A/N: This first chapter is pretty graphic and sad so be warned. The story is completely finish and will be four chapters long and I will post one chapter a week. I hope you enjoy the story because I really loved writing it. I was able to infuse my own ideas of death and what I think about ghosts and the afterlife. Happy readings and tell me what you think of it because I love it when I get reviews. hugs
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any part of it because I am a butterfly.
Chapter 1. Don't Weep at my Grave
Through the deep red curtains drawn around her bed she could make out the full moon shining a brilliant white in the night sky. It taunted her and laughed, pushing her to do what she needed to do to be free. Twisting the dagger in her hand the light from the moon reflected from the blade into her eyes.
Do it. Sink the blade into your veins. Nobody loves you. I need your blood. You are worthless.
She gave into the moon's whispered words. Sitting cross-legged on her down comforter with the soft snores of her roommates around her, she placed the dagger against her creamy white arms. The moon lit up the silver scars that were permanently etched in her skin. The blade pierced her skin creating one last scar. She didn't even flinch when the blood began to pool in her hands.
As the life flowed slowly from her memories flowed through her head.
Ever since her first year when everyone found out she was the one possessed by Tom Riddle and was taken into the Chamber of Secrets everyone avoided her. Six years had gone by and still people would flee when seeing her in the halls. The beginning of the year always brought whispers of the older students telling the first years the story which by now had become exaggerated. The school thought she was a working for the Dark Lord so in turn she had few friends and people would taunt her day and night. Her brother, Ron, was too wrapped up with Harry and Hermione that he gave up defending the rumors years ago. Six years of being alone had finally paid its toll on Ginevra. The depression had taken over her whole body and now she saw no hope for the future. She couldn't stand to spend two more years of the whispers and stares of Hogwarts students. Tonight she would create a new story for everyone to whisper about. Maybe then they would feel guilty and realize how much pain they made her feel inside.
Blood now created a small pool in front of her. The open wound slowly began to stop bleeding. She dipped her hand into her blood. The crimson liquid slipped between her fingers. The blood dripped happily around her. She slowly ran her fingers down her face feeling the cold blood on her face. She dripped the blood down her legs, arms, and torso. Dragging the blade along her stomach a new river of blood was created. Tightening the sash on the robe and grabbing the knife, Ginevra pierced the dagger deeper into her skin wanting to release more blood. She swung her feet over her bed and allowed the river of blood created by the cut on her stomach to travel till it dripped from her toes onto the wooden floor of the dormitory. Grabbing her dagger she lowered her body off the bed. She tiptoed out of her room and through the common room and out the door leaving bloodied footprints along the way.
Walking down the corridors, starting from the seventh floor, she left her trails of blood for all to see in the morning. Finding an uncut piece of skin she dug the dagger deeper than she ever had before. Blood began to spray from the wound splattering onto the windows. Her pace slowed as she continued down the stairs. The only sound heard was the sound of her dagger which she ran along the stone castle walls and the soft dripping of blood which flowed from both arms. Her head was spinning and she felt she could not go on any longer. Dark shadows flew across her vision when she reached the entrance of the castle. She stood in the center of the hall looking at the castle around her. Her head swayed in circles and her eyes fluttered closed. Underneath her blood covered body her skin turned a ghastly transparent white. Her hand lost grip of the dagger and it clatter to the floor echoing down the halls. Within seconds her body too crumpled to the ground. Her breathing became shallower as she lay dying on the cold floor of the entrance hall. Her heart pumped the last of the blood in her body forming a protective pool around Ginevra's body. Her once warm honey brown eyes gazed over turning a dark almost black color. In a final breath she whispered, I'm free.
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Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini tiredly stalked the halls. It was nearing 2 am and their patrol of the hallways would soon be over. Both men were craving to fall into their beds. Most students were snuggled in their beds while the boys made sure there was order within the castle walls. The Sunday night before the first day of classes proved to be an extremely uneventful night. Taking one last loop around the school Draco's eye caught a set of bloodied footprints.
"What do you think those are Blaise? Is Peeves playing another joke?"
"I am not sure but we should check it out."
Following the bloodied footsteps even more blood was brought before their eyes. Blood was on windows, the walls and across the floor.
"Blaise I think you should go find a teacher."
Blaise took off the opposite direction as Draco took off in a jog down the staircase following the blood. Seeing as how much blood there already was Draco was in shock when he reached the landing and found a lake of blood at his feet and in the middle of that lake was the body of a girl laying face down. She did not move, not even her torso rose taking in air. Her face was hidden but the red vibrant hair of the girl hinted right away of who the girl was.
"Ginny? Ginny Weasley is that you?"
She still did not stir. Stepping across the lake of blood he shook her body. Flipping her onto her back he was met with bloodied white dead face of Ginevra Weasley. Her eyes were two dark tunnels filled with different emotions. Draco could see pain and sadness but underneath it all was a sparkle of freedom. Putting his ear to her chest he found not even the slightest bit of a heartbeat. Turning over her arms he saw her cuts. The deep gashed glistening with blood.
"Why Ginny? Why did you do this to yourself?"
Pulling her lifeless body into his lap, for the first time in years Draco Malfoy let tears fall from his eyes. What had made her life so bad that she had to kill herself? All the years of his life he had been so stuck up and into himself, never had he taken a second to think that the lives of other people could be more complex than his. Now here he was in the front entrance hold the dead body of a woman who was so deep in depression she felt she needed to kill herself to be free.
Suddenly footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway. Headmaster Dumbledore, the Heads of Houses, and Blaise stopped suddenly and gasped in horror at what they saw.
"She's dead." Draco sobbed out. Looking past the group of Professors to the descending moon, it glowed a blood red.
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Classes didn't start the next day. Students were not allowed out beyond their common rooms. Filch and the other teachers were in the halls trying to clean the blood from the castle walls and floor. The Gryffindors awoke in horror to find blood littered in the common room and in the sixth year girls dormitory. Upon the realization that Ginevra Weasley was missing whispers started. Ron, Harry, and Hermione were frantic trying to find out what was going on. Professor McGonagall came and moved the students to the Great Hall. Their journey there though was beyond sickening. Teachers were working hard to remove the blood as they walked by. Upon passing by the entrance everyone gasped. The pool of blood still remained though the body was gone.
"Professor McGonagall where is my sister?"
"Mr. Weasley if you follow me the Headmaster would like to speak to you."
Entering the Headmasters office, Ron was greeted by his entire family crying.
"Mum what happened?"
"Your sister…" Mrs. Weasley couldn't finish her sentence and burrowed her head into her sons shoulder to cry.
"Ron, your sister killed herself last night." His father's tired voice said.
Ron felt he had just been hit by a bludger. He stumbled backward hitting the wall then falling to the ground.
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"Three nights ago a tragedy occurred at Hogwarts. Ginevra Molly Weasley passed away. She will always be remembered in the hearts of the people who loved her. She was a strong person but strong people can become weak at times. She could not find anyone to turn to in her greatest time of need and so here we are mourning the loss of a sister, a friend, a fellow Gryffindor, a classmate. She was top of her class and was sure to have a successful future. She was courageous all the way to the last moments of her life. She is the wind in the trees. She is the patch of sunlight on a cloudy day. She is the star in the sky that shines brighter than the rest. Now I would like to invite Ron Weasley to say a few words."
Ron approached the front with raw red eyes.
"Most of you didn't know my sister. Most of you talked behind her back and made assumptions about her which were false. But what you don't know was that she was beautiful. She would have helped any of you in an instant no questions asked. In the end your words and your stares killed her. You ate away the light inside her. But now I hope that she is free wherever she is. Free as a butterfly."
Ron walked toward the coffin and placed a rose on the top and kissed the wooden lid. One by one student's walked past the coffin saying their last goodbyes and apologies. After all the students had left Draco appeared from behind a tree and sauntered toward her gravestone. The gravestone, which would be moved to the family plot in a matter of days, was simple like her. A butterfly was carved into the stone next to a poem.
Ginevra Molly Weasley
Born: 8-11-1983 Died: 8-31-1997
Don't weep at my grave,
For I am not there,
I've a date with a butterfly
To dance in the air.
I'll be singing in the sunshine,
Wild and free,
Playing tag with the wind,
While I'm waiting for thee.
Draco pulled out the bouquet of star gazer lilies and placed them by her grave along with a note of promise he wrote for her and himself. He didn't know if she liked the flower but seeing them made him think of her. He sat by her grave remembering the night he found her. Every night since, he had nightmares of watching her walk through the halls bleeding to death. If only he and Blaise had taken a different route, then maybe he could have saved her but from the looks of it no one could have saved her then. Draco promised himself not to think only of himself. Before everything had to be about him but now things were different. He promised to open his eyes to the world around him. He never knew her, in fact he added to the taunting which killed her but now he felt like he needed to change his life to be forgiven.
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A week after the funeral classes began as normal though students now seemed more melancholy. The whispers now questioned the how and why Ginevra Weasley killed herself. What the students didn't know though was that their questions would soon be answered. At 6am three weeks after Ginny's death, students in Gryffindor slept soundly in their beds. Hermione Granger woke early, showered, and went to the common room to finish an essay she had due next week. Stepping into the room she let out a blood curdling scream. Students jumped from their beds and hurried toward the screams. They too freaked out seeing the common room once again cover in blood. Looking around nobody seemed to be missing. Professor McGonagall came and ushered the students to the Great Hall. After further investigation no other students were missing. The teachers thought someone was trying to play a sick joke. After cleaning the room and disciplining the student's, life at Hogwarts went back to normal.
A week later while class was in session Professor McGonagall class was disrupted by someone running a metal object along the stone wall in the hall. When she went into the hall to give the student detention nobody was there. Week after week strange occurrences kept happening; bloodied footprints in hallways, students hearing someone whispering "I'm free" in the entrance hall, and so on. It wasn't until a month after Ginny's death did the biggest fright come. As students walked to breakfast they were greeted with a pool of blood in the entrance hall. During classes all anyone could hear was the sound of someone dragging metal across the stone wall. Since no one could be found causing the noises the teachers began to blame the Hogwarts ghosts for disrupting class.
"But Headmaster it has to be one of the ghosts."
"Minerva, I talked to them and none of them have any clue and you know the ghosts would never disrespect the death of another."
"Could it be possible that…."
"I don't know. We will just have to see with time."
The noises continued on for weeks. No one knew what the day would bring. Ron was just a shell of who he once was. Not even Hermione or Harry could bring him to cheer up. Ron blamed himself for her death. If only he would have stopped the other students from spreading the stories about her.
Draco had been trying his best to turn around his life. He no longer walked the halls like he owned the place. He stopped torturing other students especially the wonder trio. People started to think he had gone soft. His father kept sending letters ordering him to join him and become a Deatheater and each letter Draco burned in the fire.
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October 31st came and students were excited for the feast and dance that was happening in the evening. The bell rang signaling the end of the first class. Students began to file out of classrooms and hurried to their next class. Some students headed to their dormitories, some went outside, others headed to the library. That's when everyone heard it. Someone started screaming then more people started screaming. Madame Pince rush out of the library to see what was disturbing her silent library. Students were pressed against the wall. Their eyes were wide with fear. Their focus was on a transparent Ginevra Weasley walking along the wall sobbing silently and dragging a knife on the stone and dripping blood everywhere. Her eyes were empty, transfixed to the ground. She did not seem to see her fellow classmates or hear the screams. Headmaster Dumbledore was called and came to witness the apparition of Ginevra.
"Ginevra…" Dumbledore said walking toward her. She did not acknowledge him and continued to follow the path she took the night of her death. "Madame Pince gather the students and send them to the Great Hall."
Dumbledore followed Ginevra on her journey, sending students he saw straight to the Great Hall. Ginevra walk to the entrance hall and collapsed the same spot she did the day she died with blood continuing to pool around her. As she took her last breath she said I'm free her words echoed in the halls.
"Minerva, stay out here and usher any students into the hall and then tell me if something happens."
Dumbledore then walked into the Great Hall facing confused and scared students.
"Attention" Dumbledore walked to the front of the room. "It seems the ghost of Ginevra Weasley is stalking the halls. Just like any of the other ghosts here she is not here to harm you. She doesn't seem to be speaking to anyone, just walking along the halls. Please do not try and bother her until we know more information. Are there any questions?"
"Is she alive?"
"No she is a ghost."
"I saw her carrying a knife can she hurt us?"
"No she will not hurt you." Dumbledore assured them.
"She is leaving trails of blood all over."
"Yes she is and we will clean it all up. We do not know yet if she will even reappear."
But she did reappear, almost every day. Her haunting figure stalked the hallways at different times taking the same death march she took on August 31st. Each time she would end in the entrance hall surrounded by a pool of blood. She would remain there between five to thirty minutes and then disappear. Students were sickened by the sight but also made them depressed watching her die over and over again knowing they added to the cause. Ron could not stand walking the halls in fear of seeing his sister. Each time he saw her he would break down and either Harry or Hermione would have to take him to the hospital.
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"Sir Nicholas, are you sure you know nothing of the ghost of Miss Weasley?"
"I have asked all the other ghosts and even confronted her and still nothing. Nobody knows anything about her but the second I find anything out I will come straight to you."
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One afternoon Draco was leaving the library and noticed down the hall the silvery figure of Ginevra. Quickly he caught up with her and followed her along the halls. She didn't notice him walking along side of her. Observing her, her sad eyes leaked tears, her wounds were dripping blood constantly, and she wore only the small silk robe just covering her figure and soaked with blood. Stepping lightly she reached the last step and stopped. He watched her sway and then crash to the ground. Whenever Draco wasn't in class and saw her ghostly figure walking her joined her. Still she never noticed him. By now he had her death march memorized.
November came and Draco began his training for Quidditch. The match quickly approached along with the threat of his father coming. The letters kept coming but Draco kept ignoring them. This year the Slytherin team was ready to kill the competition. The day of the match Draco knew to play against the Gryffindor weaknesses. This was their first game without Ginevra as their chaser and Harry and Ron were sure to be thinking this. Even though Draco knew using their pain against them was conniving Draco had to win. As the game started Draco was trying to keep focus looking for the snitch. He kept watching the players envisioning Ginevra playing along side. Snapping back into reality and focusing on the game in no time Draco found the snitch and won the game. Upon entering his dorm room Draco was greeted by his father.
"Son, I have sent countless letters and have gotten no response back." Lucius pressed Draco against the wall. "The Deatheater ceremony is quickly approaching and I need you to join us. If you don't there will be severe consequences."
"I will not become a Deatheater father. I've changed."
"You have not changed. I raised you to obey what I tell you to do and you will go through with the ceremony."
"No I will not. I don't need you anymore father. I can make my own decisions. Hurting people is not the answer."
Lucius pulled Draco by his shirt a slammed him hard into wall knocking his breath out. "You are going to pay son. I hope you understand the weight of your words." With that he turned to leave.
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The next few days Draco was on edge inside. He continued following Ginevra when he could and even opted to help tutor a third year student in potions. Students were unsure of the new side Draco was showing. They didn't know whether to respect him or fear him, most choose to avoid Draco. Sitting outside on December 1st, Draco enjoyed the first snowfall.
"Hey Draco what is going on lately?"
"Blaise, well not much just thinking about life you know."
"Yea, you have changed a lot this year."
"You know something hit me and I just realized I needed to change my life. I stood up to my father for once."
"I don't believe that he must be livid. Was it the death?"
"Yea"
"What happened the night you found her?"
"If you would have been there to see the blood in person and touch her body staring into those eyes then it would be the same for you. She haunts me in my dreams. How much sadness and pain she felt and the only answer she could find to be free was to die. I just don't understand."
"No one understands Draco. No one knows the truth. She never left a note."
"She wanted to be free." Draco stood and headed for the doors. He jumped back when entering and finding Ginevra standing and bleeding. Draco stepped close to her. Soon her eyes would flutter and then she would fall. Draco walked a circle around her. Even though her body glowed silver her hair remained the vibrant red. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Draco couldn't help but want to stroke her cheek brushing away the tears. His hand ventured to her glowing skin not knowing what would happen. When he reached what was supposed to be her cheek he felt water. Suddenly her eyes darted to where he was standing then fluttered and she hit the ground. Draco stood there with his hand still in the air where her cheek was second ago. His finger was wet with her tears. His heart was beating rapidly and his breath had quickened. Draco knew her every move and never had she done that. When he looked back down she had already disappeared. A week had gone by and not once did Ginevra walk the halls students believed her sightings were done. Draco was disappointed but like magic she started her rounds again. He followed her and like before she never glanced in any direction before her eyes fluttered and she fell. Draco wondered if his experience was a break through.
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