A/N: Not much on the review front... Maybe bad timing? Hopefully. Well, here's the chappie!

Disclaimer: I... oh why bother?

The Origin of the Dark Mark

Its okay to be angry and never let go
It only gets harder the more that you know
When you get lonely if no one's around
You know that I'll catch you when you're falling down
We came together but you left alone
And I know how it feels to walk out on your own
Maybe someday I will see you again
And you'll look me in my eyes and call me your friend...

–Yellowcard

Tom Riddle stood in the middle of the Slytherin common room at two o'clock in the morning. Yet, instead of being alone, he was surrounded by four boys. They formed a circle around him, and none of them dared to look up. All had their hands clasped, and were listening to instructions.

"This will be done." he said dangerously, eyes flashing.

The boys nodded in unison.

"Yes, sir." they said eagerly, still keeping their eyes glued to their shoes.

"Good. Now get to bed."

They all rustled upstairs, not taking a final look at Tom.

There was a snicker coming from a large, winged chair in front of the fire.

"Why do you always do that to the poor first years?" Faris grinned, turning from his seat to glance at Tom.

Tom shrugged with a bit of a smirk. "Hey, why do things when you have people to do them for you? Besides, their first years. That's why their here."

"To do your dirty work?"

"Sure. Who knows, they may come in handy later in life..."

Faris raised his eyebrows. Tom stared into the fire, contemplating his position. Perhaps they would be useful when he had finally left this miserable life. Still, it had been two weeks after he had bargained Legilimency classes, and he had almost been off the hook. Until she had left him a note the day before, telling him to meet her tonight. God only knows how exactly she had gotten the note to somehow get into the dormitory. That would be the first thing he would figure out.

Dreading that night haunted his mind throughout the day. If only he could find a way to get out of it...

"You're late." she said, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"I'm the teacher, I'm never late." Tom replied icily.

Dianthe grinned. "That would make me early?"

"Exactly."

"I was just joking you know."

"'Course."

Truth was, he had no idea she had been joking. He'd thought she had actually been angry, and was going to storm out any second. He wasn't accustomed to this kind of banter, only the furious yells that he experienced most of his life. The new concept confused him a bit, but for once, he was happily uncomfortable.

She tends put me in difficult situations... I don't like it. He decided, closing the door behind him.

"Lets just do this."

Silence followed. She emptied her bag of the contents, and removed her cloak. A flash of skin caught Tom's eye. Not sexually mind you, but of sudden interest. There was something on her ankle... something black.

"What the hell is that?" Tom pointed down at her leg.

Is she a cutter? Merlin, I never would've guess that...

Yet, instead of is becoming an awkward situation, her face contorted slightly. A wave of anger passed through her face as she bent down to her leg and stroked her ankle.

"No need to take that tone, Riddle. Haven't you ever heard of a tattoo?"

Once again, she had pleasantly bewildered him. He stared at the tattoo burned upon her skin. It was a black skull, with a serpent embellished, crawling out of its mouth. He admired it boldly, noting that it is unimaginable and Dianthe Costa actually had a tattoo. It was just so... surreal. Actually, he found the artistic view of the tattoo rather alluring.

She sneered smugly at the amount of time he seemed to be glued to her ankle.

"People don't usually surprise you, huh?"

Tom retorted autonomously, as she had expected.

"True Gyffindor, eh?"

A pink tinge could be seen on her cheeks.

"Oh don't worry about it," Tom said nonchalantly. "I happen to like snakes..."

A lot

"Um... business now?" she asked, clutching her wand.

"Okay," Tom plucked his wand from his robes and let it shimmer slightly in the candlelight.

"Now, first thing I'm going to do, is perform Legilimancy on you..."

He a small flicker in her eyes. Was this fear?

"Why do you have to do it to me?" she asked in a higher voice then she normally used. She seemed to be restraining herself to show any fear, but it was starting to deteriorate.

"I want to make sure I can do it well enough."

"No- I don't buy that," she said hurriedly. "You know how to do it."

She was beginning to aggravate him. It was up to him to make up the rules, not her. Yet here she stood before him, dignity and pride in her large eyes. She was squeezing the life out of her wand, biting her lip with such force, Tom wondered if she would draw blood.

"If it helps, I won't go too far into your mind," He murmured, making sure that he didn't come off too friendly. "There's chocolate in my bag..."

Her eyes darted around the room, as if searching for an answer in the many desks and chairs littered near them. She nodded slowly, surprising Tom that she had given in so quickly. He'd surmised as much that she was going to explode. She crossed the room, and stood in front of him, squared up, as someone would prepare for a duel.

"Just, try to keep your mind clear..." Tom said. She gritted her teeth, but never took her eyes off of him.

As he stared into her blue orbs, he said harshly, "Legilimens!"

She was sitting nervously under the sorting hat, her eyes shut quite shut, as the hat quickly determined Gryffindor.

She was giggling and kissing Schwartz, her boyfriend from Fifth Year.

She was shrieking at Tom Riddle, her face a brilliant shade of crimson.

The last memory Tom dared to glance upon, was by far the most intriguing.

She was standing in the middle of a kitchen, her face quite damp, with tears streaming steadily down her face. He'd never seen her near crying, yet here she was, her face stricken and contorted in rage. The man standing across from her looked middle aged, perhaps her father? She was screaming harder then he'd ever fathomed she could, her voice hoarse from choking back tears and yelling. She was the ugliest he'd ever seen her, and she only stopped her hysterical blubbering after the man struck her across the face.

"STOP!"

His eye flew open to see her face wet yet again. Only this time, he'd been the cause. She was trembling, with an expression of sadness and mingled fury. However, just when she opened her mouth to burst, her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

Oops... was all Tom could think as her body went limp, and she slumped to the floor.

"FUCK!" he managed to stutter as he dove to the floor next to Dianthe Costa's unconscious figure.

A/N: Not the best... but hey, I didn't get that many reviews for the last one! Hint hint! Naw I'm just kidding, but seriously, I'm much more inclined to update when people review.

By the way... didn't you just love the Dark Mark? Haha!

Gaerwen: I LOVE YOU! Thank you for reviewing :) You are marvelous!

REVIEW PEEZ!