An Odd Impostor

June 4, 1944

Rosemary lunged for the Daily Prophet as soon as it dropped on the table between them.

"For Merlin's sake, Rose, we aren't exactly going to fight you to read the bloody paper." Emily rolled her eyes and sipped her orange juice.

She was too busy staring at the front page of the unfolded paper to respond. There was Tom, wearing a medal around his neck and shaking hands with one of the judges. Upon closer inspection, she could see the other captain glaring daggers at him and Tom's subsequent smirk.

Her chest filled with so much pride for him, she thought she may burst. Yeah, that was him. Her boyfriend. She scanned the article:

The Hogwarts Dueling Club, under the leadership of Tom Riddle, made it further in the Wizarding School Dueling Championship than it has in years. Riddle is a sixth-year student and has been the Captain of the Hogwarts Dueling Club since his third-year, making him the youngest-ever Captain at Hogwarts.

The Captains' duel, the final match of the championship, was full of excitement. Riddle and the Durmstrang Institute Captain, Konrad Ljunggren, showcased their exceptional dueling abilities. They were expending their allotted spells so quickly that many were convinced it would end in a tie, but Riddle performed an unknown spell with a rather surprising result (see page 3A for photo).

Rose rapidly turned to the other page and saw Tom cast the spell; a split second later, the Durmstrang Captain's wand split in two and part of it fell to the floor. She couldn't help but let out a small giggle. Turning back to the front page, she continued to read:

The judges initially questioned whether or not the spell violated the rules of the competition, but ultimately decided that the play was fair. Riddle was then presented with the title of Wizarding School Dueling Captain Champion. In the end, the School Champion title went to Durmstrang with 1045 points earned; Hogwarts narrowly fell in second place behind them with 975 points.

Faye craned her neck over her shoulder. "Did they mention Adam at all?"

"No," Rose said apologetically.

"Well, how did they do?!" Loretta asked.

"Second place. Tom won the Captains' duel, though."

"Second place? Why aren't you more excited? That's incredible!" Loretta's eyes widened. "Honestly, no one expected them to make it that far. I heard that Durmstrang has a staff of three professors just to teach dueling, for Merlin's sake."

It was true, it was incredible. But she also knew that Tom's view of it would be quite different. He would not be happy about getting second place, especially not by such a small margin. She knew, because if she were in his position, she would feel exactly the same way. It was the curse of their colossal pride.

"We should throw them a party, you know," Faye told her after breakfast, when they were on their way back to the Ravenclaw common room.

Rose had already begun to brace herself for the sullen mood Tom would surely have when he returned to Hogwarts and doubted that he would appreciate the idea of a party. "It's Monday tomorrow," she pointed out, grasping for an excuse.

"That's never stopped us before."

"I doubt Tom will be in the mood for a party," she sighed, ceding the real explanation for her hesitance. "He won't be happy they placed second."

"Wait, you mean Riddle wouldn't be happy if things didn't go precisely his way for once in his life? I never would have guessed," Faye snorted.

It was odd; Faye had seemed to be warming up to him for a while, but over the course of the last month, she was growing increasingly distant every time Rose brought him up. Rose didn't know quite what to make of it, but with the looming threat of her parents, it was never really at the forefront of her mind anyway. Still, she couldn't help but give Faye a puzzled look, wondering where that had possibly come from.

Faye seemed to immediately realize what she had said and the amused look fell from her face. "Sorry..." she muttered. "That time of the month and all."

Once again, an odd reaction. Faye was rarely flustered, but even that seemed to be happening more frequently within the past month. The only explanation Rose could think of was that perhaps Faye and Adam were going through some sort of rough patch. The thought made Rose feel guilty for dampening her spirits, so she said, "We can throw a party. I'll help set up, but if Tom doesn't want to stay I'll leave with him."

Her face brightened a bit and she half-smiled. "I was thinking champagne punch?"

Rose hooked her arm with her friend's. "That sounds splendid."

"What time do you think they'll be back?" Rebecca asked them for what must have been the tenth time.

"Orion," Rose snapped, "Stop being a pest and make yourself useful."

The raven-haired witch turned slightly red and hurried away to check on the others that had already joined them in waiting for the team to return. The group primarily consisted of Slytherin girls, seeing as nearly the entire house of Slytherin boys, at least those who were fifth-year and above, had attended the championship.

Sylvia Goyle and Eileen Prince, their designated look-outs, hastily entered the common room and announced, "They're coming!"

"Quiet down, everyone!" Faye shouted.

The occasional drawback to throwing a party in the Slytherin common room was that the Slytherins were notorious for only listening to one of their own. When the chatter failed to subside after Faye's command, Rebecca shouted "Shut up, you dolts! They're coming!" Of course, they listened to her and the room quickly fell silent.

Shouts, whistles, and applause greeted the boys as they stepped through the common room door, but it slowly died off as the entire team sent them their sulky glances. Her stomach was in knots, wondering how Tom would respond, when she was struck with a rather puzzling realization; out of all of them, Tom actually seemed to be in the best spirits. But, she also knew he was quite good at pretending. There was no telling what was actually going on in his head.

Tom sent the applauding group a smirk and the rest of the team seemed to brighten as a result, as if it were a form of nonverbal permission to enjoy the party. The Slytherin girls placed drinks in the hands of the boys and music began from some corner of the room.

The uneasy feeling in her stomach had yet to dissipate when he strode up to her. "Congratulations, love." she put her arms around his neck before pulling away once more and sighing. It was likely best to clear the air, sooner rather than later. "Look, I-I'm sorry," she stumbled over her words and began to ramble off an explanation: "Faye really wanted to throw a party and I felt guilty crushing her spirits because she's seemed off lately and-"

He took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. So deeply that she momentarily lost track of any and all thought. "Thank you. It's wonderful," he told her as their lips parted.

"Really?" her shock revived itself in the aftermath of the kiss. "I thought you might be displeased."

"Not at all. It was very thoughtful of you to put this together."

"You don't even mind that it's Monday tomorrow?" she pressed, still unconvinced at his apparently complete lack of annoyance.

He said nothing and merely smiled at her. She realized that she hadn't seen him this happy in a long time; the last time she could recall was certainly before he had met her parents.

"Let's get a few drinks," Rosemary said, still reeling in disbelief.

The rest of the party had certainly livened up a bit within a few minutes; the Dueling Club boys had become completely comfortable with basking in all the praise and attention the Slytherin girls were showering upon them. Everyone was well on their way to drunk as well: the champagne punch she and Faye had made was already completely empty; apparently, the girls had liked it more than they let on.

"So, where's the medal?" she nudged him, recovering slightly from the shock of his bizarre attitude with the help of some gin. "Can I see it?"

He reached into his pocket; what he took out looked much better in the Daily Prophet's picture. The cloth strap that attached to the medal looked stained and greenish in hue. It was also giving off a putrid aroma that made her wrinkle her nose. He held it out for her to hold it, but she backed away. "What happened to it?!"

"It fell in the lake. If you think the Black Lake is revolting, you should see the lakes at Durmstrang." He said this as though it was the most amusing thing that had ever happened to him.

Unbelievable. Perhaps, she thought, she should check him for signs of the Polyjuice Potion, because this was most certainly not Tom Riddle. This was surely some sort of impostor.

She saw the others approaching them. The scent was so awful she was beginning to get a headache. "Fucking hell...Put it away before someone else smells it." Tom was just lucky that he smelled so damned good all the time and could cover it up as long as it was in his pocket.

"I don't think I've ever seen Nott dance before," Rebecca giggled in amusement as she, Faye, Markus, and Adam joined them at the drinks table. "He looks like a complete oaf."

Rose smirked. She agreed, but she wouldn't say it aloud in fear of giving Becca some sort of idea that they were actually friends. There was no chance in hell that would ever happen.

"A round of shots, anyone?" Markus asked, while pouring firewhiskey into a set of nearby shot-glasses.

Rose looked at Tom; she would only take one if he did, seeing as they had just finished their first drinks.

"Why not?" he smirked.

The response had been so far from the norm coming from him; she couldn't help but give him another incredulous glance. First, he hated firewhiskey just as much as she did. Second, even though she considered Adam and Markus to be two of his closest friends, he seldom participated in anything they did. Apparently the others in the circle had realized the same, as they were also giving him looks of disbelief.

Markus seemed to recover most quickly, supplying each of them with a shot glass. He raised his and cleared his throat. "To our bold and inspiring Captain!"

The rest of them clinked their glasses together in the middle. "Cheers!" they said in unison.

They all took their shots and Rose immediately felt queasy when it hit her stomach. As much as she hated firewhiskey, she couldn't help but think the nauseous feeling also had something to do with the awful smell from the medal that was still lingering in her nose.

"That's bloody awful." Tom made a face and laughed. The others hesitantly joined in and Rosemary was at least rather relieved that she wasn't the only one to notice his drastic change in disposition. She was just recovering from the shock of both the liquor and his comment when he said, "Let's have another. Preferably something else."

Markus was caught off-guard again. "Oh! Erm, alright! What'll it be?"

"Let's just fix our own," Rose said quickly. She didn't want to be stuck with scotch, which tasted just as terrible as firewhiskey did to her, or anything else. "We all like different things anyway."

"Fair enough," Markus shrugged.

They reformed their circle in a minute or two. Of course, Rose had gin and Tom had scotch. Becca poured herself some vodka and the last three stuck with firewhiskey.

"To these three lovely ladies for throwing us such a splendid party. Cheers!" It was Adam's turn for a toast. They drank again and thankfully, the gin was much more forgiving on her sensitive stomach than the firewhiskey had been.

For a moment, she was tempted to goad them all into taking another shot, as it would be Tom's turn to make a toast and she was curious what he would say. Especially now, as he was exhibiting such a drastic departure to his usual personality. But, a full drink and three shots in less than fifteen minutes would have been a bit of a bad idea, so it was probably for the best when the group began to split:

"Come dance with me," Rebecca said in her high-pitched, whiny voice as she pulled Markus away to the dance floor.

Faye gave Rose a small smile and tugged on Adam's arm, following the other couple.

She watched them walk away and sighed. "I'm worried about Faye. She just isn't herself lately. Doesn't she seem off to you? Do you think she and Adam are having problems?"

"I wouldn't worry," he said nonchalantly. Tom got to work making yet another drink for her and one for himself. "She's probably just stressed for N.E.W.T.s."

"I hope so." She was beginning to feel the alcohol quite a bit and began to lose her balance while simply standing there. Drinking what he had just made her would be a very bad idea.

He steadied her and clicked his tongue. "You're only three drinks in and you're already tipsy? Looks like someone's getting a bit tame," he spoke into her ear in his playful voice, which she found ridiculously sexy.

"No I'm not!" she said defiantly with a drunken giggle.

"Prove it, then," a teasing smirk appeared on his face. It took little thought to know exactly what he meant.

Rosemary grabbed his hand and led him across the room and up the stairs to his dormitory, stumbling a few times along the way. He closed the door behind them, locked it with three different charms, and set his recently-emptied glass on his desk.

She pushed him down so he was sitting on the edge of his bed. "What has gotten into you tonight?" she asked him, while kissing the side of his face.

"I have no idea what you're referring to," he smiled at her between kisses.

"You're in an exceptionally good mood," she pointed out. "I'm not saying that you don't have a good reason to be in a good mood. I mean, you are the Wizarding School Champion Dueling Captain and I'm very proud of you. I just haven't seen you that happy in…probably ever."

He smirked and shrugged. She sighed; she couldn't tell if he was happy about something else or not, so she dropped it for the time being. His smirk continued as she pulled her blouse over her head and unclasped her bra. Her skirt and underwear followed shortly after and then she moved closer to him, kissing him as she untied his tie and slid it over his head before unbuttoning his shirt.

He seemed to be growing impatient, as he stood to remove his pants instead of waiting for her to do it for him. She certainly didn't want to be accused of being 'tame' again, so she pushed him back down to the bed and climbed on top of him, kissing his jaw and neck in a way she knew would drive him crazy. His hands roamed over her and the sporadic groans that escaped his lips intensified and she reached down to stroke him.

Even so, he craned his neck to teasingly say in her ear, "I'm still not convinced that you've avoided growing tame, Rosemary. Have you become a proper young lady after all?"

He was so unbearably attractive, especially with his delicious teasing. In that moment, she realized just how much she ached for him after being apart. Granted, it had only been for a mere weekend, but it definitely felt long enough to her. It was so comforting to be in his arms again.

But the fact that she had missed him so greatly was also troubling. Rose had been avoiding thoughts of the upcoming summer months as much as possible, as they most certainly meant no Tom. The nights of sleeping beside him were clearly numbered. After the run-in with her father at the last Slug Club meeting, she was convinced, and quite frankly paranoid, that her parents would be keeping exceptionally close tabs on her all summer. It would be a small miracle if they could see each other at all. They might not even be able to write; she wouldn't put it past her mother (or her father, at this rate), to place a charm on her windows so that owls couldn't deliver mail directly to her room.

Her father's insistence that she would fall out of love with Tom in the long term had only served to make her more resolute in her desire to be with him. It seemed like the more her parents told her "no", the more she wanted him, and the further she fell in love with him.

But, there were also the downsides of falling further in love, too. What if putting her heart so far out on the line completely backfired? What if Tom grew tired of the hassle of her parents? What if they grew apart during the summer, or worse, what if he met someone else? She couldn't exactly blame him for wanting out of the complicated mess that had become her life.

Rose attempted to push these doubts and fears from her mind and focus on being with him while she still could, but tears filled her eyes without her consent. The alcohol she had consumed did not aid in subduing such strong emotions; rather, it seemed to make her eyes fill even more quickly than usual.

Tom stopped and tilted her chin up. She closed her eyes so he couldn't see that she had been about to cry. "Look at me," he commanded.

She hesitantly opened her eyes, obeying him. As soon as he saw the tears in her eyes, his dark ones filled with alarm. He pulled her against his chest and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry," he told her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it; I was only trying to tease you."

Rose was attempting to pull herself together again, but she quickly reassured him. "It's not that at all."

"I see," he said, sounding somewhat relieved, but still concerned. "What, then?"

Any progress she had made in calming herself went down the drain when she opened her mouth to speak. "It's-", she bit her lip trying not to cry. He looked at her expectantly. "It's-", she tried again, choking back a sob. "This summer," she finally managed.

Then it all came flooding out. She burst into hideously uncontrolled sobs, wailing into his chest. Tom wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Oh, Rosemary." He stroked her hair in an attempt to calm her.

Well, now there was no worry whatsoever that she had miraculously turned into a proper young lady after all. Ladies were only supposed to cry with grace and whatever the hell she was doing certainly wasn't graceful.

He sighed and tilted her chin to look up at him again. She wanted to fight away so she didn't have to look up at him, knowing that she likely looked terribly unattractive with the tears streaming down her now-puffy cheeks, but couldn't find the strength or willpower to do so.

"I was hoping to make it a surprise, but I may as well just tell you now…" Tom smirked and she looked at him curiously. "You aren't going to believe this. It's absolutely splendid news, Rosemary."

"Tell me, then!" she pleaded, desperate to hear any sort of good news.

"I am about to become the youngest contestant in the history of the Continental Wizarding Dueling Tournament."

Her eyes widened. "What? Really!?" she screeched, wiping the tears off her face. The shock of his announcement had put an abrupt halt to her crying.

He smiled at her and nodded. Truly, the news was almost unbelievable; the tournament was legendary. Even she, who was as far from being a dueling aficionado as she could possibly be, knew about the Continental Wizarding Dueling Tournament. Even with his exceptional natural talent, it was shocking that he had been chosen. Most of the competitors were career duelers that had spent much of their lives training, after all.

"Tom, that's absolutely brilliant!" She kissed the side of his face excitedly.

"I think so too," he continued to grin. Now she certainly knew where his mysterious good mood had come from. "It's two weeks long and it begins on the first of July, in Paris. I've already spoken to Raoul-" She gave him a quizzical look and he explained: "Raoul Beaumont is my sponsor."

"You have a sponsor? You're so official now!" she squeezed his arm.

"Yes, I'll be meeting with him next weekend in Hogsmeade, actually." He waved his hand. "Anyway. That's not important now. What I was saying, was that I spoke to him and if you'd like to, you're free to come along."

She hadn't really thought his news could get any better, and then it did. Two weeks, in Paris, watching Tom duel? It seemed too good to be true.

"Yes! I'd love to!" she threw her arms around his neck in happiness. "If you're sure you want me there. I don't want to be too much of an imposition. Or a distraction."

"You definitely aren't an imposition." He ran a hand over her bare legs and gave her a playful smirk "You may be a bit of a distraction, but a pleasant one nonetheless." He kissed her forehead. "Of course I want you to come with me."

She smiled and hugged herself against his chest. "You're right, this news is absolutely splendid. The only way it could be better is if I could stay with you all summer." The words had spilled out before she could stop them. She knew what she had said was ridiculously selfish; he had already revealed such an amazing surprise and there she was, already asking for more.

Thankfully, he didn't seem to be offended. "Maybe you can," he told her. "With my winnings from the tournament, I should be able to rent a flat in London for the rest of the summer."

It was odd to hear him bring up money; most of the people she knew had loads of it, but it had always seemed more like an invisible force than a tangible good. She was so used to taking it for granted, she couldn't seem to grasp the idea that he had grown up without it. Rose wished he didn't have to worry. The idea that she could easily pay for his flat occurred to her, but knew that he would be exceptionally offended if she dared to bring it up.

"We'll have to try and think of something to tell your parents," he said hesitantly. "I doubt they'll allow you out of the house if they know you're visiting me."

Rose nodded. "I'll think of something." She didn't want him to worry about anything else. Nor did she want to dwell on thoughts of her parents in such a pleasant moment: "Tell me more about the tournament! And the duel you just won! The picture in the Prophet was, in a word, priceless."

He smirked and she watched him as he launched excitedly into his tales of the championship and then the details of the tournament. Hearing him discuss something so passionately made her fall even more madly in love with him; she adored his boundless ambition. He sounded so convincingly confident that he had everything under control; that everything would go according to plan, because he would make it happen that way. It was reassuring in the most sublime sense.

"And so, with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer." ― F. Scott Fitzgerald

As promised, I'm back again with an update! I hope you enjoyed this chapter; it's been sorta nice to give Tom and Rose a break and have a sweeter chapter between them. Also, I hope it was fun to read about Tom acting so strange hahah. Things are finally looking up again. :D Although perhaps not for long. But, you might have already guessed that :D Mwhaha. Or, maybe I'm totally throwing you off right now. You'll just have to wait and read what happens!

OMG, we are SO CLOSE to 100 reviews. I will be absolutely thrilled when we get there! AND this chapter marks over 100K words in the story (just barely, thanks to these author's note ramblings). :D Yay for progress! 175 chapters to go!

Thank you to the lovely readers that reviewed the last chapter: I thought I was the only one, CharlotteBlackwood, TheRealPrincessTigerLily, and RosiePosie15!

The next chapter will be back to the usual setup of both Tom and Rose's POV; I'll try to post it within 3-4 days! Although, I may be increasingly motivated to finish with a few extra reviews thrown my way.(;