Draco's ears perked up when he heard the voice calling his name. Certainly
it must be the ghost of the basilisk, or the spirit of Salazar Slytherin,
or some other dark and powerful force calling to him. His dreams could
still come true, and he could still wield the power of the Chamber of
Secrets! But then the voice started calling Dudley's name instead, and
that brought him back to reality. No dark force would ever call out the
name of a Muggle.
Dudley was already running back towards the mouth of the pipe, where the voice seemed to be coming from. Draco followed and arrived just in time to hear Dudley shout, "We're down here!"
"Are you safe?" the voice called back. Now that Draco had gotten closer he could tell that the voice belonged to Professor Dumbledore.
"Yes," Draco called, "we're fine. Can you get us out?"
"I'm sending someone down to you now," Dumbledore called. Draco rolled his eyes. Wouldn't the "rescuer" just get stuck down here with them as well? But the figure that swooped gracefully out of the pipe was not human, but a beautiful and intelligent-looking red-and-gold bird. "This is Fawkes, my phoenix," Dumbledore explained. "He'll bring you up one at a time. Just indicate to him which of you would like to go first."
The boys looked at each other, trying to decide. The thought of being carried up through the pipe by a 3-pound bird was preposterous, but then again, the idea of staying down here alone in the dark didn't seem too enticing either.
Dudley finally spoke up. "I came down here first, so I should get to go up first." Draco nodded. Fawkes grabbed Dudley by the collar and quickly took off, gracefully and seemingly effortlessly steering the large boy through the mouth of the pipe and up towards freedom.
That left Draco alone for a few moments. He still couldn't believe that things were really ending this way. What had happened to his dreams? What was going to become of him now? Even after his father had been sent to Azkaban, he'd dreamed of the day when he would assume the power that was rightfully his as a Slytherin and a Malfoy. When the opportunity presented itself to him this morning, the Chamber of Secrets had seemed like the perfect way to do that. But he had to face the fact that there was nothing left here for him now. Still he was left with a lot of questions. What had really happened down here? Had Harry Potter really killed the basilisk at the end of second year, when the attacks on mudbloods had stopped? Was the power of the Chamber really as dissipated as it seemed? And what did all this mean for Draco Malfoy? That was the only question that really mattered to him in the end.
Draco barely noticed as Fawkes returned for him and ever so gently lifted him up and away from the Chamber of Secrets and his shattered dreams.
+++++++++++++++
In the Great Hall, the closing reception was still going on. No one except for Harry and his immediate circle had any idea that Dudley and Draco had gone missing, and so they were all chatting and eating quite normally. It had been quite a while before anyone had realized, actually. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Aunt Petunia and Mr. and Mrs. Granger had spent a very pleasant afternoon in Hogsmeade. Harry's suspicions had proved to be accurate, as Aunt Petunia's love of shopping had triumphed over her fear of the wizarding culture in the end. She'd returned to Hogwarts with her arms full of shopping bags. Harry still couldn't believe that she'd actually asked to borrow money from him, or that he'd willingly given it to her. When she'd asked where he'd gotten such a pocketful of galleons in the first place, he'd muttered something about favorable exchange rates and she'd actually believed him! Of course, that meant she'd never repay him even a fraction of what she'd borrowed, if she ever repaid him at all, but that was still a lot better than letting her know about the contents of his Gringotts vault. No, he definitely hoped that she never figured out about that.
When they'd returned to Hogwarts after the outing, Aunt Petunia had immediately rushed to the common room with Harry to show her Diddykins all the delightful things she'd bought for him! Of course, he'd been conspicuous by his absence, and no one claimed to have seen him since the Quidditch match. At about the same time, Ron and Hermione had rushed in and announced that Draco Malfoy had been missing from their prefects' meeting. It didn't take any of them very long to put two and two together.
As usual, Harry had saved the day by getting out his Marauders' Map. Since there were so many more people in Hogwarts Castle than normal, it had taken him quite a while to locate the pair, but he'd finally found the right dots in a little inset marked "Chamber of Secrets." Odd that he'd never noticed that part of the map before. At any rate, Dumbledore was quickly notified and promised to retrieve the boys, while the rest of them were packed off to the Great Hall and the reception.
The doors to the Hall flew open, and for the second time that day Dumbledore strode in late, accompanied by a pair of troublemakers. Once again all eyes turned to him, and if it was possible for the crowd to look more shocked than they had this morning, they did so now. Draco Malfoy with a muggle, and not even looking particularly disgusted about it! What was this world coming to?
Once again Dumbledore strode up to the front of the room and began to speak. "Once again, my friends, I greet you. I trust that this day has brought new ideas and perceptions to each of you, Muggle and Wizard alike. When I spoke to you this morning, I spoke of a hope that Muggles and Wizards could enter a new age of mutual trust and respect, leading eventually to full cooperation between the two worlds. After only one day, I feel safe in saying that such an age is beginning. As our two groups separate today and go back to our normal routines, I hope we will all remember the lessons we have learned today. The Muggle and Wizarding worlds may be very different, but there is much that we can learn from each other, and it is my hope that we will continue to do so, in big ways and small, for many, many years."
He sat down at his place at the head table as the hall erupted in thunderous applause. Even Draco, still standing by the door next to Dudley, felt himself applauding, though he could scarcely believe he was doing so.
When the cheering finally stopped, Dudley leaned towards Draco and whispered conspiratorially, "Come with me. There's something I want to do."
Dudley led Draco to the Gryffindor table, where his mother was sitting. "Mummy," he said proudly, "this is Draco Malfoy. He's my friend. Can he come spend the summer with us when he gets out of school?"
Petunia goggled. Harry, Ron, and Hermione goggled. Even Draco goggled. Up at the head table, Dumbledore beamed. He had a feeling that the adventure was just beginning.
THE END
Dudley was already running back towards the mouth of the pipe, where the voice seemed to be coming from. Draco followed and arrived just in time to hear Dudley shout, "We're down here!"
"Are you safe?" the voice called back. Now that Draco had gotten closer he could tell that the voice belonged to Professor Dumbledore.
"Yes," Draco called, "we're fine. Can you get us out?"
"I'm sending someone down to you now," Dumbledore called. Draco rolled his eyes. Wouldn't the "rescuer" just get stuck down here with them as well? But the figure that swooped gracefully out of the pipe was not human, but a beautiful and intelligent-looking red-and-gold bird. "This is Fawkes, my phoenix," Dumbledore explained. "He'll bring you up one at a time. Just indicate to him which of you would like to go first."
The boys looked at each other, trying to decide. The thought of being carried up through the pipe by a 3-pound bird was preposterous, but then again, the idea of staying down here alone in the dark didn't seem too enticing either.
Dudley finally spoke up. "I came down here first, so I should get to go up first." Draco nodded. Fawkes grabbed Dudley by the collar and quickly took off, gracefully and seemingly effortlessly steering the large boy through the mouth of the pipe and up towards freedom.
That left Draco alone for a few moments. He still couldn't believe that things were really ending this way. What had happened to his dreams? What was going to become of him now? Even after his father had been sent to Azkaban, he'd dreamed of the day when he would assume the power that was rightfully his as a Slytherin and a Malfoy. When the opportunity presented itself to him this morning, the Chamber of Secrets had seemed like the perfect way to do that. But he had to face the fact that there was nothing left here for him now. Still he was left with a lot of questions. What had really happened down here? Had Harry Potter really killed the basilisk at the end of second year, when the attacks on mudbloods had stopped? Was the power of the Chamber really as dissipated as it seemed? And what did all this mean for Draco Malfoy? That was the only question that really mattered to him in the end.
Draco barely noticed as Fawkes returned for him and ever so gently lifted him up and away from the Chamber of Secrets and his shattered dreams.
+++++++++++++++
In the Great Hall, the closing reception was still going on. No one except for Harry and his immediate circle had any idea that Dudley and Draco had gone missing, and so they were all chatting and eating quite normally. It had been quite a while before anyone had realized, actually. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Aunt Petunia and Mr. and Mrs. Granger had spent a very pleasant afternoon in Hogsmeade. Harry's suspicions had proved to be accurate, as Aunt Petunia's love of shopping had triumphed over her fear of the wizarding culture in the end. She'd returned to Hogwarts with her arms full of shopping bags. Harry still couldn't believe that she'd actually asked to borrow money from him, or that he'd willingly given it to her. When she'd asked where he'd gotten such a pocketful of galleons in the first place, he'd muttered something about favorable exchange rates and she'd actually believed him! Of course, that meant she'd never repay him even a fraction of what she'd borrowed, if she ever repaid him at all, but that was still a lot better than letting her know about the contents of his Gringotts vault. No, he definitely hoped that she never figured out about that.
When they'd returned to Hogwarts after the outing, Aunt Petunia had immediately rushed to the common room with Harry to show her Diddykins all the delightful things she'd bought for him! Of course, he'd been conspicuous by his absence, and no one claimed to have seen him since the Quidditch match. At about the same time, Ron and Hermione had rushed in and announced that Draco Malfoy had been missing from their prefects' meeting. It didn't take any of them very long to put two and two together.
As usual, Harry had saved the day by getting out his Marauders' Map. Since there were so many more people in Hogwarts Castle than normal, it had taken him quite a while to locate the pair, but he'd finally found the right dots in a little inset marked "Chamber of Secrets." Odd that he'd never noticed that part of the map before. At any rate, Dumbledore was quickly notified and promised to retrieve the boys, while the rest of them were packed off to the Great Hall and the reception.
The doors to the Hall flew open, and for the second time that day Dumbledore strode in late, accompanied by a pair of troublemakers. Once again all eyes turned to him, and if it was possible for the crowd to look more shocked than they had this morning, they did so now. Draco Malfoy with a muggle, and not even looking particularly disgusted about it! What was this world coming to?
Once again Dumbledore strode up to the front of the room and began to speak. "Once again, my friends, I greet you. I trust that this day has brought new ideas and perceptions to each of you, Muggle and Wizard alike. When I spoke to you this morning, I spoke of a hope that Muggles and Wizards could enter a new age of mutual trust and respect, leading eventually to full cooperation between the two worlds. After only one day, I feel safe in saying that such an age is beginning. As our two groups separate today and go back to our normal routines, I hope we will all remember the lessons we have learned today. The Muggle and Wizarding worlds may be very different, but there is much that we can learn from each other, and it is my hope that we will continue to do so, in big ways and small, for many, many years."
He sat down at his place at the head table as the hall erupted in thunderous applause. Even Draco, still standing by the door next to Dudley, felt himself applauding, though he could scarcely believe he was doing so.
When the cheering finally stopped, Dudley leaned towards Draco and whispered conspiratorially, "Come with me. There's something I want to do."
Dudley led Draco to the Gryffindor table, where his mother was sitting. "Mummy," he said proudly, "this is Draco Malfoy. He's my friend. Can he come spend the summer with us when he gets out of school?"
Petunia goggled. Harry, Ron, and Hermione goggled. Even Draco goggled. Up at the head table, Dumbledore beamed. He had a feeling that the adventure was just beginning.
THE END