Thanks Connie, and congrats on winning a Goblin Award

Tom looked at me with angry and annoyed eyes. I could tell he was mad that someone had so blatantly crashed our party.

"Close it quickly, and I'll go handle the girl," I said to him, giving his hand a swift rub before heading towards the door.

Tom began to speak in parseltongue again, the sinks clanking back together until the passage way was completely gone. I opened the door to the bathroom to find exactly who I thought it was standing there.

The girl in front of me had dark brown hair that was neatly parted into two even pig tails. Her glasses made her eyes seem much bigger than they were and her pajamas made her seem like she had the fashion sense of an eighty year old woman. She stared at me with terror and shock, the look of someone who didn't think they would actually be caught.

"Well hello Mrytle," I said with a little smile. It scared me to feel the maliciousness behind the gesture.

"H-e-e-llo," Mrytle said back, her eyes widening even more than I thought was even possible.

"What are you doing out this late at night?" I asked, keeping the same tone I had before.

"I was just curious as to what you were doing out of bed so late," she said, looking at me with a little bit of confidence growing.

"Huh," I said, biting my lower lip. "And why exactly would you be concerned about that?"

"Because if you were to get caught you would cost us house points," Mrytle said, saying it as if that was obvious.

"Uh-huh. And did it ever occur to you that you could be caught sneaking out by yourself, which would also cost us house points?"

Mrtyle shook her head slightly. "That wouldn't happen."

"And how do you know that Mrytle? Are you psychic?"

Mrtyle shook her head again.

"Well, for the record I forgot something in here earlier, something that's very important to me and I didn't want to leave it just sitting here alone all night where someone could get a hold of it. Now, why don't you run off and go back to bed?"

Mrtyle looked like she was about to protest but thought against it. At the look on my face she turned and started running the other direction. As the sounds of her pounding footsteps died in the distance I felt Tom's hand come onto my shoulder.

"Very nicely done my love."

"What can I say. I've learned from the best."

As Tom's lips were about to bend in and make contact with mine I felt myself jerk awake. Obviously in my sleep or in the act of waking up I had made a loud noise because suddenly everyone's eyes in the common room were on me. Harry turned his body so that he was facing me.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, concern etched across his face.

I was so unsettled by the scene I had just witnessed that I couldn't do anything other than wrap my arm around his shoulders and lie my head on his chest. He held on to me, rocking slightly in the hopes that it would help me. I was glad that everyone had gone back to what they were doing, except for Ron and Hermione whose thoughts of curiosity were ringing through my head.

"We need to go and see Dumbledore," I mumbled into Harry's chest.

"Arlright, let's go," Harry said, releasing me but only for a moment before he took a hold of my hand.

"We'll be back," Harry said, giving Ron and Hermione a look so they would know we were going to see Dumbledore.

"Alright," Hermione said with an understanding nod. "We'll wait up."

I waited until I was out in the hallway with Harry and was sure that we were alone before I told him what I saw. He stopped me in the hallway right before Dumbledore's office and looked at me.

"So what you're telling me is Tom and your mom were a couple?"

I gave him a grave nod. "I just don't understand what she would see in him. This whole time I thought she only became a death eater because he was forcing her to through dark magic, but maybe I'm wrong. I mean, she genuinely feels love and lust for him Harry."

"Well, maybe she used to, but doesn't anymore. That was a long time ago, and maybe Dumbledore will have an explanation."

I let out a sigh of frustration. "Well, we now know officially why Tom chose to send the basilisk after Mrytle. Everyone thought it was because she was muggle born, but that's not the case."

"Poor Mrytle. Guess even when she was alive she was too involved in people's business," Harry said with a small frown.

"How could my mother love someone so evil?" I asked Harry, not understanding how my mother could feel such attraction to someone who was so malicious and cruel.

"Maybe it wasn't so much Tom the person so much as the power Tom has," Harry said. He was reaching and we both knew it, but I appreciated the effort.

"Don't worry Abby, we'll figure this out."

And with that last positive gesture we headed to the all too familiar statue that would take us to Dumbledore.