CHAPTER SEVEN
— knowledge is power
ON CHRISTMAS NIGHT, RHEA AND HER BROTHER LEFT THE COMFORT OF WILTSHIRE TO ATTEND THE ROSIER'S CHRISTMAS PARTY. Christmas at the Hel House had gone as smoothly as it normally did, for Rhea at least. Her father showered her with gifts and jewelry while Pluto sulked in the corner, his thoughts on their mother.
But they approached Rosier Manor with smiles on their faces. Rhea was the picture of perfection. Rialta had made sure to take extra care when styling her golden curls and she placed a blush colored rose in her hair that matched the color of Rhea's gloves. Her hand was wrapped around Pluto's elbow as they walked up to the white structure of Rosier Manor.
The lights from the party flooded out into the street and Rhea could feel herself getting back into her character as she and her brother climbed the steps.
"State your name." The golden gate said, unfurling to reveal the face of Jasper and Druella's father, Caligula Rosier.
"Rhea and Pluto Hel." Rhea said. The gate retreated back into itself and swung open.
The duo continued on as snowflakes fell from the sky and landed on their clothes. Rhea had always loved the bitter chill of winter. Winter in Wiltshire was always white and full of snow. On the night the twins had been born, Wiltshire had seen a snowstorm worse than they had in years and unlike anything they'd ever experienced since. When Rhea was little, her father would tell her that the storm had been because of her and ever since then Rhea had loved snow.
They stepped into the warmth of Rosier Manor, decorated with a large marble bust of Caligula on one of the tables. Servants helped the twins out of their coats and Rhea twisted the family ring that sat on her finger around as she scanned the area.
"Rhea!" Seraphina Yaxley squealed when she caught sight of the girl standing in the doorway. Pluto excused himself when he saw Avida while Seraphina wrapped her arms around Rhea. "How was your Christmas?"
"Wonderful. And yours?" Rhea asked as Seraphine guided her through the house. Rhea could make out Persephone, Druella, Walburga, and Davina standing up against the wall in their fancy gowns while their families mingled with one another.
"Perfect." Seraphina sighed dreamily. She turned to Rhea with an excited look on her face when they found the other girls. "My family spent Christmas with the Malfoys. I think my parents are trying to push me together with Abraxas."
"Really?" Rhea raised an eyebrow at that. She wondered how Abraxas would feel about that. It was well known around the school that Abraxas enjoyed his freedom and Rhea couldn't imagine he'd be too thrilled at the prospect of marrying Seraphina Yaxley.
Rhea liked Seraphina — she was fun and was certainly never boring. But, Seraphina did have a tendency to be a little boy crazy and her attention was fleeting. Rhea couldn't imagine she would like being married to Abraxas either.
"You know we have to start thinking about these sorts of things now, Rhea." Davina said. She sipped her flute of champagne lightly as the girls formed a circle around one another. "We're fifth years now meaning we only have two years left of schooling before we are to take our places in society. But, you probably wouldn't understand the pressure we face since your family isn't one of us."
Silence followed Davina's words.
Davina was constantly throwing it in Rhea's face that, despite the fact that Rhea associated with members of the Sacred Twenty-Nine and even though her family was as pureblood as they came, the Hels weren't actually one of them.
The expression on Rhea's face nearly slipped as Davina hummed innocently and took another sip of her champagne while a humorous smile played on her face.
Rhea hoped she choked on it.
"Davina, are you okay?" Persephone asked concerned when Davina started coughing on her bubbly and her face turned red. Rhea made no move to help as the other girls began to frantically pat Davina on her back as she choked.
Davina pushed them away from her and stormed off, embarrassed.
"She shouldn't have said that to you." Walburga said when Davina was out of sight and could no longer hear them. "Everyone knows how important your family is."
The other girls nodded in agreement and Rhea resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Walburga's words. She didn't need their pity or reassurance. They were too cowardly to say this in front of Davina so their words meant very little to her.
"Thank you." She said despite herself.
Rhea's eyes wandered throughout the room. Cassius and Ramsey were messing around in the corner; Ramsey was attempting to flirt with Astrea in another corner, but she looked as though she couldn't be bothered and she tried to talk to Lupe; But the two people that stood out to Rhea most were standing by the refreshment table and speaking in hushed tones. She narrowed her eyes at them.
Abraxas Malfoy had his arms crossed over his chest and his cool eyes swept over the people dancing in the center of the room. He didn't look too impressed by the band that was playing and, if it weren't for the slight movements of his mouth, Rhea wouldn't have known he was speaking at all. Next to him stood the boy Rhea who hadn't crossed her mind since she left Hogwarts — Tom Riddle.
Rhea had to admit that he cleaned up nice and, if she didn't loathe him, she might have considered trying to charm him like she did with Silas. His hands were in his pockets and he scanned the partygoers with an expression of distaste and annoyance. His mouth stopped moving when his eyes landed on her and his look of distaste morphed into hatred. A smirk formed on her face and Tom pushed himself off the wall to make his way over to her.
"Why is Tom Riddle coming over here?" Seraphina asked. There was a hopefulness in her tone and she seemed to have forgotten about Abraxas.
Tom had a charming little smile on his face when he approached them that fooled everyone, except Rhea. She could see all the darkness inside him that they were oblivious to.
"Hello, ladies," Tom said. The four other girls smiled brightly when they greeted him but Rhea remained quiet, staring silently at him. He turned to her. "Rhea, may I have this dance?"
He held his gloved hand out to her. Her friends looked at her with eager expressions. She knew they wanted her to go with him and tell them all the details about it later.
"Of course." Rhea gave him a saccharine smile and placed her hand in his. He led her to the dance floor and he abandoned all pretenses when he turned to face her. "So, Riddle, read anything interesting lately?"
He clenched his jaw and placed one hand on her waist and took her hand in his. Rhea could feel the coolness of his hand through her gloves. Rhea stared up at him with an amused smile playing on her features as they started to dance. Their movements were fluid and effortless and they hardly had to pay attention to what they were doing.
"What would you get out of it?" Tom asked. "Don't tell me you're only curious because I won't believe you. You're getting something out of it."
"I want you to unleash the monster inside." Rhea stated simply. Tom narrowed his eyes at her.
"You want me to purge the school of those who are unworthy to do magic?" Tom asked. He spun Rhea out of his arms for a moment before pulling her back to him.
"I wanted to ask Astrea if she would do it but she's the only one out of your little group of followers that doesn't really hate Muggleborns, isn't that right?" Rhea asked. Tom tensed at the mention of his followers and he looked down at Rhea, wondering how she knew about them. "I think it's time you stop being surprised when you find out I know more than I let on."
"How?" He asked. He squeezed her waist tightly and pain shot through her, but she didn't mind it all that much.
"I've been practicing Occlumency and Legilimency since I found out I could do magic. I can get inside the heads of everyone in this room and none of them would even know." Rhea said. Tom continued to stare at her. "You think I don't know you've been trying to get inside mine? Do you honestly believe those memories I showed you were real?"
"You can create fake memories?" Tom asked. He could feel his hatred for the girl growing. She was a better Legilimen than he was and he was fantastic at it. He didn't want to think that the girl who seemed so weak and fragile was the devil in disguise. He'd have to kill her. He hadn't ever killed a person before, but Rhea Hel would have to be the first. She was too powerful and she knew too much.
"Yes, but don't ask me to teach you because I won't. I can't go giving away all my secrets if you won't even open the Chamber." Rhea said. She leaned close to Tom and said lowly, "Though, I don't see why you wouldn't. You hate Muggleborns, I can tell."
Tom clenched his jaw again and he tightened his grip on her hand.
"I find that interesting," Rhea leaned up into his ear and whispered something that made Tom want to kill her on the spot. He wanted to take out his wand and yell two Unforgivable words that would make her drop dead on the spot. She whispered, "since you're a half-blood and all."
Rhea nearly laughed when Tom tore himself away from her and walked off. His face was turning red with anger and Rhea smiled at his retreating figure. She guessed mentioning his half-blood status struck a nerve in him — one that she would most certainly use to her advantage later on.
She had reminded him that, even though he was descended from the great Salazar Slytherin, he still had Muggle blood coursing through his veins. He hated himself for it.
She searched the room once more and found her brother. The corners of her mouth were turned up as she made her way onto the porch. Some of her peers were also missing and Rhea could guess why. Tom Riddle and his followers had slipped away from the party to conduct one of their secret meetings.
"You need to get over what is going on with you, Pluto." Rhea advised.
Pluto looked over the balcony and down at the snow covered ground. He felt annoyed at his sister's presence and he knew that he couldn't hide that from her since she was taking a look into his mind.
"Butt out, Rhea." He snapped at her.
"How can I when you're acting so idiotic? You're behaving like a scared child, Pluto. You're picking fights with Father, bringing up mother. It's unbecoming. It makes you look weak —"
Pluto's bitter laugh interrupted Rhea.
"Weak, huh? Nice to see you taking after mother." Pluto said.
Rhea froze. She could hear her mother yelling at her and berating her. She could hear her calling her weak. You're weak, Rhea . . . You're nothing but a weak little girl . . .
"Watch it!" Pluto snapped.
Rhea stopped staring off into the distance as her mother's voice echoed in her eyes. Rhea looked down at her hand. A green ball of fire had wrapped itself around her fist and was growing bigger by the second. Rhea shook her hand out and the fire disappeared. She turned to Pluto with a mean glare on her face.
"You watch your mouth when you speak to me, brother." Rhea said in a low tone. Pluto felt an invisible force tighten around his neck. He reached up, grasping at his throat as his breathing constricted. Rhea was completely unphased by the plea in his eyes for her to stop. "Don't forget your place."
He fell to the ground, choking, and Rhea left the balcony. She lifted her spell up when she was a good enough distance away from Pluto and maneuvered through all the people that tried to talk to her. She sped into one of the long hallways and searched for an empty room.
She barreled into the drawing room and turned the lights off before collapsing into a ball on the floor. Rhea brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She closed her eyes and squeezed them shut as her mother's voice echoed all around her.
"My name is Rhea Hel . . . I am fifteen years old . . . Everything will be okay . . ."
Rhea let out a shaky breath and repeated the words again and again. She'd continue to say it until she no longer felt like her mother was whispering in her ear, saying cruel words that were meant to put her down and make her feel like less of a person.
"My name is . . ." Rhea trailed off when she heard a muffled voice coming from the room next door. She opened her eyes and lifted herself from the ground, pressing her ear up against the wall.
" . . . the Hel girl." She caught the end of Avery's sentence. All thoughts of Caliope were immediately forgotten and an excited smile formed on her face. She had stumbled upon Riddle and his gang.
"Rhea?" Astrea Ravenswood said. Rhea could hear the shock in her voice, a reaction to whatever it was they were talking about. "You want us to get closer to Rhea Hel? But, Druella best friends with her."
Rhea could imagine the annoyed look on Tom's face at the skepticism in Astrea's voice.
"I want you to find out everything there is to know about Rhea Hel. I want to know her weaknesses, her fears, and anything else you can tell me." Tom spoke. There was a beat of silence where nobody said a word. "You will do this. I am your leader and you will do as I say!"
Rhea rolled her eyes. Tom's little outburst didn't sound strong or commanding and she didn't understand why no one told him so.
The sound of footsteps cleared out and Rhea leaned up against the wall with a mischevious smile forming on her face.
This is going to be fun.