A/N: A little idea I had, Mildred always looks insulted when Esmie sticks up for her sister so this idea came about enjoy. Set during Ethel's first year.
Confronting Esmerelda
Mildred Hubble and Ethel Hallow were once against stood in Ada Cackle's office after Ethel had put Mildred's cat, Tabby, on the roof. Mildred was fuming and could not wait for the girl to be punished. She could not wait for the girl to suffer in that moment. This time the girl had gone to far.
Just then Esmerelda walked in and Mildred felt her anger rise. She knew what the elder girl was going to do, she was going to stick up for Ethel and get her a lighter punishment. Mildred did not understand the elder sister, could she not see her sister was a spoiled brat who deserved the punishment? Why did she think she was some sort of precious angel she had to protect? Why did she bother to stick up for the girl when she was so awful to her?.
"Miss Cackle, Miss Hardbroom please don't expel Ethel" Esmerelda said as she put her hand on Ethel's shoulder.
"Esmerelda your sister put Mildred's cat on the roof" Hecate replied as if there was no talk for discussion about it.
"I know Miss and I am not condemning it but I know Ethie meant no harm, she loves cats she would never do anything to hurt one" Esmerelda told them.
"Well Ethel what do you have to say for yourself?" Ada asked not sure if she should listen to Esmerelda.
"Esmie is right...I love cats and I really meant no harm...Tabby still hates flying and I thought if he got used to heights it might be easier for him, I was going to get him back down after a hour or so hoping he would be more confident on a broomstick" Ethel said explaining why she had done what she did.
"Oh come on that is a lot of rubbish" Mildred replied not buying the blonde's story at all. The girl had done it to hurt Mildred, no other reason.
"Miss Cackle please believe me when I say Ethel would never do anything to hurt a cat, she loves the animals she always has, I am not just saying this because she is my sister, I know what she did was wrong but I really do think she had good intentions" Esmerelda replied wanting to get her sister out of trouble or at least out of explusion.
"You are lucky your sister sticks up for you Ethel, now I am not going to expel you but you will receive a weeks worth of detentions" Ada told the girl who smiled smugly. Mildred stood there amazed at what had just happened.
"Thank you Miss Cackle, I promise Ethel has learned her lesson, thank you" Esmerelda said politely as she and Ethel left. Mildred followed behind them feeling her anger rising even more. Seeing Maud and Enid she told them what had happened. Both tutted.
"Ethel should have been out ages ago if it wasn't for Esmerelda defending her stupid actions all the time" Enid replied. Mildred glanced over and saw the two sisters talking, Ethel being her normal moody self and totally blanking Esmerelda. The girl was not even grateful. Mildred did not understand at all.
"Tabby could have been killed and Cackle lets her off?" Maud replied amazed and angry at the same time.
Mildred was only half listening as she watched as Ethel walked away Esmerelda trying to stop the girl but to no avail and Mildred got a sudden urge to do something stupid. Something she had wanted to do for a while but always held off.
"That is it" Mildred said angrily as she stormed up to the older girl before she could change her mind. She was so angry at that moment and wanted to understand why the girl stuck up for a sister who treated her like a homeless lady begging on the street. Maud and Enid saw her storming towards the girl and followed quickly behind her not sure what she was going to do.
"Esmerelda" Mildred said as the older girl turned to look at Mildred looking a bit sad which Mildred suspected was because her sister had just ignored her again.
"Mildred" Esmerelda replied seeing the girl and her friends coming towards her.
"Esmerelda...will you stop doing that!" Mildred shouted annoyed at the older Hallow sister.
"Doing what?" the girl asked as she had not been doing anything at that moment.
"Sticking up for Ethel, my cat is very important to me and it is lucky he was not killed and maybe you don't care about that but I do" Mildred carried on shouting at the girl.
"Of course I care, I am sorry about your cat Mildred" Esmerelda replied.
"If you cared you would let Ethel get the punishment she deserves, I mean frankly Esmerelda I fail to understand. Ethel treats you horribly and you stick up for her? Let her be punished for all the thanks she gives you!" Mildred carried on seeing the girl's face drop a bit as she spoke about Ethel treating her awfully.
"Erm Mildred?" Maud said trying to calm her friend down and stop her yelling at Esmerelda. The girl was totally blanked.
"Esmerelda your sister is horrible" Mildred carried on hearing Maud and Enid gasp. Was the girl looking to be the first person to get punched in the face by Esmerelda Hallow or something? Because right now she seemed to be heading towards that. Esmerelda right now was not reacting she was letting this girl yell at her to get it all out.
"It is not fair Ethel gets off because you stick up for her all the time, if I had done the same I would be out but no you had to open your big mouth and go on about how Ethel is so perfect and would never ever hurt a animal when we both know she flaming would so will you stop butting in whenever Ethel lands herself into trouble?" Mildred finished. Everyone stood there for a few moments in silence.
"My sister is NOT horrible" Esmerelda finally broke the silence highly insulted Mildred had said that about Ethel. "How dare you call my sister horrible" Esmerelda went on glaring at Mildred. Esmerelda knew Ethel could be badly behaved and even cruel but Mildred had known the girl for less than a year, she barely knew anything about her.
"You know it is the truth, denying it will not help Esmerelda" Mildred replied feeling a little afraid of speaking up because she had seen Ethel angry before but never Esmerelda...if the girl had a temper anything like her sisters she could be in trouble.
"You know I am surprised that a girl that has never had a sibling is telling me how to be a sister as if she knows anything about it" Esmerelda went on. That was the bit that annoyed her the most. Mildred was a only child what did she know about sisters? Nothing. Esmerelda actually was very offended by that as if Mildred knew more than her.
"I am not saying anything about your abilities as a sister, I am saying not to stick up for your sister when she gets into trouble as it is not fair" Mildred went on still upset about what had happened to Tabby.
Esmerelda shook her head. Mildred really had no idea about anything. She had no idea about sharing your life with someone else or looking after someone else.
"I stick up for Ethel because that is what sisters do, you don't understand Mildred you have never had to look after anyone in your life, and if I don't stick up for Ethie no-one else will, Sticking up for Ethel is part of my duty as her sister something you will never understand" Esmerelda went on not shouting but raising her voice slightly still highly insulted.
"Ethel is my sister I know her better than anyone and actually she would never hurt a cat, before she came to Cackles she hurt my cat by accident and she cried for ten minutes straight" Esmerelda went on but stopped at the look on Mildred, Maud and Enid's faces. Disbelief.
"Yes my sister does cry, she has feelings you know, Frankly Mildred I do not care if you do not like me sticking up for Ethie, it is not my fault you have no sister to stick up for you but I will continue to do it whether you like it or not" Esmerelda finished glaring at Mildred after what she had said about her little Ethie.
"Now if you will excuse me" Esmerelda said as she walked off not wanting to talk to Mildred anymore.
Mildred stood there for a few moments and mentally slapped herself. The girl was right what did she know about having a sibling? It was unreasonable of her to tell her off for sticking up for someone she loved, Mildred knew she would do the same for her mother if it came to it and why had she said all that stuff about Ethel to Esmerelda? Hearing someone you love been insulted is never fun.
"Mildred...you really need to think before you act" Enid said with a sigh knowing her friend had just done something really stupid.
Mildred waited for a while until she knew it was time to go and say something. Mildred walked down the year three purple corridor biting her nails as she knocked on Esmerelda's door. She waited nervously for her to open it.
Esmerelda opened her door smiling but her face darkened as she saw who it was "What do you want? Come to insult my sister some more?" Esmerelda asked her coldly.
"No...can we talk?" Mildred asked needing to speak to the older girl.
"Fine" Esmerelda replied obviously still annoyed as she moved aside Mildred stood there as if daring to go in the room. Going in Esmerelda's room felt really odd.
"It is a bedroom it is not going to attack you" Esmerelda replied seeing the girl looking afraid. Mildred nodded telling herself not to be so stupid and walked in hearing the girl close the door behind her.
Mildred looked around. Most of the room had bookshelves covered in books and then there was a cauldron, and a black cat lying on the bed asleep. On the beside table was a photograph of Esmerelda's family not dissimilar to the one Mildred kept in her room of her mother,.
"What was it you wanted?" Esmerelda asked still acting cold towards the girl as she sat on her bed.
Mildred blinked drawing her eyes away from the girls possessions before talking quietly.
"I came to say sorry...I should not have said all the things I said" Mildred replied apologising.
"No you shouldn't off" Esmerelda replied coldly to the girl still really hurt by what she had said.
"I am sorry, I do understand now...sort off, I would stick up for my mother in a heartbeat too...it is kind of the same isn't it?" Mildred asked looking at the older blonde.
"I guess" Esmerelda replied knowing it was as close as Mildred would get to understanding.
"And I am sorry for what I said about Ethel... I sometimes forget she is more than some classmate to you and I should have kept my mouth shut I would hate it if anyone said that about my mother" Mildred replied feeling really bad.
It was true though. Mildred sometimes forget Ethel had a life and a family outside Cackle's and that some people, like Esmeralda had known her since birth and she suspected the girl was different at home in some ways.
"Well thank you for apologising" Esmerelda replied some of the coldness gone. She was grateful the girl had bothered to make the effort to come and say sorry.
"There is still one thing I do not get though" Mildred went on deciding to say the other thing that was bothering her as she had the chance.
"Oh what is that?" Esmerelda asked raising her eyebrows in a questioning way.
"Well you never answered my question, why do you stick up for someone who only treats you badly?" Mildred asked still not understanding. She had gone through it in her head but had no answer.
Esmerelda paused trying to think of a way to respond in a way Mildred could understand.
"I guess it is for the exact same reason that Ethel still craves our mother's attention even though she knows it would be easier to not bother so she doesn't get hurt when she rejects her again" Esmerelda started to explain.
"So...why?" Mildred asked still not understanding. It was a mystery to her why Esmerelda kept going back to Ethel knowing she would hurt her feelings.
"Because of our bond I suppose, no matter what Ethie does, no matter how much she pushes me away I still love her and I always will, you can't just stop loving someone because they hurt you" Esmerelda logically replied and Mildred really did understand. How could Esmerelda not love someone she had shared her whole life with? It finally made sense. The girl could not disown Ethel because they had shared so much together, good and bad, something no-one else would ever understand.
"I get it" Mildred replied honestly.
"Good I was trying to explain it as best as I could" Esmerelda replied knowing it was difficult for Mildred to understand something like that.
"I didn't mean what I said, you are a good sister you know, I have never had one but I know that much" Mildred told her knowing it was true. The girl cared and loved her little sister. Ethel might not accept it but the girl was a brilliant sister.
"Thank you Mildred" Esmerelda said with a smile grateful the girl thought that.
Mildred looked down feeling kind of awkward being in the older girl's room now after all the girl was not her sister just someone who attended her school. She had no bond with her like Ethel and had no idea what else to say.
"I have to go...I have a essay for HB" Mildred told the older girl feeling like it was time to leave.
"Alright...thank you for coming to apologise" Esmerelda told her with a smile as the girl stroked her cat.
"Bye" Mildred said smiling as she left the room and closed the door.
She still did not exactly understand everything but she knew she would not stop the girl sticking up for Ethel again after all the girl could not help it, and Mildred no longer expected her to stop sticking up for someone that she loves.