Preferably for them to become un-ghosted and un-painted by the end but I'll take a for real dead Draco waiting for his favorite scarhead to join him.

Thank you!

Hi anon! I love this ask and cackled at the thought of ghost!Draco telling Harry to hurry up and die already 😂👍🏼 I’ve only read a few ghost fics, it’s not my usual jam but I’m hoping my followers can jump in and add some recs. I also wanna mention Litany by thistle_verse, it’s a great read but despite the happy ending it leans heavily on the angsty/contemplative side, so I’m afraid there’s not a lot of snark there.

Portrait!Draco is not a common trope but I did some research and found this fic by jamie2109, I’ve never read it but it might be up your alley. I hope you enjoy these as well:

Silence on the Seventh Floor by @fw00shy (2021, T, 970 words)

Draco haunted the seventh-floor corridor of Hogwarts. A Third Year found him up there one night, knocking the frames together as though trying to shake something out of them.

The Edge of Something by @tackytigerfic (2022, M, 1.4k) - not-quite-a-ghost-Draco 😂

Draco Malfoy isn't dead. He is, however, appearing in incorporeal form in Harry Potter's bedroom.

Still Life by amalin (2003, T, 3.5k)

Post-war. Actually, post-death

In Pieces by dysonrules (2012, M, 85k)

A Lazy Pretence Of A Boy.

“So, you’ve come back to Hogwarts. Our splendid Saviour. The greatest of bloody heroes. Why are you hesitating? Cowering by the door like some first-year Hufflepuff? Enter. You’ve here to gloat, aren’t you, Potter? Here to brag? Here to shove your living, breathing face into mine?”

“No… Malfo- Draco. No. I’m not here to brag. It’s been… It’s been more than ten years. McGonagall asked me to come back. Asked me to talk to you… Your behaviour around the school isn’t acceptable. Appearing in front of the first-years, with half of your skin burnt off? You’re frightening them, Draco. They’re just kids.”

“Just kids? Fuck, but it’s true what the students say. You’ve turned into a spineless Ministry drone! We were just kids, remember? Just kids who fought a war. You were just a kid when you destroyed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Just a kid when you saved the world. Just a kid when you let me plummet to my death, consumed in the Fiendfyre-”

“And I’m sorry. I’m sorry! I wanted to save you, Draco. That’s why we flew back into the Room… But there was so much smoke. There was so much smoke, and my eyes were stinging, my throat was full of ash, and I could barely see… You hand slipped and then it was too late-”

“Don’t you dare lie! You did it on purpose. You hated me. You wanted me dead. You trapped me here, in these cold stone walls for time without end. The war hasn’t ended for me, Potter, and it never will! I don’t need your sympathy. Go back to Ginevra. Go back to your family, and leave me alone.”

“I didn’t marry Ginny, and I don’t have children... Bloody hell. You’re every bit as melodramatic a ghost as you were alive, drifting through corridors and waiting in dark corners. The war hasn’t ended for me, either! You think I don’t see your face, every day of my life? I hear the silence of your muted scream in every silent room I enter. I feel the lick of those flames in every fireplace-“

“Shut up! Go home! You killed me. Trapped me forever in this dark limbo. There are so many faces, Potter. All of them are getting older… All of them growing, laughing, kissing, fucking! Everything I never had. Everything I was never allowed. My life was naught but pure-blood formality and expectations, snuffed out before it even began-”

“Wouldn’t you rather leave? There’s a ritual. It’s old magic, dark spell work, but I’ve managed it before. You’d be freed from this reality… Finally free of Hogwarts.”

“The Libertatem Mori? I’ve heard tell of it from the other ghosts. They say that it’s as painless as falling asleep, though those insipid fools dare not take the final step.”

“Do you dare, Draco? I wanted to save you when we were boys, but I couldn’t. Give me this, please. Let me save you this time-“

“I’ll never let you save me. The boy I was, when I was alive… He loved you, more than any other on the earth... Everyday he waited for you to see his pain and his torment, but you never did! You were blind to him. Even when he stood before you, in tears, you chose instead to lacerate him. So now I’ll wait here, a hazy pretence of a boy who coveted and craved, diaphanous where once I was flesh. I’ll stay here, in the halls and corridors of your childhood, a cold imitation of a life once lived. Every day you live in this world, I’ll be here, waiting for you to die. Go away now and live. Live the life you denied me.”

Thank you mags for beautiful cover art. ❤

This was written for @gameofdrarry Exploding Snap.

Summary:  In which Draco dies during the battle of Hogwarts and a ten year old muggleborn witch manages to bring him back as some kind of ghost. Now all he has to do is find a way to come back to life.

Category: Gen

Rating: Teens and up

Words:  13225

Tags: Ghost!Draco, Drarry, Original Characters (the original character is a main, and Harry isn’t that much in the fic), Resurrection, a bit of grief

Draco and Crookshanks were stretched out over the duvet while Hermione got ready for bed. “You really mustn’t scare Harry and Ron like that.” She said perching on the edge of the bed while removing her bobby pins. “They’ve been through a lot and they’re still quite sensitive.” 

Draco raised a brow in response. “Though…” Hermione continued. “Ron’s shrieking was rather nostalgic, actually.” She brushed her fingers through her hair, scouring for any wayward hairpins before turning to face Draco.

“Malfoy… Can I ask you something.” She said in a soft inquisitive voice.

“I suspect you’re going to.” Draco said, pushing up from his elbows to a sitting position.

“Can I touch you?” Hermione asked in a voice just above a whisper. Draco’s brow arched to meet his hairline, a lascivious grin spread across his face. “Have I died and gone to heaven?” He purred. Hermione flushed scarlet. “Not like that!” She gasped, her brows furrowing. “Look- nevermind. I was just curious.” Draco raised, what Hermione thought, was a placating hand, then he said. “Go on, Granger.” His hand remained outstretched, his face unreadable. “Before I change my mind.”

Slowly, Hermione raised her own hand to meet his. Though she knew that logically it would happen this way, she was still surprised to see her fingertips pass through his, touching air when she thought that perhaps she might feel him. “Oh.” She breathed, as she continued to move her palm through his. “You’re so cold.” She said, noticing how the temperature dropped several degrees while their hands intertwined. Draco pulled away first, staring down at his own hand in silent disbelief, as if he too, were expecting to feel the connection that had been quietly creeping between them these past few weeks. “Yes, well.” He said through a sharp exhale. “I don’t feel anything.” And he stood, striding several paces before Hermione asked him where he was going. He turned back to her and shrugged. “Thought I might go haunt the west wing… perhaps rattle some chains and groan ominously-” “Stay.” Hermione interrupted, her eyes widened as though she hadn’t meant to say it aloud. She looked down at the duvet and ran a finger over the embroidery. “That is, if you don’t mind. I’m still not used to how quiet it is out here and I’ve grown quite used to you hovering around.” Draco folded his arms over his chest. “Hovering?” He said with a derisive edge to his voice. Hermione patted the bedspread and Draco drifted slowly back to her.

“Alright Granger.” He said, taking up the spare pillow. He looked at her sideways through his lashes. “But if there’s a hint of snoring, I’m outta here.” Hermione huffed and he tilted his head to face her. “The afterlife has done nothing for your manners, you know?” She said softly, her eyelids already heavy. Draco offered her a small smile as her eyes slowly drifted closed. After a few beats he rolled over to face her. Watching as her breaths grew slower as she fell into a deeper sleep. His chest fluttered briefly and he cursed the absurdity of being plunged into such a state of liminality, still with the capacity to feel. He examined her features, now relaxed in sleep. She was rather pretty when her face wasn’t pulled into a scowl or a snarl; the light freckles scattered over her skin that he was sure were soft. Her dark lashes outlined against her cheek. The delicate point to her chin and the cascade of curls splayed over the pillow.

Slowly, he reached out his hand to cover hers. He hesitated a moment in case the change in temperature caused her to stir, he whispered. “Can I keep you?”

And this concludes chapter 12, "No stars." -

Link to ao3 to read supporting text Okay, so before you have me excommunicated it’s really important to remember we’re at chapter 12 of 19, there is still much of the story to go. Dr James Harvey isn't gonna bollocks things up this time. ***

We lost the beautiful David Lynch while I’ve been working on this chapter- and truthfully news of his loss hit me a lot harder than I thought. I loved his stories and the way he saw the world. If you're a fan, you've probably noticed the Twin Peaks themes in my fic- a lot of the music I feature in the chapter titles on instagram is from Twin Peaks. And many of the chapter titles themselves are quotes from the show. This chapter is based on the song ‘No Stars’ by Rebekah Del Rio who appeared in a Roadhouse performance in season 3 ("a perfect season of television” - to quote my partner.)

Chapter 12 - “no stars.” - post one (of many.)