More To Come

More to Come

There was no light...but then, there never was. Perhaps that was what made the small room so intriguing, she couldn't see herself. The stone walls were so confining, and yet they set her free.

Absentmindedly running a hand through her stringy brown hair, she sighed and pulled off her glasses. They were the whole reason she was there in the first place. Marring the already hopeless face she presented to the world. Already a fifth year...has never had a friend, muchless a boyfriend. Blasted Olive Hornby. If not for Olive, she wouldn't have any attention what so ever. Nobody else hated her. Most of the time, they didn't notice she was there.

That was the Slytherins, anyway. Those from any other house ignored her solely for the reason that she was one.

But for her, one boy in particular caught her eye. One dauntless soul that seemed to have it all. His wavy black hair was crisply parted on one side. His skin was as pale as parchment, but his smile...oh, his smile.

This smile was used sparingly, and as such, some questioned its existence. But it was enough to make anyone seize up and watch, forgetting any prior engagements. The earth would stop spinning as he smiled, revealing perfectly straight teeth, and eyes crinkling slightly. There always seemed to be a breeze as well. His hair would ripple slightly as he stood, completely oblivious to the pairs of eyes upon him. It glinted brighter than the prefect's badge on his robes.

When he walked into the common room, everyone turned to watch. Usually rigid and direct, he would stalk past the onlookers and tended to his business. But there had been one time...just one, when being invisible had worked to her advantage.

*

The Slytherin common room was an odd place. To some it was a place for relaxing, others it was for studying. Hell, for a fair few, it was breeding ground. But for Myrtle O'Flanagan, it was a place to watch. When nobody noticed you, it was all too easy to notice them.

She had been sitting on one of the posh leather couches minding her own business, or rather, minding everyone else's business, when he walked into the room. In his right arm was a stack of books so large, it was a wonder he was able to hold them. It wasn't the weight, they were charmed, it was the size. Secretly, she wondered what they were...some ancient transcripts no doubt. He had his usual determined look upon his face as he strode past the members of his house.

Once he had gone, Myrtle stood up, began to straighten her robes, and turned to walk out. Before she could even finish her step, she hit something quite solid.

"Oofe!" she reeled backwards, but two hands reached out and grabbed her upper arms. She didn't know exactly what had happened, but she looked up and found worried ebony eyes staring back at her.

"I'm terribly sorry, Miss...Miss..." He snapped his fingers pointedly, as if it was on the tip of his tongue.

"O'Flanagan. Myrtle O'Flanagan" she shrank backward, blushing. It was tough not to smirk at the black wizard hat that was crookedly sitting on the crown of his head.

"Of course, Miss O'Flanagan. Keeping so many children straight in this place is a bit tough."

"Children?" she said sheepishly, though with a bit of an edge to her voice.

"Well, not you of course. But the young ones...particularly rowdy. Especially the muggle borns." he shrugged, adjusting the hat on his head. "Oh, forgive me. How rude I've been, my name's Tom. Tom Marvolo Riddle."

"Oh." Somehow it had turned awkward and her eyes drifted towards her feet. She shifted back and forth between them.

"If you'll excuse me, I've got some runes to decipher. It was a pleasure running into you, Miss O'Flanagan."

"Er, yes, good bye then."

And then he was gone. As charming as ever, Tom Riddle had spoken to her. Of all people to run into, it had to be him. Stuck between embarrassment and euphoric contentment, Myrtle sat back down on the couch, waiting for the red in her cheeks to finally disappear.

*

The heat had risen in her cheeks once again at the thought of it and she was sure they were a brilliant shade of crimson.

Well, that's where being clumsy had gotten her. Sitting in the center of the common room, no one noticing she was there, blushing to the roots of her hair.

The loo was still deserted, and that was perfectly alright. The less people, the better, she always said. But it wasn't like anyone ever listened to what she had to say. She lightly traced a finger around one of the lenses of her glasses.

That moment had resurfaced in her mind for the past few months. It proved that there were a few tricks life could play on you that you didn't entirely see coming. It was sort of fun to think of...everything that could be thrown from left field.

In truth, Olive Hornby would probably get what was coming to her. But Myrtle knew that there was more. She had said it to herself countless times. She had never had a true friend and never had a boyfriend. She hadn't learned to apparate yet. No matter how trapped she felt, a single thought remained in her head 'there was more to come.'

Slowly, she stood and walked out of the stall. The dull mirror across from her reflected everything in a gloomy gray light, the only light in the room. She met eyes with herself and smiled lightly.

A creaking sound pierced the utter silence. The door to the lavatory was opening. She turned to look, but saw nothing in the darkness. A hissing noise was faint, but became louder. Between the hissing, there was a deep voice uttering unintelligible words.

"Excuse me, but I think you're in the wrong-," a particularly loud and angry hiss cut her off.

Then, the sink behind her began to move. There was a grinding sound as it slid from the other sinks. A large black hole opened up and the dank smell of mildew diffused throughout the air.

Myrtle inched backward until she reached solid stone. The passageway itself was making noise.

Out of the dark to her right stepped a shape...it was a boy. All she could see was his silhouette. It wasn't until then that she realized the hissing sound was coming from him.

Then, out of nowhere, the hissing stopped. The boy stepped back and bowed his head.

She looked toward him and realized he was avoiding something. Slowly, she turned her head to the gaping hole in the sink. But the hole was no longer gaping.

There, she met two yellow, lamp-like eyes. She had but a few seconds to realize that they were even eyes before her limbs seized up and she collapsed lifelessly onto the cold stone floor. Her glasses shattered on impact and the pieces slid noisily across the floor.

There had been more to come.