Pranking hearts

It was a calm day after the classes. Nothing big happened today. Everything was normal. The group of friends split for their classes, promising one another to meet up after it was all over. But after the end of her classes, Rhea waited in the common room for about an hour, waiting for her friends to come but no one was showing up. She considered it possible that Fred and George had gotten themselves into trouble and were now in detention. That was something she was counting on. But where were the other three, she wasn't sure.

"Maybe they got Lee into trouble as well." She muttered to herself, thinking out loud. But that still didn't explain where were Angelina and Alicia. The two restrain themselves from twins and their pranks as much as they can. So it didn't make sense where they were for so long. She sat alone on the couch in the common room. A few students stopped by her to treat her with smiles or to say hi, recognising her as one of the stars of their Quidditch team.

In her first match which was before the start of Winter, Rhea showed off how truly good she was on the pitch in a match which against Ravenclaws since there was a little mix-up in the playing order this year. Before her first match, Rhea was insulted by many older students. Having commented about her height and how fragile and small she looked. Encouraging words coming from the Gryffindor Keeper Oliver Wood were the ones that got her to get a firm grip on herself that day. He told her that rather than cry and be scared about what others think or say she should go out there and show them how wrong they all are.

That day Gryffindor won over Ravenclaw even though Charlie let the young new Seeker catch the snitch before him. Just to encourage the younger boy who was trying out for a Seeker for the first time. Most of the points scored by Gryffindors that day were fired from Rhea's hands. Leaving the Keeper of the Ravenclaws tired and unable to attend classes the next day due to the intense muscle fever he was experiencing. Rhea became the star player of the Gryffindor team. Making the twins and her other friends unbelievably proud.

But even if Rhea had now her reputation, she would much rather hang around her best friends instead of her admirers and people who just wanted to praise her. She wanted to laugh with Alicia, tell Angelina about what has happened in Herbology class, wanted to tell Lee that she managed to convince McGonagall to let him try out in commentating on the next match that will be after Christmas break. 

She was sure he would be happy about that as Alicia informed her that he kept on commentating the whole game to her. And she loved listening to him, saying it was funny but she also was a lot more aware of what was happening on the pitch. So Rhea pulled on some strings. Using her good connection with the Professor who was the head of their house and conveniently enough a Quidditch enthusiast and managed to persuade her to give Lee a shot.

But most of all she wanted to spend time with Fred and George. The two of them have been disappearing quite a lot lately leaving her with either the girls or Lee. They were always rushing off somewhere. Making Rhea wonder if she had done something wrong or if they had just found something better to do than to be with her. The thought of that hurting her heart. They were her best friends and she was not ready to just so suddenly and quickly pushed on the sideline.

With a sigh, she lifted her head to look out of the window. Outside the scenery was decorated by snowflakes, dancing in the cold wind. Their size could be compared to the cotton balls that Madam Pomfrey used in the Hospital wing. It was nearing Christmas already. The break was just around the corner. But Rhea seemed to forget all about her favourite festivities. Being so caught up in training and studying these past few weeks. 

She didn't even notice the days slipping past so fast. Could've sworn that the term has only just begun and now it was almost the end of the year with the nearing New Year. This year she would be going home to her uncle Remus. To compensate the last year's inconvenience.

She was glad to be seeing her dear uncle again. But couldn't help but be sad about leaving her friends. But then again it seemed like they didn't have in their intentions to enjoy with her the last few days they had together.

Any other time, Rhea would be ecstatic to see snow. She loves the cold little white things flowing in the air. The chilliness of the wind getting to her skin under the coat. Building a snowman or having a snowball fight, were the things she enjoyed during the season. Or the beautiful scenery the elegant white snow, and cool ice created.  But now, it just reminded her how lonely she felt at the moment.

"Hey Rhea," A voice from behind the couch said. The voice sounded quite familiar. It sure wasn't someone she was talking to daily. But it certainly was someone she knew. Turning her head she was met with the sight of her fellow second-year. Kenneth Towler. Rhea was sure she heard Fred and George talk about him sometime this week along with Lee. He was supposed to share a dorm with them if she remembers correctly. But the three were planning on kicking him out of there because they thought he was annoying. Although Rhea doubted they would be successful with that.

"Um, hey Kenneth. Something you need?" She asked curiously, peeking over at the boy who usually was too involved in his stuff to even notice her presence in the room. The guy was seriously something. She noticed he collected bugs and butterflies just to pin them down with pins, he had a whole creepy collection of them, which made Rhea slightly sick to the stomach. But she was not going to be mean about it now.

"Nothing, just noticed you here alone, which is unusual." He stated with a shrug of his bony shoulders. The brown mop of hair fell over his amber eyes as he just stared at her. Rhea could swear that it was the same look he gave to the bugs that he was about to stab through with a pin. She bit her lip, looking down at her lap. Mind racing for some reason to run out of there. "Did you finish the History of Magic assignment?" Kenneth asked, his monotonous voice easily compared to Snape's. Sensing the quick getaway there, Rhea instantly jumped at the mention of the assignment that she had long finished.

"Blimey! I completely forgot," She whined, putting to use all her acting skills. "I better get going to the library then, so I can finish it since History of Magic is tomorrow." She excused herself quickly, the words reeling off her tongue easily. Her feet already carrying her towards the portrait hole.

"Oh, I can help if you want," Kenneth offered quickly but Rhea was already out of the door and practically sprinting in the direction of the library. In hopes to hide there from the lad.

She sighed once making it into the library, noticing that no one was following her. She considered herself lucky for that. Feet carrying her towards the end of the library where she usually sat with Angelina and Alicia when they wanted some quiet place to talk. But her cheery pace was halted when she noticed the space already occupied by no other than Katie Bell. 

She sat there, focused, staring into the giant book of history. Noticing that the girl was all alone Rhea felt terrible. The day when she unintentionally insulted the younger girl kept replaying in her mind over and over again like a broken record. She still felt incredibly guilty for the awful words she let leave her mouth. But until now she never had the chance to apologise to the girl since she always just strutted away any time she saw Rhea or anyone else from the group approaching her.

Sensing this as an opportunity to apologise Rhea pulled on the kindest smile she could master and she walked over, closer to Katie. Being careful not to alert the brown-haired girl of her presence just yet because she was sure the first-year would just pack up her things and leave as quickly as steam over the pot. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed the boy from the train that she met at the start of the year.

The same dark-haired lad that Fred was all rude to. The same boy that she found quite cute.  He was standing at the end of the corridor. Talking to the prefect of Gryffindor. And since he was also a Quidditch player, Rhea knew him as Peter Pevensie. A guy with whom she didn't see eye to eye at first but now they are on good terms and would even consider each other friends. 

Next to Peter stands a tall girl, surely younger than Peter but not by too much, maybe only just a year difference. She was a Ravenclaw that much she could recognise from the dark blue tie that she wore. She had gorgeous long, wavy brown hair and held a bunch of books in her hands. Then there stood a girl, definitely the youngest of them all, positively younger than Rhea. Most probably a first-year. She had short auburn hair and Hufflepuff robes dangling on her short body.

They must be siblings. Rhea remembers Peter saying that he has three younger siblings that are attending Hogwarts. All of them in different houses. Was it possible that the boy that Rhea found quite intriguing would be the brother of her fellow Gryffindor? Maybe she could finally learn his name. She just needs to somewhat smartly ask Peter about it. Yeah, she will put that on her to-do list for later. Now her main priority was Katie.

Rhea stepped closer to the girl. Carefully gaining her attention by gently knocking on the wooden surface of the table. Trying to be as delicate as possible so as to not startle the girl who was seemingly too deep in her reading. Katie's head shot up. At first, surprised but then the surprise washed off being replaced by pure animosity.

"What do you want, Black," Hearing her last name leave Katie's mouth sounded as if she was spitting out poison. The look of pure hate stabbed Rhea right in the chest. A giant troubled sigh left her lips as she gulped down the lump that was created in her throat.

"I...um, I wanted to apologise." Rhea stuttered out of herself. Finding it hard to form words when Katie was scowling at her like that. Rhea thought she was being nice but it seemed like her attempts to ask for forgiveness only angered the brown-haired girl. She closed her big book shut, the loud sound echoing through the library. Gaining some unwanted attention from the people around. Rhea uneasily glanced at the face that was now gawping at them, expecting some action.

"Oh, so you think that you apologise and everything will be fine, eh?" Katie snapped. Her brown eyes pierced through Rhea. "Okay, then, enlighten me, what do you want to apologise for? For the fact that I heard you talking about me to your friends? For the fact that I managed to hear just how much you honestly hate me? That I heard you were making fun of me with that pathetic group of yours?" Rhea was left in shock at all the things that she heard from Katie. Was that how the girl saw her as? As an awful bully? Katie's hands were shaking slightly, and Rhea wasn't sure whether it was from the bottled-up emotions that she was now letting out on the poor blonde or if it was something else.

"Katie, I promise I didn't mean to hurt you. Those things I said...I didn't even mean them..." Katie cut her off before she could explain further. A dry chuckle came out of the lips of the first year.

"You didn't mean to hurt me? That's rich coming out of the mouth of the daughter of a murderer." Katie spat venomously. The sentence caused Rhea to take an aghast step back. Her eyes widened. This was the first time anyone has ever mentioned her father to her at school. How does Katie even know about him? Rhea herself knows next to nothing about her father. But what stunned her the most was the word...murderer. What did she mean by that?

"What are you talking about?" Rhea asked carefully. Her voice shook slightly in fear of what she might find out. The topic of her parents was always a sensitive subject for her and today was no exception, especially when Katie was using such foul and accusing words in association with her father.

"Oh don't act like you don't know. Even some muggle-borns know what type of person your father is." The words rolled out of Katie's tongue, instantly hitting Rhea with painful stings.

"I have no clue what are you talking about," Rhea shook her head in disbelief. A nervous laugh escaped her which was more like an attempt to stop her from overthinking the situation. But inside, her mind was racing at a lightning speed. All words multiplying and filling her mind. Telling her that something was wrong here. What telling, her mind was practically screaming for her to back out of this or else she will get emotionally hurt. But Rhea was already too deep. Too intrigued by what Katie was about to say to her, and slightly scared.

"Aw, so little Miss Perfect doesn't know that her dear daddy was a killer? That he was the follower of You-know-who? Or that he killed 12 muggles? Oh, and this, he betrayed his friends, mhm, got three of them killed. I believe he even killed one of them himself. Only leaving his thumb as the remainder of his existence." Rhea's heart seemed to stop at the harsh flow of information. All of that hit her hard right in the heart. For so many years she didn't know a single thing about her father. Only knowing the basics from Moony. Or at least she thought those were the basics. Yet, he managed to keep the important things from her.

"W-where did you find this out?" Rhea asked, her voice shaky from the overload of emotions that were fighting inside her. Katie's face got graced with a satisfied smirk once seeing Rhea so broken and lost. The bright star of Gryffindor finally being brought down to earth.

"Did my research on you and your family. Not much to brag about you have there." Katie snapped. Watching the way Rhea's thoughts were rushing through her mind which was illustrated by her features. 

Katie felt a pang of satisfaction. Seeing Rhea feel at least a bit as bad as she did when she was so offended all those months ago in Great Hall. Since that day she has been doing her research. Trying to find something that she could use against the girl who began climbing her way up the popularity chain of Hogwarts.

The satisfaction to see the blonde so broken was indescribable for Katie. She has been jealous of Rhea for so long. The way she so effortlessly handled everything thrown her way. The Black girl can gain the sympathies of anyone in a matter of seconds even without trying. Katie is so envious of her easygoing personality. She needed something to make Rhea's life, less perfect. And she found it.

"You know, I honestly pity your friends," Katie said after a while of silence during which Rhea was just trying to get a hold of herself so she won't break down in a library full of people. It was embarrassing enough for her that almost everyone was staring already. "Having a friend whose father is in Azkaban, I would be afraid for my life. And I certainly would not trust a daughter of a killer." Katie spat out venomously. Rhea stumbled backwards. The news as if just now reaching her head. She shook her head in disbelief. Tears already burning in her eyes as she turned on her heels and sprinted out of the library. The action made Katie smile in victory.

But no one noticed that a certain group of friends was there as well, not too far away. And they listened to everything that was said between the two. Angelina was simply said boiling mad. So was Fred. George and Alicia were more concerned about Rhea who sprinted out of the library with the unusual sight of tears in her eyes. While Lee was just completely stunned in his chair, trying hard to process everything that has happened in front of his eyes.

The group was so involved in containing Fred and Angelina so they won't go attack verbally or physically the younger student that they didn't notice a certain dark-haired boy exiting the library swiftly. Going to search for the humiliated and hurt blonde Gryffindor.

***

Rhea sat alone by the Black Lake. Hiding her existence from the rest of her world so no one would see her this humiliated. Right from the library, she bolted here. To the trees that gave her just a great view of the gloomy-looking lake in front of her. The only thing covering her from the intense cold and the harsh snowflakes hitting her skin was the fabric of her thin Gryffindor robes that were draped around her shoulders, to hold in as much heat as only possible for such a feeble material.

But even though she was practically freezing she didn't care. She was too dull to even think about it. The new weight of that information crushed onto her. Her heart clutched with the painful pressure of betrayal, hurt, and fright. How could her uncle keep that from her? These were some crucial issues that she figured out in a fairly insensitive way.

She should have been long familiar with who exactly her father was. Why did no one tell her? The students in the library didn't seem like it was anything new to them. Why did no one tell her? They all knew...and no one told her a thing. She didn't know whether she was angry at Remus or if she was just disappointed in general.

She watched the surface of the lake, small spots of it were already freezing over with a thin layer of ice. The snowflakes danced in the air, dancing their beautiful ballet in the chilly winter air. Any other time this would put a smile on Rhea's face. But not she remained gloomy and focused on the gentle waves of the lake. The greyish-blue water reflected the grim mood she felt. A single tear trailed down her flushed red cheek. Her hands were pale, getting a slight tint of blue at the tips, but she was still anxiously fiddling with the hem of the sleeve of her robes.

"Oh, there you are," A voice said from behind Rhea. Startling the blonde who up till now was far too deep in her thoughts. Her head shot up quickly, turning in the direction of the voice. Once her teary eyes landed on the dark-haired boy that she met on the train at the start of school she quickly reached her hand towards her eyes, wiping away the stray tears to disguise the fact she had been crying.

"I want to be alone now." Her voice sounded frail and broken causing the dark-haired boy to frown. Ignoring her earlier statement he stepped closer to her crouching down on the ground next to her. Not wanting to sit down in the snow-damped grass, unlike Rhea. The blonde girl sighed when she realised the Slytherin was not going anywhere any time soon. At least not until she talks to him.

"You know, you could be a prodigy in hide-and-seek." The boy praised with a light chuckle, trying to bring a sliver of joy to the ostensibly broken girl. His attempt met nothing but fail. The Gryffindor girl didn't even lift her head in acknowledgement that she heard him speak. "I am yet to introduce myself, I am Edmund, Edmund Pevensie." The dark-haired boy said. "You're Rhea Black right?" He asked.

Once again only meeting silence. Edmund didn't know much about Rhea. The girl intrigued him though, and from times that he had seen her either in Great Hall or in corridors, occasionally in class she has never looked this down and especially she was never this quiet. 

From what he heard from his older brother, Rhea was quite an outspoken type of person and very friendly to everyone. It was no wonder to Edmund that everyone simply adored her. She was amazing. But right now she didn't quite represent herself. She looked more like a living corpse, or a statue of ice. And if she won't make her way inside soon she will most likely turn into one.

"Listen, I know this must be hard for you. Finding out everything like this. I understand..." Edmund cut himself off when he saw Rhea shaking her head.

"How can anyone understand this? I just learned that my dad is in Azkaban! He killed someone! All this time, I-I-I didn't know where he had disappeared. I was left in the dark about all of this," Rhea's voice broke in the middle of her last sentence. Hot tears once again travelled down her pale, ice-cold skin. "I practically worshipped the man. Wanting to be just like him. And all this time I had the desire to be like someone who betrayed his friends." Edmund watched Rhea get all her bottled-up emotions out of herself. He let her vent out to him. Watching her run her freezing hand through her damp hair in frustration. "I just don't understand why no one told me this sooner. It's been so long and no one gave me a single hint." The blonde girl muttered, more or less to herself but the Slytherin student saw this as his opportunity to speak.

"Maybe they didn't want to hurt you. Your family and friends I mean. Because they saw how happy you were about being like your dad. Maybe they didn't want you to doubt yourself. Or your uncle didn't know how to tell you. It's not the easiest thing to explain to a child." Edmund spoke wisely. Rhea liked that. He was able to explain everything to her logically. Bringing his point of view into her biased one. His outside perspective gives her a clearer view of the matter.

Rhea is a very empathetic person when she wants to be. So she could imagine how her uncle must have been feeling. Adding to all the stories that he told her, she collected that they were great friends so for him it couldn't have been easy either at that time. Especially when he got someone like Rhea in his care. 

She wasn't angry. At least not anymore. But the initial sadness and shock were still harbouring somewhere down in her heart and a lot of questions were still scampering in her mind. But she decided to preferably leave it unspoken, at least until she speaks with her uncle. It was perhaps a bit selfish of her, wanting to ruin the upcoming Christmas spirit with such a gloomy subject but Rhea believed that it was finally time for answers.

"Thank you for helping me, and well, freezing here with me for so long." Rhea chuckled softly, looking over at Edmund who smiled.

"I was trying to speak with you for some time now. Even if this wasn't the most optimal occasion I was glad to help." The dark-haired boy answered. Holding a gaze with Rhea. Her pale green eyes enchanted him, creating a faint coat of blush. He was lucky he could blame it on the weather.

The two stayed there for a few moments in complete silence. Just enjoying each other's quiet presence. Something that they didn't enjoy often. Rhea with her group of friends was sure to never have a dull or quiet moment. And Edmund with his three siblings with whom he spent most of his time was in the same situation. The loud bickers he led with his brother daily, or the loud giggles he was forced to hear from his sisters whenever they were talking about something. In their lives, the silence was something foreign. But they both enjoyed it from time to time.

The silence was interrupted when they heard loud voices, coming from the direction of the castle. Rhea immediately recognised them. Catching right away onto the voice of worried Fred Weasley who was trying arguing with their other friends that they needed to find Rhea. 

She maybe wasn't aware of the smile that grew on her face, her whole expression lit up when she heard the voice of her ginger friend. But Edmund noticed. He saw her eyes sparkle a little brighter just from hearing his voice. Letting out a quiet sigh, he concealed his disappointment with a kind smile as he stood up.

"I should get going. I am sure your friends will not be particularly pleased to see me here with you." He said with a timid laugh, scratching the back of his neck. Rhea looked up at him. Wanting to argue but then she remembered the incident on the train.

"Yeah, probably." She said sadly. But then a small smile got placed on her frosted cheeks. "But I sure hope to speak with you again. Since we are friends now." Edmund couldn't help but smile.

"Of course." He nodded, trying to restrain himself from grinning wider. "I'll see you around," He waved to her. Walking out of the spot before any of the approaching Gryffindors could see him.

Rhea sat there for a couple of short minutes alone. Just staring at the lake again, waiting for her friends to find her while thinking of how she will bring up the serious conversation with her uncle. It wasn't long after Edmund left when Rhea was tackled in a giant warm hug by someone. Only catching a glimpse of red hair in front of her eyes. Seconds later the rest of the group joined the hug. Talking one over the other saying how worried they were for Rhea and that she shouldn't take anything Katie said too seriously.

"Bloody hell Rhea, you're freezing." Fred was the first one to notice that Rhea might be suffering from hypothermia. He was quick to pull off his jumper, throwing it at Rhea. Leaving the older twin with just his robes but he didn't care. All that mattered to him was that Rhea would warm up a bit.

"We should get you inside," George suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement as the group made their way back inside the warmed-up castle. While George and Lee led the way in the front, Alicia and Angelina were walking slightly behind them telling Rhea how they will make her feel better tonight. The process included a hot shower, which the blonde desperately needed, later on, followed by the trio braiding their hair and talking and eating candy that Alicia got from her parents in her last package. Of course, Angelina didn't fail to mention that they might be locking Katie out of their dorm tonight.

But Rhea was only partially listening. Her mind still a bit too preoccupied to pay attention to everything. She was considering if it was possible that someone would betray their best friends. And more importantly, would Rhea ever be able to do that?

"Hey, stop with all that overthinking. Mistakes of someone else do not define who you are. You are still amazing and we all will always trust you wholeheartedly. No doubt in that." Fred who walked next to her said catching her attention. He has been by her side this whole time. Scrutinising the troubled expression on her face. "You'll never get rid of me Black." He winked at her causing a smile to reach her face.

"I'd never dream of it, Weasley."