Ghostly Curse

Ch 6

Ch 6 - When Walls Move

Hermione rolled her eyes as Lucius refused for the forth time to go down yet another darkened corridor. He had passed up the last three claiming that they would be stepping on the toes of his dead ancestors. She was trying to be understanding of his feelings but this was the last straw.

Swinging to face him, she queried, “How do you expect to find your Merlin forsaken body if you don’t get enough guts to search for it?”Lucius looked taken back for a moment before he answered ruefully, “I’m not avoiding looking for it. I just have enough respect for the dead to stay out of their chambers.”

Hermione shook her head, gesturing down the hall. “So what if these rooms belonged to and are filled with your ancestors things. I doubt they’d care if you just went through to check and see if your body was lying on one of their beds.”

Lucius looked at her for a few moments in perplexed silence. After a moment he asked, “Miss Granger, are you familiar with the practices of the oldest of pureblooded families?” His expression told her she was missing some information that was pertinent to their search.

“What exactly should I know that I don’t?” She asked slowly.

He sighed and looked down the darkened hallway for a moment before explaining, “Before purebloods adopted the Muggle way of burying their dead, they had a practice of bringing their loved ones down into the lowest parts of their home and putting them in rooms that were made to look like their own bedchambers.” He shrugged. “When we enter these rooms, we aren’t just going into space that holds their belongings. We’re walking into their graves.”

As his words sank in, Hermione’s jaw dropped. “You mean to say… Are you saying that….? There are bodies in these chambers?” At his nod, she wrapped her arms around herself and groaned. “Oh heavens. No wonder you have no desire to enter these rooms.”

He watched her reaction as he answered, “Well, yes. Among the unpleasant reason of ewwwe, dead corpses,” he exaggerated, mimicking what he felt was her attitude. “It also is somewhat disrespectful. A good comparison would be if I were to walk over someone’s grave, I suppose.”

She scowled at him. “I know that! I didn’t mean to imply that I thought the practice was gross. I’m just unsure how this was done.” She tilted her head as she wondered out loud. “What about the natural state of decay? Is there something done to keep that from happening?”

Lucius nodded. “Yes. There is a Stasis spell that is placed over the bodies. It keeps them in the same condition they were in when they passed away.” His expression became melancholy as he looked away from her.

Stepping closer to him, Hermione questioned, “Lucius, did your family still practice this tradition?”

He looked at her oddly. “Yes, but why?”

Taking a deep breath, Hermione explained. “Narcissa was found, but Draco never was. Do you think it was possible that Bella would have brought his body here? Perhaps if we found his, we would find yours…”

Lucius stared at her as if she’d grown two heads. “If she wouldn’t take care of the remains of her own sister, why would she see to Draco’s?”

Hermione’s eyebrow rose in speculation. “Because you had already seen Narcissa dead. You knew what had happened to her. What if she had wanted him placed where you could find him as well?”He held her eyes with his own for several moments before gesturing down a specific corridor. “Well, I guess there is one way to find out.” At her questioning look, he explained. “His rooms were to be down that way.”