Chapter 378 - Friends (2/2)

Malgino gave a boyish grin and folded her arms in front of him.

”What do you want to know?”

”Why were you following me after you came to Hogwarts?” Fergus turned to Malgino looking serious. ”And don't lie. I know you were.”

”I was curious,” Malgino replied looking relaxed like he had nothing to hide. ”To be honest, I love mysteries and you, my friend was one of the biggest mysteries of Hogwarts. So I tried to solve it.”

”What did you find?” Fergus asked trying to look brave but in reality, he was nervous.

”Nothing out of ordinary. I discovered you are one of the kids who got bullied by non-magical humans and have a hard time with magic and people, right?” Malgino explained.

Fergus was surprised by Malgino's ȧssumption but quickly nodded not to arise his suspicion.

”Since your mystery was solved. I decided to move on to the next one. You know, Hogwarts has no shortage of mysteries,” Malgino smiled.

. . .

Fergus was following Malgino, both of them looked a little older. Chris followed them and after a while, she realized, where they were running through the Seventh floor.

All of a sudden, Malgino stopped and turned around. Fergus had no time to stop and he almost ran into Malgino.

”Two weeks. Why?” Malgino asked.

”What do you mean?” Fergus looked embarrassed and out of breath from running.

”You know, exactly what I mean. Why are you following me for two weeks, Fergus? At first, I thought it was a coincidence,” Malgino looked serious. ”Look, I know I saved you from the other students a couple of times but that doesn't mean, I allowed you to follow me everywhere.”

”I wasn't –” Fergus tried to protest.

”You are a good student, Fergus. You are really good with your magic. You got the highest score in the first year. Also, I have seen Genevieve has a soft spot for you. She treats you like a young brother. You will manage on your own. You don't need my help anymore. So stop following me.”

Malgino turned around about to leave when Fergus spoke.

”It is not about helping. I don't want your help. I just thought you were looking for your next mystery of Hogwarts and I got . . . curious.”

Malgino looked back at him and laughed.

”You want to join me for my Hogwarts adventures?”

”No, I mean I don't think I will much use of you. I am not allowed to use magic without any teachers' supervision,” Fergus blurted out and immediately regretted it.

But to his surprise, Malgino nodded.

”I know.”

”How?”

”Helena told me,” Malgino said and Fergus wondered how Helana knew it, considering only the teachers and Genevieve knew it. However, when Malgino noticed Fergus's confused face, he misunderstood it and started to explain. ”It's because of your condition of difficulty with magic, Fergus. Magic is a dangerous thing if not used properly and oppressing it can result in a destructive problem. If you were oppressing your magic because of the non-magical people then it can still get out of your control, so it's important to have teachers' supervision.”

”You know, a lot about magic,” Fergus said in awe.

Malgino laughed again at his reaction.

”Thank you. Now, are you going to join me or?”

”You will let me?”

”Hogwarts is your home too, Fergus,” Malgino smiled at Fergus and he gave a big smile back. He was happy.

”So I heard there is a secret room here on this floor,” Malgino told Fergus as they started walking.

”Really?”

”Yeah, Madam Helga built it, I heard.”

. . .

And that was the start. Chris watched as snippets of memory passed in quick motions. Malgino helped Fergus again and again and stood up for him, involved him in deep magic discussions, made him feel useful. Fergus was so happy to finally found a friend who treated him as his equal and respected him. Malgino was the first person in Fergus's life who didn't want to protect and hide Fergus, but he inspired him to go out and face the problems. With Malgino, Fergus's magic improved as he felt free and comfortable enough with himself.

Finally, Chris realized why so many smart people got fooled by Malgino.

In these memories, Malgino didn't look scary or someone who wanted to rule the world, someone evil. He looked like a normal good-looking brave, intelligent and curious boy. This was the boy that impressed the founders, the boy everyone in Hogwarts admired, the boy Helena loved, the boy who respected Fergus, and the boy who just loved magic.

Chris still got no clue about destroying Malgino, but she realized that if she had met this young and interesting Malgino, she also would have been friends with him. Because he was a lot like her.

⟦To be continued⟧