Nine

Protection

  Rosalie's mother had been a pretty German woman from a village her father had visited eighteen years ago. That was the extent of Rose's knowledge about her. Her father was always vague about the subject, and all he would let out was that she had died not long after giving birth to her, caught by some vicious and quick sickness.

  Rosalie's father and mother had never been in love. Rose was born of a heated moment between a small town girl and a foreign man. For all Rose cared, Grindelwald could've left her as a baby on some random street alone to die, but he hadn't.

  She supposed that eighteen years ago, he mightn't have been as bad as he was now. Maybe at some point in the distant past, he had been a gentleman. A man who cared for a mistake he had made, and had made the most of it by raising her as his daughter.

  Rose barely ever thought about her mother, there had never been much reason to. Though sometimes in her sleep, a lovely, familiar looking blonde woman would call to her, and all she felt was the fear in her mothers eyes. Rose's mother had been scared of her death, and she would never know why.

  Rosalie sometimes wanted to know who her mother was, how she had died, what she was like. Was she very much like her mother?

  But it didn't really matter anymore. For all Rosalie was concerned, she had no parents now. She was alone in a world full of murderers and liars, rapers and thieves.

  Rosalie only knew that she was here now, and that it was unfortunate. The world would've been undoubtedly less painful for Rose if she had never been born into it.

  But looking at the happy smile on Lily's face now in the field they sat, it almost felt like there was something worth living for. To have friends and a peaceful life, freedom in knowing you could do anything and be anyone. That was why Rose was still here. She had something to do in the world yet, whether her reason for being here was to destroy Tom or to simply just live, she didn't know now, but she would find her reason for living soon enough. She would fine the moon to her sun.

  The sun rose up from low on the horizon, casting a warm golden glow over the field where Lily and Rose were finding solace. Amidst the swaying grass, the girls enjoyed each other's company, both having more in common than they thought. Lily had quickly become her closest confidante, and the one person with whom she could lay bare her thoughts.

  It was a regret that Rosalie had that she hadn't told her closest friend the real reasons she was here, and who she really was. The plain truth of it was that she was wildly scared that her friendship with Lily may be revoked if she ever found out.

  The gentle breeze played with the strands of their hair as they sat together, plucking at the grass, the land stretching endlessly before them.

  Their conversation was light hearted, revolving around the romantic escapades of their Hogwarts peers. 

  "Can you believe that Amy and Raymond went to that Slug Club thing together last night?" Lily spoke in astonishment, her head shaking in the air with a light feeling of grossness.

  Rose smiled, she hadn't told Lily who she had gone with yet, and what proceeded the short evening. It was likely she would watch her friend backflip out of mindless control.

  "Yes, it's quite amazing." She said, Lily scoffed at the description of it.

  "Yes, amazing alright." Lily retorted, looking over at Rose with a small curiousity.

  "And who did you end up going with? Surely you won't tell me you went alone." Lily deepened her look on Rosalie, who was itching under the gaze. She was hesitant to pull out the truth.

  Rose tutted at herself. "No, I didn't go alone. But perhaps my company was worse than attending alone." Rosalie laughed at herself, and at the irony of having to attend an event with one of the people she hated most in the world. Tom Riddle was truly detestable.

  Pompous, prideful, arrogant, mean, vicious, violent, cold. 

  Rosalie shivered like she could still feel his light breath on her face when he had leaned down to her last night. She refused to believe that he had tried to kiss her, it was unthinkable, Rose had deemed it another attempt at a manipulation tactic.

  "Worse than attending alone? I should think as long as you didn't bring Riddle or something then anyone else would be half alright." 

  Rosalie let out a short laugh, creating a rather unladylike noise of a snort. Lily scrunched her face together at the odd reaction.

  "I'm sorry," Rose apologised. "Yes that would be quite horrible wouldn't it."

  Lily hummed, an unsure look plaguing her face.

  "Indeed. So who did you go with?" She pressed the question in a way in which Rose could hardly avoid it anymore. She shuffled uncomfortably, trying her hardest not to look Lily directly in the eye.

  "Well, you see, about that..." Rose stumbled over her words, staring at the damp grass.

    Lily gasped, finally gaining a more perceptive understanding on what her friend was trying to say. She then groaned with a rather disgusted tone, her lip curling.

  "Merlin, please tell me you didn't." 

  Rosalie looked her finally in the eye, she bit her lip and proceeded.

  "I did." 

  "Fuck Rose, why would you do that? Don't you know who he is? He's got William and Coriolanus wrapped around his pinky finger for some reason, and who knows how and why he sent Ben away. There are rumours that he killed that girl in the chamber last year, though hardly anyone believes them, and he's so vain! I don't know why he's so popular with the girls when everything leads to him being some sort of cult leader." Lily huffed at Rose's poor choice, though it had never really been a choice for her to make.

  Lily's words weren't entirely off the mark; Rose attentively absorbed her words, though it merely echoed what she had already found out. Tom remained a cryptic mystery to the world, with only those within the inner circle aware of his true intentions. Rose found herself on the cusp of that elusive knowledge.

  "Well, Slughorn sort of paired us up-" Rose tried defending, but the look in Lily's eye told her that whatever she had to say, she would still remain disgusted.

  "Don't look at me like that Lily." Rose pleaded.

  Lily continued to, clearly unhiding of the fact that she hated Tom Riddle just as much as Rosalie claimed to.

  "I'm sorry, now please stop the judgement and let's talk about something else. A certain dark haired Lestrange perhaps?" Rosalie tried hard to move her friends mind elsewhere, and moving it to the boy she loved was possibly the easiest way.

  "What about him?" She asked, looking away from Rose with her usual shyness on the subject.

  Rosalie laughed at her, struck with the notion that she may remain forever oblivious to the fact that they were both so in love with each other, and she need not worry about the trivial question that asked if he liked her back.

  "I know that you are in love with him," Rose spoke with a softness, she placed her hand on her friends leg.

  "Yes well, I suppose that much is obvious." Lily smiled into herself. Rosalie's heart warmed at the idea of Lily finding love, it was something Rose thought of sometimes.

  She wondered if her mother had ever been in love. Rose questioned what kind of motherly advice she would be given on the topic if she were here. 

  Lily finally lifted her face, finding her own confidence to speak, a hint of mischief was raised in her gaze, her tongue ready for playful banter.

  "Have you ever thought about getting married, Rose?" Lily asked, her eyes dancing with curiousity. The mist of the field caught up to them, creating an almost ethereal atmosphere.

  Rosalie thought about it. "I can't say it's ever been the first thing on my mind. I dare say the gentleman that should marry me will have to be most fanatical." She laughed down, her mouth moving to compose itself.

  Lily smiled for her, "perhaps, but anyone should be lucky to have you." She said so kindly, and Rose knew her ruse to change the subject had worked quite well.

  "And you, Lily?" Rosalie asked, knowing Lily would have a lot more to say on the subject that herself.

  Her eyes sparkled and a soft laugh escaped her lips. "I should like to be married right after school, just like my own parents. My mother has always told her how joyful marriage has been for her, so I look up to it I suppose." 

  "And, could you Imagine little Williams running around, and me being Mrs. Lestrange. It has a certain charm, don't you think?" Lily was suddenly grinning in comfort, Rose chuckled and nodded her head.

  "I think that would be an adorable sight." She said earnestly.

  "But whatever brought you to ask such a question?" Rose prodded on, Lily's face changed almost immediately to something more curious.

  "I had heard a most interesting rumour, though I was a little surprised to hear it." Lily spoke cryptically, and Rosalie leant in.

  Lily took another breath. "Is it true you are engaged to Coriolanus?" She inquired.

  The joyous atmosphere shifted, and Rose, wanting to maintain the facade of her fabricated story, nodded in agreement. 

  "Yes it's true, though his affection is unrequited. I can't mirror his sentiments." Rosalie bit the inside of her cheek, a discomforting feeling pooling in her stomach. Would it be the case that one day her long list of lies would catch up to her?

  "So, it was arranged by your families?" Lily pressed the question with more inquiry.

  Rose couldn't think of what to respond anymore, so she kept her mouth shut, giving a small nod in return. The act made Lily feel worse for her.

  "Could it be, perhaps, that your unrequited love for Corio is because of Tom?" 

  Rosalie froze in her place, and Lily seemed to do the same once the strange question came from her mouth.

  "What do you mean?" Rosalie finally moved herself, cautious of saying much else.

  Lily was ever perceptive on the subject of love. It was rather true that she did hate Tom Riddle, he was mean and cold and a possible cult leader in her eyes. She could see no allure, but she wasn't blind to see that others could look past it and feel something for him. 

  And in this case, it seemed to be double sided.

  "Riddle wouldn't let a woman within one metre of him before cursing them for all eternity- but with you..." Lily became skeptical as to whether she should continue or not.

  Rose could feel her throat, mouth and lips going dry.

  "With me what?" She asked quickly, her throat giving out on her, sounding more as a broken up plea rather than a question.

  "Well, it's like when you walk into the same room as him, you are the only thing that matters."

  Rose couldn't think.

  "And he's always asking about you. Wanting to know your secrets. He seemed rather concerned when you didn't attend classes on Monday last week when you had a sore throat." 

  The revelation struck a chord, and Rose grappled with a mixture of emotions. Flustered at the idea of Tom's inquiries, she couldn't ignore the harsh reality that his curiousity more than likely stemmed from distrust rather than genuine interest.  

  That had to be the reason. Distrust.

  "I have no idea what you're talking about Lily, I feel nothing but hatred for him." 

  Lily furrowed her eyebrows, her words spoke different to her body language.

  "I despise everything that makes him him. His ideals; everything he stands for." Rose looked out over the misty field, considering her tongue.

  "You don't know the extent of the darkness he embraces, Lily. It's horrible." She looked back at her dearest friend, thinking of the time she was tortured, thinking of that poor girl who had died last year, thinking of all the people he would hurt if Tom got what he wanted.

  Lily suddenly felt a surge of guilt for even suggesting she could feel anything but hate for him. She had convinced her ever so slightly.

  The topic of Tom had brought back Rose's feelings on her father, and she suddenly had a rather urgent question for Lily.

  "You and I are pureblood witches Lily, but how do you feel about muggle repression. How do you feel about the prejudice?" Rosalie asked the question slowly, rather afraid for what he friends answer might be.

  "And what brought about this question? William? I know how he feels about it, and I can hardly agree with him. That might be the only thing I don't like about him." Lily spoke with a raised eyebrow, slowly admitting it.

  Rose breathed. "So, you're against it?" She asked.

  Lily had a pained look on her face. "Of course. People are people, irrespective of any magical heritage." 

  Rose's eyes had a sparkle of hope, her breathing came easier to her now at hearing those words. Lily thought about the one difference she had with William, while he held classical pure blood beliefs, her own were very different. She was afraid what that would mean for them, but she was ever glad that she had Rose's agreement.

  Rose held Lily's hand, giving her a comfort. 

  "It's always hard to disagree with someone you love."

---

  The transfiguration classroom was rather quiet today, Lily and Rose had come in late from their early morning escapade to the field, and to their happy surprise, Dumbledore was not there to tell them off for their tardiness.

 Ten minutes had already passed into the scheduled class time, and a growing sense of uncertainty enveloped the students, prompting whispers about a possible cancellation. Lily turned back from the front of the classroom, casting a perplexed look at Rose, who mirrored her confusion. Returning her gaze to the front, Lily tried to make sense of the situation. Meanwhile, Rose's attention shifted back to Tom, who now occupied a solitary seat after sending Ben away.

  Tom scrutinised her with his usual inscrutable expression. If he had any embarrassment or regrets from the previous night's events, he skilfully concealed them. This led Rose to ponder whether Tom's actions held an ulterior motive, deepening the mystery that surrounding him.

  Coriolanus was ill today, Tom noted that fact with a great happiness, he rather disliked it when he saw him and Rose sitting together, the way he'd act as if he was the one she belonged to.

  But his deepening stare didn't go unnoticed in the room today, a Gryffindor boy, Jaime Saran, found himself noticing the length of Tom's eyesight. As he sat across from Tom, and was rather interested in acquainting himself with the notorious head boy.

  He collected his belongings with little consideration and casually positioned them right next to Tom, who had been abruptly diverted from gazing at his Rosie. Tom grappled with the realisation that it might be romantic attraction tethering him to her, leaving his mind in a whirlwind of possibilities.

  Jaime gave Tom a slight nod with a smile, Tom tried to pull himself together for his appearances, but the best he could do was a grimacing smile and a curt nod before looking away from the boy.

  Jaime coughed, wanting his attention once more. Riddle slowly turned his head back to face him, trying to disguise the look of utter confusion and slight disgust that someone was speaking to him, moreover a Gryffindor.

  "Please, do excuse me, Riddle, but I couldn't help but notice who you were looking at." 

  That had Tom's attention. His disgust was on the brink of rage, any tip in the wrong direction and Jaime was sure to be cursed.

  "And what of it?" He asked with a slight movement of his head. Tom played with the corner of his robes.

  Jaime had a smirk smeared across his face, thinking that what he was about to say might earn him some points.

  "Well I have to ask if you've had her, if the rumours are true." Jaime chuckled slightly, thinking the notion a funny subject to a man.

  Tom looked like his eyes were about to blow from his head, his jaw tightened.

  "Excuse me?" He asked coldly, his movements slow and calculating, like he was trying to figure out the easiest and most painful way to kill the boy right there.

  Jaime, obviously not very proficient in reading the situation, continued to laugh and boastfully congratulate him. "She is rather beautiful, though, I still don't know how on earth you got her from Coriolanus. Was she a good fu-"

  Tom's eyes froze themselves over Jaime, and before he could disrespect Rosalie by opening his mouth further, he grabbed the wand from his robes and pointed it to Jaime's neck.

  Jaime closed his mouth, with one last sound of a shocked breath leaving his throat. The students in the classroom turned around to the rather loud noise in the quiet room. Murmurs spread about the room immediately, William and Lily watched from the front of the classroom, their eyebrows raised.

  Rosalie stood up from her seat, watching the situation happen before her. 

  "Stop speaking." Tom spoke in a low, venomous voice. The whispers spread further, no one had really seen Tom ever lose his temper like that.

  "I was just-" Jaime tried to speak for himself, but before he could get too far, a rush of dark light transferred into his skin, and Tom let him go, his face still full of disdain. 

  Jaime grabbed at his throat, finding himself unable to breath, his throat puffing out and blocking his own airway. He fell backwards off the chair, and students began talking louder, a few of them walking over to him to see what was wrong.

  His face began to turn red, his cheeks puffy and his face unrecognisable. Rosalie looked at Tom with a certain hatred on her face, thinking he had hexed the poor boy for no reason. She stormed over to Tom.

  "Rosie." He breathed as she approached his table, he paid no attention to the boy dying from lack of oxygen beside him. For all he cared, he should die anyway.

  "Riddle, do something." She growled at him, not one kind thought behind her eyes. Tom's mouth closed, his grimace returning to his face.

  "I did it for you." 

  "I didn't ask you to?" She spoke angrier, more confused.

  Tom looked slightly to the boy beside him, he most likely only had a minute left before he died. Riddle was out of his own senses.

  Rosalie leant over his table, putting her hand over his. Tom pulled it away quickly, afraid of the warmth of her touch. Rose brushed off the subtle rejection and spoke slowly.

  "Fix him before he dies. Don't be stupid Tom." She whispered to him.

  Tom blinked, pulling out the wand again and pointing it to the boy on the floor, a second, lighter flash of light left the tip and transferred into Jaime's neck. His puffing stopped, and for the first time in the moment he gasped for a breath of air.

  Tom kept his eyes on Rosalie's disappointed face as she turned back to her own table, though her attention was captured again when Dumbledore finally walked through the doors of the classroom, immediately catching sight of the Gryffindor boy catching his breath fiercely on the floor, students surrounding him in a worried manner.

  "Whatever is the meaning of this?" Dumbledore rushed rather quickly over to the boy, noticing the aftermath of a hex on his skin.

  "Who did this?" Dumbledore demanded again, though no one spoke to reply. A couple of them, however, looked to face a guilty looking Tom, who had no look of regret on his face.

  The Professor followed the crowd's gaze and looked at Tom.

  "Tom? Was this you?" He asked, with little surprise in his voice to Rose's surprise.

  Tom nodded simply, owning up to his own actions. At least he had that gentlemanly quality about him. Dumbledore breathed slowly in his direction, before looking down at Jaime again. 

  "Take him to the hospital wing." He instructed a few of the students, they reached down and helped him to stand, escorting him out of the room rather quickly. Jaime didn't dare to look at Tom on his way out.

  Dumbledore walked his way over to Tom, holding out his hand expectantly.

  "Your wand, Riddle." Dumbledore instructed, rather coldly, even for him.

  Tom suddenly felt worried for his punishment. Surely it couldn't be anything so dire that it would have him kicked out of the school? He had nowhere else. 

  Tom placed the wand he held onto Dumbledores open palm, though his own look faltered when he finally looked at it. That wasn't his wand. Tom's eyes darted to Rosalie at the realisation that it was hers.

  Dumbledore recognised this, and also looked at Rosalie, and then to the other students standing behind her. 

  "Rosalie and Tom, stay, the rest of you, leave. Class is dismissed for the day." The Professor spoke wisely, and the students started to slowly drain from the classroom. William and Lily shot the both of them worried looks as they left.

  Finally, the sound of the door closing indicated they were finally alone.

  "I know, most of all, Riddle, how extreme your situation is." Dumbledore began, addressing Tom. Rosalie felt like she was intruding on something, but couldn't help but be interested when the Professor mentioned Tom's situation as extreme. 

  "But you cannot go around hexing students on your will, I can only vouch for you so many times." Dumbledore looked ever so slightly angry, something Rose had never seen him. 

  "The consequence won't be serious, will it Professor?" Tom spoke with a sense of vulnerability. Rosalie looked at him.

  "I cannot say Tom, perhaps under these circumstances, yes." Dumbledore spoke slowly, and Tom felt himself swallowing back words.

  Rosalie felt suddenly desperate, and she had no idea why the proceeding words came out of her mouth. 

  "Tom did it to protect me, Professor. Jaime was actually threatening to hex me himself." Rosalie found the lie slipping out of her mouth to keep Tom from landing himself in further trouble. Tom gazed at her, perplexed.

  "Is that so?" Dumbledore asked with a hesitance. "And why was Jaime threatening you?" He persisted.

  Rosalie shrugged her shoulders, "He wanted me to meet with him later, but I refused. I assumed his intentions were disrespectful." The falsehood was said with a perfect sense of truth, though Dumbledore thinned his eyes.

  "I see." He said shortly.

  "In that case, Tom, only twenty points will be deducted from Slytherin, and you will serve detention for a week." Dumbledore spoke with mercy, and Rose could find herself breathing easy, knowing that the alternative would've been worse.

  Tom noticed Rose's relief at what Dumbledore had said, and found himself wondering why she should care about it. He played with the ring on his finger.

  "And I suppose this is yours." Dumbledore walked over to Rose and handed her back her wand. Rose felt into her own pocket and pulled out Tom's wand, handing it to Dumbledore in exchange.

Dumbledore gave her a curious look, but accepted the wand back, ultimately giving it back to Tom after hearing what was said to be the truth of the situation.

  "You may leave Rosalie and I, Tom, I would like to speak with her alone." Professor Dumbledore said.

  Riddle looked at Rosalie with a more thankful gaze than ever, and left the room slowly, his body not wanting to be far from her. The moment the sound of the door closing again resonated throughout the room, Dumbledore rushed back to Rose rather quickly, frightening her with wide eyes.

  The Professor grabbed her hand, turning it around palm up to see for himself. His throat ran dry upon seeing the cut across her hand. Rosalie pulled her hand back to her chest, but it was too late, the damage had been done.

  Dumbledore seemed to quiver at his assumptions becoming true.

  "My dear Rosalie, do you know what you've done?" 

---

  A few days had passed since the moment in the Transfiguration classroom, and to Rose's dismay she had seen very little of Tom Riddle. She was skeptical that he was up to something, and she wanted desperately to know what was going on in his inner circle.

  She was yet to receive an invitation to an inner circle meeting, though she suspected that him being in detention most nights was the reason for this.

  Lily and Rose were walking back from dinner arm in arm, laughing about something William had said earlier at the table. Their laugh subsided as they walked into their room, their arms disconnected.

  "Merlin, I might just go to bed right now. I'm so tired." Lily yawned, falling back down onto her bed with a small crash. She groaned on her back and into the air.

  Rosalie chuckled at her, approaching her own bed with enthusiasm. "You have potions homework, don't you forget." 

  Lily let out another groan, snatching her pillow and forcefully covering her head. Rosalie settled onto her mattress, and a faint rustling noise caught her attention from underneath. Rising again, she found a crumpled piece of paper that she had accidentally sat on. 

  "What's this?" She spoke outwardly. Lily took the pillow off of her face and looked over to her friend.

  Rose moved to smooth out the piece of paper, reading over the words with a careful voice. Lily sat up, intrigued herself as to what the note said.

  "What is it?" She asked after a moment, Rose still read the letter, or rather, reread it.

  Rosalie drew in a deep breath, her expression revealing a hint of distress. "It's Coriolanus. He wants me to go and meet him in the astronomy tower." She crumpled the note once more, tossing it into the trash bin on the other side of the room. As she turned to Lily, her face reflected a mix of uncertainty and unease.

  "When?" Lily inquired with genuine sympathy. She was well aware that Rose harboured no romantic feelings for Coriolanus, and the mere thought of him seemed to evoke discomfort rather than happiness.

  "It said after dinner, so I assume now," Rose replied, her pacing across the room mirroring the restlessness she felt inside. The weight of the impending encounter with Coriolanus lingered in the air, casting a shadow over the room.

  Rosalie began to wonder on what her mother would think of the situation she was in. She was only a young girl, far from home, lying to her friends, and getting involved with a man who wanted her to make him a horcrux. The one true friend she used to have was mind controlled into believing they were engaged.

  Rose was beginning to grow sick of all the lies.