The Pretentious Git

May 20, 1944

She nuzzled her face against his neck, basking in the sweet scent of his skin. "Do we have to do training today?" she groaned.

"Yes." Even though she wasn't looking at him directly, she could tell that he was smirking from the tone of his voice.

"Are you sure? We could go again, you know…" she grasped his hand and guided it past her stomach, all the way to the tremendously wet place between her legs.

He gently touched her in many of the places that she loved to be touched. As she fought a moan, he murmured in her ear: "While I must admit that is quite tempting, we'll have to settle for another time."

She often found herself wondering how someone attractive as he was could possibly be human. And, although sex with him had been rather painful the first time, it had certainly become one of her favorite activities.

Tom removed his hand from her as he stood to search for his clothes and she groaned at his cruelty. However, even with all her complaints, she felt quite grateful at the fact that things had improved markedly between them over the last couple of weeks. While they still hadn't broached the topic of her parents directly, things seemed to be returning to the way they had been before the entire encounter.

"Just think," he smirked at her, "next year when we're Head Boy and Girl, we won't need to sneak into the Room of Requirement anymore or wait until Avery and Lestrange fall asleep."

"It can't come soon enough," she sighed, rolling over to the edge of the bed and looking at him upside-down as he dressed.

"Well, in order for it to happen, we have to complete our trainings."

She forced herself out of bed; he was right, of course. Besides, today was their last one and it would be nice to get them over with. Not only had they taken up much of their free time over the past couple of weeks, it was also rather awkward and uncomfortable given that their seventh-year mentors didn't seem to be too fond of them. Josephine didn't like Tom because he was a Slytherin and she a Gryffindor; Vincent didn't like Rose because she hadn't taken her role as a Prefect very seriously. Still, that didn't change the fact that they were actually the most qualified in their year. Josephine and Vincent would just have to accept it and move on.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived in the classroom where they had been meeting the current Head Boy and Girl regularly. Both of them looked rather cross at their late arrival, even though the clock on the wall told her that they were only one or two minutes tardy.

"Have a seat." Vincent gestured to the rows of desks.

Tom and Rose sat next to each other and Josephine began: "Right, so today we're talking about the importance of bonding with your team of Prefects as well as the student body as a whole." She started reaching for a piece of chalk.

Rose stifled a groan and exchanged a glance with Tom. First of all, the topic was just as mundane as the rest of their trainings, if not more so. Second, each time Duprie had a piece of chalk in her hand, it was an awful sign. It meant list upon mind-numbing list. More specifically: lists with an overabundance of acronyms they would never actually need.

"Is there a problem, Horton?" Vincent asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Not at all." She smiled at them both sweetly, but glared at each of them when they turned to face the board. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Tom was trying not to smile.

As she had predicted, several lists were created, but she paid little attention to each. Instead, Rose trained her eyes on a spider crawling on the wall above the board so that she would be the first to know if it decided to get any closer to her.

Their final training had been as equally dull as the others, but finishing it had generated a much more exquisite feeling. As Josephine erased her chalkboard ramblings, Vincent delivered some closing words: "Well, hopefully you both feel prepared to address and guide the Prefects while on the Hogwarts Express and over the course of the next term." He pursed his lips to pause and looked at Rose as if he were waiting, one last time, for her to say there had been some sort of misunderstanding and she hadn't actually been chosen for Head Girl. When she disappointed him with silence yet again, he continued: "I'm sure you'll do a fine enough job."

It wasn't very inspiring, but she'd take it.

On their way out of the room, Josephine asked, "Will we see you at Slughorn's later?"

Rose was reminded once more of the odd dynamics between the four of them when she realized that Josephine's question had only been directed at her, not Tom. She wasn't sure if he'd noticed; nor was she sure that he would be particularly bothered by it if he did, but she smiled and said, "Yes, we'll be there. It's our last meeting of the year after all, so I'm sure Slughorn will invite someone especially interesting."

Josephine nodded thoughtfully. "That's certainly true." She and Vincent turned toward the Grand Staircase and she said over her shoulder, "We'll see you later then!"

Rose waved at them and lingered at the base of the stairs with Tom. As soon as they were out of earshot, she said, "Merlin, I'm glad that's over. I didn't learn a damn thing from them over the past two weeks." With a sigh, she added her attempt at optimism: "Well, perhaps it will feel like it was worth it when we receive our badges in the post this summer."

He smirked and reached up, gently running his hand over her hair. "Even if we did learn something, it wouldn't matter. We aren't going to do things the way they did; we'll do things our own way. Hogwarts will be a much better place by the time we're through with it."

Rose looked up at him happily; she knew that his words were true, but it was delightful to hear him say them aloud. Getting named a Head was spectacular in itself and the fact that she could share it with Tom made it all the more incredible. It occurred to her long ago that anything she wanted to do in life sounded infinitely better if she would be able to share it with him. Perhaps, she thought, that was exactly what love was all about.

Later that evening, as they mingled with the other students in Slughorn's office, she still felt as if they were on top of the world. Next year, the school would be theirs. The rest of the school seemed to know it, too: both of them had gotten more popular since the news of their appointment had spread. It seemed as though everyone was suddenly attempting to win their favor, likely in hopes of attaining the perks that came with befriending the Head Boy or Girl.

As it was the last Slug Club meeting of the year, Slughorn had decided to throw a mixer rather than his traditional dinner. Hors d'oeurves were floating about on giant silver trays, as though invisible waiters were carrying them through the air. Rosemary thought it was a bit of a tacky touch; hiring actual workers would have been much more tasteful, but the party was only a small gathering of students anyway. Slughorn probably didn't feel the need to impress them more than he already had by providing free food as well as liquor for the of-age attendees.

She prepared a gin and tonic for herself and fetched a glass of scotch for Tom, who was in the middle of discussing the Dueling Club with Antonin Dolohov.

"Do you think we should hold tryouts for first string next Friday?" the younger wizard asked.

Tom sipped his scotch and looked at him harshly. "And risk certain members placing in first string on a fluke? I should think not."

"No, of course not," Dolohov said quickly. Rose couldn't help but admire the fact that he, like so many people at the school, unconditionally respected everything that Tom said. "Well, who are you going to choose then?"

He answered instantly; clearly he had given it quite some thought before this moment: "Students at Koldovstoretz train primarily in offensive dueling and we're matched with them first. We'll need the members that have a strong defensive foundation to make it through the initial rounds…I was thinking Avery, Malfoy, MacDougal, Crabbe, Greengrass, Urquart, and Parkinson. The next rounds are against Beauxbatons, so strong offense will earn us the most points. We'll need you, Nott, Goyle, Carrow, Rowle, Yaxley, and me, of course."

There was something quite attractive about seeing him in charge, confidently strategizing his team to succeed in the upcoming dueling championship that would be hosted at Durmstrang. She wasn't offended when he hadn't listed her name with the others. Though she had improved at dueling because of his lessons, it would never be her passion. The only reason she even went to Dueling Club was to be supportive and to watch him instruct the others.

Slughorn cleared his throat. "Good evening, students. I certainly hope you're enjoying yourselves." There was a round of applause and the professor smiled proudly. "Excellent. Well, I'm sure many of you have been wondering who our guest of honor is this evening. He's an old friend and a proud alumnus of Hogwarts…"

As Slughorn carried on with his long-winded introduction of the surprise guest, Dolohov muttered under his breath, "Must be quite a pretentious git if he requires this sort of entrance…"

Tom smirked and Rosemary let out a quiet laugh; she had been thinking exactly the same thing.

"…some of you know him quite well…"

Tom rested his hand on Rose's lower back and when she glanced to her left at him, she noticed that he was watching her with a hungry look in his eyes. Tom's eyes alone would have been a dead giveaway to what he was thinking, but the devilish smile that had formed left absolutely no room for questions. He was now clearly regretting that they hadn't gone again earlier that afternoon.

He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You look ravishing. I do enjoy that dress on you."

It was dark green and tight to her curves; there was little wonder why he liked it.

"I like it so much that I might just fuck you in it later." He seemed to exude sensuality, mischievously teasing her in a room full of people. It was delicious torture. "I'll push it up just enough to have my way."

She bit her lip and smiled at her feet, feeling her face turn bright red.

"Without further ado, I'd like to introduce you all to the Co-founder of Comet Trading Company, Basil Horton!"

Any color that had appeared on Rose's face drained as they both snapped their heads up. Her father was there, standing in the doorway of Slughorn's office, staring right back at them. Rose was suddenly very conscious of how close she was standing to Tom and began to step away in a reflex-like motion. But then, a surprising thing happened. As if he suddenly felt very protective of her, Tom caught her hand, interlaced her fingers with his, and pulled her back to him. Rose looked up at his face in panic, but he was too busy staring at Basil with a look of confident defiance to notice.

It may have taken Tom some time to realize it, but the purebloods had a significant downfall, which he had actually seen as a strength until that very moment: by principle, they were unable to create a scene. He steadfastly grasped Rose's hand in his own, knowing full well that the older Horton wouldn't do anything about it.

They locked eyes for a moment, but Basil's were just as unreadable as his face. In was interesting, in a way, to see his cool nonchalance; if Rosemary was as angry as he surely was, it would have shown through, at least in her eyes. He wondered briefly if she had inherited the trait from her mother, or if hiding one's emotions was something that simply got easier with age.

Finally, he began addressing the crowd of students and his voice betrayed no indication of distress. "As Professor Slughorn mentioned, I've gotten acquainted with some of you through the Hogwarts Quidditch program. One of you, Warren Cramer, will actually intern with me this summer." He gave a nod to Cramer, who beamed back at him. Of course he chose him, of all people. Tom wouldn't have minded if it were literally anyone else, but there was something about Cramer being happy that aggravated him. "And, as many of you know, Hogwarts is also the home of my wonderful daughter Rosemary."

Tom felt her shift in discomfort next to him and he squeezed her hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dolohov glance at Rose and then to the floor, clearly embarrassed that he had unintentionally called her father a "pretentious git".

"When Comet was at its beginning stages, it took us one year and 139 models that weren't quite right before releasing a broom that fit our standards, the Comet 140. There is a lesson to be learned there, about perseverance and dedication. Chances are, if you're in this room tonight, you've displayed these attributes time and time again. I'm confident that you'll continue to excel in your studies at Hogwarts as well as your further pursuits. If I can give you one piece of advice, it is this: as you pursue your goals, you should not settle for model 57, 92, or even 139. It's up to you to find that perfect arrangement, your Comet 140, and build from there. If you let yourself get too distracted by the others, you'll never reach it."

Tom was not at all surprised that he had chosen broom models as his metaphor, but it was an unexpectedly good speech nonetheless. Although, he couldn't help but feel that the last sentence was aimed at Rosemary.

"On an entirely unrelated note, I'm sure you know that we released the Comet 187 early last week-" He was interrupted by scattered applause throughout the room. "After you're finished with school for the summer, I'd like to invite you all to our showroom in Diagon Alley, which is right next to Quality Quidditch Supplies. If you mention that you're part of the Slug Club, a store associate will allow you a free test flight on the new model. One more thing before you get back to your conversations: I'd like to thank Professor Slughorn for allowing me to join you this evening. It's always such a delight to see where Hogwarts is headed."

Tom sensed a small undertone of sarcasm in his final words, but it would have been essentially undetectable to everyone else. There was another bout of applause and the room slowly filled with chatter once more.

Dolohov turned to them and nervously ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry, Rosemary, I didn't mean to-"

"No," she stopped him. "It's okay. It was pretentious." Her voice was higher pitched than normal; Tom could sense her panic.

Dolohov smiled sheepishly at her and nodded before joining the conversation of a nearby group of Slytherins.

"It's alright," he told her, touching her arm gently. "He won't cause a scene when there are all these people around."

Rose nodded, though she looked increasingly unconvinced as her father began walking their way.

Tom braced himself for the worst as his eyes watched the man's stony face grow closer and closer to them through the crowd. He downed the rest of his scotch and set the empty glass on a nearby floating tray.

"Good evening, Rosemary," he greeted her, bending slightly to kiss her cheek.

"Father." Her voice wavered slightly.

"You look lovely as always, darling." He turned to Tom and stuck out a hand. "Tom…I heard you were made Head Boy. Congratulations."

He let go of Rosemary's hand momentarily to shake Basil's outstretched palm. Even though he had expected the phony nonchalance, it caught him off-guard to see it performed so masterfully. Even now, there was no trace of disdain in her father's eyes. "Would you mind terribly if I spoke with my daughter for a moment?"

Tom opened his mouth to protest, but Rosemary answered before he had the chance. "Of course, father."

He had forgotten that she had the same weakness as Basil, that desire to avoid any sort of dramatic encounter in a public setting. She started toward the door without daring to glance at Tom. Basil lingered behind for a moment, lowering his voice and allowing a spark of anger to flood his eyes momentarily. "It's rather funny, you know. I was under the impression that I advised you against seeing my daughter."

Tom wasn't afraid to stand up to him, though it was clear that people didn't often dare to cross Basil Horton. "You did. However, Sir, it should be abundantly clear by now that I haven't taken your advice." His lips curled into a sneer. It may have been a bit much, but he couldn't help it. He wasn't going to stand there and scorch in Basil's condescension.

Her father suddenly looked angry enough to hit him and Tom realized that Rose had certainly inherited her temper from him, whether she knew it or not. He had a familiar feeling that she rarely saw this side of him, as Basil clearly hid it better than she did.

He quickly composed himself once more and straightened his spine as though he wanted to look more imposing, but seeing as Tom was the same height as him, it had little effect. The anger drained from his face and he spoke in calm resolve: "Rose will come to her senses. All in due time, Tom Riddle."

Tom already didn't like his name, as it was a constant reminder of his father. But hearing Rosemary's father say it made it exceptionally worse; he knew that every time Basil said it this way, he was thinking of Tom's disgraceful, blood-traitor mother and filthy muggle father.

By this time, Rosemary had reached the door and turned to see that her father hadn't followed her. She stared back at them in horror and Basil strode toward her, ushering her outside of the room before anyone else could see her panicked expression.

Tom looked around the room to see if anyone had noticed the encounter, but the other students were sufficiently distracted by their own conversations. However, he suddenly felt eyes on his back and he turned around to see Slughorn standing a few feet behind him with a curious look on his face.

Tom averted his eyes and headed into the hall in an attempt to find where Basil had taken her and eavesdrop on their conversation if he could. He heard a door close around the corner and he quietly snuck up to it, pressing his ear against the wood.

Her voice was muffled, but it was certainly Rose: "I can't believe you! You came here just to spy on me!?"

Tom took out his wand and pressed the tip against the door, casting a modified amplifying charm in the small spot where he had placed his ear. It wouldn't do to amplify the entire door, as the entire corridor would have heard.

"It's not spying, Rose," Basil sighed. "Your mum has been quite worried about you, you know. Especially when we saw in the Daily Prophet that that boy would be a Head with you next year."

"That boy's name is Tom."

"Oh yes, that's right. Just like his repulsive, muggle father."

"Don't be cruel."

Her comment probably stung more than her father's. It profoundly bothered him to hear her defend him; he could defend himself, she had no need to be in such a position.

As she continued, this feeling didn't improve much. "Doesn't it mean something to you that he was made Head Boy? You yourself were Head Boy at one time, so you know very well how prestigious an honor it is. I know you have a great deal of respect for Slughorn, too, and Tom is by far his favorite student! Oh, and by the way, he's the heir of Slytherin."

There was a pause, as though Basil had required a moment to compose himself. "Well, it's quite a shame that the bloodline of one of the most famous wizards of all time has been tainted. And clearly Slughorn doesn't know about his blood status - I'm sure he's lying to everyone else just as he did to us. As for his being named Head Boy, it's yet another reminder of how far standards have fallen since the time I was at Hogwarts," Basil spat. "Your mother was right; we should have sent you to the Salem Witches' Institute instead."

Tom could tell from the sound of her voice that she was rolling her eyes. "They have half-bloods and muggle-born there too."

"Half-blood and muggle-born girls are much less damaging." Basil paused and his voice softened. "Can't you see that we worry about you, Rosemary? Who knows what kind of ideas someone like that is putting into your impressionable mind."

"He's not! And you say that like I'm stupid, like I can't think for myself."

"I'm not implying that you're stupid. You aren't. But you should be more wary of these young men. They'll manipulate you and you won't even know it. You're just a girl; how are you supposed to defend yourself from that? That's why your mother and I are looking out for your best interests."

Tom thought it was needlessly sexist to address her this way and it irritated him. He may have understood if she was one of the several hundred senseless girls at Hogwarts, but Rose was so very different. She was above them in every meaning of the word and just as clever as Tom was. How could her parents fail to see that?

Apparently it had bothered her, too: "It's great to hear that you think I'm so incapable of taking care of myself," she snapped. "Anyway, this isn't about that. Why can't you just give him a chance?"

Her father snorted. "You mean cast aside my entire system of beliefs so my daughter can have a meaningless fling that will never last? I think not."

"Why wouldn't it last? I'm perfectly happy with him!"

"For now. But I guarantee that there would come a day when you'd realize what a mistake you made. By then you'd have matured enough to know that blood status is one of the most important things in this world. 'Happiness' only gets you so far. But by the time you finally realized it, it would be too late. Even if you left him, your beauty would have faded too much to secure a more suitable husband."

The words were chilling and Tom shivered accordingly. He couldn't help but to wonder if there was some truth behind them and that was a genuinely terrifying thought. He stepped away from the door; suddenly he had no desire to hear her response or any other words that would be exchanged between them.

Tom returned to Slughorn's office, feeling empty and somewhat defeated. He was too lost in his own thoughts to notice that the professor was walking over to him. By the time he realized it, it was too late to escape. He gritted his teeth, knowing that Slughorn would bring up what he saw in his typical, prying way.

But the questions never came. The professor put his hand on Tom's shoulder, steering him toward the corner of the room. "Let's get you a drink, my boy."

"I like large parties. They're so intimate. At small parties there isn't any privacy." ― F. Scott Fitzgerald

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please let me know what you think by submitting a review below.(:

This will probably come as good news: we're going to take a nice little break from the drama with the Hortons beginning next chapter! ALSO, next chapter is entirely Tom's POV.

Thank you times 12931587 for those of you that have followed and favorited! And thank you times 24918751 to Mrs. WaylandOdinsonBlack, I thought I was the only one, RosiePosie15, CharlotteBlackwood, and annchenluischen for their reviews! :D