Mischievous Flames

The trio jumped and searched for the source of the new voice that joined the conversation.

"Calcifer!" Barnaby turned and looked toward the fireplace with an annoyed expression.

The three first-year students turned their gazes to the fire and watched in astonishment as two eyes and a mouth with a tongue of fire appeared among the flames.

"Hey, if you're going to tell the story, at least don't beat around the bush," said the fire demon.

"Is that normal in the magical world too?" Harry leaned over and asked Ron in a whisper, who shook his head firmly.

"Ugh," Barnaby ran a hand over his face in frustration. "Alright, but I'll just give you a summary. Getting into details would be too cumbersome, and you still need to get back to the castle."

Seeing the three nod, Barnaby settled in and thought for a moment.

"You're aware of my friends, right?" Barnaby gestured toward Calcifer to emphasize his point, who was grabbing a piece of firewood from the side with his tiny fire arms. "A common misconception is that they're just beasts or strange creatures, but it's more accurate to say that I deal with many of them, as long as they're not human."

"Did Fred and George play a prank that went wrong?" Ron shook his head knowingly.

"Very wrong," Calcifer emphasized.

"Look, I was receiving a visit from Tali, who was on her pilgrimage and..." Seeing their blank expressions, he felt the need to explain further. "Tali is a Quarian. Think of her as a person who has to wear a full-body suit to avoid getting sick, as even a common cold could kill her."

"So, it's like she has mysophobia," Hermione nodded in understanding.

"No, you're wrong," Barnaby corrected Hermione. "She's not afraid of germs, bacteria, dirt, or viruses. It's just that her immune system is extremely weak, so she has to be cautious," he clarified to highlight the difference. "It so happened that the twins were curious about who was under the mask, so they threw some small firecrackers nearby to startle her. They succeeded, but in the process, several sparks landed on the suit, making holes in it."

The trio began to see the problem in the story.

"Tali realized immediately and patched the holes with an emergency kit, but the damage was done, and she started getting sick," Barnaby continued. "The twins realized something was wrong and ran to get a teacher, but I stayed to take care of Tali."

"She spent five days with a fever, and I had to brew a ton of potions!" Calcifer added from the side. "We had to ventilate the house for two days after she recovered and left to get rid of the bitter smell of the medicines."

"By Merlin's beard," Ron exclaimed quietly. "I'm sure my parents don't know about this, otherwise, they'd have punished the twins for years."

"Yes, the headmaster decided that since it was just a 'prank' and they had already lost a lot of house points, it wasn't necessary to inform your parents," Barnaby said with a rather cold expression when Dumbledore was mentioned.

Harry noticed this detail. The comment Barnaby made in front of the wand shop had been at the back of his mind, but during his time at the castle, Dumbledore seemed to behave like the kindly grandfather he never had, and his reputation seemed impeccable.

But Barnaby didn't seem particularly fond of the headmaster, and from what he just heard, it seemed Dumbledore didn't take Tali's severe illness very seriously.

That was wrong.

"Okay, isn't anyone going to ask about the giant toad that practically kidnapped Trevor?" Hermione couldn't contain herself any longer. "Also, why does the school need so much toad oil? The castle's torches are magical!"

"You know, Hermione, 'magic is magic' isn't the answer to everything," Barnaby snapped out of his cold demeanor and turned to look at her. "It's true that the torches are magical, but not in the way you probably think. They can't just burn forever for no reason."

"How do they work then?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes and speaking in a sharp tone.

Barnaby shook his head inwardly; the girl simply didn't learn and continued to be inquisitive and rude.

"Each torch has multiple enchantments, true, but they still need to replenish the fuel to burn," he explained as he got up to get something to eat. "Consumption reduction, odor elimination, flame prolongation, and similar spells are some of the enchantments they have. Would you like some rock cakes for the way back?"

He pulled out a bag of the said sweets and offered it while casually taking one with his other hand and biting into it.

Crunch! Crunch!

"Mmm, they're still too soft," Barnaby commented regretfully as he took another bite, savoring it.

"Hey, give me one!" Calcifer exclaimed enviously.

Barnaby tossed a rock cake to the fire demon, whose flames turned more blue and purple after swallowing the rock cake.

As Hermione was preparing to press further, the wall cabinet suddenly burst open, and a short man with goat legs and a red scarf around his neck ran out with a panicked expression.

"Mr. Tumnus?" Barnaby looked at the frantic faun in surprise.

"Barnaby, it's coming!" Having found the person he was looking for, he hurried to deliver the message while running around in circles nervously. "Oh, by Aslan, it's about to be born!"

The next thing the trio knew, they were flying out of the cabin as Barnaby hurriedly bid them farewell.

"Hey, the cakes!" Ron complained.

A bag flew out of the window and hit Ron in the face, knocking him onto the grass.

Harry winced at the sound of the impact and moved to help his friend up, only to find Ron unconscious.

Hermione stared intently at the cabin and got up from the ground to try to re-enter, but the door was locked, and the interior seemed to have darkened completely when she looked through the windows.

Barnaby, on his part, after ensuring the surroundings, hurried into the wardrobe.

After pushing through some clothes, a vast expanse of land came into view, with a beautiful landscape he ignored as he ran up a familiar path, where an ancient-looking tree stood with its branches bending downward and not a single leaf on them.

He circled the tree and descended some stairs to the lower area, inside a cave where the roots were exposed. Among all of them, one seemed to hold an egg grown from the root itself, which was starting to crack and drip while something moved inside.