CHAPTER FIFTY
— anger is a brief insanity
ASTREA RAVENSWOOD WAS AFRAID OF THE DARK. It was something she hated to admit. Orpheus was always making fun of her for it. After all, how was it possible for a fifteen year old girl to still be afraid of the dark? But, she was. Unfortunately, her friends didn't share or sympathize with her fears which explained why Astrea frequently found herself walking through the Dark Forest at the dead of night. She would constantly return to the Ravenclaw girl's dormitory with twigs in her hair or scratches on her knees from the vines scratching at her skin, but nothing was worse than the feeling of walking through the forest at night time.
That night was no different as Astrea trudged slowly behind Druella and Jasper Rosier, the brother and sister pair whispering silently to one another. They spoke in hushed tones and Astrea was too frightened to listen to what they were saying. Astrea's stomach turned as her gaze trailed off into the darkness of the forest where all sorts of creatures lurked, especially at night.
"How much further must we go?" The voice of an exasperated Avida Carrow came from over Astrea's shoulder. Avida had been complaining of the cold weather since they left the castle. However, the chill in the air was the last thing on Astrea's mind.
At the front of the group was Tom, Abraxas, Orpheus, and Cassius. Lupe had been missing that night which was surprising since he was always present whenever Tom demanded the attention of his "Knights of Walpurgis", as they had come to be named. It was not the first time Tom had approached all of them with the order of sneaking out of the castle. It was always difficult — finding a way to get the group out of the castle unnoticed — but Astrea supposed that was why Tom was their leader. He could always find a way.
"Silence," Tom demanded in response to Avida before the group came to a halt. Astrea cast a wary glance into the shadows of the trees as the sounds of leaves crunching underfoot stopped. Astrea swallowed as she listened to the eerie silence and turned her gaze to the sky where the light of the full moon illuminated them within the trees. "Take out your wands."
None of the Slytherins needed to be reminded twice, though Astrea frowned and wondered what Tom had led them into exactly. Hesitantly, she pulled the oak wand from the pocket of her robes and held it in front of her.
"Reveal yourselves," Tom shouted out into the darkness. Astrea frowned, squinting to see who Tom was referring to. Druella glanced at her from over her shoulder, looking equally as apprehensive to a fight as Avida felt. "Come out now or I will make you."
"Make me?" An unfamiliar voice repeated, mimicking the firmness of Tom's tone. There was an amused smile on his face which was slightly crooked and the darkness of his hair reminded Astrea of coal. The boy chuckled, walking out and appearing before the group. Astrea did not recognize him, though the red on his robes gave her a clue as to why. His wand rested between his fingers but he did not point it at them. With a thick Scottish accent he continued, "I wonder what a group of Slytherins is doing walking through the Dark Forest past curfew."
"We could ask the same of you." Abraxas said sharply.
The boy laughed once more and turned his gaze to their group, scanning over all of their faces. When his eyes arrived at Astrea, she chose not to meet his penetrating stare. It was like he was staring into their souls. She could not explain it, but she could sense something about this boy. There was something different about him.
Instead, Astrea continued to stare at the trees to her left, wondering what the shadows were hiding.
"Truth be told, I am not looking for trouble." The boy shrugged, dropping his wand into his pockets. "How about we part ways and pretend we never saw each other?"
"I am curious what a Gryffiindor is sneaking around the Dark Forest alone for." Cassius Avery said. While everyone had their focus on the boy, Astrea's eyes were trained on the trees. She could feel the magic in her body go on high alert. Goosebumps appeared on her arms as the hairs rose. Something was wrong and her body was warning her that danger was imminent.
That was when she saw it — the glow of a wand about to cast a spell.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Astrea exclaimed, reflexively. Her sudden shout startled everyone except for Tom, whose wand was on the Gryffndor as soon as he heard the thud of a body falling into the bushes.
"Stupefy!" Tom said before the Gryffindor boy had a chance to register what happened. Orpheus ran to where Astrea hit the boy while the girl stared forward with wide eyes, wondering if whoever she hit was okay.
Avida stepped up beside Astrea.
"Nice catch," Avida smirked, commending the girl.
Astrea frowned as Orpheus kicked the boy with his foot.
"Who is it?" Jasper asked. He glanced back at the Gryffindor who had been stunned. "Who are they?"
"Does it matter? Perhaps we should just keep going. We can wipe their memories and leave it be." Druella suggested. Astrea agreed with her plan, although she could tell from the looks on Ramsey, Orpheus, and Cassius's faces that they did not agree.
"Let them go," Ramsey repeated incredulously. He guffawed and turned to Tom, staring at him as though he couldn't believe Druella had even suggested the idea. "Is that the message we send to our foes? Showing mercy is a weakness. The other one would have taken us out had Astrea not seen him."
Astrea couldn't argue with Ramsey. The boy had his wand raised, she had seen it. But, she knew what the boys were capable of and the kind of magic they had been messing with as of late. Any fight between them would have been two against nine. Those didn't seem like good odds.
"I agree with Druella," Astrea spoke. The group turned to her curiously. "We came out here for a reason — we shouldn't forget it. Avida does an excellent Confundus Charm."
Tom remained silent as Ramsey shook his head disapprovingly. Tom glanced back at the Gryffindor boy who lay unconscious on the ground. His brows pulled together angrily and Astrea knew what his decision would be.
It was a memory Astrea did not like to dwell too much on. There had been something different that night about Tom. Before then, the Knights had been based on finding the Balthasar Society, but that night marked the beginning of a string of cruel acts done by the group.
"What did you do to them — Calix and his brother?" Rhea asked. Astrea winced as the flash of a memory resurfaced. She could see Calix's brother — Samael Rowan — twitching on the ground while Cassius and Orpheus stood over him, laughing maniacally with their wands raised. Tom made them all watch as they tortured the boy over and over again.
Astrea shook her head, hoping it would keep her from remembering too much.
"His brother was sent to St. Mungo's when he was found, but he was lost in the Dark Forest for days after. We left him there for dead," said Astrea sadly, "Tom didn't want to hurt Calix. He said he wanted to teach him a lesson; to scare him just because he could. It doesn't make sense to me why Tom would want Calix to join the Knights or why he would expect him to after what we did."
"He wants more power. Power comes from numbers." Rhea shrugged. There was a reason why Tom wanted Calix. She knew Tom wouldn't go after someone who considered him an enemy unless there was good reason. But it was probably best not to let Astrea know that information.
Rhea pulled her robes closer together. The Transfiguration courtyard was mostly empty after the Quidditch match as everyone celebrated or moped around in their common rooms. It was much colder outside than Rhea would have preferred. With winter break approaching, Rhea would soon be back at Krane Manor and have to face the wrath of her grandmother — who she had been skillfully avoiding since the incident with her father and Grindelwald.
"I don't know, Rhea . . . The Knights were never supposed to be about gaining power. I just wonder how this could all end."
Rhea didn't respond. She knew there were only two ways it could end, but she wasn't sure if Astrea would be able to handle that answer. Learning about the Sight and helping Astrea become a better duelist meant that Rhea was becoming closer to the girl. She could tell Astrea was in the Knights because they were her friends, but Rhea wondered if that was enough. If things came down to it, could Astrea be relied upon?
"I need to find Octavia. Perhaps she knows something about those Krane girls — Calypso and Ophelia. I'll see if Atlas has heard of them too. I haven't written to him as of late, but I am sure he will be happy to hear from me." Rhea said, reminded briefly of her fiance and the marriage that would never be.
Astrea grinned and said, "Will we be getting invitations to the wedding?"
"We?"
"The Knights, of course!" Astrea said, amusedly. "You are one of us, Rhea. Even if you don't believe it yet. Tom let you in, but you wouldn't be able to stay unless we accepted you as one of us."
The corners of Rhea's lips turned upwards.
"Don't worry, Astrea. You all will be there. You're not going to want to miss it."
Rhea made her way to the Owlery and sent the letter to Atlas, hoping for a quick reply. There was a Knights of Walpurgis meeting in the Room of Requirement that night and Octavia was planning on attending. Rhea found the girl in the Library, Persephone's brother beside her.
Magnus Zabini was the one who noticed Rhea as she approached, lightly tapping Octavia who had been hunched over a book while her quill wrote on the parchment beside her without any help. Octavia lifted her eyes and greeted Rhea with a knowing grin.
"Rhea," Octavia greeted as Rhea sat down in the empty chair across from her. "I heard you attended the Quidditch game with Astrea Ravenswood. I wasn't aware you and Ravenswood got along."
Rhea forgot that Octavia being aware of everything that happened in the castle meant she was aware of what Rhea did as well.
"Not a fan of Ravenswood?" Rhea asked.
Octavia shrugged.
"I am always wary of Seers. I put my faith in what I know." Octavia gestured to Magnus who had been so quiet Rhea nearly forgot he was there. "I informed Magnus of our conversation. He had always suspected there was something afoot amongst Riddle's group. If I join, he will too."
Rhea did not mind. She knew Magnus and Octavia would be valuable additions to the Knights. She remembered in third year when Magnus cursed one of the seven years with an advanced spell Rhea didn't even know.
"If," Rhea repeated.
"Riddle needs to prove himself to me. Him and the rest of you. Juniper Prewett never struck me as someone who would be interested in the Knights of Walpurgis. It makes me wonder what she is doing there."
Rhea laughed.
"You judge too much, Travers. Prewett came at my suggestion and I am an excellent judge of character." Rhea smiled. Octavia did not understand the benefit of having a Prewett — someone no one would ever expect — on their side.
"We shall see," Octavia shrugged.
"There was something else." Rhea said. She glanced warily at Magnus but the boy did not seem to be paying attention to their conversation. Despite this, Rhea knew he was listening. Octavia raised a brow, waiting for the girl to continue. "I need to know if you've ever heard of a Calypso or Ophelia Krane before."
A frown formed on Octavia's face.
"No, but it's not as though I keep track of everyone your fiance is related to. Why are you looking for them?"
"I need to speak with them. Let me know if you find anything." Rhea rose from her seat. "Forbidden Forest. Midnight."
Rhea waited to hear back from Atlas about the sisters, however he had yet to write her back. She spent the rest of the evening racking her brain through all of the faces and names of the family member's she had been introduced to at the engagement party. But Calypso and Ophelia were not names Rhea remembered.
By the time midnight came around, she had been no closer to finding out who they were. She couldn't understand why but she knew there was something important about that vision — something she was meant to see.
The chill of the winter air nipped at Rhea's nose as she made her way to the clearing where the Knights would gather. Light from the tip of her wand illuminated her path forward until she broke through the trees and found the group standing in a half circle facing Tom. Everyone turned towards her at the sound of the snow crunching underfoot. Octavia and Magnus had already arrived, the hoods of their robes pulled over their heads in a fashion similar to the other Knights.
Rhea's head remained uncovered as she went to stand beside Astrea.
"Three individuals have chosen to join us tonight to see if they are worthy of joining our cause," Tom said, his beady eyes sweeping over everyone. Rhea frowned, wondering who the third person was as she turned to examine the other Knights. She went down the line until she saw another set of blue robes standing between Avida and Cassius. The hood was too low on their face for her to see who it was, though she hadn't remembered anyone mentioning a Ravenclaw joining. "But before they prove themselves, we must prove ourselves. Rhea."
Rhea's confusion was growing by the second as Tom outstretched his hand to her. With her eyes narrowed, Rhea cautiously made her way forward. When she was before him, Tom took her by the wrist and turned to the rest of the Knights with a smile.
"Rhea is, perhaps, the greatest duellist the Knights have. She has agreed to teach all of us more about the Dark Arts but I realize my mistake, " Rhea's stomach began to churn and her eyes wandered back to the new Ravenclaw. "I have seen Rhea battle countless times; I trust her to lead whereas the rest of you do not. Rhea is going to prove herself tonight."
Rhea had to bite back a scoff. Prove herself? She had more than proved herself by now, but she knew some of the Knights were still wary with her. She knew it would be easy dueling with any of them.
"We learned once in History of Magic about the gift of twins. Twins were long considered two halves of the same whole or the embodiment of one another's shadows. But wizards have long wondered about the connection twins share when it comes to their magic." Rhea's lips parted as she realized who the newest member of the Knights was. An intense rage began to creep its way up until she could feel it in her throat as she looked to Tom, betrayal clouding her features. But, he didn't look at her. "Perhaps tonight we will see. Pluto."
Pluto stepped forward, taking his hood off as he looked at his sister. A wicked smile began to make its way onto Rhea's lips as she eyed her brother. His face remained stoic, careful not to reveal what he was thinking. But, Rhea knew that he was nervous. He had always been whenever their father made them practice against one another. Rhea had won almost every time.
Their business was unfinished. He had killed Eddie and she had killed their mother. She knew that this wouldn't be a duel like they used to have where they would try not to harm each other. Rhea was out for vengeance.
In unison, they raised their wands and began their dance.