Chapter 9: Second Time Around
Later that day, Simon, Alice, and Hugo were in the Quidditch pitch watching the try-outs of the Gryffindor team just like many others. They were right on the bottom. There were a four people already on the team and Simon recognized them as Albus, August, James, and Fred; two chasers and two beaters. August was the captain and he was talking to the players trying out. He held a little scrimmage to see who was best. There were a few other familiar faces there trying out like Albus's best friend Scorpius, and another Weasley cousin by the name of Louis, sixth year Gryffindor.
Simon was watching but was closely watching two players high in the sky, looking around for something.
"Do they interest you?" Alice asked to Simon while Hugo was watching the chasers battle for the quaffle.
"Who?" Simon asked, keeping his eyes on the unmoving players in the sky.
"The Seekers."
"No...maybe," answered Simon as he watched as something gold caught his eye towards the ground of the pitch. "I'm not sure what they're doing. I haven't figured it out yet, I mean, those three, the chasers, well, they chase the ball and put it through the hoops for points. Fred and James hit around these smaller balls to keep the chasers from scoring, and then the goalies protect the hoops."
"Keepers," Alice corrected. "Those two up there are Seekers; they seek a third golden ball called the Snitch. They catch it, they end the game."
Simon turned towards Alice. "You mean that?" he said, pointing down at the Pitch ground, where the snitch had been flying around. "It's been there for a few minutes."
"Yeah," Alice said, nodding numbly. "How did you find it?"
Simon shrugged. "I just did," he answered. "They're not looking hard enough, I mean, they're only looking up and around, and not down, all the way down. It looks like they're not even trying."
"All right, I'd like to see you try," Someone said from above the trio. Simon, Hugo, and Alice looked up to see who said that. It was August Longbottom, Alice's fifth year older brother.
Simon swallowed as he started getting nervous. Hugo turned his attention back to his friend looking between August and Hugo. Alice crossed her arms and glared at her brother.
"Um, no thanks," replied Simon as he blushed slightly wishing he should have kept his mouth shut.
"What are you afraid now? Afraid that you are just a big mouth and can't really do what a Seeker really does?" August spoke up making Alice roll her eyes. A small fire was ignited in Simon filled with anger, and clenched his teeth. Other players turned to watch what was going on. "I bet you can't even find and catch the snitch within five minutes," August continued.
"I bet he can," Alice said stubbornly. Simon turned his wide-eyes towards her, wishing her to not say anything on the matter.
"I bet 2 galleons, that the first year can catch that Snitch within five minutes," yelled a voice Simon was familiar with. It was James. Simon's fist balled up and was wincing in embarrassment.
"Me too," said Fred, joining his Potter cousin. "Who's in?" he asked as he walked up to Simon and literally dragged him to the field. His friends followed. Simon was standing in the middle of a crowd of people who were putting in bets. Captain August seemed not to care because he was betting as well.
"This is ridiculous, i don't even know how to ride a broom," Simon said quietly to Alice.
"Just wing it like you always do," Alice suggested. Simon sighed and Hugo came over holding his sweater he was wearing.
"Here, it gets cold up there," he said as he gave his sweater to Simon who grabbed it and threw it on.
"So you two aren't going to try and get me out of this?" asked Simon to Hugo and Alice.
"Don't worry, Simon. We know you can do this. Where's your Gryffindor courage?" Hugo said, patting Simon on the pack. Alice nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, right, courage," replied Simon as he was handed a random broom. He looked to see that is was Scorpius.
"Here, you can borrow my broom," he said as Simon nodded and accepted the broom. All the bets were in and Simon was standing looking at the broom.
"Well tough guy, get up there," August said. Simon glared at him as he mounted his broom and thought what to do. He leaned forward and was lifted off the ground and started hovering higher and higher. Simon looked surprised and a little nervous and scared, because he had never flown a broom before. He leaned forward a little and he went forward. He leaned back and stopped. It's not that hard, i think, He thought.
"Give me a minute," yelled Simon.
"All right, but we don't have all day," the Captain yelled back. Simon blew out a breath. Here i go, thought Simon. He tightened his grip on the broom and leaned forward, and he started to move, then he leaned all the way, and he was catching speed. He was going faster and faster and faster. The whole time, Simon was grinning. He loved this, He loved flying. His friends watched in amazement as Simon did everything, from going high to going as low as a few feet above the ground. He twisted and turned getting used to flying.
"Oi! We're here to see you play Quidditch not dance in the air!" August yelled. Simon nodded while smiling and flew back towards the ground. Okay Simon, let's see if you can handle this, thought Simon to himself. He landed next to August who held the snitch in his hand. "Alright," the captain started. "I will blind fold you and then release the snitch. Bear in mind that you won't be the only one going after the Snitch. Louis and Charlie here," August said pointing to the other two trying out for seekers, a fifth year and cousin to the Potter-Weasleys, and a second year with blonde hair, brown eyes, short with peach skin. "They too will go after the snitch. Whoever gets it first within the five minutes gets the position." Simon, Louis, and Charlie nodded. Louis was smirking, thinking he had this in the bag while Simon and Charlie both looked nervous. "Alright, someone cover their eyes," August said. Simon looked ahead while a pair of small warm and soft hands covered his eyes; they were Alice's. A second later, Simon heard the sounds of fluttering wings and then they were gone another second later. A minute later, the hands were removed from Simon's eyes who squinted into the sunlight, his eyes darting around for something gold.
"GO!" August shouted. Simon, Louis, and Charlie mounted their brooms and blasted off into the sky, flying in different directions, and quickly looking around. Simon didn't see it at first, but as he round near one of the tower seats, his ears twitched and he heard it; the sound of the snitch's fluttering wings, but not just the wings, but Louis's and Charlie's brooms, and the shouting of the other Gryffindors on the ground. He looked around him, but the snitch was nowhere to be seen, but he could hear through the shouts, so he tried to focus on the fluttering wings, which got louder and the shouts of the others were tuned out, and he could hear the fluttering wings clear as day. He quickly looked around, and then saw that glimmer of gold, way on the other side of the pitch, right under Charlie who was looking up and around but not down.
Simon leaned forward and blasted off towards the snitch. He quickly passed Louis who turned, knowing that Simon had seen it and flew right after him. Simon was getting close to the snitch that was fluttering around near the bottom of the goal posts when he felt a presence from behind him. He quickly glanced behind him to see Louis right on his tail.
"That snitch is mine, Ares!" Louis shouted through the wind, catching up to Simon inch by inch. Simon and Louis reached the goal posts but the snitch, feeling them closing in on it, flew up into the sky, showing itself to Charlie who then flew after it. Now all three seekers were chasing after it with Charlie in the lead. There were shouts and cheers from the group of Gryffindors on the ground, all cheering for each of the seekers.
Very fast, Simon and Louis passed up Charlie and flew after the snitch. The snitch rose higher and higher into the sky with Simon and Louis right next to one another, going as fast as one could go. Simon, now feeling like he wanted to win, willed his broom to go faster, and as he leaned a bit more forward, his broom picked up more speed, more than Louis. Simon looked ahead, and right there in front of him was the snitch, so he reached out his right arm that was closing in on the snitch and then it happened. Simon was violently pulled away from the snitch with great strength and he was twirled out of the way, suddenly slipping off his broom.
"Simon!" Louis cried in horror at what he had just caused. The Gryffindors screamed and shouted from the ground, some mounting their broom and taking off to the sky. Simon looked around as he was falling, his heart strangely calm. He looked to his right where his broom was falling next to him, he reached out, willing the broom to come to him, but it wasn't that easy, but he had to try. He clenched his teeth. "Come on," he said, if someone would have seen Simon's eyes, they would have seen them glow blue. And then in that moment, the broom soared right into his hand. Simon put the broom under him and leaned back, breaking and stopping up into the air, in the middle of the pitch. He looked around to see all the Gryffindors who were on the team or trying out around him. They were ready to catch him, but it seems as if Simon had saved himself.
Carefully, everyone landed on the ground and dismounted their brooms, and all looked at Simon who was getting uncomfortable about the prying and wondering eyes. Quickly, he walked over to Scorpius and handed him his broom back. "Thanks for letting me borrow it," Simon said.
"Simon," Alice said, walking up to her friend. "That was…that was frightening." Simon shrugged. For some reason, it didn't feel frightening.
"But that was amazing," Hugo said, walking up next to Alice. "Not just the grabbing the broom and saving yourself, but your performance!"
"Yeah, I thought he did pretty well too."
Simon turned around to see August had walked up to the trio. Louis was right behind him looking shameful. Fred and James too walked up to the trio.
"Wow, that was pretty amazing," said Fred in awe.
"Yeah, you were…"James began twirling his arms and made whooshing sounds.
"But we lost 4 galleons," said Fred.
"And other people's money," finished James with a nod.
"Sorry guys," apologized Simon with an apologetic smile.
"Don't worry about it," Fred replied, waving off the first year.
"We're not," finished James and smiled.
"Er, Simon?" Louis said, stepping up from behind August. Simon looked up at the older Gryffindor. "Look, I'm really sorry about what I did. I feel really horrible about it. My ego got in the way, and I didn't want a first year to beat me. I'm really sorry."
Simon nodded. "It's alright," he said. Louis nodded and stepped back while August stepped up.
"For a first time flyer, you did really well," He said, patting Simon on the shoulder. "I can see why my sister likes you. " Simon glanced at Alice who blushed and glared at her older brother. "You're full of surprises." Simon smiled in thanks. "What do you think about playing Quidditch?" August asked.
"What do you mean?" asked Simon as his friends looked up in awe and shock.
"Well, I think you'd make a great seeker," August began to say. "You were quick, observant, and you didn't cheat, and you would have caught the snitch first even if it was after five minutes." Simon looked at his friends. Alice smiled at him while Hugo nodded eagerly.
"Um...Yeah sure," answered Simon as a smile came to his face, but remembered something. "But i don't have a broom nor can I have one."
"Don't worry about that, I'll talk to our head of house. He sort of favors me on the count of that I'm his favorite son," said August.
"You're his only son," Alice commented.
August chuckled. "I'll talk to you later." Simon nodded and August left to the other Gryffindors to continue with the tryouts.
"Way to go mate," said Fred, patting Simon on the right shoulder.
"Yeah now you're our team mate," said James, patting Simon on his left shoulder.
"Later," they both said and went back to the other Gryffindors.
"Way to go mate," Hugo said as the trio began making their way out of the pitch. "Being on a Quidditch team. It's going to be great!"
"What you think about this, Alice?" asked Simon who felt a little worried about playing a sport he never even heard of until earlier that summer.
"I think you'll do great," answered Alice as she smiled. Simon smiled back.
After the tryouts, and after a little convincing from August Longbottom, the Gryffindor Quidditch team was set. Simon was the seeker; August was chaser with Albus, and Scorpius. The beaters were the James Potter and Fred Weasley, and the keeper was a sixth year named Sebastian Thomas.
The weekend was over, and a week passed by. It was now Monday morning. Simon and his friends were eating breakfast at the Gryffindor table when the owls came to drop by the mail. Simon's owl, Link, dropped two letters, and a long package in front of him. Alice also received a letter, while Hugo received two letters. Simon opened the first letter.
Dear Simon,
I heard you made the Quidditch team, and since you have no one to help you get your broom, I took it upon myself to get you your first one.
Harry Potter.
Simon smiled, and looked at the package. He thought about writing a thank you note to Mr. Potter later. He moved onto the next letter and ripped it open, and began to read it.
Dear Mr. Ares
I have found out the inner core of your wand. My father told me that it was chimera scale fragments. My father's great grandfather created it and no one has every claimed it as their own since it was created, until now. It has finally chosen an owner who happens to be you, Mr. Ares. There's not much history about the wand, but my father said it was the last wand his great grandfather ever made right before he died.
Your core is absolutely rare, and used right, it can be very powerful and mysterious. Chimeras are ancient Greek creatures. To even obtain a Chimera scale fragment is lucky as they are rare to find.
I hope you find this information to your satisfaction. Hope you are well,
Bill Ollivander
Simon closed the letter and put it back in the envelope, and pulled out his wand and examined it. It was almost black, like a charcoal color, will small curvy engravings on the handle. To Simon, it looked ordinary and not special, but was it special?
"What's in the Package?" asked Hugo, interrupting Simon's thoughts.
Simon shrugged. "A broom stick," he answered as him, Hugo, and Alice stared at it.
"Let's open it." Hugo suggested with excitement in his heart. Simon nodded, and with the help from his two friends, opened the long package. When they opened it, Hugo gawked at what was inside. It was not just a broom, it was the broom.
"Whoa," all three Gryffindors breathed wide eyed and in awe.
"My own broom stick," said Simon, slowly touching the broom handle. It was light brown with lightning bolts carve on each side of the tip, and the twigs were a darker color of brown. Near the bottom of the handle were the golden carvings of S. Ares and Reg. 245.
"It's the Lightning Bolt," Hugo whispered in awe. "It's has an amazing speed, fast enough for someone like you to catch the snitch, probably within seconds." Simon nodded as he, Alice, and Hugo continued to stare in amazement and jumped when the bell rang.
Minutes later, Simon was running with his bag and his broom in his hands. Then suddenly, Simon had an idea and ran into an empty classroom.
"Hey Dizzy!" called out Simon and in popped Simon's house elf friend. For the past week, Simon had visited Dizzy in the kitchens one other time when he wasn't busy or around his friends. He stilled didn't tell his friends about the kitchens yet because he wanted to keep it to himself for now. Simon and Dizzy had talked about different things, from history to creatures and magic, and Simon was even able to cook something with Dizzy and the other elves. Simon and Dizzy became good friends, and Dizzy told Simon to call him if he ever needed anything, and this was the opportune moment.
"Yes?" said Dizzy looking curiously.
"I need a favor," said Simon, and Dizzy nodded. "Can you take my broom to my dorm?"
"Yes, anything for my good friend," replied Dizzy as he smiled. Simon handed Dizzy the broom and the little house elf popped away.
Simon looked at his watch and it looked that he only had two minutes left, so Simon left the empty classroom and ran as fast as he could. When he turned a corner, Simon ran into to someone pretty roughly and fell back, and when he ran into that someone, Simon had another vision. Images of a man with black hair and green eyes with some kind of dagger in his abdomen was shown, then a man with blue eyes, and then someone with red eyes, fangs, longer hair with sideburns, pointy ears, and claws.
Then an echoing voice saying, "With your blood, I will find that Resurrection Stone!"
"Mr. Ares!"
Simon snapped back to reality, shook his head and blinked rapidly. He looked up to see Professor Banter or Charlie. "What..." Simon said, his eyes refocusing.
"Are you okay?" the professor asked
"Uh, yeah I'm fine," answered Simon as he looked into Charlie's eyes. For some strange reason, Simon felt like something was pushing into his mind, so he looked away quickly and picked up his bag and stood up.
"Here," said Charlie as he waved his wand and a small piece of paper appeared. Simon took it and looked at it. It was a note saying that he'd be late signed by Charlie Banter. Simon nodded in thanks and started walking away. "Oh and Mr. Ares?" Simon turned to look at Charlie who stood holding his hands behind his back, staring at Simon with suspicion. "Is there anything you would like me to help you with?"
Simon looked at Charlie, and then shook his head. "No, sir." He replied.
Charlie nodded. "Alright then, move along," he said. Simon turned and quickly made his way to his next class.
Later that day, Simon entered the Gryffindor Common room. He was going to tell Hugo and Alice about his recent vision and see what they thought; He also had to catch Alice up on everything she missed when she and Simon weren't friends. He found Hugo and Alice were sitting around the fire, talking quietly. They stopped talking when Simon walked up to them.
"What's up, mate?" Hugo asked.
Simon looked at Hugo and Alice. "Can we go somewhere private? I need to tell you guys something," he said. Alice and Hugo nodded and stood up where Simon led them out of the common room and towards an empty classroom on the sixth floor.
"So what's up?" Hugo repeated as he sat on top of a desk while Alice leaned on it. Simon looked at his friends. Simon sighed heavily and first began to catch up Alice with everything he told Hugo. He then told the both of them his recent vision and the letter he received from Bill Ollivander.
"I knew there was something up with you," Alice said. "But I wasn't sure what it was."
Simon nodded. "Yeah, and you are the only guys I told this to, and you can't tell anyone about this, not even the teachers, alright?" He said, looking straight into both of his friends' eyes. Alice and Hugo nodded seriously.
"So, do you know what triggered your visions?" Alice asked.
Simon thought back. "Well, Charlie or Professor Banter, when I ran into him, Hugo, and Mr. Potter," he began to answer. "And right after I got my wand – "
"Your wand," Hugo said, snapping his fingers and pointing at Simon. "That's probably what could have started it all."
"What do you mean?" Alice asked.
"Remember what Bill Ollivander said about the wand?" Hugo said standing up. "That the core of your wand is mysterious," he continued. "Maybe it was your wand that suddenly triggered these visions. I mean, you didn't have these before you got your wand, right?" Simon nodded. "So, that must be it then."
"But what do these visions mean?" Alice asked. "Are they years in the future or a day in the future?
"Let's recap the visions," Hugo suggested. "Your first vision, Simon?"
"Back at Diagon Alley," Simon started, and thought back. "After I received my wand, I saw two men arguing and then fighting, and then one turns into a black monster. My second vision when Hugo gave me back the chocolate frog, I saw some large four legged creature growling and resembling a wolf, then a shiny black stone and a man with fangs, then some flashes of strange green light; and then mine and Hugo's voices. Hugo wanted me to leave him, but I couldn't because he was cursed." Simon looked up at Hugo who had gone a little pale in fright. "My third vision, I saw a new man with teal eyes, fangs, and a goatee, another wolf-like creature biting someone, and two men in a dark forest staring at one another. And then, there was Potter's and another unfamiliar voice arguing about impersonating a teacher or something that is never going to be found."
"And you're most recent vision?" Alice asked.
"A man with black hair and green eyes with a dagger in his stomach, like someone stabbed him," Simon explained. "Then another man with blue eyes and a third man with red eyes, fangs, longer hair with pointy ears, and claws. Then a voice mysteriously saying 'with your blood, I will find that Resurrection Stone!'"
"So when do you think these visions are happening?" Hugo asked. "Or do we think they are real?"
"They seemed pretty real to me," Simon replied.
"The man with black hair and green eyes sounds like Mr. Potter," Alice said. "I mean, you had a vision with him already, right? So it could be him."
"Yeah, and I'm not too happy about the vision where I get cursed," Hugo said with a shiver. "Maybe the people you got these visions somehow, are connected?"
"You, Mr. Potter, Professor Banter, and my wand," Simon said. "The only connections I see is my wand is my wand and you're my friend."
"And Professor Banter is your teacher," Alice put in.
"And then the other stuff," Hugo started. "The monsters with the fangs, wolves, and that black stone."
"And the only stone mentioned was the Resurrection stone," Simon said. "Have either of you heard of it?" Hugo and Alice shook their heads. "But that's not even the worst part here."
"What is?" Alice asked.
"My third vision," Simon said. "The argument with Potter and the unknown man."
"What about it?" Alice asked.
"The unknown man was impersonating a teacher!" Hugo answered for Simon.
"Which means?" Alice asked.
"There's a bad guy in Hogwarts, right under everyone's noses, teaching us," Hugo replied. "And he's pretending to be a teacher."
"But who could it be?" Alice asked. Simon shrugged. He didn't know.
"It's obvious, isn't it," Hugo said. Simon and Alice looked at one another confusedly, and then back at Hugo who rolled his eyes. "It's the new teacher, Xander Simmons. Why else would Mr. Potter and Professor Longbottom be looking into him?"
"Well, yeah, it kind of seems suspicious, I guess," Simon said.
"Then we should keep an eye on him," Hugo suggested.
"Shouldn't we just tell the Headmaster?" Alice suggested, not wanting to do something stupid and rash.
"On what evidence?" Hugo replied. Alice shrugged. "While we're at it, why don't we just tell the Headmaster that Simon has visions and that he turned into – Ow!" Hugo yelped because Simon had slapped him in the back of the head, surprising Alice. Hugo rubbed his head and was about to glare at Simon but didn't when he saw the warning look on his face.
Simon turned to Alice who was looking with suspicious eyes. He just smiled and said, "Sorry, thought I saw a fly."
"So yeah," Hugo continued. "We can't tell the Headmaster, at least not now, not until we have proof that Simmons is the bad guy."
"Okay, it's settled. We'll keep an eye on Professor Simmons," Simon said. "And I think we should try and figure out anything we can on this Resurrection stone. What is it, and if Simmons is bad, why does he need it?" Hugo nodded, and Alice did so reluctantly.
The weeks passed by and surprisingly, nothing interesting really happened, and none of Simon's visions had come true, at least not yet. Everything was normal at the moment, classes preceded normally, and Simon did not have any more visions since Professor Banter. But his Quidditch practices were pretty interesting. Simon was pretty good at doing what he did. Almost everyone on the team thought he was great. He could not wait for the first Quidditch game; his first ever Quidditch game.
Another thing that was going on was that Simon, Alice, and Hugo were watching Simmons' every move. So far, He was still acting the same as always. He showed no sign of being evil or a mad person. He was just a normal person. He was the same from breakfast, class, lunch, and dinner.
"This is stupid," said Hugo as he walked into the common room and plopped down onto the couch.
"Just give it time. He'll show his true self, eventually," said Simon as he sat on the couch as well while Alice sat on one of the chairs.
"Oh and when is that, in a hundred years!" yelled Hugo out loud, and Alice had to shush him to keep people from overhearing them.
"You just have to be patient," responded Simon. Hugo slouched on the couch and groaned. Alice looked at Simon, who was staring into the fire most likely thinking about their identity solution.
"What are you thinking, Simon?" asked Alice.
"What if Simmons isn't a bad guy in disguise," said Simon aloud enough for Hugo to here.
"What do you mean? Who do you think it is?" Hugo asked.
"We still have other options here," Simon replied.
"Like who?" Alice.
"Professor Wolpert maybe?" Simon answered. "Or maybe Professor Banter. I mean, he was the one who gave me my vision, but I didn't have direct contact, I just ran into him, so maybe not. I doubt a man would impersonate a woman, and you can't impersonate a ghost. And I doubt Professor Longbottom would be impersonated because I doubt he could be overtaken in a duel." Alice nodded in agreement.
"Let's just stick Simmons for now," Hugo said. "I don't think we could keep an eye on all three Professors."
"Unless we each looked after one," Alice said cleverly.
"That's brilliant, Alice," Simon said, sitting up straight. Alice blushed a little and smiled. "I'll still keep an eye on Simmons, Alice you take Banter, and Hugo, you take Wolpert." Hugo and Alice nodded.
A second later, Fred and James approached the trio carrying a few books. "Hello first years," Fred greeted with a grin.
"We come baring gifts!" James added, handing the books to Hugo.
"The books you requested," Fred said.
"Yeah we requested these weeks ago," Simon said, taking a book that was entitled Prophecies: Real Destinies or False Hopes.
"Ah yes, well you see," Fred started.
"The thing is," James started and a second later, the two inseparable cousins quickly walked away.
Alice chuckled. "Those guys are funny," she said. "What books did you get?"
"Books on Prophecies and Necromancy," Hugo answered, looking through a book entitled Necrology: Tales of Resurrection. Alice then grabbed the last book on Necromancy and began to read it.
It was now the end of October, and Simon, Alice, and Hugo were now knowledgeable about Necromancy and Prophecies. Each of the trio, true to their word, kept an eye on the three Professors, Banter, Wolpert, and Simmons. But none of them showed any kind of malice or anger, only occasionally when a student went out of line. Simmons was still an obvious choice as he was new and because he was being looked into by the Head Auror.
On October 30th, in the afternoon, Simon had finished his school work and was walking through the corridors by himself thinking and exploring. His life had gotten a whole lot better since he turned eleven, and was now living an amazing dream and learning magic. But he did wish he wasn't having these visions that would plague his mind every night before he went to sleep. He didn't was a special wand, or not to see the future. He wanted to be normal, like everyone else.
Simon sighed when he noticed that his shoe was untied, so he stopped right before a corner turn and knelt down to tie his shoe.
"What do you want me to do?" asked a voice that Simon thought sounded familiar like Professor Wolpert.
"I need you to watch out and patrol the corridors at night mostly near the dungeons," answered another familiar voice that sounded like Professor Longbottom.
"May I ask why?" Wolpert asked.
"Ms. Patil tells me that someone it stealing from her private storage of ingredients. Whoever is stealing is smart enough to get past her defenses," Longbottom explained.
"What ingredients are being stolen, sir?"
"Well, mostly Monkswood. Also known as – "
"Yes, Wolfsbane."
"So whoever is taking these ingredients is making Wolfsbane Potion."
"But why? We don't house any cursed students, and none of the staff are cursed."
"No I don't think so, Wolpert, unless someone lied on their applications when they applied for a Transfiguration Position."
"Ah, I see."
"Come on, let's continue this in your office, we need to talk in private about a few things."
"Yes sir." and the voices started dying out as the two men Simon recognized as Longbottom and Wolpert walked away.
Simon turned the corner looking a little confused. "Wolfsbane Potion?" he said to himself.
Minutes later, Simon was running into the Common room. Hugo was making paper balls and trying to throw them into a trash can, while Alice was looking over her and Simon's notes to see if she missed anything. Simon ran up to them breathing heavily.
"You won't believe what i just heard," He breathed out. His friends looked at him strangely and listened to what Simon had heard just a few minutes ago. "So, what the heck is Wolfsbane potion?" Simon asked.
"It's a potion that helps people who are werewolves keep their state of mine after a transformation," Hugo answered. "Basically, it keeps them human while they turn into a monster, but no potion, comes with a animalistic mind."
"A werewolf," Simon said, remember his visions. "That's what those men turn into in my visions; wolf-like creatures, meaning Werewolves."
"So, what does this mean?" Alice asked.
"It means that whoever is pretending to be a teacher," Simon started. "Is also a werewolf."
"Things just became a little be scarier," Hugo commented.
"So what do we do?" asked Alice. "Should we tell a teacher now?"
Simon shook his head. "No, I don't think so," he said. "Not yet."
"Then what?" Alice asked.
"We need a moon chart," Simon asked. "We need to know when the next full moon is."
"Actually," Hugo said. "The next full moon is tomorrow night."
"That's creepy," Simon stated.
"Why?" Alice asked.
"Tomorrow is Halloween," Simon answered. Hugo and Alice shared a worried glance, but it was Hugo who turned his worried eyes towards Simon. He knew when Simon had changed into some kind of monster, it was a full moon, and he had been keeping track sense he made a connection. And if he was right, then tomorrow he would get his answers.
Later that night, at midnight to be exact, Simon couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about what was going on and it was annoying him. Mostly because of what happened the last time there was a full moon. He had turned into something. But it couldn't be a werewolf; he wasn't full of hair and didn't have a tail or a snout, so maybe it was something else.
Abruptly, Simon got out of bed and changed into something comfortable to go sneaking around in. He needed to distract his mind and he knew just how. He left the common room minutes later and thought he'd start at Patil's classroom to catch or see who was stealing potion ingredients. Minutes later, Simon was sitting in front of the potions classroom door, waiting to see if it would open anytime soon. He waited about twenty minutes but it didn't open, so he decided to go somewhere else, but stopped when he heard the potions door opened.
Simon hid in the shadows to see who it was, and out walked Wolpert looking tired. He sighed inwardly, knowing why Wolpert was inside the Potion's classroom. He was on watch, just like how Simon was on watch.
Wolpert closed the door and waved his wand. The door glowed red then went away a second later. He sighed and began to walk away. Out of curiosity, Simon followed him as discreetly and as quietly as he could. Wolpert walked out of the dungeons and up the stairs with Simon following right on his heels silently in the shadows, but then Wolpert stopped and sighed. Simon stopped as well and hid behind a body of armor.
"Mr. Ares, you shouldn't be wandering the halls at night, it could be really dangerous," Wolpert said as he turned around and looked at the body of armor Simon was hiding behind. Once Simon heard his name, he froze. "Come on out." The Professor ordered. Simon silently gulped as he reluctantly walked out from behind the body of armor. "Mr. Ares, it is against the rules to be out this late. What are you doing?"
"I could ask you the same, professor," replied Simon lamely.
The professor chuckled and then rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I am on patrol, and you should be in bed," He responded.
"You were not, you just came out of the potions classroom," Simon replied.
"You caught me, Mr. Emerson. I was in the potions classroom."
"Doing What?" Simon asked to see if he could get a little more information than he already knew.
"That is none of your business," Wolpert answered coolly.
"You were guarding Professor Patil's ingredients weren't you?" Simon said.
"You were stealing potion ingredients, weren't you," blurted out Simon.
Wolpert narrowed his eyes towards Simon. "How do you know about that?" He asked.
"I…you're a teacher," Simon quickly said. "And…and that's what you're supposed to do, right."
"Right," Wolpert said, eyeing Simon suspiciously. "Come on, Mr. Ares. I'll take you back to you dorm." Simon nodded and began to follow the Defense Professor. They were walking on the third floor when Wolpert spoke up. "I trust you will not tell anyone I've been guarding the potions room will you?"
Simon looked up at Wolpert. "Only if you tell me why you were guarding," replied Simon. Wolpert chuckled. "Well I kind of already know; because someone is stealing the ingredients and making Wolfsbane potion."
"Where did you get this information, Mr. Ares?'
"I figured it out for myself," Simon lied, looking away.
"Right."
Simon blew out the breath he was holding. They were now on the fifth floor. "Why is someone making Wolfsbane potion?" he asked. "Is someone hiding a certain curse?"
"There is nothing for you to worry about, Mr. Ares," Wolpert assured. "We do have everything under control, and if there was a…cursed person inside Hogwarts, the staff will handle it."
Simon nodded, and they walked in silence the rest of the way. Minutes later, they were in front of portrait of the fat lady.
"Simon," Wolpert called. Simon looked up to him. "Please leave this investigating to the professors, we will figure out this mess. And don't worry; this is not a big problem." Simon nodded and took a few steps, but stopped when Wolpert spoke up again. "Oh and you will have a detention with your Head of House tomorrow night."
"What! Why?" Simon exclaimed.
"For being out of your dorm after hours." Wolpert answered. Simon sighed and nodded and started walking towards the portrait again, said the password, and the portrait opened. "Oh, and Simon?" Simon turned around one last time before he entered the common room. "Please don't eavesdrop; it won't do you any good." Simon's eyes widened in shock, but walked into the common room nonetheless.
The first year sat down on the couch to think about what was going on. He didn't learn anything knew, and he received a detention for no reason. Within minutes, Simon nodded off and fell asleep. He awoke hours later with someone shaking him pretty hard. Simon opened his eyes to see it was Hugo.
"Hey, wake up mate," said Hugo. Simon sat up and began to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes. Once his eyes un-blurred, he saw Hugo and Alice curiously looking at him.
"What?" he said a bit annoyed.
"Why were you sleeping in here, mate?" asked Hugo. "You do know we have beds, right?"
"I couldn't sleep last night, so i went out for a walk," Simon answered and then yawned and stretched out his limbs.
"Simon, you shouldn't be going out late at night, you'll get caught and get into trouble," Alice said concernedly while Hugo rolled his eyes.
"Ali, come on. Don't worry about Simon, because he didn't get caught. Did you Simon?" Hugo said.
"…er actually..." Simon began as he rubbed the back of his neck. Hugo looked sideways at him. "I did get caught."
"By who?" Alice asked.
"Professor Wolpert," Simon said, and then spoke quieter. "Since I couldn't sleep, I decided to go to the Potion's classroom to see if I could catch the culprit, but instead Wolpert was there, patrolling and guarding it. And to make sure, I followed him, but he caught me. And then he gave be a detention."
"A detention?" repeated Hugo.
"When is it?" asked Alice.
"Tonight," Simon answered with a sigh.
"But tonight we're supposed to watch out which teacher drinks Wolfsbane," Hugo said. "How are we going to watch all of them if you're in detention?"
"Wolpert's out," Simon replied. "He was guarding and I didn't see any concealed ingredients of him, so all you guys have to do is watch Banter and Simmons." Alice and Hugo nodded. "I'm gonna take a shower," Simon added and began walking away.
"Simon, wait up!" Hugo said, lightly jogging after him.
"What?" Simon said.
"You do remember what happened the last Full moon?" Hugo quietly asked, glancing at Alice who was back to copying notes.
"Really, how could I forget," Simon replied wryly. "It only gave me pain when it happened."
"Do you think it will happen again?" Hugo worriedly asked.
Simon shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "I really hope not. Maybe it was one time thing, or it was coincidence and only happens once a year or something," he finished and walked up the stairs towards his dorm.
"Well, we'll know for sure later tonight," Hugo said to himself as he watched Simon leave."
Simon walked back into the common room, clean and refreshed, and wearing some clean clothes; his wand tucked into his pocket. He walked down to see Hugo tossing paper balls into the waste basket. Simon walked over to the waste basket and began to block the oncoming paper balls.
"Where did Alice go?" asked Simon still trying to swat away a paper ball but missing.
Hugo threw another paper ball and Simon swung his hand as hard as he could, and hitting the paper ball over Hugo's head towards an older girl where it hit her in the head. She was studying and once she was hit, she stopped what she was doing and turned towards Hugo and Simon looking a bit murderous.
"She went to the library," answered a wide eyed Hugo. Simon had the same look.
"Maybe we should go library," suggested Simon as the girl angrily stood to her feet and pulled out her wand.
"Good Idea," Hugo agreed, and then took off running with Simon out of the common room and into the halls. The two Gryffindor first years were laughing all way till they were on the third floor.
"That was close," Simon laughed. Hugo nodded.
"What was close?" said a familiar voice to Simon. Simon turned; it was Gabriel Smith, a fellow first year who was in Ravenclaw.
"Hey, Gabriel, it's been awhile," Hugo greeted.
"Hey Hugo, Simon," Gabriel greeted back. "What have you guys been up to?"
"Nothing," Hugo and Simon quickly answered at the same time surprising Gabriel.
"You know, school and magic," Simon added with a nod. "And yourself?"
"Pretty much the same," Gabriel replied. "Are you guys excited for the Halloween feast tonight?"
"I am," Hugo said. "I can't wait to stuff myself with all the treats that'll be on the table."
"I am, but after, I'm not so excited," Simon answered a bit sadly.
Gabriel looked at him confusedly. "Simon has a detention with Longbottom," Hugo explained.
"Seriously?" Gabriel said. "So do I. I was messing around in his class, and might have damaged a plant. What'd you do?"
"I was out of bed after hours," Simon replied. "I couldn't sleep, so I just went for a walk, and I walked into Professor Wolpert."
For the rest of the day, Gabriel, Hugo, and Simon hung out on Hogwarts grounds doing whatever came to their mind and relaxing. They were soon joined by Alice and Lily, who brought them back to the Great Hall for Lunch, and then the rest of the day passed pretty easily, and then it was time for the Halloween feast. When it was time, Alice, Simon, and Hugo followed some students out of the common room, where they were greeted by Professor Longbottom and Gabriel.
"Good evening Gryffindors," Longbottom greeted. "Mr. Ares, I actually would like to quickly get some work done and then we can enjoy the feast and the rest of the night. I know how you kids like to stay up late and have a bit of fun."
Simon nodded. "Okay," he said. "I like that idea."
"Alright, good," Longbottom said. "Why don't you and Gabriel follow me to the greenhouses." Simon and Gabriel nodded.
"See you guys," Simon said to Alice and Hugo, giving them a knowing look, and then followed Longbottom and Gabriel away from the Gryffindor common room. Minutes later, Longbottom, Gabriel, and Simon entered Greenhouse One.
"Alright, fellas," Longbottom said. "We're just gonna finish repotting these special Nimbus Flowers for tomorrow's fourth year class. Don't worry, perfectly harmless, but if you do get sprayed in the face by their mist, you'll be unusually calm about everything that is happening."
"That's wouldn't be so bad would it?" Gabriel asked as the trio made their way over to blue and white puffy flowers.
"Well, it actually depends on the situation, doesn't it," Longbottom replied, grabbing three pairs of dragon-hide gloves and giving Simon and Gabriel a pair each. The three kneeled down and began un-plotting the Nimbus Flowers. "If it's a detention, then it wouldn't be bad, but if it happened during a serious situation, then yeah. It sort of impairs your will to make decisions."
Minutes later, the trio were working steadily, un-plotting and re-plotting the Nimbus Flowers. All were sweating a little too much. "Just a few more," Longbottom said, standing to his feet. "It's a bit stuffy; let me open a sky window."
Simon and Hugo continued to work while above them, Longbottom pulled out his wand and waved it. Right about them, a window in the ceiling instantly disappeared, letting in a cool night breeze. Simon felt the cool breeze on the back of his neck. He stretched out and looked up at the opened window; freezing instantly. There as bright as a star in the night sky was the moon, big and full. He didn't know why, but he couldn't help but stare at it. Maybe it was to prove to himself that nothing was going to happened, and dared it to in his mind; something he shouldn't have done, because at once, his blue eyes glowed and his pupils dilated.
Suddenly, the pot in Simon's hand broke into pieces. Gabriel jumped a little in surprise and turned to look at Simon's hands and was shock to see his fingers had grown into claws. He slowly rose to his feet. "Er, Professor Longbottom?" he called.
"Yes?" Longbottom said not looking up.
"I think there's something wrong with Simon," Gabriel said, inching away from Simon who was now clenching his claws into fists that dug into the palm of his hands, shaking and bleeding.
"What is it?" Longbottom said, and looked up at Simon and his eyes widened in horror. Simon was still staring at the full moon. His eyes were giving off a great blue glow, and more of his facial features began to change. His hair grew longer and his ears grew pointy. The bridge of his nose straightened into his forehead. It was like from a muggle movie Gabriel had seen a million times. "Simon," Longbottom said, getting in front of Gabriel and pulling out his wand.
Stop looking at the moon, Simon thought to himself. His teeth were clenched but he could feel they weren't just teeth but fangs. Pull it together. And with all his might and will, Simon looked down and away from the moon, and turned towards Longbottom and Gabriel. He saw the terror upon their faces, and when he tried to speak, no words came out, only growling noises. Simon stood to his feet and watched as Longbottom raised his wand.
"Professor, what's going on?" Gabriel asked in a frightened voice.
"I'm not sure," Longbottom answered though he did have a suspicion. "When I tell you to run, you run. Got it?" Gabriel nodded, but at once, Simon gave a growl, sounding like an adult wolf and lunged at Longbottom with great speed, grabbed him by his robes and tossed the professor with great strength across the room, knocking him out cold.
"Professor!" Gabriel cried, and then turned to Simon who was glaring back at him. "Simon, wait, it's me, Gabriel!" he said, holding his hands up in defense when the Nimbus flowers caught his eye. "Please, don't…stay there…control your animalistic urges," He said, inching towards the closest Nimbus flower. "Please don't let him get me," he whispered, and at the same time as Simon suddenly lunged towards Gabriel, Gabriel jumped toward the Nimbus flower, clutched it, turned around and squeezed it, releasing its mysteriously calming mist.
Simon stopped once he ran into the mist, shaking his head and sneezed a couple of times. Gabriel prayed for the mist to work on him. The Ravenclaw stood there frozen waiting for what was to happen next and then Simon stopped shaking his head where Gabriel saw that his eyes were glazed over. Simon took a staggering step forward and then looked at Gabriel. His face wasn't looking that menacing, more calm and lazy, and then, he unexpectingly sneezed, scaring Gabriel who pulled out his wand and pointed it at Simon, closing his eyes and trying to remember what the stunning spell was.
"Gabriel?"
Gabriel opened his eyes to see Simon looking at him confusedly. He was still half a monster looking, but he was Simon again. "What's going on?" He asked, but before he could get his answer, Simon collapsed, fainting into the darkness.
A/N: There you have it. Interesting right? I think it is. If you see mistakes, let me know. I keep forgetting a few details like if it was a headmaster and headmistress. I need to keep them save and not delete them. Imma start doing that now. Okay, the story. Simon is? What do you think he is exactly? Werewolf? Maybe, but a different type of werewolf. History repeats itself and Simon is a seeker, because that's what I would do, or chaser. But with his instincts Seeker would have done it, or a keeper. Who do you think the evil teacher is? And if you have any kind of questions, don't be afraid to ask. Please review. I like that shit.