A/N: don't own anything but the plot and various unrecognisable things/people
The lyrics at the beginning are from 'Why' by Ken Hirai
I know it's terribly short and boring but I had to get this rubbish bit out of the way. Thanks as always to my loverly reviewers, all reviews are replied to at the end so enjoy.
Chapter Eight – Why
Digging deep, I feel my conscience burn
I need to know who and what I am
This hunger jolts me from complacency
Rocks me, and makes me meet myself
Jacob walked a limp to remind him
Of the greater gift of the greater one
When I fell, I fell to my own resources
How can I carry your truths if I can't even crawl to you?
I wanna feel something sweeter than this sin
Cover me in leaves and roll me over again
Cause I've been everybody else, now I want to be
Something closer to myself
Paint me in a different light
Shed me another coat of skin
Mark me with ash until I'm clean again
Cause I'm so sick and tired of being sick and tired
I know I can love you, I know that I can
I wanna feel something sweeter than this sin
Cover me in leaves and roll me over again
Cause I've been everybody else, now I want to be
Something closer to myself
"Are you any closer to finding out what happened, Draco?"
Draco sighed and removed his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose and rubbing his tired eyes wearily. Replacing his glasses he dropped his head into his hands briefly before nudging the files before him across the smooth mahogany table towards Dumbledore who leafed through them quickly.
"She actually experienced Farren's death as Farren herself?"
Draco nodded and indicated the colour photos of Ginny brandishing her wrists at the camera so her wounds were clearly on show, another of her flexing her shoulderblades to show the wounds on her back.
"Now this is interesting, as far as we know Ginerva doesn't worship Cosimia any more than a normal witch or wizard does."
Draco snorted and Dumbledore raised a thick silver eyebrow at him, his eyes hardly lifting from the pages before him.
"Yeah once a year when they realise they've got debts."
A smile flitted across Dumbledore's pinched lips and Draco grinned briefly before his brow creased and he glanced back down at the pictures of Ginny's wounds.
"Then why would she suffer the Regalo?"
Dumbledore nodded absently as he went back to rifling through the various Healer reports, photos, Ginny's account of her ordeal plus Draco's file of That Night filled with everything relevant to Ginny's case.
"Well the Regalo can be cast as a curse on someone but it takes a lot of power that will leave you with no energy and even less sanity."
Even before Dumbledore's words had finished sinking in Draco had the disturbing image of his father muttering to himself about his dead Lord and he shuddered.
"Draco?"
Draco snapped back to reality and shook his head vaguely at Dumbledore who was looking at him with at odd expression on his face.
"Sorry, sir."
Dumbledore gave him a piercing look before sighing and taking a sip of his coffee with a weary look on his face.
"Excuse me Professor, there's something I need to do."
A knowing look flitted into Dumbledore's eyes as he nodded at Draco who shoved his files back into his bag, shrugged into his jacket and practically ran out of the room, in his haste knocking over a man size golden candlestick in the hallway complete with thick gold candle burning away merrily.
Dumbledore shook his head ruefully at the departing young man's figure as he waved his wand at the candlestick to right it again and slowly closed the door.
"He seems familiar."
Dumbledore smiled deep inside his beard and turned to look at the figure just that second leaving the fireplace and brushing down his worn robes dolefully.
"Yes there is a great deal of his mother in that boy."
Arthur Weasley raised a fiery red eyebrow at his old professor whose eyes were sparkling in amusement even as his forehead creased with lines upon lines as a result of years of worry and sorrow from the War.
"I meant you."
Dumbledore feigned shock and conjured up two glasses of Firewhiskey for the pair of them as they sank down into comfy armchairs before the fire.
"I remember my father telling me stories of your days at Hogwarts, the arrogance that seemed to endear you to anyone especially women. There are a lot of similarities between young mister Malfoy and yourself, Albus."
The two men laughed and slipped into a comfortable silence before Arthur sighed as both seemed to be doing so much lately and brought up the subject that had warranted his presence in the first place.
"Do you think he can help her?"
Dumbledore took a strong sip of his drink and turned to stare at the fire.
"I think he's the only one she'll allow to help her."
Silence swept over them both again as they turned to watch the fire dying steadily in the grate, both minds on two separate issues that were linked closer than they knew.
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Hardly daring to believe he was back here again Draco banged open the door and marched across the room to where his father was bent over an open file on the desk before him.
"Did you do it?"
There was no reaction from the platinum blond head lowered and ignoring his son. Draco slammed his hand palm down on the desk before his father, blocking out the words on the sheets he was reading until his father looked lazily up at him.
"Well?"
The question was once more out of his mouth before he could stop it; he knew his father wouldn't give him the truthful answer he wanted, no needed. There was little left of the evil yet great mind behind the vacant dark grey eyes and dreamily smirking mouth, definitely not enough for common sense. He was just about to give up and leave when a string of garbled words left his father's sneering mouth.
"They don't know... they can't know... too clever for them to know... but the voices... they know... they won't let us forget but Lord... we never forget... we'll give them what they deserve..."
Draco's face twisted into a mask of disgust as he studied the man before him more closely. His clothes were soiled and reeked of sweat and other much worse smells from a Potion's lab and Draco's upper lip twisted in revulsion as he took in the dark substance matting his father's hair at the bottom that swept over his shoulder and onto the parchment before him.
A sudden feeling of pity seeped into Draco's very bones, pity the man before him didn't deserve and he lowered his eyes, backing out of the room quickly and coming face to face with an ancestor watching him curiously from the wall.
"I wouldn't try getting any sense out of him if I were you."
Draco raised an arctic blond eyebrow, his head thrown back against the wall and his hair splayed out a harsh contrast to the dark mahogany.
"When did you ever get any sense out of him?"
Bitterness had filtered into Draco's carefully articulated voice and the ghost looked down at him curiously, her body slightly coloured as though she was an old photograph fading, her heavy-lidded dark grey eyes were sleepily dull beneath her head of ruffled black curls.
"Sense isn't something Malfoy's hold strong with."
Any other time Draco would have leapt to the defence of his ancestors but he couldn't this time. Analysing this interesting new development the logical explanation he produced was that he couldn't defend his ancestors to one of his ancestors but the reality was he wasn't sure if he cared about being a Malfoy any longer. He had his own money and the only thing that truly tied him to his name was his mother and she wasn't there anymore anyway.
"It's unusual for anyone to criticise a Malfoy never mind one of their own."
The girl snorted delicately and tossed her head back imperiously, her hair catching the light of the dripping candle besides her and giving her transparent skin a golden glow.
"I... a Malfoy?!"
Draco's curiosity was definitely getting the better of him now and he watched her fluffing out her long midnight blue ball gown and smoothing her elbow-length white gloves out through the silvery fringe of his long lashes.
"If you're not a Malfoy, they what are you doing here?"
She bristled at the arrogance in Draco's voice and narrowed her eyes at him.
"I belong here young man."
She eyed the dusty frame of a snoring portrait besides her and the darkness of the corridor around her with disgust written in her dark eyes and she sniffed.
"Believe me I'd rather not be here but that man..."
Her nostrils pinched together not unlike McGonagall's did and she took a deep, seemingly to calm herself as her voice was even once more with her next words.
"Certain circumstances warrant my presence here."
Her voice was sickeningly sweet and Draco lifted his eyebrows at her innocent smirk.
"Circumstances?"
Carefully avoiding his question she sighed and turned to look out at the driving rain pounding against the brightly coloured window pane next to them.
"I believe there's somewhere else you should be, Draco."
Draco's mind darted straight to the sight of Ginny, deathly pale against her bed quilts and struggling to keep her eyes open as forced Sleeping Draughts pulled her down before he narrowed his eyes at the girl.
"How do you know about Ginny?"
The girl gave him a devilish smile and watched him coyly from under her thick black lashes.
"There are a lot of things I know, Draco."
She was practically purring now, her hand resting on his cheek and chilling his entire face.
"Oh?"
Her touch was making him shiver and he pulled back slightly, out of her reach as she smirked at him and hovered back towards the wall.
"She's just in denial, give her time and you'll get what you want."
She was gone in the blink of an eye, the slight fuzziness of the wall where she had disappeared the only sign she had been there at all. Draco shook his head and glared moodily at Ginny's file just poking out of his bag;
"What is it with all-knowing, cryptic women?!"
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Gabrielle Orwood – sorry bout the over-descriptive outfits but I love designing clothes, thanx for reviewing
Christine – soon enough update for you? I'm very glad you like it and thanx for taking the time to review
lina – thanks muchly for the review glad you enjoyed it and my crazy ideas
Damia - Queen of the Gypsi's – here's more hope you like it
Dracosbaby7 – Mason is indeed a whore, that was the whole point of her lol another person you love to hate like cho chang, no offence if anyone likes her but I hate the bitch
Dangerous Soul – no review is annoying, unless sits a pointless flamer but yours aren't woo I made Cosimia up for my own devices lol
bigreader – hyper fits are just the best! At least you reviewed even if you were hyper lol Farren is one of the girls Ginny was accused of murdering
Nickel – my computer does that sometimes, stupid technology! I'm glad you liked 'Passion' enough to read it once but twice, wow I have a fan! I love the name Blue, I love all odd funky names and you can expect to see many more in future
Chantal J – I know he was mean but the fluff made up for it right?
Alicandra Black – here's the next one I hope it was soon enough, I got swamped in bloody homework during half-term lol the Greek bit just came to me somehow lol thanx muchly for reviewing x
topps – Draco and Mason will not be together when Draco and Ginny do but it wont be any time soon for the latter
ScreaminChild – I've been busy too but any review is a good one so thanks I made the angel part up
im no muggle – I thank you