A/N: A little oneshot about what I think was going through Esmerelda's head when she decided to give her powers to Ada/Agatha in place of Ethel. Enjoy.

In A Heartbeat

"Why would she give her powers away in place of Ethel?" "I really don't get it" Felicity Foxglove told Drusilla Paddock as they walked down the corridor to their next class.

Since returning to school Esmerelda had heard people discussing that question everywhere, even teachers were discussing it trying to figure out what had possibly possessed the girl to give up her powers in place of her little sister, Ethel. She had heard people say she was stupid and crazy for doing it, even if it had turned out to be to Ada and not Agatha she had given them to.

The thing is at the time Esmerelda did not give it a second thought as to take her sister's place, it had been a natural instinct to her but like everyone else once she heard the gossip she started to wonder why she did something like that and would think over the whole thing.

Esmie would think back to that moment when she realised Ethel was volunteering to give her powers away and what was going through her head at the time.

Thinking deeper, she remembered she thought how tragic it would be for Ethel, their mother and father don't notice her as a witch, without powers they would probably disown her. She remembered how she thought that Ethel was far to young to lose her powers, she had only just started school, to lose them after only her first year and to not be able to return for her second year of witching education would shape the girl's whole life, she would lose everything.

As she tried to think of that moment more she remembered more things. Esmerelda could not bear to see her little sister leave school because she had lost her powers, Ethel was smart she would go so far once she really started to develop her powers and Esmie wanted her to succeed.

And the thing was Ethel was Esmerelda's universe, Esmerelda loved her little sister to the moon and back, words could not even describe it, she knew her sister was trouble and in the back of her mind something told Esmie something was not quite right with the situation but she ignored it and thought of the love she had for the girl stood beside her.

Was she trying to prove to Ethel she did love her and she did not act nice to her because she felt sorry to her? Esmerelda thought back on it all them months later and knew that was probably very, very true. She was desperate for her sister to realise her true feelings for her and what better way than that but by giving away something so important to her even if she did not think it through properly.

So when the young girl saw Ethel volunteering her instincts told her to take her place because she loved Ethel so much, she loved Ethel more than her powers and she loved Ethel more than being a witch, Ethel was more important to her than both them things and she could live without either of them but not without Ethel.

Esmerelda had always known her feelings ran deep for Ethel but it was that moment she realised just how deeply they ran because she knew if she had to take Ethel's place when she was in danger, being attacked or whatever she had to do for her sister's safety she would do it without a seconds thought, she would always take Ethel's place no matter what.

So yes what Esmerelda had done was stupid, very stupid but she didn't care what people thought she knew she would do it again in a second. She would do anything for Ethel and she would do it in a heartbeat.