(I know Riddle released the Basilisk in his fifth year; sorry I had to change some things around.)

Forth Year

Age: 15

Muggleborns everywhere were terrified, myself included. So far two Gryffindor's, one Ravenclaw and four Hufflepuffs had been found paralysed, all were Muggleborns and none had been cured yet. Un-surprisingly no Slytherins had been injured, it was either because there were no 'dirty' students there, or the perpetrator was in that house… in hindsight it was probably both these reasons.

"Still around then," a silky voice came from behind me.

Startled I dropped the pen I was holding, it rolled onto the floor. A pale hand picked it up, but didn't pass it back to me. Knowing this wasn't going to end well for me unless I escaped in the next ten seconds, I grabbed the mirror I had started carrying around with me and shoved it into my pocket. The classroom was mostly empty around us; it had been converted into a sort of mini-library, after students became too frightened to go into the actual library. Three of the seven students had been found there, stiff in chairs and almost always near the petrified body of a ghost.

"Yes," sliding back on the chair I stood, a hand shoved me back onto the chair.

"Please, stay." Riddle's tone brooked no argument. He gracefully settled against the table, barely disrupting the mountains of books I had piled up. "Researching something?"

"No," I refused to give him anything to torment me about.

"Hmm," he plucked a book at random from my table, "'Ancient creatures and their Origin'."

Of course he would have picked that one. Snatching the book away, I hugged it to my chest. Riddle frowned, his fingers rubbing where our hands had briefly brushed.

"Interesting choice, any reason in particular to read a book like this?" He flicked imaginary lint off his shoulder, I would be a fool to think he would be here speaking to me if it wasn't of some import to him.

"No." Tom Riddle was the kind of Slytherin who used others to do his bidding; his followers must be doing something important for him to stoop to speak with me.

"I am starting to understand why even the lowest Hufflepuff deigns to not spend time with you." He smirked, "not very good at conversation, are we?"

My blush was enough to confirm his comment. At this moment there were three Hufflepuffs in the classroom, they had all noticed me and all chose to put their books on the spare chairs next to them, just encase I chose to sit next to them. I had learnt long ago not to try and make friends.

"Please leave me alone." He smiled at me and for a moment I blushed for an entirely different reason. I would have to be a fool not to at least acknowledge Tom Riddle's features; it was easy to see how he had everybody fooled. Even the teachers fell for his 'perfect' student act, we only had potions together and I was forced to watch Professor Slughorn dote on him.

Frightened when he just kept staring at me, I tried to hop up again. A strong hand wrapped around my wrist in warning, pressing with enough pressure to make me wince. From the outside it must have looked as if Riddle was holding my hand, but they would only have to look in my eyes to see the stark terror.

"Not yet," his finger tip swirled around my furious pulse, "first tell me why you are carrying around that mirror? It seems every I see you that mirror is flashing in your hands."

"I—I," unconscious to the movement, my hand wrapped around it, finding comfort in the cool metal.

"And why the sudden fascination with ancient creatures, and don't tell me it's because you have a fascination with animals," sneered Riddle.

"Well I do!" I almost slapped a hand over my mouth, shocked I had the guts to snap at him. The hand holding me tightened, and his other one started twirling his wand through his fingers. The threat was clear.

"Tell me what you know."

In that moment something occurred to me, Riddle knew what was attacking the students and he must have been watching me to realize that I had figured it out.

"It's a Basilisk; the students are being attacked by a Basilisk." Tom blinked in surprise, meaning he probably hadn't really expected me to know at all. "T—the mirror is to look around corners, for some reason it is only attacking Muggleborns."

"How do you know?" hissing, he grabbed my arms and yanked me up. Nobody stopped him or probably noticed when he moved us out of sight behind a bookcase. "How is it a Mudblood Hufflepuff figured out what even the great Dumbledore cannot?"

Back pressed against hard shelves, and an enraged Riddle holding me against it, I did the only thing I could… Told him everything.

"I—I read about them last year. About how they can grow to enormous size, paralyse and in most cases kill with their gaze." I knew I was rambling off facts, but was too scared to do anything else. "T—they come from a chicken egg you know, hatched under a lizard…" I trailed off; Riddle's face had slowly gone from angry to curious and now amused.

"And why haven't you informed any of the teachers about this?" He let up on my arms a little. I was tempted to run but knew better.

I had told Professor Catti, head of my house, but he just laughed it off and patted me on the head then walked away murmuring 'women and their ideas'. I probably wouldn't have been offended if he hadn't believed me because I was not exactly the smartest witch around, but to not believe me because I was female was just rude. I hadn't dared tell any other teachers, knowing that they wouldn't believe me.

"Don't bother," said Riddle as I opened my mouth to answer, "your face says it all. You tried to tell them, but who is going to believe a poor little scared Mudblood, who can't even cast a simple Lumos spell without setting something on fire." I wanted to point out that I had only set our charms professor on fire once in first year, but it was pointless. "So you walk around with a mirror, people must think you're batty checking every corner," he smiled at the thought. "But why bring the mirror into one of these sore excuses for a library, surly you are safe here." Riddle was testing me, taunting me with what I knew.

"Because I know that somebody in Slytherin must have something to do with this, only somebody who can speak Parseltongue can command a Basilisk." His eyes darkened again, but I made myself spit the words out. "The rumours are probably true, and a descendent of Salazar Slytherin is in Hogwarts. A—and that person is probably one of the many Slytherins who hate me, so I figured that if they were going to start killing people, they would probably start with me…"

Riddle and I both knew that it was him who was the descendent, he was commanding the Basilisk and he was the only one who could stop it, which was why I hadn't told Dumbledore on him. Eventually Riddle would be faced with either stopping the snake, or watching Hogwarts be closed down, already whispers were going around that it could happen any day.

"Maybe you aren't a dumb as everyone believes." My jaw almost dropped, a complement from Tom Riddle!? "But don't worry Zima," he leaned in close to whisper, "I'm sure the heir is just waiting until all your friends are dead, and you are blaming yourself for being too much of a coward to stop him…or her."

The truth in his voice made me quake, but I had to believe that he wouldn't let it come to people dying and the school shutting down. Nobody could be that evil at our age.

For a second Riddle stayed with his face near my hair, the darkness of his probably putting mine to shame. A puff of breath hit my neck, is he smelling me? , then he calmly stepped back and walked away, leaving me shaking and hopeful that he would finally stop the attacks. After all, if a simple Hufflepuff could figure it out then so could a teacher, especially one as great as Dumbledore.

Three days later a Ravenclaw Myrtle Boggs was found dead in the first-floor girl's bathroom, she had fled in there to escape being teased. I had watched her flee from the Great Hall, had seen her being teased many times, but had been too frightened to help her.

One day after that a third year, Rubeus Hagrid, was accused and sentenced for the crimes, and the fearsome creature (an Acromantula) escaped into the Forbidden Forest.

Only a day later Jenny and Jeremy found me sobbing in the first-floor girls bathroom, and for the first time since I met them I couldn't bear to tell them the truth. That I was a coward and ultimately caused the death of an innocent girl and the expulsion of another innocent student, all because I didn't try hard enough to make people understand the evil person that was Tom Riddle.