A/N: A while ago I wrote a story titled 'A Home At Last' where Esmerelda becomes Ethel's guardian. I still am in love with that idea but I did not like the way the story came out at all and the fact Sybil wasn't involved as we didn't know her yet. I therefore decided to rewrite it, the story itself with follow a different path but it will still be about Esmerelda eventually gaining custody of her sisters. I realise this first chapter might be dramatic but I hope you all understand that things had to get to a certain level to get to this point. Enjoy and thank you to the stargate time traveler for all the support and help with ideas for this story. I do not own the Worst Witch or the characters.

Permanent Mother – Making A Home

Chapter One

To Far

Ethel Hallow walked slowly as she moved her head side to side looking in the rooms that she passed. It was the winter/christmas holidays and the blonde was back at home and was trying to find her sisters. Ethel did not know why people thought living in a five floor mansion was great or exciting, she spent more time than anything else looking for Esmerelda and Sybil because the place was so big they could never find each other. They even found finding each other easier in Cackles because even though there was so many rooms they were not allowed in most of them.

She looked in another room and sighed as she didn't see any signs of her sisters and thought they were probably looking for her at the same time and they were missing each other. She reached the bottom of the first flight of stairs and climbed them still walking slowly and moving her head but she didn't shout for them, their parents hated shouting.

On the landing she decided to go and look in their bedrooms again, thinking they might be in their rooms now but as she was passing her bedroom her door opened and her father stepped out looking angry.

"Ethel come in here this instant!" he told her and Ethel sighed but knew better than to argue. She had not even done anything this time though so she wondered why her father wanted to talk to her.

Walking into her bedroom she found her mother stood there holding a small purple book in her hand which had a lock attached to it, Ethel realised what it was the second she saw it.

"My diary!" Ethel said unable to believe they had read it, that was low even for them. Everyone knew never to read someone else's private diary.

"What is this we read about you cutting a pupils hair?" the woman asked Ethel and Ethel looked at her confused trying to remember what she was talking about as it seemed so long ago now and then she remembered. When she cut Mildred's hair, her parents had never being told about it but that was nearly two years ago.

"That was ages ago, when I was in my first year" Ethel said not denying it knowing they would only see through her lies.

"How could you do something so evil?" Mr Hallow asked but Ethel didn't have a chance to answer as just then her mother kept speaking.

"It says here you are telling pupils their fathers are teachers, you are cursing broomsticks, stealing the foundling stone" Ursula said as she glared at her middle daughter with a look of disgust. Ethel knew it was probably a stupid idea to document all the things she had done but it was her private diary and she had documented whole days, not just the things she had done.

"Well I..." Ethel said not knowing what to say in response.

"I have had enough of you, you need to learn a lesson" Triton her father said and Ethel narrowed her eyes confused wondering what he meant by that. Triton took her confusion to his advantage and cast a spell as she was distracted.

By the time Ethel realised what he was doing and sparks were flying towards her it was to late to try and block it, the rays of orange light hit Ethel square in the chest and suddenly Ethel felt a pain in her back, it was just a slight discomfort at first but then she realised as the seconds went by the pain was turning into a burning sensation.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Ethel screamed as she felt the flesh on her back burning as if someone had just poured boiling water over her, she screamed louder as her mother joined in, making the spell stronger.

"STOP, OWW PLEASE" Ethel said having never felt so much pain in her life. She lay on the floor screaming as tears fell down her face.

Sybil was looking for her sisters too when she suddenly heard someone scream. She jumped as she realised it was coming from Ethel's room and thinking her sister was hurt she opened the door and rushed in to help her.

"SYBIL NO" Ethel said as she lay on the floor, the pain torturing her to much to stand. Ursula and Triton looked at their youngest who stared at them with fearful eyes before she let some tears fall down her face as she saw what they were doing to Ethel, that was what did it for her parents.

"NO TEARS" Ursula shouted before changing the direction of her spell to hit Sybil instead as she left her husband to do it to Ethel. As soon as the spell hit the young girl's body she started to scream out like her older sister as she felt her flesh burn.

Many people thought Ethel was selfish and did not care about, let alone love, either of her sisters but them people were wrong because much like her sisters if one of them is being hurt she can't stand it which is why when she saw her parents turn on Sybil she forgot about her pain and crawled over to her sister, sitting in front of her trying to block the spell from hitting her.

"NO DON'T SYBIL DIDN'T DO ANYTHING" Ethel shouted unable to stand them causing Sybil pain when she had not done anything whatsoever.

"SHE IS A CRYBABY, SHE NEEDS TO LEARN" Triton shouted. Sybil grabbed a hold of Ethel as she cried from the pain that was going through her body. Ethel hugged her back and the girls cried holding each other wondering how they will ever get away as they were hit with the spell over and over, their backs burning more and more by the second.

Much like her sisters earlier Esmerelda, the eldest sister, was looking everywhere for her little sisters. Why did this stupid place have to be so big? She wondered as she looked in every room for the girls, as she reached a corridor she suddenly heard a sound that made her heart stop for a second, it was screaming and she could tell it was her sisters, she ran towards the noise, hearing it gradually get louder as she approached Ethel's bedroom.

"ETHEL, SYBIL" Esmerelda said worried as she ran down the corridor wondering all sorts of things and she was then was horrified to hear the screaming get worst. It was a pained screaming so Ethel and Sybil were hurt, the girl ran so fast in that moment she could have won a race with anyone of the cats.

She pushed against Ethel's bedroom door and walked into the scene of what could of being a horror film.

Triton and Ursula were casting a spell at both Ethel and Sybil who were lying on the floor screaming and crying and clinging to each other for dear life. Anyone who knew Esmerelda knew she was more than a sister to the younger girls as she mothered them constantly, when she saw what was happening to her little sisters her motherly instincts kicked in.

"NOO" Esmerelda shouted and did the first thing she could think of. She shot a spell towards her parents which sent them flying backwards into the bookcase in Ethel's room and they fell to the floor, knocked out cold. She knew it had being a drastic spell but the only thing she had being thinking about was getting her sisters safe. She was so glad she had magic again in that moment, she wasn't sure she could of stopped them without it.

She rushed over to Ethel and Sybil, seeing they were both still holding each other and crying. Esmerelda wrapped them in her arms, feeling them both shaking from fear and flinching as she touched their backs.

"Sorry sorry" Esmerelda said realising that was where the pain must be. In that moment, as she looked at her terrified sisters, she made a life changing decision.

Triton and Ursula Hallow were not the easiest people to live with, they had so many rules and were strict and it was not the first time they had shown they had a short temper but never in their lives had they lost it completely like that and now that they had Esmerelda suspected they would again. As they were still at home there was no solid proof way that Esmerelda could keep them safe from harm, as it was impossible to be with them twenty four hours a day, that was the moment Esmerelda knew it had gone to far and they could no longer stay there.

"Right listen, I need you both to go to your rooms and pack a few things, don't pack anything heavy just a toothbrush and some clothes" Esmerelda told them and they looked at her confused as she helped them to their feet.

"Why?" Sybil asked confused.

"We are leaving, we can't stay here it is not safe, please hurry before they wake up, meet me downstairs in ten minutes" Esmerelda told them and the two girls slowly walked to their room, their backs full of pain but there was no time for Esmerelda to play nurse, they had a limited amount of time until their parents woke up and they had to be gone before that. Esmerelda rushed to her own bedroom, threw a pair of clothes, a pyjama, a toothbrush, toothpaste and hairbrush into a duffel bag and then rushed down to put her shoes on just as Ethel and Sybil appeared. She put her fingers to her lips telling them to be quiet and the younger girls quietly put their shoes on.

Once she saw they both had shoes on Esmerelda grabbed their hands and quietly walked to the door with them, being careful as she knew the servants would tell if they saw them escaping. Seeing the coast was clear they walked to the front door and opened it, once outside, Esmie closed the door, took hold of her sisters hands again and started running with them. She didn't know where she was going, or even if it was legal, but right now the important thing was their safety. Right now she didn't care, she had to protect her sisters at all costs and they were no longer safe at home.