Esmerelda leant against the window of the Hogwarts Express. She stood out in the corridor of the train carriage, carefully watching as the trolley witch slowly made her way closer towards the girl. Esmeralda folded her arms and focused her gaze back on the picturesque view outside.

To think that the times they were living in were getting darker was a terrifying thought. Although, the students of Hogwarts knew that their fears wouldn't defend them from Lord Voldemort. Over the summer increasing numbers of muggles had gone missing and the Aurors and Ministry of Magic were no closer to catching anyone responsible. However, Esmeralda wasn't entirely sure what would be the best outcome. She understood her family's fears of muggle borns but her time at Hogwarts had led Esmeralda to question and challenge this belief - although she would never vocalise this to them.

If the Dark Lord were caught, society would be a safer place and possibly her father would be free from his servitude. There was also the worry that if the Dark Lord was caught and imprisoned he would either force his followers into breaking him out, or sell them out to the Ministry. Neither was an optimistic idea as Esmeralda not only feared her father was a Death Eater, but also her brother was soon to be one too.

Esmeralda was dragged from her thoughts by a rather interrupting cough coming from behind her. She turned to meet Regulus Black at eye level to her. Startled, Esmeralda stumbled backwards and clutched at her robes.

"Merlin, you nearly gave me a heart attack." She sighed, adjusting her collar as she refused to look back up at him.

Regulus cast his gaze up and down her, "You know a couple weeks ago.... At the Lestrange house?"

Esmeralda pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes, as she finally met his stare "Sounds familiar, do go on."

He rolled his eyes, trying to hide his small smile, "You spoke with our house elf, Kreacher."

She nodded, "This isn't news."

Regulus gritted his teeth and took a deep breath as he began to lose his patience, "What did you say to him?"

Esmeralda almost laughed, "I'm sorry, what?"

"What did you say to Kreacher?" Regulus repeated slowly.

"He's your house elf. Can't you just ask him and he'll have to tell you?" She suggested with a sceptical expression.

Regulus rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Boy, I hadn't thought of that!" He shook his head.

"Alright, calm down funny man." Esmeralda held up her hands, "Why do you care?"

Regulus finally looked up at her, "He's been acting weird ever since that night. You're the only reason I can see behind that. What did you do?"

"Come on, Regulus." Esmeralda huffed, "Just because I'm not in Slytherin and because I don't beat up muggle borns for fun, doesn't mean I bewitched your little house elf. I get it, at eleven years old I suddenly became this freak of nature and you're scared of me. However, I do have better things to do than mess with your little dark life."

Regulus stood still, completely unsure of what to say.

"Black? You coming or what?" Mulciber stuck his head out of one of the compartments and peered down the carriage to where Regulus and Esmeralda stood. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open when he saw who exactly Regulus was talking to.

"Close your mouth, Mulciber. Wouldn't want you to catch a fly." Esmeralda snipped, tensing her jaw as the boy in question glared at her.

"You heard her, shut the door Mulciber." Regulus replied without even missing a beat or turning his head to face his so-called friend.

"For the record..." Esmeralda turned on Regulus now, "I told Kreacher the origin of our family name, and reminded him of what happened in 1967. Do you remember? Remember what you did?"

Regulus let out a long breath, he remembered it all too well. It was the first time his mother had been truly furious with him, but of course he received no punishment. That all fell on Kreacher's shoulders as he had been responsible for the two young children that particular afternoon. However, it was Esmeralda that stood between Walburga and the house elf - threatening to make a row with her parents if Walburga laid a finger on Kreacher. This was of course the start of Walburga's hatred for the girl. Esmeralda'd had the guts to defy the woman and from that point on she badmouthed Esmeralda to anyone that would listen. This all only became more believable as Esmeralda failed to be sorted into Slytherin.

"Esme..." Regulus began slowly, still unsure of what exactly his response was going to be.

"I don't go by Esme anymore. Surely you should know that. Now please go back to ignoring me; that was much more peaceful." Esmeralda spun on her heels and stormed off down the carriage in a desperate attempt to get as far away from Regulus as she possibly could.

It did hurt though. Like a pit had opened up in the bottom of her stomach, or someone had reached in and pulled out her very soul. Esmeralda always felt it easier to avoid what upset her rather than face or address any issues. She couldn't push away her memories forever. Nobody could ignore that much of their childhood.

"Avery?"

Esmeralda had her almost second heart attack of the day, falling against the window of the train carriage as one of the compartment doors slide open.

"I really need to focus on reality more often." She murmured to herself, gathering her composure and looking up at who had just called her. She came face to face with Dirk Cresswell. "Lord, Cresswell. Why don't you greet me like a normal person?"

He stood quite tall, a good few inches taller than Esmeralda and she wasn't considered short by any means. Floppy, dirty blonde hair fell over his eyes as he flashed a crooked smile, highlighting his slightly crooked teeth too.

Dirk rolled his eyes, "You were doing that thing again... You know where you space out? I was only going to ask if you wanted to come in and sit."

"Sure do beat around the bush." Esmeralda smirked.

"You coming in or not? I can just as easily shut this door again."

"Alright, don't get your wand in a knot." Esmeralda held up her hands as she passed by Dirk and entered the otherwise empty train compartment.

Dirk shook his head, "You really do bring out the worst in people. You know that?"

"It's an art." She replied.

The two sat opposite each other, both staring out of the window and watching the view. Over the years they had grown very accustomed with each other. Dirk was one of the few, if not the only student that had reached out to Esmeralda over the years. He was quite popular amongst the other students in their house and he never failed to always do the right thing. It was most likely a case of his exceedingly generous personality that led him to somewhat befriend the girl that sat alone in school.

"Where's you entourage, Cresswell? They're normally around you constantly these days." Esmeralda peered over at him.

Dirk shrugged, "Dunno."

"Can I guess what you did you annoy them all?"

He sighed, "Avery, it's a wonder I put up with you. I reckon one day I'll get a medal for it, though."

Esmeralda laughed, tipping her head back, "At least I'm good for something."

The familiar sound of the trolley witch's call pricked both of their ears. She could be at the other end of the carriage but neither of them cared. Nobody would risk getting to the trolley only to find out they'd sold out of exploding bonbons.

"Want anything?" Dirk asked, rising out of his seat and rifling through his pocket for some change.

She shook her head, "I'll wait for the feast. I've been thinking about that chocolate cake Hogwarts does for nearly six weeks now." She could practically feel her mouth watering just mentioning the delicacy.

"You're missing out." He chuckled, "Although, you could make yourself useful with this. You better help me with it when I get back." Dirk tossed over one of his tattered books before he swiftly exited the compartment.

Esmeralda turned over the book in her lap so she could read what was engraved on the front cover. "Merlin, Cresswell. How do you get away with reading this and still having friends?" She spoke to herself.

"A guide to Gobbledegook. Now when he goes to the bank he'll be able to understand all the snide comments the goblins make about him." She tutted, flicking through the first several pages of the book.