A/N: One hour until the finale!


Chapter Seven

Bullying

It seemed Jessie did not want to be seen with Esmerelda anymore. When she left the bathroom she had tried to say something to her but she would not meet her eye. Esmerelda was currently in the library reading a book, or rather was meant to be reading a book but she couldn't concentrate.

She didn't know what she was going to do. She had to stay in the school unless Agatha decided to give her back her powers, which she had more chance of Ethel and Mildred becoming the best of friends than that happening. She was stuck here and now her life was not going to be worth living.

She left the library to head to science and the second she left the room the taunting began. Esmerelda was actually not to sure how people at Cackle's would react to homosexuality. It wasn't really something she had ever experienced, she knew the witching world were more behind in that aspect as they still found it hard to accept. Even so, Esmie had a feeling Miss Cackle would not let things get as bad as they currently were for Esmerelda.


She was walking slowly clutching a book to her chest, trying to ignore the words people were saying to her as she did so when someone thumped into her so hard she dropped her book on the floor and held her arm. She quickly jumped up and ran to the science lab, thankful she had a teacher there to protect her now. Surely a teacher would not join in something like this?

"Miss?" a brunette girl said raising her hand as Esmerelda took a seat next to her.

"Yes what is it Charlotte?" Miss Thompson asked her pupil

"Can I move, I don't want to be assaulted" Charlotte said dramatically as she glared at Esmerelda out of the corner of her eye, well more like a disgusted look than a glare. Esmie turned to look at Jessie on the other side of her and saw the same look in her eye and she knew then Jessie was not on her side.

"Yes, you" she said pointing at Esmerelda "I want you at the front so I can keep an eye on you" she told the girl in a mean tone. Esmerelda slowly moved and went and sat down, she could not wait until this day was over and done with.

Things over the next few days got worse for Esmerelda. People either avoided her completely or were rude to her and the bullying by Cynthia was getting much much worse.


Esmerelda was walking down the corridor at breaktime one day the next week. Even after a week the picture and the rumour was not forgotten about. Esmie was looking at the floor trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone when she felt someone tugging on her arm. Before she had time to so much as blink, someone slammed her against the lockers. She finally got to look at who it was and saw it was Cynthia and her friends which she had recently learned were called Laura Burton and Amy Wallis. Amy was the one who had forced her to kiss her and Esmie made sure to throw an extra glare at her.

"Esmie, Esmie, Esmie" Cynthia said in a mocking voice as she smiled meanly and looked at the blonde. "Whatever will we do with you, honestly going around kissing girls" Cynthia said playing dumb and pretending she did not know anything about the picture.

"You took that picture and you know it!" Esmerelda yelled knowing it was her that had spread it around and Cynthia smirked at her.

"I don't think you should go around accusing people without prove, I did no such thing" Cynthia said "Now why don't we play a little game" Cynthia said as she clicked her fingers and Laura and Amy went and stood either side of her surrounding Esmerelda and smirking at her with the same evil look.

Esmerelda was just about to think about what her most logical moves are when she felt a fist in her face. Laura had just punched her and before she had time to react all three of them were attacking her, throwing her around like she was a rag doll and slamming her against the lockers hard. Esmerelda being Esmerelda though did not react, she was much stronger than she looked. She did lift her hands to try shield her face but she had no idea how to fight back. After a few more times of being hit Cynthia looked at the girl and laughed.

"What are you doing? Trying to curse me or something?" Cynthia asked laughing her head off and Esmerelda looked at her hands and realised she had them raised as if she was about to cast a spell, seems old habits die hard, even if she knew she had no magic left.

"You are so stupid" Cynthia said as she suddenly punched her hard in the stomach. At that Esmerelda reacted of course, as the blow to her stomach knocked her off her feet and she fell to the ground falling against the lockers hoping now Cynthia had some reaction she would stop only the girl in question started to kick her everywhere as Esmerelda breathed heavily from the feeling in her stomach.

"You really are pathetic" Cynthia told her as the tears came to Esmerelda's eyes from the pain she was currently in. She didn't know what else the girl was planning on doing to her but the girl bent down to talk to the girl lying on the ground.

"This is far from finished" Cynthia told Esmerelda as she left with her friends leaving Esmerelda on the floor. The blonde held onto the side of the locker and forced herself up walking towards the toilets. She went in and held her stomach more leaning against the wall, not really caring if someone came in and saw her. She heard a door open and saw Jessie of all people walk in. She took in the sight of Esmerelda and stared at her concerned, Esmerelda removed her hands from her stomach and tried to stand more straight as Jessie walked up to her.

"What happened?" she asked looking at the fact Esmerelda could not stand straight right now. Esmie though was angry, she needed her support before not now when there was nothing she could do to help.

"Oh why do you care? You better leave before someone spots you talking to me, they might think we are planning a wedding" Esmerelda replied as she stormed past Jessie and left the toilets.


Getting home that day was the best thing that happened to the girl. She lay on her bed, her stomach a lot better but still slightly sore and she felt herself drifting off, when her bedroom door flew open and she heard shouting.

"Get up this instant" the familiar voice of her father said to her. Esmerelda moaned by the sound of his loud voice in his ears.

"Can you please not shout? I have a headache" Esmerelda told him wondering why he could not speak to her in a normal tone like other fathers.

"Get up this instant young lady" he told her and Esmerelda rolled her eyes but sat up resisting the urge to be rude to him.

"Yes father what is it?" Esmerelda asked him politely.

"I hope what I have being hearing is not true, your school rang me and do you know what they told me? They told me you have been messing around with….a girl" her father said as her mother suddenly appeared in her room from nowhere with a face like thunder.

"What?" Esmerelda said not understanding.

"They told us homosexually is against the school rules and you will be suspended if this carries on" Mrs Hallow said as Esmie sat there upset, she had hoped they wouldn't find out.

"I didn't do anything, a girl grabbed me and forced her lips on me and then took a picture of it and spread it around the school, I am not dating anyone, male or female" Esmerelda told them wanting to make it clear.

"Do you know how disgusting it is what you are doing?" her father told her not listening at all.

"I didn't do anything, this is not my fault" Esmerelda told them.

"You have already brought enough sham on this family with deciding to give away your powers but this crossed the line!" Mrs Hallow told her.

"I did not do anything, someone kissed me!" Esmerelda told her parents.

"Well you should not have let it happen, you are not three years old you should be able to defend yourself, you are a Hallow, Hallow's do not let things like this happen!" Mrs Hallow told her daughter, clearly ashamed.

"Well maybe I don't know how to defend myself because I have never had to without magic!, I don't know how to fight against non magical people" Esmerelda told her parents raising her voice.

"If this gets out, our family name will be nothing" Mr Hallow told her angrily.

"Then blame the school and the people who tricked me into this, not me!" Esmerelda shouted.

Her parents looked at each other for a moment before her father spoke, his voice still loud and making the girl's head hurt more.

"After school I want you back here straight away, no go out to the library or anything, you will go to school and come straight back here and if there is any truth to this rumour you better start behaving now, I will not have this behaviour in my house" her father told her before both her mother and him vanished, leaving Esmerelda to cry to herself.