OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Chapter Sixteen
It didn't take long for the rest of the school to find out about the expulsion of the first years, and the story of Esmerelda's near death experience went around just as quickly. Esmerelda saw some of the other students give her sympathetic looks, she didn't know why, they had never cared about her before.
However, Esmerelda did do what she had promised herself and thanked Lily for owning up and telling the teachers that she had seen the girls push her. She knew it had taken a lot as many girls feared the past pupils, and she wasn't exactly the most popular pupil so she could have kept quiet and let them get off.
"Thank you lily, for owning up" Esmerelda said as she saw her in potions class the next day. Lily smiled shyly as she looked at her, but she also gave her a look as if she was wondering why she was talking to her off all people.
"You are welcome" she told Esmerelda who smiled as she walked past her to her own cauldron. Today they were making an invisibility potion, which was one Esmerelda was very confident about but like always most of the girls looked confused. Some already had smoke coming out of their potion, somehow already gone wrong.
They made the potions for forty minutes of the lesson and then HB started walking around to inspect them for the last ten minutes. Esmerelda saw a lot of the girls looked scared as their potions were not the green colour it showed in their potions books. One such student was Lily, her potion was blue and Esmerelda decided she was going to help her, she owned her after what she did so when HB turned her back Esmie sat on the floor and crawled over to Lily who screeched slightly as she saw her appear.
"What are you doing?" Lily asked her as she bit her lip. Esmerelda didn't say anything as she didn't have much time but she started putting some ingredients into the potion and then there was a hissing sound as it changed to green just as HB arrived. Esmerelda quickly crawled back to her own desk as HB tested it. She put a little of the potion on the frog in her hands and it vanished from sight. She then flicked her fingers making him reappear.
"Well Lily it seems we are finally getting somewhere with you doesn't it?" she told her. Lily just looked at her and nodded confused and overwhelmed as the bell went, she looked over at Esmerelda who smiled, happy it had worked as she made her way out of the lesson.
"Esmerelda" she heard someone say behind her as she walked. She turned to see Lily walking towards her.
"Thank you...but why..." Lily said not sure why she had just helped her.
"You helped me so I had to help you too, you made it so the girls got expelled and I helped make sure you didn't get detention with HB, so we are even" Esmerelda told her.
Lily smiled again but said nothing more as she walked off, looking very shy. She had looked like she had had more to say but had chickened out.
Lily was a strange one. Esmerelda thought to herself. The girl didn't appear to have a friendship group either, she did talk to some of the other girls at times but she wasn't with them all the time, she was alone sometimes too. Esmerelda knew why though, the girl was so shy she clammed up the second someone said a word to her. Even her sister Sybil was not as bad as Lily was. Esmerelda sighed as she made her way to next lesson.
Christmas was coming at Cackles. The castle had being decorated with tinsel and there was a large Christmas tree in the entrance. Esmerelda really was not the type to get into the Christmas spirit because her Christmases were boring, but this year she felt more excited than normal because it meant she got to go home to see Ethel and Sybil and she was beyond excited. She was therefore excited and in high spirits the rest of the day, but even so she was exhausted from the amount of work she had done so she was happy to be able to flop on her bed after lessons. She smiled, relaxing, glad she still had half an hour until dinner when she looked over at her door and spotted something white under it.
Curious, the young blonde stood up and walked over to pick it up. Bending down, she realised it was a piece of paper and she wondered why it had being slid under the door, she opened it and realised it was a letter so she sat down on her bed to read it. It was written in a child's handwriting and seemed to of being rushed as it was sloppy.
Esmerelda I am sorry for my behaviour towards you
I never meant to hurt you in any way
I just felt intimated
You are so smart, I thought you were never want to talk to someone like me
and I was to scared to say anything earlier.
Lily.
Esmerelda read it twice then sat there shocked. Lily had being to intimated to talk to her because she felt like Esmerelda would not like her as she was smarter than her, it made Esmerelda sad to think about that but it also got her thinking, how many other students had felt the same way? She suspected more than she thought. She knew many probably thought she felt superior to them for getting better grades than them, but it just wasn't true.
Esmerelda stood up and went down the corridor looking at the nameplates on the door for Lily's room, Lily was in the green house so she had never being down the corridor before, she had never had a need to. She finally found her room and she hoped she wasn't elsewhere as she didn't want everyone to see this. She knocked and a timid voice told her to go in. Esmerelda walked in and smiled.
"I got your letter" Esmerelda told Lily as she closed the door behind her
"I am sorry" Lily said again fearfully. "I know I am thick that is why I never spoke to you" Lily admitted now. She was always the bottom of her class so she honestly thought that. Esmerelda walked over to her.
"You aren't thick, don't listen to HB or the others, you're smarter than you think you just don't believe in yourself" Esmerelda told her thinking her nerves probably played a big part in her failures.
"How can I believe in myself when I am told I can't do it?" Lily now asked sadly. Esmerelda sat next to her and smiled slightly.
"I have two sisters, my youngest sister Sybil is very like you, she finds academic work hard too and she is timid, she thinks the same thing of herself, that she can't do what everyone else can" Esmerelda told her, the girl honestly did remind her of Sybil.
"Really?" Lily said looking shocked at the thought any sibling of Esmerelda would not be a straight A student.
"Yes, we had a tutor when we were little, she was similar to HB, she was strict and nasty and never liked when someone did something wrong, she terrified Sybil and now she gets flustered and messes up, especially in potions" Esmerelda told Lily truthfully, cringing as she remembered that tutor.
"Really? So what does she do?" Lily asked as she needed reassurance.
"Nothing, I tell her all the time not to worry about it, being clever is not everything, there is more important things, being a kind person and helping others, personality is the first thing you learn about people when you get to know them so having a good one is vital" Esmerelda told Lily before she carried on "I am not better than you because I am smart, I would never think that" Esmerelda told the other first year.
"I just thought..." Lily said
"I know I am sorry too, maybe I gave of the wrong impression...why don't we start again?" Esmerelda asked her. Esmerelda couldn't remember a time Lily had targeted her singly so she was clearly going along with it like everyone else, it might do her good to have a friend, so her days at Cackles weren't lonely.
"You would want to talk to me?" Lily asked shocked
"Yes, I always say the quietest people normally are the most interesting ones, both of us have no-one, we might do well to stick together, although I will admit I only really talk about my sisters and my sisters" Esmerelda told her hoping Lily agreed.
Lily laughed at the joke she made and smiled "I have an older brother, I miss him a lot too, I wish he was able to come to Cackles" Lily said with a sigh missing her sibling.
"Don't worry, two hundred and fifty hours until we get to go home, then you can see him again" Esmerelda told the girl. Yes she kept count, it helped her to stay sane.
Lily smiled and nodded in agreement, knowing she had judged the blonde to quickly.
"And I can help you with your schoolwork" Esmerelda told her and Lily looked like she was about to cry.
"Really?" she said with shiny eyes, no-one had ever offered to help before.
"Sure, what are friends for?" Esmerelda replied with a smile, having a feeling this was the start of a great friendship.