Disclaimer: As everyone knows, the characters and settings that take place in this story belong to the amzing Leo Jo Rowling. sigh I wish Tom Riddle was mine, but he's not.

a/n: I fully intend on writing a second chapter at some point in time. I'm not sure exactly what it should be like, yet, if you have any deas review and tell me!

It was Saturday morning. Usually he got up early- he always had things to do. But for some reason he slept in.

He didn't know what had made him so tired. He just knew that he had crept into bed, late but earlier than usual, and fallen asleep. The next thing he knew, there was a hand over his face, his mouth. He was being strangled.

He woke up with a gasp.

"Ssh," said a soft voice, soothingly, a cool hand against the side of his face.

"Wha-?" he began, looking up frightfully. His expression quickly changed when he saw her face.

"Mercy! You scared me!" He said mockingly, a hand over his chest. The girl grinned shyly at him. She was sitting beside him on the bed. His bed. He wondered if she'd even given it a thought.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, her eyes betraying her inner thoughts; she wasn't sorry at all. "I came up to wake you, but you know....I couldn't bring myself to do it. You look so different when you're sleeping."

He raised an eyebrow, sitting up slightly. Her hand still laid on his skin, on his neck, his cheek.

"You look so innocent...." She sighed, looking down at the floor and nothing in particular. "I was just going to sit and wait for you to open your eyes and say something...rather sarcastic, but you didn't, so I just stayed. And then you started to look like you were having nightmares, so I..." she trailed away and absent-mindedly stroked the side of his face.

He watched her face, but she didn't try to look into his eyes, like most people did, like the stereotypical girl did. She looked at what he seemed to be, purposefully, knowing that it wasn't him, but trying to analyse it anyway. That always threw him off. She just gazed at him, pensive and quiet.

That was Mercy for you.

"Were you dreaming?" she asked him.

A faint line of annoyance appeared between his eyebrows.

"Of you? Most certainly not."

Mercy cocked her head very quickly. "Of anything."

"Not that I know of," he said, wondering if she even cared who he was.

She just nodded, and her hand slipped from his neck and she got up to leave. Still propped up, he watched her walk with faint interest. She had never spoken to him about anything not school-related before. She was a slender girl, like a swan, very leggy with an elegant white neck and smooth skin that was as white as cream. She turned when she reached the doorway.

"You be careful in your sleep. Things are not always as they seem, Tom Riddle."

Then she left, and he was left to sit on the bed and ponder her mystery.

"G'morning, Tom," called Robert jovially. Robert was his ally, and the closest thing he had ever had to a friend. Robert understood Tom, and although they were both after very different things, they knew that they could both be achieved the same way.

"Same to you," Tom said, and sat beside him on the couch. "You won't believe who woke me up this morning," he said, confidentially lowering his voice.

"Reckon I won't," Robby said with a shrug, reading the daily prophet. "Don't know what took you, anyway- lunch is in an hour."

"I don't know, either- it was Vice."

Robby looked up, initially surprised, then his shocked appearance turned into a sly grin. "You've got her, Tom."

Tom sneered. Then smiled rather nastily. "Why not?"

"Why indeed."

"It could be fun."

"Very fun." Robby looked up again, still smiling. "Women are very easy, Tom, especially for us."

Tom nodded. "I'd have to agree with you."

It was easy for them. Tom had a reputation, and even that couldn't stop him. His charm was unequaled, his looks unparalleled, and if he- or Robert- wanted a girl, it took no time at all to get her. Mercy Vice would be no exception. It would be so easy, he suspected, and even if she cursed his name afterwards for being used, he didn't think it would matter- if he ever wanted her again, she'd come at the sound of her name. Women were like that. He knew exactly what they thought even if they didn't know it; women adored being used up until you decided to stop using them. That was when they became angry or hurt.

"You prick!" Ginny shouted. "Women don't like being used at all! They get mad when they find out they were being used!"

The memory looked rather ruffled as he turned to Ginny. "Oh, do shut up, you silly girl. You loved me the entire year, now be quiet- you're just mad that I got bored."

"Don't talk to my sister like that!" yelled Ron.

"Will you all just shut up and let me tell the story?" retorted Tom, very angry at that time.

"And that's another thing," interrupted Harry from the floor of the dusty room. "Would you stop referring to yourself in the third person? It's really annoying."

Ron nodded and made to speak when Hermione turned on him and huffed impatiently, "Oh, do shut up, all of you! I, for one, would like to hear this!"

She turned back to the memory and sad politely, "Please continue."

Never one to stay silent, Ron muttered to Harry loudly, "Oh, great, now Hermione fancies Riddle."

Harry tried to stifle his laughter, although Ron didn't, and Draco snickered.

Ginny smiled as though she'd laughed, but Hermione looked at her furiously and Ginny stopped. Tom sighed with irritation, and said, "Do you mind?"

Ginny scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, fine, sure, whatever, go on," she snapped.

Tom glared menacingly and went on.

"Hey, Robby," Tom whispered. "You ready?"

Robert nodded. It was always like this; Tom went out to talk to the girls, then later on asked if he could invite a friend, and then Robert went out to talk to them, too. Somehow the combined efforts of the pair drove the girls absolutely mad. The boys had their way with them and the girls spread vicious rumors that never stopped them from getting the next batch of girls.

Tom smiled cruelly. "Then I guess I'll be seeing you."

And he set off to speak to the girls.

"You are so disgusting," said Ginny angrily, and Draco, Harry, Ron and Tom all moaned.

"Let it go, Ginevra," Tom said softly, voice full of scorn. "Move on."

"It is rather rude, you know," Hermione added sensibly as though informing him of the incantation for a particularly easy spell. "Talking about girls like that after what you've done. I'm actually surprised she's taking it so well."

"You're defending her?" said Tom, blinking. "Well, that's news to me. And here I thought you liked me."

"About as much as I like Wormtail- no, I think I prefer you to him," Hermione amended. "All right, about as much as I like Draco."

Harry and Ron laughed quietly and Draco looked highly affronted.

Tom raised an eyebrow. "Indeed."

"Hey, ladies," he said as he gracefully walked over to him, the autumn wind running through his silky black hair. The group of girls looked up from what they were doing and giggled.

"Whatcha doing there?" he asked, going to stand beside them, leaning against a tree.

"We're trying to call over the giant squid," answered one of them truthfully, a fourth year Hufflepuff named Latrice.

Tom laughed. "Are you, then? What's your plan to do it?"

Latrice shrugged, her face reddening. She wasn't all that bad looking, but Tom was after a prize- Robert could have any other girl, Tom only wanted one.

"Well, would you like my advice?" he asked the group of girls. He looked around for that one girl. The others all giggled.

"I'd love it," said a soft voice briskly from behind Amelia, a fifth year Ravenclaw. Out from behind her stepped an ashy blonde with cool brown doe's eyes. She was dressed in Slytherin's colors, and Tom licked his lips.

It was Mercy Vice.

Tom kept talking, his eyes lingering for a moment on her chest, and her white neck, then looking at the other girls.

"I think you should find something to use as bait," Tom continued slyly. "Something to attract it."

"What would attract it?" asked another Hufflepuff, a fifth year named Farrah.

Tom shrugged. "Something attractive?"

The girls giggled. All but Mercy, the lone Slytherin.

"Yes, I think that's a very good idea," he resumed speaking, walking closer to them.

He stopped in front of a Gryffindor fourth year, Stella. "We could just toss you in," he said to her in a pretend scientific manner. She blushed furiously and stammered, "B-but my clothes'd get wet, and heavy. I'd sink."

Tom winked. "You could just take them off."

The girls giggled loudly again, all but Mercy, who stepped forward. He looked at her, her brown eyes and long lashes rimming them, surprisingly dark, seeing as her hair was so very pale, like straw in the frost.

"Bait, you say?" she asked softly. He stepped closer to her and whispered, "Yes. Something to lure the squid over here."

"Something irresistible." She added, her hands snaking up to rest on his shoulders. The other girls sighed in awe behind her.

"The most delectable person in Hogwarts," he continued.

"I don't have a doubt about who it is," cooed Mercy.

"Neither do I," Tom said slowly, leaning closer.

"Then it's settled?" she asked him mysteriously.

"Of course," Tom replied with a smile and moved in to kiss her.

Unfortunately, when he leaned in to kiss her, she pulled on his left shoulder hard and pushed on his right one, sending him flying into the lake. One of the girls screamed, a few others laughed, but Mercy laughed hardest of all- and cruelest.

Tom propelled himself to the surface, spitting out water.

"Mercy, I- what was that for?" he asked. Mercy kneeled beside the lake, on her knees, and leaned forward, reaching out her left hand to stroke his hair and his neck again, like she had that morning.

"Well, Tom," she purred, the girls gathering around her, "the squid's not coming. I guess you were wrong. You're not the most delectable person at Hogwarts."

And they all laughed, to add insult to injury, and Mercy sat up on and said clearly, "You see, girls, Tom wasn't really here to help us with our quest to find the squid. He just wanted a little sugar, that's all."

The girls whispered anxiously amongst themselves.

"But if you still want that kiss, Tom," Mercy said, directing her attention back to him as he rested his arms on the shore, "I'd be ecstatic to oblige now."

And she leaned in to kiss him, that pale hand entangled in his wet, black hair, and even though it was September and therefore freezing in the lake, he felt so warm, and he couldn't believe he had though her hands were icy that morning, not those hands on his neck, those fingers in his hair. Never. But before he could think, before he could drag himself onshore to lie beside her and show her the pleasure he was feeling, she broke away, broke away and looked into his eyes with a sort of startled look, and he knew he had been right. Does' eyes.

She looked into his eyes, and saw that somewhere in the oceans of deep blue there was a kind of hunger, and she backed away, the slight fear vanishing to be replaced by a very smug smile.

Mercy stood up, and for a split second Tom hated her for that feeling of need she had searched for within him, found, and drawn from him like blood, exposing his throbbing heart to the world. Hated her.

Then the moment passed and he was merely angry for being humiliated. He pulled himself up out of the water, muttering darkly.

The girls walked away, but he didn't notice that one stayed behind to watch him struggle.

"Who's idea was it to look for the bloody squid, anyway?" he said out loud, crossly.

"Mine," said the girl, then turned around and walked away. Tom watched her leave. She was wearing Slytherin's colors.

I really like this one. It's only the second fan fiction I've ever written. The first one was a DM/HG fic, and it's not actually done, because I just started it a few days ago, but I prefer that Pansy get together with Draco, anyway. Otherwise it's just sort of weird.

I also like Tom Riddle better than any characters, but I think it'd be funny to have him meet them. Don't you?