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The Afterlife and Times of Myrtle Potter	By : NormanCharles Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Hermione Views: 19696 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Okay, okay. I'm NOT JK Rowlings, I do not own Harry Potter. I make no money from writing these stories, I do it because it's fun and other people seem to enjoy what I write - the best of whom write review and tell me when I get it right and

Chapter List
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Chapter 2: The Haunting and
the Defenders

Ghosts in the halls of
Hogwart�s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were common, you could hardly find
a room anywhere that didn�t get the occasional visit from one of the
ectoplasmic echoes of the �previously breathing.�

It�s an entirely different
matter to see one�s classmate, one who was being eulogized at that very moment,
suddenly appear at your elbow.

The two screaming Hufflepuffs
startled Myrtle, who recoiled in surprise and found to her horror the she was suddenly
floating just above her classmate�s heads.� Two of the Slytherin boys sniggered
as they could see clearly up Myrtle�s skirt.� The Fat Friar of Hufflepuff House
put a comforting arm around her shoulders and guided her back to the ground.

�I know you are confused
child, come with me and I will explain it to you.�

�Why would I go anywhere with
a ghost, begging your pardon Brother, why not stay in the hall with my
classmates?�

�Please humor an old ghost?�

Just then she realized that
the ectoplasm that was the Friar�s arm felt solid against her shoulders, she
glanced down at her own hand and saw that she could see through it, she was
translucent.

As the realization hit her she
let out a moan, long and mournful and someone said, quietly to a nearby friend,
�Myrtle�s Moaning,� and the friend who hadn�t heard clearly asked �did y�say Moaning
Myrtle?�

Unfortunately, that statement,
meant only as a request for clarification, caught on like wildfire.� In the
weeks to come the moniker �Moaning Myrtle� would stick.� Eventually everyone
would simply forget that she ever had a last name.

The Friar, Brother Antonio
Domingo, led Myrtle into the dungeons, not bothering to open doors as they
went, sometimes not bothering with doors at all, just passing through walls as
they descended.

�We only pass through walls
when we need to be somewhere in a hurry child,� the friar explained as they
descended, �normally we like to at least pretend we are walking down corridors
or sitting at tables, reading or writing.�

Finally they passed into a
large hall, obviously meant to be a feasting hall, but long forgotten as it was
in the bowels of the castle.� Inside the hall she saw just over two dozen
ghosts, some of whom she recognized, Nearly Headless Nick for one, The Bloody Baron
and the Grey Lady as well.

A very somber Sir Nicholas de
Mimsy-Porpington extended both his hands and very respectfully said, �Welcome
to Hogwarts dear spirit of the recently departed, I wish I could say that I�m
happy to see you but truth is, I�m not.� None of us are.� We are so sorry for
your loss.�

�I am dead, aren�t I?�
Myrtle asked.

�I�m afraid so child� the Grey
Lady said, placing a comforting hand on the girl�s shoulder, �do you remember
anything about the circumstances of your passing?�

Myrtle thought for a moment,
�I�m not sure milady, I remember I was upset, crying and then there was this
voice, a boy�s voice saying something in gibberish, and I got angry at the boy
and wanted to tell him to go away and, and, and . . . I woke up in the same
place where I think I died.�

�Child,� the Friar offered,
�is there some unfinished business you need to take care of, some task that
must be performed that can only be done by you?� Is there someone you have to
say goodbye to?�

�I don�t know, I don�t think
so, why?�

�It�s unusual for one so young
to remain grounded, Earth bound if you will.� Most of us were required to stay
on Earth because of some obligation, family to look after, loved ones to say
goodbye to, that sort of thing.�

�And some� began the Bloody
Baron, �are just not yet ready to go over to the other side!�

�Child,� the Grey Lady began,
�has someone captured your heart?�

�Well, there is this boy I
like, sorta, I was thinking of him just now . . .�

�Perhaps you need to tell him
goodbye before moving on?�

�No� she admitted dejectedly,
�he doesn�t know I exist.�

�Perhaps you need to solve
your own murder?�� Sir Nicholas offered.

�Was I murdered?� I don�t
know.� All I remember is standing just outside a cubicle and seeing a pair of
great big, yellow eyes.�

�Where was this?�

�Second floor, loo.�

�Anything else?�

�There was a boy�s voice . . .
but he was just talking nonsense, not even words . . .�

�You had a boy in the
bathroom?�

�No, no, nothing like that�
she looked down, �never anything like that, I�ve never even been kissed . . .�

�No boyfriends?� the Grey Lady
asked, sympathetically.

Myrtle shook her head no.

�Family?�

The girl sniffed and stammered
out �orph, orphan.�

�Any friends at all?�

Myrtle sobbed, and the Grey
Lady gathered her into a hug, �poor lonely spirit, we are your family now; you
don�t have to be alone ever again, unless that is your choice.�

The little ghost girl sobbed
into the lady�s hair, silver tears tracking down her face.

After what seemed like an age
� ghosts, it seems are very patient, they have after all, all the time in the
world � Myrtle had cried herself out.

�Let�s see where you were, um,
made the dear departed� Sir Nicholas offered as a suggestion.

�Can someone help me up to the
second floor please; I�m not sure how to move through closed doors and such.�

�Of course child, more than
happy to assist a young lady!� the ghost knight struck a gallant leg and bowed
� causing his head to become unhinged, and flop off to one side.

�Drat� he groused, pushing his
head back into place, �sorry.�

If a ghost could be said to
look green, Myrtle would have, but she plowed on �not at all Sir Nicholas.�

A small knot of ghosts guided
Myrtle all over the castle, giving �ghosting� lessons along the way.

�Once you know your way around
you�ll be able to just imagine yourself in a place and will simply appear
there.� A sort of spectral apparation if you will� the friar was explaining.�
�And walls and doors are purely advisory in nature!�� he exclaimed popping into
and out of the stone walls as he did so.

After a long time, maybe night
had fallen, maybe it was already the next day, time had little meaning in her
new existence, they found themselves floating in the corridor just outside the
girls� bathroom on the second floor.

Myrtle started to go in when
Sir Nicholas placed a hand on her arm, �wait� he suggested.

The Grey Lady looked back to
Nicholas, �you feel it too?�

�I certainly do� the
friar interjected.

�What?� Myrtle asked.

�Very dark magic, something unspeakably
evil is in there!�

�Why don�t I feel it?�

�Perhaps because you have been
touched by it you are immune, who knows?� But I honestly believe that even ones
such as ourselves would be right to fear whatever is or was in that room!��

�I�ll just pop in and have a
look around then shall I?� the girl asked.

�Hurry back if you see
anything child, some magics can hurt us even if we�re not, um, of the breathing
persuasion� the friar warned.

She stepped quickly through
the wall, ready to retreat at any sign of danger, but saw nothing.

She stuck her head through the
door and said �all clear.�

The other spirits followed her
into the room and investigated all the corners, upper and lower for any signs
of lurking evil, but couldn�t find it.� The feeling was there nonetheless.

�Perhaps you�d like to lodge
with me?� the Grey Lady offered, �I have a lovely corner in the Ravenclaw
common room and you�d be most welcome.

Myrtle�s eyes went suddenly
dark, �another time perhaps, milady, right now I don�t want to be anywhere near
a Ravenclaw!�

�Oh dear, have I offended?�

Myrtle shook herself trying to
rid herself of her anger, �no, oh no milady, not you, but some of the students
in your house have been very mean to me!�

�Do tell.�

�It was Olive Hornby who drove
me away from the great hall when I ran, distraught into this bathroom.� In a
way, it�s her fault that I died!�

The other ghosts cringed at
this, the Fat Friar took it upon himself to explain to the new ghost that it
was very bad manners to use the words �death� or �died� and it was never done
in polite ghost company.

�Is that why I�m still here,
brother?� Am I supposed to haunt those who taunted me in life?�

�It�s not likely child,� the
friar responded, �some spirits are vengeful, but those are usually exorcised,
perhaps if you find your quiet place� he tapped his own chest in the vicinity
of his ghostly heart, �your place of peace, then you may find why you�re still
here on this plane.�

The other ghosts turned to
leave but Myrtle said �I think I�ll just stay here for a bit, it feels like, I
dunno, my place somehow.�

The other spirits nodded in
understanding and made their farewells.

Myrtle floated around the
bathroom, not a bad place, really.� Lots of room, lots of places to perch � she
especially liked the high stained glass window up near the rafters.�

She also found she could flow
into the pipes and just rest there in the �u� bend.� She also discovered to her
discomfiture that if anyone drained water out of a sink that she was attached
to then she would be washed out of the castle into the lake.� The first time
that happened she found herself eye-to-eye with the giant squid.� That was also
the first time she apparated, naturally she found herself back in �her�
bathroom.

Myrtle found herself more often
than not in her bathroom, not that she was antisocial, she got on well with all
the other ghosts, even Peeves the Poltergeist was nicer to her than he had ever
been when she was alive.

�Moaning Myrtle is one of us
now, so I say she has Peeves� protection!�

Winter gave way to spring and
life, or rather afterlife settled into something of a comfortable pattern.� Even
some of the students were at least waving to her when they saw her.� And
Nicholas Farkas, the boy she had been making �goo-goo eyes� at during the
previous fall placed a lovely lily in the knave beside her bathroom door.

�Do you really want to be in
here?� a girl�s voice asked, �isn�t this where Frisbee snuffed it?�

�This is as good a place as
any� came another girl�s reply, �and she�s dead and gone.�

�Dead, yeah, but not exactly gone;
don�cha know she haunts this bathroom?�

�Yeah, well,� Olive said as
she stuck a fag in her mouth and touched the end of her wand to it, lighting
it, �what�s she gonna do, moan me to death?�

�Don�cha know you�re not
s�posed to talk bad about the dead?�

�Yeah, well that little bint
will be about as scary as a ghost as she was in life!�

Myrtle learned that day that
she could be a truly terrifying sight, rising from the stone floor, a look of
righteous fury on her translucent face.

Olive learned that she could
urinate while standing, with her pants still on.

�Hornby!� Myrtle screamed, and
all the blood drained from the live girl�s face as she wet herself, her legs
feeling like rubber.� Her friend was out the door like a shot, leaving Olive to
face the angry ghost alone.

�It�s not enough that you
tormented me while I was alive, you have the gall to come into my
bathroom stinking it up with your fags and then insult my memory?�

�Frisby?� Y�know I din�t mean anything,
right?� You�re not goin� to do anything to me now or anything are you?�� The once
haughty Ravenclaw was now kneeling in a puddle of her own making.

�You mean like, oh I dunno, haunt
you?�� Myrtle grinned an inhumanly wide grin, �what a wonderful idea!�

For the remaining two months
of school Olive Hornby lived in her own little self imposed hell, if she looked
in a mirror she saw Myrtle�s face leering back at her.� When she tried to sleep
the ghost would hum an annoying little song just loud enough to steal her
sleep, what the hell were �mare�s � e � dotes� anyway?� When she did finally
get to sleep, and what ever sleep she got was never enough, she dreaded waking
up because she knew she would be nose-to-nose with the ghost when she opened
her eyes in the morning.� The first time that happened she scrambled out of bed
so quickly that she fell and bruised her bum.

The worst part was, she
couldn�t convince anyone that she was being haunted, every time she tried to
get anyone else to see the ghost, Myrtle wasn�t there.� People started avoiding
the paranoid Hornby girl.� What was obvious was that she wasn�t
sleeping, evidenced by the dark circles under her eyes and she was losing
weight, rapidly.� Her clothes hung off her frame.

She barely got four O.W.L.s
having fallen asleep during the written portions of her tests, for once Myrtle
let her sleep.� And she was the first one packed, sitting on her trunk before
the sun rose on the day of the leaving feast.� She was chuckling maniacally to
herself, and in an eerie voice was singing in a whisper, �I�ll be gone and
she�ll be here, she can�t follow me home.�

�My dear Olive, whatever gave
you the idea that I can�t follow you anywhere?�

�You!� You have to stay here,
them�s the rules ain�t they?� You gotta stay where you died!�

�Oh Olive, don�t you know I
can go wherever water flows?� So unless you live somewhere where there�s no
water for drinking or bathing . . .� she let the concept sink in.

�What do you want from me?� she
screeched, waking her roommates in the process.� They all scrambled out of the
room as if they�d seen a ghost, which they hadn�t, Myrtle was very good at not
being seen when she wanted to.

�What I want is simple, I want
justice.� You were my personal tormentor for five years, ever since we first
got to Hogwart�s and you pushed me out of the bloody boat!� What was that about
anyway?� I want five years from you in return or. . .�

Olive looked at her tormentor,
daring to hope for an out.

�. . .or I want an apology for
the way you�ve treated me all these years.�

�Okay, I�m sorry, I�m a prat,
I�m a git, I�m a twat!� I�ll be whatever you say I am but leave me alone!�

�Sorry, not good enough.� My
humiliations were public, more often than not in the great hall.� You want to
be shot of me?� I need an apology, in the great hall.� When I get it I�ll be
done with you.� Today would be good, because you�re not going to see the great
hall for the better part of three months after today and you�ll be seeing a lot
of me in the meantime!�

_____ooo000ooo_____

�Neville!� Harry shouted to
the courtyard, �take two medics and look at all of the faces, once you�ve seen
them all banish them!�

Neville Longbottom was pale
but determined, he had chosen to become one of the first combat medics in
Dumbledore�s Army and he had already seen more than his share of bloodied
corpses, now he led a squad of medics and he knew what he had to do.

He saw many faces that he recognized;
too bloody many.� Men, women, children, Voldemort didn�t care; you were either
with him or against him, you and all your family. Neville swore to himself,
once he was finished with this business, if he survived, he was going to spend
the rest of his life in or near a greenhouse making as much beauty as he could
to purge his memories.

Once he had seen the last of
the heads he looked at his two partners, who nodded, then performed the �evanesco�
charm that vanished the horrors that he had been forced by his duties to
memorize.� If only he could rid his mind of the images as easily.� Two other medics
arrived on scene carrying a stone penseive between them, Neville and his
assistants gladly pulled the memories of what they had seen from their minds
and placed them into the stone bowl.� At least now the memories were not fresh
and in the front of their minds.� The memories would be available for the
bereaved to look through later.

He pulled a miniature broom
from his pocket and sub-vocalized �finite,� cancelling the shrinking charm and
restoring it to its full size.� Neville nimbly hopped astride the broom and
chuckled as he realized how far he had come since that first disastrous flying
lesson so many years ago.� He flew up to the wall to give Harry a report.

Without preamble he said �from
the DA, the Browns, Finnegans, and Spinnets, and the Thomases.�

�Any Order members?�

�No, but lots of DA members
have lost their families.� Merlin Harry, is that maniacal fuck just going to
kill everybody?�

�Seems like, Neville, I have
to wonder what�s he going to do once everyone�s dead?�

�No redheads?�

By �redheads� Neville knew
that Harry meant any of the Weasley clan.

�Nope, the fidelius is
holding.�

�Thank whatever gods there are
for small favors.�

A deceptively calm voice from
behind Harry asked, �Is it true?�

�Whatever gods there are are
petty and delight in human suffering� Harry thought as he turned to face Dean
Thomas.

�Is it true?� Dean repeated.

�Yes Dean, it�s true, I�m so
sorry.�

Dean could see how the deaths
of all the innocents were weighing down on his soul, he could see in Harry�s
eyes the pain and loss that he felt himself, multiplied a thousand times.

�Tell me that I will see him
suffer, him and anyone who wears that fuckin mark!�

�The lucky ones will die
quickly, after that; they belong to the survivors of those families.� Do with them
whatever you will, but remember Dean, your family didn�t ever want to see you
become one of them!�� Harry pointed to the forest, where Voldemort�s troops
were assembled.� �Everyone who bears the mark will be judged, everyone!�
Whether on that battlefield or in the Wizengamot, they will be judged!�

Dean stood at the ramparts and
prayed for the enemy to come, he had a lot of killing to do today.

_____ooo000ooo_____

Myrtle and the Bloody Baron, whose
actual name she still hadn�t learned, moved through the tunnels beneath the
castle, they knew at least two of them came out in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, their entrances had been caved in centuries ago, but solid rock did not
deter the spirit folk.� They passed through the rock easily and poked their
heads out of the ground.

�Baron� she hissed, �your
hat!�

The baron removed his
extravagant hat with its large silver buckle and white plume and affixed it to
his belt �sorry� he mumbled.

Get a good count here and then
we can report back to the defenders.

_____ooo000ooo_____

The Auror in Charge on Site
was Auror Captain Emery, his troops called him Captain or ACOS.� The DMLE
officer was on detached duty reporting to the head of the Order of the Pheonix,
one Harry James Potter, all his troops called him Harry.� Captain Emery
was skeptical at first, but he had seen what the Boy Who Lived could do and was
on board one hundred percent.� When the excited ghost girl asked to be taken to
whoever was in charge that was actually Harry.

�Harry, a moment please?�

�Yes Captain?�

��This young lady says she has
some information for us.�

�Myrtle?�

Myrtle was hesitant at first, remembering
how she had lashed out at Harry, unjustly, over his duel with Draco and she
still felt the sting of his rebuke when he finally had it out with her, telling
her in no uncertain terms that she was as guilty as Draco had been for the
first invasion of Hogwarts in a thousand years and the subsequent death of
Albus Dumbledore.

�Harry, some of the ghosts
have agreed to work with you, all of you defending the castle.�

�Go on� he said,
encouragingly.

�The Bloody Baron and I have
scouted the enemy and I have a full report.�

Harry smiled and said
�brilliant, Myrtle if I could I would hug you right now, this could be just
what we need right now!� Captain bring your lieutenants up here, Ron, get your
brothers, Neville and Dean and Padma up here right away � use your patronus,
quickly!�

In ten minutes all the leaders
were diagramming the enemy�s strength and position.

Three giants, each with a tree
trunk to use as battering rams.

One hundred and fifty inferi
in a corral being herded by a necromancer.

Two dozen mountain trolls,
each about half the size of a giant, carrying clubs with ugly spikes protruding
from them.

Fifty death eaters mounted on
brooms practicing strafing runs.

An additional two hundred
death eaters carrying crossbows as well as wands.

Half a dozen goblin ward
breakers

No sign of dementors.

�Ron, no one has beaten you in
a game of chess in the past seven years that I know of, can we contain these
guys?�

Ron�s brow was knit in
concentration, �yep, but we�re gonna bleed, no way around it.�

�Are we gonna win, Ron?�

He nodded, a grim expression
on his face, �yeah, we�re gonna win.�

��
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The Afterlife and Times of Myrtle Potter