"Welcome," Hilde greeted brightly as Harry and Draco entered her room for what was supposed to be their first in-depth training session. "Please have a seat. I thought we might spend the first part of the evening getting to know each other properly."
Draco was not sure he liked that idea, but he kept his expression calmly neutral and took the offered seat after Harry sat down. The energetic woman would be useful and she was pleasant in a Hufflepuff type of way, but she was definitely not in the 'trust with our innermost secrets' category.
"I may have had my head in a library for the past couple of years," Hilde continued speaking cheerfully, "but I am aware that your relations with the Ministry have not always been, shall we say, friendly, Harry. Hence I suspect I am not as welcome as I could have been."
The way the woman seemed to pick up on Draco's objections to her presence before he voiced them was beginning to unnerve him. For his part, Harry was looking at her intently. Draco felt his soulmate adjusting his barriers and realised that Harry was not about to take any chances and had decided to use his gifts.
"I hope you don't mind," Harry said politely, "but I'm reading you."
"Not at all," Hilde replied with a smile, "I was about to suggest it actually."
If it had been up to him, Draco would not have told her that Harry had her under surveillance, as it were, but it was too late now. He did like Hilde, she had a pleasant personality, but paranoia was a way of life for Draco and he wanted to be sure that she would not betray them to the Ministry, either deliberately or accidentally. They were living in dangerous times.
"Would you care for some refreshment?" the woman asked cheerfully. "I hesitate to offer tea, but it seems to be a tradition around here. I have butterbeer if you would prefer."
Both young men nodded their assent at the same time; Draco for one was incredibly pleased not to have to worry about politely sipping tea yet again. There was something to be said for having a device to hide behind and a missile to throw, but at that moment those were the only good things he could think of to do with tea. The great British drink had its place, but the entire staff of Hogwarts seemed to survive on the stuff. Maybe the house elves put something in it.
"Why did you decide to study Hecatemae?" Harry asked the question with his usual innocent tone as Hilde produced three butterbeers.
The woman frowned for a moment in thought as she passed out the drinks and Draco watched her carefully. So far Hilde was giving no signs of subterfuge.
"We had a guest DADA teacher, Professor Laramie, for a few months when I was in my sixth year," the ex-Hufflepuff began eventually, sitting back in her chair, "and she gave some fascinating lectures. There were a few of us who were rather taken with her stories."
To Draco's amusement Hilde blushed as she admitted that.
"Well you know Hufflepuffs," the woman continued, "in for a knut, in for a galleon. We convinced her to set up a club where she could teach us about more than just dark creatures. One evening she told us all about her great, great, great grandmother, Eliza Puddleton and her bond mate Michael Charmers. Well it was the most romantic thing I had ever heard. I knew a little about Hecatemae, but after that I searched everywhere for information. I even did my final year History of Magic essay on the influence of a Hecatema on the Goblin Wars."
Hilde paused thoughtfully, taking a sip of her butterbeer.
"Once I get an idea in my head it's almost impossible to shift it," the witch explained honestly. "Probably another reason I was a Hufflepuff. I admit that I may have been a little obsessed."
YOU ARE READING
Gold Tinted Spectacles (Hecatemus Book #1)
Fanfiction(Drarry) Harry Potter is about to enter his seventh year, and things are not quite what he expected. He is no longer the angry boy who watched his world fall apart at the end of his fifth year, but neither has he completely found his place yet. He i...
