'I'm all right, I always am, you know that.' He smiled at her, trying to reassure her. 'And Rodolphus might be the threat, but there is nothing that is sure yet.'
He looked down at their hands. 'You know what I mean with no danger is not telling you not to be prepared. You should always be prepared, but you don't need to worry. That's all I'm saying.'
He frowned though, when Verity so quickly dismissed the school in Hogsmeade, shaking his head. 'Verity, you know as well as I do that allegiances are formed early. That friendships started in childhood are crucial later on in life.' He paused looking at her. 'We all knew each other before Hogwarts, knew who were one of us and who weren't, didn't we? And you know what happened to those on the outside. Now what do you think things will be like for Marlowe when he attends Hogwarts if everyone else knows each other and he is the outsider?'
He did not reflect on the fact that he was using arguments he'd heard from Draco many months ago, or that his own stance on the issue had changed so drastically. To him it only made sense. If Verity wanted Marlowe to have the chance to really be someone someday, he needed friends. Friends that he could hardly get at a school in France.
'You don't need to worry about Jillian,' he said calmly. 'I have my eye on her and she is too busy to care about Marlowe. Davis is a Death Eater,' he also confirmed. 'But not one in favour after he screwed up some information a while back. He's in France on Rodolphus' orders - he won't come back for a very good while.'
It was never a good idea to dangle the chance of gaining artefacts in front of Rodolphus and then have it fall through. Especially when the evidence (planted by himself, granted, but still) pointed to a trap staged by the Order. He smirked to himself, rather pleased to have gotten Davis out of his hair.