Moving On

June 13, 1945

Rosemary was surveying the bright green lawn in an attempt to find a nice piece of shade when she spotted Faye waving her over near the shore of the Black Lake, where several Gryffindor boys were taking turns diving off the docks to impress the girls who had rolled up the hemline of their skirts to sun their legs. Meanwhile, fairies skated along the water in synchronization, creating wondrous, swirly patterns. Summer seemed to be in full swing and tomorrow, she would graduate from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Nearly a month had passed since Tom Riddle proposed to her in the Chamber of Secrets.

"What an honor it is to receive a visit from the living dead!" Faye beamed up at her while shielding her squinting blue eyes from the sun.

Rose took a seat next to Faye, resting her back against the tree that blanketed them with shade. "Hilarious," she grumbled, even though the blonde had a point. She had been busy training the new Head Boy and Girl for the majority of this week and had locked herself away to study incessantly for N.E.W.T.s the entire week prior. But who could blame her? The stakes were higher than ever, as Rosemary had every intention of keeping her future place at St. Mungo's and she was terrified to receive her scores the following morning. "Where's Adam?" she asked, eager to change the subject.

"He snuck out of the school to fetch Markus and gather some supplies for the bash this evening. You're coming, aren't you? It's our last Slytherin party at Hogwarts, after all!"

"Maybe," Rose shrugged noncommittally, if only to get a rise out of Faye.

Indeed, Faye gave her a look of stark disapproval. "Well I can assure you that you'll be missing out on a fabulous time if you don't go. I just thought it would be nice, after everything that's happened, to have the four of us back together again: you, Markus, Adam, and I…for old times' sake. You won't even have to listen to Becca try to get into Markus' trousers now that she's engaged to Gil Pollack." She made a dramatic, fake-gagging motion.

"Better her than me," Rosemary shuddered, remembering the rather handsome but overwhelmingly creepy Ministry bloke that had caught the eye of many girls in her year during Apparition lessons – the very same Gil Pollack that her father had tried to set her up with at Comet and might have succeeded if Warren wasn't there to save her. Then again, she thought bitterly, after all the trouble Warren had caused her, 'saving her' seemed a bit of an overstatement. She left the thought at that, before her guilt had the chance to begin to sink in all over again.

"I'm glad that you and Adam finally resolved things."

"Well, the wedding would have been incredibly awkward if we hadn't."

"You still would have married him, even if things didn't improve?"

Faye laughed. "Of course! We don't all possess your audacity. Although, if that Healer friend of yours happened to be single and looking…"

Rosemary eyed her warningly. "He's my boss, not my friend. And if you do anything to jeopardize my position at St. Mungo's, I swear to Merlin–"

"Bloody fucking hell, Rose," Faye laughed again, "It was a joke. Calm down…you're starting to sound like…" She stopped abruptly midsentence.

"Like who?" Rosemary pressed expectantly.

"You know who." Faye nodded in the direction of the school, where Tom Riddle had just emerged with his typical band of Slytherins, casting his tall, imposing shadow on the edge of the lawn.

Almost magnetically, his eyes found hers and she unconsciously reached for the thin, gold chain around her neck, sliding it through her fingertips until she arrived at the dangling trinket it carried. She pressed the black stone of the ring softly to her lips and smiled back at her ambitious, charming, addicting, and incredibly dangerous fiancé.

It had certainly been a busy few weeks in Tom's world after his proposal to Rosemary, which spread like wildfire throughout the school; never before had he seen so many of his female peers sulking through the halls. He couldn't help but watch in arrogant satisfaction every time they eyed his family's ring around her neck with such discernable envy. He had won, after all; this time for good.

He could hardly believe that, in just one day, he would no longer be a student. The thought of leaving Hogwarts behind was admittedly startling, both because it had become his home and because he felt that there was still so much to be done. What about all of the castle's secrets that he had yet to discover? What about the Knights; wouldn't they fall apart without him here to lead?

To console himself, he continually reminded himself of the opportunities that would present themselves upon graduation: a fresh start with Rosemary, the freedom to improve upon his magical talents however he saw fit, the Tournament…But then, during a recent visit with Raoul (which went quite awkwardly, given their last encounter), he was notified that the Tournament had been rescheduled to September in order to allow the contestants who had dropped out as Grindelwald gained power to rejoin the competition and bring their training back up to par.

In addition to being incredibly frustrating, this news brought some concerning questions to mind. He had been planning to have the money from the Tournament to start his and Rosemary's new life – but now what? Given his demonstrable talent, top marks, position as Head Boy, and ability to present a glowing recommendation from all but one Hogwarts professor, Tom had received a multitude of prestigious offers already.

But what did he want?

There was no way that he had the patience to deal with the bureaucratic nonsense of the Ministry – that much was for sure. More than anything, he wanted to enjoy his newfound freedom after leaving Hogwarts and focus wholly on improving his magic. But there was a certain reality he had signed up for in his proposal to Rosemary; given her upbringing, she was bound to have at least some expectations and he certainly wasn't going to disappoint. At least he knew Borgin and Burke's would hire him back in an instant while figured it all out.

He supposed that in an ideal world, there would exist a position that allowed him to travel the world and gain knowledge to improve his magical capabilities while also getting paid.

Oh wait – there was:

Greetings (again) Riddle,

Have you had given MAGI's offer any thought? Like I mentioned previously, I'd be happy to meet up for lunch one of these days and discuss the specifics of the position. May I also remind you that it begins at a healthy 10,000 Galleons annually? Of course, there are other benefits of working at MAGI…

That morning, Tom had received his fourth letter from Davor Bukowsky, the MAGI associate he had met at the career fair that spring. MAGI's insistence to hire him would have made him rather suspicious if it wasn't for his arrogance and the fact that all the other offer letters he had received were of similar tone. But in reality, he was finding it rather difficult to restrain himself from jumping at the offer; the only thing that truly held him back was the knowledge that Dumbledore had an association with the company. And with time passing and his impatience to gain some sort of advantage over Dumbledore growing, this was beginning to look like more of a pro instead of a con.

Well, Faye was certainly right about one thing; the Slytherin party did not disappoint. The basics had certainly been covered – there was a full bar with so much champagne that nearly everyone attending could have their own bottles, dancing, snogging, and plenty of party favors being passed around for the daring few. They had even hired a slew of Hogwarts' house-elves to serve drinks and prepare a nice spread, paying several Galleons to each elf to keep their mouths shut about it. But it went a step further, as well. The room was plastered in dark green and silver decorations, with several lines of fairies providing a dim glow. In homage to their house symbol, about ten serpents of different types had been released (to Faye's horror) and could be found slithering around the outskirts of the room, most often in Tom's direction. But despite the Slytherin-proud theme, the attendees included several students of other houses (so long as they were of pureblood lineage). Indeed, it seemed that anybody who was anybody in the school had shown up – even the Bloody Baron had made a short appearance.

After a few drinks and one dance with a begrudging Tom, Rosemary curled herself up on a couch at the edge of the room and peered into the crowd. She watched Markus charm his way into snogging a fourth-year. Toward the bar, Faye was putting on her usual show of amicability with Becca, who were friends again if only for the evening.

It was all so fake and forced, she thought pessimistically. While she had made plenty of nice memories at functions such as these over the years, she couldn't help but be rather happy that this was probably her last. Pretending had always been so tiring and with Tom, there was no need for it. He had seen her for who she was, not who she was supposed to be.

A black and white striped snake curled around her ankle and looked up at her with curious eyes and she gently reached for it, smiling at the way it immediately coiled around her wrist. It inevitably reminded her of the Basilisk, the beast which Tom could apparently control with only a hiss of Parseltongue. Although she had witnessed it with her own eyes, their entire trip to the Chamber of Secrets felt so surreal (even if it had been her second time) and she was still trying to wrap her head around what she now knew about Myrtle and Tom's family.

Surreal. That was certainly one way to put it.

But all of it was just like Tom: shrouded in mystery, so much so that she felt rather honored to know as much about him as she did. Especially as she overheard his nearby conversation with Dolohov, Malfoy, Brocklehurst, and several more of the Knights, all of whom seemed hang on to his every word.

"Dolohov will be leading our meetings in my absence," she heard him say. "However, I plan to make regular trips to Hogwarts as my schedule allows. You all have much to learn in the Dark Arts, thanks to the school's flawed curriculum and I do feel at least somewhat responsible in providing you with the knowledge to make up for these deficiencies."

Indeed, watching him was almost like watching a king address his subjects – the only difference was that he had earned his throne with intelligence and charisma rather than birthright. He had accomplished an undeniably impressive feat in convincing each of these pureblood royals that his power was far greater than theirs.

"Hello Rosemary," a voice interrupted her thoughts of admiration. "May I have a word with you?"

It took a moment to register that the polite voice addressing her was actually Olive Hornby. What was this, some sort of joke?

"I hope you don't mind if I sit," Olive said to Rosemary's silence, while sliding onto the couch almost cautiously. And for good reason – Rose had administered the Cruciatus during their last encounter.

"What do you want, Hornby? I thought I made myself clear that you were to stay far, far away." Rosemary wished briefly that Tom had taught her the Parseltongue word for 'attack', so the snake she held in her arms could bite the tip off of Olive's pointed nose the moment this conversation took its foreseeable turn south.

"Well, that's sort of what I was hoping to discuss with you." She tossed a wall of shiny, pin-straight blonde hair over her shoulder. "I – erm…I was hoping, since we're about to leave Hogwarts and all, that we could put our differences behind us."

"I think it's a little late for that." Rose scoffed before glancing over Olive's shoulder at Markus and Adam in disbelief. Had they drugged Hornby's drink as one last prank?

"Perhaps. But I thought it would be best as we'll certainly be seeing more of each other now." Olive sighed, looking rather miserable all of a sudden. "I have yet to tell anyone this, but I was recently promised to Randolph Keitch."

Rosemary forced herself to keep a straight face, but was laughing her arse off internally. Keitch, her father's business partner, was quite possibly the most impolite, lazy, and ugly man she had ever met. "Congratulations. You two will make a fine pair," Rosemary said with a slight air of amusement. "I can't imagine a better match for him."

Olive tossed her a glare that surprisingly broke into a short, tense laugh. "At least he's rich. Anyway, I was hoping you could tell me at least a few of the goings on at Comet so I'll have something to talk about with him."

"That bad, huh?" Rosemary said in mock sympathy.

"Please, Horton. I'll owe you."

"You already owe me for everything you did to Faye, your pathetic efforts to steal Tom away…Need I say more?"

Olive sighed. "I know. It's just…you have everything. You've always been with the best boys of our year, had the richest parents, the list goes on…"

"I suppose it is good for the conscience to help those less fortunate now and again," she said arrogantly with a slight sneer. "But you definitely will owe me, Hornby. Big time."

Even though she would soon lose some of that 'everything', there was no reason for Olive to know it. After all, jealousy was far more useful than sympathy. Faye was right: she was beginning to sound a bit like Tom.

"You are one lucky bastard." Faye clinked her glass against his, interrupting him from his persisting thoughts about the letter from MAGI he had received in the post that morning.

Tom was so not going to miss these trivial encounters.

"It feels like just yesterday I was warning Rosemary that she shouldn't even be talking to you. And now here we are..."

"If there is a point to this, please make it," he sighed in exasperation.

"My point is that somehow you make Rosemary incredibly happy. So happy that she's going to spoil things with her parents forever to be with you. But Riddle…and trust me when I say that I mean this: if you aren't good to her, I swear I'll slit your throat."

Tom eyed her warningly. "And if you imply that I won't treat her well one more time, then I'll slit yours."

"Deal," she beamed and then, to his utmost horror, gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Good luck. With Basil, and everything."

Faye had always had too much nerve for her own good. In automatic revenge, he used a spell to pull the rug out from under her feet as she strode away, causing her to fall flat on her face and spill the majority of her drink down the front of her dress.

Markus helped her to her feet and she casted a drying charm on herself before giving Tom the finger and mouthing 'Fair enough, you arse'.

"I received another offer from MAGI today," Tom told her suddenly while watching her slip out of her robes late that evening, after the party's conclusion. "This time I'm considering it."

She froze. "What?" Had he gone completely mental?

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Why not? It's everything I want in a job and it pays well."

"But what about Raoul? What does he think about it?"

He rolled his eyes and sneered, "I do not give a damn about what Raoul thinks."

Clearly, he was still bitter toward the sponsor after the night of Grindelwald and Dumbledore's duel. "But don't you think this could all be some sort of trap? Surely MAGI knows of your involvement with Raoul through the Tournament."

"He was there ages ago. I highly doubt that anyone working there now has ever so much as heard Raoul Beaumont's name. If there are, they are very few; his story isn't something they would voluntarily spread around, after all. In their minds, they paid him off years ago and the issue is long over."

She sighed and moved to sit behind him on the bed and rub his shoulders. "I just have an awful feeling about it all. Besides, you shouldn't worry so much about money…I'll be making plenty once I start at St. Mungo's…and I have more than enough in my savings vault as well." Rosemary cursed herself as soon as these words came out of her mouth, knowing precisely how he would respond.

Indeed, Tom tossed her a deathly glare over his shoulder. "We have no need for your parents' money."

She said nothing and rested her forehead against his upper back. The mention of her family brought several emotions Rose had been so desperately trying to ignore to the surface. While certain she had made the right choice and that Tom loved her more than they ever had or could, she was nevertheless terrified at the prospect of the encounter. The encounter which, despite all of her pleas to any higher power that could slow down time, was going to happen tomorrow evening.

"Anyway," Tom began again after a long silence. "I thought you should know."

"Thank you for telling me," she replied shortly, placing her lips to the back of his neck, "But I still think it's an awful idea."

"Your opinion has been noted."

She was tempted to continue arguing with him over it, but knew another opportunity to do so would present itself later. It was their last night in Hogwarts, after all; they may as well enjoy it.

"Besides," Rosemary began as she kissed down his neck and around to his jawline, "If you were gone all the time on these trips, what would I do with myself?" She felt the muscles in his back relax somewhat. A small smile appeared on her face; knowing that she had the power to calm him was one of the most satisfying feelings. She hopped off the bed and stood before him, loosening his tie as she pressed her lips against his.

"Fair point," he acknowledged with a smirk between kisses. "I surely wouldn't want you to be lonely."

His hands roamed down her body, just brushing the sides of her breasts, trailing across her navel to her lower back, arse, and outer thighs. He was taking his time, which felt delightful and incredibly intimate; usually their foreplay was so rushed and short-lived in their franticness to be as close as close could get, but this time it was impressively slow and controlled. Clearly, Tom wanted the night to last just as long as she did.

She kissed him again deeply, moaning into his mouth as his fingers gently rubbed her inner thigh. His lips broke away from hers and bent his neck, his tongue suddenly flicking across her hardened nipples while his fingers performed their usual, electrifying ministrations. Rosemary arched her back in pleasure and reached down to unbutton his trousers, releasing his hardened shaft. She gripped him gently and began stroking in reciprocation. Tom responded to the pleasure by hungrily teasing her nipples between his teeth while one of his long fingers traveled the length of her slit. Rose involuntarily moaned again as it danced around her sensitive peak and he gazed up at her lustfully with his near-black eyes, framed with long, dark lashes.

Without warning, he shed the last of his remaining clothes and pulled her onto to the bed, sending them both crashing against the pillows. She laid on her back and he on his side, facing her, his hot breath warming her ear. "So beautiful." he mused quietly while caressing her curves all over again. Although she was wholly enjoying his slow, sensual pace, her body was already aching for his – so much so that she wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. While his fingers traced the folds of her womanhood, she began stroking him once more, hoping to tempt him into giving her what she so desired. She gasped his name as he pressed a finger into her, skillfully probing her soaking insides.

Her body squirmed uncontrollably as he pleasured her and she stroked his length faster. "Please, Tom," she tried to conjure her most seductive voice. "I want you." When nothing happened, she realized he was looking for more and changed her strategy accordingly: "I need you."

Without hesitation, he rolled on top of her, positioning himself between her legs, and pressed the tip of his member against her opening. Rosemary closed her eyes, feeling herself take more and more of him with each thrust. Their breathing became heavy and they fell into a divine rhythm. Even though they had fucked at least a hundred times before this, it never seemed to lose its allure; this was one of the few things they could share with each other and nobody else. And perhaps just as importantly, it was when she felt the safest.

"Oh, Tom…I love you," she moaned as she reached her long-awaited climax, relishing the feeling of contracting around his exceptionally hard member. Shortly after, Rose felt him tense and groan into his final release as well, filling her with sublime warmth.

After collapsing beside her and allowing their breathing to recover for a moment, Tom reached for the ring she wore around her neck and held it up to the light, his face pensive.

"I'm going to give you everything, Rosemary," he said finally. "Everything you've ever wanted and more."

She smiled and ran a hand gently across his cheek, trying not to think of what awaited them tomorrow. "You already have."

"They were still in the happier stage of love. They were full of brave illusions about each other, tremendous illusions, so that the communion of self with self seemed to be on a plane where no other human relations mattered." – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Thanks so much to Oksanallex, MissVolturiKingsfan, AmandaNeko21, RainbowKitteh13, calhounariel97, TigerInTheMoonlight, hypocriticalcommunistfromspace, alexc123, x2leoj, Bloome, Blerb, Lady Ravanna, lizzzsunshine, Charlotte Blackwood, slacker4life, marly4077, Ria, AraelDranoth, and five guest users for your reviews! I know this chapter was a bit slow, but there were a lot of things to tie together before they leave Hogwarts! Next chapter will be the end-of-term feast and Rosemary's dreaded confrontation with Basil and Evelyn. :D

Thanks for reading!