Much love to Jofrench22, Mrs. WaylandOdinsonBlack, and NoneOfYourBusiness101 for their reviews and to all of you that have favorited and followed the story! It's really helping me to stay motivated and continue writing. I realized earlier this week that this story has been live for an entire month already! Time flies when you're putting nearly all of your free time into writing instead of studying for finals...but I digress. Enjoy the chapter!

First Date

February 12, 1944

This was it. Tom looked in the mirror and straightened his tie, feeling as though he might be sick. Avery and Lestrange were also finishing getting ready, but Tom left before them; he and Rose hadn't made plans to attend the dance with the group. He was quite sure she hadn't wanted to anyway, as Avery had invited Orion.

He waited for her at the entrance to the Great Hall, fidgeting with the two tickets in his hands. The large clock in the school's vestibule indicated that she was late. He watched as the minutes ticked by. Tom began to get increasingly nervous and the nauseous feeling returned in full force. Five minutes late? She was never late for anything. What if she had suddenly decided not to go?

Tom felt a gentle tap on his shoulder, and he was enormously relieved to turn around and see Rose standing in front of him.

"Hi Tom," she smiled. She was absolutely stunning and he fought the urge to just stand there gawking at her. Her dress was deep purple with glittering silver accents and it was long enough to just barely brush the floor. She was also wearing high heels that made her a few centimeters taller than usual, almost tall enough for him to press his lips against hers with only a slight tilt of her head. Her dark red hair was elegantly styled up, revealing her long, graceful neck. "I'm sorry I'm late."

He could barely speak, but managed to say, "Good evening, Miss Horton. You look quite breathtaking."

If he would have said something so direct even the day before, he would have been tormented with reservations regarding how she felt. However, he had fully prepared himself to change things between them once and for all that night.

She blushed slightly, and it pleased him immensely. "Thank you," she replied.

"Shall we go inside?" He offered her his arm and she took it as he led her to the entrance of the Great Hall. They presented their tickets to Professor Viesey and were ushered inside.

The room was nearly unrecognizable. There were decorations everywhere, and for a moment, he mentally disparaged the staff and student body for putting so much time and energy into a single event. Perhaps if everyone invested the same drive in academics, the school would be in a much better place.

His date was pulling him toward a table, which snapped him back to reality and out of his cynical thoughts. There were only a few remaining seats; Headmaster Dippet was about to say some opening words to signify the ball's commencement. She led him to the table where Loretta Ashcroft and Emily Springer, two of her Ravenclaw roommates, were sitting. Unfortunately, upon further investigation, Tom noticed that Warren Cramer was at the table as well, whose eyes lit up as they rested on Rose.

"Is this okay?" she whispered before sitting down.

He nodded, though he was hesitant as he watched Warren's eyes scan over her body. At least he could get some satisfaction from the fact that she was his date, instead of Cramer's. Her friends greeted her warmly and tossed a few polite greetings his way. While he often wished Rose was in Slytherin with him, Ravenclaw was certainly the next best. Those in her house didn't irritate him nearly as much as the Gryffindor or Hufflepuff students. Well, with the exception of Warren and Faye, of course.

She was in the middle of a conversation with Tom regarding the Apparition lessons they were enrolled in when Faye, Adam, Markus, and Rebecca entered the Great Hall and tried to find a table. The two girls were following the boys and were smiling and laughing with each other. He watched as a dark look passed over Rose and he recognized a small flame of a temper ignite inside of her. "Faye has changed quite a bit," she said. Her voice was convincingly calm, but he knew her well enough now that he could read her emotions in her dark blue eyes. "It's funny, really, before she and Adam were together, she wouldn't have anything to do with Rebecca."

Before Tom had a chance to respond, the darkness disappeared from her eyes, and she turned to look at him once more. "I do hope they'll serve dinner soon, I'm absolutely starved."

Her wish was granted; after Dippet said a few words, various plates of food began appearing on the table in front of them. They ate dinner, during which Tom was forced to listen to Warren's innumerable stories about his summer internship at the Ministry, many of which he had already heard during their Slug Club meetings. Though Springer was Cramer's date, Tom noticed that he kept glancing over at Rose as if to make sure that she was listening to his every word. She looked unfortunately attentive and Tom hoped that this was just out of politeness rather than genuine interest.

Tom was relieved when they finished dinner and could escape him. The Hogwarts staff began moving tables and chairs around to create space in the middle of the room for a dance floor. A band that Tom had never heard of stepped onto the stage that had suddenly appeared at the front of the Great Hall and the entire room burst into cheers and applause.

Judging from the way that Rose was clapping enthusiastically, she was quite fond of the band. "Aren't they marvelous?" she asked as they began their first song and a few couples made their way to the dance floor.

"Oh, yes," he said, pretending to be as much of a fan. He thought that she might want to dance, but his entire plan for the evening was to wait for a slower song. For one, he assumed that this would be more romantic, but it would also be much easier to dance to than a faster number. Dancing was one skill that Tom hadn't bothered to learn. "Would you like a drink?" he asked her over the music that was beginning to grow much louder.

"Sure," she took his arm again and he led her to the drinks table. He handed her a cup of punch and took one for himself as well.

Rose set down her drink on a nearby table and opened her small silver hand-purse, taking out a tiny vial. "I used an Undetectable Extension Charm to pour my entire bottle of Beefeater's in here. Want some?"

He nodded, though he truly hated the taste of her favorite intoxicant. She glanced around before pouring a generous amount in each of theirs. "Cheers." She smiled and tipped her cup against his before taking a long drink. Tom followed suit, and concealed a grimace from the taste.

For a while, they stood and drank their punch, looking out at the various couples on the dance floor. A song was ending and he was preparing himself to ask her for a dance, if a slow song began next. To his dismay, Cramer chose that exact moment to walk up to them and say, "Emily's dancing with Vince for a round; care to take a go around the floor, Horton? If that's alright with you, Riddle."

He was infuriated, but certainly didn't want Rosemary to see his jealously. "Of course," he said coolly. He watched as Warren took her hand and led her to dance. It absolutely tortured him to watch. Her first dance of the night would be with someone other than him? Why hadn't he done something else to stop it from happening?

He cursed himself and Warren Cramer as he moved closer to the dance floor to catch a better view of them. She smiled up at him and laughed at some inaudible joke he had told her. Tom felt sick once more; wasn't that the same way she looked at him? Perhaps what they had wasn't unique at all and was entirely one-sided.

Finally, an agonizing three minutes and forty-five seconds later, the song ended. Tom started onto the dance floor to steal her back from Cramer just as the band announced that they would be taking a half-hour break. He sighed in frustration, but fortunately, a record player appeared on stage and began playing a slow tune.

Tom found Warren and Rose and he said, "I believe Miss Springer finished her dance." He gestured to Warren's date on the side of the dance floor and Cramer let go of Rose.

He put one arm around her back and the other in her hand. When he touched her, he was reminded that her dress had a cut-out design that left her upper back bare. He could feel her warm skin beneath his fingertips and it took every ounce of self-restraint to quiet the growing arousal in his trousers. Rose met his gaze and smiled, and he realized that the look she had given Warren was entirely different from the look she was giving him. She looked completely relaxed and genuinely happy, while with Cramer it had been more of a polite pleasantness. The look left no questions in his mind; now, he knew with complete certainty that she felt the same way for him as he did for her.

Rose wasn't sure if she felt tipsy from the gin or the feeling of Tom's fingers resting against her exposed back. It was perhaps a bit of both. He looked so unbelievably handsome in his suit. They danced close together, occasionally meeting each other's gaze. She dreaded the song's ending; she wanted to stop time and cherish his light touch. Her only regret was that he wasn't her first dance of the evening; she had been quite surprised when Warren had asked her to dance. They were friends, of course, but not that close.

When the song ultimately did end, he didn't let go of her and she kept her hand on his shoulder. They stood like that in silence for a moment as though neither of them wanted to be the one to break contact. Fortunately, one of her favorite slow songs, a Glenn Miller tune, began and they could delay letting go of each other for a bit longer. She pondered his part of their hesitation to pull away; it should have indicated so clearly that he fancied her, but she was still too afraid to put all of her stock into so few signals. Until the words to prove it came from his mouth, she could never be certain of his feelings.

Rose glanced out across the dance floor for a moment and recognized the jealous looks being thrown her way. For a moment, she relished the satisfaction of attending the ball with the most desired boy at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, a bad taste seemed to enter her mouth when she also saw Faye and Adam dancing next to Rebecca and Markus. The couples were talking and joking back and forth as if they were all the best of friends. She didn't even care that Markus had asked Rebecca, but Faye's betrayal of her stung deeply. Faye, who had once been so loyal to Rose, was now positively amiable with Orion. She had complained to Rose extensively about how much of a bother it was to pretend to be nice to the Slytherin girl, but either Faye was an extremely good actress or she was actually developing a friendship with her. Rose worried that it was the latter. After all, Faye rarely spent time in their dormitory anymore, constantly with Adam and the other couple instead. Rose felt abandoned and it burned inside of her.

She must have had a grimace on her face because Tom said in a soft voice, "I do hope you aren't jealous that Avery brought Orion…"

"No," Rose said quickly. "It's not as though I didn't expect it. Besides, I'm quite happy that things are finished between him and me."

"So am I."

What was that supposed to mean? She looked into his eyes, the irises so dark they were nearly black. Unfortunately, they didn't betray the true meaning behind his words. Had he meant that he was happy for her simply because she was happier? Or was he happy because he fancied her and Markus was finally out of the way? Once again, she was reminded of the huge disparity that existed between Tom and everyone else that she spoke to. With everyone else, she could maintain an air of smooth confidence and didn't read much into their words. Tom, though, made her feel utterly vulnerable and open. There was no way to know what was happening inside his brilliant mind and it both terrified and fascinated her. She had an undying curiosity for him, of which she had just begun to scratch the surface.

Rose still knew almost nothing about his past. He never spoke of his family or childhood. She found it odd that she hadn't heard of his surname, though there wasn't really a doubt in her mind that he was a pure-blood. He simply had an air about him which indicated that was the case. She speculated that perhaps his parents had immigrated to Britain from some other country when he was young. It wasn't far-fetched; London and the surrounding area had become one of the most quickly flourishing wizarding communities and there was massive immigration in the early 1900s. But this was speculation at best. Rose wanted to know everything there was to know about him; his family was just one piece of a very large puzzle.

"I'm sorry about Donohue," he said, as she remembered that he had witnessed her bothered look a few moments before. "I'm sure you miss spending time with her.

Rose sighed. "It's fine. She's just acting that way because she wants to get along with Adam's friends." After a moment's pause, she added while smiling at him, "Besides, since she and Avery are constantly together, it gave me a chance to get to know you."

"That's true," he smiled back at her. "I'm certainly thankful for that."

It was then that she realized they had stopped dancing. His hand moved up her back slightly as though he was trying to pull her even closer and she stepped toward him another inch. A desperately hopeful thought passed through her mind: was he about to kiss her? They were standing so close that she could feel his warm breath on the tip of her nose.

She was so nervous that she had to fight to keep herself from shaking. "I think you know more about me than anyone, even Faye." Her voice was soft and quiet. "It's rather funny because there is so much about you that I don't know."

For a moment, Tom didn't say anything. She felt him press her even closer to him: so close that her chest brushed against his. He lowered his head just a bit and said in a voice that was barely louder than a whisper, "Well, would you like to?"

It was enough to send a delightful shiver down her spine. The way he was speaking to her was entirely different from the polite, somewhat stoic, Tom that she had grown so accustomed to. This was the tender, open version that she had been aching to see for so very long. It was in that moment that she knew, indubitably, that there was much more than friendship between them and she was filled with an incomprehensible amount of both relief and euphoria. It took every ounce of remaining self-control not to throw herself at him. "Yes, I would," she replied softly.

"Then I'd like to show you something, if you'd allow me, Miss Horton," he said, stepping away from her slightly.

"Okay." She smiled at him. "Do your worst, Mr. Riddle."

He gave her a little smirk that made her heart quiver and took her hand, leading her away from the dance floor. Faye tried to catch her eye and wave, but Rose ignored her. She didn't want to allow any toxic thoughts to taint this moment with Tom. They reached the entrance to the Great Hall when he paused and turned to face her once more. "On second thought, it may take a while. We could wait and go after the ball is finished if you'd like to stay…"

"Certainly not! I'm much too curious now," she told him.

"Alright." He gave her a satisfied smile. "Well you'll have to close your eyes."

She did as he said and he took her hand once more, leading her away from the dance. The music slowly faded away as they continued walking. "There are some stairs," he said hesitantly.

"I can't just open my eyes to walk up the stairs?"

"No," he said.

"Of course not, that would be much too easy."

"Take my other hand; I'll tell you when to step." She could tell that he was smiling through the sound of his voice. "Alright, step up." She followed his voice and put her right foot on the first step. "Again," he said, as she brought her left foot onto the staircase.

Slowly, they made their way up the staircase. Rose had originally been counting the number of stairs, but lost count somewhere along the way. Oh, how odd they must have looked, with her eyes closed and Tom walking backwards up the stairs to guide her. But she didn't care. The vast majority of the school was in the Great Hall anyway. "Almost there," he said, his cool hands tugging gently on hers.

Rose tripped over the next stair and fell toward him, but he caught her easily with his strong arms. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes." She laughed at herself for a moment and she heard him let out a faint chuckle.

"Did you look?"

"No," she answered honestly. It was true; her eyes had remained closed even when she was falling. She had trusted him entirely to catch her.

"Good."

They reached the top of staircase and continued walking. Rose was just happy that this new surface was flat. After a couple of minutes passed, Tom stopped and turned her slightly. "Now sit down, there's a bench right behind you."

She followed his command and he let go of her hands. "You'll only have to wait here for a moment. Do you promise you'll keep your eyes closed?" he asked.

Rose nodded. She was aching with curiosity to see what he wanted to show her.

"I'll be right back," he told her.

"I'm sorry to interrupt; it's just, I'm constantly on the cusp of trying to kiss you. I don't know if you feel the same as I do, but we could be together if you wanted to." – Alex Turner

There's a bit of a cliff-hanger this time! Where do you think Tom brought Rose? I'm curious what your guesses might be, feel free to speculate and send a review my way(:

You'll find out the answer this Sunday with Chapter 10, titled Letting Go. Thank you for reading!