Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Contest: Finals Round 1. Prompts used were "Must you?" and Freak.
The Astronomy Tower is the single coldest place in the entire castle. It stands right above the entrance doors, the tallest tower in Hogwarts, colder than the dungeons. The stones seem to absorb the chill of the air surrounding it and the winds never die down. Not many people like going up there, even for secret rendezvous' in the night.
It's one of the reasons why the Bloody Baron likes the place.
It's silent there, and he finds that he often spends many of his nights just floating in place, looking out over Hogwarts. The chill doesn't bother him; most things don't bother ghosts. It's just as well that the other ghosts avoid the place, so he has it all to himself.
It stops the voices in his head too, if only momentarily. They taunt him, have always been taunting him, and there's nothing he can do to stop them.
-X-
You have no right to die. Bear your shame forever.
-X-
He gets company though. Sometimes, the students will come up, and then they'll either turn away, or stay; and often they'll look warily at him before settling down somewhere far away. He supposes it's the blood and the chains. It's scares people, even the little ones in his house.
It's his own punishment though, and he bears it silently.
The student's that stay though, they're the ones to watch out for. They're the insecure ones, the odd ones, and he always casts a careful eye at them.
-X-
Live on. Live on as a ghost. You will get no respite in death.
-X-
It started a long time ago. 12th century, maybe. He didn't really think much of it at the time. After all, students were living, in a far different century as him, and they didn't relate to him much.
That was, until he arrived on the tower and he remembered seeing a boy, young, recently arrived, staring down over the edge.
"Must you?" he remembered asking. "Dying hurts quite a lot."
The boy whirled around at that, wild-eyed.
"I-I don't care," he stammered out. But after casting another fearful look down the edge, he cautiously backed away.
After a prolonged silence, the boy eventually sat heavily down on the coldstones, shivering in the night air. They remained like that for another while, silently sitting side by side.
Then finally, the boy got up again, and he headed for the door. He paused by the threshold.
"You can't stop me," he said. Then he left, shoulders hunched.
The boy did come back after all. A couple days later saw the door creaking open, and a cautious face peeking out. He drifted into view, and the boy stumbled back a bit, eyes widened in surprise.
Then, he squared himself, and a determined expression slid across his face.
"I don't care if you're watching," he said. "I'll jump."
He watched as the boy marched resolutely to the edge.
"In death," he says, "you become nothing."
He watches the boy clench his fists and loosen them.
"Live," he says.
The boy leaves, and doesn't come back.
-X-
Repent for your sins.
-X-
Sometimes he sits with them silently, and sometimes he talks with them. It takes him a while to realize he doesn't want to leave the place for long. The Astronomy Tower calls him, sings to him, and he remains in its embrace.
A call to the lost and the lonely.
-X-
That's right. This is your punishment.
-X-
The Luna girl is a bit odd. A bit of a freak, even amongst those in the castle. She dances alone on the platform, seemingly oblivious to the cold, and she sings and hums absently to herself. Sometimes, she lies on the floor staring up at the stars without blinking for minutes. Sometimes, she'll bring something with her; a book, a quill, some parchment.
He doesn't think she notices him watching from the shadows.
That is, until she makes conversation.
"Hello Sir Baron," she says tilting her head as she glances in his direction. And he blinks, slow and languid at her. "I'm Luna. What's your name?"
"You've just said it," he says.
She laughs. "That's just a title, silly!"
But she doesn't press for the name he'd rather not give.
"Would you like to join me?" she asks. "Lurking around in those shadows all the time must get awfully boring."
He concedes, and she spends the rest of the night telling him about the people in the stars.
-X-
You are nothing. Scum.
-X-
He is perhaps most surprised to see the Malfoy boy here. The Bloody Baron remembers him well. He remembers floating over to him at the welcoming ceremony, and he remembers the arrogance and the pride that had practically oozed out of the boy. He remembers the repulsed look on his face as he settled next to him.
A pureblood, through and through.
Now, he doesn't look so certain of himself. He's huddled over and his arms are wrapped tightly around his body, looking locked and defensive against the world. He hasn't noticed the Baron yet, and for a moment, he thinks of leaving the place.
But he doesn't. He floats closer, and closer, and ever closer and asks, "Why are you here?"
The Malfoy boy startles, and casts him a fierce look upon recognition. "Do I need a reason to be?"
The Baron is silent for a moment, as he considers. The Malfoy boy has already turned away for a long while before he answers.
"No," he says back. "But everyone has a reason to be here."
The boy doesn't respond.
-X-
What do you think you're doing? You're useless. You can't do anything. You never could.
-X-
He comes back again and the Baron is waiting for him. And he comes back again, and again, and again. There comes a time when the Baron is spending more time in his company than not, and it's a strange thought. They still haven't exchanged a word since that first day, and he's fine with it. They simply sit side by side, as he did with that first boy that came along.
They're all the same. Like him, he can almost say. They're lost, and the Astronomy Tower draws them in like moths to a flame.
And he stays here and watches over, like he always does.
The stars dance across the sky, never changing, and maybe seconds pass, maybe minutes. Maybe the Malfoy boy has found something, some solace in him.
"The war is coming," the Malfoy boy says, and his voice is quiet and shaking.
"It is," he says back.
"What… what do I do?"
The Baron turns, and regards him. The Malfoy boy stares back, searching desperately for an answer in his eyes.
"Something you won't regret," he says finally.
The boy blinks. A heartbeat passes, and he slowly nods. He gets up.
"Thank you," he says, and he doesn't turn to face you, but his voice, while still weak, is stronger and unwavering. He leaves, steadily.
The Bloody Baron waits a moment, before following. The Astronomy Tower has lost its pull on him. He'll come back though, for all the others who are lost.
And just like that, the voices in his head stop.