Summary: Through a sudden twist of fate, Myrtle is spared the deadly gaze of the Basilisk, unfortunately Tom wasn't so lucky.
An: I am sorry it has taken so long to start writing again, but I had just started a new job, a new semester in a college that I had to drive an hour to a day on a highway designed to kill me, and a truckload of homework and work and friends to balance. I simply didn't have time to write, but now balance has been restored! I have found a window of time to write and will be updating regularly again, yay!
Chapter 7 The Death Day Party
Somewhere a clock struck twelve and Tom sighed as the bells started to toll, it sounded ominous. He shook his head and resigned himself for whatever was coming, fell back into his mask of polite disinterest, and entered the classroom. He was greeted with the most unpleasant sight of his afterlife.
Ghosts were everywhere talking excitedly amongst themselves. They only stopped when they noticed Tom floating by and raised ghostly glasses in a cheer. There was a spread of rotten food on long tables pressed against the left side of the room, along with a half melted ice sculpture in the middle that might have been some sort of bird at one time. Truly the only mildly pleasant thing he could find about the entire affair was a lone fiddler in the back of the room who was playing a slow, mournful tune.
"Happy death day, Mr. Riddle!" He turned and had to hold back a grimace as the Fat Friar came up behind him and patted his shoulder with a familiarity they didn't have. "How long have you been with us now, thirty, forty years?"
"Fifty." He said stiffly and the Friar nodded as if he had known all along.
"Ah still barely out of the grave, I remember when I was your age – not your living age, of course- I was haunting a small room in my monastery before Hugo Hufflepuff the Second asked me to come back to Hogwarts with him. He was a lovely boy, horrendously scared by some pox but lovely all the same."
"I'm sure." The other ghost nodded jovially.
"Indeed it was a great pity he died not a month later, not that death is a pity mind you but the way he went was most unpleasant. But don't let me hold you up, this is your party after all and Helena went through so much trouble to get it together on time. Enjoy yourself." With that the Friar was gone, sliding up to a damp looking ghost and started up a loud conversation on the benefits of drowning.
Tom only had a short reprieve before the next ghost came up to him, this one he didn't recognize. He looked to be in his thirties but as a ghost appearances meant little to nothing in dictating ones true age. Apparently, he was in the castle visiting family and had been invited to drop in.
"I hope you don't mind." He finished with a tired smile and Tom gave him a strained one back.
"Not at all, please enjoy yourself." Because I'm not going to.
"Oh I don't doubt I will happy death day to you with the hope of many more!" He raised his glass in a cheer and moved on toward another group of ghosts. This went on for the next hour or so, ghosts of all shapes, sizes, and ages came up to Tom and introduced themselves, some joyfully some mournfully but all ready to wish him well. Many recounted their own deaths to him, some spectacular ("Arrow right through the head!") Some less than stellar ("Tripped and fell down the stairs, broke my neck.") but all rather depressing in their own way, and there was no end in sight. Not to mention one sign of the woman who had forced him to go through it.
Tom had resigned himself to putting up with them all for the rest of the night when escape didn't seem to be an option when a loud gong sounded. The lone fiddler stopped and stared glumly over at the sound, as did everyone, else to watch as a large group came in through the walls. They all had an instrument of some sort and the small fiddler girl perked at the sight, floating up to another woman with a cello who seemed happy to greet her.
"Sorry for the wait everyone but the music is here!" It was Helena. There was an enthusiastic cheer as the band set up, the little fiddler settling in with the strings. Helena gave a little half-pleased smile when she noticed him and went to his side.
"So what do you think?"
Of all the ways I can use chapter thirteen of Torture Spells through the Ages.
"I think you know Helena." Her glow seemed to dim for a second before brightening again.
"I know you don't like parties, but it's important to socialize. It's not healthy to be alone all the time." It was a little too late to do anything for his health but he didn't see the point of mentioning it to her.
"Nevertheless, I prefer my own company. You know that." Before she could respond the band started to play a slow waltz and the ghosts started to pair up and float above the room. Tom and Helena watched them for a moment before she reached out and took his arm.
"Dance with me." She demanded.
He was about to refuse her but she was already pulling him toward the other dancers with surprising strength. She grabbed one of his hands and placed it at her waist and took his other hand in hers, and started moving them around the air in a simple waltz. Tom seethed and moved closer to her, forcing her to take a step back and moving them the way he desired. He might have been forced into dancing, but he would be damned if he let her lead.
If Helena was annoyed with this she didn't show it, instead she followed beautifully beaming up at him with glowing silver eyes. He didn't know how long they danced for, minutes, hours; it was all the same to a creature that never grew tired, before something caught his eye.
Down by the door, Gryffindor's ghost had just floated in. He didn't get far before turning to look over his shoulder curiously before floating on into the party. Tom glanced down as he spun Helena again for what felt like the thousandth time that night, and watched curiously as the door opened slowly and- nothing. He paused and Helena paused with him, staring curiously at the space he was.
"What is it Tom?" He glanced over at her.
"I have no idea, dance with the Friar for a while." With that he passed her to the jolly ghost who had been waiting for a dance at the side lines. She shot him a deadly glare as the Friar laughed loudly and spun and spun and spun her. Revenge was sweet.
In better spirits (pun intended) he floated down to the ground and kept his eyes on the door that slowly was shutting. There was a tiny pale hand on the knob, floating out in the open air attached to nothing at all- or so it seemed. Whatever it was keeping the person invisible slipped a bit and a strand of that autumn red hair slipped out before she could hide it.
Tom almost laughed… almost.
"Now where on earth did you get an invisibility cloak?" Ginny whipped around and the hood of the cloak fell back, revealing her face for the first time. She was so startled that she tripped over the hem of the cloak that was two sizes too big for her and only just caught herself before falling. She glared at him for a moment before drawing herself to her full height.
"I borrowed it."
"Lie."
Her scowl deepened.
"I stole it," she said at last with a resigned sigh, "How is it you always know when I'm lying?" He ignored her question.
"Who did you take it from?" He asked curiously and examined a series of runes etched into the fabric. They were blended so seamlessly into the regular pattern he wouldn't have noticed them if they didn't have the faintest glow…
She shrugged. "Just my brother's friend, they use it to sneak out all the time. I will give it back later."
"I wouldn't." Tom said idly and reached out to touch one of the runes that glowed brightly in response to his caress. To his immense surprise it felt more like how he remembered water did than the normal prickling. Ginny's eyes widened in surprise.
"Why not?" He shot her a tiny smile and pulled his hand away from the strange cloak, only just resisting the strange urge he had to study it more closely.
"If one is careless with their valuables they deserve to be stolen." Ginny pressed her had to her mouth to stop giggling.
"I might keep it longer then…only a few days though." She said casually and rubbed a bit of the cloth in-between her fingers thoughtfully. He could see the gears turning in her head and almost smiled again.
"Good, now what brings you here?" That caused her to blush a little and she cleared her throat before speaking.
"Well, I heard Sir Nick mention it was your bir- er death day yesterday and I just…" she looked very unsure "I just wanted to wish you a happy death day I suppose." She fiddled with something in her pocket for a moment before finding the courage to pull out a small package wrapped in old parchment.
"I didn't know if I needed to get you anything, so I got you something just to be sure." She muttered and looked down at the floor while Tom stared at her in surprise. She had actually gotten him a gift?
"I don't know what you could have gotten me that I could use," she cringed and looked ready to apologize. "But I appreciate the thought. You will have to open it for me though." She smiled gratefully up at him and started to tear the parchment off of a-
"A necklace?" It was a silver necklace in the shape of a delicate flower with a cluster of some kind of purple stones in the center. Tom looked from it to her incredulously. Her entire face was ruby red and she looked like she wanted nothing more than to curl back up in that oversized cloak and disappear.
"I didn't actually know what it was," she admitted embarrassedly and stared resolutely at everything but him "I just found it in a strange room I've never seen before by Gryffindor tower when I was wondering about what to get you for a gift." She looked down at it in shame but Tom saw it in a new light, if it was from the Come and Go Room… "It was like it was meant to be or-" She took a shuddering breath and looked like she was going to say something more but a dancing couple passed too close and startled her, causing her to drop the necklace and paper in a heap.
"Sorry!" She squeaked and reached down to quickly snatch the necklace up, along with the old parchment tangled in with the fine silver chain. But something about it caught his eye.
"Hold still." He ordered sharply and she froze as he moved closer to her to get a better look at the parchment. There was faded black writing on it and his eyes narrowed as he tried to read it. It was all in Latin, and a small bitter smile crossed his lips. Fifty years of studying the books in the library had made him fluent in the dead language, and he was grateful for it as he read what he could.
Dear Sarrabeth
….Sorry for your loss….able
to copy the effects but…..may cause death. I would ask you to use it sparingly…it off before the stones stop glowing…able to reunite with John for a brief time, but…..Hope you reconsider my proposal….Do not forget I love you still.
"Ginerva I need you to do something for me." She looked up at him cautiously "Unwrap the rest of the letter." She nodded and carefully untangled the necklace from the parchment but before he could read the rest of it Ginny paled and shoved it into her pocket. He frowned and was about to demand she take it back out before the Gryffindor house ghost floated up to them, head swinging by the bit of skin on his neck.
"Tom! Terribly good to see you old chap, don't know how long it's been but I do know it has been too long!" He clasped his shoulder as if they were old friends and Tom stiffened under the contact, his eyes narrowing at the offending appendage. Nick removed his hand a second later, none the wiser to Tom's ire, and frowned at the sight of Ginny.
"Well now what is this?" He swung his head to rest on top of his neck properly and examined the only living thing in the room.
"Ginny Weasley, I thought I heard someone following along behind me. I was sure it was your brothers going to raid the kitchen!" He exclaimed with a smile. "What are you doing out of Gryffindor Tower so early in the morning?"
"I just wanted to wish Tom a happy death day and then I was going to go right to bed, I swear!" She clasped her hands in front of her chest in an imploring manner "Please don't tell on me, Nick." The Gryffindor ghost chortled.
"It will not be I that ruins the festivities, consider myself ignorant of this little excursion. But you really should be going back to bed." Ginny nodded and was about to turn to go when Tom stopped her.
"Hold on a moment." Ginny and Nick looked curiously at him. "I will walk you back to your tower; it is my fault she is here after all." The last bit was directed toward Nick who nodded gaily.
"Ah chivalry, it is good to see. I will give your apologies to everyone." Tom nodded and turned to look at Ginny who was staring at him guiltily.
"Ready to go?" She nodded and started out of the only half closed door, leaving Tom to float after her. They walked (or in Tom's case floated) in silence until they came to the staircases.
"Put on the cloak and stay close to me, the prefects and teachers don't bother ghosts and if you walk behind me they won't accidently run into you." She nodded and covered her shoulders making them disappear instantly; she was reaching for the hood when she paused.
"Hey Tom, I'm sorry to make you leave your party." Tom had to hold back a snort.
"It is fine Ginerva, and I am not particularly fond of parties anyway," that seemed to make her relax but then she hesitated again. "Was there something else?"
She nodded.
"I'm sorry about the necklace." She muttered and Tom sighed.
"It isn't a problem, and if I am right about where you got that necklace it may be more valuable than you think." She frowned and glanced down at her pocket doubtfully.
"You think so?"
"I do, but I need more time to look over that parchment before I can say anything for sure." Ginny perked up and reached for it but Tom shook his head. "Not now, tomorrow, bring it to me in the library around midnight. With that cloak it should be simple."
She nodded.
"One more thing, don't try to put it on until I tell you to."
She snorted. "I don't think I can ever wear another piece of jewelry after that book you gave me. I finished it by the way."
"Then bring it with you when you bring me the necklace, I have a few books in mind I think you will find very entertaining." She grinned brightly only to flinch at the sound of something moving down the stairs.
"We will speak later, get under the cloak and remember to stay close." With that Ginny pulled the hood over her head and disappeared. A strange necklace and an unusual note written in Latin. A gift to me from the Come and Go room… it must mean something. Not to mention that invisibility cloak, I have never seen one like it before. Tom pondered all of this as he slowly made his way up the staircases, listening for the faint shuffling of Ginny behind him. Perhaps there was something to celebrate this death day after all.