Somewhere Safe - Chapter 52

Viviana Krum found her eyes drifting to the girl from the feast. Her name was Fleur. Viviana watched as a group of girls tried to pull the French Witch into their circle of friends. Fleur resisted, keeping her distance while maintaining a polite stance. She would join them on occasion, but more often than not she would slip away before they could find her.

Previously, she had no intention of approaching the other witch. It wouldn't be the first time she read on a person had been wrong. A short, silent conversation led to them approaching her and talking way too much about mind-numbing things.

Now, here she was preparing herself to approach someone. She had found the French Witch in the library. It was one of the few places that wasn't completely swarming with students. Viviana took a couple of steadying breathes before she strode toward the French Witch. To her credit, the woman in question noticed her earlier than most others would.

Viviana gave her a small quirk of a smile in greeting. Fleur returned it after a moment. She scooted over a little. Viviana took the invitation and sat next to her. She retrieved her homework from her bag and started to work. The French witch did the same. Occasionally, they would look at the other subject with a slight raise of the eyebrow, or quick eye-roll.

Fleur stiffened ever so slightly. Viviana followed her gaze to see a few of the friends that had been trying to absorb the French Witch in their circle. Subtly, she knocked a quill onto the floor. Fleur gave her a thankful look before dropping under the table before the others could see her. Viviana waited until the group passed before patting the seat beside her. Fleur popped up, scanning the area. She gave a small sigh as she handed Viviana the quill, who nodded in reply.

"Viviana," she said after another moment of silence.

"Fleur," the other witch replied.

The two settled into a comfortable quiet as they worked. This was by far the best interaction with another person that Viviana had ever experienced. Fleur closed her books then began to pack up her items. Viviana raised an eyebrow in question.

Fleur ran a hand over her stomach, then followed the motion through to brush out a wrinkle. She waited for Viviana to pack her things as well. The two walked in silence to the Great Hall for lunch. Fleur stopped at the door to scan the room. She pressed herself against the wall when she spotted another cluster of those witches.

Vivana motioned to the end of the hallway that led to the lake. Fleur considered it for a moment before nodding.

~

"Fleur has been avoiding us," Padma said as the two witched slipped away.

"I think we came on too strong," Lavender replied. "She doesn't seem to have a lot of friends."

"She's the type to have a small group," Miranda spoke up. "Her schoolmates don't pay attention to her at all. No harsh words or dirty looks, they just act like she isn't there."

The other two witches nodded. Miranda had loosened up a lot since her date with Harry. The entire coven recognized the slight limp she had when they returned but hadn't said anything. They didn't want to undo the slow-going progress.

"Think we should have Harry talk to her?" Lavender asked.

"No," Miranda shook her head. "She was really uncomfortable with him around."

"I saw that too," Padma added.

"Saw what?" Katie asked as she dropped onto the bench beside them.

She was freshly showered, and her skin was still red from the hot water. The quidditch teams were taking this seriously and had been practicing any chance they could. Thanks to the wonders of magic her hair was already dry, if a little puffier than normal.

"That Fleur was jumpy around us," Lavender replied.

"Yeah," Katie nodded. "Think she's a werewolf?"

"What?" Miranda snapped. "Why would you think that?"

"She was hyper-vigilant," Katie replied. "A lot of non-human types are jumpy around others."

"I'm hyper-vigilant," Miranda rolled her eyes. "The only thing that happens once a month to me is pretty standard for witches."

"It could be a sign of bullying in her past," Padma offered. "Miri did say that her schoolmates act like she isn't there."

"Miri?" Miranda asked.

"You, silly," Lavender smiled. "Like how I'm Lav and Padma is Pads. You're Miri."

"Miri," Miranda repeated the word as if tasting it. "I guess."

The emotion behind her words was laid bare by the blush on her cheeks. She would never admit it, but this was the first nickname she had been given that wasn't born from ill-intent or frustration. Plus, Miri was what she called the original Miranda. She wondered if her old babysitter ever thought about her, or if she realized how much of an impact she had made on the young witch. It was hard to keep in touch with Muggles with the majority of her life now being in the magical world.

"Where is everyone?" Katie asked looking around the table.

"Practice," Miranda replied.

~

Harry hit the floor and skidded to a stop. He groaned as he pushed himself to his feet.

"What am I doing wrong?" He asked, waving his wand around himself to clear off the dust.

"You're watching the spell and not the wand," Professor Riddle said. "This isn't a shield breaker or bludgeoning spell. It's a guided push of force used to bypass defenses. Difficult to use and even harder to block. It's rare to see it used in anything lower than International Finals or Champion Duel." He paused. "It also has easily exploitable weaknesses."

"Such as?" Harry prompted.

"It requires concentration rather than a simple incantation, and it is best to have the target in sight," Professor Riddle summoned a small cloud of smoke, then a short stone wall, and finally a shimmering after-image around his body. "Most are unable to move while casting, though a master duelist can overcome these weaknesses."

"And we're covering this because?" Harry asked.

"This isn't a standard tournament," Professor Riddle chuckled. "It's the perfect place to show off and a spell like this is bound to make an appearance."

"Ok," Harry nodded. "How do I counter it?"

"Distraction, misdirection, and disruption," Professor Riddle replied. "Ready to try again?"

~

Iris gripped the handle of her broom exactly like Harry had told her, the front hand was tight with the back hand loose. It was funny to take advice from him considering she had more experience. Still, he was a natural and the tidbits of knowledge he passed on were useful. The adjusted grip helped with better control while allowing her hips to do the hard work.

The new goggles were great for protection as well as reducing glare. Hogwarts had gone all out on the gear for the Quidditch teams. This wasn't just about putting their students on display but showing off to other schools and countries. It made Iris wonder if this was how it felt to be a pro.

She drifted on the gentle breeze as she kept an eye on her team. They were practicing various maneuvers, tightening communication, and a few wacky plans for the fun of it. Both Seekers were in the air, their task was to spot the snitch and catch it without letting the other know they had discovered it. They were working with a practice version which had a little sparkle added for easier spotting. Her secondary task was to practice misdirection by making the other Seeker rush for a fake position.

Something flittered in and out of the edge of her vision. She tilted her head to the side, hiding her search by pretending to stretch a sore muscle. The snitch was doing a quick little jig by the empty stands. Iris directed her broom in the general direction, taking a wide loop while carefully studying the area around the Goal Posts on the far side of the field.

She had to admit her teammate, Ginny Weasley, was a good Seeker. The fact that the redhead could easily cover as a Chaser was another plus. Iris was a Seeker first and foremost with a Beater being the best choice for her backup. Still, she could play to the Gryffindor tendency to rush in that Ginny had.

Iris tightened her grip on the broom, shifted forward to press herself flat, and made to take off. She did her best to make it look like she was being sneaky and failing miserably. Ginny caught the movement, then shifted her gaze to the hoops on the far side. The redhead burst into motion. Iris had no idea how the witch was able to get her broom to move like that. All of the teams were given the same type to keep things as fair as possible, and for Cleansweep to show off their new model since they had been eclipsed by the Firebolt and Nimbus in the last few years. Ginny could push the broom to the limit as naturally as breathing.

She waited until Ginny was about halfway across the field before making her move. Iris shifted her grip and leaned back, swinging her aim toward the stands. She dipped down and zipped over to the Snitch. The magical orb somehow sensed her approach. It shivered in place before bolting.

The chase was on.

~

Rose watched as her little sister pulled off another crazy dive. The two Seekers had abandoned all pretense of subtly and were chasing after the Snitch. That, or they were just playing. Rose couldn't really tell. It was nice to see Iris relax. Her little sister had been so tense lately. The only thing that calmed her down was being around Harry, which was almost always a group-event. She made a mental note to arrange some time for the two together.

Luna and Luna sat on either side of her. They offered her a muggle candy called Red Vines, but she politely turned them down. Rose had no idea where they had gotten them. The duo seemed to always have some sort of sweet in hand. Thankfully, the dimensional doubles didn't do the twin talk thing. She hadn't been around the Sirius duo to see if they did it. Knowing him, they probably would.

A smile crossed her face as she thought about how her life had changed. She couldn't wait until summertime so she could spend time with her family. It would be nice to catch up with everyone and get to know the other coven members without the extra chaos of school. They would need to arrange a couple of gatherings for the families to all meet and make sure things were in order. Technically, the coven wouldn't live together until they were out of Hogwarts, but it was rare for people to wait that long. Rooming together during the school year was one thing. Living together and running a separate household from their family was something altogether different.

Rose was drawn out of her thoughts as Luna on either side of her stood.

"Is something wrong?" Rose asked.

"Practice is over," Luna replied.
"We're going to keep Iris company," Luna added.

"She's going to the locker room," Rose pointed out. "Probably for a shower too."

"Yes," Luna nodded.
"We're going to keep her company," Luna added.

Rose opened her mouth to say something, then closed it.

"Do you want to come?" Luna asked.

"I don't like locker rooms," Rose shook her head.

"Ok," Luna held her hand out for her twin.

The two hurried down the steps. Rose smiled as she watched them go. She did wonder if they were going to bother taking off their clothes. Without a doubt, the duo was going to go in the showers to keep Iris company. Her life certainly was more interesting these days.

Rose stood, dusted herself off, and made her way to the Great Hall. She could still catch the end of lunch if she was lucky. If not, she had a couple of options to acquire a meal. The House Elves were absolutely giddy with all the work brought in from the visitors. Rose wasn't going to add more on top of it, the suite had a small kitchen that she could use. She knew enough about cooking to make a decent meal. Maybe that was something she should learn. The coven would need to be able to take care of small things like that even if they had a House Elf. There were going to be a lot of babies, she was estimating at least one per coven member. It wouldn't be fair to shove more work on their little shoulders.