This Chapter begins right after Draco's death so we're backtracking a little bit.

Chapter 20

Heaven and Ghosts

Draco opened his eyes. Where was he? He got up expecting a burst of pain through his back yet he didn't feel a thing. He looked around. Everything seemed misty he began to walk forward or what he thought was forward and the mist seem to part before he walked through it as if they were curtains parting. Then the mist turned from gray to lovely golden color that seemed to glisten. Finally the last of the mist cleared and Draco took in the one of the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. White towers shimmering in a sunset of surpassing beauty. White birds flew overhead and into the distance. Glistening waterfalls poured from all over and the air was clean and clear. He walked forward. A tall man stood in front of him. He wore robes of white and gold.

"Welcome," said the man, "to eternal bliss."

"Heaven," said Draco, "so I am dead then."

"Yes," said the man.

Raya immediately came to mind. He left her. He had gone back on all the promises he had ever made her.

"Come," said the man, "follow me."

They walked into the glittering city.

"Who are you?" asked Draco.

"I am Nicholas Flammel," said the man, "the maker of the Sorcerer's Stone."

"The stone of eternal life," said Draco.

"Precisely," said Nicholas, "I drank up all my elixir and here I am. Heaven is a beautiful place."

Nicholas led Draco into a room. It was beautiful. It was sunny and warm. A soft bed lay in the corner and a nightstand. A window looked towards the setting sun and the light poured through it making the room shine.

"This is your room," said Nicholas.

Draco walked over to his bed, sat down and put his head in his hands.

"What is the matter?" asked Nicholas.

Inwardly Draco responded, "I've just died. I've left the one girl that was everything to me in the entire world behind to a life of misery. Oh yeah, everything's fine!"

Draco outwardly responded, "nothing. This place is just amazing."

He smiled so the remark looked genuine.

"I am sorry to bother you already but two others here requested to see you when they found that you had died," said Nicholas. "Follow me."

They walked once more through the gleaming city. The ground was soft beneath their feet. Then they turned into the most beautiful garden Draco had ever seen. Flowers were the brightest colors, and everything was in bloom and breathing in life. Then his attention turned to a nearby stone bench when he heard a musical laugh that sounded a lot like Raya's. But he looked he was not greeted by blonde hair and blue eyes but by red hair and green eyes. Draco took a sharp inward breath. It was Raya and Harry's mother. It was Lily Potter. And beside her was her husband, James Potter. They turned to look at him and he stared back. Finally Lily spoke.

"Nicholas, thank you for bringing him," said she said.

"You're welcome," said Nicholas, then he smiled, "and now I must meet with my fellow philosophers and talk of things that don't need to be talked about."

He walked away.

Lily laughed.

"He always speaks in such a manner," she said lightly looking after him, then she turned he warm gaze onto Draco. "Come sit down."

She made room on the large bench, or more, The bench seemed to stretch itself to accommodate another person. Draco hesitated and then sat down next to the beaming mother of his best friend.

"It is a bittersweet thing to see you here," said Lily, "Sweet for this is the happiest place that there is to be. And bitter because you were the best thing that ever happened to our daughter."

"You know?" said Draco, "about everything?"

"Yes," said James leaning over his wife to look at Draco, "we have been able to look down upon our children from time to time to see how they are doing."

"For the things my father did-" started Draco ready to apologize.

"No apologizes are in order," said Lily, "and you are nothing like your father."

Draco sat thoughtfully for a moment. Everything seemed to move slower than it did in the real world. Everything seemed to be taking slow deep breaths, taking its time.

"Everything's so still," said Draco commenting on the world around him.

"Why rush?" asked James, "we have all the time in the world."

Draco laughed inwardly at himself for not realizing such an obvious reason.

"Why did you wish to see me?" asked Draco remembering why Nicholas Flammel had brought him here.

"We wanted to talk to you about Raya," said Lily. "I'm worried about my little girl."

"What's wrong?" asked Draco suddenly very alert. "Is she alright?"

"I am afraid that she has taken a turn for the worst," said James, "she knows of your death. She felt it."

Draco looked confused.

"She felt the pain you felt when you felt it," said James, "If that makes sense. At the same time you were hit with the Avada Kedavra curse she felt a pang in her heart and she fell from the top of the stairs in the hall of Hogwarts. She immediately knew something had happened to you and went straight to Dumbledore. Then he told her."

Draco felt a jump in his heart. He felt so guilty.

"Draco," said a new voice.

Draco looked up. There he saw Sirius Black.

"Sirius," said Draco.

"I wanted to thank you," said Sirius, "when I was unable to look after Raya you took over the duty perfectly though you were barely older than her."

"Draco," said Lily, "we want to give you another chance to see Raya."

"What do you mean?" asked Draco.

"For about a month's time we want you to stay with Raya," said James.

"You mean like a ghost?" asked Draco, "so I can talk to her, and she can talk to me."

"No," said Sirius, "not exactly. You will be like a ghost. Only no one will be able to see you. Not even ghosts. No one can hear you or feel you. You will be like wind that follows her around. Keeping her soul company whether she knows it or not."

"I'll do it," said Draco, immediately, "anything for her."

Lily smiled.

"I know you would," said Sirius, "but you have to realize that this is a very frustrating task."

"I don't care," said Draco, "anything to see her again."

"It really was a miracle that brought you to her house that night," said Lily, "and I thank you for it."

Draco stood up and gave Lily a hug.

"So," said Draco, after their hug had ended, "when do I start?"

"Right now," said James.

"What?" asked Draco, but it was too late.

It seemed very thing was blurry. He closed his eyes. He opened them again. He was back at Hogwarts. He was right in front of the Gryffindor common room. He looked out the window. It was dark.

"My first night dead," thought Draco.

He stepped up the portrait and prepared to say the password. Then he remembered that no one could hear him. He gingerly put a hand forward and quickly pulled it back when it went straight through the portrait door. He took a deep breath and stepped forward. He found himself in the common room. He looked over at the clock. Midnight. Then he saw her. He felt his heart snap in two. Raya sat on the large chair in front of the fire, her arm propped up on her head and she was sleeping. He walked over to her. He stared into her face. Her cheeks were red in the light of the fire. Also tear stains on her cheek reflected in the firelight making her face glitter in the most sorrowful of ways. He reached out his hand tentatively and found that although she still could not feel anything. His hand did not go through her.

"I can only go through walls and other inanimate objects," Draco stored that information away for later use.

He put his hand to her cheek. She opened her eyes quickly and sat up. Draco jumped back, startled. She was breathing heavily. She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them again more slowly. She stood up and walked over to the window. Her nightdress billowed behind her. She stopped when her face went right to the window. Draco stood beside her. She slowly brought her hand up to the window and she rested her palm on the glass. Draco looked at where she was looking. He saw a gravestone and guessed it was his. Then Raya turned sharply around and walked over to the chair. She threw on a robe and took a candle from a nearby table and lit it. She then walked quickly out of the common room, Draco following closely behind. She walked down the halls and soon Draco found they were using the door near the Great Hall to walk out onto the Hogwarts grounds. Snow still spotted the ground here and there. Raya walked forward and over towards the grave. There Draco saw what Raya had done. She had crossed out Malfoy and had written "He was no Malfoy." He swallowed. Raya's hand went to Malfoy, and the thick line that had scratched it out.

"You never were a Malfoy," said Raya softly.

She placed the candle on the ground in front of the grave and slowly laid herself down right beside the grave. She blinked a couple times, blocking tears from falling and soon she was asleep. Draco slowly laid down to her. He rested his hand on her face and stroked it with his thumb. A small tear fell from her closed eyes and he quickly brushed them away.

"What have I done to you?" Draco asked her and himself, "You had the hardest life it was possible to have. And I made it worse. Your parents say I was the best thing that ever happened to you. I say nothing worse could have happened."

He looked at her almost as if to see if she was listening, even though he knew she wasn't.

"Why didn't I see it sooner?" he asked, "Why didn't I see before it was too late?"

He slowly brought his ghost head to hers and placed a small kiss on her lips.

"I love you Raya Lily Potter," he said.

And he too fell asleep. Or fell asleep as much a ghost can.

Soon Draco awoke. It was still for the most part dark, but he could see the sun peaking out over the tops of the mountains in the distance. He looked over to see that Raya was not there. He got up frantically and looked around. Then he spotted her at the edge of the lake. She wore a black dress. He walked behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. He saw her take an inward gasp. And whirl around. Her face was in a frown and had hope in her eyes. But as she looked around Draco saw it quickly fade. His heart seemed to break every time he looked at her.

Draco thought that Lily, James, and Sirius had said that she couldn't feel him.

She slowly turned around again.

Then he remembered their times before he had passed, the times when they sensed each other. Raya could still sense him. The sunrise darkened on her facial features, making her look even sadder.

"How I wish I could comfort you," Draco whispered, intertwining his ghost hand with hers, "I wish I could still be with you. Telling you everything is going to be okay."

Raya turned slowly after a while, what seemed like hours, and walked back to Hogwarts. The students would be having breakfast but Raya went right to class, Transfiguration. Draco couldn't help smiling as he stepped into the familiar room. Raya, who usually took her seat in front of the class, sat quickly in the very back but not before taking down many books from the shelves and placing high stacks of them on the chairs around her. Draco took he seat next to her on one of her piles and watched her as she took her Transfiguration books out of her bag. And placed those around her as well. Then she took out a piece of parchment, a quill and a bottle of ink, opened one of her books, and began scribbling down notes.

Soon students began filing into the classroom. Professor McGonagall entered first, of course, followed by a number of students. Then soon Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom entered the room. Harry looked over at Raya and the sorrow was not concealable. Hermione put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, much like what Draco and done to Raya, and led him to a seat closer to the front. Draco looked back down at Raya's parchment and saw that she was already working on her second double-sided sheet.

After a moment, and students were still getting themselves situated and Professor McGonagall still writing down today's lesson on the black board with her wand, Raya put down her quill and looked outside at the sun. It didn't shine on her as it usually did. The lesson continued much as it would any regular day had Draco died or not but Draco did notice that Professor McGonagall gave a worried glace over at Raya from time to time.

Soon that class was over and student began filing out. Raya, as soon as class was dismissed, stood up and began to shove things into her bag as quickly as possible and putting all the books back onto the shelves. She was done before anyone else and she hurried out of the room. Draco quickly followed her. Her next class was Divinations. He watched as she climbed up the silver ladder and he quickly followed. He entered the room and instantly was swept away by the familiar smell. Raya sat down in the back and sat waiting for class to begin. Draco sat next to her and looked down at the table. As he did this he noticed her hands were shaking slightly. He put his ghostly transparent hands over her cold flesh hands. He looked up at her face and saw that it was twisted, almost as if she was trying to figure out a difficult problem. He knew instantly was it was. She could still sense him.

The rest of the day was quite the same. Raya didn't talk to anyone and she continued to walk around slowly in her black dress looking like a shadow.

Draco was sitting with Raya who was asleep on the large chair again as he had seen her the first time. Everyone else was in the common room though. Finally when the clock struck eleven o'clock everyone was upstairs and Raya was alone. After about fifteen minutes Draco saw Raya open one eye slowly as though she was checking for sure no one was there. When she seemed satisfied she got up quickly. Draco was surprised. She undid the ties on her dress and let it fall around her. Under her dress she wore black pants, and a black top and a long, black coat. She also wore her leather shoes that had a special heel. He remembered when she had made those. She loved those shoes. When she needed to she tapped lightly on a button and a wooden steak came out from the heel and she could kick at those she needed to and it would be a deadly blow.

She stared at the fire for a long time. And she spoke.

"Demons and foes beware, for you have taken away from me that which is precious to me, and for that you will die tonight," she whispered into the fire. She walked over to the window and opened it, and began to climb down. And Draco followed her as they both disappeared into the night to avenge a death.

Sorry it took me so long to update! Thanks for all the reviews. It's been wonderful hearing what you think! Next chapter is exciting. Sorry if this one kinda seemed dull but it's necessary for the plot that will unfold.