"Oh, it's so cold!" Piper shrieked, leaping back out of the water and onto dry land. But then she stepped back into the shallow water, and again she screamed and jumped out again. It was an endless cycle that Levi found hilarious but Esme found rather bothersome.

It had been unusually warm all week, but that particular day was the hottest. The sun mercilessly beat down on the Hogwart's grounds, lighting up the gently lapping water of the Great Lake. As most teenagers do, Levi and Piper had taken this opportunity to relish in a day-off from their studies, and had dragged Esme along with them. They had found a small, secluded spot along the shore of the lake, which was partly hidden by the dense vegetation of interwoven old trees.

"Don't be such a wuss!" Levi laughed loudly, hopelessly trying to encourage Piper to venture further into the lake.

The blonde girl planted her hands firmly on her hips and shouted back, "Just give me a minute! Jeez."

Piper pushed the sleeves of her shirt further up her arms and walked back up the shore towards Esme, who was sat under the shelter of a large tree with the black kitten in her lap. "You coming in the water?" She asked the girl, rubbing the sand off her feet.

"Absolutely not." Esme shook her head and held her hand up to her forehead to block out the sun as she squinted up at Piper.

"Oh come on! It'll be fun!" The older girl playfully insisted, "Besides, you've got to be absolutely roasting; you're still wearing your jumper!"

"It's not that warm." She mumbled, looking down at the ground, but she couldn't hide her flushed cheeks or the small beads of sweat rolling down the side of her face.

Esme couldn't risk taking her jumper off. Sure, she was wearing a shirt below but nobody needed eagle-eyes to see the black ink on her skin through the sheer white fabric.

That was to be avoided at all costs.

"Just-come in the water! If I distract Levi, will you splash water all over him?" Piper grinned, knowing exactly how to get Esme involved. The possibility of causing a little mayhem was too fun to turn down. So, with a heavy sigh, she laid the kitten on the ground and gripped onto Piper's hand to allow herself to be pulled up to her feet.

She leant against one of the large oak trees to pull of her shoes and socks, grimacing as her feet touched the sand.

Esme dragged her feet along the floor as she followed Piper out towards the edge of the lake.

Levi, as a result of waiting in the water so long, had been distracted by the giant squid, which appeared to be sunbathing as it rolled over onto its back. Gently, he stroked one of its tentacles, which seemed to please the giant beast as it let out a content gargling sound.

"Piper! This is freezing!" Esme exclaimed as she tentatively stepped into the water.

"I kind of give that one away." Piper scoffed wryly as she messily scraped her hair back and tied it up.

The younger girl retorted, "I just presumed you were grossly over exaggerating - as per."

Gently, Esme waded out in the lake until the icy water was gently lapping just below her knees. Piper had followed her out, and the two girls came to a stop as they watched the giant squid roll over in the shallow water.

Levi was laughing with delight as he continued to softly pet the giant beast.

Then, disaster struck.

The giant squid suddenly wrapped one of its tentacles around Levi, lifting the boy about six feet off the ground. Piper shrieked as the boy was released, dropping him into the water. The squid continued to thrash its body around, sending sharp waves out in all directions.

Levi had just clambered back to his feet, rubbing the water out of his eyes, when he was knocked off his feet again by a wave sent from the squid.

Eventually, Levi jumped back up to his feet yet again. But the sudden action of him leaping up sent a surge of water over Esme's head, completely drenching the girl.

"This might just be the greatest day of my life!" Piper exclaimed with elation, clapping her hands together.

Levi was in hysterics as he pushed his dripping hair out of his eyes and the giant squid disappeared back into the depths of the Black Lake.

"I'm going to murder you." Esme pointed at Levi, her soaked clothes clinging to her body.

"I swear I didn't mean to!" Levi cried as he turned to make a quick escape by dashing back towards the shore.

"I can't believe this." Esme grumbled, tugging at the heavy, soaked jumper as she tried to lift it off her body.

Piper was still giggling as she strode over to the other girl, "I'm never forgetting this. Wow, I wish Dirk could see this."

"I'm never letting you convince me to do anything, ever again." Esme continued to rant as Piper helped lift the jumper over her head.

Then, as Esme wrung the water out from her jumper, Piper froze still.

"Pipes?" Esme asked, throwing the fabric over her shoulder, "What happened?"

The colour had drained out of her face as Piper took a step back. Esme, slowly, as she pieces it together, looked down at where the sleeve of her shirt had been pulled up slightly.

"What..." Piper faltered slightly as she tried to come to terms with seeing the Dark Mark on the skin of her friend, "What happened to you?"

"It's-it's not what it looks like." Esme insisted, holding back from stepping towards the girl, "Okay... It might be what it looks like. But I can explain."

"Okay. Please-please do."

She wiped her dark hair out of her face and glanced over to the shirt where Levi was hopelessly battling to wipe the sand of his feet and legs.

"It's... My family are very supportive of the whole... Movement. We tried to get out of it but... It's dangerous, you know, if I protested against it then my family could be at risk. It doesn't mean anything. It's... It's just something that happened to me." She tried to explain. But Esme didn't entirely believe her own words. She was convincing herself as much as Piper, using Regulus' words.

Esme thought that, though she would never voice this, perhaps she had brought this upon herself. Often she would lay awake at night and consider the possibility that if she had been a better person then this wouldn't have happened to her. Maybe Esme hadn't truly tried to escape from the Death Eaters? Or maybe it was what she deserved?

Surely bad things only happened to those who deserved it?

"Esmerelda, I know you. I know you're a good person it's just..." Piper laughed nervously, "It's just a shock, is all. You don't need to explain yourself and, honestly, I don't need to understand. You're still the same person, regardless of what you've been forced into, because I trust you."

"Wow." Esme replied bluntly, "I did not expect that."

Piper smiled, "I'm used to being misunderstood, so I know just what to say. You're not the only one with secrets, but secrets don't define you. It's how you act that makes a person."

"Thanks, you almost make me feel normal." Esme sighed, feeling a giant weight lift off her shoulders.

"And when you said 'we'?" Piper inquired.

"Yeah, him too." Esme nodded.

Piper thought for a moment before suggesting, "I think it's probably best that Dirk never knows about this. You know... Given what happened in his town it's still a sore subject."

"Thank you." Esme whispered as Piper took hold of her hand and squeezed her fingers comfortingly.

"Hey! Guys! You heading up for dinner?" Levi shouted from the shore as he cradled Esme's still-nameless cat in his arms.

"Yes. Coming now!" Piper called back.

"I know now isn't really a good time to talk about it but..." Piper pursed her lips in concentration, "What's going to happen now? What will you do?"

"I have a plan." Esme stated somewhat confidently, "It's dangerous, but I have a plan. I'm working on it."

"Does Regulus know?"

"No. He's not going to. It'll put him at risk."

"Are you at risk?"

"I'm working on minimising that."

Then, Piper asked, "So how can I help?"