Chapter 11: The Runaway Mine Train

Disclaimer: See previous previous chapter!

The heat seemed to dwindle away as they entered the indoor waiting area for Big Thunder Mountain. Finally they reached the loading platform. Again, they had to break into pairs. Ginny scraped up the last amount of courage she had and asked Harry if he'll ride with her. Before he could answer, the ride attendant whisked them away into their seats. Percy rode with Oliver and Hermione was forced to ride with Ron again.

"You again?" Ron cried as the green and red engine pulled the train cars out of the station. "Who's writing this story anyway?"

"Well, I'm not going to let you spoil this ride for me," Hermione said, annoyed with Ron and the heat. She whipped out her wand again. "Laryngitis Maximo!" Ron shut up. He opened his mouth and found he could not speak, no matter how hard he tried. The mine train ascended up a great hill. Hermione took this silent opportunity to lecture.

"…Those ghosts were so fascinating! I read how they made them look like real ghosts. You see they had a real mannequin of the dead person and their image is projected into the air using a simple glass and light technique. It's amazing how the Imagineers create all this magic without- AHHHHHHHH!" The train had begun to fly down the hill and Ron and Hermione screamed from the sudden drop…well, Ron's mouth just hung open. The train twisted and turned through the craggy rocks and treacherous towers, some which had teetered and tottered, this way and that, attempting to crush the rushing train below. The train whizzed by an old mining town so fast that no one seemed to noticed that it was flooded! The train climbed within the last cavernous mountain. The boulder walls began to tremble around them and it looked as if the cavern would crumble atop the poor innocent riders. The runaway mine train pulled out just in time and twisted over rocks and under natural bridges until finally it came to a halt at the old station.

"Let's do that again!" Ron said…er…mouthed. Hermione counter-cursed the curse and Ron could talk again, but his voice tried to catch up with what it had missed…Ron's voice begun to run like the mine train…"Whattheheckdidyoudotome? ShutupIdon'twanttohearaboutthiscra-AHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHH! Ohlookafloodedtown! AHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHH! We'regonnadieinhere! Therocksaregoingtocrushus! AHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHH! Let'sdothatagain!"

* * *

After riding Big Thunder Mountain 3 times, the group headed over to Splash Mountain. The brown mountain had green patches of grass growing out of it and the logs plunged into a prickly thicket below. The colorful mountain was very different compared to Big Thunder Mountain. "You WILL get wet!" read a sign at the entrance.

"Hurry before the line gets too long!" Neville said, excited to do something after the long wait outside in the sun. He sprinted towards the entrance passing the large Chinese Tour group with Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Oliver, Percy, and Penelope close behind. Neville crashed into the last person in line.

"Ugh! Off you Muggle!" the boy said.

"Sorry," Neville muttered. His eyes grew big when he saw whom he had crashed into.

"Oh, it's the squib-like Neville. Decided to face your fears and kill yourself as a favor to the rest of us?" Draco taunted. His cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, sniggered.

"Shut up Malfoy," Harry said, glaring at Draco.

"Well if it isn't Harry Potter…what are you doing here Potter?" Draco said. "And your pathetic friends? Decided to give them a treat they could never afford?" Ron was ready to beat him up, but Hermione held back. "And you brought along your Mudblood girlfriend!" Hermione removed her wand and was ready to curse him with the Laryngitis curse, but was stopped by Percy, who still had Ron's wand.

"We're here for the same reason as you," Ginny spoke up. "Dumbledore gave us this holiday."

"What? I'm not here because of that old muggle lover. Mum and Dad came here for the convention, if you must know!" Draco said.

"They didn't get a letter from Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"No, Potter. Why would they if I don't even go to that stupid school anymore!" Draco said. This bit of news was music to their ears. "I'm finally going to a real wizarding school, Durmstrang! Besides, who'd want to go to Hogwarts after what happened! Deadly teachers! Old-used house-elves! They can't even find a decent Dark Art's teacher!"

"Don't talk about Hogwarts that way!" Harry said, reaching for his wand as Draco pulled out his. Percy and Oliver stopped the Duel.

"Harry! Draco! Don't!" Percy said, holding Harry back, while Oliver had Draco pinned to the wall. "You know better than that! All of you!" As the line moved on he gave them a strong lecture on discipline. The line moved very slowly and Ron swore a snail could've passed them twice. Finally they reached the loading area.

"I hope you enjoy Hogwarts without that crackpot Dumbledore," Draco said to Harry as the boat pulled out of the loading dock.

* * *

"What do you suppose he meant?" Hermione asked Ginny, who was sitting with her in the last seat of the #32 Splash Mountain log. Harry sat with Ron, Neville sat with Oliver, and Penelope sat with Percy.

"I don't know," Ginny said. "I hope Professor Dumbledore is all right." Dumbledore was not all right. Something was wrong and Draco knew it. They tried to take their minds off the subject and enjoyed the tour of Briar Patch, which had been depicted through audio-animatronic animals within Splash Mountain. Like the Fantasyland attractions, Splash Mountain had a burst of whimsical colors and it told the story of Brer Rabbit, main character of Uncle Remus's stories from the movie Song of the South (no, not Remus Lupin). The adventurous tale of Brer Rabbit began with him leaving his home of a patch of thorns and vines. The award-winning score played in the background and scene after scene was more thrilling than the previous one. They passed a shabby old sign.

"'Slippery Falls'? What does that me-AHHHHhhhhhhhhaaaAAAAAAHHHHHHHhhhhhhhh!" Neville cried as the boat suddenly dipped down and then up and then down again.

"Whew! That wasn't too bad," Ginny said, happily believing that the splash of Splash Mountain was over.

"It's not over yet," Oliver said as they passed a few more scenes and then finally the log boats began to ascend up to an opening in the peak of the mountain. At the top, a gnarled old tree arched over the opening and two vultures looked greedily and hungrily down at them.

"That's not a good sign," Hermione said, looking up at them. Then the mountain opened up into the sunny afternoon sky and log boat #32 took the exciting plunge down down down FLASH doooowwwwwwnnnnnnn Splash Mountain and splashed into the patch of thorns below.

"Zip-a-dee-doo-daa! Zip-a-dee-aaa! My oh my, what a wonderful day!" The characters sang as the log boat floated past a giant Mississippi paddleboat full of singin' and dancin' birds and bears and turtles and frogs and the whole gang from Song of the South.

"What fun!" Neville said, with the adrenaline rushing through his veins. "We have to do that again!!!!"

"Big Drops + Ron…not good," Ron said, clutching his stomach. As they unloaded, Ron ran to the bathroom. The others exited and found themselves at some sort of television room. There was a counter where they were selling photos of your boat while plunging down Splash Mountain. The group found their photo, and laughed at their frozen faces.

"That's hilarious!" Harry said, looking at the look on Neville's face. "It's a shame they don't move…" Harry bought one anyway, just to show off to Dudley. Percy looked like his face was stretched out. Penelope was laughing. Harry's glasses were sitting on his forehead. Hermione's bushy hair was flying behind her and she had a big grin on her face, for she knew the photo was coming. Ginny had her hands over her face and Ron was… green.

* * *

"What happened to Dumbledore?" Harry demanded when he saw Draco at the exit. The others remembered what he had said earlier and were waiting eagerly for a response.

"Didn't you here?" Draco said, slyly. "That old magician got himself ill."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "Please elaborate!" Draco decided it was fun to have Harry pathetically plea for information.

"It's for me to know and you to find out!" Draco said, prancing away with Crabbe and Goyle not far behind.

"What a lame comeback!" Ron said. Everyone was worried about Dumbledore and was determined to find out.

"We could ask Professor McGonagal back at the convention," Ginny suggested. The fastest way back to Tomorrowland was through the Walt Disney World Railroad. They found the station by Splash Mountain and boarded the old locomotive, the Lilly Belle to be specific. The train ran past Big Thunder Mountain and around the edge of the Rivers of America. It passed behind Fantasyland and stopped at Mickey's Toontown Fair, the closest stop to Tomorrowland.

The group stepped off the train and into Toontown Fair, a rather animated town bursting with a kaleidoscopic of color. The buildings were all fat and chubby and had a character of their own. Each classic Disney character had a place to call home in Toontown. Donald's Boat, the Miss Daisy, was stationed on a small pond and the boat's many decks, as well as leaks, provided Donald with the best nautical home a duck could have. Goofy's Wiseacre Farm was also a zipping zooming roller coaster, The Barnstormer. The group decided for one quick ride before heading back to the convention. Who could resist riding this thrilling Plane ride?

After waiting in line, Harry and Co. boarded the blue crop dusters and away they flew! Over and under, down and around, the crop dusters piloted through trees and even into the barn, where the chickens felt quite disturbed. The plane trip ended too soon and the group headed back towards Cosmic Ray's. Ginny and Hermione pleaded to visit Mickey and Minnie's houses, for the soft colors and rotund architecture was very inviting. Once inside, the color palette continued and the furniture was bulky like everything else in Toontown! Mickey's bedroom showed his simple wardrobe of those familiar red shorts and enormous gloves and yellow shoes. He wasn't home, but after passing the backyard garden, one could find him in his dressing room in the large circus-like tents outside. Minnie's house was a typical country-girl's home. Minnie seemed to have left her kitchen running by itself. The oven and dishwasher were hard at work and through odd projections, a plate of cookies seemed to be there, but not. Once Neville had tried to grab one, his hand ran right through the intangible cookies.

Finally, the visit to Toontown had ended and the group returned to Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café. McGonagal, nor any other witch or wizard could be found at the restaurant. The unhappy group trudged out of the restaurant, having accomplished nothing in finding out the status of their headmaster.

"Maybe we could go to the hotel," Harry suggested. He took out his guidebook and found they could easily reach the hotel through the "Mongo-rail."

"Are you sure we're allowed?" Neville asked.

"Of course. We're just going next door. It's not too far," Harry said, remembering when they themselves had passed through the Contemporary Resorts Main tower on the way to the Magic Kingdom. After getting their hands stamped in order to re-enter the park, they headed to the Monorail station and waited for the sleek white vehicle. Finally, it pulled in and the doors slid opened.

"Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor soporte claro de las puertas," the voice said as the guests loaded in. The Contemporary Resort Hotel was short distance from the Magic Kingdom and they were there in no time. The eight of them, Harry, Ron, Neville, Ginny, Hermione, Oliver, Percy, and Penelope took the elevator down to the lobby and headed to the front desk.

"Could I please have the room number of Minerva McGonagal?" Harry asked the receptionist.

"Certainly," she said with the same glued on smile as all the other cast members. "If you don't mind me asking, is there some sort of English reunion going on?"

"You can say that…" Harry said. She continued to search for their records.

"Hmmm…let's see…McDougal…McGarlan…ah, McGonagal. Yes, she's in room 713," she said.

"Thank you," Harry said, leaving. "Room 713." They rode the elvator up again until they reached the 7th floor. They found room 713 and knocked on the door. No answer. Harry knocked again. Still no answer. Just as they were leaving, Professor McGonagal opened the door. She looked very distressed.

"I'm sorry dears," she said. "It seems that someone has broken into my room! All the school letters are gone!"

"What?" everyone said, shocked.

"What would anyone want with Hogwarts letters?" Ron asked. "Isn't all just a list of school books?"

"Yes, but this year there is some very important information," McGonagal said.

"About Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

"You better come inside," McGonagal replied, shooing them in.

What's wrong with Dumbledore? Is there another reason why Draco is going to Durmstrang? Find out next chapter of Harry at Walt Disney World.

PS: Thanks for all the review and your suggestions! The Enchanted Tiki Room should be fun…please keep checking for updates, or I may e-mail those who have reviewed. Thanx again and have a nice day!