Author's notes: I know, this took a while, but it's a REALLY long one, so I'm forgiven, right? I hope you like it, I do lol

And I just have to mention that it's my younger brother who came up with the title for this chapter. It's a lyric line from POTO, and it really amazed me that he knew that, and it amazes me even more that it fits so good to the contents of this chapter. Well, anyway, thanks Little Man, for the help.

Part III

The following two weeks passed by slowly. Raoul was trying hard to get back into his life, the life he'd had before Don Juan Triumphant. He thought himself that he was doing quite well. He went to dinners almost every night, he talked and joked and laughed and pretended he'd never known anyone named Christine Daaé. His friends were kind and understanding most of the time. They didn't ask any questions, and they avoided talking about the scandal of the Opera Populaire. Raoul knew they talked about him behind his back, but he didn't care as long as ha didn't have to participate in the conversation. And he didn't, except for once.

It was at a dinnerparty three weeks after Don Juan Triumphant. The guests were all seated at the table, half way through dinner, when a woman named Madame Buvois fixed her grey eyes upon Raoul.

"Monsieur le Vicomte, I believe I recall another dinner some weeks ago, when you brought along a very nice girl, Mademoiselle Daaé, I believe was her name. I liked her very much, sir, whatever happened to her?"

The whole table fell silent, no-one moved a muscle. Raoul knew everybody was looking at him, but he only looked into Madame Buvois' eyes, his face expressionless, his eyes cold.

"I am afraid I do not know that, Madame. And if I did know, it would not be any of your business."

He quickly excused himself, left the table and went outside. He inhaled deep of the cold nightair. Damn in! he thought. I should not have reacted that way. I could have avoided this scene.

But no, he couldn't have. As soon as Madame Buvois had mentioned Christine, Raoul had stopped thinking rationally. All he'd wanted to do was stop that conversation right there and then.

"Raoul." His brother Michel came out on the terrace, but Raoul didn't turn around. "Was not that a bit unnecessary? You know as well as I do that Madame Buvois is...less than she used to be. She has probably not even heared about the Opera."

Raoul sighed. "But you know I cannot stand talking about...that. It is too soon."

"I know." Michel came over and put his arm around Raoul's shoulders. "But you have to come inside now. It will not happen again, I think Pierre asked her to leave."

Raoul shrugged his shoulders and let his older brother lead him inside.

Two days later, a Sunday, Raoul went with his mother to church. It wasn't something he did very often, but his mother had asked him to come, so he did.

Afterwards they went for a walk in Paris. Raoul knew his mother to be very straightforward, and he feared she would bring up the subject of Christine. And he didn't have to wait long before she did.

"Raoul, darling, I know you are still mourning Christine, but..."

"Mother," Raoul interrupted. "She is not dead, even though that might have been better, so please, do not say mourn."

"Very well, darling, I will not." His mother patted his arm she was holding. "But what I want to say is I think you should start looking at other young women. Now that Christine is gone, it will not do for you to be seen alone for too long. People will talk."

Raoul sighed. "Moter, people always talk. And I do not want another woman. Not yet."

"Yes, I know, sweet, but will you not..."

"Mother, no!" Raoul didn't like using a harsh tone towards his mother, but sometimes it was necessary.

They walked in silence for a while, then Raoul spotted Meg Giry walking towards them. She was eyeing what Raoul supposed was a shoppinglist, and her arms were full of parcels.

"Good day, Mademoiselle Giry," Raoul said, starting her.

"Good day, Monsieur le Vicomte." She curtsied to him, and then turned to his mother and did the same. "Madame la Vicomtesse, I presume."

The vicomtesse nodded. "And you must be Meg Giry. I really love you dancing, Mademoiselle."

"Thank you, Madame." Meg blushed slightly.

"I did not know you were so well acquainted with my son. Have you met many times before?"

Raoul had barely paid attention to their conversation before, but at that question, he was abruptly woken from his memories of Christine and him walking along this very street. He heared what his mother asked, and it worried him very much. Meg couldn't possibly be as mean as to tell his mother about that embarrassing incident on the roof, could she? He caught her eyes for a brief moment, and mutely begged her not to say anything. Meg bent her head slightly, a barely perceptable nod, and then looked at Raoul's mother again.

"We met quite a few times before Christmas, Madame, and about a week ago at the Opera, I believe Monsieur was there in a meeting?" She looked at Raoul, and he nodded hastly.

"Well, we shall let you return to your shopping, Mademoiselle." Raoul knew his mother could be very restless, and he thought that her reason for ending the conversation was that she was growing tired of it. "I hope we will see you dancing again soon?"

"As soon as the Opera is ready, Madame." Meg smiled and curtsied to them, and they parted ways.

"She seems very nice, Raoul," his mother said when they were out of earshot from Meg. "Why do you not invite her to supper one night? I would very much like to get to know her."

Raoul sighed. His mother was obsessed with the thought of him marrying.

"Perhaps, Mother," he said and tried not to sound too tired. "Perhaps."

On Thuesday, Raoul was once again summoned to the Opera by the mannagers. The repairs were proceeding, and everywhere were builders running around. Messieurs André and Firmin were very delighted and could not stop smiling.

"We are moving along very nicely, think you not, Monsieur le Vicomte?" Monsieur André said and lit a cigar. "Now all we need is an audience."

Mosieur Firmin laughed. "We have no opera to perform yet, André, and already you are dreaming about full houses."

"What are you planning on performing, Messieurs?" Raoul asked curiously.

"We are thinking along the ways of Carmen, or perhaps Orfeus in the Underworld," Frimin said enthusiastically. "And after that we would like a ballet. Since Madame Giry is still working for us, not to say with us, the ballet will remain excellent."

Raoul nodded, a little bit hesitately. Carmen was maybe not the right thing to start off with, but he wouldn't argue the managers decisions. It was their Operahouse. All he could do was hope they'd choose Orfeus instead.

He focused on the more evident matters. "Gentlemen, may I ask of which reason you have called me here today?"

"Oh, forgive us, my dear Vicomte, of course you may ask." André put his cigar down in a marble ashtray. "We asked you to come here today because we have a bit of a problem."

Raoul raised his eyebrows.

"We do not know what to do with the entrance to The Phantom's domains, Monsieur," Firmin continued. "We are planning on sealing it, but then we thought, parhaps you would want to look at it, sir. At The Phantom's lair."

Raoul was surprised, almost chocked. Returning to The Phantom's lair? Seeing that place which held so many painful memories again? The thought was repulsive! But if he took the thought one step further? If he actually went there? He'd might perhaps find something telling him where The Phantom had brought Christine. That thought excited him.

"I think I would like to see that place, yes," he said to the managers. "Perhaps even today...?"

"Certainly, Monsieur le Vicomte. Straight away, sir." Monsieur André was clearly very relieved that Raoul had excepted the idea so calmly.

The manager led the way out of the office and through the corridors. When they came to a very solid, not frequently opened door, he stopped.

"This is the entrance, sir. Would you like me to accompany you...?"

"Is it safe to go down there now?" Raoul opened the heavy door and looked behind it.

"Yes, I assure you, Monsieur, it is quite safe." Monsieur André didn't seem very eager to enter. He'd taken a step backwards as Raoul'd opened the door.

Raoul closed the door again. "Then I think I know just who I want to accompany me."

Why Meg? Raoul thought as he alone walked through the corridors towards her room. Why do I want this girl who I barely know to come with me down there? Why did I not just pick the first builder I saw?

There were no answers to those questions. He'd just gotten a feeling that she was the right person to bring, and he'd followed that feeling without thinking.

Before he knew it, he was standing outside her door. He drew a deep breath and knocked before he could stop himself. Meg opened almost immediately, and when she saw Raoul, her jaw dropped. But she quickly remembered herself and curtsied to him.

"Monsieur le Vicomte. What can I do for you, sir?"

Raoul suddenly hesitated. He was about to ask her if she'd like to follow him down to the Opera Ghost's lair. She would, without a doubt, think he was insane.

But then, she had asked him to come to her if he needed to talk. This wasn't exactly talking, but Raoul thought it counted. He once again drew a deep breath and said:

"Mademoiselle Giry, please do not doubt my sanity when you hear what I have to say. I am fully aware that it sounds completely crazy, but..." He broke off, studying the look in her face. She was looking at him with her head bent a little to the right, a curious but not patronizing look in her eyes. "Will you accompany me to the fifth cellar, Mademoiselle?"

Her reaction was not how he'd expected it to be. She just kept her calm expression and nodded slightly.

"I am flattered that you ask me of all people to do this, Monsieur. Do you want to leave right away, sir?"

Raoul was so surprised that, at first, he didn't say anything, he just stared at her. But when he saw an amused smile form at the corners of her lips, he quickly composed himself and nodded. Meg pulled a key from the lock on the inside of the door, then she came out, closed the door behind her and locked it. When she turned around to face him, and at the same time slipped the key into her pocket, Raoul eyed her up and down. She is actually quite pretty, he thought. But she is not as beautiful as Christine.

When Meg once again looked up at him, he quickly pushed the unwelcome thoughts of Christine from his mind. He offered his arm to Meg and they walked in silence towards the cellardoor.

They were still silent when they reached the docks of the fifth cellar. Two police officers were stationed there, guarding a boat, in case The Phantom would dare to come back. Raoul helped Meg into the boat and she sat down in the front while he himself started poleing through the tunnels of the lake. Meg was still silent, and Raoul wondered why she didn't say anything. She hadn't even asked what they were doing down here, or why he'd asked her to come. Perhaps she was too polite. Or shy.

"Meg?" Raoul said before he could stop himself, and she turned around. "May I call you 'Meg'?"

She nodded. "Of course."

"Well,I wonder...why have you not asked me what we are doing down here? Or why I asked you come?"

Meg smiled slightly. "I do not think it is any of my business what you are doing down here, Monsieur. I believe you have your reasons, and I will let you keep them to yourself. And I did ask you to come to me, Monsieur, and I am flattered that you actually remember that."

Raoul nodded. Thosewere reasonable explanations.

As they passed under the gate and into the Opera Ghost's home, Raoul wondered what on Earth he was doing back here. The sight of the gate, the dock, everything, made cool shivers run down his spine. Surely nothing could be worth the sacrifice of returning here? But yes, Christine was worth it. For Christine he would go to hell and back and endure all the pains it had to bring. He would DIE for her if he had to!

The boat hit the dock and abruptly woke Raoul from his thoughts. He jumped out and tied a rope to a pole, then he helped Meg out. She smiled thankfully at him, and then she turned and looked around the cave.

"Monsieur, a little light would do no harm," she said and looked at Raoul and smiled.

Raoul looked around him and found a candelabra on a table. He quickly lit it with matches from his pockets, and then held it up so Meg could see the whole cave in light. Her eyes widened, and Raoul could really understand why. Despite all his loathing for The Phantom, Raoul had to admit that he had a magnificent home.

Meg slowly walked along the dock, lightly touching the furniture. Raoul followed her with the candelabra in his hand, lifting it high above his head so it litted up the whole cave. Meg stopped beside a big pipeorgan covered with sheetmusic. She lightly stroke her fingers over the keys and pressed a few. The sound echoed through the cave. She picked up a sheet and studdied the writing, then she looked at Raoul.

"Do you mind if I try and play this, Monsieur?" she asked.

Raoul shoke his head. He litted a candle by the organ for her, and she sat down. Raoul then picked up the candelabra again and proceeded further into the cave. Soon, The Phantom's music, a slow and sad melody, played by Meg floated through the rooms.

For every room Raoul passed, he became more and more fascinated by the man who had lived down here, the man that he should hate. Madame Giry had been right, The Phantom was a genious. A very well educated man, judging by the hundreds of books in various subjects covering the many shelves, and he had a special talent for music, even Raoul understood that. It is a shame that the world will never know this great music, he reluctantly admitted as the piece Meg was playing reached it's end. She immediately began playing something new, more dramatic this time.

Raoul had now reached a wall that was covered by a deep red curtain. Something was telling him to leave this room undiscovered, but his curiousity took over, and he pulled back the curtain. The candelabra hit the ground with a loud "plonk", and Raoul gave an involuntarly cry.

Author's notes: REVIEW!