Fallout

As the chorus of pumpkin explosions continued, the bats went wild, flying in all directions and swooping down at people. Unable to use his legs just yet, Gideon remained on the floor covering his face with his arms. The rest of the crowd quickly dispersed to the edges of the room to avoid the downpour. After a few moments, Gideon hadn't felt anything hit him and peered between his arms to see what was going on.

The bats had disappeared, and a translucent blue film had formed above, shielding the students from the fiery shards of pumpkin gourd. Gideon saw several teachers, including the Headmistress, stood with their wands raised high, no doubt forming the barrier. A deathly hush came over the room as the explosions finally came to a halt.

Together, the teachers manipulated the shape of their shield until it became a magical net, gathering up the fallen remnants and the few unexploded floating pumpkins that lined the walls. The students watched as it was condensed into the shape of a sack and plopped down on the floor where it disappeared, leaving a smoking pile of orange debris.

Everyone's attention turned to Gideon, lying in the middle of the giant room alone. His mind began to race as he noticed students crying, hugging, and nursing wounds. What had he done? Had he done it? He certainly hadn't meant to. He didn't even feel it happen. However, with his moment of rage and the fiery nature of the incident, how could he deny it? What was wrong with him?

No, this is crazy, he thought to himself, he didn't even have his wand. But then, he didn't use his wand to start the dorm fire or the fire in Defence. Those had been considerably smaller, though. How could he have done magic like this without even realising it? Then, it hit him, maybe this was more along the lines of like what happened with the Dementors.

He had used magic on a large scale then. Someone was hurt then, too. Although, that event had tired him enough to land him in the hospital. Gideon felt perfectly fine, discounting the aftereffects of the Shocker Spells. Something just wasn't adding up. If it wasn't him, then who? Moreover, who would believe him in this situation?

People already thought of him as a loon, an image he immediately began to regret encouraging. Some still thought he was responsible for the Charms room fire. He would undoubtedly become suspect number one again.

On the other hand, what if they were right? Professor Voronov hadn't completely ruled out the possibility that Gideon could have been responsible. After what happened tonight, perhaps the man would change his mind. The return of light to the hall interrupted Gideon's train of thought.

'Your attention, please!' Professor Dandridge announced, 'Prefects will identify and escort any injured students to the Hospital Wing. The rest of you, return to your common rooms immediately.'

Teachers began ushering students out of the room. Professor Dandridge went to speak with the band, whose drummer had a gash across his face. Professor Voronov, however, made his way over to Gideon and offered him a hand to get up. Gideon did so, but his body was shaking.

On noticing this, the professor asked, 'Mr Maxwell? Explain.'

'I was hit with a Shocker Spell, Sir,' Gideon responded.

'By whom?' Professor Voronov enquired.

Gideon knew he should report Greg and Jason, but on top of everything else, he didn't want people thinking of him as a tell-tale—or a victim. 'I didn't see,' he said instead. 'But about what happened, I—I think it might have been me, or at least, my magic. I think I should have that test, after all, Sir.'

Professor Voronov looked dubious. 'Was there intent?' he asked quizzically, but Gideon understood that he was referring to a concept of magical theory.

'No, but—'

'Awareness, even?' he pressed.

'No, but—'

'Then, I do not think it's likely you were responsible,' the man concluded.

'But if I am doing these things—without knowing, that might mean something worse than just having unstable magic. Please, I need to know!' Gideon pleaded.

***

The professor escorted Gideon up to the Hospital Wing where Madam Longbottom would be able to do the test the professor had once mentioned in his office. Gideon almost regretted making his request when they arrived to see almost all the beds filled with students. His jaw dropped as he sat down on an empty one in the far corner and observed the room.

The injuries appeared to range from small scratches and stings to large cuts and burns. The worst cases seemed to be a girl with a piece of pumpkin shrapnel sticking out of her neck, who Madam Longbottom was attending to, and a boy with a burn on his face. The idea that he had hurt them all was soul-crushing.

Just as Gideon realised that the boy with the burn was one of Greg and Jason's lackeys, the professor drew the curtain. Gideon had to wonder whether it was to stop him from worrying about them or so the other students wouldn't worry about him.

'Obviously, Madam Longbottom is going to be busy for a while, but I will tell her you're here. Be patient. I must return to the Great Hall.'

The next hour or two were excruciating. Not because Gideon minded waiting, but because he could hear everything that was happening beyond the curtain. He considered covering his ears with a pillow but decided that enduring the sounds around him was small penance for his actions.

He forced himself to listen to students cry, sob, and occasionally yelp in pain as their wounds were tended to. He heard Madam Longbottom rushing around hastily giving orders and instructions before moving on to the next patient. He also heard the voices of friends comforting each other, as well as those discussing who was to blame. Some even swore revenge.

Things were quiet for a while, but Gideon was too scared to pull back the curtain and risk revealing himself. Soon, though, someone did that for him. It was the headmistress, followed by Professor Voronov and Madam Longbottom.

Gideon jumped up right away. 'Professor! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to—'

'That's enough,' she replied while raising her hand to interrupt him. 'You should return to your dormitory, now, Mr Maxwell.'

'B-but the test?' he asked, noticing that the professor and the matron looked a little confused.

'There's no need for that,' Professor Dandridge asserted. 'You won't remember, but I performed such a test on you back at St Mungo's. You do have a high concentration of magic for someone your age and there is indeed some instability to it. However, I do not believe you caused tonight's mishap.'

'A-are you certain?'

'Not many things in this world are certain, Gideon,' she answered wisely, and ambiguously. Seeing that his expression did not alter, she added, 'From what the teachers observed and from your father's—excuse me—Professor Maxwell's analysis of the pumpkin remnants, we can theorise as to what sort of magic was used.

'You have created fires on a couple of occasions now. There is a big difference, though, between creating fire and manipulating it, which is what we believe was done to the candle lights inside the lanterns.'

Gideon still felt unsure but probed, 'Then, someone else used a spell to make the lanterns explode? Intentionally?'

The Headmistress appeared to consider her response before answering, 'Our working theory is that it was a thoughtless practical joke.'

'Don't you think the same person may have burned down the Charms classroom, though?' Gideon questioned.

'That's still under investigation,' Professor Dandridge said evasively.

'Meanwhile, I'm going to be blamed for both,' Gideon muttered under his breath.

***

On returning to the dorm, Gideon found the rest of the boys already in bed asleep, or at least pretending to be. When he woke up the next morning and found that they had left for breakfast early without him, he knew it was going to be one of those days.

In the Great Hall, he took what he thought would be a relatively safe seat next to Brendan. It was pretty much his only option, though, as none of his dormmates had saved a space for him. Sadly, Brendan was as quiet as the rest of the table. When nobody greeted him, Gideon didn't bother with pleasantries and simply buttered himself some toast in silence.

A letter from his aunt gave Gideon something to focus on for a minute or two. Caroline was just writing to check on him and update him on his mother's condition. She was still doing well at St Mungo's but there had been no change. After that, Gideon eyed an unread copy of the Prophet and picked it up. It surely belonged to someone, but nobody objected. They would have had to break the silence to do so.

POTTER LEADS ANTI-DEMENTOR TASK FORCE SWEEP

Over the weekend, Harry Potter, the Ministry of Magic's Head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, lead a large-scale offensive sweep of the Scottish coastal areas to push back the surge in Dementor activity.

Potter is known for his work as an Auror and the capture of large numbers of Death Eaters, but many have questioned his ability as a leader and administrator. Of course, he is much more widely known as The Chosen One or The Boy Who Lived, and for his triumph over, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

The operation was approved by Minister Granger-Weasley after recent concerns that her task force was nothing more than a publicity stunt. It is being hailed as a success by the Ministry.

However, it has been suggested by outspoken figures such as Harold Watson of the Scottish Magical Defence Association and Draco Malfoy of the Wizengamot, that without increased Auror presence and recruitment, and a new way to fight the Dementors, a resurgence is simply a matter of time.

'Good morning!' Professor Dandridge announced from the head of the room. 'I would like a few moments of your time before you head off to your lessons.'

The students all quietly shuffled around in their seats, eager to see what the Headmistress had to say after the Halloween fiasco.

'Last night's unfortunate incident was an embarrassment for Hogwarts. A significant number of students were injured as well as one of our musical guests. However, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our matron, there will be no lasting damage. So, I hope you will join me in a round of applause for Madam Longbottom.'

The students and teachers clapped politely as Madam Longbottom blushed in the chair next to her husband, who was applauding with fervour.

'Now, the cause of the incident remains under investigation. I would like to make it very clear, though, that the person or persons responsible will be identified. However, I am allowing them the opportunity to come forward of their own accord by the end of this week. Should they do so, they may avoid serious punishment. Failure to do so could result in suspension or worse. I ask anyone with information to come forward and speak with your Head of House—'

'But we know who did it…'

'Yeah, we all saw him!'

'He burned down the Charms room as well!'

Gideon was gobsmacked as the eyes of the room turned toward him, those of his table included. He knew there would be some blame and hostility coming his way. Even so, it was jarring to see that the whole school suspected him, especially since the teachers didn't think he was responsible.

'You see, Gio, I told you so,' Gideon heard Vinny say close by, 'it's not just me, everyone thinks he did it! He's a freak!'

'He needs expelling!'

'Screw you, eyepatch kid!'

'SILENCE!' roared Professor Dandridge. It was the first time the school had seen the new Headmistress angry, and it had quite the effect. With a flick of her wand, a red light circled the room twice like a big bee, then dived and affixed itself to the head of the boy who had spoken out last. He tried to shoo it away, but it wouldn't budge.

'Vulgarity like that will not be tolerated! Neither will gossip or innuendo when it comes to such serious matters! Anyone with something to say about last night should share it with their Head of House and only their Head of House!'

Returning to her usual tone, she finished by saying, 'You may all leave now, except for you, young man. Unless you wish to stay that way?' The Hufflepuff boy that now resembled a traffic light, remained in his seat looking extremely embarrassed as the other students began to vacate the Great Hall.

***

History of Magic was a quiet affair that morning. It wasn't usually buzzing with conversation, of course, but there was no denying that the Slytherin boys were quiet, even with each other. The Hufflepuffs were equally taciturn. The headmistress's words seemed to have had an impact.

Thankfully, Gideon had someone to talk to in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Although, his father, ProfessorMaxwell appeared to be keeping an eye on him, even more so than usual.

'I'm sorry about yesterday, Gideon,' Talia whispered kindly as the professor lectured them about fairy clans. 'How are you?'

'I'm fine. Shockers I can handle. I'm more annoyed that the Stargazers got interrupted!' Gideon replied in jest.

'Yeah, that was a shame,' Talia said sadly. 'They were great, weren't they?'

'Yeah, I never thought I'd get to see them play live!'

'Why are the Slytherins giving you dirty looks?' Talia asked a few minutes later. 'I can understand my house, especially with snooty gossip mongers like Verity. I figured yours would stick up for you, though. They don't think you did it, do they?'

'Who, my so-called friends? Seems so. They haven't even heard my side of the story. They don't even know about the Gryffindors shocking me—not that that matters—I didn't even do it,' Gideon stated diffidently.

'Only an idiot would think you did,' she assured him. 'Sadly, there's a lot of those at this school.'

Gideon chuckled, 'At least you're talking to me!'

'Well, I'm smart!' she replied with a grin.

***

After filling his plate for lunch, Gideon noticed someone marching down the aisle towards him out of the corner of his eye. It was the sixth-year prefect girl, whose name he had learned was Annie Rhys.

'What have I told you about using me to bring you notes!' she snapped with her hands on her hips.

'Huh?' Gideon responded, dumbfounded.

'Here!' she said, thrusting a note toward him. 'A Gryffindor boy gave me that to give to you!'

'Err, thank you,' Gideon told her before she dashed back up the aisle to a seat at the other end of the table.

Noticing that Sasha Barrington couldn't conceal her natural curiosity, Gideon opened the note close to his chest. As he did so, he vaguely worried it might be hate mail and regretted opening it so casually. Luckily, there were no signs of it containing a curse. It read:

Gideon,

We need to talk. Meet me in the new Student Lounge tonight at 8.30 pm.

Anthony

What did this mean? Did his brother really want to talk after all this time? If Anthony was just going to chastise him for the Halloween pyrotechnics, then Gideon thought it might be better not to go. However, the boy had fended off the Gryffindors, hadn't he? At least by going, Gideon could find out why his big brother had bothered helping him.

***

That evening, when Gideon left the Common Room, nobody asked him where he was going. But then, his friends had barely spoken a word to him all day. Even his Herbology partner and arguably closest friend, Dorian had all but ignored him in class.

Their Valerian plant was easily the most successful of the group now and they usually shared responsibility for nursing it equally. However, today Dorian had re-potted it by himself, leaving Gideon with the more menial tasks. The boy wasn't being hostile like Gio had become, but he had been acting protective of the plant as if Gideon might set it alight at any moment.

As Gideon made his way to the Lounge, he decided to talk with Dorian alone at some point and explain things. He knew that if Dorian believed he was innocent of the fires, Eoin and Tim would likely come around.

Given the late hour, Gideon only passed one or two students on his way to the Student Lounge. When he arrived, he found it empty. He wondered if that was because it was getting close to curfew or because of his inkling that the shared room wouldn't be as popular as the Headmistress hoped.

The room was large and long, about twice the size of the Slytherin Common Room. It was full to the brim with couches, armchairs, tables with plenty of chairs for group work and independent study desks. Naturally, the walls were lined with paintings. That included a large portrait of a former Headmaster, which hung over a grand stone hearth.

Seeing that Anthony had not arrived yet, Gideon took a seat in a leather, wing-backed armchair next to the toasty fire, where Professor Albus Dumbledore winked at him from above. After ten minutes, Gideon wondered if his brother was going to show up. Perhaps Anthony had changed his mind? However, when he heard the click of the door closing, he looked around hopefully.

'Ah, I see you got our note!' announced Greg Stevens, smirking, and accompanied by Jason and three of their flunkies. 'It's payback time!'