Chapter Ten: Christmas at Hogwarts

There are several dialogue quotes taken from JK Rowling's Chamber of Secrets in this book. This is to convey the same story she wrote, but from another character's POV. The quotes taken directly from the book have three quotation marks (instead of two) around them to signify she wrote them and that I am citing them. Because I am transforming pieces of her work into something new this falls under the Fair Use Act. Additionally, JK Rowling has stated that she is okay with noncommercial fan fiction. All direct quotes, the Harry Potter storyline, and the characters all belong to JK Rowling.

"Get up! Up! Up! Up!" screeched a voice, and suddenly Draco felt his robe being thrown against his face.

"Wha- Daphne?" Blaise mumbled sleepily.

Draco shot up and pulled the cover up to his chin. "Daphne get out!" He snapped.

"No," she retorted. "It is very important that you two get your asses out of bed and down to breakfast, now."

"And that would be because...?" Blaise asked inquisitively.

Daphne stopped storming about the room and looked back and forth between Blaise and Draco. "There has been another attack."

"Who?" Asked Draco as the three of them ran down the hall.

"Justin and the Gryffindor ghost, Sir Nicholas" Daphne answered.

"You're not implying..." started Blaise.

Daphne stopped and this time focused all her attention to Draco. "I'm not implying anything. The school wants to think that it is Harry, and we are going to keep it that way by making sure we don't look guilty. We are the easy targets, the scapegoats, so you can't be skipping meals and wandering off. We have to surround ourselves with others to make sure we all have alibis."

"Screw that!" Draco scoffed. "I'm not letting Harry parade himself around this school acting like he's the heir of Slytherin. I could care less if people think it's me." He pushed his way through Daphne and Blaise, continuing towards the Great Hall.

After that morning, Draco did everything that he could to act suspicious and make people believe that he was the heir of Slytherin. He skipped meals, showed up late to classes, and read the most conspicuous looking books he could find in the middle of the library. To his dismay, none of this seemed to be working. All the students continued to hold a mix of amazement and fear towards Harry. Every time the Weasley twins paraded Harry down the hallway shouting things like, "'Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through. . . .'" Draco was tempted to name himself the Heir of Slytherin, just so that everyone would stop talking about Harry.

The night before winter break Draco sat reading a book about petrification in the Slytherin common room and darting his eyes around the room every so often to see if anyone was paying attention.

"At first, I thought I had made a mistake in telling you not to act suspicious," said Daphne, sitting down next to Draco. "When you stalked off I thought to myself 'oh great, now he is going to do just the opposite,' and you did. However, your desperate attempts to look shady are so over the top, that I don't have to worry about anyone believing it."

"Worry about Pansy," said Draco dully.

"Hm- what? What made you think of her?" Asked Daphne.

"She wasn't there that day you pulled Blaise and I out of bed. You never warned her to not act suspicious," answered Draco.

"She has an alibi," Daphne answered. "She's always with Lockhart, and we barely see her anymore because of it."

Draco shrugged in response.

"Blaise and I will miss you over the break," said Daphne.

"I have Crabbe and Goyle," Draco answered, and he saw the hurt in Daphne's eyes. "But I will miss you guys too," he added.

Daphne kissed Draco's head and told him goodnight. The next morning he helped Daphne and Blaise bring their luggage to the train, and waved goodbye. This would be his first Christmas without the Manor, his mother, or Daphne. He walked back to the castle and saw Niklaus waiting for him on a tree branch. He swooped down and dropped a small letter into Draco's hand.

Draco,

Your mother tells me that you are staying at school over the holidays. I think that this is for the best as you clearly have a lot of things you need to be working on. Considering that you clearly lack any intelligence I thought that I may need to warn you of something. You are to continue trying to blame these attacks on Dumbledore, but don't do anything stupid that would call suspicion to yourself. The last person who opened the Chamber of Secrets , 50 years ago, killed a young girl and was expelled. If you were to be blamed and expelled I think your mother would drop dead of embarrassment and disappointment. Lay low.

Lucius Malfoy

"It's too bad Daphne's not here to see this," Draco muttered to himself sulkily and he made his way back to the Slytherin common room.

The next few days were quiet and pretty boring. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle were some of the only Slytherins left at the school. By Christmas Draco had already told Crabbe and Goyle several times about how his father had written to him that the last person to open the Chamber of Secrets killed a girl and was expelled. Even they, as thick and forgetful as they were, were getting bored of the story. As the days ticked by, Draco poured himself into his studies and tried not to think about missing his mother, Mrs. Zabini's wedding, or the Christmas ball.

On Christmas morning Draco slept in late, not seeing much of a reason to get up sooner. He awoke to no presents beside his bed, which actually surprised him. He had expected gifts from his mother, but he was even more surprised with himself for being disappointed over something so silly.

Draco studied for the next several hours, until it was time for dinner. He got dressed and made his way up to the common area. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting in a mountain candy wrappers, half eaten cakes, and already broken Christmas presents. "Well let's get going already," said Draco.

"Where?" Asked Crabbe, through a mouthful of chocolate.

"Unlike you two, I haven't eaten every bloody piece of candy in existence," barked Draco, making his way towards the exit.

"Well hold on then," said Goyle. "We'll come, we're out of chocolates."

The day was ordinary, and Draco could not take the boredom or the disappointment any longer. He found comfort in bullying different students as they filled their way into the Great Hall. He'd shout things like "What's with the handmade sweater, Potter? As lowly as I think of you, I always thought that you were the one who could actually afford to buy real clothes." Or "Are you sure you want to eat that Weasley? You're already making a dent in the bench."

Unfortunately for Draco, no matter how much he pushed or prodded the students he didn't like, even he couldn't break their Christmas spirit. No one engaged with him or bothered to even make a witty response back.

After the banquet, Draco made his way back to the common room. Sitting on one of the coffee tables was an article.

"'INQUIRY AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC

Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, was today fined fifty Galleons for be- witching a Muggle car. Mr. Lucius Malfoy, a governor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the enchanted car crashed earlier this year, called today for Mr. Weasley's resignation. "Weasley has brought the Ministry into disrepute," Mr. Malfoy told our reporter. "He is clearly unfit to draw up our laws and his ridiculous Muggle Protection Act should be scrapped immediately." Mr. Weasley was unavailable for comment, although his wife told reporters to clear off or she'd set the family ghoul on them'" (Excerpt from Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling).

"Ha" Draco laughed out loud. "This is the best thing I've seen all break. Oi Crabbe, Goyle, come check this out."

Suddenly, Draco was very aware of how empty the common room was. Crabbe and Goyle were nowhere in sight. Draco glanced at the clock. It read 10:05pm. Considering the holiday, the teachers were being somewhat relaxed about curfew, but still it was odd for Crabbe and Goyle to be so adventurous to wonder off on their own.

Draco left the common room through the stony door and began to walk down the corridor, when he heard the most pompous and obnoxious voice speaking, "'I am a prefect. Nothing's about to attack me."" Said the voice with clear arrogance.

Draco turned the corner and saw Crabbe and Goyle cornered by the Prefect Weasley. Prefect Weasley was such an annoying presence, that Draco almost felt sorry watching Crabbe and Goyle, who looked even dumber than usual, just standing there trying to think of a way out.

"'There you are," Draco called. "'Have you two been pigging out in the Great Hall all this time? I've been looking for you; I want to show you something really funny.'"

The Prefect Weasley gave Draco an icy glare, but Draco gave him no time to speak. "'And what're you doing down here, Weasley?'" Draco spit.

Weasley's face turned redder than his ugly sweater as he tried to make himself sound authoritative, "'You want to show a bit more respect to a school prefect! I don't like your attitude!'"

Draco had to stifle his laugh, but didn't want to lose his house any points, so he turned his face away from Percy, and motioned for Crabbe and Goyle to join him.

"'That Peter Weasley-'" said Draco, shaking his head, as the three of them made their way back to the common room.

"'Percy'" corrected Crabbe.

Draco turned his head inquisitively to Crabbe. It was unlike Crabbe to know things, much less actually correct him. However, it had been such a strange day, that Draco just shook it off without much thought. "'Whatever. I've noticed him sneaking around a lot lately. And I bet I know what he's up to.'" Said Draco with a laugh. "'He thinks he's going to catch Slytherin's heir single-handed.'"

They made their way to the wall where the Slytherin common room would appear, but something seemed off about Crabbe and Goyle. "'What's the new password again?''' Draco joked, trying to lighten the mood. "'Oh, yeah — pure-blood!'"

Crabbe and Goyle remained silent as they followed him through the door and to some empty chairs at the fireplace. "'Wait here, I'll go and get it — my father's just sent it to me —'" Draco lied. He didn't want Crabbe or Goyle to know that his father had forgotten him on Christmas. Pretending he hadn't just found the article lying around was a harmless fib that would make him look better. Even though Pansy, Blaise, and Daphne knew about how neglectful Lucius could be, Crabbe and Goyle were different. Draco didn't care about them in the same way he cared about his other friends.

Draco grabbed the newspaper article about Arthur Weasley from the table and held it out for Crabbe and Goyle to see. "'That'll give you a laugh,'" he said.

Draco braced himself, ready for Crabbe and Goyle to absolutely lose it, but they just sat in their chairs quietly. "'Well?'" Draco asked impatiently. He tried to sound nonchalant, but even he could hear the neediness in his own voice. "'Don't you think it's funny?'"

"'Ha, ha,'" Goyle answered sarcastically.

Draco turned away so that the two of them could not see how red his face was growing. "Keep going," Draco thought to himself. "Crabbe and Goyle love making fun of the Weasley's."

"'Arthur Weasley loves Muggles so much he should snap his wand in half and go and join them,'" Draco spoke aloud. "'You'd never know the Weasleys were purebloods, the way they behave.'" He looked between the two of them, waiting for someone to chime in with a witty remark, but no one answered, and Crabbe almost looked angry.

"'What's up with you, Crabbe?'" Draco finally snapped.

"'Stomachache'" he answered dully.

"'Well, go up to the hospital wing and give all those Mudbloods

a kick from me,''' Draco spat, and suddenly he remembered how his dad had asked him to blame the attacks on Dumbledore's incompetence. "'You know, I'm surprised the Daily Prophet hasn't reported all these attacks yet. I suppose Dumbledore's trying to hush it all up. He'll be sacked if it doesn't stop soon. Father's always said old Dumbledore's the worst thing that's ever happened to this place. He loves Muggle-borns. A decent headmaster would never have let slime like that Creevey in. '''Draco pretended to take photos of Crabbe and Goyle "'Potter, can I have your picture, Potter? Can I have your autograph? Can I lick your shoes, please, Potter?'"

Again, nothing but silence in response. "'What's the matter with you two?'" Draco asked angrily.

At Draco's outburst, Crabbe and Goyle finally laughed, but it was too late. Draco couldn't help smiling with satisfaction. He remembered a private lesson he had with Snape a few months back, Snape's words played in his head, "Polyjuice potion while particularly difficult to brew will allow you to take the form of another person for a short period of time."

Draco had an epiphany. There was a reason Crabbe and Goyle weren't acting normal, they were Harry and Ron. Draco had never been more sure of anything in his life. It was so obvious, Draco was disappointed in himself for not realizing it sooner, but the hard part would be playing this off as if he didn't know. Draco could not think of a better way to mess with Harry and Ron.

"'Saint Potter, the Mudbloods' friend,'" said Draco, playing up the role of a purist Slytherin. "'He's another one with no proper wizard feeling, or he wouldn't go around with that jumped-up Granger Mudblood. And people

think he's Slytherin's heir!'"

Draco saw the excitement behind "Crabbe" and "Goyles'" eyes, or should he say Harry and Ron's eyes. "'I wish I knew who it is,'" Draco moaned dramatically. "'I could help them.'"

Either Harry or Ron's jaw dropped, whichever one was pretending to be Crabbe. Anyone else would have been able to see through Draco's melodramatic act, but Harry and Ron were too stubborn to see their own errors.

"'You must have some idea who's behind it all. . . .'" said the one pretending to be Crabbe.

"'You know I haven't, Goyle, how many times do I have to tell you?'" Said Draco, faking annoyance. "'And Father won't tell me anything about the last time the Chamber was opened either. Of course, it was fifty years ago, so it was before his time, but he knows all about it, and he says that it was all kept quiet and it'll look suspicious if I know too much about it. But I know one thing — last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mudblood died. So I bet it's a matter of time before one of them's killed this time. . . . '" Draco could barely keep a straight face as he came to the end of his "villainous Slytherin" monologue. "'I hope it's Granger,'"

Draco could feel Harry and Ron trying to kill him with their gaze. Had their arrogance not gotten in the way, they would have realized how badly they played the parts of Crabbe and Goyle. They would have realized that Draco knew it was them, and they would have realized that he was saying what would piss them off the most.

"'D'you know if the person who opened the Chamber last time was caught?'" asked "Goyle."

"'Oh, yeah . . . whoever it was was expelled,'" Draco answered. "'They're probably still in Azkaban.'"

"'Azkaban?'" asked "Goyle."

"'Azkaban — the wizard prison, Goyle,'" Draco said, shaking his head patronizingly. "'Honestly, if you were any slower, you'd be going backward.'"

"'Father says to keep my head down and let the Heir of Slytherin get on with it'" Draco continued. "'He says the school needs ridding of all the Mudblood filth, but not to get mixed up in it. Of course, he's got a lot on his plate at the moment. You know the Ministry of Magic raided our manor last week? Luckily, they didn't find much. Father's got some very valuable Dark Arts stuff. But luckily, we've got our own secret chamber under the drawing-room floor —'" Draco lied, and he imagined Ron running back to tell his dad. How funny it would be when they showed up at the manor to raid under the floorboards but didn't find anything. Maybe then Arthur Weasley would have one mistake too many on his record and would finally lose his job.

Draco could see red hair starting to sprout out from "Crabbe's'' hair. Something that resembled a lightning scar started to form on "Goyle's" forehead. "'Ho!''' Ron screamed out. "'Medicine for my stomach.''' And the two of them ran out of the Slytherin common room. Draco only hoped, they did not notice him snickering behind them.

Draco didn't care enough to search for the real Crabbe and Goyle, or even to wait up for them. Instead, he made his way to the boys dormitory and tried to find his bed in the dark.

Something caught Draco's toe and he stumbled over onto the ground. "Ugh" he groaned. He grabbed his wand and whispered "lumos." What Draco saw almost made him drop his wand: presents surrounded the foot of his bed.

Draco quickly lit the lamps and ran back to the foot of his bed. He hadn't received so many packages since he was little. The overwhelming majority of them said mom on the tags. He searched around and found a small neatly printed note that read:

Sorry for the delay of your packages. Due to the number of owls we received throughout the day delivering your things, we thought it best to collect all the packages and then put them in your room at once.

-G

"G?" Draco thought to himself, but quickly shrugged it off. Draco began to tear into his presents. From his mother he received a new set of exploding snap, chocolates, new clothes, broom care items, and countless other trinkets.

Blaise had sent Draco a golden snitch with his name engraved on it to practice with, along with pictures of his mother's wedding and their new family. Daphne sent Draco several first edition books to add to his collection. Pansy sent Draco several postcards from her tour around London with Lockhart. Draco rolled his eyes and heavily debated throwing those in the bin. Several days ago, Draco had sent Blaise, Pansy, and Daphne their presents, which were blank note cards that would only allow the intended reader to see what was written in them. Draco had settled on this, thinking that it was the perfect way to make sure no one ever read the notes they passed between each other. He had bought himself a stack as well.

Although Draco did not receive so much as a kind word from his father, he still had a merry Christmas, sitting there in the dorm by himself opening his presents, and waiting for his friends to finally return.