Gideon felt his stomach drop to the floor. Perhaps he shouldn’t be here right now? But then, what was he worried for? He hadn’t done this. Had he? No, there was no conceivable way he could have caused this fire. Would people believe that, though, so soon after the Prophet exposé?

‘It wasn’t me!’ Gideon said defiantly as the surrounding students’ heads spun in his direction. ‘I was with you guys in the dorm when we heard the bell, remember?’

‘That’s true. He woke up when we did,’ Dorian reasoned.

‘Maybe he did it in his sleep, like with the curtains?’ Gio suggested.

Gideon remembered Professor Voronov’s thoughts on the matter and stated, ‘Accidentally starting a small fire nearby because of a nightmare is different from this. I was sleeping fine last night, and the bell tower is on the other side of the school!’

Gio's brow creased as though he was trying to find a flaw in Gideon's logic.

‘He must have used dark magic!’ said a voice in the crowd. Gideon rolled his eyes.

‘Now, really, you should all be getting along to the Great Hall for Breakfast,’ announced a different voice nervously.

‘It’s Professor Blanchard,’ Eoin informed them from above. ‘Doesn’t look like anyone’s listening to him, though. Uh-oh, leme down, quick!’

‘To the Great Hall, all of you! NOW!’ roared Professor Long threateningly, who had arrived on the scene to the crowd of onlookers’ great shock.

A much more effective disciplinarian than the Muggle Studies teacher, Professor Long’s order caused the throng of students to scatter immediately, and Eoin to fall suddenly from the air. He landed in a heap on top of Gideon and the others, but they quickly got to their feet and joined the stampede.

***

Breakfast was an uncomfortable affair, more so than usual. Professor Dandridge announced the latest fire and that the area around the bell tower was now out of bounds. Gideon tried his best to look like he was listening to her intently, all the while knowing that most of the school was staring daggers in his direction.

The Headmistress announced that teachers would now be patrolling the corridors at night. She finished by reminding students to report suspicious activity to their Heads of House and warning that the culprits as well as anybody found to have information about the vandalism, would now almost certainly face expulsion.

Gideon gulped at this point, but he wasn't sure why. On one hand, he had never been more confident that he hadn't set one of the mysterious fires. On the other, he didn't know much about the dark magic inside of him. Could it possibly be breaking free while he was unconscious?

Luckily, Gideon had Ruby for company that morning. They chatted quietly all through Ancient Runes, where they had learned it was best to start working on the list of instructions on the blackboard right away, instead of waiting until Professor Rebus had finished lecturing them about his past exploits.

In History of Magic, she continued to reassure him after filling the now abandoned seat next to him. Apparently, Ruby had one of her strange feelings and she was somehow sure that the bell tower fire was not connected to Gideon, ‘I woke up last night, too, about ten minutes before the bell sounded. It just felt different. Horrible actually.’

‘What if,’ Gideon began with trepidation, ‘what you’re sensing is my dark magic?’

He had decided to share that much with Ruby and Talia, as well as the fact that he would be meeting with Professor Voronov weekly as a condition of the Board of Governors.

‘No,’ she answered simply.

‘How can you be sure?’

‘Well, because I’ve sensed that before. You know, the night of the lounge fire.’

‘Oh…’ Gideon replied, feeling a little guilty. Neither of them had admitted to the other that they knew the truth about that night. ‘I should have told you—’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ she told him comfortingly, ‘we were still getting to know each other.’

Gideon smiled warmly. ‘So, you still feel like there’s something else going on, and last night’s fire was part of it?’

‘That’s the impression I’m getting.’

At lunchtime, they joined Talia in the Student Lounge, whom they filled in. She seemed as bothered as Gideon. 'So, who is starting these other fires?’ she asked Ruby.

‘All I know is what their magic felt like,’ Ruby explained. ‘I think so anyway.’

Talia looked uncomfortable. ‘Do you think you would recognise it if they were close by?’ she suggested.

‘I don’t think so. Some Seer I am…’ Ruby disparaged.

‘Don’t say that!’ Gideon objected. ‘Without you, I’d probably have driven myself barmy! I just wish all this made more sense.’

***

Gideon and Talia’s Care of Magical Creatures lesson was far less enjoyable than the previous one with the Crups.

‘Flobberworms!’ Professor Hagrid announced. ‘They’re no fun but they’re on the syllabus, so we got ter learn about em. Break into yer pairs and make note of the foods they will or won’t eat. I’ve got tubs of different veggies, bugs, meats and grains for yeh ter try over here.’

The large maggot-like creatures were repellent. As Gideon dropped a bit of lettuce in front of one, he contemplated that they must have their uses, but he couldn’t imagine what those might be. Professor Hagrid saved that for their homework.

‘You seem a bit off,’ Gideon commented, noticing Talia was quieter than usual ‘People aren’t bothering you for hanging around with me, are they?’

‘Huh?’ she responded absent-mindedly. ‘No, no. They wouldn’t dare, and I wouldn’t care if they did. I’m just worried. News of the fires is bound to reach the Prophet soon. They’ll probably blame you.’

‘I know. I guess I’ll have to deal with it when it happens.’

‘No. There has to be something we can do!’

‘Like what?’

'Well, Ruby's been trying extra hard in Divination. Her teacher sounds like a crackpot, but she's been doing a lot of reading and practising techniques on her own.’

‘She has?’ Gideon asked with a tone of surprise.

‘Yeah. What would one of the spy guys or detectives from your books do in this situation?’

‘Well, I suppose they would start by investigating the scene—’

‘Let’s do that!’ Talia proposed eagerly.

‘You can’t be serious?’ Gideon questioned with a smirk.

Talia was serious, though. She spent their free period coming up with ideas and spells to distract guards. Then, she had them visit rooms close to the bell tower to “scout the area”, as she put it.

‘Right, there’s no guard, so there must be a barrier,’ Talia surmised. ‘I can handle that.’

‘You can?’ Gideon asked incredulously.

‘Well, probably. The magic they teach us here is fine and all, but I like to research more useful spells. We’ll wait until everyone heads to dinner and then make our move,’ Talia instructed.

When six PM arrived, they emerged from the empty classroom they had been hiding in and walked over to the bell tower, looking every which way to check that the coast was clear. Talia fished out some small pebbles from her robes and tossed them at the door. They hit without any apparent obstruction.

‘Hmm. It’s not a physical barrier,’ she commented, then pointed her wand and said, ‘Obice Revelio.’

‘What’s wrong?’ Gideon asked.

‘Nothing. No response,’ Talia replied quizzically. ‘I don’t think there is a barrier.’

Gideon kept looking around nervously while Talia seemed in no rush. ‘Should we go around and through the hole in the wall?’ he suggested.

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Talia waved her wand ahead of her and approached the door. ‘I don’t think we need to. Aberto,’ she said, and the tower door opened. ‘No defences? Oh, well. Go on, be quick. I’ll keep an eye out and signal if you need to come out.’

‘Me?’ Gideon began to protest but thought better of it considering they were breaking rules and could be discovered at any moment. He sighed, snuck inside and closed the door behind him.

Light poured into the high cylindrical tower from the hole in the wall, but otherwise, it was relatively dark. There wasn't much space to move around owing to the large bell and the piles of wooden stairs and rafters that had fallen from above.

‘Well, well, well,’ announced a voice that made Gideon’s heart leap into his throat. As if having a déjà vu, he twisted around to find Alex Grimsby.

‘You, again! What are you doing here?’ Gideon hissed as his heart attempted to recover from the fright.

‘I think the more important question is, what are you doing here?’ Alex retorted, his arms folded and his eyebrows narrowing in suspicion under his shaggy blonde fringe. ‘Returning to the scene of the crime? Classic criminal behaviour!’

‘The opposite! I’m here to find out who really did this. No wonder there was no barrier… Speaking of returning to the crime, how do I know it wasn’t you?’ Gideon accused.

‘Hardly. I just thought I’d give the teachers a helping hand, seeing as how they’re having trouble finding any evidence on you that will stick.’

‘I see. Well, while I’m sure they’ll be glad to have your help, Poirot, you’re a little off your game. Unless you found something, that is?’

‘Nope. Looks like you covered your tracks pretty well. It’s clear where you started the fire, though. Lumos! The scorch marks begin here and climb upward,’ Alex said pointing his lit wand at the wall.

‘What kind of fire moves up stone?’ Gideon wondered aloud.

‘The kind that’s powered by dark magic, I guess. You tell me?’ Alex replied.

Ignoring the Gryffindor boy’s continued provocations, Gideon lit his own wand to illuminate the scorch marks and traced them downward. ‘I can’t see with all the wood in the way. Stand back,’ Gideon told Alex

‘Why? What are you doing?’ the other boy questioned before Gideon pointed his wand at the rubble.

‘Reducto!’ Gideon commanded, remembering a curse he had come across during his wasted hours in the library. The thick beams were reduced to splinters.

‘Are you mad?’ snapped Alex. ‘We haven’t learned how to use a spell as strong as that yet! You could have dislodged something and brought the whole place down on us, or gotten us caught!’

‘Then leave,’ Gideon told him as he continued searching the area he had cleared.

‘I think I’ll do just that!’ Alex announced huffily and left through the tower door. As he did, the light that shone in from the ajar door briefly hit something that caught Gideon’s eye. Raising his wand higher and leaning further over, he spotted it. Just visible in the shadow of the fallen bell, was a gouge in the stone floor.

From one angle it looked like a simple crack in the masonry, but as Gideon looked at it from another, he realised it had a clear shape. A square with an ‘X’?

Just then, Gideon was startled by what sounded like a cannon firing outside. Assuming this was Talia’s idea of a signal, Gideon rushed to the door and out of the tower. Spotting his accomplice at the end of the corridor, grinning guiltily and beckoning him towards her, he broke into a run and they fled the scene.

***

The small shape Gideon had seen etched into the tower floor resembled a rune, one he was sure he had seen somewhere before. Then again, Ancient Runes was far from his best subject, and he often confused the innumerable pictograms. Even so, he spent all his free time over the next week or so in the library, going over the books he had read during his curse mark research and re-reading his Ancient Runes textbook.

The library had once again become a haven from the glares, jeers—and occasional jinxes—people shot at Gideon in the corridors, not counting those of Madam Pince. He had enlisted Ruby and Talia’s help, but Talia didn’t take Ancient Runes and was getting bored of searching.

‘You’re sure it was a rune?’ she asked exasperatedly for the tenth time.

‘No,’ Gideon said impatiently, ‘but I know I’ve seen it somewhere before and what else could it be?’

‘Maybe it was just a crack in the floor?’ she mumbled. ‘How likely is it that the person who started the fire would leave a clue behind? Unless that pretty boy put it there?’

‘It was your idea to look for clues!’ Gideon insisted with a guffaw, before checking that the librarian wasn’t prowling for noisemakers. ‘Besides, Alex left before I found it.’

‘Why can’t we just ask someone, then? Like Madam Pince? Or your runes teacher, Rebus?’

‘Because we’re not supposed to know about it—if it means anything at all. Plus, if it is a rune, we don’t know who might have put it there or why. There’s even a chance Professor Rebus might be involved. We just don’t know enough!’

‘Alright, calm down, we just need a break,’ Ruby whispered diplomatically. ‘We’ll keep searching for one more hour, but tomorrow we’re spending the day Hogsmeade!’

***

The next Hogsmeade trip had arrived as suddenly as the snow, which now covered the castle, the grounds, and the forest canopy in a blanket of pure white. It looked to Gideon like a magical winter wonderland. He was looking forward to the visit, especially now he had friends to enjoy it with. Before that, though, he had his second private lesson with Professor Voronov.

Gideon had forgotten about their first meeting, having gotten caught up in the excitement of their detective work the previous Friday. He had run flat-out from the Common Room to the professor’s office and apologised profusely after remembering where he was supposed to have been at five PM.

The professor made time for him but warned that it couldn't happen again, or the Board of Governors might use it as evidence of non-compliance with their conditions. That evening they had simply talked about how Gideon had settled back in and any problems he had experienced. Then, Professor Voronov measured his magic output using an Occurio.

This week, however, Gideon expected there would be more to their meeting. After talking and measuring his magic, which was again at a high but “acceptable” level, the professor taught him a basic magical meditation technique to calm the mind, body and even one’s magic circulation.

Professor Voronov sent Gideon away with the task of researching at least five other techniques, practising them, and identifying one that worked best for him. Gideon was not happy to discover that his extra lessons came with homework.

***

After breakfast, an excited Gideon met Talia and Ruby in the Entrance Hall, and they left for Hogsmeade wearing their warmest Muggle clothes under their cloaks, gloves, and scarves. He mused for a moment about how well they were getting along despite their clear differences in personality, not to mention style.

If you didn't count her combat boots, Talia looked almost as she usually did, dressed all in black, right down to her nail varnish. Ruby, on the other hand, wore a pink hoodie, white jeans and flower-patterned high-tops. Gideon had thrown on a striped turtleneck, cargo trousers and trainers.

They didn’t have much of an opportunity to talk on the way to the village owing to the strong wind and snow. Because of that, when they arrived, Ruby led them straight to Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop, where they could get a hot drink to warm up before braving the weather to visit the other stores.

Gideon couldn’t help but cringe upon seeing the cramped little shop. The walls were tackily decorated in pastels and covered with frills and bows. The furniture was gaudy and draped with lacy tablecloths and napkins. It was better than being out in the cold, though, and luckily, they got the last free table.

As it turned out, Madam Puddifoot made a mean cup of hot chocolate, which Gideon and Ruby each savoured while Talia sipped on coffee, which she drank black, of course. After finishing their drinks and discussing where they wanted to go, they could no longer ignore the shivering people eyeing their seats enviously through the shop window.

They paid Madam Puddifoot and headed to the Hogsmeade branch of Ollivanders wand shop. Gideon had explained that he brought his old wand to sell with the intention of topping up his coin pouch, seeing as he didn’t want to ask his aunt for anything. There wasn’t a second-hand shop in the village, but Ruby suggested the wandmakers might be interested.

Thankfully, after a glance through the store window, it didn’t look like the Ollivanders ran this store personally. Gideon did not wish to run into Mr Ollivander Senior. He didn’t particularly want to see his son, the man who had sent him his wand for that matter, at least not with others present.

A sharp-looking witch with high cheekbones and a tightly pulled ponytail greeted them as they entered. She offered Gideon four Galleons for his battered wand and not a Knut more. It was a Galleon less than he had paid for it, but the shopkeeper said she could only make use of its core, the unicorn hair that was protruding from the end.

‘Not bad considering I never did get a spell out of it,’ he told the girls as he pocketed the wizard money.

‘Anything else?’ the shopkeeper asked. ‘Can I offer you a free wand appraisal? I’ll let you know of any problems or recommendations.’

‘Free?’ Talia questioned with a raised eyebrow. ‘Sure.’ She handed over a sleek, black-coloured wand.

The woman examined it carefully, waved it through the air and it emitted red sparks. ’Hmm,’ she said admiringly, ‘Eleven and a half inches long. Ebony. Dragon Heartstring. Powerful, if not a little temperamental. Could use some polishing. We have some on offer at the moment.’

Talia looked a little put-out but glanced at the selection of wand polish and wax on a nearby shelf. Gideon figured the appraisal was a sales tactic, but before he could say anything, Ruby had handed hers over. In contrast to Talia’s, Ruby’s wand was almost white.

‘How lovely,’ the shopkeeper commented.

'It was my great grandma's,' Ruby whispered affectionately.

‘Silver lime, of course, with unicorn hair. Ten and a quarter inches,’ the woman said brightly, then with a wave, scattered flower petals over the counter. ‘You look after it well, but the wood has aged. You may want to consider transplanting the core into a new wand soon. It’s a service we offer, and we can guarantee the final product suits you or your money back.’

‘I’ll think about it,’ Ruby said timidly.

The shopkeeper, Talia and Ruby all turned to Gideon. He reluctantly handed over his wand, guessing the woman wouldn’t be able to identify the core.

‘Oh? Acacia? Thirteen inches? Unusual. And…’ with a wave, a trail of shimmering silvery ripples formed in the air. ‘Where did you purchase this wand, young man?’

‘Ollivanders, in London,’ Gideon stated.

‘The core?’ she questioned with her brow furrowed.

‘A feather,’ Gideon answered elusively, then before the witch could quiz him further, he said, ‘Shall we get going? I’ve got some polish I can lend you, Talia.’

‘What was that about?’ Talia asked Gideon as they left the wandmakers.

‘What?’ Gideon replied innocently.

‘Why did she think your wand was odd, Gideon?’ Ruby expanded.

‘Dunno,’ he said, shrugging his shoulders while lying to his friends. Gideon told himself that the mysterious Caladrius feather core seemed more special if it was a secret. However, he had also developed a niggling concern since learning of his dual magic sources.

What if his wand hadn’t chosen him, after all? Perhaps it had been attracted to what was dwelling inside of him? Perhaps the rare wand had been waiting in Ollivanders all that time for “something dark” to come along?

‘Just a minute,’ said Ruby, gesturing to The Magic Neep greengrocer, ‘I didn’t see this morning’s Prophet.’

Shivering and hoping Ruby would hurry, Gideon peered into the small shop’s window. For a moment, he thought he had caught a particularly strong reflection in the glass. However, just beyond it was a rack of newspapers featuring a close-up of Gideon. The headline below read:

GIDEON DRAKE: THE HOGWARTS ARSONIST?