Running Scared

Gideon's conversation with Ruby gave him a lot to think about as he lied in bed that evening. After starting the fire in the Student Lounge, he had all but convinced himself that he was responsible for the others. However, Ruby seemed sure that he wasn't.

Was it possible that she was right? The girl seemed to have some insight into the situation, magical insight at that. Ruby had shared the secret of her amazing gift with Gideon, but could he trust her words when she couldn't explain them herself?

With this new piece of information weighing on his mind, Gideon thought back on each of the incidents. There was the small fire in Defence class. He had started it accidentally in the presence of his father, who he had been very angry with. That seemed like the sort of accident that might have happened to anyone who had dealt with his recent experiences.

Then, there was the fire in the dorm following Ruby's warning. He had been responsible for that, too. It had been due to his nightmare, the one that the Headmistress had eventually removed. The Charms classroom had burned down on the same night, but Professor Voronov contended that the two fires were unrelated.

Later, stress over the nightmare had kept Gideon awake and due to his tiredness, his spell had gone awry in class. That seemed understandable and it had been done with a wand. Gideon had thought things would be resolved after his trip to the Hospital Wing, but on Halloween, the lanterns had exploded at the party. That time had been different than the others.

It was true that Gideon had felt strong emotions due to Greg and Jason surprising him, but looking back on it, Gideon's thoughts had been on reaching his wand. It wasn't like the time in Defence when the small fire had started because of his intense feelings towards Professor Maxwell. Also, the ensuing result had been drastically different.

The subsequent grenade-like explosions had been a complete surprise to Gideon. With his track record up to that point, and the whole school seeing him lying in the middle of the hall, he had certainly looked guilty. However, the teachers didn't believe him to be responsible. The headmistress even said something about the difference between "creating fire" and "manipulating fire".

When Gideon had lost control in the Student Lounge and caused a much larger fire than before, he hadn't been in control of it. It was most definitely linked to his emotional state at the time, though.

Ruby had said she had sensed his emotions. Although, she had tactfully glossed over his involvement. Gideon was sure that Ruby knew he was responsible for that fire, but for whatever reason, she hadn't said so. He felt like he should have confided in her when they were talking. However, he'd decided that until he knew for sure what was wrong with him, he couldn't risk anyone hearing the truth from his lips.

Gideon rolled over in bed, his eyelids now heavy. He drifted off contemplating one last thought. If there was something wrong with him or "something dark" inside of him, as the Sorting Hat had hinted at, there was still a very real possibility he had been responsible for all of the fires. However, if something else was going on at the school as Ruby had suggested, then who was responsible for the Halloween and Charms classroom fire?

***

On the morning of the Hogsmeade visit, Gideon had every intention of heading to the library and to finally try sneaking into the Restricted Section. With most students in the village, the library was sure to be deserted. However, at Breakfast an owl flew down for him at the end of the Slytherin table, where he now sat alone most days.

Gideon was pleased to receive a catch-up letter from Aunt Caroline along with a small leather pouch of spending money. After overhearing other students talk about nothing else for almost a week, Gideon just couldn't resist the call of Hogsmeade's legendary sweet shop, Honeydukes. With the gold in his pocket, he could afford to try a bit of all their wacky and wonderful treats.

He figured he would have just enough time to make it there, visit one or two shops, and be back in time for lunch with Ruby and Professor Hagrid, whom he could share the sweets with. So, Gideon left the castle for the first time, handing Professor Long a permission slip that Caroline had sent previously.

Keeping some distance between himself and a few groups of Hogwarts students making their way to the village, Gideon followed them beyond the grounds, on a path through a wooded area, and towards a relatively small settlement of buildings in the distance. He soon found himself on the busy high street of Hogsmeade. It was a long, cobbled road lined with shops on both sides and stretching into the distance.

There were students darting in every direction and admiring the window displays. There were also a good number of adults, not surprising since it was one of only two of the country's well-known wizarding shopping locations. Gideon spotted Honeydukes by its heaving number of customers and made a beeline for it.

As he approached the sweet shop, however, he was distracted by a window display nearby, which was garnering a lot of attention. In the window was a display featuring a line of racing brooms.

'It's the latest in the Thunder series!' said one of the onlookers.

'It's a sale to mark the latest model!' said another excitedly. 'See, there's the Thunderclap and its predecessor the Thundercrack, and there's the latest, the Thunderstroke.'

'Whoa! I've never seen one like that' a young boy exclaimed with his nose pressed against the glass.

'How can there be a new model already?' a girl asked aloud. 'Aren't there professional players using Thunderclaps?'

'The Thunderstroke must be amazing, then!' her friend responded.

Gideon found a gap in the crowd to get a look. He recognised the second broom as the type Mr Wood had owned. Below it was a very different and more impressive model. The sleek, highly polished handle was coloured silvery-white and was almost shaped like a lightning bolt. Gideon observed it for a minute or two before he got a look at the price tag.

He wasn't going to be flying a Thunderstroke any time soon, but he had always dreamed of flying on a racing broom. Gideon made a note to give Flying class another try. For now, he had more important things on his mind.

As Gideon entered Honeydukes sweet shop, he was immediately hit with a waft of warmth and delicious smells. Reminded of his visit to the joke shop in Diagon Alley, his eyes didn't know where to look first.

There were shelves upon shelves of the most succulent-looking sweets imaginable. There was a wall with fudge and toffee of every kind, another with hundreds of different kinds of chocolate in neat rows. There was a whole corner devoted to the Every Flavour brand of sweets, tubs of truffles, barrels full of popping candy and basically anything that Anthony might put on a sundae.

Along yet another wall were 'Special Effects' sweets: Drooble's Best Blowing Gum (which filled a room with bluebell-coloured bubbles that refused to pop for days), Toothflossing Stringmints, tiny black Pepper Imps ('breathe fire for your friends!'), Ice Mice ('hear your teeth chatter and squeak!'), peppermint creams shaped like toads ('hop realistically in the stomach!'), fragile sugar-spun quills and exploding bonbons.

After some mild shoving and squabbling over scoops, Gideon finally left the store with a smile on his face, a huge bag of sweets and a considerably lighter pocket. He was eager to see what else the town offered but was aware of the time, so decided he would check out just one more shop.

That was when he spotted Talia. She was standing alone, looking in the window of what appeared to be a clothing store. 'How's it going?' Gideon asked.

'Oh, hey, Gideon! Wow, looks like Honeydukes are going to need to restock!' Talia replied, observing his bag.

Gideon chuckled, 'Well, I can't stay long but I had to get the important things done.' They both smiled. 'Are you going in?'

'I'm not sure if it's my style,' Talia commented sceptically.

'Let's find out, then!' said Gideon enthusiastically, still high on the sugary fumes of Honeydukes.

They entered the shop to find a surprisingly modern-looking clothing store. The walls and tiled floor were bright white, which contrasted with the many racks and shelves of colourful apparel.

'I think I was right,' Talia said out of the corner of her mouth as a tall, blonde woman approached them.

'Hello Gideon, Natalia!' greeted Professor Keane cheerily, today wearing a very non-winter-like Muggle dress under a small leather jacket and carrying two large bags. 'Isn't this store just darling? Every time I visit, I find something new to add to my wardrobe. I'm going to need to add another Extension Charm to it soon! Well, happy hunting!'

The professor merrily left the shop giving them an awkward wave of her fingers from beneath her heavy shopping bag handles.

'If she shops here, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to find anything I like,' Talia joked. 'Ah, case in point,' she added as a young woman with long, light-brown hair made her way over to them in a daring set of baby blue robes with cut-outs, much like the ones Professor Keane often sported in class.

'Can I help you with anything?' asked the young shopkeeper.

'No, I don't think—' started Talia.

'Jennifer?' Gideon spoke softly, his jaw slack with shock.

'Oh, hello!' she replied with a wide smile.

Gideon suddenly recalled that his sister had planned to open a store in Hogsmeade, but so much had happened since then. It hadn't occurred to him that he might see her here for the first time in months.

So many emotions were swirling around in his head. He was so happy to see her and so proud of her obvious success, but also fearful of how this conversation might go. Would she be receptive to him, or did she feel as their brother, Anthony did?

'H-how are you?' Gideon asked nervously.

'I'm good! How are you?' she replied.

Gideon grinned widely, 'I'm good too!'

'That's great! Unfortunately, I'm afraid we don't currently carry any menswear, but I'm sure I can help your friend here find something special?' she informed him politely before turning to Talia, 'Now, what sort of clothes are you looking for? Robes? Formal wear? Muggle-inspired designs? Something modern or something more traditional?'

'Wha—huh?' Gideon verbalised as his sister continued to interact with a confused-looking Talia. He watched dumbfounded for a few more moments as she withdrew a measuring tape and started pointing at different areas of the store.

'Jen,' he interjected, 'it's me! I-it's me, Gideon.'

There was no recognition on Jennifer's face. 'I'm sorry, have we met?'

Gideon's heartbreak was almost palpable. He lost all feeling in his fingers and his heavy bag of sweets fell to the floor with a thud. How could she do this to him? It was one thing for Anthony or their father to ignore him at school, but Jennifer pretending that she didn't even know him was gut-wrenching. Gideon stumbled backwards, his eyes still fixed on his sister's blank face, and left the shop.

'Gideon? GIDEON?' he heard Talia calling after him as he ran up the high street, but he was long gone. He couldn't stay there a moment longer, not in a place where people might see the tears streaming down his cheeks. With how he was feeling, what if he had one of his odd episodes? There would be witnesses.

Gideon ran until he got a stitch in his side. He was alone on the wooded path between the village and the school. He wiped his face as he caught his breath. In all this time, Jennifer hadn't tried to contact him, even though she had been so nearby. Somewhere deep down, Gideon had held on to the hope that his sister of all people, would have been the one in the family to stand by him.

What was he doing? Why was he clinging to the idea of being a Maxwell? They had abandoned him. All of them! He wasn't one of them by name or by blood. Gideon had counted on things returning to normal when his mother woke up. But what if she didn't wake up? Worse still, what if she woke up and sided with the others?

Just then, Gideon's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of twigs breaking. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he straightened up and looked around into the woods on either side. He wiped his face again, afraid someone was watching, when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

It was the middle of the day, but the sunlight was obstructed by the surrounding trees. Gideon turned to the movement and fished his wand out. There was the sound of more twigs breaking and footsteps on crunchy fallen leaves. Gideon dashed into the tree line in pursuit of the movement, driven by the faint notion that one of the Gryffindor boys might have caught him crying.

He darted between the trees and spotted a figure just ahead moving away. Whoever it was, they seemed to have become aware of Gideon's presence and broke into a run just as Gideon closed in on them. Suddenly there was a sound like the crack of a whip and Gideon's quarry was nowhere to be found.

***

Still upset about his sister and perplexed by his non-encounter in the woods, Gideon returned to the castle in no mood for lunch. He made his way down into the grounds to Professor Hagrid's hut, intending to make his apologies and excuse himself. However, on knocking on the hut door he was warmly greeted by the giant professor and two large boar hounds.

'There ya' are, Gideon, we were gettin' worried! Come on in, tea's ready!' said Professor Hagrid pulling him inside.

'Hi Gideon,' Ruby greeted him from a humongous armchair. 'Everything okay?'

'Uh-huh,' Gideon answered evasively while worryingly eyeing the two dogs climbing up on him.

'Oh, don't mind them,' said the professor upon noticing this. 'Zeus! Hades! Away with yer! Glad you could join us, Gideon. Any friend of Ruby here is welcome. I don't think you two are in the same class, so you might not know, but Ruby's got a way with beasts. In one of our classes, a unicorn strolled out of the forest and right up to her!'

'Really?' Gideon said with surprise as Ruby blushed. 'I thought Unicorns—well, I guess I don't know much about them, but I thought they were rare to come across?'

'They are!' the professor said excitedly. 'Solitary creatures, unicorns. Very picky about humans! Never seen anything like it!'

'Professor—' Gideon began, trying to find a way to excuse himself.

'Never have got used to that—call me Hagrid!' the man said as he thrust a plate with a bread roll and a mug of tea in Gideon's direction. Feeling it would be rude to leave now, Gideon accepted the plate and mug gratefully. The homemade bread roll was rock hard and contained a thick slice of tomato on top of a veritable slab of cheddar.

Gideon tried his best to make a dent in the roll while Hagrid led the conversation. He was very excited about their upcoming lessons and what sort of creatures he would be introducing them to, though, he wouldn't say what.

After a few more minutes of discussing creatures, Hagrid unexpectedly brought up the fires, 'Sorry to hear about how things have been for you recently, Gideon. I noticed you've been quiet in classes. Ruby was telling me that people are gossipin' bout yer. Just know, none of the teachers thinks you're responsible for those fires!'

There was something both comforting and bothersome in Hagrid's words. The reassurance was good to hear, but Gideon knew it wasn't exactly true. So, he believed, did Ruby for that matter. He didn't want to discuss it, so he made an audible noise and smiled.

However, when Ruby asked him what he had been up to that morning, a grumble wouldn't do. Gideon didn't want to discuss it or even think about it.

'Actually, I hate to eat and run, but I haven't been feeling too well today,' Gideon explained. 'Thanks so much for having me, Hagrid. Sorry I couldn't finish the roll.'

'Don't worry about that! If you're not well, you best be getting some rest. We'll do it another time!' the professor responded kindly.

'Thank you. See you later, Ruby.'

'Feel better!' she said with a note of concern as Gideon exited the cabin.

Gideon felt bad for ducking out early, but he needed to be alone. Unfortunately, after climbing the hill up to the courtyard, he found his way blocked by none other than Greg, Jason, Scott and Sean from Gryffindor. They were tossing a fanged frisbee around. Upon noticing Gideon's presence, Greg looked pleased, but the other boys looked like deer caught in headlights.

'Look who it is,' Greg announced, 'You-Know-Two! Like that, freak? I came up with it myself!'

Gideon whipped out his wand, 'I'm not in the mood, Greg. Just let me pass.'

'Greg let's just go,' Jason suggested.

'Or you'll do what?' Greg taunted, ignoring his friend, and drawing his own wand.

'Come on, mate, let's get to the village,' said Sean.

'Shut up!' Greg snapped. 'He's not going to do anything in broad daylight!'

Gideon felt his frustration rising but as he remembered what happened the last time the group had confronted him, he tried to calm his thoughts. He kept his wand at his side and began to step towards the doors, intending to simply pass by. The Gryffindors stepped back instinctively, and Greg raised his wand.

Gideon focused on remaining cool, calm and collected. He tried to block out the events of that morning and keep his mind blank. He decided he would only use his wand in retaliation. However, with barely ten steps left between them, Gideon watched in astonishment as the right-hand door to the castle burst into flames.

'He's crazy!' yelled Sean.

'Leg it!' Jason ordered.

'Greg, come on, let's go!' Scott pleaded.

Greg looked annoyed but equally frightened, and followed the others through the doors, careful of the flames climbing up one side.

'You've got to be kidding?' Gideon muttered under his breath. He couldn't believe it had happened again despite his best efforts. He concentrated and raised his wand. 'Glacius!' he commanded.

Unlike his previous attempt in the Student Lounge, a powerful, continuous stream of icy air was blasted at the flaming door. He started at the bottom and worked his way up until the fire was extinguished and only a large black mark remained.

A little proud of himself and happy to have dealt with things before he was discovered, Gideon smiled and made to enter the castle. Unfortunately, there was now someone standing in the open doorway, blocking his path.

'Good afternoon, Mr Maxwell,' said Professor Long with her eyebrows raised.