Elizabeth awoke entangled in her silky bedsheets alone. She looked around curiously. She noticed a slightly crumbled note.

Fumbling to see the piece of paper left on her bedside table, she eventually grasped it between her lazy fingers and she read it to herself.

Elizabeth, I would have stayed longer if I could. Yet even I have business to attend to sometimes.

Tom

Elizabeth cursed him quietly for having not woken her, she would have liked just one more moment of their time together. She had a feeling he wouldn't stay for the night again.

She stayed in bed for a while. She pondered and thought over the mere existence of Tom; his appearance in her life - was he worth it?

Of course he is, she thought to herself. Elizabeth believed that her entire being had become dependent on Tom, and the words finally came into her head, I l-

"Elizabeth!"

Eloise rushed into the room, her hair a mess and her blue eyes panicked. Her gaze landed on Elizabeth who rubbed her chocolate brown eyes as she sat up in bed and answered, "Yes?"

"You've got to hurry!" Hazel shouted, appearing in the doorway, "There's been..."

The two girls went silent. The twins looked at each other and back to Elizabeth. Eloise commented, "I see Riddle isn't here. What a surprise."

Anger rose up in Elizabeth and she felt the urge to tell the girls to get lost, but they were her friends. She glanced at them with feigned innocence, "What's happened? Spit it out."

"There's been a murder..." Eloise said quietly, her eyes flickering anywhere apart from Elizabeth's direction.

Elizabeth felt two many emotions at once.

I see Riddle isn't here.

Even I have business to attend to sometimes.

It couldn't actually be Tom though, could it? He was going to change. She knew it. He was going to adapt to a normal human's life... Wasn't he?

"You think Tom did this?" Elizabeth snarled, suddenly her rage spilling out with her words like a fire inside of her had been struck with a match, "How could you?"

"How could I what, Elizabeth?" Eloise retorted, giving her 'friend' the dirtiest look she could muster, "That Riddle isn't good, alright?"

"You don't even know him!" Elizabeth shouted. She pushed past the ignorant twins just to see Tom storming down the stairs with the anger of a raging bull.

"Tom, wait!" Elizabeth called out, rushing to catch up with him. His pace was too much for her - his long, slender legs allowed him to walk at a speed that Elizabeth could only match with a mild run.

Beads of glistening sweat fell down her face as Elizabeth finally approached him enough to reach out to grab his sleeve. Pulling him back, she looked at him with disappointed brown eyes.

"Tom, why did you run?" She asked softly, her hand sliding down his arm to meet his.

He looked at the ground then back up at her with a pleading look, "I'm not going to make you lose your friends."

Elizabeth shook her head vigorously, reaching for Tom's other hand and holding them both. She said, "I'd rather lose them than you. Please don't do this."

Tom's gaze flickered away from her for a moment, staring at one of the portraits who had began to walk away from them. He scoffed mentally.

"You need them more than me," Tom replied monotonously, trying to pry her hands off of his. It was no use.

"Tom, who are you to tell me that? I need you," Elizabeth begged, the words she had thought of earlier just a mistake off her tongue, but she started to say them anyway, "I lo-"

Tom's soft hand instantly covered Elizabeth's rosy lips, her cheek pink with surprise - he ushered for her to be quiet with his other hand, pressing a long, bony finger to his lips.

"Don't say that," Tom said quietly, "Don't ever say that."

"But Tom, I-"

"Lizzie," Tom whispered.

Elizabeth looked at Tom with disappointment, but nodded anyway. She didn't speak for a few minutes, waiting for Tom to order her to do something else. She was half expecting him to tell her to go away but he never did.

"It wasn't me," Tom announced out of nowhere, "I know the culprit."

Elizabeth's shock was clear due to her expression, "You do?"

"Yes, a boy named Rubeus Hagrid," Tom smiled contently, but something seemed wrong to Elizabeth. How would Tom have known this so fast?

"How do you know?" She asked, speaking her thoughts.

Tom gave her a sly grin, "He has been raising a monster, some sort of spider, for months now. Elizabeth, he is a danger to this school and I shall make sure that he won't be here much longer."

Elizabeth just nodded again. She was unsure of what to say.

She knew something was wrong. She just didn't know what.