Hera

{Chapter Twenty-Two}

Later that day, Hera found herself sitting in the library, nothing could block out the sound of the dreary weather outside. The weather had worsened each day after the match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. The rain showed no mercy to the Hogwarts Castle, not allowing any outdoor activities to take place.

The sound of rain distracted her from her DADA textbook as she sat in a secluded corner in the library. Professor Lupin had returned after recovering from his 'sickness' which was a welcome relief to most of the students in the class.

After the incident with Sirius and the Fat Lady, she had thought of the ties that he had with Professor Lupin. Many theories ran through her head.

Was Professor Lupin still in connection with Sirius and was he the one who let him onto Hogwarts' grounds?

She didn't want to think of the worst, but she didn't want to rule out any possibilities. It was hard to distinguish whether or not Sirius worked for the Dark Lord. All she knew was, was that he had been cast out of the Black Family, and often he was a painful reminder of what was to become of those who disobeyed and betrayed the purity of the sacred Black bloodline.

The bitter taste of the mandrake leaf in her mouth was a reminder of why she was doing this in the first place. It was better to be safe than sorry.

The Dark Lord is coming.

She did not want to become like Sirius. A fugitive on the run, not able to redeem himself even after working as an agent of the Dark Lord. That was what he deserved for betraying his bloodline.

Hera could not afford to do that. It was her duty to serve the Dark Lord.

"Funny seeing you here." Came a voice.

Hera looked up from her textbook to see Troy leaning against a bookshelf with a friendly smile on his face. "You've been staring at that page for around five minutes now," he gestured to the book. "What's got your head in a twist?"

"Well, I really think that werewolves are interesting." She dismissed his statement with the wave of her hand and closed the book. "Though I must say, it's real funny seeing you here."

Troy took a seat on the chair beside her. A charming smile spread on his cheeks. "Well you know, I think I should take my studies more seriously..." He tapped on the textbook she had just closed. "Maybe you could tutor me?"

Air lodged in the back of her throat as she coughed awkwardly. "Tut...tutor you?" She was at a loss for words as she felt her cheeks flared. "I-I can't! I don't think I'm qualified to do that."

"Well, why not?" He was enjoying the way Hera looked so flustered which was such a rare sight to see. It was nice seeing her display such human-like emotions rather than having to keep her neutral face.

"Well, I mean.. it's not like I'm the smartest. Your sister is quite brilliant too." Hera didn't know what else to say. The mention of his sister came out of the blue, because Daphne wasn't really brilliant in any of her academics because she was mediocre at best.

Or, well...that's what Aunt Narcissa would say.

Why did she have to steer the conversation to her? Hera awkwardly bit her lip as she stared at Troy's confused face before he chuckled as he sat back in his chair. "You and I both know she's not that bright. I'm her twin for Merlin's sake."

He looked to her once again to see her flustered state. "You are pretty brilliant too, you know. I don't understand why you don't see that."

"I don't understand why you do." She returned.

It was true because she wasn't like Hermione who just had to be the genius out of the rest of third years, nor was she like her Ravenclaw peers who excelled in basically everything. It was only in Slytherin she was known to be academic but nowhere near where the rest of the geniuses were.