Hierarchy of Need [t.r]

Chapter Twenty Three

A moment later the sound of the door shutting met her ears, and they were alone.

Tom sighed and started towards his room, Delilah following after him without a second missed. The pounding in her head was so loud, and she tugged at her hair, a pressure was building behind her eyes.

"What happened?" She asked again, her annoyance morphing into anger as she saw him roll his shoulders, as if this whole ordeal was nothing but a simple inconvenience.

But something was wrong, he wasn't looking at her, in fact he was actively avoiding doing so.

"What did you do?"

He wasn't speaking and he dug into his pocket, he needed a cigarette. In fact for the first time he nearly felt desperate for one. Tom Riddle and desperation were two things that should never be placed together, but there he was.

As soon as she saw the glint of silver her teeth gritted. He was not getting out of answering her this time. With a wave of her hand, the cigarette box went hurtling across the room and hit the wall so hard the stone cracked.

And he did nothing but pinch the bridge of his nose.

She tried to focus on her memory, so hard, but nothing except for the shadow of what might've been her on the ground was partially clear.

"Answer me!" The scream tore through her throat, shattering the silence around them as if it was fragile glass and he tensed, the muscles in his back straining. "I truly don't think you want to know."

"Bullshit."

What could be so bad that he of all people wouldn't tell her. What the fuck happened to her? And the thought that he had something to do with it? Her mind spun.

"Why was I unconscious when you took me back to the manor? Why did I look half dead? Why was Dumbledore there?" As soon as the last question left her mouth, she went rigid.

Dumbledore knew and never told her?

Tom rubbed at his face before finally turning to look at her. He wouldn't admit it to himself, he wouldn't allow himself to, but he was afraid. That was new. Tom was never afraid. What would she do when he told her? She'd be angry, furious no doubt.

But to what extent?

He expected screaming, probably a physical reaction as well. Tom wouldn't be surprised if she started throwing hexes at him.

But what would be the long term effect of this apparent 'betrayal' and over stepping of boundaries. Would she ever talk to him again? Would she just pack up and leave, never turning her back. What about the Ministry plan? Would that be thrown out the window?

If he was in her shoes, he'd probably kill him. Anyone who would dare meddle with not only his memories, but his mind overall was a dead man walking.

Which he realized was a bit hypocritical considering how many minds he's fucked with, including the blonde standing in front of him.

"The day we went out to look at the statues, we started to walk into the woods. We talked about the Yule Ball and you told me about some muggle case of two American students," he began, his mind scrambling for a decent way to put this together.

Even if he worded it as vaguely as possible, she'd still be livid. "Then you yelled at me," he forced dry amusement into his tone, hoping this would somehow lessen the blow that was about to be fired.

He bit his cheek then as he recalled the events of that day, "then I gave you a rose, a white one. I had picked up a twig to mess with, I was just twirling it absentmindedly, and when I looked down it was a white rose. I had transfigured it without realizing. The thorns had cut you and I cleaned them, then you said you knew something else about the Deathly Hallows."