SERPENT HEART° TOM RIDDLE

032. MORTE MAGIS METUENDA SENECTUS

Tom didn't answer, but it was because he didn't need to. He knew that she understood and he didn't like how raw and vulnerable her gaze made him feel. He spoke, but Rhea drowned out his voice as she sat in surprise that Tom's biggest fear was death. To her, death always seemed like a natural end. It was something she looked forward to meeting when her time was right though she knew that wouldn't be for a long, long time.

The meeting finished and Rhea gathered her things as Tom frowned and called her to stay behind. She waited while everyone filed out of the room before turning to Tom.

"What do you want?" Rhea asked.

"You can't speak to me like that in public." Tom said sternly. Rhea rolled her eyes.

"All I did was ask why you want to be immortal and I got my answer. It's silly, I think, to fear something that will happen to us all eventually."

"'Everyone fears something'." Tom said. The corner of Rhea's lips turned up and she thought about Tom's quest for immortality while she made her way to her room.

Seraphina was waiting for her in the dungeons and Rhea was forced to endure the girl's excited rants all the way to their bedroom door where Rhea promptly shushed her. It wasn't until Rhea changed into her nightgown that she made her way to her bed where a neatly folded piece of parchment sat atop her pillow. Rhea narrowed her eyes at it suspiciously before she picked it up, squinting to read its contents.

Miss Hel,

Please come to my office during your after-lunch break.

Professor Dumbledore

Rhea crumpled the letter into a ball and tucked it away under her pillow so that no one would be able to find it. When she woke up the next morning, her skin felt a bit warm. She blinked slowly as she sat at the edge of her bed, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over her.

"Are you well?" Persephone asked as she picked up her bag from the side of her bed. Rhea squeezed her eyes shut.

"I think I'm getting sick." Rhea said miserably. Persephone chuckled, but Rhea sat silently, chewing on the inside of her cheek before she glanced around at the room. Persephone was the last of her friends to leave the room, leaving her alone. Rhea grabbed the letter from Dumbledore, unwrapping it to read its contents once more to wonder why he would want to see her.

Professor Dumbledore, her Transfigurations teacher, had never taken much of an interest in her before. In fact, she didn't think he'd spoken to her unless he was giving her a compliment on her technique during class. She didn't know what he wanted with her though she suspected it might not be about her at all.

Nevertheless, she parted ways with Walburga and Persephone after Herbology and went to Dumbledore's office. She found her professor fixing two cups of tea at his desk when she knocked on the door with a polite smile on her face.

"Good afternoon, Professor." Rhea said. He glanced up.

"Rhea, excellent to see you. Please, come in." Dumbledore waved her inside and Rhea did as she was told, shutting the door behind her. She dropped into the chair across from him. "I wasn't sure if you would receive my note. The Selwyn girl was kind enough to offer to give it to you."

Rhea's smile nearly faltered. Davina. She was sure Davina had read the letter and was probably waiting to pry information from her.

"That was very kind of her." Rhea said, picking up her cup of tea and slowly drinking from the cup, keeping a calm façade while Dumbledore dropped sugar cubes into his tea. "Sorry, Professor, but am I in trouble for something?"