Summary: Through a sudden twist of fate, Myrtle is spared the deadly gaze of the Basilisk, unfortunately Tom wasn't so lucky.
An: Sorry this is so late; I rewrote it three times before I was satisfied with the result. My next chapter will be VERY long trust me on that.
DiagonAlleyParis- This is for you my only reviewer for chapter four! Happy New Year to you as well.
Chapter 5 Study Habits
The next time Tom saw Ginny Weasley she was sitting in the library staring absentmindedly out a window; one of her small fingers twirling a lock of autumn red hair. She had an open book in front of her, a Potions text if he wasn't mistaken, and a half-finished essay on the uses of moonstones next to it. He came closer and leaned over her shoulder eyeing the essay critically, it was poorly written. Attention to detail was lacking, sentence structure was poor, and her grammar was atrocious. The whole thing was laughably bad. Hadn't this girl written anything before her time at Hogwarts?
"This is a very low quality essay." Ginny flinched in surprise, twisting around to look at him.
"Tom?" She squeaked out, her eyes slightly crossing as she tried to examine him. Then what he said seemed to register with her and she scowled fiercely at him.
"Well you aren't the one going to grade it so what you think doesn't matter." She growled and turned back to her essay, picking up her quill and tapping it against the parchment furiously and leaving a small blot of ink in the middle of her incomplete sentence. Tom floated around to her left and took a seat, but Ginny didn't look up from her work.
"It might not," he said casually, leaning toward her "But I was the best student in my year and I never got anything lower than an O on my work. I know quality when I see it." She looked up at him, scowling as darkly as she could before her face went slack with exhaustion and her shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Fine," she murmured, pushing the essay closer to him "If it's so bad you can help me fix it." There was a challenge in her eyes, like she were daring him to refuse her. He tilted his head and smiled at her, "I would be happy to Ginerva." She blushed and tried to hide it by focusing all her attention on her essay.
"You could add more to this sentence here," he said, drawing a pale finger over the words, "You stated that 'Moonstones are used in lots of potions.' But didn't say anything about what those potions are. I would suggest starting there." Ginny frowned as she thought this over and reached into her bag, pulling out a clean sheet of parchment.
Her quill hovered over the parchment and she grimaced crossly as she copied the sentence from her previous paper before pausing. "Moonstones are used in healing potions right?" Tom nodded and she quickly scribbled down another sentence before pausing again. Tom sighed; she would need more help than he had thought.
"Some of the more well-known potions that use moonstones are generally for treating hormonal imbalance, and soothing menstrual cramps in women." Ginny listened raptly and then quickly scribbled down what he had dictated, hesitated for a moment then added something of her own. Tom glanced over at it and nodded in approval making Ginny relax a smidgen. This went on for the next hour and a half, Tom would tell of what he knew on moonstones and she would copy it almost word for word and occasionally added something herself with his approval.
When the essay was finally at the required twelve inches Ginny slumped over in relief and sighed in in bliss. "I never thought it would end!" She groaned and shut her eyes stretching back in her seat with a pleased grin. The light from the window above bathed her in its light and warmth, making her pale skin glow a soft golden color and her wild hair to shine a brighter red. She would be beautiful one day; Tom could see the potential in her despite her still rounded cheeks and young boyish figure. That could be a burden to his future plans, or a blessing, it all depended on the girl he saw before him and the very small influence he held over her.
'I still have time yet.' He soothed himself as she yawned and slumped forward slightly, giving Tom a lazy smile.
"Thanks for helping me all this time," she said gratefully and started to pack up her things. "I couldn't have done it without you." He acknowledged what she had with a nod and waited until she had packed everything back into her shoddy bag and slung it over her shoulder. Above them a bell started to chime and Ginny looked up in alarm.
"Merlin's balls!" She swore loudly making the librarian glare furiously at her and Tom give a small sound of surprised amusement "I'm going to be late for Defense!" Ginny ran towards the doors and was about to turn in the wrong direction when Tom floated in front of her.
"Tom!" She shouted in exasperation and skidded to a halt in front of him "Move! I'm going to be late!"
"If you keep going in this direction you definitely will be, I know a shortcut," he floated to the other end of the hallway, "If you will follow me I will show you." Ginny hesitated for only a minute before nodding. Tom smiled and away they went, using a lesser known passage way between a tapestry of a woman embroidering something onto a pillow and a stone gargoyle that shouted obscenities at Ginny in a Scottish accent as she passed.
"Press the stone there." Tom said and Ginny obeyed giving a delighted grin when a door faded into existence.
"Come back when you've ditched your dead boyfriend ginger puss," The gargoyle leered after them as they entered the dusty corridor, "Then you can see what something solid can do for ya!" Ginny blushed angrily and looked ready to pull out her wand when she saw Tom moving away and bolted after him.
"I could have hexed him." Ginny muttered darkly as the door swung shut behind her.
"It wouldn't have done any good; no one has been able to do anything to that gargoyle since it was placed there a thousand years ago."
"It would have felt good to hex him though." She muttered and kicked angrily at a pebble in her path.
"Have you been reading the book I gave you?" Tom questioned startling Ginny out of her rage. Her face contorted into a confused expression.
"Book what-"Her eyes lit up in realization "Oh, the book on cursed objects!" That distracted her from her plans of revenge against the gargoyle. But that meant he had to listen to her as she talked about all she had learned about cursed jewelry. So deep in conversation was she that she didn't notice when they reached her classroom.
"-And they wove the curse so deeply into the necklace that no one was able to destroy it without killing themselves!" Ginny exclaimed in breathless excitement.
"While that is very interesting," he said suppressing a sneer "We are at your classroom with a minute to spare." Blinking in confusion she looked around and saw that she was indeed in the DADA hallway. Her smile was so bright it hurt Tom's eyes.
"Thank you Tom!" She squealed and went for the door almost running into the woman walking out. The woman was tall with very green eyes 'The exact shade of the killing curse.' Tom thought in interest as he looked over the rest of her. She was tall and slim with lily white skin that was only just beginning to wrinkle around those intense eyes, and mouth. This was a woman who worried a lot if her troubled expression was anything to go by. Just as the thought crossed his mind the woman sighed and ran a hand through her blood red hair and frown lines appeared in-between her eyes and across her forehead. She was a very beautiful woman despite this, and for an instant he imagined that Ginny would look very similar to this woman as she grew older.
"Oh I'm sorry Professor Snape!" Ginny exclaimed as she ran into her preoccupied professor, "I didn't see you there." The teacher blinked slowly as if to clear her vision then looked down at Ginny with a warm smile.
"It's no trouble Miss Weasley, I wasn't paying attention myself." The bells rang and both girl and woman looked up.
"You are right on time, take a point for Gryffindor." Professor Snape said with a smile and waved her into the room, Ginny beamed at her before going into the classroom giving Tom a farewell wave as she disappeared around a corner. The professor looked at Tom for the first time with a questioning gaze.
"I don't think I have ever seen you before, and I went to school here." Tom gave his patented, 'Shy orphan' smile and he saw her eyes soften.
"I have never been the most social of creatures when I was alive, death didn't change that, but where are my manners," he gave a small bow that made the woman smile "I am Tom Riddle, and I normally haunt the bathroom on the second floor."
"I am Professor Lily Snape. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Riddle." He nodded his head.
"Likewise Professor Snape." The bells chimed again, the late bell this time.
"I should be in class, I only came out to get the door," she said with a sigh "Perhaps we will see each other again."
"Perhaps we will." With a small tired smile she turned and walked back into her classroom, shutting the door as she went, leaving Tom alone in the hallway.