Gideon silently followed Professor Long through the castle. As she marched him to her office, he thought desperately about what had just transpired and how he might explain it. How much had she seen? She must have crossed paths with the Gryffindor boys as they fled. Would she question them? Would they come clean about everything?
No, Greg would never admit to what had happened in the Student Lounge, and thankfully, he had a tight enough hold on his cronies to stop them from doing so. That wouldn't stop them from talking about what had just happened, though.
Setting fire to the door had been the furthest thing from Gideon's mind, and yet it had occurred. Was there any chance it wasn't him? He hadn't intended it. He hadn't even sensed any magic inside him. But would the professor believe that? Would anyone?
Gideon clenched his fists in frustration. Just what was going on? Was it him? Or could it have been connected to Ruby's suspicions? At this rate, he was likely to be expelled before finding the answers he was looking for.
'Take a seat, Mr Maxwell,' said Professor Long as they entered her office. Gideon sat in the chair across from her. 'Please explain yourself.'
Gideon suspected Professor Long might be fishing for information with her ambiguous question, so he asked her to clarify, 'How do you mean, Professor?'
'You understand, don't you, that we are currently investigating several fires at the school?' she said patiently, her expression as statuesque as always. Gideon nodded. 'I came upon you extinguishing a fire, Mr Maxwell. So, I repeat, please explain yourself.'
The professor had seen Gideon putting out the fire but that seemed to be the extent of it. Not entirely sure of what had occurred himself, Gideon decided that being honest was the best recourse in this situation.
'I don't really know what happened, Professor. The door was on fire. There wasn't anyone else around, so I put it out.' Gideon explained.
'I see,' she said calmly. 'So, you didn't start the fire?'
'No,' Gideon answered confidently, and as he did, he realised that on some level he truly believed that.
'I happened to see Mr Stevens and his friends leaving the scene in a hurry. Did one of them start the fire?'
'No,' Gideon said before wondering whether he should have pre-emptively blamed them just in case, 'they didn't do it.'
'But they were there when it started?'
'Yes.'
'Why were you in the Courtyard and not visiting the village?'
'I was in the village, but I left early to have lunch with Professor Hagrid and Ruby Williams. I had just been at Hagrid's hut when I came upon Greg and his friends playing a game.'
'Was anybody else around?'
'Not that I noticed.'
'And why were the Gryffindor boys running away?'
'Maybe because they thought they would get blamed?' Gideon speculated, rather than admitting they were scrambling to get away from him.
'And when I speak with them, will they contradict you?'
Gideon had concluded that they wouldn't risk getting themselves in trouble. 'I don't think so. To be honest, though, I don't get on with those boys. We were the only people around, so they might say that they think I started the fire, especially Greg Stevens. But I don't think they will say that they actually saw me do anything. It really just appeared on its own.'
'I see,' Professor Long repeated. 'Well, I will be speaking with each of them. Should I find their answers differ greatly from yours, I may want to speak with you again. Should I discover you have lied to me, there will be consequences. If what you've told me is true... You'll receive twenty house points for your good deed and excellent command of the Frost Spell.'
Gideon was stunned for a moment before a smile broke across his face. Earning twenty points for Slytherin was the last thing he could have imagined coming of his conversation with the deputy headmistress.
'Please take heed, though, Mr Maxwell,' Professor Long added in a more solemn tone, 'It is not a good time to be traversing the school alone and without witnesses. Particularly, I'm afraid, for students who have already garnered a certain, shall we say, reputation.'
Gideon nodded in understanding. If he hadn't set fire to the door, then he had only his worst enemies to speak to his innocence. He would have to be more careful in the future, especially now that a new possibility had come to mind. Could someone be trying to frame him?
***
Gideon had a tough time sleeping that night. There was just so much on his mind. It was in moments like this that he missed his elf friend, Tolly the most. Tolly would always be happy, eager even, to hear about how Gideon was getting on at school. Now and then, he would even have a token piece of advice that would lift Gideon's mood.
Ruby had been a good friend to him over the past couple of weeks. Gideon decided that when he saw her next, he would confide in her about his family situation—as well as update her on the latest fire. He thought it would be a good gesture of friendship, but mainly, he just needed to talk to someone.
***
'Have you seen? The doors to the courtyard are covered in scorch marks!' Gideon heard a Ravenclaw girl tell her friends over breakfast the next morning.
'Another fire?' one of them replied.
'Looks like it!'
'Maybe it's just a stain?'
'Oh, come on,' another whispered, 'it's bound to be him, isn't it?'
'Who?'
'You-Know-Two!'
Gideon sputtered and choked on a mouthful of cereal, both mildly amused and greatly annoyed that the nickname Greg had invented was spreading so quickly. He put down his spoon and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
'Shush!' someone hissed. 'He's right behind us!'
Taking that as his cue to exit, Gideon rolled his eyes and made to leave, intending to wait in the Entrance Hall for Ruby to appear. As he left the Great Hall, though, he found somebody waiting for him.
'Morning,' said Talia.
'Oh, hi,' said Gideon, caught off guard.
'Your important items?' she said with a wry smile, holding up Gideon's large Honeydukes bag.
Gideon laughed but flushed red with embarrassment as he took the bag, 'Thanks, Talia. I'm sorry for running out on you yesterday.'
'Don't worry about it,' she said coolly.
'I'm not sure how to explain,' Gideon started.
'Then don't,' she added.
'No, I want to. It must have looked weird.'
'Nah. I was more worried about what happened with Professor Long,' Talia said with concern. 'Just as I was coming back from Hogsmeade, I saw her leading you off somewhere. It looked like you might be in trouble?'
'Oh, so you saw what happened?' Gideon questioned.
'Well,' Talia said hesitantly, 'I saw the scorch marks on the door. She doesn't think you did it, does she?'
'I don't think so. I mean, I explained myself and she's looking into it. With the way things are going, though, don't be surprised if I'm kicked out.'
'I'm sure that won't happen,' she assured Gideon.
Just then, a large group of Hufflepuffs appeared, including Ruby. As the group filed into the hall, Ruby stopped to greet the pair, 'Hello, Talia. Feeling better, Gideon?'
'Err, yeah. Do you want to grab breakfast and go to the lounge? Gideon replied. Ruby nodded eagerly. 'Want to join us?' He asked Talia.
'Sure,' she replied casually, but she looked both surprised and pleased to be invited.
A few minutes later, the girls joined Gideon in the empty Student Lounge by the fire. They each brought napkins with toast.
'Oh, it's not bad in here,' Talia remarked. 'You guys come here often?'
'Yeah, it's not used that much since everyone just sticks with their own houses, but since mine won't talk to me anymore...' Gideon explained.
'And mine just don't talk to me...' Ruby jested sheepishly.
'And mine can't talk to me unless I give them permission!' Talia joked. 'What a fun bunch we are. I guess a place like this is handy for outcasts like us!'
The three of them chuckled.
'So, Gideon, tell us about yesterday,' Talia coaxed.
'Did something happen after you got sick?' Ruby asked him.
'No. To be honest, I wasn't sick, Ruby. Something happened and I didn't know how to deal with it.' Gideon explained, 'You see, I went to Hogsmeade yesterday morning to get us some sweets to share at lunch with Hagrid. I bumped into Talia there and we went into one of the shops. That's when I saw my sister.'
'Your sister?' Ruby and Talia echoed in unison.
'Jennifer. I haven't seen her in months. She pretended not to know me, and I guess I freaked out.'
'That explains it,' Talia commented.
'I don't understand. Why would your sister pretend not to know you?' Ruby added.
'Well,' Gideon began, took a breath, and went on to explain some of the craziness he had experienced over the last six months. He told them about attending Middling Academy, the Dementor attack, his hospitalisation, his abandonment, his stay with his aunt, getting his Hogwarts letter, how his father and brother blamed him for their mother's condition, and lastly, that his sister apparently agreed.
When Gideon finally finished, he sat back in his chair and waited for the girls' dumbstruck expressions to change.
Ruby tried to say something, 'Tha-that. That's—'
'Nuts!' Talia interjected.
'Right?' Gideon said. 'Unfortunately, there's more, if you promise to keep it to yourselves?'
'Of course!' the girls said at once.
Already feeling his burden lessening, Gideon was tempted to tell the girls everything. However, he resisted the urge to confess the truth about the Dementor attack and his suspicions about his magic being sealed, and how he had been responsible for his mother's condition, although, unknowingly, or about the fight with the Gryffindors.
After drawing breath once more, careful not to reveal Ruby's secret, he told them about the fires and how he worried he was starting them, about the nightmare the headmistress had removed, and about the latest fire in the courtyard and Professor Long's interrogation.
'Wow, that's an awful lot to take in, Gideon,' Ruby whispered. 'I'm so sorry about your mum and your family. I can't even imagine...'
'I can't believe Professor Maxwell is your dad!' Talia exclaimed. 'He barely acknowledges you in class!'
'It must be difficult, but I'm sure they'll come around eventually, Gideon. It doesn't matter if you're not technically related, you're still family! Besides, your auntie sounds wonderful.'
Gideon nodded in agreement and smiled in thanks. He felt so much better now that he had lightened his heavy load.
After about a minute of silence, Talia summarised, 'So, your family blame you for your mum's condition, and because of that and the few small fires you know you've started, you think they may be right and that you may be responsible for the others?'
'Something like that,' Gideon confirmed.
'But yesterday's fire, the Halloween incident, the Charms classroom—and the one that happened in here—are all question marks.' Ruby clarified.
Gideon nodded again.
'Well, I'm convinced there's something else going on, we just have to find out what!' Ruby asserted.
'Me too,' Talia agreed. 'Between the two of us, we can keep an eye on you in and out of classes and we can keep an eye out for other possibilities. When we're not around, make sure you're with the Slytherins. You can't be found alone in suspicious circumstances again!'
A silent pact was formed between the three of them and the mood lightened.
'Now,' Talia stated, eyeing Gideon's Honeydukes bag, 'on to more important matters!'
***
Gideon, spent much of the day with Ruby and Talia, talking, laughing, and sampling the many delectable treats that he had purchased in Hogsmeade. They enjoyed the special effects sweets in particular, like the Fizzing Whizzbees that made you hover slightly off the ground, the Animalts, which temporarily changed your voice into calls of the wild, and the Choo Chews, which gave you a burst of energy but made smoke billow from your ears like that of a steam engine.
Ruby was happy to hear Talia had a cat and that she would bring him along the next time they got together. Talia was interested to hear more about Gideon's favourite bands, knowing that they were both fans of The Stargazers. They turned out to have similar tastes in music.
Gideon and Talia had only really exchanged small talk before now, so it was nice to learn more about her. Natalia Dinescu was raised in Romania but had been born in Britain to a Welsh mother and a Romanian father. She had also been accepted to her father's alma mater, Durmstrang Institute, but had chosen to come to Hogwarts.
This reminded Gideon about his own mysterious second school offer for the first time in months. In Talia's case, the offers to both Hogwarts and Durmstrang seemed to be a result of her dual citizenship. Why then, he wondered, had Durmstrang sent him an offer letter?
Gideon's train of thought was interrupted by Talia announcing she hadn't fed her cat. Ruby added that she had homework to complete. They agreed that they had enjoyed themselves and made plans to meet for lunch the following day.
***
Still in a good mood, Gideon headed down to breakfast on Monday in high spirits. He sat down at the end of the Slytherin table and filled his plate with a generous serving of scrambled egg, beans, and sausages, unaware that his housemates were keeping a further distance from him than usual.
'Say something!' he heard someone urge as he took a mouthful of beans. It was Vinny Romano, pestering his fellow Slytherins, 'Wimps! If you aren't going to confront him, then I will! Oi, Gideon! It's you, isn't it?'
Gideon sighed and asked drolly, 'What have I done now?'
'Killed your mum for a start!' Vinny snapped loudly.
Gideon's good mood vanished in an instant and was replaced by dread. The entire room seemed to have frozen upon hearing Vinny's words as if everyone was waiting for Gideon's response. Did Vinny somehow know about the Dementor attack? Had his mother's condition worsened without his knowledge?
'Wha-what are you talking about?' Gideon asked, his heart starting to beat fast in his chest.
'This! Admit it, it's about you!' Vinny snapped, tossing Gideon the morning's copy of the Daily Prophet.
The cover story featured a moving picture of what appeared to be the Minister for Magic, Jonathan Grimsby and several other people fighting their way through a swarm of reporters and photographers.
MINISTRY SCANDAL EXPOSED: DARK MAGIC INCIDENT COVERED UP! THE BOY WHO DIED — ALIVE! AND DANGEROUS?
Today, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal details of a Ministry scandal of unprecedented proportions.
The Ministry-led cover-up surrounds the mysterious and tragic Class Four incident of 11 April 2010. Remembered for its long list of victims, including a young woman and her infant son, the mysterious explosion that involved the presence of dark magic went unsolved—until now.
The Ministry reported the high-exposure event as the work of an unidentified dark wizard, who also died at the scene. We can now reveal that while an unidentified wizard was among the victims, the true source of the devastating magical event was in fact the infant child listed among the deceased as Gideon Drake, son of fellow victim, Gwendoline Drake.
After an attempted kidnapping by the unnamed wizard, the infant released a devastating burst of dark magic, claiming the lives of countless Muggles as well as his own mother. Worse still, baby Gideon did not die in the explosion as previously reported. He is alive and well, and currently attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The previous Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, is rumoured to have covered up the boy's involvement to avoid public panic during the years of recovery following the downfall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Until now, the boy's existence was known only to a handful of Ministry employees, including his assigned legal advocate, Jonathan Grimsby.
Afraid of the boy's potential, Minister Shacklebolt held a secret hearing and approved the dangerous, unethical, and arguably unlawful sealing of the boy's magic. Since then, he has lived among us as a Squib, and the adoptive son of none other than this reporter's own brother, Marcus Maxwell, who was until recently, Head of the Ministry's Auror Office (Read more on page 3).
Sadly, it seems history was doomed to repeat itself. Following another covered-up incident involving Dementors in Central London (Read more on page 4), the boy's sealed magic was released this summer. The ensuing eruption of dark magic was able to destroy a Dementor, but also left the boy's adoptive mother, Sarah Maxwell in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. It's unknown if she will recover or meet the same fate as her son's birth mother.
The offices of the Ministry and Shacklebolt have so far declined to comment but the Prophet will be pursuing this story aggressively until the magical community is given answers. Was Minister Granger-Weasley made aware of the cover-up? Were any laws broken by those involved? Does Gideon Drake pose a danger to himself or others now that his magic has been unsealed? If so, what should be done about it? For the answers to these questions and more, follow our continuing coverage...
Gideon was stunned. The newspaper shook in his hands as he read in disbelief. It was all here. All of his secrets. The ones he had been hiding and the ones he had been searching for. After all his hours of research in the library and his plans to break into the Restricted Section, the answers were here in black and white for all the world to see.
He finally knew what had happened to his magic. As Gideon had suspected, it was sealed when he was a baby. But it was sealed because he had killed people. He had killed Gwendoline Drake, his own mother. It was beyond anything he could have imagined. He was a murderer, and now everyone would know it.
Gideon felt numb. He was completely unaware of what was happening around him. All he could hear was white noise and the pounding of his heart. He looked to the top of the article to confirm his fear. The by-line read, "by Caroline Maxwell". There it was. After his sister's recent snubbing and now his aunt's betrayal, he was officially, and perhaps justifiably, alone.
Many students around the room were on their feet. Gideon faintly recognised the faces of Talia, Ruby, Verity, Greg, Jason, Alex, Dorian, Eoin, Sasha, Emma, Cheryl, Brendan and even some staff among them, all looking in his direction with varying levels of concern, intrigue, fear or revulsion.
Professor Voronov was making his way over to the Slytherin table and beyond him, seated at the staff table was Professor Maxwell, Gideon's father. For the first time in recent memory, he made eye contact with Gideon over his own copy of the Prophet.
'Well? It is you, isn't it, freak?' Vinny demanded, his words cutting through the din.
Before Gideon knew it, he was on his feet. The sudden gesture caused Vinny, among others, to flinch. 'Yes, it's me!' Gideon roared defiantly, meeting his father's eyes once more. 'I am Gideon Drake!'