Disclaimer: I don't own.
AN: Written for the 'Perfect Murder' Competition by Jollyfish.
Stories have beginnings and endings. At least that's the way people like to see it. In reality, life is seldom so straightforward. Take mine for example. You could say it started with the second wizarding war and the Battle of Hogwarts and how it left my father isolated by both sides. His fellow pureblood fanatics saw him as a traitor; even his girlfriend Pansy shunned him. Probably not a bad thing from my perspective though, it meant that he noticed my mother for the first time. Then they fell in love, got married and rather crucially, had me.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this stunningly handsome and awesome wizard you see standing here in front of you might never have been born had it not been for the Malfoy fall from grace. Overall, I'd say that's a pretty fortunate outcome, wouldn't you?
Although in this case, I would probably say that it started one sunny day towards the end of my last summer at Hogwarts. I had a speech to do at my graduation ceremony (a new thing some clever idiot had come up with and not a good one.) I had to stand up in front of a huge crowd on a stage at the front of the Great Hall. Even someone as awesome as me is entitled to a few doubts, right? Especially as it's literally the first one ever done at Hogwarts. Yeah, doubts are to be expected. Fortunately Rose was helping me prepare behind the scenes of the stage we were using.
"Now just remember what we said during training. Breath deep and don't let your nerves get the better of you," she said to me and I gave her one of my million galleon smiles that made girls go weak at the knees. Well, most girls anyway. I'm pretty sure that Rose is about as immune to them as anyone can be. She just gave me a friendly punch on the arm, Well, I hope it was friendly, but with Rose, she has a tendency to leave me with a dead arm. Probably why she's the best beater at Hogwarts.
Anyway, I digress. I have to admit, when Rose punched me in the arm, it was surprisingly reassuring. No matter how I did up on the stage today, I could always count on the little things. Like Rose giving me a dead arm, stuff like that. Suitably reassured, I stepped out onto the platform and found myself staring at a mass of faces. Some I recognised like Mr Potter and Mrs Weasley and my parents. Some I didn't, like the photographer from the Daily Prophet (that's who I guess he was) and various adults and students I didn't know.
Anyway, I stepped up onto the stage and walked up to the podium. I licked my lips slightly and swallowed. Although the taint of being a Malfoy had long since passed while I was at Hogwarts, I could practically hear the reporter hoping that I'd make a mistake or say something typically Malfoy that would prove I'm the same old person my dear old grandfather used to be. Yeah, I'm a bit on the cynical side when it comes to the wizarding press.
Anyway, I digress yet again. Anyway, I stood up and cleared my throat, before leaning to the magical microphone and beginning my prepared speech. (Although I still say that announcing myself as Lord Voldemort's heir was what the people really wanted to hear)
"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen," I began in a clear voice, "Welcome to the first Hogwarts graduation ceremony." I paused for a bit there and took a deep breath. This next part was going to be long.
"In many ways, we're luckier than our parents generation and our grandparents generation as well. We don't have a Dark Lord to worry about," at this comment, I saw my dad wince uncomfortably. It might be fair to say he didn't come out of the war smelling of roses. But hey, the headmaster wanted it in the speech. "And we can say that we are free to work and do as we wish without being judged on who our parents were.
When I first came to Hogwarts, I was a little apprehensive that my background would be held against me and there were a few people who did just that. But amongst the people of Hogwarts, I found a welcoming and friendly community." At that point I paused and smiled. "And on the train, on that very first day that every student always remembers, I met the most loyal, trustworthy, amazing friend I ever had. And nothing could symbolise how much Hogwarts can help you show just how different you are from your parents than our friendship. At Hogwarts, our fathers hated one another and yet we are as close as family. I'm talking, of course, about Rose Weasley."
At that point, things went a bit pear-shaped. Well actually very pear-shaped and then some. I waved my arm out to the side in a nice flashy manner, as we planned. Rose stepped onto the platform as she was supposed to. But there were a couple of things that really should have flashed up a few red alerts to me. Firstly, she had her wand in her hand and it was definitely her wand, I'd recognise it anywhere. Secondly, she had a look of hatred on her face that I'd never seen before and certainly never directed at me. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen Rose look at anyone with that kind of anger. Perhaps that's why I felt a sudden, sharp feeling of apprehension.
"Avada Kedavra!" she shouted and a green light sped towards me and slammed into my chest. Then I charged at her as she turned and ran away.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I really am too awesome to be killed by something as insignificant as a killing curse. Well more likely it simply didn't have enough force behind it or something. Anyway, I chased Rose through to the backstage area where I saw something I did not expect.
Rose the murderer, running past an unconscious…Rose. I actually paused when I saw that. Somewhere along the line, Rose the murderer dropped the wand at the feet of the unconscious Rose. (Look, I'm trying to still handle the weirdness of the situation, okay! Sheesh, cut me some slack guys!) When I finally stopped staring at the unconscious Rose, I realised that my would-be murderer had vanished. Would have saved us a lot of time if I had just kept following her, but never mind. As I'd already lost her, I switched my attention to Rose.
"Rose! Rose!" I shouted at her and she groaned and opened her eyes, just as Mr Potter, Mr and Mrs Weasley and a whole host of other witches and wizards charged in, all pointing their wands at Rose. Unfortunately, Rose doesn't handle situations like this very well. She's a very smart girl, but under pressure and under dangerous situations, she has a tendency to…panic I'm ashamed to say. She's my best friend, but she didn't inherit whatever it is that kept her parents cool during the war. She tried to grab her wand and that was all it took. One of the parents there stunned her with a well-aimed stunner.
"There was no need for that!" I shouted, but nobody noticed me or even acknowledged I had even spoken. I tried again. "It wasn't her, it was someone else! Guys, come on, I'm right here."
I was ignored. Mr Potter picked up Rose's wand and cast a quick Prior Incantato spell on Rose's wand and no surprise it showed a killing curse being cast. I could have saved them the bother, I knew the wand that had been used, I was bloody well close enough!
"We're going to have to take Rose in for questioning," Harry told Mr and Mrs Weasley with a grim expression on his face and a look of fear crossed Mrs Weasley's face.
"You can't seriously believe it was her!" she protested. "Harry, I'm begging you, after all of the th-"
"No, I don't believe it was her, at least, not of her own free will," Mr Potter said grimly. "But she was seen and I suspect that whoever it was is likely to go after her next."
There was a stunned silence from Rose's parents. Personally I was beginning to feel a little put out at being ignored. I mean, I WAS the target of the assassination attempt after all, shouldn't I be entitled to some protection?
"Surely I should go with her?" I asked with a slight tone of annoyance. I really should have known then what was happening, but hey, I was in shock for Merlin's sake, I was feeling a bit slow! Unfortunately I wasn't able to put it off any longer when two stretcher-bearers walked past me with a limp dead body on a stretcher. More specifically, my dead body. Yes ladies and gentlemen, the world was forced to suffer the loss of my awesomeness. I have to tell you, it was a pretty surreal experience. I think I…left after that, I'm not sure exactly what happened. All I know is that the next thing I know, I'm here in the Great Hall and I'm trying to figure out what happened.
Actually, I know precisely what happened. For some crazy reason, the heavens or whatever controls the afterlife and stuff has decided to give me a chance to find out who killed me. It sure as hell isn't going to be the Ministry, they convicted Rose with my murder and despite Mr Potter and the Weasley family and even my own parents speaking about how close we were, they sent her to Azkaban for THIRTY YEARS! It might be fair to say I'm more than a little angry about how it all played out, all in all it was a right mess.
Unfortunately, I'm not exactly a ghost in the normal sense. I can't even go up to the Ministry and TELL them they've got the wrong person. It appears that not a single living person can see me. So now I'm on my way to find out who really killed me. Because getting murdered by someone who looks like my best friend is NOT how I planned to die. Really it isn't. Especially at eighteen. And Rose needs my help. She deserves better than a cell in Azkaban.
So here I am looking for clues for an event that took place almost six months ago.
Oh, did I forget to mention it? Yeah, it took the heavenly beaucrats six months to let me go. SIX MONTHS! They need a good kick up the backside. Finding evidence is going to be tricky. Because that's how you commit the perfect murder under everyone's nose. You don't need fancy weapons or clever spells. No, all you need to do is to look like someone else.