Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Season 9, Round 9

Team: Wimbourne Wasps

Position: Keeper (Meeting one's doppelgänger)

Word Count: 1353

It began as an ordinary day.

Vincent had woken at his usual time. He'd headed to breakfast like normal. He'd sat next to Gregory and Draco, and he'd listened while the latter sputtered on about something which he'd very quickly forgotten.

"Are you even listening to me?" Draco had questioned, partway through breakfast. Vincent had nodded, a little too slowly, but Draco hadn't seemed to notice.

"You know, it makes sense that the Chamber would open now, with all the mudbloods getting into Hogwarts. It was never supposed to…" He'd trailed on again, shooting a glance in the direction of Hermione Granger, and Vincent had once again zoned him out.

See, Vincent didn't much care about the Chamber. He really wasn't concerned about what happened to anyone else, so long as he was able to make it on time for meals. And, given that it was Christmas morning, this particular breakfast was not one to be missed.

Perhaps that was why he didn't ask any questions when a delicious looking slice of cake appeared in the hallway, as he and Gregory made their way back to the dorms. Or perhaps it was just that he was not the brightest wand in Ollivanders, as his father had often made abundantly clear. Either way, he hadn't thought twice – hadn't even thought to consider whether he was even hungry after the massive feast – he'd just taken a bite.

Almost immediately, he'd felt his eyelids droop. A heavy exhaustion settled on him, and before he could consider whether it was smart to do so, he was lying down in the middle of the hallway to take a nap. He'd noticed Gregory lying down beside him, though he hadn't at all comprehended what was going on.

And that was the last thing he'd noticed, before ending up here. One moment he'd been taking a brief nap in the hallway, and the next he was in the dark.

It took a moment for him to realize that he was not in his bed. Another for him to recognize the familiar snores of the person next to him. He shoved Gregory hard with his shoulder, unsure where he was hitting him. He couldn't see a thing in here. The other boy continued to snore, and Vincent shoved him again.

"Wake up you big lug," he sputtered, trying to sound as much like Draco as he could, and finding that he'd succeeded. Gregory drew in a loud breath before shooting up.

"Where am I, what's happening? And why'd you hit me?" He whined.

Vincent rolled his eyes. If he was stupid, Gregory had to be in another world altogether.

"We're in the dark, idiot. We fell asleep in the hallway," Vincent tried to speak slowly enough so that Gregory could understand, though it was hard to tell what the other boy was picking up.

"Oh," Gregory said, and seemed to contemplate that for a minute. "But where are we? And how did we get here?"

Vincent felt annoyance begin to rise up in him. He had planned to spend the day doing absolutely nothing, in his dorm room. Being stuck in the dark with Gregory was not part of the plan. And having to sit here and explain the obvious to his friend was only making the situation worse.

"I don't know where we are, idiot. If I did, I wouldn't be here." He ignored the question about how they got to be where they were. He didn't have a single clue, but he didn't want to admit to his own ignorance. Besides, unless they somehow sleep-walked here, he doubted the answer was very good. And he didn't want Draco making fun of them for weeks on end because they'd gotten locked up somewhere. It was better to just ignore the part about how they got there and focus on the part about how they got out.

Feeling around, Vincent felt a wall close to his right. The space seemed small, which meant they were probably in a closet of some kind. He stood up and felt for a door, stepping on Gregory in the process.

"Ouch!" Gregory shouted.

Vincent would have shoved a hand over his mouth to shut him up, if he'd had any idea where the other boy's mouth was. Instead, he settled for a hissed: "Shut up!" And went right back to searching for a door.

"We're in some kind of closet," Vincent said aloud, still feeling along the wall.

This seemed to distract Gregory from his injury. "We're trapped? No, we can't be trapped. I can't die here. Remember what Draco said about the monster? What if it – "

"Shut up!" Vincent said again, though he was honestly quite surprised when the other boy did as he said. "You're being dramatic. We – "

He cut off as he felt the edge of the door. Feeling along the side, he soon located the handle. When he tested it, he was surprised to find that it opened instantaneously.

Light streamed into the closet and Vincent turned back to Gregory triumphantly. The other boy looked utterly terrified, as though he truly believed that whatever monster lived in the Chamber of Secrets might actually come for them. Vincent rolled his eyes again.

"See, we're fine," he began, but Gregory was not paying any attention to him. The other boy was pointing a finger at someplace behind Vincent, and for just a moment, he wondered if there was a monster after all.

When he turned around, the hair on the back of his neck stood up and he leapt backwards. Slammed the door of the closet closed again, feeling far safer in this tiny space then out there with…that.

"You – you were there – but you – " Gregory stuttered, and for once Vincent was unable to fault the other boy's idiocy. Because he, too, was flabbergasted.

"You saw it?" He whispered, though he already knew the answer. Gregory's reaction had said enough. Whatever was outside the door, it wasn't a monster.

It was him.

They stayed in the closet for a long time, before Vincent worked up the courage to open the door again. The hallway was empty. Maybe it had always been empty. Maybe they were just seeing things.

He turned back to Gregory, who was still sitting on the floor of the closet. His friend was pale as a ghost, and Vincent wondered if his face was also that white.

"Come on," he said, after another moment. "We'd better get back."

Gregory shook his head slightly, "But – "

"But nothing. We're both tired. Whatever we saw wasn't real. And we can't tell Draco."

The mention of Draco seemed to pound some sense into Gregory. A little bit of his colour returned, and he nodded.

"Come on, then." Vincent offered his hand to Gregory and pulled him up. Together, the two of them headed back towards the dormitories.

Draco was waiting for them when they got back, lying across a couch in the common room. "Where the hell were you two? I've been waiting," he drawled.

Vincent felt that familiar annoyance creep back in. "It's none of your business," he muttered. Then, louder, "And you don't have to be so rude."

Draco looked, for a moment, as though he had been slapped. The look gave Vincent an extreme sense of satisfaction. After all, he'd already faced one monster today. He could handle Draco Malfoy.

Without another word, he turned and headed up to his dormitory. For once, he didn't care what plans Draco had for the three of them. He had his own plans. He'd had a rough day, and he planned to spend the rest of it doing absolutely nothing. He didn't need Draco - he was just fine on his own.

Reaching into his pocket, Vincent pulled out the rest of the cake he'd managed to stow away before falling asleep earlier. He took a big bite, sighing contentedly at the taste.

Immediately, Vincent felt another wave of exhaustion wash over him. He was barely able to make it to his bed, before drifting back into a deep sleep.