Cruelty and the Beast

One: The Object of her Yearning Heart

Disclaimer: All characters and events are based on the Harry Potter series that belong to J. K. Rowling. I do not make any money by writing this story.

As she gazed at Tom Riddle's soft, pallid face, she felt her forehead flush and her heart skipped a beat. His face looked smooth and polished as usual, as if his features had been delicately chiselled into a block of soap. There was no hint of a single blemish or scar anywhere on his skin, and his silky black hair looked just as perfect as the rest of his visage. Myrtle sighed dreamily, wishing that she had the courage to approach him, and perhaps even strike up a conversation.

She continued staring in his direction, gazing enviously at his friends who were seated next to him in the corner of the library. Sitting next to him on either side were Cygnus Black and Abraxas Malfoy, both extremely handsome Slytherin boys. Myrtle could also pick out Crabbe, and Avery out of the crowd of Slytherin boys, as well as the heinous Pollux Mesmer, a tall, scrawny, and intensely ugly boy with missing teeth and slanted eyes. The boy was despised and feared by nearly everyone Myrtle knew, and she could understand why. His family were strictly purebloods, and it was quite likely that Mesmer was an in-bred, judging by his hideously distorted facial features. Myrtle shuddered.

The only girl sitting at the table was one Myrtle recognized as Druella Rosier, a thin, beautiful girl with long flowing hair. Myrtle despised her especially; her snootiness, her rudeness, her arrogance toward Muggle-borns, and most of all the fact that she was Tom's friend...

Myrtle heavily sighed once more. If only Tom Riddle would look at her. But there was no hope; nobody would ever be attracted to spotty, plain, flat-chested Myrtle Wyndham.

Her heart heaved with longing as she continued staring at Tom. He and his friends were engrossed in what appeared to be a very serious conversation. Tom's brow was furrowed and his thin lips curled slightly into a frown. He seemed to be deep in thought and the Syltherins around him looked as though they were whispering, wishing not to be overheard. Myrtle found this extremely odd. What could they be talking about?

"Myrtle! There you are. I've been looking for you everywhere."

She turned to see a tall, busy-haired Hufflepuff take the empty seat next to her. "Hello Fiona," she replied with a sniff.

"Have you heard about the attack?"

Myrtle shook her head. "Well everybody is talking about it," Fiona explained, flipping her hair. "They found Percy Whitmore last night, petrified! He was found in the corridor near dinnertime, outside the girl's bathroom I heard. They're trying to keep the attack quiet though, telling everyone it had something to do with that bathroom flooding. It's rubbish really, everyone knows someone has been attacking students since autumn."

"That's dreadful," Myrtle responded, excited. "Who do you think it is?"

Fiona shrugged, flipping her hair once more. "They reckon it's some sort of monster, no student can petrify someone that well."

Myrtle wrinkled her nose. "I bet the attackers are in Slytherin."

"Well whoever the attackers are, they clearly hate Muggle-borns. Remember that poor Gryffindor boy that was attacked in November? Everyone knows that he was a Muggle-born, and don't forget that Ravenclaw girl was too."

"I bet it's Mesmer! Obviously there is something wrong with that boy, everyone knows it! And who else hates Muggle-borns as much as him? Or, maybe it's Olive Hornby! I really hope she gets caught, if it is her. She is such a cow."

Fiona shrugged. "Myrtle, look at what Edward bought for my birthday," she said suddenly, pulling out her wrist to show off a sparkling gold bracelet. "It looks really expensive," she drawled, "must've cost him galleons."

Myrtle felt a surge of jealousy as she looked at Fiona's bracelet. She was constantly showing off all the presents her boyfriend, Edward Weasley, kept buying for her and this irritated Myrtle vehemently. "It's lovely," she muttered in haste. She glanced over at Tom again and grew even more irritated. If only someone like him would buy Myrtle presents.

"Who do you keep looking at?"

She felt her cheeks flush. "Nobody. What are you talking about?"

"This is the third time you've looked over in that corner," Fiona smirked. She followed Myrtle's gaze toward the Slytherin table while Myrtle's face reddened. "Myrtle, do you fancy a Slytherin?" She giggled suddenly, as if the thought of her having a crush on a Slytherin was hysterical.

"No, of course not!" Myrtle answered hastily.

"I think you do!" Fiona began to giggle louder. "Who it is? Malfoy? That boy sure is fit." She glanced over again to see the young Slytherin whispering to his friends, his pale blonde hair glimmering in the rays of light streaking from the window.

"No!"

"Avery, then? He's not too bad looking either. Come to think of it, those Slytherin boys are quite good-looking this year..."

"It's not Avery!" Myrtle snapped, becoming furious.

"Then who else? Wait, it's not –" Fiona cupped her hand to her mouth to stifle her giggles. "Tom Riddle? You fancy Tom Riddle?"

By now Myrtle's face had turned a deep shade of plum. "No!" she snapped again.

"Yes you do! Don't even try to lie, you've been going on about him quite a bit lately."

Myrtle didn't know how to respond, so she remained silent, her face still burning. "Well I think you should go talk to him," Fiona continued.

"No, don't be ridiculous! What would I say? He would never talk to a Hufflepuff like me," she responded glumly. "Besides, don't Slytherins hate Muggle-borns?"

"Well you never know," Fiona cajoled. "Tom Riddle is extremely polite and charming. I couldn't imagine him being rude to anyone. He's a sweetheart, really." Looking at Myrtle's unconvinced expression, she added, "and he is absolutely dashing! What could you possibly loose by going after a boy as innocent as Tom Riddle?"