Gideon Drake and the Fire Within (Harry Potter Sequel/Spinoff)

Chapter Forty: Clued-in

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.'