Walking down to the lake, Delilah had taken her shoes off and the warm grass was soft against her feet. Her free hand was twined with Tom's and their arms swung lightly.

  The air was hot but a breeze was drifting in from chilled water, in the distance she could see the Giant Squid lolling about above the surface taking in the sun. Once they got close enough they sat down, Delilah resting her head in his lap as he leaned back on his elbows.

  She simply watched him, how his dark hair looked honeyed in the afternoon light and the curls danced, his eyes looked bright and his cheeks were painted a light pink. Delilah only closed her eyes once Tom's fingers began to run through her hair, tickling her scalp.

  Comfort covered her and she nearly fell asleep.

  "How different is the future?" He suddenly asked. Peaking up at him his focus was on the lake, how the water rippled and glinted like witch's oil. Delilah hummed, "loads is different."

He laughed, "do enlighten me. I'd prefer not to go in blind."

"I don't really know what to tell you, to be honest. It's either unimportant or depressing."

"Well, what do you find interesting about it. You're from there."

She smiled at him and thought for a moment, "I love the music. Also all the movies, my favorite is Fight Club. But Clueless is also good. Oh! Oh my god have you ever had sushi?" Delilah sat up, looking excited and expectant and he merely blinked at her.

  She groaned, as if disappointed in him. "If we somehow have the time you have to try it," she concluded, leaving to room for argument. Delilah continued to ramble, he noticed she tended to speak really fast when she was excited, and using lots of hand gestures.

  Tom traced the contour of her face, along her nose and lashes, the curve of her plush lips. Her skin was lightly sun kissed, freckles dancing across her nose and he wanted to count each and every one of them.

A laugh shook her chest, her cheeks pulling back and dimples dug into her cheeks and he smiled.

He had be so enveloped in a hollow darkness, all his life. Then there was this girl, crashing into his world out of no where and telling him life wasn't about extending, dragging on time. Everything he'd made himself believe was unraveling to actually be a lie.

So why did he still care? Despite everything Tom couldn't let go of this fixation with immortality. Not yet. Everything died, everyone fades, even memories and he hated it. There had to be something more.

  What would be the point if dying was all there was? He hoped in all due time he might get better, she could help him get better. Delilah has ignited a fire of hope inside him, flames that he thought had extinguished long ago.

  People like her still surprised him, hell everyone surprised him. Most people accept they're going to die, and if not they at least ignore it. Or they pray. Praying was always beyond his comprehension. What good did it do? They ended up in the ground either way, and Heaven was a fictitious ideal people made up to not be afraid.

  It was idiotic, in his opinion. But now Tom knew he had a choice. He wasn't destined to be drowned in ruin. He couldn't be, so much had changed. What if it wasn't enough?

  Right then she kissed his skin, her lips warm on the palm of his hand. His heart jumped and he felt short of breath, his head feeling fuzzy. He didn't know what this was, or where he could even begin on trying to decipher it.

What he did know, what he was sure of, was that her touch filled him with bliss. He could feel his pulse in his throat and he'd give anything to have a guarantee he wasn't dreaming. That he'd wake up and she'd suddenly not be there.

Yes, Delilah has showed him life wasn't about extending his time into an infinity. Now it was just the perfect moment to lay there with each other in the grass, their own infinity within each other.

"And Hagrid is a teacher."

That snapped him out of it. Tom raised a brow, "really?"

Delilah hit his chest lightly, "yes. And by the way humans did go to the moon, and there's a rover on Mars. Muggles aren't completely inept." Tom looked skeptical, but with the tilt of his lips she knew he was messing with her.

Continuing to tell him about cars, phones, fashion, and television, he curled his lip at the notion of people wearing spandex in public. And in such crude colors.

He twirled a strand of her golden hair around his finger, biting at his cheek before finally asking, "what about the war?"

"Which one?"

"Both.

"Well, in the muggle war the allies won. Nazi Germany fell, though Hitler killed himself before they got to him. And the wizarding war," she spared him a glance as she messed with his hand, running a finger along the creases of his palm.

"Dumbledore defeated grindelwald in a duel, it's supposed to be this year I think. However, due to the recent turn of events.." she trailed off, a heavy sigh leaving her lips.

The last few days felt surreal, it had been the most peaceful for them in what felt like ages. A small break before they threw themselves into battle, with a very ambitious plan.

They were just kids, when she thought about it. Despite how much they were forced to act like adults. Delilah didn't like being treated like a child, but nonetheless it pissed her off they were in their position in the first place. In both wars, it a was fought by children against a man drunk off power.

It was always the kids who seemed to pay the price. Who are forced to act. Forced to commit atrocities and make the sacrifices. While the actual adults, like Dumbledore, just seemed to sit idly at a desk and dictate the fight.

It mad her so angry sometimes she felt like she'd explode.

They were just kids.

The weight of what they were about to waltz into pressed on her again to the point where she felt suffocated. Sitting up, Tom eyed her, his arms rested around her waist as she sat between his legs. "I know we talked about this earlier, but please, be mindful of Harry, this is going to be a lot for him. I don't even know if he'll forgive me."

His brows creased, "forgive you for what?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, fraternizing with the enemy?" Tom scoffed, "I'd hardly call what we've been doing at fraternizing."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really," pulling her closer he kissed her jaw lightly, his lips tickling the soft flesh. "Friends don't sleep with each other" he muttered against her skin.

Delilah flushed, not just at his actions but his words. That wasn't entirely true, she slept with Blaise, but she'd keep that to herself for now. Or always.

She's never seen Tom jealous. Part of her wondered if he even would get jealous, he was always so sure of himself. Which she supposed was good, Delilah wanted him to have full faith in her.

"What is it?" He muttered, his nose nuzzling in the space behind her ear and she shook her head.

"Nothing important."

"Well you're being loud, it's distracting," when he bit lightly she shuddered and made herself laugh. "I'm being loud? I haven't said anything."

"You're thinking it, though."

He pulled back, his lips a ruddied pink due to his love bites and he gazed at her with those swirling dark eyes of his, always enchanting. "Tell me."

"No, it's stupid."

"Then why are you blushing like an idiot?"

She pressed a self conscious hand to her cheek, "shut up."

Tom shrugged one shoulder, and before she could utter another word the arm wrapped around her waist tightened and he flipped them over. A surprise lad yelp left her, the air being knocked from her lugs and she stared up at him as he leaned over her with a cheeky smile.

That wasn't good.

"What're you-"

When he started tickling her sides her eyes bulged from their sockets and she began to violently squirm, "Tom stop it!" She said angrily, but it sounded pathetic due to the laughter involuntarily being brought out of her.

"Tell me."

"No."

She bit out, tears in her eyes and she felt hot all over. Tom Riddle was tickling her like an absolute child and she didn't know whether to be livid or to find the situation endearing. Delilah despised being tickled.

When his cool fingers danced under her dress and slid up her stomach, chills erupted over her skin but she didn't have the time to be flustered as he began to attack her bare sides.

"I'm going to fucking kill you, stop!" She yelled shrilly, her voice very high pitched and another fit of giggles tore through her throat. She couldn't breathe and the sound of Tom's own laughter, warm and like wine met her ears.

Damn him.

She couldn't take it, yanking up her knee, she hit him in the ribs and he let out a huff, pausing his actions to grip his side. He stared at her incredulously, "ow."

The glare she was sending him could have burned the entire Forbidden Forest down, though he didn't ponder on it much as her chest rose and fell heavily, her breasts straining against her dress and her skin was blushed all over.

She was beautiful.

"Never," she breathed heavily, leaning up on her elbows, "never ever fucking do that again or I will castrate you."

Tom fell on top of her, still laughing and she rolled her eyes. She wasn't actually mad at him, at the moment it was very hard to be considering how carefree he was acting. It was refreshing and she wished he was always like this.

He was his age in that moment, looking so much younger.

Resting his chin on her stomach he looked up at her, "are you going to tell me now?" Groaning, her held rolled back and she mulled it over, feeling dumbly embarrassed.

"Tom, honestly it's stupid."

"You know you're only making me more curious," he hummed, rubbing circles into her exposed skin and she shivered, her nerves still in a jumble from being tickled.

She watched as he pushed up on his hands, still hovering above her. Her eyes danced to his lips, "I hate you." He smirked, leaning down and pressing his mouth to hers.

"No you don't."

No, she didn't. She never could. She never had, not really.

With a sigh after another kiss, she shut her eyes and rushed out, "would you get jealous over me?"

He blinked at her, "you're right. That was stupid." Rolling her eyes, she shoved him off of her and began to stand up but he tugged her down again. Her brows furrowed, "you're being weird lately."

"How so?"

"I don't know, you're just being... not how you normally are. You're not usually this open." She wrapped her arms around his neck, she wasn't complaining but it was a sudden shift. Tom usually wasn't this touchy or in a joking manner. If anything his kisses were usually far and few between.

He was being sweet, and it was weird.

"Is that not what you want? For me to be more open?" That got her to frown and he quickly realized he said the wrong thing.

"Tom I don't want to force you to be anything," brushing his hair from his eyes, she took in his features. His allure was Hellenistic and it was breathtaking just to have the privilege to be this close.

  Her heart stuttered at the realization she was the only one to be in such a position, the first and last. "Take this at your own pace," Delilah finally said.

  Tom's eyes had returned to the burnt coffee hue and the the sky was starting to twinge a soft purple, making his pale complexion appear vibrant.

  "What if I don't want to go slow anymore?" His voice was a lull. "I mean," she paused, trying to wrap her head around what he was saying. She started again, "isn't that usually how you do things? Isn't going fast reckless by your standards?"

  "I only ever seem to be reckless with you," he mused, a smile tugging up on corner of his mouth and she returned it with her own small smile.

  Finally standing up, she tugged him up with her, "come on, we need to inform to the others explaining what's happening."

  "A patronus again, I'm assuming?" He asked and she nodded, this time a grin fully breaking out in her lips. Merlin, his was a gray hound. Just like hers. She was elated, but part of her was also scared.

Simply put, when two people have the same patronus it was because they love them, and they are connected to each other's happiness in a way that other people are not. It also meant that whatever Tom's happiest memory was, and Delilah was dying to know, involved her.

She was scared because there was such a finality in the notion they share a patronus. He had the power to hurt her in a way no one ever could. Her heart was at his mercy, and it was known Tom Riddle rarely had any.