SERPENT HEART° TOM RIDDLE

007. SCIENTIA POTENTIA EST

Rhea liked Seraphina — she was fun and was certainly never boring. But, Seraphina did have a tendency to be a little boy crazy and her attention was fleeting. Rhea couldn't imagine she would like being married to Abraxas either.

"You know we have to start thinking about these sorts of things now, Rhea." Davina said. She sipped her flute of champagne lightly as the girls formed a circle around one another. "We're fifth years now meaning we only have two years left of schooling before we are to take our places in society. But, you probably wouldn't understand the pressure we face since your family isn't one of us."

Silence followed Davina's words.

Davina was constantly throwing it in Rhea's face that, despite the fact that Rhea associated with members of the Sacred Twenty-Nine and even though her family was as pureblood as they came, the Hels weren't actually one of them.

The expression on Rhea's face nearly slipped as Davina hummed innocently and took another sip of her champagne while a humorous smile played on her face.

Rhea hoped she choked on it.

"Davina, are you okay?" Persephone asked concerned when Davina started coughing on her bubbly and her face turned red. Rhea made no move to help as the other girls began to frantically pat Davina on her back as she choked.

Davina pushed them away from her and stormed off, embarrassed.

"She shouldn't have said that to you." Walburga said when Davina was out of sight and could no longer hear them. "Everyone knows how important your family is."

The other girls nodded in agreement and Rhea resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Walburga's words. She didn't need their pity or reassurance. They were too cowardly to say this in front of Davina so their words meant very little to her.

"Thank you." She said despite herself.

Rhea's eyes wandered throughout the room. Cassius and Ramsey were messing around in the corner; Ramsey was attempting to flirt with Astrea in another corner, but she looked as though she couldn't be bothered and she tried to talk to Lupe; But the two people that stood out to Rhea most were standing by the refreshment table and speaking in hushed tones. She narrowed her eyes at them.

Abraxas Malfoy had his arms crossed over his chest and his cool eyes swept over the people dancing in the center of the room. He didn't look too impressed by the band that was playing and, if it weren't for the slight movements of his mouth, Rhea wouldn't have known he was speaking at all. Next to him stood the boy Rhea who hadn't crossed her mind since she left Hogwarts — Tom Riddle.

Rhea had to admit that he cleaned up nice and, if she didn't loathe him, she might have considered trying to charm him like she did with Silas. His hands were in his pockets and he scanned the partygoers with an expression of distaste and annoyance. His mouth stopped moving when his eyes landed on her and his look of distaste morphed into hatred. A smirk formed on her face and Tom pushed himself off the wall to make his way over to her.

"Why is Tom Riddle coming over here?" Seraphina asked. There was a hopefulness in her tone and she seemed to have forgotten about Abraxas.

Tom had a charming little smile on his face when he approached them that fooled everyone, except Rhea. She could see all the darkness inside him that they were oblivious to.