The Rest of the Day

Astoria's stomach churned. There was nothing she wanted so much as to become invisible. Instead she followed Mr. Potter's advice, knocked once, and when there was no answer, she opened the door of Mr. Malfoy's office and stepped inside.

The room was silent and dark, apart from the glowing fishtank along the wall opposite the door. Inside the aquarium a Lobalug lurked in a toy castle that looked very much like Hogwarts.

Astoria cleared her throat. "Mr. Malfoy?"

At first nothing happened.

Then a silvery substance spilled from the miniature Hogwarts and surged to the surface of the fishtank, a myriad tiny bubbles in its wake. With a small splash, the silvery form broke through the surface, and a moment later, the translucent shilouette of Draco Malfoy stood in front of her, every fold of his ghostly robe dry and immaculate.

"Miss Greengrass. What can I do for you?"

Astoria couldn't look him in the eye. They were so piercing. Not at all what she remembered from the Hogwarts ghosts. Instead she looked down at the tips of her shoes, where the Anti-scuffing Charm was visibly beginning to wear off.

"I – I wanted to apologise, sir. It's all my fault. I –"

"What did you do?" interrupted her boss. "Did you tell your mother about your new job? Did you maybe even mention that you work for the ghost of Draco Malfoy and the Boy-Who-Lived to end up a blind paper-pusher?"

She could feel heat rising in her face, flush her cheeks and forehead. She probably looked like a ripe raspberry right now. She swallowed and nodded.

"And did anyone tell you not to mention who you are working for?"

"N-n-n-o. B-but –" She gasped for air and rushed on. "I-should-have-been-more-discreet."

For a moment Malfoy stared at her. Then he shook his head. "Sit."

He indicated a chair. Then he glided behind his desk and affected to sit down himself.

"It was my decision not to inform my parents of my continued existence. I knew that they were bound to find out about – this –" He gestured at where the leather of his office chair shone right through his chest. Then he fixed Astoria with his disconcerting silver stare. "I am sorry that the scene with my father caused you distress."

He'd seen her cowering in the corner. Astoria winced. Could it get any worse?

She tried to straighten up and face Mr. Malfoy. In her mind she heard her mother's voice: "Don't slump like a common Mudblood, Astoria! Do you have no pride at all?"

When she dared to look at the ghost, she thought that he looked sad. Could ghosts be sad? She frowned. It must have been horrible for him to have his father break down in front of him like that …

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Malfoy," she said softly.

Irritably, Draco shook his head. "Call me Draco. Every time you say 'Mr. Malfoy' I think of my father now. And I'd rather not think of him."

"Sir – Draco – may I … may I ask a question?" She hesitated, but when he nodded, she went on. "Why – I know this is a nosy question, but – if you expected them to find out eventually, why didn't you just tell them? Your father – he was devastated. And your mother – I am sure she will be–"

"My father." If Draco had been alive, Astoria would have probably heard him grinding his teeth. "Is a superb actor."

When Astoria stared at him with wide eyes, he smirked bitterly. "Oh, I am sure he is devastated. The best actors draw on real feelings when they put on their show. But most of all dear Lucius is pissed off that he has lost his way back into the better circles of Pureblood aristocracy. And that I have denied him nearly two years' time for scheming how to use my position as a ghost in the Ministry to his fullest advantage."

"But – but –" Her breath hitched uncomfortably. She shouldn't have asked. Oh well. In for a sickle, in for a galleon. "And your mother, sir – Draco?"

The ghost closed his eyes. His outline shimmered and he grew even more translucent than he already was.

"She will understand," he whispered. Then he raised his head. "I think you should go now, Miss Greengrass."

"Astoria."

He blinked. Then the contours of his face strengthened into a smile. "Astoria."

She sighed and rose to her feet.

"I am so sorry," she repeated. Although she didn't quite know for what. For everything, maybe.

oooOooo

In the backroom of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes George and Ron pored over their inventory, from A like 'Agony Ants' (see the victims writhe and seethe and giggle) to Z like 'Zebra Zits' (more than just stripes).

"I think with Hannah on board, we can finally crack Bertie," George said smugly. "Good old Zonko is really not much fun as a competitor anymore. Sure, he's got his solid share of the market, but he's a traditionalist. We've been way ahead of him for two years now."

Ron grinned. Their shop was doing really well. "You know," he suggested hesitantly. "I've had this really weird idea for our sweets line." Normally he handled the financial and the legal end of the business, while George took care of development and marketing. But once in a while, he contributed the odd idea or two as well.

"Weird?" George raised his eyebrows. "Let's hear it then!"

"How about including some Muggle sweets? 'Muggle Snuggles' – 'Hard to believe, but true: they do nothing – they just taste good!'"

For a moment George remained silent, then he grinned from ear to earhole. "You, my dear brother, are a genius. That is something the wizarding world has never seen before. Just you wait, before the year is out, we'll give Bertie a run for his money."

Then he cracked his knuckles. "And now, I'm afraid I have to run." He waggled his one ear suggestively. "I've got a date with Angelina tonight."

oooOooo

A/N: "Agony Ants", "Zebra Zits" and "Muggle Snuggles" are my own invention.

I hope you liked today's set of chapters, thank you very much for your encouraging comments!