A/N: I apologize for the problems I had with posting the last chapter. I
started out to correct a tiny little error, and in fixing it I caused an
even bigger error, and it sort of just snowballed from there. I'm sorry if
any of you were confused at the point when the chapters were all out of
order. They're all back to normal now, so go back and re-read if you think
things didn't quite make sense before!
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When faced with the corpse of the basilisk, both boys screamed, but for entirely different reasons. Dudley, of course, was terrified. He'd never seen such a big snake before, and the fact that it was so obviously and disgustingly dead wasn't helping matters any. Draco, on the other hand, screamed out of frustration. After waiting all these years to come face-to- face with the monster of the Chamber of Secrets, he'd finally gotten a chance to see it, only to find that it had been dead all along. All those wasted hours of dreaming! All those plans for nothing! He didn't know what to do next.
Dudley had no problems deciding what to do. He ran back through the Chamber doors, over the rockfall, around the snakeskin, and back to the bonepile with surprising speed. Feeling that there was nothing left to see in the Chamber, Draco followed him at a much slower pace. What was the rush, now that he had nothing left to live for, now that all his dreams had been shattered? When he finally caught up to Dudley, he saw the Muggle looking up at the mouth of the pipe they'd entered though.
"Draco," he asked hesitantly, "how do we get back up?"
Draco sneered and started to insult the oafish Muggle's intelligence when he realized something. He had no idea how to get back up. His plans had always ended with finding the Chamber and the monster within. He's always imagined that the monster would help them out again, he guessed. Only the monster was dead.
It was at least 15 feet up to the entrance of the pipe. There were no walls nearby that they could climb, and no objects that could be piled up to reach their goal. In short, they were stuck there until somebody found them and got them out. The only problem was, nobody knew that they were down below, not even Myrtle.
The important thing, Draco thought, was to remain calm. If the Harry's big cousin figured out that he didn't have a clue how to make their escape, there could be violence ahead. Then a light bulb went on in his brain. The kid was Harry's cousin, after all. Harry was always so sickeningly helpful and brave, and he was the most powerful wizard in the school (although Draco would never acknowledge to anyone that he felt that way). He'd be sure to figure out some way to get his cousin out of trouble, right?
"I wouldn't worry too much," Draco said. "Once your cousin figures out that we're down here, I'm sure he'll come up with a plan to get us out of here. I mean, he's not going to let anything happen to you, right? You're family to him."
Dudley gulped and started fiddling with his bow tie. He knew there could be violence ahead if he admitted this, but there was no use letting Draco have false hopes, and he would probably be dead soon enough anyway. "Draco, you'll probably hex me for telling you this, but you need to know the truth. Harry and I don't really get along. In fact, you could say that we hate each other's guts." He closed his eyes and winced, bracing himself for the attack that he was sure was coming. When nothing happened after a few moments, he opened his eyes again. He couldn't believe it. Draco was shaking with silent laughter!
"I can't believe it," Draco said when he finally regained the power of speech, "all this time I've been worried that you were going to beat me up when you found out my secret. You see, I hate Harry too. Can't stand him. Think he's the worst thing that ever happened to the wizarding world. Wish he'd fall off the face of the earth at the earliest possible convenience." He paused for more laughter, this time until tears came to his eyes. Dudley finally started laughing too, and before too long he was rolling around on the floor.
"Wow," Dudley finally said, his voice an awed whisper. "Who would have ever thought we'd have something in common?"
++++++++++++++
Two hours later, the boys were still trapped underground, but were considerably calmer. They'd finally moved over to the rockfall because it was the only good place to sit. Draco thought that the stone snakes in the Chamber might make good perches, but Dudley refused to go in there and face the dead basilisk again. So they'd sat on the rocks instead and talked. At first they talked mostly about Harry. Dudley told Draco about all the horrible things that Harry had done to the Dursleys, like the incident at the zoo and the time that he blew up Aunt Marge. Draco had filled Dudley in on Harry's school escapades and how he was always causing problems and getting away with it.
The two finally ran out of Harry stories and started talking about other things instead. Draco talked about his childhood in Malfoy Manor. Dudley told Draco a little about Smeltings and a lot about his Playstation and his favorite TV shows. It took a while for Draco to figure out what he was talking about, but once he got Dudley to properly explain it to him, it sounded pretty cool, much more so than the Wizarding Wireless Network.
The boys were having such a good time that it seemed like a shame when they were suddenly interrupted by a voice that seemed to be calling to them from a long ways away.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
When faced with the corpse of the basilisk, both boys screamed, but for entirely different reasons. Dudley, of course, was terrified. He'd never seen such a big snake before, and the fact that it was so obviously and disgustingly dead wasn't helping matters any. Draco, on the other hand, screamed out of frustration. After waiting all these years to come face-to- face with the monster of the Chamber of Secrets, he'd finally gotten a chance to see it, only to find that it had been dead all along. All those wasted hours of dreaming! All those plans for nothing! He didn't know what to do next.
Dudley had no problems deciding what to do. He ran back through the Chamber doors, over the rockfall, around the snakeskin, and back to the bonepile with surprising speed. Feeling that there was nothing left to see in the Chamber, Draco followed him at a much slower pace. What was the rush, now that he had nothing left to live for, now that all his dreams had been shattered? When he finally caught up to Dudley, he saw the Muggle looking up at the mouth of the pipe they'd entered though.
"Draco," he asked hesitantly, "how do we get back up?"
Draco sneered and started to insult the oafish Muggle's intelligence when he realized something. He had no idea how to get back up. His plans had always ended with finding the Chamber and the monster within. He's always imagined that the monster would help them out again, he guessed. Only the monster was dead.
It was at least 15 feet up to the entrance of the pipe. There were no walls nearby that they could climb, and no objects that could be piled up to reach their goal. In short, they were stuck there until somebody found them and got them out. The only problem was, nobody knew that they were down below, not even Myrtle.
The important thing, Draco thought, was to remain calm. If the Harry's big cousin figured out that he didn't have a clue how to make their escape, there could be violence ahead. Then a light bulb went on in his brain. The kid was Harry's cousin, after all. Harry was always so sickeningly helpful and brave, and he was the most powerful wizard in the school (although Draco would never acknowledge to anyone that he felt that way). He'd be sure to figure out some way to get his cousin out of trouble, right?
"I wouldn't worry too much," Draco said. "Once your cousin figures out that we're down here, I'm sure he'll come up with a plan to get us out of here. I mean, he's not going to let anything happen to you, right? You're family to him."
Dudley gulped and started fiddling with his bow tie. He knew there could be violence ahead if he admitted this, but there was no use letting Draco have false hopes, and he would probably be dead soon enough anyway. "Draco, you'll probably hex me for telling you this, but you need to know the truth. Harry and I don't really get along. In fact, you could say that we hate each other's guts." He closed his eyes and winced, bracing himself for the attack that he was sure was coming. When nothing happened after a few moments, he opened his eyes again. He couldn't believe it. Draco was shaking with silent laughter!
"I can't believe it," Draco said when he finally regained the power of speech, "all this time I've been worried that you were going to beat me up when you found out my secret. You see, I hate Harry too. Can't stand him. Think he's the worst thing that ever happened to the wizarding world. Wish he'd fall off the face of the earth at the earliest possible convenience." He paused for more laughter, this time until tears came to his eyes. Dudley finally started laughing too, and before too long he was rolling around on the floor.
"Wow," Dudley finally said, his voice an awed whisper. "Who would have ever thought we'd have something in common?"
++++++++++++++
Two hours later, the boys were still trapped underground, but were considerably calmer. They'd finally moved over to the rockfall because it was the only good place to sit. Draco thought that the stone snakes in the Chamber might make good perches, but Dudley refused to go in there and face the dead basilisk again. So they'd sat on the rocks instead and talked. At first they talked mostly about Harry. Dudley told Draco about all the horrible things that Harry had done to the Dursleys, like the incident at the zoo and the time that he blew up Aunt Marge. Draco had filled Dudley in on Harry's school escapades and how he was always causing problems and getting away with it.
The two finally ran out of Harry stories and started talking about other things instead. Draco talked about his childhood in Malfoy Manor. Dudley told Draco a little about Smeltings and a lot about his Playstation and his favorite TV shows. It took a while for Draco to figure out what he was talking about, but once he got Dudley to properly explain it to him, it sounded pretty cool, much more so than the Wizarding Wireless Network.
The boys were having such a good time that it seemed like a shame when they were suddenly interrupted by a voice that seemed to be calling to them from a long ways away.