and we continue to
chase the sun
only to burn up both our hands
and we will find
out what's to know...
in warning winds the truth will blow
September 3rd 8PM Saturday
"It is good to see you again Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said merrily, "Perhaps you'd like to take a seat and explain what happened after you disappeared from the Burrow."
Draco and I disentangled ourselves from one another. He smiled down at me warmly and I returned the smile wholeheartedly. We both blushed at the same time before moving to sit in front of Dumbledore's desk. Severus sat down next to Draco with a smirk and Khalida giggled softly as she sat down next to me. I shot her an angry look and she covered her laughter with a loud cough.
"It's an odd story," Draco said as he ran a hand through his hair, "and very hard to believe. If it hadn't happened to me I doubt I would believe it." I gave Draco's hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Just tell us Draco," I said with a soft smile, "We'll believe you." Severus cleared his throat loudly.
"As heartwarming as this little scene is," he sneered, "I think it would be prudent if you did not dawdle, Draco. Miss Riddle should not stay in the castle for an extended period of time."
"Why is that?" Draco asked in confusion.
"I will explain later," Severus replied, "Get on with your story already." Draco nodded.
"After I grabbed the practice snitch and I disappeared," he began, "I reappeared in an old mansion."
"The place was huge and I wandered around for a couple of days trying to find a way out. All of the doors and windows were magically sealed and I didn't have my wand with me so there was nothing I could do. The place seemed to be deserted and it appeared that no one had lived there for many years. Luckily for me I was able to find a few cans of soup in the kitchen or I would've starved to death. On the fourth day I came across a huge room which I assume must have been the master bedroom."
"I searched the room but couldn't find anything. There was a gigantic bed, a dresser, a desk and a closet. The dresser, closet and desk were completely empty. Someone must have cleaned out the whole place because I didn't come across anything, not even a scrap of paper or a mislaid sock. There weren't even any sheets on the bed or cases on the pillows."
"How did you get to my house then?" I questioned.
"I'm getting to that," Draco stated. "After I had gone through the room several times I laid down on the bed to take a bit of a nap and that's when inspiration struck. The mansion had obviously been searched and emptied out, so where, in a bedroom, would someone hide something that they didn't want to be found?" Severus, Dumbledore and Khalida stared at him with matching puzzled expressions on their faces.
"Under the bed," I replied with a smirk.
"Exactly!" Draco exclaimed, "So I flipped the mattress on the bed and turned up two things." Draco dug into one of his pockets and pulled out a wand and a crumpled photograph.
"Is that how you escaped the mansion?" asked Dumbledore, "Did you use that wand?" Draco shook his head.
"No," he replied, "I tried to use the wand but it wouldn't work right for me and I ended up blowing up a few pieces of furniture with my attempts." He held out the wand and Dumbledore carefully picked it up to get a better look at it.
"This," Draco explained as he held up the crumpled photo, "is how I escaped the mansion."
"You've lost me," I said with a sigh. Khalida nodded in agreement.
"Maybe you should explain further Draco," Severus offered.
"It's a portkey," Draco stated simply, "The moment I touched it I was transported out of the mansion and I ended up in the bedroom of a house. I didn't know it was Jenny's home until I walked out of the bedroom and was met by a muggle please man."
"Police man," I corrected.
"That's what I said," Draco snapped.
"By the way," I said, "Did you bring back those paintings?" Draco nodded and pulled the shrunken packages from his other pocket. He placed them on the floor and Severus enlarged them with a wave of his wand. I sighed in relief when I saw that they were still securely covered. Draco seemed to notice my relief.
"I wouldn't have opened them," he said softly, "They were your fathers, which makes them family business and family business should always be private." We gazed into each other's eyes for a moment as understanding passed between us.
"Thank you," I replied, "I think I'll take them back to Sanctuary and open them there."
"May we get back to the problem at hand," Severus growled, "I for one would like to know why a portkey placed at the Burrow took Draco to a mansion which had another portkey that was set to go to Jenny's home."
"That is a good question," Dumbledore said as he continued to study the wand in his hand, "Perhaps we should take a look at that portkey." Dumbledore took the photo from Draco and smoothed out the wrinkles the best he could. The photo was small. It looked to be only two inches wide and three inches long.
Dumbledore frowned as he stared down at the picture. He pressed down on it further and turned it over to look at the back. The rest of us leaned over slightly to try and get a glimpse of it.
"It's a young girl," said Draco, "I didn't recognize her but she does look somewhat familiar. I feel like I should know her but I just can't remember her."
Dumbledore stared at the photo intently and then glanced up at me. He did this a few more times and I began to feel quite nervous. When his mouth turned to a frown the nervousness turned into fear.
"What is it headmaster?" Severus asked hesitantly.
"Maybe you should let us see it," Khalida offered, "One of us might recognize her." Dumbledore shook his head and held the photo out to me.
"I don't think that will be necessary," he explained, "I think that you should take a look at this Miss Riddle."
My movements seemed to be in slow motion as I reached out with one hand to grab the photo. I held it in my lap for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking down at it. My heart leapt into my throat and I suddenly felt very lightheaded. Draco leaned over to look at the photo while Severus and Khalida stood up to stand behind me.
"Do you know her?" Khalida asked softly. I nodded my head mutely.
"She looks very familiar," Severus said as he leaned over my shoulder.
"Who is she?" asked Draco. Tears began to fall from my eyes and I was unable to speak. Dumbledore seemed to sense the difficulty I was having and answered for me.
"I'm assuming that it is Oriel Elita Riddle," he stated and I replied with a small nod, "She was Jenny's mother."
"What?!" Draco exclaimed.
"That's preposterous!" Severus shouted as he grabbed the photo from my hand to study it further. Khalida sensed my distress and put a comforting arm around my shoulders.
"Are you okay?" she questioned sympathetically.
"Yes," I replied shakily, "I just don't understand what's going on."
"I don't think any of us do at the moment," she chuckled.
"In the photo," Dumbledore broke in, "your mother seems to be quite young don't you think?" Severus handed the photo back to me and I nodded in agreement.
The photograph was definitely a muggle photograph as the image of my mother never moved. She had a wide smile on her face but her bright blue eyes appeared strained and nervous. Her brown hair was neatly braided and draped over one shoulder.
"She barely looks older then Jenny," Draco replied, "Are you sure it's her?"
"It's her alright," I answered, "I only have one picture of her but I'd still recognize her anywhere."
"She does look a lot like you," Khalida said with a soft smile, "She was quite beautiful."
"Yes, she was," I replied sadly.
"But why would a portkey at the Burrow take me to a mansion that had a picture of Jenny's mother that was also a portkey taking me to Jenny's house?" Draco asked and we all turned to Dumbledore for an answer.
"I'm not quite sure," Dumbledore replied with a shrug, "and at the moment that is not the biggest question on my mind."
"What question would be more important in this situation?" Severus asked in surprise. Dumbledore held the wand out in front of him.
"What was a picture of Jenny's mother doing under a bed with Voldemort's wand?" he asked as he popped a lemon drop into his mouth. Everyone in the room stared at him as if he had grown a second head. My gaze fell from him to the wand in his hand and then down to the picture of my mother.
"It would seem," I said as I stared into my mother's eyes, "that my father wasn't the only one with secrets."
"But surely you must have some idea about what is going on Albus?" Severus pleaded and Dumbledore shook his head sadly in reply.
No one seemed to have any answers to the questions arising from Draco's return. We sat in the office for another hour and someone would voice an assumption every once in awhile. Everyone seemed to have their own ideas except me. I sat there in silence, ignoring everything around me until I began to feel tired and lightheaded.
"I don't feel so good," I said softly.
"Did you say something?" Khalida asked in a concerned tone.
"I feel funny," I replied as I bent over to hold my head in my hands. Everyone's attention became directed toward me and Dumbledore grabbed something out of his desk.
"You should be going now," he said as he handed Khalida an old boot, "You have stayed too long." I nodded my head in agreement and stood to leave.
As I stumbled over to grab onto the boot my legs suddenly gave out from underneath me. Draco rushed to my side and grabbed me around the waist before I could fall. I mumbled my thanks to him.
"Perhaps you should assist Miss Riddle in her return to Sanctuary," Dumbledore said with a grin, "and then floo back to my office."
"I don't know if that's a good idea headmaster," Severus said in a cool tone, "Draco just arrived back at Hogwarts and his little adventure may have been damaging to his health."
"I'm fine," Draco said with smirk, "and I'd be happy to help Jenny. I'd like an explanation for all this when I return though."
"Of course my dear boy," Dumbledore replied while giving Severus a meaningful look which caused him to shift nervously in his chair. "You may want to take the paintings along with you," he said to Khalida, "I'm sure Miss Riddle will want to look at them later." Khalida quickly grabbed the paintings. She shoved them both under one arm and held the boot out to Draco. He stared at it nervously for a moment before placing a hand on it tentatively.
"Sorry," he mumbled, "Portkeys make me a little nervous." Khalida nodded her head to show that she understood. "Someone needs to activate the portkey since I don't have my wand," he added.
"Not a problem," Dumbledore replied, "Severus has been kind enough to hold onto it for you." The potions master glared at Draco for a moment before handing over the wand.
"Return immediately," he snarled, "Jenny needs her rest."
"Yes mother," Draco sneered as he snatched the wand from Severus. He tapped the boot with his wand. "Activate," he said quietly and then we were gone.
In an instant we were back at Sanctuary and I sighed in relief. The apprehension Draco held for portkeys seemed to be shared by Khalida as well because as soon as we were back in her living room she tossed the boot into the fire and set it aflame. Draco picked me up gently and laid me down on the couch.
"I'll be fine," I said as I looked up into his worried eyes, "Thank you for helping me."
"It was no trouble," he replied with a smile, his cheeks coloring slightly.
"I need to ask you a favor," I stated, "I told Neville that I would have dinner with him while I was at Hogwarts and I was wondering if you could ask him if it would be alright if he met me here for dinner tomorrow night around six." Draco's eyes flashed with anger for a moment before his expression fell into an unreadable mask.
"I'm not your errand boy," he snarled and Khalida chuckled as she walked up to stand behind him.
"Don't get jealous," I said softly, "I don't have any interest in Neville, and I only wanted to keep a promise. Plus, there are a few…things I need to ask him."
"What kind of things?" he asked curiously.
"Family business," I replied simply. He hesitated for a moment but then nodded in understanding.
"I will relay your message," he said softly, "but I'd like to ask you a favor as well. It's something I wanted to ask you from the moment I met you."
"I think I left the oven on," Khalida said absentmindedly as she strolled out of the living room toward the kitchen. I watched her leave and then turned back to give Draco a questioning look.
"Would you like to…I mean I was wondering if you'd ever want to…if you aren't busy," he stammered, "Bloody hell I don't have enough practice at this."
"Are you asking me to dinner Draco Malfoy?" I asked with an amused grin.
"That's exactly what I was asking Jenny Riddle," he said with a sigh of relief.
"I'd love to," I replied happily, "but I don't know if…"
"I know what you're going to say," Draco interrupted, "And I understand that you are only eighteen and I am old enough to be your father. Well, really I am as old as your father. But I don't care about any of that Jenny and you shouldn't either. The way I see it we only have so much time and we shouldn't spend it worrying about stupid things like age or what other people think." His face was flushed and I gave him a moment to catch his breath.
"That's not what I was going to say," I stated, "I was just wondering if the world will end."
"I don't understand," he replied.
"Well," I said, grinning evilly, "a Potter and a Malfoy are not only getting along but fraternizing as well, do you think the world is ready for that?"
"I'm sure your father must be spinning in his grave," he commented. Immediately he slapped a hand over his mouth after realizing how insensitive his comment was. My grin just widened in return.
"I guess we'll find out after we dig him up," I stated and his jaw fell open in shock, "I'm sure the inside of his coffin will be riddled with scuff marks from all that turning."
"I can't believe you just said that!" he exclaimed. I just shrugged absentmindedly.
"Blame it on the Slytherin in me."