CHAPTER THIRTEEN
— one night is awaiting us all
TOM NORMALLY STAYED AT HOGWARTS OVER EASTER BREAK since he didn't have a family to celebrate Easter with and he hated returning to Wool's Orphanage in London. He didn't know what to expect when he waited with Rhea and Pluto for their Aunt and Uncle to arrive at the station.
Pluto had peppered Rhea with questions she refused to answer when he learned that Tom Riddle was coming home with her. The rest of the family had, naturally, asked her all sorts of questions, wondering why she was bringing a boy home so unexpectedly. Rhea never brought a guy home — not even Silas Parkinson — because she knew no one could measure up to her family's high expectations. Pluto was dating Avida Carrow and, still, they gave him hell for not aiming higher. Now, here she was bringing home Tom Riddle the half-blood.
"I have to tell them that you're the heir of Slytherin." Rhea whispered to Tom while they waited for Cato and Pavlina. The pair broke away from Pluto, who was too busy speaking quietly to Avida Carrow to even notice them. "If I don't and they find out you're a half-blood — which they will because they're going to ask who your family is — then we will hear about it for the rest of the week."
"I've been around families like yours before. I've met the Malfoys." Tom said, watching as Abraxas and his parents walked past them. Malfoy Manor was far on the opposite side of Wiltshire from where Hel House was and Rhea was glad that she rarely saw the Malfoy's walking around Wiltshire. "I know how to act."
"If you go in with that mindset, this whole thing will explode in our faces." Rhea said. Tom looked down on her, an eyebrow raised. Her telling him how to behave instead of making comments that annoyed him was very out of character for her. He wondered if it was possible that she was nervous for him to meet her family. "The Hel's and the Malfoy's are two completely separate family's. You can charm the Malfoy's with your words, but the only thing that charms my family is power and status. You being a half-blood puts you at a disadvantage, but you're the heir of Slytherin and related to the Gaunts who, luckily for you, my family has a long history with. If we tell them that, they won't try and kill you, or me for that matter."
"Stop saying I'm a half-blood." Tom snapped at her. Rhea rolled her eyes.
"It's what you are, but I digress. Stand up straight." Rhea placed her hand on Tom's back and straightened him up, looking at him with an annoyed expression.
"Remove your hand before I hex you." Tom said calmly. Rhea took her hand off of his back and examined him. She smoothed her hair down and looked forward to find Cato and Pavlina making their way towards Tom, Pluto, and Rhea.
Rhea let out a slow breath before making a pleasant expression appear on her face as her Aunt and Uncle drew closer to her.
"Rhea, would you care to introduce us to your friend?" Cato asked. He didn't waste time with pleasantries or exchanging greetings. The expression on his face told her he wanted answers and he wanted them now.
"Uncle Cato, Aunt Pavlina, I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Tom Riddle." Rhea said. Calling Tom Riddle her friend felt like she was saying a curse. She continued on with the introduction, knowing what would impress her Uncle most. "Tom is our Prefect for Slytherin and he's one of the brightest wizards in our year."
Rhea and Tom briefly glanced at one another. She could hardly get the words out without gagging. Cato didn't look impressed, but she was saving the best for last.
"And, Tom is related to the Gaunt's." Rhea said, pausing for dramatic effect. Cato and Pavlina exchanged a look with each other. A pleasant smile formed on Pavlina's face replacing the cold demeanor she previously held.
"The Gaunt's, you say?" Pavlina inquired. "That would make you . . ."
"The Heir of Slytherin, yes." Rhea said.
Cato held his hand out for Tom to shake.
"We're pleased to have you stay with us, Tom." Cato said.
"Thank you, sir." said Tom.
They gathered their luggage and Rhea let out a breath.
"Needed to give them my biography, did you?" Tom asked.
Rhea waved him off.
"I did, actually. Otherwise they wouldn't have let you into the house. The family is very picky about who they let in." Rhea said as they walked to the car. "But, now that they know you're the Heir, they'll be more open to you. I'm sure they'll pepper you with loads of questions. The extended family will be there too, but as long as you remain your usual charming self I'm sure they'll grow to love you more than they love Pluto."
"What about you? Do they love you more than they love Pluto?" Tom asked. Rhea smirked.
"I'm the darling daughter of their eldest son who was sorted into Slytherin and does everything she can to preserve our family name, including getting an invite to a party that we've never been invited to. They worship me." Rhea said. "So, you'll have to pretend to find me tolerable for the next seven days."
Tom wasn't sure if that was possible.
Rhea sat in between her brother and Tom during the drive back to Hel House. She didn't think her father would be there since he was still aligned with Grindelwald. Based on what she had been reading in the Daily Prophet, Rhea's father was suspected to be somewhere in America.
The ride to Hel House was silent, not that anyone in the car particularly minded. Rhea could tell Uncle Cato was still furious with Pluto for writing to Veles Fawley about their mother. Rhea looked at her brother out of the corner of her eye, slightly worried what would happen if he ever found out the truth of what happened to their mother.
"The rest of the family will be here come nightfall," Cato said when they reached the house. Rhea watched as Tom marveled up at the structure of the house. It reminded him that while he was stuck living at an orphanage under the harsh rule of Mrs Cole, there were people like Rhea and her family who had the world at their fingertips. When she said that it was a house, he hadn't expected the mansion that was placed before him with greenery and gardens that stretched out for acres. "You can show your friend around, Rhea. Be sure to show him the room where he'll be staying."
"Will do."
Rhea climbed out of the car and waited for Tom, who was analyzing everything with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Welcome to Hel House," Rhea stretched her arms out wide before grabbing Tom's sleeve and tugging him inside. He struggled against her grip, not wanting to be touched by her, but she didn't budge and she brought him into the foyer.
He noticed two massive portraits looming down at him. The face of the man he assumed to be Rhea's father stared down at him with an expression Tom had seen on the faces of other patriarchs in pure-blood families — a cold arrogance. There was a twisted sort of glee in his brown eyes that reminded Tom of the girl standing beside him. On the wall opposite of Cauius Hel was the face of Caliope Hel. She had white-blonde hair unlike Rhea's golden blonde, but they had the same eyes — green and dark.
"So, this is your mother." Tom hummed. He didn't miss the way Rhea stood slightly straighter when Tom mentioned her mother, as though she was preparing for an interrogation. "How'd she die? That was one thing Druella never told me."
Rhea had a wry smile on her face.
"I'll show you." said Rhea.
Tom frowned, confused, but followed Rhea as she went straight through the foyer and out through the large, French double doors that overlooked the large garden and the changing maze at the center. Tom could make out people and elves walking around in the maze, tending to the plants and getting lost in the process. There was a large fountain in the middle of a carved woman that Tom couldn't see.
Rhea extended her hand and pointed to the furthest corner of the garden where the remains of a burned shed lay at the edge of the woods. Vines had grown around it so it was nearly covered, but it was there.
"It happened right in there. She was experimenting with spells and the whole place went up in flames. Father tried to save her, but nothing worked."
Tom noticed Rhea's tone's. It was void of emotion or any real sign of remorse that he usually noticed whenever people talked about their dead parents.
He turned to her.
"That's not the full story, though, now is it?" Tom asked, staring down at her. Rhea looked up at him, amusement coloring her features.
"Maybe not, but it's the only story you're going to hear." She chuckled before turning around and leading him back inside the house. "Meals are served at the same time every day — breakfast is at six; lunch is at noon; dinner is at six. My family doesn't like to be kept waiting."
Rhea turned and looked Tom's clothes up and down. Tom, to his surprise, felt slightly self-conscious when her gaze swept over him and she clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
"You'll have to change before dinner. My grandmother is very particular about what is and isn't appropriate to wear to family dinner. Pluto will loan you clothes." Rhea said, decisively. She spun on her heels and guided Tom up the stairs to the room that was next door to her bedroom.
The room she led Tom into was larger than any room he had ever stayed in. Even his dorm at Hogwarts that he shared with Abraxas, Lupe, Orpheus, and Ramsey couldn't compare to the grandeur of the guest bedroom at Hel House. A four poster bed, a walk-in closet large enough to fit his entire wardrobe and have plenty of room left over — these were all things Tom had never had. Tom thought it was no wonder Rhea was so overly confident and stuck up when she had grown up around all of this. He doubted the girl had ever truly suffered like he had. She had simply been born into the right family and power fell into her lap. It made him hate her more.
"My bedroom is the next room over. That door," Rhea pointed to the door that was hidden behind the changing screen, "leads to my room. Try not to use it. Oh, and all bedroom doors need to be locked from nine until five in the morning. Don't leave your room."
Rhea doubted he would listen to her warning, but she figured that'd be his own fault for being too arrogant to take into consideration that she wasn't trying to scare him for no good reason. She shoved Tom into his room and retreated back to hers.
Rhea hummed a tune by Celestina Warbeck to herself while she opened the drawer of her desk and looked at the sapphire necklace that sat inside. Rhea picked it up with one finger and dangled it in the air before her, examining it quietly. She set the necklace down, ready to wear it and show it off to her family. The necklace was a symbol of her family and it was the one thing Caliope hadn't been able to take away from her, though she had tried.
Rhea readied herself for dinner, taking care to make sure she looked perfect. Her whole family would be coming for the Easter holiday and staying until Rhea, Rialta, Pluto, and Tom left for the Rosier's.
Rhea slid on her satin dress and tied the ribbon in the back after she curled her hair. She applied a quick layer of pink lipstick before taking a look at herself in the mirror, preparing herself for the onslaught of questions about her and Tom that she would no doubt be forced to answer.
Tom.
Rhea sighed, grabbing the necklace, and walking to the door that connected her room with Tom's. Without knocking she pushed the door open and stepped into the bedroom. Tom's shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his stomach that was dotted with faint white lines and moles. He quickly tried to cover himself when he heard the door swing open.
"Relax. It's nothing I haven't seen before." Rhea rolled her eyes. Tom glared at her and fiddled with the buttons on the shirt Pluto had loaned him. "I realized I never even told you about which family members are coming."
"Does it matter? I'm going to meet them soon anyway." Tom said, annoyed that Rhea wouldn't leave him alone. She rolled her eyes again. "Stop doing that."
"No." She said. "And, yes, it does matter because they'll expect for you to know who they are, so listen closely. You met my Uncle Cato and his wife Pavlina, they live here and take care of Pluto and I alongside my stepmum, Rialta, who you haven't met yet, but she probably won't say much to you. There's my other Grandmother, the matriarch of the family — Elvira Hel. She was Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot for years and she'll be impressed if you know that.
"My dad's sister and her kids — the devils, they are — will be there too. Her name's Callista Bulstrode and she's an alchemist. Her husband, Ambrosius, is a Physician. Their children are Tabitha, Sybil, and Apollo. They all attend Beauxbatons, so they'll think that they're better than you, but they're idiots. Are you following?"
"I didn't come here because I wanted a history lesson on your family." Tom said.
"Well, too damn bad. You were the one that asked to be brought here so you're not going to screw this up." Rhea said watching as Tom messed with his robes. She sighed and reached out to help him but he jerked away from her.
"Don't touch me." He said harshly.
"Fine, whatever. Be downstairs in five minutes." said Rhea before walking out of the room. She placed the necklace around her neck and clasped it. The moment it touched her skin she felt the weight of it weigh down on her. She'd kill Tom if he did anything to displease her family in any way.
Pluto appeared at her side.
"Worried your boy toy is going to screw this all up for you?" Pluto asked.
"Yes." Rhea said. She glanced over at her brother, a smile played on the corner of her lips. "How bad do you think this is going to go on a scale of one to ten?"
"I'm leaning towards a six." said Pluto with a mischevious smile on his face. "But, if there are any surprise guest appearances, I'd be willing to bump it up to an eight."
"I'm leaning towards nine." Rhea said. "Want to be on it?"
Pluto shrugged.
"Sure. Ten Galleons." Pluto decided. Rhea smiled at her brother and he held his arm out for her to take. She placed her hand on his arm and they descended down the stairs, ready to face her family.