A Game of Cat and Mouse

T H I R T Y T W O

Before Elio knew it, winter had turned to spring. Months passed since the Parkinson's party, months spent getting to know Annie even better. Elio wasn't sure how it was possible but each day, his love for her grew stronger. At first, he thought he loved Annie (and don't get him wrong—he definitely did). But the emotions he felt for her now were different. Suddenly, loving her didn't feel like enough. He wanted to breathe the very air she breathed, touch her every moment he was able, hear the whispers of her laugh in his ear every time he woke up. He loved her before. But now loving her felt like the most important thing in his life. It was his life. As simple and as effortless as breathing.

Elio was learning everything about her, from the way she laughed differently at each of his jokes to the little quirks she had—like the time she was convinced that the world would end because she couldn't find her "Monday quill". He'd had the joy of listening to her play in the evenings before falling asleep to the sound of her steady breaths. He watched as she ate things individually, the way she lost every cup of water she was ever given, and the way she smiled when she thought nobody heard her minuscule sneezes. He enjoyed learning the big things, too, but it was those little moments, those little quirks, that had him wondering how he'd ever gone without her.

Inside of him was this beast. This monster that constricted his chest every time he was with her. But the longer he knew he, the more time he spent with her, the looser the monster's grip was. Because with each passing day, he was slowly being convinced that this was real. That she wasn't leaving. That she was really his.

Their time together grew. Soon, they were able to spend days together without interruption, simply just enjoying life together as the seasons changed and the weeks went on. Annie's father was spending more time away from their manor, which worried her greatly. "Daddy wouldn't leave so much if it wasn't important. If it wasn't a big risk," she whispered one night as he held her tightly, wishing he could take every ounce of fear away from her. "I fear that he believes he's keeping us safe by staying away but I don't want him to stay away. He thinks he'll lead them to us if he comes home but doesn't he realize that it's not really home without him?"

"Shh, darling. He'll be back soon," he murmured as he stroked her hair. Because as much as he was enjoying spending several days at a time with her, he also hated seeing her worry.

Lately, as summer came even nearer, Tom spent sometimes weeks away—and though Elio wanted to spend weeks with Annie, he didn't forget to see his friends and spend quality time with his parents too. However, Elio would go over to their manor when he could, partly because he wanted to comfort Annie but also because he wanted to help her family, too. Visiting meant that Elio could take over boundary checks and allow James to sleep—the boy was too worried about keeping the Riddle women safe to relax unless he was absolutely certain that Elio had it covered. Plus, it satisfied the monster within Elio, who couldn't bear not knowing if Annie was safe or not.

"I'm only allowing this because you received ten O.W.L.S," James grumbled one night. "Not because I trust you."

Elio had just grinned and patted his new friend on the back. Yes, his friend. Because the James Riddle had found himself not just at pureblood parties with Annie, but also joining in on boy's nights with Albus and Scorpius. Elio was worried how James and Albus might react to one another considering their family's histories but on the first night Elio brought the older boy by, Albus just stood up and shook James's hand, muttering, "What a damn good Quidditch player you were."

Albus didn't play Quidditch himself but with a brother, mother, and father who were all wicked at it, he could still appreciate a good game. And even when Elio hated James, he could admit that the older boy played a good game.