Protected Ivory [2]

Eight

I was looking at my back in the mirror, trying to contortion my arms to reach one of the scabs on my lower back. It had become an obsession of mine to try and pick at the burns, but Narcissa always seemed to show up and slap my hands. As if she heard my thoughts, my door burst open and she hit my hands with a rolled up copy of the Daily Prophet. 

"Ivory Black, if you don't stop, I'm going to spell your hands to look like oven mitts," she hissed, bustling around my room as she checked my trunk. 

"It's packed," I assured, sighing as I sat down. It still hurt to have my back touch anything, but that was most of the pain. If I turned wrong, I could still twinge it wrong, but I knew I just had to wait for it to heal. "I am able to do my own chores."

She turned and scowled at me, but there was a smile behind it. "It's going to be hard once you're gone. There won't be anyone to smack your hands."

"Hermione will," I assured, pulling my sweater on. To make it easier to change, I was wearing my school skirt and would change into my shirt on the train. I was wearing one of my altered tank tops, so it would be easy. "Is Draco almost ready?"

"Yes," she said, smiling. She saw my returning smile didn't exactly reach my eyes. "What are you worried about?"

"A lot of things," I answered, shrugging. "It's nothing you can help with."

"I wish I could shield you from the entire world," she said, standing behind me to put my hair up in a bun for me. "Unfortunately, it's frowned upon."

"Iv, are you all packed?" Lucius asked, standing in the doorway. He wouldn't look at me, rather his eyes landing on my trunk. "Good, I'll bring it down to the car."

We hadn't talked much since the fight we got in last week. I didn't know what to say to him, and I was sure he didn't know either. We had been civil to each other, which had put Draco and Narcissa on edge. They were both waiting for an explosion that wasn't coming. Eventually Lucius and I would make up, it was just a matter if it would happen now or on Christmas Vacation.

"Thank you," I said, my voice soft as I looked at the floor. After he'd grabbed the trunk and was gone, I realized Narcissa wasn't doing my hair anymore. "Narcissa?"

"I wish you two would make up," she sighed, stepping in front of me. "It's killing me you're not speaking."

"I don't know what to say," I admitted, sighing. I stood up and looked around my room once more to double check I had everything. I was just lucky my trunk was enchanted to basically fit an entire house in it, so everything could go in it without it getting very heavy. "We'll make up at Christmas."

"You won't be coming home for Christmas," she said, snorting. I gave her a look before it clicked. 

"The Tournament," I sighed. "Can't I come home? I don't plan on going to the Yule Ball."

"You might change your mind. You might meet a strapping young man. You were taken with Dylan Evers."

"I don't know anything about him, so I'm not just going to fall into his arms," I protested, following her out of my room. It wasn't that Dylan wasn't an attractive man, because he was, but there was something about him. I didn't know what it was, but it made me think he wasn't one to try and be romantic with. "I'll make you a deal, how about that. If I meet the most strapping young man ever, I will go to the Yule Ball."

"They're opening it up for families, so we'll be there," she said, looking over her shoulder at me. "I think it would break Lucius' heart if he had to dance with Draco for the family dance."

"I would like a picture of that," I mused out loud, laughing. "I don't have a dress."

"You have a lot of dresses, an entire closet full."