The Devil's Exception [Tom Riddle]

Chapter 1 - The Grey Lady

Hidden in the shadows of Ravenclaw tower, Tom Marvolo Riddle wondered how feasible re-killing a ghost would be.

Difficult for anyone. Impossible for some. Though surely possible for him.

Absorbing the atoms of her being and trapping them forever in an object. To cry and scream with vacant air. Or simply cleansing the last remaining dregs of the petulant woman until only the wind plagued the lone corridor she frequented.

He doubted it would be bloody or brutal. Not in any way entertaining. Not his usual way. Though, he would still relish in it, if only not to be in this position once again.

"I can see you," said Helena. "Always hiding in the shadows."

Tom stepped out from the behind the pillar, twirling the ring on his finger. He forced his lips into the best imitation of a smile. "Does it truly come as a shock that I'm here? I usually seek you out around his hour." A beat. "And please, do call me Tom."

"Curfew is upon you, actually. Head back before I find a superior, Riddle."

Helena smiled. In the way she always did. With not enough vigour or radiance. A dead woman's attempt at a pleasant threat.

At life.

A muscle ticked in his jaw at her refusal. "While I appreciate your worry - I am Head Boy. I can be about the castle in any manner I desire. And I choose to be here with you."

The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes didn't move as she narrowed them. Frozen in time. "Do you not have any other offers? I heard almost all the girls are quite taken by you. Except one or two, of course. Can't have everything, can we?"

"Please, dear Helena," said Tom. "Thrice I've visited you this week alone. And thrice you wound me."

As the glow of the blood moon filtered through the window of Ravenclaw Tower, infiltrating Helena's form, he bit the inside of his cheek to withhold the smile at the grotesque images that filled his mind. Helena headless. Helena in half. Helena hanging.

How a ghost could look so close to death when death had already claimed her soul. Pity. At least if she were alive, he could kill her for the secret now.

"I doubt anyone could wound you." Helena's nostrils flared, but he knew no air would follow. "I simply wanted a midnight stroll through the castle. Why you insist on pestering me I will never know."

Stroll, Tom thought, was not the right word. Float. Graze. Hover. He internally rolled his eyes. How the dead longed to live.

"Perhaps if you favoured me just once, we could go our separate ways for a time. That is, if my presence is such a burden to you."

"So that's why you are here."

"I thought it rather obvious."

At her parted lips, Tom clasped his hands behind his back. Leant forwards. Innocence personified. "To see you. Remember? To get to know you."

"You don't fool me." The wind howled, rushing through the high hallway. A rogue leaf scattered across the stone floor. Tom trapped it. The stalk wiggled under his shiny shoe. He imagined it was her. "And yet you still try."

"I don't intend to fool you. I only wish to extend the offer of my company. An eternity is a long time to be alone."

Dead, he wanted to say. But the dead or dying were touchy about sentiments regarding their fates.

Her glaucoma-like eyes softened, whether clouded by her need for attention or haunting of the past, he didn't know. Didn't care. Then, her eyes widened, as if catching herself melting at his words. "I won't."