Hierarchy of Need [t.r]

Chapter Twenty Five

What she saw next, growing on his features like a flower in spring, nearly made her double back. Tom Riddle was smiling, actually smiling.

Not his smirk. Not his stupid looking grin when he got smug. Not his faux one he threw on to sway people. A good, proper smile that was more charming and wonderful than anything she's ever seen.

His features had relaxed into one of someone his age, a simple eighteen year old. Tom's eyes crinkled at the edge and there were slight dimples in his cheeks. His teeth were pearly white but his bottom teeth were slightly crooked, but really that added to it.

And again, a hatred for herself struck like a chord because she found herself loving that smile.

Why couldn't he be somebody else. Anyone else. Someone ordinary, and easy, and not him. Of all of time and creation, of all the people to have or yet to exist. It had to be Tom Riddle.

But of course it had to be. The universe would settle for nothing less. The real monsters never look like monsters, do they? Evil is in the eye of the beholder, and it was staring right at her. In that moment she didn't see evil, however. Anything but. Which made this so difficult.

Looking into those dark eyes of his, it was like she was falling through space and she never knew when she was going to land. She didn't know if she wanted to.

There was so much more life could offer a person like him, so much more. With his talent, ambition, and charisma. Everyone loved him, if he walked into a room, people's eyes would light up with the want to talk to him. Or even just to be near him. Tom was magnetic in that sense. No one knew whether to be intimidated by his presence or be in awe. Maybe even both.

If he had the right goals in mind, Delilah believed he could've changed the world for good, if he wanted to. People would listen to him, they already do.

But Tom was going to destroy any chance at a life like that. And there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.

Delilah desperately wanted to ask why. Why start such a path? What could've possibly compelled him? What was his initial goal? If he succeeded, what were his plans for after?

But she knew she couldn't.

"Yes, quite fetching."

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"Gentlemen," Her voice rang out through the empty common room, making each boy whirl around in their seats. Each gave her a timid smile and eyed her warily, Elio went to greet her but she held up a hand, halting his movements.

She might as well just come out with it, there was no need to prolong this conversation. One she didn't even want to have in the first place. "Look, I don't really know what to say that will encompass everything." Delilah gestured with her hands, not knowing what to do with herself as she stood in front of them.

"I'm not gonna ask why, because I won't understand," and she didn't want to. "And I'm not here to forgive you." Pyrrhus went to open his mouth, but with one glance from her he shrunk back slightly. Her eyes were cold.

"But I don't want to go through the rest of my time here, at Hogwarts I mean, alone and hating all of you."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of platinum blonde shift. Abraxas stood up to go and hug her, or simply touch her arm, she didn't know, but Delilah backed away out of instinct and hit the mantle of the fireplace.

"Please don't."

Hurt flashed across his face but he masked it with a smile. Abraxas hated that she was now afraid of him. But little did he know how different everything actually was. He thought it was because of what happened with how he marked Xan's back. Which, she supposed was a part of it.