Oh my gosh, there are so many views so far! Thanks, guys! I have taken a break from posting on this site, and now that I have come back, the joy of you all reading my story and hopefully enjoying it makes me want to post more. With that said, here's chapter 2!

Chapter 2

Draco cantered down the corridors on his way to his History of Wizarding class he needs to be in. His two large friends walked with him, and they were talking about some prank they pulled on a little first year. Thoughts of what Annabelle told him the day before whirled in his head all the rest of the day, so much that he couldn't concentrate on his classes and schoolwork, and on into the night when he was trying to sleep.

Go against his family's traditions? Disobey them? How? He had never asked that. Does she mean don't kill Dumbledore and bring dishonor that way, or do something else? He was so shocked and angry that he never asked for details. But now, he wanted to know, and not from that beautiful ghost. He's going to talk to her cousin, and he knew just where to find her.

He turned to his friends. "You two go on. I'll meet you in class later."

They didn't ask him what he was going to do. They shrugged and walked on and Draco walked in the opposite direction and walked for a good five minutes to the other side of the castle where he knew this apparition lived her after-life existence—it's what he heard from the other ghosts floating around. It was a tad comical when he asked them about Rowena Ravenclaw, and where she was, on account of their confused expressions. But nonetheless, they told him where she could be found. As Draco walked more near the barren courtyard, he spotted a light blue glowing form of a woman in a dress. There she is.

The woman who looked in her thirties turned her head at the sound of Draco's footsteps. Her dark eyes widened and she floated nearer to him, until she was only a couple meters away. Her fair features turned from that of surprise to that of confusion. "Well, I never expected to see a Slytherin in my presence, especially a Malfoy," she said, folding her arms. "Normally I would shoo off anyone who chose to try and find me, but I am intrigued. How may I help you, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco was surprised at her cooperation. From what he heard, she was dismissive and not pleasant. Of course, that didn't deter him. "I just have a few questions. About your cousin."

Her eyebrows shot up. "My cousin?"

"Yes. Annabelle Ravenclaw. I have had the pleasure of meeting her spirit."

Her mouth turned into a grim line, and her features still were that of confusion, but there was hurt in her dark, black eyes. Anyone else would be afraid of those black abysses, but Draco stood firm. He waited for her response.

"I don't understand," she said. "How can that be? I'm sure her spirit left hundreds of years ago. Actually, I have never seen her since the time of her passing." Her gaze met his. "Where did you meet her? What did she say to you?"

"I met her twice already, down in a lower corridor near to the Slytherin common room. She told about this vision she had concerning me. I surmise that is why she has waited there, waiting to talk to me."

Rowena let her arms go to her sides, and her features twisted in shock. "Oh good Lord..." She turned from him.

"What?" he prodded. "You knew about this vision?" She was silent, her back to him. "Tell me!"

The area became thick with that uncomfortable silence, and Draco was about to demand that she speak, but she suddenly turned to face him, her eyes filled with hurt. "Of course I knew. I was her professor at the time, and we were like sisters, even though she was almost half my age." She took a breath and looked into the courtyard that had withered trees and bushes. "She claimed to have a gift of seeing visions in the night, ones of people who needed help. I thought it was nonsense until she had a dream about a girl who was grieving for the loss of her mother, and was lamenting not being there when she passed. Annabelle met that girl the first day of school, a month after she had the dream, and told her to go home again. After the girl came back, she told Annabelle that her mother passed. That is when I started to believe her. Other such occurrences happened over the next few years." She turned and met Draco's gaze as he stood there, hands deep in his black slacks pockets. "It was a fall day much like the one today when she took me aside after my class and told me of another vision she had, one regarding a very blonde-haired boy going against his family centuries-long honored traditions, defying them. She talked of nothing else after that, quite literally so, since she seemed to fancy this boy. Nothing came of this vision, meaning she never found this boy, and then she died at the young age of seventeen. After the years passed, I realized that her vision was not faulty. When I saw you, I knew you were that boy since you belonged to a prominent family who have kept their traditions for hundreds of years."

Draco's chest began to twist into knots. That ghost girl was telling the truth. "So... why me?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea. Annabelle never knew why she had these visions of people needing help. She just saw them, found them, and did what she could for them. Unfortunately, she couldn't do anything for you... until now. I'm actually shocked that she saw a vision of you one thousand years into the future. She normally had visions that took place in the near future. With one, it took a year to find the person, but other than that, it was usually a day to a couple of months."

Draco thought about all that for a moment, but one things stuck out to him. She helped the people who she envisioned? How could him going against his family help him? "Do you know how I go against my family traditions?"

"I know it has something to do with a girl. It has been over a thousand years, but that detail is still clear."

Draco felt his stomach twist, and he started to feel slightly nauseous. His nose twitched. "A... girl? How could I possibly go against my family traditions with a girl?"

Rowena Ravenclaw smirked and came up closer to him. There was no mistaking the sly glint in her dark eyes. "How else, Mr. Malfoy? Does your family not want you to keep the bloodline?"

Draco stared at her eyes, thinking about this. After a moment, he realized it, thinking about how a relative of his married outside the bloodline and shamed his family because of it. Draco really couldn't believe that this was what Annabelle was talking about, not disobeying the Dark Lord and not killing Dumbledore. Now, he wished it was. "Do I marry someone who's not a pureblood and a Slytherin?"

"Maybe so. Annabelle said nothing about this boy in her vision marrying someone, but being in a romantic relationship with her and protecting her... yes. I think it would be best for you to prepare yourself if this is the case. I know how Malfoys can be, after watching them for hundreds of years, and I'm sure you know your own father."

All he could do was nod. "Of course I know him. He wouldn't tolerate something like that."

Her expression turned from amused by this to serious. "Draco, if this was foretold one thousand years ago, then it must be something of great importance—something that could change the Wizarding World forever."

Draco felt his blood pulse at his temple, and his heart banged hard inside of him. He knew he had to ask... "Who's the girl, then?"

"I would ask Annabelle that question. She's the one who had the vision in the first place."

"But you know."

"I do know, but that is something that you need to ask Annabelle yourself."

Draco really felt ill. His family will be torn apart, and the traditions ruined, just because of a girl? If it was this serious, in this vision, he must have been loony mad for this girl. But it could just be a dream. "It could have been just a dream, right?"

"It could have been, but this one had more detail than the others that Annabelle had. She saw you in it, and after one thousand years, you pop up and she recognizes you. And she knows who the girl is. At least, I would think that she does. It wasn't difficult for me t figure it out once I saw her. After she died, and I saw her spirit leave her body, I felt that I owed it to her to confirm her vision if she couldn't on her own. Well, now I knew that she did."

Draco was hung up on one detail. "You saw her spirit after she died? Like, right after?"

Sadness filled Rowena's dark eyes and fair features. "Of course I did. I was there when it happened."

Draco's heart hurt for the ghost woman, and he wasn't all that surprised that it did. No one wants to witness a loved one die in person. That would tear him apart, if it was, say, his mother. "You saw her die?"

"Yes."

Draco swallowed hard before asking what he desperately wanted to know. "How did she die? And don't say that I should just go and ask her that."

Rowena nodded, her eyes still filled with sadness. "I can understand why she didn't want to tell you. Oh, it breaks my heart that she's been here all this time and never said hello."

"How did she die?" he asked more forcefully, not wanting her to change the subject.

"Demanding, aren't we?" she quipped. "She didn't tell you?"

"She wouldn't. She said it was for a foolish reason, and didn't want to talk about it."

Rowena laughed, and that shocked Draco. "That figures. It was rather foolish, as horrible as it was." Draco waited with his hands in his pockets, and she continued. "She may have been such a caring person with a loving heart that brought on the desire to help other people, but... she was almost clueless when it came to matters of the heart, such as romance and having feelings for another person. She fancied this boy named Gregory, who was a Slytherin. Honestly, he was a horrible human being, who delighted in torturing other students. He was a handsome young man for sure, but terrible. She followed him everywhere, and wanted to help him become a better person because he was just too proud and bully-like for his own good." Draco couldn't help but think about who this boy reminded himself of, but he continued listening. "One day, Annabelle followed Gregory all the way to his common room, myself following her, trying to talk sense into her. She wanted to once and for all confess her feelings and make him agree to be helped, but she wouldn't listen. Gregory had it with her and struck her with a spell." Rowena looked down and took a deep breath. Draco saw a tear escape her eye. "That spell caused a large gash to split her chest. Gregory stared at her in shock for a moment, probably not meaning to cast that spell at her, and ran for it when he realized what he had done. I wailed in anguish and went to her, but she was gone before I could do anything to help. I saw her spirit leave her body and disappear. After that, I saw her once, maybe a week later, but no words were spoken. But I knew she was sorry. I never saw her after that."

Draco's jaw clenched together so tightly, his teeth were starting to hurt. He swallowed. So that's how she died. She fancied a boy and tried to put him in his place, but as she was doing so, he tried to put her in her place and accidentally killed her.

"Now you can see that it was foolish," Rowena said. "I think she was just embarrassed."

"Yes," he simply said, trying to suppress the emotion he was feeling, and hated that the boy spoken of reminded him of himself. A horrible human being who tortured students and delighted in it... was he really like that? Is that what people really think of him? He hasn't really thought about it before.

"Are you alright, Mr. Malfoy?" Rowena asked.

He took a deep breath and met her eyes, and his emotions deflated somewhat. "I'm fine. Thank you for telling me about her. And... I apologize for bringing back such haunting memories."

She smiled softly, but sadly. "Do not apologize. Some days, Annabelle and what happened to her is all I think about. I believe I was scarred by it."

Draco nodded, not knowing what else to say. He turned and left the corridor, but heard his name being called. He turned to see Rowena float up to him. He noticed her eyes glisten again.

"Next time you see her, my cousin... would you please tell her to visit me?"

"Can't you just go and visit her?"

"Many ghosts tend to dwell where they died. She died down in the corridor by the Slytherin common room, and I don't dare go near there again."

Oh, that's why she's there and not anywhere else. She died down in the corridor he met her in. Now, knowing what happened to her down there, he may just use a different rout to get to and from his common room. "Alright."

He left the courtyard and headed to his common room, taking a different rout. He stopped, though, in the corridor connecting the one he met Annabelle and the one that she died in. He felt his chest constrict as he played out her death in his mind. His chest constricted more when he saw himself standing before his father with a girl who didn't match the family requirements.

"There's no way I'm going to choose a girl who's not a pureblood, and not a Slytherin," Draco told himself. "That's nonsense."

He thought about what Annabelle said—everything will be fine. He sighed through his nose. Whether he wanted to or not, he needs to talk to Annabelle again. He needs to know who this girl is, mainly so he can avoid her at all costs.

First thing the next morning, before anyone would be in the corridors, and before the sun was up, Draco forced himself to wait in the corridor he met Annabelle in... and the one she died in. As he leaned against the stone wall, the image of some boy a thousand years ago pointing his want at her and slashing her with a spell encumbered his mind. His stomach folded over. He shouldn't think about it.

The corridor was quiet, and he liked it. Sometimes he gets up early just to enjoy some peace and quiet. He had to catch up on his studies the day before since he missed a class, so he went to bed late, then got up early intentionally. Sometime finding some peace in his troubled life is worth losing some sleep over.

He thought about what Rowena Ravenclaw told him. She was certain that his going against his family had to do with a girl. He knew he would eventually marry, but he thought he wouldn't have to worry about all that romantic stuff until later, like after Hogwarts. Of course, there are girls who fancy him, but he wants nothing to do with them. He had to admit that Pansy looked really pretty in her dress at the Gold and Green ball, but he never wanted to go passed that. She had told him of her feelings for him that night, and even kissed him straight on the mouth in a deserted corridor to prove it, but he had to tell her that he saw her as a sister. She never bothered him with her feelings for him since, even though he knew they were there. Even now. He just doesn't want to get caught up in romance that a lot of his classmates are experiencing. And that means not acting on the unwanted feelings he has for a girl two years younger than him—Victoria Greengrass. He has more important things to worry about, especially now, with his task from the Dark Lord, and with the current situation. Given, this situation has to do with romance, but in order to avoid the girl in question, he needs to know who she is.

He needs to ask Annabelle who she is. The girl could be any student who is part of the one-half of the student body who is not pureblood. That counts out anyone who is a Slytherin, unfortunately.

Draco waited a bit longer as he heard the clock tower gong seven o'clock. He yawed. He needs to get more sleep tonight, for sure.

"Draco?"

He whirled around to see Annabelle looking at him with her big blue eyes. Well, they looked blue due to her ghostly color, and since they were a lighter shade than the rest of her. And her hair was lighter, like it could have been blonde. Golly, the boys probably chased after her when she was alive. This Gregory guy was probably like him and didn't want to worry about romance. Or, he was just out of his mind and didn't find Annabelle attractive. Maybe he did appearance-wise, just not personality-wise. According to Rowena Ravenclaw, she was very persistent and annoying.

"Good morning," she said. "Up early?"

"Obviously."

She smiled, and he couldn't help but stare. "Were you waiting for me?"

"Don't get your hopes up," he bit out, knowing she fancied him, and for millennia. How bizarre that sounds. "I talked to Rowena Ravenclaw."

Her eyes widened, making them larger than he as seen on any human. Well, she isn't human, at least not now. "You did? How was that? How is she doing? Oh, come on, tell me!"

He sensed that she was on the giddy side, too, and that is something he didn't like in a female, along with being persistent, but nonetheless, she was beautiful and intriguing. "She's dandy. She told me to ask you to go visit her."

Her brows pushed together in disappointment. "Is that all?"

"Not all. She told me about how you died."

Her gleefulness instantly vanished and she looked away from him and floated more near the wall of the corridor. "She told you that, did she? She told you the whole story?"

"Yes, she did, and how she watched it happen."

He could feel her sadness, and it was starting to make him feel sad. But he didn't show it. And apparently, neither did she. She turned and he saw a small smile cross her lips, but not a happy one. "I suppose it wasn't one of my better moments. I just wanted to help Gregory, mainly because I fancied him, but... I went too far. I pushed him and pushed him and never left him alone. He had enough of me. I think he was meaning to use a repelling spell to teach me a lesson, but he cast another spell at me, one that he hasn't used before and wasn't certain of what it could do. I trailed him after I died and saw that he wasn't the same person. I suppose me dying by his hand mellowed him a bit." She paused, a look of realization appearing on her face. "Well, I guess I really did change him, just not in the way I was hoping to."

Draco didn't know what else to say to this. "I'm sorry that happened to you."

"Don't be. I suppose that's why I keep my distance from people—I don't want to inconvenience them."

"And you're not inconveniencing me?"

She saw the annoyed look he was giving her. "Well, you're different. I feel that this is very important, more important than any of my other visions. So... what else did my cousin say to you? Did she tell you of my vision?"

He folded his arms, challenging her. "Maybe. Tell me something first."

"Alright."

"How do I estrange myself from my family?" She pursed her lips together. He asked again, but with more force, "How do I estrange myself from my family, Annabelle?"

His hard tone didn't seem to phase her. "What did Rowena say?"

"She told me quite a lot, but I want you to tell me the rest, and don't skimp on anything."

"Alright. But I need to know what she told you. I told her everything of that vision I had of you. She knows every single detail. What details did she tell you?"

"Only that this vision was of me, and that I go against my family traditions because of a girl. A non-pureblood girl."

Annabelle let off a smile. "Well, that is correct. In my vision, you fall in love with a girl who is not a Slytherin, and who is not a pureblood. I didn't want to tell you before because I thought that would be too much for you to intake in one go."

Draco glared at her. He was right, and it made his gut twist. "That's not possible. There's no way that I'll do something as heinous as that."

She floated around the corridor for a few seconds, her gaze on him. "I think it's completely possible. A person cannot help who they fall in love with, you know. And I knew that it will happen because when I was alive, I saw a lot of things—dreamed things—and they all came to pass. I believe it is the same with this vision I about you and this girl. Admittedly, I payed attention to the vision with you because I thought you were handsome, but I knew it would come to pass since my visions always had, like I said."

He scoffed at her and looked away. Lovely. A ghost is in love with him. But she may be better for him than a non-pureblood. Anything is better than that, actually.

"There's another thing." His ice-blue eyes darted to her and she went on. "This girl..."

That caught his attention. "Who is she?" he demanded. "I need to know who she is so I can do everything in my power to avoid her."

She folded her arms and shook her head, amused. "Avoiding her isn't going to help. In fact, not only do you fall in love with her in the vision, but you protect her. Well, you should always strive to protect your classmates, anyway. And you haven't been doing a great job of that in the past years, that's for sure, bullying them and whatnot. I'm actually surprised at how similar to Gregory you were, but... after watching you, I know that you're far better than he ever was."

He dismissed that last bit, mainly because it was true. "A classmate, huh? That dwindles it down," he said sarcastically. "Could you be more specific?"

She swallowed. "I am just saying... please do not get mad at me when I tell you. It is just what I saw."

"Who?" he prodded, irritation elevating in him.

They held gazes and the anticipation built. "She is a muggle-born."

Draco felt the vile rise in his throat, and now he had absolutely no desire to eat breakfast. He wanted to bend over and vomit. A... mudblood?

"I don't want to know," he said, changing his mind. "Don't tell me."

"You'll find out eventually, Draco. Since you're so conscious of the pureblood, half-blood, mudblood nonsense, you may know of a few mudbloods. Who comes to mind?"

The moment she said that, an image of a frizzy-haired girl popped up in his head. He frowned and he felt more sick to his stomach.

"You thought of one, didn't you?" Annabelle asked.

He didn't answer.

"I think you know who I'm talking about. I've paid attention to her, too, as soon as I found her at about the same time I found you, and that was your first year. I chose now to tell you since you and her are older, and that's how I saw the two of you in my vision. Anyway, she is always traipsing around with those two boys, one of which is rather famous in the wizarding world. She's also incredibly intelligent. I took a glimpse at her report card in her common room once. Of course, when no one was there."

"Just stop," Draco demanded. "That mudblood... Your vision was all nonsense and just a ludicrous dream."

"It was very vivid. I've gotten you and her right so far, I just need to wait and see if the rest of it comes about." She stared at him for a moment, then said, hands on her hips, and in a tone his mother has used on him before, "You know, Draco, one of these days you're going to have to see passed the mudblood side of Hermione Granger and really start looking out for her."