if one of them is dead.

chapter eight.

Lilith.

I shower in Mattheo's room, and when I come out he's at his desk working on an assignment. I walk over to his desk and flick off the light. He looks over at me and raises a brow. "Lil, I'm trying to—"

"I want to lay with you," I say, cutting him off. I put my hand on his shoulder, and put the other on his that is holding the quill. "Please?"

"This is due—"

"In four days, Mattheo," I interrupt again. "Can't we lay with each other for a little bit? You can finish it tomorrow, okay?" He sets the quill down and closes the ink pot before standing up. I go over to his bed as he continues to put his things away.

I open my arms like he did last night, and he climbs onto the bed. "What are you taking my dominant place now?" he asks, but puts his head on my chest anyway. I hum and wrap my arms around him, starting to run my nails gently up and down his back.

We lie like this for a while. I don't want to leave, but I know that I'm going to have to a little bit. And I think back to what Dumbledore said earlier, about me not keeping my feelings to myself. Curse the old man.

"Mattheo?"

"Hm?"

"I want to tell you something."

He's slurring his words together. I can tell he's really tired, and I just hope he remembers this when he wakes up. "What is it, Darling?"

"I love you."

He lifts his head from my chest, and he scares me for a second. Then he smiles and says, "I love you too."

He leans up and presses his lips to mine. When he pulls away, there's a small smile on both of our faces before he puts his head back on his chest. I kiss his head when his breathing slows down more.

He's asleep now. I bury my face in his hair and mumble, "I love you, Mattheo Riddle." I slip out of his bed, set one of my necklaces on his nightstand, pull on a pair of pants, and slip out of the room.

Then I start for Dad's classroom, careful to not get caught by Filch or any of the other teachers out on patrol.

I don't knock when I enter the room. I have to walk up the stairs, and then I knock on his office door. After a moment I hear a monotone "come in."

I open the door and walk in the room. Dad's sitting at his desk, grading papers when I walk in and go over to the window. It's big enough that I can sit on the ledge and look outside, which is what I do most times that I'm in here.

"Bored are we?" Dad asks, moving some of the papers around.

I lean my head back on the stone behind me, my forearms resting on my knees. "Not entirely. I just couldn't sleep."

"You don't have your necklace."

I look down at my shirt, pretending to not know that I wasn't wearing my necklace. "Oh," I say, moving my head back again, "I must have left it in my dorm."

"You mean Mr. Riddle's dorm?"

I look over at him quickly. "Pardon?"

He shakes his head but doesn't pause his grading. "Do you think I don't know you've been sleeping in his dorm every night?" he asks. "Dumbledore doesn't keep his mouth shut about everything." I sigh and turn back to the window. "I know you, Lily. But don't let your relationship with him get in the way with your academics, even if they might get cut short."

"Of course, Dad," I say, nodding.

"Does he know that you come here every other night?" he asks, grabbing a new set of papers.

"He knows I leave, he just doesn't know where."

He nods, and we sit in silence for a while, only the scratching of his quill on parchment.

"Dad, what are we going to do if the war breaks out?"

He sighs. "I don't think that it will break out this year, not until the new year comes. But," he looks over at me, "it is in our best interest to stay neutral in our positions at the proper time."

"Why?" I ask. "Because I'm dating Mattheo, and you'll kill Dumbledore. But we both know which side is going to win, yet we do this all for protection. But as soon as the war comes into full swing, we'll silently pick the side we know will win, even if it's the side we don't want to win." I pause and sigh when Dad looks at me like I'm crazy. "I don't want to fight on the opposite side of Mattheo, Dad. He's with his father on this, but I don't want to have to fight against him."

He sighs too. "I know you care about him, honestly it's revolting. But, I can conclude that you won't have to fight against Mr. Riddle. He is his own person, and if he loves you like I know that he does, he won't lay a finger on you. And he won't let anyone else come in close proximity to you."

More silence.

"Dad, do you think the others are doing all right?" I ask after a while.

"I'm sure they are," he says. "Though, without us there, they don't exactly have the safest place to go to. Not unless they think Alrik's house is safe enough for them all. That seems like the only sane option, unless he's been moved again. But if anything bad happened, I'm sure they would have tried to contact you."

"You know you're like a father to them, and if not, a friend," I say, turning to face him.

He shakes his head and chuckles. "I'm glad at least one group of kids enjoy my presence, even if it is the biggest group of misfits I've ever seen."

"Thanks, Dad."

After a moment, I get off the ledge and start for the door. It's late, and it's a lot later than I planned.

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you, too, Lilith."

I open the door. "See you later, Dad," I say, and go to walk out the door, but he stops me.

He knows I'm going on a walk outside. I do this every once in a while. I only started doing it this year, and he knows I stay out late when I go on walks. I normally don't get back in until midnight or one in the morning, and it's close to ten right now.

"Not too late, okay?" he asks.

"Okay."