Protected Ivory [2]

Fifteen

"You're really good at this," Fleur said, looking down at her paper. We were in the library, at mine and Neville's usual table, though it was a bit more crowded. "How do you know so much?"

"My uncle does potions for a living," I answered honestly. After spending the morning, and most of the early afternoon with Louis and Fleur, I found they were pretty decent and likable. Fleur warned us right away her and Louis were part Veela, which confirmed Ron's thoughts yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised when Neville wasn't the least bit affected by Fleur, and she seemed to be glad for it. "When I was young, during the summers when I stayed with him, I was always by his elbow when he brewed."

"That's lucky," she said, finishing her assignment with a flourish of her quill. "Is there something you're not good at?"

"Right now, Care of Magical Creatures," I admitted, shaking my head as Neville laughed darkly. 

"What animal are you studying?" Louis asked, looking intrigued. "I usually help with the creatures at our school."

"Blast-Ended Skrewts," Neville and I groaned at the same time, causing them to laugh, but Louis had a confused look on his face. 

"I've never heard of this creature," he admitted, watching the two of us still shaking our heads. 

"Hagrid has them sitting outside," Neville said, slipping his Potions homework in his bag. "We'll show them to you when we go back."

"So, what do you do for fun?" Fleur asked, looking around the library. 

"Get into trouble," I answered honestly. She laughed once, shaking her head at me with a smile. "So this is what it's like to hang out with people your age, Louis."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he said, sounding offended. 

"I feel old and boring," she mused, causing the rest of us to laugh at her. 

"We can go to Hogsmead tomorrow," Neville suggested, looking at me. "There aren't any Dementors there this year."

"True." 

"May I call on you again, if I need help?" Fleur asked, sounding awkward in asking. 

"Of course, friend," I said, grinning at her. 

"Hamilton!" Moody's wooden leg made echoing thumbs on the floor as he hobbled towards us, looking agitated about something. "Have you been here all day?"

"Yes," I sighed, motioning towards Fleur and Louis. "They're doing independent study and asked for help with Potions. Good bonding."

He scowled at me, his eyes flickering over everyone. "Why don't the three of you head on, Ms. Hamilton will catch up with you."

"We'll be down at Hagrid's," Neville said, after a few seconds of tense silence. Fleur looked between Moody and I, but followed after Louis and Neville as they headed towards the stairs. 

"What can I do for you, sir?" I asked, slowly packing my bag. 

"Who told you?" he asked, his voice harsh. 

"I asked Lucius," I admitted, meeting his eyes. "You know, I'm thinking it would have been a good idea to tell me about Karkaroff."

"It was an empty threat," he growled, but there was something in his eyes that said otherwise. 

"Is everyone else an empty threat?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I stood up. "You and Severus need to stop protecting me. I need to know what's going on. I need to know there's a fair few witches and wizards looking for me. I don't know what Dad got up to, or how many enemies he had, but they all seem to know me." I sighed, meeting his eyes. "Karkaroff won't do anything when he's here, but he can tell others."