SERPENT HEART° TOM RIDDLE

034. MORS VINCINT OMNIA

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
— death conquers all

              RHEA WALKED BRISKLY THROUGH THE empty corridors of the castle, careful to not let any of the ghosts spot her — particularly Peeves the poltergeist since he would certainly get in her trouble and that was the last thing she needed. She'd already risked going to the dungeons, but the person she was looking for was nowhere to be found. Now, she was making her way to the seventh floor and hoping she was correct and that she would find Tom Riddle standing in the Room of Requirement. She stopped in front of the empty wall, waiting until the door appeared and she turned the knob, throwing the door open and casting light into the hallway for a brief second before she stepped inside.

Everything was in a panic. Cassius Avery sat in the middle of the room in one of the wooden chairs, his head tilted backwards as Avida stood over him, visibly wincing. Gashes and cuts scraped Cassius's face, leaving cuts all over. He would hardly be recognizable if it weren't for his blonde hair. He groaned and thrashed about while Astrea rummaged through a bag in the corner of the room saying,

"Ramsey, wipe the blood out of his eye." Astrea said. Rhea watched the scene unfold silently in front of her as the Knights, including Seraphina, worked to help Avery.

"Since when do I take orders from you?" Ramsey grumbled before Druella reached over and swatted him in the back of his head, a mean glare on her face.

"Don't be a twat, Lestrange." Druella said, annoyed, before she turned to dote on Cassius. Tom stood in the back, his head tilted to the side as though he was trying to figure something out. His eyes darted up when the door clicked shut, landing immediately on Rhea. He took in the state of her appearance — there were twigs in her hair and her robes and clothes were ruffled and covered in dirt. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her and tell her that he told her so. She wasn't able to resurrect the dead because it was impossible.

But, then he saw it. The dangerous glint in her eye that matched the widening, triumphant smirk that formed on her face. His jaw nearly dropped from the mere thought that — no — it couldn't be.

"Oh, Rhea, there you are." Seraphina sighed in relief, appearing from behind Abraxas who was in the middle of a game of wizard's chess with Lupe and ignoring the dirty looks Druella and Avida kept sending their way. Everyone turned to the door at the mention of Rhea's name, briefly acknowledging the girl's presence before returning to what they had been doing. 

"Who did this to Avery?" Rhea asked, taking a closer look at the cuts on his face, her brows pulling together.

"Lorelei Spencer-Moon." Astrea said, pulling a bottle of clear liquid out of her bag and rushing to pour it on Avery's wounds. Rhea raised a brow.

"Really? I'm impressed." Rhea said. Druella and Avida glared at her. Rhea rolled her eyes. "This is dark magic."

"How do you know?" Tom asked. Rhea let out a low, irritated noise.

"Because I've seen it used before. It was a favorite of my father's for a time." Rhea shrugged before frowning. "I didn't realize Lorelei practiced dark magic."

"Neither did we." Abraxas said, suddenly rising from his chair after Lupe beat him. "Not that we blame her — Tom had Avery snooping around her room and she caught him in the act. We told him to go during class, but he decided to wait until break instead. Said he didn't want to miss Herbology."

"She just left him lying there in the room." Druella said, angrily as Avery's wounds began to slowly heal thanks to Astrea's solution. "She didn't even take him to the infirmary."