Reconciliation and Retribution
March 31, 1944
Rose lounged on her bed, flipping through her notes and feeling perfectly content. As Friday had finally arrived, her plans were to join Loretta and Emily for dinner in the Great Hall in a little while and meet up with Tom in the Room of Requirement when he finished his Prefect rounds. Her dueling abilities had improved markedly, thanks to their weekly practices.
She smiled to herself when she thought of him; their relationship had bloomed into something even better than she had anticipated. With him, she could relax entirely and felt a sense of complete belonging. She couldn't help but remember the restless feeling she had felt with Avery; whenever she was with him, she had always felt as though there were some other place that she should be instead.
Her pleasant thoughts came to an abrupt halt when Faye entered the dormitory. Rose ignored her completely and returned to her notes. This had become their longest fight by far and it seemed as though a chance of reconciliation was nowhere in sight.
But, perhaps, this thought had been premature; Faye suddenly strode over to her and stood at the foot of her bed. "Rosemary, I can't take this anymore. We haven't spoken in weeks."
She could feel herself becoming weak at the words; she did want desperately to have her friend back, even though she was still angry. But Rose forced herself not to look up and to keep her eyes fixated at the parchment between her fingertips; if they were to reconcile, it would have to be on her terms. Rose could feel Faye's expectant gaze on her, but she was not one to apologize when she didn't mean it.
"Well?" Rose asked with a feisty tone, still refusing to look up.
"Fine, Rosie. I'm sorry for the things I said to you and I'm sorry for befriending Orion. I miss my dearest friend. Things aren't nearly as much fun without you around." Rose finally looked up and Faye offered her a small smile.
Rose was finally satisfied upon hearing the apology and the tears that she saw forming in the corners of Faye's eyes told her that it was genuine. Admittedly, she was still hurt by the remarks and the situation with Rebecca, but her desire to make amends had outweighed her anger. She returned the smile with her own and set down her notes. "I miss you too, Faye." She moved to the end of her bed and they exchanged a short hug.
"We have so much to catch up on!"
Each time they recovered from a fight, Rosemary was astounded by how quickly things seemed to return to normal. Perhaps it was simply a testament to the depths of their friendship. "We do," she nodded.
"How are you and Tom? I want to hear everything," Faye asked excitedly.
Rose rolled her eyes. "You don't have to pretend you like him. I know you don't."
She put up her hands defensively. "I'll admit that perhaps I didn't give him a fair chance. Adam seems to really respect him. I suppose the only thing I've ever had against him is the fact that he seemed immune to having a good time."
"Oh, perfect, so you value your boyfriend's opinion, but not mine."
"Don't be like that," her friend responded softly. "It's just that it's easy to think someone is perfect when you're falling for them. Obviously it gives you a bit of a biased opinion. Besides, it was plain shocking, with you and Markus ending and starting a relationship with Tom so soon after. I had no idea that you weren't happy with him…In fact, I was surprised that you didn't try to work things out after he told you about Rebecca."
Rose shrugged. "I didn't love him."
"Do you love Tom?" Faye asked, her eyes gleaming with eagerness to obtain the secrets she had missed.
"Yes." She couldn't keep herself from smiling; it was what happened every time she thought of him.
"Oh, Rose, that is so sweet. I think most people, myself included, are still surprised to see Tom Riddle in a relationship. Have your parents met him? I'm sure they'll be impressed."
"Not yet. I'd like him to visit during Easter vacation, but I haven't spoken to him about it yet. I'm sure he has plans with his own family." Even so, Rose made a mental note to bring it up to him later.
"I am happy for you, Rose. It's obvious how much you care for him." She sighed. "I have to say, things with Adam are equally splendid."
Rose doubted that anyone could be as happy as she was with Tom, but refrained from making a comment on the matter. "That's good to hear."
Faye nodded happily and then her face brightened even more. "I've just had the most fabulous idea: let's have one of our grand soirees in the Slytherin common room tonight to celebrate our amends. We can get everyone together and start fresh again."
Even though they had done it nearly a hundred times, it still felt rather ironic to host a party in the common room of a house they didn't belong to. Though the Slytherins –at least the male members of the house– didn't seem to mind very much. Rose didn't think about it much before responding; she doubted that Tom would mind as he had taken to drinking scotch quite often after she introduced it to him. "Yes, we should!"
Faye looked excited, but her face quickly darkened and she bit her lip. "This might be a poor time to discuss this, but I wouldn't feel right if we didn't invite Rebecca." Rose narrowed her eyes and she added, "I know you're angry with her, but really, she isn't nearly as annoying as we made her out to be."
"It was rather annoying when I found out she was sleeping with my boyfriend," Rose grumbled.
"You don't even have to speak with her, but she has been a friend to me for these past few weeks. She's even opened up to me a bit and told me that she'd like to talk to you. I'm sure she wants to apologize for the situation with Markus."
"Fine, invite her," Rose said. She knew that if she didn't agree to Faye's request, it would come off as petty and rather immature. Not to mention the fact that it would be difficult to keep Rebecca away from a party in the Slytherin common room. Besides, she was too happy to regain her friend to cause another fuss. "I doubt I'll be in the mood to speak with her though."
Faye nodded in understanding. "We should go down for dinner so I can let the others know our plans."
They left their dormitory and on their way to the Great Hall, they proceeded to catch up on all the gossip they hadn't gotten the chance to talk about. Rose felt several pairs of eyes watch them as they entered the cavernous room; now it was they who were surely the subject of the school's gossip, at least amongst the students that knew of their fight. Two pairs of these eyes belonged to Loretta and Emily, who were already seated at the Ravenclaw table. Each of them were sporting a look of surprise.
"I'll see you later tonight! We'll say around ten or so?" Faye squealed in delight and pinched Rose's arm. "I'm so excited!"
Rose beamed and nodded. They parted ways as Faye headed to the Slytherin table to inform the others. She had thought just earlier that afternoon that she couldn't be more content, but her reunion with Faye had proven that she had clearly been mistaken. She truly seemed to have it all: the perfect boyfriend, stellar marks in all her classes, and now, her best friend. She was filled with optimism as well as a sense of security that things were more copacetic than ever before and she felt certain that they wouldn't be changing anytime soon.
She slid onto the bench across from Loretta and Emily, who were looking at her with their mouths gaping open. "Close your mouths ladies; it's unseemly," she said nonchalantly, as though nothing of note had taken place.
Loretta crossed her arms. "So I take it you and Donohue are on good terms again…"
Rose simply smiled up at her as she helped herself to a piece of chicken and a scoop of vegetables, placing them on the plate in front of her.
"Bloody hell, Rosemary. Now we have to be nice to her again." Emily threw up her hands in exasperation.
"No you don't," she pointed out.
"You're right, that wouldn't be uncomfortable at all," Loretta sarcastically replied.
Rose shrugged. She was too content to bother with their approval of the situation. Besides, as cruel as it may sound, she realized that Ashcroft and Springer had merely served as placeholder friends until she and Faye made amends.
Springer sighed. "Well, I can't even worry about Faye right now. I have some news of my own." She paused dramatically, waiting for the other two witches to implore her for the secret. After she was met with the disappointing silence of the other two witches, there was a certain twinge of annoyance in her voice: "Oh, I'm sorry I'm such a bore. I just thought you might like to know what Warren said to me today."
Loretta rolled her eyes. "What, did he ask to compare notes for Transfigurations again? Groundbreaking, Emily, really."
"No," she said in a snarky tone. It was odd how quickly it shifted to pure excitement the moment she began speaking again: "He asked if I'll be at the match against Slytherin tomorrow!"
Rose took another bite of chicken and inwardly cringed at her friend's excitement. It was normal for Warren to ask the entire house if they were planning to attend the Quidditch matches. He wasthe Captain of Ravenclaw's team, after all. In fact, earlier in the week Warren had asked Rose if she were planning to go. She and Loretta exchanged knowing glances before glancing at their bubbling, naïve friend and back again. It was becoming rather clear that Warren simply did not have the same feelings for Emily, but how were they supposed to tell her that?
"I'm sure he will appreciate your support," Rose said politely, aiming to remain as blasé about his comment as possible so Emily might be discouraged from reading into it even more than she clearly already had.
Emily abruptly pushed her dinner plate away and said resolutely, "I should watch my figure more carefully for him."
Rose and Loretta exchanged yet another concerned glance.
It seemed like an eternity between leaving dinner and when Tom finally arrived on the seventh floor to meet her. She had been itching to inform him of the update regarding Faye and the party they were expected to attend later that evening. "How were your rounds?" she greeted him, giving him a quick peck on the lips.
"I turned in a couple of Gryffindor third years that looked as though they were up to no good. Other than that, rather uneventful," he shrugged.
Rose smirked at him. Tom had always been exceptionally strict toward the Gryffindor house when it came to his prefect duties. She couldn't criticize him for it, as she was also prone to abuse her power from time to time.
"You look as though you have something you'd like to tell me, though," he continued, giving her a curious look while they entered the Room of Requirement.
"As a matter of fact, I do! Faye and I have finally reconciled!"
"I see," he said evenly. Rose had expected him to be more surprised, but should have known better. Tom was rarely caught off-guard by anything and when he was, he didn't show it. Still, Rose was puzzled by his hesitation. She had her suspicions that he didn't like Faye, but shouldn't he at least pretend to be happy for her? "Was it you that apologized or-"
"No, no, it was Faye," she clarified hastily with a wave of her hand. Could that have been the cause of his reluctance? Had he just wanted to make sure that she maintained her position of power of the situation? This possibility didn't seem too far off; she knew that he was proud of the way that she had handled the situation, claiming the Slytherin common room as her territory. She knew because he had told her so. In the way they thought about that sort of thing, Tom and Rose were quite alike. She supposed this had something to do with their nearly inhuman level of pride and arrogance.
His satisfied expression upon hearing her words indicated that her hypothesis had been correct.
"I have to admit, I enjoyed catching up with her again. Perhaps we can try another double date with them on the next trip to Hogsmeade."
Tom gave a slight eye roll and noted sarcastically, "Yes, Madam Puddifoot's went so well the first time. Perhaps we can sit and talk about the weather once more."
"We'll try The Three Broomsticks instead." She playfully smacked his arm. "Anyways, I almost forgot! She and I decided to have a bit of a get-together with the Slytherin house this evening. Consider yourself cordially invited."
"How kind of you to invite me to my own common room," he said dryly. "I don't suppose it will be an intoxicant-free get-together."
"What would give you that idea?" she smirked.
"Our Apparition Licensing test is tomorrow morning."
Admittedly, it had entirely slipped her mind in the merriment of regaining her oldest friendship. Even with Tom's reminder, though, her spirits were not dampened: the party would go on! "I'm not particularly worried." She waved her hand as though his concerns were floating in the air around them and she was trying to disperse them.
He gave her a disapproving look. It was rather funny that he was so reckless sometimes– like when he brought her to the Chamber of Secrets, for instance– and so conscientious of rules and obligations other times.
"Tom, you know there's nothing to fret over. You could just as well be teaching the Apparition class." She watched as he considered this for a moment. Early in their relationship she had realized that the easiest way to win with him was to stroke his ego. This was quite easy for her, it turned out; she admired him in so many ways and as such, the compliments were honest and came naturally.
"Mr. Pollack is a bit of a joke," Tom replied after a moment, a twitch of his lips revealing a small smile. "But really, Rosemary, your plans for tonight do not sound very responsible."
His disapproving tone bothered her; it reminded her of her parents and it made her even more dedicated to the idea of the party. "It's funny you mention that now and not earlier this week, when you ambushed me during my rounds on this very floor and pulled me into the Room of Requirement for a quick snog." Rose crossed her arms over her chest and he smiled at her sheepishly with a slight flush in his cheeks. It was one of those rare, wonderful moments where she caught him off-guard; she wished she could pause and savor it, but she was much too focused on the matter at hand. "You don't even have to drink," she pointed out, but the words even sounded ridiculous to her own ears. She couldn't imagine attending a party without drinking. "Well, perhaps just one."
Tom sighed and shook his head. Finally, he voiced a defeated "Fine".
Rose kissed his cheek excitedly. "It will be splendid, you'll see!" She believed it herself, too, until she remembered a certain other person would be attending. "Faye told me that Orion wants to apologize to me."
Tom nodded slowly. He pulled out a bright green apple from the pocket of his robes and took a bite, staring into space as though he was contemplating her words. Rosemary eyed the apple disapprovingly, knowing that this would be his dinner. She worried about his eating habits, or lack thereof, quite frequently. Tom seemed not to notice her look and said thoughtfully: "Would you like my advice?"
She nodded. Once again, she found herself wishing that she could crawl inside his mind just to see how it all worked. She learned more about him every day, but it still seemed as though there were some things about him that she would never understand, including his thought process.
This was demonstrated for what seemed like the millionth time when he presented his straightforward advice: "Let her."
Rose gave him a puzzled look, trying to figure out his angle. She truly hoped it wasn't about to turn into a 'you should be the bigger person because it's moral' type of advice. Because of this, she dreaded the answer as soon as she asked the question: "Why?"
"It would be significantly more useful to you if she feels inferior rather than bitter towards you. Don't accept her apology; rather, allow her to manifest her remorse in ways that would be more…valuable." He paused and cupped her cheek in his hand. "In this way you can demonstrate your superiority. As such,I believe it would be highly imprudent not to capitalize on such a situation."
She certainly hadn't expected that to be his advice; it wasn't something that had even remotely dawned on her. Admitting this to herself made her feel a queasy disappointment at her lack of resourcefulness on the matter. But then she remembered the mysterious wisdom in Tom that she so idolized and came to the realization that he, and only he, could have formulated such a proposal. It was that brilliant, gorgeously opportunistic, mind of his. Just when she thought her heart couldn't hold another particle of love for him, she fell even harder and deeper.
Compared to the average bloke, Tom knew he was exceptionally reflective. Even more so with the consumption of scotch, it seemed. And that night, he was doing quite a bit of reflecting.
The common room was overflowing with Slytherin students. Smoke from dozens of cigarettes made the air hazy and the two Ravenclaw girls were in the middle of it all. Tom watched as Rose and Faye played the parts of the perfect hostesses, ensuring that no one was without a drink in at least one hand. He had to admit that the party they had thrown together in less than a day seemed rather impressive, though he wasn't sure if he could properly judge such a thing given that this was only the second party he had ever attended.
He had been stubborn with Rosemary earlier, but as he lounged on a couch in the corner of the room with a glass of scotched served neat in his hand, Tom realized it wasn't nearly as bad as he had anticipated. Observing his drunken peers was actually an excellent opportunity to discover secrets about them that could be exploited later for his own personal gain. In addition, seeing the drunken version of Rose was always quite entertaining.
As he watched her move from person to person, lighting up the room with her dazzling smile, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of possessiveness each time she spoke to one of his male classmates. Not that he had anything to worry about: he did trust her intentions entirely and he knew that no one would dare to cross him by flirting with her. But he was selfish; he wanted her smile to be a pleasure that only he could receive. It was unfortunate that social decorum so frequently prevented his wish from becoming a reality.
He even felt this way when she spoke with Avery of all people. Clearly, there was nothing to be envious of there. Tom knew better than to think she had any residual feelings for him whatsoever. Still, it didn't mean he enjoyed seeing them speak to each other. Perhaps he felt more protective than envious, now that he knew Avery had lied about her sexual proficiency. It was odd that she didn't seem angrier about it, but then again Avery was one of her earliest friends and she had probably accepted the fact that he was a complete tosser ages ago.
In spite of the tragedy of watching as she wasted her lovely smile on such unworthy people, it was a tremendous relief to see her so elated. Sure, she had been plenty happy in the past few weeks, but the trace of sadness in her deep blue eyes was unmistakable. He was proud of her for refusing to give in and apologize first, but she had clearly missed Faye. While he wished she had a more impressive– or at least slightly less vapid– best friend, it was much more preferable to see her entirely content.
He downed the rest of his glass and it was as though Rose could hear the sound of the empty crystal against the end table as he set it down. She immediately strode over to him and picked it up, asking if he'd like another. It was tempting, but he certainly wanted to be in the right state of mind during their Apparition Licensing test the following morning.
She shrugged and sipped from her own drink. "Suit yourself."
"Come sit with me for a moment." He beckoned her toward him and she cheerfully obeyed, plopping down next to him. Tom could tell from her movements, which were slightly less graceful than usual, that she was certainly buzzed if not entirely drunk.
Rose lit a cigarette and rested her head in his lap, looking up at him with the beautiful smile he had just been admiring from across the room. He returned her smile with his own and stroked her hair. "You've been working so hard to make sure everyone is having a nice time. I hope you're enjoying yourself."
"Yes, certainly!" Rose said. She sat up abruptly and looked into his eyes. "Oh Tom, everything is perfect. I can't think of a single thing that would make me happier than I am right now."
"I'm so pleased to hear that."
She leaned in and kissed him passionately; he could taste the gin on her tongue. When she pulled away she said: "Actually, there is something I've been meaning to ask."
"And what is that?"
"Well, I'm sure that you're spending Easter with your family, but I was wondering if you'd like to visit sometime during the holiday and meet my parents. I hope you don't think I'm being too forward."
"Not at all, I'd love to visit."
As soon as the words came from his lips, he hated himself for his own impulsiveness. He had been so caught up in her the last few weeks that he had almost entirely forgotten the last barrier to their togetherness: her family. Sure, it whispered at him in the back of his mind at times, but up until now, he could ignore it as something not to worry over.
Now the time had come and he instantly regretted his unthinking rashness. What next? He began to sweat while he listed the options in his head:
1. Attempt to fake your blood status. This may be near impossible considering her parents will likely have a list in their heads of all potential pureblood matches for her at Hogwarts. Perhaps you could claim your family came from abroad.
2. Make up some excuse as to why you can't attend.
3. Tell Rose everything and see what she thinks is best. They are her parents, after all.
Tom swallowed hard, realizing that these weren't very good options to pick from. Option 2 could be ruled out almost immediately; even if he put off the encounter now, it would have to happen at some point. Option 1 also had a downside: lying to Rosemary. A month and a half ago, when they first went steady, he might not have had a problem with this. But as they grew closer, it was becoming harder and harder to lie to her. It still tempted him from time to time, but whenever he did it made him feel worse than he ever had in his life. Even if it was something trivial like telling her he missed a couple of points on their Charms exam to make her feel better about her imperfect (but still the second best in the class) score.
She had dealt with enough lies in her past relationship; he wanted to treat her better than Avery had because he loved her and she deserved it. He knew there was another piece within him too, one that desired for her to accept him entirely. Of course, there were some things he simply could never tell her, such as his utilization of the Chamber of Secrets last year, but he wanted to keep that list at a minimum.
But informing her of his past and his blood status was terrifying and equally as conflicting. If she accepted it easily, he knew he might actually look down on her for it. He wanted her to share his views of pureblood dominance. Then there was the other possibility that she wouldn't accept it and that she would either break things off or forever look down on him for it. He couldn't decide which of these potential outcomes the worst was.
He glanced down at her as she rested her head against his shoulder. Perhaps, if she were drunk enough, she would forget that she had even asked him in the first place. It would at least buy him some time while he decided what to do. "I'll get you another drink," he said, picking up her empty glass from the end table beside them.
She smiled up at him appreciatively and he rose from the couch, attempting to find the best way to get through the sweaty crowd of people without actually touching anyone. Finally he made it to the table that was covered in dozens of liquor bottles. As he prepared Rose's drink, a fourth year girl approached him. He thought her name was Gwen Carrow, but wasn't certain.
"It's quite the party," she commented.
Tom gave a slight nod, only half listening to her. He was busy searching the table for the bottle of Beefeater, which was nowhere to be found. He at least spotted a different brand, Tanqueray, and opened it, figuring that Rose would be too drunk to notice the difference.
"I have to say, it's a surprise to see you here, even though you are dating Rose and all."
He didn't like the way that Carrow had said her name, but didn't let it show. It was clear that she was simply jealous. Finally he looked up at her. The witch was curling her blonde hair around her finger nervously and kept glancing over at her nearby friends. He had thought that, perhaps, when he began dating Rose, these inane girls would be discouraged from approaching him. However, they seemed hungrier for his charm than ever before.
He supposed that indulging his ego for a moment wouldn't hurt. "Cheers, Miss Carrow." He raised the glass of gin at her and gave a small smirk.
She blushed instantly, appearing to lose all of her faux confidence as she mumbled the words, "Cheers, Tom."
Tom glanced over at her friends and raised the glass, sending a smirk in their direction as well. He walked away from them, rolling his eyes as soon as his back was turned to their dazed, open-mouthed looks.
"I'll drink to that," he heard one of them say.
He finally made it back to Rose and handed her the fresh drink and returning to his spot beside her.
"Well thank you, sir!" She beamed up at him before taking a drink. "This isn't Beefeater," she noted flatly.
He was baffled that she could actually tell. "I'm sorry, I tried to find it, but-" he started to explain quickly.
"I like it quite a bit, actually. It might be even better than Beefeater," she said as he breathed a sigh of relief. He certainly didn't want to have to pay another visit to the drink table and deal with the swooning girls again. "What was the brand?"
"Tanqueray," he informed her, though he wasn't sure if he was even pronouncing it right.
"Tan-que-ray," she repeated, speaking each syllable slowly. "It sounds so familiar. I think it was what my grandfather always used to drink."
Tom was about to reply when Rebecca walked up to them and looked at Rose nervously. "Can I speak with you in private, Rose?"
He waited; now was the true test of whether or not she would follow through and take his advice on the situation.
"Anything you say to me, you can say in front of my boyfriend," Rose said resolutely. Tom admired the move; it was a clear signal that she was even more in control of the situation than before. Clearly, she was catching on to his manipulative way of thinking quite quickly.
"Okay…" Rebecca sat down on the couch next to her and Tom pretended that he wasn't listening. "Well, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for everything that happened with Markus before you two broke up."
Rose merely shrugged and examined her nails.
"I don't want things to be uncomfortable between us," Orion continued. "Now that you and Faye are on speaking terms again, we'll all be spending a lot more time together."
Tom hoped that her prediction wasn't true. He aimed to spend as little time with these people as possible, with the exception of Rosemary of course.
Rose continued giving her a suspicious look.
"Really, I am sorry. I've even ditched Olive after I found out about her situation with Tom and the…situation…that happened between them."
His heart stopped momentarily and he looked at Rose; he hadn't told her about his run-in with Olive over a month ago when he had called her a whore. Though, from the way she maintained her perfect composure, Tom thought that maybe she somehow already knew about it.
Rose said nothing for a moment, even though Rebecca was looking at her desperately. Finally, she downed her glass of gin and asked sweetly, "Becca, would you be a dear and fetch me another round of gin? Tanqueray."
The girl nodded and took the glass from her hand, giving Rose an appreciative smile. "I'm excited to get to know you better, Horton."
"And I'm excited for the gin that you're getting me," she said pointedly.
Rebecca took the hint and scampered away toward the drink table. Tom was thoroughly impressed at her handling of the situation and how quickly Orion had fallen under her control. It had been a momentary distraction of his panic as she had brought up Hornby.
"You can explain the "situation" with Olive later," she said to him as she stood. The way she spoke, full of graceful power, was both terrifying and undoubtedly sexy. "I'm going to check on everyone to make sure they're still having a nice time."
Tom nodded at her, watching as she charmed her way through the crowd. He realized more and more that her personality was such a close reflection of his own, and he found this to be quite an exciting prospect. If (or when) they were made Head Boy and Head Girl of Hogwarts the following year, they would be indisputably unstoppable. Together, he thought, they would rule Hogwarts.
"And there she was: reflecting so brightly the warmth that she installs. And there she was: we were infinite for a moment." – Craig Owens
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