One Week

March 23, 1945

She could feel his eyes on her all through Transfigurations.

There had been something noticeably off with him lately. He seemed to be regarding her distantly – cautiously, even. Not to mention the fact that they hadn't slept together all week (as her body cruelly continued to remind her). In fact, she would go so far as to say that he had been avoiding her.

Perhaps something had shifted between them. Perhaps he finally learned that she would not be pushed around like his band of followers. And if so, good, because she didn't want him to see her the same way he did all the others.

But now, she couldn't help but wonder if she made a mistake by acting so boldly with him. What if she had wounded his pride just a bit too much?

Was she completely mad? After all, it appeared that Tom had an unlimited supply of pride; she doubted that she could genuinely put a dent in it. Plus, he had acted relatively normal in the aftermath, during her private Occlumency lesson.

Ugh. The Occlumency lesson. What had she been thinking, opening her mind to him so effortlessly? There was a part of her that wondered if, by doing so, she had inadvertently encouraged him to browse her mind on a whim.

Perhaps that was why he was acting so distantly; what if he had perused her thoughts without her knowledge and stumbled onto something that she most certainly didn't want him to know…like the fact that she still had feelings for him? Had she scared him off without even realizing it?

However, the most terrifying scenario of all (and probably the most likely, knowing Tom), was that he was plotting some sort of retaliation against her. Surely it was only a matter of time until he made his move and attempted to put her back in her place, not that she would let him of course.

She sighed internally, as this barrage of thoughts had been tormenting her all week.

At least she was still at Hogwarts. Thankfully, nobody breathed a word regarding her duel with Olive, which most certainly would have gotten her removed from her Head Girl position and potentially expelled.

With Tom's reign over the majority of the house, it appeared that Slytherin had adopted a new policy: what happened in the Slytherin common room, stayed there. And she had to admit, she had been impressed by the way his new friends seemed to revere him. From what Rosemary had seen, the Slytherin parties had essentially become just another venue for these eager followers to impress him.

Of course, it also helped that Olive was probably humiliated by her win.

Rosemary knew she should regret the duel and perhaps her win over Tom, but she didn't; Olive had it coming and so did Tom. She had certainly surprised herself with her boldness as well. But the truth of the matter was that she felt better than she had in weeks – months, even. She was finally feeling like herself again.

She glanced down at her notes in an attempt to bring her attention back to the subject of Transfigurations only to notice a message that had appeared in the middle of her parchment. Rosemary recognized Tom's tidy handwriting immediately:

Please clear your schedule for eleven p.m. this evening.

As much as she was yearning to see him after spending the entire week apart (and rather relieved that whatever they had would apparently continue), his presumptuous demand left her feeling a bit prickly as well as rather nervous about whatever it was he was up to. When the ink faded, she wordlessly cast the spell on her quill that would allow her to respond in the same manner.

My apologies, as I already have plans.

He replied hastily: What part of 'clear your schedule' was puzzling to you?

Rosemary gritted her teeth in rare annoyance at him. Had her victory over him the weekend prior meant nothing at all? Had he forgotten it already?

Before you respond, need I remind you that you owe me a favor?

She glared down at the ink while it slowly vanished from the top of her parchment. Yes, apparently it all had been for nothing. He seemed his normal, arrogant self more than ever, expecting her to bow to his every wish and command.

Then again, he was right. She did owe him a favor. And there was a part of her that was at least slightly curious about what it might be.

Fine, she penned in return.

For the remainder of class, her mind wandered about to what this favor could possibly be. After all, it had become abundantly clear as of late that he had plenty of manpower to pull off whatever scheme he could dream up in that twisted mind of his. What else did he possibly need her for?

Even though she was rather dreading finding out, she was also admittedly quite eager for the release she was almost certain would come before they actually got down to business regarding his request. Surely he had lusted for her all week just as she had for him, after all.

He didn't like it, but the compulsion to be with her appeared to be growing stronger within him on a daily basis. This was simply reality, albeit an exceptionally terrifying one, that he was forced to acknowledge and it was everything he could do to keep his distance in an attempt from allowing this impulse to surge out of control before he determined the best way to proceed.

And it was fortunate that he finally had, because spending the entire week away from her rivaled torture; particularly during Potions on Tuesday, when he stood shoulder to shoulder with her over a bubbling cauldron attempting to distract himself from her seemingly infinite magnetizing qualities that plagued him to no end.

It became clear very quickly that Tom had to find a way to make her understand, as he now did, that they belonged together. And to him, the easiest way to go about this was to prove that the two of them could create an unstoppable team. But he couldn't simply bring her along to a Knights meeting or any other thing. It had to be something she was invested in – that she actually cared about.

Fortunately, the look of pure concern that she had donned after telling him everything she knew about MAGI several weeks prior gave him all the information he needed; she desperately wanted Raoul's plot for revenge on MAGI to succeed. It had taken a bit of thought, but the plan he finally formulated seemed flawless. Even better, he would have the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and Tom was always one for efficiency whenever possible.

He entered her dormitory without knocking, which had essentially become the norm. She didn't bother locking it any more, nor did she glance up at him to deliver a scathing glare like she used to.

She was lounging on the chair next to her fireplace in nothing but her knickers and brassiere, with a silk robe wrapped lazily over her shoulders. It was an alluring sight, and even more so when he realized she was reading one of the many books on Occlumency that he had loaned her.

'Stick to the plan,' he scolded himself, as his mind began to wander off to various fantasies involving Rosemary – particularly those delicious bits that were concealed by the thin pieces of fabric.

"A bit presumptuous tonight, aren't you?" he smirked, folding his arms across his chest.

Rosemary glanced up at him and said in a sweet voice that he didn't believe for a moment, "I just thought I'd save you the trouble."

"How very thoughtful of you." His smirk deepened. "You're mistaken, however – get dressed, Horton, we're going out."

"Going out? Where?"

Tom adored the face she made whenever he caught her off guard. "You'll see." He watched her unabashedly as she dressed. A few minutes later she was ready and following him out of her dormitory, until he paused in the doorframe. "For future reference, I quite enjoy doing the work myself."

Despite their frequent amorous encounters, hearing such a direct sentiment come from his own lips was a shock to his system. But it was well-worth it when he watched her blush from the corner of his eye.

"I'll have my usual, Miss Melwyn, and a gin martini for Miss Horton – if you would be so kind."

"Of course, Tom," winked the bartender, who kept eyeing Rosemary with subtle, (though not quite subtle enough) envious glances.

'Since when is Tom a regular at The Leaky Cauldron?' she found herself wondering.

"So you're actually buying me a drink first? I'm impressed," Rosemary quipped as Melwyn strode away from their corner booth. One of her many unfortunate habits (her addiction to Tom Riddle included), was her tendency to resort to banter when she was nervous.

Tom smirked, which didn't make her any less nervous. "Not exactly. As you know, I have a favor to redeem."

"Why did we come all the way to Diagon Alley to discuss it?"

Tom continued smirking at her as though he hadn't heard a word she had just spoken and she tossed him an expectant, half-annoyed look. "Well? Are you going to make me guess?"

For a few moments, it appeared that he was carefully weighing whether forcing her to guess or telling her directly would be more enjoyable for him to observe. The bartender delivered their drinks in the meantime and Rosemary took a sip of her martini. By then, it appeared that Tom had decided on his preferred method of delivery:

"I'd like you to assist me in spying on Dumbledore."

Rosemary choked on her beverage. She did not like where this conversation seemed to be headed.

Tom continued, as though he hadn't noticed, "Let me rephrase that; you will assist me in spying on Dumbledore."

"Why me?" Rosemary managed. "Why not one of your new friends?"

"Because it just so happens that you're far more aware of the situation than they are."

"What situation?" She had no idea what he could possibly be going on about.

Tom dropped his voice to a near-whisper, though she doubted this was necessary given the collective volume of the dozens of pub-goers. "The MAGI situation."

Oh.

"I trust that you remember our conversation on the subject a few weeks ago?"

"Right, our conversation," she snorted. It had been far more like an interrogation, really.

"Well it was very valuable leverage, I must say. But that isn't what we're here to discuss; in the end, I agreed to assist Beaumont with his plans because…well, I have my reasons."

Rosemary didn't really know what she had expected Tom to say, but it certainly wasn't that; clearly there was something fairly substantial for him to gain from all this or he wouldn't be wasting his time.

"Anyway. There is certain evidence pointing to some sort of partnership between Grindelwald and MAGI – perhaps the company has agreed to support Grindelwald's cause from behind the scenes. If Grindelwald were to succeed in his rise to power, he could open the market for them. As of now, the only products they are unauthorized to create are –"

"Wands and broomsticks."

"Precisely. And as you know, these are very profitable markets, given that nearly every witch and wizard in the world owns one of each."

Rosemary nodded, terrified by this suggestion but also intrigued with the topic. "And what exactly does that have to do with Dumbledore?"

"Well, that's what you and I are going to find out. He's certainly involved with MAGI," Tom told her as he retrieved a folded newspaper article from his pocket and handed it across the table to her. She opened it to see a headline that was dated just a couple of months prior, on December 21st, 1944: 'Albus Dumbledore Presented Award for Spell Mechanics Consulting at MAGI'.

"So if we're correct about MAGI and Grindelwald…Dumbledore may even play a role in that as well."

Her feeling of sheer disbelief must have been evident upon her features, because Tom pressed the matter further, growing more animated with each hushed word that he spoke: "Think about it. He's in charge of everything relating to security at Hogwarts. Not to mention the fact that he is a direct advisor to Minister Spencer-Moon. And it just so happens that he's also been working for MAGI as a consultant?"

"I mean, I know you don't want to hear this, Tom, but he is a talented wizard…"

"Not that talented," he hissed. "There has to be something else going on."

Silence fell between them. After a few moments, she folded up The Daily Prophet article and slid it across the table toward him. "I know you loathe Dumbledore, but this is a bit of a stretch. Even for you."

Tom nodded solemnly. "I figured you might say that, which is why I invited him."

She followed Tom's gaze toward the door that Raoul Beaumont had just stepped through. He spotted them almost immediately and flashed them a smile before heading their way.

After a few moments of idle small talk between Rosemary and Beaumont, including a brief exchange with Miss Melwyn when she came to take his order, Raoul finally brought things back on topic. "So…Tom mentioned you were willing to help. While I do appreciate the gesture, Miss Horton, I certainly don't want you to feel obligated."

"Of course I want to help," she said without hesitation. Tom rolled his eyes; she had been hesitant at best to help him, but more than gracious as soon as she found out it was for Raoul's quest to take down MAGI. Why was she so eager, he wondered, if there was nothing for her to gain, besides fulfilling the favor she owed him?

"But what exactly are we trying to find?" she continued. "And is it true, Raoul? Do you believe Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and MAGI are all connected?"

"It's impossible to be certain, of course, but I do believe so. As we have so little to go off of right now, you'll be looking for really anything that could be useful. Albus appears to be a very guarded man so I doubt you'll find much of anything anyway."

Tom watched quietly, chiming in on occasion, as Rosemary proceeded to ask Raoul a dozen additional questions about the potential MAGI conspiracy. Though still slightly annoyed that she hadn't jumped to help him initially (not that this was much of a surprise anyway), he was satisfied with how intrigued she was quickly becoming. The end goal of his plan seemed more attainable with each passing minute.

"I'm so glad to see the two of you back together," Raoul said discreetly to Rosemary as they stepped out of the pub and he leaned down to kiss her cheek. Tom felt the blood rush to his face and he felt Rosemary's eyes on him as he turned away and fumbled with his pack of cigarettes, pretending he hadn't heard, while cursing Raoul internally.

When he told the sponsor this lie during Tournament training earlier that evening, he had requested that Raoul didn't bring it up to her with the excuse that they were still working through things. But of course Beaumont simply couldn't restrain himself, even this once.

How would she react? Would she be angry? Or worse, would she see right through Tom to his true feelings? He had lied to Raoul about it in hopes that he would have fewer objections to Rosemary's involvement. In retrospect, however, it felt foolish; after all, Raoul had already admitted to purposefully involving her by telling her about MAGI for a reason that continued to elude Tom. Perhaps, more than anything, there was some part of him that so desperately wanted the lie to be true that he couldn't help himself.

The inevitable question came as they parted ways with Beaumont: "Why did you tell Raoul that we're back together?" She seemed genuinely confused, but not bothered, which admittedly came as a relief.

"Would you rather I tell him the truth?" he asked her nonchalantly in return.

"No," she responded quickly. Of course she didn't; after all, they were essentially trading sex for favors. It wasn't something that either of them would be proud to tell anyone else…not that either of them appeared to mind the arrangement itself.

Rosemary didn't press the subject further, another relief. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going on in that clever mind of hers during their long, uncomfortably quiet trip back to Hogwarts.

Rose's head was spinning with all sorts of questions as Tom walked her back to her dormitory. Of course, at the forefront was her curiosity regarding Tom's choice to tell Raoul that they were seeing each other again. While she was certain convenience was a large piece of it, she couldn't help but wonder (somewhat hopefully, in fact), that there was something else behind this decision.

In addition, she was puzzled as to why he went to the trouble to bring her to Diagon Alley and invite Raoul to meet them, apparently just for the sake of convincing her of the validity of his request. After all, she had owed him this anyway as per her promise two weeks prior – a debt was a debt and she couldn't exactly have said no. So why did he care whether or not she bought the reasons behind it?

And then there were all of her questions regarding MAGI, Grindelwald, and Dumbledore.

It was bound to take a small miracle for her to clear all of this from her mind and get some sleep that night, though she expected Tom would help at least a little by providing her with a physical distraction. Things certainly seemed to be headed in this direction, anyway, when he invited himself into her dormitory upon their arrival in the Head Boy and Girl wing of Hogwarts.

"Perhaps we should begin discussing specific strategies?" he suggested tactfully while she slipped off her coat.

"Yes," she agreed airily. "We should."

But she had plans of her own. As intrigued (though somewhat nervous) as she was with the prospect of their snooping of Dumbledore, watching Tom speak so animatedly about it had gotten her adrenaline rushing most of all. And all she could think of doing in that moment was, to put things bluntly, him.

She gestured to her bed and he took a seat. "What are your ideas so far?" she asked him.

"Actually, I'm more curious to hear what your initial ideas are."

Rosemary glanced over at him, uncertain if he was actually being serious. She had expected their mission to go pretty much the same way she assumed the rest of his schemes did, with Tom calling the shots and her following his orders. The idea of collaborating on something with him was far beyond what she could have anticipated. In fact, it was quite shocking. "Really?" she asked dumbly.

"Yes, of course," he answered in his ever-smooth tone. "The two most intelligent minds in Hogwarts are better than one of them alone, wouldn't you agree?"

Rose felt her face flush hot at his surprisingly direct compliment and she turned away from him so he wouldn't see. It was quite amazing, really, that after all this time he was quite capable of making her nervous (a pleasant nervous, nonetheless). There wasn't a doubt in her mind that he was aware of this; in fact, he had probably only said it because he knew she wouldn't know how to react.

But if there was one thing that she had proven to herself the weekend prior, it was her ability to equally turn the tables on him – and that simply power wasn't something she intended to sacrifice anytime soon.

"Obviously," she forced herself to say nonchalantly. "Well," she continued, her back still toward him as she lifted her blouse over her head and dropped it to the floor beside her, "we could always create some sort of diversion and then have a look around his office."

"The portraits..." He said this as though his thoughts were far, far away. Rosemary wasn't surprised, given that her skirt had joined her blouse on the floor; she could feel his eyes burning into her back.

"Hm…That is true…" Even if they got Dumbledore out of his office, the portraits would still be there, like his dutiful watchdogs. But this wasn't a question to answer in that moment, because suddenly she could feel Tom's warm breath on the back of her neck and could see his hands curling around her waist.

She grinned in delight. Yes, she most certainly could turn the tables on him.

The following morning found her at the Ravenclaw table next to Warren, who was filling his plate with an incomprehensible amount of food in preparation for that afternoon's Quidditch match. Things were quiet between them as she was too busy mulling over everything that had happened the night prior to maintain their usual degree of small talk.

There was, however, one question that was burning in her mind:

"What do you think of Grindelwald?" Rosemary asked him when she simply couldn't take it any longer.

Warren stopped eating and looked at her in surprise. Rosemary couldn't exactly blame him; Grindelwald wasn't typically a topic for casual conversation, after all. Even so, he managed to recover enough to say, "Well, er…I saw an article in The Prophet last week about the increase in funding to the Auror taskforce. And they quoted Minister Spencer-Moon saying that they're closer than ever to catching him."

Rosemary scoffed internally: The Daily Prophet – the very same newspaper that didn't begin running stories about Grindelwald until he had been at large for months in other parts of Europe. Hardly a reliable source of information. But perhaps she was being unfair; after all, if it weren't for Tom and Raoul, she wouldn't have the first clue as to what was going on with the regime.

"So you aren't worried – at all?"

"Not really," he shrugged nonchalantly. Then Warren put his arm around her and said, "And you shouldn't worry either, Rose. With the Aurors in full force and all the precautions that Dumbledore has taken to secure the castle, we're perfectly safe. Besides, you have me to protect you." He grinned and kissed her forehead.

She almost laughed out loud; she didn't need protecting and if she did, she certainly wouldn't trust Warren with the job given his ignorance on the matter. But Tom on the other hand…

Rosemary glanced up to see Tom discussing something with Dolohov at the Slytherin table. Rosier and another fourth year, a name she couldn't place, were seated beside him and looking at him in complete reverence.

It was then that she got it; she finally understood.

Warren would never be part of something larger like Tom was with MAGI and Grindelwald and even the Knights; it was clear that the he simply didn't care about anything going on outside the bubble that contained his life. But Rose wanted to be part of something larger, too. If she didn't, she wouldn't have a problem obeying the wishes of her parents and staying confined to the box that being a part of Pureblood society had provided her.

Rosemary wanted her life to have mystery and excitement. And it just so happened that these were two of the qualities that most defined Tom. With him, she could have everything she had ever wanted – and then some. Before him, her view on relationships had been rather pessimistic, but Tom had changed that completely. Though she would never tell Faye, she had even found her best friend in him.

Despite everything else she knew about him– his short temper, the tendencies toward violence– he was as intoxicating as ever. All she wanted in that moment was to be with him. In fact, she was sure she had wanted it for much longer, but simply didn't allow herself to realize it. She wanted to march over to the Slytherin table and interrupt his breakfast to tell him that she never ought to have left him.

Okay, maybe after breakfast when Warren, his friends, and the entire school wouldn't be watching.

But what if Tom simply didn't feel the same way for her any longer? What if the things Markus and Faye had told her were true and that he had been messing around with the various Slytherin girls this entire time? Still, it seemed impossible that he thought of her the same way he did them. And even if he didn't feel the same way, she knew she couldn't forgive herself if she didn't take the risk.

However, this was only one side of the equation. Could she bring herself to hurt Warren so profoundly as well?

'Yes,' she thought automatically. She had to.

Her heart beat faster and a smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she continued to watch Tom from across the room. Soon, she could be his again.

"So what time should we plan on coming over?" Warren asked her suddenly, interrupting her thoughts.

"What?"

"You know, next weekend…Easter…"

Oh, fuck.

She had forgotten that her parents had invited Warren and his parents over for Easter dinner the following weekend, along with the Avery's. As much as she ached to tell Tom, she knew that she would have to be ready to end things with Warren almost immediately after; she doubted that Tom would continue to be patient in this regard. And she certainly wasn't ready to explain to her parents why the Cramer's wouldn't be attending their supper.

Rosemary supposed that waiting another week wouldn't hurt, so long as it avoided what would certainly be a heated exchange with her parents on the topic. In fact, it was strategic; the longer they thought she was committed to Warren, the better.

'One week,' she told herself. 'Just one week…'

"Why is there happiness and comfort and excitement where you are and nowhere else in the world?" - Zelda Fitzgerald

Sorry for the delay - finals are this week PLUS my computer crashed and I lost my first attempt at this chapter. Sigh.

But anyway, I'm back! And let me tell ya, next chapter is gonna be a doozy. Schedule-wise, I'm planning to post a couple more chapters than usual over spring break, which begins next Thursday for me.(:

Thank you all for your patience.(: And thank you to marly4077, Mrs. ThorinOakenshield, Blerb, Mrs. WaylandOdinsonBlack, RosiePosie15, Oksanallex, kissinglink, Lady Ravanna, Guest6, CharlotteBlackwood, waistedyouth, gr8rockstarrox, and thirteen Guests (though I suspect some of you are the same person haha) for your reviews! :D I'll reply to your reviews as soon as I'm able (probably later today).