Hera

{Chapter Three}

Hera and the rest of the first years stood in a line before the Sorting Hat. For some reason, she felt uneasy. What if she hadn't been sorted into Slytherin? She didn't want to end up like Sirius Black. Her mother's cousin who had been disowned.

Hera never knew the full story of Sirius. She somehow admired him, she thought of him as a person who stood up for what he believed in. She didn't believe that he worked for the Dark Lord at all. She had overheard Uncle Lucius talking to Aunt Narcissa about the incident a few months ago. She heard only bits and pieces of their conversation.

Who was Peter Pettigrew?

She had been too bothered by her thoughts that she had not noticed the wild-haired girl whom she talked to earlier sat on the stool with the Sorting Hat on her head. Hera watched, interested as the Sorting Hat decided whether she should be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Exclaimed it loudly. The whole Gryffindor table erupted into cheers.

Professor McGonagall looked down to the parchment she held in her hands. Her eyes went with shock which had Hera curious.

"Lestrange, Cassiopeia-Hera." She had read aloud.

The whole hall became quiet as the black-and-white haired girl slowly walked up to the stool. She felt nervous as whispers erupted around the room.

A man with a long white beard and half-moon glasses leaned forward in anticipation. He had a smile on his face as he watched Hera sit on the stool. He was Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts and one of the greatest wizards to have been alive. Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on Hera's curly locks.

A voice soon started whispering in her head as she avoided eye contact with the other students sitting at their house tables.

"Hmm... what is this? A descendant of the Black Family? Hmm... Cassiopeia-Hera Lestrange, isn't it? A strange soul, you have here, but yet I see a very soft heart. I see you are very clever but you have the desire to stay hidden. You do not wish for attention, hmm." Hummed the Sorting Hat.

Hera became worried. She didn't want to stay on the chair any longer. Many eyes were looking at her, mostly the same judgemental looks she would receive whenever she went to Diagon Alley.

"Do you want to be like Sirius Black? A Gryffindor? No? Sly, sly, sly mind. Your blood is full of snakes. Are you willing to be a snake too? Alas, you are not a snake but a fox! Your ambition, your mind." Asked the Sorting Hat. Hera closed her eyes and clenched her fists. "There's no questioning it! SLYTHERIN!" The Hat shouted loudly.

The Slytherin table slowly entered into a chorus of claps while the other Houses watched her as she took off the Hat and gave it to Professor McGonagall.

She ran quickly to the Slytherin table. She took a seat, trying to hide her red face behind her curly black-and-white mane. When she heard her cousin's name being called, she looked up through her strands of her, noticing that a few people were staring at her. She composed herself and drew her focus onto her cousin. The Hat was barely touching his head when the Sorting Hat, it screamed out.

"SLYTHERIN!"

The whole table immediately erupted into cheers. Draco got off the stool and walked back to the table with a proud smile on his face. He took a seat next to Hera who smiled and congratulated him.

After all the names had been called out, Professor McGonagall clinked a spoon on a cup. "Your attention please." She said out loudly to the hall. Once the whole hall was quiet, Professor Dumbledore stood up with his arms spread, "Let the feast begin!"

Food had soon magically appeared on the table and Hera's eyes almost popped out of her head. Aunt Narcissa never allowed her to eat so much before, but Hera didn't care. She was free to do what she wanted at Hogwarts.

As she was putting food on her plate, a tall boy with dark skin, sat next to her with a friendly smile. "Hello there. I'm Blaise Zabini. Sorry to disturb you."

Hera looked shocked that he was talking to her. "Erm -- hi..." She said slowly. "I'm Cassiopeia-Hera Lestrange." She slowly smiled at the boy in front of her.

"Your hair is quite cool." He said, mentioning the curls on her head. "Especially the white, is that a charm or like a muggle chemical thing?"

She laughing nervously as she started to fiddle with her one of her curls unconsciously. "No, it's a birthmark. I was born with this, charms won't last long when if I tried hiding it." She talked softly, but it seemed that the boy next to her heard her well.

"Well I don't think you should hide it." Hera could feel the warmth radiate from the big smile he gave her. It made her feel less uncomfortable with all the stares she was receiving.

"Is it alright if I called you Hera?"

Hera blinked in surprise. Not quite a lot of people she knew, called her by that name and often called her by her first name, Cassiopeia or Cassie, but she nodded while eating the tender meat of the fish she had in front of her. Blaise cracked a smile at her, there was no sign of disgust or fear on his face.

Suddenly, a girl with short black hair and a pug-like face interrupted the conversation between Blaise and Hera. She sneered at the curly haired girl. "Proud of that, are you?" She narrowed her beady eyes at Hera. "You should come sit with us, Blaise. Who knows what she might do to you. She might curse you just like her mother did to the Longbottoms!" She exclaimed loudly, for the whole table to hear. Eyes turned to look on what was happening.

Hera's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?" She asked softly. Her eyes widened, "I-I don't know know what you're talking about."

"Leave her alone Pansy." Said Blaise, frustrated, rushing to the girl who sat beside him.

"Look at that, she's acting clueless. Probably worthless to Slytherin if you can't own up about what your parents did." Sneered the pug-faced girl.

The whole Slytherin table looked at Hera as she tried to remain strong by blinking away the humiliation and embarrassment that the short haired girl caused. Frustration kept building as Pansy kept talking, pushing Hera to the edge. "Might as well shut your dog-faced snout while I'm at it, huh?"

She may or may not have shared Draco's arrogance.

Draco smiled slyly and pat Hera's back as of to congratulate her for standing up for herself. The short haired girl looked scared and decided to not make anymore nasty comments about the Lestrange.

Soon after having dinner and leaving the Great Hall, the first year Slytherins were led to the Slytherin dungeons by their prefect. The prefect stopped in front of a wall and uttered the password. "Haas."

Soon the stone bricks arranged themselves to show an entrance to the Slytherin Common room. The common room was decorated in green and silver, the Slytherin house colours. The common room seemed cosy, in a menacing way -- if that was even possible.

Hera and the female first years were brought to their dorms. She felt immediately at home and saw her uniform and her trunk by her assigned bed. Luckily, Pansy Parkinson, didn't have a bed near hers or that would have been a problem.

After getting settled in bed, Hera lay awake thinking. She wondered about how school would be the next day. Would it be a good day or a bad day for the young Lestrange girl?

But all that seemed to go away as she closed her eyes and fell into a deep, dark slumber.