Ten

Calculated minds

Trigger warning: SA

  "Corio?" Rosalie's breath was warm against the cold evening air, she walked up the last few remaining steps of the astronomy tower, peering up to see if she could set her sights on him.

  After a few minutes of building up her confidence in her dorm room with Lily, she had decided that the right thing to do was to go and see him. She could hardly leave him waiting. Their engagement was a facade that she had made even him fall for, but his apparent love for her, was not.

  It was a fact she felt guilty for.

  "Corio?" Rose repeated, stepping up the last step, and turning around to check in the other direction. Her eyes fell upon Coriolanus, his white dress shirt was untucked, his platinum blonde hair was messy, he leant back over the railing, his eyes drawing a picture in his head of his perfect Rosalie.

  "There you are." He finally spoke with a warm tone, he pushed himself to walk closer to meet her in the middle. 

  Rose paused her movement, Coriolanus's large build towering over her. His hands immediately went to her face, his fingertips traced her high cheekbones and pink lips. Rosalie didn't dare move, she couldn't comprehend a single thought.

  Then, as suddenly as he had come in, he took a step back to to railing, looking out over the grounds of Hogwarts with a simplicity on his face that Rose rarely saw. She swallowed, trying to figure why he had called her her, and if it was just a hook up call.

  "I've been writing to my parents." He began. 

  Rosalie nodded, walking to the space beside him. 

  "About?" She asked, without a clue on what he could be talking to them about.

  Coriolanus chuckled lightly at her innocent stupidity.

  "Us, my dear." Corio tilted his head to face her, and in this light he looked rather handsome. Rose found herself struggling for words. She was a sucker for a pretty face. She found herself almost dreaming to fall in love with the poor boy, to put them both out of their misery.

  "They're quite excited for our marriage. Mum wants to meet after the school year is over and help you plan." Coriolanus spoke kindly, he reached out and grabbed Rosalie's hand, caressing it softly as he thought over the life they could have together.

  Rosalie felt sicker by the minute for what she had done to Coriolanus. 

  "Yes, it's all very exciting." She managed to spit out, finally turning away from him, she could feel tears swelling in her eyes, which was a rare sight. 

  Guilt hit her in every direction, Coriolanus had no clue about anything, he didn't know who her father was, why she was really at Hogwarts. She couldn't share anything with him, but she had to keep it this way. He was a liability when it came to Tom.

  Corio grabbed her head, forcing her to look at him. He noticed the tears poking at her eyes, and his face turned solemn and concerned. He slowly pushed her head into his chest, rubbing at her back softly.

  "What's wrong?" He asked, perplexed.

  Rosalie felt herself sob. 

  "I'm just so happy," she lied effortlessly, molding a smile onto her face, even though he couldn't witness it. It seemed like she was attempting to convince not only him but herself as well.

  His grip on her tightened, and yet, he pushed her away gently to gaze down at her face. A delighted expression crossed his features upon seeing her smile, igniting a source of happiness within him that hadn't been there before.

  Coriolanus leaned down swiftly, their lips meeting in a cold embrace. Rose could sense his lips coaxing hers to respond, but they remained still and unresponsive. After a few brief moments like this, Corio seized the back of her head, compelling them even closer.

  A light flickered on in Rose's cleared-out mind, and she gradually reciprocated the kiss. Although she could feel Corio's grin against her lips, all she sensed was a deep undercurrent of sadness and guilt, for herself and Coriolanus alike.

  His kiss fell deeper, and suddenly, Rosalie was pushed against the very railing they had been leaning against. In a short movement, Corio had her sitting on the edge of the railing, a far fall, and a bad death.

  She looked down between taking their breaths, swallowing out of a certain phobia; Rose had never been one to like heights. 

 Coriolanus pulled her back into the kiss, and she went along with it, the connection evolving into a temporary escape more than anything else. For a fleeting moment, there was a blissful void in her mind, devoid of conflicting thoughts. However, that serenity was abruptly shattered when she felt his hand on her leg.

  A creeping sense of discomfort crawled up her throat, and she swiftly distanced herself from the kiss. This wasn't what she wanted, a realisation that hit her with sudden clarity. The atmosphere in the room became heavy with the unspoken tension, and Rose couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret for allowing the situation to progress this far.

  To her dismay, Coriolanus didn't stop even after she had pushed him away. He leant back in, standing between her legs with a power she hadn't meant to give him. She was afraid that at any minute she would fall back and down to the concrete below. His lips kissed against her neck, and Rose pushed against his chest.

  His hand slid further up, and quickly, reaching her inner thigh within a matter of seconds. Rose couldn't conjure up any words, she was afraid of everything around her, guilty, because she was the one who had asked for this.

  "Stop," she finally managed to whisper. She had never felt so vulnerable in her life, so weak.

  Corio took no notice to the objection, and Rose's tears continued to roll.

  "Corio, Stop." She said, a little louder, he couldn't brush it off as not having heard her.

  He leant out from her neck, but his hand stayed in a dangerously close place. The warmth was unwelcome, Rose's face twitched at the feeling, her eyes met Coriolanus's with a sad ache.

  "Stop?" He asked her, though he didn't really ask.

  Her jaw quivered.

  "It's too much, Corio." She said simply, sweetly. She even sent a smile at him, a secret plea for him to put as much space between them as possible.

  Coriolanus returned her smile, radiating kindness and sweetness. Rose had anticipated him to be the gentleman, to respect her wishes.

  "But you're my fiancee, I can do what I want with you now?" He remarked casually.

  Rose's smile faltered as she processed his words, questioning whether her ears had deceived her.

  "What?" she asked, her smile now diminished by half, a mix of confusion and concern clouding her expression. The thought that her engagement was interpreted as an entitlement for him to cross boundaries began to sink in, leaving her feeling uneasy.

  His hand persisted, exploring and caressing, while he leaned back into her neck, indulging in sucking and kissing. Rose felt her body tense, inching back from him as a harsh gust of wind reminded her of the proximity to the perilous edge.

  "Coriolanus, stop," she demanded, pushing against him with increasing force. However, his build barely moved an inch. Rose pushed again and again, desperation creeping into her movements, but he remained unmoved.

  "Please," she finally pleaded, a whimper escaping her lips. Tears streamed down her face, leaving her complexion blotchy and red.

  His hand ventured into Rosalie's panties, She screeched and kicked at him. Still, he showed no sign of relenting, his breath hot against her neck as he treated her like a mere plaything.

  The sound of footsteps leading up to the tower was ultimately the thing that had him pull his hand out, and take a few steps back from the situation.

  Rosalie sat on the edge of that railing, feeling disgusting and used.

  A cascade of black hair emerged from the stairs, revealing a dark gaze that shifted between Coriolanus and Rose. The attention settled on Rose's disheveled and irritated demeanour. Her face bore the signs of distress, with flushed cheeks and tear-stained marks.

  Tom's eyes narrowed as they locked onto Coriolanus, a sudden surge of anger coursing through him. He couldn't fathom what Coriolanus had done to cause Rosalie so much pain. Witnessing Rosalie in tears was unthinkable for Tom; She was too strong to break, but she was too fragile for him to let her out of his sight.

  Rose didn't even want to wonder what Tom was doing here, and the situation began to break down on her, what had happened, what Coriolanus had done. She found herself standing up, weak in the knees, and walking past Tom in pursuit of the staircase. 

  Before she could move too far, Tom grabbed ahold of her forearm, not harshly, but it was enough to send Rosalie into a sensible rage.

  "Don't touch me!" She screamed at him, a certain fear behind her eyes that Tom had never seen before. He let go of her immediately, even he wasn't one to overstep a woman's boundaries.

  "I apologise." He said instantly, nodding his head to her.

  Rosalie took a breath, blinking to herself at the overreaction. Coriolanus stood with an unfazed expression, and Rosalie wished she could rip it right off of him.

  "I have gotten myself out of detention for the night, but you're to meet us at the usual spot." Tom spoke rather silently for his taste, his mind still rolling over what could've happened between the two of them before he had gotten there.

  Coriolanus approached, and Rosalie instinctively moved away, seeking refuge closer to Tom. Riddle took solace in the subtle reassurance that she found comfort in his presence. Yet, in Rose's eyes, he was merely the safest villain in the room at that moment-nothing more.

  "Of course, sorry to leave you so soon, Rose." He tried to reach her eyesight, but she didn't dare to look at him. Instead she looked down at Tom's robes. 

"No," Tom's voice cut through the tension. Rose turned her gaze toward him, and Coriolanus quickly followed suit. Tom met Rosier's eyes with a distinct disdain. It felt like William and Rose were the only ones he could trust now; there was an unsettling quality in Corio's expression that Tom found unlikeable. Every bone in his body signalled that Coriolanus had just betrayed him, and for what purpose, he didn't quite know.

  "Rose comes too." He finally spoke.

  Coriolanus furrowed his eyebrows. "For what purpose?" He quickly asked.

  Tom smiled with a certain coldness that overcame Coriolanus's violent stare. Though Tom was only a small amount taller than Corio, in that moment he seemed to tower over him.

  "She's a necessity for what's to come. I have invited her. She's my- personal guest." Tom spoke with a knife as his tongue. Coriolanus bit back his own annoyance at the situation, wholly believing that he didn't want Rosalie anywhere near Tom, or anywhere near the things they did.

  If only he had remembered what she had forced him to forget.

  Coriolanus directed a stern gaze at her. "You shouldn't have gotten involved, Rosalie." However, as the conversation unfolded, Rose's confidence in dealing with the man grew.

  In response, she offered a solemn smile. "You don't have control over me. I'm doing this for Riddle, and inadvertently for myself."

  Tom couldn't help but feel a surge of pride as he witnessed the transformation in Rose- his Rose, now adorned with thorns.

---

"I've noticed we've come to be a rather small group." Tom begun.

  "Yes, well, you'e very good at getting rid of people." William spoke with a laugh of sarcasm. Tom sent him a dirty look, shutting him up rather quickly.

  Rosalie was still shaken by the events that had come before the meeting. She sat as far away from Coriolanus as possible, and as a result of that, sat right across from Tom.

  "We will have to fix that." He spoke indifferently. 

  Coriolanus shifted in his chair. "Yes, my Lord." He let an eye slip to Rosalie, still uncomfortable in the notion that she was now accepted to hear all of this. All in all, he bowed down to a man that he was afraid to lose Rose to.

  "I will start recruiting tomorrow." He said again, an air of efficiency surrounding him. Tom nodded shortly.

  "Make it discreet." 

  Corio nodded.

  The feeling of tension hung in the air. Each person in attendance knew different things than the others, and there was an unspoken understanding that each person present had a role to play for Tom Riddle. Consequences awaited those who faltered in their role.

  Fear was the only way Tom knew how to run, Rose doubted he would ever have much respect, possibly from the few, but never the many.

  Riddle finally settled his piercing gaze towards Rose, starting with a soft remark.

  "I'm glad you're here Rosie." He held on to the arm chair, looking down at his own hand, or rather the ring placed on his finger. Coriolanus looked at him anxiously, regarding the nickname.

  "But unfortunately for you, now that you are a Death Eater, you have certain responsibilities to uphold, which comes with you starting to tell the truth." Tom took his time to look back at her, but he may have well spoken Chinese, for Rose could barely make out what he meant.

  "Death eater?" She asked, rather appalled by the malicious sounding name.

  "My goal is to end the possibility of my death." He spoke back in a way that was slightly more bearable. 

  Rose pushed herself back into the original setting of the conversation, "What do you want to know?" She asked.

  A flash of eagerness was set in Tom's eyes. Here she was, offering herself to him with open arms. "How did you know about my identity," he took a short breath, indicating he still had more to say, "You of all people, a girl from Austria, who had never heard of my family name. How did you find out what I am?" 

  Rosalie found herself in an uncomfortable web of uncertainty, pondering what information she was permitted to reveal among the assembly that Tom had ominously christened as Death Eaters. Did they know the truth of his lineage, the revelation that his father was neither pureblood nor half-blood but, a muggle?  

  Tom sensed what she was thinking from the wondering look on her eyebrow. The unspoken question danced behind her eyes.

  Nevertheless, she replied with a vaguer answer then he would've hoped for. It kept her out of trouble for the minute. "A book." She said simply.

  Tom unflinchingly repeated her words, "A book?"

  Rose bit back at her tongue. "People usually dive into more complicated means of finding something out, that they forget they should start with the most simple and obvious." 

  Tom seemed perplexed, even he didn't have knowledge that his family name was in a book. The name Riddle shouldn't have been placed in anything regarding magical families, as the name wasn't from the sort of blood. Unless, of course, there was something regarding his mothers relationship with his father.

  Riddle suddenly felt cold and distant, a need to lock himself away from everyone's sight formed in his mind. His blood was an embarrassment, and if someone could find that out from a mere book, people may begin to question his power.

  "Destroy whatever book you found and any others you may have found on the matter," he instructed, his tone leaving no room for negotiation. 

  Rosalie was still concerning herself with how much William and Coriolanus knew, and to what extent did they know it? Would they follow a man like Tom Riddle if they knew he was only a half blood?

  She acknowledged his command with a curt "Of course, my Lord," subtly hinting at her newfound reluctance to address him by this title as the others did. Tom held a smug smirk that seemed to stretch beyond the boundaries of self-satisfaction. If she was alone with him, she would've slapped the grin right off his pretty face, but she didn't dare to make him look like a fool in front of William and Coriolanus.

  "My lord, might we discuss the rest of this in private? Surely Rose doesn't need to be here for everything." Coriolanus suggested to Riddle, who looked at him, taking in his impudence and stupidity. His mouth curled into something rather disgusting at the suggestion.

  "You will learn to keep your mouth shut about the subject. I intend for Rosalie to know everything that happens in these meetings, she is too important to be kept out of the loop- why, I believe she doesn't even really know what we're trying to do here. Do you, Rosie?" 

Rosalie's gaze darted cautiously between Coriolanus and Tom, the latter seemingly on the edge of a certain madness in his own predicament.

"No, I don't believe I do," she responded, a sudden thrill of anticipation rippling through her stomach. She stood on the edge of unraveling the truth about Tom Riddle.

Yet, an internal struggle brewed within her, a part of herself urging her to turn away, recognising that whatever revelation awaited her would hinder her view on Tom forever.

  "We have ambitions, you see, I'm sure as a pure blood yourself, you would share them too." Tom begun with an innocent look on his face, but behind that innocence was a wall of evil.

  Rose felt like she knew where this was going, she had seen this before, and she didn't like the ending. She had seen the same look she saw now in Toms eyes in her own father's eyes but a few years ago- it was a thirst for power- a thirst for everything.

  She felt a tick in her jaw, her fingers instinctively went to loop themselves through the ribbon on her wrist, and Tom watched on in interest. William and Coriolanus sat apart from the conversation, questioning to themselves on what her reply would be.

  "You want pureblood supremacy?" Her voice finally broke through the silence, and Tom recognised that she had the same look on her face now like she had when she had stopped him from killing that boy in Transfiguration.

  "Even though- Well- you know?" Rosalie already had an idea that whatever Tom was doing would be something like this, but she had always pushed herself against believing it, perhaps in a reason of hope.

  Tom looked down, his smirk disappearing. It was only the truth that he was a half-blood. His muggle father was the reason of his shameful existence, sometimes he wore that fact with shame, but sometimes he used it as a shield.

  "Yes, my filthy muggle father- that's what you were going to say, weren't you?" Tom tilted his head at her with a certain threatening oscillation. Rose's eyes flicked to William, who she knew to be prejudice against them. His face was unmoving at what had left Tom's mouth.

  Riddle looked at her, "Yes Rosie, they know. So that's a fact you can't threaten me with." 

  Rosalie's tongue went dry, her face tried to move in a normal manner, but everything she did managed to look jerky and awkward. 

  "What do you mean? Why would I threaten you?" She huffed.

  Tom's eyes slimmed, trying to understand every morsel of Rose's being that he was thrown. 

  "I'm not sure, but I'm quite certain you would've." He made himself more comfortable in his position, resting one of his legs on the other as he took up more sofa space.

  "So you know?" Rosalie finally included William into the conversation, not having the heart to speak to Coriolanus yet.

William sought Tom's approval with a glance before offering a reluctant nod. Rosalie could discern that this was not a moment William took pride in – being a willing servant to a half-blood with ambitions of eradicating his own kind. It was a peculiar kind of irony.

"They know everything, Rose. They follow me because I did the most respectable thing I could do in that situation," Tom started. He swallowed, and Rose observed the subtle movement of his Adam's apple.

Rose hesitated, apprehensive about the revelation she anticipated. The prospect of a dreadful truth loomed over her with every passing moment.

"What did you do?" she asked in a gentle tone, hoping that her softness could, in some way, redeem the impending revelation.

"I killed him, then the rest of them," Tom confessed.

The weight of his words left Rose speechless. She struggled to find the right words to express the turmoil within her.

"Who, Tom?" she finally managed to ask.

"My father, my grandfather, my grandmother, all of them. Anyone tied to the disgusting name that we used to share."

  In that moment, Rose had discerned the true extent of the danger lurking within the man she had once found intriguing. She had once thought Tom to be salvageable, but how did someone come back after killing their entire family? It wasn't possible even in Rosalie's vast mind.

  "I want to control everything in my reach Rosie. I can understand if you find some of the things I've done to achieve this as questionable, but it really was the only way." Tom leant forward from his spot on the sofa, his hand reaching out to grab hers.

  William and Coriolanus observed with divergent thoughts swirling in their minds. William, an advocate of Tom's vision for a pure-blood-dominated wizarding world, pondered the potential irony in having a half-blood at the helm, despite Tom's proven strength and merit. He believed in Tom's right to lead as the strongest.

  On the other hand, Coriolanus was consumed by a singular thought- the image of Tom's hand on Rosalie's. It eclipsed all other considerations in his mind.

  Rose discovered an unsettling solace beneath the icy caress of Tom's touch. It resembled the sensation of dipping a frozen limb into warm water. As she gazed into his eyes, she sought any sign of humanity in his soul. It existed, albeit shrouded in darkness. Rose grappled with the notion, feeling powerless to alter his desires.

  Witnessing Tom tread the same path as her father had was almost painful, a reminder of the choices that shaped the destiny of those she cared about. As much as Rosalie regretted saying it, she had come to care about Tom in a peculiar way, she cared to change his life instead of destroying it. Perhaps that was the very reason she had accepted taking the blood pact all together.

  But she couldn't let another man Grindelwald come into the world and attempt to take it by force. It had already suffered enough; by the hands of her own father. 

"Of course, I understand why you had to do such a thing, my Lord," she murmured, gracefully lowering her head. Tom, however, showed no inclination to release her hand. The silence lingered, becoming palpable, until discomfort finally coerced her to meet his gaze once more. His eyes bore into hers, patiently awaiting her response.

To Tom's bewilderment, the girl remained a stranger. Her actions and words danced on the fine line between compliance and defiance. He sensed a lie in her 'understanding', a skill she usually was very proficient in, yet faltered today. Tom, despite his uncertainty about her motives, was compelled to exercise restraint. She was no longer a pawn for his cruelty; instead, she was the key to creating the thing he wanted most in this world, a horcrux.

In the midst of it all, the unexpected yet familiar emotion stirred within Tom — a sentiment he was both unfamiliar with and averse to acknowledging. Love, an unforeseen intruder in the dark recesses of his heart, whispered softly in the background, weaving an intricate web around his determined pursuit of power.

  "It's for the good of the people, Rosalie. Under our Lord's rule, the world will make more sense, pureblood families like ourselves on top and those who are lesser on the bottom." William spoke from beside Rose, her eyes twitched over to him, and she slipped her hand away from Tom's, to Coriolanus's happiness.

  She could never in her right mind agree to a statement like that, and for a flickering moment she wondered how Lily could love a man with such a set prejudice against people simply because of magical heritage. Then she realised that love was a difficult recipe, and you fell in love with the faults of a person as well as the good parts, even if they were hard to swallow.

  Rosalie begun to frown, but she nodded her head.

  "Yes, you're right. That is how the ministry should run things, we cannot dirty our blood." Her talent seemed to remerge, letting the lie out simply. 

William bestowed a friendly smile upon her, while Coriolanus harboured a wistful gaze that she steadfastly avoided returning.

"After I've completed my last year, recruitment for our cause will intensify. With Grindelwald's inevitable downfall, we'll have families flocking to us. By that time, I'll have a few more horcruxes and a few thousand more followers," Tom declared casually, reclining on the sofa as he succinctly outlined his seemingly straightforward plan. Rose, however, was not naive enough to accept that as the entirety of his grand design.

"But now, let's get back into the discussion of horcruxes," Tom declared, redirecting his attention back to Rose.

  Rosalie hadn't exactly thought this far ahead, and every moment in her head was a battle in deciding how she would be able to prevent Tom Riddle from carrying out his plan without dying herself. The blood pact was both a curse and a blessing, perhaps Tom knew that.

  Tom was even more dangerous than she had originally concluded, and if she still cared for her father, she would've informed him of Tom's malicious nature the second she had heard of it. However, if she were to take such an action, she would be called back home the second after. It was a possibility she didn't dare play around with.

  "Are you sure you want to make a horcrux, my Lord? From all that I've heard it's rather brutal." Coriolanus spoke in a softer voice at his closeness to Tom, who didn't bother to look at him, and instead kept his eyes as usual, trained on his fiancee.

  Tom had a look of wrath on his face at the seemingly stupid inquiry. "It's absolutely necessary to conceal my soul in the case someone were to try and kill me. I suspect Dumbledore will try it as soon as I make one move in the wrong direction. That oaf is fooled by no one." Tom spoke bitterly of his Professor, who was indeed, immune to Tom's charming nature.

  Coriolanus sat back into his chair like a beat dog.

  "Rosie." Tom spoke again. 

  She looked at him.

  "You will tell me how to make a Horcrux now, or direct me to the book that will tell me." He demanded, any love for her hidden by his driving passion for the dark spell. 

  Rosalie forgot to shiver at his coldness, by this point used to it. She furrowed her eyebrows and her lip moved like what he had said was funny.

  "No." She let out, to Tom's surprised she seemed on the brink of a smile after the crowd of emotions she had been before on hearing of his families death.

  "No?" He questioned. He had not heard that word from one of his death eaters before. He had never expected an answer as simple as that. Tom opened his mouth, ready to persuade and threaten her with his usual charm of words, though his thoughts were interrupted by her voice again.

  "I can do it for you, it takes a practise that even you haven't mastered." Her voice spoke in such a robotic manner that it began to sound sarcastic. William and Coriolanus seemed shocked that she could speak to him like that without earning a round of crucio.

  Looking between the two, she felt as though something was missing- or someone, in the plan that was formulating in her head.

  Tom seemed only amused, his beautiful grin, that he had now reserved only for Rosalie, played on his face. He thought about asking why he should believe that she could do it, but something deep in his heart told him that she would do this for him in the end. Even if what she said now was a falsehood. 

  After all, Tom really was known for his charms. 

"Very well, you'll be the one to do it," he concurred with a nod, disregarding the concerned glances exchanged between William and Coriolanus. Entrusting such a pivotal task to a newcomer, someone he scarcely knew, was an unprecedented level of trust. It seemed as if he were either delusional or truly smitten.

"I'll require about a month to gather everything," Rose added, making her conditions clear. Tom's displeasure was more evident this time, yet he begrudgingly nodded in acquiescence."So be it."

Rose had finally discovered a method to rid herself of Tom Riddle. Though extreme, she deemed it necessary to avert the potential thousands of deaths that would rest on his shoulders if he attained his desires.

  It would be what he desired most that would end up killing him.

  Rosalie thought of a messy plan, contemplating the dance of dark magic. In her mind's eye, she envisioned a risk: by reversing the magic put in to the act of sacrificing a life to create a horcrux, she could cause it to backfire during the final stages, when Tom himself would have to charm the object he wanted the horcrux to be. This calculated reversal, she believed, could redirect the fatal consequences originally intended for the sacrificial item back towards Tom himself. In this strategy, Rosalie saw a path to Tom's demise, all without the need for her to wield her own wand against him.

  In her thoughts, the grim plan wove its threads. She faced an undeniable truth: she would survive, and he would meet his demise.

  The notion of taking another's life was abhorrent to her; it clashed with the core of her being. Yet, a lingering question lingered- did he, in his violent acts, deserve the fate she contemplated?

  Her moral compass wrestled with conflicting notions. No one, she believed, deserved to face the finality of death, not even Tom Riddle. The intricacies of justice weighed heavily on her heart. It was necessary, was all she could think.

  But if she was to do this, she would need someone to back her acts, someone that wanted Tom to truly be immortal, unlike William and Coriolanus who were iffy on the topic. Ben was the only one that would push him into blindly taking such an action and walk into such a trap.

  "I also think we've made a miscalculation in sending Ben away. He may be the only one who can help me with the horcrux." She said, innocently.

  Tom crossed his eyebrows, "Avery? You were the one who told me to send him away."

  "Rose? That was you?" William asked, a slow look of pain attracting to his features.

  Rosalie found herself yet again in another uncomfortable situation. 

  "I had to find a way into your inner circle somehow." For once in the conversation, Rosalie spoke some truth, hoping with all fingers crossed that it earned her some brownie points instead of torture.

  To her utter surprise, Tom laughed.

  "Well, you fooled me. Really, I should hurt you for that, but I almost respect your efforts too much to do that." 

  "My Lord- if what she is saying is true, then she lied to you to get herself here. What is to say she is not to lie to you again?"  William asked, feeling more distant to Rose than ever.

  "You obviously don't understand people well enough, William" He spat, then continued on in his theory of the human mind.

  "People will always lie, there is no stopping them. But they can never hold up a lie forever. Whatever Rosalie hides from me will never be enough to hurt me, I'll keep her close enough from now on to ensure that." Tom's eyes couldn't meet Rose's, they stayed anywhere but her face, in fact.

  "And what does that mean?" Coriolanus replied almost instantly, not with a threatening tone but with something like a quivering worry. Riddle looked at his Death Eater, unimpressed at his lack of confidence more than anything else.

  "You will watch your tongue, or you'll find it cut off in the morning, Rosier." He threatened. Rosalie rolled her eyes at the exchange.

  "Tom, please." She said, though she no longer had any respect for Coriolanus, or in that fact, Tom, she still wasn't harbouring any interest in the group being distastefully violent.

  Riddle finally looked at her, Coriolanus and William followed his line of sight to her as well.

  "You will not call me by that name. To you I am your Lord. I might find you interesting but that doesn't pardon you from plain disrespect." He spoke with a higher level of kindness than he had to Coriolanus, though he still looked as though he was about to kill someone.

  Rosalie held a frown on her face, finding the look of Tom's face more and more displeasing by the minute. She had never known such hatred could be found from the body of an attractive looking boy. 

  Even now it was hard to look at him, she searched her mind for any plausible reason that he could've had for killing his own family. It seemed impossible that there would be a good reason. She was looking for redemption for him, just one redeemable quality and she would've thrown herself at it.

  Rose wanted a reason not to kill him.

  "Sorry, yes, of course, My Lord." 

  Tom's ego seemed fixed at the statement, his strength restored in front of his followers.

  The rest of the private conversation continued to discuss the depths of Tom's plans, and Rose couldn't seem to fathom how similar her father's plan had been when he started. Tom insisted to William and Coriolanus that he would fall within a couple of years. Rosalie wondered if the same thing would happen to Tom.

  It was hard for Rosalie to sit through an hour and a half on the conversation of subjugation and oppression. They spoke about the most efficient ways of torture, what forbidden curses they would use and how, how sometimes they wouldn't even need followers, or at least, willing followers, for the Imperius curse existed. 

  By the end of it all she felt like a living zombie, her body was there, but her mind wasn't. She refused to look at any of them by the time the meeting had concluded. 

  "I suppose it'll be next week before we meet again. This time, I expect more people. I've already heard about a few interests." Tom stood up from his comfortable position, setting the standard for the rest of them to leave.

  Rosalie stood up, already walking to the door without a single look in Tom's direction. He stared at her, waiting for a look, a smirk, a frown, a blink, anything that signified she was alive, but she didn't give him the light of day.  

  "Rosie." Tom finally called out to her as the rest of them approached the door. Rose felt a shiver at the nickname, like he was tormenting her with fake affection.

  "Yes my Lord?" she spoke, like a robot who had dialogue drilled into it.

  "You stay, I need a word." Tom found himself spiralling in a circle, grabbing onto his own arm as he waited for the rest of them to leave, words pleading to exit his mouth but not in the sight of anyone but Rosie.

  "She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to." Coriolanus swallowed and walked back slightly, reaching for Rose who instinctively took a step away from him. She would never allow herself to be alone in the same room as him again.

  "It's fine, Coriolanus." She kept her eyes to the ground, knowing she would only give herself away through the look of disgust she kept on her eyes if she raised her eyesight.

  Coriolanus seemed to scoff, looking at Tom who held a proud grin on his face, his head tilted, his entire self radiating power. Corio faltered, looking back at Rose in cowardess.

  "It's not fine." He reacted, "we're engaged, you shouldn't be alone in a room with another man. My Lord, I mean no disrespect, but you understand?" 

  Rosalie muttered something under her breath, barely loud enough for only Coriolanus to hear, spite dripped off of her own words. "I shouldn't even be alone in a room with you."

  "Disrespect taken, Coriolanus. I think Rosie can decide for herself, she is a free woman after all." Tom replied rather slowly, seemingly controlling his anger in a way he had never shown before.

  Rosalie found a short smile on her face, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come, realising the man who had said the sweet words was anything but sweet.  

  "Leave us, Coriolanus." Rosalie raised her head slightly, allowing Corio to view the look of utter disdain on her face as he slowly complied with her words..

  Rose kept her eyes on Coriolanus's feet as he left, making her oblivious to Tom making his way over to her at an excitingly fast pace. Eventually she heard the door shut behind them, leaving Tom and her alone.

  She looked up, and suddenly Tom was right in front of her face.

  Without a moment's notice, she was pushed up the very door Coriolanus had left out of only seconds ago. Tom's hands were snaked around her face, gripping her cheeks in his hands. He looked down at her, his head bent uncomfortably. 

  She could feel herself going red of embarrassment, but that very emotion surprised her. Her heart beat at the thought of Tom Riddle being so close to her, but not out of fright, not out of fear that he would do something to her, which he very well could've.

  "My Lord-" She began, a slight shake in her voice

  "It's Tom." He interrupted.

  "I like it when you call me Tom."

  Rose swallowed, feeling the effects of his emotions whiplash. What was it? Riddle? My Lord? And now Tom?

  She sneered at him. "I think I prefer Riddle." She said coldly. Tom's face remained as unapologetic and unreadable as ever.

  "I only snapped at you before because you cannot make me look weak in front of them, or anyone. Ever." Riddle's thumb slid across her skin, he looked at the mark it made acutely. His grip stayed tight on her.

  "That wasn't part of our deal." She tilted her head away from his touch, turning her eyesight to anything other than his face. All she could think about was the death on his hands, and the death he would bring. He was no better than the monster she was born of.

  "Well, it is now." He said simply, meanly. His grip became less affectionate, using his position as a threat rather than a sign of his incomprehensible feelings for the girl, ones he was still trying to defend himself of.

  Rosalie kept her mouth shut, a simple defiance of refusing to speak that had Tom's thoughts spiralling. 

  "I want to trust you." He spoke softly, pulling her face back to meet his eyes, she still refused to look at him even though he had forced her to face him. She felt no immediate danger in her arms, which had confused her slightly.

  "Look at me." He asked.

  Rosalie looked at the wall, she didn't even know what to say- what to feel. She had trapped herself in this mess, she knew what kind of person he was and she did it anyway. Now she had to go and kill him.

  She wondered if she refused to look at him because he  had killed people, or he was the one she  was about to kill.

  "I had to kill them, Rosalie. I would do it again to get where I am. I have a position falling at my feet, to reign over the whole of Britain- wouldn't you?"

  Tom tried to reflect his morals, his reasoning for being so terrible.

  "Yes, I would." She mumbled, just with enough enthusiasm to help Tom believe it. The truth was, Rosalie would've liked to reign over the whole of Britain, who wouldn't? But not in the way Tom intended, with fear and death.

  "I've never felt this way before, Rosie." 

  A crack in Tom's armour ripped apart, Rosalie finally looked at him, with more disgust on her face than ever. 

  "What?" She breathed, hoping she had heard the phrase wrong.

  Tom's left hand dropped from her face, scaling its way down Rosalie's arm until he got to her hand, he inspected it in his own hand, admiring the small scar the pact had left. He felt the softness of Rosalie's touch and how it affected him. 

  Tom was intoxicated with Rosalie's mystery, Rosalie's danger. She was a girl he knew nothing about, one that could very well be the end of him. Some part of him told himself he was just keeping her around as you keep your enemies close, but he was beginning to believe that wasn't the whole of it.

  Rosalie's lips looked too tempting in the candlelight, her eyes were vicious and threatening, telling him if he took one more step she would hurt him. Tom wanted to have her right then, her soft hands in his hair, his hands up her robes, his lips on her collarbones- those beautiful collarbones. 

  "Riddle?" Rose tried to snap him out of the trance.

  He looked back down at her, swallowing softly. Rosalie watched the movement of his throat.

  "I do want to trust you, Evans, but you will be sorry if you think you can try and betray me. I will always be one step ahead. No matter what I-" Tom bit back his lip, swallowing again, more harshly this time round. 

  "How would I even do that? I think the pact got rid of that worry for you." Rosalie flickered her eyes between him and his shoes.  

  Tom looked at the scar on his own hand, his lip curling. She was right, but the unsettling and suspicious nerve in his stomach would never settle even if he wanted it to.

  After another moment he let go of her and took a step away, facing away from her with a haughty breath. Rose felt a certain weight come off of her chest, and she finally allowed herself to look at him, no longer intimidated just at the mere sight of his back.

  "Goodnight Rosalie. You're free to go." He said without turning back to her. His heart bet fast, his mind racing even faster wondering if she was right- if he was truly safe from her.

  Rose looked at him, having yet found no reason to think he was fixable. 

A/N

Sorry for the long break in updates, been trying to figure out what route to go down for the book... finally figured it out though. Hope the longer chapter makes up for it. 

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