SERPENT HEART° TOM RIDDLE

010. GRAVIORA MANENT

"If I may," Cassius took a step forward. He tugged nervously at his collar as he looked at Tom, "The Hel's and my family are relatively close. Cauius Hel cares about his daughter very much. If he found out she died, I think he'd come out of hiding at once and track down whoever did it."

"What are you suggesting, Avery?" Tom raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you don't think my plan is a good idea? That I have made a mistake?"

"N-no." Cassius shook his head furiously, his cheeks turning red. "I'm only saying that Cauius Hel and the rest of them will prove to be an even bigger problem than Rhea Hel."

Tom tilted his chin upwards, mulling over Cassius's words.

"How big of a problem?" Tom asked. His Death Eaters exchanged looks between one another. Obviously they were more aware of the power that the Hel's held than he was. "Would any of you care to explain?"

Tom's patience was wearing thin and they could hear it in his voice.

"The Hel's are referred to as The Dark House in our circle." Abraxas stepped forward to speak to Tom. Tom was hardly surprised by this. Abraxas was one of the few who didn't cower in Tom's presence. "Not only do they show proficiency with the Dark Arts, but with Ancient and Forgotten Magic as well. And they have a real knack for vengeance. I'm afraid that if Rhea goes to her family and tells them what has been happening or if they find out she's dead, they will not rest until we are all dead."

Tom may have been arrogant, but he wasn't stupid. He hadn't amassed enough power to face a family of dark witches and wizards who had been practicing magic far longer than he had.

"If we are going to murder Rhea Hel," Abraxas continued, "we're going to have to do it flawlessly. No matter what happens, there can be no mistakes and she cannot make it out alive."

Rhea Hel sat in her Arithmancy class with Professor Syblline. She tapped her quill against the desk and glanced over her shoulder when she felt someone's eyes boring into the side of her head. She was seated beside Octavia Travers, a Ravenclaw that was friends with Astrea. Octavia liked Rhea well enough and Rhea took extra care to stay on her good side, as she did with other families from the Sacred Twenty-Nine. Octavia was dating Persephone's older brother, Magnus Zabini, and there were even talks that the pair of them would be getting married when Octavia graduated from Hogwarts. 

The person staring at her sat across the aisle on the other side of Octavia. As she had expected, it was Tom Riddle. For the past two weeks, Tom had been popping up around every corner trying to catch Rhea's attention. He had lured his Death Eaters out to catch her alone and had them hand her secret notes telling her to meet him places or tried walking up to her to ask if she would speak to him in private. She ignored all of these attempts and made sure to stick close to a friend at all times; not for any particular reason besides the fact that she enjoyed this little game that they were playing. 

He looked angry, naturally, and that made Rhea smile. 

"I expect two rolls of parchment from each of you come Friday." Professor Syblline assigned them before class ended. Rhea gathered her things and stood up from her seat, turning to face Octavia.

"I hear that there might be wedding bells in your future, Octavia." said Rhea to the girl. She stared at Tom out of the corner of her eye and enjoyed the way he silently fumed while he stared at her.