CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
— a woman leads the events
RHEA MANAGED TO KEEP THE EXPRESSION ON HER FACE CALM DESPITE THE FACT THAT HER MIND WAS REELING. She had kissed Tom. She could hardly wrap her mind around the fact that it had happened and she was shocked she managed to stand beside Atlas as dozens of people congratulated them on their engagement without giving away the fact that she was world's away.
She wasn't exactly sure how she should feel after the kiss. A part of her was cursing herself for doing it — She wasn't one to go around kissing people on a whim. Everything she did, every move she made, was always carefully calculated and thought through. She hadn't gone into that room planning to kiss Tom at all and she certainly hadn't thought about the consequences of doing so.
Another part of her, the part that she hated to acknowledge, had enjoyed the kiss far more than she would care to admit. Far too often she found her mind wandering back to the way she had felt as he kissed her. No one had ever made her feel like that before.
But, then, her mind would wander back to the boy she believed would always have her heart: Eddie.
The more she thought about the kiss, the guiltier she felt for enjoying it at all. She didn't feel like she deserved to enjoy it, not after everything that had happened to him.
Rhea's eyes wandered to the smiling faces of her family members. She could only imagine how they would react if they found out she had been busy locking lips with a half-blood while she was supposed to be attending to their guests. Rhea had to bite back her wince at the thought.
"Something troubling you?" Atlas's voice startled Rhea from her thoughts. She turned to find him staring down at her, his dark brows slightly raised. It was one of the rare moments where the two of them found themselves alone as everyone else was too preoccupied with discussing the shock of it all. Rhea looked at Atlas and wondered how he would react if he knew what she had been up to. She doubted he'd care that much since it wasn't as though they were in an actual relationship. They were two complete strangers, but, from what Rhea had heard her whole life, people didn't need to know each other in order to get married. Her parents hardly knew one another when they said their vows.
"All of this can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. I'm sure you understand." Rhea said, waving her hand dismissively. For a moment, Atlas looked amused, like he could tell she was lying, but the look disappeared in an instant.
"Better than most, I'm afraid." Atlas said. He glanced around the hall, his eyes landing where his friends were. Rhea recognized Damocles Rowle standing amongst Alina and Andrei Dragavei. Damocles and Andrei had smiles playing on their faces as they snuck glances at Atlas and Rhea. Atlas turned to Rhea. "Will you excuse me?"
He went to his friends, joining in on their conversation and leaving Rhea to stand in the middle of the room. Her eyes darted around, looking for the one person she thought she should talk to before the party ended. But, Tom was nowhere to be found as Rhea searched the crowd. She let out a slightly irritated sigh, wondering where he could have gone off to now, when Davina stepped in front of Rhea's path with Persephone, Walburga, and Seraphina standing behind her.
Neither Seraphina or Rhea hadn't said much to each other since she caught Rhea and Tom in the room together. Rhea reminded Seraphina not to say anything before they re-entered the room. Rhea was confident that the girl would keep her mouth shut and it seemed the kiss was the last thing on her mind since the four girls were already peppering Rhea with questions about Atlas.
"I can't believe you didn't tell us!"
"You and Atlas? Really?"
"This is so exciting! I'm sure Atlas will be wonderful to you."
"Exciting?" Walburga scoffed, rolling her eyes at Seraphina's words. Rhea turned to Walburga as the witch shook her head sharply. "It's not exciting, Seraphina. Rhea has no choice but to follow through with this, there's nothing exciting about that."
"How are you feeling, then?" Persephone asked before narrowing her eyes slightly at Rhea. "And don't think about lying."
A deep frown formed on Rhea's face.
"How am I feeling?" She repeated slowly. Rhea blinked several times, processing the question. No one had asked her how she felt about marrying Atlas before. "I'm . . . I'm not really sure."
"I, for one, am jealous. Rhea has bested us all, who would've thought?" Davina asked, a small smile playing on her face. "I only wonder how Tom feels about the whole thing."
Rhea's jaw tightened, annoyed that Davina had to bring that up. Walburga and Persephone's brows raised.
"Riddle? Why would he care?" Walburga asked. Rhea's eyes fell into the deadliest glare she could muster as she stared Davina down. The girl had a smug look on her face, waiting for Rhea to answer Walburga's question. Rhea chewed the inside of her cheek, trying to think of an explanation, before she caught sight of someone standing behind Walburga.
"Alphard!" Rhea exclaimed, pretending as though she just now took notice of Walburga's brother. Luckily for Rhea, Walburga forgot all about her question when she heard her least favorite brother's name. A sly smirk made its way onto Alphard's lips at the sound of Rhea calling his name. Alphard Black was Walburga's younger brother and a pain to his entire family. Their parents were constantly trying to get him to act how the eldest son of Pollux and Irma Black should, but Alphard was far too wild and reckless to control. He was constantly going around Hogwarts wreaking havoc on all the teachers and it was a wonder he hadn't been expelled yet.
"Father was looking for you." Walburga informed her brother as he made his way over to them. He shrugged his shoulders lazily.
"I know. How much longer do you think I can avoid him for?" Alphard asked, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.
"Alphard." Walburga scolded, narrowing her eyes at her brother. He turned away from his dark gaze to face Rhea, the corner of his heavy-lidded eyes creased as his smile widened.
"I suppose 'Congratulations' is in order." Alphard said. "Perhaps your wedding will be even bigger than Walburga and Orion's."
Walburga glowered at Alphard while Rhea raised a brow at Alphard's words. Rhea turned to Walburga, a curious expression on her face.
"I thought you were trying to put that off." Rhea said. Walburga grimaced.
"I was." A frown formed on Walburga's face for a split second before it vanished. "It doesn't matter now. What's done is done."
"I suppose."
"We should go find Father. It's best not to keep him waiting." Walburga said to her brother. They excused themselves and Davina let out a tiny scoff, not missing how Rhea managed to avoid Walburga's question about Tom. Davina turned to Persephone and Seraphina with an exasperated look on her face, waiting for one of them to speak up, but Persephone just rolled her eyes and said,
"Let it go, Davina."
Davina's mouth clamped shut and she turned on her heel in a huff, vanishing into the crowd while the three girls remained behind.
"Well, was she right?" Persephone asked, a knowing smile playing on her face as she stared at Rhea. "Do you and Tom Riddle have feelings for each other?"
Rhea narrowed her eyes at Persephone ever so slightly. She liked Persepone, that much was true. In fact, Persephone was probably the only one out of the girls that Rhea actually admired. She was headstrong, one of the brightest witches of their year, and she'd always been a good friend to Rhea. But, whatever it was that Rhea and Tom had had always just been between the two of them. It didn't feel right to let anyone in on that.
"It's just Davina starting rumors, you know how she can be. Besides, I'm with Atlas now. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to have a relationship with someone else when I'm already spoken for." Rhea said. Persephone and Seraphina seemed to buy it and the former excused herself to the snack table, leaving Rhea and Seraphina standing side-by-side one another.
Seraphina turned to Rhea with a bright smile on her face only to find the girl's gaze focused entirely on Davina while she spoke to one of her sisters.
"Seraphina?" Rhea asked after a few moments.
"Yes?" Seraphina asked. Rhea turned to her, a saccharine smile making its way onto her face.
"There's something I need you to do for me." Rhea said, a mischievous twinkle forming in her eyes as she leaned close and whispered her plan into Seraphina's ear.
The rest of the break droned on without much fanfare. Rhea returned to Wiltshire with a million things on her mind and it didn't help that her and Pluto's seventeenth birthday was a few days after. Pluto was presented with his gift from their grandmother — a pocketwatch that had belonged to their grandfather and had been passed down from generation to generation of Hels when their sons came of age — while Rhea received an old key.
"What's this for?" She asked when she pulled it out of the small box it had been presented to her in. Her grandmother merely gave her a cryptic smile and told her to hold onto it before handing Rhea a letter from her father.
She recited the contents of the letter in her head for the rest of the week and even when she boarded the train for Hogwarts. He had written:
Rhea,
As you may know, Grindelwald had been informed of your success in bringing a creature back to life. He wishes to see your power for himself and asks that you join us in Romania at the end of the term.
Your Father
Rhea could hardly believe it herself. Her father — the person who had tried so hard to keep her and Pluto away from the war — was now asking her to go to them. Grindelwald wanted to see what she could do. Rhea thought it was a bit ironic since half of her family was planning to destroy everything he had worked for.
Rhea knew it was an offer she couldn't refuse.
When the trains arrived at school, Rhea broke apart from the crowd to venture into the Dark Forest to find her Thestral. She used the light from her wand to guide her way as she moved through the woods, ignoring the distant sounds of howling or the ruffling of a bush until she came across a group of Thestrals standing in a clearing before her.
"Nero," Rhea called out for the Thestral, stepping towards one of them. The creature turned its head to face her and a gasp escaped from Rhea's lips. The Thestral no longer looked as normal as it once did. It looked as though it was decaying with its flesh peeling back in spots to reveal the bone and muscle underneath. The Thestral stared at her, its eyes cold and lifeless and Rhea let out a strangled noise.
"It's dying." A voice said from behind Rhea that nearly made her jump out of her skin. Her hand immediately drifted to her wand before she turned to find Tom staring at her with a bemused look on his face. He raised his brow when he saw where Rhea's hand was. "Going to hex me, are you?"
"Perhaps." Rhea said. Tom chuckled dryly.
"Good luck with that." He stepped forward, inspecting the Thestral. Rhea eyed him, watching how he moved around her without a care in the world. She squinted at him, wondering what he was thinking. Usually after she kissed boys they came running after her, begging for her attention, but not Tom. It was starting to frustrate her. But, Tom wasn't one to disappoint. "Maybe I should be the one grabbing my wand, in case you try to kiss me again."
Rhea saw the corner of Tom's mouth twitch in the darkness as she resisted the urge to command Nero to kick him.
"A moment of weakness." Rhea said simply. Tom lifted his head to flash Rhea the teasing smile on his face.
"Right." He said, like he could tell she was lying. He stepped back from Nero. "Do you know why it's dying?"
"All things that die have to return to the dead eventually. I was only able to prolong its time, but he'll die again." Rhea said, clenching her jaw out of frustration. She thought she had finally done it. She thought she had finally brought something back from the dead, but she should've known it was too good to be true. Embarrassment and shame filled her at the thought of having to write to her family to tell them of her failure.
"You still brought him back." Tom shrugged, breaking Rhea from her thoughts. "No other living wizard can do that."
Rhea blinked, wondering if Tom was attempting to console her. She eyed him for a moments, enjoying the way he seemed to shift uncomfortably under her sharp gaze.
"What are you doing out here anyway? Everyone's back inside for the feast."
"I saw you sneak off and I needed to tell you that there's going to be a Knights of Walpurgis meeting after the feast."
"Oh." Rhea said, sounding slightly disappointed but she managed to cover it up. "Was that all?"
"No, there is something else." Tom said, his face suddenly growing serious. "What happened at your party . . . it cannot happen again."
"It can't?" Rhea repeated. That wasn't what she was expecting for him to say at all. Honestly, she wasn't even sure what she expected for him to say.
Tom narrowed his eyes at her.
"No," He said firmly. "I don't have time for distractions when there's still so much I need to do and you are getting married to someone else. And I don't feel that way about you."
"You don't?" Rhea asked, taking a step closer to Tom. She didn't miss the way his breath caught slightly like he expected her to kiss him again. For a moment, a brief moment, his gaze landed on her lips before it returned to her face. An amused smile formed on Rhea's face that made Tom grimace. "Don't worry, Tom. I won't kiss you again. Not unless you want me to."
"I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you." Tom grumbled under his breath. He glanced at the outline of the castle through the trees. "We should get back before too many people notice we're gone."
"No," Rhea said. Tom frowned at her curiously. "I'm going to stay with Nero. You can go."
Rhea turned to her Thestral, looking at it with a pitiful expression on her face. Nero would continue to die a slow, probably painful, death the longer she kept him alive. Nero would continue to rot away until he was nothing but skin and bones.
She didn't think she could watch that happen.
She could feel Tom's expression boring into the side of her face, watching her every move.
"I'll stay too." Tom said finally. Rhea didn't glance back at him as Nero laid on the ground, tired, and she crouched down next to him, taking her wand from the pocket of her robes as she began to hum a calming tune underneath her breath. Nero's breathing slowed as he began to relax at the sound of her voice. "What is that?"
"A calming spell. It was the first spell I ever learned. It can calm anyone or anything." Rhea said while Tom crouched on the ground beside her.
"Who taught it to you?" Tom asked. A dark expression flashed across Rhea's face.
"My mother." She said, bitterly. Rhea looked down at Nero with a slightly saddened expression before she pointed the wand at Nero's chest and whispered, "Avada Kedavra."
Rhea and Tom made their way back to the castle and went quickly to the Room of Requirement to wait for the others to finish with their meals. The two of them sat in silence while Rhea stared at her hands and thought of the letters she would have to write. She wondered if Grindelwald wouldn't make her go to Romania when he found out her Thestral had died.
One by one, each of the members filed into the room until all twelve of them were seated at the table with Tom at the head.
"Finding the spell to create a Horcrux is the only thing that matters from here on out. We need to devote all of our resources to tracking it down." Tom said to his Knights. Orpheus turned to Rhea.
"Didn't your ancestors invent Horcruxes? Maybe your family has it lying around somewhere." Rhea glared at Mulciber.
"My ancestors didn't invent Horcruxes and I doubt any member of my family would leave one of the darkest spells ever created just lying around." Rhea rolled her eyes and Orpheus slumped back in his chair.
"We'll have to ask around, discreetly." Astrea said, turning to Tom. "Someone will know how to create them."
"I'm surprised Rhea doesn't know how to make them." Jasper mumbled from beside Druella. Rhea opened her mouth to say something but Tom shook his head, urging her not to start a fight.
"It's a new year, Jasper. It's time to let bygones be bygones." Tom said, though judging from his tone it sounded more like a command than a suggestion. Jasper sunk into his seat and turned his nose up in distaste. Tom turned to the group. "Start searching. You're dismissed."
"Wait," Abraxas said, causing everyone to pause and turn to them. Malfoy shifted in his seat as all eyes turned to him and he straightened his back as though preparing for some important presentation. "I have another matter I'd like to present to the group."
"Do share, Abraxas." Tom said.
"I'd like to propose adding someone to the Knights of Walpurgis." Abraxas said. Rhea could see the surprise setting in on everyone's face.
"We just keep getting bigger and bigger." Lupe grumbled.
"Who?" Tom asked, seemingly intrigued. "Who would you have join us?"
"Davina Selwyn."
Rhea and Seraphina exchanged a look with one another.
"What?" Rhea and Druella asked incredulously. The rest of the girls pulled faces at the sound of Davina's name.
"You want Selwyn to join us?" Cassius scoffed. "She's one of the worst people I've ever met."
"So is Rhea, yet we were forced to welcome her with open arms. She even managed to get one of her own friends to join." Abraxas said, nodding his head to Seraphina. Rhea rolled her eyes. "My family has heard rumors circulating around the Ministry that her father might be in line to become Head Auror if he wins against someone else. Having the daughter of the Head Auror on our side could prove itself to be very useful."
"Yes, it could be." Tom said, leaning back in his seat. Rhea resisted the urge to groan at Tom's words. "I'll have to think about it."
"Maybe it is a good idea." Lupe shrugged. "Regardless of whether or not her father wins, Davina's still a Selwyn. If we plan to conquer the magical world one day, we need to have families like Davina's on our side. This is the first step to making that happen."
"Davina isn't exactly the most trustworthy person in the world." Druella said. "And she does have a bit of a temper."
"Like I said, I'll think about it." Tom said, rising from his chair. "You're dismissed."
Rhea made her way back to her room with Seraphina and Druella after the meeting. After Druella disappeared into their room, Seraphina spun around to face Rhea, pulling something out of her pocket.
"I followed your instructions very carefully." Seraphina said, pulling a small phial out of her pocket. "Rhea, this won't . . . this won't kill her, right?"
"Don't worry, Seraphina. You didn't just give me a potion to kill your friend, but it will help me teach Davina a lesson that she deserves." Rhea said, placing her hands on Seraphina's shoulders. "Aren't you tired of the way she treats you? All of us? Always going around and acting as though she's superior to us."
"Well, yes." Seraphina said.
"I can make that all stop. I will make that stop. All this potion will do is show her the way." Rhea smiled sweetly. Seraphina's shoulders relaxed and the girl rushed into the room to get ready for bed.
Rhea made her way to the edge of her bed where her trunk was and unlatched it, rifling through her clothes until she hit the bottom. Rhea pulled back a skirt and frowned when she saw an unfamiliar box in her trunk. It looked like a tiny chest with gold designs on it and there was a folded piece of parchment beside it that Rhea read at once.
I hope you didn't think I forgot your birthday.
A smile formed on her face, knowing immediately that it was a gift from her father. She took the chest to her bed and pulled the curtains around so that no one could see her open her father's gift. Rhea unlatched the tiny chest and opened it, her jaw dropping when she saw what was inside.
Placed neatly in a seat of red velvet was a large egg of vivid crimson speckled with gold.
Her father had given her a dragon egg.