Gideon was embarrassed to be taken to the Hospital Wing on a floating stretcher, but the headmistress insisted that he, Alex and Talia all do so. Truthfully, he didn't think he could have made the journey under his own power. He expected the same was true of Talia. They had both used a lot of magic. Alex probably could have managed the journey, but he had the worst injury.

When they reached the hospital, Madam Longbottom was awake and ready. The three of them were lowered to beds side by side and she began tending to them immediately.

‘I’m fine, just tired,’ Gideon insisted as she poked and prodded him with her wand, ‘See to Alex’s arm first.’

‘You’re in shock, young man,’ the matron advised, ‘I expect you don’t realise it, but you are covered in burns and cuts. Professor Dandridge may have administered first-aid, but you are far from “fine”. Not to mention, you have once again dangerously overexerted your magic system!’

She glared at him reproachfully, then asked in a softer tone with her cheeks reddening, ‘Are all of the teachers unharmed? Professor Keane, Professor Voronov and the others?’

‘Professor Longbottom and the others are fine,’ Gideon assured the worried wife.

‘Oh? Oh, good. Here, drink these and I’ll see to your friend,’ she said, handing Gideon a magical restorative he had once tasted before under the matron’s care, and a second potion he hadn’t thought to ask about before swallowing, which turned out to be a strong sleeping draught.

***

When Gideon awoke, the hint of light that was coming in through the windows suggested it was around dawn. Apparently, his dark magic had recovered enough to interfere with the effect of the sleeping potion. In the relative darkness, he could just about make out somebody sitting in a chair beside his bed. Their torso was slumped over his legs.

When he lifted his neck off his pillow to get a better look, a damp washcloth slid off his forehead, and Gideon recalled something Tolly had once told him. ‘Dad?’ he asked hesitantly.

The man stirred and sat up. ‘What is it? Are you hurt?’ he asked with a definite note of concern in his voice.

‘N-no. I’m fine. I just…’ Gideon started. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘I-I just wanted to make sure you were okay,’ Professor Maxwell said. ‘I was worried.’

Gideon didn’t know what to make of his father’s words. This was the first time they had spoken in quite a while, not counting his rebukes and criticisms in Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons.

‘Are you okay?’ Gideon asked. ‘I couldn’t believe how you fought that monster.’

‘I’m just fine. It will take more than a foul Demon such as that to take me down,’ Marcus Maxwell confirmed.

‘Demon?’

‘Yes. You didn’t know?’

‘I thought it was some kind of magical creature. I didn’t even know there were such things as Demons!’

‘There aren’t. At least, not anymore,’ the man explained. ‘Demons are malevolent spirits that possess a magical being and use its power to take form. The last of them were banished from our world long ago but there are ways to summon them. It's not easy, mind you—or legal—but it can be done. This fire Demon was summoned using an ancient magical ritual specific to their kind. Very old magic.’

‘The Eye of Fire,’ Gideon muttered.

‘You know about that, do you?’ Mr Maxwell said with a note of admiration.

‘Well, I had help,’ Gideon asserted.

‘Indeed. It seems you’ve made some very interesting friends,’ the man commented.

Gideon smiled as he thought about those friends. ‘Are they going to be alright?’

‘As I understand it, Mr Grimsby and Miss Dinescu are doing just fine. Unlike you, they are sleeping soundly. In addition, the headmistress was called to St Mungo’s. It seems Miss Williams has woken up.’

Gideon felt awash with relief in the knowledge that Ruby was okay. After a few moments, he asked, ‘And Professor Blanchard?’

Gideon’s father took a breath and sighed before answering, ‘Professor Blanchard is dead. He was alive at the end. However, neither his body nor his mind could bear the trauma of such a powerful Demon’s possession after the headmistress purged it from him.’

‘He didn’t say anything before he died, then?’ Gideon queried. When his father shook his head, Gideon explained what he remembered from his encounter with the Muggle Studies professor. ‘We heard him talking about not wanting to do it and at one point he even said, “he’s making me!”. I think he was being controlled. He was fighting it but, in the end…’

Marcus Maxwell adopted a grim expression. ‘I was afraid of that,’ he said. ‘It sounds like the Imperius Curse. It gives the user total control over another. It’s one of the three Unforgivable Curses. Professor Blanchard demonstrated commendable fortitude if he was able to tell you that much. I dare say his resistance is the reason Miss Williams was not killed when she came upon him on the Astronomy Tower, though whatever spell he did use was most effective in silencing her.’

‘Do you know who could have been controlling him?’ Gideon asked.

‘It could be anybody, I’m afraid. The sad fact is, it’s highly likely that this ritual and what happened to Professor Blanchard were simply part of a test.

‘A test?’ Gideon exclaimed.

'The ritual was complicated. For one thing, it had to be performed on magically enriched land, and such locations are few and far between. Hogwarts is one such site. That's why a teacher was required. I doubt the person behind it all would try again at Hogwarts, but it would appear they have an agenda that involves harnessing the power of Demons, something that there is not much information about for obvious reasons. In this case, their test was a failure. Professor Blanchard was unable to withstand the possession and the Demon took control. The culprit probably expected as much, but they will likely try again. The Ministry will need to be prepared…'

A long silence followed Gideon’s father’s grave words.

‘Gideon,’ he continued. ‘I owe you an apology.’

In spite of everything, Gideon was surprised to find himself shaking his head and assuring his father, 'It's okay. After what happened to mum… The shock. It must have been hard to deal with.'

'It was, and what I did was unforgivable. But what I must apologise to you for is what came afterwards,' the man clarified. 'You see, even after I came to my senses, I didn't reach out to you. I purposefully kept my distance for reasons I should now explain. To start with, your magic being unsealed; it was no accident.’

Gideon was taken aback by this. ‘What do you mean?’ he asked.

‘Only a highly emotional life-threatening event would ever cause The Weaving to come undone. You won’t know it, but there have been multiple attempts on your life over the years, other than the Dementor attack. It’s one of the reasons we’ve always kept you so close to home, and why I’ve had you followed by Aurors when you were outside of the house or your schools.

‘Do you remember your close shave outside Middling Academy? Didn’t you ever wonder why there was no driver, and why you were rushed away from the scene? The car was charmed by someone. You were saved by Darius Coleridge, one of my men. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to you in time when the Dementors appeared because you were supposed to go straight home from the library via Floo Powder.’

Gideon couldn’t believe it. He had been right. He was being followed in Hogsmeade, and by the same man who had knocked him out of the way of the car that time. He remained silent and let his father explain.

'Someone is targeting you, or rather, what's inside of you. The same person who tried to have you kidnapped as a baby. I believe that your birth mother, Gwendoline Drake, fled France to protect you. However, as a Muggle, she couldn't stay hidden for long, and they tracked her down. What happened next, nobody could have predicted.

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'The dark magic that had been implanted within you for whatever reason was sealed away. Your mother had wanted another child and I wanted to keep an eye on you, so we took you in. To my surprise, I grew to love you as my own. Soon after, though, strange accidents started happening around you. We kept you safe but some of the closer calls triggered your magic’s innate defence mechanism.

‘The truth is, you’ve had more of those seizures than you realise. We worried that the memories would scar you, so we magically erased them from your mind. However, we grew concerned that it would become damaging to keep doing so, and I concluded that the true motive behind the accidents was to trigger your magic to return. So, I had the house and your school fortified and assigned you guards.’

Gideon’s father’s expression changed a little before he continued, ‘It was me, though, who held off signing your adoption papers. I think part of me reasoned that if we couldn’t protect you—if something were to happen to you—it would hurt less if you weren’t really ours, at least on paper. But it was foolish, and I regret it deeply. I realised just how much when you stood up in the Great Hall and declared your new name. That feeling was compounded when I faced the boggart in your stead.'

‘The boggart?’ Gideon repeated, thinking back to what Talia had told him about his father’s fear projection being a piece of parchment. The answer came to him. “It was my adoption papers?”

Mr Maxwell nodded solemnly, then continued. 'The unsigned document symbolised my greatest fear; that through my actions, and not some elusive, external threat, I might end up losing you.'

Gideon's heart warmed at these words.

A minute or so passed in silence before Mr Maxwell spoke again. ‘After the Dementors targeted you—another planned attack, which indicates just how dangerous a person we may be dealing with—I was out of my mind. I had failed to protect you and endangered your mother in the process. I irrationally associated the blame for the attack with you.

‘Now that your magic was exposed, I was convinced that the real culprit would be found through you. And so, I followed you to Hogwarts, making it seem as though the Ministry had sent me. There, I was able to keep an eye on you, and you were watched closely when outside of the school. Nothing happened to you, though, excluding the advent of your burgeoning powers.

‘When the fires began, even I thought you were responsible. Then, when we learned you weren't, I still suspected that they might be connected to you somehow. I was so fixated on catching the person who had targeted you and your mother, that I used you as bait, hoping to draw them out. As it happens, there’s no real evidence to suggest the person controlling Professor Blanchard has anything to do with you. Everything I put you through was over a bad hunch.

'I kept my distance for nothing and had your brother do the same, even after I overcame my grief. Even after your grandmother learned of what I had done to her and your sister and exacted her punishment... It was all for nothing. Meanwhile, you discovered what was really going on at the school. All I could do was see that you were protected from the fires that were popping up everywhere.’

Gideon interrupted at this point, ‘What do you mean by that?’

‘I sent you the ring. I placed a powerful anti-fire charm on it and made it so that if it ever broke, it would alert me to your location. That’s how I found you. When I saw you lying there, covered in all that blood, and the Demon standing beyond…’

‘If it hadn’t been for that ring, dad…’ Gideon whispered, thinking about how many times it had saved him and Alex before help had arrived.

Marcus Maxwell went quiet for a while, then cleared his throat, ‘I’m very proud of you, Gideon, and not just for holding off that monster. You’ve shown real strength this year. More than I’ve shown. I don’t deserve it, but if you could somehow find it in you to forgive me, I would like the opportunity to make things right with you.’

Gideon didn’t know what to say. His father had given him a lot of information to take in all at once. Even if he was capable of forgiving him, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

Still, it occurred to him that his father had never spoken to him for this extended a period, and certainly not so frankly. Being so used to the tough façade that surely went hand-in-hand with being an Auror and such an important figure, Gideon couldn’t help but appreciate the man’s attempt to lower his guard. It was as if the dark surroundings allowed him to be more vulnerable.

Thankfully, Mr Maxwell spared him from responding. ‘You should get some sleep,’ he said. ‘Madam Longbottom won’t forgive me for having kept you from your rest.’

‘Wait,’ Gideon started, undecided about the words that would follow. ‘So, am I safe?’

‘You’re safe,’ Marcus Maxwell assured him. ‘The house and the school are well protected, and you’ll still be observed elsewhere. If someone out there is targeting you, they will have me to deal with, not to mention the rest of the family—and your formidable friends.’

‘Do you know who this person might be?’

Gideon thought his father looked pensive for a moment, though his expression was difficult to make out in the dark. ‘No,’ the man answered. ‘I have my suspicions, but nothing solid. Don’t worry yourself about it. I’ll get to the bottom of it. That’s my job!’

Despite the scary thought that some unknown individual might be targeting him, Gideon couldn’t help but feel reassured by his father’s words. ‘Will you be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts again next year?’

‘No. With the possible threat of Demons to contend with on top of the Dementor situation, I’m needed at the Ministry. However, I have someone in mind who I think would be a good fit to take over my position. Now, get some sleep. You’re going to need your energy when the three of you meet with the headmistress!’

With that, Gideon’s father hesitated for a moment, then gave his son a tight squeeze of the knee and left the room.

***

As much as Gideon's father had given him to think about, he drifted off quickly and didn't wake again until he felt a weight on his chest. He opened his eyes to find a familiar pair of electric-blue eyes staring back at him.

‘Kuroh, you’re okay!’ Gideon exclaimed and he stroked the black cat sitting on his chest.

‘Kuroh, get down!’ Talia instructed, ‘Sorry, I still don’t get why he stares at you like that.’

‘Talia! You’re okay too!’

‘Of course!’

‘Don’t forget me,’ said another voice. The curtain was pulled back to reveal Alex in the next bed. His arm was in a sling but otherwise, he looked fine.

‘You guys, I’m so sorry,’ Gideon offered, ‘What was I thinking with that stupid plan? I almost got us all killed!’

‘Don’t be silly,’ Talia said. ‘I’m tougher than that. So is Kuroh.’

‘What about me?’ Alex challenged.

‘You don’t really want me to answer that, do you?’ she joked.

They all laughed before Gideon informed them, ‘By the way, Professor Maxwell—I mean—my dad, told me that Ruby woke up.’

‘No way!’ Alex blurted out.

‘Thank goodness!’ said Talia.

Gideon went on to explain about Professor Blanchard.

‘That poor man,’ Alex commented. ‘I never liked Muggle Studies, but he was a nice guy and a good teacher. He didn’t deserve that.’

‘No one deserves that. I hope the Ministry catch whoever’s behind all this!’ said Talia angrily.

‘Yeah,’ Gideon agreed, then after a few moments he replied. ‘So, are you going to tell us what happened last night? How did you save us and fight that thing?’

Alex leaned closer at this moment. He too was surely dying to know the answer to this question, but apparently, hadn’t asked Talia yet.

'Oh, that,' Talia said quietly, looking over her shoulder as if to confirm they were alone. 'Well, I'm a Pyromagus.’

‘A pile of what?’ Alex challenged.

‘A Pyromagus!’ she hissed, demonstrating by opening her hand to reveal a ball of fire hovering above her palm. ‘I can magically create and manipulate fire without the use of a wand. It’s a very rare ability, but it consumes a lot of magic and it’s difficult to control.’

‘Whoa!’ Gideon exclaimed.

‘That’s so cool!’ Alex remarked. ‘You seemed pretty in control last night, though!’

Talia blushed as she extinguished her flame. ‘Well, it hasn’t always been like that. You wouldn’t think it was so cool if you knew how much training it’s taken to get to this point, or how many bad experiences I had when I was little. I guess you could say that’s why I tend to keep myself to myself.’

‘Sorry,’ Alex offered, ‘I didn’t think.’

‘It’s part of the reason I became friends with you, Gideon. I felt like I understood what you were going through, having dangerous powers. At first, I thought you might be like me.’

‘But why didn’t you tell me?’ Gideon wondered.

‘I’ve never told anyone before,’ Talia explained. ‘Only my parents know. I was going to tell you, honestly, and then, I lost control on Halloween…'

‘The pumpkins,’ Gideon mouthed quietly.

‘That was you?’ Alex guffawed.

Talia shot a glare at him, and he apologised immediately. ‘When his idiot friends attacked you at the party,’ she said, gesturing to Alex, ‘they stopped me from getting to you and they started shocking you. I got so mad and before I knew it, the sky was falling, and I couldn’t stop it.

‘When the other fires started happening around the school, I started to worry I was the one doing it. I thought my power might be going haywire, especially when Ruby was so sure that you weren’t responsible. I thought it had to be too much of a coincidence for there to be a third party prone to fire-based accidents.

‘Then, there was the time after you ran out of the shop in Hogsmeade. When I returned to school, I saw those guys messing with you again. It was four-on-one, so I thought I'd just scare them a little by setting the door alight. I had no idea Professor Long was nearby. I was panicking when we had to face the boggart. I was sure it would be something like what you ended up facing.’

After a moment of shared understanding, Alex asked, ‘And what about you, Gideon? What’s your deal? I mean, you saved my life with that crazy magic but where did it come from?’

‘Well, the shield ring turned out to be from my dad. He seemed to be worried I might be in danger of getting burned,’ Gideon explained.

‘I wonder where he got that idea?’ Talia quipped.

'As for the spell I pulled off, that's a slightly longer story that I'll tell you when we get out of here. Suffice it to say, I think I have things under control now—so long as we're not attacked by any more monsters!'

Alex chuckled while shaking his head, and said, ‘No wonder I didn’t figure out what was going on sooner, there were two of you starting fires as well as Professor Blanchard! Don’t tell me one of you did Binns in, too?’

‘Of course not!’ Talia snapped, ‘What’s the matter with you? Are you sure it’s just your arm that got injured or did you hit your head as well?’

‘Alright, alright!’ Alex pleaded, pretending to hide behind his free arm.

‘I wonder what did happen to Professor Binns then?’ Gideon considered.

‘Maybe Professor Dandridge will tell us before she expels us?’ Talia quipped.

Alex looked worried. 'I hadn't thought about that. You don't think she will, do you?' he asked.

Talia gave Alex a pitiable look and replied, ‘I’d say our chances are about as good as Verity’s camera’s….’