CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
— nature is the greatest in the smallest things
WOOL'S ORPHANAGE WAS LOCATED IN THE CENTER OF LONDON. It was a square building surrounded by high railings and, though it appeared to be rundown, the orphanage was nearly spotless when Rhea stepped through the front doors. She was immediately greeted by the sight of young children dashing past her and chasing after one another while one of the matrons chased after her. Rhea turned her head and caught sight of a skinny woman with sharp features making her way through the front of the orphanage with her face pinched in a rather unpleasant way. Rhea stepped into the woman's path, smiling as she did so. The woman stepped back, surprised by the sudden arrival of the young and unfamiliar girl at the orphanage.
"Is there something we can do for you, Miss . . .?" The woman asked, taking in Rhea's appearance. She was well put together and, unlike other witches and wizards who ventured into Muggle towns, Rhea had spent more than enough time learning how to blend in amongst the Muggles. She no longer visited London wearing her dress robes since she knew that would attract unwanted attention and she opted for something that was more fitting for the times. She took care picking out a skirt and blouse which were unassuming with simple colors, but made of nice enough material that the Muggles would think she was wealthy and wouldn't treat her as though she had come off the street.
"Hel." Rhea introduced, holding her hand out to the woman. The lady's brow raised before she shook Rhea's hand.
"I'm Mrs. Cole." Mrs. Cole introduced.
"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs. Cole. I do hate to drop in unannounced and unexpectedly, but I'm supposed to be meeting one of my friends from school who lives here." Rhea said. Mrs. Cole raised an inquiring brow, wondering which one of her orphans could've managed to befriend someone like Rhea. "His name is Tom Riddle."
Any kindness that was in Mrs. Cole's face dropped from her features the moment Rhea mentioned the name of the boy she had come all the way from Wiltshire to see. As though Rhea had said something to deeply offend the woman, Mrs. Cole turned her nose up to the ceiling and looked down at Rhea in a way that made Rhea tilt her head curiously to the side.
"Ah, I see." Mrs. Cole said, frowning in distaste. She inspected Rhea once more and Rhea, eager to know what the woman was thinking, took a peek inside her mind. Mrs. Cole believed that Rhea was nothing more than a foolish, rich girl who had gotten wrapped up with the 'wrong sort'. She certainly didn't have anything nice to think about Tom, who, in Mrs. Cole's eyes, was the devil in disguise. When Rhea saw flashes of memories where Tom was cowering away from Mrs. Cole as the woman approached him, Rhea wondered if the woman standing before her was the reason Tom was so averse to being touched. "Mr. Riddle can be found in Room 27 though, for your sake, I advise you not to be left alone in the romo with him."
Rhea's smile turned a bit sharper at the matron's words.
"Oh, don't worry about me, Mrs. Cole. I can handle Tom." Rhea brushed past the woman and allowed the smile to drop from her face as she walked through a narrow, but clean hallway. A child brushed past her and Rhea could feel a tiny hand reach into the pocket of her skirt. Her hand reacted instinctively and latched onto the tiny wrist of a boy with orange hair who stared up at her with wide, frightened eyes. "Nice try."
"Let me go," He struggled against her grip, pounding at her hand. "You bitch! Let me go!"
A wicked grin appeared on Rhea's face and she leaned closer to the boy. He had to have been no more than seven years old and, growing up, Rhea used to always love scaring the Wiltshire children by showing them one of her favorite tricks that she usually saved for Samhain. It was a simple spell — one that she had created when she was around six years old. Her eyes would become as dark as coal and shadows would dance across her face while her cheeks sunk in and her skin turned grey. If she really wanted to make someone scared, then she could make blood leak from her eyes to make it appear as though she had been crying bloody tears. The change in appearance would only last for a few seconds, but it was enough that it would scare children horribly and send them running for the hills.
The boy in front of her was no exception and Rhea nearly had to cover her ears at the scream he let out. He went running for the hills, screeching about the demon he had just encountered while Rhea stifled a laugh behind her hand.
One of the doors further down the hall and an annoyed Tom Riddle stepped out. His gaze immediately landed on the girl and he didn't think he'd ever been so glad to see Rhea.
"Riddle," Rhea greeted with a firm nod before she pushed past him and stepped into his tiny bedroom. She glanced around at the bare room and tried to imagine Tom having to grow up in such a dull environment without any magic to really entertain him. "So this is how the other half lives."
Tom rolled his eyes and shoved Rhea aside so that he could finish throwing clothes into his pack.
"We need to leave soon before Mrs. Cole sees you here." Tom said. Rhea furrowed her brows.
"She's already seen me."
Tom let out a low sigh, his shoulders hunched over. Rhea stared at him curiously.
"Why wasn't she supposed to see me?" Rhea asked. Tom tensed at the question and turned to Rhea, looking rather reluctant to answer. She stared at him pointedly and, eventually, he caved.
"Mrs. Cole doesn't like me very much. She fears me, so she tries to find ways to make me fear her. If she saw you here, looking like a nice and innocent girl, then it'd be another thing that she adds to the long list of reasons why she hates me." Tom grumbled.
"I don't understand why you don't just show her who's boss." Rhea said, picking up a tiny bottle of cologne that was on Tom's nightstand. She smelled it and turned her nose up when she instantly recognized who wore that type of cologne — Ramsey Lestrange. "You really shouldn't let Ramsey buy things for you."
"Ramsey likes to shower me with gifts to prove his loyalty." Tom snatched the cologne out of her fingers and tossed it into his bag.
Rhea was reminded of an issue she had been waiting to bring up to Tom.
"I want Seraphina Yaxley to join your Knights of Walpurgis." Rhea said. Tom whirled on her in an instant, his dark eyes narrowed and steely. Rhea raised her hand before he could say no, "Before you dismiss the idea entirely, hear me out: Seraphina knows that you're the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets because she overheard us talking about it that night in the classroom."
"And you waited until now to tell me this?" Tom seethed.
"Yes, because I wanted to make sure Seraphina wouldn't tell anyone, and she hasn't. Seraphina is a Yaxley and that may not mean much to you, but the Yaxley's are quite famous among scholars and they have pull there. Besides, she's a member of the Sacred Twenty-Nine and you should want as many of them on your side as possible." Rhea bargained. Tom kissed his teeth thoughtfully.
"Seraphina wouldn't last a day as one of my Knights. She's far too soft, too weak, to be one of us." Tom said.
"What if you're wrong? What if I told you that Seraphina wasn't the nice girl she pretended to be?" Rhea asked. She was lying through her teeth, but having Seraphina join the Knights of Walpurgis would mean that she had an extra set of eyes and ears. Seraphina could find out things about the other Knights that Rhea wouldn't be able to since most of them didn't trust or like her ever since her little display of power following the slap Astrea gave her. "You owe me anyway. I'm letting you come to my family's celebrations instead of spending another moment trapped in this orphanage that you hate under the charge of a woman who you loathe."
Tom glared at Rhea, knowing that she was plotting something or using him in some way to get what she wanted.
"We'll see how useful you are to me in the coming weeks and then I'll think about allowing Seraphina to join the Knights of Walpurgis." Rhea rolled her eyes but she knew it was the best she was going to get out of him. "What is this Lughnasadh? I've never heard of it."
"It's a festival that marks the beginning of harvest season. My whole family and all of their friends travel from far and wide for a day of celebration." Rhea's eyes lit up with excitement. This year she had been allowed to invite her friends from school so she knew Davina, Persephone, Druella, Walburga, and Seraphina would be there. Abraxas would probably make an appearance with his parents as well, though Rhea wasn't too excited about his presence since Abraxas didn't like her much. "There's all sorts of things like contests, feasts, matchmaking, and that sort of thing. We'll have one last party before we go to Little Hangleton."
Tom didn't care for the festival or the celebrations, the only thing on his mind was learning more about who his family was. He'd suffer through the night knowing that he would soon get the answers he'd spent most of his life searching for. Tom closed his trunk and made his way to the car that was waiting for them outside.
The drive to Wiltshire took a while, but when they returned to Hel House, the house was lit up due to the amount of people that were staying in it. It was mainly extended family members — Aunt Callista and Uncle Ambrosius were running around with their three children, Great Aunt Helen was making her way through the courtyard — but the guests who had shocked Rhea the most to see where her family from her mother's side.
Her grandparents, Althea and Lazarus Dolus, had been the first to appear on the Hel's doorstep unannounced with impassive looks on their faces when they were greeted by their granddaughter. Rhea plastered the fakest smile she could muster on her face before she had invited her grandparents into their home, surprised to see her mother's sisters, Eris, Nyx, and Clio, following behind them.
Rhea didn't know what they were doing in the house since she hadn't seen any of them since her mother's funeral, but she knew that there had to be a reason.
"Stick close to me. My family will put up with you being a half-blood because you're related to the Gaunt's, but my mother's side hates anyone who isn't pureblood. They won't care if you're the heir to Slytherin or not." Rhea warned Tom as they approached the house.
"Who are they? I've never heard of the Dolus family before." Tom said. Rhea snorted.
"They weren't included in the Pure-Blood Directory, but they are a pureblooded family. You'll come to find that there were plenty of family's left out who are just as, if not more, strict about blood status than those that were included. The Dolus's are wealthy and were more than happy to marry their eldest daughter off to a Hel, but they mostly keep to their estate in Scotland rather than venturing from the land." Rhea opened the front door and stepped inside to hear the sound of music and chatter. She led Tom up the stairs, eager to take herself to bed before she would have to participate in the festival tomorrow. She guided Tom to the room he stayed in last time. "Try not to open your door this time."
Tom rolled his eyes at her before she hurried away and got ready for bed.
Rhea was up bright and early the next morning, running around the house to help Rialta, Pavlina, Cato, and Pluto decorate and set up the games and music around the house. Everyone mostly gathered in the gardens since Elvira tried to keep as many people out of the house as possible. Tom stayed by Rhea's side until he caught sight of Abraxas and left her while she made her way to her friends.
"Rhea," Seraphina squealed excitedly, running up to the girl. Rhea greeted all five of her friends, though Davina stood with her usual sour look on her face. "I feel like it's been so long since we've seen you."
"How has your summer been?" Persephone asked. Rhea ducked her head to feign bashfulness. She could see Seraphina and Walburga exchange eager gazes out of the corner of her eye.
"Well . . ." Rhea held up her hand and showed the girls the signet ring that rested on her finger. Each of the girls, including Druella and Davina, let out loud gasps at the sight of the ring, immediately knowing who it belonged to. Persephone grabbed Rhea's hand and inspected the ring closely.
"Is that . . .?" Druella trailed off, looking at Rhea with a stunned expression.
"Atlas Krane's signet ring." Rhea said, humbly bragging. "Atlas and I have been writing to each other ever since the Easter party. Recently, we spent some time together at his family home and he decided to begin courting me officially after he received his parent's blessing."
The lie slipped out so seamlessly that Rhea gave herself a mental pat on the back. Meanwhile, the girls looked beyond stunned.
"The Krane's — who are probably the most important family in our wizarding world — gave their blessing for their eldest son to court you?" Davina gaped at her. Rhea resisted the urge to laugh in Davina's face and taunt her for all of the times the girl spoke poorly about her family name.
"Congratulations, Rhea." Walburga said. Seraphina and Persephone muttered their congratulations, though Druella stayed quiet. Davina eyed Rhea suspiciously.
"If you're supposed to be with Atlas, then why is Tom Riddle here?" Davina questioned. Each of the girls turned their gaze to the boy who watched the holiday festivities with a rather bored look on his face.
"Tom wanted to celebrate Lughnasadh, so I offered him a place to stay." Rhea shrugged before picking up one of the flower crowns from one of the stalls that was surrounding the garden. Some people were trading food, selling flowers, or playing games, but there was a band playing traditional music for the festival that everyone was allowed to dance to. Seraphina turned to her friends with an excited look on her face.
"Come on! Let's dance!" Seraphina said, bouncing with excitement.
"Oh, no." Persephone shook her head firmly.
"I don't know this kind of dance." Druella said.
"I don't feel like it." Davina shrugged.
"I'm a shit dancer, to be honest." Walburga said.
"Don't be such spoilsports! We haven't seen each other since school ended a month ago and we probably won't see one another again until school starts next month. Rhea, tell them to dance." Seraphina said, redirecting her efforts to Rhea who had only just placed the flower crown on her head and was adjusting it to her liking. She stared at the girls when they turned to her before shrugging, knowing that this would only cause Seraphina to like her more if she got the other girls to join in.
"It'll be fun. I promise." Rhea said, grabbing Walburga and Persephone's arms to pull them forward with her. Seraphina grinned brightly and led Druella and Davina to dance.
The crowd cheered when the girls joined the dancers and Rhea was at the center of it all. Tom could hardly believe what he was seeing as he watched Rhea close her eyes and move her body freely to the beat of the music. He'd danced with Rhea before, but those were all practiced dance moves but this . . . there was something different about the way she danced now. It was like he was watching her cast a spell as the sun beamed down on her and she spun around with her friends. He glanced around at the crowd and could make out various different people who had their eyes trained entirely on Rhea as she moved.
"How long do you think you and Rhea's journey will take?" Abraxas asked from beside Tom. Tom tilted his head curiously to the side when Rhea opened her bright green eyes and looked directly at him with a little smirk playing on her face as though she could tell that he was watching her.
"Hopefully not too long. I couldn't stand to be around her for longer than I have to." Tom said plainly. Rhea narrowed her eyes at him as though she could hear him and raised her arms to the sky while Abraxas snorted from beside Tom.
"Good luck with that one. She's unpredictable." Abraxas said.
Tom hummed in agreement. After having Rhea in his life for the past few months, he had learned that he never knew what to expect from her. At first, he hated having someone around who could make him second-guess his instincts, but he was beginning to come to terms with Rhea's unpredictability. It still irritated him to no end that she wouldn't obey him or speak to him with the respect he deserved, but she was powerful and could prove to be very useful to have as an ally. If everything went well in Little Hangleton — and Tom was determined for everything to go well in Little Hangleton — then Tom might start keeping her around more often.
Rhea could tell when Tom was in deep thought over her because his brows would pull together in a way that made it seem like he was trying to figure out a puzzle that no one could see. She knew that Tom was secretly fascinated by her (even if he refused to admit it to himself) because a part of her was secretly fascinated by him. He was a half-blood orphan who had managed to convince children from the most powerful and influential families in the wizarding world to follow his every move. She had no idea what they would find when they made their way to Little Hangleton and the Gaunt Shack, but Rhea was becoming eager to find out.
When the sun began to set, she made her rounds throughout the party until she found her mother's family standing in the corner, speaking to Pluto.
"Ah, there she is." Grandfather Lazarus said, his eyes falling on Rhea when she approached them. She had been doing her best to avoid having to speak with her mother's side of the family all night and the only reason she had approached them was because she was ready to start her duel with her brother. But, she could see that Pluto had other plans.
"Grandfather, grandmother, aunts," Rhea greeted them. "What's going on?"
"I wrote to them, Rhea." Pluto confessed, stepping forward. "I don't want to duel you and I don't want to fight anymore, so I brought them here as a peace offering."
"A peace offering?" Rhea narrowed her eyes at her brother.
"I know that dad doesn't want us to poke around with what happened to mother and I know that you stand by that decision, but, to make up for what I did, I wanted to find out the truth about our mother's death by inviting her family here to investigate for us."
Rhea's heart stopped beating and she felt her fingers itch for her wand.
"Mother died in a fire." Rhea responded calmly. Her Aunt Nyx scoffed.
"Don't tell me honestly believe that, Rhea." Nyx said.
"Yes, dear, we always thought that story was quite odd. Our Caliope was a gifted witch who never would've been that careless with her magic. We've always believed that Caliope was murdered, but we've never been invited back to investigate her death until now." Grandmother Althea stepped forward and placed her hands on Rhea's shoulders. "Do not worry, sweet Rhea. We will get to the bottom of this and we will bring Caliope to justice."
Rhea honestly believed she could've killed Pluto in that moment. She smiled weakly at her family before excusing herself from them so that she could find Rialta. She spotted the woman talking to her parents, though she cut the conversation short when she noticed the look on Rhea's face.
"What's happened?" Rialta asked, preparing for the worst.
"Pluto invited my mother's parents and sisters here to investigate her death." Rhea said through gritted teeth. Rialta's eyes widened and she inhaled sharply.
"We'll . . . we'll find a way to handle this."
"I'm leaving, remember? I wasn't planning on leaving until the morning, but I think it's probably best if Tom and I leave in the middle of the night before they catch sight of him too." Rhea said. She glanced over her shoulder where Pluto was standing with their family. "I don't know how long I'll be gone. Hopefully, two weeks at the longest. Until then, you, grandmother, Aunt Pavlina, and Uncle Cato need to do everything in your power to keep them out of the shed. No matter what happens, do not let them leave until I come back. I'll have come up with a plan by then."
"We'll do whatever it takes." Rialta promised. "Now, go, before they notice you sneaking out."
Rhea raced to the other side of the lawn where Tom was speaking to Abraxas.
"Abraxas," Rhea greeted. The blonde merely grunted at her in response and she turned to Tom. "We have to leave."
Tom frowned.
"Why?" He asked. Rhea clenched her jaw.
"Something's come up and we need to go now." Rhea firmly grabbed Tom's wrist and pulled her inside the house. He yanked his hand out of her grip but continued up the stairs to take his belongings. Rhea's bags were already packed for the journey and the only thing she had to add was The Black Book, which she secured in her trunks.
She met Tom outside and he watched, looking confused, when she stuck her wand into the air.
"What are you doing?" Tom asked. She flashed Tom an odd glance before glancing down the street when bright lights began racing towards them. Tom nearly toppled over in surprise when a purple, triple-decker bus appeared in front of them. "What . . .?"
"What, Riddle?" Rhea asked, heaving up her luggage. "Haven't you ever rode the Knight Bus before?"