A/n: to PrettyTeenWitch, I was so glad you reviewed! I really liked your stories, so that made the experience especially flattering. This is my favorite story, anyway, although most people like my other one.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, naturally- if I did, his tale would be cleverly woven into that brilliant tapestry that we know of as the Harry Potter series. I am not JK Rowling, that remarkable woman, nor am I making any money. I am only an avid fangirl who wishes she owned Tom Riddle.

Tom threw his hands up in the air and shouted, completely exasperated, "I give up! There is no getting through to you, Ginny Weasely! I am completely out of my element here!"

Ginny folded her arms, determined to not speak. Ron, Harry and Draco looked fairly disappointed, but they knew that if they started talking, it would never continue.

The group sat in silence for a while.

"Well...did you ever sleep with her?" asked Draco finally, to make conversation.

Tom grinned, not really being able to help himself. "Sleep with her?" he said faintly. "I took her virginity! As a matter of fact, I think I'm the only man to have ever had her."

"But you're not a virgin?" asked Draco.

"Are you?" retorted Tom.

"Well, no," admitted Draco.

"You're not?" asked Harry, astounded.

"You're not?" asked Ron, sounding impressed.

Harry noticed and he starting laughing. Ron looked embarrassed, but he laughed, too; and Draco laughed as well.

"So," Harry asked finally, "what was she like? Mercy?"

Tom moved so that he was lying on his side, propped up on his elbow beside Hermione, and asked, "You mean in bed? A bit naïve, but that's to be expected, and she wears the most intoxicating perfume, and-"

"No, no, no, no, no," interrupted Harry hastily, "What's she like?"

Harry distinctly noticed Tom and Draco share a sort of sly grin before Tom answered.

"She's got about a thousand multiple personalities. Well, I told you, didn't I- that morning she was all concerned and vulnerable- ah, damn, I should've taken advantage of that-"

Ginny coughed delicately. Tom cast her a dirty look.

"And then she was all seductive and cunning by the lake, but of course she's not always like either of those- becomes a different person entirely when you're stripping off her nightclothes, whispering promises into her ear, you see," he snickered. Ginny clenched her fists.

"Hey, Ginny," complained Draco, "what is with you and him, anyway? Anybody'd think-"he cut off suddenly, and a wicked leer spread across his features.

"Anybody'd think something went on between you two at some point?" he asked, curiously.

Ginny looked at him, angry and startled.

"I guess not," Draco ended lamely, the grin not quite gone from his features.

Tom sighed and rolled over onto his stomach. "Why don't you all join my down here?" he asked, looking up at the five of them. Ginny huffed, and he laughed.

"Well, that doesn't surprise me," he choked, "but surely you don't all share the view?"

He sobered and looked up at them, one by one, his gaze finally settling on Hermione.

"Hermione," he coaxed. "You'll come down, won't you?" He hit her knee playfully.

"Right?"

Hermione subconsciously slid down onto the floor, lying in front of Tom on her stomach, head in hands. Ron snorted.

Ginny shrugged and followed Hermione's example.

Soon they were all like Hermione, acting like they were at camp.

Tom smirked.

"You didn't finish telling us about Mercy," mentioned Harry casually from the other side of Ginny.

Tom rolled his eyes but went on. "Okay, well, whenever I think of her, I always remember her eyes, big and brown, doe's eyes." He smiled and took Hermione's hands in his own.

"Kind of like yours," he said softly.

She blushed furiously, looking away, then looked back at him and said, "You're so lucky we're not beside a lake or I'd throw you in."

Tom looked like a kicked kitten, then he licked his lips shamelessly.

"And then what?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous. "Would you kiss me?"

Hermione blinked, then thought of something to say. She opened her mouth- but Riddle quickly covered it with his own in a heated kiss.

Draco's eyes went wide, Harry's jaw dropped, and Ron snorted again, and started muttering. Surprisingly, Ginny just started laughing.

Alarmed, Hermione pushed him away. "You don't need to do that," she stammered quickly. "I'm a muggleborn, you know."

"You're also the first girl I've been able to touch for about four years," said Riddle with a laugh. He poked her nose and said, "You're very fun to kiss."

Hermione glared at him- although you could see that she was quite flattered.

At least, Tom could see it, because he leaned in and kissed her again, more gently this time, and more slowly. He leisurely parted her lips and began kissing her more strongly. He got up onto his knees, pulling her with him, although their lips separated for a time. Then his mouth found hers voraciously and sought out her tongue again. When he let go of her wrists, her hands fell upon his shoulders a bit shakily, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. Then his hands went up the back of her shirt...

Hermione gasped and shoved him away. That sort of thing normally surprised him, but he had almost expected it from her.

Because her eyes looked exactly like Mercy's.

She stared at him in awe, breathing deeply. Then she slowly lowered herself to the floor, and said in a small voice: "Did you see Mercy later that night?"

Tom lay on his side again, daring Hermione and Ginny with his eyes to look down the length of his body. Then he cleared his throat.

Tom was brooding. He could have easily done that in the common room, but all the others were down there, so he was sitting on his bed, even if it was only ten o'clock at night.

He heard someone seize the curtain around his bed and pull on it gently. He looked up at it, frowning, and the curtain slid out of place to reveal Mercy.

She was fairly out of place herself.

"You're not supposed to be up here," Tom said. Then he sneezed. Her pensive expression gave way to reveal one of concern. She reached out her hand to touch his face.

He flinched.

"Oh, Tom," she breathed, her hand still reaching towards him, but no longer attempting to make contact with his flesh.

"I'm- I'm sorry," she said quietly, so that he had to strain to hear her.

"Did you come up here for that, or to have a conversation?" he asked crossly. "If you want to talk, then say so."

She gazed up at him through her eyelashes, with a shy smile. Tom's mind was forced back to that morning, when she'd shown such trepidation over him for no reason that it had touched him. He mentally slapped himself. Girls were for physical pleasure. Not for relieving psychological pain.

"I'd like to speak with you," she told him. He sat up in bed- luckily he hadn't changed out of his clothes- and motioned to her.

"Come sit by me, then," he said finally.

She looked uncertain.

"What do you think I'll do?" he asked with a laugh. "Rape you?"

She shook her head. "My shoes," she told him. "Why don't I sit out here?"

"Privacy is an issue, Mercy." Mercy. What a name. He planned to show no mercy to his followers or his enemies, and here he was with a girl named Mercy.

Odd.

She sat on his bed across from him and he drew the curtains shut.

"It's a bit dark," she whispered.

Tom sighed. "Lumos", he said, and there was a light. He set his wand into a hole in one of the bedposts and lay down on his back, propped up on his elbows.

"You don't have to whisper, Mercy,' he informed her coldly. "No one can hear us."

"Okay," she said.

"You said you wanted to talk," Tom began, "so what did you want to talk about?"

"At the lake," Mercy started, "you were flirting with the girls."

"Is that a fact?" said Tom sarcastically.

"Why?" she asked.

Tom laughed, then gestured for her to come closer, which she did, sitting beside him.

"Because, Mercy," he said dangerously, "I was, frankly, bored. Why else would I go talk to a bunch of silly little girls? You were right. I wanted something."

She looked away from him, which, for some reason, annoyed him. He was Tom Riddle, for heaven's sake- she shouldn't break eye contact with him!

"Now it's my turn," he said forcefully. "Why did you...come wake me up this morning?"

Mercy smirked, a malevolent glint in her eye. "Because, Tom, you slept in." She laughed scornfully. "Why else would I waste my time?"

He recoiled as though he had been slapped. He'd forgotten about how quickly her attitude could change.

"Do you like kissing me?" he asked.

"Pardon?"

"You heard me."

"Yes, I did, and no, Tom, I don't."

"If I kissed you again, would you like it?"

There was only silence.

"No." She replied.

He sighed and shut his eyes. He felt her weight move- she was leaning over him. His inner voice- that sounded something like Robby- was shouting encouragement, but he was curious to see what she did.

And she leaned down and, so tenderly that he was startled, kissed his eyelids, one at a time.

"Good night, Tom Riddle. May you recover your soul on that journey through your mind."

The weight lifted; she was leaving.

"Wait," he called. She turned. He had opened his eyes and he saw her- Mercy Vice, sitting on his bed- his own bed- her feet dangling over the side, looking back at him.

"Stay with me tonight."

"Tom, you know I can't, and I don't like you."

"Then why did you come up here?"

"I hoped that if I apologized, you'd apologize, too."

Once again, it was like being slapped. She'd gotten him.

"Oh." He said stupidly. She turned to leave, but he seized her arm and pulled her back in.

She gasped.

"I want you to stay," he repeated.

"Get some other girl!" she snapped.

"I don't want to!" he yelled back.

"You were going to mess with all those other girls at the lake!" she cried, fumbling, pulling at his hand. His grip was powerful.

"No, I wasn't!" he shouted. "I only went there for you-"

She stopped and stared at him, open-mouthed. He let go of her arm, mortified. She sat on the edge of his bed, her eyes wide.

He reached out his hand to touch her face. She slapped it away, suddenly angry, and stood.

"I'm leaving," she said, her voice shaking. She turned and ran down the staircase.

"Fine!" he shouted after her. "See if I care!"

And he stormed back into his room and tried to sleep. He didn't sleep until midnight, when everyone else had gone to bed and fallen prey to dreams.

"Tom," came a voice. He frowned in his sleep. Where was that coming from?

"Tom," the vice repeated, more urgently. His eyes snapped open.

It was Mercy. She was in a long black nightgown, and she was lying on her side next to him.

"You," he said, his eyes narrowed.

"Yes," she murmured. "I came to see you."

"What time is it?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Two am," she replied.

"Oh."

"Tom, I-"

"Don't speak!" he warned her. She fell silent. "I don't want to hear anything you have to say." He brought her towards him in a kiss.... she pulled back.

"I didn't come for that. I came to ask you something."

"Ask it, then."

"Will you help me study tomorrow?"

He nearly fell out of his bed.

"I didn't expect you to say that!"

She smiled sweetly. "Well, what were you expecting?"

"I don't know. Anything but that."

"Will you?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Thanks."

"For a price."

"Oh." She halted. He bit his lip, then said, "Stay here tonight."

"I'm not sleeping with-"

"I'm not going to rape you."

She shrugged, and crept under the covers with him. His heart jumped, and she let out a small sigh. He inched closer to her, placing his arms around her waist, and allowed himself to fall asleep."

"You didn't make love to her?" yelped Draco.

"No," Tom replied.

Hermione looked over at him. "Wait...this is autumn, right?"

"September, yes."

"In your sixth year?"

"That's correct."

"When did you open the Chamber of Secrets?"

Tom grinned evilly. "I'm coming to that. Who knows, maybe I'll get a little help from Mercy-"

Ginny chucked a lethal-looking Dark Detector at his head.

Ah, my loyal followers don't fret. There shall be equal parts romance and chamber throughout this story. And no, I have no intention of filling this with sex and stuff. Note the rating! Yes, the Chamber shall come to play very soon...as will the diary, never you worry.