A/N: I am going away this weekend so there will be no updates until Monday, I have therefore uploaded two oneshots as well. Enjoy.
Chapter Twelve
Meeting With The Hallows
Just one hour after Esmerelda had left the office Miss Hardbroom came to find the sisters and told them their parents were here. All three sisters wore the same look of confusion as to why they had come so quickly as they made their way to the office. Walking through the door Mrs Hallow saw Esmie and looked panicked.
"Oh darling tell us everything that happened to you" the woman said looking really concerned. Esmie glanced at Ada who was trying to hide her gaze from her and Esmie realised the woman had told Mr and Mrs Hallow this was about her. Esmie had to give her credit it was a really smart idea.
"It wasn't me mother….it was Ethel" Esmerelda said as she sat down in the middle of her sisters and Mrs Hallow looked at Ada annoyed.
"You said this was about Esmerelda" she commented and Ada replied in an uncaring way.
"Yes well this is important, I didn't want to have to wait until Christmas for you two to decide to drag yourselves here for Ethel, or send a hologram of yourselves" Ada replied and Mrs Hallow looked at her like she was thinking what curse to use on her. It was then as Mr Hallow looked up he noticed.
"Esmie, where on earth is your head girl belt?" he asked her shocked to see her wearing a plain purple one.
"I lost the role for bad behaviour" Esmerelda admitted seeing no point in lying about it.
"ESMERELDA!" Mrs Hallow shouted ashamed at her daughter. Ada saw Esmerelda roll her eyes in an annoyed, uncaring way and decided to butt into the conversation. She had not brought them here to speak about why Esmie's belt had no gold on it.
"Anyway that isn't important right now" Ada told them knowing now they knew this was about Ethel they will probably not stay long so she had to work fast. "Ethel was raped during the summer and she is now pregnant, I brought you here as you needed to know" Ada told Mr and Mrs Hallow. Mr Hallow looked at Ethel and spoke.
"Is this true?" he asked his daughter and Ethel nodded.
Mr and Mrs Hallow fell silent and Ethel was hoping they would be sympathetic like normal parents.
"That is awful darling" Mrs Hallow told her actually looking sad about it, though she was a good actress so whether she actually was upset or not was another story.
"I am sorry that happened" Mr Hallow now said and Ethel glanced at Esmerelda who looked back at her with the same amazed look. Were they going to show compassion and understanding for once?
"Don't worry though darling, we can sort this" Mrs Hallow then said causing the smile to drop of Ethel's face. What did she mean sort it? Sort what?
"Erm mum...we can't just sort it, she is obviously traumatised by it" Esmerelda told her also confused as to what their mother meant.
"I am sure we can find some counselling or something" Ada responded thinking that was a good solution.
"Yes of course" Mr Hallow responded thinking it would be wise to agree. He probably only agreed to make himself look good though.
"As for the pregnancy, don't worry darling, your father and I can sort that" Mrs Hallow told her and Ethel looked at her amazed.
"What do you mean?" Ethel asked her not understanding.
"Your father and I know people darling, we can take you for an abortion without anyone knowing" Mrs Hallow said and the three sisters just sat their in shock. Had Mrs Hallow actually just said that to them?
"No" Ethel replied "I am not having an abortion I…..I am going through with the pregnancy" Ethel told them point blank refusing what they were suggesting.
"Don't be stupid, you are twelve years old, you can't have a baby" Mr Hallow said and Esmie glared at him before replying.
"She is thirteen" Esmie told him but he ignored her. She knew her being a year older than he thought didn't make her case look better but it astounded Esmerelda he didn't even know how old she is.
"Yes but...I can't have an abortion….I don't want one please..." Ethel said knowing if they want her to have one they will find a way to do it.
"Darling, the shame on the family name, it will be slime if this gets out" Mrs Hallow told her daughters. "A teenager mother would be the ultimate shame" Mrs Hallow went on and Sybil replied.
"But it wasn't her fault mum" Sybil told her quietly, speaking for the first time.
"Quiet Sybil" Mrs Hallow shouted and the timid child fell silent to scared of her mother to say anything else.
"If there Hallow name is slime it is your fault for forging the scroll!" Esmie butt in and Mrs Hallow glared at her eldest before she replied.
"No, it is her fault" Mrs Hallow said gesturing to Ethel as she spoke "Have you forgotten she tricked you into giving up your powers" Mrs Hallow replied and Ethel was really emotional right now because of the pregnancy and burst into tears at that.
"Can we stop talking about that?" Ethel said as she cried into her hands. She knew she had done wrong but it was over a year ago now, why did they bring it up all the time? They would never let her forget it.
"Yes we can, once you do what we tell you too" Mr Hallow replied growing annoyed at Ethel.
"I am keeping it" Ethel said through her tears and Mrs Hallow looked at her husband before replying.
"You will be a bad mother Ethel, you are immature" Mrs Hallow said. Esmie muttered something under her breath and Mrs Hallow looked at her but Ethel cried more.
"I don't care, I am not having an abortion" Ethel told her parents and Mrs Hallow fell silent for a second before replying.
"Alright fine, you can keep it" she said and Ethel lifted her head smiling.
"Really?" Ethel said looking at her in amazement.
"Yes but if you do….then we are going to enforce section two of the witches code" Mrs Hallow said and all three sisters, and Ada, gasped at that.
Section two of the witches code was a section that was quite old and very very rarely enforced. It meant the parents gave up all their parental rights to either all their children or one child. Basically they would be disowning Ethel and not counting her as their daughter anymore. She would not be allowed in their house and they would not be involved in her life.
"Just for Ethel though" Mr Hallow said wanting to make that clear.
"Mr and Mrs Hallow please think about this, Ethel needs your support right now, making her homeless will not help" Ada told them hoping even they would see sense. She didn't know how this would help matters.
"No, we want nothing to do with this….poison" Mrs Hallow said and Ethel looked at them before crying more and running out the room.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Esmerelda asked them thinking even they have gone to far this time.
"Oi watch your mouth" Mr Hallow told her with a glare.
"No I won't you make me sick" Esmerelda told them and Mrs Hallow replied.
"It is okay darling, you can still see Ethel at school, she just won't be at home" Mrs Hallow told Esmie as if it was no big deal.
Esmerelda had excused her parents before and had tried to keep the relationship between her sister and her parents from getting to strained, more for her sisters sake than theirs, but this time she was not going to do that, they were abandoning her pregnant sister, and it was not like it had even occurred because Ethel had been messing about.
"Right well it is okay, you can enforce section two" Esmerelda told them and Mr Hallow smiled.
"I am glad you see sense" Mr Hallow told her happily. He was happy his eldest was listening.
"But I am enforcing section four" Esmerelda told them. This time it was Mr and Mrs Hallow's turn to gasp.
"Darling you can't!" Mrs Hallow told her shocked and upset at that.
"Why not?" "I am sixteen so I can" Esmerelda told them.
Esmie had celebrated her birthday the week after returning to school, with everything that had happened neither her or her sisters had felt like doing much and she hadn't thought to much into it, until now. She was grateful in that moment she had a birthday in September.
Section four of the witches code was a rule that said once the eldest reaches the age of sixteen they can legally remove themselves, and any younger siblings, out of their parents care. Normally this occurs if a sibling is concerned about the care their siblings are receiving or abuse is taking place but there does not have to be a specific reason, an older sibling can remove their siblings and themselves without any questions asked if they enforce section four.
"But darling, you don't want to do that, you have to come home" Mr Hallow told her not understanding why she was doing it and going through with it and wanting to hold on to his eldest.
"My home is where my sisters are" Esmerelda replied and then she looked at Ada.
"Can you get the Great Wizard to approve this miss?" she asked her and Mrs Hallow started to cry then.
"Oh Esmie, no, Sybil you want to come home don't you?" she said smiling at the youngest but Sybil grabbed hold of Esmie's arm cuddling into her.
"I don't want us to be split up again" Sybil replied. She remembered how awful it had being to be separated from Esmie and she didn't want that to happen again.
"I am not going back on this, you two are disgusting" Esmerelda said as she took Sybil's hand and stood up pausing to talk to Ada.
"I am not going back on this, I don't care what the Great Wizard says I am not going home, I want the section four enforced" Esmerelda told her as she left with Sybil.
"Come on Sybie, let's go find Ethie" she told her as they started to make their way to Ethel's room, the meeting with their parents on both of their minds.
"What is going to happen to us?" Sybil asked her sister as they walked. She was really scared about what was going to happen now.
"I don't know Sybil, but I am not going back on this, Ethel is more important than our parents and she needs us now more than ever" Esmerelda told her and Sybil nodded as she walked with her older sister.
"You are correct, we have to stick together" Sybil said as they made their way to Ethel's room both shaken about what had happened.