You must read "The Teacher" first to understand several plot devices. This work is complete and will post every day. M rating is for later chapters. Special thanks to Worrywart, who helped inspire this story. NW

The Teacher 2

Little Ghost Lost

Chapter 1

Molly shoved Ginny behind her quickly and faced down her opponent with steel in her eyes. "Not my daughter YOU BITCH!" The frantic mother was going to protect her child. Bellatrix Lestrange would not take her daughter away from her. No not again. Wands and curses flew hard and fast as they fought. Bella was overconfident as only the insane can be. She took the wrong moment to cackle her hideous laugh when Molly got in a freezing curse. The surprise was still on Bella's face as Molly shattered her body into small shards which dissipated quickly. Molly stared at the empty space that used to be Bellatrix, and something inside her shifted and her breath caught in her throat, but the battle around her was heated and she was brought back to the fact that the fight wasn't over yet. Time to think about that later.

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It was late afternoon, and Lydia Thornwood was in her rooms sitting comfortably in her chair. She was nursing a lovely hot latte, drinking the precious liquid slowly. Not easy to come by here at Hogwarts. She had described it to the house elves a dozen times, but they just couldn't get it right. Lydia had resorted to using her wand to heat the milk and water and had purchased the special blend of coffee by mail order. It was the perfect temperature and Lydia held it reverently.

With the first sip she sighed and slipped her bare feet up on her ottoman, content. She was off duty and going to enjoy this immensely, nothing to disturb her.

"IS THAT HOT CHOCOLATE? I LOVED HOT CHOCOLATE!"

Lydia jumped and spilled the precious fluid down her blouse. The liquid cooled quickly and she was soaked. "What the fuck?"

"Now, now, professor. Such language is unbecoming a professional who teaches children." Whoever it was, was giggling.

The room was empty. Lydia used her wand to scan for someone disillusioned but there was no one there. She was furious. "Who the hell are you?" Still scanning the room and then bathroom and kitchen. "Where the hell are you?" Her forehead knotted with curiosity. There was no one there.

"You'd better put that blouse to soak in the sink or it'll stain."

"I said Who. Are. You?"

"I'm not anyone, well, not anymore." The voice was sad now.

Lydia reached out with her magic as she understood. "You've passed over then. I'm sorry."

The voice became resigned. "It's not so bad. I spent a week in the girls showers! Damn frustrating, that was."

Lydia was more than slightly disgusted, but this was obviously a soul in pain. "Why haven't you passed on?"

He hesitated before answering. "I'm not sure. That's why I'm here. There were lots of us still here after the battle."

Lydia sighed. Getting information out of this guy was like herding cats. "Maybe if you told me who you were I could get an idea of how to help you."

"My name was… my name was Fred Weasley." It was said with such pain she knew that must be part of the problem.

"You sound very sad Fred. How did you pass?" Lydia didn't hear anything for a while and wondered if he had moved on.

He was so quiet she could barely hear him, the sadness and loss overwhelming him. "I really am dead, aren't I? At first it was scarry. I saw my body under a pile of rubble and then laid out in the hall. Mum and dad where there and then George, Ron and Ginny. Everyone was crying. I tried to tell them I was okay, but they couldn't hear me. There were others…like me. Dead, but just, wandering around. We couldn't help the others, so we just stood and watched. One by one they began to fade away, but I couldn't leave with mum being so upset. I didn't know what to do, and then I saw you and Hermione talking. I said what I did, not expecting you to be able to hear me. When you did, I knew you could help me."

Lydia groaned inwardly. Seh knew what was coming because she had been asked this question before. "Fred, that was months ago, and the battle was years ago. I can't bring you back, and I'm not an owl. I will not spend my life relaying messages from you to your family. You have to find a way to move on."

"I can't!" he said desperately. "I can't just leave them. Mum is in an awful state and George needs me too. We're twins, we're a team. He'll never get along without me. And who's going to watch over Ron and Ginny with my parents in such a state? You've got to help me!"

Lydia knew this would be difficult for him to accept, but she had to be tough or he would be lost to this world and never find peace. "No Fred. I can't help you. You need to let go of this life and move on. If you don't you will lose your way and may never be able to move on. You will become a specter, a shadow always on the edge. You will grow angry and resentful of the living. They must find their own path forward with their lives. You can't choose it for them. You can't help them! I'm sorry, but I won't help you destroy yourself."

Fred became livid. "YOU CAN HELP ME AND YOU'RE GOING TO! Because if you don't, I will make your life miserable. The castles ghosts, especially Peeves would love to make your days longer than you can imagine. I don't need sleep. I have the rest of eternity to keep you awake, hide your things, upset your plans! I'm just getting started."

Lydia had enough. He was pushing the buttons on the wrong woman. "Do you really think I'm helpless against you? I've been practicing my craft for more than a decade. I know things about the astral plain that you haven't even discovered yet. Push me too far and you will find your sorry ass someplace very uncomfortable!"

The voice was gone, and she couldn't feel his presence anymore. Lydia took a long breath and calmed herself. She felt sorry for Fred. He and his family were in a terrible situation. The pain of loss can take a long time to fade. But relaying messages to the family can be a double-edged sword. Either it comforts them or enrages them, depending on their belief in the teller. And if they do believe, the wound will never close. They will constantly want to be with him instead of letting go to live their lives. Fred will never move forward and will change with time from the loving son to the poltergeist from hell.

Lydia looked at her blouse still soaked with latte. She needed a change and then try to relax. She was doing the right thing for everybody, and he had to learn that he couldn't threaten her. After a shower and comfy clean pj's she went to the kitchen to make another latte…but the coffee was gone. She knew she had put it back into the cupboard after the last cup. Where was it? After tearing the kitchen apart her stress level was through the roof. It had to be Fred!

"FRED! Give me back my coffee!"

Lydia heard a strange sound. Like a paper bag being dropped from a height to land on a hard surface. Squeezing her eyes shut in pain, she ran into the parlor to see her precious bag of specialized, custom blended, fresh roasted coffee beans scattered all over the stone floor. Her low voice was cold and unforgiving. "You had better stay out of my way Fred Weasley, because if I catch you, I will set you on fire."

His response was maddening. A light laughter telling her he'd just begun.