A huge, tremendous thank you to the reviewers. I love you dearly and it's you that have kept me plucking along to the best of my ability, though I'm sure I would have anyway since I love this story deeply and am so very close to completing it. Just a quick note though, to LaughingManiac: Hello dearest and thank you for your review. You asked me why this story is rated 'M'. Let me first restate what the guidelines tell us about the 'M' rating: Not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language. 'M' does not automatically translate to NC-17 or even R, it just means this is not a story for those who like fluffy romances and non-challenging themes. Personally I think this story could easily cross into 'MA' territory since there is explicit abuse and 'adult language'. However I can understand the thought process one uses when linking 'R' with 'M'. Rest assured however they are not the same. Thank you and have a great day.

-Aspen (I changed my pen name for those of you who didn't notice. I have a tendency to do that every 6-12 months or so. shrug Sorry if it's an inconvenience, but I like change.)

Chapter Ten: Vanity Got the Best of Her

I'm not sure how long I sat in that chair after he left for bed. The embers in the fire died away, leaving the candles to wallow in their own pit of melting wax. A few of the flames drowned themselves out. My mind could barely process any of this. Desperation had never run so strong throughout me and my entire focus was dedicated to this. Tom had made it clear that directly going to administration was out of the question because my voice alone would be ignored. As much as I hated this fact, that changed nothing and so I ignored the resentment in my being and went straight for a plan. A desperate call for attention. Not to myself, but Tom.

The first and most obvious thing that came to me was to kill off another student and force as much evidence from Tom as possible. In essence I'd be framing him and I'll admit I wrestled with the ridiculousness of the idea before realizing it was my only chance.

Now obviously the only way to get away with such a thing and still be able to give Tom his credit, was to keep his pattern and preferred mode of killing. This meant having to use the Basilisk. Though within half a moment I was mentally backing away from the proposal. She'd eat me before I could even try to pretend like I could speak parseltongue. But I had to…

I'd lure her up, stay in the pipes and allow her to smell something, hear something. But what? That answer came easily. Blood.

My own? Yes, it would have to be. I'd slash my forearm, wash it down with some water and wait. 'Merlin above I pray this works.'

So who would die? For a scant moment I seriously considered sacrificing myself. All I really had to do was crawl through the vent in the girls' bathroom and lay out for the beast. But no, I had to stay and play the herald. The girl who cried 'snake'. Tell them that I was just coming to the bathroom and when I peeked in I saw the basilisk devouring…Myrtle? It would be the most logical route as she was always in the girls' bathroom after all. Perhaps I needed to have a talk with Olive Hornby, ask her to stir up some angst for Miss Miser and get the wretch crying. With any luck she'd be dead before Tom's meeting with the Headmaster.

This was all fine and dandy but the question still remained how to point the evidence to Tom without blatantly standing up, waving my arms and screaming "It's him! It's him! Tom's a bloody murderer!"…This was no longer just about stopping his ventures at the school but about bringing him under complete control. If he was this obsessed with power at seventeen (I'd recently been awared that his birthday had already passed-it had been the night of the Masquerade ball-on New Year's), Christ only knew what he was really working towards. He wanted the entire world down on their knees for him and if Tom wanted anything badly enough there was no denying that he would have it. No matter how many pawns he had to knock off his chess board to claim checkmate, he would have his way.

A nearby candle flickered gently, rippling back and forth like a belly dancer-like a snake. A snake…Perhaps if I brought in a snake and set in on Tom in a crowd-say the Great Hall or during transfiguration class-his composure would slip and he would curse it away (or sweet talk it) in it's own language. The plan struck me as risky and not at all very promising. However I was desperate, and the unsure results did hold a possibility that my desperation could not ignore. A snake it would be. But how to get one? Surely I wouldn't go about the grounds turning over rocks and trying find serpents. Who might be able to help me? Why the beast master himself: Rubeus Hagrid! I hoped he would anyway, I'd treated him with such ill contempt all the years I'd known him it was likely he might turn me a cold shoulder. Alas, there was no time to fret over social trespasses. He was a Gryffindor, a trustworthy one at that and one who's heart was reached through animals. If it was an animal I wanted from him then I had faith that he would put aside any mistrust for me he may have had.

Echoing with a chilled kind of chant, the bells sounded. It was 2 am and I had a long day coming. Gain the trust of an outcast, wash my own blood down a drain, kill a girl, frame the school serial killer and set a snake on him-all before his meeting with the headmaster the next night. Once again I put faith into my abilities, blew the life from the only candle left standing and followed my shadow up to my bed.

As I slipped into my nightshift and under my covers, I wondered…would Tom find out of my plans? Should I fail (and there was no denying that the odds were considerably out of my favor) would he kill me? Might I be thrown in Azkaban as he promised? Was this my last night in a warm bed? Was it my last night alive?


I was exhausted the next morning from having stayed up so late, but as my plans for the day came back to me I became suddenly more willing to leave the warm safety of my covers. Brushing my teeth in the bathroom, I started coughing. I felt something hot and slick on my throat and as I looked down my eyes grew wide with terror. Spots of blood littered the pure, white porcelain sink I was occupying. Throwing nervous glances over my shoulders to see if anyone had noticed, I caught some water from the tap in my palm and washed the red mess away before the other girls could take in the sight.

Pushing the disturbance from my mind I made to get dressed. This time as I lifted my legs into my pleated skirt and did up the buttons on my oxford, dizziness overcame me. Before I could think too much on this, a chill sent goosebumps ravaging over my arms. Was it just me or was it cold for this time of year? Eager to get into my robes for warmth, I had soon forgotten of being dizzy and coughing up blood and I was on my down to breakfast looking as dismal as ever with gray circles under my eyes.

The morning passed in a blur of severe fatigue and feeling delusional. I could barely get through any assignments in class because I was concentrating so heavily on not falling asleep. Still, come lunch I was following the plans I had devised the night previous and sought out Hagrid. It was sunny out and the farther I walked from the castle the more warmth seemed to penetrate my skin and the senses there in. I regained a sense of the waking world and felt more in health with every step.

Hagrid was found easily as he was lingering outside by the lake with a very large tortoise whose eyes were fixed upon a great bit of lettuce which Hagrid was feeding him in bits while talking to him.

'Strange boy…' I grimaced at the sight of him and shook my head. But I made sure to wipe that look off my face, opting instead to replace it with something a spot friendlier. A big smile, bright eyes, and the common knowledge that I was something of an outcast lately were my only ammunitions and I took them up boldly, prepared to use them to the best of my advantage.

"Afternoon Rubeus." I greeted him as genially as I possibly could. His attention was diverted for a moment and his tortoise craned its neck desperately.

"'Lo Lydia, wha' brings you out 'ere?" he didn't seem all that bothered by my presence as he smiled at me through his unforgivable mess of hair.

"I was just saying hello." I shrugged nonchalantly as though the world were really so simple that polite gestures such as 'hello's actually meant anything to me anymore.

"Well that's nice of yeh…this 'ere's Snappy." the tortoise glared at me as if daring myself to do anything which might interrupt Hagrid from feeding him.

'The feeling's mutual.' I wanted to tell him. Ugh, did I ever hate animals…

"Hello Snappy." I graced the shelled creature with a purposefully fake smile before turning back to Hagrid. "Umm, Hagrid?"

"Yah?" he waved a bit more lettuce in front of Snappy, dangling it merrily as though the tortoise would enjoy the extra effort he'd have to exert. Why he didn't just save himself the trouble and stuff the lot down it's scaly throat, I haven't a clue. But there were more pressing matters at hand.

"It's rather known around the school that your very good with animals…" I said sweetly, creeping up on the subject.

"Is it?" he turned to me brightly, "Aren't they jus' grand? I do love 'em so."

"Yes, wonderful…' 'I don't give a damn.' 'Um, I had hoped, that because of your expertise you might be able to help me."

"With wha'?" he cocked his head slightly while continuing to stare admirably down at Snappy who was growing so ambitious about his lettuce that with every bite he took he came nearer and nearer to taking off a bit of Hagrid's hand.

"Well you see, a friend of mine is very attached to snakes and his birthday's coming up and I'd very much like for him to have one of his own."

"Well…" the great brute mulled this over for a moment, "Surely yeh've got the resources to buy 'im one. Yeh wouldn't like to be takin' one from it's family in the wild."

"Oh but his birthday is so soon and he'd like one so very much. He can talk to them you know! It's simply fabulous. And he doesn't get any presents from home because he's an orphan and"-

"Say now, are yeh talkin' about tha' prefect, Riddle?"

"Indeed." I smiled at his recognition as if I really was happy he knew of my 'friend'.

"Well…He's always seemed a nice enough chap." The giant boy mulled it over as I began rocking back and forth on the balls of my feet out of impatience. "I suppose I can help yeh, seein' as he doesn't ge' any other presents an' all." Tossing the rest of the lettuce towards his friend, the tortoise, he rose from his seat and began leading the way west. Realization dawned on me and I felt my previous elation drain.

"We're not going into the forest are we?" I questioned, jogging by then to keep up with his great strides.

"We might 'ave to. But I doubt it, just turn over a few rocks and that should do it." he was busy searching for these rocks as we walked. Pretty soon the chore of following him silently became rather monotonous and I began questioning whether my plan would work, whether any of this was worth it, if I shouldn't just give up and let death find me rather than go provoking it.

I gasped lightly, turning towards the castle as it's bells tolled and signaled the end of lunch. This of course seemed to ruin things. I needed that snake! But as I thought over it some more I decided I could afford to adjust my plans slightly. If all went according to plan, I could go to Dippet's office just before his meeting with Riddle and tell him what I knew about Slytherin's monster being a Basilisk. I would just have to meet up with Hagrid whenever either one of us could. I did after all have some time to play with, a day or so, in the span of which I could set the wild serpent on Riddle.

"Hagrid I have to go, but I really really need that snake by the end of today. Can you manage?"

"Er…" he thought about this as I put him on the spot with only a few minutes to get back to class, "I do have some things tha' need doin' tonight…how about yeh meet me after sunset in the entrance hall?"

"No, the entrance hall's too risky. We might be caught…" I waved the thought away, deeply immersed in my own mind and annoyed with his stolid suggestions.

"Caught?" Hagrid gave me a questioning look and cocked his head to the side a little.

"By Tom I mean." I explained my lie as though it were obvious, "He's a prefect after all. I wouldn't want him to get a glimpse of his present while he's on patrol duty. It would ruin the surprise!"

"Oh! Righ', good thinking. Where then?" thankfully he was too excited at the prospect of being included in something to be suspicious.

"The dungeons." I told him finally, seeing no other alternative.

"Perfect." he beamed at me through his matted tresses, "Well! Better get to class. See yeh later Lydia." and with a more than obvious wink he began striding off.


As I took my seat in Visions and Pursuit's once more I again felt half delirious. Funny, I hadn't been so out of my mind when talking with Hagrid. Instantly I came to the conclusion that Tom was playing with my mind. He had realized I wasn't beaten down enough and that I was finally getting desperate. His senses had picked up on the change in my air and he wasn't stupid enough to ignore it.

Tom sat near the front, as per usual. Even as his back was to me I felt a heaviness pressing down on my shoulders as well as my thickly clouded mind. It amazed me how strong he had become, how powerful a wizard. Though I knew that wasn't the only explanation. He had worn me down to near death. Still, I clawed to keep a steady mind and not pass out. I had to get through the day no matter what it took. I could see though that Tom was going to make that as difficult as possible.

Every second was a torturous battle to keep conscious and aware of what was going on around me. Professor Exedra noticed my state and gave me more than a few worried glances. Finally, after giving the class an assignment she called me to the front and quietly told me she thought I should go down to the infirmary. She remarked on how pale I was, how drained I seemed. I couldn't help but wonder what had taken so long for her to notice.

The further from class I got the clearer my mind became. My steps were sturdier and I was confidant that I wasn't about to collapse, which was certainly improvement. I took my time getting to the infirmary. The nurse was pretty busy when I got there and I had to wait a good five minutes just for her to look at me. Even after she had gasped slightly at the realization of who she was looking at and how every aspect of my appearance had changed since our last meeting all I was given was a vitality potion. As I drank it down I could feel life spreading through my veins like a tree taking root. It was a wonderful sensation that kept me on a natural high all the way back to class. Sadly it began wearing off as I made my way back to my desk.


I hadn't had to ask Olive Hornby to do anything, she had already taken liberty to mock Myrtle that afternoon in class and a pathetic heap of shuddering, sobbing bones was how I found Miss Miser. I didn't make my presence known to her when I looked into the stall. I made sure it was really my intended victim who was present and turned when I made note that it was. Her knees were up and her head buried in them and so she did not see me.

But Myrtle wasn't the only one about to get a nasty shock. A rough gasp perforated my lungs as I nearly ran smack into Tom on my way back to the taps. I hadn't heard him come in and I'd been so caught off guard and so frightened that my heart had literally stopped for a moment.

"What are you doing here?" I breathed in near shock.

"Finding out what your plans are. For I know that you do indeed have plans Lydia." That was the first time I could remember being talked to like I was about to be punished. His voice was that of a hissing serpent, as though he was seething and barely keeping his anger in at the seems.

I walked around him, the sweat collecting heavily on my brow as my back turned on him. "Is it really so unusual for me to be in the girls' toilet?" I asked as cooly as I could manage. But Lydia Delatorre no longer held any real confidence and I knew that he could see straight through me into the haze of fear and foreboding capsuled in my mind. His bright green eyes were surging with more intensity than ever as I watched him approach me once again in the mirror. Though I had somehow known in the back of my mind that Tom would destroy me one day it was his eyes that made me realize that day was upon me and I had never known terror the way I did then.

"Give up your pride already will you?" he hissed delicately over my shoulder, voice lowered considerably. "You haven't got a chance against me and you know it. Why do you continue to fight, wearing out this…once beautiful body of yours to the point of destruction?" Tom's hand came to rest on the side of my shoulder.

"I do not fight for my own life." I mumbled, barely able to hear myself as I continued to stare down at the porcelain sink in front me. It was then that I realized I was trapped.

A chuckle rose from the depths of his throat in pure mockery, "You've developed a hero complex, how charming. Now if I recall, that's a quality of Gryffindor isn't it? In fact I believe you charged me with the same disability when we first met. Funny how tables turn like that."

A hacking cough shook my lungs and throat as I opened my mouth to speak. Blood spattered into the sink. Daring to look up I was horrified to find a smug smirk curling onto Tom's lips. And the suddenly, even though I had no idea what I was doing or why, a burst of nerve struck through me and I turned the tap on to let the blood wash down the sink…into the plumbing.

Trembling with more fear than I was willing to show, I turned on him. "She'll smell it and she'll come and when she does I promise you Tom I'll scream and I promise you also that they'll come running. They'll find you and when they do I hope you rot in Azkaban for the rest of your life."

"You may try what you like but I assure you that you will die trying. Perhaps you have forgotten but it is I who has control of the beast, she listens only to me."

"Is that the best threat you can come up with? Death? Surely someone so bold and brilliant as Lord Voldemort can do better." I scoffed in a low, jeering tone. Where this surge of sudden energy came from I would have liked to know because I sure as hell didn't. Perhaps it was the only ammunition I had left. Maybe it was my way of making the last moments of my life count.

"Have you forgotten all that I've managed to do to you thus far?" he offered up an amazed smirk and wide eyes, "I've destroyed you Lydia. The administration thinks your insane, the student body thinks your pathetic and both believe you a murderess. You wander the halls with unkempt hair and dirt under your fingernails. You're a wretch."

"And I am also alive." I glared at him, pronunciating my words carefully.

"Well what would you have me do? Kill you? I can arrange it gladly."

"You can't afford to." my own smile was gentle. He only had two choices. Either he was bluffing and I was safe or he was telling the truth and was risking exposure of a reign of terror on the school. He'd be locked up and never heard from again. Either way he was at a disadvantage.

But he surprised me yet again. His eyes flickered with their usual manic red gleam as Tom stared me down and spoke words that had enchanted me. Words I would never understand. I wasn't even sure if they were real words or pure communication. And even now as parseltongue poured from his mouth I couldn't stop myself from enjoying the sound.

An odd, morbidly echoing hiss began filling the pipes. He had awakened the basilisk. She could smell my blood and she was hungry.

The bang of a swung open stall door told us he'd woken something else too. Myrtle still sat on the floor of her stall only now her head was poking out of the ajar door. My windpipe seemed to seize in on itself as my eyes did the exact opposite and bulged with fearful realization. Tom's pet burst forth from the pipes and went for the first thing it saw. In a flurry of scales, screams and hisses it was over in a matter of mere seconds. And I stood shocked.

I had never consciously witnessed anyone die before. The light that left her eyes was what frightened me the most. It just…snuffed out…instantly. There was no fighting back or chance at all for her. She was as good as dead when she had woken up this morning. And it was me who had done it.

No matter what I knew about Tom having called upon the basilisk…it was plainly obvious. I had been planning to kill her anyway, though after watching it happen and judging from my surprise at Tom's boldness I wasn't so sure I had ever had the nerve.

But the situation didn't give me much time to grieve or get hysterical. Tom either read my thoughts or simply knew how my mind worked because just as I was opening my mouth to scream bloody murder, he silenced me by turning on me and seizing my neck. The breath wasn't immediately cut off, but my voice box was being all but smothered and was of no use. He lifted me with his arm, increasing the pressure around my throat as he flattened my back against a cold near-by wall.

"Thomas," I wheezed, my hands clawing at his long, pale fingers wrapped like a pearl necklace about my jugular.

His scowl grew and he yanked me back a bit only to slam be once more into the wall behind me by his grip on my neck. "Don't call me that, you pathetic little blood traitor." he growled.

"Please…" it wasn't even a croak, barely more than a breath as my fingers continued desperately groping at his wrist in an attempt to pry his own hand away. It was a useless struggle, but I couldn't stop fighting. I refused to let him kill me now the way I had let him chip away at me day in and day out for nearly the entire school year. Of course, it's useless to try swimming if you've already begun loosing consciousness from drowning.

"Please? Please what?" he demanded innocently, only squeezing harder. He leaned forward, bringing me eye level with him. I could no longer speak. All but wincing was beyond reach as tears spilled down my cheeks and onto his cold, pale fingers. As sobs began racking my lungs the need for gasping became much greater. My lungs contracted and then stuck there, unable to re-open. Beneath his fingers he could feel my skin turning cold. "Oh by all means, keep going. I'd love to hear you beg." he chuckled, "Ah, but begging would get you no where my dear. Oh my dearest Lydie…you know I can't let you go. You'd scream or go to Dumbledore. And all he needs is another excuse to patronize me. And I just can't have that. So I'm going to get rid of you. And when you're gone…" he leaned ever closer as my skin began taking a blue sort of blush. His words were clear and soft over my ear, "No one will care."

One last strangled sob and he felt my body stop struggling. I was limp and slumping between him and the wall. His hand came away from my neck and allowed me to fall.

"Stupid girl…They always said vanity got the best of her." his sneer was clear on his handsome features as he spat