Chapter 052

"Because if you don't, then that boy could easily make your life miserable," Harry answered calmly. "Trust me on this, I've seen his type before. Draco Malfoy is a bully and has a superiority complex the size of Asia. Not only that, but his father is a very powerful political figure in magical Britain, not to mention a Death Eater."

Death Eater was the term coined for those who had served under Voldemort. A group of witches and wizards who held onto the inherent belief that purebloods were better than other witches and wizards, and whose hatred of muggleborns and all things non-magical was well known. Before the war had ended, many non-magical families had lost their lives to Death Eater raids, and more than a few magical families became extinct because of them.

"Don't you mean former Death Eater?" asked Hannah, saying the word 'former' with enough sarcasm to fill the compartment.

"No." Harry shook his head. "I mean Death Eater. People don't just reform their ways so easily. From what I heard, Dacro's father got out of going to Azkaban without even getting a trial simply by claiming he was under the Imperius Curse and throwing some money at the Ministry. Anyone who does something like that to get off Scott free clearly hasn't reformed their ways."

"How do you know so much?" asked Susan, once more speaking before her mind caught up with her. She blushed a bit, but plowed on regardless. "I mean, you just told us that you've only been in the Wizarding World since you got your Hogwarts letter. It just seems... odd, that you would know so much about our world."

Hearing such a well-thought out question caused Harry's estimation of the girl to rise. Truth be told, while he had thought the girl to be a pleasant person during the first few minutes of their conversation, he had not really been able to form much of an opinion about her. Compared to the outgoing and talkative Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones had seemed a bit diffident. However, hearing her questioning his story in such a way, and giving supporting evidence to back it up, let Harry know that while the red-haired girl may be quiet and unassuming, she was also intelligent and had a sharp mind.

He gave the girl an honest smiled filled with more than a healthy dose of respect. The girl took one look at him and blushed to the roots of her hair.

"While I may have only been in the Wizarding World for a short while, that doesn't mean I've been idle," Harry informed them. "The moment I learned that I was the heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, I determined that it would behoove me to learn as much about the current climate and most recent events of the last few decades. Considering most of those events involve me in some way, it was definitely a good idea."

He did not mention Andromeda, or that he had someone helping him learn everything he would need to know about politics, etiquette and the 'who's who' of the wizarding world. He didn't want the possibility of his dealings with the former Black getting out... yet.

"You mean you've been studying all this time?" Hannah sounded aghast that someone would spend their entire summer reading. "We haven't even started school yet!"

Harry's lips twitched in both amusement and slight depression. A strange combination. But then again, it wasn't everyday someone he just met said something so... Lisa, and he couldn't help but compare the two. Which explained why he felt both elated and saddened.

"Well," Harry drawled a bit. "I figured it was prudent to learn as much as I could about the current climate of magical Britain after I was mobbed by an entire restaurant of witches and wizards wanting to shake my hand in the Leaky Cauldron."

Both girls gasped.

"They didn't?" Hannah asked with a gaping mouth.

Harry just gave her a nod. "They did. At the time, I didn't even know that I was famous, so you can imagine my surprise. I figured that if I was going to be mobbed everywhere I go, then I should at least know why."

"I suppose I can understand why you would want to read then," Hannah said, before she scrunched up her nose. "Still, I don't think I could stand doing nothing but reading all summer long."

Harry gave her a mildly amused look, the kind he often gave to Lisa when she said something he thought was stupid. "Now why do you think all I did was read during the summer? I'll have you know I did a lot more than just sitting around reading books all day."

"Like what?"

"Well..." Harry licked his lips for a moment as he pondered what to tell her. "I did spend a lot of time practicing my martial arts..."