Hera

{Chapter Twenty-Five}

The next day, Hera found that she hadn't sleeped all too well the night before. So many things had plagued her mind, keeping her away from much needed sleep. She had to remind herself to return to Myrtle's Lavatory and find a way to get Harry to meet Myrtle to keep her side of the bargain.

She also had been thinking about what had happened between Blaise and Daphne in the lavatory, why was he keeping their relationship a secret?

Daphne did make a valid point, Troy wouldn't like that his twin was in a relationship but he wouldn't do anything to stop them from having one. It was obvious that something else was the reason for the secrecy.

After having had eaten all her meals with the presence of a bitter mandrake leaf in her mouth for a month, Hera sat in the Great Hall savouring all the foods that had been ruined for her during the month-long process. Her plate was filled with toast, eggs, pancakes and bacon. It was such a rare sight seeing her plate so full, Elena had to do a double-take as soon as she laid her eyes on her best friend's plate.

"Well, why don't you take everything else that's on the table, huh?" She teased, patting her friend's shoulder. "But seriously, I don't think I've ever seen you eat this much ever. What's gotten into you?"

Hera had never had her food fill more than half of her plate, so having it piled with so much food was a first.

"I'm just really hungry." She replied.

Aunt Narcissa would've killed her if she saw the way she was behaving: eating more than she could handle, chewing with her mouthful and eating without an ounce of etiquette. She could almost feel the sting of the leather on her knuckles, but the sensation of greasy goodness filling her stomach and satisfying her taste buds were overpowering the thought of her punishments.

Aunt Narcissa wasn't there to see them through.

Soon enough, Daphne Greengrass came through the doors into the Great Hall, with Blaise following behind her soon after, and she did not look too happy. A very obvious frown was plastered onto her face as she took her seat across the two best friends, whilst Blaise walked onto join Draco's posse of followers.

Hera hadn't mentioned the incident in the lavatory to Elena, mostly due to the fact that she'd be curious about the reason why she was in the lavatory in the first place. She had already been drilled for answers the night before, and she had to come up with a competent enough reason to satiate her best friend's curiosity.

Even without knowing about the event from the night before, it was very obvious that the couple was having problems.

Daphne took her frustrations out on a piece of toast that she slathered with a thick layer of butter, and chewed on it furiously.

"Uhm, Daph?" Elena started, concerned about the girl in front of her. "Are you doing fine? Maybe...want some juice to help with that chunk of toast you got there?"

"My, my. What's going on here?" Came an all to familiar voice. Troy took a seat next to his sister, who in return, didn't even acknowledge his presence.

Noticing this, Troy nudged his sister's side, finally getting her attention. "Oh hi, when did you come down for breakfast?"

It was common knowledge to know that Troy was always late for breakfast, but the day before, he had promised Daphne that he'd have breakfast with her so he wouldn't end up missing it like he did most days when he was sleeping in. Seeing that she had already forgotten his promise, something must have happened.

He looked at the duo who sat across from his sister with an eyebrow raised, subtly gesturing to Daphne with his eyes.

They both shrugged in perfect synchronisation, proof that they've picked up each others' behavioral patterns from spending too much time with each other. He wasn't surprised, wherever Cassiopeia-Hera went, Elena was there beside her, and vice versa.

"Only a few moments ago, got something on your mind?" He asked Daphne while adding food onto his own plate.

Although it was subtle, Troy saw her eyes dart to the side, which prompted him to look further up on the Slytherin table. There he saw his fellow housemates, not missing the rowdy group that belonged to Malfoy. "No, why would you think that?"

"I know my own sister, especially if something's bothering her." He nodded towards the Draco Fanclub. "Is someone from his posse bothering you?"

He didn't miss the look that Elena gave Hera. "You should focus on yourself more instead of concerning yourself with me." Daphne said coldly. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Uhm, well, Miss Daphne Greengrass. You were the one who told me to join you for breakfast." He said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You're impossible, Troy."

"Are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" He countered.

Without saying a word, Daphne dabbed away the crumbs around her mouth with a serviette, and completely disregarded what her male counterpart had just said only a few moments earlier. Troy watched in disbelief as his sister left the Great Hall, not giving him a second glance.

"Did you just see that happen or am I hallucinating?" He asked to no one in particular.

Elena chimed in, "I think she needs some time to herself, maybe she's got stuff she needs to deal with."

"I highly doubt it's as simple as that. She would've told me even if it was the smallest inconvenience, you know." He bit into his toast. "We are that close."

The two girls looked at each other before looking back at him with a disapproving look. He couldn't tell what they were thinking, but it was obvious that they knew something about what was happening with his sister. "You two know what's going on, don't you?"

Elena, being the more sociable and forward one of the duo, she answered for the both of them. "Nope, not at all." She said, but Troy knew not to trust what she said. The Huang girl was too good of a liar. It was a trait that he observed, came with the role she had as one of the top socialites in the social circles in Hogwarts.

It was strange to see that a mere third-year had more knowledge about the school's students than the professor's did of their students. It was suspicious, but he couldn't blame her. Her family was powerful, and what made them so powerful was knowledge. Knowledge about anything and everything.

And so he turned his attention to Cassiopeia-Hera.

She was quiet, and although her history and background was quite intimidating, he found it better to get along with her, since they were forced to become friends through the association between their parents. He liked her since she was nothing like his sisters or Elena.

To find out what was going on with Daphne, he'd have to get Cassiopeia-Hera alone.

Q: who do you guys like more, Blaise or Troy?