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Chapter Thirty-Four
The days went slowly, bit nothing particularly interesting happened and it was just boring days of school that the young blonde had to get through. Esmerelda though was relived, after her first year she was glad of having just a nice quiet year, but she should of known that would not last.
In mid October, just before Halloween, Esmerelda started her day like any other day, she got up dressed, had breakfast and went to potions with Lily. Today's potion was a potion to cure boils and it was one they had learnt last year but they were going over again and Esmerelda made it flawlessly.
Sports was torture as normal and chanting was boring and most of the girls messed around. That is right, it was just a normal day like any other and Esmerelda therefore did not expect that to change. After lessons she went to her bedroom to mirror her sisters when she heard a noise. She looked over and saw a piece of paper on the floor and walked over to pick it up.
"I KNOW YOUR SECRET, DO WHAT I SAY OR I WILL TELL" The note said and Esmerelda realised it was a blackmail letter. She did feel sorry for the girl who the note was intended for but she knew she didn't have a secret that would be devastating if it got out, so she therefore screwed the paper up and threw it in her bin, before she wondered if she should tell someone, some girl in the school was being blackmailed, and she might be able to put a stop to it, so she reached into the bin and took out the crumpled piece of paper, re-flattening it so she could read it again and left her bedroom.
"Hey Esmie, do you get this potions homework?" Lily asked as she left her bedroom from the doorway of her room. Esmie turned around and smiled at her friend before she walked over to her.
"Yes Lily can I have a word?" Esmerelda asked walking into he bedroom. Lily nodded and followed, closing her door, anxious.
"What is wrong?" Lily asked sensing something was up.
"Someone sent me this" Esmerelda told the girl and Lily took it, looking confused and worried.
"What secret are they talking about?" Lily asked, amazed to be holding a blackmail note of all things.
"That is the thing, I don't know, I don't have any secrets and especially not any that I would be scared of getting out, maybe they sent the letter to the wrong person?" Esmerelda commented, wondering what on earth they were talking about.
"Maybe so, maybe we should tell Miss Drill, if someone is being blackmailed it is not something I can hide" Lily told Esmerelda who nodded in agreement. They both stood up, about to go and walk out of the door when another piece of paper appeared under the door, Lily looked at her friend before picking it up and reading it.
"THE BIG REVEAL WILL BE SOON, DON'T TELL ANYONE OR I WILL TELL THE SECRET AT BREAKFAST TOMORROW" Lily read out to her friend who just looked even more confused, Esmerelda was not even scared of this person, she was just confused as to what was going on, they didn't have anything on her because she had nothing to hide from anyone.
"Maybe they know about the mirror I gave you" Lily suggested, thinking maybe that was the secret they were talking about.
"Maybe, but that is not really something big is it? It would suck if someone found it and it got confiscated but it is not something anyone will really care about, why go through the bother of this for something so small?" Esmerelda replied and Lily shrugged, just as confused as her friend. They both decided to tell Miss Drill tomorrow and went their separate ways.
The next morning Esmerelda was just sitting down to breakfast with Lily and they ate together, more quiet than usual, not upset about the letter, but more confused. Lily ate some of her porridge before coughing and pulling out some paper from her mouth.
"What in the name of Merlin?" Lily said before she pulled out a piece of paper out of her bowl, covered in the lumpy porridge and fiddled with it, opening it.
"NEXT TIME I WILL REVEAL THE SECRET, I KNOW YOU HAVEN'T FIGURED IT OUT YET, TO BE CLEAR THIS LETTER IS FOR YOU, LILY-MAE" The letter read. Esmerelda looked at her friend confused and concerned, the note was for Lily not her, the blackmailer had clearly mixed them up with their first note.
"What secret are they talking about?" Esmerelda asked and Lily shrugged, not understanding what was going on yet either.
"I don't know, I don't have any secrets, honest" Lily told her friend as the bell rang and the girls stood, to make their way to spell science.
"Maybe we should tell Miss Drill now?" Esmerelda suggested but the girl shook her head, she thought it might only make it worse.
"Thanks Esmie, but it is okay, they can't do anything to me because I don't have any secrets" Lily told Esmerelda, confused as to why she was getting letters about a secret she didn't have.
Two more days went by and not one letter found their way to Lily. The girl, and her best friend, sighed in relief, the blackmailer had clearly realised they had got the wrong person and given up.
"I told you it was a misunderstanding, they have nothing on you, they were just trying to scare you" Esmerelda commented as the girls walked to their bedrooms together after lessons.
"Well we know they are not the smartest of the bunch anyway, they sent the first letter to you by accident and they probably got me mixed up with someone else, I think tomorrow we should tell Miss Drill though, some other girl is probably receiving these letters" Lily told Esmerelda who sighed sadly at the thought of some other girl suffering.
Esmerelda opened her door and stepped into her bedroom, Lily behind her because they were going to study together, she opened the door and stopped dead as to what she saw.
Morgana was lying on a piece of paper that had not being there that morning, the thought to Esmerelda of someone being in her room scared her. She picked her familiar up and took the piece of paper, handing it to Lily.
"Maybe we should go to Miss Drill now, I thought it was over but clearly it isn't" Esmerelda told her friend and Lily rolled her eyes and opened it. She was not scared just annoyed, these stupid notes appeared in the most random places.
"Don't worry, I am not going to show these people they have won when they have nothing to use against me" Lily said as she opened up the paper and Esmerelda looked over her shoulder at it. On it was written some words, words that looked like part of a spell, and it looked like they had been copied right out of the spell book.
"What spell is that? I have never seen it before" Esmerelda commented, not realising that Lily's expression had changed.
When she first looked at the spell, she didn't click and up until that point she had thought there was not a secret she had to hide but then she realised it was familiar and she knew where it was from.
"I don't know, I have never seen it before either" Lily laughed, hoping Esmerelda did not notice the horrified look on her face.
"Are you sure? You look tense" Esmerelda commented as she saw the look on her friend's face
"I am fine, just worried about this potions essay, can we get started on it?" Lily asked changing the subject. Esmerelda nodded and they took out their books to work.
Esmerelda though could tell her friend was on edge that afternoon, clearly that note had affected her more than she let on, Lily did remember the spell she just knew it and Esmerelda then knew she did have a secret, when she left that night she promised to look up the spell to see if she could make sense of what was bothering her friend only Lily had taken the paper and she couldn't remember it, so she would have to do some detective work.