October 31st

Dear mum and dad,

I hope you're doing well in London. My first few days at school have been going quite well, apart from the fact that that bigot Abraxas and his friends ganged up on me. Although I didn't suffer anything from it, it was still very annoying. I also have some remarkable news.

I have finally found a friend.

Unbelievable, isn't it? Her name is Myrtle Elizabeth Warren. She's very eccentric (in a good way). I'll tell you more about her when I get home, but it's best if you meet her yourselves.

I miss you dearly, hope we get to see each other soon. Happy Halloween.

Love, Tom

.

.

Tom carefully folded the letter he just wrote and put it in an envelope. He then put a sticker on it, because licking it was disgusting, in his opinion. He took the letter and gazed out the window, waiting for his owl.

Realizing that he had no pet, James and Eliza offered to buy him one. The thing was, Tom never cared about having a pet, nor did he have the money to buy one. But, since they were insisting, he eventually did get an owl. He never named it, the reason mostly being that he was bad at naming things. Yes, he did make himself a moniker, but ever since he came up with that foul name, he didn't want to attempt at naming anything else. He simply referred to his owl as "Owl", and even the thing itself was displeased.

After waiting a little, the owl emerged from the foggy sky and stood on the common room window.

Tom handed it the letter and off to London it went.

After that, he returned to reading the book about music that Myrtle gave him. It really helped resolve a lot of confusion. At the same time, Tom was helping her with magic, deciding that her being average with that potential would be such a waste of talent. He had to admit, she was very skilled, obviously not the same level as him, but still very skilled.

Apart from that, it was Sunday today, and also Halloween for that matter. Myrtle insisted that they do some fun activities together. He'd meet her outside of her common room an hour later and see what she had planned. Part of him was even scared of what she'd come up with, knowing what sort of things she often got him into.

Oh well, he still looked forward to it.

In the meantime, he would busy himself by reading.

,,Avery, help me with the decorations today. Rosier and the others will help with the cake."

And there it was, Abraxas' annoying voice. They were planning a Halloween party, since it was their last year together, and obviously Abraxas had to plan it.

One party he obviously wasn't invited to. Like he could care any less.

Their chattering was starting to get on his nerves, reading while that mess persisted would be nearly impossible.

Groaning, Tom put the book aside and went for the exit.

Maybe taking a trip outside would ease his nerves?

Abraxas' gang was blocking the exit, much to his dismay. It didn't mean that he wouldn't be able to go, just that he would be annoyed and have tons of insults and slurs thrown at him.

Still, he forcefully pushed himself through the crowd.

Lots of dissatisfied exclamations came from the crowd, but one stood out.

,,Clever of you to get out of here, Riddle, you know the rules: mudbloods aren't invited.", Abraxas sneered.

,,Like I ever wanted to come.", Tom blatantly replied while pushing himself out of the crowd.

,,Not so polite of you to rush through that way. The various shoes you've stepped on are worth more than you ever will be."

Tom rolled his eyes, not bothering to reply.

At last, he get out.

Finally, he could get a break.

Around 45 minutes have passed since he left the common room. The school's halls were filled to the brim with trick or treaters, people in Halloween costumes, mayhem, basically. He barely managed to find peace outdoors, where the crowd lessened. Nearly an hour has passed, which meant that he should be on his way to the Ravenclaw common room. It was hard to get past the crowded areas, but he eventually arrived to his destination. It appeared that he was five minutes early.

He leaned against a nearby pillar, sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the other dressed up students.

Ten minutes passed, still no Myrtle. Surely, she'd arrive any minute now, often times she was the one who arrived first.

Eh, he'd move closer to the common room and investigate.

,,Hey, Tom. Happy Halloween!"

Oh, not again. She'd already snuck up on him this way multiple times.

,,Hello, Myrtle, happy Halloween to you, too.", he said as he turned around.
,,What are we doing today?"

A big grin spread across her face. That wasn't a good sign, as Tom had learned over the previous month. The shine of the objects in her pocket didn't make it any better.

,,I've tried so hard to make this perfect, that's why I didn't get here in time. I really hope you like it.", she smiled.

,,And what have you prepared, exactly?", he asked her.

,,Oh.", she chuckled,
,,It's a surprise, Tom!"

Apparently, the shining objects in her pocket were... knives? As if the situation couldn't get even more concerning. It would be best not to ask.

,,Hey.", she said.
,,I just thought of some thing."
,,I'm getting tired of calling you "Tom". Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with your name, it's just that it's getting quite repetitive."
,,So, I thought I'd give you nickname!"

Tom didn't really like nicknames. What purpose did they serve after all? Wasn't the name itself good enough? Apart from that, his name was only three letters long, so he doubted that you could make a good nickname. Or, he just hoped. Myrtle's creativity never ceased to amaze him.

,,This one's pretty basic, but what about Tommy?"

He should of seen that one coming. There were a lot of Toms, and that was the most common nickname.

,,It's very common. I feel like every Tom has the same fate of being called that."

,,So you want something more unique? I see..."

After a few moments of thinking, she came to an answer.

,,Your biological father's name is also Tom, as you have told me? Well, that would make him Tom Riddle senior, and you would be Tom Riddle junior, TJ for short? What do you say?", she smirked.

,,No. I wouldn't like to be referred to as "junior" in any way. I am my own person."

,,Aw, not even that? I've used your first name, which leaves me with your middle name and surname. Let me think..."

,,How about Ridds?", she asked proudly.

Tom's eyes widened and he looked at her with a shocked expression.

,,What? No!"

,,'Volo!?", she said with a hint of desperation.

,,That's even worse!"

,,Ugh, Tom, you're so picky!", she said with a grumpy face.

,,My name is fine as it is, Myrtle. Besides, I can't think of any nickname for you. At least we're even this way."

,,Eh, I tried to think of a good nickname for myself multiple times. To this day I haven't got one."
,,That's why I'm disappointed that I can't give you one."

It was clear that she was let down from this. He didn't know why it was so important to her, but after some time of thinking about it, he changed his mind. What was it to him if it made her happy?

,,Fine.", he muttered.
,,Call me whatever you want if it makes you happy."

Myrtle gasped and her eyes lit up.

,,Really!? I knew that you'd agree eventually, Tommy, because you're a very nice and caring person deep down!", she said, teasing him.

,,Ugh...", he groaned, rolling over his eyes.

According to Myrtle, they'd reach wherever they were going soon. He guessed that it would be an empty classroom in the middle of nowhere. After all, it was the perfect place if you didn't want to get disturbed.

,,Here we are!", she exclaimed cheerfully.

They had arrived, right in front of the room of requirement?

But wasn't he the only one who was aware of it's existence?

Tom was caught by surprise.

,,The room of requirement.", he said.
,,How do you know of it's existence? I thought that I was the only one."

,,Oh, Tommy, don't tell me that you really thought no one else would find it. I get that you're a magic prodigy, but the rest of us aren't that stupid.", she replied.

,,Anyway, I don't want to wait anymore, let's go."

Tom was still puzzled that someone except him knew about this room's existence. He thought that he was the only one who had known about it, that he was special, as he always liked to believe.

Turns out he wasn't.

The wall of the hallway started to detract, forming a little door in front of it. Since Myrtle was the one using the room, the door was rather small, making it difficult for him to enter. They didn't have that big of a height difference, but it was still noticeable.

Tom expected chaos in this room. But when he entered, it was surprisingly bland. A small decorated room with two cushions and a small, short table. There were also two pumpkins near the table.

The room of requirement couldn't generate food, Tom knew. Myrtle had to of gotten them in the morning.

,,Myrtle.", he said.
,,Where did you get those two pumpkins?"

Myrtle froze in place, her eyes widening. She struggled to provide an answer.

,,I-i bought them, of course, why do you ask?"

,,There are no markets close to Hogwarts. What did you do?"

,,I transfigured them... but don't worry! We won't be eating them!"

,,Myrtle.", he said in a more serious tone.
,,Just tell me what you did. I don't have any benefit of turning you in, nor do I want to."

,,Fine.", she muttered.

She moved closer to him.

,,I stole them.", she whispered.

,,You what!?"

,,See, that's why you shouldn't always demand for the truth! Some times it's better if you DON'T know all there is to know."

Tom wasn't mad at her, just surprised.

,,So, you stole them from the garden?", he asked.

,,Yeah. I woke up at five in the morning, snuck in the garden, stole a few of these and didn't get caught by sheer luck. I'm still wondering how I didn't get caught."

,,I'm not mad at you, just... surprised. Don't do this ever again, there's a high chance you might get caught. As for the pumpkins themselves and the theft you commit, I don't care. A few less pumpkins won't make any difference.", he smirked at her.

,,Ah, yes, Tom Riddle. The prefect who constantly insists that there must be no rule breaking, encouraging theft. How ironic.", she replied.

,,That wasn't what I meant-"

,,Yeah, yeah, Tommy, I'm only kidding. Let's just get to the pumpkin carving, shall we?"

She reached in her pocket and pulled out a collection of knives, putting them on the small table. After that, she sat on a cushion, and Tom sat beside her on the other one.

,,I really hope you didn't bring those from home, did you?"

,,Of course not, Tommy, I'm not THAT crazy, ahahaha. I just transfigured them."

,,Really?", he asked, raising an eyebrow.

,,Really. I won't lie to you anymore.", she confirmed.

She reached out for two pumpkins nearby, slamming them onto the table.

,,Now comes the fun part: removing the insides.", she said as she gave him a spoon.

,,I've never done this before.", he confessed.

,,I did."
,,But I still suck at it."

They grabbed some knives and got to work. Cutting the top wasn't too hard, it just required physical strength. They snapped off the top and threw it aside. Now was the time they'd have to scoop out the insides. They both grabbed spoons and started digging. Their pumpkins were relatively the same size, not large, not small. Hopefully it wouldn't bee hard to do the job. Luckily, the pumpkins were still fresh, making it easier to scoop out. But, since they were freshly picked, they were also very juicy. Because of this, they accidentally flung the chunks in their face, some times at each other. Tom got squirted in the eye one time, and Myrtle barely suppressed a laugh, but she did feel bad for him. They apologized too many times to count. Their robes also didn't seem to be in good shape. Tom was the one who suggested that they take them off, as they were already soaked with pumpkin juice and filled with seeds.

After some time of intensive scooping, they finally emptied it.

What would they do now?

,,Finally, this was so boring!", she said.
,,Now, we carve faces onto the pumpkins. Simple shapes that imitate the eyes, nose and mouth. Try to make them creepy, if you can."

,,Myrtle, you're asking too much from me.", he sighed.

,,Well, I'm no artist either, so no excuses! You have a wide range of knives at your disposal, knock yourself out."

He grabbed a smaller knife and plunged it into the pumpkin. That cut out would be an eye. He tried to make a circle, but instead ended up making a very weird polygon. It made him a little disappointed.

Myrtle was staring at her pumpkin very intensely, trying her best to make it look good. He hoped that she would make one presentable pumpkin, because he certainly wouldn't.

It was best not to annoy her and get back to work.

He went on to cut out another chunk that was supposed to be the other eye. Except, he'd totally misplaced it. By now, it was starting to look like one of those abstract paintings, particularly Picasso's. It was so deformed and ugly that it was almost laughable.

Myrtle noticed that he stopped.

,,What's the matter, Tommy?", she asked.

,,Nothing. Absolutely nothing.", he said, barely containing his urge to laugh.

He turned around his pumpkin.

,,Oh God. It looks..."

,,Horrible.", he said.

,,Right. Can't lie to you. But look at how mine turned out!"

She turned her's around. It was slightly better than his, but not exactly pretty. She'd just started to cut out the nose.

,,Gorgeous, am I right? Just have to scoop out the nose."

She grabbed a knife and began to cut it right away, not bothering to turn it to herself.

,,I can even do it without looking!", she said proudly.

She jammed the knife, completely missing the center. It only started to get worse from there. After that, she ungracefully jolted her arm to the left, overlapping the cut with the eye. Then, she cut it all the way where she started. But, instead of forming a perfectly shaped triangular nose, a big chunk of her pumpkin fell off.

Myrtle was mortified.

Tom, on the other hand, finally lost it, and broke into a fit of laughter.

,,Oh, come on!", she cried out.
,,This was the best one I've ever made!"
,,And would you stop laughing!?"

,,I'm so sorry, it's just that-", he glanced at the pumpkin, which caused him to laugh again.

,,You know", she said.
,,You're very lucky that you're my friend, otherwise I would be sooooo pissed."

All of a sudden, Myrtle started to chuckle. Guess that laughter really is contagious, huh? It appeared that Tom Riddle, the most serious person she knew, has blown his cover. Apart from that, he also had a really... bizarre laugh, one that Myrtle hadn't ever heard before. Oh well, it made her happy that he laughed at last.

,,You've blown your cover, Tommy. Now I know you're not immune to laughing."
,,Has it been like seven years since you last laughed? Your laugh is a bit weird."

,,And what do you mean by that?", he asked her.

,,Well...", she paused for a moment.
,,I don't actually know. Maybe it's because you've never laughed this hard? Come to think of it, I've never heard you laugh like ever! You should do it more often.", she smiled.

,,Oh, please, this was just a minor diversion, I never laugh."

Myrtle rolled her eyes.

,,Keep telling yourself that."

,,I'm serious."

,,Sure, Tommy. Let's just finish carving these pumpkins. I have no idea how I'll fix this..."

After them stood two pumpkins next to each other. One missed a chunk of it's face and was full of punctures, the other had questionable proportions and looked like as if it melted. All in all, they were pretty ugly. The only thing that was keeping them somewhat pleasing to look at was the yellow light that shone from inside of them.

,,Wow, Tommy.". she said.
,,They're awful."

,,Certainly.", he replied.

,,But on second thought, maybe that's what makes them good! You know, when something is so bad that it's actually good? I think they're quite cute!", she smiled.

,,Maybe, but I personally don't see it.", he replied nonchalantly.

,,Oh well, we tried. At least we had fun."

,,This was so stupid.", he said.
,,Let's do it again next year."

,,I like the sound of that! Too bad we have to wait a year."

They spent the rest of the day mostly walking around the school and talking. It was a little inconvenient to have a friend who was from a different house. Their only available options were being outside and the room of requirement. Not much, honestly.

There would be a Halloween feast soon. It wasn't that big of a deal, but at the same time it didn't happen every day, so they had something to look forward to. Delicious pumpkin flavored food, primarily.

,,I wonder what sort of things they'll come up with this year.", she said.

,,I think that it won't be that interesting. Pumpkin flavored food and some speech from the headmaster."

Myrtle wanted to say something, but stopped when she saw something.

,,This cake looks delicious, Abraxas!", said a voice.

,,Of course it does, Rosier. I made sure that my father got us the absolute best of the best."

Tom and Myrtle watched as three Slytherins carried a massive chocolate cake while Abraxas strutted near them. Soon after, they both met Abraxas' glance. His expression twisted into a smirk.

,,Fancy seeing you here. I hope that you're not too jealous of this cake, since mudbloods aren't invited to our party.", he sneered.
,,Something like garbage would be more suitable for your tastes."

,,Oh, really, Malfoy? Just because you ordered a comically large and expensive cake doesn't mean you have good taste. You rich people only judge things based on the cost of it, I bet it tastes like sh-"

,,Myrtle, he isn't worth your time. Let's get out of here."

Much to Myrtle's dismay, they left the scene, Abraxas' insults still echoing through the hallway.

,,B-but he insulted us! We shouldn't of left him like that! He deserves to be punished!"

,,Listen, Myrtle.", he said to her.
,,I agree with most of the things you said. But, he isn't worth your time, nor your energy, and you're not that petty to start a fight, physical, magical or verbal. He shouldn't even have the privilege of talking to you."
,,And I don't want you going to that forest ever again, especially after last time."

,,Fine.", she said hesitantly

They finally entered the great hall.

Since they got there early, it was mostly devoid of students. The food hadn't been served yet, and only a few of their teachers arrived. The most annoying part was that he and Myrtle didn't share a house, so they had to split. Tom often thought of just moving to the Ravenclaw table, since there would be less protesting there. Not that he didn't like his house, he only disliked the students that were in it.

After a few goodbyes, they split up and went to their respective tables.

Tom felt dreadful the moment he sat down at the table. They wouldn't stop talking about the upcoming party that would take place right after this feast, and how they would eat delicious food and even drink alcohol. It all sounded so stupid to Tom.

Apart from his house, he expected the Gryffindors to do the same: throw some party after this feast. They were a bit different from the Slytherins. They liked to be vocal about their party and share the news with everyone, but not gloat about it and pretend that they were the best of the best. They still did look cheerful, apart from the miserable, Olive Hornby. Myrtle had told him that she hadn't seen her for a while. She also told him that Hornby was attacked by a werewolf, barely avoiding getting bit. But the thing was that Myrtle was also chased by a werewolf, but she told him that in such a way that seemed like she already forgot about it and moved on.

While Myrtle got over it relatively fast, Hornby did not.

Tom still found it hard to feel any pity for her.

The more time he spent with Myrtle, the less pity he felt for Hornby.

After what seemed like an eternity, he and Myrtle left the hall.

While Tom had eaten at the table, Myrtle stuffed her pockets with sweets.

,,Are you sure that's a good idea?", he asked.

,,Yes. I wrapped them in some tissues, so my robes won't get dirty."
,,Want one?", she offered him while smiling and chewing on some cookies.

,,No thanks, I don't really like pumpkin flavored sweets."

,,Okay then. But this is really good, let me know if you change your mind."

Tom nodded in response.

All students had to return to their respective common rooms soon after dinner. So that meant, invited or not, he'd have to join his housemates at their pitiful party. How delightful.

,,Uh, if I'm correct, we have to return to our common rooms at eight, correct?"

,,Sadly, yes.", he replied.

,,It's 7:43, Tommy, we still have a little time left."

,,That means nothing, we need ten minutes alone to get there."

,,Great. I hope that you're still alive after that stupid party. It would make my day if it gets ruined."

,,I agree-"

Tom was caught off-guard by a hiss near them. He knew that it wasn't a serpent who did it, because he would understand it. It was the parseltongue equivalent of gibberish, and this one in particular was produced by a cat. Not just any cat, Walburga's cat. He hoped that it would go away along with Walburga, but apparently her family doesn't want an aggressive feline at home, which was understandable. Instead, her brother Alphard took care of it now.

Apparently, cats liked to hiss at humans they didn't like, but hated it when they got the same treatment, as Tom found out.

,,An aggressive one, isn't he?", said Myrtle.

Myrtle attempted to get a closer look at it, to Tom's horror.

,,Myrtle, don't do this to yourself.", he pleaded.

,,Awww, it's not the cat's fault. It's that bigoted Walburga's fault!", she said as she walked closer to it.
,,I have a cat myself, this one is just misunderstood!"

,,Not all cats are the same, Myrtle."

When Myrtle crouched down in order to get closer, it had enough. Hissing loudly, it scurried away into the shadows. It was terrified of both of them. One hissed at it, the other creepily tried to grab it.

,,See what I'm talking about? It has no regard for anyone except for Walburga. You're lucky that it didn't scratch you, I had to wash my pants multiple times because they were bloody on the inside!"

,,Bloody on the inside, you say?", she asked in a suspicious tone while smirking.

,,Yes, why?", he asked.

,,Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.", she said while hiding a grin.

Tom looked at her with a confused glance.

After saying goodbye to Myrtle multiple times, Tom had arrived at the portrait which led to the common room. When he walked in, he immediately got bombarded by flashing lights and the stench of alcohol. It disgusted him.

,,What are you doing here? You aren't invited!", said Avery while holding a drink and hiccuping.

Tom looked at him with disdain, not bothering to reply. Sweet Salazar, he'd had it with those people.

He rushed to the bedroom as quickly as possible.

Tom hated loud noises, and as soon as he arrived, he cast a silencing charm around himself.

He read and read, but there was always some weird feeling of curiosity.

On second thought... it wouldn't be too bad to see what was happening for a few minutes?

He removed the silencing charm, the sudden change from dead quiet and abnormally loud making him almost change his mind.

Then, the portrait hole creaked and loud cheers could be heard soon after.

As much as he hated to admit it, it made him even more curious.

What were they doing there?

He made his way to the door and opened it slowly, just enough for him to peak through.

,,Happy Halloween, everyone!", Abraxas greeted.
,,Since this is our last year together, I thought that I'd give you a special treat."

His eyes darted to the crowd.

,,Avery, come here!", he whispered.

As Avery made his way through the crowd, he nearly tripped and nearly fell several times because of how drunk he was.

,,Without our dear assistant, Avery, we wouldn't have these wonderful decorations in our common room! It was all team effort from me, Avery, Rosier, Lestrange and Nott."
,,Anyway, I can't wait to try out this cake, and I think that many of you feel the same way, so let's dig right in!"

After Abraxas' corny speech, they placed the cake on a big table and began to take porcelain plates to serve it. Of course, since the cake was so large, they cut it in odd ways, which triggered Tom. But when they began to scrape their plates with their utensils... that was what made him question why he had decided to peer through the door in the first place.

He shut the door immediately and wanted to get back to reading. He sat on the bed, picked up the book, and right as he began to cast the silencing charm again, he heard loud noises coming from the common room. This time, it wasn't cheering.

It was screaming.

Not even the good kind, but the kind where pure terror caused it.

Tom bolted from his bed to see what happened. Right as he opened the door to peek, he was bewildered.

It appeared as if the cake had exploded. The room was filled with little pieces of cake, it's filling and spilled drinks. Not to mention the countless broken plates and drinking glasses.

Chaos quickly ensued. The other Slytherins were starting to shout multiple questions at once.

Who did this?

Was this planned?

What just happened?

Abraxas' cheeks turned bright red, and it looked like as if he had died from embarrassment. He insisted that none of this was his fault, that none of this was his plan.

Tom stared at the chaos in front of him, watching it in fascination while barely holding off the urge to die of laughter.

He closed the door and had a long fit of laughter right after.

He knew that he would be the one who would be questioned profusely tomorrow, but he didn't care. They had no proof, after all.

Nevertheless, he knew who did it.

And he couldn't wait to see her tomorrow.