Rosie ⎮ Tom Riddle

Four

Weakest Link

  The classroom was light with chatter, students taking more of an interest in their own worlds of conversations rather than the subject at hand. The ambiance in the transfiguration room was warm and dust filled. The scattered sunlight filtered through the windows, putting a rather beautiful glow onto Rosalie as she wrote notes for the class as they were originally instructed by Professor Dumbledore.

  Every few minutes she looked up, she noticed that she may have been the only one actually doing anything. Unlike the usual Professor Dumbledore, he had stepped out of the classroom for twenty minutes to fetch something. It had sent the 7th years into a motion of disarray and carelessness for their work.

  When Rosalie looked even to Tom, he seemed to be in his own world, occasionally instructing Ben, who stuck to his side as if he were permanently glued there, to do something. When she turned to her left, she recognised Coriolanus doodling pictures of herself onto her page, which Rosalie didn't have a clue how to feel about.

  Rose was beginning to realise that after the duel in which they had fought against each other, instead of Coriolanus hating her for humiliating him, he had instead felt the opposite and come to respect her. He became more obsessive by the day, wanting to spend every waking moment in their classes talking to her.

  Rosalie wondered if that was what it was to have a crush, she wasn't sure of it, she wasn't sure if she had even had a crush on Coriolanus all those years ago. She had to admit it to Corio that his drawings of her were beautiful, but a girl could only handle so much.

  She rushed her face back down to her work before Coriolanus could see her staring. Rose scribbled harshly on the paper, her handwriting more of a mess than it was usually.  

  As the class was nearing its end, Rosalie waited patiently for Dumbledore to return and to dismiss them all. However as she waited, she became more aware of Tom and Ben taking glances at her from across the room. She pretended not to notice, looking back down at Coriolanus's drawings.

  To her surprise, he had finished his third one, and looked at Rosalie, almost comparing the likeness of his work, deciding if he was satisfied with what he had completed. He eventually sent her a smile, jumping Rose to the conclusion that he was happy with it.

  "You're one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen. I can't help but draw your face." He tilted his head, holding it with his hand. He looked into her eyes woefully.

  A blush played on Rosalie's cheeks. The last time she had been complimented with such a purpose was the summer when they were 15, by Coriolanus again.

  "One of?" Rosalie joked. Corio rolled his eyes, pushing the paper towards her so she could properly look at it. 

  The pictures he had drawn were beautiful, but in a way he had taken away all of her imperfections and made her perfect in his own eyes. She wondered if this was how he truly saw her, or if he liked perfecting things on a page that he couldn't do in real life.

  Rose held a faltering smile. "Quite beautiful." 

  "Yes, you are." Coriolanus flirted again without hesitation. Rosalie looked away for him, feeling helpless in his deepening gaze for her. She couldn't say she hated the attention, but it made her uncomfortable the way he was so blatant about it.