Dark Legacy
Chapter 4
They set sailed for Hogwarts in October.
The ships of Durmstrang had been bewitched to sail magically. From the port of Bourgas, the ships sailed across the Black Sea, through the Aegean Sea, before reaching the port of Cornwall in England. From there, the ships dived underneath to reach the lake of Hogwarts. The whole journey took five days.
With a great sloshing noise, the ships emerged from the turbulent waters, and begin to slide towards the bank. A few moments later, anchors were thrown down in the shallows, and planks lowered onto the bank.
Draco Jr. was standing at the upper deck of one of the ships, leaning forward on the railing. The October wind was chilling, and the helm of his dark red fur robes were flying around. He observed his Headmaster, all dressed in finery with velvet robes and mink fur for collars, disembarking from the ship.
"Dumbledore!" the Headmaster called heartily. "How are you, my dear fellow? It has been a long time."
An old man, tall & thin, with silver
hair and a beard long enough to tuck into his belt, was
standing on the shores of bank.
"Blooming, thank you. Come. It has been a long journey for you. My staff and students are waiting in the Great Hall to welcome you and your students" Albus Dumbledore replied, his arms opened in a welcome gesture.
The Headmasters of both schools exchanged more formalities before walking side by side to the castle.
Against the howling wind, The Durmstrang students followed their Headmaster and teachers down the plank onto the bank & into the Great Hall……
As he walked into the magnificent Great Hall of Hogwarts, Draco Jr. could see the Hogwarts students standing beside long tables, clapping to welcome them. He saw from the blazers on their robes, that they were standing according to their houses - Red for Gryffindor, Blue for Ravenclaw, Yellow for Hufflepuff, and Green for Slytherin. The Beaubaxtons students had already arrived, and were standing among the Hogwarts students.
"Welcome, Durmstrang students!" boomed Dumbledore. "We hope you will make yourself at home. The reinstatement of the Triwizard Tournament has finally taken place after years of dialogues chaired by Britain's Ministry of Magical Cooperation and the Ministry of Foreign Diplomacy in your home countries. The aim of the Triwizard Tournament is to foster greater interaction and learning among the different magical schools in Europe. For that, the students of Beaubaxtons & Durmstrang will be sorted into the four houses of Hogwarts – Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff & Slytherin. The Beaubaxtons students had already been sorted earlier. Professor McGonagall, if you please."
Dumbledore nodded at a tall, black-haired, stern-faced witch in emerald-green robes. Professor McGonagall nodded back before she stepped forward and said "Welcome to Hogwarts, Durmstrang students. The Sorting will take place shortly. When your name is called, please come forward and touch the Sorting Hat with your left hand, and you will be sorted into your host houses."
Draco Jr. observed as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front, and on top of the stool she put a frayed and extremely dirty wizard's hat.
Names of Durmstrang students were called, and one by one, each student came up to the stool (some rather apprehensively, seeing how dirty the hat was) and touched the hat before hearing it scream a house name.
Draco Jr. waited in line for his turn. Girls from Hogwarts & Beaubaxtons were glancing his way, whispering; some were giving him appreciative glances. He ignored them. Being Draco Jr., he was used to attention from the opposite sex. Being a Malfoy, hell, he was used to attention in its entirety, from everyone. In fact, when he first arrived in Durmstrang as a foreign student five years ago, he attracted plenty of attention, both wanted & unwanted, from the students and Professors. People were naturally curious about a Malfoy.
"Draco Malfoy, Jr."
Murmurs were heard across the hall.
"Malfoy…… ……he's Lucius Malfoy's grandson…… one of the wealthiest families in the wizarding world……Merlin, he's so cute……"
Again, he ignored them as he walked up to the stool to place his left hand on the hat. However, from the corner of his eye, he could not helped but sensed that several Hogwarts Professors were staring rather intensely at him. Granted, he was used to attention. But, somehow……
Draco Malfoy Jr., well, this is interesting.
Draco Jr. was startled. The voice seemed to be from the hat; it was speaking to him. However, no one else seemed to have heard it.
We met, finally. We should have, of course, five years ago.
Draco Jr. was puzzled. Why was the hat speaking to him? What did it meant?
All Malfoys were Slytherins before.
"Slytherin!" he heard the hat screamed. This time, it seemed that everyone heard it, for he saw the Slytherins clapped and beckoned him to their table.
Draco Jr. walked over to the Slytherin table, the words of the Sorting Hat on his mind. It turned out that quite a few Durmstrang students were sorted to Slytherin. One of them was Nikolai, another Durmstrang student whom Draco Jr. hanged out a lot with. Nikolai Ivanov's family was one the most esteem wizarding families in Europe and Lucius had encouraged the friendship. Nikolai was speaking to a Slytherin boy around their age. When Nikolai saw Draco Jr. approaching the table, he cocked his head to one side to his left, as if to say "Here".
"Mark Flint" Nikolai introduced, before adding "Flint's father and mine are business acquaintances. We knew each other last summer. Flint, Draco Malfoy."
Flint looked visibly impressed. "Draco Malfoy……your grandfather is Lucius Malfoy" he stated, and extended his hand.
Draco grasped his hand and gave a firm shake. "Stating the obvious" he replied, although not impolitely.
Flint shrugged and motioned to the space beside him. "Come, have a seat."
Draco Jr. sat down beside Flint. Throughout the feast, Flint gave Draco Jr. & Nikolai quite an orientation of Hogwarts – the different houses, the teachers, the lessons, and of course, Quidditch. Draco Jr. also got to know the other Slytherins, and could sense that although in appearance, they seemed milder that his Durmstrang friends, they were an intelligent and competitive lot.
Dinner passed quickly. The Durmstrang students were led to their dormitories by their Slytherin hosts. The Slytherin dormitory was decorated in green & white, and the dark red robes of the Durmstrang students formed a powerful contrast as they walked in.
"Here" said Flint to Draco Jr., beckoning to a bed nearby. "You can take this. It's empty."
"Wait" another voice said. Flint & Draco Jr. turned around. A seventh-year Slytherin Prefect was standing at the doorway. "I was told you are a Durmstrang Prefect" he said to Draco Jr. "Prefects have their own quarters here. You can take one of the empty Prefect dormitories."
Draco Jr. found himself being led to a Prefect room at the end of the corridor. He opened the door and found himself in a spacious room with oak brown furniture – a bed, a wardrobe & desk with an inkpot with a white quill on it.
After a shower in the Prefects' bathroom, Draco Jr. laid on the bed. He had a lot in his mind. Foremost were the words of the Sorting Hat. We met, finally. We should have, of course, five years ago. All Malfoys were Slytherins before.
He tossed & turned in his bed, not quite able to fall asleep. He turned on his side, and stared at the oak-brown bedpost, lost in thought. The moon shone brightly into his room and gradually cast a soft light on the bedpost. Suddenly, Draco Jr. realized that the bedpost had very faint marking on it. He focused his eyes and reached to touch the bedpost. From the light of the moon, he could make out the markings on the bedpost:
D. Malfoy
Author's Note: Hi, does anyone like this story so far? Some comments please, thank you.