"Oh, I thought I was the only one that liked that piece! Glad to know I'm not alone...", Myrtle said, giggling.
Platform 9 3/4 was bustling with students, rushing beside him and returning from the many shops in Diagon Alley. It was currently January 3rd, a few days after that memorable birthday. Even now, it still made him giddy each time he thought about it, and the adorable gifts she gave him. He'd surely cherish it forever.
Beside him stood Myrtle and his parents. Currently, he was busy talking to his father while his mother and Myrtle conversed about music. Though, since Myrtle arrived late, they'd have to board the train soon. He was impressed that she managed to open up and strike up a conversation that fast, considering her awkward and shy demeanour. It was good to see her openly and gladly talking to someone that wasn't him.
"Far from it.", Eliza replied.
"The problem is that not many people know about it. A hidden gem, you could say."
Their conversation was interrupted by the scarlet red train hastily approaching them. Eliza turned away from Myrtle to face Tom.
"Looks like we haven't got any more time left.", she said.
"Well, I wish you two luck at Hogwarts! Have lots of fun and stay safe!"
Soon after, Eliza rushed over to Tom and scooped him into a hug, with him returning the favor. James joined them a moment later, leaving only Myrtle beside them, whose gaze shifted towards the ground. Even if she tried her best to hide it, a hint of sadness could still be seen in her eyes. Realising this, Eliza gestured to her to join them. Surprised, but certainly uplifted, she hurriedly made her way towards them and joined.
Following that, they said their last goodbyes as they took their luggage and boarded the train, looking for a conveniently isolated compartment where no one would annoy them.
"Your mother is really nice...", Myrtle remarked while they waited to see where the other students would go.
"My mother could really take a page from her book and become just a little bit tolerable. An impossible task, I'd say.", she said, rolling over her eyes.
"Well, at least you're not going to see her for a long time.", he said.
"Right... at least a little.", she said.
"Never mind, let's just find a compartment..."
Walking around the train, they almost bumped into students multiple times. Most of the compartments were now occupied, leaving them with fewer options. Going into the back compartment sounded good, but it looked like it was occupied.
"I don't think there's any compartments left for us here, Myrtle. Let's go somewhere in the middle, they looked less crowded.", he said, turning around with Myrtle following after him.
Eventually, they found an empty compartment that didn't have any students near it, so they decided to settle there. In the meantime, they caught a glimpse of a certain snowy-white haired Slytherin and his friends. Tom entered and went ahead to sit down, but decided against it when he saw Myrtle peaking behind their compartment's door. Instead, he stood up once again and started look in the hallway from behind Myrtle.
"So, he's settled there. Great."
"And the rest of them, this is going to be so exciting!", she squealed, waving her hands.
"...What's going to be exciting?", he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, sorry, Tommy.", she said, blinking blankly as the realisation kicked in. Soon after, she shut the door and turned around to face him.
"Did I really not tell you anything about this...? Oh, silly me!", she said, letting out a mild laugh.
"I'll just show you!"
Right at that moment, she shoved her hand into her coat's left pocket as if she was going to pull out something illegal. In her hand was some sort of sparkly, blue barrel with colourful writing on it.
"Tada! A firework!", she exclaimed with a smile.
"Ooooh, and don't get me started on it's description...", she said, a sinister grin forming on her face.
"The swirling star... a wide range of colours... XXL edition... blows up everything in it's path... causes many explosions! Take a look!", she gleefully said as she handed it to him.
Tom's eyes darted down, looking and examining the object Myrtle just gave him. It appeared to be a regular firework with nothing extraordinary about it, apart from it's eyesore colourful letters and exaggerated description. Though, he hoped it would have some merit and wasn't all talk. It would be bad to see her disappointed...
"Interesting.", he remarked, looking down at it while handing it back to her.
"Where did you get this? Zonko's joke shop?"
"Uh-huh! I actually had more leftover money than I thought I would after buying those, uh... plum sweets, and decided to buy this when I had the chance."
"It was supposed to be reserved for Olive, but I never got a chance to put it to use.", she said in a sad tone.
"Eh, it doesn't matter. What better way to use it than with the only person who ever put up with my shenanigans?", she said, giggling.
"Right... let's just hope we don't make too much of a mess or light anything on fire.", he said.
"Now that you've mentioned it, how did you know that plums were my favourite flavor?"
Myrtle's eyes darted to the corner and she let out an awkward laugh.
"Well, I-uh... I have great intuition, of course! I can just sense those things!", she said with a not so convincing tone.
"Oh, really? What kind of intuition? I reckon it's something like... watching and learning?", he said, eyes slowly fixing themselves on her and a sinister grin forming on his face.
Myrtle was mortified, cheeks flushing and becoming cherry red.
"No-no, ahaha~ Never! I wouldn't do such a thing!", she said, eyes darting around the compartment.
Tom let out a sigh.
"Oh, Myrtle. We both know that's a lie, right? I'd be a fool to not expect something like that from you."
Myrtle was still tense, wearing a crooked smile on her face and refusing to look at him.
"No, I don't mind, if that's what you desperately wanted to hear. I've already seen you do far more bizarre things than this. Besides, what lunatic would be friends with a person they don't like?", he said, still looking at her.
"Yeah, Tommy... I'll admit I shouldn't have done that... But I had to know, one way or another! This just happened to be the quickest and easiest method, and first impressions do matter!"
"I know. That's why I don't blame you nor judge you..."
"Anyway, what exactly did you have planned regarding this firework?"
"Well, to put it bluntly, I wanted to just throw it in Malfoy's compartment. Quickly sneaking up, opening the door, locking them in and listening to their screams! Doesn't that sound fuuuun~?"
"Certainly. I admire your... creativity.", he said, grinning.
"Let's wait for the train to start and everyone to settle, we don't want any witnesses..."
"Ugh, more waiting... you have a point, though...", she said as she sat down.
After that conversation, they mostly sat in silence, looking out the windows. The train started a few minutes later, speeding up greatly over a short period of time. But, as it sped up, so did Myrtle start to grow restless and impatient. Eventually, she stood up and went up to the door.
"Enough waiting, I'm sick of it.", she said, determined. Still, she briefly glanced at him for approval. He nodded in response.
"Great. Finally, something to- AHHHH!"
Sliding the door open violently, Myrtle was unexpectedly greeted by the trolley lady, who looked a little surprised after she jumped like a cat and shrieked like a banshee. Still, she wasn't put off enough to just walk away.
"...Anything you want, children?", she asked in a quiet tone.
After a short pause, Myrtle spoke.
"Um...no, we're good! Thank you!", she awkwardly said, shutting the door in her face and turning around with a pained face.
"Yeah... maybe it was too soon, I didn't think she'd conveniently show up right as I was about to exit...", she responded to the bewildered Tom.
"How long until we get there...?", she asked.
Tom glanced at his watch.
"Around 45 minutes, we still have lots of time. I don't think the trolley lady will come back. Do you want to go now?", he asked her.
"Sure. Let's.", she said with a grin.
And so, both of them stood up with Myrtle sliding the door open, although slowly this time. Gazing once more for potential witnesses, she motioned for him to come. Tom cast a disillusionment charm on both of them, just in case. They stepped outside and walked a few steps away since Abraxas' compartment was luckily close by. A moment after, Myrtle stopped to take out the firework, wand in hand.
"Ready.", he whispered.
And so, Myrtle turned around with a sinister grin, lighting up the firework.
"Three... two... one..."
After the countdown, Tom opened the door via magic and closed it after Myrtle flung the firework inside, both of them rushing back to their compartment.
"Hey, who did this!?", Abraxas shouted.
After that, there was a small pause.
"Ha! A fake... real funny of whoever that was-"
What followed was a thud and a shriek so high that they would've thought it was humanly impossible before this. Myrtle snorted so hard that it looked someone had kicked her in the guts. Because of that, Tom decided it would be good to soundproof their compartment. Meanwhile, blood curdling screams could be heard from the hallway, overpowering the sound of crackling. They scrambled to get out, stumbling in the hallway, repeatedly falling down and shouting unintelligible words. By now, Myrtle collapsed on the floor, holding her stomach and laughing maniacally. It was so contagious that even he started to lose it.
"Oh- Oh my- I can't breathe!", she exclaimed, coughing and wheezing.
Tom pulled her up by her arm, putting her on the seat in their compartment. Even then, she was swaying as if there were a strong wind blowing beside her.
"Oh my goodness-", she said breathlessly, putting her hands on her face and wiping the tears off her face.
"Don't-", he said, stammering because of a snort.
"Don't fall again, please."
"I'm trying, it's just that-", she said, once again taken over by laughter.
"I won't fall again, we still have to see them charred after the train finally stops..."
A few days after their arrival, Tom and Myrtle found themselves in the school's library, heads buried in a pile of books. Since Myrtle would be taking her O.W.L.s this year, Tom made it his responsibility to make sure she was ready. Though, upon reminding Myrtle of it a few days ago, she had a... mild freak-out. It appeared that she had completely forgotten about it, but he assured her that she would do just fine.
With a checklist of questions in hand and a quill, he ticked all the questions she answered right.
"What is the spell "confundo" used for?", he asked.
"The confundus charm is a spell which is used to confuse and misdirected a target, regardless if it was living or inanimate.", she answered monotonely.
Tick.
"What is a flobberworm?"
"A flobberworm is a magical, toothless and herbivorous worm which mainly eats lettuce and cabbage. It has a classification of um... X because it is considered boring and harmless."
Tick.
"And what is a wiggentree?"
"The wiggentree is a magical rowan which is used in potion-making and can also be used as protection against dark creatures as long as the user is holding it by the trunk."
Tick!
Her answers and definitions were perfectly clear, as expected from a true Ravenclaw.
"I don't know why you were worried so much that day, you're going to be perfectly prepared for those tests.", he said, dipping his quill in some ink and continuing to scribble something down.
"This is excellent, Myrtle. Keep it up.", he said, briefly glancing towards her and smiling.
"Thanks, Tommy. This certainly... makes me feel better.", she replied, letting out a small laugh.
Following that, they continued to study and review material for at least three hours. Her knowledge of theory was definitely good, although on some rare occasions her knowledge had to be tweaked and elevated. After theory, they began doing practical magic: transfigurations and charms, having a duel later in the yard. Even if he wasn't doing his best, Myrtle held her ground very firmly. If any other student was up against her, he was certain they would have far from a good time.
It was really heartwarming to see someone who previously didn't like magic to get in touch with it. In his opinion, it was comparable to getting in touch with yourself, and the fact that it was his best friend made it all the more touching.
Later, in the evening, Tom and Myrtle were sitting in the yard, done with practice for that day and simply chatting. They had agreed to do this every weekend in order to have time to go over all the material. It was no simple task, since it consisted of everything they learned from first year up to their most recent lecture.
"I know it's for the best, but will we have time to do anything else...?", she asked, a little sad.
"No going out or activities in the room of requirement?"
"No. You'll have time to do that, too. Just not as frequently..."
"Oh, alright then. I can live with that.", she replied.
"I've been asking that because I... need your help for something.", she said, reaching for her backpack and rummaging through it.
Raising an eyebrow, Tom shifted his gaze towards her. He could only watch and speculate what unorthodox thing she would pull out this time. Another Zonko's product? Some unhinged muggle thing? Or even a whole medieval torture device, shrunken down to fit in her bag? You never knew.
Right then, she pulled out her hand out of the bag, holding a... hair slide?
"I know, it may seem pretty bland and tame from me, but I promise you there is a lot more merit to this hair slide than you think.", she said, snapping it in her hands repetitively.
"For starters, it isn't mine. There was this one time where my books went missing for a wholeee day, making me look like some mindless fool in my classes that day. It was terrible, I had to share all my supplies with a classmate... all because of one brat who dared take away my backpack.", she said with gritted teeth.
"Luckily, I found it after class, dumped in some random dark hallway... I tried and tried to find the girl this little thing belonged to, but to no avail. Oh well, I think I'll have the last laugh anyway, since we can try to find who did the deed once again..."
"Oh, and by the way, I don't think it was Olive or her two close friends, Ruth and Avalite, I would've most definitely known. Instead, I think it was someone who was friends with her, but not that close...", she added, giving him the hair slide.
Upon grabbing it, he squinted his eyes, carefully examining it. It had a gold tint and a sequence of beautifully made metal flowers that glistened from the nearby light. Though, the beauty of it didn't matter, just who it belonged to. But, to be honest, he wasn't sure how he was going to find the culprit.
"Myrtle, do you have any guesses on who it could've belonged to?", he asked, still looking at it.
"Well, like I said, it would most likely be a friend of Olive's, but not too close. More like some acquaintance she sometimes talked to when bored..."
"A little more precise...?"
"Uh... most likely Olive's housemate, in Gryffindor. My best guess would be one out of three girls: Grace Miller, Amalia Silverstring or Nancy Clark. First two are fourth years while the latter is a seventh year. That's all I got, sadly."
"Don't worry, it'll do...", he said darkly.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. In my opinion, it would be a waste of time to tell the professors about our eventual discovery, since no one really remembers this incident, except for, well, me, and now you. I say we take matters into our own hands...", she said, grinning.
Tom's gaze slowly shifted from the hair slide to look at her.
"Agreed.", he replied with a smirk.
Late at night and in bed, Tom was looking at the aforementioned hair slide, pondering what he would do next. All of those names sounded familiar, but not enough to pinpoint a target. Grace Miller was an average student who had a tendency to step a little out of line, but not too much. Amalia Silverstring was similar to her, just a little more quiet. Nancy Clark seemed to be the tamest of the bunch, but that didn't have to mean anything. For all he knew, she could be hiding her true nature.
Putting the hair slide in his backpack, he went to sleep immediately after. Upon waking up in the morning, he went to his classes, returning to his original plan as soon as he was finished. During the breaks, he managed to get a glimpse of the two previously mentioned girls, walking together in the school's hallways. Seeing an opportunity, he cast a disillusionment charm on himself and followed them, listening to their every word. The things they said weren't particularly interesting or useful, but he still hoped they would let a key detail slip. Sadly, as they reached the Gryffindor common room, he was forced to halt his investigation. Luckily, he learned that both of them had a keen interest in jewelry... and wore fancy hair slides. He just needed find out which one did the deed.
And so, an idea popped up in his mind. He could take the hair slide Myrtle gave him and simply duplicate it. Then, he would put it in some place where they would certainly come across it, one of them gleefully announcing her joy over the lost possession.
Tomorrow morning, he placed the replica in a hallway near their common room, quickly rushing to class afterwards. Once again, he started following them while being invisible. Nothing of interest came out of their mouths. Oh well, he only had to wait for them to reach their common room.
"Have you ever wondered what happened to that Warren freak?", one of them said after letting out a laugh.
"I mean, going from a poor student to top of the class in a matter of a few months and getting herself a beau? Now that I think about it, that Riddle boy is certainly doing all the work for her, there's no way someone as stupid as her would get good marks!", she said, giggling.
"I don't even know what he sees in her..."
It took all his willpower to stay calm and continue watching them. His blood was boiling while his hand spasmed from gripping his wand so tightly. Oh, how glad he was that he made the copy of the hair slide rot over time... a nasty surprise fitting for an equality nasty person, if you could call her that.
Moments later, the event that he arranged himself began taking place.
"Is... is that my old... hair slide?", she said to herself.
A smile began forming on his face.
"I've been looking for it for so long, I think it went missing the day I pulled that joke on Warren... what an unexpected surprise, it was one of my favorites!", she exclaimed joyfully.
Right after that, they happily hopped into the common room, completely oblivious to the fact they had spilled all their secrets. Oddly enough, the girl who made those sickening remarks about Myrtle, Amalia, wasn't the one who did it. In the end, it was Grace Miller. Though, he would catch up to Amalia... later.
A wide grin spread across his face. His plan had worked perfectly, making him feel a type of joy he didn't feel for a long time.
Everything aside, he couldn't help but think about Myrtle after those nasty remarks. It would be good to check up on her and see how she was doing. His recent discovery would certainly cheer her up...
And so, he began making his way towards the library. Myrtle had previously informed him she would be spending "all day and night" there to study. Quite productive, he'd say. There weren't a lot of students in the library when he came, as it was already dark outside. He managed to find Myrtle fairly quickly, arms on the table and head placed on them. But, apart from her, he noticed that there was another presence close by...
Seeing a shadowed figure emerge close to Myrtle, he rushed towards it. To his unsurprise, he found out it was Olive Hornby.
"What are you doing?", he asked coldly, staring at her.
Olive flinched and hastily turned around, letting out a gasp. He could already see the fear in her eyes. Soon after, she frantically raced out of the library without saying a word. Tom watched her until she was out of his sight, after which he turned to look at Myrtle.
It looked like she was soundly asleep, overworked from studying and classes. It was odd seeing her so quiet and peaceful, a far cry from her unruly nature. But, he had to admit that she looked... oddly adorable.
"Myrtle?"
It appeared that she was in a really deep sleep.
"Wake up, you're still in the library.", he said, lightly tapping her on her shoulder.
"I- what?", she said drowsily.
"Who is this? Tommy, is that you...?", she said, scrambling for her glasses.
"Yes, it is me. I think you've studied quite enough for today, a little rest would be good for you.", he said, picking up her books.
"I've got lots of things to tell you...", he said brightly.
On the weekend and after their routinely O.W.L.s studying, Tom and Myrtle were roaming in the school's hallways, passing time by chatting. Today, as Tom found out a few days ago, would be the day that dear Grace would be meeting up with a boy she liked. Oh, he would never forget when he told Myrtle that fact... a smile that mischievous could only be seen once in a lifetime. Just a few minutes prior, Grace had innocently put down her gifts on a nearby window sill, prompting the two of them to immediately run over to it. She certainly wouldn't notice if they... tampered with it a little.
Moments later, they saw her exit the bathroom, putting the gifts back in place and hiding behind a corner.
"Yum! These sweets are quite nice, actually...", Myrtle remarked, holding a bag.
"Want some, Tommy?"
"No, I'm... good. Did you really have to stash them, Myrtle?", he asked.
"Why not? I couldn't let them go to waste. Now they're actually for a good cause~", she replied smugly.
"Think about it, Tommy. She'd be more frustrated if she knew that I ate them and gained some satisfaction from it instead of seeing them, well... thrown away in some hallway..."
"Good point.", he quickly replied.
"Anyway, since I reckon you want to see her embarrass herself in front of that student, I suggest we start following her before it's too late."
"You read my mind!", she said as she turned towards him and smiled.
After that, he cast a disillusionment charm on both of them, trailing behind Grace along with Myrtle. It wasn't a long walk, lasting a few seconds and spanning only a couple of floors before they reached the yard. Upon reaching it, he saw Grace's behavior noticeably change, becoming more shy and reserved. Well, he reckoned he would be adding embarrassment and shame to that list fairly soon.
Seeing Grace stop close to a boy, Tom put his arm in front of Myrtle to stop her from going further. After that, they leaned against the wall close to them.
"Um... hello. I'm very glad you decided to come. Oh, what would a poor girl do with herself...", she said, making Myrtle shudder and clench her teeth from second-hand embarrassment.
"Really?", Myrtle whispered.
"Edward of all people? With her? I thought Ravenclaws were supposed to be smart!"
"I even prepared you a card and treats, I'm sure you'll like it~", she said, putting a hand on her mouth and giggling.
Her blatantly hiding her nasty personality behind a pathetic imitation of a sweet one, him being unamused by her actions and not responding... it was almost comical, Tom thought.
"Care for a bite of some chocolates...?", she sheepishly asked.
"Sure, they look delicious. Where did you get them...?", he replied.
Now the fun begins. Tom and Myrtle's faces both slowly formed a sinister grin.
"Oh, well...", she said, opening the box and glancing away.
"I believe it was Honeydukes, if I recall correctly. They have-"
She stopped talking and gasped, feeling something wet and cold drop onto her skirt, becoming mortified immediately after. In her panic, she flung the box away from her, getting some slime on Edward. He didn't jump, but was visibly uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Tom could hear Myrtle sniggering, hands clutching her mouth.
"I- What is this!? Oh, God, I didn't mean to... I swear this wasn't my doing!", she pleaded.
"Forgive me, it must've been someone's sick idea of a joke...", she hissed.
"...You trust me, right? If not, well... here, I made this card, uh, especially for you.", she said as she let out a nervous laugh.
"I'd be delighted if you read it!"
"...Alright.", he replied unenthusiastically.
After a few moments of reading, Tom and Myrtle caught him... visibly gagging? Upon seeing that, Tom could swear tears were visible on Grace's eyes. It appeared the spell Myrtle cast on the card to change it's contents really did it's trick.
"W-what's wrong?", she shakily asked.
"Is... is it not good...?"
"See for yourself.", he replied coldly, handing her the card.
She immediately began to read it, eyes becoming wide and a tear dripping down her face.
"I- I don't understand. I didn't write this! I didn't do any of this! Please, have understanding-", she screamed.
"I tried to, tolerating what happened with the box of sweets. But two times...? I doubt that it's accidental.", he calmly stated, interrupting her.
"Wouldn't surprise me if all of this was Hornby's idea...", he said, walking away.
"Edward, please-"
Tears began pouring down her scrunched up face as she ran away crying.
"Suits her well.", Myrtle remarked, getting out of the yard along with Tom.
When they reached a remote hallway, Tom removed the disillusionment charm from both of them, revealing a twisted grin plastered on Myrtle's face.
"That was fun... I don't think she'll ever think about messing with me or anyone else for that matter.", she said, letting out a sigh.
"Thank you, Tommy. All of this wouldn't be possible without you.", she said after a short pause, hugging him, pleased when he hugged her back.
"You know, it might seem a little sudden, but... would you like to go Hogsmeade with me? We've done our studies for today and ruined this brat's date. Why not go loosen up at the Three Broomsticks...?", she said with an enthusiastic smile, fidgeting her fingers.
"I'd love to, Myrtle. Just wait for me to get my money."
"Nuh-uh! All is on me!", she said, grabbing him by his wrist.
"No more waiting. I just want to spend time with you..."
Outside in the harsh wind and rapidly falling snow, two teenagers were a few steps away from a certain wizarding inn, clutching their coats for dear life. Thankfully, just a moment later, Myrtle clung onto the door's handle, struggling to pull it open. Tom heard her say something, but didn't understand it because of the loud wind. Instead, he pulled the handle along with her, eventually opening the door and almost falling down, feeling like they'd just opened some sort of vacuum. They made their way into the inn as quietly as possible, not trying to divert any more attention to themselves. Soon after, they made their way to a table, sitting down and taking off their coats.
"Phew... much better than outside, I feel like the wind could've swept me away...", Myrtle remarked, putting her hands on the table.
"Tell me what you would like to order... I've yet to find out what I'll order.", she said, glancing around the area for some kind of menu.
"Any recommendations? I've never actually been here before.", he asked her.
Myrtle let out a laugh.
"What a coincidence, I also haven't been here before, ahaha..."
"Let's just search for a menu...", she said nervously, glancing at him.
"From what I know, people commonly order things like butterbeer, firewhiskey-"
"That's it!", she suddenly shouted in a moment of enlightenment, interrupting him.
"Butterbeer! I've always wanted to try an alcoholic drink!", she said with a wide, toothy smile.
"I hate to break it to you, Myrtle, but the name is quite misleading. Butterbeer has hardly any alcohol in it.", he calmly stated.
Her face immediately dropped.
"Oh... what a shame.", she said, putting her head on her hands.
"Don't worry, there are lots of other things you could try. For example: mulled mead, gillywater, cherry syrup... something tells me you'd like the cherry syrup.", he said to her.
"Thanks Tommy, I appreciate it. But I think I'll just go with the butterbeer, I'd like to see why it's so popular. You?"
"Gillywater. I don't want anything over the top...", he responded.
"Alright...", she said, scrambling for her money.
"I'll be right back!", she said, smiling at him and disappearing into the crowd.
While she was gone, Tom took a moment to glance around the place. It was a little cramped with all the people present, but still nice and cozy, especially after that heavy snowing outside. Among the crowd of witches and wizards, he was displeased to see a head of blonde hair, chatting a few tables behind him. Hopefully the nuisance wouldn't notice them...
"Done!", Myrtle exclaimed behind him, putting down the drinks.
"Way cheaper than I thought it would be...", she said, sitting down next to him.
"I also asked for some straws... you should've seen the looks I got. Why would anyone be bewildered because of such a thing?"
"Well, there tends to be more old people at the counter. They wouldn't understand that you have style...", he smirked, looking at her.
"Gah, you flatter me, Tommy! That's a good one.", she said, letting out a laugh. After that, she began to ogle the tankard from which foam was starting to drip.
"Wow... it looks... really similar to real beer. Wonder if it also tastes similar... not that I would know.", she said, pulling it closer to take a sip.
"Wait, no! I forgot...", she said, grabbing it and slightly raising it in the air.
"Cheers!", she said with a smile.
Looking away from her, he quickly grabbed the glass of gillywater to return the favor.
"Cheers.", he said with a small smile.
With a clink from their utensils, they each took a sip of their drinks. Soon after, Myrtle put down her tankard, wiping the foam on her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Not bad... not bad at all, actually. The butterscotch flavor is really nice.", she remarked with a smile.
"This is... alright. Tastes like cucumber water.", he said shortly after putting the glass down.
"You know, uh... sorry for saying this, Tommy, but it kind of sounds bland...", she said, smiling nervously.
"Try squeezing the lemon that's jammed on the top of your glass...?", she said, opening up her straw.
"No need, it's fine this way.", he replied.
"Really? Can I... can I try it?", she sheepishly asked.
"Of course.", he replied, sliding it over to her.
She proceeded to put her straw in and take a little sip.
"Wow, it tastes way better than I thought it would. On second thought, don't add the lemon, it would probably ruin it."
"Here, I won't steal any more of your drink.", she said, removing the straw and sliding the glass back to him.
"You can have some butterbeer if you like, I got you a straw as well.", she said, handing it over to him.
"Thank you.", he quickly replied, opening it and putting it in his drink. It was a striped swirl straw, coloured purple and white. Myrtle had the same one, but yellow instead of purple.
There were a few moments of silence before they began to talk again.
"Myrtle, why were you late when we were going to Hogwarts a few days ago?"
"Something happened at home?", he asked, hoping that it wasn't true.
"Oh, well... nothing out of the ordinary, if you could call it that."
"Mother tipped over a Chinese vase we had from way back and threw a hissy fit, somehow shifting the blame to me."
"I was expecting this and just shrugged it off. In fact, I didn't listen to a word she said!", she said with a mild laugh.
"Best part is that she didn't do as much as glance at it for the past ten years, deeming it important right at that moment."
"They never care about anything until it's broken.", she shrugged.
Well, this certainly wasn't pleasing to hear.
"Don't bother wasting your time over this, I'm used to it.", she said monotonely.
"I don't want to talk about those things... not when we're out here having fun like this.", she said with a soft smile.
"Alright, but please talk to me if something is bothering you. I don't want your worries to reach a boiling point.", he said with a concerned look.
"Oh, no! Not at all! I'm used to all of this, so it's no issue."
"Say, we change the theme, uh..."
"How... how did you come to know that you're a wizard? You know, being in a muggle orphanage and all that?", she asked.
"I've always felt that I was somehow different then all the other children. I don't mean in the sense that I was called a freak and devil spawn by adults and children alike, but in the sense that I could see things differently... do things other children couldn't."
"I just knew I was special.", he stated firmly.
"Whenever some child was... mean to me, I'd use this special power I had to get back to them."
On second thought, maybe he shouldn't have said that... it would be best to not go in that direction.
"That's all I can say. What about you, Myrtle?"
"Well, I'd say that your story is similar to mine. The first memory I have of it is when I was a mere toddler, playing with some toys and reading picture books. All of a sudden, one of the books just... floated up mysteriously. I remember being in awe, calling over my mother to see it, but by the time she reluctantly got there, it was... on the ground, like any normal book. Mother scolded me and went back to making dinner. Oh well, I'm glad she didn't see it.", she said.
"Following that event, more strange occurrences happened, and eventually I concluded that the reason they were happening to me... was because of me. What followed was me repetitively making things fall on my mother's head and in her still cooking dinner, randomly making strange things happen to the little brats that made fun of me... and tweaking my violin, though I never used that power to cheat on competitions, ahaha!"
"Ah, those days: whenever I saw an opportunity to use that mysterious power, I began acting like I was constipated, clutching my hands until I saw my original intentions come to life. The most fun any pre-Hogwarts child can have..."
"Constipated...", he repeated out of disbelief, clutching his head in his hands and letting out a pained laugh.
"Oh, Myrtle, how do you come up with these things?"
"Oh, well...", she said, but stopped when laughter took over her.
"Now that I think about it, that really stupid of me! But in the end, my magic still worked. Maybe that was the missing key... if all wizards acted constipated-", she said, once again getting interrupted by laughter.
"If all wizards acted constipated, maybe they could achieve better results!"
"Certainly. Though, I wouldn't be too keen on seeing Malfoy do that while in class, so-", he said, voice quivering.
At that moment, Myrtle finally lost it, almost spitting out the small sip of butterbeer she took. Tom broke soon after, consumed by her contagious laughter. They laughed for a few minutes before talking again. Apart from that, Myrtle was almost finished with her drink, with Tom already being done.
"Say, do you want to try a little butterbeer, Tommy? I'm almost finished, so I wondered if you wanted to try it."
"Sure, why not?", he said after a brief pause.
With Myrtle sliding it over to him, he placed his straw in the tankard, taking a sip immediately after... only to gag and almost spit it out. Myrtle let out a snort at that exact moment.
"Ew! What is this?", he said like the butterbeer personally did something wrong to him.
"I... it's butterscotch, and that small percentage of alcohol you mentioned."
"...Are you okay, Tommy?", she asked him.
"Yes, a bit of an overreaction, I'll admit.", he said with a sickly look.
"But, I still don't like it. How does the majority of wizarding Britain like this...?", he pondered.
"Everyone has different tastes, I guess. Yours just happens to be different. Not a bad thing, of course.", she said, sliding it away from him and drinking the remaining butterbeer.
Tom looked at her, but immediately glanced away when she started drinking the butterbeer, shuddering. A few moments later, Myrtle pushed it aside and stood up.
"Done. Let's go, it'll become dark by the time we reach Hogwarts."
And so, they put on their coats and started heading for the exit. Apparently, pulling the door open was way easier from the inside than from the outside, as they found out...
"Oh, look.", she said.
"Snow storm is gone! We can finally walk normally and not sweat over falling down because of the wind.", she enthusiastically said.
"The only thing we could really use is some Sun... I'm kind of cold after exiting that inn..."
"Let's fasten our pace, then. The Sun will only continue to go down from this moment.", he said.
Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into an hour. All of a sudden, the Sun shone it's last light for the day, directly onto Tom and Myrtle.
"Woo, the Sun came back!", she said, running along with him.
"We get to enjoy warm backs for at least a little bit...", she said to him, looking him in the eyes, when her face suddenly scrunched up.
"Wait...", she said, stopping in her tracks.
"Your eyes are actually... brown?", she said, bewildered.
"And not black?", she said, even more bewildered.
"Yes...? I don't think people with purely black eyes exist, Myrtle."
"I... I didn't know that.", she said in a quiet tone.
"Please don't think that I don't like them. I'm just surprised we have the same eye color. In fact, I think dark eyes are the most beautiful. After all, they sparkle the brightest, giving them a sense of hope and light...", she said with a kind smile.
"...How oddly flattering. Thank you, Myrtle.", he responded after a few moments, looking away from her with a wide smile.
Following that, they continued running to Hogwarts, the Sun finally setting a few minutes later. Hopefully they didn't have much longer, as it was getting dark fast. Finally, after an hour of huffing and puffing, they had reached the entrance doors of Hogwarts, quietly opening them and hopping inside.
"Well... that was quite... tiresome. I desperately have to get some sleep.", she remarked with her tired form.
"Good idea, Myrtle. We'll meet up tomorrow morning.", he quickly replied.
"I'll follow you to your common room, and then we'll finally split.", she said to him. He nodded in response.
The castle was far creepier and night than at day with it's dim lights and torches, almost like a whole other place. The lack of students and teachers certainly didn't help. Luckily, they were now in a well lit area of the castle, saving them from the darkness. But, as soon as they stepped out of the light, Tom saw Myrtle stop suddenly, freezing in place.
"Uh... Tommy?", she said, her voice quivering and bearing a look like she'd seen some indescribable horror.
"What is... that?"
Tom glanced in front of himself, only to find a girl laying on the cold, stone floor, her eyes looking emptily in one direction, almost as if she was... petrified.
DISCLAIMER: DO NOT THROW OR LAUNCH FIREWORKS IN CLOSED SPACES OR AT PEOPLE, IT CAN RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY