Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me

Note: This chapter is for Padfootette, who wrote, "Could u please do one where Hera invites a friend from her school in Ireland home." I wrote back, telling her I had intended on turning Luna Lovegood into a magical creature and asked if she'd be okay with that. She was :)

Also: A special thanks to BePeachy for picking Luna's creature! There's actually a wiki page if you want to read up on it.

Hera is ten

A New Friend

The little whirlwind known as Hera Cullen flashed home from her Irish school in a whoosh of green flames. In a flurry of movement, her uniform jacket, tie, and hat were off, the last having barely missed Alice's head as she tossed it toward the sofa. The child darted into the kitchen and, without stopping, summoned a cookie and ran upstairs to her room.

The two vampires on the living room sofa shared an amused look. Emmett shook his head and said, "Welcome home, Hera… yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking. How was your day? Really? You missed me that much, huh?"

Alice giggled as the ten-year-old turned her stereo on. The music began blaring a moment before all sounds were suddenly cut off from the room. Hera had obviously put up a silencing charm to keep from disturbing her family.

A few minutes passed before Edward came through the door with a bag of groceries. "Is Hera home yet," he asked his brother and sister while putting the food up.

Emmett snorted. "I'm not sure. I think I saw a blurry mass of green feathers head upstairs earlier, but it may have been a figment of my imagination."

Jasper chuckled from his and Alice's room.

Hera's music sounded once again before cutting off as the child left her room. She soon appeared at the bottom of the stairs after having changed into a pair of denim shorts and a burgundy t-shirt. Her grin nearly split her face when she saw her siblings. "Hey guys, where's mom and dad?"

Emmett suddenly lunged and grabbed the child's ankle. Hera gave a mixture of shrieks and giggles as her brother dangled her upside down. "You've got a lot of nerve zooming through here without giving a proper greeting to your favorite brother and sister!"

Hera tried to push her wild hair out of her face. "I would have, Emmett, but I didn't see Jasper and Rose!"

Everyone laughed as Emmett pretended to pout. "Why you little…." He began to tickle his sister unmercifully.

"Augh… no… hahaha… EMMETT!"

Jasper came downstairs to witness the scene. "You might want to ease up there Emmett," he warned his brother with a smirk, "Hera's gotten a lot better at transfiguration."

"What's that got to do with any… aw crap!"

Edward was quick to grab Hera before Emmett could drop her in shock as tentacles began sprouting from his body. His dark hair suddenly turned a vibrant shade of neon orange and a huge set of what looked like ant feelers protruded from the top of his head. Alice fell off the end of the sofa in laughter. "Oh my… I saw it coming and I still can't believe it! Where's my camera?!"

"Don't you dare, Alice!" The brawny newly-turned squid mutant chased his sister around the room as she began snapping pictures with her camera phone. He might have caught up to her were it not for the fact that he was trying to avoid tripping over his tentacles. This was the scene Esme and Carlisle witnessed when they came back from hunting.

They watched the madness for a few moments before turning to the only one in the house capable of transforming Emmett into… whatever he was. The phoenix was currently sitting on Jasper's shoulders enjoying her retribution on her brother. Her red face was wet with tears of laughter and her hair stood up in various places. When Hera caught sight of her parents, her grin widened and she flashed down to greet them.

Esme chuckled as she happily returned the hug before trying to straighten the child's hair. "Hey baby, how was your day?"

Green eyes sparkling with excitement. "Oh my gosh, mama… there's a new girl at school named Luna Lovegood and she's amazing!"

"A little help, Hera," Emmett asked, giving his cutest puppy dog expression as everyone settled down from the bout of amusement. The child giggled as she waved her hand and returned the vampire to his normal goofy appearance. "Thanks, squirt. Now tell us about this new girl. What kind of creature is she?"

"A haltija. It's spelled h-a-l-t-i-j-a, but it's pronounced "hal-tia," and they're kind of like fairies, but much more!" She flopped down on the couch and everyone else found a place to sit as well.

"How much more," her father asked with a genial smile. Hera's moods were often infectious, often leaving her family wondering if she didn't have a touch of Jasper's gift.

"Well, there are different kinds of haltijas, dad, and each kind has a different affinity. Luna is of the forest variety. She can control plant life… make things grow even in places like the desert where the plant isn't supposed to live. I met her after seeing her pick up an acorn from the ground outside, plant it, and hold her hand over it and a tree actually sprouted from the ground! When I went over to tell her how amazing that was she told me that the oak has Celtic roots as being a sacred tree, and she thought she'd give the seed a jump start on life."

Edward cut in as the talkative girl drew a breath. "But you can already do that. I've seen you grow flowers a million times."

Hera shook her head. "No… that's not helping a plant grow. All I'm doing is conjuring flowers, Edward. My magic will eventually fade, leaving whatever I've called forth to disappear. Luna's oak tree will live, grow, and drop acorns which will result in future trees! She's amazing," Hera repeated. "We talked for the entire break about different things and I think we're going to be best friends!"

Everyone smiled at the declaration. "That is great news, princess," Carlisle said. "If her parents don't mind, we would love to have her visit for a weekend."

Gasping in pure joy, Hera began bouncing in place. "Do you mean it, daddy? Can she come this weekend?"

Carlisle laughed at her enthusiasm. Hera had many friends at school, but none she was really close to. Though Neville had proven to be a great companion, he was a boy and therefore not good sleepover material. Everyone could still remember the growls Edward had produced when Hera had asked two years ago. "Sure, sweetheart. If it's okay with her family, then we would love to have her."

"Yes! I'm going to go get my room ready in case they say it's alright," She exclaimed before flashing away.

Emmett scratched his head. "She does know today is Tuesday, right?"

Jasper chuckled. "With the amount of excitement coursing through her, I don't think she cares. She'll probably change everything around a million times before the girl comes."

Friday finally arrived, though it took forever in coming according to the excited phoenix. This time when she flashed home from school there was an ethereal-looking blonde holding tightly to her arm. The visitor was roughly the same height as Hera. She had wide silver eyes which protruded slightly. Luna's creature could be seen both by her ears, which were pointed like the elves in Tolkien's books, and the large silver set of gossamer wings that were reflexively opening and closing behind her.

The vampires all gathered around, eager to meet the gentle soul that Hera had been talking about all week. The phoenix smiled widely and pulled her friend toward her family. "Hi guys, this is my friend Luna Lovegood. Luna, this is my mom and dad, Esme and Carlisle, my brothers Emmett and Jasper, my sisters Alice and Rosalie, and Edward… he's my mate."

Luna smiled as she warmly greeted everyone. "Oh wow… you are so lucky, Hera, to have found your mate already," the haltija said and the vampires noticed that her voice was as ethereal as she was and vaguely resembled the distant sound of chimes on a windy day. "It's very nice to meet all of you. Hera talks about you all the time."

Esme came forward and lovingly wrapped her arms around her daughter's friend. "You as well, dear. An hour has rarely gone by all week when your name hasn't crossed Hera's lips! Why don't you show Luna up to your room, Hera, and I'll fix you girls a snack."

"Okay, mama." Luna's hand was grabbed by the phoenix and soon both girls were up the stairs in a whirlwind of chatter.

As soon as Hera shut her door she cast a silencing spell on the room. When Luna tilted her head in confusion, she said, "When you live in a house full of vampires, the only way to have any kind of privacy is through silencing charms."

Luna giggled and looked around curiously. "Except for your mate, of course."

Hera shrugged and flopped down on her large purple beanbag. Luna followed her example and settled into the black one beside it. "Well yeah… I haven't discovered anything yet that would keep my thoughts hidden from Edward, and believe me when I say I've tried." They shared a giggle.

"I love your room… I take it purple is your favorite color?"

The phoenix giggled. Her bed, curtains, bookcases, and desk were all done in a vivid shade of purple. Even the carpet was a light lavender. "What gave me away?"

They were interrupted by a tapping on the door. Hera quickly cast a charm to open it, revealing Esme holding a tray containing a platter of cookies and drinks. "Luna, sweetie, is milk okay with your cookies or can I get you something else?"

"Milk is fine, Mrs. Cullen. As long as it's not thestral milk… drinking it has been known to turn people's skin a dreadful shade of grey and cause them to talk backwards for a week," the girl said in complete seriousness.

Esme laughed. "Call me Esme, dear. And this is one hundred percent cow milk, I promise… not a thestral in sight."

"Oh good… I would love some in that case, Esme. Thank you!"

Leaving the platter of cookies, Esme excused herself. Before leaving, she turned once more to her daughter's guest. "Make yourself at home, Luna. Don't be too shy to help yourself to anything you'd like in the fridge, and if there's something you want that we don't have just let one of us know and we'll go get it."

Luna returned the sweet smile. "Thank you, I will."

Saturday morning found the two girls out exploring the forest. They had spent most of the night talking and laughing until Carlisle had put his foot down and forced them to go to sleep around two in the morning. Luna, being a forest haltija, was eager to explore the vast untouched wilderness behind the Cullens' home. Together they trekked through the trees, Hera becoming more and more amazed by her new best friend when every plant seemed to respond to her very presence. "Is it something you do on purpose, like my animal thing, or are the plants just responding to you automatically."

"Plants have always reacted this way to me. My mother said that they had to be careful when taking me outside as a baby because it was easy to lose me among the flora," tinkling laughter followed her statement. She curiously looked to Hera. "What animal thing do you mean?"

"Oh… animals respond to my phoenix. When I was a baby they didn't, but one day when I was five Edward took me to the zoo and every animal we came upon wanted to get close to me." She began laughing at the memory. "I wish you could have seen us in the petting zoo! Once the goats started crowding around me, Edward got in the pen with me and then they all turned on him! I guess they thought he was coming to eat me, and one of them even hit him in the butt with his head!"

Luna shared in the laughter. "So is it something you can control? I haven't noticed you stuck under a flock of birds lately."

"Yes," she spoke while giggling at the mental image, "as I got older I figured out how to turn it on and off. Watch."

Hera held out a hand toward a neighboring tree and suddenly a beautiful yellow bird flew down and landed on the pale skin. "Amazing," Luna breathed.

Hera was about to answer when a popping noise caught her attention. "What was that?"

Luna, too, seemed disturbed by the odd sound. "I don't know, but it came from that way," she replied, pointing towards the west. "Should we take a look?"

Hera nodded and they both took off into the air. They kept below the canopy, worried about non-magical humans catching them, and flew silently toward where the noise originated. Both girls landed in a tree when they saw two human wizards dressed in black and wearing white masks. "Death Eaters," thought the phoenix, "how did they find me?"

She turned to Luna, who was wearing an identical concerned expression. The haltija was from Ottery St. Catchpole… there was no way she didn't know what a Death Eater looked like.

"There's nothing here, McNair," said the shorter male. "Umbridge was pulling your leg. Where the hell are we, anyway?"

The one called McNair growled. "How should I know where we are? And the toad wouldn't dare screw with me. Besides, she hates filthy half breeds as much as we do. I'm telling you Hera Cullen has to be around here. Umbridge said she placed the ministry-grade tracking charm on the girl's bag the last time she went to visit those disgusting goblin vermin."

"I thought the brat could see magic… you really think she wouldn't notice her bag turning a different color?"

"Her bag already had charms on it… she wouldn't notice one extra. Now put a cork in it, Dolph… this gadget she gave me should pinpoint the girl's exact location, even behind wards. I just have to find the right setting." Both men gasped when a vine shot from a nearby tree and wrapped around the wrist of a man holding the weird contraption.

Both Death Eaters tried to get to their wands, but more vines came out, wrapping them up tightly. By the time Luna was done, the two men looked like a pair of green sausages. Muffled screams of fright could be heard when the girls flew down to observe their prisoners.

"What should we do with them," asked Luna.

Hera thought for a moment, then gestured to the Death Eater's wands and magical tracking device. "Take those to my family and tell them to destroy them… I'll take them somewhere and leave them."

Luna looked worried. "I don't know, Hera… what if they get loose. Maybe I should come too, just in case."

"I'll be fine. I won't stay gone long. Besides," she added, "I'm not strong enough to flash with three passengers… two will be pushing it, actually." Hera bent down and scanned the device. "It's clean… I don't think anyone will be able to track this thing itself. I'll scan my bag as soon as I get back, okay?"

"Okay… stay safe," Luna reached out to hug her best, and only, friend.

Hera and their prisoners disappeared in a flash of green fire seconds before seven worried vampires converged on the scene. Luna was shocked at their appearance before she remembered Hera's tales of Alice's gift of foresight.

"Luna, are you okay? Where's Hera," Edward asked in a panic after seeing only the haltija in the immediate area.

"Um… I'm okay. Hera will be back in just a moment… she took the Death Eaters somewhere, but she promised to stay safe." Seemingly oblivious to the vampires' terrified reactions to the news, Luna held up the two wands and tracking gadget. "Actually she wanted me to ask you if you wouldn't mind destroying these… just in case the Umbridge lady comes looking for them."

Emmett immediately ground the items into dust while Edward ran his fingers through his hair. "Where did she go, Luna?"

Tilting her head, Luna said, "You know… I have no idea, but we can ask Hera when she comes back. She probably flashed back to your house because that's where I was supposed to meet her." She gasped when Jasper grabbed her and rushed back to the vampires' home with the others. "Wow… daddy would love to hear about this," she exclaimed as the scenery sped by at an alarming pace.

Thankfully Hera was waiting at the house when they returned, as evidenced by the muffled cries as Hera demanded to be put down. Finally she flashed out of her mate's arms, only to grumble as he pounced on her again. "Edward… stop it!"

Carlisle shook his head. "Just let him check, Hera. His vampire won't settle until it's reassured that you're uninjured."

"And me telling him I'm uninjured isn't enough to settle it?"

Alice snorted. "From the girl who would claim to be fine even if she were missing a limb? Not a chance, sis!"

"Why did you leave, Hera," Jasper demanded. "Do you know how dangerous that could have been? Where did you take them, anyway?"

Suddenly remembering something, Hera flashed away only to return a second later with her school bag. "Just a second, Jas. One of them said there was a tracking charm on my bag… I have to get rid of it first and then I'll answer your questions." Peering into the magic woven into the fabric, the phoenix was able to recognize the tracking charm and remove it. It was a pale green in color, nearly the same shade as the expansion charm.

"Okay, sorry," she looked up into the expectant faces. "After Luna wrapped them up like a couple of tamales I flashed them to the middle of the Sahara desert." Hera scratched her head in thought. "I suppose they could apparated wandlessly if they're really desperate, but they'll have to get out of the vines first."

Hera's wings drooped when her family's glares didn't lessen in the least after her explanation. "Aw come on guys… I was safe! They couldn't move, and they have no clue how to get back here."

Carlisle sighed in disappointment. "Hera, what you did was incredibly dangerous. You should have flashed to us immediately! I hope you enjoy the rest of Luna's visit, because after she leaves you're going to be grounded for two weeks, young lady."

"What?! Daddy, that's not fair!" Hera's pleading gaze, unfortunately for her, had no effect on her family whenever they felt she'd placed herself in danger needlessly.

"It's non-negotiable. We'll talk more on this tomorrow. You girls can spend the rest of the day inside."

Hera growled and stomped away to her room. This hadn't been at all how she expected hosting her first real sleepover would go. Luna followed her, looking as if she felt a mixture of apologetic and awkwardness. "Hey, it's not so bad. At least those guys have no clue how to get back here." They both collapsed into the bean bag chairs.

"Yeah, I know. I just wish they would trust that I know what I'm doing for once! I had everything under control… they never even got a chance to hurt me." Hera ran her fingers through her hair and sighed.

Luna pondered her friend's words for a moment. "I think they do trust you, Hera. It's the other two that they didn't." As the phoenix looked at her, she continued. "Families can't help but think of the worst case scenarios when it comes to the safety of their own… especially their young. Nothing else mattered to your family but your survival, and when they realized that your fate was out of their control, they grew frightened."

Hera sighed. "I didn't think of it like that. I can't imagine what it would feel like to not have anyone to care about whether I lived or died."

"I bet it would be a pretty lonely existence," the haltija answered. The two girls lapsed into silence for a while, lost in thought.

As Luna was preparing to leave the next morning, she was suddenly assaulted with a hug from her new best friend. "I'm so glad you came to visit me Luna. We'll have to do this again when I'm not grounded anymore!"

Laughing joyously, the haltija replied, "I would love to come back. And you're also welcome to visit me at the rookery, though I doubt your family would let you come to England by yourself anytime soon!"

After Luna said goodbye to everyone else, she grabbed her portkey and disappeared.

Esme wrapped her arms around her baby girl and squeezed. "Did you have a good visit, sweetheart?"

Hera pulled her attention away from the spot Luna had been standing and answered. "It was fabulous mama… I have a best friend now!"

And somehow the phoenix knew that this friendship was going to last her a lifetime.

Thanks to all readers/reviewers!