QOTD: Who do you guys see Hera as?
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Narcissa Malfoy sat on the loveseat, legs crossed and eyes narrowed as she watched Corban Yaxley, an official in the Ministry of Magic, pace in front of the fireplace, whilst her husband, Lucius, stood by the window that overlooked the manor's garden.
The doors of Lucius' study burst open, revealing Bartemius Crouch Jr., carrying a bundle of cloth in his arms. Silence covered the room, only the Barty's shoes tapped on the wooden floor. Gently, Barty placed the bundle on the grand armchair that faced the rest of the Death Eaters in the room.
Instead of hearing a scratchy voice, Narcissa heard her husband speak. "What is the meaning of this, Crouch?!"
The blonde woman looked up, expecting to see the Dark Lord but was met with a log wrapped in bundles of cloth. Barty flopped on the seat, looking disheveled as he gave Lucius a pointed look. "It's part of the Dark Lord's plan. Now if you traitors don't mind, I would rather finish this quick."
Bartemius Crouch Jr. sneered at the others. It was evident that he had a strong dislike for those in the room besides himself. When the Dark Lord fell, only those who weren't afraid of incarceration for supporting the Dark Lord stood as faithful servants by his side, while the cowards claimed that they were under the imperius curse, such as Malfoy and Yaxley.
"The Dark Lord has a plan that is to be set in motion immediately." He started, giving a short hard glance at Lucius, his tongue flickered out of his mouth. "He knows of the two children in this household that currently attend Hogwarts, one of them being Bellatrix's daughter and your son."
At the mention of Bellatrix, Narcissa was reminded of Cassiopeia-Hera because of the physical similarities between both mother and daughter, making her reminisce about the younger innocent years she shared with her two older sisters. Yet, as time moved forward Hera seemed to resemble their disowned sister, Andromeda, especially in her first year when she had befriended the half-blood Zabini boy, whose mother had a scandalous reputation. And so, the moment she arrived back at the manor, Narcissa did what she thought was right to make her stray away from that past that lead her sister astray.
Years have past, and sure enough, Narcissa was positive that Cassiopeia-Hera was safe from the clutches of muggles and blood-traitors alike. She dedicated her time spent with Hera for 'lady lessons' as she'd call it, but in truth, it was time spent on almost brainwashing, no, teaching the young girl just so she doesn't end up like her blood traitor of a sister, Andromeda.
Narcissa still could not believe that her sister would betray their family, for a poor muggle-born, trading her luxurious life in the process when she could have married a well-respected pure-blood and have had a good life. It was not too late for Narcissa to change Hera's path. The differences between Hera and Andromeda's younger self were not as vast as Narcissa had hoped.
The sound of a wand whipping through the air and a string of muttered words caught Narcissa's attention, dragging her focus from the fireplace to the large piece of wood that was propped up in the armchair. Leaning forward, the blond woman watched as the log started changing shape and fur started sprouting all over the wooden surface of the log.
"A fox?" Yaxley breathed out in confusion as he watched the critter sit elegantly on the arm chair, watching the adults with glossy, intimidating eyes.
Barty's tongue flicked out of the corner of his mouth as a sly smirk grew on his thin lips. "Ah, so you see, it is not long until the Dark Lord rises again, but he does need an extra," He paused, eyes flickering to the Malfoy couple. "He needs an extra set of eyes and ears in Hogwarts, so that no... obstructions will stop the Dark Lord's path to revival."
Lucius gripped his cane firmly, "Then why mention the children at all when we still have Severus at Hogwarts, surely that problem will be resolved with him involved."
"You see, Malfoy," There was a hint of venom laced in Barty's tone. "There are many that still question Severus, even though he had admitted to being Dumbledore's spy. I,for one, do not think he would be legible for the role as it would be the most obvious move for us to take. We will be caught quickly. I believe, with a student, one good enough to take on the role would be a better move on the Dark Lord's behalf. No one will expect a child to be a a spy for his Lordship."
"So you'd have two thirteen-year-old's risk their lives?" Narcissa blurted out, just as Barty had finished speaking.
Barty Crouch Jr. walked around the armchair, sitting on its arm, and made a face as though he were contemplating Narcissa's question. "Well, technically, yes. Although, think of it as a sacrifice for the greater good."
"Then I feel it's settled then, Cassiopeia will be the agent." Lucius said firmly without any hesitation. Narcissa's head whipped to face Lucius, her heart racing against her rib cage as she stared at the stoic face that belonged to her husband.
"Bellatrix dedicated her life to the Dark Lord, and it's obvious that Cassiopeia is the most mature and level-headed between the two. She'll clearly be more of use than my son will be." Lucius stopped for a moment, as if to gather more thought. "It makes better sense that she will take this role."
A pregnant silence filled the room as Narcissa stared at her husband in disbelief. A sly smile widened Barty's cheeks. "I'll be waiting for your owl."
With a last flick of tongue, he disapparated from the room, leaving no evidence of his presence.
It was in the midday when Hera found herself next to Elena in the Great Hall, having tea and reading through her arithmancy textbook. Silence was shared between the two girls as they sat beside each other, with Elena giving a few stolen glances towards Hera. Tucking a strand of her straight hair behind her ear, Hera started without taking her gaze away from her textbook. "Is there something on my face, Elena?"
Flustered for being caught, Elena shook her head. "Well no, you've been really quiet today, and well I can't help but think that halfblood got to you."
"How did you hear of that?" Hera asked, closing her book to pay full attention to her best friend.
An awkward chuckled escaped Elena's lips, "Well, I heard from Pansy that you were approached by a Ravenclaw first-year during breakfast, and that he got you so worked up, that Snape had to get involved before any physical injuries occured."
"You shouldn't listen to gossip, you know." "Is it true though?"
Hera opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by the squawking of an owl entering the hall. The Lestrange girl turned her head to see the Malfoy owl drop a letter in front of her. Furrowing her eyebrows, Hera was confused. She had already received her weekly letter from Aunt Narcissa, so why would another letter come so soon?
Picking up the envelope, her eyes did not recognize the handwriting as Aunt Narcissa's but as Uncle Lucius. It was Hera's first time ever receiving a letter from him, but immediately she knew that Lucius wanted to talk business. That was the only time they ever communicated.
Elena peered at the envelope, "Who's that from?"
"My uncle." Hera replied, solemn in tone.
"Strange, I thought you and your uncle barely talked. What does he want?" The Asian girl queried, leaning over her journal to take a better look at the envelope. Hera moved the letter away from Elena's view.
"I'll meet you later at Transfiguration, I'll be back." She rushed, taking her textbook and the envelope into her hands and walking out of the Great Hall, leaving Elena all by herself at the Slytherin table, brown irises turning milk white.
"Ang soro ay nasa daanan magkahiwalay."
Hera sat in the courtyard, feeling the cold breeze brush against her cheeks, as she read the contents of the letter that Lucius had sent to her. The cold temperature did not affect her as her eyes were set on the letters that was written neatly in blank ink. She felt cemented in her seat, as the words stared back at her tauntingly.
It was strange. The feeling in her chest grew heavy within her. She did not want to believe what her eyes were showing her.
Did she have a choice in the matter? It didn't seem like that, the words written on the parchment paper were commanding and stern. No, her choice still wouldn't matter, this was a call to service.
"Hera?" She looked up to see familiar, comforting brown eyes.
Blaise Zabini stared at the black-haired girl that sat alone on one of the benches in the courtyard. The chilly autumn air made the scene before him even more gloomy than what it already was. His neck was comfortably wrapped in his Slytherin scarf. "What are you doing out here? It's cold out here."
Blinking twice, Hera licked her dry lips and sighed, a cloud of warm air escaped from her mouth. She pulled her cardigan tighter around her as folded the parchment paper. "It's none of your business, Blaise."
"Family letter?" The taller 13-year-old questioned as he gestured to the letter she held in her hand before shoving his hand back into his warm trouser pocket.
With a shrug of her shoulders, Hera threw the envelope and folded parchment paper onto the ground and took out her wand, pointing it at the discarded items. "Insendio."
The two teenagers watched as the paper slowly burned into ash, basking in the comfortable silence that enveloped them. Blaise could see the tension in Hera as she kept her gaze on the pile of ash beside her black school shoes.
A million thoughts ran through Hera's mind. The contents of her uncle's letter troubled her terribly, and the fact Blaise had approached her confused her even more. It was hard to process everything that was happening in her life currently, so much so, that her head started to throb in pain.
Suddenly, she felt a warmth around her neck. Hera snapped out her thoughts, to see Blaise's retreating back. Her hand reached up to feel the wool scarf that was wrapped around her neck. She could smell the inviting musky scent that came from the scarf, temporarily forgetting her problems.
A ruffling of wings caught her attention, forcing Hera's gaze to look up and see a familiar green bird. A terrible squawk filled the air as she stared at the Irish Augury Pheonix that was perched on one of the nearby trees, staring straight into her brown orbs.
"Crumbs."