Tom had never wanted to stab someone so bad in his entire life.

Tom Riddle was a handsome boy, though not particularly stunning in any subject. Girls practically threw themselves at him, but he always politely rejected their advances. He was average at his classwork. He did have a talent for public speaking, though. Tom was personally invited to join the speech team, but he declined. No one knew why, exactly.

Except Luna. Luna always had an eye for these things.

If Tom was away on Club Business, he'd spend time away from his very best friend; Harry Potter. They had met in second grade and became an unmatched pair. They were attached at the hip. Tom had wanted Harry all to himself: and he got that, until seventh grade, when they welcomed Luna Lovegood into their now-trio. Tom was reluctant to do so, but eventually agreed because it's what Harry wanted.

Riddle also hated Draco Malfoy, maybe more than Harry himself. He hated the way he would humiliate Harry in front of everyone. He hated the way Draco called Harry arrogant. It was infuriating to watch! Tom had debated using his Free Murder on Draco more times than he could count. He always bit his tongue, though; Harry seemed to enjoy the rivalry between the blonde. Tom didn't want to mess that up for him.

But oh boy did Tom consider it. The way Malfoy towered over Harry's desk, holding his 10/10 score up with a smirk on his face- it just ticked Tom off to no end! And then he had the balls to say Harry's weakness was arrogance! If Riddle had just an ounce less of self restraint, Malfoy would be dead on the floor.

Tom's knife was an emerald green dagger with a ~ type blade. It has a snake painted onto the handle. Tom thought that the knife was specifically designed to kill Malfoy. And, hell, maybe it was!

Tom continued to restrain himself, though. For Harry.

∆¶∆

"Oh, god," Harry muttered to the Golden Trio. They were on the walk home. (They all lived only a few blocks away from the school. They walked in a group, going to Luna's house, then Tom's, then Harry's. It was a simple yet organized system Hardy had made.) Harry had noticed another, less cool trio following them. "The Barn is here."

The Barn is what the friend group of Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom was called. Weasley was a buff ass bitch, for lack of better words. He was head of the football team. He was also head of the Barn. He was called the Lion.

Hermione was a know-it-all phycology nerd. She got fairly good grades, though they could never even challenge Draco and Harry's. She excelled at studying and deciphering people's actions, which not Harry nor Draco were good at. She helped supply info to Ron, who would use it to gossip or bully and things of that sort. She was the Raven.

Neville Longbottom, the final member of the Barn, was a forgetful and clumsy boy who's talents shown through best in the greenhouse. He helped supply the Barn flowers (if Ron needed to change a lady to get in on gossip) or spices (if Hermione needed to cook something to bride teachers for information or something of the sort.) He was their supplier of any and all things plant related. Including weed. He was the Badger.

Together, they were some kind of less cool mean girls. (Harry had also heard of some sort of love affair going on, about how both boys were pining for Hermione. Though, he had no way know if those rumors were true.) They relentlessly messed with the Golden Trio, though Harry couldn't think of what they did to set them off. He supposed being another iconic trio was reason enough.

Ron had cackled whenever Harry pointed out his presence. Harry said nothing, just glaring at the obnoxious red head. "What do you want, Weasley?" Tom sneered.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at the boy as she studied his posture. He was defensive, irritated. The easiest target. Ron glanced at her, and she twirled a strand of her bushy hair around her finger. It was their secret code, meaning Tom Riddle. Ron walked up to Riddle, getting right up in his face, his huge disturbing grin still plastered on his face. "You know what I want."

Luna, who no one had been paying attention to- they had assumed Luna had been daydreaming again and had registered her as out of it, rammed herself head first into Ron's side. (Luna had, in fact, been daydreaming, but she had also been paying attention to the situation at hand. Multitasking). Ron crumpled to the ground, clutching his side. Luna grinned and turned to Tom and Harry, who looked at her thankfully. "Let's go, guys."

Hermione stared at her crumpled Barn member and frowned as the Golden Trio walked away. She had completely overlooked the girl- such a stupid mistake! Sighing, she turned to Neville, who had been lingering behind them, not wanting trouble. "I don't suppose you have any plants that could help with the pain?"

Neville gave his signature awkward smile. "I can figure something out." The Barn helped their injured member up, moving as a group toward Neville's house.

Meanwhile, the Golden Trio walked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. They knew what Ron had wanted with Tom. The Barn had a reputation about these things. They wanted to hold and study Tom's knife. You see, a person's assigned knife is very important. It's taboo to show it to anyone who isn't a.( trusted, or b.( on the receiving end of it. The Barn had taking to taking, inspecting, and returning student's knifes. They kept a record of all the information they gathered, so it was rumored.

The Barn did this for one simple reason; they wanted to know the Secret. And would go through any means to find it out without the Ministry's help.