Three Types of Ghosts

-Draco's POV-

When everyone seemed to be tightly asleep, Draco quickly threw on some clothes, sneaked out of the dormitory and through the common room. It was quite a way from the dungeons to the second floor bathroom and he did his best to move like a flying shadow, without making any sound.

Draco had always been light on his feet, sneaking was one of his specialities and today it paid off.

He thought of Y/N and hoped that she was having a quiet sleep this time and that the bezoar helped.

The hallways were completely empty and he reached Myrtle's bathroom without any interruption.

He closed the door carefully behind him.

The moon shone through the windows and he started looking for the cauldron which he found inside the stall in the very back.

"Lumos."

His wand emitted a cold light. He took a look at the potion. It was dark blue and smelled awful. Like a moldy stew.

He sat down and pulled out the flowers.

"A boy inside the girls bathroom?" Myrtle appeared in front of him. She was giggling. "And such a cute on at that."

"Leave me alone."

He ripped the petals off and let them fall into the cauldron.

"This is not your potion. Are you being naughty?"

"I'm helping my…friend."

He began stirring, trying to ignore the ghost.

"I think your friend is a bit crazy. She heard voices when she was here."

"And you didn't hear anything?"

"No. It was all in her head." Myrtle sighs. "But she was nice."

"Yes, she is nice," Draco mumbled.

"And pretty."

"Mhm."

"Almost as pretty as you." She giggled again.

Draco frowned. What was it with people giving him compliments today?

"I don't get to talk to boys often. The last time was with Harry in the bathtub." She sighed.

"I really don't want to hear more."

The potion started turning darker.

"You can take a bath here as well sometime. I won't bite."

Draco felt his face heating up. "No thanks."

Finally, the potion was black. He got up quickly.

"Okay, I'm done. Goodnight."

"Sure, leave me. Just like everyone else. Who cares about Myrtle?" The girl started whining but Draco just left the bathroom.

"Nox." Everything went dark again.

He started hurrying down the hallway, back to the stairs.

But when he took the first step, he heard something. A whimpring that seemed to be coming from above. He looked up.

"Draco," someone whispered. "Help me."

He didn't answer, he was frozen in place.

"I need your help."

He didn't recognize the voice. He also couldn't see anything.

"Draco-"

"Mr. Malfoy."

He jerked around only to stare into Snape's face.

"Professor."

"Why are you not in bed?"

"Did you hear that voice?"

Snape's expression didn't change. "There was no voice. Don't try to distract from the issue. You have no right to walk around at this time."

Draco couldn't find an excuse. "I'm sorry."

"Go to bed. Now."

He rushed past the professor, down the stairs. 'That was close.'

*****

When he picked up Y/N from the Hospital Wing the next morning after breakfast, she seemed to be in a really good mood.

She pulled him into a kiss, something he hadn't expected. But he let it happen.

Draco noticed how he started getting more comfortable with the idea of being with someone. Maybe Y/N was the right person for that. Maybe.

"How did it go?" was the first thing she asked.

"Good. I got caught by Snape in the hallway but didn't get in trouble."

Draco had decided to not tell Y/N about the voice for now. She already had enough on her plate and he wasn't sure how stable the girl was. She should focus on the potion, not some ghost that decided to haunt them. Maybe he could solve that mystery himself.

Speaking of ghosts, their first class for the day was History of Magic, which was taught by none other than Cuthbert Binns who died in the 60s. Draco couldn't stand the professor and made use of his self-writing quill while he used his normal one to scribble down some thoughts.

They were currently learning about the Goblin Rebellion of 1612, a topic that could be somewhat interesting if it wasn't being taught by Binns.

Y/N noticed his scribbling and whispered: "Are you writing me a love letter?"

Without responding, he took another piece of parchment and wrote down with neat letters:

'Will you be my date at the Hallowen party?

Yes

Definitely

Absolutely'

He folded it and handed it over to Y/N.

When she read it, she seemed to blush. Y/N took her quill and wrote down something. Then she handed it back.

'Maybe. Keep asking.'

He smiled to himself and put the parchment away before Binns could see it.

Then he felt Y/N's hand on his knee. He remembered how she had called him hot yesterday. No one had ever done that before, not even Pansy. It came very unexpectedly but it was…flattering.

Draco looked at the girl but she was too busy writing down Binns' dusty dry words.

Maybe it was time for the next step…if only he knew what that step would be.