FANTASY.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I can't really be bothered to elaborate with this or the title.
Chapter Seventeen: Slytherin and Gryffindor.
They were not sure when it would end. It seemed to Ron, Hermione and Draco that they would be forever falling. Sometimes, it felt as though they were falling faster and sometimes, it was as though they were merely floating down to the bottom. At some points, Hermione almost felt as though she was losing her grip on the two boys' hands, but that only made her clutch them tighter. It was a pleasant surprise to find that not only was Ron squeezing her hand so tightly that she felt as though all blood had gone from it, but Draco was also doing the same.
It was more than a relief, when they finally landed with a thump onto a carpeted floor surrounded by walls of stone. Flames flickered all around them, giving out pools of light in the dark and dingy room. More flames were appearing every few seconds and it seemed as though there was a never-ending supply of firelight.
On the wall facing the trio were two large portraits, both the same size and both so grand that it felt an honour to look upon it. Ron stared in awe and wonder at them, as did Draco and Hermione, but they could not quite make out who it was that had been painted in the portraits.
"I wish there was more light. I can't see a bloody thing in here." Draco complained, looking around the room as if for a light switch. It was as though the room had ears, for only a few seconds after the complaint; a bright light filled the area. Hermione squinted up at it and saw a floating orb of light, right in the centre of the room.
They could see the portraits clearly now, but still, they were not sure of whom the two men were. One of the men smiled (a great, wide smile) and looked down at them with a mischievous and jolly gleam in his eyes. He wore robes of red and gold and seemed so broadly built that he must have been muscular. However, the other man was completely different. He was rather expressionless and wore dull green robes with a slight hint of grey. He seemed bored and yawned, not looking up from the book he was reading.
"Young Gryffindors!" The jolly man cried merrily. "Why, I haven't seen them in a long time! Especially a young lady, might I add?"
Hermione stepped closer towards the portrait, letting go of Ron's hand (and also reluctantly releasing Draco's as well). Ron followed and stood gawping at a gold plate, nailed to the wall underneath the painting.
"Godric Gryffindor: one of the four founders of Hogwarts. May he forever remain alive in the hearts of those that remember him, and in this portrait." Hermione read aloud. The two Gryffindors stared at the man stood in front of them. He was truly magnificent.
Gryffindor laughed heartily. "So this is how people react when they see me? I don't look that bad do I? I'm afraid they forgot to paint a mirror in here."
"Oh, no, Sir! You don't look bad at all!" said Ron. He continued to stare, as though he simply couldn't believe what he saw.
"Yes, you don't look bad at all! Not bad at all, Mr Gryffindor, Sir!" Hermione nodded in agreement as Gryffindor laughed once more.
"Why thank you! I was just, how'd you say it? Fishing for compliments! Care to tell me your names, young ones?"
"Ronald Weasley, Sir." Ron beamed at the portrait with pride.
"A Weasley?" Gryffindor returned Ron's beam. "It's lovely to meet another Weasley! Haven't met one since the day I died! What about you, my lady?"
Hermione smiled and replied. "Hermione Granger, Sir."
"Muggle-born?" asked Gryffindor, his smile never faltering. She nodded and he grinned all the more. "Wonderful! Simply wonderful!"
Gryffindor laughed once more, before setting his eyes on the other student in front of him. Draco didn't move. He waited for Gryffindor to speak first; he'd make sure he wasn't the one to start a conversation. Gryffindor's smile broadened and became a grin. He turned to the painting beside him.
"One of yours, Salazar!"
For the first time, the portrait beside Godric Gryffindor's moved. The man looked up from his book, closed it calmly and set it on the table beside him. He eyed Draco unenthusiastically.
"Malfoy," said the man. Hermione saw the silver plate beneath this man's painting. It simply read, 'Salazar Slytherin,' as though there was nothing more to it than that.
"He's a Malfoy." Slytherin repeated. "Draco Lucius Malfoy. Pureblood. Happens to sleep in the boy's dormitory just behind me, in fact. Even if he didn't you can tell he's a Malfoy. Blonde hair, grey eyes, and that smirk . . ."
Draco Malfoy's smirk grew. It was Salazar Slytherin, the Salazar Slytherin. Slytherin smirked back at Draco and turned to Gryffindor, as Gryffindor began to speak.
"Malfoy, eh?" said Gryffindor, "I remember them! You're quite right, Salazar, quite right indeed."
Slytherin grunted, his eyes still on Draco. "Amie's met these people before, Godric. Or at least she's met the girl and Draco over here. She told me this kid didn't like mudbloods. Can't blame him. I didn't like them either and I doubt if any Slytherins did."
Gryffindor's smile faded a little. "Don't start this again, Salazar. Muggle-borns with the ability to do magic are a wondrous thing. Don't forget, you married one! You're always so hypocritical, Salazar."
"Amie's different." Slytherin said, not at all interested in anything else that Gryffindor had said. "I forget she comes from that awful muggle family of hers."
"Now, Salazar, if Amie heard you –
"Which, she won't."
"But if she did, you know what would happen." Gryffindor sighed. "And you wouldn't want to lose her now would you. Always so stubborn, Salazar."
Salazar replied with a grunt. "Well I don't like mudbloods – and Amie is an exception. You know how I feel about discussing these things, Godric, especially when there's people around." He paused and looked coldly at the students. "Ask the Malfoy boy. He'll know what I'm talking about."
"Draco Malfoy? How will he know what you're talking about? I barely do, Salazar."
"He'll know what I mean when I say I don't like mudbloods," said Slytherin, looking as though he was getting bored of talking already, "But there's always an exception."
Slytherin's eyes rested on Hermione, who was no longer looking at the two founders, but at Draco. Draco's smirk had faded and was replaced by a look of bewilderment.
"Oh, don't frighten the young ones!" Gryffindor laughed once more. "Now, what brings you here?"
"We were trying to find a way into the Hospital Wing from here," said Hermione, looking around as if it might suddenly appear, "Professor Dumbledore said that there was a secret passageway, but we're not sure if this is the right way - seeing as we've never been here before."
"Well the Hospital Wing certainly isn't behind me." Slytherin muttered. "Before we died, we got to choose what was behind us. All you'll find behind me is the male Slytherin dormitories – Draco, do you remember seeing an empty painting above your bed? That's the other painting I travel to when I want to keep an eye on you."
"My dear lady," said Gryffindor, ignoring Slytherin's comment, "The Hospital Wing is just behind me. I chose it so that I could keep a helpful eye on the sick, although none of the injured has ever been bad enough to need me to encourage them not to give up on life! I hope to see all of you again someday - you know where to find us!"
And with one final hearty grin, Godric Gryffindor's portrait swung open to reveal a long corridor lit by small floating candles. The floor was like a mosaic; there were pictures of phoenixes, mermaids, unicorns and even Cupid (or Eros) too. There were more pictures on the floor, but it was too dark to see any of them properly.
"Thank you, Sir! We'll come back to visit if we can!" Ron and Hermione both exclaimed, as they began to make their way into the dark tunnel behind Gryffindor's portrait. Draco hesitated for a moment, not sure whether he could trust a portrait, but in the end, decided to follow the two Gryffindors. He stopped suddenly, when he heard Slytherin call after him.
Draco stopped and turned around to face Slytherin. Slytherin spoke. "Trust your heart and senses boy. It'll do you and everyone else some good, do you understand?"
He nodded. For the first time since they had met, Slytherin gave a genuine smile. "Good, now catch up with the mudblood girl and the boy. They might have wondered where you'd gone, although I'm sure the Weasley boy wouldn't mind if you were dead. Now, let's not give him the pleasure, shall we?"
Gryffindor glared at Slytherin for his particular choice of words, as the two Slytherins exchanged similar smirks. With a little nod, Draco sped along the dark tunnel, eager to catch up with Hermione and Ron. It wasn't long before he walked into them - examining the wall.
"Oi! Watch it, Malfoy." Ron snapped, almost falling onto one of the lighted candles.
Draco ignored him. "What's so interesting, Granger?"
"You remember that legend we read about?" said Hermione, peering closely at the carvings on the stone wall, "It looks as though there's a picture of it on the wall here, look!"
Squinting hard at the picture etched into the wall, Draco saw what Hermione had been peering at. It seemed quite invisible in the dark; he wondered how Hermione had noticed it with the little light they had.
"Lumos." He murmured. His wand tip lit up and he examined the pictures on the wall. She was quite right. The pictures marked onto the walls (like hieroglyphics) were of a boy in Slytherin robes, holding a girl – a girl in Gryffindor robes. You couldn't, however, see their faces, as the artist had cleverly hidden them beneath the hood of their travelling cloaks. There seemed some terrible atmosphere to it – mist surrounded the boy and girl and there were splatters of red on both Slytherin and Gryffindor robes.
"This looks like the legend, but it isn't very happy now, is it?"
"Yes, but look at this, Malfoy!"
Hermione knelt down and Draco did the same. By the light from his wand, he saw the same Slytherin boy and Gryffindor girl, except they were holding hands and under the hood; smiles could be seen although the rest of their face was hidden from view. The skies above them were clear and blue – as any bright sunny day should be.
"I wonder . . ." mumbled Hermione.
"Look, you two," interrupted Ron, "I know this is all very interesting, but we have to get to the Hospital Wing. Don't you think we've wasted enough time? Now let's get out of here!"
Hermione nodded. For once, she knew that Ron was right. They had spent long enough, trying to find the secret passage and speaking to Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin. It was time they arrived at the Hospital Wing. She tugged Draco up and the three set off at a quick pace along the dark tunnel once more.
Had they stayed a little longer, they would have noticed a poem written beside the two pictures engraved into the wall.
Hear the legend of Aphrodite,
Love that there was shall be once more,
Amongst the Dark Lord Voldemort,
Saving the life of the boy who lived,
Love shall conquer all.
Born amongst others,
The bond of the bloodlines,
The beings of two different worlds,
Shall unite and cause harmony,
Love shall conquer all.
If their love is true,
If their love is right,
If their love is said,
If their love shines bright,
Love shall conquer all.
Hermione brushed the cobwebs away from the brass door handle and pushed it open. The spiders fell to the floor, Ron screaming slightly as he watched them crawl through a nearby hole. Draco sniggered at him. A bright light met their eyes as they walked out of the dim tunnel and into the Hospital Wing. Hermione shielded her eyes, as did Draco and Ron. The sudden blast of light took much adjusting to.
"So nice of you to finally join us, Miss Granger, Mr Malfoy, Mr Weasley." Snape sneered at them from beside a bed across the room. Professor Hoover and Professor McGonagall stood beside Snape and Professor Dumbledore stood there also. The crowd of Professors around the bed meant that none of the three students could see who lay there.
"Sorry about our lateness, Sir." Hermione said, trying her best to sound cheerful. "We were distracted by some very interesting paintings."
Snape grunted and beckoned them closer towards the bed, which they reluctantly did. Ron went first and stood next to Madeleine. For some strange reason, Hermione feared who would be on the bed, although she could not explain the reason for her fear. She stood still, staring blankly ahead of her.
"Come on, Granger." Draco mumbled. He tugged at Hermione's arm and pulled her across the room to the bed. Hermione felt nothing, as she stared at the person who was sitting stiffly in the bed. Ben smiled up at her - a friendly smile, but an awkward one. It was the first true smile that Hermione had seen from him. For when she had first noticed him, he was already being controlled. She had never known the boy beneath the curse.
"Hi, Hermione? Sorry, I'm not too good with names." Ben continued to smile as he said this. Hermione nodded shyly. She noticed that he was holding hands with Madeleine, who was the only one seated.
Madeleine smiled. "You three have just missed everyone. Cho's gone back to the studio, Alex and Daniel have gone to their lessons and Harry, Ginny and Luna have gone to Amie's room, for their protection. Professor Hagrid is escorting them." Hermione nodded again. She seemed to have lost her voice.
"Albus, I think that we should get on with the purpose of this meeting," said McGonagall calmly, "Severus did point out how much time we've wasted already. I think that it's time we got started."
"Too right you are, Minerva." Dumbledore nodded. "Mr Haven, am I correct in assuming that you passed out first? What do you remember?"
Ben looked up at the ceiling for a moment before he answered. "As you all know, I was with Flewington. It seemed like it was all right, until . . .
- Flashback -
"Madeleine? What are you doing here?" Ben asked, as he looked around the room inquisitively. It seemed that Callum had taken them to a spare classroom; one that Ben hadn't even known was there. Cobwebs crowded the corners of the room, and dust covered the floor as well as the abandoned desks and chairs.
"I don't exactly know." Madeleine said, not quite meeting Ben's eyes. "Flewington brought me here. Something important apparently."
"Shut up! Both of you!" shouted Callum. He stood by the door, his wand outstretched, his hands as steady as stone. He would have seemed calm, had his eyes not given him away – they were bulging, wide and alert. He tapped his wand against the handle of the door and a click could be heard as it locked.
"Why should we, Flewington?" Ben asked indignantly. He was only a little shorter than Callum. "You know, that little brother of yours is always blabbing on about how nice you are, but I don't think you're any different from the rest of the Slytherins! Not from what I know of you, anyway."
Callum pointed his wand directly at Ben's heart. "I told you to shut up!"
"What are you going to do if I don't?" sneered Ben, "Shoot me down with a little curse of yours?"
Callum stood, appearing angry for a second, before letting out a laugh so loud that he reminded Ben of a lunatic - one that needed to be locked up and never seen again.
"What's so funny, Flewington?" Ben clutched his wand in his robe pocket. Callum's laughing abruptly stopped. His lips curved into a small smirk.
"I'm just laughing at how foolish you are, Haven. You and Chang have no idea what's in stall for you." He reached into his robes, and took out a small, slithering green snake; its eyes were yellow and shiny. Callum put the snake to his ear as it hissed. The Slytherin's smirk widened as Ben's frown deepened.
"Flewington . . . you're a . . . Parseltongue?" Ben managed to stammer, as he stumbled back in utter shock.
"Yes . . . yes . . ." Callum said gently, nodding as the snake continued to hiss orders into his ear. "Go for the girl first . . . yes . . ."
By this time, Ben was convinced that Callum was crazy, and hearing him plan aloud made Ben even surer of this. He glanced beside him and saw Madeleine, who was (needless to say) terrified. Ben stood in front of her and held his wand as tightly as he could. No matter what would happen to him, he had to protect her.
Callum dropped the snake to the floor and it slipped away under the door. He sniggered. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? A protective boyfriend? Didn't know you had such taste, Haven . . ."
Ben didn't speak and neither did Madeleine. Now was not the time to discuss certain feelings and emotions. He gulped. Although Ben was a talented wizard, he was nothing special. He didn't know if he could defeat someone like Callum.
"I suppose I'll have to take you down first then, eh, Haven?" Callum said, twirling his wand in his hands. Ben couldn't move.
"RUN!" He shouted behind him, before the word Imperio escaped the Slytherins lips.
- End Flashback -
" . . . And that's all I can remember. After that, I just felt as though I was dreaming. All my troubles were floating away and this little voice inside my head kept telling me to do things . . . but I didn't object to anything. I didn't even think of objecting to anything." Ben said, finishing his tale. Dumbledore, by now, was seated quite comfortably on a little stool by the bed. He nodded thoughtfully.
"Miss Chang, I believe you were still quite able at this point? Could you tell us what happened next?"
"Of course, Professor Dumbledore. Erm, well, after Ben got hit with the Imperius Curse, I was in a panicky state . . .
- Flashback continued -
"Good." Callum smirked all the more. "Step aside, Haven, while I take care of the girl."
Ben did as he was told and stood to one side – a dreamy smile fixed on his face. Madeleine could not think of what to do. She needed to escape, so that she could tell someone – a Professor, or a friend – but how? She was trapped in a locked classroom that no one had been in for years and her only companion had been placed under the Imperius Curse.
"Now, let's make this short and sweet, shall we?" Callum raised his arm and was just about to cast an Unforgivable Curse, when Madeleine flung her wand from her robe pocket.
"Stupefy!" She shouted at the top of her voice. The spell almost hit Callum square in the chest, but he dodged it just in time. He burst into an evil laugh, which gave enough time for Madeleine to summon her broom.
"Accio Nimbus!" She cried. Her broom flew towards the classroom window and smashed the glass into little tiny pieces. She mounted it quickly and was just about to fly out of the broken window and into the open air, when she felt something pull her backwards as the evil laughter stopped. She turned, scared of what she might see and to her horror, she found that Callum had his hands on the tail of her broom - and he wasn't going to let go that easily. Madeleine knew there was no time to lose. She quickly jumped off her broom and smacked Callum hard, her long fingernails digging into his cheek. A large, deep cut could be seen, bleeding scarlet droplets onto the neck of his robes.
"No matter," said Callum, his voice annoyingly calm, "Madam Pomfrey will fix that in no time."
"And what will you say when she questions you about it?" Madeleine asked him hurriedly, as she tried (and failed) yet again, to escape.
"Shut up!" Callum bellowed. "There shall be no more talk! Imperio!"
And that was the last thing she could remember.
- End Flashback -
"Thank you, Miss Chang." Dumbledore said brightly. "Your recount of events has been most helpful. But now, I think it is time that we left Mr Haven alone. After your attempted suicide, I'm sure you need some rest."
"Yes, Professor." Ben said, as he squeezed Madeleine's hand. "Could she stay with me please, Professor? I'd like to talk." Madeleine smiled shyly, as did Ben. Dumbledore nodded cheerfully.
"It is time for us to leave." Dumbledore gave Madeleine and Ben a small smile as he moved towards the door, but only he and the other Professors seemed to be moving. Snape turned to the remaining five students and addressed three of them.
"Come now Miss Granger, Mr Malfoy, Mr Weasley. We don't have all day." Snape said with a heavily disappointed sigh. "Mr Weasley, you shall return to Dumbledore's office with Professor McGonagall and Professor Hoover, where you will be reunited with Mr Potter, Miss Weasley, Miss Lovegoodand Miss Chang. Mr Malfoy, you are to come with me. I shall explain everything to you once we get into my office. Do not ask any questions until then. And Miss Granger, Professor Dumbledore has some plans for you."
The three nodded, heading their separate ways with their different Professors, each not knowing the dangers that awaited them, or the evil plans of a certain Tom Marvolo Riddle.
Edited Version: 1st September 2005