Disturbed, Tom immediately began heading her way.
"Wait! Where are you going!?", Myrtle shouted out of panic.
"Just come with me, Myrtle.", he replied quickly.
As they came closer and closer to the girl, the more horrified they became. She didn't even appear to notice them, her gaze still fixated to a point beside them. Apart from that, her clothes were soaked with blood, some of which was leaking onto the cold floor.
"Oh my- is she-", Myrtle said, retching and putting a hand on her mouth.
"Is she dead?", she said after a moment, breathing heavily.
"I don't know, Myrtle. I don't know...", he replied nervously.
With anxiety creeping up on him, he crouched down and put his trembling hand on the girl's neck, checking for a pulse. In the deafening silence only broken by Myrtle's breathing, he was desperate to feel something... anything. Luckily, he did seem to find a small pulse which was barely sensible.
"She's still alive...", he said, scrambling to get his wand.
"Barely alive... if we don't do anything, she'll certainly die.", he said upon casting a healing charm.
Myrtle's eyes rapidly darted around, failing to focus.
"W-well, what do you want me to do!?", she muttered.
"I can't let you go through this alone!"
His mind was racing for a reply, but just as he thought he knew what to say, the anxiety would creep up just enough to cloud his train of thought. Myrtle was staring at him, eyes desperate for some sort of response.
"We have to inform a professor about this.", he finally replied.
"She can't-", he continued, but suddenly paused, wincing.
"She can't stay here, out in the cold... who knows how long she's been here. You've got to keep an eye on her and continue healing her while I go find and inform a professor.", he concluded.
"What!?", she said out of surprise.
"Never mind, just go and return as quickly as possible, I'll start healing her right away!", she said, pulling her wand out of her pocket and crouching down next to the girl.
"I'll be back soon. Focus on her, alright?", he said, turning around and disappearaing into the darkness.
The dimly lit hallways and silence made navigating the castle all the more disorienting. No one, let alone a professor, was in sight. Still, he had no choice but to continue his desperate search. It would be bad to leave Myrtle all alone...
But then, he heard a voice echoing in a hallway near him, just quiet enough to deem it unintelligible. Hoping there would be a professor nearby, he began running towards the source of the sound.
"Professor, I...", the voice quivered.
Professor? That was it, he just had to get there!
"I... I just found her there, laying on the floor!", it continued with a frightened undertone.
The professor, and the apparent student, appeared to be just behind the corner. Wasting no time, Tom began approaching them.
"Where? How bad is her condition? Do you know what caused such an incident?", the professor firmly asked.
"I-in a nearby hallway, really bad... I... I don't know what happened. It was...", she said, trailing off.
"It was..."
Right then, Tom appeared behind the corner. Glancing in front of himself, he found professor Merrythought, and a rather scared, trembling Gryffindor girl with glassy eyes. But, upon locking her gaze with him, her fearful eyes quickly turned into ones of pure hatred.
"Him.", she snarled, pointing at him with her finger.
Appalled, Tom rushed to them, a million explanations on his mind. How dare she accuse him like that?
"Professor, I think Riddle here may have caused this terrible incident. I h-haven't seen him all day, in fact.", she said, trying to sound as credible as possible.
"That's because I was in Hogsmeade with Myrtle, Hornby.", he hissed, staring at her.
"Professor, please don't waste time over this pointless argument, there is a girl on the brink of death!", he adamantly said.
"Mr. Riddle is right, Mrs. Hornby. We'll discuss this later.", the professor said.
"Come with me, both of you, I'll need some explaining..."
Exchanging malevolent glances, they continued following the professor without uttering any more words. But, out of all of this, he wondered if Myrtle was alright. She didn't really look all that composed, but who could blame her? Anyone would be anxious in that situation. The only thing he regretted doing was leaving her alone there, but in this case, he had no choice. Soon after, they reached the familiar, grotesque scene that was already engraved in his mind. Though, this time, Myrtle appeared to be in shambles, and he could confidently say he saw tears in her eyes. But, looking away from her, he could see the lifted up shirt of the girl on the ground and the horrors that were beneath it. Her skin appeared to be gone to the point that organs could be seen.
Their professor gasped out of horror.
"Go to your common rooms immediately, I can't attend to you right now. This girl needs to be in the hospital wing this instant!", she quickly said, picking her up and healing her at the same time while she sprinted.
Wasting no time, Tom approached Myrtle.
"Are you alright, Myrtle?", he asked upon seeing her glassy eyes. When she didn't respond, he pulled her into a tight hug.
"It's over now, you did a great job at keeping her in a good state.", he reassuringly said, feeling her relax.
After that, he slowly turned around his head, still hugging Myrtle and glaring at Olive.
"And why exactly are you still here, Hornby? I think it's quite rude to stare at people sharing a private moment.", he said coldly.
Olive was taken aback by his sudden response, but instead of being frightened... a sinister grin began forming on her face.
"Oh, don't worry... I won't interrupt your and your darling's private time anymore~", she said, giggling.
"Good luck proving your innocence tomorrow, Riddle... maybe you should think about that instead of-"
All of a sudden, he felt Myrtle's grip on his back loosen.
"Would you just do what you said just now and get out of our sight, you swine!?", Myrtle screamed at her.
Olive's eyes widened, but quickly returned to their normal size along with her grin.
"Right away, four-eyes...", she replied, walking away, her voice echoing through the hallway.
"Right away..."
With an unanticipated jolt, Myrtle stepped away from him, groaning.
"What was all of this? And what was she doing there!?", Myrtle asked hysterically.
"The professor made us follow her back to you and that girl, and it just so happened that Hornby was already there.", he explained.
"No matter. Don't let her toy with your emotions, we will get out of this situation easily."
"Don't let her toy with your emotions... wow, as if I hadn't already tried that before!", she sarcastically said. But, after that, she let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry, Tommy, I just... can't put myself together, especially after such a... sight.", she said, shuddering and closing her eyes.
He swallowed dryly after that, the mental image coming back to his mind.
"It's alright... I don't blame you, that sight was horrid. I think it's beginning to take a toll on me, too.", he replied, taking in a shallow breath and looking away from her.
"I'd say some rest would do us both good, since we'll have some explaining to do tomorrow. That is, if we manage to fall sleep."
"I'd agree, but there's just this... this feeling of dread.", she said, her eyes darting to the ground.
"Whatever it was that attacked that girl, it didn't seem quite... human. I can't help but imagine it to be somewhere in the shadows, waiting and lurking for it's next target.", she said in a tone so quiet that Tom barely heard her.
"No... nothing will jump out and get you. I wouldn't let that.", he replied, looking at her in the eyes.
"Alright?"
She briefly looked up at him and nodded with a lifeless expression.
"I'll follow you to your common room, if it makes you feel any better.", he said to her.
"Thank you, Tommy. I appreciate what you're doing, but I don't think anything can really lift me up right now... please don't think it's your fault...", she replied, sighing.
After that, they continued to walk in silence towards the Ravenclaw tower. On the way, he noticed that Myrtle repetitively glanced around the corners and into the hallways, an obvious sign of restlessness and paranoia. It made him worried, but he simply didn't know what else to do. After all, she herself told him there was nothing else he could do.
Finally, they stopped in front of a door which had no keyhole or doorknob, only a knocker, shaped like an eagle.
"Eight pallbearers carry death across the floor. He weaves his shroud for those that move, to make sure they move no more.", it squawked.
Myrtle thought about it for a few moments, her gaze fixed on the floor.
"A spider.", she replied unenthusiastically.
Right after that, a doorknob magically faded into existence. Myrtle grabbed it, but didn't pull down.
"Can you... wake up earlier tomorrow? I don't want to be alone."
Breaking his train of thought, he looked up at her eyes darting from the doorknob.
"Of course. Is seven early enough?", he replied.
"Yeah... that'll do it. Good night, Tommy. See you tomorrow.", she said, looking at him one last time, later pulling the doorknob and entering the common room.
"Good night, Myrtle.", he replied.
Strangely enough, his eyes gazed emptily on the door, even after Myrtle was out of his sight. Apart from that, it was getting harder and harder to concentrate for some reason, all because of some looming feeling of dread. He never took a moment to reflect on what happened, to get his thoughts together... and that awful scene just couldn't leave his mind. The things Myrtle mentioned about something hiding in the darkness of the school's hallways didn't sound that bad at first, but now that Myrtle was nowhere near him, it was becoming oddly creepy... almost as if he had some sort of irrational fear.
No, he wouldn't succumb to that feeling. Nothing could even come close to harming him, let alone mutilating him. He just needed to stay focused and resolve this problem, for his and Myrtle's sake.
"Is that fear I sense, Riddle? I thought you'd be rather joyful at such a sight..."
The night and his sleep were rather... questionable. There were times where he blankly stared at the ceiling, or when he lost himself in his thoughts, seemingly for no reason. What was keeping him up for so long? There was no reason to feel any kind of uneasiness or anxiety over those past events, after all.
Eventually, he did manage to fall asleep, waking up earlier than intended the next day. He woke up a couple of times, but didn't have any severe nightmares. Upon waking up, he immediately got ready for the day and headed out of the common room. It wouldn't hurt to meet Myrtle a little early.
Straightening his tie, he started walking towards a nearby staircase, thinking it would be a faster route to Ravenclaw tower. Only, he stopped once he spotted a shadowed figure leaning against the wall, rocking back and forth. With the light uncovering a pig-tailed silhouette, he began rushing towards it.
Alas, the figure pressed against the wall really turned out to be Myrtle, much to his worry.
"Myrtle?", he called out. Despite him being right in front of her, she didn't seem to budge.
"Are you alright...?", he in an uneasy tone.
Only then did she seem to notice him, making a sudden movement to face him.
"Oh! I'm sorry, Tommy, I didn't really see you there...", she finally replied, her voice hoarse, letting out a tired laugh.
Examining her, he found out her hair was even more messy than usual, clothes disheveled, eyes sunken and a little bloodshot. It appeared that she wasn't well physically or mentally for that fact.
"I was literally right in front of you... how didn't you notice?", he said.
Her tired eyes looked up at him again, but no words came out of her mouth.
"Never mind... don't bother answering that question.", he said after a sigh.
"How have you slept, Myrtle? Did you manage to sleep at all?"
"Yeah...", she replied after an agonizing silence.
"I've slept... I think for a decent five hours, isn't really that worse from my regular dose of sleep...", she replied.
"Honest?", he replied, a little skeptical of her response.
"Yes! I wouldn't lie to you on such a topic.", she said, looking at the ground once again and fidgeting her fingers.
Even if what she did tell him was true, her demeanour and appearance weren't really convincing.
"Myrtle, I don't doubt what you said to me just now, but you look... a little disoriented."
"If all of this is too much for you, we don't need to study today... there is plenty of time left for that.", he said kindly.
"Disoriented?", she sharply replied.
"No, not at all!"
Tom let out a sigh.
"Myrtle, I know you.", he said with a poker face.
"I'm not trying to sound rude, I just want the best for you. Remember, we have to prove our innocence today to professor Merrythought after last night's events. It would be bad to sound incredible or suspicious."
"Right, I'm sorry. It was a sudden response, just slipped out of my mouth..."
"Might as well go outside if we're not going to study... I need a breath of fresh air before the mess unfolds...", she said, her figure slouching.
As it was very early, no students could be seen in the hallways. A good thing, in their opinion. To pretend that no one except them existed, to be free of judgement and to forget about their upcoming event. While they were chatting, Myrtle skipped merrily beside him, her replies echoing around them. But after some time, students started showing up, much to their dismay. Before they knew it, Hogwarts was cramped with students going outside, visiting their friends from other houses, simply walking to pass the time... Strangely enough, they were laughing, too. As soon as Tom took a glance at them, they would turn around or put their hands on their mouths, trying to mute their sniggers, making Tom raise a brow. Myrtle was also getting wary.
"...What is going on here?", she whispered.
"Great... as if I didn't need any more-"
She gasped and stumbled when another student passed by them, clashing into her shoulder seeming on purpose. Tom wasn't pleased.
"You there.", he said, approaching the boy and making him freeze.
"Is it really that hard to navigate the school's halls? A little consideration for the well-being of others would be appreciated.", he said, staring at him.
"Consideration?", the Gryffindor boy said in a squeaky voice.
"For her or you? Why would I do that?", he replied nonchalantly.
Tom's face scrunched up from irritation.
"You two thugs have already sent Peggy to the hospital wing."
A sudden feeling of confusion overwhelmed him. Not knowing what this kid was talking about made him even more infuriated.
"And who told you that, huh? Stop being so gullible!", Myrtle snapped back at him.
"Why would I tell you? Are you going to go get her, too?", he replied, walking away.
"Why you little-", Myrtle growled.
"What is up with people today, I swear..."
"Myrtle, do you maybe know who this Peggy is?", he asked her, still angry.
"Yes, she's a Ravenclaw and a muggleborn. Peggy Johnson. The girl we saw almost dead-"
"Well, why didn't you tell me that earlier!?", he snapped, making her flinch.
Myrtle stared blankly at him, pondering on how to answer.
"I-I didn't know you wanted to know that... just assumed you already knew. I'm really sorry.", she said, looking at the ground, disappointed in herself.
Upon glancing at her again, all the anger seemingly evaporated from him. Did he really... shout at her?
"Careful, Riddle. We don't want the monster you've buried so deep below to come out, don't we?"
"No, don't be. It was my fault. I'm so sorry for raising my voice at you like that...", he said, feeling the regret build up.
"I-it's alright. I've had my fair share of spontaneous responses in the last few hours, too, don't you think?", she said, laughing in hopes of easing up the atmosphere.
"Agreed.", he replied, letting out a small laugh.
Soon after, their conversation returned to normal, free of the tension they had a few moments prior. Though, he couldn't help but think about this brief, unfriendly exchange. It was infuriating, certainly, but maybe he could learn a thing or two from it. The boy was somehow aware of the event that unfolded yesterday at night, and it appeared that the whole school knew about it, too. But why and how did everyone think that he and Myrtle were the ones to blame? Thinking about it, the answer was quite simple.
Olive Hornby.
There was no doubt she spread lies, firstly to her closest friends, then acquaintances, then housemates... all of gradually led to this. It was all so pathetic, really. Accusing him and Myrtle of doing such a thing... oh, how the lies would come crashing down on her, making all her effort be done in vain...
"What was that boy doing, acting so recklessly... do you happen to know his name?", she asked with a frown.
"I think it's Montis, I'll look into it later.", he replied.
"Good... what did I want to say to you...? Oh, yeah, do you have any idea what these weird stares might be...?", she asked him, looking around anxiously.
"The result of Hornby's spreading lies.", he calmly stated.
"Everyone has a false image that we've caused yesterday's incident, but those feeble lies won't hold up for long...", he added darkly.
"That makes a lot of sense, actually... but how are you so sure that we'll prove ourselves innocent?", she asked, walking down the hallway with him.
"Why wouldn't we succeed in such a thing?", she said, raising a brow.
"She wasn't exactly the most convincing when lying to the professor that day, and I doubt she can make up for it this time."
Myrtle's concerned expression lit up a little.
"Actually, you're right... maybe it's just the nervousness catching up to me... I'm a fool for thinking she'd have enough brains to wiggle herself out this time!", she said, grinning to herself.
It brought him a smile, seeing her become more confident in this situation. Finally, she realised there was no reason to panic, to worry, to fear...
A few minutes later, they stumbled upon professor Merrythought, who gestured immediately at them to come along. Looking behind, they were met with the repulsive grins of Olive Hornby and the two girls behind her. Nonetheless, Tom smiled back at them, indifferent to their taunts and nudging Myrtle to enter their professor's office.
The room wasn't particularly fancy and nothing memorable could be seen in it. But maybe that was because Tom didn't bother examining it further, instead preferring to focus on the situation that was currently unfolding.
"Students, there are chairs in the top left corner of the room.", she said, gesturing towards them.
"Please take them and make yourselves comfortable.", their professor continued, finally settling down on her own chair.
Quickly and briefly exchanging glances with a nod, Tom and Myrtle went up to pick their chairs while distancing themselves from Hornby and her company. Sitting down on the carefully separated chairs, they waited for their professor to start talking, along with the aforementioned three girls.
"Greetings, students... I can only guess how much of a toll this has taken on you.", she sighed, looking away from them.
"As much as I would like to leave you to process it, I'm afraid I have no choice but to demand some kind of an explanation from you."
In the short lived silence, Hornby's voice annoyingly broke through.
"Oh, professor...", she lamented.
"You'd be absolutely right. I'm still haunted by that sight... I'm really lucky to have two great friends who helped me through it.", Hornby went on, attempting to sound like a damsel in distress.
"Might I ask, is the girl alright? It broke my heart seeing such a young student suffer like that, I hope she has a steady recovery...", she added, making Tom and Myrtle roll over their eyes out of annoyance.
"That's very thoughtful of you to say, Mrs. Hornby. The girl still appears to be in a coma and has been stitched up... I wish I could tell you more information, but, alas... I'm in the dark as much as you.", their professor gloomily replied.
"Oh...", she whispered out, looking away.
"It's good to hear that she's in..."
Looks like poor Hornby ran out of pointless things to raise sympathy for herself, making an empty smile tug on Tom's lips. Her memorizing some planned set of words she planned to say today... it was laughable in some twisted way.
"Good care!", her friend added rather loudly and wide-eyed out of the blue.
"And... much needed attendance!"
Their professor started to look unamused, giving the girl, Ruth, an odd look. Soon after, she resumed to leading the conversation.
"Thank you for your concerns, girls. But we aren't here only for that..."
"We have to start with the question and answers.", she sternly said.
Hornby bit her lip out of anxiety, to which her friends murmured some words of encouragement Tom didn't quite catch on. Oh well, unlike her, Tom was indifferent to their professor's announcement, because there was no reason to fret.
"How did you happen to stumble upon Mrs. Johnson, that is, the girl you found yesterday night?", the elder witch said after a pause.
Hornby opened her mouth to say something, but hastily decided against it. Soon after that, her friends started to brainstorm about what to say, but weren't successful in their pursuit of words, either.
"Professor?", Tom called out calmly.
"May I tell my side of the story as well as Myrtle's?", he politely asked.
"Alright...", their professor replied, scrambling for some parchment, ink and a quill.
"Go on, Mr. Riddle... don't mind me searching for my tools for writing... I need to write a report on this..."
Following that, Tom cleared his throat and began to speak.
"As you know, Myrtle and me came across Mrs. Johnson late at night after returning from our trip to Hogsmeade, in which we were for almost the entire day. Seeing Mrs. Johnson's current state, we agreed to separate, with one of us staying with her to make sure she was safe and kept alive, while the other went out to seek help from a professor. Then, as you already know, I found you and Hornby in a nearby hallway, discussing about the same thing for which I came for.", he replied, though surprisingly unnerved after reciting the whole ordeal.
"As for who potentially caused the whole incident... I currently don't have a clue.", he finished, waiting for a reply.
"Exactly, professor!", Myrtle chimed in.
"Me and Tommy- uh, Tom, found Johnson laying all alone in a pool of her own blood. I stayed behind to make sure she was alright and to heal her. But, after seeing how dreadful she looked, I went ahead and lifted up her shirt... and found out that her skin... and organs...", she said, swallowing dryly with a pale face.
Noticing she was uncomfortable, professor Merrythought spoke up.
"It's alright, Mrs. Warren. You don't need to go into detail, I can only imagine what it must've been like...", she said, looking at her sympathetically.
"No-no! I'll get back to it. Sorry, professor...", she suddenly replied, letting out an awkward laugh.
Their professor gave Myrtle a surprised glance, but eventually turned her head back down to the parchment, nodding for Myrtle to continue.
"Her... injuries looked... animalistic, as if it wasn't a person that did... it.", she stammered, the memories beginning to flood back.
"Which... which makes it rather suspicious that Hornby blamed Tom for the whole thing, especially at first glance!", she exclaimed rather loudly, causing some tension in the room.
Hornby's eyes anxiously darted around the room.
"Well, I-I also find it rather suspicious that your only defense is saying you were at Hogsmeade for the whole day!", she replied shakily.
"Indeed. Olive was at the Gryffindor common room prior to that traumatic event, everyone knows it.", Avalite continued, trying to support her friend.
"And considering you have no alibis that came forward, I'd say this is a closed case.", Ruth sneered, grinning.
"And I believe you could have lied.", Tom snapped back with a deadpan expression, making Ruth's face scrunch up out of surprise.
"Why didn't you call anyone to cover you if you know there are people like that...? Arriving here with two friends, one of which witnessed the whole thing to verify her experiences seems awfully biased to me."
"Eeexactly.", Myrtle replied, crossing her arms.
"I think you three are awfully subjective on this matter, almost as if Tom personally did something wrong to you!", Myrtle cried out.
This seemed to have struck a nerve.
"Almost as if...?", Hornby replied, her voice a mere breath.
"What do you know about me, Warren? Huh? What in the world do you know about me and my personal problems!?", she continued, fuming with rage.
Myrtle was looking at her in disbelief, eyes full of hatred.
"The sheer audacity!", she hissed.
"As if you weren't the one tormenting me ever since the first time I stepped foot in this school!", Myrtle sneered, her voice shaking from rage.
After that, Hornby's friend join the conflict, forming an ear-piercing cacophony of shrill voices. Professor Merrythought was clutching her head in her hands, trying to finish what she was currently writing.
"SILENCE!", she shouted, getting up and slamming the table with her hands, making the bottle of ink jump up and the shouts die down.
"I will not tolerate this behaviour in my office!", she said, sitting back down in the recently formed silence.
"I understand that you two, Mrs. Warren and Mrs. Hornby, have your differences and conflicts, but I must ask you to suppress them in here. In the end, I called all of you here simply to collect information on what happened yesterday, not for you to accuse each other.", she added in a serious tone.
"I am not looking for a suspect or culprit, nor do I believe that one of you five caused it."
The two sides glowered at each other emptily, a million unfriendly words prevented from escaping their mouths.
"Well, from what I gathered, I'd say this is enough. Judging by your reactions, I'd say it would be best if I let you go now.", she said after a few moments of silence, holding and going over what she wrote on the parchment.
"So be it.", she said, briefly glancing up and motioning at them to exit.
And so, Tom and Myrtle, along with Hornby and her friends, put back their chairs back into the corner of the office and went for the door as fast as possible. They both had more than enough of the fighting and tension, wanting to have some piece and quiet and distance themselves from everyone. In fact, Myrtle looked like she was going to snap if anyone muttered a single word to her, so much so that he didn't want to test the waters himself.
"Oh, this only keeps getting woooorse!", she groaned, face-palming and dragging her hand down her face.
"It feels like we came there just to get mocked! Did anything good come out of all this nonsense...?", she finished on a quiet note.
"I'd say it did, Myrtle.", he replied as calmly as he could.
"Oh, like what?", she growled out.
"Like our professor not thinking we caused the incident?", he replied bluntly.
"That's what I wanted to achieve. Though, I don't think this is going to be the last instance of something like this happening...", he said, slightly frowning.
"What do you mean by that, Tommy?", she replied with a curious look on her face.
"Who, or what would do-"
"Ah! Blasphemy! Blasphemy!", a voice bemoaned, echoing in the hallway they were in.
Tom and Myrtle looked at each other, exchanging confused glances.
"Why are those Gryffindors so brainless, believing that mudblood!?", it continued.
Seemingly after the last word, both of their minds simultaneously deciphered who it came from.
"Wretched Hornby and her miserable company, thinking those two goons did the deed! I even saw them in Hogsmeade but wasn't quick enough to confront them...", he vented regretfully to his housemates.
Meanwhile, the two of them were hiding behind a corner, listening to what interesting things he had to say.
"Fools, all of them... isn't it obvious what's happening?", he continued, letting out a snicker.
"The mudblood getting attacked... the seemingly inhuman injuries... it is all the work of the great, the masterful...", he said with awe.
"Heir of Slytherin!"
Heir of Slytherin? What a joke, Tom thought, smiling out of disbelief.
"What...?", Myrtle muttered to him, raising a brow out of confusion.
"Heir of... Slytherin? Seriously, he has a-"
Glancing away from Tom, she gasped and locked her eyes with Abraxas after nearly running into him, both of their eyes widening.
"Speak of the devil...", he said, his face contorting into a grin.
"Or devils, rather...", the blonde continued, glancing up at Tom.
"How did you even get yourselves in this mess? Went out on a date only to get a nasty surprise when you came back...? Ha! Incredible... and now seemingly the whole school thinks this is your doing... I wouldn't mind you getting yourselves in trouble, not at all, but it's just despicable to credit you the work of Slytherin's heir...", he spat out angrily.
"Oh, you must be kidding!", Myrtle said, letting out a taunting laugh.
"Heir of Slytherin? You really believe those silly legends?"
At that moment, Tom felt a pang of irrational sadness creeping up on him.
"Silly legends!? Do you think thousands of wizards would be that clueless, especially over a dozen centuries!?", he replied impulsively, clutching his head and reddened face.
"Of course I believe in it... in fact, in the midst of all the chaos you're currently in, I'd say the heir of Slytherin putting two mudbloods like you out of your misery would be rather merciful~", he added, trying to sound as irritating as possible.
"Really?", Myrtle replied, crossing her arms.
"Oh, please... only a fool like you would believe such a thing...", she brushed off.
"Right, Tommy?"
"...Of course, Myrtle.", he replied after a pause, though with less of the confidence he normally possessed.
"I don't know why you would believe in such a thing, Malfoy. Centuries have passed since the death of Salazar Slytherin, yet no heir has come forth and dared to fulfill Slytherin's... sick ideas.", he said, swallowing dryly.
"And what makes you think the current one will be the same as them...?", Abraxas ominously said, staring at him with a wide grin.
"Because...", he said, breathing in and closing his eyes.
"Because they aren't insane and twisted, and are just like all the other ones.", he growled, clenching his fists and staring right into his soul.
Alarmed by his sudden change of mood, Abraxas cowered down, shuddering. He later opened his mouth multiple times, trying to say something, but ultimately decided against it. Instead, he continued going down the hallway they were in along with his housemates. After that, Tom slowly turned around to face Myrtle.
"Uh... are you alright, Tommy?", she said, smiling awkwardly, her eyes darting around.
"If it's about Abraxas' nonsense, well... just don't listen to him, he always spouts out stuff like this. Though, it might be just me, but it seemed like this affected you... a little personally...", she said, gazing at him worriedly.
Personally. Oh, she knew him too well...
"No.", he replied suddenly.
"I'm not bothered by his comments. He's said far more absurd things in the past, so this whole... heir of Slytherin nonsense wouldn't really be that out of place for him.", he muttered, crossing his arms.
"Just don't think about what he said, I assure you there is no such thing as the heir of Slytherin, and even if there just so happened to be one, they certainly wouldn't be going around wreaking havoc across the school!", he ranted, though not realising how irritated he sounded.
Myrtle's eyes were still on him, dead silent, still feeling like something wasn't quite right...
"A-alright... I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I hate seeing you sad, irritated or anything of that sort..."
"...That's all.", she murmured sadly, looking down at the floor.
Right at that moment, he glanced at her again, only for his face to... soften, as if out of realisation.
"I know, Myrtle, and I'm so sorry for acting so recklessly... once again.", he said, looking at her sadly.
"No, it's alright... that's what I wanted to hear.", she replied, smiling weakly at him.
Noticing that, he came closer to her.
"I'm not going to be alright as long as you aren't alright.", he stated firmly, enveloping her in a hug, which she fiercely returned.
"And I won't stop until everything is set back in place."
The sky outside was getting dark, cold air howling and rushing in the Slytherin common room. Tom was in his bed, covered with his duvet, mind preoccupied and perturbed with today's events and future. There was still that awful feeling of anguish he couldn't quite put his finger on...
Why was he feeling all those things?
In the abhorrent mesh of emotions appeared to be anger, sadness, fear... All of it made him wish he could just stop... feeling. But would it be worth it to sacrifice all his feelings of bliss, of enthusiasm, of joy?
"One does not need positive or negative emotions, Riddle. They are simply a distraction, preventing you from achieving your true potential."
Still, it felt wrong to... not feel anything. He couldn't go back to being a soulless husk of a human being who thrived on twisted desires. Never mind all that... he should be thinking of ways to solve his and Myrtle's problems, not selfishly reflect on his own, unimportant emotions. But, now that he mentioned her, it reminded him of the whole conversation with Abraxas, words coming back to hauntingly echo in his mind.
"Oh, you must be kidding!"
"Heir of Slytherin? You really believe those silly legends?"
"Oh, please... only a fool like you would believe such a thing..."
As much as he wanted to ignore them, he couldn't. As much as he wanted to stop thinking about, he couldn't. Was it really possible that she thought those things? Condemned the heir of Slytherin? Condemned him?
Hated him?
Oh, forget it. He must be taking it too personally, as he knew his best friend wouldn't say those things if she knew he was... well, the heir of Slytherin. Close friends should, after all, tell each other everything, face to face, regardless of how troubling it may be. But, maybe, for the good of both parties, some things should just stay... hidden.
Apart from the aforementioned things, he couldn't help but feel some kind of growing disdain for Olive Hornby... hatred, even. The girl's fakeness, cruelty, even to those close to her. But, on top of all those things... her hatred of Myrtle. Who would torment someone as precious as Myrtle? And decide to repeat it over, and over, and over again...? It truly takes a sick mind to continue doing those things. Even worse, he could imagine her doing that ever since she first laid her eyes upon Myrtle...
Maybe some people deserve to suffer, after all.
It was obvious she was scheming something behind the scenes, although he did not believe she staged this whole thing. Many of the Gryffindors were blindly following her lies, spreading it like a plague to the other houses except Slytherin... the one time his house actually did the right thing, even if it was for the wrong reasons.
Though, he couldn't help but have a gut feeling that a certain animal-loving, or rather monster-loving, Gryffindor played a part in all of this.
Oh well, more on that hypothesis tomorrow. His mind had to be well-rested in order to be as sharp as possible, a requirement to solve this mystery. As so, with the still present chit-chat about the supposed heir of Slytherin going on between his housemates, he closed his eyes in hopes of catching some sleep. Even if their conversation was gradually dying down, it still irritated him, along with them repetitively walking and jumping around the common room and his bed... He let out an exasperated sigh.
But, after a few moments, he heard an ear-piercing... wail? What was going on here?
He sat up in his bed, wanting to find out what all the commotion was about. Apparently, his crazed housemates were still jumping around, but this time he didn't seem to recognize any of them, be it for his blurry vision or pitch-black room. Though, what he did notice was that they were oddly fixated on him... giggling, all while the wailing in the background persisted.
What was happening? Why were they laughing at him?
Too irked by the giggling and whispering, he stood up and rushed to find the source of the noise, only to find that he was surrounded by... nothing? Looking around himself, he only managed to notice shadowed figures and silhouettes, still laughing at him, taunting him as if were some animal in a cage, meant only to serve as an attraction. Slightly panicking, he ignored them and continued walking forward, determined to find out what was happening.
"Peggy... no...", he heard a voice cry out, sobbing.
Immediately upon hearing those words, he began heading closer. Soon after, he stopped, noticing a girl on her knees, hunched over the all-familiar sight of that fateful night. Around her appeared to be more students, looking at the two girls sympathetically, tears in their eyes. But, those two girls weren't the only ones who suffered such a tragic event, as he found out, looking past them. There appeared to be numerous students, laying on the ground, motionless, staring into nothingness and having their insides gruesomely mauled. A feeling of sickness spread throughout his entire body, making him clutch his stomach with his now shaking hands.
All of a sudden, they started diverting their attention somewhere else, eyes rapidly darting away to look at something. Soon enough, he found out their new centre of attention appeared to be... him.
"You... how could you?", one of them said, voice seeping with rage.
"What did we ever do to you!?", another added, looking at him with hate in his eyes.
"I knew we couldn't trust you... no Slytherin has ever possessed good morality, especially his heir.", a student said, hissing and gazing at him.
There were seemingly endless amounuts of students around him, each shouting, laughing and screaming at him. By now, he was clutching his hands together, eyes anxiously darting around the sea of students circling him and all bearing the same look of misery and hatred. Though, among them, there appeared to be a pair of eyes that didn't seem to hate him, but instead had a look of pure dejection, disbelief, betrayal...
"Why, Tom? Why would you do this...?", the brown-eyed girl cried out, eyes full of tears.
"I'm trying to understand, I really am... but it's just not making any sense!", she shrieked, putting her hands on her face.
No... he couldn't let her wallow in misery like that, especially over something that wasn't even true. Instinctively, he began approaching her, hoping he could explain, make all of it right again... All of a sudden, he felt a weird sensation on his face, trembling hands rushing to inspect it. But then, he felt his face... slip off?
What?
Shocked, he turned his head down, only to see his face, or the back of it, laying there as if it was a part of some porcelain doll... as if it was a mask. Horrified, he crouched down, scrambling on the ground to somehow get it back, but it was nowhere to be found. Glancing up, he heard a loud gasp come out of Myrtle which spread amongst the nearby students. He quickly got up and came closer to Myrtle, only for her to take a step back, horrified at what she was seeing. He tried to speak, but found himself unable to do so. After all, he had no mouth to speak with or to scream with, no eyes to cry with... only an empty, black abyss which showed the husk of a human being he once was. It made him feel so helpless... alone...
"You... you don't care about any of us, isn't that right?", Myrtle said, cowering at the sight of him.
"Especially muggleborns... you hate them... have any of their lives ever mattered to you? Have I...", she stumbled, choked by her own tears.
"Have I meant nothing to you?"
Gasping for air, Tom woke up in a cold sweat, quivering hands scrambling to feel his face. Relief rushed through his body upon finding out it was still there, but it sadly wasn't the only thing he worried about.
In the end, he knew none of this was real, but it never failed to make him feel threated and cause severe panic. After that, he simply laid in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling trying to calm himself down. After returning mostly to normal, he glanced up at the grandfather clock in the common room to see what time it was. Six in the morning... already time for him to start getting ready for the day. Soon after, he got out of bed to get dressed and pack his things for class.
Though, the feeling of dread still persisted, ever after he took some time to think. Sighing at the common room exit, he went over his thoughts one last time... the things that haunted him most were what Myrtle said, even if he was absolutely sure she would never do such a thing... they left him in a lonely state, wishing to see Myrtle as soon as possible. And so, wishing to shake off that feeling of looming dread, he decided to pay her a visit, with her hopefully emerging from her common room a little before class.
The school was very quiet at six in the morning, as Tom found out... not a soul was yet in sight, which made him realise the probability of him seeing Myrtle was even lower. Oh, well... it was better to try than to do nothing. Though, while getting closer and closer to Ravenclaw tower, he appeared to notice a shadow, just barely visible behind a corner. Curious, he decided to investigate, trying to find out who it was. Tiptoeing as quietly as possible, he could see a flash of red appear in the distance. Just then, he cast a disillusionment charm on himself, deeming it too risky to continue without a cover-up.
Once again, he happened to encounter Olive Hornby. She was standing nervously in a hallway, as if waiting for someone, the anxiety visible on her face. Seeing an opportunity, Tom started following her, eyes filled with anticipation to see what great scheme she was apparently up to. Myrtle had told him that she and Hornby had the exact same timetable, just different electives he'd hopefully uncover soon. Up and down the staircases they went, finally ending up in some remote hallway. In there, nothing was visible... nothing except a rather large silhouette, only lit up by the torches in the hallway.
Hornby finally stopped.
"Uh... what exactly did you say it was, Rubeus?"
A sinister grin formed on Tom's face.
Curious.