The Truth About Rudolph

Rudolph watched the reindeer and the sleighs disappear in the distance. He felt even worse than he did a few minutes earlier. As if it wasn't enough that his nose was red and shining like a lamp, he had seen the thing he wanted more than anything in the world, only to have it taken away the very next moment. If only he could run after them -- but he could never possibly run that fast! No person, wizard or Muggle, could ever outrun a reindeer.

And then it happened. The essay on Animagi he had read said that, for the first transformation to take place, the wizard had to wish for it with his whole heart and mind and with every atom of his body. And Rudolph was watching the path the reindeer had taken, overwhelmed by a strong desire to run through the snow and try to catch up with the sleighs. He forgot about his parents waiting at home, about Christmas Eve and all the cakes and presents; he forgot about his old broomstick lying there in the forest; he even forgot how pleasant it had felt to talk to Christine. Suddenly he felt that odd sensation he had felt once before, a combination of pain and tickling in his whole body. He didn't fight it this time, and before he realised what was happening he was standing on four tall legs ending with hooves, ready to run. The prints of hooves and the tracks left by the sleighs were clearly visible in the snow. Rudolph began to run.

It felt wonderful to be able to run that fast. He followed the path marked by the prints in the snow and by the scent of the reindeer, which he was suddenly able to recognize. Enjoying himself immensely, Rudolph jumped over fallen trees and leaped over streams; he kept trailing the hoof prints as they went alongside the forest for a long time and then turned left and entered it. Inside the forest the trail went through the deep, untouched snow for a while, and then it joined a large path and turned north again. Rudolph supposed this path was going to lead him to the Ice Palace -- that was where the elves said they were going. He had no idea what he was going to do when he got there, but he ran along the path anyway.

His nose was still glowing with a red light; he could see it, but it didn't make him blink as it had done before. His eyes had probably got used to the light, and another reason why it didn't bother him anymore was that the distance between his eyes and his nose was bigger now.

Rudolph was fairly sure he was getting closer and closer to the company he was following. He was free and therefore able to run much faster than the reindeer pulling the sleighs full of packages. However, he didn't want them to notice that he was following them, so he took care not to run too fast.

After what felt like two hours of running, although he couldn't be sure of the exact time, Rudolph paused to drink water from a small pond that wasn't completely covered by ice. The water in the pond was very still, allowing him to catch a glimpse of his reflection before he started drinking. The head of a young reindeer, with antlers that were not fully-grown yet and a shining red nose, was looking back at him from the surface of the water.

Rudolph drank some of the cold water, and then nibbled on some of the grass that was growing beside the pool. He was surprised to find that he liked its taste.

He didn't stay there too long; he just tasted the grass and then went running along the path again. The prints in the snow were still very clear, and so was the trail of the reindeer scent. He wasn't going through the forest now, but over a flat snow-covered plain with only a few trees here and there. The five reindeer pulling the sleighs were visible now, far ahead of him; the northern wind carried to him the sound of the harness bells and the voices of the elves, who seemed to be chattering all the time.

After some time a huge shape appeared on the horizon, a shimmering white building; for the first time, Rudolph felt some fear. So this was the Ice Palace he had heard about, the home of a powerful wizard called Klaus who didn't like people, Muggle or magical, to visit his hideout. Rudolph supposed that he would never be able to find it on his own, had he not been following the elves and the reindeer.

In spite of feeling insecure, Rudolph thought it would be stupid to turn and run back home now that he'd travelled that far. He wasn't running anymore; he was walking, and as he approached the palace he could see what a beautiful building it was, with high towers, arched windows and walls covered with icy sculptures.

Two statues of bears flanked the main gate, through which the sleigh-pulling reindeer entered into some kind of courtyard. Rudolph walked at some distance after them, longing to see what was inside.

When he came close to the two bears, one of them moved his head very slightly and looked at Rudolph's nose. For a moment Rudolph thought his heart was going to stop beating; then he felt it pounding wildly in his chest. These two were no ice statues! They were real, living polar bears!

Rudolph made up his mind in a few seconds. It was too late to turn and run away now; if he did that, the bears would know for certain that he was an intruder and would pursue and probably kill him. He thought it would be much safer to enter the palace -- after all, reindeer passed through these gates anyway, and the bears might not think it strange at all.

Trying to look brave, Rudolph slowly walked between the bears.

"Hey, what happened to your nose?" one of the bears asked.

Rudolph froze for a moment, completely bewildered. Then he remembered that Animagi could speak to animals; the author of the essay he'd read had said so, and Aunt Greta had often told them gossip she had heard from other birds when she was flying.

"I had a row with a nasty human," he replied truthfully. He felt as if he was forming the words in his own language, but they came out as a series of low grunts.

The bear nodded, as if to show that he knew all about nasty humans, and then asked:

"Looking for a job here?"

"Yes," Rudolph said, grateful that he had a legitimate reason to enter the Ice Palace.

"You've come at the last moment; Klaus should be starting out any minute now. You'll probably find him in the courtyard."

"Thanks," Rudolph said and tried to pretend that this was good news for him, although it really wasn't: the last thing he wanted to do was to run into Klaus himself. But there was definitely no going back now. He walked into the courtyard and looked around.

A sleigh the size of a large carriage, made of wood and decorated with beautiful carvings, was parked in the centre of the courtyard. Six reindeer were harnessed in front of it. There was a seat covered with fur in the front of the sleigh; the rest was covered with packages wrapped in coloured paper. Elves were constantly bringing new packages from the palace or from one of the many heaps of parcels in the courtyard, and loading them onto the sleigh.

The door of the palace was open, and Rudolph caught a glimpse of a tall figure dressed in red. That must have been Klaus, he thought. He seemed busy with something inside.

The small sleighs Rudolph had been following had been pulled along one of the walls of the courtyard; Rudolph came closer and watched as the elves untied the reindeer and told them:

"There! Now you can go to sleep, and so can we; let the night shift do the rest of the work!"

The reindeer walked lazily in one direction, and the elves went in another. No one had paid any attention to Rudolph, who was now left alone near the sleighs and their load.

Rudolph examined the parcels, poking the ones on top a little with his head to move them out of the way. Soon he caught sight of the long package with the little card that said Nimbus 1722.

Rudolph hadn't come to the Ice Palace with the idea of stealing the broomstick; he hadn't come there with any idea at all. But now that he was so close to it, that he was actually touching it with his nose, the temptation was too strong. He opened his mouth, grabbed the wrapped broom with his teeth and started to pull it out of the sleigh.