currently sinking further down in his seat.

"—ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED—YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME."

The red letter finally burst into flames and curled into ashes. The screaming was done. There was a brief second of stunned silence before a few people broke it by laughing. Gradually, chatter broke out again.

Esmerelda stared at Ron in pity. One of the great things about having parents who didn't give a shit about you was that you could avoid embarrassing situations like that.

After breakfast, she went to her first class of the day which was herbology with the Gryffindors. Professor Sprout was late, which was unusual but then she found out why. Her house head came marching up to the greenhouse with a brightly grinning Lockhart at her side. Professor Sprout looked irritated, but he didn't seem to notice it.

"Oh hello there!" He greeted them. "Just been showing Professor Sprout the right way to doctor a Whomping Willow! But I don't want you running away with the idea that I'm better at Herbology than she is! I just happen to have met several of these exotic plants on my travels..."

Esmerelda doubted it.

"Greenhouse three today, chaps!" Professor Sprout grumbled, looking nothing like her cheery self.

Esmerelda perked up. She was very familiar with greenhouse three, since that was where she sneaked into to steal a bunch of mandrake leaves. It was also known to be full of more interesting and dangerous plants compared to greenhouse one.

Professor Sprout took a large key from her belt and unlocked the door. Esmerelda and the rest of the class stepped in, and she took the time to admire the large, umbrella-sized flowers that were dangling from the ceiling.

"Harry!" She heard Lockhart exclaim and turned to see the poor kid in his grasps. "I've been wanting a word—you don't mind if he's a couple of minutes late, do you, Professor Sprout?"

The professor opened her mouth to answer 'yes', but Lockhart said, "That's the ticket!" and slammed the door in her face.

"That man," she muttered under her breath before turning to face the students with a forced smile. "Gather around the tables everyone and put on your aprons and gloves while I get the earmuffs ready."

They did as they were told and by the time Professor Sprout finished setting the last of their supplies on the table, Harry finally returned looking disgruntled.

"We'll be repotting Mandrakes today. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?" Professor Sprout asked, looking around.

Naturally, Hermione's hand rose in the air.

"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative," she answered. "It is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state."

"Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor," Professor Sprout beamed. "The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes."

It's leaves are also important for the Animagus-turning process, Esmerelda couldn't help but think.

"It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?"

Hermione again. "The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it."

The Professor nodded. "Precisely. Take another ten points. Now, the Mandrakes we have here are still very young."

She motioned towards a row of deep trays on the table. Everyone shuffled forward for a better look. Across from Esmerelda was Neville, who looked excited as he inspected the hundred little plants. They were all purplish green in color and looked pretty plain.

"Everyone take a pair of earmuffs," Professor Sprout instructed.

Everyone did so.

"When I tell you to put them on, make sure your ears are completely covered." She said sternly. "When it is safe to remove them, I will give you the thumbs-up. Right—earmuffs on."

Everyone was muted once she put them on. It made her feel a bit paranoid, but she paid attention to the lesson regardless. Professor Sprout rolled up her sleeves and yanked at one of the plants.

Esmerelda instantly heard a muffled high-pitched wail, but she was more concerned about the plant in Professor Sprout's hand. The Mandrake resembled an ugly baby made out of dirt. Unperturbed, Professor Sprout grabbed a large plant pot from under the table and plunged the baby plant into it, burying it in compost until only the leaves were visible. She then gave the rest of the class a thumbs-up before removing her earmuffs.

Everyone followed.

"As our Mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won't kill yet," she explained, earning a sigh of relief from Neville. "However, they will knock you out for several hours, and as I'm sure none of you want to miss your first day back, make sure your earmuffs are securely in place while you work. I will attract your attention when it is time to pack up. Five to a tray—there is a large supply of pots here—compost in the sacks over there—and be careful of the Venomous Tentacula, it's teething."

Esmerelda's heart panged at the mention of the Venomous Tentacula. She remembered that she had bought Ethan a knife laced with Tentacula venom, and her mind immediately wandered back to the dream she had of him.

"Hey, Essie? Wanna join me?" She jumped at the voice.

"Huh?" She turned and saw Justin.

"For the group work," he reminded her. "Five to a tray."

She blinked rapidly. She had to focus. "R-right. Sorry. Who else did you want to join?"

He grinned and led her towards a certain trio. "Mind if we join?" He asked them.

"Sure," Hermione nodded.

"Justin Finch-Fletchley," he said, shaking Harry's hand like a well-mannered boy. "Know who you are, of course, the famous Harry Potter... And you're Hermione Granger—always top in everything." He shook her hand too. "And Ron Weasley. Wasn't that your flying car?"

Ron didn't smile for obvious reasons.

"That Lockhart's something, isn't he?" Justin smiled as they began filling their plant pots with dragon dung compost. "Awfully brave chap. Have you read his books? I'd have died of fear if I'd been cornered in a telephone booth by a werewolf, but he stayed cool and—zap—just fantastic."

It was obvious to Esmerelda that Justin had joined the Harry Potter fanclub, because he began talking about himself in order to get closer to the bespectacled boy.

"My name was down for Eton, you know. I can't tell you how glad I am I came here instead. Of course, Mother was slightly disappointed, but since I made her read Lockhart's books I think she's begun to see how useful it'll be to have a fully trained wizard in the family..."

Esmerelda winced sympathetically. "You made your own mother go through that torture?"

Ron and Harry snickered as Hermione flushed. "I think Professor Lockhart's books are well-written."

"Well sure, but don't you think something's weird about the dude?" She questioned. "He brags a lot. Either he's just really narcissistic or he's a fake."

Hermione gasped as if she had been slapped in the face. Justin wisely chose to focus on planting.

"How could you—?!"

"—Hey, Essie," Ron spoke up quickly. "How's your friend, Ethan doing? Did you manage to find a way to smuggle him into Hogwarts?"

"Ethan?" Justin asked curiously.

"He's my friend," she explained to him before falling silent. She looked down at the pot in her hands and tried to control the shakiness of her voice. "He's doing okay."

Ron nodded absentmindedly before turning to Justin with a huge grin. "Ethan's this muggle friend of Essie. He's wicked cool and he scared the pants off of Malfoy!" Justin straightened up, looking very invested now. "You should've been there, it was amazing. We went to Flourish and Blotts with them and ran into Malfoy. He really ticked Ethan off and Ethan just went up and started threatening him and then he lifted him up with one hand—!"

"—No way!" Justin blurted out, wide-eyed.

Harry nodded furiously. "It's true! And then Malfoy's dad showed up and tried to scare him—"

"—But he wasn't scared at all!" Ron finished smugly. "Ethan even called him Goldilocks—"

"—No way—!" Justin wheezed between his laughter.

"Yes way and then he threatened to strangle him by his really long hair!" Ron finished, buzzing with excitement. "It was the greatest thing I've ever seen and then my dad went and attacked him!"

"I should've been there!" Justin lamented. "Your friend sounds so cool, Essie!"

Esmerelda smiled sadly. "Yeah, he is."

I miss him.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Her last class was Defense Against the Dark Arts, which she wasn't looking forward to since it was being taught by Lockhart. There was also some talk in the hallways that he unleashed a group full of cornish pixies on the Gryffindor students.

"Afternoon class!" He greeted brightly as they all filed in. Esmerelda didn't want to make the same mistakes as before so she wisely chose to sit at the farthest back of the room closest to the door.

The whole classroom was full of moving portraits of him, which made her want to throw up.

"I'm sure you all know who I am," he said, flipping his curly hair back. "But just to summarize, I am Gilderoy Lockhart, your newest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. A blessing, isn't it, to have me here? But not to worry, I have all the credentials I need to teach the class. One of my many accomplishments—not to brag, of course—include: the Order of Merlin, Third Class, being an Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award!"

Esmerelda started to doubt herself a little bit. Maybe Lockhart would be a better teacher than Quirrel. He had a lot of accomplishments after all. She wondered what sort of spells he'd be teaching them.

"We'll start today with a little quiz, same thing I've done with the previous classes. Nothing to worry about, just to check how well you've read my books and how well you've taken in." He started handing out the test papers. "You have thirty minutes! Start—now!"

She looked down at the paper and her hopes for a decent education were dashed. The supposed quiz were full of stupid questions like:

1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?

2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?3. What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?

Yeah, I'm not doing this. She decided, then raised her hand.

He noticed her. "Yes, ah...?"

"Esmerelda, sir." She said politely before putting on a false smile. "Can I go to the bathroom?"

He nodded amiably. "Sure, sure! Go on ahead!" Then he went pack to polishing his portraits.

Her smile dropped and she quickly gathered her things. Shouldering her bag, she walked out of the classroom and never came back.

She headed straight for the Forbidden Forest and poured herself into one of Lockhart's books. She threw them to side in frustration.

"Useless..." She muttered under her breath. There were barely any spells written in there! They were basically just novels about his supposed adventures, not informative textbooks!

She yanked out her The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 from her backpack and rifled through the pages. She had read it last year while searching for good spells, but there were some spells she hadn't bothered to learn so maybe she could try them out now.

The first few chapters were things she already knew about: Flipendo, Incendio, Difinido, and Engorgio, but there were a couple that were new to her. There was a Memory Charm, but that was useless to her since she was already practicing the Mist (she wished she had Alabaster to help her though). It also talked about a dancing-feet spell and a tickling charm, but she didn't bother with them. There was a General Counter Spell but she needed someone else to assist her with that.

Ahah! She thought victoriously when she found a chapter about the Freezing Charm, Immobulus. She adjusted her glasses and read the chapter diligently. So far, it sounded similar to Petrificus Totalus, but it had other pros like being able to stop alarms and being able to target a larger group. The spell would've been very useful when the Stymphalian Birds attacked the Camp.

She grabbed her wand as her eyes traveled over to the wand movement needed to do the spell. It looked like all she needed to do was draw two mountains side-by-side. She practiced the movement a couple of times before perfecting it.

Practice with a wand first, and then without, she reminded herself as she stood on her feet. There was nothing that was moving around so she settled for the next big thing: kicking a tree in order to make its leaves fall down.

Hopefully there are no dryads here, she thought as she raised her leg up to kick at the trunk of a nearby tree. It shook and up above she heard the rustling of leaves. She looked up and saw a bunch of them beginning to flutter down and aimed her wand at them.

"Immobulus!" She shouted, and the leaves stuttered to a stop before continuing to fall down a second later. "Immobulus! Immobulus!" She continued to shout until the leaves stopped completely. They were halfway down to her waist now, but she was just proud to have managed it.

It took her about thirty minutes until she managed to completely stop leaves from falling on the first round. Feeling satisfied, she moved onto heavier objects like pinecones and branches that she would levitate into the air before releasing them.

It was almost dinner time by the time she started attempting to do the spell wandlessly. Sometimes she would unknowingly switch to levitation, which irritated her greatly. It was obvious when that was happening though, because the objects would have a green glow to them.

"Ugh," she groaned, dropping her arms and leaning against the tree. She wiped her forehead tiredly before trying again. All around her, the leaves, branches, and pinecones began to levitate into the air, surrounded by a green glow. They flew up about ten feet before the glow disappeared and they started to fall.

Immobulus, she said in her head, focusing on the rapidly falling objects that were about to hit her face. A pinecone was just about ready to smack her on the nose when it all stopped and this time, there were no green glows.

Job well done, she mentally patted her on the back as she released the objects, then immobilized them again. It was easier to her now after hours of practice.

Suddenly she whirled around when she heard the quite galloping heading towards her.

"Peace," a calm voice said to her. "It is me, Firenze."

She relaxed, her hands falling away from her brooch. "Hi." She greeted him.

He nodded in acknowledgment. "It's been awhile, godling. Unfortunately I did not come here to greet you. I came here to warn you."

Of course. She thought, wondering what the Fates wanted from her now.

"The stars have gone cold lately," he said, brows pinched. "Something bad will happen. Not right away. It'll take time, but I fear you might be centered around it. Beware the winter, daughter of Hecate. Something... something important will be taken from you."

She turned pale. "Something or someone?" She hoped it wasn't the latter. She couldn't lose her siblings or Ethan—or any of her friends really.

He looked troubled. "I do not know. My brethren couldn't tell exactly. All I know is that you must beware the winter."

She nodded gratefully. "Thank you for telling me this, Firenze. I-I'm gonna head back to school. I have to think about what this could mean..."

He understood, and left her be.

Beware the winter.

Something important will be taken from you.

She had no idea what either of them meant, but she knew one thing for certain: it was part of Luke's plan.

— author's note —

I just love how Essie wants absolutely nothing to do with Harry Potter and his mess of a life, like she goes to great lengths to avoid getting caught up in it. Of course, I made her that way lol. It's just that most harry potter OC are always in on the same bullshit as him and his friends and I didn't want to make another golden quartet fic so ya.

Essie will only start getting deeply invested during third year cuz of the whole Sirius Black thing, so just be patient for those wanting Essie to be apart of the HP action!