The Gathering: The New Order of Merlin Book 1

19. One secret, two secrets, three secrets...

   Merlin strolled through the Hogwarts hallway, looking out the windows towards the grounds, contemplating if he wanted to go outside or back to his dorm. He felt stir-crazy from being cooped up in dingy classrooms every day, but an afternoon nap sounded inviting.

The first week at Hogwarts was going smoothly. He got to introduce himself to Harry, though the boy was always too busy to talk. Dumbledore's reasoning was that too many people would start asking questions if Merlin showed up in the second year. As a first-year student, he was just one of many, not worth noticing. Dumbledore didn't realize just how much of a difference it made to not share classes and dorm with Harry, but it was too late to change that now. Merlin had to make it work.

As part of the blending-in act, Merlin tried to pretend to not know magic but had a hard time gauging just how much he should fake it. At first, he tried to use Jack as his guide, but with the variety of random nonverbal spells he was casting, Jack was not the right child to use as a "normal" baseline. Colin proved to be a much better example of how a first-year student should struggle or succeed, so Merlin watched him closely and tried to recreate his results. He might have overdone it in Transfiguration.

His thoughts were interrupted as he collided with a mass of dark robes and landed on his butt painfully. His bookbag flew up while its contents fell around him.

"Watch where you're going, ear-head," sneered a Slytherin boy while two very large boys stood on his sides like bodyguards. His name was Draco Malfoy, as Merlin had learned, the same pale-haired boy that bothered Harry in the Diagon Alley bookstore.

"Ear-head. That's a good one, Malfoy," chuckled the fat gooney. "'Cause his ears are as big as his head."

"Another Gryffinloser," Malfoy said while kicking away Merlin's bag. "They'll let anyone in that House."

'Remember why you're doing this,' Merlin told himself. 'It's all for Harry.'

"Sorry. My bad." He tried to get up, and one of the large boys kicked his arm away, making him drop to the ground again.

"Oops," the boy said innocently while keeping his foot ready to kick Merlin's hand, should he attempt it again. "He can't get up."

Merlin's mind started swirling with ideas of how he could retaliate without revealing himself. He could have some fun with it or create an inconspicuous distraction. Dumbledore would prefer the latter, but he wasn't the one being humiliated on the floor by three prats.

"Leave him alone," Jack's familiar voice called out from behind the Slytherins.

He went around the three bullies and extended a hand to Merlin.

Malfoy was the first to recover from the interruption.

"Oh, wait," he mocked, pointing out Jack to his bodyguards. "Elsa is here to save the day."

His goonies cackled like hyenas, and Merlin worried about how Jack was going to react to the taunt, but Jack put a lopsided smile on his face and faced Malfoy.

"Was that supposed to be funny? I'll tell you what's funny, Malfoy. Your face."

Malfoy's sneer turned into a venomous scowl, and he lunged at Jack but slipped, on what, Merlin wasn't sure. As he fell backwards with flailing arms, Merlin took that as his cue. He locked his eyes on the feet of the two large boys and commanded their shoelaces to tie to each other, and they promptly fell down with very unmanly shrieks.

The three Slytherins writhed on the floor while Jack picked up Merlin's books. Malfoy got up first and shook the dust off his robes.

"You don't want to make an enemy out of me, freak." Without his bodyguards to back him up, his threat didn't sound confident. "Wait till my father hears about this."