𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘖𝘧 𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝄂︎ ☠︎︎ 𝄃︎ 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘗𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳

𝟷. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚜

Six years. Six years and Hogwarts had not changed. Promises made by the Headmaster that all inside its walls were safe had been broken long long ago.

Esme knew that, she knew that well. She hadn't been safe since she heard that first whisper in her ear. The first pleadings of those not in this world.

Over the years she learned to tune them out. Some were louder than others. It was harder to ignore it when she was distressed and tired, like right now.

Sitting on the Hogwarts Express with her head buried between her arms, which lay resting on the table in front of her. Draco had his hand resting on her thigh as he talked with Blaise and Pansy, his thumb running patterns along the skin exposed by her skirt. The cold feeling of his rings embedded into her goosebumped flesh.

"How much longer?" She groaned, muffled between her arms and the table.

"About half an hour." Draco responded, turning his head slightly to look at her. "Love, your corrupting the table."

She picked her head ever so slightly to see she was, indeed, infecting the table with her dark magic. The shadows seeped from her blackening fingertips and soaked into the wood below. "Bugger." The She sighed, closing her eyes to focus as the darkness flowed back into her hands. Once finished, she sat fully back up, leaning back onto the seat and resting her head on Draco's shoulder.

"You alright?" He whispered to her.

She just shrugged. "Runes must be wearing off again. Whispers are getting louder." She whispered back.

Pansy sniggered at the two. "Look at you two. Couple of domestic bitches." She turned her smirk to Blaise. "Oh Draco i just love you so much!"

Blaise immediately matched her teasing. "Oh Esme! My beloved fiance!" They grabbed each others faces and fake kissed as they laughed.

Both Esme and Draco rolled their eyes, each throwing up their middle fingers at the two as they separated.

"Fuck off, both of you." Esme said, even with a slight smile on her face. "Think my flask is still in my bag in the overhead?" She asked Draco.

"Should be. You'd probably go berserk without it." He kissed her head before he stood up from his seat, her head falling back to the headboard of the seat. Once he had stood and went to look for her bag, darkness filled the traincar.

The students began to cough at the sudden darkness cloud that had taken over. Esme didn't seem bothered.

"What was that?" Draco asked as his head whipped around. "Ess?" He looked back down to Esme who just shrugged.

"Wasn't me for once."

"Just sit back down." Pansy said. "We'll be at Hogwarts soon."

Draco rolled his eyes at that statement, quickly grabbing Esme's flask out of her bag once he had located it. He set the flask in front of her as he retook his seat. "Pathetic excuse for a school."

"I'd let my darkness consume me before i thought i'd have to spend another two years there." Esme quipped as she picked up the flask, twisting the cap open and taking a quick shot of the liquid inside.

"And whats that supposed to mean?" Blaise asked.

"Just assume you won't be seeing us wasting our time in Charms class next year." Draco lifted his arm, resting it behind Esme's head as she smirked into her flask.

Draco tilted his head up, noticing one of the bags in the overhead begin to shuffle. Curious.

The Express stopped just on time. Pansy and Blaise had went ahead, leaving Draco and Esme in the traincar by themselves.