As is Always as it Has Been

by 1Deivle

Esme was a Ravenclaw and was always in second place. One day Dumbledore summons her to his office and sends her back in time, against her will, and for unclear reasons. She is sent to 1973 the Marauder era. Where she is confronted with an obligation to make her family proud while fighting off the advances of two very different gray-eyed boys who quickly form an obsession with her.

2. Chapter 2

Ok so not a huge surprise but this chapter is significantly shorter than the opening chapter

I hope that you enjoy getting into the Hogwarts life of Esme

---

Pages: 12

Words 6,158

Posted: 3/31/22

---

Esme walked down the corridor of the train passing by other students and full cabins. Most of the students were dressed in their robes already as she was, but there were some that had yet to change so she couldn't tell what house they were in. Finally, after searching for a bit she found a compartment that only had one other person in it. Pulling a random book out of her satchel to hold for moral support she reasoned that most of the others were already full, and the likelihood of her finding one that was empty was slim, so she decided to try her luck with this one.

The boy inside had straight black hair, was pale with almost a sickly white face, and was already wearing his clearly second-hand Slytherin uniform. He seemed to be fairly engrossed in whatever book he was reading so Esme had a hard time seeing his actual face. Esme lightly knocked on the door. "Excuse me, but would you mind if we shared a compartment? Most of the others are full."

"Are you new to Hogwarts?" the boy asked a bit annoyed whilst keeping his head down still reading

"Actually yes, I just moved from France and have been homeschooled until now. This is my first time attending a boarding school." Esme replied pleasantly

"Well then I will tell you that generally I keep to myself and don't usually share my space with others." the boy said

"I promise I won't be a bother at all. All I intend to do is read or sleep during the train ride." Esme said as a last-ditch effort, she would rather share a quiet compartment with someone that wouldn't pry rather than with someone asking her a bunch of questions about her past or family.

The boy closed his book and pinched the bridge of his nose before looking up at Esme with a glare. Before his eyes wandered to the book that she was holding on to and they widened slightly, "Is that the new edition of the Advanced Tips and Tricks for Aspiring Potion Masters by the French Potion Master Francis Gagnon?" he asked

Esme looked down at the book, it was indeed that title, but in french. It was one of the books that she had gotten with Mother Petra while in France, and to her knowledge had yet to be translated into English. "Yes it is. Do you speak French? If you are interested in it I don't mind letting you borrow it during the course of the train ride, I have other books that I have brought with me." she said, taking a step in and extending the book out to the boy.

The boy shook his head, "I can't speak French. I just recognized his name at the bottom of the book."

"I don't mind translating some of it for you if you are really that interested in it." Esme said, taking another step closer to the boy offering the book again, "By the way my name is Esme Bulstrode. I will be a fourth-year student and as you can see I'll be in Ravenclaw."

"Severus Snape, I'll also be a fourth-year student, and as you can see I'm in Slytherin." Severus said taking the book from her hands he opened it and began carefully going through the pages and diagrams. "I guess you can sit. I'll let you know when I want something translated."

Esme stood there for a second cogs running as she was putting together the fact that this was her future potions professor. For some reason, she thought he was a lot older than this. But she swallowed her surprise and sat down on the opposite side of him and forced herself to calm down and focus on the book she pulled from her satchel.

After a few moments the last whistle of the train went off and she opened her book as the train took off from the platform. It took some time, but after getting a chapter or so into the ancient runes book, she had finally gotten used to sitting across from her old professor. Snape had been quiet looking through the book, he seemed to be carefully fingering through the pages and intently looking at the diagrams. Occasionally he would ask her what a word meant or if she could read off an ingredient list for him. But other than that he seemed to be content to look at it on his own.

The train ride seemed to be going pleasantly until there was a slight knock on the door and it opened, startling Esme who had been in a deep trance reading the book. Snape didn't seem to flinch, but he did tear his eyes away from the text to greet the intruder with a nod. "Lucius."

"Severus. Good to see you this year. It seems you have found good company this time around on the train. It is a pleasure to see you again, Miss Esme Bulstrode. I hope that our Severus has been a good host to you on your first train ride to Hogwarts." Lucius said with a perfect smile

"Yes we have been having a very relaxing ride, just reading mostly." Esme responded

"Oh and what are you reading?" Lucius asked

"Just a French book on ancient runes by Toussaint, have you heard of him? He is one of the more prominent experts in Europe." Esme responded, "Or at least that is what the introduction claims. He has been all over the world studying and comparing ancient runes from different cultures."

"No, I can not say that I have heard of him. But I would love for you to tell me more about him, sounds like quite the interesting individual." Lucius said leaning against the door of the train compartment looking quite amused, "Though I am sure that you are just as fascinating."

"Don't you have prefect duties Lucius?" Severus said deadpanned looking back into his book

"You are no fun at all Severus, you have a beauty sitting in front of you and I bet you have not even spoken to her just once." Lucius said crossing his arms smiling at Esme

Esme couldn't help but give a small smile back as a bit of a blush brushed her cheeks, but then she remembered who he was and what her Mother Petra and Father Lukas had said about their family not so very long ago, and the blush faded while the smile became stiff, "Oh I didn't know you were going to be a prefect this year. I would feel just awful if I were to distract you from your duties." Esme said

Lucius stood upright and locked eyes with Esme again, "And what a delightful distraction you are. But unfortunately, Severus is right, I do have prefect duties to get to. I hope to see you later, Miss Esme Bulstrode." Then he turned and nodded his head at Snape, "Severus, I will see you at dinner."

Snape nodded, yet not looking away from the book.

And with a flourish of his robes, Lucius left their compartment leaving the door open. As Esme got up to close it Snape asked, "So how do you know Malfoy?"

Esme closed the door with a little more force than was probably necessary, "I met him and his father at the alterations shop in Diagon Alley. I am actually a bit surprised that he remembered me, it was a brief encounter."

"It would be wise to avoid him. He has a bad habit of not letting go of the things that he wants. It makes him good at his studies because he has a drive for greater things, but it also is, well, a bit overpowering. Then when his little fascination is over he will drop you. Plus you would be making an enemy of Bellatrix Black who is protective over her younger sister who is very much enthralled by her contract, to be, fiance."

"Thanks for the advice. I don't have any designs on Mr. Malfoy or any boys for that matter. I just plan to stick to my studies and not cause a commotion." Esme said, "And again, Thank you for the warning."

"You didn't hear a word from me. And if you say I did, I'll deny it. I generally stay out of Lucius's affairs." Snape said

For the rest of the ride, Esme and Severus spent their time reading. Esme would occasionally translate a page or two for him, and he would nod his head along with her descriptions. The ride was one of the more relaxing that Esme had been on, and the hours passed by quickly. Once the train stopped Esme looked up to see Severus closing the book and handing it back to her. She took it back and placed it back in her satchel.

"I hope you enjoyed looking through it." Esme said

"It will be more understandable when it comes out in English, but yes some parts of it were very illuminating."

"So I take it that potions is your favorite subject?" Esme asked, already knowing the answer

"You could say so." Severus replied in his normal bored tone, "Though our potions professor is not really up to par. I prefer to do things my own way."

"Really? I heard he was an esteemed potions master, but I guess you can not believe everything you hear." Esme said walking towards the carriages with Severus

"Yes well he worked hard in collecting groups of witches and wizards that would bring him to higher esteem."

"I see. Well, that confirms what my cousin said about him, but I do hope to still do well in the class. I hope that I won't be too far behind since I have been homeschooled."

"If you are reading books like what you showed me then you will be fine. In fact you will probably be ahead of all the pathetic morons that are usually placed in the advanced potions class."

Esme smiled, she was glad that she had made a good first impression on her future professor. She had always been a little afraid of Professor Snape, yet at the same time potions was one of her favorite subjects. He was intimidating and could be a little bit of a bully to the other students, but he had always been fair to her. But that could have been because she kept her head down and completed her work to a satisfactory degree in his opinion.

It was not a long walk to the carriages and once they got there Severus quickly picked one that was further from the rest of the crowd. Esme asked if she could join him, and he replied in a semi annoyed tone, "If you want to."

Since there was less room in the carriages they ended up having to share with a pair of Hufflepuff girls. As soon as they got in and saw Severus their faces dropped a bit, but they soon returned to their normal cheery Hufflepuff selves when the carriages started moving towards the castle. Severus and Esme were fairly quiet looking out the window. Until one of the Hufflepuffs turned to Esme, "Ok it has been bugging me since we got on this carriage, but I don't remember seeing you at Hogwarts before. Are you a new student?"

"Yes, I was previously homeschooled." Esme responded

"Homeschooled?!" one of them said, "How positively old fashioned. I love it! So all of this must be really overwhelming then, with all these students I mean?"

"Yes, it is a lot to take in." Esme said with a polite smile, "I am Esme Bulstrode by the way. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier, I am just a shy person by nature."

"Oh no we are sorry for not introducing ourselves sooner!" the other girl said, "I am Vanessa Higgins and this is Amber Holland. Feel free to call us by our first names."

"So," Amber began, "Are you related to Edith Bulstrode in Slytherin house?"

"She is my cousin." Esme responded smoothly

"Ok interesting and are you in the same year as her or above? You kinda give off this older personality vibe. Not in a bad way, just in a calm way ya know?" Vanessa asked

Esme gave a polite smile and shook her head, "No we are in the same year, we are both incoming 4th years."

"Really? Ok then well, you and your cousin are very different people. I have had a few classes with Edith Bulstrode and she is so spoiled like the rest of those Slytherins." Amber said crossing her arms

Esme looked over at Severus and then back at Amber. When their eyes met Esme nodded her head in the direction of Severus and Amber's eyes went wide. "Not that all Slytherins are spoiled, just that a lot of them flaunt their wealth and parents' political power when they don't get their way."

Esme gave a polite smile back, "I will keep that in mind." I guess not all Hufflepuffs are as nice as they like to portray themselves Esme thought to herself. For the rest of the train ride, the two girls went back and forth asking Esme questions about herself and where she was from, even making her speak some French to them to prove she was from France. It was a fairly draining ride and Severus sat there quietly looking out the window ignoring the whole thing. When they finally got to the castle Esme was exhausted from having to sustain the conversation and from having to try and keep up with the energy levels of the two excited Hufflepuffs.

"Well we had better catch up with the rest of our house mates for dinner. It was nice to meet you Esme." Amber said waving

"Yeah really nice to meet you, don't be afraid to say hi to us on campus and tell us how things are going." Vanessa said exiting the carriage. And in a flash, the two girls were gone.

"Well that was excruciating." Severus said

"You weren't the one who had to talk to them. I am exhausted now."

"Yes but I had to listen to it."

"Well we had better get off and go to dinner. I am starving." Esme said getting out of the carriage, taking a look around she saw that the houses were grouping up and walking in together as they normally did. Esme turned back to Severus, "Well I had better go and at least try and socialize with some of the witches in my house. It was nice traveling with you, Severus. I hope to see you around campus. Hopefully we will have potions together."

"Hn." Severus mumbled something and nodded his head before making his way toward the rest of the Slytherins

Esme took a deep breath and made her way toward the rest of the Ravenclaws. As she made her way up to the group a blond girl came up to her with a prefects badge clearly pinned on her robes, "You must be Esme Bulstrode. It is nice to meet you. My name is Isabell Stewart and I am the fifth year Ravenclaw prefect. Feel free to call me Isabell or Stewart. You can sit with me if you'd like and I can introduce you to some of the other students in our house."

"It is nice to make your acquaintance Isabell. I appreciate your initiative in bringing me into the fold. I am a bit shy so it is hard for me to open up a lot of the time, especially in new places." Esme said, truly grateful that she wouldn't have to go on trying to meet all of her housemates on her own

"I am just doing what a good prefect should do, plus many of the Ravenclaws are shy by nature. I guess that is just the result of us rather having a book in our faces than having long frivolous conversations." Isabell said, swiping some of her blond hair behind her shoulder

"I suppose you're right." Esme responded, remembering how tiering the conversation with the Hufflepuffs was.

Isabell led Esme to the rest of the Ravenclaws that were in her year and began introducing some of them to her. She got to know them more over dinner. There were four other girls in her year that she would be sharing a room. Adeline Fade had short black hair and dark eyes. She said her mother was a Black and that she got most of her features from that side of the family. Mabel Krauss was a bigger girl with brown hair and a kind smile. She was a muggle-born witch and wore second-hand robes along with second-hand books. She was most excited to get back to see the library again. Pearl Moriarty, reminded Esme a bit of herself before her lessons with Mother Petra. She was quiet and shy, but still had the trappings of a good rule-following pure-blooded witch. And then there was Odessa Digby. She was definitely the leader of the group of girls, she had the most energy and authority about her. She thought she was the smartest in the group and she showed it off every chance she got. Her parents had hired the best tutors for her during the summer to make sure that she would be prepped for her classes. But the issue was that the more Odessa spoke the less knowledgeable she sounded, and the gaps in her 'education' came through. She was from a mid-tier pure blood family but she acted as though she was one of the sacred 28. Esme could definitely tell that the girl was threatened by her arrival. Even though Esme had no intentions of dethroning anyone socially. Academically though she would take no prisoners. She was going to work hard, and with no Hermione Granger in her way she would be in first place.

There were three boys in her year in Ravenclaw that Isabell introduced to Esme. Damek Wyrm was a wisp of a boy with thick glasses. He was a half-blood from Wales. His mother was a witch and was apparently on the quidditch team in her days at Hogwarts, something that he did not aspire to. Ballard Ash was on the quidditch team as a beater and so was Galahad Marth as a chaser. They both had bigger frames but were not nearly the size that the other quidditch players were in the other houses, which was probably one of the reasons that they were not known for winning very often. Then there was Saul Norwood, he was at the top of the class in both charms and ancient history, but was fairly average at everything else. He wanted to be a curse breaker for Gringotts like his father was, and he seemed to have an odd fascination with the goblin wars. Apparently, he could go on and on about them with little-known facts or stories of various battles.

Esme was so caught up in eating and keeping up with memorizing all her new housemates' names that she didn't notice the eyes that had been staring at her periodically throughout dinner from opposite sides of the room.

888888888888

Sirius was sitting with the rest of the Marauders. He had looked for the girl on the platform, but with all the commotion, and the yelling from his mother distracting him, it was all he could do to make it to their usual compartment before the train took off from the platform. There was too much commotion as usual at the carriages too. So he figured he would find her at dinner and re-introduce himself to her. She must have had a bad impression of him due to his mother, but if he could suede her that he was in fact very different from his family then she might give him a chance. One that he very much wanted. He didn't know what was pulling him towards the broad. It could have been because she was a beauty, or her captivating dual-colored eyes, or it could have been the simple fact that she had snubbed him after learning about his family and not drool all over him as the next heir of the Great and Noble house of Black.

It didn't take long for him to find her once they had sat for dinner in the great hall. She was even facing their little group. She was prettier than he remembered. Her smile lit up her whole face and she was so delicate that it made his protective instincts come out. Sirius had never paid much attention to the manners and etiquette lessons that his mother tried to drill into him, but watching the girl and the way she ate and held herself he could see the difference that it made. She wasn't his normal type, elegant and pure-blooded. They tended to be a lot of work, but something was telling him that this one would be worth it.

He hadn't been listening to the conversation much but when James began talking about Lilly and how this was going to be the year that she was going to fall for him. In clear earshot of the girl herself, who gave him a definitive glare. Sirius thought it would be a good time to stake his claim. "The new girl in Ravenclaw, I call dibs."

"What is wrong with you boys! You can't just go around calling dibs on girls and claiming their affections as if you own them." Lilly said, "And seriously James, quit it, I'm tired of it."

Ignoring Lilly's outburst, James looked over to the Ravenclaw table, "I don't see her…" then there was a long pause, "Ok yeah I get it, good luck with that. She is out of even your extended reach Sirius."

"And what do you mean by that?" Sirius asked incredulously

"I heard she is really smart." Lilly interjected, "That she got the equivalent of all O's in her studies."

"Where did you hear that from?" Sirius asked

"Nina Crane was listening in on some of the professors talking about the transfer student." Lilly said before going back to her food

Remus whistled, "Well then Lilly looks like you and Norwood will finally have some competition this year."

"Yup sounds like fun right!" Lilly said smiling

"You have such a pretty smile Lills." James said

"First off don't call me that, second just ew." Lilly said fully turning her body from the boys and talking with the other girls at the table

Sirius patted the dejected James on the back, "You'll get it right one day my friend."

"I was just trying to give her a compliment. I thought girls liked compliments." James said

"Yeah, only from the guys they actually like. And I am fairly sure that Lilly loathes you." Remus said

"Ok now getting back to the point at hand, prongs, what do you mean I don't have a chance." Sirius asked James

"She is a pure-blood yeah?" James asked

"Yeah, so what? Don't most pure bloods want a connection to the Great and Noble house of Black?" Sirius sarcastically said

"Well most I would say, but her family is the Bulstrode family and they are both middle ground and old school. They were on the side of Grindelwald in the last war, but there are also a lot of blood traitors and half-bloods in their family. So they are probably taking a backseat in this war." James said

"And my family is known for being…" Sirius said

"Dark as fuck." James finished his sentence

"James!" Peter exclaimed

"Well he's not wrong. Still stings though." Sirius said fakely massaging his chest as though he had been wounded, "But I am the polar opposite of my family. Everyone knows that, so there shouldn't be a problem right?"

"I don't know man, she could still take one look at your last name and run for the hills." Remus said

Sirius thought back to when they were in the cafe together. How nice she had seemed until his ungodly mother had walked in. Then she didn't seem like she wanted anything to do with him. But his mother wasn't here and Merlin knows that he had done plenty of things that his mother would not have approved of since he had been at Hogwarts. In fact everything that he did at Hogwarts seemed to make her angry. There was no way he was gonna give up this easily on this girl. He needed a challenge anyway, and Esme Bulstrode had been set firmly in his sights.

888888888

Lucius sat in his usual seat, entertaining the usual witches and wizards at the table as part of his duties as a prefect. Or at least that was how he saw it, and he was sure that it was part of the reason that Slughorn had nominated him for the prefect position alongside his grades. Every so often he found his eyes drifting over to the Ravenclaw table, staring at the back of the new Bulstrode girl. She was new, pleasant to look at, and seemed to have her head on straight. Which was a distinct pleasure to see as a trait in one that he was thinking of pursuing.

He did not want some frivolous girl that was looking for his money or title, but more than that he wanted a girl that knew how to be discreet. His father had signed the contract with the black girl and ever since then, he had been accosted by the girl almost daily at school. It was absolutely suffocating. It could have been that she was just younger than him and he didn't find her particularly interesting, but the new Bulstrode girl had a light to her eyes, and knew how to hold herself. Even around Snape, she seemed fairly comfortable, which on its own was interesting. That thought reminded him. He turned and whispered over to one of the boys that was sitting next to him and he got up and brought Snape back to sit by Lucius.

"So what did you learn about the new girl on the train?" Lucius asked as he continued elegantly eating

"Like most Ravenclaws, she likes to read. Except unlike many of them she actually enjoys reading fairly advanced books for our year. She speaks French and English fluently, though it would not surprise me if she spoke more languages." Snape replied dully

"Is that all? Did you not talk to her on the train at all?" Lucius asked

"The most I learned about her was from the carriage ride. Two Hufflepuffs were interrogating her and I found it very tiring to listen to so I mostly tuned it out." Snape replied

"Well then what did you learn on the carriage, you must have picked something up." Continued Lucius getting a little irritated

"There wasn't much. The rest of her close family is living in the states, and they don't seem to be fan's of the war… either side."

"Well that is better than being on Dumbledore's side." Lucius said thinking about how to approach her. He ran his hand through his hair and decided that he would need more information. "Get closer to her. You should have some classes together since you are in the same year. See if she is as smart as she seems she might be. Get to know her likes and dislikes and report back to me."

"Are you sure you want to do this Lucius, you are already technically betrothed. And we both know your father is not going to give up the prestige of having Black blood in the family over a Bulstrode." Snape said deadpanned

"Why don't you just do as you're told and keep your head down as you usually do. Isn't that how you have survived here in Slytherin half-blood? Don't you remember the times that I got you out of trouble with those damn Griffendoors? You owe me. And I am collecting your debt." Lucius whispered to Snape

Snape bit the inside of his mouth holding back his response, this was why he didn't like owing people or giving or receiving favors, it always came back around to bite you in the ass. "I will see what I can do Lucius."

"Good, I look forward to hearing from you in a few days with news about our dear new friend." Lucius said with a devious smile on his face

Severus spent the rest of dinner bemoaning his new duties in his head. He just wanted to quietly work and not be bothered with petty things like this. The new girl, Esme, seemed to feel the same way, hopefully, after a few weeks of nothing to report Lucius would get bored.

She did not seem similar to her cousin at all, whom he was not sure could rub two brain cells together. Esme actually seemed to have some intelligence or was at least interested in higher things rather than boys and quidditch. But would she be resistant to Lucius, he could be very… persuasive and when he didn't get what he wanted he could get aggressive in a Slytherin fashion. Would she be able to handle it? He wasn't sure. But what he did know was that he would be finding out more about this new girl whether he wanted to or not.

8888888

Esme overall had enjoyed her meal with her new peers. They seemed to have been very open to her joining their group and were not pestering her with loads of questions like she was worried they would. Instead, they talked about classes coming up and the different subjects they were interested in. Esme for the most part quietly let them talk and debate, only adding comments here and there. After announcements they all had permission to leave the great hall at their leisure, letting the prefects guide the first years to the dorms.

The rest of her peers seemed to finish up dinner not too long after the first years left and there was a group consensus to show her to the library and the other study spots before taking her back to the dorm. So for an hour and a half or so, the group wandered showing Esme their particular favorite spots to study, before showing her the Library. Esme's heart swelled at the familiar sight of it. She wanted to see if the configuration of the shelves were the same to see if her old spot was still there, but the group said there would be time to look through the Library another time and that some of them were tired from the long trip.

The trip from the Library to the Ravenclaw dorms was a familiar one. She paid more attention to the conversations around her rather than memorizing the pathways that she already knew. The entrance to the common room was located on the west side of Hogwarts at the top of a spiral staircase that started on the fifth floor, and the entrance was a door without a doorknob or keyhole, but a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle. In order to enter the room, a person had to answer a riddle asked by the eagle knocker. Once the group got to the dorm rooms they explained that one had to answer a riddle before going in, to Esme. It was not anything too difficult, just took a bit of thought, especially in the beginning of the year when the riddles were always a little easier for the younger students to get used to.

"What is always in front of you but can't be seen?" the eagle knocker spoke out loud to the group of students

Damek said out loud, "Would air be too simple of an answer?" there were a few moments of silence and nothing happened

"Well the door isn't opening so it can't be that. But that was my first guess too." Adelaide said scratching at her black hair

"How about the future?" Esme said shrugging her shoulders

"You may enter." the eagle head knocker said, there was a click and the door opened

"I was just about to say the future." Odessa said entering the common room

"Any way," Adelaide said, leading the rest of the group through the large doorway, "This is the common room. I love it here. It is one of the best places to get together after curfew."

Esme looked around the room. Nothing much was different from her time here. It was an open, circular room, airier than most of the other rooms at Hogwarts except for the Great Hall. Graceful arched windows punctuated the walls, which were hung with blue- and-bronze silks. Esme remembered the spectacular view of the surrounding mountains that the large windows provided them with during the day. The ceiling was domed and painted with stars, which were echoed in the midnight-blue carpet. There were tables, chairs, and plenty of bookcases, and in a niche opposite the door stood a tall statue of white marble that most students assumed was of Rowena herself, but it could have been another historical witch.

"It's wonderful." Esme said looking up at the stars on the ceiling that she had never paid much attention to before

Mabel walked straight towards the mini library, "This was always my favorite area. I love that we get our own private library. Some of these books aren't even in the main Library. I can point them out to you later if you are interested."

"It would be my pleasure, I am really looking forward to learning more about this school and getting into the lessons and having access to one of the largest wizarding libraries in the world." Esme said

Mable looked pleased with her answer, "I'm glad that I am not the only one who appreciates our wonderful library. So many of the other students take it for granted, they just don't realize that once they leave that it is incredibly difficult to get your hands on a lot of these texts. Especially if you are not a pure blood." Mabel said a little bitterly

"Well I think that it is probably time to go to bed." Adelaide said, breaking a bit of the tension that was in the air, "Boys I'll see you tomorrow." and with a wave, she gestured for Esme to follow

Esme and the other girls said goodnight to the boys before Esme and the rest of the girls went with Adelaide to the girls' side of the dormitories. It didn't take long to get to their room, and even less time for her to find her bed as her large trunk was sitting at the end of it. She opened it and her heart warmed at how neatly it had been packed for her. She had never had a house-elf pack her clothes for her before and Bonby had done a spectacular job. Her mother had always left her to pack her own small trunk while helping her sister with her much larger one. But Esme had never complained, and if she had she would have just been criticized for it. Mother Petra had made sure she had everything with her that she could possibly need.

She quickly took a shower and changed into her night dress before grabbing one of her books and hopping into bed. The rest of the girls were mostly doing the same. A few were chatting about summer break and what they had done. Esme was passively listening to them while she was reading. Everyone was looking forward to classes beginning and Esme was no exception. She was going to take advantage of every opportunity given to her to pass all of her classes with O's and bring first place back to Mother Petra as a badge of honor and as a thank you for taking her in. All she had to do was stay out of petty squabbles and not get too involved with the people around her.

---

OK, so what do you think?