CLOSED Haunted By the Unknown PV Emily R. Brewer

The longer time passed, the more it haunted him.

It occupied every moment of his waking thoughts, following him through his daily routines, his lessons, his studies, his time with friends and his music creation. It was becoming a burden and Simon knew that he couldn't ignore it much longer.

Physically it didn't look like much from the outside. It was a small antique wooden box, around 12 inches in length. In the middle rested a metal plate which housed a keyhole. It was locked shut. The key? - Most likely with the box's owner.

The box came into Simon's possession one night over the first month of Summer Break when he was back home in London. It was late evening and there was a knock at the door. Upon answering it, a peculiar man stood with the wooden box and asked for his mother. The man seemed to take interest in Simon but became rather taken aback by the fact that Arabella Kincaid was no longer alive. Such news sent him rushing off quickly, too quickly for Simon to catch up with the wooden box.

Who was the man? What was in the box?

He felt he knew the answers even if there was yet to be evidence to back it up. The man shared the same strong jawline, the same dark thick eyebrows, the same facial structure, ...and the same pale skin. He knew from stories from his Aunt Maggie that his mother had been in only one serious relationship and therefore he was nearly certain that the mysterious visitor had been none other than his father. Perhaps that was why the man seemed to take such a strange interest in Simon himself - maybe he too noticed the similar features.

If that was true, that meant the box contained something that the man brought in hopes to show his former girlfriend. Most likely something from their relationship - perhaps some kind of memories. Why now; after all this time?

There were so many questions that resided just around one little wooden box which had no key in which to open it. Still, Simon was pretty sure that with his strength alone and maybe a little creativity he'd be able to open it with no problem. It was fear that got in the way.

Simon had gone his entire life knowing nothing of his father except that the man and his mother had a brief romance. His mother had begun to feel that something wasn't right about the man and decided to leave, even before finding out she was pregnant with Simon. After gaining this knowledge, she still never chose to reconnect. She pushed it behind her, never even so much as talking about it to her sister, so when she passed away when Simon was three, she took all knowledge of the man with her. No photographs, no stories, no description, no name.

Nothing.

All the answers to any sort of inquiry that Simon had of the man could be resting in that small wooden box. Did he want to know? Why had his mother felt the need to run and never look back? And if Simon was in fact a dhampir, and knew his mum was but a muggle-born witch, wouldn't that make this man a vampire? Was he ready to fully accept that?

The truth rested in that box and whether or not Simon choose to ignore it it didn't change the fact that the truth was the truth. Hiding from it wasn't going to make it go away or disappear.

His small secluded little private room within Hengist Home of the Hufflepuff Boys Dormitory was too small for such an occasion. If Simon was to properly investigate what was inside the box, he would take it to one of his favorite places within the halls of Hogwarts. A good place to gather one's thoughts in a peaceful environment. He made his way up to the Fourth Floor of the castle and into the Rehearsal Room where he sat down across from the entrance, his back against the far wall.

It was time to no longer be haunted by the unknown.