The fire was the only thing lighting up the small room. For the fifth time this year, Delilah and Regulus had found themselves in the room of requirements, the velvet couch was in front of the fireplace and the two teenagers occupied the double couch. Delilah was laying on her back with Regulus on top of her, her hands brushing through his curls as he napped.
She let him rest without bothering him, he had been exhausted the past few days, they both had been working restlessly on finding new things about that 'Horcrux', and combined with their homework and assignments the boy had been crumbling down from the pressure.
Delilah had decided to sacrifice her herbology and astronomy assignment, along with three of her Monday classes for an eleven-hour much-needed sleep. Monica had taken it to another level and just gave up after all the homework started to pile up.
She was the one that convinced Delilah to go to sleep and forget about responsibilities for now but when she offered for Regulus to do the same the boy denied and continued to write his potions essay along with Leo who had refilled them both with two cups of coffee and had his glasses resting on his face, slightly crooked.
Delilah had taken it upon herself to finish the homework regulus had left on the desk, sparing him from the extra stress tomorrow, Delilah was also done working on the homework she missed, and even though she turned it in late, Madam Sprout had agreed to grade it and give it back to her along with the extra assignments she did to improve her final grade.
Regulus' eyes fluttered open, his hands rubbed his eyes to wash the sleepiness away, hearing a chuckle from beside him, he looked up coming face to face with his girlfriend, who was looking at him lovingly.
Her hand trailed from his hair and to his cheek soothing the area there before placing a soft kiss on his forehead, making him pull away and nuzzle his head in her neck as he sighed, getting comfortable again and ready to go back to sleep.
But he looked up once again, kissing Delilah quickly before mumbling quietly, "it's your birthday tomorrow."
"I know," she chuckled, shaking her head at him as he continued watching her, a look of mischief passed through his eyes, making Delilah raise an eyebrow at him, she knew him well enough to know when he was plotting something.
"And do you know what it is tomorrow?" He asked as a sly smile made his way on his face. She shrugged her shoulders unsure of what he was implying.
"Well, we were planning to throw a party because of my birthday in the common room, but I'm not sure how you will be aware of that since we didn't tell anyone yet," she said but he shook his head, most likely singling that the party was not what he was referring to.
Delilah made one last try to learn but he blocked her off, making her jaw drop as he smirked sneakily at her, "it's not only you that benefitted from all the practice we did for you to start to control your powers, it has been proven quite useful in making me practice blocking others out, so your tricks won't work on my darling."
Delilah stared at him before raising her hands in surrender, "I have absolutely zero ideas of what you could be referring to, mind elaborating?" She asked him and he sat up and proceeded to try picking her up and making her seat sideways on his lap.
She laughed out loud as he struggled to pick her up completely, only managing to lift her enough to just place her on his lap, her laughter echoed in the room as he made sure she was comfortable. Delilah had gotten significantly taller since her fifth year, gaining about five inches and making her nearly reach Monica's height.
Regulus wasn't also the tallest man out there, standing at an average of five foot and ten inches, now Delilah was almost as tall as him, standing at only two inches shorter. Regulus wasn't also the strongest man out there, in quidditch, he didn't have to do anything that exercised his body intensely. He was quite sure that Delilah was stronger than him, all the exercise from moving all her books around her dorm to decorating better or rearranging them every week in a new order, was a valid exercise for her hand muscles.
"Tomorrow there is a Hogsmeade trip, and what's a better way to spend it than scaring third years by throwing snow at them under your brother's invisibility cloak," he said and she smirked as she nodded agreeing with him.
And that is exactly what they did.
Both of them were currently under the invisibility cloak, hidden on top of the three broomsticks' roof. Regulus was in charge of holding the cloak over them, while Delilah was in charge of throwing the snowballs.
Her wand was in her hand as she conjured snowballs and smashed them right at the third year's faces, bursting out laughing with Regulus when they looked around panicked, or when they pointed at their friends or other random students, accusing them of being responsible for the attack.
Until now they had hit approximately twenty-five third years and a generous amount of fourth and fifth years that were accompanying their friends or siblings. and every time they found themselves desperately trying to hold in their laughter at the looks on their faces after they realized they had been hit with a snowball.
It didn't take long though for one of them to notify a teacher and Delilah and Regulus hadn't noticed Professor McGonagall was exactly behind the third year they had targeted until it was too late and the snowball had hit the professor in the face.
Delilah and Regulus too much in shock of what had happened to even laugh, in panic got off the roof from the wooden stairs that led up to it and got out from the back door of the store, though McGonagall was not stupid, seeing the two running away she simply walked quietly behind them, giving them time to go and hide.
Regulus and Delilah quickly arrived in front of the book shop, they rushed inside the shop and hid behind one of the bookcases, but luck was not on their side. McGonagall walked in not long after, she was not there to punish them, she wanted to toy with them.
Her afternoon had been incredibly boring.
Regulus took Delilah's hand and led her farther into the shop, the duo hid behind a statue that was there, Regulus on the front and Delilah in the back, she peered over his shoulder only to catch an eye of a smirking McGonagall who winked at her before exiting the shop, a small smile breaking in her face.
"She saw us, a hundred percent, she caught me watching her, she even winked at me. All this running for nothing, and we can't even continue because maybe this time she was joking but the next time she will probably kill us," Delilah said, making Regulus laugh as they walked around the shop.
"Maybe we could find something about the 'Horcrux' thing here, it's an old bookshop, maybe they will have something," suggested Regulus, making his way towards the section with the older books. They spent quite some time going over the selves and looking at the titles of the books but nothing seemed as if it had actual information about the 'Horcrux' in it. Regulus went farther into the back where a pile of books was laying on top of a table.
After going through the books for some time, he beckoned Delilah over, "Hey, I think I found something."
The title of the book was simply just "The use of dark objects", nothing special about it. The cover was dark blue, with the tile written in silver ink. Delilah ran her hand through the spine, the tattoos Sirius had done to her over the summer visible on her finger. Regulus hadn't questioned it when she saw the weird shapes on her fingers.
A messy constellation was drawn on the back of her hand, with a dragon on her wrist and three small butterflies on her middle finger with a strawberry on her index finger. They weren't the best, drawn by Sirius a night he was drunk with James while Delilah was sleeping. They had learned how to do it by watching a muggle do it in a tattoo shop and after asking how to do it, they had gone to buy the needle and the ink.
Delilah was not that mad, she had been thinking of getting a tattoo since her fifth year, and they had gotten a spot on the butterfly tattoo along with the dragon tattoo. They had used a sleeping potion for her to still stay asleep and then they started doing it and to be honest, she was more than happy to realize that she did not have to feel the pain while having them done.
While Regulus was staring at her, Delilah examined the book. She opened it, looking to see if there is an introduction page or a page that lists the contents but there was nothing except a black page.
Deciding to skim through it a little bit more, she opened a random page, reading about cursed items and how to make them. "Okey, that could help us, it's useful and a hundred percent for dark magic," she commented, continuing to read the page, and Regulus closed the book, snatching it away from her grasp.
"We are getting, fine, but no more dark magic today, we have one day and it's your birthday, let's celebrate it normally," he said as they walked to the cashier, got the book, and walked out.
And they did exactly that, they spent the rest of the day walking around Hogsmeade, under the invisibility cloak, stealing candy out of the kids' hands and running off afterward, laughing loudly.
They drank Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks and went to the playground they went to during one of their trips in their sixth year. He lead her to his dorm afterward, where they sat silently on the bed. She was lying on his chest, while he was reading one of the books she got for Christmas, his hand playing with the curls in her hair.
"I don't understand why he can't just admit he likes her, telling her she looks hideous won't help him," he said, making Delilah shake her head in disappointment.
"He asked her that and she said no and then he said he cannot. It means that he can't say that she looks hideous because he thinks she looks nice," she explained but he still looked at her confused, his eyes narrowed.
"Why can't he just tell her that she looks nice, she will be happier with that."
"Because that book is enemies to lovers, well not really but they do not tolerate each other," she elaborated, and he just shook his head once more, his lips making a thin line.
"I can't believe the stuff you read sometimes," he said and she shrugged, opening the book to continue reading.
"It's entertaining seeing them trying to kill each other, true love," she said and he started to wheeze, to the point where she thought he had no more oxygen left.
"Are you okay?" She asked as she tried to keep her laughter at bay. She waited for him to calm down before she gave him his glass of water. He chugged it down, almost drowning as he let a few chuckles escape his mouth.
"Trying to kill each other is true love now? And I thought you liked me!" He said jokingly, as she hit the back of his head while getting off the bed.
She made her way towards the closet, her hand running through all the clothes inside. She pulled some of the dresses out, laying them on the bed. There was the black one she wore at the last Hufflepuff party, it had thin straps and was made out of silk.
The second one was a dark purple mini dress, the same style as the black one, just with the V-line instead. She pulled out a pair of black stilettos and knee-high white boots from the top of the shelf in the closet also, laying them in front of the dresses but on the floor.
"Help me decide?" She asked him, aware that Regulus' fashion sense matches with hers and would give her decent advice.
"I think you should go with the black one, the purple is nice and the boots match but black and stilettos are always a classic," he said, as he grabbed a pair of pants and a black silk button-up he had left in her dorm earlier.
"We match!" She said excitedly, clapping her hands together, a huge grin on her face.
"I know, darling, why did you think I asked you to wear the silk dress?" He asked, before kissing her on her lips but before she could pull him closer, he stepped away and headed towards the bathroom, sending her a wink before closing the door.
The party was in full chaos by the time Regulus and Delilah arrived. Delilah recognized people from all of the houses drinking and dancing amongst the crowd. The plan was to have a big party, mainly to get homework and responsibilities out of the students' minds for a night.
They had warned Professor Sprout about it and she allowed it, only if the common room was intact by tomorrow noon. And because it was Delilah's birthday, they had planned for it to have cake as a dessert if anyone wanted and from what she could see, the cake was halfway gone.
She grabbed Regulus' hand and quickly walked towards the cake but always stopped to thank the people that wished her happy birthday. She grabbed two plates and put two slices in each one, digging right in and eating the first one in three bites.
Regulus looked at her amused and she shrugged her shoulders as she continue to eat it quickly, "What? It's a good cake," she said, putting her hand in front of her mouth and making her voice seem a lot more muffled.
"You truly are something, Lilah, truly," he said as he continue to eat the cake, and he could feel her eyes on his as she looked at him, probably judging the speed he was eating the cake but she soon averted it as she saw Monica coming towards him, a boy in jeans and a jumper had his arm around her shoulder.
"Happy Birthday, my love," she said as she hugged Delilah, pressing a sloppy kiss on her cheek. She was tipsy, stumbling a bit but the boy managed to catch her every time she stumbled.
"I'll take her up to the guest dorms, she has drunk a fair amount of alcohol,' said the boy, trying to balance Monica as she stumbled on her heels. "Happy Birthday Delilah, have a great time!"
Delilah said thank you to him and he nodded at both her and Regulus before making his way to the guest dorms, which were located behind one of the paintings.
"Shouldn't we make sure she is fine?" Asked Regulus anxiously, remembering what happened at the last party but Delilah shook her head.
"It's fine, Will is a nice guy, he has liked her for quite some time and he is respectful towards everyone, he is kind of our phycologists here. He has an answer to every problem," said Delilah but Regulus still looked unsure so she nudged his arm after a minute and pointed towards the sofa, "see there he is, talking with his sister."
With that the conversation ended as they both started drinking and dancing, having fun while screaming to the songs that were playing.
After a while, a commotion could be heard from the back of the common room and most of the students headed there. Delilah and Regulus, out of curiosity, followed them and they wished they had never decided to walk over there.
On the table was standing a drunk Evan Rosier, his dress shirt unbuttoned with his tie tied around his head in a pirate manner. Delilah burst into laughter, her hand covering her mouth as she wheezed.
Regulus on the other hand was staring horrified at his friend, who had decided that singing karaoke was the best entertainment for the night. He caught Leo's eyes and they both silently agreed that this had to end before Evan did something incredibly stupid.
Delilah was still laughing at Evan, her face red from laughing so hard. Many people had now joined Evan, and the small table was now three times bigger with a lot of people dancing and jumping on it as they also used their wands as microphones.
Finding the perfect chance, both boys headed towards Evan, yanking him by the legs and making him fall. They grabbed each of his arms and lifted him off the table, making their way towards Delilah who was now trying not to laugh again, as Evan continued screaming the song.
"My dorm, take him there. The girls are having a sleepover at the Ravenclaw Tower," she said, and as they passed the table she grabbed two bottles of firewhiskey, blowing a kiss at the girls that were responsible for them.
She grabbed their hands to make her way up to the dorm, so the staircase doesn't turn into a slide. They reach her dorm and she pulled a key out, unlocking it so they could get in.
"Why are you locking it?" Asked Leo as he and Regulus made Evan lie on the couch and Delilah placed the key in a key holder beside the door.
"There is a party downstairs and people are weird when they are drunk, I don't want anyone having sex in here, thinking that it's their dorm," she said as she opened the bathroom cabinet, pulling out a potion and pouring a small amount into a whiskey shot glass, before placing it in Evan's hand and helping him drink it.
"That will help him sleep, do you want to go downstairs again? Or do you prefer to stay here?"
"What time is it?" Asked Leo as he removed his tie, setting it on the top of Delilah's vanity.
"Almost two-thirty," she answered, as she removed her jean jacket, placing it on the back of her chair.
"I think I'm staying here," said Leo but turned to Delilah afterward, "if, of course, it's not a problem."
"You are fine, you can take that bed over there, Emelia graduated so it's free for now."
After making sure Leo was knocked out, Delilah and Regulus changed into their pajamas and got into her bed while Delilah reached over to turn the lamp off, Regulus pulled the covers over them.
He circled his arms around her waist, her back pressed against his chest, "I can't wait for tomorrow," he whispered and she looked at him confused.
"What's tomorrow?"
"The day you receive your presents, it's a little late but I think you'll love it," he said and he could sense that she was about to ask him what it was, so he placed his fingers against her lips,
"you'll see everything tomorrow, darling."
AN
Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it! And even if you don't I wish you all the best for 2022!
Also, I plan to finish the book by the end of the second school semester, so be ready for more Regulus and Delilah content :)