within the meadow √ h.s.

t h i r t y s e v e n

"harry, don't let me drown or i'll kill you," delilah warned as she began to rise to the tip of her toes in the pool where the shallow side ended.

"delilah, you need to loosen your arms from my neck unless you want both of us to drown," harry added with delilah hanging on to his neck as he swam further into the deep end.

delilah decided she wanted to finally learn how to swim, and harry was more than ready to help her. she hadn't been in a pool in over ten years, not having the best memories when seeing the blue water.

"okay, let go and hold on to the wall," harry instructed. he told her to kick her legs while holding the wall to give her an idea of what to do. he then placed his hands underneath her stomach to help her float while she paddled.

delilah got a bit too confident and attempted paddling around on her own after a while of harry's lessons, but instead quickly found herself submerged and being lifted up by a smirking harry.

"maybe you should have listened to me when i said practice a bit more," he gloated. delilah scowled at his 'i told you so' tone and scoffed.

"maybe you should have let me use those floaties like i wanted," she remarked while still in harry's arms as his long legs carried them through the water with ease. he walked them out of the pool and she began to worry.

"harry, please don't throw me in i swear," she said in panic and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"why would i throw you in when you can't swim?" he laughed and set her down on a lounging chair and wrapped a towel around her.

"gabriel had friends that threw me in because they didn't know i couldn't swim and i was outside reading when they tossed me in," she explained a not so pleasant memory.

"little dicks," he muttered. "well, i'm hungry. how about you?"

"i could eat," she shrugged.

they were at niall and erica's house to check on it every few days while they were away on vacation, and had a new pool built which was screaming to be used so harry took advantage of that.

"okay, let me just set the sprinklers and i'll meet you in the car," he said and handed her the car keys and slipped his shirt on.

delilah pulled her shorts up her legs and threw her top on before going to the car. harry came back quickly and they were off to eat.

so much had happened in that year and a half they were together, it was fate that the two souls collided and became one.

+

"delilah, my parents don't want anything for christmas!" he insisted as she dragged him through the crowded mall full of people looking for the perfect presents. "they told me to just bring our asses over for a nice dinner, in those exact words."

"you want me to walk in empty handed to the home of the people who blessed me with their son?" she glared at him. harry knew there was no winning the discussion and shut his mouth.

delilah purchased gifts for both of his parents, and made sure to remember a present for percy. she and harry left the crowded shopping center and headed home after grabbing a bite to eat. the drive was quite a distance away, and delilah fell asleep with her head resting against the window. her face was barely illuminated by the lights surrounding them, but harry was in awe at her beauty.

when christmas came around, emily and alexander had the entire house decorated heavily, inside and out. percy greeted them at the door with his christmas sweater and a santa hat headband behind his ears looking more festive than anyone. turns out, christmas was percy's favorite time of the year because he was the one who always received the most presents. his birthday was an entirely different day for being spoiled, but he still thoroughly enjoyed christmas.

"i told you two to only bring your asses over, so why am i seeing presents in your hands?" emily said and helped empty their hands to put the gifts under the tree where she ended up placing presents she purchased for harry and delilah despite scolding them about bringing some.

"i tried, but she dragged me all over the mall saying she couldn't walk in empty handed," harry explained. "smells great."

the styles household never seemed more lively as they sat at the table eating, laughing, and simply happy. percy was eager to open his gifts, smelling his treats under the tree.

they seated themselves around the large tree and passed out gifts. percy laid on the ground and had a wrapped bone in between his paws as he bit at the paper and tore it. he opened all of his presents with great anticipation and drooled over many of them. emily and alexander loved their gifts as well as delilah and harry. everything was great and everyone ended the year on the best terms.

they sat in the meadow with layers of clothing insulating their body heat. "delilah, can you move your book further from your face, please?"

she abided and stared at the words in front of her with deep concentration. curls had fallen from her ponytail and were being blown around by the breeze, so harry reached over and tucked what he could behind her ear before focusing his attention on the sketch.

harry finished a drawing that day. he really finished one and achieved the completion he had always envisioned. the emotion he was never able to capture within his art inspired by delilah was visible in the details of her holding her book closely with a tight grip and furrowed eyebrows. harry had everything he ever wanted right there in that meadow.