the devil's redemption [tom r.]

39|| Smitten.

"What about you and Tom Riddle?" There it was, the long awaited question. It had been nagging him for days now, and he desperately wanted to know about it.

The smile on Rosalind's face fell at the mention of his name, and Noah immediately apologised after noticing her distraught state. "I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me anything."

"No, it's okay. We just dated for a little while. Didn't exactly work out well," She explained in a low voice. She refused to let Tom's name become a taboo to her. She still had to see him every Saturday, after all. And she didn't want to let herself feel awful just because of a boy. She was worth much more than that.

***

To say that Willow was happy with the news Rosalind had was an understatement. The redhead kept thanking the blonde over and over again, claiming that she'd already found the right one. When Rosalind asked her if she'd ever had a decent conversation with the Diggory boy, the answer was never. This made the french blonde question her friend's mental stability.

Going on with her Saturday routine, Rosalind went to the library after her date, and then proceeded to head to the Room of Requirement. She dreaded seeing Tom, for obvious reasons. It was too painful for her to just watch him from afar, unable to hold him, help him, or even be an ounce of light in his life.

She knew that despite everything he'd said, she still meant something to him. Even though he tried denying it, she was different from everybody else. She was the only one that was capable of breaking down his walls –that he'd been building up for many years– brick by brick. Rosalind could see right through him, she knew his past, and his future. She was the only one that made him feel vulnerable.

Reaching the seventh floor on midnight, Rosalind entered the Room of Requirement, only to find Tom alone. It wasn't usual for him to be early for the meeting, nor for the Knights to be late. His back was facing her, and he just stood there, staring at the bookshelves.

She stood awkwardly in the doorway, speaking to the Slytherin snake for the first time in days. "Where are the rest?"

Rosalind didn't greet him, she didn't even wait for him to face her. She spoke abruptly, and as usual, he seemed to be expecting her question. Her presence didn't startle him in the slightest.

Tom turned to look at her, a strange animosity in his eyes. "The meeting was canceled today."

Her eyebrows furrowed on their own accord. That was beyond strange, Tom's meetings were never cancelled. They were something sacred.

But she decided against voicing her questions. "Fine, I'll just leave then."

She was about to exit, when Tom's cold voice interrupted her. "Oh, not so quickly. I didn't inform you for a reason."

Rosalind sighed, she wasn't exactly in the mood for his ominous words. He enjoyed being a riddle, always so mysterious when he spoke.

"And what is that reason?"

"Do come in," Tom urged, his hands crossed behind his back. "And shut the door behind you."

Rosalind didn't protest, but she couldn't help the increase of her heartbeat. Even after everything that happened, she still anticipated being alone with him. Maybe she should've been afraid, terrified even, of being in the company of a monster like him. But she wasn't. She would never be afraid of him. Rosalind knew that he would do anything but hurt her, he'd do the complete opposite.