Hera

{Chapter Twenty-Eight}

"Ah, there you are darling." Aunt Narcissa exclaimed as soon as Hera entered through the door into her uncle's office. It was daunting enough, that she had to be summoned to his office, but the additional pressure of the assignment she was given weighed upon her with every step she took.

"Come join me." Came her aunt's voice, as she pat the space next to her on the loveseat. Hera took her seat as her eyes went to look to the armchair where Lucius Malfoy usually sat, but he wasn't there.  Narcissa brushed away one of Hera's stray hairs behind her ear. "Did you grow taller, dear?"

Narcissa didn't give her a chance to respond as she took her hands with her own delicate hands, "I think we'll need to go shopping for a new wardrobe..." She placed her hands on her cheeks, inspecting her face. "You're gaining some fat on these cheeks of yours."

It was true that Hera was eating way more than she did when she was in the Malfoy Manor but after having spent an entire week eating liquified foods, she thought that she may have lost a bit of weight. She felt uncomfortable under her aunt's gaze, as she continued to comment on her appearance.

"You're growing all too fast, Draco has yet to get any taller." Narcissa sighed as she let go of Hera's face. With a flick of her wrist, a teacup levitated into the air while a pot of her usual Lavender tea was poured into it. "Tea, Cassiopeia?"

"Yes, thank you Aunt Narcissa." Hera accepted the cup of tea that floated towards her and took a small sip.

There was a silence between the both of them, making Hera shuffle uncomfortable in her seat as she took a sip of her tea. Narcissa didn't take a sip from her own tea cup, and instead kept looking at the young girl. After a few more moments of awkward silence, Narcissa spoke.

"Cassiopeia..." She started, making her turn to look at her aunt. The blonde woman looked at her niece with sadness evident in her eyes. "I just want you to know that, no matter what happens tonight, I will always be proud of you."

Hera's body stiffened as she moved the tea cup away from her lips and back onto its saucer. "Tonight? What do you mean, Aunt Narcissa?"

The woman breathed out a shaky sigh, "I really tried my best to ensure that you wouldn't have to go through this..." She mumbled, which was such a rare sight to see in a woman who was always composed with etiquette. "Everything that I've taught you now, was to be an excuse so that you wouldn't have to go through with this rubbish task."

This confused Hera even further as she listened to her aunt's every word. It was now clear that she knew about the task that was assigned to her by the Dark Lord, but...it was the greatest honour. She was following in her parents' footsteps which was the closest she could ever get to them.

"Cassiopeia, if you do not want to go through with this, then I could try-" Hera interrupted her aunt, as confusion and frustration started brewing within her. "Why would I not want to, Aunt Narcissa?"

Her sudden question took the woman by surprise as she looked at her with wide eyes. She stuttered, trying to find an answer. "I...that's because its... it's dangerous, Cassiopeia! Why would you even want to?"

The young girl furrowed her eyebrows, "It's a great honour to be allowed to do it, and I've been working hard."

"And I don't doubt that, Cassiopeia but you can lose your life!" Narcissa argued, as she took Hera's smaller hand in hers.

Soon enough, Hera wasn't able to keep her frustration in any longer, so she pulled her hand away from her aunt's grasp, and stood up from her seat on the love seat. "It's the closest thing that I'll ever get to experience something with my parents! And one day, I will be able to get them out of there. You aren't my mother, Aunt Narcissa!"

And with those final words, Hera stormed out of the office, leaving Narcissa alone with tears running down her cheeks.

♧

Later that evening, dark clouds that were heavy with rain filled the sky, returning water back into the grasp of the earth. Heavy drops of water pelted against the tiles of roof tops, and the wind brushed through the leaves on the trees as they danced in the breeze.

Hera's feet trudged through the snow as she followed Lucius Malfoy towards the edge of Malfoy Manor. Alongside him was a lantern lighting the way for them, and eventually leading them to a clearing surrounded by trees. There, a very familiar woman stood waiting for them.

"Thunder shall arrive soon." Said Yvonne Hopkirk, her shiny red nails glimmered in the lantern's light. Her lips were a dark red, while she wore a thick white fur coat to combat the cold air of the night. She held an umbrella over her  head, protecting her short red hair from the rain. Her eyes looked Hera up and down as if she was inspecting her, making the young girl shuffle in her place nervously. 

Even though it had been a few weeks since she last saw the lady in red, but her dominant aura was still as strong as before. "Lovely to see you again, Cassiopeia. I hope you are ready, for what is about to come."

BOOM.

A flash of thunder, lit up the sky and illuminated the stoic face of the woman that stood before her. Meekly, she swallowed the bump that formed in her throat, and nodded her head. 

"I'm...I'm ready."