The Rest is History
You won't know these secrets I bear, for there will never be evidence. And if any sort of proof is found, no one will know what to make of it. Only facts will be known, and never my thoughts.
A museum tour a thousand years after the war's end.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Studying for my uber big vocab test in a few weeks. Sorry in advance if any words are used incorrectly, but please tell me! Thanks!
This story is rather confusing, as it has ideas but not much of a plot. The plot and the parts in between is left for you to decide. Personally, I do not imagine romance, which is why I didn't categorize it as romance. However, if you think there's something going on, that's your choice. It's a one-shot, so don't expect any more chapters than this. :P
In case you're interested in my own interpretation of the story, please see my website. I'll put it up. Eventually. Other than that, enjoy.
Let's look at the fire
Let's look at the clouds.
Where will you be
A hundred years from now?
From Haunted Manor to Historical Museum
Reported by R. Lovegood
February 8th, 2997 – A manor rumored to be haunted sits just beyond the hilltop, overlooking the cheerful newly-built Wizarding town Pixie Boulevard, casting a shadow that sets fear within the young children living in the area. Parents have disapproved of this dreary site and demanded it be torn down. "It's a picturesque nightmare for children," says protective mother Ally McCormic. "A negative image: A looming mansion with tall bolted gates that always seems to carry a thundercloud on its roof. I don't want my child growing up seeing that picture each day."
No one had set foot in that manor for as long as anyone can remember, but Ministry officials were forced to investigate after so many demands from residents of Pixie Boulevard. What they found astounded all – a collection of the Dark Arts and historical documentation from wars over a thousand years ago. Experts believe this manor to have once belonged to the Malfoy family line which had diminished shortly after the Great War of 1997.
"It would be reasonable," says Professor John Weasley, history teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, "to believe the manor belonged to any Pureblooded line. After all, they were always known to have associated with the Dark Arts. After the destruction of You-Know-Who and the end of blood discrimination and Dark Arts in the Great War, I can only assume that the Malfoy family kept their parochial views and died off. I suppose, out of respect, the Ministry closed down the site, but nobody wanted to touch it afterwards until the point where it was forgotten and rumored to be haunted."
Previously, our information on the Great War of 1997 was rather nebulous, due to the last rebellion front from the descendents of the last remaining followers of You-Know-Who in 2081 where all the books containing the Great War were decimated by fire. However, with the discovery of the manor, new details are gained, though You-Know-Who remains anonymous still but referred to as the "Dark Lord" within documents.
Upon this finding, the Ministry has declined the request of so many residents of Pixie Boulevard to destroy the manor. Instead, they compromised by turning it into a museum of Dark Arts and the Great War, which will open late August this year.
"Welcome to the Historical Museum of the Great War of 1997. My name is Lauren Abbott and I will be your tour guide this afternoon. There are two parts of the tour, indoors and outdoors. I think I'll start the al fresco part… then we'll move on indoors. This way, please. Now, how many of you have heard of the Great War?"
"Ms – Ms. Lauren, I have! I have!"
"I'm sure you have. What can you tell me about it?"
"Err… well… it was where a bad guy was destroyed and so now everybody's happy!"
"Very good. What's your name?"
"I'm Max."
"Wow, Max, you're really smart. Now, some people back then believed that only Purebloods should have magic and Muggleborns shouldn't – that's what actually caused the war."
"Why did they think that? That's horrible."
"It is horrible. Ludicrous, even, but it's true. We don't really know why they thought that – perhaps xenophobia? We can only guess as it's all opinion based. Now, prior to the Great War of 1997, there was another great war that not many know about, also with You-Know-Who fighting against the Wizarding population. He had used Inferi and used all three Unforgivable Curses regularly to kill and reap information. It was a macabre time."
"Ms. Lauren, err, if, well, You-Know-Who fought before, why did he fight again? Why did he need to be beaten twice?"
"An excellent question! You-Know-Who disappeared in 1981, though we do not quite yet know why, how, or what had happened. However, apparently, he was not destroyed, for he slowly gained energy and power enough to strike again. Now, as many of you know, we believe this manor belongs to the Malfoy family, a pureblooded line that died off with many others around the time of the Great War. The Malfoy line was active in the Dark Arts, though you can see by their many Ministry certificates posted here to your left, we can assume the Malfoys were sycophants."
"Ms. Lauren, what's – what's a, er… sycophins?"
"A sycophant? A sycophant is a person who is horribly nice to others for selfish reasons."
"I don't get it."
"Hush now, Max, let Ms. Lauren continue with the tour. I'm sorry; please go on."
"It's quite all right; you don't need to apologize. Anyways, take a closer look at the certificates. We suspect most of them were given due to large donations of money. Moving on… through these doors, please. Now, despite the Malfoy's vituperative nature and reputation, they were by no means philistines. In fact, as you will see in a moment, they were great fans of art. Perhaps you've noticed the portraits indoors? Well, there are many sculptures outside in the garden. And, being fastidious as they were, nothing is ever less than perfect."
"I'm sorry, but you said in the garden. After a thousand years, would it still be here?"
"Yes, actually. The Malfoys appreciated the arts, and somewhere along the line, a spell was cast to always keep the garden plants beautiful and flourishing."
"You see, I live nearby in Pixie Boulevard, and I've never seen any color in – oh. Oh, well, this is… this is definitely something!"
"Yes, it is, isn't it? Welcome to the Malfoy gardens. Now, as for your problem… We think that they have cast some sort of illusion spell to make it appear far more foreboding than it actually is, perhaps for reputation or intimidation."
"Wow, this is… this is beautiful. I haven't seen anything like this before… So elegant, proper… and yet, wild. And after a thousand years, too!"
"Yes, it's quite breathtaking. However, don't look too close – some of these plants are known for their poisonous venom, and others are not even identified yet. Knowing the Malfoy family, it could be anything horrible. Perhaps they used the garden for their own supply of potion ingredients. Some of these plants were even thought to be extinct! You'll even find some extravagant animals. I've actually seen a silver peacock around, and a friend of mine claimed to have even spotted some fairies."
"Mum! Mummy, can we look for the peacock? I wanna see the peacock!"
"Maybe we'll see him, dear. Now hold my hand tight and don't be so excited. No – no, don't touch that! Max! Oh, I'm so sorry, please continue…"
"Not a problem. It's nice to see one so ebullient. Now, you'll notice within the gardens are several white marble sculptures. Every wizard and witch with the Malfoy name has a face in the garden. We believe they have all been carved at their coming-of-age. Now, please do not go beyond the hedge, for the Ministry has not yet finished their investigation. If you will please follow me through these doors…"
"Well, who would have thought? Such a horrible name, but they certainly have a fine taste in art…"
"Startling, isn't it? Well, it's inexorable fact, however much shocking. Now, unlike the portraits outside that line the halls, this room is full of paintings composed by the Malfoys themselves. In fact, when we entered the room, it was completely trashed. The last painter had been attempting to draw the portrait of the brunette on your right. We found numerous copies thrown upon each other and slashed – perhaps twenty or so. Why this woman had such great significance to the painter, we do not know. And – "
"No, Max, do not touch the painting. Max!"
"Mum – Mummy, look, I found a letter – "
"Put it back, Max!"
"Dear Her – Hermione – who's Hermione? – You won't know these secrets I bear, for there will never be evi – evidence."
"Max, put it back! Listen to me!"
"And if any sort of proof is found, no one… will know what to make of it. Only facts will be known, and never my thoughts. But my mind is a ma – mael – maelstrom of th. Th? The rest is missing... Looks like he burned it."
"Max!"
"Okay, okay, Mummy, I'm putting it back inside the picture."
"Oh, Merlin, I am so sorry for the contretemps, Lauren. Please, continue."
"No – no, it's all right. That's very interesting… What Max found. But I suppose I should continue. Err… and down this hallway, we will see more of the Dark Arts…"
Let's look at the ashes
Let's look at the ground.
Where will you be
A thousand years from now?
Dear Hermione,
You won't know these secrets I bear, for there will never be evidence. And if any sort of proof is found, no one will know what to make of it. Only facts will be known, and never my thoughts. But my mind is a maelstrom of thoughts of you, try as I might to ostracize it, ostracize you. I don't know when it started – my jocular comments, a swagger of bravado, my charlatan attitude… How I exacerbated you simply to leave an imprint of me in your mind. My jejune behavior existed only to make you recognize me.
Oh, damn Merlin – you make me ramble on in hasty, prolix apologies, descriptions… and how it sickens me. It sickens me because I shouldn't, because I hate you. I hate you. Why, why am I writing? You'll never receive this. I'll never send it out, I'll never sign it. No. I'll burn it. So you'll never know.
But I can pretend. I can pretend that you received it and rejected me, simply so I can get over this disgusting feeling of hope. No, false hope. False hope. You don't know how hard I tried to jettison you and the cursed feelings you make me emote. I can't even carry on with normal chores anymore because of your damned image in my damned mind.
You are the first and only conundrum has ever captivated me, and I hate you for that.
Have I ever mentioned it to you before? I hate you.
I hate you.
Draco Malfoy hesitated, his quill poised. However, no more words escaped him, and he set the quill down and lighted the candle. Slowly, he watched the fire consume the parchment hungrily, and he watched. Burning away, burning away. Burning her away from his life.
Beautifully symbolic, some might say, for Malfoys have always been taken by art and figures. Romantic, even – though only in secret. But however symbolic it may be, he felt no change. He felt nothing but regret as he watched his letter eaten by the flame.
A groan. Draco's head jerked up and hastily, he put the fire out with his wand. The doorknob was turning. One glance at the doorknob, another glance at the crinkled parchment in his hands, another glance at the paintings he had slaved over. Quickly, he smoothed out the paper and folded it, tucking it beneath a loose part of the canvas.
A creak. The door was being pushed forward. His eyes widened as he finally saw the portraits thrown across the room. Portraits of her.
Too late. A pause. Silence. Shock. Obfuscation. "Oh – oh, oh, Merlin! Oh…"
Hell.
"Have you heard?"
"Heard? Heard what?"
"Draco Malfoy has passed."
"Malfoy? You mean from Hogwarts?"
"Yes, him."
"He passed?"
"Well, not precisely. It says that he's been unresponsive to friends for the past month, and owls sent to him have been returned unopened immediately. Zabini searched his house for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Body gone, too."
"It doesn't mean anything. He could probably be on vacation and doesn't want to be bothered."
"His name has also been removed from the Ministry's citizen book. You know names disappear from that book only when they die."
"Or he spelled it, or maybe moved away in secret! I doubt he died. I mean – hasn't he always been the type to publicize everything he does to get attention?"
"You forgot, the war changed him. Besides, his death is pretty publicized. I mean, last Malfoy, without an heir, disappeared. Besides, it doesn't matter what you think. His name is no longer in the Ministry's book for almost a week now – and no will has surfaced. That means everything automatically goes to the Ministry."
"But what if he didn't die?"
"His problem. Besides, he was always a jerk anyways. And if he doesn't claim it, he obviously doesn't want it. And if it's serious, he could always file a court case."
"I don't think the Ministry should get the house."
"Sorry, what?"
"I don't think the Ministry should get the house. I mean, the money, fine, whatever. I don't care. But not the house. I – I mean… it – it has historic value. It's thousands of years old and probably has many heirlooms in it. The Ministry wouldn't appreciate such rare artifacts…"
"All right. You know what, I'll see what I can do. But I won't promise you anything."
"Thanks. You're amazing."
Pause. "Y – you know, if I didn't… never mind."
Smile. "Thanks, Harry."
Let's look at the water,
Let's look at the sky.
Not even magic
Can save you in time.