Save The Date (A Drarry FanFiction)

Chapter Fourteen (VII)

VII

"So, let me get this straight," said Draco as he followed Bones through the winding cobbled streets of Halloween Land. "You can't go directly between the main holidays, because of cross-contamination?"

The dog shrugged. "That's one word for it I guess," he said in his gruff accent. "I call it 'elitism'. Nobody wants nobody else stealing their ideas or nothing."

Draco was no stranger to pride, and didn't really see a problem with that. What annoyed him was the inconvenience, especially with the clock ticking. "So we have to go down to a lesser holiday land, then go back up again to Christmas Land?" Bones nodded and Draco muttered some choice profanities under his breath. "Knowing Harry he won't stay put, if he works out something's wrong, he'll go exploring."

"Well then," announced Bones. "We'd better get a move on, wouldn't you say Sunshine?"

Draco sighed. This was not how he had envisaged spending this day, not before when he'd been back at Hogwarts, nor this morning when he thought he was a prince. "So is it like travelling to the Land of the Living?" Even though he knew the memory was false, he was still aware of how the people of Halloween Land slipped through the shadows in the town's graveyard to go up to the real world.

"Sort of," agreed Bones as they hurried past a street vendor selling cups of frogspawn to eager children. "Except you can only travel up there on the day of your holiday. You can travel to other lands any time you want, it's just most people don't tend to bother."

Draco came to a halt in front of a shop offering services to Boost Your Boo! and Get The Go In Your Ghoul! "Hang on," he said. "We can only travel back to the real world on the day of a holiday?" he asked in horror. "But, it's not Halloween anymore!"

Bones blew a raspberry. "You major holiday folks are so up yourselves," he scorned. "Every day has a holiday, and once we find your mate, we'll track down one that happens on November 1st."

Draco wasn't sure he was convinced, but Bones was right. Finding Harry was the priority for now; they could work out the rest later. "So which land are we going to, and how do we get there?"

The path was taking them up the hill, past more businesses and several eateries that made Draco's stomach roll now he had his proper memories back. Everything was rotting or had bits of spiders in it, and he shuddered, very glad he had skipped breakfast. "There's several ways down," Bones admitted. "But the best is the darkest and scariest basement of them all."

Draco hadn't known until that moment how wickedly a French Bulldog could smirk. "You don't mean-" he spluttered, looking up the hill to the house that loomed on the top. The only house as high as the royal palace on the opposite side of town.

"Yup," he replied saucily. "The one and only."

The mayor's house.

Who else would have the scariest basement? And if he wanted to stop people going to different lands, he would definitely want to be guarding the entrance. "Isn't there another one we can use?" Draco sighed. "One to a different land?"

"Don't be such a wuss," Bones grunted, sticking his nose up in the air. "We haven't got time, and this is the best way, so come on."

Draco grumbled up the rest of the climb, but he didn't suggest turning back again.

The house was four stories high and even wider again, with a bell tower and a hanging gallows in the grounds. An ornamental garden of dead and decaying flora gave them plenty of cover to sneak up to one of the back doors, and then Draco looked down to take Bones' lead. "What now?"

"Bloody hell, do I have to do everything around here?" Bones complained in mocking tones. "Look, he doesn't actually have much security. He just relies on being the scariest thing in a town full of scary things to keep people away. So I suggest you and your human shaped hands just try the door knob to start with."

Draco wasn't sure that was the best plan ever, but he didn't have another one, so he figured he would just give it a go.

He stepped carefully out from behind the large bush covered in black roses they had been crouching behind, but the shadows were so deep from the large house on the gloomy day, he was able to dart over without too much risk of being seen. Bones followed just behind him, the fake bat wings bobbing on his back as he ran.

Without a word, Draco turned and tried the handle; it was locked, but he wasn't giving up just yet.

After so much time spent living under the threat of the Dark Lord in his own damn house, he had acquired a few non-magic tricks for the times when his wand would be confiscated from him, as if he were a small child. And he had never been more thankful until that moment that one of those tricks was lock picking. He just needed a couple of pins...

"Hey, do those wings come off?" he asked.

Bones stuck his lip out in a pout. "If they must?"