Protected Ivory [2]

Three

As predicted, there were plenty of looks and stares coming my direction as I moved through the crowd. I didn't bother trying to strike up a conversation, since many of them wouldn't give me the time of day. I wasn't about to play into this little power play for all of my aunt and uncle's friends. 

"I wouldn't have pegged you as a suffer in silence type," an unknown voice said from behind me. I turned and found a teenager, maybe a year older then me, smiling at me softly. He was wearing a dark red button up shirt that hugged his muscular figure tightly and jeans that made him look amazing. As I was appraising him, he was doing the same to me. "At least, you always have something to say at school."

"I'm sorry," I said, trying to organize my thoughts. It seemed to be increasingly difficult as I stood in his presence. "I don't think we've been properly introduced."

"Dylan Evers," he said, holding out his hand. "Ivory Black, isn't it?"

"Seems a lot more people know about me then I would like," I mused after I had taken his hand for a few moments. "Here, I thought I was keeping a is a secret fairly well."

"Most people didn't know who you were until a few months ago," he mused, his dark eyes watching me with amusement.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, actually confused. "What happened a few months ago that let everyone in on the secret of who I was?" The accident with Lupin hadn't given anything away, at least I wasn't aware it had.

"Well, maybe it was just me," he admitted, tilting his head to the side. "I've always been very aware of you; it's my curse."

"Why would you be aware of me?" I stuttered. Why in the world could someone who looked like a god want to be aware of me? I was nothing.

"I keep an eye out for the biggest players on the playground," he mused, his eyes flickering around us to land on a few of the others who were quite close. "You being who you are, made me interested."

"If you say so," I muttered, looking away from his eyes. They were boring into my green ones and it was almost painful. I wanst sure whether to be leery of him or be comfortable.

"It doesn't help, a lot of the parents in there don't feel the need to be discrete about name dropping anymore," he sighed, his eyes still as intense as ever. "Times are changing."

"I know." My voice was somber. If there had been anything I learned over the summer with my time at the Ministry, it was the signs of darkness were returning. Reluctantly, I returned my eyes to his. "Where does that leave us, I wonder?"

A ghost of a smile was on his lips as he looked down at his pumpkin juice. "Where indeed?"

"Dylan, you know Ivy?" A nasally voice sounded to the left of us, and it took all of my control not to scowl. 

Pansy Parkinson was walking towards us, followed by a few other girls, most I didn't know. Her and her friends had tormented me the entirety of last year, even after her brother was pulled from school and thrown in Azkaban. She may not have known it, but I had been the reason for it. Even though no one but the family knew what Lucas had done to all those girls, me included, she had calmed for a few months. By the end of the year, she was back to torturing me. Now, she was going to attempt to torment me in my own home.

"We were just getting to know each other," Dylan said, sending me a mysterious smile. There was something behind his beauty that was powerful. Was it as powerful as my own secrets? "What can I do for you, Pansy?"

"Well, me and the girls were just talking about poor Professor Lupin," she began, and I rolled my eyes. "Ivy's the reason the poor man no longer has a teaching job."