A/N: Hey Kiddies! Sorry about my long absence, but I have a new story. I've got really bad writers block on the other on, so it was hard to post anything resembling good. But then I got a plot bunny and decided to run with it. I don't own 'em, and this will be slash… somehow… Love you all, and PLEASE, I beg of you, review and tell me whether or not to post anymore.
"Hermione, really. It won't do any harm; it's just a haunted house! You can come too. Think of it as an educational experience." Harry cajoled his friend, grinning at Ron over Hermione's shoulder. The three friends had settled themselves in Ron's old room at The Burrow. Hermione and Ron were curled up on his bed, acting every bit the engaged young couple they were. Harry was perched lightly on a desk in the corner.
"Boys, you're both acting like you're sixteen again. Playing pranks on Ginny, visiting haunted houses. What's next, are we going to sneak into a pub under your invisibility cloak? Unlike you, I do not have the juvenile urge to sleep in a house haunted by a malicious spirit!" she hopped off the desk, turned and stalked out of Ron's old room, where he and Harry were staying.
"So, you really want to do this, mate?" Ron asked, arching an eyebrow. "I mean, it's all well and good poking fun at 'Mione, but going to a real haunted house?" At twenty years old, Harry had loosened up quite a bit. Defeating Voldemort at eighteen had taken its toll, but Harry was quickly improving under his friends' watchful eyes. Harry just grinned at the redhead.
"Of course I want to do it, Ron. Seriously, I've already beaten the worst evil can throw at me. What's one bad-spirited spirit?"
"You've been waiting all day to say that, haven't you?"
"Yeah." The room was filled with laughter, and Harry tossed an overnight bad at Ron. "So, let's go find this ghost! How far away did you say the old mansion was?" Harry questioned.
"About twenty miles south of here. We can Apparated, no problem." Harry flicked his wand, and several essentials flew into his bag. Ron mimicked the motion, and a sock hopped lamely to his side. "Oh well. Mum never expected much to come out of me in the way of tidying charms. Guess she was right."
Neither man had any idea what they had set in motion when they Apparated twenty miles south.
The mansion was bigger than either man had expected. Even with the back of the house caved in and blackened, it was still close to a quarter the size of Hogwarts.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go inside." Harry whispered, nudging his friend. Ron threw his bag over his shoulder and pushed open the iron gates. The house was still, quiet and foreboding. The land had turned wild, and the branches and brush tugged at their clothes, like little hands warning them to stay away, not to go any further. But the men were oblivious. The mansion was drawing them slowly into its grasp.
"Are you sure it's safe, Ron?" said a feminine voice from behind them. Both men jumped, and Ron let out a small shriek before he realized who it was.
"Hermione! I thought you weren't coming! We didn't hear you apparate in." Ron said quickly, sounding relieved.
"I couldn't very well let the two of you stay out here on your own now, could I? You would likely as not have been eaten by... well, by something." Hermione replied, taking complete charge. "Besides, I wouldn't want you two to start a fire and have this house burn worse than before. Harry turned.
"It's been burned before?" he asked quietly. It was as if he didn't want anyone to overhear.
"Didn't you know? That's why this mansion is abandoned. It used to be owned by the Malfoys. Draco's great grandfather lived here with his family. Very sad story, I've read all about it. There was a fire, and...Let's go inside, and I'll tell you the whole story. It's getting dark."
The sky had indeed succumbed to night, and the humid air began to cool. A light wind swept through black limbs, making them groan with the effort of staying attached to the tree. One lonely shutter banged against the side of the dilapidated mansion.
None of them saw the light flicker on in one of the top rooms of the house.
The large front door was unlocked, and the trio stepped cautiously inside. The foyer was huge, with a fireplace on each side and a big couch in the middle in front of a giant staircase. Two doors led out of the room from either side of the staircase. The coat rack had tipped over, and lay in front of the doorway. Dust covered everything, and puffed up around their feet as they walked. Then Hermione giggled nervously.
"I keep expecting to hear pipes banging or see floating chairs. That's why people say this place is haunted. They talk themselves into it." she said, pulling a moth-eaten blanket off the couch and shaking the dust out. "It might even be rather hospitable if it were cleaned up a bit." Harry ran his fingers along the mantle above one of the fireplaces while Ron lit a few magical lanterns.
"I can only imagine what this place must've been like before the fire." Harry said, lifting a small box from the mantle and dusting it off. He opened the box, and suddenly the whole room was filled with music. The tune was reminiscent of youth, games of children, and parties. It was of innocence and remembering. Harry was at once transformed. He was dressed in a white suit with a top hat and cane, and the foyer blossomed, it was clean and new, and decorated as a ballroom. There were smiling couples arm in arm, dancing, talking and laughing together. He was offered a glass of wine, and accepted, looking down over his nineteenth birthday party with approval. Only one person was missing or the night would've been a complete success. He glanced around the room, searching for-
Wait... Nineteenth birthday? I didn't celebrate my nineteenth birthday, and certainly not like this! The war was right at our doorsteps. If my mirror hadn't reminded me, I doubt I would've even noticed that I had turned another year older. Harry blinked, and the vision shattered.
"Harry? You okay, mate?" Ron was kneeling next to Harry, concern easily visible on his face.
"Oh, thank Merlin. What happened?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know, I was... It was like I was looking through someone else's eyes. I think it was the music. I was at a party, there were lots of people here, women in gowns and men in suits. I guess I was at a party here a long time ago," he said, shaking his head.
"Well, that would make sense, wouldn't it? The Malfoy name has always been a popular one, they had lots of get-togethers." Hermione explained. Harry scrambled to his feet.
"Where did the music box go?" he asked, brushing the dust from his clothes. Ron frowned.
"What music-box, Harry?" he asked cautiously.
"The one from the mantle. I opened it, and it started playing. You heard it, it filled the whole room. That was when I had the... vision."
"But Harry, there was no music. You were standing over by the fireplace, and you just fell." Hermione said.
"Hermione, I... you didn't hear anything?
"No, Harry." she replied softly. Harry looked to his best friend, and Ron shook his head.
"Maybe we should go back home. I mean, if you guys are scared. I know Mum was planning to make a roast tonight." Ron added hopefully. Harry shook his head.
"No. I want to stay. I have to know what that vision meant," he explained. "Hermione, you said you knew what had happened here. Why everyone left. Tell us. Please?"
"It's not a happy thing to tell Harry," she said, sitting with he back propped up against the couch.
"C'mon, 'Mione. You say that like we've never heard a sad story before. Let's hear it." Ron countered, seating himself next to his fiancé.
"If you insist. Oh, where to begin? Well, let's start with what we can. The Malfoy family -that would be Draco's great grandfather and his wife- lived here with their two children, Julian and Melody. They were a very close family, and Julian and Melody still loved at home at the time of the fire. He was twenty-two, and she nineteen. The neighborhood loved the Malfoys, and they had many friends. That's one reason the fire was such a mystery. No one they knew would've wanted to hurt them." At this, Ron scoffed.
"The Malfoy family, without enemies? I don't believe that, Hermione." he said.
"Not all the Malfoys were evil, Ron. In fact, Lucius was the first in this line to get involved in the dark arts, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Anyways..." Harry stood up quickly, interrupting her.
"Hold on. Do you smell that?" Ron and Hermione inhaled deeply. Hermione began to cough.
"Just dust and rotting wood, mate. Why?" Ron asked, rubbing Hermione's back.
"I could've sworn I smelled sandalwood." Harry sniffed again. The scent was stronger. "Something weird is going on. The scent is really strong, you guys should be able to smell it too," he said. Hermione finished coughing.
"Ron's right, Harry. I wonder if this ghost has something against you," she said.
"Or maybe old lady Malfoy has decided she fancies you, Harry." Ron grinned.
"Oi, sorry to disappoint, but he's gay!" Ron yelled to the house. Harry blushed.
"Shut up, Ron! What if there's someone outside? Do you know what the Daily Prophet would write if they found out?" he hissed.
"Oh, there's no one outside. Relax." Ron replied. He would've said more, but Hermione elbowed him.
"Do you two want to hear this story or not?" she asked. Both men nodded. "Alright then. Like I was saying, not all the Malfoys were evil. They used to be very well liked, and respected as royalty. They threw lavish parties, with lovely music and decorations, and they fed the entire surrounding area regularly with monthly dinner parties. The family itself was very close-knit, and Julian was fiercely protective of his younger sister. Well, when Melody was seventeen, she left to go study art at a muggle school in America. She got pregnant and returned a year later with her son." she nodded at the look on Harry's face. "Yes. Lucius. The family was surprised, as you can imagine, but they were supportive. They would help her raise the child, provided she stay at home until he was old enough to take care of himself. She agreed. She knew she could paint and take photographs here as easily as anywhere else, so they set up a nursery and a studio, and lived peacefully for about four months. But there's where things get fuzzy. Julian was twenty-two, and studying to be a Healer, like his mother. He was out in the surrounding land a lot, looking for herbs and other such things. One evening, the neighbors saw huge clouds of smoke pouring from the mansion. By the time they got here, most of the damage had already been done. They put the fire out, but it was too late. Lucius was found in an herb garden not far from the house, and was sent to live with a set of Malfoys completely estranged from this family." Harry nodded.
"That's how we got the Lucius we knew and loved." He stated. Hermione nodded.
"The weird thing is, the only body found was Julian's. It was like the rest of the family has just... disappeared. The investigators thought that Julian had probably been in the woods with the baby when the fire started. He must've ran back in when he realized that no one had gotten out of house. No one knows what happened to Melody and the others, but Julian died trying to find them." Hermione ended. Harry was still for a moment, but then caught the scent of something on the air. Smoke. Suddenly he was outside, and the sun was shining. He held the baby tightly as he ran towards the house. He saw the flame, felt their heart and cursed. He put Lucius down in a fenced in herb garden, out of harms way.
"You stay where you are, baby Luc." He spoke the words, but it wasn't his voice. It didn't matter. He had to get Melody. He ran towards the house and flung open the kitchen door. His eyes immediately began to water, and he raised his hand in front of his face, trying to ward off the black smoke billowing out at him. He ran inside and coughed, struggling to breathe. He pulled his shirt up over his mouth and nose.
"Melody? Mom? Dad? Can you hear me? I have to get you out! Where are you?" he screamed, blinking quickly to relieve his burning eyes. "Please! Melody! Yell if you can hear me!" His foot caught on a rug, and he fell forward, coughing. He tried to stand, but could hardly breathe, and he felt himself growing weaker and weaker. Thick smoke filled his eyes and mouth. He struggled, trying once more to get to his feet. "Melody! Please!" he whispered violently. He coughed once, gasped, and died.
"Harry! Harry, wake up!" Harry opened his eyes, and lapsed into a fit of coughs. He rolled over, and saw Hermione staring at him. "Damn it Harry, stop doing that!" she snapped. Then she hugged him.
"What happened, mate? You said something about a baby and then started shaking and wheezing. Hermione thought you were choking or something." Ron said, relieved.
"You stopped breathing for a second, Harry." Hermione looked close to tears.
"I'm fine, 'Mione. It was another vision, only different this time. I was holding a baby, and I could smell smoke. It was awful, the smoke burned my eyed, and I couldn't find Melody..." Harry stopped, trying to shake off the vivid horror of his vision.
"Melody? Harry, Melody and Julian are dead. They've been dead for almost fifty years." Hermione gently reminded him.
"I know, I... Guys, I think I was Julian. I think he's letting me see these things. The only body found was his. Maybe that means he's he ghost. And he's trying to talk to me." Harry said, closing his eyes.
"Well, these things always seem to seek you out, don't they? I suppose we're staying, then?" Ron asked bemusedly. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Of course we're staying, Ron! If Julian needs us, we're going to help him. Right, Harry? She paused, waiting for confirmation. "Harry?"
"Over here, 'Mione." Came Harry's voice from near the back of the room. "Guys, come with me. I want to look around. I want to find the clues that Julian couldn't."
Hope you enjoyed the first bit. Please review!