Reader POV

Tom was waiting in the astronomy tower when I met up with him after spending the afternoon with Myrtle. He gave me a warm smile and offered me a cuppa as soon as I sat next to him as the planet model moved slowly above us.

"How was your afternoon, Miss Livingston?" He teased me.

"Strange." I didn't bother to look at him. "Tom, Myrtle told me something alarming. She told me you and your weird...group wants to eradicate the  muggle-borns here."

He snorted and moved me so I was leaning against him, him moving a blanket over me as it was chilly in the tower. "What a preposterous comment. We may be less...tolerant of them, but why would I want to go so far as to kill them?"

I relaxed at his words. "That's what I told her, but what about your group? You do realize that they're just like us? My own brother is a muggle."

"You're an exception. Your parents are both purebloods-"

"No, Tom." I got off of him, not feeling comfortable in that moment especially with the look he gave me. "I hear the things your group says to them. Mud-bloods? Come on, really?"

Tom rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand, squeezing tightly. "I don't like the muggles. All they do is lie, betray, and take what they have for granted. My mother loved him, (y/n). And he left her to die giving birth to me. In my heart, I know it true that he didn't deserve her and he doesn't deserve to live. That friend of yours? I heard what she says to Olive. She's always whining and bitching, not someone you want to be around."

"you're not someone I want to be around right now." I got up, not caring I spilled the drink on him by accident.

"Christ, FUCK! You just spilled that on me!" Tom got up and tried to get the burning liquid off. "Hey! Where are you going?! (y/n)!!!"

I ignored his calls until he grabbed me and pushed me to the wall. In retaliation, I tried to push him off me only for him to push my hands behind my back. "Let go of me, Tom!"

"No. Listen here, (y/n). Your little friend has got to go. She's so convinced that we're trying to kill her. She's trying to drive a wedge between you and I simply over the fact that she can't stand the thought of us." Tom's hot breath hit my ear, making my heart race in an unfamiliar way. "I won't let that happen, never."

"Get off of me-"

"No! You don't understand do you, Moony?" His voice was more gentle but still carried the same authority. "I like you, damn it. She just doesn't like the idea of you two not being able to hang out more."

I stopped moving and Tom let go of me, lifting my chin. "Tom..."

"I didn't want to confess like this," he admitted with a red face. "But it's true. Why would I want your best friend dead? I might not like her, but isn't she the same person who obsesses over people? She has a history of lying and exaggerating."

That much is true, I reflected. I knew she was still a child, and therefore tried my best to guide her. "Tom, her concerns are valid. Especially with the attacks."

He took a deep breath. "I know, Moony. But we would never do something that extreme. Which reminds me, Abraxas mentioned you saw something strange today in the library. What was it?"

"It was some weird thing that the Gryffindor student Rubeus Hagrid was holding, it looked like a cocoon of some sort. Why?"

Tom looked around and whispered in my ear; "I think I know what's attacking the school. I've heard the rumors of Hagrid bringing in monsters and keeping them in his bed. One might question if his monsters are the ones behind the attacks."

"There's no way! Sure Hagrid is an oaf, but he would never."

"Think about it, Moony. The attacks only started once he started bringing monsters into the castle. None of this has happened before, right?"

"No," I admitted. "But-"

"But nothing. I'm with my group now to try to uncover what's going on, Headmaster Dippet is aware of our actions." Tom thought for a second. "Why don't you join us? Join me?"

Thinking back to how he confessed a moment ago, I took a step towards the exit. "I don't think I can, Tom. Myrtle is my best friend, wouldn't be so good for me to join a group that bullies Muggle-borns. I'm sorry."

He clenched his jaw and nodded. "Very well. I must've told you too much, I'll give you your space for a while. But please don't be a stranger."

I quickly went back to the Ravenclaw room and grabbed Myrtle. "We need to talk."

We went to the bathroom nearby and I leaned against the sink. "Myrtle, he just confessed to me."

Her eyes went big and she nearly fell over. "Your crush confessed to you! What did you say?"

"I didn't. He told me loads of things. He suspects that weird Gryffindor student to be behind the attacks."

"Hagrid?" Myrtle snorted. "He's skittish, but he's not a cold-blooded murderer." Then her face got more serious. "No, (nickname). I found out something, I was going through the records of all the students who are petrified and one drew the monster right before she was hit." Myrtle held up a piece of crumbled up paper.

Before I could say anything, both Myrtle and I heard a low rumbling noise followed by hissing. We jumped into a stall nearby and stood on the toilet seats, seeing the silhouette of something massive.

But what made it all the more weird was the sound of someone speaking, only I couldn't figure out what the language was, it sounded like hisses and spitting.

"Hey! What are you doing in here?" I heard the sound of Olive Hornby. "Don't tell me you found her?"

I leaned closer to the edge of the stall to hear what the person was saying, but I couldn't hear them quite well.

"Well, how would I know? Why are you in this bathroom, don't you have your own?" Olive's voice sounded like she was coming closer. "Wait, Myrtle? Don't tell me she discovered the monster! I knew those mud-bloods were conspiring against us to get us in trouble with Dippet!"

We could hear their footsteps moving away, the puddles on the floor splashing against their feet. Myrtle waited for a moment before helping me off the toilet.

"Go get the headmaster," she whispered. "We're going to find out who this is tonight!"

"Come with me! What if you get hit?"

"Off with you! You're a pureblood, and with Tom's favor. They wouldn't dare harm you. Now go! Before they come back!" Myrtle ushered me away, taking her place in the stall once more.

I moved quickly and just as I was about to turn the corner, I bumped into Tom. "Tom!"

"(y/n)! What-"

"Move! Myrtle and I are about to catch the monster!" I ran past him. "Now we can put an end to this madness!"

Headmaster Dippet followed me to the bathroom once I got him almost 45 minutes later, only for me to let out a scream. Waiting outside the bathroom was Tom, only a stream of blood was flowing through the flooding bathroom, mixing with the water.

"I arrived not long ago," he said with fright in his eyes. "I was on my way back to the common room and I heard a scream. By the time I got here..."

I burst into the bathroom and saw it. Myrtle's body lay right where I left her, her eyes forever open. "Mytle!"

"By the Gods..." I heard Professor Dumbledore enter the room with the others. "Tom, if you would please escort her back to your house. Do not alert any of the students."

I couldn't move and as a result, Tom came forward. "Wait! She said she had some evidence of the monster!" The teachers including Tom moved closer as I opened her hand. Inside lay the same piece of crumbled paper, though it was soaked through. I opened it and it revealed a drawing that looked mottled, possibly due to the water.

"Take her to the Slytherin common room," Headmaster Dippet ordered. "Remain there until we summon everyone. You are not to breathe a word to anyone, we will be investigating."

The world seemed to be hazy as I felt Tom carry me out of the bathroom, him whispering words of endearment, probably thanking the Gods I wasn't the one to be attacked.

But Myrtle was. And she paid the price for it.