The Dark Lord's Rose - A Tom Riddle Love Story

Part I - Only Joking

September 6, 1943

Rosemary was finishing getting ready for class when Faye finally woke up. She was the only one in her dormitory that was taking sixth-year Herbology, so her roommates got extra time to sleep in on Mondays. Rose didn't mind – she had always been an early riser.

"So, last night was interesting," Faye said groggily after a momentous yawn.

"How so? I lost track of you and Lestrange," Rose said, while the memories of the previous evening came flooding back.

"Well I noticed that you were with Tom Riddle more than you were with Avery. That was certainly odd. Since when are you friends?"

It was true, she had spent most of it talking to Tom; he hadn't stayed at the party for long, but she ended up going back to her dormitory when he went back upstairs to bed. Avery and Rebecca wouldn't stop flirting and she was tired of it being pushed in her face. Suddenly, her stomach dropped with embarrassment when she remembered that she had told Tom about her relationship issues. She realized that she had never even told Faye something that personal. Rose recognized that she would have to be a bit more cautious in the future when combining drinking with a pondering mood. Still, even with the fact that Tom was one of her boyfriend's best friends, he had at least listened to her and hadn't seemed too bothered by her. "He was actually really good to talk to."

"Please stop," Faye rolled her eyes. "Mr. Tom Stick-Up-His-Arse Riddle was 'really good to talk to'? You may as well have been talking to a wall. He's too quiet...Come to think of it, it's kind of creepy."

"Well I think that it was a pleasant surprise. Maybe he's just shy," Rose shrugged, not putting much weight into her friend's words. She finished gathering the books she would need that day. "Anyway, I've got to get going. I'll see you in Potions later."

On the way to Herbology, Markus stopped her in the hall. "Good morning, beautiful." He sounded jumpy and nervous and she suspected that he likely had sneaked away from the party to fool around with Rebecca after Rose went back to the Ravenclaw dormitories. He leaned in to kiss her and she returned it with the smallest peck she could without tipping him off to the fact that she knew of his deception. "Why did you leave so early last night?"

He didn't even wait for her to respond before running a hand through his dark blonde hair and saying, "Ah, sorry. I have to get going. I'll save you a spot in Potions later; hopefully Slughorn puts us together." He smiled at her and kissed her again. He hurried away as she sighed, annoyed with him once again. She pushed it from her mind and continued her trek outside to the Herbology greenhouses. The early-morning mist had yet to dissipate and she enjoyed the feeling of the cool fall air against her skin.

By contrast, the greenhouse was positively stuffy and borderline suffocating. Rose looked around for a familiar face and saw Warren Cramer, a fellow Raveclaw Prefect that also happened to be the Captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team. He looked in her direction and gave her a somewhat groggy smile and a wave, so she went to sit next to him.

"It's much too early to concern ourselves with shrubbery, don't you think?" He said with a yawn.

She laughed. "Well you managed to make it here on time; early, in fact." Many of their classmates had yet to arrive and one or two would trickle in with each passing minute. "So, how was your summer Cramer?"

He seemed to brighten immediately. "I interned in the Department of Magical Games and Sports at the Ministry. It was bloody amazing." He launched into a lengthy account of his various experiences in the department and Rosemary listened intently.

Soon, though, they were interrupted by Professor Beery. He spoke in his usual, overly-theatrical way, announcing that they would be working with the Sopophorous plants that morning in an annoyingly grandiose way. Beery explained that they would work in partners to procure the beans from the plant in an exacting procedure to prevent their damage. The beans they acquired would be used to stock the Potions storeroom.