“Put it on.”
“No!”
“Just put it on, I don’t have time for this!” Ava demanded through the door, obviously too busy to fight with a stubborn sixteen year old girl.
Hera eyed the dress with distaste. It was a blinding white and perfectly hideous.
“It’s ugly,” she said.
“Mrs Ellis bought it especially for you. You’ll break her heart if you don’t wear it!” Ava attempted.
Hera really didn’t care if she broke Mrs Ellis’s heart or not. She could wear the thing is she liked it so much.
But finally, swearing under he breath, she hauled it on. She glanced at herself in the wardrobe mirror.
In her opinion, it looked no better on then it did off. Her ridiculously wild brown curls were pinned back with a clip and the white of the dress made her freckles stand out painfully.
“Stupid hag...” she muttered.
“What was that?” Ava asked, her hearing impeccable.
“Nothing!”
“Now, if you’re done being difficult, your father wants you outside,” Ava called impatiently.
Grabbing a pair of white high heels she grumbled and made her way out into the back garden. Her father was always hosting garden parities for his important clients and such, which meant Hera was forced into some ridiculous dress at least once a month.
Outside, the back garden was brimming with people. Hera sidestepped Miranda and paused for a moment to laugh silently at her son Philip’s attire. Miranda has managed to get him into a sweater vest, which was completely ridiculous, because Philip probably spent most of his time laughing at people his age who liked wearing sweater vests.
Two years ago, Edward Ellis had gotten remarried to Miranda Atkinson, now Ellis. She and her son, Philip, now lived in the Ellis household. Philip basically avoided her, but Miranda was a complete pain. But it seemed like Miranda was the perfect wife for Edward, all fussing over furniture and “Oh, dear, your job sounds so hectic”.
Quickly, she found a plastic lawn chair and sat down in the far corner of the garden, where she was partially obscured by some sort of exotic bush. She watched the party progress with disinterest until Edward Ellis approached her, looking stiff and well-groomed.
“Hera, dear. Why are you sitting behind Miranda’s rhododendron?” he asked.
She shrugged.
“Please, don’t be difficult. Come and join the party, some of Philip’s friends are here,” Edward said hopefully.
She bit her tounge, it was all she could do to keep herself from making a face. “No, I think I’ll go for a bit of a run. I’ve been here long enough, right?”
“I don’t know if it’s safe for you to go out alone, Hera,” Edward said slowly. “Considering all the things that have been happening...”
Hera wondered for a moment if Edward would even be able to comprehend what was actually happening if she explained it to him. Something like it, she knew, had happened many years ago, but this time it was much, much worse. But even so, she could not stay sitting down there any longer.
“I’ll be fine. I’m only going to go up the road!” And without waiting for his reply she smiled and quickly took off through the back gate.
Once out on the road, she took off her shoes and began to run, the few rocks barely hurting the hardened soles of her feet.
She loved running, and as it was moderately dark outside and she knew that she was defying her father, she was enjoying it even more. She loved the feeling of the wind slapping against her face and the adrenalin rush it brought.
A little ways up the road her hair escaped the clip that had been holding it back. Curls sprang out, bouncing as her feet pounded against the pavement. She absently stuffed the clip down the front of her dress for safe keeping, seeing as she didn’t have any pockets. A large patch of woodland appeared at her side, bringing a small smile to her face.
It was called the Old Wood and barely anyone bothered to go in it. Adults regarded it as a normal patch of forest (no different then the one in the neighboring town) and children were scared of it. Apparently, an old witch lived in there, about to roast anyone who set foot in her wood. According to legend, she particularly liked children.
Hera had ventured in there when she was about twelve, hoping that the witch had gone to Hogwarts, the place where she longed to be. She found no one, but she still liked to roam under the tree tops for something to do, secretly hoping to glimpse the fabled witch.
The bottoms of her feet could withstand the dull rocks on the road, but the forest floor was covered with broken sticks and pine cones. She slowly put her heels back on and walked into the wood. She wound her way around the trees, letting the peaceful night sounds calm her.
Taking her time, she slowly made her way to the place she generally came when she was bored, or was looking for a quiet place to read. In the middle of the wood there was a small clearing, complete with a small branch-off of a stream in a wilder part if the wood, and very soft grass.
“What now?”
Hera jumped. She was about to enter the clearing, but there were people already inside! She knew she should turn around and go home, but her curiosity got the better of her and she crept forward.
There were two people standing next to the stream, one of which looked oddly disproportional. They were talking in quiet whispers and Hera had to strain her ears to hear.
“Now, Longbottom! Stay here, I’ve got to find Alewood,” one voice growled.
“Uh- sure thing, Mad-Eye...” the other said.
“Keep your wand at the ready. Just in case,” the first said.
Wand? She crept a bit closer. Hera watched the disproportional shadow disappear into the trees at the
other side. The other man was now alone. She moved a bit closer, so that she was almost in the clearing, to see what he was holding.
As she leaned forward, her hair clip slid out of her dress. She bent down to get it. Snap! A twig snapped under her heel. She flattened herself to the ground not a moment too soon. A jet of red light went whizzing past her head, grazing a tree.
“Magic,” she breathed.
As quick as her dress would let her, she got up. She gave herself a second to look behind her. The man was out of the clearing, looking around. He spotted her, but she was already running.
“Hey- you!” he called.
She kept running, though she couldn’t hear anyone coming after her, she only stopped when she got out onto the road, breathing hard.
He had used magic! She had seen it. Excitement brewed in her stomach. Someone, who was capable of doing magic, had been in her clearing! Ignoring the stitch in her side and the rip in her dress, she began jogging down the road. She needed to see Greta.