A heart beneath the mark

5. Part

Mattheo's POV

I walked into the Great Hall during lunch break and sat down next to Theo, who was poking disinterestedly at his food. Without a word, I took some of the food on the table and began to shovel it into my mouth since I hadn't had breakfast. My eyes flickered to the Ravenclaw table, where Bennett was sitting. Her with her oh-so-perfect grades and oh-so-perfect life. I knew she'd regret saying "Fuck you" to me.

As I ate, my mind turned to thoughts of revenge. No one tells me to fuck off and gets away with it—especially not someone as perfect as Bennett.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her glance over at my table, worry clouding her expression. I followed her gaze and noticed a little girl, probably a first-year, sitting a few tables away, eating pudding.

"Theo?" I asked, nudging him in the side. "What?" he replied, glancing at me before following my line of sight."Who's the little girl, and why is Bennett staring at her?" I asked. Theo always knew the names of people around here. If I needed to know something about someone, I'd ask Theo, and he'd have all the answers. "That's Gwendolyn Bennett. Why?" Theo responded, sounding bored.

Bennett's little sister. Jackpot.

"I have a plan," I said coldly, standing up and heading toward the younger Bennett, who sat at the far end of the Slytherin table. "Gwendolyn Bennett," I began, sitting down in front of her with a serious, focused expression. The girl looked up, annoyed at first, but the moment she realized who was speaking to her, fear crept into her eyes. I glanced back at the Ravenclaw table to make sure Bennett wasn't watching us, but she was nowhere to be seen. Perfect.

"Y-Yes?" the little girl stammered, her voice quiet and embarrassed. Her hands trembled slightly, and I noticed the quiver of her lips. She knew who I was—and that was exactly how I wanted it.
"You're Bennett's little sister, right?" I asked with a smug smile. She nodded hesitantly, unsure of how to respond. My eyes scanned her—unremarkable, shy, the type of girl who would be easy to manipulate.

"It's funny," I said, leaning in closer to shrink the distance between us, "I've noticed your sister has been talking about you a lot lately." Gwendolyn's eyes widened slightly, and she shook her head softly. "What do you mean?". "Oh, nothing positive, of course," I added, my grin widening as I saw the confusion on her face. "She seems pretty annoyed with you, you know? Now that you're here and starting to get attention. Maybe she's afraid you'll outshine her. She wouldn't be able to handle that."

Gwendolyn frowned, her small fists clenching on the table. "Hannah wouldn't say that," she whispered, though there was a hint of doubt in her voice.

Hannah. Now I had a name.

"Are you sure?" I leaned in further, my voice lowering to a dangerous whisper. "Are you really sure about that? She's always so proud of her perfect grades and spotless reputation, isn't she? Haven't you ever noticed how she sometimes looks down on you, like she thinks she's better than you?"
I could see Gwendolyn waver, a flicker of doubt crossing her face. I was close—so close.
"Listen," I continued, my tone now softer, almost friendly. "I don't want to hurt you, but I overheard her talking to her friends earlier. She said you're a burden. That she always has to take care of you because you can't handle anything on your own. She even said that you're ruining all her hard work because you keep embarrassing her. If that were my sister, I'd start to wonder if she even considered me family."

Gwendolyn shook her head, this time more forcefully, though I could tell my words were sinking in. She bit her lip, clearly wrestling with the image of her perfect sister. "Why would she say that?" she whispered.
"Because she's afraid," I said immediately, locking my eyes with hers. "Afraid that you might be more interesting than her, that you'll have more friends, that you'll get more attention. That terrifies her."

Gwendolyn's expression twisted with confusion, torn between trusting her sister and the lies I was feeding her. I leaned in even closer, lowering my voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "She's always been the 'perfect' Bennett, the smart one. And now you're here, threatening to destroy everything she's worked for. Do you really think she's happy about that?"

Her eyes filled with tears, though she fought to keep them back. "That... that can't be true."
"Believe what you want," I said with a cold shrug, my tone hardening. "But you should be careful. Your sister isn't as perfect as she seems. If I were you, I'd start spreading some rumors about her.". "Rumors?" Gwendolyn's voice cracked slightly, and I knew I had almost fully broken her. "Oh yes," I said, letting a few seconds pass as if I were thinking. "For instance, that she only gets her 'perfect' grades because the teachers like her. That she flatters them because she's afraid she won't be good enough on her own. Or that she's really jealous of you because you're younger and not jaded like she is. You could tell a few people, and I guarantee it would spread faster than you think."

Gwendolyn looked down at her food, then back up at me, clearly torn. "But... that would be a lie."
I smiled coldly. "Sometimes the truth isn't enough to open people's eyes. Sometimes you have to give them a little push to make them see things as they really are. Do you think she will ever change if you don't do anything? Do you really want her to keep looking down on you?"

She was silent, but I could tell she was considering it. The doubt was planted in her mind, just as I wanted.
"Just think about it," I said quietly, turning to leave. "If you want things to change, you might have to start standing up for yourself. She sure isn't going to do it for you."

As I walked away, I glanced back to see Gwendolyn staring after me, her eyes wet with unshed tears. She didn't know what to believe anymore, and that was exactly what I had wanted.

When I returned to Theo, he raised an eyebrow at me. "What did you say to her?"
"Just a few truths she'll believe soon enough," I replied with a smirk. "The Bennetts... they'll both learn not to mess with Mattheo Riddle."