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Draco almost tripped over his feet as he went flying out of the darkness and into the dim light of what he assumed had to be the new land they had found. "Quick!" Bones yelled as he scrambled to a halt beside him, then whirled on the spot to launch himself at the wooden door they had just come through. Draco got the idea pretty sharpish, and threw his hands against the back of it to slam it shut. It wouldn't stop the mayor and his skeletons for long if they decided to follow, but it might slow them down a bit.
"Will he know we've come here?" he panted, his whole body trembling. He wasn't even sure where 'here' was at the moment. As he glanced around, all he could tell was that they were in a sort of wooden room, with sunlight streaming through the slats and no doors to lead them out, however there were several dark holes in the walls that looked big enough to crawl through. After his experience in the basement though, Draco couldn't say he was overly keen to do that.
"He'll know we're in a second tier holiday land," Bones said, scampering up to the holes and sniffing them one by one. "He has several to choose from, but let's not hang around until he finds us standing here with our arses hanging out. Okay," he tapped a paw on the inside of one of the dark openings, and his claws pinged against what was obviously metal. "This one."
"This one?" Draco repeated dumbly, his heart still thumping so loudly in his ears he couldn't seem to form much of a coherent thought.
"Yep," Bones told him with a grin, then slid forwards on his belly and vanished from sight.
Draco whimpered. No one was around to hear it, so he really didn't care how pathetic it sounded. He didn't want to dive into another unknown place, but as he looked over his shoulder and figured a throng of killer skeletons and a psychotic mayor could come bursting through at any second, he weighed up his options and decided that Bones hadn't steered him wrong so far, so he might as well just take the plunge.
He fed his legs down the tube first, holding onto the lip of the entrance to brace himself as it felt like it started sloping downwards immediately. There was nothing for it, he was just going to have to go for it.
He inhaled loudly, then shoved his body inside.
His stomach dropped as he slid down at an alarming rate, twisting and turning in the almost total darkness He cursed as he banged his head several times and let out a scream as the slide veered lower at an even more acute angle, until it finally, mercifully, spat him out into the bright, warm sunshine.
He went head over heels and landed flat on his stomach. "Urgh," he grunted, compos mentis enough to be grateful that he was, for now, still alive.
"You alright there?" Bones chuckled, licking the side of his face where it had squished into the ground. At least the dirt was dry and the green grass made it a fraction softer.
"Yes," Draco mumbled into the earth. "I'm just peachy."
He sat up and found himself in a brightly lit forest, leaves on the large trees twitching merrily in the balmy breeze. It was much more pleasant than the forbidden forest he and Harry had found themselves in the night before, that he had to admit. Although he wasn't quite sure where he was still. By scanning the memories he had inherited from his brief stint as the Prince of Halloween Land, he was able to discount several possible worlds, but that still left a number he could choose from.
He thought back to that morning when he had been prince, and instead of enquiring as to where they were, he asked a different question as he stood to his feet and brushed the woodland debris from his black trousers. "Bones?"
"Yes, Your Highness?"
Draco flinched at the teasing remark. "About that," he said, unsure where to start, or why he cared at all. "Um, my mother, in Halloween Land? What happens to her now I'm gone?"
Bones had been sniffing around, inspected several tree trunks, but he paused to frown up at Draco. "What do you mean?" he asked without aggression, but not exactly kindly either.
Draco sighed. "Well, will she miss me?"
Bones looked surprised, and it was then Draco noticed that he was once again dressed. Although this time, instead of his bat wings, his little black body was clothed in a green tunic with brown belt, green bowtie at the back of his neck, and most ridiculously, a small green top hat that he definitely hadn't been wearing at the start of the slide in the tree house they had arrived through.
He didn't get a chance to comment on the new getup though, as Bones replied to his question. "Miss you?" he repeated. "Sorry mate, she's not even going to remember you. It'll be like you never existed. I guess, until some other poor lad finds himself pulled down there, then he might become the Prince like you did."
"Oh," said Draco as they began to walk. He mulled on the idea for a while, then came to the conclusion that was probably better than her grieving for his loss. But he had all these memories swimming around – only half formed, but they were there all the same. A glimpse of dinners with his parents, and how he had comforted his mother after his father's passing.
But that wasn't real, he told himself sternly. His real mother was back in the Living Land, in their house in Wiltshire, recovering after their unspeakable time with the Dark Lord and putting her life back together. He had thousands of memories of her, far more vibrant than the wishy-washy efforts from Halloween Land, and he vowed not to worry about anyone there again. They would go on with their lives, and he was going to find Harry so they could carry on with theirs, in the real world.
He was about to articulate this to Bones, in case he cared why he'd asked his question in the first place, when the bushes to their right erupted with movement, and both Draco and his doggy companion jumped back in surprise.
"Come here yer bastard!" a voice rang out through the leaves, but the first thing to emerge was not a person, but a green snake, whipping through the grass at an astonishing rate.
Draco was starting to twig that everything in the whole damn place around them was green, and maybe that was a clue to their whereabouts, when his suspicions were confirmed by the appearance of a foot-high, red-nosed, pipe-smoking leprechaun.
His tunic and hat matched Bones' to the last detail, and he shook his little fist as he scrambled out of the bush after the snake. In one hand he held a miniature, metallic tankard that sloshed brown liquid over the edges as he got to his feet, but then he spotted the newcomers and stopped in his tracks.
"Well now, what do we have here?" he demanded, planting his feet and shielding his eyes with his free hand so he could peer up and down at Draco and Bones (well, mostly Draco, as the little fellow wasn't that much taller than Bones truth be told.) "You'll be looking for a pot of gold I'll guess?"
"What?" Draco spluttered inelegantly. "No, not gold, we're actually looking for-"
"Try all you like!" the leprechaun hiccupped, brandishing both his pipe and his tankard. "You'll never find old Brandon's pot, for sure now."
"We ain't looking for gold," Bones snapped, earning the leprechaun Brandon's somewhat bleary attention. "We're looking for a human by the name of Harry. Ain't that right, Sunshine?" he added, addressing Draco.
"Yes," he jumped in quickly. "He's um, a little shorter than me, black hair, green eyes, round glasses, scar shaped like a lightning bolt on his face." His insides flipped just thinking about him, which was hugely embarrassing and Draco gritted his teeth against the blush threatening to rise on his cheeks. "Hard to miss around these parts I'd imagine," he muttered, aware he knew far too many details about Harry's appearance than was probably healthy. "We think he'll have started in Christmas Land, but he could have wondered away from there by now."
Brandon squinted at him suspiciously. "And what're you doing that for then?"
"What?" asked Draco, unsure.
"Looking fer a fellow what has a bolt of lightning on his face," he said, as if that was obvious. "Sounds like trouble to me."
Draco almost opened his mouth to agree that, yes, wherever Harry bloody Potter went generally led to trouble, but he changed his mind, thinking it was probably best that in this instance, Harry's reputation didn't proceed him.
"He's not in trouble, at least I don't think so," Draco said hopefully. "But he will be if we don't find him soon." He pulled out an engraved silver pocket watch from his waistcoat and popped the case open to reveal the face. "We've got less than twelve hours to find him and make our way back up through the Lands."
That wasn't all that long, not really. Not when there was hundreds of lands to explore. If they were lucky, then maybe Harry would just still be in Christmas Land, and they could just grab him and head back up to the Living Land. Easy.
Ha, thought Draco. That would be the day.
"Twelve hours before what?" Brandon questioned, rubbing his ruddy nose.
"Never you mind," Bones snapped at him, and Draco didn't miss the way his pointed teeth flashed at the leprechaun. Brandon just sniffed indifferently though and took another swig of what Draco guessed to be ale. "You seen him, or not?"
Brandon shrugged his tiny shoulders. "How would I know, been chasing that there snake for all the morning, and the little bugger got away anyhow thanks to you."
"What did we do?" demanded Draco indignantly.
"Well you were there weren't you," scoffed Brandon as he waved his pipe at him. "Being all tall and…strange. Where did you say you were from now?"
"We didn't," Bones told him pointedly. "Alright then, half-pint, how about you take us to civilisation, or whatever passes for it around here. Maybe they'll have heard something about a newcomer." He scratched irritably at the bowtie, then shook himself. "If not, we'll just use your portal up to Crimbo Land, and leave you mad lot to your snakes."
Brandon blew a raspberry and glugged another mouthful of ale. "What's in it fer me, doggy? I should just toddle on me way and see about finding some more of those devil serpents."
Bones tilted his head, making his top hat go skew-whiff. "The Prince here will pay you."
"I will?" squeaked Draco.
"You will," affirmed Bones.
"With what, exactly?" He crouched down so he could hiss at him without Brandon hearing. "I'm not actually a prince, remember?"
"Yes," Bones whispered back even quieter. "But he don't need to know that, does he?"
They both glanced over towards Brandon, who was back to hiccupping and doing a little jig, completely unaware.
"This is true," Draco agreed.
He stood and cleared his throat. "Come along, leprechaun," he said in his most regal voice. "Take us to St Patrick's Town, and your rewards will be great."
Brandon stopped dancing, and his eyes shone as he looked up towards Draco. "Yeh promise?"
"Cross my heart," said Draco, feeling only a little bit bad.
Brandon's face split into a grin, and he started skipping down the woodland path. "Well come on then," he cried, clicking his heels as he hopped back and forth. "Follow me!"
The day was pleasant, and the cloudless sky particularly bright after the gloominess of Halloween Land. There was a colourful rainbow intersecting the blue, cutting from one edge of the land to the other, and despite everything else going on, it couldn't help but have a cheering effect. Draco took a deep breath as Brandon began leading them out of the forest, and tried to calm his nerves. They had hours to find Harry, it would be okay.
Brandon hummed to himself as he skipped along up ahead, and Bones indulged in peeing on as many trees, flowers, rocks and twigs as he liked. This allowed Draco to remain quiet as they made their way through the forest, thinking how strange it was that he was in this position after the couple of years he'd had.
Well, it was obviously strange he was in some crazy universe made up of different holidays where they stole people's memories and animals could talk and he was being chased by an army of skeletons. But that wasn't really what he was thinking about.
It was more how up in the real world, after all the misery Voldemort had put him through (and, admittedly, Harry more so) the two of them had finally started becoming tentative friends. After seven frustrating years, he was finally getting his wish to be closer to Harry. He had realised somewhere over the last summer, when he had enjoyed a few refreshing months of not thinking he was going to be murdered at every turn, that he'd gone about getting Harry's attention in all the worst ways possible over the years. It had been like watching a slow-motion car crash, unable to stop the carnage even though he knew it was humiliating and fruitless. But now, thankfully, Harry was seemingly open to this new version of himself Draco was forging, and it gave him hope for the future.
Not that he thought he'd ever get anywhere with his abysmal crush of course, but that he might be able to call Harry 'friend' one day. That would make it all worth it.
But first that meant finding him, restoring his memories, and getting them both back to the real world before the stroke of midnight. He sighed, at least he wasn't alone.
"So," he said, forcibly cheering up and strolling over to Bones, hands in his pockets. "Are we going to talk about the little leprechaun outfit?"
"No," grumbled Bones.
Draco smirked. "I think it's adorable."
"Say that again," the small dog warned. "And I'll bite your ankles."
Draco just laughed.
They passed several more leprechauns as they trekked through the woods, most of them chasing snakes, all of them waving tankards around in varying states of inebriation. But they mostly paid the odd trio no mind as they marched along the pathway, more interested in their quarry than what a boy, a dog and a drunken imp were up to.
Just as Draco was starting to get antsy, the edge of the tree line came into view, and they were greeted by a wide open meadow rolling down a hill, showing a small town in the distance that Draco guessed to be their destination. The meadow was filled with three-leaf clovers rather than grass, and Draco plucked one of the shamrocks from its stem to roll absently between his fingers.
He figured the chances of Harry making his way to St Patrick's Land would probably be quite an unlikely coincidence, so he figured they would most likely ask around to whoever might know about these things just to double check, then head on up to Christmas Land. His belly rumbled at the thought of mince pies, and he hoped they would have a chance to grab a snack along the way. Harry-hunting would be much less stressful on a full stomach.
As they walked down the hill towards the edge of the town they passed a harangued looking young man and woman, human like Draco, as they attempted to instruct a dozen or so children who were currently charging around in what might generously be called a circle. "No," pleaded the woman, pulling at her red hair and moving as fast as she could with them in her voluminous skirts. "Two steps forward, two steps back – the other way – the other way!"
The children looked to be having too much fun to really be listening to her though, and the man had his hands full with the drum he was banging in time to their instruction. Draco and his companions walked on by without so much as a glance from any of them.
The town was made up of a series of rambling houses that lead up to a sheer cliff face overlooking the sea. It was a beautiful vista and Draco breathed deep, taking in the salt air. The buildings themselves were mostly made up of large grey stones with slated roofs and big rectangular windows. As they drew closer and entered the town itself, Draco assumed that the homes were further out from the main street they were walking along, as every single establishment that currently lined the street seemed to be a pub.
"Top of the morning to yeh," several people cried out as they waved from their windows, and numerous leprechauns scampered from door to door, chuckling wickedly with brimming tankards clutched to their chests.
"Are you taking us to Tommy's?" Bones asked. That meant nothing to Draco, but it obviously did to him and to Brandon as well, as he nodded and swung his now empty mug around.
"He'll be able to help yeh out, and then I'll get me gold, yes?"
Draco sighed, not really enjoying the deception, even though it was necessary. Actually, what was bothering him was not having the money at all. He felt quite naked without a sizable amount of cash upon his person. One never knew when a good bribe would be needed, as this experience had shown him clearly, and he wasn't appreciating the sense of powerlessness it was giving him.
Tommy's turned out to be a pub (much to Draco's surprise) called "The Old Craic", which Draco was quickly informed was pronounced 'crack' a word which meant 'good times', lest there be any confusion. The inside was dark and a bit squashed with so many mismatched tables and chairs crowded around the hearth, but Draco felt a warm, welcoming sensation envelope him as soon as he stepped over the threshold, and couldn't help but smile. There were a number of people and leprechauns occupying the seats, and a broad man in a flat cap behind the bar greeted them with a cheery wave as he polished a pint glass.
"Bones me old chap," he cried merrily. "It's been too long, what brings you to this neck of the woods? Come, come, sit down and bring your friend."
"The usual!" Brandon hiccupped, climbing up the leg of a bar stool to stand on the seat and rest against the counter. He dropped his empty tankard in front of him as well as a shiny gold coin.
"The usual useless layabout, I assume you mean?" the barkeep chuckled as Draco walked up to him and lifted Bones so he could sit on a stool too. "Catch any snakes today?"
"Three," Brandon announced proudly, then edged the tankard closer to the taps in a not so subtle hint.
"Yer a lying bastard, Brandon O'Charm," the man said, shaking his head, but filling up the cup regardless. "Now, who do we have here? Tommy O'Shea," he introduced himself to Draco, sticking out his large, calloused hand.
"Um," said Draco as he took it, not sure if he should give his name considering he had a whole army of the undead after him.
Bones obviously felt the same though, as he propped his front paws on the bar to address Tommy himself. "You don't have anyone," he said meaningfully. "He's in a spot of bother from up above, so the less you know, the better."
Tommy laughed and tipped his hat. "You don't need to tell me twice," he assured them. "Right then so, is there anything you're in fact wanting, or are you just here for the good stuff?" He waved the now clean glass their way.
"I'm looking for my friend," Draco said clearly. There wasn't much of a din from the pub's patrons, but it wasn't exactly quiet either. "I think he's in Christmas Land, but he might have left there by now. His name's Harry, and he had a scar shaped like a lightning bolt on his forehead."
Brandon gave a particularly loud belch, then held out his tankard again, already empty. "He's a trouble maker, I can tell," he said with a frown.
"No he's not," Draco defended hotly. "He's just…a bit lost."
Tommy plucked the cup from the leprechaun's hands and filled it automatically. "Well," he said thoughtfully. "I've not seen anyone by that description, but there were folks from Christmas Land around here, not twenty minutes ago."
Draco felt a thrill of hope fly through him and he leaned forward on the bar. "Really?"
"Yep," said Tommy with a nod, finding another glass to clean. "A bunch of robins, all harping on about some boy. Actually," he narrowed his eyes and gave Draco a closer look. "It was a blond fellow they were after, with silver eyes. I asked for something useful like a name, but you know what those Christmas ding-dongs are like, hard to get a straight answer before they start bursting into song every two seconds."
"Did they say why they were searching for a blond boy?" Draco asked, his pulse quickening.
"Aye," Tommy replied with a smile. "Said their friend was trying to find him. Nothing more than that, but seems to me that could be you laddie?"
A wave of dizziness swept over him, but Draco clung to the bar and stayed upright. "Could be?" he agreed optimistically, raising his eyebrows at Bones. Did that mean Harry still remembered who he was, what had happened to him?
Oh please, please, Draco begged silently. If Harry was aware, that meant he could fend for himself. Of the two of them, there was most definitely one who was far better qualified for heroics, and it made Draco incredibly relieved to think it perhaps wasn't just down to him to get them home.
"So he is in Christmas Land?" he enquired happily.
Tommy frowned. "Actually, no," he said apologetically. "I don't think so. Pretty sure they said he was off trying to find you himself, so he's probably in another second level holiday by now."
"Or third," Bones said with a sigh.
So, anywhere. Draco's brief flash of hope fizzled out as his heart clenched. It was hard not to resent Harry for making him worry like he was. It was a deep, churning ache that made Draco's throat constrict as he imagined all the many lands Harry could have travelled to, and how improbable is was that he could possibly hope to find him. At least, if he had maybe remembered who he really was, he might have a better chance, but did he know he had until midnight to escape back to the real world?
He wasn't used to caring about people like this. It felt like he'd been in constant fear for his parents that past two years, and in the moments when his fierce disassociation had cracked, he'd worried himself silly over Pansy and Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle, even Theo, who he'd never been all that close to but still would have minded if he'd been slaughtered in the mindless violence like so many others. But now his life had returned to 'normal', it was almost more than he could bear to fret over Harry's well being like he was.
Draco couldn't lose him now, he just couldn't. They had only just begun connecting, finding a path towards one another that wasn't fraught with bitterness and animosity. He knew he could never be with Harry, he was straight after all, and even if he wasn't, The Boy Who Lived would never fall for an ex-death eater. He had (almost) come to terms with that fact. But if Harry stayed down here, he would to all intents and purposes die, and Draco was too selfish a creature to ever let that happen whilst it was within his power to stop it.
Even if Harry didn't love him back, he would at least still be alive in the world, the real world. Draco would never forget as long as he lived that heart-wrenching few minutes outside of the castle back in May, when Harry's lifeless body had hung limply from the games keeper's arms, and Draco had thought everything was truly lost. Harry hadn't survived the worst wizard to have ever lived, only to lose himself to bloody Christmas Land.
He inhaled and gave a decisive nod, focusing on his goal with grim determination. "Well, we know more than we did before," he said firmly. "What do you think? Is it worth searching the higher level first, or going down to the third to come back up to another second?" He felt like he was starting to get the hang of this place now, even if it did all sound rather bizarre to say it out loud. "There are only three levels, right?" But even as he said it, something niggled in his faux-Halloween memories, and he didn't miss the way Bones and Tommy swapped apprehensive glances. "Right?" he said a little more forcefully.
Tommy and Bones regarded each other as Brandon drained another tankard. "Well-" Bones began.
The door to the pub crashed open. "Tommy!" cried a boy around Draco's age. His eyes were wide with panic as he quickly sought out the barkeep.
"Martin?" Tommy said, coming around the Draco's side of the bar. The boy Martin was still holding the door open, and Draco blinked. Surely it had been much sunnier when they had come in only a few minutes ago? "What is it lad?"
Martin shook his head and pointed outside. "Not sure. The Guard is out already, but, well, I thought…"
Tommy allowed himself to be lead out into the street without further explanation. A chill ran over Draco's skin and he thought it best to see what was going on as well, so he wordlessly lifted Bones down from his perch, and the two of them joined several other curious drinkers in wandering out of the pub.
A mist had descended from the hill, bringing an unnatural gloom to the day, and a few dozen other people were also coming out into the street to inspect the disturbance. From the left of where Draco was standing, the direction of the Cliffside, a line of men and women were streaming out of the only building not concerned primarily with serving alcohol – the police station. Although they didn't look like any police or Aurors Draco had ever seen.
The men were dressed in black trousers with emerald green silk shirts tucked in at the waist, one too many buttons undone at the collar. The women wore short dresses in a matching shade of green, cut off the shoulder with long sleeves, black tights and heeled ankle boots that tapped against the cobblestones as they marched purposefully towards the mist that was slowly but surely rolling down the road.
Through the fog ran the two dance instructors and their hoard of children, as well as a throng of leprechauns intermixed with all kinds of woodland creatures, including the elusive snakes, although no one seemed interested in catching them at present, everyone was too concerned with outrunning the phenomenon.
The temperature had dropped, and Draco rubbed his arms. "What's going on?" he asked.
The people in black and green from the police station began lining themselves up across the width of the street, alternating men and women one after the other. As they took their positions they all linked hands facing forwards, and once a row was completed the dozen or so of them would move in unison, crossing their legs at their ankles, causing sparks to fly from their shoes.
"Oh holy hell," breathed Tommy as another line completed. "The Guard's out, there must be real trouble."
The cold feeling that had washed over Draco's skin seemed to intensify. "I think I might be able to guess what it is," he said through dry lips.
As if summoned by his words, the edge of the mist several feet from where they were standing shifted, and through the swirling smoke emerged an all too familiar sight.
The first line of the Guard was met by almost as many gruesome walking skeletons, now all brandishing an array of wicked looking blades. Draco gasped as the Guard didn't hesitate; still holding hands, their feet moved in a flurry of kicks and stamps, casting showers of sparks as golden light rose between them and the skeletons in a protective wall, stopping them from advancing any further.
That was all Draco got to see, as at that moment Tommy grabbed him by the scuff of his neck, and with Bones at their feet hauled him back inside the pub and slammed the door.
Several patrons were still sat at their tables, peering curiously towards the windows, but not pushed so far as to leave their drinks. Brandon had scrambled up onto the bar itself, and was now happily sitting under the tap of ale, gulping it directly down in noisy slurps.
Tommy was a big man, but not so large Draco felt overtly intimidated by him. However, as he loomed over him by the closed door, his shoulders several inches wider than Draco's own, he seemed quite menacing indeed. "What the bejeezus?" he demanded, thrusting a meaty finger towards the closed door. "That's Mayor Abattoir's private squadron, the HS bloody P! Just what have you gotten yourself into boy?"
"How do you know they're here for him?" Bones asked, but Tommy was having none of it.
"Because I wasn't born yesterday, you idjit!" He scowled and advanced on Draco, making him take a step back. Outside there were shouts and the crackle of lightning and a host of other unidentifiable sounds tearing through the air. "What trouble have you brought down upon us?"
Everyone was looking at Draco now. "I'm so sorry," he said, raising his hands as bile rose in his throat. After everything that had happened at Hogwarts, the last thing he had wanted to do was cause any more problems for innocent people.
"Don't be sorry," Tommy snapped. "Explain! What did you do?"
"Nothing, I swear," Draco stammered. This was awful, he could feel panic making his heart slam into his chest. He was going to get people killed, again. "I didn't mean to, it was an accident-"
"No, no," interrupted Bones sternly. "Tommy, stop, this isn't what you think."
"Then what is it?" Tommy shot back as the noises outside intensified.
Bones locked eyes with him. "He's trying to leave," he said simply.
Tommy frowned at him for a moment, before his eyes slowly widened. He looked up to the ceiling. "You mean…leave leave?"
Bones nodded, ignoring the commotion coming through the walls. At least it didn't look like the mayor was with them, Draco thought, but if he was somewhere else, did that mean he'd sent his skeletons to more than one land? Did he want to stop Draco that badly?
"He don't belong here, Tommy," said Bones gravely. "And I've only got a few hours to find his friend and send him home, otherwise he'll be lost, just like the rest of them."
Tommy puffed up his chest. "Say no more," he told them. "You'd best be going down in that case – far more lands to lose them in that way. You know where the cellar is, get on with yeh, and we'll make sure they don't come a following."
Draco shook his head, not quite sure he understood. "Why are you helping us? Me?" he asked. "What's in it for you?"
Tommy scoffed, and straightened the woollen waistcoat he had on over his shirt. "T'ain't about that," he said, clapping Draco on the shoulder. "It's about what's right and wrong. Go, find yer lad and get yerselves home. We'll make sure nobody follows yeh." He gave Draco a squeeze then let him go to address the rest of the pub. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, it seems we have ourselves a lock in!"
A mighty cheer rang out and the customers leapt to their feet, bellowing and screaming in feral delight.
Draco took a step closer to Bones.
Several people launched towards the door, dropping a hefty wooden bar across it and turning a number of different shaped keys along the side. A middle aged lady pulled a fiddle out from in between her legs under her many layered skirts, and started to play a wild jig. One bloke lifted a small shutter at the base of the pub wall, and no less than nine chickens came strutting out, followed by a parakeet and cockatoo, both of whom looked extremely disturbed and disorientated to be on the floor of The Old Craic, but, like most everyone within the walls at present, decided it was best just to accept the situation and embrace it.
A dwarf woman skipped over the backs of the chairs and sofas, merrily relighting the candles hanging on the walls with a black stick of wax whose flame glowed an eerie green that made Draco feel oddly at home. Several leprechauns started shelling and salting a variety of nuts into bowls at an alarming rate. Two young ladies initiated a game of Pictionary whilst two young gents cracked open an accordion case and launched right in with the fiddle's jaunty tune.
A plump lady with rosy cheeks laid on her rolly-polly belly and tugged a battered old game of snakes and ladders from underneath one of the tables, flicking the board out for those around her to join in. It took less than twenty seconds, as far as Draco's fleeting eye could tell, before drinking rules had been established, and the first pair of dice had been cast to a ruckus applause.
Where Tommy had vacated from behind the bar, half a dozen other people now filled his place, yanking down the arms on the pumps to slosh beer into the glasses hastily shoved underneath the streams. Corks were popped and tabs were pulled, drinks of every colour flowing into whatever vessels could be found. One chap had even set himself up at the end of the bar with an assortment of coloured bottles and was contentedly making fruity cocktails garnished with little umbrellas, humming along to the jig whose lyrics were becoming more and more explicit.
"Nobody in their right minds'll be trying to get past this lot," Tommy said affectionately as several couples linked arms and began to swing around the furniture. "Now go, before anyone sees you through the windows."
Draco's feet seemed routed to the spot. He'd already asked why this totally stranger was helping him, and he still didn't understand. But maybe he didn't need to just then. "Th-thank you."
"There'll be time later for getting all mushy Sunshine," Bones growled, nipping at the hem of his trousers. "Down the stairs, now!"
Draco took one last look at the rowdy horde, then quickly made his way down the bar towards the door stood ajar that Tommy indicated led to the cellar. Yet again he wasn't thrilled about heading down into a dark space, but he didn't want the skeletons finding him either.
"Oi!" a little voice cut through the hubbub, and Draco turned as he reached the door to see Brandon join Bones at his feet. He was weaving back and forth on his feet like he was on board a ship atop choppy waters, and in place of his small tankard he now brandished a human sized hip flask. "Just where do you think you're going?"
Draco huffed, pulling the door open and heading down the stairs which, this time, were mercifully lit. "We told you, to find my friend," he snapped impatiently. "So that's means getting out of here before those things out there spot us."
"But what about me gold?" Brandon hiccupped sulkily, keeping up with Draco's strides despite almost tripping over every step. "Me treasure, me reward? Don't think I've forgotten about that!"
Draco let out a rumbling noise of frustration. "Look, we'll sort that out later, alright?" he lied. But the leprechaun happily skipped ahead of him to reach the cellar floor fist, unperturbed.
"It's okay, I'll stick with you, would hate for you to forget any such thing." He grinned drunkenly, and swung off of the tap of the nearest of the many beer barrels lined up along the wall. "So where too now, what land?"
The door above them gave a violent shudder, and a fine rain of dust drifted down over their heads.
"Wherever's closest," Bones said urgently, and ran over to a trap door. "Quick, boy, get this open."
"So we're going down?" he checked as his did as the dog said. "Aren't we just guessing blindly here? Harry could be anywhere."
"Well we know he's not here," Bones growled. "Unless you've got any other bright ideas, we're better off seeing where the portal takes us, ideally away from the bloody HSP."
Draco wrapped his hands around the cold metal ring that would pull the heavy square of wood upwards, and winced as another thud came from above them. "Can't we control it in anyway?" he asked.
Brandon scampered over to where Draco's knee rested on the flagstone floor, and gave it a poke with the top of his hipflask. "Course you can," he chided. "You just need a bit a practice. Why don't you let me guide you down?"
Draco raised his gaze towards Bones, who in turn looked back at the leprechaun waggling his eyebrows provocatively. "Ah," said the dog. "I guess we can't get much more screwed than we already are. Go on then, quickly."
"Should we maybe," Draco said as he wrenched the trapdoor upwards. "Think about going down two levels at once, to throw them off?"
He'd suspected there were more than three levels after Bones and Tommy's reaction up in the pub, but he still wasn't prepared for the panicked "NO!" that both Bones and Brandon shot at him, their eyes going wide.
"No?" Draco repeated. "Why 'no'?"
"Look," Bones said gruffly, checking no one had as yet followed them down into the cellar. "You're right, there's a fourth level, but it's not like this, or the first or third either. You don't ever want to find yourself down there, okay?" He darted over to the edge of the black hole beyond the open trapdoor. "Just trust me on this, Your Highness."
However Draco felt a flair of frustration go through him. "But if we could lose them down there-"
"Oh deary me," Brandon sighed with a roll of his eyes, then pinched his nose and jumped feet first into the void. Draco's stomach lurched, but he guessed it was probably just like when they'd gone through the door in the basement.
"It ain't right down there," Bones said plainly. "If you ain't properly anchored you get lost, people never come back."
"So, have you seen it yourself?" Draco pressed.
Bones scoffed, and more bumps and cries came from over their heads. "Not likely Sunshine," he scoffed. "Worth more than my life to go poking about there. Now come on. We'll never lose them if you sit and gab all day!"
Draco wasn't wholly satisfied with his non-answer, but he was also right, they didn't want to get caught sitting around on the floor, so he swung his legs around into the darkness. "How do I follow Brandon?" he asked as Bones hopped into his lap.
Bones shook his head, dislodging the ridiculous miniature top hat, then jutted his chin forwards towards the portal. "Just picture the little bugger, and we'll take the same path as he did."
Draco wasn't sure he was entirely convinced, but the door to the cellar rattled alarmingly, and he decided to take his chances.
"Okay, here we go!" he announced, slipping off the edge of the trapdoor hole and plummeting into oblivion.