Gypsy

Chapter Nine

"You want me to what!?" I exclaimed, glaring at Jenny across the table.

"Shhh, keep it down Tony, do you want you-know-who to find out about everything?"

I slammed a hand over my mouth, and risked a glance at the men in question. Both seemed uninterested in everything around them, adopting bored sneers and eye rolling at their Housemates antics. The Great Hall was filled with students; everybody seemed particularly rowdy today, probably had something to do with the Hogsmeade trip planned for tomorrow.

"Now," Jenny leaned closer, "we need my brother in on this."

"Why, I don't want him involved in this, he might get hurt." My worry wasn't only for his safety, but his future. "Plus having him steal books isn't the greatest way to help his career."

She flicked a hand, dismissing the worry. "He hates that job anyway; they won't let him transfer to healing because he is too damned good at smoozing money from rich, old benefactors. Let him help us, Tony, he is worried about you."

I supposed he had a right, Jenny and I had been so wrapped in studying up on mythical creatures and legends for the last few weeks, I had been forgetting to reply to his Owls.

"Look, I'm not saying we involve him in the fright storm that is the Head Boy and his butt-buddy, but he would appreciate at least feeling included."

Sighing, I knew she had a point; I had been a shitty girlfriend lately and certainly didn't deserve somebody as lovely as Jeremy. "Ok, but he doesn't get to know our suspicions about my heritage."

"Deal," she smiled smugly, "I'll send an Owl asking for the books this afternoon."

The books were rather obscure texts that investigated the legends surrounding Veela (we knew I wasn't one, but they did have some interesting characteristics I shared), Nymphs and Succubi. All of the above creatures were the only ones we couldn't find a great deal of information on; we wanted to read the books to narrow the possibilities of my heritage.

I had written a letter to my mother asking about Grand'Mere and her 'gifts', but I never received a reply. This wasn't a surprise, whenever I bought up the woman who helped raise me; mother froze up and refused to leave her room for a few days.

The morning chime rang out, a first warning to finish up and move onto classes. Today was just another day Jenny and I didn't have classes together, and I did have them with people who hated and hunted me.

For the past three weeks I had nearly run into my two tormentors everywhere outside of class, I might have thought they were following me but they were almost always in a group or with some girl hanging off of them. I had received a rather nasty pus hex off Parkinson, when I accidentally walked into her and Malfoy when they were necking around a corner. I had tried to point out that in plain view and in the direct path of students wasn't the best place to neck-on, but that had only made Malfoy laugh, a deep sound that caused a scary shiver down my spine. From then on I had taken to making wide spaces around corners, and good thing to because the next day I walked past Malfoy once again necking on with a blond Ravenclaw in the same spot. He just smirked at me as I passed. I didn't see him there again.

"Wake up," Jenny clicked her fingers in front of my face. "Second bell went; you're going to be late for class."

Cursing I looked around; almost all the students were gone. Grabbing my bag up, I ran for the exit, nearly tripping up twice in my haste. I had learned long ago the quickest way to potions class, utilizing this knowledge I had nearly made it to the last two steps down there when my feet slipped up and I landed hard at the bottom of the landing. My knees scraped on the ground, but my hands took the blunt of the fall, skin ripping off.