Mordred listened carefully as Aurora opened up to him. After she told her story, Mordred could not help but feel guilty. Friends were supposed to share problems with each other, right? And he wasn’t there for her. Mordred looked away and tried to remember the name of Aurora’s brother. “Kryspin, right?” he asked. He then realized that somehow he was spared from problems like Aurora’s. He doesn’t have a brother or a sister, and he always thought that having one could be a lot of fun. The boy was sure that Kryspin meant a lot to Aurora.

She then mentioned her parents fighting. Sure, his parents fight too from time to time, and he reckon they were more dangerous since both are exposed to the dark arts and all that stuff. But he never saw either of them try to curse the other. “Merlin, Aurora had a lot this year.” He thought.

Thinking it was the end, she then mentioned her old best friend returning her letters. Mordred sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. Chloe. He was able to get his mind off her ever since school started. He got so worried with DADA that he was able to put her aside. Thinking that his story about Chloe will make Aurora feel better, he thought maybe he should give it a go.

“You know, I too had a best friend. Her name was Chloe.” he said softly as his mind wandered. “Well, she was my first friend back when we both attended Charms School.” He continued remembering every detail about the place. “Her father’s a wizard, and her mum’s muggle born.” He said the word ‘muggle’ with a little bit of hatred. “We got along well since Day 1, and she became the friend I trusted the most all throughout our stay in Charms School. But before leaving the place for Hogwarts, her father learned about my background, and my mother being related to the Blacks.” Mordred continued as he stared out of the window. “Her father got paranoid and…” he said as his words trailed off.

*“YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER! I WILL NEVER, EVER PERMIT YOU TO BE FRIENDS WITH HER!”*

The words rang inside Mordred’s head as if it just happened moments ago. “He—He told me to stay away from Chloe. He was disgusted with my family.” He said softly. For years now, the Mordaunts are trying their best to get rid of that kind of reputation. Sure they were powerful, but they use that gift to fight the dark arts. Heck, even Mordred’s parents dedicated their lives to stop and capture –what ignorant people will say – their kind.

“She sent her last owl before term started. She said she’s now in America studying at the Salem Institute. I kept sending her letters, but I never got a reply.” He said as he looked at Xchylar in his cage. Everytime Xchylar comes back to Hogwarts after a long flight from America, Mordred noticed that his owl doesn’t seem tired – or hungry upon his return. He realized that maybe, after delivering his letter to Chloe the owl was being taken care of, before heading back to him – without a reply. How he wished he didn’t realize that theory; that just made him feel worse.

“You know Aurora, I’ve decided to just forget about the bad things that happened to me. Maybe you should too.” He said as he watched her release her emotions. “We still have next term. Who knows what’s going to happen in a few months time.” He said with a grin. The boy knew it wasn't going to be easy for her, but Mordred will try his best to boost her morale.

Mordred looked up and sat straight on his seat. "Sure." he said. Now that there's three of them, he thought maybe he could use the Muffliato spell to keep his conversation with Aurora private.