Many miles away, a certain owl was carrying a letter. It had a bit of trouble delivering it because there was a rainstorm outside. Nonetheless, it succeded, and reaching a balcony in the centre of London.
The building wasn't exceptionally short nor tall, about five stories high. It was also newly built.
It stood on the balcony of the last floor and waited patiently.
,,I feel bad for the children who went trick or treating today, they must be soaked by now. Hopefully Tom stayed indoors."
,,Don't worry about him, he wouldn't do such a thing as go outside when it's pouring, he's a smart kid."
Just as Eliza raised her finger to say some thing else, she saw the owl outside and hurried over to it.
,,What is it?", James asked her.
,,A letter from our son. I'll be right back."
She exited the living room and went on the balcony. The owl was soaked from all the rain, and Eliza felt really bad for it.
,,Oh, you poor thing, you must be freezing! We'll get you warmed up right away."
She grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped it around the owl. It didn't seem agitated and stayed quiet when Eliza took the letter. She walked back to the living room, sat on a sofa and began to open the letter. As always, it was neatly packed and written in elegant handwriting, but that wasn't the important part. It was what was written on it.
Eliza subconsciously started to read it for herself, forgetting to read it out loud. A smile slowly crept on her face, making James even more curious. The letter wasn't that long, and she finished reading it quickly. She giggled and handed the letter to James. He quickly read it and smiled, too.
,,This is wonderful, James!", bellowed Eliza,
,,I think we should expect guests pretty soon? I'd like to meet that girl he met, she sounds pretty nice."
Even if Tom didn't reveal a whole bunch of details about her, Eliza assumed all the best about Myrtle.
,,Agreed, it gets pretty lonely in here, since we rarely have any guests. And I am glad that he found someone there, at last.", said James with relief.
,,At least this letter is an indicator that he's doing better."
Eliza's smile quickly began to vanish.
,,I hope so...", she quietly said.
After that, she went away to put the letter in a drawer, sighing deeply.
,,Oh, Tom..."
Right before Tom's departure, he had a terrible nightmare. It wouldn't be that bad if it happened only that one time, but it didn't.
Eliza was still appalled that her son was really, in all honesty, capable of murder. That he actually considered it.
But, she always reassured herself that that's in the past. After he told her about it, he showed remorse and regret. He even cried, which was especially a surprise since Tom rarely showed any strong emotions. Of course, it didn't mean that he didn't feel anything, just that he wasn't the type to express it outwards.
But ever since they returned from their short camping trip after Tom's previous school year, things took a dark turn.
A very dark turn.
That very same day, when they all went to bed, Eliza was woken up by a loud shriek, which came from Tom's room. That was the first instance of those nightmares appearing. She had to shout his name multiple times and shake him in order to wake him up and snap him out of his trance. When he finally did wake up, he was wailing loudly, muttering unintelligible words and struggling to calm down. Seeing their son like that broke their hearts. It took both her and James fifteen minutes to calm him down. They stayed with him until he fell asleep again, out of fear that he would wake up again. After that, James and Eliza didn't manage to get any more sleep. This was too much for them to handle at the moment.
Tom wasn't fragile nor weak, far from it. But this had caught him by surprise, and it was the biggest feeling of terror he had ever experienced. But now, after this horrific experience, he would quickly get used to it. It didn't get better by any means, he had just learned to expect it and deal with it.
Eliza talked to him numerous times, asking him what happened, what the problem was, but he didn't want to reveal anything. It was too personal, too private for him to talk about. Eliza, of course, couldn't force him to reveal it, but thinking and theorizing about it worried her sick every day.
At first, Eliza was terrified at the concept of her son causing harm to others, but now she was afraid that he would somehow manage to harm himself...
,,I'm telling you! It WAS him! Why won't you listen to me!?"
,,Why do you think so? It appears that you're targeting me merely because I'm an outcast. You have no proof.", Tom replied.
,,But it's obvi-"
,,That's enough.", replied the Ravenclaw prefect.
,,Assumptions don't mean proof, we're done here."
,,You can't just leave it! We got our house party ruined and THAT'S how you react!?", pleaded the other Slytherin prefect.
,,Listen, I get that you're angry, but this is all starting to get tiresome. We've done every thing we could.", said the Gryffindor prefect.
At last, the whines of the Slytherin prefect were silenced, although begrudgingly. They all stood up and started to leave the room. The Gryffindor and Slytherin prefects muttering something under their breath.
,,I know it's him, they just don't believe us. Our house had negative points for a month because of him! What an-"
He all of a sudden stopped and shuddered when Tom side-eyed him while passing by. Talking about someone behind their back really was easier than saying it out loud. Oddly enough, it was a mana that Abraxas didn't seem to have.
Nevertheless, he didn't care what he said. What mattered to him was that he didn't get accused or that they found out Myrtle did it. He had once again managed to get everyone under control by manipulation. Yes, it wasn't exactly right, but in this case it was necessary.
Old habits die hard, it seems.
When Tom got back to the common room, he was met by an owl at the window. It was holding a letter, and some sort of package. Tom scurried over to it and grabbed it, letting the owl inside. Along the letter came a cutely wrapped bag of candied plums. He was excited to read the letter, but he worried that there would be a lot of questions surrounding his mental state. He hoped that wouldn't be the case, he told them he finally found a friend.
Wouldn't that be enough to stop them from worrying at least for a little bit?
He sat down on his bed and opened the letter.
Dear Tom,
That's wonderful news! We'd like to hear more about your friend, she seems quite sweet. Remember that you can invite anyone to our house if you please.
We hope the teachers didn't give you as much work to do, apart from your prefect and head boy duties, but we'd never second guess your efficiency when it comes to that.
We are sorry that Abraxas annoyed you again, but we assure you that his bad deeds will return to him, one way or another.
Also, are you doing well, Tom?
We hope that you aren't as alone anymore with your friend, but you can always send us a letter if you feel down. Stay safe and don't get yourself into trouble.
We wish you a late happy Halloween and hope you enjoy the small stash of candy we gave you.
Love, your mum and dad
.
.
As Tom read the letter, he unconsciously began to smile. It was always good to be reminded that there was someone that cared about you, that was worried about you. As he reached the end of the letter, he felt a rush of sadness and the smile began to fade away.
Of course they would ask him about it.
It didn't make him mad, that just meant that they cared, but the part he didn't like was that it made them worry. He didn't want them to worry, it made him feel guilty. But the good news was that there were fewer and fewer instances of his nightmares. They'd surely be glad to hear it, it would help to soothe their stress. That and his times with Myrtle.
He put down the letter and began to write a reply after a long day of classes. At least the other Slytherin prefect had patrol tonight, something to take her mind off of the supposed "disaster" and "pain" she'd felt at Halloween.
It felt good not to go patrolling in the middle of the night.
It was currently the final class of the week, history of magic. Professor Binns was talking in his usual monotone voice, making most of the class sleep from boredom. Tom was tired, but unlike the others, he cared about the lecture. The class had been going for quite some time, so he wouldn't have much to listen to. It was a challenge to find someone who was still awake by now.
Abraxas was asleep for who knows how long. When the bell rang, everyone flinched and gasped. Laughable, Tom thought.
Professor Binns didn't appear to care about that, as he, along with the other students, exited the classroom. Tom packed up and went away soon after.
It was a tiresome day, he hoped to get to the common room as fast as possible. But, he had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to, because a certain someone would pop out of nowhere and drag him into some mess.
Right as he got to the next floor, he felt something that pulled him back.
,,Hey, Tommy. Thought you could escape?", she said, smirking.
Tom slightly rolled his eyes before turning around. Guess there is no escape.
,,Hello, Myrtle. What have you been up to?"
,,Oh, nothing special, except for an accident in potions that I thankfully didn't cause."
,,Well, my day has been quite monotone. Tell me about it.", he replied.
,,So, we've finally finished brewing the strengthening potion, and some guy just decided to drink it. Out of nowhere! He ended up busting through the table! Oh, and should of seen the look of utter confusion on our professor's face. He wouldn't of predicted it in a million years.", she said enthusiastically.
,,Very stupid of him. Drinking it was odd enough, but breaking a table? Surely he could of thought it through a bit more?", he said to her with his arms crossed.
,,I don't know. At least by making a fool of himself he made us all laugh.", she cackled.
,,Say, what was your last class, Tommy? Did it tire you?"
,,No. It was just history of magic. Goblin rebellions, mostly. There was a lot to hear about, but I took notes so it won't be as hard."
Myrtle all of a sudden became shocked.
,,You WHAT!? How did you not fall asleep in his class!? Surely even you have limits on concentration?"
,,It appears that I don't.", he said smugly.
,,Well, then.", she said.
,,I guess that you're not tired? If that's the case, I have something we can do...", she said as she rubbed her hands together.
,,Like what?", he asked her.
,,If I tell you, I'll spoil it. You'll just have to agree first.", she smiled.
Ah, this treatment. Tom wasn't a big fan of surprises, but he wouldn't reject Myrtle's offer. Yes, she had a tendency to violate his alone time, and to be annoying sometimes. Even if she was an annoyance, she was his annoyance. His only friend. The one who made him feel a lot less lonely in this school.
,,Sure.", he said.
,,Excellent.", she said with a grin.
,,Now you just have to follow me."
And so he did. It was a bit darker outside because it was early November, even if it was just 3 PM. As they were walking down the halls and staircases, Myrtle gave him a small pop quiz about classical music. It wasn't surprising that Tom knew all the answers, as he always did.
,,My God, Tommy, you really take every thing seriously.", she said.
,,You learned around two years of music education in a little more than a month!"
,,Really? I mostly read it for fun.", he said.
,,Aw, how come? You do this so easily and yet I still suck at magic..."
,,That's not true.", he said.
,,You've been doing remarkably well over the past month. Magic takes practice, you can't be good at it in an instant. You just had to be given motivation."
,,Oh."
,,I really improved?"
,,Yes, I wouldn't lie to you."
It was true. She had improved, but the past month flew so quickly that she didn't even pay attention to it.
As they were walking towards their apparent destination, Tom tried to guess what they were going to do, with no success. He could predict a lot of things with little to no clues, but that ability didn't seem to work in situations like these.
,,No.", she said smugly.
,,We won't be practicing magic, or reading books about music, for that matter."
,,I've originally planned this tomorrow, but today works just fine. After all, what's better than to spend time coo-"
Myrtle all of a sudden put both of her hands on her mouth. Oh, she'd been so close at spilling her plan.
,,Oh? Better than what?", Tom replied with a smirk.
,,Nothing! You'll soon find out!", she said in a panic.
Maybe it was better if she didn't spoil it. Also, he knew that she really didn't like to reveal anything, so he didn't try questioning her further.
To Tom's unsurprise, they were again at the room of requirement. That seemed to be the easiest solution when your friend wasn't in the same house as you.
The walls began to detract and form a pink ornamented door that was a bit shorter than Tom. Hopping inside, the room was still dark. Only after a few moments did it light up. And when it did, Tom was horrified.
Glistening in the light were numerous pots and pans, cupboards, and a large table. Oh, how he hated cooking. The only thing he could make was very mediocre pancakes and that was it. Myrtle liked cooking, even talked frequently about it. He should of seen it coming. He just hoped that she would be the standing pillar in this situation, someone who knew what they were doing and could be counted on.
Because they were in the room of requirement, a room in Hogwarts, they didn't have electricity. It was a huge disadvantage because the kitchen was shaped very much like a muggle one, with a now very useless oven.
,,I have a recipe book in my bag, let me get it.", she said.
At least they had the chance to discuss about what to make. Because they had no oven, maybe they could do make something that didn't require baking? And also something simple, he hoped.
,,Ah, here it is! Let's see..."
Tom stepped up closer in order to see the options.
,,Chocolate chip cookies, brownies, red velvet cake, pudding, anything sound good?"
Nothing even sounded familiar.
,,I-"
,,I don't know. I once tried cooking and failed miserably. Wouldn't something that's easier to make be preferable?"
,,Of course not Tommy. That's boring."
,,Well, if you're not going to choose, I am."
Tom watched anxiously as she aggressively flipped through her notebook.
,,Ugh, nothing is appealing here! We'll just go with a classic cherry cake then."
Tom let out a small sigh or relief behind her back. There were recipes that were longer than five pages, this one only had one. Hopefully it wouldn't end in disaster.
,,Take off your robes, I doubt that we will finish the job stainless."
They both put their robes aside on the table. Myrtle waved her wand in the air, and right after that, Tom felt something tighten around his waist. It was a... white frilled apron? Myrtle seemed to be wearing the same one.
,,Right, now let's get to work."
She opened a cupboard and pulled out some bowls for ingredients, along with some spoons and a casserole.
,,Here you go, I just had to remember how it went.", she said as she handed him the notebook.
It was in quite poor condition. Multiple pages were torn out, stained with oil and milk splotches. The black writing was a little blurred because of that. But, it was good enough to at least be readable.
Tom squinted his eyes and read:
2 eggs
2 cups of oil
4 cups of milk
6 cups of sugar
All of a sudden, he stopped reading and flinched when Myrtle tipped over some pots and cursed.
,,Are you okay over there?", he asked.
,,Very much.", she said sarcastically as she picked up the pots.
Beside the little shock that came with it, every thing was fine. He got back to reading:
8 cups of flour
1 packet of baking powder
A pack of cherries
Some instructions were written down below, which Tom read through thoroughly.
,,How old is this notebook? Seems to be pretty damaged."
,,It's my grandma's, from waaaaay back. Quite nasty, isn't it? No one bothered to copy the recipes in another one, and I'm certainly not going to be the one to the do it, so this is what we're left with.", she said as she washed the bowls.
,,Get the eggs and the other stuff, they're in the cupboard and fridge."
Tom put the notebook aside on the table and went to fetch them. But there was one thing that was uncertain.
How did she get the food this time?
Stealing from the kitchens would be almost impossible with all the elves in there. After some assumptions, he decided that he didn't even want to know. The important part was that they were there.
One by one, he grabbed them and placed them on the kitchen counter. After taking the milk out of the fridge, he went to grab the carton of eggs, slipping and nearly dropping it. Myrtle gasped in shock.
,,What's happened!?"
,,Nothing, just slipped.", he said as he awkwardly put the carton of eggs on the counter.
,,That was one bad slip, good job on staying on your feet. Wouldn't want the eggs to get hurt.", she smirked.
,,Hey!", Tom said.
,,Okay, it was just a joke, I obviously wouldn't care about a few stupid eggs..."
,,I know, I just wanted to see how you would reply."
,,Oh, you little-", she said through gritted teeth.
,,Let's just get to the job, alright?", he said cheekily, interrupting her.
,,Right..."
,,We start by putting all the dry ingredients first, flour and that stuff. Here.", she said while giving him a small cup.
,,I'll scoop out the sugar, you can do the flour."
They both took knives out of a drawer and began to cut the bags containing the ingredients. Myrtle spilled a some sugar while opening the bag. Tom, on the other hand, unpacked it a little harshly and got a some flour on his face, which made him cough. Anyway, he took the cup and started to scoop out some flour into a bowl, taking turns with Myrtle.
,,Nicely done.", said Myrtle over the bowl that was surrounded with spilled sugar and flour.
,,Just one more thing."
She reached out beside Tom and grabbed the packet of baking powder, ripping the top off and adding it in.
,,So, what now? No particular order for the liquids?"
,,Uh huh."
,,As far as I know.", she muttered under her breath.
,,Add them in whatever order you like best."
He reached for the milk while Myrtle took the bottle of oil.
,,You know.", she said.
,,Maybe it would be better if one of us mixed the thing, or else we'll end up with a really lumpy cake."
,,Why not just bewitch the whisk to do our bidding?"
,,No, no! The charm of cooking is to do it the muggle way!"
She went on to pour oil into her cup, but instead completely missed and ended up splattering it all over the floor, mostly on Tom's shoes. Tom winced and gasped, jumping a little on impact.
,,Oh, sorry! Sorry! Didn't mean for that to happen...", said Myrtle in a panic.
Those were the shoes that his parents had bought him right before the start of the year at Hogwarts. It pained him to see them like this, but he knew that they would be fine after a few charms and rinses.
,,It's fine.", he said.
,,I'll fix them after this, nothing special."
Apart from the surface of his shoes, the oil also entered in them, making his striped sock wet. It made his foot stick against the padding and make a weird squeaky sound, which made the whole thing so much worse. It was a rather unpleasant experience.
,,I'll make up for it by mixing.", she said.
,,Get the eggs ready, we'll be adding them soon."
Ignoring the condition of his shoe, Tom reached out for the carton, taking out two of them and placing them on the counter. Myrtle continued to mix while he waited. After some time, she spoke up.
,,Done. Now let's add the eggs."
After two months of not being home, Tom sort of fell out of practice. It wasn't exactly practical or necessary to make your own food at Hogwarts.
,,Myrtle?"
,,How do you suppose we'll bake this?", he asked.
,,There is no electricity here."
,,Oh."
,,Yeah... I haven't thought about that.", she said, embarrassed to admit that she didn't think about that.
,,Well, we can try cooking it with magic.", he said as he cracked an egg.
,,In all honesty, we have no other choice."
Myrtle nodded as she continued to mix. Secretly, the way they'd bake it did make her worry a little. So many things could go wrong. But, that was part of the fun, right?
The first egg crack went smoothly, and Tom was sure he'd have no problem with the second one. He grabbed it, hit it on the counter and accidentally cracked it a little too hard. Because of that, a small bit of egg squirted on Myrtle's glasses, thankfully sparing her eyes. Myrtle shrieked and let go of the bowl, causing some of the batter to spill on Tom's apron. They both panicked a little and stopped what they were doing.
,,...Where did we go wrong?", she said, sighing, while taking off her glasses and cleaning them with the apron.
,,Sorry about that.", he said.
Not really knowing what to do with the egg, he spilled what remained of it in the bowl.
,,We just lost a small amount, it's not hopeless just yet.", he said while the spilled mixture dripped down his apron. Tom was wincing at it, grabbing a nearby towel to wipe it off.
,,You're absolutely right.", she said with a sudden change in her mood.
,,We just have to add ONE more thing to it."
She reached for the cupboard right beside her and pulled out a small packet of something Tom wasn't quick enough to read.
,,Magic powder.", she said, grinning.
Little streams of an odd coloured powder were coming out of the packet. Tom watched in confusion as Myrtle mixed it up, forming a bizarre colour.
,,Food colouring?", he said in a confused tone.
,,How's that supposed to help us!?"
,,By making it pretty.", she said bluntly.
,,Wha- But it's BLUE!"
,,Yes, one of my favourite colours, actually. It'll turn out so nice!", she said with her eyes gleaming.
,,Oh, sure it will. It'll be the color of moss when it's done. Not to mention the cherries in it, just adding to the contrast."
,,Oh, come on, don't spoil the fun! Instead of that, take those cherries out of the fridge and BURN the ice off of them."
,,Wouldn't that break the "muggle charm" you insisted we follow?", he asked.
,,Yes, but this is an exception. I'm not going to sit here for who knows how many hours watching cherries melt. Besides, who could resist a tempting incineration charm?", she said.
,,You're right about that one.", he replied.
He went over to the fridge and took the bag of cherries out. After that, he opened the bag and put them in a metal pot. Setting plastic on fire would be a bad idea.
Myrtle hopped over to him with a cup.
,,Just adding sugar in, don't want them to taste sour."
Tom held the pot by it's handle while reaching out for his wand. He whipped out his wand, cast the fire-making charm and held his wand right below the pot. Myrtle continuously put cups of sugar in while he warmed them up. But, there was a little problem. They were caramelizing them unintentionally.
,,Uh, Tommy? I think this might be a bad idea...", she said while gritting her teeth.
,,Why?", he asked.
,,By warming them up, we're caramelizing them and kind of breaking them apart, which isn't what we're supposed to do. But at the same time, I don't know what else to do. Ughhhhhh, this is getting more and more messed up."
,,Then what's the alternative?", he asked.
,,I don't know...", she said.
,,You know what? I give up. Stop warming them up and just... put the pot down. We'll be using them soon."
Tom nodded and put the pot on the counter.
,,How hot are they? Don't want to get burned...", she said.
Tom looked in the pot.
,,I think they're... lukewarm at best."
,,Good. Just let me pour the batter in the casserole and they we'll put them in."
Myrtle sprinkled a bit of flour on the casserole, shook it a up a little and then emptied the bowl of it's contents. She scrubbed off the remaining batter and pulled the pot with cherries closer.
,,Now you just... grab them and throw them directly into the batter.", she said as she did the act.
,,Like this, see?"
,,Alright.", he replied, a little repelled.
,,But wouldn't it be better to do it with the help of a spoon?"
,,No.", Myrtle replied bluntly.
Not wanting to protest, he stayed silent and obeyed. Though, it wasn't the most fun thing to do, in his opinion. His hands were full of cherry juice, making it look like as if his hands were covered in blood. It reminded him of some traumatic nightmares.
Soon enough, they finished putting the cherries on.
,,So...", Myrtle said as she cleaned her hands with a towel.
,,What now?"
She handed the towel to Tom.
,,We have no oven, no furnace..."
,,Nothing!"
,,Well, we do have magic.", he said.
,,I know, Tommy. I'm not stupid.", she said as she rolled her eyes.
,,But what can we do with it?"
Tom took a moment to think of a solution. Well, baking goods often involves putting the raw product in some closed hot space, say, a furnace or oven. Casting an incendio charm would work, but considering the temperature required to bake something is really high, it wouldn't really work. Burning himself and his best friend alive doesn't sound like the most fun experience. What he needed to do was isolate the heat. A simple imperturbable charm would work. He would Wingardium Leviosa the casserole in the air, cast the imperturbable charm, and then cast incendio. This could work.
,,I know.", he said.
,,We can raise the casserole in the air, put a barrier around it, with an imperturbable charm to be exact, and then cast incendio inside it. It'll be boring to do that for around 30 minutes, but I can't think of a better solution. What do you say?"
,,Wow, that's really smart.", she said.
,,Good job on figuring it out. I'll help you with the execution."
,,Alright, I'll go first.", he said.
He lifted the casserole in the air and then waited.
,,Oh, we better do this quickly!", she said.
,,INCENDIO!", she shouted.
Tom quickly followed up and isolated the heat in. The tip of Myrtle's wand was still connected to the fire, making her able to control the intensity of it. Right now, the heat was passing the limits, so she toned it tone a little. But, controlling fire wasn't as easy as it looked. She started to lose balance.
,,This- this is so much harder than it looks!", she blurted out, stuttering.
Tom was visibly worried, trying to keep the situation in control. Myrtle looked very pale, struggling to keep the heat in control. Since Tom had no way to control her actions, the situation quickly went south. In a large burst of energy, the fire made an explosion, letting out very hot steam and splattering the batter every where. Tom and Myrtle screamed out of terror as the casserole hit the floor. After a few moments, they looked at each other in the eyes. Eventually, Myrtle spoke up first, crouching on the blue cherry covered floor.
,,Oh, whyyyyyy? Why did it have to end up like this!? We were doing so GOOD!", she said, agitated.
,,Don't feel too bad about it. I nearly blinded you with an egg, and you poured oil on my shoe.", he said while facing away from her.
,,In fact, this is-"
He all of a sudden stopped when he felt something hit him at the back of his head, spluttering on the floor. Without turning around, he raised his arm and touched the back of his head, feeling something slimy. There were also some remnants of shards. Myrtle started to giggle as he turned around. He looked on the ground and saw a cracked egg. Oh, the sheer audacity she sometimes had. Tom opened and closed his mouth multiple times, struggling to come up with something to say. He made his way to the counter and sighed.
,,You know, this mess won't clean itself up. I'll also ignore what you did just now.", he said calmly.
Myrtle was confused.
,,But doesn't the room of requirement just reset?", she said as she made her was to the counter.
,,Each time I come back, it's- AHHHHHHHHHH"
Myrtle screamed as Tom poured flour all over her. She backed up by the fridge while brushing her face with a towel and coughing. She cleared her eyes and glasses while Tom laughed.
,,You knew that the room or requirement cleans up by itself, and yet you still fell for this. Must feel terrible, right?", he smirked.
,,Why you- Whining about how messy making a cake is AND THEN YOU DO THIS!?", she shouted.
,,I see how it is. But I won't go down without a fight...", she grinned.
She reached for the eggs and threw one directly at Tom's face. Tom winced and gasped, but quickly wiped it away with his hand, responding by splattering oil all over her. Ignoring what just happened, Myrtle lunged for the milk, opening it and returning the favor. Their shoes were now drenched in the blue batter that failed to become cake. As their tools of trade became empty, they sought after new things to throw at each other. Myrtle reached for the sugar and Tom for the eggs. It seemed like an advantage. He could hit her from afar and she would have to come closer. He threw three eggs at her. She wouldn't stand a chance now. Except none of the eggs hit Myrtle and she lunged at him with the sugar. Tom tried to crouch down, but instead he slipped on the floor and fell. Things were looking dire. Now she'd certainly drench him in sugar. All hope was lost. Except she also slipped and fell, dropping the sugar on impact. Tom reached out for it, but Myrtle quickly got up and did the same. They ended up tugging on the sugar too hard and it got torn in half. Both stared at it for a moment before Myrtle reached for the batter on the floor and threw it at Tom. He tried to fight back, but she was too fast. His face was covered by so many things, but this was a bit too much, especially the cherries. They were both giggling.
,,STOP! STOP! You win!", he shouted in a panic with an arm over his face.
Myrtle did as he said and smirked.
,,Do not test me again, Tommy. You saw for yourself how it ended up.", she smiled.
She went up to him and helped him get up. He had an embarrassed look on his face. Admitting he lost wasn't one of his favourite things.
,,Aw, don't be so disappointed, everyone loses to me at things like these. You actually came close, just need to improve your aim.", she said.
,,Maybe, but I don't think I'll participate in a food fight any time soon."
,,Oh, it doesn't have to be a food fight, Tommy. We could practice by playing dodgeball-"
,,Do not remind me of that game!", he said.
,,I was always the one who got hit first."
,,So was I. Until I learned how to play it and beat everyone up! Don't you think that sounds fun?"
,,Perhaps it does. But first I just want to get out of here."
,,Take your robes, hopefully they didn't suffer the affect of the war we had-"
Tom paused.
,,What is it?", she asked.
,,See for yourself.", he said as he pointed at the robes.
,,Oh. Right."
,,But that's no reason to be let down! They'll be brand new after a day!"
,,I know, but."
,,Look at us. We'll have to walk around like this through Hogwarts."
,,So?", she asked bluntly.
,,What do you mean "so"!? Look at the state of us!"
,,Ha! Nobody cares about us, Tommy. Why would a few glances from strangers hurt?", she asked.
,,I don't care about anyone's glares either, but I can't afford any of the teachers seeing us like this. I'm a prefect and head boy, remember?"
,,Oh, don't worry, they won't. I'll help you get around them!"
,,But, in return, I have something I want you to do for me.", she said.
Tom sighed.
,,Myrtle, you don't have to do me a favor first, you could just ask.", he said.
,,Oh."
,,Thank you!", she beamed.
,,No problem. Anyway, what is it you wanted me to do?", he said.
,,Uhm..."
,,You... how do you do that?"
,,Do what?", he asked.
,,Uh..."
Myrtle just stared at his forehead, which confused him even further.
,,How do you style your hair like that!?", she finally said.
,,And can you do it to mine?"
,,Oh.", he said, surprised.
,,I never... styled anyone else's hair, particularly longer hair, so I don't know how I'll do this."
,,So.", she said.
,,Is that a yes or no?"
,,...Yes."
Myrtle's eyes gleamed and she jumped up in the air, the flour from her apron falling off.
,,YES! Thank you so much! I'll make sure we're INVISIBLE while we get out of here!"
,,Thank you. Now let's take off these apron and get out of here."
,,Right away, Tommy!"
Before Tom could reach for the knot on his back, Myrtle made both of their aprons disappear by magic. She handed him his robes, quickly putting hers on and skipping out of the room. Tom followed her soon after.
The robes... didn't feel the best. They were wet, cold and covered in flour. He couldn't wait to get changed into normal clothes and take a hot bath. When he got out, Myrtle was waiting for him, leaning on a wall.
,,There you are! Let's go.", she said as they started to walk.
After some time, Tom spoke up.
,,Myrtle, after you've finished taking a bath, meet me at the same place in around an hour. Though, please dry your hair before coming, because I haven't got nor can use a hair dryer at Hogwarts."
,,Yes, sir!", she said merrily.
They scurried away, entering the shadows, only rising to light in some hallways. Myrtle followed Tom to the Slytherin common room before skipping into the darkness once again until she reached the Ravenclaw common room.
,,Ack! Can you go a little easier?"
Tom sighed at the sight before him, sweat dripping from his forehead.
,,I'm trying, it's just that your hair is really tangled."
He combed her hair mostly in silence, only interrupted by Myrtle's gasps. It was a struggle. The hairbrush got stuck countless times in her hair, sometimes even snapping a little. Though, it wasn't a surprise, since Tom was using a smaller brush that suited his short hair, instead of Myrtle's bushy, straight hair. He eventually put the comb down on a table and pulled out the bush of hair that was stuck in it. He'd never seen so much clumped up hairs in his life.
,,Goodness, Myrtle, do you own a comb?"
,,Uh, I do, it's just that I forgot it at home..."
,,But I'll admit that I don't brush my hair even when I have one at my disposal, ahahaha...", she said awkwardly.
,,Why not?", Tom quickly asked.
,,Because I'm lazy.", she blatantly replied.
,,Oh, and now you found me to do that for you?", he said in a sarcastic tone.
,,No. I just liked how yours looked, so I wanted to try it out.", she replied, smiling.
,,Right. But if this doesn't meet your expectations, just remember that I never styled anyone's hair besides mine."
Myrtle let out a laugh.
,,You? Messing up? Please..."
Tom turned around and reached for some hair gel. He put some of it in his hand, spread it out and then applied it to Myrtle's hair. In all honestly, he didn't really know what he was doing. Though, he tried to make sense of it. He separated her hair with hairpins, focusing on the locks. One by one, he tried to do form a way to style them. Mainly just applying hair gel and shaping the hair with the hairbrush. Eventually, he figured out a tactic that somewhat work and kept to it. It took him around half an hour to organize all her hair, which left him with just her bangs. Luckily, bangs were something that he was confident he could style. He'd done it countless times on himself, after all. Grabbing the hairbrush, he carefully separated her bangs and put hair gel on them, adding the last touches with the hairbrush. Finally, after close to 40 minutes, he finished.
Once, he'd considered world domination, but instead of that, he's styling his best friend's hair at 9 PM. If you ask him, that's the better option. WAY better, in fact.
Huffing and puffing, Tom grabbed two mirrors, handing one to Myrtle.
,,Well..."
,,What do you think?"
Myrtle was unresponsive, carefully observing the mirrors. Tom was starting to feel anxious.
,,I tried my best, sorry if you don't like it."
,,ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?", she shouted all of a sudden.
,,It's TOO pretty! And this is your first time, TOO!?"
,,I love it so much, Tommy!"
She jumped up and down around him, eventually hugging him tightly.
,,Thank you! Just thank you!"
,,It's nothing, don't mention it.", he said, smiling as he hugged her back tightly.