Rosie ⎮ Tom Riddle

Thirty Six

Realisation

  Daniel shifted uncomfortably in the armchair of the Order's meeting room. Dumbledore sat across from him on the couch, while Lily stood by the unlit fireplace, staring out the window at the empty street beyond.

  "She never replied. To either of our letters," Daniel said, his voice tinged with disbelief and sorrow.

  Dumbledore regarded him with a mix of pity and disappointment. "I didn't ever believe she would go back to him. She seemed so certain she was over him—she said she'd marry me."

  Daniel looked down, rubbing his hand over his mouth, trying to steady himself in the dim light.

  Dumbledore sighed, watching Daniel's struggle. It reminded him too much of his own past, of the love he lost to ambition and the bitter consequences that followed. Rosalie's choice, to him, was just another instance of selfish ambition—aligning with someone who could bring ruin to the world. Lily remained silent, her face a mask of deep thought.

  "You failed, Daniel. That's all there is to it," Dumbledore said, his voice steady despite the life-or-death nature of their situation. Letting Tom reclaim his greatest weapon—Rosalie—was a blow he couldn't easily recover from.

  "I know," Daniel whispered, defeated.

  Dumbledore's expression softened, reflecting his own haunted past. "Just as I did at seventeen. I failed to keep Rosalie's father away from his ambition. Rosalie is the result of that failure. I should have seen it coming—I should have seen them both for what they were, but I..."

  He trailed off, disturbed by his own inadequacy. He had the chance to prevent both Rosalie and her father from falling into darkness but failed.

  "Tom wants what Gellert wanted. A revolution now—a war—could be catastrophic. We need another opening, another chance to reach them. Perhaps we can still convince Rosalie—"

  "You won't," Lily interrupted, her eyes still trained on the window. When she turned to face them, the room seemed to dim around her. "Tom didn't manipulate her into returning. She left because he killed William. She couldn't handle that, but she didn't leave because she fell out of love with him. That's not who Rose is."

  Lily sighed, the mention of William tightening her chest. She remembered their time at Hogwarts, how Tom had genuinely seemed to care for her friend. It was chilling to see someone so dangerous embrace love.

  "She'll never leave him. I doubt she even opened my letter out of guilt. She loves Tom, knowing exactly what he is and what he'll do. But he saw her for who she truly was and loved her more for it. He embraced her inner Grindelwald and nurtured it. That's why she's on his side and not yours."

  Lily crossed her arms, thinking about her friend. She couldn't blame her. If William hadn't changed his mind for her, she would have done the same. She paid for her morals with the love of her life, whereas Rosalie sacrificed her morals for love. It was admirable, in a twisted way.

  Dumbledore spoke again, his voice low. "I still have to try one last time. For her father's sake."

  Lily's fury erupted, her voice rising. "Are you saying she should make the same choice you did? Leave her lover for the good of the world? Do you know anything about love? Anything at all?"

  She walked towards them, her anger palpable. "It's pointless. If you want to win this war, you need to kill Voldemort. And Rosalie won't let you anywhere near him. She knows that. Right now, she's probably plotting your demise, Dumbledore. Because she loves him, and she'll do anything to protect what little she has left. Tom is her everything because she sacrificed everything else to be with him."