"Granger, put your wand away," Draco tsked, "You can't hurt a ghost."
"Blimey! a fucking ghost?" Ron exclaimed. "How? I've never seen a ghost that isn't...you know...really old."
The redhead's wife lowered her wand nervously. "The spectres we grew up around were all from a life a great number of years in the past," she agreed, watching the late Lucius Malfoy walk to the side of his son, his ethereal form moving without any sound at all.
The clothes he wore were identical to those he died in, down to the bloody tatters on his chest. His one eye also matched the sight Hermione and the aurors had seen. It was crushed inside the socket, a messy outline of the damaged tissue and bodily gunk from his physical life.
The man, the phantom, said nothing as he took a spot close to the concealed window. Harry studied him carefully, observing that though released from his human life, Lucius seemed distraught. Even so, he retained a strict demeanor.
"Mr. Malfoy," Harry stepped forward. "What happened to you?"
The deceased deatheater turned his vision back to the auror, his chest lifting heavily once, twice, before he lightly rolled his eyes, continuing his silence.
"Can you not speak?" Harry pushed.
The ghost of Lucius Malfoy then looked at his son with a stern expression. The living Malfoy sighed, "He can, but it's not understandable."
"How so?" Ron asked.
"I don't know. Sounds like another language, perhaps? I'm not sure," Draco admitted. "I also don't know why he's still here."
"I remember talking to Nearly-headless Nick once about the same thing," the lead auror shared. "I didn't get why there weren't more spirits around...why I couldn't see my parents... He told me that ghosts were people who died but were afraid to leave what they knew behind. He said their fear kept them tied here as a shadow of the person they once were."
"Einai geloio na nomizo oti tha fovomoun afto," Lucius scoffed, his voice sounded as pompous as it ever had even if nobody understood his actual words.
"Oh, I see what you mean," Ginny spoke softly.
"I figured Granger might be able to pick it out," the ghost's son interjected.
All eyes turned to Hermione, the girl adjusting herself and clearing her throat in response, "I'm not a linguist," she said, "but it doesn't sound familiar. It's not Latin, like most spells are."
Lucius seemed to be having difficulty hiding his frustration for he kept fidgeting and shifting in his feet instead of keeping the steady posture natural to him.
"Potter, who is that man you asked us about? I have a right to know what you know," Draco demanded.
Harry sighed, "We can't know that he-"
"That's bullshit and you know it!" the auror's past rival yelled. "I've tried talking to father now about him and he might not be able to communicate clearly, but I know that bastard killed him."
Harry and Ron exchanged glances with each other and their wives before Harry spoke again, "Alright. Draco, this is exactly what we've been trying to figure out: who he is and what his motives are. We do know he was involved with your father and Voldemort." Harry shifted his eyes to Lucius then, who was listening intently, "And we know that he threatened you shortly before you died."
The ghost's eyes flashed between anger and depressed realization of his state. His pale face finally rested on a mood of agitated disdain at the current situation.
"Can you tell us anything about Gerald?" Ron asked with surprising calm.
Lucius sighed and shook his head.
"Was he who killed you?" Hermione asked next.
Lucius took a step back, looking down at the floor and shaking his head more violently before shouting, "Ochi! Ochi!"
His hands reached up to his head, grabbing it as if it were hurting him though ghosts couldn't feel pain, could they? He yelled the strange word one more time, his son appearing to start panicking as his father's ghost disappeared into the air, leaving a gush of cold wind behind.
"What did he just tell you?" Draco spat, "He literally cannot communicate about his death or about Gerald Davis. Believe me, I've already been trying."
All of the young wizards including the heir to the manor looked around the room, but there was no sign of Lucius' phantom. His son took in a deep breath and rubbed his brow with two fingers. Harry watched as he did so. The evil man his father had been or not, this whole ordeal couldn't be easy in any way for him.
"Sorry, Draco," the dark haired investigator apologized. "Did he leave you anything that would clue us to what happened or reveal anything about Gerald?"
The ex-deatheater dropped his hand from his forehead and looked at Harry, "Yeah, he did," he trailed off a moment, but not long enough for any further prompting from his guests, "Come here."
Draco slipped past the aurors and walked out of the room. Back in the hall, the group found their way to a second, slightly smaller bedroom. Hurriedly, the young Malfoy led them inside. Its setup was similar to that of his parents, but there were more items in the room including a few things that looked to be antique children's toys. They all concluded it had been Draco's room.
The white headed man led them straight to a frame sitting on the navy blue decorated bed with its front hidden from view. He took hold of the piece, turning it around to face the group. It was a portrait of Lucius Malfoy. The recently deceased was dressed in formal robes, criticizing eyes gazing back at his audience as he breathed easily.
"I had to prove to him who I was, but he did tell me some things about this Gerald," Draco informed his old classmates and then turned back to the animated painting, "Father, tell me again about Gerald Davis."
"My son, this man is destructive, loyal only to himself, and he is dangerous...unpredictable," the wizard paused. "When I first joined with the dark lord, he introduced me to Gerald Davis. I can't say I outright distrusted him at the start as Voldemort never seemed anything less than trustful of his friend. However, I never liked the man. Necromancy is not commonplace magic and Gerald was a skilled necromancer. Not only that, but he has the capability of performing magic without a wand, much like a lowly elf or goblin. The dark lord obviously was capable of performing some necromantik spells, but his companion's power in this area was...unprecedented though he fell short in most other studies. Nonetheless, he was a valuable ally...so long as it suited him.
"Gerald wasn't a servant to the dark lord. He didn't care about our mission nor did the lives affected concern him. He made this abundantly clear to me on many occasions with violent outbursts, sometimes even physically attacking me usually unprovoked and even having the audacity to disrespect Lord Voldemort to his face. And even though the dark lord often treated these outbursts simply as jokes between old companions, I knew it wasn't so. This was fully proven to me once when he was in a foul mood and attacked Gerald after one of these 'jokes.' I thought surely he was going to kill him...but he didn't. He did, however lock him away in the dungeons of my home, torturing him daily for weeks before finally releasing him. It was several years before I saw or heard anything of Gerald again. I do believe that this attitude was why he remained an ally hidden from the others.
"I initially thought Gerald followed the dark lord out of boredom, but after a handful of encounters, I pieced together that Voldemort held something over him. I did not figure out what this was. As I've stated though, the man never reflected care for anyone or anything so whatever it was must have been tied to his own well-being.
"In the beginning, Voldemort used Gerald to create an army of inferi. The Necromancer easily slaughtered hundreds of muggle peasants, reanimating their corpses to aid in protecting and defending as the dark lord wished. He conferred with the dead to gather secrets and entry into cursed areas so that we could build our army's strength.
"You are well aware of the horcruxes created by Lord Voldemort. I discovered this earlier than the others. The first of these were made while he was still a student at Hogwarts. The death of a girl named Myrtle Warren and that of his own muggle father. However, the use of such powerful magic took a heavy toll on the creator, leaving them vulnerable for a period of time, as if wounded.
"Voldemort found that through using Gerald's skills, this effect was greatly reduced as the strain was put on him, leaving the dark lord only to deal with adjusting to the new thinning of his soul. Furthermore, being a master in this magic, Gerald was stressed far less in doing so as it was much easier for him. Voldemort told me himself that he would not have succeeded in so many splits without this help. But there is something more that has confused me...that being how he is still alive.
"Gerald's usefulness ended when he defied Lord Voldemort and refused to lend his aid anymore. This happened to do with James and Lily Potter."
Harry's body clenched at the sound of the deatheater speaking his parents' names. His eyes flitted about the room without turning his head and he could see that all the others except Draco had darted their attention to him momentarily.
"A major part of necromancy is divination," the portrait continued. "After the prophecy regarding his fall, Lord Voldemort ordered Gerald to attempt communion in order to learn more. Though he didn't refuse this command, the dark lord voiced to me his suspicions that Gerald wasn't actually doing what he asked. He told me that Gerald had wanted him dead for some time.
"I was careful with my approach, but more or less asked why Gerald had never left nor made attempts on his life if that were so, as it was obvious he had no respect or even fear of the dark lord. His response was vague. I hadn't really expected more. All he said was, 'Because I own him.' He then proceeded in informing me that he had called Gerald and that when he came, if he had nothing to share, he was going to ask him to go with me to kill the Potters and kidnap Harry.
"He showed up. He gave nothing...and he refused to take part in this plan. I had seen the man kill wizard, witch, and muggle alike. Some for no other reason than, and I quote, 'I felt like it is all.' I firmly doubt it had anything to do with the boy's age either. No, I do believe it was as Lord Voldemort had said.
"The funniest part is, is that he offered the dark lord friendship while declining to lend his magic or aid. I waited patiently for him to be murdered. He gave a feeble attempt to defend himself by throwing the killing curse at Lord Voldemort and was easily subdued. I called for the brawn of a pair of mindless drones at my disposal under Voldemort's order. He wanted Gerald taken to the same graveyard where Tom Riddle Sr. had been laid to rest.
"When he came to and saw his new surroundings, he rose to his feet and faced the dark lord. He didn't run. He didn't even fight or raise his hands. He just stood there, totally quiet. Lord Voldemort laughed at him, saying, 'You want out so badly, then I will let you out.'
"The next three, maybe four hours, we cycled in attacking the discontent wizard. Beating him down, cutting him, and tearing him from the inside with torturous spells. Even most of our rebellious and adamant enemies had not undergone such treatment. When we left, he had stopped moving, he had stopped breathing, he laid bloodied and dirty with his heart barely beating. The dark lord was intent on refusing to alleviate his old friend's suffering...so we left him to die just so.
"Nobody was there to help him. Even if someone had tried, the attempt would have been futile because of his severe condition. Seeing that he was alive after all this time was shocking and continues to baffle me. I can draw no other conclusion than that his death magic was even greater than I had believed. A horcrux of his own? Becoming some undead being himself? I don't know. I do know that though he may have no drive of his own, he could be a very powerful tool if played correctly. His very existence is a threat."