Elizabeth Lily Potter-Petrified

Chapter 22~~ Justin Finch-Fletchey

Dear Tom.

I kind of feel- I pause, trying to find the right words- empty. We haven't done anything in a long time, and I have to admit, I've gotten quite addicted. You and you snake are very addictive. I can't wait to see you again, I hope it's soon. 

Eliza xx.

I wait for a couple of seconds as the words sink in and patiently wait for instructions.

The time has come. You have proved your worth, Eliza. I am going to give you a mission of your own.

I felt the familiar sucking sensation and a heavy soul resting beside my own. I rise and tuck the book into my robes. Sneaking down the stairs, I leave the Common Room and tip-toe part-way to the girls' bathroom on the first floor.

Just a little further. Tom's voice inside my head guides me. I welcome it. The door is hard to push and I have to heave to move it. The troll attack last year had a real effect on it. I stroll towards the sink and hiss in Tom's voice. The sinks spread out and one sinks into the ground. I let myself fall and slide down the pipes. Fish bones and skulls cushion my landing and I quietly get up and follow the pipework to the door leading to the Chamber of Secrets.

"Open" Tom whispers through my lips. The snakes decorating the door clank and the entryway swings open with a loud creak. I slip inside, checking behind me for anyone who followed me.

Water splashing under my feet and I drop the diary. The basilisk slithers out, I lower my head obediently, never making eye contact.

Walk. I step one step after the other and exit the Chamber. The snake follows. I cling onto its' back as it surges out of the sewage. The cold rush of air hits my face as we reach the bathroom and harsh white tiles seem to rise around us. Lead the snake. Go out. Leave the bathroom. I follow Tom's instructions. Go down the corridor. Stop, turn left. Go straight. 

Classrooms roll by and away as I focus on Tom's words and let them consume me. I turn left and head straight, just like he told me. I savour his every word. I watch as Nearly Headless Nick rounds the corner ahead and turn to me and the basilisk. Immediately, his shocked expression is frozen on his face. I wait.

One more. One more and your mission will be complete. One more, and you will forever be cherished by me.

I wait. A tall boy holding several books and looking at his feet saunters around the corner. He looks up as soon as he senses he's being watched and flicks his dark brown hair away from his matching eyes in a way to make any girl fall for him. But not me. Not tonight. He stares straight at me and my little pet, recognition flitting through his eyes before he glimpses my maniac smile and the snake behind me. Just like the victims before him, Justin Finch-Fletchey falls to the ground. I turn and flee the crime scene. Tom leads me back to the bathroom, adrenaline pumping through my veins. And Tom's kind words to me. 

Go on, good girl. Not far now. Left, left, left. There we go. Now straight and just in there. Good girl, good girl. Into the bathroom, close the door. Here, you need rest, let me take over.

I gasp as a chilling breath of air breaths down my neck. I'm suddenly thrown to the side of my own mind, letting Tom do the silent whispers and the falling.

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"Hey, wake up. Hey." A strong, firm hand shakes me.

"Hey." I look around me. "W-Where am I?" I turn to the person who woke me up. Tom Riddle stands, holding a hand out for me to take. I grasp it and he pulls me to my feet, enveloping me a hug. I curl into his hard chest and cry. Memories pop up. Me and the basilisk. Justin. Sir Nick. "W-What have I done?"

"Don't worry, Eliza, you did well. I took over your mind for a while.  The emotional strain was too much. If I left it any longer, you would have died." He whispers in my ear, rubbing my back comfortingly.

"D-Died?"

"Yes," He hummed. I pull back and stare deeply into his gorgeous brown eyes. There was no sign of any lies. I decide to believe him. I drop my head back onto him and close my eyes. We crouch and he holds me close. "Don't tell Ginny, Eliza, I think she's a bit jealous." I laugh and smile. "Now go, I see you soon, Eliza." He kisses my cheek and gives the diary to me. I turn and run down the passageway. I look back once, to see Tom one last time. I go up stairs and down them, finally reaching the Common Room and collapsing on the soft sofa.

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"How could you do this?" Justin's corpse interrogates me. He floats towards me and I intictivly move back. "Why would you? I thought we could be friends. We were friends until you did this." I look him up and down. Limbs hang off, joined to him by a thread. His neck has a long deep slit running around it. "I've become Nearly Headless Nick. I'm not even a Gryffindor!" He screeches and swoops down to me. I stumble back and he goes through me.

I stare at my chest and feel where he passed. I whiz around and find Justin staring into space with a distant look on his face.

"How could you do this?" A small voice asks. I turn slowly, recognising the voice to be Colin Creevey's.

"I-I don't know, I was possessed." I stammer.

"No, you don't. You did this by yourself. Can't you remember?" Colin sneers. His right hand is missing and he's hobbling on his left leg. His neck is intact, but a gaping hole lies where his heart is meant to be. It isn't. I can see straight through. "You can't. You clawed my heart out and ate it right in front of me. That was after you cut off my hand and broken my leg, of course. You cut Justin's throat and went a bit overboard with his limbs. You sliced them all off, but didn't do a very good job with it." He laughs bitterly. I stumble back.

"N-No! I could never...." I trail off.

"But you did," Justin says.

"Yes, you did. You'll do it again, if we don't stop you." Colin says. He strokes Mrs Norris, who slips in and out of his legs, half her fur gone and an ear missing. He lifts her and I notice her tail has been cut off and a slice in her stomach. "You pulled out her intestines and fed them to the dogs. They absolutely loved that." You fed my hand to them too."

"D-Dogs? What dogs?" I ask.

"Them dogs." He points to his left. I look and see four big dogs. One has brilliant green eyes and jet-black fur. Another has red fur and blue eyes. The one on his right has brown eyes and fur and the last has white fur and grey eyes. The growl and paw the ground. "I'd run if I were you. But, then again, why would you take my advice?" I start running away, fumbling with my robes that are tangled in my feet. I bolt away from the dogs,  but they catch up quickly. I run harder. Harder. Just a little bit further. I trip over my feet and hit my nose on the floor. I curl into a ball and hope my death is short. Tears fall freely down my dirty face.

"STOP!" A strong voice commands. I slowly open my eyes to find Tom Riddle controlling the dogs. They all seem familiar, but I'm not sure where from. I run into Tom's arms and he pulls me towards him. He strokes my hair and murmurs comforting words into my ear. I let his voice consume me and relax into his grassy scent. I peek out of his arms and see Colin and Justin closing in on us.

"Tom!" I warn. I feel him sigh and pick me up. His sharp breath tells me he's running. Several times, he has to stop because of a dead end.

"Damn it, they can move the corridors." He drops me and I wobble. He balances me with his arms. "Eliza, baby, this is where we part. I'm sorry." He softly kisses my lips and runs in the direction of the corpses.

"Tom, no! Don't do it! I'll do it, please. You run." I grab his arm and yank him towards me. "I'm tired of running anyway." I insist and press my lips to his in a quick rush of love. I close my eyes. We separate and I sprint to the dead, fighting them off for as long as possible. For Tom.