"Why would Lucius' ghost be speaking Greek?" the auror asked.
"How should I know, Harry?" Hermione scoffed. "But that's what it is."
It hadn't required much effort on the witches' part to figure out the strange words. Their husbands met with them at the Weasely-Granger residence after only a short time at the Ministry.
"Any clue as to what is so important about this angel demon business?" Ron spoke through a mouthful of crisps.
His wife sighed at her husband's poor manners. "Angel of the abyss, demon of the void," she spoke the translation again, "It must have something to do with Gerald of course, but all I've been able to find regarding these words elsewhere is in muggle religious texts."
"What do they say about it?" Harry furthered.
"Nothing, really. Just that there is a spiritual creature regarded as such," the witch clarified, "A being that is both an angel and a demon, but these are just old muggle stories. Beings like this don't exist."
"Maybe not, but it must mean something," Harry argued.
A quiet came upon the home as the four wizards thought. Angels, demons...what was Lucius' meaning? For a moment, Harry took into consideration the fact that the deatheater had died. Perhaps he learned something about the next life. Maybe he was trying to tell them these things were more than just old tales. However, he quickly remembered his conversation with Nearly-headless Nick. The ghost had told him that they knew nothing of the afterlife as they'd not seen it. They chose to remain in the lives they had parted...so therefore they had never truly parted. Why would this be any different for Lucius Malfoy?
"You know," Ginny spoke up, "Dad might be able to help. If the only reference is in something to do with muggles..."
Everyone turned their attention to the lead auror as it was his say to bring anyone else into the fold. Harry looked down to the floor, rubbing his chin.
"It's not like we have to worry about trusting him," Ron poked.
Ron's partner dropped his hand back to his knee and turned head up to face the others. "I trust Mr. Weasely, obviously," he said with a nod. "With how things are progressing, I think he needs to know more about what's going on anyway."
"That would make me feel better too," Ginny admitted, smiling at her husband and petting his arm.
"He should be finishing up with work about now," Ron choked down the rest of his snack. "Could go meet him at home. Mum might even be working on dinner."
"Your obsession with food is astounding," Hermione muttered, earning a stare from her husband and chuckles from the others.
"Dinner or not," Ginny grinned, "The company will be nice."
"Alright, let's head over," Harry stood, taking his wife's hand.
Hermione got up as well, snatching the empty bag of crisps out of Ron's hand as he looked into it one last time to be sure they were all gone.
"Blimey then I'm going," the redhead complained before following the others through the home and into the backyard for an area easier for apparation.
In pairs, the group disappeared from the residence, popping back into their forms just outside the burrow they all knew so well. After being destroyed by Bellatrix, the old Weasely home was rebuilt though some things were lost forever, taken by the fire.
The four walked up to the door, Ron taking the lead in pushing it open and yelling inside. Molly Weasely hurried into the room as everyone entered, the same enthusiasm in her as there always had been when seeing her children, both the blood ones and the honorary.
"Oh my dear, come on in, come on in!" she smiled and gestured. "I'll put on some tea. How is this case of yours going, Harry? I hear it's been troublesome," she talked with a flutter while giving each of the kids a quick embrace.
"Ya know it's my case too, Mum," Ron mumbled.
"Oh hush," Molly flicked her wrist at her son. "I haven't seen Harry and Ginny in weeks."
The young couple grinned, "That's actually why we came over," Harry informed, "We have something we thought Mr. Weasely might know more about."
"What might I know about?" Arthur's voice sounded from farther inside the house.
With all the excitement, the rest hadn't registered the pop of the fireplace bringing the man back home. He dropped his briefcase next to one of the old couches and happily took a hug and kiss from his wife before she left for the tea.
Arthur motioned for everyone to sit in the living room furniture. Just when everyone including himself had taken a seat, Molly returned with a floating array of tea cups and its accompanying pot.
"I don't believe we've really spoken since you and Ron started this investigation, Harry," the older wizard said as he acquired a cup and filled it.
"No, sir," the auror agreed, getting his own drink. "I admit I've been preoccupied."
"That's understandable," Arthur smiled. "What can I help with?"
"Dad, the boys are investigating someone who worked with Voldemort...someone previously unheard of," Ginny began.
"A deatheater?" Arthur seemed confused.
Harry and Ron breathed. "Not exactly. It seems he only knew Lucius and Voldemort himself," the lead auror tried to explain.
"Lucius? Yes, I heard about his passing," Arthur mused. "Did your man do it?"
The group nodded.
"I see. Why did he keep this man hidden instead of sharing him with the rest after the war?" the senior Weasely took a sip.
"He thought Gerald was dead. That's the bloke's name: Gerald Davis," Ron answered. "He did leave something behind though...well a couple of things, but-"
"Draco called us to Malfoy Manor," Harry cut his partner off. "Lucius is still there...his ghost."
Arthur's eyes widened. Molly's hand grabbed his shoulder nervously so he gave it a loving pat. "Are you certain of that?" she asked.
"Quite certain," Harry nodded gravely. "It's what he said to us that brought us here. He...he's speaking entirely in Greek, but there was one thing he was adamant that we know."
The auror turned to Hermione then. The witch reached into her purse and retrieved the paper where she had written the words and their translation and handed it to Mr. Weaseley. The man took the note, mouthing the words quietly while his wife also read gazing over his shoulder.
"Apollyon," Arthur spoke and then looked back up. "This is what Lucius wanted you to know?"
The younger wizards glanced around at each other.
"Apollyon was the name I found regarding that description too," Hermione said. "That's what he was saying. I have no doubt."
"Surely he left something more straightforward behind," Arthur continued.
"He did," Harry said. "He left a portrait. Draco showed us what it had to say about Gerald."
Arthur nodded, studying the note once more, "Tell me more about this Gerald."
The group detailed what they had come to know about the strange wizard. Everything Lucius had told his son, the necromancy, the agelessness, wandlessness, his parents, the vampires...down to what they had experienced with Oliver and Brad. The thing that seemed to resonate with and even bother Arthur Weasely the most was the wizard's inhumanity.
"Muggle religion is an interesting facet," the wizard talked again after all known and suspected about Gerald had been shared. "The stories all began with actual events. Over the years, these records have been retold, reinterpreted, and changed so much that it's sometimes difficult to weed out the fiction and see the truths. However...the largest problem lies in that muggles don't always see things for what they are. Especially so long ago..." the wizard took a drink of tea. "Those who have seen wizards and witches and other magical folk even in more recent years have hailed us as demons or even the devil himself. I'm certain there have been times that a wizard or a veela even was seen as an angel in a muggle's mind."
"It is interesting, sir," Harry cooed, "But why would Lucius think this was so important if these demons are just wizards or elves or something else like that?"
"What if they weren't always magical folk like we knew," Hermione considered, staring at the floor. Slowly looking up, she met Arthur's gaze, "We don't know what this other type of blood Gerald has is. Just because muggles have mistaken us before doesn't mean there weren't or aren't other creatures out there."
"There's certainly no magical person we've known that can mimic the feats of how God is portrayed, " Arthur shrugged.
"So do you think Gerald's a demon? I mean," Ron laughed, "He's certainly no angel, right?"
"That's not the point," Hermione slapped the redhead's arm. "Angel, demon, these muggle words mean nothing. It's irrelevant. The point is that he IS inhuman and something we have not yet known. That's what Lucius was trying to tell us."
"Yes. He couldn't talk about Gerald," Ginny observed. "He had to find another way to-"
The girl stopped suddenly, her eyes caught in front of her. Harry looked to where her vision lay, but nothing was there. "Honey?" he asked worriedly. "What is it?"
"Why can't he talk about Gerald?" Ginny breathed.
The room fell still at this little detail as the only answer hit all of their minds at once.
"Dear heavens," Molly gasped, hand jumping to cover her gaping mouth.
"I don't..." Arthur mumbled, "Necromancy is known but not so deeply...not enough to know if..."
"Gerald killed Lucius. What if...what if he also trapped him as a ghost?" Harry spoke what they were all thinking.
"But there's no spell that can-" Hermione started a weak objection.
"No spell that can raise the dead as they were when alive," Harry nodded fervently. "I know, but there are spells...there is magic that can call on a ghost or to talk to the dead. I saw my parents' ghosts and Cedric after he died. They came to me because of a spell."
"With what we know of Gerald's skills as a necromancer," Arthur picked up, "and how the Malfoy ghost is acting...I feel this is more than possible."
"That's beyond cruel!" Molly almost cried. "The man was hateful and vile and I wish nothing good for him...but this? To take his life then force him to keep living as a shadow?"
"There, there," her husband grabbed her hands in his and squeezed them.
"That means," Harry's previous thought about Lucius having learned something of the afterlife returned to him, "Perhaps Gerald is a demon...like what these religions say a demon is. Apollyon? Is that Greek too? Is this language special in anyway regarding these things?"
"It's Greek as well, yes," Arthur nodded. "Greek was one of the original languages these texts were written in. Aside from that, I don't know."
Harry switched his attention to his partner.
"We need to find out more about Grindelwald's experiments."