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Gideon Drake made his way out of the Bell Tower wing and stepped into the courtyard of the school, feeling good about the choices he made for his electives. Ancient Runes would be a difficult course, but he was sure he would be able to study and keep up with the rest of the class with the help of his new wand. The smooth piece of acacia bounced against his leg as he walked, a feeling he looked forward to growing accustomed to.
He had already written to Caroline and Mr Ollivander, as well as told Professor Voronov what two electives he was taking. That meant he had only one final task to complete during his lunch break.
One he wasn’t exactly looking forward to.
He could see the Flying Class Lawn where the earlier “incident” had occurred with Mr. Wood’s broom. Based off of Mr Wood’s reaction, the image of his beloved broom shattering into a million pieces would haunt him in his nightmares for years to come. It would have been funny how dramatically he reacted if Gideon didn’t feel so utterly terrible about the situation.
He walked close to the outer wall of the castle, seeing the stairs Professor Voronov said led to the Flying Instructor’s office.
Gideon took a deep breath, then started to take them up one at a time.
“Honestly, Ace, how you already managed to destroy the Thunderclap I got you for Christmas, I have no idea.”
Gideon stopped on the third to last step. The voice coming from Mr Wood’s office belonged to a woman with a northern accent, a stark difference to Mr Wood’s heavily Scottish voice.
Did he get the location wrong? Maybe he made a wrong turn somewhere?
“I already told you bonnie lass, it wasn’t me that broke it. And open the door, will you?”
Mr Wood’s voice came out from the office, but Gideon realized what he was saying a second too late. He turned to head back down the stairs, not wanting another Professor and Matron Longbottom incident, right as the door opened.
Standing in the doorframe was a woman with dark red hair pulled back in a blue bandanna. There were a multitude of freckles on her tan skin, as well as a scar across her nose, and Gideon couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen her somewhere before.
"Sorry, I didn't know Mr Wood had visitors," Gideon hastily apologized. "I didn't mean to interrupt—"
"Nonsense," said the woman, grinning. "You weren't interrupting anything. Just wanted to visit this old man over here and make sure he isn't getting into too much trouble without me."
It wasn't until the woman kissed Mr Wood's temple as he murmured something about, "not being that old" that Gideon realized who she was.
Merlin, Anthony had a poster of her at one point.
"You're… you're Radiant Wood!" Gideon said. "You're one of the Chasers for the Holyhead Harpies!"
"In the flesh," said Radiant, giving a small bow. "Always a pleasure to meet a fan, Mister..."
"Gideon. Gideon Maxwell." Gideon shut the door behind him, forgetting all about his apology for a moment. "I've heard all about you from my brother—"
His throat felt like it was closed up. Gideon paused, clenching his hands in fists at his sides. Anthony made it clear they weren't brothers anymore.
He didn't notice Radiant moving until she was right in front of him again. Apparently she was fast both off and on a broom.
"Brothers can be real pricks," she said. "It's what they do." The corners of her mouth were still lifted up in that smile, but there was a look in her eyes that he couldn't place. "But they always come around in the end, I can tell you that."
Anthony made it clear that he wouldn't be coming around anytime soon, but Gideon didn't say that.
"Thank you," he said politely. Gideon turned back to Mr Wood. "I wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened in flying class earlier today. I didn't mean to break your broom."
"You're fine, Mister Drake," Mr Wood said with a wave, acting very casual for a man who fell to his knees in the middle of class during the incident. "Really."
Radiant looked between Mr Wood and Gideon, the corners of her eyes crinkling like Mr Weasley's did when he gave Gideon the giggling gum in the Joke Shop.
“Did he cry?” Radiant asked, sounding almost excited.
“Radiant! No!” shouted Mr Wood.
She leaned close to Gideon, covering the front of her mouth with her hand as she loudly whispered, “he sobbed when we won the Quidditch Cup in ‘93.”
Gideon couldn’t help but grin at the image of a much younger Mr Wood crying as he held onto the trophy. Given how red the flying instructor was, the story was true.
And there was something about the way they bantered and went back and forth with each other that made him feel at ease. It was so different from how Mr Maxwell interacted with his mum. Different, but good.
"You're gommy," Mr Wood muttered, but he looked happier than Gideon had ever seen him. "And you have to get back to practice before they start without you. Wouldn't want Puddlemere to be getting the edge on you now, eh?"
"Puddlemere lost their edge when they lost you, Ace." Radiant gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning back to Gideon. She held out her hand. "And I can count on seeing you at my next match, right Gideon?"
Gideon nodded, taking her outstretched hand and shaking it. It was rough and calloused and scarred in what looked like a series of words, but it felt nice. "I'll be there."
"And I look forward to seeing you again, Mister Drake." Radiant opened the door and made her way down the steps. On the last one, she paused and turned around. The only word Gideon could think of to describe her expression was wistful. "Bring your brother with you, alright? You never know how long you have with him before it's over."
Gideon swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, but even after clearing it, he didn't trust himself to speak. He nodded, knowing she wouldn't care for the pity in his voice. He waved goodbye, watching as she kicked off the ground with ease and took to the sky like a hippogriff.
It wasn't until he started to make his way back to Hogwarts that he realized what that look was in her purple eyes.
Grief.