Hera wiggled in her itchy dress, not really paying much attention to what her teacher, Mr Little, was saying.
“Hera, can you please pay attention?” Mr Little sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Sorry...” she muttered.
She tried, but regardless of the itchy material the dress was made from, it was difficult to stay still. The straight-backed wooden chair and desk her father had set up in the basement were very uncomfortable.
Mr Little turned back around and continued to write on the small chalk board that was fastened to the wall. After about a minute, he stopped.
“Do you understand, Hera?” he asked.
“Yes,” she lied. She wasn’t in the mood to stay down here any longer, even if it meant a good scolding from him next week.
“Finish page forty-nine tonight. I’ll see you next week.” His briefcase clicked shut and he began walking up the stone steps.
Hera had always been home schooled. Mr Little was in the Ellis’ basement five days a week, teaching her what she needed to know. Over the summer he came over once a week to help her with her maths, which was her worst subject.
She was indifferent to being home schooled. She didn’t really like any of the other children her age, and she preferred her own home to a large classroom. Her father didn’t want her interacting with other children anyway, that’s why he paid Mr Little so much to teach her.
Scooping up her books, she trudged upstairs, eager to get out of her silly, itchy dress. Edward Ellis, her father, was still at work, so the ground floor of the house was empty. She could hear Ava, the house maid, vacuuming upstairs.
“Hi, Ava,” Hera greeted upon reaching the upstairs hall.
Ava nodded and continued her work.
“Do you know when father will be home?” Hera asked.
Ava glanced at her watch. “Soon.”
Seeing that she would get no more information out of the house maid, Hera quickly changed into comfortable clothing and ran back downstairs, collapsing on the living room sofa. She lay down, relaxed for a moment, until a sudden noise made her jump.
Rap, rap, rap.
Looking around wildly for the source of the noise, she slowly got up.
Rap, rap, rap.
When she spotted it, she almost cried out loud with surprise. There was an owl tapping on the window!
An owl? At this time of day? Slowly, because she could think of nothing else to do, she opened the window. The owl flew in, landing on the arm of the sofa.
She stared at it. It hooted loudly. Afraid that Ava would hear it over the noise of the vacuum and make it go away, she took a few steps forward. It was then that she noticed there was something tied on its leg.
The owl stuck out its leg expectantly. Curious, Hera untied it. It was a large, heavy envelope, made of thick, yellow parchment. After being relieved of its burden, the owl flew off through the open window.
Filled with wonder, she looked at the back. There was a purple wax seal with a coat of arms bearing several animals and a large H. On the front her address was written in green ink.
Should she open it? It did have her name on it... Her overwhelming curiosity got the best of her, as it always did, and she slowly opened the envelope.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore
Dear Miss Ellis,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl by no later then the 31st of July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
“What...?” she murmured, completely bewildered.
Hera reread the letter several times, then the long booklist that had come with it.
A History of Magic... This has to be some sort of prank, she thought. But who did she know that owned an owl? She read through it again. It had to be real.
There had been some times when odd things had happened, things that had almost looked like magic. She could swear that she had made her goldfish, the only pet she had ever owned, grow three times its size, in front of her very eyes, just by wishing it was bigger. Or when she had not wanted to go to her Aunt Prudence’s for tea (because she smelt like prunes and kissed her far too much) and her bedroom door locked on its own accord.
Excitement swelled in the pit of her stomach. She was invited to go to a magic school! No more Mr Little and no more stupid, itchy dresses. She could turn all the neighborhood kids that called her stuck up into toads!
The front door swung open and Edward Ellis’ heavy, even footfalls echoed through the house.
“Father?” she called, the letter clutched in her hand.
“Yes, Hera?” His perfectly groomed head appeared in the doorway.
“Look what just came!” she cried with excitement, stuffing the letter into his hands.
As he read it, Edward turned a ghastly shade of white. “You don’t actually believe this rubbish?” he finally said, his voice unnaturally high.
“But it came on an owl!”
He was silent for a long time. “You are not to go.”
“But father!
Edward lowered his voice. “Your mother went to this- school. Look at what happened to her!”
Hera pushed the fact that her mother had been a witch to the back of her mind for later, her anger was too great to deal with that right now. “What did this school have to do with anything? It wasn’t their fault she died...”
“Are you implying it was my fault?” Edward said slowly.
“S-she died because you left her, I know so! If it’s anybody’s fault it’s yours!” Hera cried.
Of course, she knew no such thing, and the little voice in the back of her mind told her that it was a horrible thing to say. Still, she jutted out her jaw defiantly. All she knew, from overhearing her gossiping aunts, was that her father had left her mother and that her mother had died during child birth. But her anger was growing, and she felt the need to blame her father.
“What?” Edward twitched.
Hera clutched the envelope in her hand.
“She lied to me for two years, it was unacceptable,” he said firmly.
“Liar,” Hera whispered. “You left her because she was different, you left her because she was a WITCH! You always want things to be normal and perfect, but she was your wife! My mum! It shouldn’t have mattered!”
Hot tears blurred her vision and anger boiled in her belly. The air cracked with electricity. CRASH! A vase
behind Edward shattered. Edward looked at the broken vase, then at Hera.
“I forbid you to go.”
Hera stormed out of the room, furious, knowing that she would never be able to love her father the same way again.
Discovering the Forgotten by Thoth
Chapter Notes: A big thanks to Lurid for betaing this! This chapter is rewritten from when it was previously posted.