Symbiosis 5

Still shocked at the Headmaster's words, Lucius followed the three teens out of the zoo. They reached his carriage and crawled in silently. He joined them, sitting across from Potter and next to his son. He truly had no idea how to explain this situation to his wife and had forgotten all about the Muggle movie they were suppose to go see.

"Where are we going now, Granger?" Draco asked as he leaned back in his seat, his gray eyes on Hermoine and Harry.

"To a movie." Hermoine replied. "It's a form of Muggle entertainment and very popular. You'll like it! There's this really good one playing and the previews looked incredible! And like I said, it has magic in it. It'll prove to you that most Muggles love magic. It's in lots of literature…"

"Like Muggle literature would interest me." Draco drawled, unconvinced. His gaze focused on the skinny dark-haired boy sitting across from his father. "What about you, Po … Harry? Have you been to one of these Muggle movies?"

"No." Harry admitted. "My Uncle always left me home when they went to a movie."

The theatre was close to the zoo and in a few short minutes they were there. Draco stepped down from the carriage and stared at the odd-looking Muggle building. To his dismay, a long line of Muggles stretched across part of the sidewalk and disappeared through the building's door. Up above the doors there was a big white area that seemed to glow and black lettering that formed words were on it. He glanced at the others, feeling uneasy. His father was also staring at the Muggle building, an unreadable expression on his face. Draco noticed that he had been unusually quite and pondered if this ridiculous deal was getting to him. As much as Draco wanted to be friends with Harry, he still felt uncomfortable about Muggle stuff. Hermoine hurried to the end of the line as she dug in her purse for more of the odd Muggle colored paper. Sighing, Draco stalked up to her. "Look, Granger. Do we have to see this Muggle movie thing? I admit the zoo wasn't as bad as I feared but this…"

Hermoine smiled at him, her hand full of the colored papers. "There's nothing to be scared of! Trust me!"

"I'm not scared!" Draco protested, his stomach doing flip-flops. He shifted his gray eyes to the papers. "Why do Muggles value paper so much? It's not like it's gold…"

"Shhhh! And stop calling them Muggles! They'll hear you!" Hermoine cautioned as she hissed at him, yanking him closer. "The government has issued it as the currency so it is! It's far easier to carry, for one. And if you must know, they're called banknotes."

Draco shook his head. "I still think it's stupid."

Harry and Lucius joined them in line, the Death Eater having no idea of what to expect. Harry was slightly better off as he understood the basic concept even if he'd never actually been to a theatre before. The whole thing still seemed totally bizarre to the Boy Who Lived as if he'd been sucked into an alternate dimension where he was an actually friend to the Malfoys. Oh, he understood Hermoine's reasoning all right; he just doubted if it'd work.

The line moved forward and they passed through the doors. The smell of popcorn filled the air.

Draco stared up at the string of electric light bulbs that circled the long outer room where tickets were bought. The room had two separate ticket booths, one empty and covered with colorful posters. The teen stared at the colorful pictures that stood perfectly still, the figures refusing to move as was proper. He tugged at his father's sleeve, pointing.

Muggles! Lucius shivered as his blue-gray eyes fell on the unnatural picture that refused to behave normally. The shocking reality was beginning to settle in and he didn't care for it one bit. The zoo hadn't really been all that bad, even if it had been crowded with Muggles of every sort and size. But the picture before him said it all. What in the world had he gotten them into? If the other Purebloods would ever find out he had actually seen a Muggle movie, why, it would be a scandal! Yes, the Malfoys would be the laughing stock of the Pureblood wizarding world!

"Come on!" Hermoine appeared and gripped Draco by his wrist, pulling him into another larger room. "I have our tickets!"

Resigned to the fact there was no escape, Draco allowed himself to be pulled. He gawked at the snack counter with its noisy popcorn popper and gurgling soda dispenser, at the giant posters along one wall for upcoming attractions and a room off to the side that seemed to be filled with odd noise-making Muggle machines. Young Muggles clustered around the machines, their eyes glued to them for unknown reasons.

"Those are just video games." Hermoine explained as she saw the confused looks on the Pureblood faces. "We're not interested in those! Those things will rot your brains!"

"Really?" Lucius asked, pondering if she was being literal. With Muggles one never knew…

Hermoine led them up a red carpet that had a funny rope thing on one side. A man stood at the end dressed in an odd Muggle uniform. Silently Hermoine handed him the four tickets and he tore them in half, returning the stubs to her. Then she led them down a long hall until they reached an open doorway. "It's in here…"

Draco peered cautiously into the dark room. "I don't see anything in there…"

"Of course not!" Hermoine huffed. "That's because it didn't start yet! Now come on so we can get a good seat!"

Unworried, Harry stalked into the dark room. Unlike the Purebloods, he was eager to see a movie. He reached the end of the passage where the room opened up to reveal soft cushioned seats that rose upwards to the back of the room. He had heard of stadium seating and instantly understood what it was now. He sensed the others following him, so he moved into one of the empty rows of seats. Deciding it would be best to sit in the center of the row, he settled down and prepared to wait for the show to start.

Confused, Draco sat down next to Harry. "Exactly what it this about?"

"You watch the white screen." Hermoine explained as she sat on Draco's other side. "When the right time comes, there will be a moving picture on it."

Draco glanced at the white screen way in the front. It was incredibly big and seemed to stretch from one side of the room to the other. The room was dark and it was hard to see anything at all. If it hadn't been for the red glowing spots on the small steps he probably would have tripped over them in the unfamiliar environment. More Muggles poured in, their hands filed with boxes of popcorn and large cups of soda. Hermoine had argued that they would no doubt eat supper later and that more snacks would just ruin their appetite. Besides, the drinks would just cause them to miss parts of the movie, as they would have to go to the bathroom. Leaning back in his seat, he decided to wait for whatever would happen.

The Death Eater sat on Hermoine's other side, his mind still partly clouded with the fact that he had out of the blue became Harry's Godfather. It was just unbelievable!

Then a bright light filled the screen. The pre-show countdown started, the loud sound shocking both Harry and the two Malfoys. They watched several previews for other movies, their stunned eyes glued to the screen. Then the movie itself started and they were swept away to the town of Port Royal in Pirates of the Caribbean. As the movie rolled across the screen, the amazed Malfoys forgot they were in a room crowded with Muggles. The story of pirates, cursed gold and epic battles at sea totally hypnotized them. They really had no idea what to expect, but this certainly wasn't it. The cursed pirates, when they moved into the moonlight and became skeletons looked real. The setting was something they could grasp and understand, which was partly why Hermoine had chosen it. People of the wizarding community still lived old-fashioned with torches, carriages and cloaks. And swords, well, everyone understood what those were for!

The movie drew to an end and the credits flowed across the silver screen. Finally the music ended and the screen turned white again. Muggles stood and started to leave, tossing their empty food containers into the trashcan on the way out.

Hermoine stood, stretching her legs. "Well, what did you guys think? Did you like it?"

"It … it looked real!" Draco stuttered, still quite shocked.

"Well of course it did!" Hermoine replied as she urged the others up so they could leave the room. "Movie goers expect realism these days, you know. It wouldn't be as good if it looked fake!"

"But their Muggles!" Draco protested, his gray eyes wide. "How could Muggles DO that? Turn those pirates into skeletons, I mean. Did they get some wizards to help them or something?"

"I am not aware of any dark spell that could do that…" Lucius admitted, a slight shudder passing through his body. His son had been right when he stated the skeletons had looked real, perhaps too real. He hoped the children would not suffer nightmares because of the horrible sight…

"Of course not!" Hermoine laughed as she led them outside into the cool evening air. "It's all special affects done on computers!"

"Computers?" Draco looked blankly at her.

"Yes, computers." Hermoine bit her lower lip, unsure how to explain computers to her classmate. "It's difficult to explain. Basically its this box that can do stuff. Muggles use them for all sorts of stuff from writing to altering photos to playing games. They're incredibly versatile and have thousands of functions. I really can't explain it but trust me when I say Muggles can create incredibly real images on them."

"That was incredible!" Harry agreed as he climbed into the carriage once again. His mind was still on the movie he had seen but as the invisible carriage rolled down the street he begun to realize exactly where they were most likely heading.

Malfoy Manor.

Harry began to grow nervous. He still didn't trust Lucius Malfoy and the last thing he wanted to do was walk willingly into the man's house. True, he hadn't tried anything yet but that didn't mean anything. Harry had no doubt the man could be incredibly sweet when he wanted to be in order to create a false sense of security. And then when one less expected it, he'd spring like a deadly spider. The image of him from the end of his Second Year was still fresh in his mind, the man's face twisted in anger as he pulled his wand to say some awful spell. Only Dobby had save him that day. And now here he was in the man's carriage on the way to his home! Worst, Hermoine acted as if nothing was happening!

Perhaps this was an alternate universe!

Silent, Harry watched the Muggle street lights flicker by as the carriage quickly moved through traffic. With growing dread, he realized that he'd probably have to eat supper with the Malfoys! Could he trust them not to poison the food? A frown creased his face as he realized that Lucius wouldn't poison him after all. No, Voldemort wanted him alive so he could kill him himself!

And where in the world had Dumbledore gone? Didn't his Headmaster care about him anymore?

With growing dread he watched as the carriage rolled through a wrought iron gate and proceeded up a super long driveway. Trees and shrubs passed and the nervous feeling within the pit of his stomach grew worse. Although earlier he had been glad to be free of the Dursleys he was beginning to have serious doubts. This was his life he was playing with and unlike the cursed pirates; he had no gift of immortality. No, he was simply cursed!

The carriage finally came to a stop before a huge mansion. The doors opened and Lucius stepped out. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Harry climbed out as well.

To be continued…

Author's Note: The other movie I considered for them to see was Dinotopia but I'm unsure how many of you seen it. The actor who plays Professor Lupin is in it and it's a wonderful movie about a land where dinosaurs live alongside humans. If you love fantasy, you should watch it. It's quite long though: 4 hours. Sorry this chapter is so short. The next one should be longer!