Darkness as black as ink swirled before Angelina's eyes, noise seeming to be muffled and far away.

Unfamiliar hands touched her. Familiar voices surrounded her.

A feeling in her body that had not been felt before, save brief moments before she would faint. Light head, tingling body, cool feeling cold feeling inside her body.

And her body seemed lighter. Although Angelina couldn't see it through the darkness, .she was sure her body was floating on rippling water, or lying upon a bed of silk. She felt like her body was upon something soft and gentle. It was a nice enough feeling...It reminded Angelina of the feel of Fleur's skin...warm, soft, and comforting.

Memories filled her calmed mind. Memories from every hour or every day of her life. Memories from the first hour to the......The last.

The darkness, black as ink, melted away when the last memory slowly invaded her mind. Fleur's beautiful voice weeping...

Angelina bolted up, and looked around wildly. 'Fleur?'



Grey shades around her made Angelina glance down, and she gasped. Her body was gray. Covered in the robes she had made for her wedding. Whoever it was to be with... Her warm dark brown skin, that Fleur would say reminded her of dark chocolate was dark gray now. Her entire body was gray and cold.

She was dead...She was the new ghost of Hogwarts, Angel of Gryffindor.

She was in Hogwarts still. And in a room that had only walls and one single wooden door. Candles burning placed on gold plated candleholders.

Angelina had been lying on a stone platform, which was covered in a rich embroidered tapestry of fire. The room itself was in rich, and warm colors. The floor was dark wood, the walls a lighter peach. Paintings from all eras lined the walls.

A bookshelf, with books that were older than any she'd seen before, and dusty. A table with a opened book. If the room hadn't been so dusty, it would have almost looked normal.

'Fleur? Katie? Licia?' Angelina called out, falling off the stone platform...and halfway into the think wooden boards. 'Anyone?'

A strong hand pulled her to her feet, and held her there. Angelina looked down into the face of the gray lady, who gave her a kindly smile. It was then Angelina noticed that ... she could feel the touch of the gray lady.

'It's never easy for a while, child.' Her voice soothed Angelina's nerves a little, as she hooked her arm into Angelina's and pulled her through the wall, into the library. 'Be happy that you were buried in beautiful robes, Angel.'

Angel's eyes had trailed to the other end of the library where a head of silver blonde hair was bent over a large book of photos, cascading over the face.

'Fleur!' She called, and the head started. 'Fleur!' Angelina hurried to the frozen figure that was the silver haired women, and she threw her arms around her...and fell through her to the other side.

She turned, and sheepishly grinned up at Fleur, from the middle of the table...Only to pause, her grin frozen.

Fleur was crying. She looked down at Angelina for a second, before running in the opposite direction, away from where the ghostly body of Angelina floated.

Angelina sat upon the highest tower, watching the brilliant reds and purples blend in the sky, fading into new colors, shifting. A beautiful sunset. It was so colorful...so bright...so beautiful.

She now was a gray thing, a ghost. Ugly, and tormented by what could have been avoided. Her own Fleur avoided her now. Or at least did a week ago. The sight of her love in tears was too much for Angelina. She decided to avoid the beautiful women after that.

Her gray fingers reached up to press the silver puncture marks on her neck, her stomach, and her hip. Not two, but over six. Six teeth marks, belonging to three different sets of teeth. Those marks were brighter than any other part on her neck. Two silver dots on her bare neck, visible from all sides through her body. The other two were hidden by the clothes she wore, only visible if she lifted them.

Angelina's neck and body were solid to her and to the other ghosts. Perhaps it should have been a comforting thing, to feel something at least, the embrace of the Grey Lady or the fat Friar...but it wasn't. She didn't want to feel nearly headless Nick hug her, with the arms that would be forever cold to her. She wanted Fleur's arms that were forever soft and warm, locking her in the love they had shared since the Yule Ball.

"Go away, please..." She softly pleaded, as a memory forced itself into her mind. The ghosts had warned her about it, but no matter how much warning...she could never be prepared. Angelina didn't want to remember. But she had no choice, as the scene played itself out.

(Angelina stood outside the door to the home she'd lived in for over a year now. She reached into her pocket, fingering a thin silver chain, and a ring nervously. Fleur was inside, her voice drifting outside. She was singing, enchanting, calling to her lover...and so Angelina obeyed, as she did every evening....)

The memory cut off, imendantly followed by another one.

(...Angelina's hand was grasping Fleur's, a ring in her other hand, that moved in between them both.

"Marry me, Fleur?" She whispered softly, her dark eyes locked in Fleur's.

Tears were threatening Fleur's eyes, Angelina could see the wetness pricking them gently, as Fleur's hand wiped her face with the back of her hand. She couldn't believe it...She didn't want it? Was Angelina wrong?

Fleur's mouth opened, but no words came out. Nodding her head in agreement instead.

Fleur blushed. "Oui," she finally managed, even just barely.

Fleur's arms wrapped around Angelina tighter than before, as if she never wanted to loose her... "I love you," she repeated, like a chant.

It was a dream; it had to be. Angelina kissed Fleur's neck softly, trying to hold onto the goddess that clung to her, that cried for her, that wanted her.

Fleur rested her palm on Angelina's cheek lovingly, and repeated the words one more time before once again leaning in and kissing her.

"Never let me go," she whispered between kisses, "Don't ever leave me, Angelina."

Angelina pulled Fleur close, stroking her back, kissing back, and answering with promises of love and forever.

"I'll never let you go, Fleur. I love you."

With that, she gently picked up her fiancée, and carried her to their shared bed. "I won't let go...")

It was her fault, and that pained Angelina more than anything else could. She had started the fight. She had yelled at Fleur, been jealous of the male attention they had gotten from dawn to dusk that day...

The events in her mind were shadowy. But, Angelina could remember storming out, into the night. She had been heading for the bar... but there had been three. Three shadowed creatures, all ugly and leering at her as they held her down. They drained her, not of blood but of magic, the prime thing a witch needed...Their faces were all pale, and dark featured, the red-black lips leering at her, as they came up for breaks, before returning to her body. With the magic being drained, so was her life. Angelina's body was found the next morning.

~)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(~

Disclaimer for all fics in this writer's name:

I do not own this world of Harry Potter. I own some Original Characters (OC's), when I become Out Of Character (OOC), the personalities are more mine, however they remain JKR's property.

I'm making no profit from this work. Just enjoyment.