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

Chapter Twenty: Broken Dreams

Gideon's encounter with Myrtle had taken him by surprise. However, he was glad for the ghostly girl's unexpected intervention. She had certainly distracted him.

With classes over for the day, except for extracurricular options, the halls were a little clearer now, and Gideon found his way to the Hospital Wing tower without too much trouble. There was a room on either side of the entrance to the ward. One was the patient's bathroom. The other was marked:

Matron
Madam H. Longbottom

Like everything at Hogwarts, the Hospital Wing beyond was an impressive space. The high ceiling's architecture resembled that of an old, but well-maintained church. The ward was twice the length of those at St Mungo's, full of empty beds and natural light.

Gideon knocked on the door of the office and heard a sudden commotion. The door opened a few seconds later and a slim, fair-skinned woman answered, looking rather flustered. Behind her, a tall man with very red cheeks was straightening his robes. It seemed as though Gideon had interrupted a private moment.

'Mr Maxwell, I presume?' said Madam Longbottom cheerfully.

Gideon wondered how she knew who he was, then, he remembered why he was there and nodded in reply.

'I'll see you at dinner, Matron,' the man said bashfully as he squeezed by her and departed with a polite nod to Gideon.

'Come on, then, let's take a look at that eye,' she said to Gideon without acknowledging the man, and showed him to the nearest empty ward bed. 'Have you had any problems with it?'

'No, it's been fine.' Gideon responded.

'St Mungo's sent me your information, but oddly, it didn't list how you were injured,'

'Oh, well, I'm not sure actually.'

The end of her wand emitted a small blue glow, which she then pointed at his face while removing his patch and dressing, 'Nasty bit of spell damage, I expect. Okay, can you try to open it for me?'

Gideon slowly tried to open his eye. The weak light that crept in burned slightly and what little he could see was blurry.

'That's fine,' she said, placing fresh ointment over the wound and taping on a new dressing. 'It's coming along nicely. You must have had some very good Healers!'

As the matron refastened Gideon's patch, he asked her, 'Will I have to wear this much longer?'

She considered it for a moment, 'I'd say two or three more changes should do the trick, as long as you keep it covered! If you ask me, the magic of this old place and the country air outside both help speed things along. That's not exactly been proven, mind you! I like to think it's true, though.'

***

On returning to the Common Room, Gideon discovered the first-year boys practising their levitation charms. He joined the girls in getting some homework done before dinner.

Dinner in the Great Hall turned out to be a selection of rice-based dishes. Gideon enjoyed a plate of paella, all the while keeping an eye out for Anthony. Once again, his brother appeared to be absent from the Gryffindor table.

Was Anthony going to pretend Gideon didn't exist like their father was? Gideon wondered if he should go find him, but he remembered the prefects saying that the locations of the other house's common rooms were kept secret.

Gideon's first day had been a mixed experience. The bad points were balanced out by the wonder of his new surroundings and the friendships he was forging. After dinner, the boys took a walk around the grounds, where Gideon watched the most amazing sunset he had ever seen.