Esme and George left Esme's room together.
They didn't say anything to each other as George walked down the hallway to he and Fred's room, and Esme stared after him.
She hated that she couldn't just be with him. She wanted nothing more, but she had to set her boundaries, and she couldn't go into another relationship that would hurt her along the way.
She had to stand her ground whether it was painful or not. She knew it was better for her in the long run.
Esme walked down the hallway, fidgeting with her fingers, and when she got to the end of the stairs, her eyes landed on Bill.
"Have you heard anything?" Esme asked, earning his attention.
Bill smiled slightly at Esme, nodding as he glanced back at one of the photographs on the wall.
"He'll be okay." He said and Esme finally knew how to breathe.
She approached Bill, looking up at the photograph he was staring at. It was an old picture of the first order and his focus seemed to be on one specific person... or two.
"Who're they?" Esme asked, tilting her head. "Anyone you know?"
Bill didn't get to respond before Esme recognised one of them.
"That's Milo, isn't it?" She asked, referring to one of the current order members. "Then that must be his wife. She died during the first war, right?"
Bill nodded.
"Her name was Lena."
"And you knew her?"
"No." Bill laughed softly. "No, I was very young when she died. I don't think I ever met her. But I did know her daughter."
Esme raised her eyebrows.
"Milo has a daughter?"
Bill frowned and glanced down at Esme, wondering how she couldn't possibly know that.
"Milo has five children." He informed her. "The oldest looks a lot like her mother."
Esme pushed a lock of hair behind her ear as she looked up at the photograph.
"He's never mentioned his children." She said before pointing to the face of Lena. "Are they all hers?"
Bill shook his head.
"Milo and Lena had two. A daughter and a son. After Lena passed, Milo later met Fauna and they had triplets. Three girls."
Esme's eyes widened and she looked at Bill in shock, then nodded.
"Wow. That's quite amazing." She said and she couldn't help but smile. "Were you and the oldest daughter friends?"
Bill chuckled, amused at Esme's questions. He had known Esme for many years and he knew she was curious so he wasn't gonna refuse to answer her questions.
"I wouldn't call us friends." He answered. "She was apart of his huge friend group of seven people and she was in Slytherin. I was head-boy and I was always on their backs, but I never learned her name. I knew her friends names but Ianthe was always quiet around me. Turned out she liked me."
"Ooh..." Esme grinned. "...a love story. Do tell."
Bill laughed again.
"It's not much of a story, Es." He said, shaking his head. "I fell in love with her, she broke my heart and we broke up after a month. I met Fleur a few years ago and I'm sure Ianthe is with her friend."
"Her friend?"
Bill smiled vaguely but Esme could sense the heartbreak in his eyes. She couldn't quite believe that she never knew this part of Bill's life.
He was still affected by a love he had when he was around her age.
"One of her friends was madly in love with her. He's the one who broke me the news that caused Ianthe and I to break up. He acted out of jealousy instead of simply wanting to do what was right."
And with those words, Bill walked down the hallway and stepped into the library, leaving Esme to wonder in the hallway.
She turned her entire body towards the photograph and saw the happy faces of young Milo and his late wife Lena.
He was laughing about something and she was trying to stop herself from smiling, her head leaned on his shoulder.
"What're you looking at?" Fred's voice came from behind her and Esme turned to see him stand by the stairs.
She offered him a smile.
"Nothing. Did you know Milo has children?"
Fred raised his eyebrows and approached his friend while shaking his head. He looked at the photograph he had caught her looking at, and then he looked at Esme.
"I didn't. All I know about Milo is that his wife is the older half-sister of Remus. Sick, right?"
Esme's eyes widened for what felt like the tenth time this morning.
"No way! Really?"
"Yeah." Fred breathed. "But he's sort of secretive so don't tell him I told you."
Fred turned to walk towards the stairs so he could get some breakfast in the kitchen, but when he heard Esme talk to herself, he stopped.
"Bill was in love with Remus' niece." She said quietly, and Fred turned to look at her.
"What?"
"What?" Esme repeated, raising her eyebrows. "Oh, nothing."
Fred narrowed his eyes at her. She was acting suspicious but he didn't want to push any further. He figured it was something that didn't interest him,
"I meant to ask you something, actually." Fred said as he walked back to Esme. "You and George... are you alright?"
At the mention of George, Esme felt her cheeks heat up, but why, she didn't know.
Was it simply because she liked him? Or was it because he hurt her? Was it because she ended things before they started to protect herself or was it because she knew she couldn't have him the way she wanted to?
"What do you mean?"
"What happened last night... are you two okay?" He asked, and Esme sighed but shook her head.
"It won't work out."
"Won't— wait, wait, wait... because of what he said? I know that was terrible but that boy really likes you and I know it's mutual."
Esme shrugged. Just talking about this made her eyes sting as the tears threatened to spill, but she had to remind herself that she was protecting herself by standing up to George.
"I'm not gonna walk into something, well knowing I'm gonna get hurt." She explained to Fred. "I know George doesn't mean to, but he'll have to figure out hit anger problems before I even consider going out with him."
And Esme walked past him without saying anything else. She turned the corner and walked down the stairs into the kitchen where Sirius sat alongside Harry and Ron.
"Good morning." Esme said quickly while making her way to the chair she usually sat in when she was there.
She grabbed two slices of toast from the middle of the table and started buttering it while Sirius and the two boys watched her, frightened by the coldness to her this morning.
"I heard Arthur's alright." Esme said and looked at Sirius.
"He is." Sirius nodded. "Thank god he is. Will you be going to the hospital to visit him along with his children?"
Esme shrugged.
"I don't want to intrude."
"You're not intruding." She heard Fred who entered the kitchen. "He's just as much your family as he is ours."
Before Esme got to respond, George entered the kitchen as well and their eyes met, which made her uneasy.
Now it was suddenly awkward between them.
George stood in the doorway, uncertain what to do, and Esme decided to stand, grab her plate and leave to eat in her room.
They didn't say anything to one another as she walked past him and walked upstairs but she hadn't expected him to.
Everything was different between them now, and Esme hated it.