Walking away to his common room, Tom felt terrible. It puzzled him how he was so careless as to not see a punch so close to his face. He just hoped her visit to the forbidden forest wouldn't be so bad. He got to his common room, took a nap and later got ready for prefect patrol. As he was getting ready, he remembered something.

He sent someone else to detention on the same day as Myrtle.

That made him feel even more terrible. Well, he couldn't change the past, so thinking about that wouldn't do him any good.

Detention was to take place exactly at midnight. They would all meet in the entrance hall to get ready. Exiting the common room, Tom found a piece of the broken wall nearby. He picked it up and transfigured it into a lantern. It was almost midnight now. Tom sprinted across the hallways in hopes of finding Myrtle before she arrived at the entrance hall. She wasn't anywhere in sight. He paced around the first floor and near the staircase to the entrance hall, but still nothing caught his attention.

,,Looking for me?"

Tom turned around calmly.

Myrtle's smug smile had been wiped off her face.

,,Really?", she exclaimed.
,,Not even a flinch? I'm actually jealous."

,,I'm sorry. I'll be sure to scream as loudly as I can next time.", Tom sarcastically replied.
,,Anyway."
,,Take this lantern, I don't want you to be eaten by darkness."

,,Oh, please. Me being scared? Not even in your wildest dreams."

Tom's face contorted at the mention of dreams, but was quickly interrupted.

Some wind blew from the outside the window, and Myrtle flinched immediately.

,,Looks like someone will be needing this lantern, after all.", he gave her a smug smile.

,,Oh, shut up...", she said as she reluctantly took the lantern.

After that, they started walking to the entrance hall.

,,How are your hands, by the way?", she asked him.

,,Better. They will be as good as new tomorrow. Thank you for your concern."

,,That's great. I hope it doesn't hurt too much."
,,Speaking of that, how did you even injure your hands?"

,,Potions accident."
,,I got...", how was he going to respond to this?
,,...distracted and made a mistake"
,,That resulted in this."

He gestured to his hands.

,,Oh.", she couldn't help but cringe.
,,It looks horrible!"

Only then did she realize that didn't sound nice.

,,S-sorry-"
,,This came out wrong."
,,What I meant to say is..."
,,That I tip my hat to you!", she said, trying to make the conversation less awkward.

Tom was a little confused.

,,For withstanding the pain!"

Myrtle looked at Tom with a weird grin while he had almost no reaction.

It was sincere, Tom thought. He gave her a small smile back, which made the conversation less awkward.

,,Thank you."

After that, their conversation became less tense and they chatted along the way, even joked.

They continued to walk.

,,You know", she said,
,,Maybe this lantern isn't so bad."
,,I could ram it in Malfoy's face for that matt-"

,,Don't. You. Dare.", Tom quickly replied, while pointing a finger at her.

,,Ahaha, I'll still consider it.", she said while laughing nervously.

Tom made a dismayed expression, which made her laugh.

,,Oh, here we are.", she said.

In front of them were around five Slytherins. The other ones didn't bother showing up, Tom and Myrtle figured.

,,Remember", he said,
,,Don't cause any trouble."
,,Other than that, I'll see you tomorrow."

,,I'll be sure not to.", she replied in such a tone that made Tom question the sincerity behind it.

Myrtle joined them and waved at Tom as she was leaving. Tom gave her an awkward wave back.
If there were no school rules, Tom wouldn't be against Myrtle giving Abraxas the treatment he deserved. Come to think of it, she wouldn't have to do anything, because he would do it himself.
Sighing, Tom returned to his patrolling duty.

Myrtle was walking down the fields nearby Hogwarts to the forbidden forest. When they got there, they would be separated into groups. Myrtle wondered what the outcome would be. They were all in Slytherin, so it didn't matter.

But were they really?

She came across a red tie amongst the green ones. As she looked at the Gryffindor's face, her face fell and went pale.

,,Olive!?" she panicked.

For now, she would keep quiet, in hopes of not getting grouped with her. The trees were thickening as they edged closer to the forest. Suddenly, they stopped. The caretaker was going to sort them now.
Myrtle anxiously watched. What if she was sorted with Olive? Anyone but her would be indescribably better.
In all honesty, she was dreading this trip to the forest. She tried her hardest to cover it up, as to not worry Tom even more. What good would being miserable do do either of them? It's better to make light of the situation. At least to try...

,,Not her, not her, not her, pleaseeeeeeeee!", she quietly begged.

On the contrary, Olive hoped that she would be with Myrtle. Her reactions would be priceless.

,,Mrs. Warren!"
,,You will be going with Mr. Malfoy."

They both groaned at the news. At least she wasn't going with Olive.
Finally, after some time, they all went into the forest.

,,Bet you're all shaken up already, Warren."
,,You wouldn't last 30 seconds in there."

Myrtle would strangle him if there were no school rules.

,,Oh yeah? We'll see how much you can last."

They walked for about thirty minutes while constantly throwing back insults at each other.

,,Does your vocabulary consist of any word besides "mudblood"?!", she shouted at him.

,,Well, what else am I supposed to use when talking to you?"
,,It's not my fault that it fits you so much.", he grinned at her.

She looked as thought she could explode. It would be too easy to just ram the lantern in his face. Still, she controlled her urge to do it. In the end, it wouldn't do her good.

As they were walking down the pathway, a twig snapped behind them. Even if there were snaps before, this one was louder. And more alarming.

,,What was that?", Abraxas asked.

,,Oh, relax!"
,,It's just a boggart"
,,Or a giant spider"
,,Or perhaps a werewolf!"

,,Watch out for werewolves..."
,,Wouldn't want to get maimed and turned into a half-breed, would you, Malfoy?", she grinned at him.

Abraxas couldn't keep the smug smile on his face this time.

,,Still better than being a mudblood."
,,I would kill myself if I was one."

Myrtle could see that he was frightened at that possibility, so she left the conversation at that.

The trees were so thick that it was getting hard to see anything. Abraxas kept clumping up next to her, desperately trying to get as close to the lantern as possible.

,,What's the matter with you?"
,,Surely you wouldn't be scared of something as silly as the dark?", she teased him.

,,N-no", he answered at the sudden question.

,,Are you suuuuure?"

,,Sweet Salazar, leave me alone you mudblood!"

,,Sure, sure. Right away.", she said as she moved the lantern to the side opposite of him.

She was glad when he began to panic.

,,How are we supposed to see this way?", he shouted.

,,I can see perfectly well. You are the problem here. But don't worry, it's never too late to buy some glasses."

,,Tsk. You're one to talk."

,,Need me to remind you who's the blind one here?"

,,I don't need ANYTHING from you!", he screamed.

Myrtle opened her mouth to say something back, but before she could, something could be heard in the distance.
Abraxas' expression changed in an instant.

,,Did you hear that?", he asked.

Myrtle kept quiet, trying to determine what the sound was. She carefully peaked behind a thick pile of bushes. It was so dark that she couldn't see anything. She did hear some twigs snapping, along with an eerie movement. Fear was starting to creep up in her. There was definitely something lurking in the shadows. The cracks were starting to get louder and louder. A large figure covered in shadow was getting closer and closer to her. It was so human looking, but at the same time it wasn't. She started backing up slowly, trying her best to make no noise. Abraxas was a few meters behind her, staring at the bushes with the little amount of light that Myrtle's lantern provided. She was getting really worried, so she drew out her wand. With a few more slow cracks, Myrtle's eyes widened out of fear. Staring back at her were a pair of bright, brown eyes, reflecting the yellow light of the lantern. Along with the eyes, a large set of teeth could be seen. She couldn't turn around now. It was beginning to growl. It wanted it's hunger satisfied.

,,STUPEFY!"

The werewolf was launched backwards, it's limp body falling onto the forest's ground. Immediately after, she began running as fast as she could. Abraxas was nowhere in sight. Her lantern flashed in different directions as she ran. Her whole body was trembling. To her horror, the charm only worked for a moment. It was now back to chasing her again. Clutching her fists, she cast a red spark in the air, in hopes of some help arriving.

No one came.

,,HELP!"
,,ANYONE, PLEASE!"

It was right behind her. Trying to hide somewhere would do her no good, it would track her down by her scent. Her heart was pounding so hard that she thought it would come right out of her chest. The werewolf was only a couple of steps away from her. She could hear it growling and scurrying through the bushes. Among the fear, she also felt sadness. She finally had someone that was happy to see her, to expect her, and she could ruin that all in this moment.

What would he think of her if she was a half breed, apart from a muggleborn?

Then, she saw a clearing. Right in front of her. It filled her with hope and relief.

,,That's it!"
,,Someone's got to be in there somewhere!", she quietly begged.

She lunged at the clearing, hoping to find someone, anyone. Her eyes fixed on the path below her. She collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. Every thing around her was spinning, and her vision was blurry. As her vision cleared up, she saw a Slytherin, and with him, a familiar Gryffindor.

Now was the perfect time to make fun of her. Four-eyed Myrtle, scared beyond her wits, trembling and gasping on the ground.

But, she didn't.

Seems as though this walk in the forest and her detention got her good, and it was all thanks to Tom.

Myrtle's glasses slid off her face. There was no time to pick them up, either. The sounds behind her were getting louder and louder. A shadow appeared infront of Myrtle. She gasped, clutching her head in her hands.

It lunged forward.

A bloodcurdling scream echoed in the forest.

But Myrtle didn't feel any pain.

She opened her eyes, looking in front of her.

It jumped over her, and went straight to Olive.

She should of been glad to see Olive getting so terrified. But she didn't. The sight horrified her to her core.

Between Olive's squirms, she let out ear-piercing screams and unintelligible words.

,,GET IT OFF ME!"
,,HELP!"

Myrtle stared in horror, unable to do anything. It felt like she was frozen in place. Her pleads for help echoed in her head.

She didn't even notice that the caretaker had rushed to the scene. He quickly cast numerous defensive spells, knocking the beast far into the forest and binding it in place.

,,Miss. Hornby!"

She continued to wallow and scream uncontrollably while gasping for air.

,,It's going to be okay! Stay with me. Stay with me."

He tried to help her up, but it was like she was glued to the ground. Her muscles gave up on any movement.

She was unscathed from the encounter, but her mind wasn't.

Eventually, he picked her up and started carrying her out of the forest, while she continued to wail. The Slytherin went along with it.

But Myrtle was stuck in a sitting position, trying to process what just happened. She felt like crying after this. But, she stayed strong and suppressed it, trying to get up. She was still in the forest, after all. She grabbed her glasses and discovered that they were full of missing shards and cracks. It didn't bother her. All she wanted was to get back inside the school.