A Ghostly Curse

Disclaimer: If I was JKR, I could claim all the praise for this fantastic world. Alas, I am not. So all I get to do is enjoy playing with the fantastic characters she has created. I make no money, and I also mean no offense.

A/N: If anyone likes to read One-shots between HG and SS, I wrote one the other day that is a take off on the Marriage Law challenge by the name of The Mating Charm. But be warned; it is only one chapter as I am not going to start another big story until I get Mirror’s Reflection finished. (That one won’t be much longer, I don’t think.) This one, however… Well, one never knows!

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Ch 6 - When Walls Move

Hermione rolled her eyes as Lucius refused for the forth time to go down yet another darkened corridor. He had passed up the last three claiming that they would be stepping on the toes of his dead ancestors. She was trying to be understanding of his feelings but this was the last straw.

Swinging to face him, she queried, “How do you expect to find your Merlin forsaken body if you don’t get enough guts to search for it?”

Lucius looked taken back for a moment before he answered ruefully, “I’m not avoiding looking for it. I just have enough respect for the dead to stay out of their chambers.”

Hermione shook her head, gesturing down the hall. “So what if these rooms belonged to and are filled with your ancestors things. I doubt they’d care if you just went through to check and see if your body was lying on one of their beds.”

Lucius looked at her for a few moments in perplexed silence. After a moment he asked, “Miss Granger, are you familiar with the practices of the oldest of pureblooded families?” His expression told her she was missing some information that was pertinent to their search.

“What exactly should I know that I don’t?” She asked slowly.

He sighed and looked down the darkened hallway for a moment before explaining, “Before purebloods adopted the Muggle way of burying their dead, they had a practice of bringing their loved ones down into the lowest parts of their home and putting them in rooms that were made to look like their own bedchambers.” He shrugged. “When we enter these rooms, we aren’t just going into space that holds their belongings. We’re walking into their graves.”

As his words sank in, Hermione’s jaw dropped. “You mean to say… Are you saying that….? There are bodies in these chambers?” At his nod, she wrapped her arms around herself and groaned. “Oh heavens. No wonder you have no desire to enter these rooms.”

He watched her reaction as he answered, “Well, yes. Among the unpleasant reason of ewwwe, dead corpses,” he exaggerated, mimicking what he felt was her attitude. “It also is somewhat disrespectful. A good comparison would be if I were to walk over someone’s grave, I suppose.”

She scowled at him. “I know that! I didn’t mean to imply that I thought the practice was gross. I’m just unsure how this was done.” She tilted her head as she wondered out loud. “What about the natural state of decay? Is there something done to keep that from happening?”

Lucius nodded. “Yes. There is a Stasis spell that is placed over the bodies. It keeps them in the same condition they were in when they passed away.” His expression became melancholy as he looked away from her.

Stepping closer to him, Hermione questioned, “Lucius, did your family still practice this tradition?”

He looked at her oddly. “Yes, but why?”

Taking a deep breath, Hermione explained. “Narcissa was found, but Draco never was. Do you think it was possible that Bella would have brought his body here? Perhaps if we found his, we would find yours…”

Lucius stared at her as if she’d grown two heads. “If she wouldn’t take care of the remains of her own sister, why would she see to Draco’s?”

Hermione’s eyebrow rose in speculation. “Because you had already seen Narcissa dead. You knew what had happened to her. What if she had wanted him placed where you could find him as well?”

He held her eyes with his own for several moments before gesturing down a specific corridor. “Well, I guess there is one way to find out.” At her questioning look, he explained. “His rooms were to be down that way.”

He moved past her and began making his way to the room, a look of pain mixed with trepidation ruling his features. Hermione followed him. She had a really bad feeling, but she knew that it would be important for him to know.

When he paused before a large oak door that was intricately carved with Druid designs, Hermione took a deep breath. He stared at the door for several minutes before gesturing for her to proceed him inside. “If my son is in here, I want to know. “ He said simply.

She nodded and offered him a sad smile before moving to the door and turning the latch. When it clicked and slid open, she slowly walked into the room. Looking around, she saw what was a very Slytherin styled room filled with green and silver. There were no cobwebs like one would expect of a room that had not been entered in many years.

Instead it was a very warm and inviting space. An enchanted fire roared in the hearth and the room was comfortable. When she saw where the bed was, she found herself hesitant to look. Finally, she overcame it and found herself staring at Draco’s form.

He looked as if he was sleeping. His face had not aged a day from the time of his death. As if mesmerized, Hermione found herself entranced by the peaceful look on his face. Not even realizing she did it, she moved to stand beside his bed and gazed down at him in a mixture of awe and sadness.

She had forgotten that Lucius stood beside her until he spoke. “He looks as if he could simply be asleep.”

Hermione nodded and spoke, as if thinking out loud. “Yes. Almost like Sleeping Beauty.”

He looked back to her, perplexed. “Who?”

Embarrassed, Hermione answered. “She was a beautiful princess that was cursed by an old evil fairy godmother. She pricked her finger on a spinning wheel at the age of sixteen and fell to the ground, dead to all. But she was still alive. But see, there was another godmother there that lightened the curse. She said that when The princess would fall under the curse, so would everyone else in the castle. The curse was later broken by a prince that dared the obstacles to find her.”

Her voice had taken on an almost dreamy quality as she relayed the tale. “When he found her, he was so overwhelmed by her beauty that he couldn’t help himself. He had to kiss her.”

Lucius stood, transfixed by her story. “What happened?”

She turned back to him and smiled. “She woke up. He carried her away and they married to live happily ever after.”

“Really? Hmm… that tale sounds definitely too fabricated to be true.” He answered before turning to look back at his sons remains. As he stared at him, he was overcome with emotion. Turning back to look at Hermione, he whispered in a broken voice. “Kiss him.”

Stepping back, Hermione gasped out loud. “What? Are you joking?” She pointed to Draco. “He’s dead, Lucius. Your sister-in-law killed him.”


Turning back to look at Draco’s form, Lucius scowled. “How? I see no marks on him. Even the Avada Kedavra leaves behind that terrible expression on one’s face that can’t be done away with.” He reached out as if to touch his son only to remember that there was no way he could touch him in his present form.

Desperation filled him at the thought. Swinging to face Hermione, he begged. “Please? What if Bella enchanted him to sleep? Perhaps he isn’t dead?”

Shaking her head, she answered. “Even if she did, the only reason that the prince’s kiss worked was because it was the kiss of love.” She touched a hand to her chest. “I may think he’s cute as sin, but I am not, have never been, and will never be in love with your son.”

Groaning in frustration, Lucius answered. “Yes, well… But I love him and I cannot touch him, so you’ll just have to do it for me.” When Hermione started to refuse again, he asked, “What if you discovered one of your best friends in a state such as this? Wouldn’t you try it, even knowing you weren’t in love with them?”

Feeling defeated by his logic, Hermione grimaced. “Oh, very well…” Moving to sit beside Draco for a moment, she stared down at his eternal beauty before leaning down to place a gentle kiss to his lips. His lips were warm.

Pulling back, she stared down at him, stunned. She waited to see if he would wake. After what felt like an eternity had passed, she turned back to Lucius with a look of defeat. “I have good news and I have bad news.”

He had been watching Draco with eyes that glistened with tears before returning Hermione’s gaze. “What?” he asked softly.

She sighed. “The good news is that I don’t think he’s dead either. The bad news is that I’m not the one that can wake him.”

Lucius stepped closer. “What makes you agree he’s not dead?” His voice was anxious and Hermione could feel his hope.

She reached out as if to comfort him, only to feel her hand slide through his form. Pulling back sadly, she whispered. “He’s warm.”

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A/N: Wow! Talk about an interesting turn of events. Okay… Now it’s that time… See below… that section that says, Leave a review??? Click … Please click!!! You know you want to… You know I want you to… Just give in to the impulse. You’ll feel so much better… I’ll feel so much better!