With a heavy thoughts flooding her mind, Hera entered Professor McGonnagal's transfiguration chambers. The green wool scarf followed her as she took each step towards Elena, who was looking at her best friend curiously. She had not remembered Hera wearing a scarf earlier that morning before she had left her in the Great Hall, and she wouldn't have had time to retrieve her own all the way from the dungeons. 

"Lovely scarf you got there, Hera." Elena hummed as the said girl took her seat. 

It was as if Hera wasn't paying attention, as she looked at the Asian girl with slightly raised eyebrows. Elena tsked and gestured to the woolen accessory wrapped around her neck. With wide eyes, Hera's hand suddenly went up to touch the scarf before playing it off with a soft chuckle. "Yes, Draco lent me his scarf out in the courtyard. Quite silly of me to forget."

Skeptical, Elena watched her friend for a little while longer, not remembering whether or not she had seen Draco wearing his scarf at all earlier in the day. Suddenly, all thoughts were pushed to the back of her mind as Professor McGonagall had entered the chambers with her robes sweeping the floor. 

"Good day class." Her stern voice resonated against the walls, as she was greeted by a chorus of greetings from both the Slytherin and Hufflepuff third years. With a flick of her hand, the chalkboard had flipped sides.

Animagi.

"If you all turn to page 283 in your textbooks, we will come to learn a certain process of transfiguration. Before we begin, can anyone tell me what an animagus is?"

Elena immediately put her hand up, excitedly waving it in the air. Plenty other hands went up in the air, but Hera kept hers down. McGonagall's eyes scanned the chambers, and the number of hands in the air, eventually landing on a Hufflepuff boy named Fredwick Catsnitch. "Mr Catsnitch, do tell."

"An animagus is a person with the ability to transfigure themselves into an animal."

McGonagall hummed, "Yes, quite right, thank you Mr Catsnitch. Ten points to Hufflepuff." Fredwick sat back down, earning a few congratulatory nudges from his classmates.

"Being an animagus is not something that happens out of the blue, or is genetically inherited. It is not to be confused with a maledictus." Hera's mind wandered, to deepest depths of her brain, thinking about the contents of the letter that she received earlier. A meeting with her uncle Lucius at the first Hogsmeade trip...what could he possibly want?

"Miss Lestrange." McGonagall's stern voice snapped her out of her thoughts. The young girl's cheeks tinged a pale pink in embarrassment as she turned to look at the professor. "I'm quite glad you're back from wherever you came from." A couple of giggles passed around the room. "Would you be so kind to tell us as to why an animagus should not be confused with a maledictus?"

Thanking Merlin, that Elena had talked to her about it the night before, Hera cleared her throat to speak. "An individual undergoes a lengthy process into becoming an animagus, whilst a maledictus inherits the ability to turn into an animal due to a blood curse that can occur from their forefathers."

With a nod, Professor McGonagall nodded in her direction, and continued on with her lesson. Hera inwardly sighed in relief, but her attention was captured by Elena, who was nudging her side. She pointed to Draco who sat at the other end of the chambers with Crabbe and Goyle on either side, a green and silver scarf wrapped around his neck.

"I didn't know Draco had two scarves." The girl whispered.

♧

"I'm starving." Elena exclaimed as soon as they had entered the Great Hall for dinner. They had come in quite late, thankfully avoiding the evening rush into the hall. The two girls sat at the end of the Slytherin table next to a trio of first year Slytherins, who was paying way too much attention to the plates in front of them.

Hera clicked her tongue and shook her head in a disapproving manner. "You're being very unladylike, do you know that Elena? I wonder what Mrs Huang would say if she saw you acting like this."

"As if I care," Elena smiled mischievously. "It wouldn't hurt you, if you just loosened up a bit. Your aunt isn't around, nor would she be for the term."

"It's not a matter of being 'loose', Elena. It's called having manners."

Before the small arguement could escalate, the girls were stopped by an intruding male voice. "Good evening, ladies."

The Slytherin girls looked up to see Draco standing over them, with Blaise by his side. Over the years, after Hera broke off her friendship with Blaise, he had grown more closer towards her blond cousin, having the same tastes in quidditch and sharing the same dormitory, their friendship was bound to happen. Hera made it her mission to avoid Blaise as much as possible during the past two years, but the exchange earlier in the day, made her regret the day she destroyed the friendship between them.

The other two goons were nowhere to be found. Elena visibly rolled her eyes, as soon as she looked at the blond-haired Slytherin boy, her dislike towards him, more obvious than ever. "Well look who it is, Daddy's little boy. Where are your two goons, Malfoy?"

There was no use in stopping Elena's sharp-tongue when it came to Draco. Hera found it useless to intervene, because Elena's wits were too strong to be contained. Draco clucked his tongue disapprovingly, but a sly smirk grew on his thin lips. "They're in detention, Huang. If you missed Goyle so much, I'll be happy to pass on a message."

"Why you little-"

"What can I do for you, cousin?" Hera kicked Elena's shin under the table, earning a sharp glare.

Malfoy smiled triumphantly, as he took a seat next to Hera, and Blaise taking a seat across from him. "Actually, Cass, I have a message for your dear friend, Elena. Professor Snape told me that Dumbledore wants to see you after dinner."

"What trouble did you drag her into, Draco?" Hera raised her eyebrow, after taking a bite of her garlic bread.

"It wasn't me this time." Draco rolled his eyes, and started dishing food onto his plate.  "Blaise and I just so happened to pass Snape before we entered. Though, I do wonder why Dumbledore would want to see you of all people, Huang."

Elena stared at him pointedly, using her fork and knife to slice the steak she had on her plate. "My father is a benefactor to this school, I don't see why he wouldn't want to see me."

"Well, I don't understand why you didn't just go to that school in Japan, that your family founded. Why support a completely foreign school?" Draco pressed. He was looking to push Elena's buttons.

"Probably so I can kick your tush, Malfoy."

♧

After having dinner at the Great Hall, Elena excused herself to go to Dumbledore's office, whilst Hera took her time to walk back to the Slytherin dungeons. She waited for everyone to crowd out of the Great Hall before finally leaving, and walked a distance from everyone else, enjoying her solitude. She passed all the paintings on the walls, side eyeing each and everyone of them as they were having their own conversations with one another.

She buried the bottom half of her face into the scarf unconsciously, as she passed a few other lingering students in the passage way. When she had entered the common room, everyone was gathered, either finishing up homework, or having a conversation with their fellow housemates. She decided against staying in the common room, and headed straight for her dorm room.

She entered the room, and Milicent Bullstrode looked up from her book, from where she lay on her bed. Awkwardly, Hera pursed her lips and headed towards her corner of the room, where a stack of books that she had forgotten to return to the library, were placed on her bedside table. Rather than wanting to stay in the same room as Millicent, who obviously did not appreciate having her solitude disturbed, Hera got up with the small pile of books and headed out for the library.

Fortunately enough for Hera, she was able to return the books, just before Madam Pince had closed the library. She was on her way back to the Slytherin dungeons when she had passed the passage way that led to Dumbledore's office. Elena was there talking to the headmaster in a hushed tone.

"...nothing to report. Tao is still..."

She didn't stay long to listen in to their conversation, and did not think much of it. It was safe to assume that Elena was just talking to Dumbledore about her father. She continued on, heading straight for the dungeons.

By the time she had entered the common room, everyone had vacated into their respective dorm rooms. The crackle of the fire, and the soft glow of the fireplace filled the room, giving off a comforting atmosphere. The mermaids from the Black Lake swam freely near the window that looked into the common room, their movements were graceful and mesmerizing.  The young girl stood before the glass, watching them swim, and enjoyed the comforting silence around her.

Hera gently pressed her palm against the window, feeling it's cool surface as she watched the mermaids, admiring their every move. Her mind was distracted from all the anxiety that seemed to plague her.

She was tired of the constant indifference that her uncle showed her, the pressure her aunt exerted on her, and of course, the judgement that her school mates seemed to always cast upon her. It was so hard to ignore all of those at once, and she did not want to trouble anyone with the way she felt. Elena had her own problems, and she didn't want to add more to it.

The black-haired girl inhaled, taking in the comforting scent of the scarf that was wrapped around her neck. Her mind was finally at ease. She tucked her straight hair behind her ear, when she noticed someone else's reflection on the surface of the glass window. Her eyes widened and her cheeks reddened, had he been there the whole time?

"How long have you been standing there?" Hera didn't dare turn around.

"Long enough." Blaise, stood up straight from where he was leaning against the loveseat, and walked over to where Hera stood. "I'm glad to know that you're enjoying that scarf of mine."

The girl clenched her jaw, and unwrapped the scarf from her neck. "I do not enjoy it, nor did I see the use of giving it to me earlier. You shouldn't have at all."

"You're only lying to yourself, Cassiopeia." Blaise's voice was soft, gentle to her ears.

It's been so long since they have had a normal conversation, and she did not remember him being so quiet. She only remembered the fun-loving extroverted boy that she had met in her first year. Now, she was talking to a more reserved, introverted Blaise, that she has never witnessed during her friendship. He was like this to everyone nowadays, and it almost seemed perfectly wrong, yet it also felt right.

"I shouldn't be talking to you, I hope you know that." The words were heavy to say.

Blaise stood next to her, watching the mermaids dance in the water as the moonlight shone through the water and into the room. "I never got an explanation."

"I don't think I should explain myself, Blaise. " She looked at him through her peripheral vision.

"Don't you think I deserve one?" "It's been two years, I think it's time you get over it."

Silence washed over them, Hera swallowed the guilt she felt, after uttering those words. She held the scarf in her hands, not knowing what else to say, as they stood next to each other. The atmosphere felt heavy, and so did her heart. It was hard during the two years, since she had broken their friendship.

The guilt that she felt, everytime that she saw him sitting alone. The jealousy that she felt when she saw that he was finding new friends, and found a friend in her own cousin. It hurt her deeply, but she couldn't do anything. It was all for the greater good, and Aunt Narcissa was proud of her. She didn't want her aunt to be disappointed in her.

The silence started to overwhelm Hera, but it was cut short when Blaise started to speak. "I know we were friends for a short while, but I don't think you know how much our friendship meant to me. Or how much I thought it did. Clearly, it didn't mean much."

Hera turned to face him, guilt accumulated in her throat. She wasn't supposed to feel guilty, nor was she supposed to feel sad. She gathered herself together, and gave him her best poker face. She held out the scarf to him. "Thank you for your scarf."

He took the scarf from her, trying to find any emotion behind those brown eyes. He couldn't find any.

The two heard the dungeon's door to the common room open, making Hera turn around and walk away towards the girls' dorms. Elena emerged from the doorway, looking at Blaise confused, before making her way to the Hera's destination, leaving Blaise with his feelings of hurt and unanswered questions.