Esme perched on the very edge of the leather seat, looking up at the stacks of bookcases around her. Silently, she thanked Orion Black for being away on business that weekend as it meant the girl could sit in the Black family office as long as she pleased.
Upon arriving at Grimmauld Place, Esme had wasted no time in hiding herself away in the room to avoid any further questioning from Regulus.
At least, that was until a knock sounded at the door.
"Esme?" A voice tentatively called out from the other side.
"There's nobody in here." Esme groaned before sitting back in her seat and hiding her face behind a book.
The door creaked open and of course nobody but Regulus Black stepped into the dusty room. He dug his hands deeply into the pockets of his trousers and tugged at his bottom lip with his teeth as he tried to find the words he wanted to say.
"About what you said before..." He started, unsure as to where he was heading.
"Don't-don't mention it." She slowly lowered the book slightly so her eyes could peer over the top, "I didn't know what I was talking about."
"You always know what you're talking about. That's what's annoying about you." Regulus retorted, awkwardly resting on the arm of one of the other chairs in the room.
"It was a guess. I wasn't serious." She shook her head in a futile attempt to persuade the boy to believe her lie.
"How did you know? More importantly, what do you know?" He desperately inquired.
She muttered under her breath, "I know everything you know."
"What is that supposed to mean? How?" Regulus struggled to comprehend what was being said to him.
"How could you not tell me?" Finally Esme dropped the book into her lap to face the boy fully.
"Tell you what?"
"You know what."
"You mean... How could I not tell you about..." His voice dropped to a whisper, "The Death Eaters?"
"Exactly." She frowned.
The atmosphere of the room had been building in intensity and was about to reach breaking point when the door flew open and Ignatius strutted in.
"What's going on here then? A little party?"
"Go away, Ig." The girl spoke swiftly, lifting up her book again to continue reading.
"Gee, talk about bad manners." Ignatius chuckled lightheartedly, "What's up with you?"
"Not important." She replied shortly.
"Could you... Give us a minute?" Regulus asked softly.
"Alright." Ignatius held his hands up, "I'll wait patiently downstairs for permission to hang out with you." He left without closing the door.
Regulus and Esme both watched carefully, neither one particularly wanting to return to their previous conversation but both desperate for some answers as to what the hell was going on.
"I don't know anything." Regulus moved to shut the door to the room, "All I know is my father was talking about Death Eaters. That doesn't mean anything. But... How do you know?"
"Of course it means something!" Esme exclaimed, throwing the book to the side and leaping to her feet, "Do you have any idea what that could mean for all of us?"
"What do you mean?" He shrugged.
"Entangling in that sort of... business... could get us all in unprecedented trouble! I won't have my life ruined because your dense father wants to discriminate on some innocent, naive muggles." She spat angrily.
"You're speaking like we're all about to become Death Eaters." Regulus pointed out, "Don't you forget your family is as manic as mine. If not worse."
"Worse? Even if I'm not in Slytherin, my parents still love me. What can your parents say to that?" Esme retorted, her cheeks flushing red with anger.
"Don't you dare!" Regulus almost yelled, "The things I've heard about your father... Lucas Avery would be the first to become a Death Eater. I'd put money on it." His hands shook now.
"Your family is the one that's going to throw my life down the drain! I-I can't have that!" She exclaimed.
Regulus scoffed, "If the muggles destroy our society, there'll be no lives left for any of us to lead."
"Oh what, so you're agreeing with Death Eaters now?"
"It's safer than not. I also know that my family will protect me. Can you say the same about yours? Do you believe your parents will protect you, when they've left you here at this point in time?"
The girl tugged at her own hair, "Whoever's family is worse... It doesn't matter. I want a life, I have a future ahead of me. If... If I get linked to that sort of dark magic I'll never be able to look another wizard in the eye. We won't be able to work, we'll most likely be arrested just by association. If what you've said is true, we're done for." She sighed sadly, falling back down into her seat.
"Esme..." Regulus comforted slowly, the anger seeping out of his body, "You have to understand the risks associated with muggle borns. It's nearly impossible to stay out of it. I don't know if it'll be okay." He sat down on the arm of the chair.
"As if-"
"I try though. To make it okay. I don't want a part in any of this mess but I have no choice. If-If you want to stay out of this, then I'll promise to make sure you're not involved." He placed a hand on her knee and the two locked eyes before Esme suddenly pulled away from him. As she pushed her body against the far side of the chair to avoid contact with the boy, she noticed a feeling of emptiness. It was almost as if she felt cold, not having his hand on her anymore.
"I erm..." The girl tucked some hair behind her ear, "I used Polyjuice potion to transform into my brother and question you to see what you knew - that's how I found out." She explained.
"You what?" The boy leant back in shock, his jaw hanging open. As much as he wanted to question her further, there were more immediate, pressing matters.
She ran her tongue over her bottom lip, "I had to know. If I'm going to escape this-this life I've been trapped in, I need to be a step ahead of everyone else."
"Esme..." Regulus ran a hand over his hair, combing it back, "I didn't completely mean what I said before. There are people here that care about you. I-I'm certain of that. It isn't my place to criticise your family; I'm certain they care so deeply for you."
Esmeralda folded her arms sceptically, "You were right. I don't believe they genuinely do. At least, they don't care for me or my brother more than their pureblood beliefs. If they did, they wouldn't abandon us in these dark times."
"But... Esme, it's always going to be dark times if things don't change. That's what some people don't realise. All it takes is for one muggle parent to fear magic just enough to reveal our secrets to the whole world. There's still magical communities under persecution today, and I don't want to risk us becoming part of that. I want to feel safe, but I have this constant fear of us being revealed. Who's to stop that from happening? Can you guarantee our secret's safety? Or that we'll never be under threat?"
Esme rose to her feet, stepping towards the door to leave, "That's where you're wrong. Do you know why there are wizards under persecution all over the world? It's because some people fear magic. Why do the muggles fear magic? Perhaps it's to do with the psychopathic fascist madman on the loose murdering muggles and muggle borns. If our society was peaceful, if no wizard posed a threat, then there'd be nothing for anybody to fear. If the Death Eaters weren't kidnapping and murdering countless people, muggle parents wouldn't fear for their children."
"Esme-"
"No." She pushed open the door and looked back at the boy with dark eyes, "The world isn't black and white - wizards versus muggles. You need to open your mind and stop forcing your views onto other people. If your opinion results in other people being harmed, then your opinion is wrong. I don't want to hear it. I never want to hear it. All of this... All of it, disgusts and terrifies me."
With that, the door slammed and Regulus Black was left with a lot of thoughts to mull over as he sat alone in the office. Despite being surrounded by his own moral questions, he felt more alone than ever knowing how Esme truly felt about him.
Disgust and terror. Those words would keep the boy up that night, tossing and turning but unable to get the sound of her voice out of his head.
There had to be something he could do. Regulus Black was smart, and he would figure out what he needed to do.