House Points

September 3, 1944

It had been only two days since her confession and things were already rather unbearable. First off, Rosemary found herself dodging Emily Springer at every turn, unsure of how quickly the news of she and Warren's alleged relationship would travel through Hogwarts. It wouldn't have been so bad if she could just explain it all to her, but Tom had been very firm on the fact that no one else could know. This was probably for the best, anyways – it would be incredibly foolish to chance it leaking back to her parents somehow.

Still, she knew there would come a time when Emily would confront her and Rose was really beginning to dread it. In fact, her goal had become to put it off for as long as she possibly could. It was for this reason that she found herself in one of her favorite library study spots. Well, that and the fact that she had been too preoccupied with the mounting stress of she and Tom's relationship over the summer that her pre-term readings had gone to the wayside. She supposed that, since classes were to begin the following morning, it was about time that she caught up.

She could skip brushing up on Potions, at least, as she had memorized her entire copy of Advanced Potion-Making the previous year. But Defense Against the Dark Arts was another story entirely…

If only Tom could help her. Of course, if she really wanted to, she could ask him about it later when he snuck over to her dormitory, but it seemed like such a waste of the few, precious moments they could actually have together. Rose looked up gloomily from her books and spotted him across the room, sitting alone at a large table with his course materials spread out around him.

Even though she was terribly dejected that she could only watch him from afar in public settings, she couldn't help but smile as she did so. It had always been rather endearing to see him study, especially during the rare moments in which he would run a hand through his dark hair and scowl down at his notes.

It was then when she realized she wasn't the only one watching him: a few tables away sat a pack of third-year Slytherin girls, who were clearly attempting to get his attention. She rolled her eyes. Their interest really didn't come as much of a surprise given the fact that basically every girl at Hogwarts had been enamored with him at one point or another. But she couldn't help but notice that the attention he had received from these annoying packs of gigglers was significantly more than usual: thanks to his success in the Tournament, he had attained celebrity-level status (and being Head Boy certainly didn't hurt matters either).

Plus, there was a good chance that the majority of the school now believed him to be single.

At least she knew that he wouldn't indulge their interest in him. Rosemary sighed, returning her gaze to the chapter on advanced counter-curses in front of her. It was rather dull, really, the way the chapter was set up: each section featured a short review of a given curse, its counter-curse, and the theory behind why exactly it was supposed to work. She couldn't help but think:

What a spectacular waste of time…

It wasn't as though she would actually have to use much of what she learned outside of the class itself. She had to do well on her N.E.W.T. in order to qualify to be a Healer-in-training, but she had no plans to work in a Spell Damage ward. Potions and Plant Poisoning was surely her calling.

Tom, on the other hand, would be positively captivated with it all. There was no doubt in her mind that he had memorized the entire book long ago; in fact, he probably had to in order to do so well at the Tournament. He probably knew the material well enough to teach the bloody class...

Then her mind flittered back to Paris, when they discussed their plans for the future – the day he told her he might be interested in a teaching position at some point. And, while he hadn't said so explicitly, she assumed that his goal would be to instruct the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Rose couldn't help but wonder if perhaps securing a teaching job directly after graduating from Hogwarts would be much easier said than done, even if their current professor was beginning to look like she was well-past a decent age of retirement. She failed to recall a time that a newly graduated Hogwarts student actually secured such a post. Although, if anyone were to do so, surely it would be Tom.

"Afternoon, Rosemary."

She nearly jumped at the sound of her own name, realizing how absorbed she had gotten in her thoughts. Her head snapped up to see Warren standing above her.

"Warren," she acknowledged him blandly.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked, either oblivious or disregarding of her clear lack of enthusiasm.

"Not at all." She shifted her piles of books to make room for him at her table while attempting to look happy to see him, in case there were any onlookers. Rosemary chanced a look in Tom's direction to see if he had noticed the fact that Warren had joined her.

Yes, he certainly had. His face had tensed slightly as they made eye contact and moments later, he was packing up his things and making his way out of the library. The Slytherin girls' sighs were nearly audible when he strode past them, though he appeared to be unaware of his influence.

It hurt to know how much all of this was upsetting him, but what exactly could she do about it? Then again, he had mentioned going to Hogsmeade that afternoon to meet with Raoul – so perhaps he wasn't as upset as she thought. For her conscience's sake, she suddenly decided that this must be the case.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts, eh?" Warren noted, eyeing the book in her hands.

"Mhm," she said, biting back the word: 'obviously'. While she had never minded Warren's company in the past, there was now a certain level of tension she felt every time she spoke to him. Rosemary knew he was simply following through on their agreement– to convince everyone that they were a pair, they would have to spend a good deal of time together, of course –but there was something about being forced to spend time with someone that made it entirely unpleasant. She attempted to keep reminding herself:

He is doing you a favor. And you're friends…there's no reason that things should be this painful.

Oh, but they were.

"I'm surprised you haven't finished reading...Usually you're so much more prepared than the rest of the class," he peered over her shoulder to see which part of the chapter she was on. "Bloody hell, Rosemary, you've got a ways to go before class tomorrow morning."

"Well, talking about it certainly won't make it go any faster," she said pointedly, attempting not to sound as though she was snapping at him.

He put his hands up, as though he were exhibiting surrender. "Alright, I understand; you need your peace and quiet."

Unfortunately, as soon as she turned back to her readings, she was again distracted – this time, by the same group of blathering Slytherin girls that had been staring so intently at Tom. From the way that they were taking turns glancing at Warren and her, it was clear that they were gossiping.

Obviously, there was no way she was going to get any actual studying done in such a distracting environment. "I'm starved," she suddenly announced to Warren. "I think I'll go to the Great Hall for some early dinner."

"Want me to come with?"

"That's alright. You just got here, after all."

Thankfully, he didn't insist. "I should work on reviewing for Care of Magical Creatures," he said with a nod. "I'll see you tomorrow, though?"

"Sounds brilliant." She smiled pleasantly, attempting to ignore the inner sarcasm that had been behind her words.

Rosemary finished gathering her things and had simply intended to leave, but as she felt the eyes of the Slytherin girls following her on her way out, a strong urge to put them in their places blossomed inside of her. She simply couldn't resist by the time she reached their table.

In the kindest tone she could manage, she said: "Please try and keep it down ladies."

They glanced around at each other, smirking and giggling, which of course only served to irritate Rosemary more. Didn't they understand who exactly she was? She attempted to sound a bit more authoritative when she continued, "I'm quite serious…The rest of the library is trying to study."

And yet, they still were ignoring her. Except for Alexa Crabbe, the pack's leader, who promptly rolled her eyes at Rose.

Well, if they didn't take her seriously, she supposed she would just have to give them a good reason to: "Your cheek is going to cost you a point from Slytherin, Miss Crabbe."

Alexa leaned her head on her hand and gazed up at Rose with a smirk as she said, "Well, I guess I'll just have to talk with Tommy about that…"

Tommy?! What in the fuck was going on?

Rose took a deep breath to prevent herself from losing her temper entirely. "Let's make that five points from Slytherin, then." Before any of them had a chance to respond, she turned on her heel and briskly strode out of the library.

Take that, you little shits.

Even in her victory (albeit a slim one), she was rather taken aback by the encounter - she couldn't even remember a time when a younger student had disrespected her so profoundly. Did they somehow believe that, after her "breakup" with Tom, they could just get away with anything they wanted?

Well, at least she knew they had another thing coming. Tom surely wouldn't appreciate the point docking from his own house, but he would at least understand the need for her to assert herself; he wouldn't have put up with their shit either.

And if they ever dared to call him 'Tommy' to his face? She certainly hoped she would be there to see it.

There was a good possibility that Tom had never hated someone in his life as much as he hated Warren Cramer. Well, perhaps that was a bit of an overstatement – his Muggle father, his blood traitor mother, and Basil Horton were also in the running, after all. Even so, it was damn near impossible for him to so much as look at Warren without grinding his teeth in irritation. Especially when he just happened to show up wherever Rosemary seemed to go.

But why had he expected anything different? As far as the rest of the school knew, Rose and Warren were supposed to be together all the time (or at least quite frequently) – to everyone else, that was the new normal. This fact alone was enough to agitate him to no end...Why was it so easy for everyone to accept the idea that she had merely moved on from him?

Although Tom rarely concerned himself with the opinions of others (especially the rest of the student body which he universally considered inferior), he couldn't help but wonder how all of this reflected on him. Surely it made him look weak and unwanted…maybe a bit pitiful, even.

Well, he couldn't have that…Thankfully, a cold, removed exterior had always come rather naturally to him. Though even with this thin veil of resolve in place, he often found himself wanting to scream.

She was his! His, and his alone. She was his prize that he had won. And he wanted there to be absolutely no question of it in the mind of even a single person.

Tom exhaled as the door to the library shut behind him, attempting to force any and all thoughts that contained Cramer and Rosemary from his mind (with little success). He strode down the corridor to his right until he reached the Trophy Room and paused at the large plaque in which all of the Head Boys' and Girls' names had been engraved. There, at the bottom of the list in the left-hand column, was his name – and directly next to his, of course, was hers.

ROSEMARY ALANA HORTON

He raised his index finger to the plaque and ran it over his own name. When it reached hers, he took his time, feeling each letter's distinct indent into the metal. He dropped his hand to his side after reaching the final 'N' and just looked at their two names, side by side, for a few seconds.

Suddenly a strange thing happened, as though a switch had been flipped in his mind. It was so obvious in that moment that, no matter what anyone else thought, the truth above all else was that they belonged together. Cramer no longer mattered: she would inevitably be his. There was no alternative – they were magnetic. To him, this felt as certain as the laws of magic or nature.

It was a wonderful feeling, really. The tricky part would be finding a way to hang on to it.

He was so suddenly invigorated, in fact, that he didn't even grimace as much as he usually did as he polished the name on the trophy next to the plaque, which was required to gain entry to the corridor that led to the Head Boy's and Girl's chambers. It read:

Barnabus Finkley Prize for Exceptional Spell-Casting, 1899 – Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

Yesterday, as he had been in an especially foul mood, he couldn't help but spit-shine it.

Tom quickly deposited his books in his dormitory and set off once more, making his way into Hogsmeade to meet with Beaumont. Thankfully, he had been able to obtain Dippet's permission to come and go as he pleased despite the increased security measures at the school.

He entered The Three Broomsticks and was rather surprised to find Beaumont sitting quietly in a dark corner booth instead of ogling the bartender (or worse, making a pass at her). In fact, Raoul seemed to be in the middle of a seemingly rare, deep thought. Despite this, his face broke into a wide smile when he saw Tom approaching.

They shook hands and Tom slid into the booth across from him.

"I see you had no problem making it off the grounds," Raoul commented. "Perks to being Head Boy, I suppose…"

He nodded. "Being a Tournament veteran also doesn't hurt."

"Yes… a veteran…" There was a trace of a smirk on Raoul's face and an edge of sarcasm in his voice that would have most certainly offended him if he hadn't been in a more positive mood, but fortunately Tom was able to ignore it. "How was the rest your summer?" Beaumont asked, while flagging down the bartender.

Tom shrugged. "Uneventful."

"And how is the lovely Miss Horton?" he asked casually, though there was obviously much more meaning behind his question given how much he knew of their situation.

Well, Tom certainly wasn't about to divulge any of the new details. "She's quite well."

Beaumont smiled in his usual, relaxed way. "Good."

He was relieved when the older wizard didn't press for more information on the subject.

The bartender arrived and took his order while delivering a second (or third – possibly fourth?) round to Raoul. As she strode away, Tom heard himself ask how the rest of Beaumont's summer had been. He really must have been in a bit of rare form if he was engaging in small talk.

"Rather uneventful as well," Raoul told him. "Though I recently relocated to London."

The bartender returned and set down his drink. Tom fished some coins out of his pocket to pay for it while he asked, "Is the Tournament in Britain this year?"

"No." An odd shadow of a smile suddenly crept onto Beaumont's face.

For a second or two, Tom considered pressing the subject further now that he was rather curious as to why Raoul had up-and-moved if it was unrelated to the Tournament, but dropped it. Raoul hadn't pressed him for details about Rosemary, after all, and a standard of being more welcoming of nosy conversations between them was not one Tom was interested (either deliberately or inadvertently) in setting.

"So, where is the Tournament next summer?" Tom asked, effectively changing the subject.

"Rome." He grinned. "I'm partial to Paris, of course, but Rome is a close second in terms of my favorite cities that host it. They enchant the entire Colosseum for the month of the Tournament to keep out the muggles…Have you ever seen the Colosseum? It's quite a spectacular dueling venue, really." Beaumont rambled on for a while about the Colosseum and what Italy was like before getting on to the real reason Tom had met him that evening in the first place: "Now, then…As you'll be assisting me in the selection of the others that I'll be sponsoring, it would be ideal if you could make it to all of the scouting sessions. However, I understand that's a quite a bit to ask with your classes and duties as Head Boy –"

"It won't be a problem," Tom said abruptly. He would make sure of it – he wasn't about to pass up the valuable chance to scope out basically every competitor he might face in the next Tournament (except for those, like him, that had already been signed to new contracts).

Beaumont looked surprised, but pulled out a small piece of paper on which he had scribbled ten or so dates. Tom folded it up and placed it in his pocket before glancing up at the clock. "I should be getting back," he said when he realized that the time he promised Rosemary he would be at her room was less than fifteen minutes away.

Unsurprisingly, he was late by the time he actually reached the door that led to her dormitory. She didn't seem to mind, though: there was a pleasant grin on her face as she let him inside.

"How was your meeting with Raoul? Is he doing well?" she asked him as she shimmied off her skirt and pulled her jumper over her head, sidling up beside him beneath her quilted bedspread.

"He's fine. Apparently, he just moved to London."

"Oh, really? I wonder why…" Her gaze turned thoughtful.

"He didn't say. Other than that, the only news he had is that the Tournament will be held in Rome next summer. Then he gave me the dates of the scouting sessions."

"Rome…how exciting! You'll love it, Tom, it's absolutely beautiful…"

In a way, he was irritated by the fact that she said this. Not at her, necessarily. But why did the painful reminders that he was so much less cultured and wealthy than she was have to be so excruciatingly abundant?

"How was your evening?" he asked in an attempt to steer the conversation away from her travel stories. He was rather nervous to hear her answer, though, truly hoping she wouldn't mention anything related to Cramer.

She scowled. "A few third years weren't being very respectful so I had to remind them who exactly they were dealing with by taking away a few of their house points."

He didn't know why, but he felt an odd spark of pride for her upon hearing her words. It was also quite attractive somehow to picture her asserting her authority. "I would have done the same," he told her as he ran a finger along her inner forearm. "Which house? Those Gryffindor pests?"

She shook her head and a hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Slytherin."

Now it was his turn to scowl.

Rosemary laughed and rolled on top of him, straddling him with her legs. "You can make it even if you wish…take five points from Ravenclaw the next time you get a chance."

"Paving the way so that Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are in the lead? I'd rather not."

She laughed again and kissed the side of his face, trailing her lips down his jawline in a way that he couldn't help but relish. Between kisses, she said: "I'm sure Slytherin will catch up quickly…Although, I don't really see how it matters. It was only five points."

"Five points because someone was being disrespectful? That seems like a little much," Tom grumbled as she unbuttoned his shirt.

Rose only thought it was amusing, of course. "I'm sure you'll get over it."

It was true. He probably would. Especially if she kept doing what she was doing with her hands.

His thoughts trailed away from him as he assisted her in slipping out of her lingerie and pulled her body close to his, bending his head slightly to kiss her breasts. He relished the way her nipples grew so firm when he teased them with his tongue. Rose let out a soft moan in pleasure before running one of her small hands down his chest and gracefully unbuttoning and unzipping his trousers.

She glanced down at his erection when she began to stroke it and then back up at him with a satisfied look in her eyes. What, had she expected something else? If so, she shouldn't have...he imagined that it would be humanly impossible to prevent himself from being turned on by her bare flesh. Most times, she didn't need to be even remotely clothes-less to evoke his physical urges.

They took turns pleasuring each other until Tom reached between her legs and felt just how extraordinarily wet she had become. Yes, she was ready…and he was more than ready. He pulled her on top once more, her legs to each side of him. She took the hint, positioning herself over his cock. He groaned as she slowly slid over every inch of him and he glanced down to watch her do so.

Rosemary inhaled with a sharp gasp as she took the rest of him and he found himself wanting to make her emit that same noise again and again. She moved her hips in a slow rhythm at first. Tom waited patiently, though there was a strong urge inside of him to fuck her as hard and fast as he wanted.

Rose soon picked up speed, though, letting out short, sexy moans of pleasure quite often. Tom ran his hands over her soft skin as she rode him, tracing his hands up the sides of her legs, her back, and over her chest.

He could tell it wasn't going to take long until she reached her climax (understandably, given how long their foreplay had been), which meant he only had a few minutes to get himself there as well. This wasn't exactly a challenge so much as an excuse to do with her exactly as he pleased to send them both over the edge.

Tom gripped her hips and began moving her body for her. He loved the way they fucked: even when she was on top, he was the one in control. The best part of all was the fact that she loved every second of it.

He groaned as he moved her faster and faster over himself until, finally, he felt her body tremble in the most exquisite way. He took it as a signal to give in to his own climax, fucking her even harder until he finally released inside of her.

She collapsed in exhaustion against his chest and he buried his hands in her hair before tilting her face up to kiss him.

"Wow…Oh, my…" she sighed, trying to regain her breath. "Oh, Tom…that was so excellent…"

Yes, it really had been.

She kissed his jaw and nuzzled against his chest. Her eyes were gently closed when she said: "Five points to Slytherin."

"I crush her against me. I want to be part of her. Not just inside her but all around her. I want our rib cages to crack open and our hearts to migrate and merge. I want our cells to braid together like living thread." – Isaac Marion

Apologies for the delay! I was incredibly sick earlier this week...the kind of sick that made me lack any motivation whatsoever to write. But, I'm back now! I'll try to post the next chapter early to make up for it.(:

A big thank you to Jehilia, RosiePosie15, Charlotte Blackwood, A regrettable decision, and AlishaCorral123 for your reviews! I swear, they made me get better faster.(;

And thank you all for your patience and readership!