Hierarchy of Need [t.r]

Chapter Twenty Four

He returned her smile for a moment before he frowned, "what's wrong?"

"How did you?- never mind, um, I was wondering if I could maybe stay here awhile? Do you know if there's any available beds? Maybe even a dorm if I'm lucky?" Scratching at the back of her neck, Delilah looked around to see if she knew any girls her age but came up short.

"Maybe you can room up with Katerina? I don't think she'd mind."

A hopeful smile graced her lips, why didn't she think of that? It was the obvious solution. "Mind if I ask why you want to stay here?" Shoving his hands in his pockets, Aleksander tilted his head to the side in polite interest. Biting at her cheek, she shrugged half heartedly and crossed her own arms. "I had a rather bad revaluation recently, and an argument considering morals and wrong doings."

"With Riddle?"

Delilah raised a brow at him, he was rather good at piecing things together quickly. Yes, he was a Ravenclaw, but that didn't make it any less unnerving. Delilah didn't need the extra stress of Aleksander possibly figuring out something he shouldn't.

Smiling in understanding, he waved a hand towards the stairs on one side of the common room. "Girls dorm-"

"I know where it is," she spun around, not aware of her sudden shift to being aloof as she stalked up the stairs. Aleksander watched her go up, his lips tilted slightly in amusement. Delilah never did stop surprising him.

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Waking up panting, there was a cool dampness felt on her forehead and she wiped it off in agitation. That was the third time she had woken up in the past two hours, completely shaken and her nerves on high alert.

She hated nightmares, and the past two days they've only gotten worse. Memories Delilah thought she had tamed long ago had suddenly broken free from their shackles, coming at her full speed with fangs barred and out for blood.

When she turned towards her nightstand, she froze, Katerina was also sitting up in bed and staring at her wide eyed. A blush rose to her cheeks, hopefully she wasn't talking in her sleep. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"You were screaming," Katerina muttered, eyes running over Delilah for a moment to assess her, she was still shaking.

Feeling herself pale, Delilah cleared her throat and looked at anything else in the room besides her. "Must've been a bad dream," she laughed lightly but her amusement wasn't met. Katerina's eyes grew sad and seemed to expand, "those were real screams, Delilah, not the kind that happens when reacting to a work of the imagination."

Shifting uncomfortably, Delilah laid back down and tried to let herself sink into the soft sheets, but they felt oddly rough against her skin. "I sounded like that when they marked me." Katerina's voice echoed around the room and an uneasy weight dropped in Delilah's stomach.

"It was just a nightmare, a realistic one, go back to sleep."

Delilah heard a sigh pass the girl's lips and the ruffles of fabric, meaning she had laid back down. She however, kept her eyes open and stared blankly at the drapery above her.

"I'm here if you ever want to talk, you're not alone, even if you want to be."

Delilah didn't answer, she didn't know how. She didn't want to be alone, did she? Shaking her head, she couldn't sleep, and part of herself didn't want to.

So for the next few days she fell into the bad habit of keeping her hours filled with tasks, all to keep her mind preoccupied and to ignore the problems around her. Studying for exams for hours on end even though she didn't need to. Counting all the paintings and the books in the library. Going down to the kitchens and baking or watching the house elves during meals, she couldn't bring herself to go to the Great Hall. Walking around the castle, but taking desolate routes to avoid people. Going to the forbidden forest.