The Angels of Darkness and Revenge

by Cheshire Grrrl

Severus and the Marauders find themselves in a situation that was never thought possible

Esmeralda sat on the roof of her house, wanting desperately to get away from the arguing of her parents. She covered her ears with her hands but it just wouldn't drown out the sound coming through the walls. Quickly she jumped down to the lower roof then from there she jumped to the ground and took off running. She ran into the woods and finally the grief over took her and she fell down onto her knees, crying. She was crying so much that she didn't realize that someone was there behind her. "Don't cry."

Instantly she spun around, crouching and stared at them, "What?"

"Don't cry," they kneeled down in front of her.

"Why shouldn't I? And why do you care?" she was still upset from her parents and she didn't like anyone to see her cry.

They wiped her tears with their thumb carefully and for a moment she closed her eyes, "Because it's probably not worth it. And I don't like to see pretty girls cry."

She looked up at them, "You think I'm pretty?"

"Sure I do."

Together the two of them sat there, talking for a few hours until they both heard shouts echoing through the forest. Esmeralda's eyes got huge and she started trying to find a way out, "What's wrong Esme?"

"It's my father, he's drunk and he's mad," she was still trying to find a way from the voice as it got closer.

Quickly he grabbed her hand and pulled her along, "Come on, you can come to my house until he calms down."

"Are you sure it's okay? I'm sort of afraid," he had told her about his horrible family life.

He looked back at her and grinned, "Trust me, when they hear your last name they'll love you."

She shivered, "That's even scarier then going back home."

He gave a bark like laugh and kept running. They finally reached his house and she found that it wasn't that far from her own house, only a few streets actually. Quickly they walked in, hoping to avoid his mother but unfortunately they ran into his little brother, who was about a year younger then them, "Oh, you know that you're not supposed to bring home muggles."

"She's not a muggle dimwit."

"Mother!" his brother shouted.

Esmeralda winced, not wanting to meet his mother but sure enough she came out of the kitchen with an ugly house elf trailing behind her. She took one look at Esmeralda then spun on her eldest son, "What's this? Bringing home muggles? Haven't I told you before that you will be severally punished if you bring home muggles?"

Esmeralda took a deep breath and said, "Excuse me ma'am."

His mother turned her icy gaze on her and for a moment she wished that she hadn't spoken but she kept going, "But I'm not a muggle. My mother and father a both pureblood."

She raised her eyebrow, "Oh really? And who may I ask are your parents young lady?"

"My father is Herbert and my mother is Belvina Burke. My name is Esmeralda Burke," she looked straight into his mother's eyes.

"Oh yes dear I have heard of you and your family. Wonderful people," she turned to her youngest son, "How dare you call the Burkes muggles, they are part of your family."

Quickly Esmeralda and his brother ran out of the room while his mother was distracted. They ran up to his room and quietly shut the door, "I didn't know you were wonderful people."

She sat down on his bed and nodded her head, "Yeah, we're real saints, my father drinking the walls off of our home and my mother kissing the dark lords toe nails. Love them to bits."

He laughed at the bitter sarcasm in her voice, "You know Esmeralda, I think we're going to be great friends."

She rest her head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "I hope so Sirius, cause that's just what I need right now."

"Stripes!"

"Padfoot!"

The two old friends ran at each other and Padfoot picked up Stripes and spun her around. She started laughing, "Padfoot, come on put me down."

"No, I haven't seen you all summer I missed you too much."

He started to carry her onto the train and eventually she agreed so he gave her a piggy back ride. The duo finally found the compartment they were looking for, quickly they opened it and Stripes hugged the three people inside tightly, "Hey Moony, Hey Prongs, Hey Wormtail."

Together Padfoot and Stripes sat down across from the three, "So how were your summer holidays? Anything interesting happen?"

Together they shook their heads, "No, not with us, although I did send an owl to Lily over the summer," Prongs said cockily.

Stripes shook her head, "Prongs, you're never going to get her."

"Oh I will she won't be able to stand my charm this year, our final year."

The group sat in silence for a minute, "Wow, I can't believe it's been six years already."

"Yeah I know how you feel Stripes, I'm gonna miss Hogwarts," Moony said.

Just then Lily and a couple of other girls walked by and Stripes jumped up, "Well gentlemen that is my cue to bid you adieu. Until later, save me a carriage."

Padfoot nodded his head and Stripes ran out of the compartment, "Lily!"

Lily turned around and a grin spread across her face, quickly the two friends hugged each other. Granted Stripes may have been one of the Marauders but she was always nice to Lily. Together they walked back to Lily's compartment and talked for the rest of the ride to Hogwarts. Lily tried to get it out of Esmeralda who she liked but she still wouldn't tell, "Lily, you've tried to get me to tell you for four years now. And it's still the same person and you've yet to figure it out."

Lily gasped dramatically, "Oh my god, you love Sirius."

Esmeralda twitched, "Oh that's such a very scary thought. No, Sirius is like a brother to me. Nothing more and that goes for the rest of the Marauders, just brothers."

Lily heard the note of finality in Esmeralda's voice and she nodded her head. Together the two friends went to change into their robes, "So Lily, James told me that he sent you a letter over the summer."

Lily blushed slightly and Esmeralda gasped dramatically and pointed at you, "I knew it! You do like Prongs!"

"Well," she kept looking down, "it's just he was really sweet over the summer and I think that I might go with him on a date sometime."

Esmeralda gasped happily and hugged her. "It's about bloody time that you two got together. Prongs has been driving me mad with oh Lily this and lovely Lily that."

Lily hit her arm, "Alright how bout this, I'll go out with James, if you go out with your mysterious Dark Angel."

For a moment Esmeralda didn't say anything but Lily knew how to make her do it, "I dare you to go out with your Dark Angel guy."

Esmeralda gasped and said, "Oh you're on, but I dare you to go out with James then."

The two girls shook hands on it, "Kissing included on the date."

"No shying away."

"No flirting with other guys."

"Dare stops graduation morning."

"Whoever wins gets ten galleons."

By now they were two inches away from each other and at the same time they both said, "Deal."

But at that exact moment the rest of the marauders came by and stopped in their tracks. They knew what Lily and Esmeralda were up to. Sirius said, "Oh no, Stripes is going to be going on one of her missions again. What's the dare this time ladies?"

Lily was about to say something but Esmeralda stopped her and added onto the dare, "Hogsmeade only and they have to ask and the two must know nothing of this dare."

Lily shut her mouth and glared at Esmeralda But she just laughed and hugged Lily, "Aw, you know you love me Lily. I'm your bestest friend ever."

Little did the group know that Esmeralda's so called Dark Angel had been watching the two girls from the shadows. A little scared of being found out he turned and snuck away.

Eventually they had all eaten and were all headed to their common room. Esmeralda was so tired that she had Sirius carry her on his back again to the common room. And even though he complained Esmeralda knew that he didn't mind and that he thought of her as a younger sister that he wanted to protect. She was fine with it, because she saw him as an older brother too and loved him as such. Finally Esmeralda said good night to her friends and went up to the dorm that she and Lily shared. Since there was a weird number of girls in their year in Gryffindor Lily and Esmeralda were always lucky enough to be able to share a dorm with only them.

Esmeralda lit a candle and sat on her bed with the drapes drawn after she had changed into a pair of Sirius's pj pants and a red tank top with the Gryffindor symbol on her chest. She took out her diary and wrote in it, 'How was your day today Dark Angel?'

After a moment he wrote back, 'It could've been better; some people still pick on me this year though.'

Esmeralda felt sad for him, year after year he had been picked on and she kept telling him to stand up for himself, 'Oh, I'm so sorry. Well other then the morons how has your day been? Glad to be back at school?'

'It beats being at home that's for sure.'

Esmeralda grinned; she knew exactly what he was talking about, 'Well I'm sure your father was better than mine this summer.'

'How could you possibly think mine was better then yours?'

'Did yours try to rape you this summer?'

'No...'

'Well then mine was worse then yours.'

These were things she only ever told Sirius and Dark Angel. 'So, my Angel of Revenge, did your friend ever hook up with your girlfriend?'

'He tried. I think she's going to go with him though. They make such a good couple.'

They talked late into the night, until Esmeralda realized how late it was, 'Well I guess it's time to say goodnight, classes start tomorrow. We should probably get some shut eye.'

'Yeah I guess we should. Until tomorrow night?'

'Of course.'

'Goodnight my Angel of Revenge.'

Esmeralda grinned and wrote back, 'Goodnight my Dark Angel.'

For a moment she smiled at the writing until it faded back into the page and she fell asleep. The next morning she woke up and took a quick shower, and then she ran downstairs, grabbed Sirius's hand and ran down to the Great Hall just in time for breakfast. Together they sat with the other Marauders and talked until McGonagall came with their schedules. Esmeralda had three classes with Sirius, one class with Peter and Lupin and two classes with James.

Sadly they all made their way down to dungeons and stood in the back of the room until Slughorn waddled in, "Okay class don't sit down, I'm going to be giving you assigned seats this year."

The Marauders looked at each other and they were all thinking the same thing, 'Duh.' Then he started to call out names and pointing to tables, "Black, Malfoy; Potter, Lestrange; Lupin, Roxier; Pettigrew, Evans; and Burke with Snape."

Esmeralda just shrugged, she never really had a problem with Snape since he never did anything to her. Quickly she sat down and said, "Hi Severus."

For a moment he was shocked that she was talking to him then remembered that she was always nice to him, "Hi Burke."

She laughed slightly, and whispered since Slughorn was talking, "I've told you for six years Severus, you can call me Esmeralda, and I'm not going to beat you up for it."

"Yeah, but your boyfriend will."

"No he won't," she answered tersely and stared him down, "Wanna know why? Because I don't have one and I won't let the Marauders touch you for something you never did."

For the first time all summer she thought that she saw a smile grace his lips but when she blinked it was gone. She just raised her eyebrow but didn't say anything. They worked together to make the Draught of the Living Dead, which to them was easy stuff. With half an hour to spare before Slughorn came around checking to see who had done the best job Esmeralda sat back and looked at Severus. He had his nose buried in a book and finally realized that she was staring at him.

Since he was twitchy because of Sirius and James he glared at her, "What?"

"How was your summer Severus?"

Esmeralda rest her arms on the table and rest her head on her arms, looking at him. He stared at her for a moment then said, "Fine."

"So nothing exciting happened to you?"

He shook his head, "What about you Esmeralda, how was your summer?"

She knew that it took a lot out of him to call her by her first name but she still smiled, "It could've been better."

He looked at her curiously, "What do you mean?"

She shook her head, "It just could've been better."

Quietly she mumbled, "A bloody hell of a lot better."

But Severus heard her; he put his book down and looked at her, "Why what happened?"

"Just," she sighed softly, "family stuff, my families not the most lovable and I'm stuck in it."

He nodded his head, "Yeah I know my dad's kind of rough."

She grinned at him and he raised his eyebrow, "What?"

"Why Severus, I think that you're actually starting to open up to me."

Just then Slughorn came by and said, "Aw yes my two potion masters, well it is quite clear that these two are the winners."

Then Slughorn dismissed them and Esmeralda grabbed her things, "Miss Burke, Mister Snape, I would like to speak to both of you for a moment."

Sirius was standing in the doorway to walk with Esmeralda to their next class which was Transfiguration but she just nodded her head and he left. The two of them walked up to his desk, "Yes Professor Slughorn?"

"Here is what you both receive for having the best potion," he handed them two little bottles of Felix Flecus.

Stripes grinned evilly and Slughorn immediately said, "Now Miss Burke."

"Oh, don't worry professor; I know exactly the rules for my new friend here. I wasn't thinking of using it for that sir. Trust me I don't cheat."

Quickly she put Felix in her pocket that only she could get at. They both nodded their heads and left, for a while they walked together until they reached Entrance Hall. Severus had Herbology next, "Well, talk to you later Severus."

She quickly ran up the stairs so not to be late and when she was out of sight he whispered, "Yeah, I hope your dad lightens up on you."

The rest of the day went by quickly and by the time the five of them got back to the common room Remus and Esmeralda were both finishing their homework up because they had free period while the others had classes. As Esmeralda finished the essay for Slughorn she fell backwards, "Ugh. I may love potions but this is murder. And we still have our Newts to take."

Sirius laughed at her and when he turned his back she formed an evil plan for him. That night, after the others had gone to bed she took out her journal and wrote, 'I'll talk to you in a minute I have to "punish" one of my friends for laughing at me earlier.'

Then she snuck out of her dorm and into the boys. When she reached the bathroom she changed their shampoos with pink hair dye and shrunk Sirius' clothes and changed them into skirts instead of pants. When she was finally satisfied she made sure that they couldn't change them back without a really advanced spell that she knew Remus wouldn't tell them, she went back to her dorm and looked at her journal. Sure enough he had written back. 'What'd you do to them?'

'Oh, you'll just have to wait and see tomorrow morning during breakfast.'

'Speaking of breakfast think you could have rushed in a little later?'

Esmeralda grinned, 'Yep, I truly think that I could've.'

She sat for a moment then wrote, 'Wait a minute. How'd you know that was me? I haven't told you who I am yet.'

There was a long pause, until finally he wrote back, 'You're not that difficult to figure out. You're so different from all the other girls at Hogwarts and you keep yourself open.'

'Will I ever find out who you are?'

'Someday.'

Esmeralda sighed softly, she knew that was the best she was going to get out of him, 'Okay, if you won't tell me who you are can we play twenty questions and see if I can guess it?'

There was a longer pause and she knew that he was debating in whether it was a good idea or not. Her friends knew that she was a master at twenty questions. 'How about ten questions?'

'Okay, I'll take what I can get. Alright, first question, you do really go to Hogwarts right?'

'Of course, what kind of question is that?'

'Sorry, just had to make sure, second question, would you rather live in a dungeon or a tower?'

'A dungeon, what does that matter?'

'Well smart one; you just out ruled about more than fifty percent of the guy population at Hogwarts.'

'Where you disappointed when you figured out that I was a Marauder?'

For a moment she sat there, waiting for his answer but then she raised her eyebrow when he answered, 'Shockingly no.'

Esmeralda grinned, 'What year are you in?'

'Six and up.'

Esmeralda laughed softly, 'Okay, I guess I'll accept that answer.'

'Good, because that's the only answer you're going to get.'

She just grinned and wrote, 'Do I have any classes with you?'

'Yes.'

For a moment she sat and thought about who she had classes with, 'Do I normally talk to you?'

'Yes.'

Her head fell back; she talked to all of the guy population at Hogwarts, no matter what year. Considering that Lily was her only girl friend she liked the guys. 'Are you on the Quidditch team?'

'No.'

'Do I personally know the people that pick on you?'

It was a moment before he answered and she knew that it was a tough question to him, 'Yes.'

'Are you a jock or a bookworm?'

'That's a mean way to put it.'

'Hey man I'm both, please answer.'

'Bookworm.'

'What's your favorite class?'

'Potions, and your questions are up.'

'And I still haven't figured out who you are.'

'I'm sure you will, but for now I need to go, the boys in my dorm are being too loud.'

'Okay, goodnight my Dark Angel.'

'Goodnight my Angel of Revenge.'

Esmeralda woke up the next morning and told Lily all about the answers he had given her so she could help figure out who it was. They still hadn't figured out who it was when they came down to the common room and didn't pay any attention to the Marauders. But Sirius walked up behind them and put his arm around Esmeralda's shoulders, "So Stripes, is there something that we should know about? Or rather someone?"

Stripes was surprised that they were there and she shook her head, "Nope."

James was on the other side of Lily and he put his arm around her shoulders too, "I don't know, it sounded like you and Lil here were talking about someone that you might have a crush on."

Quickly Esmeralda shook her head, "No, of course not."

Lily looked at her shocked, "You mean you haven't even told Sirius about this Dark Angel?"

Esmeralda hit her and Lily said, "Ow."

She grinned and muttered through her teeth, "Shut up Lil, okay?"

Lily's eyes went wide but Sirius had heard, "Dark Angel? I've never heard of him."

"That's because he's no one. Don't worry Padfoot."

Quickly she grabbed Lily's arm and ran into the Great Hall. But when the other four Marauders went in the Great Hall silenced instantly and all stared at them. Then everyone cracked up and nearly fell off of the benches laughing. The spells Stripes had put on their shampoo and clothes hadn't shown until now. Lily grinned and gave Esmeralda a high five then Stripes stood on the bench and called out, "Sirius, I didn't know you were trying for the girls AND the guys this year. Love your hair color James, pink really works for you."

Instantly the two of them started running towards Stripes. Her eyes went wide and she jumped on the table and ran for it. As she reached the entrance she ran into Severus, "Hi Severus, bye Severus."

Quickly she took off and he moved out of the way so Sirius and James wouldn't see him. Unfortunately they had and they instantly stopped. Since they both knew that they couldn't catch Esmeralda because she was a seeker and they were always faster then anyone they decided to take it out on Severus. But unfortunately for them Esmeralda came up to them and pushed them away from him, "Back off guys, I'm the one who dyed your hair and changed your clothes. Severus hasn't done anything."

"Did you hear her Padfoot? She called Snivellus by his name."

"I know Prongs, kind of sad. Come on Stripes, let us have some fun."

"No, Sirius, leave him alone." Esmeralda still wouldn't move.

"I don't need any help from a mudblood," Severus said behind her.

Esmeralda spun around and pinned him to the wall behind him by his collar, "How dare you call me a mudblood you slimy snake. My blood is more pure then yours but I don't give a bloody rip about blood. You will not call me or any of my friends mudbloods again, understood?"

He glared at her for a moment then grunted, "Fine."

Esmeralda turned her back on him, with her head held high, and James and Sirius fuming next to her, "Come on boys, let's go."

They both saw how cold and distant she was at the moment, she usually got that way when her family did something to her. Both boys looked at Esmeralda for a moment then Sirius wrapped his arm around Esmeralda's shoulders and walked away with her. After a few feet they stopped and she looked at Severus, "Oh, I almost forgot, since you don't need any help from "mudbloods" next time these two are trying to find some way to entertain themselves I won't be around to help you."

Then the three of them walked back to their group, who had seen the whole thing, Remus and Lily hugged Stripes and Peter squeezed her hand affectionately. She smiled softly at them all then walked off to her classes. Sirius and James turned and glared at Severus but didn't do anything. He had to slip between the five of her friends to get to his next class, and he felt the glares were even worse then normal. Quickly he ran up the stairs and out of their sight.

While the Marauders were walking to class they watched Stripes talking to Lily quietly. They wanted to get back at Snivellus for calling Stripes a mudblood. "What are we gonna do Prongs?"

"I don't know Padfoot but now we won't have Stripes protecting him and after what he did to Lily last year I doubt that she'd protect him."

"Well, whatever you two are going to plan to do, leave me out of it. I'm a prefect I can't have that on my record."

"Yeah I'm with Moony, my records already messed and Professor Dumbledore doesn't let me out of his sight."

"Aw, come on Wormtail, this is for Stripes," Padfoot said as he wrapped his arm around Wormtail's shoulders.

"Alright fine, for Stripes."

James grinned, "I like that slogan, for Stripes."

Padfoot grinned too, "For Stripes."

That night they put their heads together to figure out what to do to Snivellus for insulting Stripes.

Esmeralda and Lily sat in front of the fire, working on an essay for Charms. Finally they finished and they looked over at the table in the corner, "I think they're planning on a way to get back at me."

"Well, what do you expect, you dyed Sirius' hair blue, James hair pink and made Sirius look like a girl," Lily said without looking up.

"Yeah, but you gotta admit Lil, it was pretty funny this morning."

Lily grinned, "Alright fine, it was funny. So have you figured out who your Dark Angel is?"

"No and its bloody bugging me, has James asked you yet?"

Lily shook her head, "Has he?"

Esmeralda shook her head, "So the dare is still on then."

Lily nodded her head, "Yep, well I'm going to bed, see you in the morning."

"Yeah, night."

As Lily disappeared up the girls staircase Esmeralda sat on the window sill, staring out at the stars. Eventually she stood and waved at the guys, they absentmindedly waved back and she walked up the stairs. She changed and crawled into bed, 'I've had the crappiest day this year.'

'I'm sorry.'

'Yeah well you weren't the one who called me that, although that was pretty stupid of him. I think he just blew his last protection from James and Sirius.'

'Yeah he did. And I bet you he just now realizes that.'

'Hmm, I think tomorrow I might have a luckier day then today.'

'How?'

'Just something I'm going to do in the morning that will help for the rest of my day. I don't think I have anything to do tomorrow so it'll work.'

'No, we don't have any classes because tomorrow's Saturday.'

'Even better. Sometimes I just wish everything that makes my life bad would just disappear. My parents, my blood, and even sometimes I wish that my magic powers would go away.'

'Why? You're a fantastic witch.'

'Thanks but it gets me in trouble. People think I'm automatically going to be snooty when they hear my last name and people bug me for being a bookworm, even though I'm seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.'

'I'm sorry that your life is so miserable, if I were there I'd give you a hug.'

Esmeralda smiled softly, 'Maybe you can when and if we meet.'

'We will meet, trust me.'

'Alright, but I'm going to head to bed, I'm tired and I want this day to end so I can forget about Snivellus.'

'Night, hope tomorrow turns out better.'

'Yeah,' she sighed softly, 'me too. Night.'

Quietly she closed her book and crawled under the covers. When she woke up the next morning she dressed in a pair of hip huggers, a black halter top, and a Suede jacket and leather boots. She left her hair down and put on a bit of eye-liner then walked downstairs towards the Great Hall. She always woke up late but today she had woken up earlier and when she took a drink of cold tea she took a tablespoon of Felix too, "I hope today turns out a bloody hell a lot better then yesterday."

Just as she put the potion away her friends came into the Great Hall and right behind them was a chicken Severus. Esmeralda covered her mouth as she started to laugh at him. He was covered in feathers with a tail and beak. Sirius sat down beside her and Peter sat on her other side, "So that's what you three were planning last night."

They grinned proudly and Esmeralda hugged both Sirius and Peter tightly, "You guys did it for me didn't you?"

Sirius grinned, "Of course, you're like our little sister, he couldn't say that and get away with it."

Esmeralda grinned and kissed his cheek then she kissed Peter's. Which just made him blush and she laughed happily at him. "Hey Stripes, where's my hug, and my kiss? It was my idea for the tail."

"You'll get yours later Prongs, after breakfast."

He just smiled, "Okay good."

Esmeralda laughed at him and they all finished breakfast. Finally Remus came down and they all saw how pale he was. Stripes nodded her head, "Oh that's right, three more days huh?"

"Yeah, sadly," Remus answered gloomily.

"Aw I'm sorry Moony, but hey we'll all be there with you."

She stood and hugged him, making sure not to hurt him to much. He hugged her back and sat down next to Peter. "So, what are we doing today?"

The five of them looked at each other and grinned, they all had one place on their mind. Together they spoke, "Hogsmeade."

James turned to Lily, who was sitting next to him surprisingly and he asked softly, "Would you like to go with us Lily?"

Esmeralda, Sirius, Remus and Peter's eyes were all wide, he had just been so kind and gentle and they had never seen that side of him unless he was trying to make Stripes feel better. Lily looked at him then she looked at the others and Stripes smirked slightly with her eyebrow raised. Then Lily looked at James and said, "Sure."

James' face broke out into a huge grin and they almost fell off the bench because the other Marauders were laughing so much at his face. James glared at them, "Be quiet, the lady would like to go to Hogsmeade that's all."

Finally able to speak Esmeralda said, "James, it's just Hogsmeade, not your guys' wedding."

He waved his hand at her and held his hand out to Lily to help her up. She smiled softly and blushed slightly then she took his hand and stood. Esmeralda pouted, "Aw, now I feel left out. Lil has a date and I don't."

Remus just stood and said, "You guys have a good time."

"Are you sure that you're not up to the adventure Moony?" Esmeralda said softly.

"I'm sure, besides I have an essay due Monday, I want to finish that."

"Okay, feel better Moony."

"I'll try."

"So boys, I guess it's you, me and the lovebirds," Stripes said to Sirius and Peter.

Peter looked down at the table, "Actually I've got a lot of homework too."

"Aw come on Pete, you can do it tomorrow."

He shook his head, "I have detention tomorrow."

"Aw, we'll miss you Pete, I'll get you some sweets okay?" Esmeralda said to him.

He grinned and nodded his head then ran off. Stripes and Padfoot watched him run off then they looked towards Lily and James. Esmeralda sighed, "Great, I'm gonna be followed by mush today and I don't even have a date to make fun of it with."

Then Sirius stood and offered his hand to her, "Shall we milady?"

Esmeralda tried not to laugh, "Of course good sir."

She took his hand and stood up, then they burst out laughing and they wrapped each others arms around each other. The four of them walked off towards the hump backed witch that lead to Honeydukes. The entire day Sirius and Esmeralda made fun of Lily and James and Esmeralda picked up a huge bag of sweets for Pete just like she said she would. Luckily for Stripes, Lily and James didn't kiss but they had taken the title of boyfriend and girlfriend and when the four of them walked into the Great Hall Stripes saw almost the entire female population of Hogwarts glare at Lily and Stripes.

She just started laughing and whispered in Sirius' ear, "They all think that you and I are going out my brother."

Padfoot got a gleam in his eyes and she started walking away from him, "Come on Padfoot, no please don't do it, no!"

But he still went down on his knees and put his hands together, "Oh Esmeralda," he put his hands over his heart, "you've stolen my heart. I love you Esmeralda"

By now the entire Great Hall had gone quiet and they were all watching what she would do next. Instead of hitting him like her first intention was she grabbed Lily and said, "I'm sorry Padfoot, you're too late. I'm in love with Lily."

James came up and pushed Stripes away from Lily, "Hey watch it, she's my girlfriend."

"Humph," Esmeralda crossed her arms over her chest, "well well, it seems Prongs here is too in love to play with us anymore my dear Padfoot."

Padfoot stood and crossed his arms over his chest too, "It would seem that way Stripes."

He held out his arm for her and she took it, "Come on Stripes, let's leave the too serious boyfriend to his girlfriend."

The both of them walked off towards where Remus and Peter sat, watching the whole show with great amusement. Quietly under the table Esmeralda handed Pete his bag of sweets, "There you go Pete."

"Thanks Stripes."

"No problem Wormtail."

That night as Esmeralda lay in bed she opened her book, 'Today was so much better then yesterday. I had a great time with my friends.'

'I'm glad, where did you four go? I saw Lupin and Pettigrew but not you, Black, Potter or Evans.'

Esmeralda grinned, 'Oh we were out and about.'

'So, next weekend is Hogsmeade...'

Now Stripes raised her eyebrow, maybe Felix was going to help her with her dare after all, 'Yeah, I was just planning on visiting the Shrieking Shack, sometime alone does a girl good, especially with friends like the Marauders.'

'Well, maybe we can, you know...'

She grinned and wanted so much to help him out but because of what she said to Lily she couldn't, 'We can what?'

'Meet up, at the look out.'

Silently Esmeralda danced on her bed then calmed and said, 'When?'

'After we do our shopping, so at like three?'

'Of course, can't wait to finally meet you.'

'Yeah, me either. Well I have to go, g'night my Angel of Revenge.'

'Goodnight my Dark Angel.'

Quickly she shut the book then ran downstairs to find Lily. She found her sitting on the couch, next to James. Stripes ran in front of them, pulled Lily up, "Stripes!"

As they ran up the stairs she called back, "Sorry Prongs, my turn."

When they had shut the door to their dorm Lily looked at Esmeralda and asked, "What is it now?"

Stripes raised her eyebrow, "Well fine, be that way, I won't tell you about my date next weekend."

Lily jumped up and down, "You mean he asked you?"

Esmeralda laughed and hugged her, "Yes."

The next week seemed to fly by, even during the full moon when the Marauders had changed into their animal forms to help Moony seemed like it was nothing. Stripes had changed into a large, black tiger with silver stripes and helped Padfoot and Prongs make sure that Moony went where they wanted him to go. Sadly Moony got a little out of control and slashed Stripes on the face and threw her against the wall. But she got up instantly and roared at him.

Luckily they were far enough away so the village couldn't hear but Moony could and when he saw that her ears were flat against her head the werewolf backed off. When he had run up to the second floor Stripes stood there for a minute and shook her head, trying to make it less dizzy. The next day she showed up at breakfast with a huge scratch on her cheek and she just told them that something attacked her in the forest last night after she went running.

They were used to her going running after a full moon. Because every full moon, since first year Padfoot, Prongs and Stripes had decided that they would give each other a break for an hour. Every time Esmeralda had a break she would go running in the Forbidden Forest in tiger form. She always came back with scratches and bruises. This was one thing she never told anyone about, what she did when she went running to come back with all the bruises and cuts. For years the Marauders had asked her but she never answered.

Finally it was Saturday and she changed into a pair of leather boots, a pair of black flare jeans, a black bustier, and a couple of black bangles and a black cross on a leather choker. Her raven hair was hanging down her back in curls and when she walked into the Great Hall there were a lot of cheers and wolf whistles. Instead of blushing and walking away she bowed gracefully and walked over to the Gryffindor table. Esmeralda sat down next to Sirius and he said, "Why do you provoke them?"

"Ever ask yourself that question early in the morning when you get dressed?" she asked him calmly.

For a moment he blinked at her then said, "No."

"Well then, I don't have to answer do I dear brother?"
He laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder like a big brother and glared at the boys that tried to stop and talk to her. Right before they were dismissed from breakfast Professor Dumbledore stood and said, "Before I forget next Friday, as you all know is Halloween."

Esmeralda grinned and whispered, "And my birthday."

"We will be hosting a Halloween masquerade ball. Costumes are required and it will be a contest to see who has the best costume. For sixth years and up only, although if a fourth year or up is asked to the ball they are welcome to come, but only with an older date."

James immediately turned to Lily and asked, "Would you like to go to the ball with me?"

Lily blushed slightly and nodded her head, "Of course."

He grinned and kissed her cheek softly. Instantly Esmeralda turned him around and looked in his eyes then hit him on the head with her knuckles, "Hello, Prongs, are you in there? Come out Prongs."

"Ow Stripes. What are you doing?"

"Trying to find my brother, he's no longer in there," she turned to Lily and asked, "What spell did you put on him? He's not himself anymore."

Lily just giggled softly, "She didn't put any spell on me."

Esmeralda pretended to faint, "We've lost him Padfoot. He's gone."

Sirius caught her and started snickering but played along, "Quick Prongs, what do you call Remus' problems?"

"He only has one, and that's his furry little problem."

Faintly Esmeralda said, "I think I heard Prongs, I'm not sure. He's so far gone that I don't think I know him anymore."

Lily, Remus, Peter and Sirius were laughing at how she was acting but James leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Instantly Esmeralda sat up, "Yep he's back, okay I'm fine now."

They all laughed at her and she remembered something, "Oh yeah, Prongs, I forgot to thank you for cheering me up last weekend."

Quickly she hugged him and gave him a sisterly kiss on the cheek. Then the six of them went off to Hogsmeade together. Esmeralda went with Lily to go dress shopping and Lily kept bugging her to get a dress. "Trust me Lil, if I even do get a date to the dance I can always come Friday. Don't worry about it, I can get permission from Slughorn, he's wrapped around my finger."

Eventually it was two thirty and Esmeralda decided to head off to the Shrieking Shack. She waved goodbye to her friends and walked away. She sat on one of the rocks there, staring at the storm clouds coming towards Hogsmeade. After sitting there for an hour she kicked off her boots and sent them back to the castle with her wand. It started to rain and she looked towards the sky, feeling better now that the sky felt just like her. Quickly she ran through Hogsmeade, she ran right past her friends, not stopping when they called out her name. Quickly Sirius took off after her and he chased her towards the Forbidden Forest. When they were both out of sight of their fellow students Esmeralda jumped over a root and changed into a tiger before her feet touched the ground.

Instantly Sirius changed also and followed her into the woods. He followed her silver stripes, only barely being able to see her stripes but finally she stopped and he saw her sitting in a clearing, hunched over, and crying. Silently he changed back and tried to be quiet as he walked up to her but he ended up stepping on a twig and she jumped. She spun around and stared at him with wide, frightened eyes. He ran towards her and hugged her tightly. She kept crying into his shoulder as he held her tight and rocked her back and forth slightly. After just sitting in the rain they both heard three other pairs of feet running towards them. Esmeralda looked up to see Prongs, Moony and Wormtail, panting as they came up to them. They saw the tears running down her face and how red her eyes were instantly they all ran up to her and hugged her tightly. She gave a watery laugh then said softly, "You all must think I'm turning weak aren't you?"

Immediately they all started to deny it, "Of course not Stripes."

"You're the strongest out of all of us."

"You haven't changed in the six years that we've known you."

"You're my little sister Stripes. You are the strongest and best girl...young woman that there is on the face of this Earth. I'm proud to have you as a little sister."

Instantly she hugged them all tightly, "You guys are the best brothers a girl can have."

As she was hugging Sirius he had ran his hand through her hair and said, "Stripes, Esmeralda, why were you crying? Who made you cry?"

She turned away from them and muttered something that was drowned out by thunder. Quickly she stood up her eyes were cold and distant, "No one, don't worry about it. I'm fine."

She wouldn't say anything more and the five of them walked out of the Forbidden Forest. She was standing in the middle with her arms crossed and her head down. Sirius was on her right with his arm around her waist and James was on her left with his arm around her shoulders Remus and Peter were behind them with one of their hands on her shoulders. This is what she loved about the Marauders. They were always there for her, no matter what happened and she would try so much harder to be there for them as well.

As they walked into the Entrance Hall, dripping on the stone floor everyone turned from the Great Hall and stared at them. When Lily saw the five of them she instantly stood up and started walking towards them. But Esmeralda looked at everyone in the Great Hall one more time then started walking up the marble staircase to the Gryffindor common room. Just as Esmeralda was walking up the staircase Lily came running in. Esmeralda turned to look at her before she walked out of view of the common room and as she did Lily saw a tear run down her cheek. Quietly she hung her head again and walked up the stairs to her dorm room. Without stopping to say anything to the guys Lily ran upstairs after Esmeralda and burst into the dorm room. Esmeralda wasn't anywhere in sight but she heard the shower turn on and she saw Esmeralda's clothes flung on the floor leading to the bathroom. Quickly Lily ran into the bathroom and saw Esmeralda standing under the hot jet of the shower pounding down her back as her forehead rested against the cool tile of the shower wall.

Lily slowly walked up behind her, "Esmeralda?"

Without moving she heard Esmeralda say, "He wasn't there."

"What?"

"The Dark Angel never showed up. I waited for an hour Lil. Then the sky started crying... I mean," she shook her head," it started to rain and I knew," her voice cracked, showing that she was about to start crying again, "I knew he wasn't going to show. So...," she let out a sob," so I left."

"Oh Esmeralda," Lily put her hands over her mouth.

She wanted desperately to hug her but she was soaking wet and she wouldn't move. Still without moving she said, "You go ahead and head down to the common room. I'll be down in a bit."

"Okay, if you're sure," Lily said softly, not wanting to leave her alone.

After about half an hour Esmeralda came down in a pair of Sirius' pj pants and a Weird Sisters tank top. Her hair was put up in a messy bun, still wet from her shower and her eyes were blank. Silently as she came into the room towards her friends Sirius held out his arms to her and she sat on his lap, resting her head on his shoulder. For a while they all sat in silence, with Sirius running his hand through Esmeralda's hair absentmindedly. It was only eight at night, but it felt so much later then that. Students were still coming into the common room and a few of the sluttier girls kept trying to get Sirius' attention away from Esmeralda Usually she would make a snide comment at them, or glare and growl at them, making them go away but she didn't do anything, just stared blankly into the fire. This above all else disturbed her friends. Since Esmeralda wouldn't do it Sirius turned to them and growled angrily. Already testy that someone had hurt his sister. Eventually the entire common room got the message that the Marauders didn't want to be talked to at all so they all left them alone and most went up to bed. Finally Esmeralda said something, "Do they know?"

It was so empty of emotion that they were startled for a moment that it was her. Lily shook her head, "No, I haven't told them anything."

Sirius looked down at Esmeralda, "Know what? Stripes, what's going on?"

"Do you want me to tell them?" Lily asked softly.

Esmeralda just nodded her head, "From the beginning?"

It took a moment longer then before but she nodded her head again. Lily took a deep breath and said, "Okay, in second year, remember how you all had a falling out with Esmeralda for a month or two?"

They all flinched at the memory; it was something they didn't want to bring up. "Well, she was crying in one of the secret passage ways and she found a book. When she flipped through the pages she found it was empty so she wrote in it. About how she felt and how she wanted to," she gulped for a moment but Esmeralda said everything, "she wanted to just disappear. Shockingly the book wrote back. For the first year or so she kept thinking that it was just the book writing back but the answers to her questions and problems kept becoming more human with each passage. Eventually she became to him his Angel of Revenge and to her he became her Dark Angel. Well, to make a long story short he finally asked her to meet him at Hogsmeade today, at three, and she waited an hour did you say?"

Esmeralda nodded her head, so Lily continued, "But he never showed."

A few tears slid down Esmeralda's face and quickly Sirius wiped them away. "Then he isn't worth you. I don't know who this bloody creep is but if he hurt you, and by the looks of it he hurt you worse then anyone, I want to hurt him badly. Make him feel the pain that you do."

She cuddled into Sirius more and they heard her raspy voice say, "I love you so much Sirius, I don't know how I would've been able get through all these years without you," she looked at the others, "without any of you. You are all my family, so much more of a family to me then my blood relatives."

They all came forward and embraced her like a regular family would. After just sitting together in front of the fire Lily stood and said, "I'm going to bed, are you coming Esmeralda?"

"No, I... I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight."

"You can stay with me tonight Stripes. I won't let anything happen to you."

She smiled very faintly at Sirius and fell asleep in his arms moments later. Gently he picked her up and carried her to his bed, where he lay down with her. The next morning Esmeralda woke up and walked out of the boy's dorm, like a zombie. People tried to talk to her but she just looked at them blankly and when they saw how empty her eyes were they jerked back, afraid. She walked up to the girl's dorm and wrote three simple words in her book, 'I hate you.'

Then she flung the book across the room and crawled into her bed to sleep some more. It had been a week since Esmeralda spoke one word. After that day in bed, she got up, got dressed, went to classes and went to bed. She didn't sing, she didn't dance or play around with the others. They were worried about her; her eyes were so empty that even the teachers were noticing her. Madam Pomphrey had looked at her but there was nothing she could do. The next day would be the Halloween ball and her birthday. But still Esmeralda showed no sign of recognition in her eyes. When Lily came in to get ready for the ball Esmeralda walked out of the dorm, out of the common room and out of the castle. She sat on the grass under a huge oak tree, over looking the lake. It was cold and all she was wearing were jeans, combat boots and a hoodie but she didn't care. A wind blew around her and she just closed her eyes, savoring the sweet feel of the wind in her hair.

Meanwhile up in the Gryffindor tower Lily looked under her bed when she spotted the book. Quickly she flipped through it and she found three words written in Esmeralda's hand writing, 'I hate you.'

This must be the book that she had been talking about because underneath were other words, 'I'm sorry. I... I...'

'I didn't mean to not show up I... I got scared.'

There were tear drops on the page and she doubted that they were from Esmeralda Quickly she picked up her quill and wrote, 'When we find out who you are you are going to have to run and hide because you hurt our Esmeralda. She won't sing, she won't dance, and she won't mess around. She won't even TALK and it's all your fault!'

She didn't expect an answer but never the less there was one, 'I know, and if I could rewind time I would. I've seen her around the castle I miss the old Esmeralda too. Trust me if I could fix it I would.'

Her eyes grew big; she knew that she had a lot of time before she actually had to get ready for the ball, 'Who are you?'

But she didn't get that kind of answer, 'I'm sorry for calling you that Lily.'

'How'd you know it was me?'

'You're the only one that lives in her dorm and she wouldn't want anyone else finding it so she would throw it in her dorm room after writing those three heart wrenching words.'

'Why do you care about our Esmeralda?'

'Because you and her are the only ones who've ever tried to help me and now that I know that you're taken by Potter I think,' there was a pause, 'I think that I may love her and I can't stand to see her this way.'

Lily's eyes got wide as she finally thought that she realized who it was, 'If you truly want to apologize to her Severus I suggest that you do something life changing.'

'How... how'd you know that it was me?'

'You said you loved me, you called my boyfriend Potter and you said that you were sorry for what you called me.'

'Oh, do you know where she is so I can apologize?'

'I might, what is it you want to do for her?'

'Anything, everything, I want to give her the world and more because she deserves that much and so much more.'

Lily grinned softly, 'I have an idea for you.'

'Anything,' so she told him her plan to make Esmeralda realize how sorry he was for what he had done to her.

Esmeralda didn't care that tonight was her birthday, she didn't care that tonight was the ball that she didn't have a date to, and she didn't care that tonight was All Hallows Eve. Right now she didn't care about a lot of things; she just closed her mind to everything and watched the Giant Squid floating across the surface. As she curled her knees up to her chest and rest her chin on her knees she completely forgot about everything else. Suddenly a blind fold came down over her eyes and she opened her mouth to shout. But they had put a hand over her mouth and whispered in her ear, "Please don't shout. I don't want to hurt you and I've been meaning for so long to finally talk to you in person like you do to me in our books."

Immediately she knew who it was, she knew that it was the Dark Angel. That he was real and that he lived at Hogwarts, "If I remove my hand will you promise not to shout, not to hex me and not to jinx me?"

For a moment she just sat there then she finally nodded her head jerkily, he took his hand off of her mouth and she hissed, "I hate you."

Her voice was so hoarse from not being used that it cracked in her throat. "As much as it kills me to hear you say those words to me there's nothing that I can do to stop you but I can sure as bloody hell try."

His voice sounded so familiar to her, but she could barely hear it because he was whispering, "Who are you?"

"You'll find out in a minute," then he helped her up and led her somewhere.

He was standing behind her with his hands on her waist. She had her hands on top of his; they felt so familiar to her. Eventually, after walking for what seemed like five minutes he stopped her and whispered in her ear, "When I take the blind fold off, you are free to walk away, but please don't shout and I ask you with all my heart to not hit me, I've had enough of that my entire life."

She nodded her head. Right before he took her blind fold off he kissed her cheek gently, and when the blindfold disappeared she saw a table set for two with candles and a white table cloth. There was one red napkin and one green napkin. Softly she whispered, "Slytherin."

"Strange isn't it? That even though I'm a Slytherin and I'm supposed to hate you, I've fallen in love with you," he said from behind her.

Quickly she turned around and saw who she had been talking to for five years, "Severus Snape."

Carefully and slowly she reached up both her hands and cupped his face. As her eyes roamed his face so did her hands, he closed his eyes at the soft sensation, "You've been hiding who you really are inside all this time haven't you?"

He finally opened his eyes and she saw that tears were brimming in his eyes but he nodded his head and whispered, "Yes. Since the first day you spilled your heart to me, I felt... I felt like I really knew you. Like I could spill my entire life to you and you would understand every ounce of it."

A small tear slipped down his face and she gently wiped it off with her thumb. He smiled gently and she looked into his eyes more as he slowly leaned towards her, her face now in his hands also. She didn't move as his face was finally a millimeter away from her lips. As if both waiting for the same thing they both moved forward and their lips met. Esmeralda wrapped her arms around his neck, slowly so as not to startle either of them and he in turn wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to his cold body. After a few moments they pulled apart, both of their fingers lost in each others hair. They didn't say anything; they just stood in each others arms, staring into each others eyes. Eventually he kissed her forehead softly and she rest her head on his chest but sighed softly. "What is it? What's wrong?" he asked her softly with worry.

Esmeralda shrugged, "It's just, no matter how much I love you I can't help but think that the Marauders won't accept it."

He held her at arms length and looked into her eyes angrily, "Who cares about what the Marauders think."

Quickly she pulled herself out of his arms and said, "I do, they're my brothers. They've been there for me since I was practically eleven. They care for me like no one else does."

He hung his head, "I'm sorry Esmeralda It's just..." he shrugged.

She moved up to him and gently ran her hand along his cheek, "I know. It's tough for you because for six years they've been nothing but bullies to you. But let me try, let me try to talk some sense into them."

Quickly she pecked his lips then ran off towards the Great Hall where she knew that at least two of the Marauders would be. Shockingly enough she found all four of the Marauders there. She saw the girl that Sirius was with glare at her when she hugged Sirius. He was shocked that she looked so different and not dead. Quietly she whispered in his ear, "I'd hate to tear you away from your date but I have something that I need to talk to the Marauders about, Lily too."

Sirius stood and kissed the girls cheek then nodded towards the Marauders. They knew that meant a Marauders meeting. James was about to walk away from Lily but Esmeralda shook her head and led them up to the Gryffindor common room. It was midnight so everyone but the party goers down at the ball were in bed. Esmeralda sat on the couch, "Are you guys sure this is okay with you all? Missing the ball I mean?"

"Of course, our Stripes is talking again," Sirius said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Alright," she took a deep breath, "well... I finally met him."

"And you didn't kill him?" Sirius and James shouted together.

"He was really sorry about what he did. He was scared that I wouldn't like him when I finally met him," she hung her head and muttered against her fingers, "but I think I love him."

Sirius, James, Peter's and Remus' eyes were wide in shock. But Lily just grinned knowingly, Esmeralda looked at her and asked, "You know don't you?"

She nodded, "He told me."

"And you approve?"

Lily nodded, "Of course, as shocking as it is I think he's a perfect match for you, my sister."

Lily and Esmeralda hugged tightly, "Now, let's hope I can convince them."

Esmeralda crossed her arms under her chest and stared at the Marauders calmly, "Would you like to meet him or would you like me to tell you about him?"
"We'd like to meet him immediately," James said.

"If I let you guys get face to face with him, will you promise not to touch him?" Esmeralda asked.

Instantly she could see the wheels turning in Sirius' mind. So she closed the loophole, "You will not use any magic on him and you will not hurt him in anyway what so ever."

She saw the wheels shut down in his mind but they all agreed. Instantly she ran up to her room and got her book, 'Will you please meet me at the oak tree in three minutes?'

'Anything for you.'

'I should warn you though I'm bringing the Marauders but I've warned them that if they do anything what so ever to you I will hurt them greatly.'

There was a pause until he wrote back, 'Alright.'

She smiled softly and ran back downstairs. She looked at her friends, "Are you all going to be going out like that? Or do you want to change?"

They all ran upstairs and changed into street clothes and they all walked outside, with Esmeralda leading the way. When they reached the large oak tree Esmeralda was the only one to see the dark form waiting for them in the shadows. She ran towards it and kissed Severus lightly. He grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist. Then she looked towards the Marauders, who still couldn't see who she was with, "You remember your promise, right?"

They nodded their heads, "And you're still going to keep them?"

"Of course Stripes, now come on, bring him out so we can meet him," Sirius said impatiently.

Esmeralda gently kissed Severus' cheek then led him out of the shadows. For a moment no one said anything, the Marauders were in shock but finally Lily jumped up and down, "Oh my god. It's about time."

Esmeralda grinned and leaned against Severus. He wrapped his arms around her waist. Shyly she looked over at the Marauders, "So please say something."

Remus was the first one to step towards them and he circled Severus calmly, not saying anything and when he stopped in front of him, Remus held out his hand. Severus was shocked for a moment then grasped his hand and shook it. Esmeralda grinned, knowing that Remus would be the first to accept him. Then Peter stepped up and held his hand out too. Severus shook it, glad that at least three of the Marauders accepted him. Then, together James and Sirius stepped forward and pulled him away, "Padfoot, Prongs," Esmeralda said with a warning tone.

Padfoot looked back, "Don't worry, we won't hurt him. Scare him maybe, but not hurt him."

Once they were out of hearing range from Esmeralda they stopped walking, "Why did we have to move so far away?"

Without looking up Prongs said, "She has almost superhuman hearing."

"Okay so Sni... I mean, Severus, why do you like our Esmeralda?" Padfoot said.

"Your Esmeralda?" he raised his eyebrow.

"Yes OUR Esmeralda, she's been our little sister for seven years now. Now, why do you like her?"

The two started pacing and Severus just stared at them for a moment then said, "What's there not to like about her?"

As they were passing each other Padfoot and Prongs looked at each other and both thought the same thing, 'Her need for revenge.'

Prongs looked at Severus, "What do you know about her?"

"Almost everything, her family, her personality and how much you all mean to her," he answered calmly.

Sirius nodded, taking it in, "Have you ever had a girlfriend before Stripes?"

Severus raised his eyebrow, "You're kidding right?"

Sirius shook his head, "You're right, stupid question, of course you haven't."

Just to make sure James had to ask, "What's her patronus form?"

Both of Severus' eyebrows went up but he answered, "The same as mine, a tiger."

Sirius and James looked at each other, shocked. Moony had told them that only a life changing event, like a death or love, could change a patronus form so it matched that of the other. Prongs put his arm around Padfoots shoulder and said to Severus, "A minute please."

He just shrugged and walked back to Esmeralda, where he wrapped his arms around her waist and gently kissed the top of her head. Sirius and James whispered, "So, does this mean that we'll accept him into our midst? I mean what if he still hates us after what you were stupid enough to do to him last year."

"Shut the bloody hell up about that. I was young and foolish."

James laughed but Sirius continued, "I think he's willing to give up that hate for Stripes' sake. But we need to talk to Moony and find out if he wants us to tell Snape about him."

"I think that's kind of pointless Padfoot, after what happened I think that he already knows."

"We still need to figure out if we should have Stripes lie to him about her monthly trips or if she can tell the truth to him," finally both agreed and called Remus over.

"Haven't you two decided yet? Stripes is almost at breaking point. It's not enough for Pete and I to accept him, but you two need to also, she thrives on your guys' love and if you say no she might go back to being silent again," Remus said.

"Yeah thanks for that lovely thought Moony, but we needed to know if we can let her tell Snape about her monthly trips to the Shrieking Shack," Sirius said.

Remus looked over at the other four, even though it was near five in the morning they were sitting in the grass, talking quietly and getting along famously. "I think, since there's a big chance that he already knows," he looked pointedly at Sirius, "that we should let her tell him."

Together they walked back to the others and even though she was sitting against Snape's chest Esmeralda looked up at James and Sirius with hopeful eyes. They all stood, Snape with one arm around Esmeralda's waist, holding her close. After a few moments of staring each other down Sirius was the first to hold out his hand, "You better treat her right Snape."

He shook Sirius' hand then shook James', "I plan on it."

Quickly Esmeralda hugged Sirius and James tightly and Severus understood that that's how it would be. They had been there first and for much longer then he had. When she had hugged Sirius and James she turned back to him and hugged him tightly then kissed his cheek and he held her close to him, not wanting to let go.

Time flew by for the seven new friends and eventually it was the day before Christmas break, and Esmeralda and Severus were sitting together in the Room of Requirement on a sofa. She was sitting in between his legs with her back against his chest and he had his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. They were both watching the fire and he whispered in her ear, "Will I see you over Christmas break?"
She looked up at him and softly kissed his lips, "I don't know. But my parents are holding their annual Christmas Eve ball. I'll see if I can get my boyfriend an invitation."

He started to play with her hair, "Are the Marauders invited?"

"Not as of yet, I always have to do something for my father before my friends can come," she stared into the fire.

He saw that look in her eyes, "Esme, what is it that he makes you do?"

When he had asked the question she wouldn't meet his eyes. Softly he whispered in her ear, "Does Sirius know?"

She shook her head, "Does Lily know?"

Again she shook her head; Severus knew that if neither of them knew no one else knew. He slowly and gently turned her around and stared into her eyes, "Please tell me what he makes you do."

For a moment she just stared into his dark eyes, wishing she would never have to look away but she finally said softly, "He rapes me."

Severus just sat there blinking, not sure that he had heard her right, but then he saw the look on her face and he held her tighter, "Oh love, I'm so sorry that you've had to go through that for years," he held her at arms length, "and you never told anyone?"
She shook her head, tears threatening to fall down her cheeks, and he held her close again, "Why didn't you tell anyone you stupid girl?"

Esmeralda knew that it wasn't anything against her, he was just mad, "You should've told someone," quickly he stood and held her hands, "Come on, we're going to tell Dumbledore."

She shook her head, "No, I... I don't want to tell anyone Sev."

He held her face up to his and stared into her eyes, "Please, will you tell him for me?"

She nodded her head and he kissed her fiercely then they both went up to Dumbledore's office. When they got up there Severus knocked on the door and they both heard a serene, "Come in," from the other side.

When they both entered and closed the door behind them Dumbledore smiled, "Aw Mister Snape, Miss Burke, how lovely to see you both."

Then he saw the tears cascading down her cheeks and he lost his smile, "But my dear what's wrong?"

"Umm, sir," Severus said, "Esme has something that she wants to tell you about her family life."

"Yes Miss Burke?" he turned to her with his penetrating blue eyes.

"Umm Professor, every year since first year my... my father... he," she looked down at the floor and Severus squeezed her hand, "Go on Miss Burke."

"My father rapes me every year before our annual Christmas ball so my friends can come too," she never looked up but felt Severus' hand squeezing hers tightly in anger.

Dumbledore stood, anger in his eyes, "This has been happening since you were eleven?"

She nodded her head, still not looking up. Dumbledore walked around his desk and hugged her. For a moment her head shot up and her eyes were wide in shock. But after a few seconds she hugged him back and cried into his robe. Dumbledore had always been like a father, or grandfather to her. He ran his hand through her hair and said, "I'll be there at your house to make sure that nothing happens."

Esmeralda looked up at him, shocked, "But Professor how? They are pure Slytherins and they love Voldemort."

He smiled at her, "Oh don't worry my dear I'll take care of everything."

She grinned and hugged him then said, "Thank you so much Dumbledore."

Then she grabbed Severus' hand and they both walked down to the Great Hall. But when they entered the Great Hall they saw four banners, one above each table. Above the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff the banner was a blood red with the words, "No Burke."

But above the Slytherin table was a banner that was emerald green that said, "No Snape."

Esmeralda instantly took out her wand and yelled, "Incindeo!"

The four banners burst into black flames and she stared everyone down, even the Slytherins backed down. Calmly she said, "What the bloody hell is going on?"

Even though she wasn't raising her voice it was carried across the entire Great Hall, "I thought you were my friends. Just because I'm going out with a Slytherin doesn't mean I've changed. The Marauders have accepted that we're together, why can't you?"

Just then the Marauders walked in and Sirius wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "What's going on?"
Angrily, her hand still holding Severus' she pointed up to the banners that were still readable. The other five looked at them and their mouths dropped, "Did any of you guys have anything to do with this?"

The four Marauders shook their heads, because she already knew that Lily would never do anything like that since she was the one who finally hooked up Esmeralda and Severus. Sirius and James walked forward, still the leaders of the Marauders and glared at everyone in the Great Hall. "Since you can't accept one of the Marauders, you can't accept the rest of us," Sirius said.

Then James turned to the Slytherins and said, "As for you slimy snakes we don't care what happens to you, you've never accepted us before, which works for us," he turned back to glance at Severus, "No offense."

Severus nodded his head, "None taken."

Even though he was a Slytherin he was starting to dislike them. Then Stripes got an idea and whispered it to Severus, Remus, Peter and Lily, they all nodded then she put her arms around James and Sirius' shoulders and whispered in their ears, "Let's go to the Room of Requirement to have dinner, and wait for tomorrow to come, it'll be a sleepover."

They laughed with her then nodded their heads and the seven friends went to the Room of Requirement. On the way there, James, Sirius and Esmeralda raced each other there, as they ran towards the door they all had the same thought, 'We need a place to stay until tomorrow morning when we leave, with beds and food.'

The door quickly appeared and they bolted inside and fell down on the hammocks laughing. Pete came in laughing at them and the others walked in shaking their heads, "You guys are such children," Lily said.

Severus was grinning, "Really mature guys. Lily's right, you all act like a bunch of children."

Remus nodded his head and plopped down on a hammock nearby. Quickly Esmeralda walked up to Severus and slowly wrapped her arms around his neck. She looked up at him through her eyelashes, "What was that you were saying love? About, how," she whispered, "childish we are?"

Severus gulped slightly as she breathed against his neck and played with his hair, which he had taken to wearing tied back when she said that he looked sexy that way. She whispered in his ear, "How childish do you think I," she kissed his ear gently, "really am love? You can tell me," she breathed into his ear softly, "anything."

An instant later there was a huge canopy bed with black hangings and he scooped her up and threw her on the bed. Quickly the hangings closed and he kissed her passionately. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly against her body. They both had drowned out the rest of the world as the kiss they were sharing sent sparks down both their spines. Eventually they had pulled back and they were staring into each others eyes, shocked by how fierce the kiss had gotten. Severus' hair had come out of its tie and was falling around his face and his hands were resting under her shirt on her bare stomach. Slowly, Esmeralda pulled her head up and whispered in his ear, "I love you Sev."

For a moment neither of them did anything but then Severus gently kissed her lips in a loving way then breathed against her lips, "I love you too Esme."

They stared at each other for a few more moments until the hangings were yanked back and they both looked to see Sirius grinning down at them. "Alright you two, enough making out, we're going to play truth or dare, with," he held up a coke bottle, "spin the bottle mixed in."

Esmeralda always loved to play this game; quickly she sat up and pulled Severus with her. Everyone was sitting on the ground in a circle and James said, "It's about time you two pulled away from each other."

As Severus was putting his hair back again Stripes just crossed her arms under her chest and said seriously, "It's not my fault that you can't get any action Prongs."

Lily and the others fell back laughing but Prongs picked up Lily and said in her ear, "Would you like to help me change that?"

She just grinned and kissed his nose, "No, you'll have to wait."

Then they started the game and Sirius was the first one to spin the bottle, it landed on Peter, "Wormtail, truth or dare?"

"Truth," he said hesitantly.

Sirius rolled his eyes then said, "Who out of all the girls in the seventh year do you want to go out with?"

He hung his head and muttered something, "What was that Wormtail, we couldn't hear you."

"Yvonne Rookwood," his face turned a slight shade of pink but nobody laughed.

They were all too busy thinking about how that would work out. Finally Esmeralda shrugged, "Eh, I don't know, that just might work out you know. I can picture that."

Then Peter spun the bottle and it landed on Esmeralda, "Stripes, truth or dare?"

She shook her head, "Why do you even ask? Dare."

"I dare you to make out with Sirius."
They both looked at each other with wide eyes then Esmeralda whispered to Severus, "Are you okay with this?"

He pushed back a piece of her hair and whispered, "Will you make out with me later?"

She grinned toothily, "Duh."

"Then I'm fine with it love."

She kissed his cheek then turned to Wormtail, "For how long? And what's included?"

"Two minutes, tongue at the farthest," he managed to stutter out.

She turned to Sirius, who was sitting on her other side and he wrapped his arms around her waist but first turned to Severus and said, "I'll be careful."

Severus nodded quietly and they started kissing. Lily, being the official referee of the game since day one stared at her watch the entire time, making sure that they only went two minutes. Sirius was just as he said he'd be, he was gentle with her and after a minute he gently licked her lips and she opened her mouth for him, they cautiously let each others tongues dart into their mouths and finally Lily said, "Time."

Quickly they pulled apart and immediately two bottles of breath mint appeared in front of the two and they almost chugged them both. Then they turned and spit it out, it all fell into a drain, strategically placed to catch their spit then they both got out gum and started chewing that. Everyone was laughing at them but then Esmeralda started to kiss Severus and when she pulled away she sighed softly, "Alright, that's better."

Severus raised his eyebrow, "Maybe I should dare you to kiss him more often."

She raised her eyebrow and said, "Why is it you want me to kiss him more often than you?"

His eyes went wide and he pulled her close, "Don't worry love, I don't, it's just when you kiss someone you don't want to you kiss me with more passion then usual."

She laughed and kissed his cheek then spun the bottle, it landed on Lily, "Truth or dare Lil?"

She thought for a moment then said, "Truth."

"How long have you liked Prongs?"

Esmeralda sat back against Severus and he wrapped his arms around her waist and rest his head on her shoulder. Lily blushed and said, "Since second year."

Prongs' eyes went wide and he said, "What? You mean we could've been snogging all this time?"

They all fell over laughing as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her passionately. That night and the following morning they had a great time, after having gotten drunk on a dare, both James and Sirius had fallen asleep in each others arms, which they took full advantage of. Lily had fallen asleep with Remus next to her, they had become like brother and sister with Peter at their feet and Severus and Esmeralda were the last to fall asleep but when they did her head was resting on his chest with his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. On the train ride home their compartment was more crowded then usual but Lily and Esmeralda just sat on their boyfriend's laps. When they reached Kings Cross everyone said goodbye to each other and promised to see each other soon. Esmeralda and Severus were the last to leave, but soon he had spotted his parents and he had kissed her fiercely before making her promise to write him when she needed, always in their books. She smiled sadly as he walked off and slowly turned to the fireplaces they had set up. She stepped into one with her trunk and threw down the floo powder and yelled, "Burke Manor."

Sickeningly she spun and landed in the kitchen, quickly one of the house elves came and retrieved her trunk. Instantly she started to walk upstairs, not wanting to run into her father when there was a knock on the front door. It was a rule in her house that whoever was nearest the door would get it; house elves were not allowed to be seen by the guests unless instructed to bring something. So quickly Esmeralda opened the door to see Professor Dumbledore. Her eyes were huge, "Professor? What are you doing here?"

"May I speak with her father Miss Burke?"

"Of course sir, please do follow me."

Quietly she led him towards her father's study where he was sure to be. She knocked on is door and he answered, "Come in."

At first his eyes had landed on Esmeralda and his eyes were filled with lust, "Welcome home daughter, what is it that you need?"

"Father, you have a guest," Professor Dumbledore walked in so he could be seen, "Father, this is my headmaster, Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore tipped his hat, "Good day to you sir, so sorry that I've come unannounced but I was wondering if I could have a private word with you."

Her father nodded his head and quietly Esmeralda closed the doors behind herself as she left. Quickly she ran to her room and shut the doors behind her. Her trunk was already in there and she fell on her bed, crying. She must have fallen asleep from crying because the next thing she knew someone had hit her and she fell from her bed, "How dare you, you little wench!"

Immediately she knew that it was her father, and he was mad. From past experience she knew that when he was mad he would take it out on her by using her body to his advantage. "What have I done father?"
"You've invited that horrible man to stay with us, that's what you've done," he was only wearing a pair of pants and his belt was in his hands.

"I didn't I swear," she knew that if she started to cry or act scared that would only turn him on.

"Then why is he here until you go back to school?" he ripped off her shirt, "He says that there were some issues at school and that he wanted to make sure you were alright, personally," then he ripped off her pants.

She lay on her bed in her panties, unable to stop the trembling in her limbs. One single tear escaped her eye as her father abused her. When he was done he left loudly and she lay, curled into a tight ball, crying and trembling. Quietly Professor Dumbledore had come in and with a swish of his wand her naked and bruised body was covered in a black robe with silver stars and a quarter moon. He came up to her and helped her up, "I'm terribly sorry to be doing this but you must leave, immediately. Lord Voldemort is planning to kill you and I can't have that."

She stared up at him but he just looked at her with sad eyes, "I'll give you a few moments to pack but then I'll be back to take you with me."

Silently Esmeralda nodded her head then jumped out of bed and packed a small pack with a few prized possessions. It took her only a few seconds but she was stumped about one thing. She sat on the floor, staring at the book that shared a connection between her and Severus. After a few moments, just like he said, Dumbledore came back in and saw her kneeling on the ground, staring at the book. "I believe that you can take that with you."

She stared up at him with wide eyes, "I... I can?"

"Of course my dear."

She grinned and stuffed it in her bag then she slipped on a pair of black slippers and stood next to Dumbledore, "Where are we going Professor?"

"I'm going to be taking you to America, where you will be going to another boarding school to complete your education, then make a life for yourself there."

She sighed sadly and nodded her head, "Yes Professor."

Then Esmeralda held onto his arm and they both disapparated away from England, away from the Marauders, and away from her love.

The End