Summary: can ghosts fall in love? We see the story of our favorite couple through the eyes of a ghost..Read this if your looking for something a bit different…D/H. R&R.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot..
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Merry Men Of Hogwarts
Chapter-1
Sir Nicolas de Mimsy-Porpington had always thought that the Podmore Realm for Ghosts and Ghouls would be a little different from what had been The Headless Hunt. But to his utter dismay and disgrace, having turned up to join the inaugural party at Sir Patrick's residence on the second floor of the castle was an insult to his pride, for the witches and wizards gathered there were either without their heads, or had come with the sole intention of passing through the stale cauldron cakes and drinking to the ill health of a troubled soul about to move on.
The idea of being denied participation in the affairs of the evening hurt him so much that he'd exited with an almost complete turn of the head, to show them how rudely it had affected him, almost hoping that his head would come off in the sudden movement. However, there was no such luck.
so, here was Nicolas, floating through the hands of the towerclock when his musings were interrupted by the Grey Lady, who was patient enough to listen to his grievances about the ghost community.
She'd fixed him with a kind transparent eye all along and looked as if she'd have loved to do something about it.
However, as righteous and noble as Sir Nicolas was, he refused to bother any other soul, dead or living that is, with the burden of his problems and with that, he had been left alone to float his way to the astronomy tower-
On his way, he came across a student from his house roaming the corridor. pleased as he was to offer his help to the girl and help her find her way back to the commons, he zoomed up behind a nearby statue and composed himself.
"young lady, are you lost-?" he wanted to ask her, had he not been disrupted by a tall slytherin boy showing up suddenly at the other end of the corridor.
now it wasn't in nick's nature to pry, but he couldn't help feeling that something significant was about to happen here and so, at once, the ghost disappeared into the walls and showed himself in a landscape painting, carefully watching them.
"Malfoy!" the girl stopped in her tracks. She began accusations, "what on earth are you doing here?! you were supposed to be patrolling the towers!"
"why, I thought…" said the boy in a long, false drawl, "if I could get you to accompany me there, it wouldn't be so lonely after all. Want to come and make a night of it?"
he smirked a particular smirk.
Nick supposed that, before the boy got any bolder, it would be wise to intervene. "not slacking on your duties, are you my boy?" asked the ghost, watching him move back.
"where did you come from?" cried Malfoy, his lips quivering as he tried to hide his embarrassment. He took another step backwards, "get away from me!" he yelled at the ghost, then, took off in the opposite direction.
"I should have known he'd do that. I've been watching him all along and could feel his cowardice - " He turned to find the corridor empty. The girl was gone.
()
The weather had turned cool over the days. The Grey Lady had sent him a box of moulded chocolates with a note asking him to forget his grievances and come and join her and the rest of the Hogwarts ghosts for tea outside in the afternoon.
Upon being asked so heartily and the prospects of the day being so pleasant, he accepted the invitation and found himself reasonably spirited for the rest of the morning.
During tea time, Nick had wandered off from the party when he heard a shrill voice echo down the lake side.
Nick turned in the direction of the sound and saw the same Gryffindor girl he'd met the previous night standing stiffly with her hands on her hips, caught up in a disagreement with the same slytherin boy he'd seen slacking on his duties. He was sprawling out on the grass beside her, with a text book open up against his chest and squinting up at her with a least bit of interest. Numerous books with pages fluttering in the wind were beside him and the ink pot holding the quill was about to tip off. It seemed like a very important study session was falling apart.
"fine. Go off, Granger– but don't blame me when I tell McGonagal about this!" said the boy languidly from the ground. "she'll be wanting to see you then and I hope she takes away your extra credit marks for not tutoring me the right way!"
the girl was fuming, he could see her face heating up. "ugh, Malfoy!! you make me sick!!" she kicked the about-to-tip-off inkpot towards him and the colour spilled right on top of the blonde boy's grey sweater and over his books.
Uh-oh. The boy was angry now…
He grabbed the girl's ankle and pulled her down, got on top of her and arrested her cry with snarling words, "what did you say?"
Nick put a hand over his mouth to cover the gasp rendered fit for the occasion. He could see the girl trembling underneath him and suddenly, all his problems were a million miles away, under coffin lids.
"I said you make me sick, Malfoy!!" shouted the girl to his face as he cut down her defenses. "you make me so sick, you make me want to puke! So, get off me and lead on your sodding life how you want to without my help!! ugh! you pesky piece of owl dropping!!"
with all her strength, she pushed him off and rolled onto her side. Getting up, she made a straight run through the bushes.
In all his years! He daresay...in all his years! Such behavior. He would have to talk to the Bloody Baron about this.
()
The Fat Lady was, of course, fat. But fat never equaled her to being unattractive. Here we have her sharing a few cozy moments with Sir Cadogan under the shade of the blossom tree with shedding leaves to match the colour of her dress.
"oh, I love you, sir."
"no, Madame, I love you."
"oh no, don't be silly, my knight! I love you more…"
"will you two stop acting so ridiculous?!" came an offended voice from outside the frame.
Draco Malfoy was almost green in the face.
The Fat Lady stared back, shocked. "I'm sorry, but you could have at least made yourself known!!" with a hhmpph, she demanded the password from him.
"no, I'm just here to meet…someone," replied the boy.
"fine then! just wait outside - I mean, somewhere far away where you can't see us."
"I'll be glad-" he held up his hands and shifted his way into the shadows, barely able to shut himself from the woman's sentimental crooning and cooing.
Finally, the one he'd been waiting for did come, tagging along behind her friends.
As Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley gave the password and entered the commonroom ("did you see what she was doing?!" "Ron, I was trying not to look." "she was cuddling him!! can you believe it?"), she stayed back to check on some of her papers – and then, out of the blue, a pair of arms grabbed her by the arms and wrapped themselves tightly around her.
The papers dropped from her hands and she gasped, turning around and coming face to face with Malfoy.
"didn't think you could wriggle out that fast, did you now?" whispered the boy into her ears with a dangerous edge to his voice. "do I make you sick, Granger?"
Hermione tried not to react to him feeling her body, for deep inside, she knew better than to aggravate him further. she closed her eyes and said, "god, no."
"what if I keep on saying 'hermione', 'hermione' , 'hermione'? would it make you sick to hear me say your name right into your ears like this? would it really make you sick?"
"stop it, Malfoy!" she shouted at him, trying to loosen his grip on her hands.
"now, now, boy, do calm yourself down," said a third voice warningly. "you better let go of the poor thing, or we are going to have some trouble…" It was the Fat Lady, Sir-Cadogan-free, and she was standing at the side frame of the portrait, watching them wearily.
"stuff it, woman!" Malfoy yelled back at her. He let go of the girl.
"we'll see about who gets stuffed, dear boy, meanwhile, I suggest you behave decently, for we'll be watching you…" with the final warning look, she moved into the centre of the frame.
()
"you had to say that to her face, didn't you?" sparked Hermione, rubbing her wrists gingerly. he'd held them strong and signs of that vice grip were beginning to show. "anyways, what is it that you want?"
Draco's grey eyes flitted back to her.
he began in his classic slow drawl. "when I first came here, what I first wanted to do was-"
"will you quit being cocky and just tell me what you want?-"
his eyes flashed. From his leaning position, he walked up to the girl on the other side. Initially she had, on his move, folded her hands. he tried to ignore it and holding back his smirk, pulled out something from the pockets of his robes and handed it over to her.
"take it, it won't bite."
It was her textbook; the one she'd left at the lake. She took it from him and breathed a sigh that this was over. "yeah. Okay."
She was about to slip past him when he held her back once more.
"I also wanted to tell you that I'm sorry."
"what?" she asked, trying to sound uninterested but actually being truly bewildered.
Malfoy took a step back and shrugged, "I'm just sorry, okay? hope you didn't take it too seriously…"
And he walked off, pausing only the distance to slap his forehead, saying, "damn!"
()
the Bloody Baron was pointing towards the slytherin table, at Malfoy, most particularly, at his smirk, and chuckling.
Nick tried to decipher what was it that was so funny and found nothing even remotely unique about the moment.
"I do not see how a young lad like that can resist the charms of any blossoming witch like that of your house, and how you can be so brutally against their puppy love." The slytherin ghost's lips were stretched to form a thin, very tight smile.
"well!" coughed Nick, floating along with him down the tables, "they definitely seemed to have brought out your sensitive side."
"would you like to see what I'm talking about? Nick, maybe you and I should have a tour of the corridors."
"not now. I have a thousand other things on my mind than watching my students carry forward their 'puppy' love…" and Nicholas turned his head away, disgruntled at the prospect of having to hear illogical explanations from a crazy, mad ghost.
but he was curious.
the morning breeze set life to everything in its pathway. Everything from the dense seeds of buttercups, to the plants in the greenhouses. Even the ghosts took pleasure in exposing themselves to it for a short while.
"I'm amazed I haven't seen Peeves around," said the slytherin ghost when they'd reached the highest window of the Great Hall. "hasn't come down from the dungeon ceiling for days. I hope he's not up to something…"
()
Classes were going on. Snape was livid. His assignments were not turned in by half the class and not one of them felt the sting of detention when he'd announced it. "why couldn't he just give us capitol punishment in Azkaban? That way we'd never have to see his slimy face again!" Ron hurriedly whispered to the black haired boy staring calmly at his professor, having experienced the teachers fury only too often. "Ouch! Was that you, Seamus?"
Ron was holding the back of his head as if he'd been hit with a pebble.
It took a few seconds, then, a shower of transparent icicles fell from the ceiling.
The students grabbed the opportunity to run out of the dungeon while their potions master cast spells to exercise control over the rain of ice drops. Peeves floated about the classroom on his back, looking thoroughly content at the ruckus he'd managed to create.
In the hellish situation that prevailed, none could capture the priceless moment were an enemy ceased the hand of another enemy and pulled her out the classroom and disappeared with her up the stairs.
Filch waddled into the classroom, pushing through students and hitting the bothersome ones in the eye. Once he arrived at the spot in one distinguishable piece (Mrs. Norris struggled her way to his feet and was observing the scene with rapture), he was yelled at through boar horns, "do something about it, you man, without just standing there!!"
()
"we need to catch the one behind this."
Malfoy was trying to keep it together, holding out his wand in alert. He gestured her to follow.
But as stubborn as she was, and as suspicious as she could be, Hermione Granger knew better than to think that he of all the people would use this as a chance to do good to the student population. So she stood there, rooted to the spot, firmly placing her hands on her hips and staring him down like he was a mad nutter.
"wha-aren't you coming? You're a prefect, do you have any idea?!"
he looked her up and down. "by the way, you look hot like that."
Hermione rolled her eyes to high heaven. For the love of god! "I know this is going to lead to the towers, and I keep telling you, I'm not coming!"
"geez, like I had any of that in my mind-!" the boy winked at her.
"yeah, right."
A pair of eyes kept watch on them all along their little quest. A pair of large, mad eyes that popped up in armors and maiden paintings. Through the walls, two figures moved - glided, rather.
"you'll see what I'm talking about, Nick. Its all just a matter of time…"
"oh, believe me, I can already hear the laughs and squeals…gibberish…what is it that these people see in each other?!"
Sir Nicolas lifted his hat for the ghost of Lady Ollerten who'd chosen to drift along their path and who unknowingly passed through our characters. He heard them shriek on the side.
"I'm afraid I can't give you the answer to that," the baron said with a crooked smile, "but maybe, if you'd fall in love, you'll know…"
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A/N: sumthing a bit different.. second chapter coming up soon!
R&R…