Sorry for the lag people, I wasn't sure if I should continue writing and put it off. But all of a sudden I got that writer's itch and here goes the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy. :)
Please also review if you would like another chapter soon! I would really appreciate any constructive criticism too!
It had been weeks since he had seen her properly. In fact, the last time he actually had a conversation with her was around the day that Potter had shown up unexpectedly. Draco had very little to do during the days so the amount of contact he had with Ginny was constantly on his mind, it was one of the few things that stopped him from going insane from boredom. He tried to think back to when he was alive and what kind of routine Ginny had kept then. He used to keep track of Potter and his groupies whereabouts and behaviours. He had even memorised Granger's entire timetable at one stage.
"Ahh, the good old days" he whispered to himself.
Draco thought back to the nights where he used to follow Granger back to her dormitory. He used to tell himself that it was necessary to keep tabs on Potter and his friends but now he wasn't so sure. He recalled the fascination he had with their friendship and the jealousy he often felt. Most of his 'friends' were mere minions and barely engaging enough to have a conversation with. He remembered once trying to have a conversation with Goyle about the political influence that Durmstrang had on the expulsion of giants from Romania, only to be met with a blank face and an uncomfortable silence. It didn't really help that Goyle had no idea where Romania was, but he had hoped to get more than just confusion or agreement from the Slytherins. The Gryffindors on the other hand always seemed to look so fulfilled and close to one another. The only person Draco had ever felt that way with was his mother; there was never a moment when he doubted her motives or her love for him. It was one of the few things that made Draco believe life was worth living. But now he wasn't of the living or the dead, but in an uncomfortable limbo which seemed even less desirable than death to him now.
But where was Ginny?
He knew she loved to read and spent almost as much time in the library as Granger, however she would only ever return to her quarters to sleep or occasionally pick up some books or parchment. He had a sudden terrible cold drop in his stomach, was she avoiding him? Realising how pathetic and un-Malfoy he was being he mentally slapped himself. He wouldn't let his life- or in this case death be dictated by some common girl and beginning to feel more like himself, a smirk formed itself around his lips.
Meanwhile in the library…Ginny's head was in a very large and tattered book.
Ghosts' magical abilities are very difficult to define as there is no clear limit to the types of powers that they are able to develop. Although there are certain types of abilities which all ghosts share, many are able to acquire unique abilities dependent on their experiences during their first year in transition. Common abilities include; telekinesis, legilimency, teleportation, invisibility, flight, intangibility, temperature reduction, possession and emotion manipulation. A notable example is William Marshall the 2nd Earl of Pembroke, commonly known as William the Wanderer who passed into the afterlife in 1231 A.D. and was able to wander into people's dreams and possess them through this method. Able to teleport distances all over the world and create portals, he once promised to portal a Wizard army through to Kyoto. None of which ever made it to the battle and were never heard from again. Spirits often remain on the earthly plane until their 'unfinished business' has been completed, though exceptions to this rule include ancestral spirits and wraiths that are able to pass back and forth through the astral and earthly planes at will or when summoned. Ghosts that were originally witches and wizards are typically stronger than muggle types and are more likely to manipulate the world around them. The most effective way of getting rid of a ghost infestation is helping the spirit meet the conditions that keeps it bound on the earthly plane (please see Chapter 4 for more in-depth information). However if this is not possible such as if the ghost's intention is revenge or fear of moving on, banishing charms and protective potions may be used.
Ginny put the book down, ran her fingers through her hair and took a long breath out of her nose. Rubbing her eyes she started to wonder what she was going to do. She had been reading up about banishing charms for ghosts for an entire week and as far as she could tell they only banished the ghost for a small period of time, possibly a few weeks at best. They were incredibly taxing and if she got it wrong there was the potential that she could anger Draco and he could end up hurting her. She wasn't frightened of him but she knew he was immensely sensitive even though he often seemed so aloof. She had already begun brewing the potion but the process took almost a month and Draco was growing in power every single day. Ginny could feel his presence every time he was near; where even with her eyes closed she always knew exactly where he was standing. It was as though the darkness and she were drawn to his location. And it had only become stronger since she first saw him. Draco had disappeared on a few occasions for long stretches of time. Ginny knew this was a part of the transition and any extreme emotions he felt related to his unfinished business would spark his developing powers beyond a conscious threshold, knocking him out of existence and into nothingness. These were the days Ginny rejoiced. The peace she so desperately had looked forward to this year had returned. Her enormous family and previous years of boarding with three other girls had deprived her of this luxury and she sure as hell wasn't going to let something so ridiculous get in her way. Standing abruptly and causing her chair to make a terrible grinding noise, Ginny flicked her hair and strutted out of the library leaving wide eyed Hogwarts students to watch her exit with curiosity.
"Banging hot" said a fourth year boy admiring the Head Girl. And most of the other boys that heard the comment completely agreed. She was certainly something to behold.
Opening the door to her quarters quietly hoping to avoid Draco's attention, she tip toed her way in and observed him standing by the enormous fireplace that was merrily crackling away, despite Draco's inability to feel its warmth. Draco was in fact leaning over the desk by the fireplace, cursing with such flamboyance that it actually made her laugh. Steel eyes glared. Ginny made a gesture with her hand as though she was swatting away the lasers his eyes shot out and walked towards him with obvious enjoyment written all over her face from whatever Draco's misfortune was at that moment.
"I wish I could read" his voice echoed hopelessly looking down at a book on the table that he had been desperately trying to open all day without any luck.
"You can't read?" exclaimed Ginny wrinkling her button nose, a habit Draco had noticed that meant she was confused. He supposed people found this cute, and he was surprised that for a moment he did too.
"No you total dimwit, how they gave you the position of Head Girl is completely beyond me. Professor McGonagall must have had some post-war brain trauma, or you slutted your way up the ladder". Obviously pondering how Ginny would have slutted her way to the position of Head Girl was taking over Draco's mind as his face had scrunched up and finally ended with a smirk. But by then Ginny had recovered and she took a swat at him, obviously forgetting his unfortunate position and only getting air.
"Why can't you read?" she asked as she drew near to him to get a view of the book.
"The pages, I can't turn them" Draco's eyes locked with hers and Ginny was immediately overcome with empathy and his closeness. She remembered when she once broke both her arms after Fred and George had told her that the carpet in their living room could fly if you jumped off the roof with it beneath you. Lucky the Burrow was only two stories when she was eight. Unlucky that she couldn't turn the pages of books, making it the most miserable summer she ever had. The feeling left as quickly as it had come. Remembering an occasion he had made Hermione cry, her blood began to boil.
"Sucks to be you" and with those words Ginny walked into her room and shut the door.
Draco remained staring at the door for almost an hour. He had gotten used to Ginny's animosity towards him but these days loneliness often overtook him with such intensity that he felt cold. Physically cold, he actually sensed the temperature around him becoming static and icy. It was really quite odd as he knew ghosts did not get hot or cold. He had tried turning on the fireplace but it made no difference. The see-through boy looked again to the door and walked up to it sensing Ginny's presence behind it from the warmth radiating towards him. Instinctively he reached for the doorknob and turned the handle. Flinging open the door with bewilderment as his brain slowly processed that he had been able to touch something, Draco broke out into a brilliant smile. And for the first time ever looking up at his beaming face, Ginny was overcome by his perfection. She had always known he was handsome as though it was a fact, the same way she recognised he was blonde. But his horrid personality had never let her see past that for a moment. Immediately ashamed and revolted with herself for feeling anything but disgust towards him, Ginny yelled at the top of her lungs while taking out her wand and succumbing to passion, she began the banishing charm.