A Rose's Thorns

Chapter 10

He leaned forward casually. "And pray tell me what about peanuts makes you so full of laughs?"

"Well, I guess you could say that there was an... incident." She said slowly.

He nodded in encouragement for her to continue.

She took in a deep breath before narrating the incident, "Dudley and I always stayed back in school for our extracurricular activities. School got over at three in the afternoon. I would have ballet practise for most days and would stay back until four. Dudley, however, had wrestling and his couch would not allow him to leave until five-thirty. Our school was not exactly close to home, so the two of us would have to take the public bus home. I would go home either with my friends or on the bus soon after practise and reach home by four-thirty while Dudley came home at six.

So there was this kind old lady that rode the bus with Dudley, and every day without fail, she would give him peanuts. Every single day. I remember being awfully jealous of him as nobody had done that to me. Anyway, one day I had to stay back in school for dance practise, and by the time it ended, it was already five twenty. So, I decided to stay back for ten more minutes so Dudley and I could ride the bus home together.

So, on the bus, I finally met the kind lady Dudley always talked about. She gave Dudley peanuts and offered the same to me, however, I had already had a snack while waiting for Dudley to finish wrestling, so I wasn't really hungry so I politely refused."

"Is this story of yours going to continue forever?" Tom asked, impatient that it was taking so long for her to get to the point. He would rather finish his dinner, but it was impolite to eat while someone was talking. (Tom's table manners would not allow him to do so anyway.)

Rose shot him a glare, but the upward tilt of her mouth which indicated a smile ruined the image. "I was curious why she gave Dudley peanuts, as I mentioned earlier, so I asked her exactly that. She told me that she did not have any teeth to bite them, so she gave it to him. I then asked her why she bought the peanuts every day if she could not eat them. She replied by saying that she absolutely loved the chocolate casting that covered the peanuts." she finished with a smile and a small giggle.

It took Tom a second to register and understand the joke.

Two seconds of silence descended in the dining room. But then came a miracle!

The corners of Tom's lips curled, involuntarily -- and he fought back hard as his cheeks swelled momentarily with the pressure -- but it was no use. His laughter erupted, echoing the room, as it escaped from his pursed lips.

It was deep- and sounded beautiful. Rose silently made a promise to make sure that he laughed more often.

His laughter was contagious, and she had skipped the vaccination.

So, she laughed with him. They laughted together for another few seconds before it slowly decreased to a light chuckle and then became reduced to a small smile.

After that, the Dark Lord and the Saviour finished their dinner with a peaceful atmosphere, polite conversation and faint smiles.

Tom Riddle had finished his dinner, gave a nod of acknowledgement to Rose and was just about to exit the dining room when-

"Marvolo?" Rose called, hesitating a bit.

"Yes, Rose?" He answered, sensing her hesitation.

Rose sighed, "You might think that I am rude and ungrateful after hearing my request-

"You are rude and ungrateful."

-but you are gone practically the entire day!" she said. "I need somebody to talk to. Don't get me wrong, the portraits, elves and Nagini are great, really; but I would LOVE human contact just about now. Having so little is not quite healthy."

Riddle cocked an eyebrow, "And what is it that you expect me to do about this?"

"I don't know..." she said. "But I would love another homo sapien sapiens to communicate with, you know? Besides, think about it this way, the person can teach me everything I need to know about the wizarding world and about magic! That way you don't have to have much contact with me and you can concentrate more on your plans for world optimisation!" she finished cheerfully.

"Tempting." he said drily before asking, "And world optimisation?"

Rose nodded with seriousness. "World domination is such a serious and ugly phrase. I prefer to call it world optimisation instead," she replied before hesitating once again. "So... Could you? Please?"

He looked at her emerald eyes with an icy mask on his face before relenting, "A tutor, perhaps."

She brightened up. "Could it be someone closer to my age? Please?"

"Depends..." he drawled.

"On?" she asked nervously.

He smirked, "Whether you are ever going to cook again."

Rose blushed deeply enough to make a tomato jealous. She wasn't quite sure if she was angry or embarrassed. She couldn't have been that bad, could she?

Although, she did remember her father and brother always claiming to be on a diet whenever she cooked. That should have been the first sign that her non-existing cooking skills stunk more than a skunk... No Dursley man worth their weight would EVER go on a diet (unless forced, of course).

"Never again," she mumbled. She honestly couldn't take his teasing anymore.

He nodded at her reply with a victorious smirk before leaving the room like the king he thought himself to be.

Rose huffed angrily, eyes fixed on his retreating form, " Va te faire foutre." she said under her breath.

Apparently, not quietly enough as she heard an "A lady does not curse, Rose!" by the deep voice that haunted her in her nightmare, dreams and reality.

'Merde!' she thought in her mind before saying thank you to the House Elves and returning to her bed-chamber.

Meanwhile, Tom Marvolo Riddle smirked at Rose's suggestion.

It was finally time for Rose to meet her cousin from her father's side- Draco Lucius Malfoy.