Holding her breath, Hermione looked at Moaning Myrtle's dead body still suspended in mid-air and felt helpless for not being able to do anything to help her.

A big glob of crimson blood oozed down from the side of Myrtle's left eye and Hermione shuddered when the Basilisk reached over and licked the trailing fluids away. The long forked tongue of the creature slithered back into its mouth and Hermione heard Tom Riddle chuckle with pleasure at the sight.

Clicking his own tongue in a chastising way, Tom Riddle said to the Basilisk, "Now, now. You know this one is mine, don't you?"

The Basilisk moved around Moaning Myrtle's suspended form until its large predatory body nearly engulfed her, but the creature bowed its head to Tom Riddle as if he were its master; and maybe he was. Hermione watched as Tom Riddle reached for Moaning Myrtle's body and used his wand to cut into the girl's arm. Carving through the innocent girl's flesh he used his wand as if it were a sharp edged dagger.

Myrtle's arm lay mangled in the air and was limp as a rag doll, and Hermione flinched as she watched the dark wizard proceed. Tom Riddle urged the Basilisk forward then controlled the creature by murmuring a mysterious spell whispered in the same mouth as Parseltongue language.

The Basilisk moved its beastly face forward and bared its large razor sharp teeth to Moaning Myrtle's still form. Then, as Hermione gasped in terror the creature sank its teeth into Myrtle's already wounded arm and drew out more blood. The blood gathered by the snake, and the blood gained by Tom Riddle's wand were mixed together in order to form the first horcrux; Voldemort's diary.

Hermione stayed with Moaning Myrtle weeping for the girl long after Tom Riddle and the Basilisk left. She had watched, without being able to help, as Tom Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets; and Hermione knew with a sinking feeling that they were both down in the dungeons below Hogwarts by now.

Feeling helpless that she couldn't have prevented Moaning Myrtle's cruel demise, Hermione continued to cry silently for the girl even while Myrtle's spirit rose up from her body. Looking at the ghost who stood before her, Hermione realized that this was the familiar form of the girl Hermione thought she had known.

"What is this? What has happened?" Hermione knew Moaning Myrtle couldn't see her when the ghost floated straight through her and approached her own body with no small amount of fear and trepidation.

Myrtle's ghost gazed down at her lifeless body lying on the bathroom floor and she began to sob loudly as recognition hit her with an unfair and forceful blow.

"I'm dead," Myrtle's ghost choked out the statement miserably. She continued to look at her still form on the ground and asked, "How could I be dead?"

Unaware of Hermione standing next to her, Myrtle moved through her again. Shivering at the odd sensation, Hermione struggled to breathe and needed to move away from Moaning Myrtle for only a few minutes. She walked toward the slightly opened window in the bathroom and could hear Moaning Myrtle crying softly behind her as she moved away.

In the beginning, Harry had asked Hermione for a favor and Hermione had agreed to help him with his problem because she was his friend. She had no way of knowing then, how it would be to step into the memories of Moaning Myrtle. How could she have known? Hermione took a few deep breaths of fresh air from the open window and felt the calming breeze sooth her as she thought about all she had seen.

Myrtle's life had been disheartening to view from Hermione's perspective, and Hermione had been surprised to find out that there had been more to Moaning Myrtle than she had first expected. Myrtle had wanted to escape the loneliness that threatened to consume her each monotonous day, but Hermione suspected that she had never learned how to do so

Hermione had also discovered that Myrtle had taken care of herself since her parents would not. She had also struggled with defending herself against intimidating bullies like Olive Hornby and her friends. So, there was more strength in Moaning Myrtle than Hermione would have guessed.

Hermione had even started to think of Myrtle as something akin to a friend; but her death...had been even more grueling and Hermione could not escape the evil horror of what she'd only recently witnessed. All she could do, was view the experience as it was; a cruel act of murder on an innocent young person's life. Now it was time for Hermione to move on to the next phase in Myrtle's memory; her life after death.

Hermione wondered, how many more missing pieces she would uncover from the girl sitting next to her still form; and how long would it take before someone discovered that the girl who was now a ghost, was lost?