Rose & The Riddle || Tom Riddle Story

Chapter Nine - Insider Information

Rose hardly slept that night. She was finally dozing lightly when she felt a pillow being chucked at her, which caused her to wake with a start. She saw Mary and Isabel pulling on their school robes, about to head down to breakfast.

"Wake up sleepyhead," said Isabel. "You don't want to miss breakfast."

Rose groaned and took her own pillow and pulled it over her head. Skipping breakfast wouldn't be the worst thing in the world...

"Come on, get up," said Mary as she came over and obnoxiously sat on her which caused Rose to yelp.

"Mary! Stop!" yelled Rose. "I'm too tired..."

"I would say so," said Isabel as she straightened her tie. "You didn't come back up until late last night. I had finished my rounds an hour before you came up."

"Yeah what on earth were you doing?" asked Mary. "There's no way you were in the library that long."

"I seriously was," answered Rose. Images of Tom flashed through her mind. "I fell asleep and didn't leave until late."

"Uh huh," said Mary suspiciously.

"I'm serious," defended Rose.

"You sure you weren't sneaking around with a certain Mr. Riddle?" teased Isabel. "Come to think of it, I saw him while I was making my early rounds, but he didn't come back with the rest of us."

Rose didn't feel like discussing Tom Riddle this early in the morning.

"We discussed this," said Rose solemnly. "There's nothing going on between me and Tom. In fact, he doesn't want anything to do with me. So thanks for bringing it up again."

"Okay, okay, sorry," said Isabel. "But seriously, you coming to breakfast or what? We have Herbology first thing this morning."

"You guys go ahead, I'll be down in a minute."

Mary and Isabel left Rose alone in their room. She looked out the window and noticed that it was another beautiful, crisp autumn day. She stared up at the blue canopy of her four-poster bed and thought about Tom. Mysterious as he was, he always maintained his composure and no one suspected him of anything. She closed her eyes and imagined the feel of his soft lips against hers.

As hard as she tried, she could not figure him out. He was dark, brooding and distant one minute, but then the next he was fiery and passionate... he still intimidated her, but was slowly starting to realize that he was drawn to her as much as she was drawn to him.

She didn't want to discuss Tom with Mary and Isabel because it was a very non-traditional relationship. If there was anything between her and Tom, she knew he definitely didn't want to let the rest of the school know. So she came to the conclusion that she would have to keep quiet about it for now.

Finally at a quarter till' nine, she rolled out of bed, brushed her hair and her teeth, threw on her robes. She studied her face carefully in the mirror and was taken aback at how tired she looked. This year was definitely taking a toll on her.

As she entered the Great Hall, she purposely avoided looking at Tom's usual spot with his gang.

"About time," said Mary. "We're about to head to class."

"I know, I know," said Rose as she grabbed a piece of toast and buttered it. "I just want this. I'm fine."

"So listen to this," whispered Mary as she leaned in close to the table. "I overheard Avery and Lestrange last night in the common room and they were talking about that attack on Myrtle Warren last year..."

"What did they say?" Isabel asked.

"Well... it's very strange... especially since the two of them are dumb as posts. But, I heard them say something about 'Their master' and how 'he was the one responsible for Warren's death.' And then of course they went on about how Muggleborns were scum and how its unfortunate they still walk the hallways of this school."