Confessions to a Yellow Duck
Dumbledore and the Duck

Dumbledore entered the bathroom and stared intently at the rubber ducky. It froze and tried to send out vibes of harmlessness. Unfortunately it either didn't work or else Dumbledore was immune to the duck's charms. Very carefully, he moved his face closer to the bathtub toy until his long crooked nose was only an inch away from the duck's beak. It hit fast and sudden, but not quickly enough to catch the old man off guard.

The duck had opened its mouth to reveal a row of vicious looking and, more importantly, very sharp teeth. It tried to bite Dumbledore, but the Headmaster was ready for the attack. Faster than the previously-thought-to-be-inanimate object, he pulled his head (and nose) back out of the way while his hands darted out and captured the rubber duck.

The duck, of course, struggled like crazy, but was not able to get out of Dumbledore's grasp. It snapped its razor sharp teeth in vain. The wizard knew enough to keep the duck well out of biting distance.

"Well what do we have here?" Dumbledore asked the captive creature. "How did you manage to sneak in here?"

The duck continued to struggle, but remained silent. It almost worked one wing free - it was much more mobile than it had looked to any of the students earlier on that night - but Dumbledore only tightened his grip.

"A Quavit. I haven't seen one of you in, well, years. There hasn't been one in Hogwarts in even longer. How did you get in?"

The yellow duck snapped its beak at Dumbledore a few more times. "You're strong," the headmaster commented. "How many students have you seen? It must have been three or four, at least, judging by how much life you have in you. I'm surprised no one noticed you earlier.

"It's a good thing I got to you when I did," Dumbledore continued. "A couple more students and you would have been strong enough to wreak havoc around Hogwarts. Who, indeed, would expect a seemingly innocent rubber ducky to attack them?"

The duck refused to answer, though that may have been more because it wasn't able to speak than from any ideas of rebellion. Although it had a lot more power than it had when it first appeared earlier that night, a half a dozen witches and wizards didn't lend it enough strength for it to attempt human speech. Especially considering the last one didn't pay it any real attention. People like Sirius Black were of no use to the duck. Unless they paid it more attention than a simple acknowledgement, it could not draw any power from them.

"Never mind that," Dumbledore said. "What's important right now is to get you out of the castle before any more students come by and pour their souls out to you."

The words only caused the rubber ducky, which had calmed down briefly, to start struggling again, harder than ever. It still didn't do any good.

"Come on, now," Dumbledore said firmly. "There's no need for that. I'll bring you to the Forbidden Forest and set you loose. From there, I'm sure there are plenty of places you can go where you can trick people into confessing their deepest, darkest secrets to you and making you grow strong. But not Hogwarts." Dumbledore added extra emphasis for the last few words.

The rubber ducky, now pretty much resigned to its fate, all but gave up struggling. Of course, it couldn't just meekly allow Dumbledore carry it out of the school - it did have some dignity, after all, but nothing more than a cursory struggle was needed. At least it knew now that the headmaster wasn't planning on destroying it, only getting it away from his students and charges.

Oh, well. There were other places it could carry out its reign of terror. It had heard nice things about Beauxbatons.

The End (as in, the end, the end)
July 1, 2001 (Happy Canada's Day for all you Canucks out there!)

Well, it's about a week late, I know, but I'm sorry.  After my last exam, I came home and found out I had a job starting the very next day so I've been working and have had next to no time for writing.

I hope you're all happy (*cough*Queen Kakia*cough*).  I succumbed to peer pressure and made the duck (semi)evil.  I hope it made sense to someone other than me. . .

Before I get to my thanks section, which is extremely long, I'm going to ask if anyone out there would be willing to beta read for me.  I'm writing another MWPP fic and I need someone to proof it.  E-mail me at trinityday@hotmail.com

Okay, now, thanks.  Queen Kakia - don't feel sorry for Peter.  Same to Sweet Tal and Rachel Granger-Gryffindor.  Giesbrecht - you're right; Peter is rather stereotypical, Remus, too, probably.  I'll try to work on that.  AngelStar - I'm glad you're enjoying it, but I probably won't write one for the present day people, if only because I don't much care for writing about them for the most part.  However, this came from a challenge at HP Fanfic Challenge Page.  You may want to check it out for other responses. Cali - of course Dumbledore arriving had to do with the duck!  Remember, this is the all-knowing Headmaster of Hogwarts that we're talking about.  Springrain - I'm sorry you're not allowed on the net over the summer. I hope you're mom relents. Iniga - thanks for reviewing all my stories!  I know I owe you about half a dozen myself, and I will get around to it either today or tomorrow, for sure.

Thanks also go to Su, RavenNat, Moon, m, Ava Ingva, Kate_AnguaPotter, Nettey Potter, Sarah Black, care, The Real Baka, Kayara, clamchowder, Alcione, and phoenix_vs_crazy_snow

I think that's it.  I was trying to go for a record there, you know, having my author's notes longer than the actual story.  Yeah . . . . that's it . . . .

Trinity Day