'So, Mr Maxwell, we're going to ask you to perform a series of actions using these objects,' explained Professor Long, gesturing to a blank sheet of parchment and an apple on Professor Voronov's desk. 'You'll then attempt to do so using any spells you can think of. Just do the best you can. Do you have any questions?'

Gideon shook his head meekly in reply. Then, Professor Long pulled a wand from her robes and used it to conjure a pair of simple but attractive, black, lacquered chairs for the two teachers to sit on. Gideon reached into his robe pocket and pulled out his second-hand wand. This was it, the moment of truth.

'Okay, then. Please make the parchment fly,' said Professor Long.

The Levitation Charm was the one spell Gideon knew he could perform. Unfortunately, with the teachers watching so closely, he didn't dare try using the channelling rod in his other pocket. He would have to try the normal way.

He knew how, of course, and hoped that alone would earn him some points. Gideon cleared his throat, stepped up to the desk and pointed his wand at the parchment. He gave it the recommended swish and flick, and uttered, 'Wingardium Leviosa.'

The parchment did not move.

Gideon cleared his throat and tried again, sure to accentuate the hard 'g' and 'o', 'Wingardium Leviosa!'

The parchment did not move.

Gideon looked nervously in the teachers' direction.

Professor Long merely said, 'Please move the parchment.'

Gideon supposed that should be easier than making it fly, but it wasn't all that different a request for someone without magic. Still, he thought about Mr Middling's last words to him, and figured it was worth going through the motions to show he at least had the knowledge.

'Locomotor Parchment,' he said.

The parchment did not move.

It occurred to Gideon, that the teachers had not specified which spells to use for a reason. He had an opportunity here to show off a little, even if he couldn't actually achieve the desired result.

'Ventus! Fumos! Fumus! Flipendo!' Gideon recited one after the other.

He tried to blow the parchment away with air, smoke, steam and even the Knockback Jinx. The parchment did not move. However, Gideon noticed that one of Professor Voronov's eyebrows had.

'Please burn the parchment,' said Professor Long this time.

Again, Gideon used the opportunity to show the teachers what he knew, if not what he could do. He recited spells with different effects that may theoretically burn the parchment, being sure to get the wand movements and pronunciations for each correct.

'Incendio! Vermillious! Flagrate!' he commanded to no avail.

'Please cut the apple,' asked Professor Voronov.

Unfortunately, Gideon could only think of one spell from his first- and second-year books that could achieve this, but he tried it nonetheless, 'Diffindo!'

This time the professor asked, 'Please transform the apple.'

There were a few spells that could work if Gideon interpreted "transform" in the simplest sense of the word. So, he sounded off,'Reducio! Engorgio! Colovario! Spongify! Pomi Verto!'

He had attempted spells to transform the apple's size, colour, consistency, and form. Nothing happened, of course, but he felt sure he had done Middling Academy proud.

'Thank you, I think that will do,' said the man. He turned to his fellow teacher, and she gave him a subtle nod. 'I must commend you for your efforts, Mr Maxwell. However—'

Gideon tried desperately to think of anything other than himself riding the Hogwarts Express home alone.

'—it seems it would be beneficial for you to start your education at Hogwarts as a first-year, after all.'

'You shouldn't be discouraged by this,' Professor Long added, 'You did well to use a variety of spells, apply them to the correct actions, some ingeniously so, and perform them all correctly. You just need practice.'

Gideon smiled graciously. He didn't have the heart to tell them that all the practice in the world wasn't going to make a difference, but he was happy that his stay at Hogwarts wasn't going to come to a swift end just yet.

'So, the timetable you have will be correct,' Professor Voronov told him, 'I recommend you go straight to the Great Hall and get some breakfast before your first class.'

'Yes, Sir. Thank you both,' said Gideon politely before departing. Once Gideon cleared the tense atmosphere of the classroom, he found himself thanking the heavens for the happy and easy-going teachers of Johnston Primary!

After navigating his way to the Great Hall, Gideon spotted his dorm-mates and took a seat at the Slytherin table. Vinny seemed suspicious of his absence, but Gideon explained it away by saying he got lost. He had just enough time for some jam on toast before they had to leave for their very first lesson.

'You don't think the teachers will ask us too many questions right away, do you?' Brendan worried aloud. He seemed as nervous about their classes as Gideon. Though, likely for different reasons.

With some bickering, the boys eventually managed to use their map to find the History of Magic classroom. They arrived to find the first-year Slytherin girls and Hufflepuffs had already taken their seats. Gideon was glad to have History of Magic as their first lesson. It didn't require any magic, so it was a nice way to ease into things.

Once they had all taken a seat, their teacher finally arrived. However, instead of using the door as they had, Professor Binns appeared through the blackboard. A frail-looking—and transparent—old man, he was Hogwarts's only ghost professor. After the initial shock wore off and Professor Binns began speaking, Gideon's enthusiasm quickly waned.

Professor Binns had a monotonous voice and barely acknowledged the students sat before him. Moreover, from his description of the topics they would be learning about that semester, Gideon realised that he already knew the subject material. He supposed it meant he would get good marks, but he wasn't sure if his attention span would hold out.

After an hour and a half of droning, Professor Binns dismissed the class. Most of the Slytherins complained about him all the way to their next class with the Ravenclaws, that being Potions.

There were no surprises about their teacher this time, they already knew that Professor Long taught Potions. Though, some of them weren't looking forward to being taught by the Deputy Headmistress.

Again, Gideon wasn't too concerned about having to perform magic. Sure, potions did require magical users to make their ingredients react properly, some even required incantations or wand work, but it turned out this lesson wouldn't need either.

According to their timetables, their Monday lessons would be used to discuss and plan their practical Potions lessons, which would be held during a double period on Fridays. Gideon supposed there would be more time to brew their concoctions that way, not to mention clean up the inevitable mess.

Professor Long outlined the syllabus as Binns had, then she got straight to business by revealing they would be starting by looking at antidotes. They discussed basic antidotes and their applications. She then had the students read their textbooks before quizzing them.

Gideon shyly volunteered a detailed answer to a question that stumped the class, 'While a bezoar can cure many poisons on its own, only a small amount of it is needed in standard cures, so it makes more sense to dilute its powdered form as an ingredient to make it go further. Also, certain other ingredients mix well with bezoar to make recovery times faster.'

Professor Long paused for a moment before saying, 'A perfect answer. Five points to Slytherin!' She pointed her wand into the air, apparently magically adding the points to Slytherin's hourglass in the Entrance Hall.

Jaden and Harjeet patted Gideon on the back while Vinny consulted his textbook, murmuring in frustration, 'where was that written?'

Afterwards, she revealed they would be making a potion that cured common poisons that week. She discussed its properties, uses and limitations, then set them the task of learning its recipe as homework.

***

In the Great Hall for lunch, Gideon kept his one eye on the door while eating a crusty bread roll with ham, and the best chicken and mushroom soup he had ever tasted.

'Looking for someone?' asked Brendan.

'Err, I thought I might see my brother today,' said Gideon.

'Oh, yeah. I remember a guy calling out your name during the sorting,' Brendan commented. 'He sounded surprised to see you. Was that him?'

Gideon didn't want to go too deep into this conversation, so answered simply, 'Yeah, he's a seventh-year.'

Anthony didn't make an appearance while Gideon was eating and the other boys wanted to get some air, so they left via the front entrance and spent the rest of their break in the courtyard. On the way they noticed that each of the house hourglasses had already started filling with gems, including some emeralds in Slytherin's, thanks in-part to Gideon.

Charms was taught by Professor Keane, the attractive blonde witch who had conducted the school song the day before. Today, she wore similarly inappropriate robes in yellow, apparently a nod to the Hufflepuffs, of whom she was Head of House. She waited patiently for the students to file into her classroom while sitting on her desk with her high-heeled legs crossed.

Gideon couldn't help but wonder how a person like her came to be in such a position, but any concerns he had were assuaged when the professor put on a demonstration of sorts. All around the room, objects like the student's books and quills, and the pictures and items that lined the walls, all sprang to life and began to fly around the room, dance and perform acrobatic feats.

'Charms,' she told them joyfully while the objects continued to move around like a funny little circus act, 'are spells which enchant an object or individual with a desired effect. 'They're the most useful, common and fun form of magic there is! For that reason, mastering Charms will give you a good foundation for your future, so I expect all of you to give your best effort in my classes!'

Gideon, and most of the class, couldn't help but smile while watching her clever magical performance.

'Let's get right to it, shall we?' asked Professor Keane excitedly as the objects all returned to their original positions. 'We're going to start by working on the most fundamental spell around! Any guesses?'

Gideon raised his hand and the woman clapped giddily, 'Yes! Tell us who you are first!'

He regretted volunteering immediately, 'Oh, err, my name is Gideon Maxwell.'

'And what's your answer, Gideon?' Professor Keane enquired.

He hesitated in reply, 'Umm, levitation?'

'YES! Well done, Gideon! Ten points to SLYTHERIN!' she cried with glee while thrusting her wand into the air like a salute.

Gideon had never met someone, a teacher no less, with so much boundless energy. She proceeded to bounce around the room asking questions and awarding points. Gideon earned another ten for demonstrating the perfect pronunciation and wand movement for the spell.

He began to worry that the other students might resent him if they found out he was older than them and had learnt the material already. However, when it came time to perform the spell, the shoe was on the other foot.

By the end of the lesson, most of the students had manged to use their wands to at least move the feathers Professor Keane had handed out, and had each earned five points for doing so. Those who managed to make their feathers fly earned an extra five, including Vinny and Emma, both of whom were not shy about celebrating.

Sadly, Gideon was unable to affect his feather in the least. He knew that would be the case, but Professor Keane seemed positively flummoxed. He was tempted again, to use the channelling rod in his pocket, but after failing to move the feather despite using what the teacher said was perfect technique, she began to pay him special attention.

Gideon turned red when she suggested taking a look at his battered wand, but he assured her he would get the hang of it eventually.

The last class of the day was Defence Against the Dark Arts, or "DADA", as Emma insisted the older students referred to it. According to her, there was a spooky legend about the course at Hogwarts.

'Legend has it,' she told the Slytherins as they made their way to the next classroom, 'no teacher has been able to stay in the job for more than a year for decades. Apparently, it's cursed! One way or another, something always happens to make the teacher leave.'

'That can't be true, can it?' whispered Brendan.

'Oh, yes!' Emma continued, 'My sister, Sasha says that Professor McGonagall found a way around the curse by hiring teachers on a ten-month contract. Even so, none of them have ever agreed to stay on afterwards, just in case.'

'I suppose that means there will be a new teacher, then?' wondered Jaden.

'Yep, brand new!' Emma replied. 'My sister, Sasha and the third-years had him this morning. He's supposedly quite accomplished, but he's never taught before.'

'Did she say what he's like, though?' asked Vinny.

Emma gave the group a knowing look, 'Well, Sasha didn't like him. She said he's really strict.'

'Oh no!' groaned Emma's dorm-mates, Lindsey, Nadine and Stephanie in unison.

'I don't think my heart can take another scary teacher. I wish they were all like Professor Keane!' whined Lindsey.

'You're kidding?' exclaimed Jaden, 'Keane's off her rocker!'

As they arrived and took their seats, Gideon wondered if he would have to fake his way through this lesson, or if his knowledge of first-year creatures and defensive magic would be enough to get him by.

Just then, a man in navy blue robes marched in towards the front of the room saying, 'Wands away please, we won't be using magic until I'm certain you're capable of performing basic spells without being a danger to yourselves or others!'

The tall, grey-haired, bearded gentleman's frown lines impressed upon them how serious he was. It was plain to all of them that this lesson was not going to be like Professor Keane's, and they stashed their wands in unison.

Gideon, however, was frozen in a state of shock. He simply stared at the man, completely bewildered. What was going on here? What did this mean? Why was his father standing before him in place of a Hogwarts teacher?

'I'm Professor Maxwell,' the man announced. 'Pay attention and work hard in my classes, and we'll get along just fine!'

'Maxwell? Any relation?' joked Jaden.

'Wha-?' Gideon muttered in response while looking from Jaden to the man who had so recently abandoned him. 'No... No relation.'

Professor Maxwell taught his class without interruption. He covered the syllabus, gave them an overview of the subject, and told them the things they would be covering in their first few weeks, all the while avoiding Gideon's gaze.

As time went on, the boy's confusion turned to anger. Just what was his father doing here? Was it just a coincidence? Or perhaps he was here to expose him? And was he really going to continue ignoring him? Had his father lost his mind? That was the only plausible explanation Gideon could think of. In fact, it would explain everything!

Professor Maxwell wrote out a series of questions about different breeds of trolls on the blackboard with his wand. The students then, used their textbooks to answer them. Gideon didn't need the textbook. He finished the questions quickly and spent the remaining time staring at his father, daring him to make eye contact.

The other children caught up and Professor Maxwell picked several of them to read out their answers. He then set them their homework, to write a short essay on the differences between troll breeds and dismissed the class.

Gideon watched in disbelief as his father promptly exited the room ahead of the students. Was that it? Was he really not going to acknowledge his son? Gideon didn't know what to do or how to feel.

'That guy's intense, huh?' Harjeet commented.

'I know, right?' Jaden said.

'He seems to know what he's talking about, but does he have to look so angry all the time?' Lindsey noted.

'Where are you off to?' asked Vinny upon noticing Gideon heading in the other direction after they shuffled out of the classroom.

'I-I have to go to the Hospital Wing. You know, my eye,' Gideon replied.

It was true, of course, he was supposed to head there after class, but that had just been a convenient answer. The truth was, he needed a moment alone. The people all around him somehow felt suffocating. His heart began to race, and his breathing became laboured.

He couldn't stand the thought of the long journey to the front entrance, so he scrambled along the corridor for the first sign of a bathroom. The first one he happened to come upon turned out to be a girls' bathroom. Still, he was desperate to escape, just for a minute or two. He discreetly poked his head inside and saw that it appeared to be dark and empty.

He entered covertly, already rehearsing what he would say if somebody caught him. He checked under the stalls for feet and saw none, so he turned on a tap and splashed the patchless side of his face with water. The cool liquid felt refreshing as he patted his forehead and neck with his damp hands.

He spent a few minutes leaning over the sink, his fingers white from gripping its sides tightly, trying to control his breathing. Then, he straightened up, looked at himself in the mirror and shook his head. What was he doing here, at Hogwarts, alone in a girls' bathroom, trying to keep himself from having a panic attack?

'Don't worry,' said a squeaky voice, causing Gideon to stumble backward from the sink with fright. 'Nobody comes in here.'

A young girl had appeared from nowhere in front of one of the stalls. No, not a girl, the ghost of a girl. On closer inspection, the bespectacled girl with dark pigtails was clearly transparent.

'I'm sorry! I didn't know anyone was in here,' said Gideon, 'I just needed—a minute...'

'That's okay, I don't mind sharing,' said the translucent girl sweetly. 'It's been a while since I had a visitor. You looked upset. Has someone been teasing you? I expect they would with that silly patch over your eye.'

'Err, sure,' Gideon responded, deciding that would be a simpler explanation for his presence there.

'I'll give them a good haunting for you, if you like?' she offered.

'Err, no, that's okay, thanks,' Gideon told her. 'Speaking of which, I have to go and get this “silly patch” replaced.'

'Oh, leaving already? I see. You just want to get away from me, don't you?' she accused. 'Maybe I should tell a teacher you're in here, after all!'

'No, it's not that, honestly!' Gideon assured her. I'm supposed to be at the Hospital Wing. You just reminded me, so thanks!'

The pearly-white figure hovered uncomfortably close to him and studied his face for a few moments. 'Oh. Well, come back some time, then, won't you? I'm Myrtle by the way,' she said.

'Err, okay, Myrtle, I will. I'm Gideon,' he told her kindly as he approached the door.

'I'll look forward to it. Bye, Gideon!' she swooned, before zooming into the air, giggling, and disappearing into a stall with a splash.