The words lingered at his lips for a few moments before he had the courage to speak them, “Well, you know your sister pretty well then, yeah?”
“The bestest,” Gabby declared with finality, “she’s my best friend in the whole world.”
“The bestest?” Harry mimicked her with a smile, “In the whole wide world?”
“The very bestest.”
Harry weighed his options before he spoke again, “Well… did you she tell you why she wanted to meet me, away from everyone else that is?”
“Nope,” she chirped, thumping her legs into his side, “It’s a secret!”
“Do I get to know the secret?”
“Go left here!” Gabrielle ordered from his back, “And nuh-uh! If three people know the secret, it’s not a secret, is it?”
“But it’s a secret about me, Gabby,” Harry rationalised, “Surely I get to know. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
“I already made that promise!” The little girl exclaimed dramatically, “I used my pinky and all, and everyone knows what happens to Veela that break pinky promises.”
Harry shook his head, “No, I don’t think anyone really knows actually.”
Gabby leant down to his ear, her voice a tiny whisper, “I’m not allowed to tell you,” she said, “But werewolves come in the night and eat them up.”
A laugh freed itself from his mouth, “Who told you that?” he asked.
Gabby resumed her normal position, her voice regaining its volume, “Fleur did, right after I made the pinky promise.”
“I think she’s lying to you, Gabby,” Harry laughed again, the mirth wracking his form made the girl bounce up and down on his back.
“How would you know?" She asked, her voice laden with scepticism, “You’re not a Veela.”
Harry thought for a moment and came back with his solution, “Well, what if I gave you a pinky promise not to tell her you told me?”
He could feel her shake her head from behind him, “Nope,” she said, “Anyone who wants me to get eaten by werewolves can’t be trusted with secrets!”