Hera

{Chapter Twenty-Nine}

24 August 1995, 8 Months Later

"Cassiopeia, darling." Came the voice of Narcissa Malfoy through the thick oakwood door that belonged to Hera's bedroom.

It was early in the morning as the summer sun shone over the Malfoy Manor, the flowers craned their necks to feel the warmth of the sun, and let their petals and leaves bask in the warm embrace of the sun. Hera had already been up for a couple of hours as she sat in her vanity, looking at her reflection, when her aunt came knocking at her door. "Cassiopeia, dear...I just wanted to wish you a very happy birthday."

Hera kept quiet as she turned her head to look out towards the garden. Despite not having received an answer, Narcissa kept talking. "Our guests will start arriving at noon...so please be ready by then." She stopped for a moment. "I'll have Dilly bring your breakfast up."

As soon as Narcissa left the door, the young girl exhaled a deep breath of relief and went back to looking at the girl that stared back at her. She was now fourteen years old, a young lady - as Aunt Narcissa would say - but her body was starting to change a whole lot from her last day at Hogwarts as a third-year.

The girl that looked back at her still had a soft roundness in her cheeks, but her cheekbones stand out prominently. Her pale skin had been slightly tanned after having spent her time outdoors watching Draco play around with his new broomstick. The familiar brown eyes she inherited from her father looked back at her, that was not as bright as her cousin's own blue eyes.

Suddenly, she heard a soft poof only a short distance away from her. Hera turned around only to find Dilly holding up a tray of breakfast. "Good morning, Miss Cassiopeia! Happy Birthday!"

This brought a smile to Hera's thin lips, bringing out the dimple in her cheeks. On the tray was a small stack of pancakes with the words 'Hapi burtdey' written in fresh cream. "Oh my, thank you so much Dilly, how on earth did you manage to do this?"

"Dilly spent all night learning to make pancakes, Dilly did!" The house elf said proudly as she placed the tray in front of Hera on the vanity. Hera could smell the buttery goodness of the pancakes before her, "You did such a good job, Dilly-"

Before she could say anything else, Dilly interrupted her, as a certain object on her vanity caught her eye. "Oh, Miss Cassiopeia! Please let Dilly brush Miss Cassiopeia's hair!"

"Of course you may, Dilly." She said, which made the little creature squeal with joy.

It had become a daily routine during the summer, so much so that Hera couldn't remember the last time she brushed her own hair. Dilly brushed through the curls with the brush in her hands, as Hera watched herself in the mirror.

Tired eyes stared back at her as the dark curls framed her face, mentally preparing herself for the events about to come.

Cassiopeia-Hera stood at the entrance of the pavilion where the tea party was to be held, next to her aunt as they greeted the guests that arrived. The summer sun shone through past the clouds and onto Hera, who - fortunately - was wearing a hat to shield herself from it's rays. Another pair of Aunt Narcissa's acquaintances arrived, as they greeted Hera and wished her a happy birthday. 

After standing there for over twenty minutes, Hera was becoming restless and bored, but she obviously couldn't show it. All she could do was hope that they would start the party soon just so that she could rest her feet. Soon enough, a familiar group of faces popped up. 

"Oh Elspeth! Thank you so much for coming, it's been such a long time since we've seen you." Greeted, Aunt Narcissa.

Mrs Greengrass was followed by Daphne and Astoria, her two daughters with her son nowhere to be found. "Ah, yes Narcissa. I do apologise for not attending the last tea, my dear Astoria wasn't feeling all too well."

The younger girls greeted each other, after not having seen each other since the start of the summer holiday. "That's quite alright, dear. I can only imagine how worried you must have been." Aunt Narcissa counted the heads of the children that accompanied Mrs Greengrass. "Oh my, where's Troy? Went for the Quidditch World Cup, I suppose?"

"Yes, couldn't convince the men to attend even if it were to greet Merlin himself." The older lady laughed, her beautiful auburn curls shook as she laughed. Aunt Narcissa nodded, knowing full well that it was the same for Draco and Lucius. 

After making more small talk with the Greengrass ladies, they moved on to find seats at a table and enjoy refreshments. Aunt Narcissa placed her hand on Hera's shoulder to get her attention, "Cassiopeia, dear..."

The young girl cleared her throat. She was not about to continue her time, making small talk with her aunt. "Excuse me, Aunt Naricssa. Since that's the last of the arriving guests, I will go find my friends."

Hera shrugged off her aunt's hand and walked away, looking for her best friend, a certain short black haired girl. Soon enough, she caught sight of Elena standing near the buffet table next to a tall lanky man with long black hair, who clearly looked uncomfortable being there, as he was the only man present. 

"Hera!" Exclaimed Elena, as soon as she saw her best friend. Hera waved shyly as she joined them. "Hello Mr Huang."

"Hello, Miss Lestrange. Happy birthday once again." He bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement to her, as Elena excitedly handed her taller best friend a gift bag. 

"Go on! Open it, see what's inside!" The shorter girl urged her friend, but Hera shook her head and laughed. "I'll just open it up once everyone leaves."

Elena pouted, knowing all too well that there's no convincing Hera when she makes a decision, especially when her aunt is watching her every move. "Oh alright, but I did want to ask you something." 

This made Hera hum in response as she received tea to drink. Elena took a bite of her cupcake and started to speak - completely ignoring her father's disapproving look, "Well, meh dad got meh tickeths for the Ireland vs Bulgaria math and wanthed to know if you'd like to come." 

Despite the fact her best friend's words were incoherent, Hera understood her completely. "Well..." She started, as she set down her tea cup. "Well...I can't...I can't go, I'm actually busy tomorrow - plus it is such short notice." 

This made Elena quickly swallow the food that was in her mouth, as she looked at the taller girl in disbelief. "What? What on earth would you be busy with?" 

"Elena Huang, need I remind you of your manners?" Came the deep voice of Tao Huang, it was very obvious that he'd rather be anywhere else than to be at a tea party but he was stuck as a chaperone for his daughter. 

"Sorry Bàba." She said, but quickly turned to look at her friend once more. "Come on, what will you be busy with?" 

Hera fiddled with the hem of her sleeve while she tried to avoid Elena's persistent gaze, "Family stuff, plus...I'm not really comfortable being surrounded by so many people." 

The shorter girl sighed, giving up. "Well whatever it is, it's not like you're going to cause a riot or something." 

The statement made her clear her throat awkwardly as she tried her best to look convincing to her friend. "Yes, definitely." Hera smiled. "Not causing any riots."