Simon Snow

### **Appears In**

*Fangirl**Carry On**Wayward Son**Any Way the Wind Blows**Scattered showers (mini story)*

**Simon Snow** is an orphaned boy who attended Watford School of Magicks, after being found by The Mage as the Chosen One. In his first year, he meets his best friend Penelope Bunce along with his arch-nemesis and roommate, Basilton "Baz" Pitch.

## Biography

Simon Snow Salisbury was born to parents Davy (David Cadwaller) aka The Mage and Lucy Salisbury. He was born during an eclipse as part of a ritual performed by The Mage in order to create the Chosen One as was in accordance with World of Mages prophecies. Simon's mother died in childbirth, possibly due to the rituals The Mage performed failing. The Mage left Simon outside of an orphanage in Wales when he was a baby, with the name his mother chosen *Simon Snow* written on his arm.

When he was 11, the Mage retrieved him and brought him to Watford and told him he was the Chosen One, the Greatest Mage; and became his legal guardian.

Despite this, The Mage did not reveal Simon's true identity and raised him as an orphan, returning him to orphanges every summer. Simon treats Watford like a sanctuary and refuses to think about it until he's on his way back in September every summer.

## Events of *Fangirl*

Simon Snow appears in Fangirl as a lead character of Cath and Wren’s favourite books named “The Simon Snow book series”. He is also a main character in every fanfiction Cath ever wrote, with the most popular one named "Carry on, Simon", which Cath wrote as a fan sequel to Simon Snow and the seventh oak. Carry on, Simon had tens of thousands views weekly, and as some of the readers said to Cath, they couldn't imagine a different ending than hers, even thought the last book named Simon Snow and the eight dance by Gemma Leslie was supposed to come out in a few months. In Gemma Leslie's book, Simon Snow is Agatha Wellbelove's boyfriend and the nemesis of his roommate and deadly enemy, Tyrannus Basilton Grimm Pitch.

## Events of *Carry On*

Simon Snow is an 18-year-old orphaned magician returning to Watford School of Magicks for his eighth and final year. Raised among the "Normals" (humans without magical powers) Simon was discovered as a child by his mentor The Mage, who is the headmaster of Watford, and the Head of the Coven, making him the leader of the magickal world. Dubbed "The Chosen One", Simon is believed to be the prophesied Greatest Mage, due to his extraordinary powers. His powers occasionally cause him to "go off" in a flare of power whenever he is overwhelmed. The prophecy promises a great threat to magick, the Insidious Humdrum, and a savior. Since the Humdrum's first appearance, magickal "dead spots" have been created all over England, places where magik no longer exists, and magickal beings are unable to use their powers. This problem is accompanied by political strife between The Mage and the Old Families, the posh magical upper class.

The plot is also frequently interrupted by short chapters narrated by a character named Lucy, who reflects on her own times at Watford years ago, and her budding relationship with another student named Davy. Davy was considered an outcast and was obsessed with prophecies; he was particularly interested in the prophecy of the Greatest Mage, which would later turn out to be Simon.

At the end of the last school year, Simon and his witty best friend Penelope Bunce were abducted by the Humdrum while at Watford. They were the first people to see what he looks like. The Humdrum resembled an eleven-year-old Simon who also bounces a red ball that Simon had actually brought to Watford during his first year there. Simon becomes angry, convinced that the Humdrum was playing some sort of trick on him, but the Humdrum just laughed. Penelope took the ball and threw it. As he chased after it, Penelope and Simon were able to escape and get back to school.

Simon reunites with Penelope, the shy goatherd Ebb, and his beautiful girlfriend Agatha Wellbelove. Despite their seemingly perfect relationship, Agatha yearns for independence and breaks up with Simon. Yet another point of contention in Simon's life is his vampire roommate Basilton "Baz" Grimm-Pitch. For the first two months of the school year, Baz is absent, which frustrates Simon, who considers Baz his "nemesis." Baz's late mother, Natasha Grimm- Pitch, was a highly respected witch among the aristocratic wealthy magicians, and the former headmistress of Watford before The Mage. Baz considers her to have been a much better headmaster. She was killed by vampires in an attack on Watford blamed on the Humdrum, the same attack where Baz was turned.

During October, ghosts start appearing on Campus. Penelope explains to Simon that every 20 years, the veil between the living and dead opens up and the dead with unfinished business can "visit" someone, usually a family member. Simon gets a visiting from Natasha Grimm-Pitch meant for his roommate. With Baz not there, she instead asks Simon to tell Baz to avenge her murder and to find Nicodemus. When Baz mysteriously returns, he, Simon, and Penelope try to research Natasha's death and discover who Nicodemus is, but to little success.

Over Christmas break, Agatha visits Penelope's house to garden with her. Penelope talks with her father Martin, a dead spot expert, while Agatha notices an old photograph of Mitali Bunce, Penelope's mother, and a blonde-haired girl. Professor Bunce recognizes the girl as her old friend from school, Lucy Salisbury; she explains that they grew apart after school because Mitali didn't approve of Lucy's boyfriend, Davy, who she reveals is actually the Mage.

Lucy remembers how she and the Mage, or Davy as she still calls him, moved into a secluded cottage together after finishing school. Davy began to be increasingly distant and discouraged, as no one listened to his revolutionary ideas except Lucy. In the end, the only thing left that gave him hope was the Greatest Mage.

In the present, Simon stays at Watford for Christmas. While having tea with the groundskeeper Ebb, he learns she has a twin brother named Nicodemus; the two of them were some of the most talented magicians of their generation. However, after graduating, Nicodemus asked a vampire to turn him in order to gain immortality. His request was fulfilled, but he was banished from the magickal world.

Simon rushes to Baz's house in Hampshire to inform him about the turn of events. Baz realizes he remembers Nicodemus's name from one of his Aunt Fiona's old yearbooks and finds pictures of him and Fiona together. Baz visits Fiona in her flat and she unintentionally leads him to a bar in the West End.

They confront Nicodemus, yet he only tells them that a few weeks before the attack, a magician came to him and brokered a deal to have him and other vampires attack Watford. Nicodemus said no, as his sister lived there. Nicodemus refuses to tell them the wizard's name. Baz storms off and, torn at the idea that he has failed, intends to kill himself through self-immolation. Simon talks him out of it, while at the same time realizing that Baz may have been a snob and a bully, but he was never a monster; then, Simon kisses him.

Agatha and Penelope travel to Baz's house the next morning to help him garden. Neither Baz nor Simon tells the two that they kissed. Instead, Baz and Penelope explain their investigation to Agatha, but she is wary about the situation and shocked that Simon and Baz are now apparent friends. She is still suspicious of Baz and where he was for the first two months of the school year. Baz explains to them that he was kidnapped by Numpties, magickal rock-like creatures who live under bridges, over the summer. He was only able to escape alive because he was rescued by his Aunt Fiona. With the new information, Penelope deduces that the kidnapper and the murderer must be one and the same; whoever hired the vampires to attack Watford must have also hired the Numpties to kidnap Baz and hide him, so that when the veil lifted in October, Natasha theoretically wouldn't be able to pass on what she knew to him.

Agatha is against them conspiring against the Mage, and wants nothing to do with the situation; she leaves with Penelope, while Simon comes back to stay with Baz. They have Christmas Eve dinner with the Pitch family and plan to spend the next day searching for the Numpties to find out who hired them.

Agatha has an argument with Penelope in the car and explains that instead of magickal conspiracies, she just wants to have a normal friendship with her. After dropping off Penelope, she has a conversation with her mum about Lucy. Ms. Wellbelove informs Agatha that there was a scandal involving the Salisbury family around 20 years ago. Lucy reportedly ran off to America with a Normal after having an illegitimate child and swore off magic. Agatha becomes entranced by the idea of also escaping her pressuring life to somewhere else like Lucy.

One night, Lucy woke up to Davy kissing her. She was happily surprised, at she wasn't used to him showing her intimate affection. Davy explained his plan to her: that they will birth a child together whom he intends to mold into the Greatest Mage. The Greatest Mage, his son, will help him start a revolution.

Simon wakes up in Baz's house to the feeling of draining magic. He searches for Baz but also finds the Humdrum. He says vague phrases to Simon, including that he doesn’t take the magic, that he’s just "what’s left when you're done." The Humdrum appears to have taken away Baz's magic, but Simon uses his powers to give it back, and the Humdrum disappears. Yet when they return they find that the whole of Hampshire has been turned into a dead spot. Baz tells Simon to run. Simon uses his powers to sprout wings and flies away to Penelope's house.

The next morning, Baz shows up at the Bunce's doorstep. He demand's to be taken to Penelope's father's office. While looking at the map of dead spots, Baz shows that they all appeared on the dates that Simon has "gone off" over the years. He theorizes that Simon cannot simply make more power; he takes it from different locations in Britain without realizing it, thus creating the dead spots. Baz and Penelope also believe that the Humdrum is merely an echo or a hole that Simon created due to tearing out so much magic at once. The Humdrum looks like a younger Simon because Simon was eleven years old when he first went off. Simon wants to tell the Mage, but Baz still doesn't trust the Mage, and instead wants to continue to look for the Numpties. However, due to their argument, he goes alone while Simon travels to Watford.

Baz warily approaches the Numpties and promises to provide them with warmth if they tell him who hired them. They only vaguely describe a "green man," before getting into a fight with Baz. Just in time, Baz is rescued by Nicodemus. Nicodemus tells Baz that the man the Numpties were describing was the Mage. The Mage hired the vampires in order to scare the magical community and turn it against the Grimm-Pitches in order for him to take power. Nicodemus wants to help in the fight against the Mage because Ebb was apparently arrested. Baz and Penelope instead head off to Watford alone to confront the Mage.

The Mage is fighting with Ebb in the White Chapel, a sort of ceremonial location/church on campus. The Mage intends to take Ebb's magic so he can defeat the Humdrum and the Pitches himself, but in the struggle, he stabs her just as Simon arrives. Simon attempts to revive her while the Mage tries to convince Simon to give him his magic, as he believes Simon is not the proper vessel for the Greatest Mage. The Insidious Humdrum appears, and Simon, now understanding of the Humdrum's situation, gives the Humdrum all of his magic in order to "fill the hole." Baz and Penny show up and Simon accidentally kills the Mage. Baz comforts Simon as he sobs over the Mage's corpse.

Lucy became pregnant and planned to name the baby Simon Snow Salisbury. When she went into labor on the autumn equinox, Davy performed a ritual to make the unborn child a vessel for unexplainable power. She died and Davy hid a newborn Simon among the Normals with the name "Simon Snow" written on the baby's arm. It is shown that the chapters are being told from the perspective of Lucy's ghost, who attempts to visit Simon when the veil lift but is unsuccessful.

In an epilogue, Agatha has moved to California and adopted a cocker spaniel which she has named Lucy. There has been a trial, and Mitali Bunce is now the new headmistress of Watford. Baz returned to Watford for his final year, but Simon no longer has any magic left and Penelope dropped out to support him. Baz and Simon are now officially dating and Simon moves into a flat with Penelope.

## Events of *Wayward Son*

In the start of Wayward Son, Simon is in a long depressive episode, due to everything that happened in Carry On.

He feels useless without his magic and a nuisance to Baz and Penny. Which makes him want to break up with Baz, sensing that would be the best for him.

When he was prepared to break up with him, Penny interrupt his plans with a proposal for them to go to America, in a road trip to see her boyfriend and check on Agatha that she claimed was acting weird.

Besides everything, Baz, Penny and Simon travel.

## Relationships

**Baz**

Basil Grimm-Pitch, or as Simon calls him "Baz," was drawn to Simon by the Crucible, and Simon hated and was antagonized by Baz for years; however, by their fifth year, Baz admits to being 'hopelessly in love' with 'Snow.' Even noting that he's wanted to kiss a mole on Simon's cheek since he was 12. Simon agrees the pair are completely obsessed with one another and assumes until his eighth year that the feeling is entirely negative and based on their alleged destiny to kill one another. During their 8th year, after Baz's absence from school, Simon starts to reevaluate his feelings for Baz. They agree to a truce to solve the murder of Basil's mother, thus starting a friendship between the two. They team up to save Watford from a dragon, presumably sent by the Humdrum. After this Baz invites Simon to stay with him for the Christmas holidays because he knows he has no where to go. Simon refuses at first, but eventually agrees to stay. During this time the pair kiss twice, Baz begins referring to Simon by his first name, and Simon states he likes being on the same team more than fighting. After Simon returns for Christmas, the pair finally agree to be 'happy boyfriends,' even though Simon does not believe he is worthy of the title. They leave the book as boyfriends.

**Penelope**

Penelope Bunce, or as Simon calls her "Penny," is Simon's best friend from Watford. She befriended him during their 1st year when she spotted Simon trying to do his homework but hopelessly failing. Penny says later that she was just trying to help him because he had his wand upside down. She was by Simon's side all throughout their years at Watford and she fought many battles with him including the battle against The Mage. She is constantly trying to solve Simon's magic and understand it, believing the two of them could be the most powerful duo in the World of Mages. Her parents and boyfriend, and Baz, accuse her of being too devoted to Simon. They are so close that they cannot hide from one another because, it is nearly impossible to hide from 'someone you love.'