This is it, guys. The final chapter. I can't believe we're here. What started as a brief relapse of obsession with Tom Riddle Jr. has now ended with a work I loved writing tremendously. We've lost some, but we gained some along the way. Also hindsight is 20/20 just saying.

So, I graduated with a Masters and I have started working immediately with my own university. It has its ups and downs, because some people always tend to see you as a student you know, but we're making it work. It was getting very hectic. So, here I am, actively trying to get back into the flow of writing. It's been harder than it looks, frankly - I just wanna sleep all the time.

ANYWAYS!

Without further ado!

Despite what Tom believed, it turned out that I wasn't actually suicidal. I peeked into the Slytherin commons and then very respectfully withdrew when I saw that the place was crawling with Death Eaters.

Avery sat staring hard into the fireplace, Malfoy across him flipping through a book idly. Rosier lay prone on the sofa, shaking his head as if dispelling wrackspurts. I pursed my lips then shook my own head.

It made no sense walking in and waiting for them to try and stupidly retaliate. While Tom had expressly forbidden them from acting out - they didn't appear to be in a listening mood.

And I wasn't reckless enough to be a sitting duck.

Best to avoid the commons until their Boss came back then…which was ridiculous to even think about…

As if he would go out of his way to protect me if I needed it.

Which I didn't…

I could take them…

I walked away from the Slytherin dormitory, my mind racing to think of places that would be good hideouts for the time being.

I could go to Dumbledore, but I knew that would raise questions. I could camp out in the Room of Requirement…

…or I could go take a much needed bath.

The Prefect's bathroom was mercifully empty; dark and lit with only a few candles around the bathtub.

I shucked off my soiled robes, sliding into foamy hot water with a sigh of relief. My vision dimmed, adjusting to the candlelight.

The mermaid stained-glass window came alive in my presence, turning her pretty fishy face towards me, bleary from waking from sleep. I closed my eyes, sinking further into the water.

Thoughts drifting, I wondered about Myrtle and Hagrid, of what they could be doing tonight. They wouldn't become Tom's victims…not tonight at the very least…

In a sleepy haze, I started humming, pondering what the next step of Tom's game would be when I was struck by how comfortable I was now - thinking of Lord Voldemort as Tom. He wasn't even Riddle anymore - it was just Tom.

When did that happen? When had I humanized my murderer?

My hand rose from the water, touching my lips where I could almost still feel the desperate press of his lips on mine.

A low thunk pulled me out of my dozing thoughts, my eyes wide and looking around the bathroom. As far as I remembered, the snake had been in the pipes if Tom was right. Could it…

I glanced nervously at the toilets, at the sink…even dunking my head under the water to check if there were any huge snakes in the water.

It was at the moment that my head popped up out of the water that the door of the Prefect's bathroom opened. I was startled, not expecting anyone to walk in at this moment. My heart raced, only calming down a little when it was Tom Riddle that walked around the partition of the bathing pool.

For someone who claimed to have gone back into the Chamber and crawled through the school's plumbing in search of a huge snake, Tom looked immaculate. His robes were pristine, his hair in place, face unbothered. There wasn't even that permeating, nauseating smell about him anymore.

He paused as he rounded the screen, his eyes landing on me in the bathtub and I immediately sunk further into the foamy, bubbly water. Very aware of the fact that I was naked in the water, I drew closer to the edge of the tub.

But it didn't seem to bother Tom. As unfazed as he was about everything in life, he simply walked over to the other side of the bath area and sat down. Elbows on his knees, he fixed a stern gaze on me as if I was a petulant child he was getting ready to scold.

After what had happened tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if that was exactly what he was going to do.

"Well?" I asked quietly.

Tom's gaze didn't waver. "The Basilisk almost got out. She knows the plumbing system better than any residing being here, despite the changes. I was able to track her down but she has affected the ecosystem of the school already. Creatures can feel that she is awake."

He sighed, rubbing his palms together.

"I was able to put her back in the statue cave but there is no telling what she will do now. She may hibernate again, if no one comes around to feed her or command her."

"I see." I said simply. "And…how are you feeling?"

"How am I feeling?" He asked quietly, but there was a hint of danger in his voice - he didn't appreciate the question. "I am…not very pleased, Miss Revel. I had a certain plan for tonight and I do not like much being hindered. You have been a hindrance to me since the moment I have laid my eyes on you."

I bite my lip to curb a sarcastic retort.

"However, I cannot argue with the fact that perhaps…there are better…more inconspicuous ways of achieving what I want for the wizarding kind." He looked back up at me. "Also…I appreciate how you insisted I evacuate the Chamber with you. While your intentions may not have been the most noble, they were what they were."

Second ticked by as we stared at each other. I leaned in a little, towards him and was almost surprised when he made a mirrored gesture. His gaze was still impenetrable. I had no idea what he was thinking or feeling - just that he was leaning in just as I was.

But as close as we got, we didn't repeat that desperate, manic kiss down in the Chamber of Secrets.

"Dumbledore," He mumbled, "is going to become aware soon enough that something has happened tonight. Especially if you have been going around the castle making a fuss." He straightened, pinning me with his stare.

"What are you going to tell him?"

I stared up at him, silently considering my options. It seemed everything hinged now on what I was going to say.

"What do you want me to tell him?" I asked. For a split second, the withdrawn and haggard face of Ginny Weasley floated in my mind - a brutal reminder of the only survivor of the Chamber I knew.

Riddle's face twists slightly but I couldn't tell if it was out of amusement or disbelief.

"And here I thought that you were too…good…to be my ally, Revel. It is…refreshing to see you turncoat so easily."

Before I could even formulate an answer to that, Riddle was standing up. Without a look back, he swept away and I heard the distant slam of the bathroom door shutting.

The next morning, I was the earliest to appear for breakfast - having not slept at all the night before. While I could bring myself to believe Tom when he said that the snake had gone back to its cave, I couldn't bring myself to sit back and rest. I spent the rest of the night patrolling the castle for any wayward students, sharply sending them back to bed in the safety of their dorms.

"Where were you?" Lila asked, half irritated and half concerned as she slipped in next to me later. "We couldn't find you yesterday and you weren't in bed all of last night."

I opened my mouth, fumbling for an answer when my eyes met Riddle's. He had walked in with his entire entourage behind him. It reminded me of Slughorn's party, the way he had arrived with his early Death Eaters flanking him.

Now, it struck me for what it was. A statement. But what statement was he making right now? That was something only he knew.

Lila stared at my flabbergasted look before turning to look where I stared. She raised an eyebrow when she caught Riddle.

"Oh."

"It's not what you think." I said immediately.

"When is it ever?" She said primly, helping herself to some toast.

"Where in the name of Merlin's foggy glasses were you?" Fawley asked as he sat down, his tie askew.

Lila simply reached out to fix it. "She was with Riddle."

"Oh."

"It's not what you think." I said again.

When Alphard joined us, he looked about ready to spring the same question before he was intercepted by Lila and Fawley.

"She was with Riddle."

I sighed as Alphard quietly went to his eggs.

As the teachers finished their breakfast, Dippet took to the podium.

Over the gilded gold podium, he fixed the students with a look that reminded me that he was still a powerful wizard, a headmaster of Hogwarts. There was a stiff frustration behind his actions now.

"We have an incident that needs to be addressed today. This morning, Madam Blishen reported that a stunned student had been left in the Hogwarts hospital wing overnight. Whether it was a forbidden duel gone wrong or something more insidious…is going to be investigated. We have found a student, Olive Hornby petrified near the sinks in the second floor girls' bathroom. The petrification appears to have been done by something not…human."

I sat up straight a little. My eyes, unbidden, flashed to Riddle.

He sat ramrod straight, his wrists elegantly on the edge of the table as he stared blankly up at Dippet. There were shifty looks being passed amongst his…followers, but his eyes never wavered from Dippet.

"Any student with knowledge of the incidents is requested to approach the faculty. The matter will be investigated to all ends, I assure you. No student's safety is taken lightly at Hogwarts. I hope you will have a happy holiday." Dippet ended his speech with what he thought was perhaps a cheerful farewell but it only placed a tense knot in the stomachs of everyone present in the room.

It was clear that the news hadn't settled anyone's food well in their stomachs and so on a less than pleasant note, Breakfast ended. I slid out of the bench, intent on going after Riddle to ask him what all that was about. How did Olive Hornby come into the equation? What was going on?

"Going to Riddle?" Fawley asked, his eggs left uneaten on the plate.

"What, no - just, prefect duties…with what happened, and all."

"Oh sure." It was clear they didn't believe me, but they also didn't seem too worried that Olive had been found petrified.

As I turned away from them, expecting to possibly meet the Death Eaters' evil eye, I was instead staring into Tom Riddle's dark, impassive gaze. His eyes bore into mine with an almost challenging unfeelingness as if expecting a reaction out of me. Then his eyes were shifting over my head and narrowing.

I turned too, now facing Dumbledore.

For a moment, I was caught between the two men. Tom's face was still respectfully expressionless while Dumbledore kept his eyes on him despite his pleasant countenance.

Did he suspect?

Would he do something?

"Good morning, Mr. Riddle, Miss Revel. A nasty spot of business, isn't it?"

I gulped.

"It was good to hear that none of our prefect body were around to be severely injured. Now we must only wait to have Miss Hornby rejuvenated - so she may tell us what happened."

I glanced once at Tom, who nodded solemnly, the picture of sincerity. "Please let us know if we can help in any way, Professor."

"I shall, Tom. I suppose your knowledge of Hogwarts might come in handy." Dumbledore said, still pleasant. He didn't seem to be talking much to me at all and I couldn't help but be a bit relieved. Unlike Riddle, I would've cracked in the face of that blue stare.

"I am also…quite pleased to see a certain lack of…hostility between the two of you. I'm happy to see that your work has brought you eye to eye." Dumbledore only smiled while the both of us tensed and our eyes met, not quite knowing how to respond to that.

"Ah, before I forget, Tom, I personally spoke to Professor Dippet about your request. With the event that happened over the Yule break, he agreed with me that it was not appropriate to send two young students to the muggle world at the moment. Aside from the ministry's interference should you have to use magic to defend yourselves, we feel that it is best to keep our students within the folds of the Wizarding world."

I looked up at that, catching even Tom's ears perking up.

"However, we cannot let you stay at Hogwarts over the summer since the school will close. You'll be pleased to know, Mr. Riddle, that a dear friend of mine - Nicholas Flamel has expressed interest in your work with alchemy. He has offered an apprenticeship to you over the summer."

I blinked before smiling at Riddle. It wasn't really a happy smile, but I knew that this way someone would keep an eye on him. He would be far from me and I wouldn't have to be on edge all the time.

"As for you, Rose, it seems you made quite an impression on Mr. Scamander. He has expressed an interest in seeing if you'd help him with his work."

My surprise intensified, leaving me speechless. Why would Scamader want to work with me? I hadn't come off as particularly intelligent or efficient or even pleasant for Merlin's sake. Had Dumbledore pulled some strings?

"If you'll excuse me, I have to accompany the teachers in a search over the castle. I have a suspicion this has to do with a certain Founder. A good day to you." Dumbledore fixes Tom and me with an incandescent smile, bowing lightly as he left us.

Before I could even turn to face my other enigmatic companion, Riddle had whirled away, leaving as quietly as he had appeared before.

Dumbledore's smile remained on my mind for the rest of the time I got to spend in Hogwarts. I spent those precious moments tucked away in the Slytherin dormitory, slowly and meticulously packing away all my things into the trunk I'd bought in Hogsmeade.

Lila joined me for only a few times out of them, choosing instead to spend the rest of her time blissfully out on the grounds with Fawley and Alphard. Maybe it was for the best, that I did not spend a lot of time with them for now. They would have some pressing questions that I didn't feel like answering for now.

Once again, just like the orphanage, I felt cut off.

The added hostility that surged from Walburga and Druella added to the loneliness a little, but mercifully they remained quiet without their ring leader.

The thought of Olive, lying petrified in the hospital wing brought an odd emotion washing through me. It was a cruel satisfaction tinged with pity. She would have to be transferred to St. Mungo's, there weren't any mandrakes in the school greenhouses at the moment. With the search for the Chamber yet again, no one had the time to procure some, wait for them to mature then brew the potion to bring her to consciousness.

It also made me question how Tom had achieved the kind of petrification that the basilisk could do. Because she couldn't have actually seen the basilisk…or she would be dead…

I brought myself out of my reverie for a second to close, latch and securely lock my trunk.

2 Days Later…

The loud screeching whistle of the Hogwarts Express rips through the air, the chattering of departing students muffled under the din of the train. A huge pair of arms were currently wrapped around me, my toes dangling at least ten centimeters from the ground.

"I'll miss yeh, Rose." Hagrid sniffled noisily.

"I'll miss you too." I patted his back. "If you let me breathe that is."

"Oh."

My feet touched the platform again and I turned to hug Myrtle whose eyes looked suspiciously shiny behind her glasses.

"Thank you…for everything, you know." She muttered, the back of her hand wiping away at her nose.

"Don't worry about it. You two stay safe and good now, you hear?" I said, smiling as Hagrid hauled his and Myrtle's trunks into a carriage.

I waved at them once, catching sight of a tall, dark head of hair a few feet from where we stood. I made my way over, knowing he could sense me coming over.

Strangely, he didn't move away.

"I see you're still consorting with…them." He said, the barest sign of a sneer in his voice.

I turned my back to him, watching Hagrid and Myrtle say their goodbyes to the handful of people who had started to accept them for who they were. I smiled, hidden from his sight.

"You can't pretend to think about them beneath you. You would've used them if you could've."

"I usually require some modicum of competency, Miss Revel, as you already know."

I glanced back at him with a smirk. "Is that why Abraxas Malfoy is in your little group there?"

Riddle looked over at me with little expression.

"In any case," I continued. "I saved them."

That made him raise an eyebrow. "Saved them? From what, pray tell?"

"I think you know."

"Do I?" He murmured. "What I know, Miss Revel, is that you have a rather inflated sense of the impact you have had. I worry that when you realize that that is simply not the case, it will not end well for you."

"Oh, I didn't realize you worried about me."

Riddle finally turned to look at me at my words, his eyebrow still arched. "I will tell you something now, Roselle. You haven't saved anything or anyone. I did what I needed to. I shall continue to do so. You may continue to get in my way, or you may stop. I will tolerate you as long as you remain amusing. When that comes to an end…so will you."

I clenched my jaw. "What about Olive? Are you going to tell me what happened to her?"

"There is nothing to tell. I told you I would help you with her. I am glad that you decided to repay that favour by not telling your precious Dumbledore anything. I think that puts you squarely…how did you put it…ah yes, in my little group."

I blinked, swallowing as he reminded me of exactly how I'd betrayed myself.

"Have a nice holiday, Miss Revel."

Riddle turned away from me as I backed a few steps away from him. Without another look or word, he climbed into his carriage, the door slamming shut behind him.

I crossed my arms, still staring at the closed carriage door until Lila screamed over to me to get in before the train left without me.

I rush over to our carriage, my eyes straying back over to where we last stood, a small smile on my lips.

And THE END!

I cannot believe this story has ended after four years! I hope to come back to this story soon and I can only hope that this story has been as much as a return to Hogwarts as I wanted it to be.

Thank you as ever to be here with me. Love you all!