Author: Lee Velviet
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- Chapter Two - The Annual
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The mystery of the ghost residing in the astronomy tower tickled at the edge of Ginny's thoughts all through the Christmas vacation, and by the time she returned from home to Hogwarts, she was itching to find out exactly why the ghost remained so very unsociable.
Her curiosity got the better of her, and although she had no intention of drawing any unwanted attention to the ghost, she did begin, upon her return, to ask about to see if anyone remembered him - but to her sad amazement, nary a one did.
It was odd…
Ginny found herself wandering into the library, where she dug through an enormous amount of old Hogwarts Annuals…until she came upon the year she was looking for.
She ignored the odd looks she received from Madam Pince, the librarian, and settled at a table with the thick volume.
Nearly sick with excitement, Ginny cracked the book open, and began pouring through the pages.
It took her several minutes to find him, for the book was so packed full of moving, happily waving pictures of Lily and James, Harry's parents, she had to look at each and every one she came across. They'd obviously been very popular in their years at the school. She wondered if Harry had ever seen the book…
She came across pictures of Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin, looking out at her mischievously, and she scowled at one with Peter Pettigrew laughing in the background.
Ginny sighed sadly and then turned the pages determinedly, eyes scanning for anything that mentioned a Malfoy - and then she saw it.
A thumbnail sized picture of Lucius Malfoy, which she gaped at, for Draco certainly was the spitting image of his father. Looking at Lucius, even as young as he was, made her blood chill, and she shivered.
Her eyes drifted to the side, and she saw another picture. Again, it was a boy who looked exactly like Lucius Malfoy…and yet, entirely different. He looked enough like Draco Malfoy to have been the irritating little git himself. But there was softness about his eyes, a slight curl to his lips that was more a smile than a smirk…she wondered at the night and day difference between the two brothers.
"Alaraby," Ginny said to herself slowly. "Alaraby Malfoy, Aged 17, Gryffindor…Memoriam on Page 356."
She shook her head. God, what could have happened that Voldemort would have had to kill him? He'd been just a boy…but that fact hadn't kept the man from trying to kill Harry either over the years, had it?
Ginny turned to the Memoriam reluctantly, and gasped to see the larger version of the same picture smiling and winking at her from the page.
He was amazingly, wickedly good-looking. She giggled before she realized she was gaping at a black and white picture, and tore her eyes from it to read the script beside it.
"In Memory…Alaraby Faustus Malfoy…" Ginny skimmed through the dates, feeling unbearably sad, and read on. "All have felt the loss of our talented young friend, and, indeed he was friend to all of us. Alaraby knew not a stranger, and was a loyal and trusting Gryffindor to the end. He was a skilled Chaser, a promising Potions Master, a gifted wizard with many talents - not to mention many girlfriends!"
Ginny scanned the rest of the page, smiling often and then found the reason for the oddly light hearted memorial - it had been written by Sirius Black. There wasn't a word about Voldemort, or how he had died, anywhere.
Ginny again wondered why no one seemed to remember him. No one except the ghosts.
She looked down at the picture again, and felt tears well up for the loss of what seemed to be a very rare person.
Deciding to pay a visit to the ghost, she put the book away and walked out of the library.
No one who looked as honest and kind and as loving of life as he did should be allowed to wander that breezy, lonely tower all alone. He should never have been forgotten in the first place.
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TBC
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