Disclaimer: If you know it, it's from Chamber of Secrets and I do not own that.
Edited and reloaded 12 July 2013
A Detonation in Red
Tom! Atlanta came back! Dumbledore announced she's returned safely.
That is wonderful, Ginny.
I know. I wish she were well, though. I guess she has some brain damage or something.
Brain damage?
A memory spell gone bad, or something. Draco told me she was talking strange.
How?
Well, she spoke with a British accent and was rather cold towards him and the bushy haired girl.
Ah. You did not speak with her?
No. Only Draco and Dumbledore.
Why?
I guess she showed up in the library where Draco was. I'm not sure. I did't ask him.
Ask him.
Okay. Tom, are you sure I shouldn't see Madam Pomfrey? I'm still having trouble remembering where I am for large chunks of the day. And Percy keeps telling me I'm pale. And Draco keeps staring at me.
Maybe Draco likes you.
Ginny?
Draco was not sure why, but for some reason he felt the need to follow Ginny after Atlanta had returned. Once her friend had returned safely, Draco was sure Ginny would revert to normal.
She did not.
So, Draco took up stalking.
He was stalking Ginny Weasley.
He cringed.
Draco did not want to be stalking Ginny Weasley but, she was acting more than a little bizarre the morning after Atlanta had returned. She stopped coming down to breakfast. Instead she remained in the Common Room, sitting very straight in her chair, her nose a little in the air while holding a book in front of her. She looked like a stuck up prat.
If Ginny Weasley was a stuck up prat, then Draco was a Crumple-Horned Snorkack.
So, Draco was stalking her. He had skipped out of breakfast the moment he saw her enter the Entrance Hall, by passing the Great Hall.
Ginny stopped by a blank piece of wall, just a few stones throws away from the second floor bathroom where the Chamber was located. She stood still and straight as a board, till she began swaying a little. Almost as if a breeze had caught her and was about to knock her over. Draco moved forward a bit to catch her in case she fell, but she didn't. She put her hand on the wall, steadied herself and fell through.
Draco was too shocked to move for a moment. He shook his head and hurried to the stretch of wall, hands moving over it in order to see if he could feel any magic as he had down in the Chamber.
"What is going on?" Draco whispered after completing his search. His hands had met resistance of stone. "How did she…."
Draco stopped talking to himself and stared at the hallway he was located in and exactly where. This was where Oliver Wood had come flying out of nowhere all those months ago. Draco took a few steps backwards. He was still staring at the wall when a blur of black and red came flying out of the wall straight at him, knocking him clear off his feet and across the corridor.
"Oomph."
"Oh! Draco! Er, Malfoy! Sorry," a high pitched voice whispered.
The object scrambled off and took off. Draco shook his head, getting to his knees in time to see red hair fly around the corner. He stared at the blank wall. He attempted to get through, but nothing he did allowed him to melt into the wall or get into the hidden room.
"Draco! What are you doing?"
Draco turned to find Harry hurrying towards him.
"Put your hands on this wall."
Giving Draco a questioning look, Harry shrugged and put his hands on the wall.
Harry didn't sink through.
Draco let out a noise of frustration.
"We're going to be late," Harry said. "Here's your bag. You left it behind when you went Ginny Stalking."
Harry grinned.
"I am not stalking her," Draco huffed, ignoring the fact he was indeed stalking her. Harry continued to grin, so Draco let out a noise of annoyance. Rolling his eyes, he said, "At least I've made some headway. I followed her and she fell through the wall, then flew out a few seconds later. Just like Wood did. Remember? When he knocked you over in the fall?"
Harry's expression changed. He was now curious. Harry went back to the wall and put his hand on it. He began to move his hands around in a pattern.
"Do you think it's a secret room? Like that room you showed up last year?"
"I don't know. It doesn't work the same way. It sucked Ginny in and spit her out. Might have done the same thing to Wood. You should ask him!"
Harry nodded, then reminded Draco again they needed to go to class. Draco took his bag from Harry then stopped dead. He looked around, feeling he was missing something.
"Harry, what is today?"
"Uh, fourteenth of February. How did you fail to notice? Did you see the Great Hall this morning? Lockhart's gone all out."
Harry looked like he was about to puke. Draco had not noticed the Great Hall, as he was too busy waiting to see if Ginny Weasley appeared and attempting to eat something. Getting food in his mouth was hard when he was staring at the door.
"There were ugly pink flowers everywhere! And then the heart shaped confetti!" Harry ranted, turning around and heading off down the hall. "And the girls. Why do girls have to giggle like that?"
Draco stared at Harry's retreating form before shaking himself. He caught up with Harry easily, who was ranting about Lockhart's lurid pink robes.
"Pink!? Like bright hot pink. What bloke wears hot pink willingly? HOT PINK!"
Draco held in a snort at seeing how worked up Harry was getting over Lockhart's attempts at moral boosting. Lockhart had been bragging for weeks about the fact there hadn't been an attack since before Christmas. He reckoned the Heir of Slytherin had buggered off, fearful of the Wrath of Lockhart.
More like the hot pink robes Harry was still ranting about.
"And he's having these ugly dwarves dressed like Cupid deliver cards throughout the day!" Harry went on, changing topics suddenly. "Oh, then he suggested we ask Snape how to brew a Love Potion. I wanna see someone ask him, he looked like he was about to kill someone. How did you miss this? I mean, the HOT PINK robes! It was like he had a spotlight on him! He was wearing a matching hat with a heart on top!"
Draco shrugged. "Let's head to class."
Throughout the day, dwarfs barged into classes to deliver mostly unwanted and highly embarrassing valentines. The professors were all extremely annoyed, as it seemed each class was disrupted multiple times instead of simply once. By the time lunch rolled around, Draco was pretty sure Professor McGonagall's mouth had vanished from holding such a pissed off expression over an extended period of time.
Draco also did not remember the dwarfs being so rude the last time around. Nor interrupting classes so often. Or maybe, no one delivered valentines to the Slytherins like they did Gryffindors?
So far, Harry hadn't received any. Harry accounted this to the fact the school was still scared of him and thought he was the Heir of Slytherin.
"You know, you kind of are," Draco commented as they walked to Charms in the late afternoon.
"I am not. I'm not technically related to Slytherin," Harry hissed. "I've seen the family tree."
"So have I. I didn't see any of your relations on there," Draco pointed out with a frown. "Yet, you're the snakes new best friend."
"I asked Hermione for a book on genealogy. With what Slytherin left behind, what I already knew and what Hermione gave me, I traced myself back to one of the three Perevell Brothers. Slytherin's daughter married the middle one. He says so himself. I'm not related to the middle brother that I can tell. I don't know my mother's genealogy. Slytherin theorized Muggleborns were relatives of wizarding families descended from Squids who mixed with Muggles."
Harry stopped talking, cocking his head to the side.
"Oh, I might be related to the middle one. I know I'm related to the youngest one by way of my dad."
Draco, for some unknown reason, felt this was rather important, yet he had no clue why.
"Actually, you are related to all three," Draco suddenly announced.
"How do you get that?"
"You're a Black."
"I am not."
"Yes, remember, you're my cousin. The Blacks mixed with the oldest brother."
"Oh."
The boys stared at one another. "How do we find out your mom's family history?"
"I have no idea. I know my aunt won't help with that. I think she might die if she finds out she might actually carry wizarding blood."
Harry looked rather disturbed by this fact.
"Do you think Slytherin was right? That Muggleborns come from Squibs?"
Harry shrugged. "He, er, really wanted it to be true."
Harry got that uncomfortable look about him he had almost each time he read something in Slytherin's journals. Draco was about to ask Harry what was wrong when they were interrupted.
"OI!"
Draco and Harry both startled. There was a grim-looking, angry dwarf wearing a diaper and wings trying to flag them down.
"Oi, which one of you is Draco Malfoy?"
Draco's eyes went wide as the dwarf elbowed a few more people out of the way to get to where the boys stood frozen. Draco felt his face flush and began looking for an exit. He was not about to have a valentine delivered in person in the halls. This would occur over his dead body. In his attempt to find an exit, Draco's eyes fell on a group of first years. The red hair of one stood out as Draco whirled around to run.
"Oi! You 'Arry Potter!"
Draco stood staring at another dwarf, who looked rather nasty and was blocking Draco's escape path.
"Run," Harry whispered.
The dwarves began kicking shins and people got in their way.
"Nowhere left to run," Draco complained.
Between the dwarves and the first years, they were blocked in.
"I've got a musical message to deliver to 'Arry Potter in person!" one called.
"I only got a card!" the other said.
The angry dwarf thrust a card at Draco. Draco took it, nodded and shoved it into his bag. Harry, meanwhile, was still attempting to escape, not taking Draco's advice that there was nowhere for him to go. Harry attempted to push his way through the crowd of first years. The dwarf launched himself in the air and grabbed Harry around the neck. Harry stumbled, ramming into a first year, whose books went up into the air and rained down rather comically.
"Not here!" Harry hissed.
"Stay still!"
Harry twirled and ducked, doing some sort of strange move that cast the dwarf off his back. The dwarf flew through the hair and landed in the group of first years, causing insanity to reign. Things went flying, first years went falling and the dwarf did not seem to notice, launching himself at Harry again. Draco bent over and help the first years pick up their scattered belongings.
"Stay still!" the dwarf grunted, latching onto Harry's back.
"Let me go!"
Before Draco could move to help Harry out, a loud ripping noise sounded as Harry's bag spilt and the contents spilled all over the floor. The ink bottles all smashed, sending ink all over the place. Draco began picking up the belongings of the first years faster. Waves of red ink were heading out in all directions.
Why did Harry have red ink?
"Okay, I've got a pile of books," Draco called, looming above the group of first years and holding the pile high once his hands were full.
"What is going on here?" drawled a cold voice from in front of Draco.
"What's all this commotion? Why is there all this mess in the hallways? Malfoy, what are you doing?"
Draco turned and found Prefect Weasley standing behind him, glowering at the sight of Draco holding the stack of books over his head while surrounded by anxious first years. Draco followed Prefect Weasley's eyes as he took in the mess in the hallway. There were first years scrambling around, other students attempting to scamper around the mess created by Harry Potter and his ripped bag. Quite a few people had red hands. Red was slowly becoming a dominate color as the ink spread from hands, to faces, to clothing.
Harry was squatting in the ink, feverishly trying to put his belongings back into his ripped bag. This failed to work, due to the huge, gaping hole, so the contents simply spilled out again. Nott loomed nearby looking like today was Christmas. The dwarf righted himself and grabbed Harry around the neck, causing Harry to fall face first into the floor, right in a puddle of ink.
"Right," the dwarf said, sitting on Harry's back. "Here is your singing valentine:
His eyes are as green as fresh pickled toad,
His hair is as dark as a blackboard
I wish he was mine, as he's really divine
The hero who conquered the Dark Lord."
If it were possible, Harry looked like he wanted to evaporate into thin air. He let his face smash further into the ground, not seeming to care his face was sitting in a puddle of red ink.
The corridor burst out in laughter. Prefect Weasley jumped into action to break the crowd up. No one was moving though, as they were all too amused, or Draco still had their books. Draco lowered the pile and began to hand the books out while Prefect Weasley shouted at the dwarf, who was still sitting on Harry's back. Draco got to the bottom of the pile and stared at the ratty, black notebook.
He had the diary.
Draco had the freaking DIARY!
T.M. Riddle's diary was in his hands! Draco had it!
Today was Christmas!
"Has anyone seen my diary?" Ginny asked, on her knees looking through the mess of books, parchment, and quills that were still all over the floor. She was careful not to get into the rivers of red ink flowing out from the detonation area of Harry's bag.
Draco shoved the diary into his pocket.
"Lost your diary?" Nott sneered. "Did you write that lovely poem for Potter in there?"
Ginny turned as red as Harry, who was slowly turning redder if that was possible as he lay in a puddle of scarlet ink. Harry further collapsed when he caught sight of Ginny. It was like he had lost the will to live. He was resigned to living the rest of his life with a dwarf on his back in a puddle of red ink.
"I don't think Potter liked your valentine much!" Nott shouted at her.
"NOTT!" Prefect Weasley bellowed. "Five points from Slytherin!"
Nott began to argue with Prefect Weasley. Ginny covered her face and ran off, forgetting she had lost her diary. Draco knelt down near Harry's head and said, "You're red."
Harry grumbled something Draco didn't understand. The dwarf jumped off Harry's back and sauntered off. Harry did not regain the will to live and remained lying in the middle of the hallway. Draco gathered up Harry's stuff, used his wand to fix the bag and finally hauled Harry to his feet as the bell rang. Prefect Weasley was still bellowing at Nott, his face as red as Harry.
"Today is a day to be red," Draco muttered.
"Ah, Mr. Potter!"
Harry groaned. "Kill me. Just kill me."
"I see you've gotten into the holiday spirit! Dying yourself red!" Lockhart bellowed.
"Potter! Malfoy!" squeaked Flitwick, appearing in the doorway of the classroom. "You're late."
"Ah, Mr. Potter is just showing his holiday spirit!" Lockhart praised, clamping a hand on Harry's shoulder. He failed to notice his palm was now red, as Harry's robes had soaked up the ink and spread it around. Draco's hands were also red, as were the ends of his robes.
What kind of ink did Harry have?
It must be some sort of magical ink. Harry was literally red from head to toe, except for his hair, which had remained stubbornly black. Everything else was red: his skin, his robes, his shoes, and his clothing.
Draco was also slowly turning red, due to touching Harry and his things.
Flitwick did not appear to care his students were red or turning red and pointed in the classroom. Draco grabbed Harry and dragged him into the classroom. Harry stared at the floor and didn't move to take out his notes, so Draco did it for him. After which, Draco checked himself further for red ink. He had it on his hands, from handling all the stained books and belongings, and the ends of his robes and pants. His shoes were red. Draco used a charm and cleaned his skin. It worked, so he tried it on his clothing and shoes. He was clean.
Draco glanced at Harry, who was still blankly staring at his desk.
"Buck up. No one can see you blush," Draco joked, handing Harry a Muggle pen. Harry stared at it for a long time. "Sometimes, Muggles have the right idea."
Harry snorted, taking the pen. "I hate ink. I'm going to be red for weeks."
"Why do you have red ink?" Draco asked, flicking his wand.
Harry was instantly cleaned. He startled. "Thanks."
"Now, why do you have red ink?"
Harry sighed, but didn't respond. Draco had a feeling it had something to do with the Twins.
Shaking his head, Draco turned his attention to Flitwick, who was yelling in the front of the room. The tiny professor was trying to begin the lesson but was having trouble keeping the class quiet. Flitwick ended up throwing his hands in the air and causing sparks to fly out of his wand before he toppled out of sight behind his tower of books.
"I got the diary."
"What?" Harry asked. "How?"
"I picked it up after the dwarf knocked over the first years that were clumped together," Draco replied.
Relief painted Harry's face. "Thank god. At least we can do something with it now."
Draco nodded his agreement.