Chapter One.

"I hate you." The silver woman with the deep-set eyes and wild, dark hair glared at the other silver woman standing beside her, light silver hair almost glittering. Both of them appeared younger than they had when they died, the change doing wonders for the ghost of Rita Skeeter, while the ghost of Bellatrix Lestrange cursed about it. Her Azkaban robes had never looked good on her, while the 30 year old Rita looked marvellous in a nice white shirt and skirt. Bellatrix had old wounds adorning her skin, while Rita had fresh wounds covering everywhere, scars never able to form due to the lack of time.

"Don't push it, Bellatrix." They stood in front of an old castle, older than both of them and most of the ghostly inhabitants. For some reason, the two had both come to haunt this place, leaving the destination of their deaths together, despite a shared hatred that ran deep in their no longer functional veins. They had died seconds apart, Rita's ghost rising first, watching the aurors tiptoe through puddles of her blood and excrement to see if she was still breathing, their attempts to revive her useless. Bellatrix had risen a heartbeat after her, screaming and attempting to curse her murderers, to no avail. They just laughed at the ghost, the shell of a formerly powerful woman, and carried her body off to Mungos.

Rita didn't know why she had stayed with Bellatrix. Maybe it was an odd sense of duty, similar to feeling responsible for someone born on the same birthday. Nevertheless, they had come to this place of learning together, floating through the open door into the Entrance Hall. A few students recognised the pair and ran away, afraid of the wrath of the most feared women in Britain, although they were feared for different reasons. It didn't take long for a collection of ghosts to assemble around the pair, all pondering what to do with them. Whispers of 'they can't stay here' and 'whatever will we do' filled the air, and, almost simultaneously, the women crossed their arms angrily.

"You can't make us go, we're staying here." Rita proclaimed loudly, her eyes on nobody else but Nick. He looked absolutely shocked, the charms she usually placed on herself had gone, and only the raw Rita stood in front of him. Agreeing, Bellatrix nodded, glaring at every ghost she could see.

"Absolutely. We're staying and that is final."