Hierarchy of Need [t.r]

Chapter Forty Two

  "Think of it," he sat up straight, "without the other two he can't win."

  There was muttered discussion that followed afterward, Abraxas falling into a debate with Cain and so forth. Delilah merely bit at her lip, her mind churning at what Pyrrhus had suggested. If only she could talk to Harry, ask him all that he knows about the Deathly Hollows. She's heard Hermione talk about it with him in hushed whispers numerous times.

  She suddenly went stiff against Tom's chest, the latter of which looked down at her with a brow raised. Dumbledore's offer. Delilah swallowed thickly, feeling as if honey coated her tongue and she gripped Tom's hand, "I need to talk to you."

  Leading him to the sitting room across the hall, she shut the French doors behind her and saw Tom waiting expectantly in the middle of the carpet. She sighed and shut her eyes, "hear me out."

  "Oh, Merlin." Exasperation laced his tone and he fell into one of the plush chairs that littered the room. "No, just listen, I know I'll sound crazy." She knelt in front of him, shaking his knee as if to build up the courage to just spit it out.

  "Dumbledore talked to me yesterday," she began slowly and he gestured for her to get on with it. "And he might have, no he did, offer to get me another time turner." Tom went eerily still, his gaze not wavering from her face. Fear gripped at his heart with an iron fist and he had to force himself to breathe. "Meaning?" He finally said, her dragging this out was killing him.

  "Meaning, now this is the crazy part," she stood up and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "If this is you trying to persuade me before you even tell me what you're scheming, it isn't going to work." He said flatly, though he did enjoy the feeling of her nails along his scalp as she ran a hand through his hair.

  Delilah rolled her eyes and slapped his chest, "no that's not what I'm doing. Anyway, I was thinking. If we got the time turner, we could go to the future and either get information about the Deathly Hollows and then return and use that knowledge to collect them. Or, we can search for them in the future and bring them back here."

  Tom blinked at her.

  "Are you out of your fucking mind?"

  She sighed, but she wasn't deterred. "Please, just consider it. In hindsight it's honestly not a bad idea. Come with me to talk to Dumbledore." At the mention of the man's name his nose scrunched in distaste. Yes, the old wizard had been helpful as of late, but that didn't mean Tom liked him. He never would.

  "Tom, listen to me." She placed two cool hands to his cheeks and their eyes locked, time freezing as they did so. "I know this plan is far fetched, and beyond mental. But it's the only one we've got, unless you've got any better ideas. Come with me to talk to Dumbledore, that'll give you time to mull it over."

  He bit his cheek, his thumb absentmindedly rubbing a circle into her hip. She could be very persuasive if she wanted to be. "Just us this time, I'm not dragging everyone else into this, not again," Tom started and she nodded her head in agreement.

  "Just us."

  "When do you plan to tell them?" He asked after a brief pause, twirling a strand of her golden hair around his finger. Delilah sighed as she glanced towards the french doors, she could hear the mumble of their conversations from the kitchen. "Soon." He looked at her pointedly, "I wouldn't wait long." Resting her head against his chest, she took a deep breath. Still, she tried not to worry. Tom handled the news she was from the future well, far better than she expected. So perhaps her telling the group, on her own terms, would also be easy. One could only hope. 

  Delilah knew they needed to get word to Dumbledore, and fast. He had departed back to Hogwarts yesterday, but she knew she couldn't trust an owl. The chances of a letter being intercepted was too high for comfort. "I need my wand," she began to get up but Tom's grip tightened and she raised a brow at him. "Do you need it immediately?" He asked, his tone lulling, she didn't know if it was her imagination but it sounded deeper.

  "Yes, immediately. Unless you want to do it?"

  He tilted his head to the side, "do what?" Just then she remembered she never actually got to see him cast the charm, and the eagerness seemed to show on her face as he shot her a questioning glance.

  "Send a patronus to Dumbledore."

  Tom didn't even blink as he shook his head, "I'm not doing that." She pouted and he had the sudden urge to bite her lip, instead he settled for tracing her bottom lip with his thumb. A shiver went through her but she pushed forward, "why not?" He shrugged halfheartedly, but not giving her an answer. Delilah paused after a moment, "can you cast one?"

  "Of course I can."

  "Then why not? I didn't spend all those weeks teaching you all for nothing."

  "I'd hardly call what you did teaching."

  "Tom."

  He sighed heavily. He could cast a patronus, he just felt... odd every time he did. It wasn't that he felt bad, far from it, every time he drew on the memory he felt elated. Tom just wasn't used to feeling a pure, raw moment of happiness. It confused him. Digging his wand out from his pocket, he cast her a long glance with his dark eyes before focusing.

  With a deep breath, he gestured forward with his wand, "expecto patronum." Tom's voice was but a whisper as the room began to shine in a pale white light, as if he was summoning the moon itself. Delilah squinted as the patronus took form, and once her vision came to, her mouth fell open.

  "Oh my god."

  He glanced at her, for some reason he was nervous, "what?"

  Delilah was staring wide eyed at the gray hound patronus pacing in front of them, awaiting an order. She pulled her tongue from the roof of her mouth, it felt like sand paper as she cleared her throat.  "Send this message to Albus Dumbledore, we request a meeting as soon as possible at Hogwarts, regarding the offer of the time turner. I have a plan, albeit it's stupid, but I have a plan regarding Grindelwald and the Deathly Hallows." With that the dog turned and ran straight through the wall.

  Her heart felt like it was slamming against her rib cage, begging to be let out just so the boy in front of her could hold it and witness what he was doing to her. 

  Her patronus was a gray hound.

  Turning to Tom, his worry faded at the sight of her grin. It was small, but it was enough. After all the pain they've endured she was still able to smile and a warmth bloomed inside of him, it buzzed, hot and alive with desire for nothing else in the world but her. 

  Burying a hand in her hair, he leaned forward and their lips slid into place against each other. He never would get used to kissing her, every time it felt as if poison was greeting his tongue, but the sweetest kind that numbed his mind and enriched his senses. 

  As he said, Tom wanted Delilah, and if she would let him, by all the gods he'd have her.