Hermione sends Esmond away. . . with a letter. . .

[muggle_lioness]

"Esmond stop it!" Hermione scolded the small Crup. He had been scratching at the door and whining again. The past couple of weeks had been hard on then both, Hermione was staying in Bill's room and hadn't left it since he went back to Lucius and Esmond kept trying to run off.

She slowly got out of the bed, immediately missing it's warmth and smell

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[barelybitten]

[ooc: sorry for the lateness!]

Esmond ran until he was far enough away from the school not to be seen before he stopped. The collar was bothering him and, though he had understood Hermione's intention for it, he still didn't like it. He shook his head, trying to get the offending thing more comfortable, but nothing seemed to be working. He tried to graze it with his teeth, but it was too far away for that, too. Growling, he ran in a circle a few times before stopping, sitting, and just scratching at it for a while.

When nothing helped, he stood up and glanced around him for a moment before tracking down Bill's scent. This was around the same area from where he had found the wizard before, so Esmond didn't think he would have a problem taking things from here. He had followed Bill for a while before deciding to come out. He just had to follow a path he already knew.

It had taken the crup a long while, but he finally made it to the stop where he had first seen Bill. Using his nose, he sniffed around the area until he caught a familiar scent, one he knew to be Bill's, and followed it. He went over terrain he wasn't familiar with, but he trusted his nose. He had never led him wrong before.

Soon enough, he paused in the snow, glancing up at the manor he found himself in front of. Magic radiated from the place and he approached cautiously, not wanting to set any kind of alarm off within the walls. He was here for Bill, for the wizard he missed, and that's all he wanted to do. He wanted to see Bill. Keeping his senses sharp, he inched forward toward the front doors.

[devoted_master]

Lucius was too busy to notice the crup, having not expected any visitors and therefore stayed away from the front of the Manor. A house elf named Kniblet, on the other hand, had been alerted to something nearing the house, as it was his rightful job to do. The servant nervously went to the door, wondering if he needed to rush away and alarm his master as he opened the door. Kniblet stared at the crup, looking around for its master with wide, distrusting eyes as he blocked the doorway with his small frame. "What are you doing here? Who do you belong to? Master will not be happy. No guests today. Shoo! Off with you."

[barelybitten]

The house elf was not who Esmond wanted to see. He pulled his ears back, showing his teeth with a low growl. 'Shoo' was something he hated to hear and as soon as the house elf said the words, Esmond snapped at it. He could faintly smell Bill still and he just wanted in. Still growling, Esmond took a step forward to try and find a way around the annoying pest.

[devoted_master]

Kniblet jumped back, yelping when he was snapped at. "Master will not be happy, no. Master will beat and punish Kniblet for letting the dirty animal in, or let Mistress do it." The house elf grimaced, shaking its head at the persistence of the pup as he stepped away. "Better to let Master see you if you're going to be so insistent. Come on."

[barelybitten]

Esmond continued to growl at the house elf, even as he was allowed into the house. He didn't like the creature keeping him from his goal, but he knew that he couldn't get to Bill alone. He had often talked about being kept where wandering eyes couldn't see, meaning that it was somewhere inaccessible to even the crup. He'd have to let the house elf lead him. Esmond turned back to the elf and stared at him, waiting for it to start moving.

[devoted_master]

Kniblet kept shaking his head as he closed the door, muttering to himself. He knew where his Master would be, or at least had a fairly good idea, and began leading Esmond toward the wing. "Foul little beast, stupid animal. Don't know what it wants. Let the Master deal with it. 'Punish yourself, Kniblet' oh yes. Kniblet didn't do anything, but it's better than, 'go see Mistress and let her punish you.' Too much to ask if he'll let me be. Stupid creature."

[barelybitten]

The muttering was getting on Esmond's nerves, especially since the stupid creature wasn't moving fast enough. He snapped at the house elf's heals, barking once to try and get the thing to move faster. The collar was starting to bother him again, but he didn't dare touch it. If he stopped to scratch, the house elf might not lead him anywhere. Besides, Bill would take it off. When he got to Bill, at least.

[devoted_master]

Kniblet jumped, moving a bit faster when he was snapped at, but hissed at the crup when he barked. "Fine, be dead. Mistress finds you, that's it. What does Kniblet care? Kniblet's only a house elf." Ending at the door to one of the rooms he figured Lucius would be in, the house elf gave the pup a signal to wait there, and knocked. When there was no answer, the elf apparated inside to find it was empty, so he went on to the next room he figured Lucius would be in and knocked. This time he was rewarded with the door opening and a very annoyed looking Lucius. "Master...Kniblet only found the creature. The creature was insistent. It came alone."

Lucius glared, "What are you-?" He saw the crup and immediately knew what it was. "Go punish yourself, Kniblet. Do not tell my wife what you found, is that clear? No mention whatsoever or you'll wish I had given you clothes."

The house elf's eyes widened and he nodded, running off in the direction he came before apparating to another part of the Manor.

[barelybitten]

Esmond started to wag his forked tail as the door opened, hoping that it was Bill. But the tall man there wasn't his Bill... but he smelled like him. The crup sat down, tilting his head up at Lucius and whined, raising a paw. This man was his way of getting to his owner and he hoped that begging would work. He ignored the house elf as it ran off, focusing all his attention on the man still in front of him. When nothing had happened, he let out a bark before laying down, looking up and whining once more.

[devoted_master]

"Shh!" Lucius hissed. "Bark and you're dead. I'd rather not alert my wife to your presence, thank you." He opened his door wider and gave the pup a look. "You must be Esmond. Come in. No barking."

[barelybitten]

Esmond waisted no time in moving into the room, wagging his tail as he went. Once inside, he turned and stared at Lucius, waiting for him to continue.