The next day, Hera-Cassiopeia found herself trudging her way to Herbology, following close behind Elena, who seemed all-too happy to be having class in the greenhouse first thing in the morning.  It was obviously her favourite class, having to be surrounded by so many different types of plant life, it made Elena so giddy that Hera couldn't help but flinch every time she put her hand up to ask Professor Sprout something. Elena's fascination with the plants, baffled Hera. It was almost as if she had never seen them before.

They shared their herbology class with the third-year Ravenclaws, which in her opinion, was, in many ways, better than having to share a class with the insufferable Gryffindors. At least the Ravenclaws had the decency to allow for the rest of the class to answer questions to, instead of hogging all the house points for themselves.

Unlike some people.

The period went by slowly, and Hera found herself growing more bored by the second, while everyone else seemed so captivated with the lesson. Her mind started to wander off, thinking about the unlabeled letter that lay in her trunk in her dorm room. A dead and heavy weight grew in her stomach, the task held over her was difficult, and let alone, may be very illegal for her to do. She knew Lucius though, he would have had pulled a few of his own strings just to have her registered as an animagus.

She knew all about Lucius and his ways of persuasion and manipulation that he had on the Ministry of Magic, especially on Cornelius Fudge, the current Minister of Magic, as he frequented their home. All the work he did behind the scenes, Hera knew. As much as he tried to be discreet about it, it never worked in his favour, especially at home. He'd often fill Narcissa in on everything when he'd get home from the Ministry. She couldn't help but listen in on all his ventures.

Hera shook her head, and looked towards the other side of the greenhouse where the potted mandrake plants sat, the leaves moving on their own accord, becoming an annoying reminder of the unmarked envelope that lay hidden in her trunk. Within it, lay her first mission on the journey to greatness and honour just as her Uncle Lucius had promised her.

The words were enticing, the thoughts of bringing honour in memory of her parents by assisting the Dark Lord, plagued her. Constantly repeating it in her mind, no matter how much it scared her, Cassiopeia-Hera knew she was doing this for her parents' honour. She would do them justice, avenging their sentences and making them proud, by becoming an agent of the Dark Lord. After all, it was what Uncle Lucius said. Aunt Narciss and Uncle Lucius were the closest to her parents, obviously they'd know what her parents would want in their child...right?

"-Miss Lestrange?" Came Professor Sprout's voice, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked towards her Herbology professor, and noticed that she and the rest of her classmates were staring at her. She felt her cheeks redden in embarrassment, as she also took note of the stern look on the plump professor's face.

"It's nice to have you back, Miss Lestrange. Now, please pay attention to the lesson."

Hera couldn't do anything else but nod her head, her lips pursed and cast her gaze towards the front, watching her professor gesture towards the plants that sat in front of all the students and the one that was beside her, resuming her lesson.

♧

Hera sat in the Great Hall with Elena at her side, while they both had their lunch, well mostly Elena. Hera sat with her elbows on her table and she was lost in thought, swirling her spoon in the tea cup. The Asian girl watched her best friend, while she ate her food, bring the spoon to her lips and chewed on the carrot. Her patience started to wear thin, as she kept her gaze on the black-and-white haired girl, she called her best friend.

It was unusual to see Hera in such a state, oblivious to her surroundings and lost in thought. She was usually very attentive, her eyes darting around and taking in everything that seemed to move, almost analyzing the environment around her. If she wasn't busy scaring everyone away with a few glares, Hera would be deep in a conversation with Elena, usually talking about trivial things, or gushing over a few of the older boys (mostly Elena).

The Huang girl cleared her throat, trying to get her best friend's attention. When that did not work, she nudged her with her elbow, the movement bringing her out of her thoughts. Hera hummed, as she turned to look at Elena, who in return sent her a concerned glare.

"Is there something wrong?"

Elena huffed, setting down her cutlery, and regretfully leaving her scone alone. "Yes, there is!"

Hera seemed confused by this, as she looked at her with a puzzled look etched on her face. "What-"

"There's something wrong with you, and I demand that you tell me what's bothering you." The Japanese girl crossed her arms over her chest, sending Hera stern look, that almost resembled Professor McGonagall, her thick black eyebrows furrowed and lines etched her flawless sunkissed skin.

The black-and-white haired girl shook her head, her straightened hair swayed from side to side. She knew she couldn't tell Elena, she couldn't risk jeopardizing the entire mission that was assigned to her. She slipped up, and now she had to cover her tracks. She promised Uncle Lucius that she'd not tell anyone, including Draco. Would she really risk her parents' honour just so she could release all the pressure she had started to build inside?

Hera didn't think twice.

"I've started my period this morning..." She spoke in a soft voice, a red tinge started to spread on her cheeks as she admitted this to her friend. It wasn't exactly a lie, nor was it the thing that was troubling her so, but it seemed to be enough as it appeased Elena.

The Asian girl's mouth formed into an 'o' shape, as she registered what her friend was telling her. She nodded in understanding, shifting her gaze from her best friend to her plate of food. "You could always go to Madam Promfrey if you aren't feeling up for anything, she could give you something...?"

Hera shook her head no, "It's alright, my cramps just kept me up last night. Thank Merlin for tea."

"Well, I didn't know you liked tea that much, Hera." A voice came from behind the duo, making the two girls turn in their seats to face the newcomer.

A familiar head of neat curly locks of Auburn greeted them with a dimpled smile, the sight making Hera blush and shrink in her seat. Troy Greengrass took the empty seat next to Hera, earning curious glances from the two friends. Elena leaned forward to get a better look at the Greengrass boy, as she started to talk. "What brings you around, Greengrass?"

The Auburn-haired boy fixed his tie and collar, while he grabbed a scone, placing it on the platter in front of him to butter it. "Well, I need some help for the herbology homework that Sprout gave us, do any of you know how to go about it?"

Hera shook her head and pointed towards Elena with her finger, whilst Troy took a bite from his scone. "Well...I'm not as good as Elena in the subject, but I'm pretty sure she'd be able to help you."

At the moment finished talking, Hera-Cassiopeia felt a sharp kick to her shin, forcing her knee to jolt upwards and hit the wooden table. The black-and-white haired girl hissed in pain and turned to look at her best friend who had a narrowed expression on her face. The girls silently argued with their eyes, completely forgetting about Troy in the process.

It wasn't that Elena disliked Troy or anything, as a matter of fact, she enjoyed his company, but she knew all about Hera's little crush that she had on the boy, that started from their very first year at Hogwarts. Her infatuation with the boy, wasn't as obvious as Pansy's current obsession with Hera's cousin, Draco, but it was very obvious for her to notice, especially with the tinged pink cheeks and the shy demeanor she held with the Greengrass boy. She tried almost everything in her power to get the two to spend time together.

The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted their silent arguement forcing both the girls to look at Troy, who sat patiently waiting for them with a charming smile gracing his features. Elena leaned forward once more to get a better look at the boy, her small almond eyes narrowed at him. "Why didn't you ask your sister?"

Troy scratched the back of his head sheepishly, looking around the Great Hall. "Well, I would have, but I can't find Daphne anywhere. Which is strange because I'd usually find her with the twins or Astoria."

"The twins?"

Both Hera and Elena snapped their heads towards Troy, who let out a huff of air. "Not the Weasley's. I'm talking about the ones in our house, you know, the- oh you know what never mind."

♧

Hera stalked through the castle after a dreadful Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Snape. Apparently, Professor Lupin had come down with some illness and was unable to teach, thus Professor Snape took over his lesson. Strangely enough, the hook-nosed teacher skipped several topics ahead and dived into the topic of werewolves. The topic itself irked her. When animagi were compared to the creatures, and were briefly mentioned in the lesson, Hera couldn't help but freeze in her seat when Professor Snape's beady eyes lingered on her a second longer than usual.

Shaking off her nerves from the lesson, Hera continued to walk through the castle corridors towards the greenhouses.

She had not forgotten her objective, the mission and how she would go about it had plagued her brain through out the entirety of the day, leaving her distracted through every lesson. She had left Elena at the Slytherin Common room, making up an excuse to leave for the greenhouses.

Anxiety plagued her as she took each step closer to the greenhouses where Professor Sprout kept the mandrake plants. Since the Dementors were lurking around the school grounds, Dumbledore had set curfews so that no one who'd go wandering on the school grounds would come into contact with any of them. Unfortunately, Hera wouldn't be abiding by the rules since she had to retrieve a mandrake leaf, which her uncle did not so graciously send to her.

The young girl stopped by the archway that led out to the greenhouses, looking both left and right, she concluded that it was safe enough to sneak through to the greenhouse. Hera hurriedly walked over to the greenhouse she was in previously in Herbology, casting the alohamora spell on the door to unlock it. She tip-toed inside scanning the various plant life that scaled the entire room.

A few waving tendrils and swaying stems lurked in the air, making Hera dodge and duck each of them so that she wouldn't be caught up by the greedy tendrils of the plant life. Finally, she reached the other side of the greenhouse where the mandrake plants were settled against the glass walls. She took out a small metal tin from her robes, and a small patrol of scissors to cut off  a few mandrake leaves into the tin. Once she was done, she hurried out, making sure to lock the greenhouse.

Hera took a deep, relieving breath as soon as she turned away from the greenhouse door, and made her way back into the castle, the mandrake leaves safely secured in her robes.

She barely made it a few steps into the castle, she suddenly halted to a stop, her brown eyes wide at the sight that stood before her. She couldn't comprehend what was happening, as she stood gaping. Her heart clenched with an unfamiliar feeling, a heavy feeling flunk in her stomach.

Then it finally made sense.

Although, she did not expect it to happen, the feeling of realization hit her like a ton of bricks.

Dark brown eyes and another pair of hazel-coloured orbs stared back at Cassiopeia-Hera, scared of what she'd do next. The boy stood with his jaw clenched tight, a feeling of anxiety, flowing through him. Who knew how much of power Hera had? It was probably a lot due to her friendship with Elena Huang, a very popular third-year who had the ability to spread a rumour faster than you could say 'Merlin'.

His one fist was clenched, while the other held his girlfriend's hand tightly. The next move all depended on Hera. He could feel his girlfriend squeeze his hand, to somehow reassure him, but that did not settle his nerves. He wanted their relationship to remain a secret, but clearly, that was not going to happen since they were caught by the wrong person.

He no longer knew Hera personally, and he did not know whether or not she'd be reliable enough to keep his relationship a secret. The boy could no longer stay staring at the pale, dark-haired girl, so he opened his mouth to say something to her.

Yet, it never came, because as soon as he opened his mouth, Cassiopeia-Hera walked straight past him, not bothering to look back.