November had passed and Delilah and Regulus were back the way they were. It took some time to get back to their routine but after a week or two everything turned back to the way it should be. Christmas was nearing and the group was trying to decide what they were going to do for the Christmas break.
"We could go on a trip?" suggested Delilah but the idea was shut down by Evan who said that they couldn't go anywhere since Regulus was now higher in the ranks and him along with Leo were supposed to get the mark during the break.
"But you aren't seventeen yet," said Delilah, she remembered them saying that their birthdays were four days apart and in April.
"Like he actually cares, he just needs more people to complete his ridiculous missions and far more to help him plan them" said Leo in an annoyed voice that held an angry tone to it. "Wasting another Christmas to him, how great!" he added sarcastically, trying hard to mask the tiredness in his voice and succeeding, but Delilah could see how tired he was in his eyes, it made her heart drop to her stomach.
They didn't deserve this kind of life, all of them were just teenagers, but she had learned when she was younger that life was indeed unfair and sometimes you couldn't do anything about it. "You could always come to my house for a few days, mum would be delighted to have you over and meet you all!" she said brightly, giving them all a small smile as she received back three, in gratitude.
"Yeah, Euphemia is the best mum in the world!" confirmed Monica who had spent many Christmases together with the Potters, their whole family was just pranks, laughs and love. They were a truly happy family that raised their kids to be the best people they could be, accepting everyone no matter what and always trying to help others as much as they can.
"You could always come at my house, no matter the time or the circumstances, things are getting worse with the war and if you need to go anywhere just to relax a bit. My parents said all of you are welcome whenever you feel like, James is not even staying with us since him and Lily are moving in to an apartment near Remus and Sirius, so we have even more space" she said warmly, making sure to know that they always had a safe place to stay if they ever needed to.
"I love you; you know that right? It may be platonically but I love you" said Evan, wrapping his arms around her and bringing her into his embrace.
Regulus was watching the duo with narrowed eyes as he silently scoffed.
"He said platonically Regulus, stop being such a drama queen" laughed Delilah watching his face more into a scowl as he raised his middle finger at her and she didn't waste a second doing the same but with both of her hands.
"I hate you, Potter" he murmured under his breath once Evan had gone back to his seat beside him. Delilah though heard him and raised her eyebrows at him. "Please, Black, you know you love me, I'm quite irresistible" she said with a smirk, winking at him as he tried to hastily cover his pink ears with his hair.
"Can't lie, she looks pretty hot in that dress" said Monica, blowing a kiss at Delilah and she dramatically flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Thanks darling, you look very dazzling too" she replied, leaning in and leaving a kiss on Monica's cheek.
"Am I the only one that feels like Delilah has more chemistry with Monica than Regulus?" asked Leo on purpose, watching as Regulus face filled with jealousy, letting a quit laugh under his breath. "Jealous Black?" taunted Monica with a smirk, catching on, on what Leo is doing and following his example.
"No!" Said Regulus a bit too quickly making the other laugh loudly at his clear jealousy. "Don't be jealous, Mon amour. My heart belongs to you and only you" said Delilah, kissing him on the lips softly before proceeding to seat on his lap as he gingerly wrapped his arms around her waist hugging her close to his chest. "That's what I thought" he murmured cockily in her ear as he placed a kiss on her shoulder.
"Ew that's disgusting, less of this adorable bullshit when we are around." Complained Evan, his expression forming in one of disgust. "Oh, please Rosier, you are just jealous you don't have a partner, also that's the price you pay when you want to be the 'hot singe uncle'" said Regulus, as he pulled Delilah in for a kiss and raised his middle finger at his friend.
"I hate you both, so fucking much"
"You love me Evan, you said that literally ten minutes ago" said Delilah cockily. "Everyone loves me, I'm very lovable."
"Can't deny that one" said Regulus, running his hands up and down her thighs, as she leaned back to his chest, her head resting on his shoulder.
"I'm tired" mumbled Leo, lying down on the grass, looking up at the stars that started to slowly appear in the sky. "We can go inside, if you want, maybe the kitchens, have a cup of tea" suggested Delilah.
"No, not that kind of tired, the 'I'm going to get the dark mark during Christmas which means that I would be scarred with a tattoo of a fucking skull I don't want in my arm and I can't do anything to spit it' type of tired" he said.
"Welcome to the club, we are depressed, stressed and scared for our lives all day, every day of every month of every year till someone decides that he has the guts to kill the nose less creep practically living in my cousins/manor" said Regulus sarcastically with a smirk on his lips.
"Regulus, what the actual fuck?" asked Delilah in shock.
"Yes, it's wonderful, you'll love it! We even have play days in which we go outside and kill innocent muggles to have fun!" He said, a bright yet sarcastic smile on his face.
"Thanks mate, that was motivating, didn't made us more anxious at all" said Evan, a small anxious smile on his face. "Yeah, no problem, I'm happy to help" replied Regulus shrugging his shoulders in a 'no problem at all' way.
"This is ridiculous" said Monica rubbing a hand over her face. "I can't believe this"
"What can't you believe? That there is an eighty five percent chance we are all going to die?"
"There is fucking war going on and now we are inside Hogwarts, we are safe. What about when we go outside? You three will have to go into missions and take part in attacks along with the fact that you will be double agents without anyone knowing except us five, so we don't really have anyone to cover us if we fuck it up. I'm going to have to lay low because mother doesn't want anything to do with the Dark Lord and we can't risk him finding in us. Delilah is a member of the Potter family, her brother along with parents are in the order, she is a main target, especially if they find out about the visions she has." said Monica fiercely. "There would be no time to waste on vacations or parties or stuff like that, we are walking into a war zone the moment we graduate"
All five teenagers were silent, letting the whole speech sink in slowly. Regulus held Delilah's hand tighter as he squeezed her thigh as a comfort gesture. Leo let his head fall in Evans left shoulder as Monica rested hers on his right one. Evan placed his head on top of Leo's closing his eyes as he let some silent tears spill from his eyes.
Delilah's eyes were glossy too but she didn't show much emotion. Regulus was staring at the lake a thoughtful expression plastered on his face. Monica's face was one of anger, her eyebrows furrowed in furry. Meanwhile Leo's represented a grimace of sadness mixed with tiredness.
"We should go inside, it's getting late, curfew starts in thirty minutes" said Leo as he got up slowly helping Evan up. Regulus turned to help Delilah but she shook her head, "I'm going to stay here a bit longer, I'll see you tomorrow for breakfast" she whispered. "Me too" said Monica moving towards Delilah and laying her head on the girls' lap.
"Fine, be careful though, okey?" Asked Regulus, kissing Delilah in the lips quickly before mumbling a goodnight and heading into the castle with Leo and Evan, leaving the two best friends alone.
"I love you; you know that Mona, right?" asked Delilah and Monica nodded mouthing a 'I love you too' to her before they lapsed into a silence. "We are going through this war, together" said Monica strongly, squeezing Delilah's hand.
The girls knew that they had each other, no matter what. Delilah would do anything to protect Monica, while Monica would do anything to keep Delilah safe. They had many dreams together. They wanted to build two cottages, next to each other, one with a big garden for Delilah to make her flower crowns while the other with a balcony so Monica could read her magazines in the morning along with the fresh air.
But what Delilah for sure knew, was that every one of her dreams turned into a nightmare.
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That was more of a filler chapter, to get the perspective of the war from the others and a bit of the dynamic of the group
Thank you for all the support you guys are incredible!