anything in the wardrobe. However, he opened the metal door and was taken by surprise. Oscar had really thought of everything. He thought to himself as he saw the white gambeson, cut in the style of an Ed’heer uniform and reinforced at the shoulders, elbows and chest with pieces of thick leather. In addition to the outer garment, all the other items of armour were laid out on the shelf beside it: trousers made of thick fabric, a plain shirt, long leather gloves, greaves and a helmet. At the bottom of the wardrobe stood a pair of high boots made of reinforced leather. All the items were immaculately white, with blue stitching and the lining of the gambeson.
Draco set about changing, trying not to notice that the three others in their team had just finished and left, leaving him alone with the elf. The opportunity presented itself, practically begging for a conversation to begin.
‘Have I offended them in some way?’ he blurted out, setting Gler’thys down beside the wardrobe.
‘Don’t take it personally. They react like that to every newcomer.’ The calm voice seemed to encourage him to believe the other person. ‘Actually, there’s a reason for it.’
‘I wonder what it is.’ He didn’t want it to sound blunt, but he didn’t seem to have managed it. ‘Sorry, Zane, I shouldn’t have asked.’
‘You’ll probably find out at the first opportunity anyway.’ A quiet sigh seemed strangely fitting for the elf. ‘In our first year, a new student joined our group. Somewhere around the middle of the term. As we were short of a fifth member, Carter assigned him to us. He was having a bit of trouble keeping up with the material, so Cedric made it a point of honour to help him. That’s how we spent half a year.’ Another sigh, this time full of disappointment. ‘We thought we’d become friends and got on well together. The five of us passed the year and the holidays came, and then came the shock. Suddenly, our supposed friend turned out to be Frank Kerling’s loyal lackey. He’s
