I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Thanks to those who reviewed/submitted some guesses as to where Tom took Rose: NoneOfYourBusiness101, Jofrench22, Mrs. TomMarvoloRiddle, and TheAlleyKat. One of you guessed right!

Letting Go

February 12, 1944

"Open," he said in Parseltongue. The sink expanded and revealed the hole that led to the Chamber of Secrets. "Lumos" He lit the tip of his wand and jumped into the hole. It was only a short drop, but looked much steeper when it was covered in darkness. He quickly made his way into the Chamber and as he traveled deeper, he saw the Basilisk slither through one of the pipes.

"Hide away," Tom said, again in Parseltongue, as he heard the sound of the giant snake's movement grow fainter and fainter. Of course, he couldn't simply bring Rosemary into the Chamber without banishing the potentially dangerous creature.

He returned to the surface and met her in the hall once more. Tom was pleased to see that she still had her eyes closed. "Tom, is that you?" she asked, as he walked closer to her.

"Yes, I'm here. Follow me," he said, reaching down to take her warm hand.

He led her into the girls' bathroom and brought her to the edge of the hole. It was then that he realized she was still wearing her gown from the ball, and this presented a bit of a problem. The Chamber had quite a few puddles, in addition to piles of bones that were left over from the various creatures the Basilisk consumed. She probably wouldn't want to walk through all of that. He cursed himself for not thinking all of this through a bit more. He had just gotten so caught up in the moment and was thoroughly enjoying this. There was something quite intimate about leading her around the castle with her eyes closed, after all.

Finally, he said "There's a bit of a drop here, and some water. I don't want you to ruin your dress…I could carry you if that's okay."

"Sure." An amused look passed over her face and she smirked. "Where on earth are you taking me, Tom Riddle?"

"You'll see." He scooped her light body off the ground and jumped into the hole. They made their way through the pipes and he was careful not to catch her dress on anything. Finally, he reached the true Chamber with its vast columns and Salazar Slytherin's statue.

He set her feet down and positioned her so that she would have the perfect view when she opened her eyes. Tom stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders and bent his head down to her ear. "Open your eyes," he whispered.

"Oh, Tom!" She looked all around and turned to face him momentarily. "It's magnificent. What is this place?"

"The Chamber of Secrets," he told her nonchalantly.

A look of worry flooded her eyes. "Isn't this dangerous to be here? Last year-"

"You are completely safe," he interrupted and told her. "Hagrid and his acromantula are gone now."

When he heard his own words, he was hit by an extremely jarring feeling. His mind was flooded with memories of the previous year, when the Chamber of Secrets was last opened. He could remember finding the Chamber, opening it, and discovering the Basilisk. He knew from his extensive reading about the Chamber that the Basilisk was deadly, but also knew that it had to be released from the Chamber by an heir of Slytherin to travel throughout the school.

Tom was sure that he hadn't released it, but it was in that moment that he realized that there was an odd gap of time between his discovery of the Chamber and Myrtle's death. Shortly after which he had caught Hagrid with the acromantula. He was curious why he couldn't remember anything between these two events, but could remember everything after. Tom could recall hearing the news of Myrtle and not feeling particularly sad. She was a Muggle-born and quite annoying, after all. It was better her than the students whose magical powers ran in their bloodline. He could also remember turning in Hagrid to Headmaster Dippet and the look of suspicion from Professor Dumbledore.

But why was he suspicious? Tom had simply found the entrance to the Chamber, not that he would reveal this part of the story to his teachers, of course. He didn't want to shoulder any of the blame for the attack in the school. He couldn't exactly help the fact that Hagrid had stumbled upon it and had decided to raise a lethal pet in the Chamber. After Hagrid was caught, Tom had closed it so that other students wouldn't be able to enter. He had done the right thing, hadn't he?

This was the first time he had entered the Chamber since that night and his lack of memory was beginning to bother him. But he would ponder it later; for now, he was there with Rose and that was all that mattered.

"Won't we get in trouble for being down here?"

"Miss Horton, since when has the prospect of getting in trouble prevented you from doing anything?" He knew better than that and gave her a look that said so. As a prefect, she had a bit of a reputation of letting the students of her house wander in past curfew on a nightly basis. Not to mention the number of late-night parties she had attended in the Slytherin common room, which were rampant with underage drinking. It was quite different from the way that Tom approached his duties and he couldn't imagine ceding his power in the same way, but her carelessness mostly amused him. Even though it was a way that they were dissimilar, he rather liked it about her in a way. She had a wild side that he could never fully predict; it was quite exciting to him.

Rose tilted her head slightly, smiled, and said, "I suppose you're right. So how did Hagrid find this place?" She walked over to a nearby pillar and traced one of the carved snakes with her hand.

"Well…I opened the Chamber last year," he told her, hoping that she would trust his version of events entirely because of how close they had gotten. "The attacks really had nothing to do with it, but Professor Dumbledore was convinced that the two events were connected somehow. It was just coincidence that Hagrid had found the Chamber after I had opened it and was using it to keep his little pet around the same time. I sealed it again after he was expelled so that no one else could find it." To his mind, the story was true, but he had a dark feeling that there was a huge piece missing. Yet he simply couldn't place it.

"How could he be so careless? They shouldn't have let him stay on the grounds, in my opinion." She shook her head and returned to him. "Anyway, if Hagrid just found it by accident, how did you find it?"

"Do you know who built the Chamber of Secrets?" he asked her.

"All I know about it are the rumors from last year. Wasn't it built by Salazar Slytherin?"

"Yes, it was. Only the heir of Slytherin can open it."

Rose understood immediately. She looked at him in disbelief and surprise. "Tom, that's amazing. You! The heir of Slytherin!" After a moments pause to let the words sink in, she added, "Actually, it rather makes sense; you're essentially the golden boy of Slytherin."

"You mean Hogwarts," he said with a smirk, though when he realized that his blatant arrogance had escaped from his lips, he was immediately mortified.

It amazed him that she didn't seem put off at all. In fact, she began to lightly trace the back of his hand with her fingers and matched his smirk. "Yes, Tom, you're also the golden boy of Hogwarts. In addition to being the most modest, of course."

He felt his face grow slightly warm at her teasing, but he was relieved she hadn't taken offense at his arrogance. "Let's sit down," he said, doing his best to change the subject. She eyed the ground warily and he remembered that it was rather dirty. "Here," he said, removing his suit jacket and setting it on the ground for her to sit on.

"You're always such a gentleman, Tom," she said as she sat down on his coat.

Tom sat down next to her. "Not always," he said with another smirk. He was primarily referring to the extremely explicit thoughts that constantly plagued his mind when he was near her.

"Oh do tell!"

He wished he could tell her all of his filthiest thoughts of her, or better yet, act them all out. "You know I won't. You'll just have to speculate," he teased.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes in an overly theatrical way, as though she were pretending to be annoyed at his refusal to tell her. After a moment, she dropped her act as they both laughed together.

"Thank you for showing me this place," she said. "It's all rather surreal."

"I'm happy to have the chance to show you."

She blushed. He was so close to having her, after months of biding his time. It was becoming easier and easier to engage her flirtatiously and now he was certain of his feelings and hers, but he still held himself back from kissing her. Something told him that when he did, he could never see the world the same again. It would be "Tom and Rose" instead of just "Tom". He knew that each decision he made would have to consider her point of view entirely, and this process was not something that he was used to in the slightest. Before her, he hadn't even had a true friend to speak of. Being entirely alone had its own advantages; it allowed him to think of only his own interests. For a brief, terrifying moment, he wondered if he could put his selfishness aside to make room for her. As someone who had focused so completely on themselves, how would he have the first clue of a way to make her happy?

"Earlier, when I said I wanted to know more of you?" Rose started. "Well, truthfully I'd like to know everything there is to know about you. You're rather fascinating."

Her words seemed to shoot adrenaline through his body. His heart beat hard against his chest and he felt weak, but he managed to say, "I feel exactly the same for you, Rose."

She stopped and turned to look at him with a look of surprise and happiness. "That's the first time you've used my first name." Her voice turned teasing once more. "Does that mean we're finally friends?"

As he met her gaze, he knew that regardless of his fears, he would try everything in his power to ensure her happiness. He allowed every ounce of fear and pressure to leak and dissolve from his soul; he resolved to be brave for her. It was in this moment, looking into her deep blue eyes, that he irreparably let himself go.

"No, Rose, we're not friends." He said it slowly with his trademark smirk, the one that still made her stomach flutter mercilessly.

The room was spinning suddenly and time seemed to stand still. Thousands of memories patched themselves together in her mind as she recalled everything that had brought them to this moment. He shifted his body so that he was turned toward her slightly and reached up to lightly stroke her cheek. "Will you close your eyes for me again?" he asked softly.

She did so without a word. A fraction of a second passed before she suddenly felt his lips pressing against hers. Energy traveled through her body and she felt as though she was being lit up from within. The kiss was short and he pulled away so she opened her eyes again; she was rather surprised to see how nervously he was looking at her. Rose had never seen his confidence falter. Perhaps he was simply gauging her reaction.

Well, she would certainly give him a reaction if that's what he desired. She leaned toward him and kissed him harder as her hands buried themselves in his thick dark hair. He reciprocated with equal gusto and she fell onto her back while he leaned over her. Unfortunately, the Chamber of Secrets' floor was extremely hard and cold, which made for a bit of an uncomfortable snogging surface.

"The ball will probably go on another hour or so…we could go back to your dormitory," she suggested, hoping she didn't sound too forward. Hers wasn't exactly an option as there were several spells in the way of boys entering the girls' dormitories.

He nodded and helped her to her feet. He carried her out of the Chamber with her eyes closed, as per his request. She couldn't tell if he wanted to keep the location of its entrance a secret because he didn't trust her or if he just wanted to be one of the few people that knew where it was. Rose assumed it was the latter and while she was curious, she would respect his wishes.

Well, she certainly knew something about him now. Her head was still spinning, trying to process everything that had happened just a few minutes ago. He was the heir of Slytherin and had just taken her to the breathtakingly marvelous Chamber of Secrets for Gods sakes. And then of course, there was the kiss. She nearly shuddered in pleasure just at the thought of it.

She expected him to set her down when they left the Chamber of Secrets, but he ended up carrying her all the way to the dungeons and he set her down on what she assumed was his bed. Finally, he told her she could open her eyes again.

It occurred to her that it felt strange to be in his dormitory, sitting on his bed instead of Avery's. Tom distracted her from her thoughts as he kissed her again. She let herself fall back onto his pillow and pulled his tie so that he followed and suspended himself above her. Rose pulled down his face to meet hers and was struck by how absolutely perfect it felt to have his lips against hers. There was simply an undeniable spark with him that she had never felt kissing anyone else.

She untied his tie and took it from around his neck before tossing it aside. Then she began to unbutton his shirt kissing him more passionately with each button that was undone. He took the hint, removing it quickly and throwing it near his discarded tie. Rose looked down just to marvel at him for a moment at his ridiculously attractive body. He was slender, but not without plenty of muscle; she could feel his strength as she ran over his chest and arms with her hands.

Tom kissed her even more passionately as she touched him and pulled her so that she was sitting up once more. His lips didn't leave hers as his hands traced down her back to find the zipper for her dress. He unzipped it and she broke contact for a moment so that she could stand and allow the long dress to fall to the floor.

For a moment, he sat there just looking at her as she stood before him and she loved every minute of it. His eyes ran across her chest and traveled down the rest of her body, covered by only a black lacy bra and panties and thigh-high stockings. He gave her a devilish smirk. "You see, I'm not always a gentleman. And I'm getting the feeling that you aren't always such a lady." There was something in his voice, something sexy and dangerous, that drove her wild.

She bit her lip seductively and leaned down to give him a plentiful view of her cleavage. "Would you like to find out?"

"Yes, I think I would."

He ran his fingers up the sides of her legs and pulled her on top of him this time. "Would you say my name again?" she asked him, pushing a piece of hair back from his handsome face. "I like it when you do."

"Rose," he spoke softly, looking straight into her eyes. Her face was so close to his that she could feel the breath leave his lips as he said it.

Their lips met and she bit his bottom lip lightly. She could tell by the way his fingers gripped her thighs harder that he liked it. The bite had made his lips part slightly and she slithered her tongue inside his mouth. His tongue was eagerly awaiting and she relished the taste of him. By now, her knickers were beginning to grow quite damp with excitement.

She allowed herself to get even closer to him, pressing her chest, legs, and hips into his. When she did this, she realized that he was fully erect and it pressed against her as she let out a gasp of pleasant surprise. Even through his pants, she could tell that he was delightfully well-endowed. Rose wanted to taste every part of him, savoring each centimeter of his manly frame.

Tom turned them both over so she was on her back once more. His lips trailed down her neck and she let out a small moan of pleasure. She found herself wondering if this was the first time he had snogged a girl; if so, he was quite a natural. When he reached the base of her neck, he removed his lips from her skin and looked at her with his dark brown eyes. She still could barely believe that any of this was happening. They had both waited so long for each other, but this was most certainly worth the wait.

"You are very beautiful and I've waited quite some time to tell you that." The teasing tone of a few minutes before had ebbed from his voice and he was looking at her exactly the way she had wanted him to for months. Finally, she felt that he had completely opened up to her. She smiled and they kissed again.

A few minutes later, the door opened and Avery and Lestrange walked in, to Rose's horror. "Out," Tom spun around and said sharply; she had never seen him sound quite so agitated. Markus had caught her eye before they walked out and gave her a small wink; she was rather relieved that he wasn't offended at the fact that she was snogging one of his close friends in his own dormitory. Not that she had any reason to feel guilty; he was the one that had cheated on her, after all. Still, it was reassuring to think that things at least wouldn't be too awkward between them. It also served as another testament to the belief that their break-up had been in both of their best interests. Clearly, neither of them had remaining feelings for the other, and that was fine as far as she was concerned. She hadn't spoken with him since the Christmas party that her parents had dragged her to, and even there they only made polite small talk.

She was also rather impressed of how quickly they listened to Tom and had left. He obviously had their respect, as did the rest of Hogwarts. Rose realized that incredibly, she was now romantically involved with the most respected and longed for boy at Hogwarts. It felt strange to see their blossoming relationship as an accomplishment, but she couldn't banish the feeling of pride she got now that they belonged to each other. He was everything she had ever wanted and so very much more.

From outside the door to his dormitory, she could hear Faye proclaim: "I knew it! I knew it all along!"

Rose and Tom exchanged an annoyed glance and kissed once more, but now that everyone knew what they were up to, it felt too awkward to continue anything further. "I should go," she told him.

"I suppose," he sighed, cupping her cheek in his hand. "Promise me I'll see you tomorrow."

"I promise."

"He knew that when he kissed this girl and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never again romp like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning-fork that had struck upon a star. Then he kissed her." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Aww, so many feels! I know the part where Tom realized his memory was incomplete was probably a little confusing, but I'll go into that more with the next chapter. Also, we finally got a little zesty taste (hahah, lemons, get it?...sorry...) of some action between them! I'm just going to warn you all right now that there will be some sexual situations between them in many of the upcoming chapters and I'm probably not going to post a 'warning' on the top of every chapter this occurs in.

On a totally unrelated note, I've plotted out what I'd like to do for the rest of the story. It's looking like there will be 200 chapters in total (40 chapters each for Part I - Part V)! This will probably equate to 700,000 words, which is definitely the longest thing I have ever written. I'm so excited to keep working on it!

Thanks again to those who have followed, favorited, and reviewed! Much love to you all.