Nicolas to Peeves and back again, then slowly rose to his feet.
"Do you mean you can" see "them?" Professor Snape asked impatiently.
"There auras, to be perfectly correct," explained the almost headless Nick.
"We were so stupid to assume they could help us!" Draco exclaimed in frustration when Peeves tried to stab him in the side: "STOP THAT; PEEVES!""Stop that, Peeves!"
The poltergeist imitated Draco in an exaggerated way that it was hardly funny anymore.
The teachers just seemed more confused.
Draco turned to Harry.
"If only I had my wand!"
"If I had my wand ... I would hex them into oblivion !!" Harry exclaimed, equally frustrated.
"Maybe we should translate shouldn't we?" asked the almost headless Nick and looked questioningly at Dumbledore, who was still quite confused, but nodded in agreement.
"That might be very helpful."
"Alright. As you wish ... Mr. Potter just said, that If he would have his wand he ..."
"If you translate that, I'll start with you," Harry grumbled in disgruntlement, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Um ... ok ... nevermind"
The teachers' looks now showed both curiosity and confusion, while Peevs laughed again.
"Hex them into oblivion? Thats really good. I hope to see THAT someday." he exclaimed between hysterical laughs.And Harry started banging his head against the table in frustration while Draco sat on the floor and grumbled in front of him.
"Why do we always get into such situations ..."
Sir Nicolas of course immediately saw his chance to do something good and immediately helped out with a translation.
"Mr. Mafoy just asked himself, how he and Mr. Potter always get into Situations like this." he spoke in a busy tone and sank down next to Draco, obviously very pleased with the world and himself.
You could tell from their faces that the teachers didn't believe Sir Nicolas, and certainly not Peeves.
Only Dumbledore stood there trying to figure out where Harry and Draco had to stand.
"That would explain why their bodies didn't rot. Something must have happened to their souls that preserved their bodies!"
Severus Snape stared up at him.
"And what should that have been?"
"Hah," Draco said, "If we knew that, we would have undone it long ago!"//Idiot! // He added in his mind that he didn't want Peeves to say this, because Draco was always friendly to Snape.
Now Professor McGonagall rose too.
"You mean the two of them aren't lying? You mean the souls of both of them are still with us !?"
Dumbledore nodded curtly.
"Yes, but the question is, how do we get them back into their bodies?"
"No ... The question is: How does the ritual work ..." Harry muttered softly, rubbing his head lightly. Slowly but surely, this whole thing was getting really too stupid for him. "And if you are unable to do something, then we have to do it."
With these words he turned around and made his way out of the hall. Maybe he would find something in the library, so he went straight there.
"I think he said something about doing or finding a way himself ... I mean Mr. Potter of coure ... I mean ... maybe we should follow ... Or something like that?" Sir Nicolas said, completely overwhelmed by the situation, before turning to Peeves."Peeves ... you. Are. Not. HELPING !!"
The teachers now all looked at Dumbledore as if they expected him to provide them with the solution to this problem. However, he first stroked his beard thoughtfully and decided to let things take their course.
"What do you think you're doing ???" Draco yelled, jumping off the floor as Peeves floated down from the teacher's platform and tried to follow Harry.
He took a run and jumped after. In mid-flight it seemed to slide through Peeves and its skin glowed strangely when it touched the ghost.
And the teachers also gave an excited "Aaah!" of yourself.
"There he was", Sir Nicolas agrees, "Saw him?"
What the teachers had seen was a reflection of Draco's astral body as it had flown through Peeves. That was probably the final proof that the two boys weren't quite dead yet.
"Hey, WAIT!" yelled Peeves, "Come BÄÄ-HÄÄ-HÄÄCK!"
Draco stumbled as he hit the ground, but caught himself and followed Harry as fast as he could."Wait!"
Dumbledore watched the event in silence - even if he couldn't see it.
The ghosts whizzed after the boys and disappeared into the entrance hall. And the teachers were still staring wide-eyed at the headmaster as he absently scratched his beard.
"What do we do now?" asked Hagrid.
"Sends an owl ..."
"To whom?" Professor Snape asked suspiciously and Dumbledore turned with a smile.
"... an owl to both Sirius Black and Lucius Malfoy! I want them here. Probably their bonds with the boys are strong enough to bring them back!"

+++ +++

Without paying any attention to anyone, Harry had wandered into the library, where he immediately stocked up on books that had something to do with rituals. And there were really quite a few. He was really happy when Draco came and gave him a hand.
"I said you should wait for me!" he hissed at him directly.
"Sorry ..." Harry merely muttered."I just couldn't be in the same room with them any longer. It hurts not to be seen when you're standing in front of them and trying to make yourself noticeable. Not dead and yet not alive."
The two boys sighed in resignation and sat down at one of the tables on which they first deposited all the books.
"You don't have to tell me," Draco replied in frustration, "It was kind of damn offensive just to be seen sliding through a ghost. And it feels really gross!"
He forcefully leafed through the large pages of a book before closing it again and shoving it aside in annoyance.
"What should we do? Did you believe Peeves and Nick?"
"I don't think so, but if they really saw you then they must have started to believe in it, right?" Harry sighed. "At least they'd better do that. Otherwise I could get really upset. And it's not like we're completely immobile, after all."// At least our souls. //
Harry sighed again in frustration and lay down lightly on the table. He closed his eyes resignedly and tried to concentrate on what they wanted to do first. Which, however, did not turn out to be particularly easy.
"The worst thing is that we couldn't even sleep. Then we would have some rest and we would NOT have to think about all of this all the time!"
With a clear gesture, Draco indicated himself and Harry, then with a sigh lowered his head and laid him in his arms.
A movement under his cloak told him that Felidea was awake again now. It crawled gently out of his right sleeve and curled up on the table.
A mixture of regret and lost hope showed in Draco's eyes as he stroked Felidea.
"You know ...", he began in a low and calm voice, "If I knew how we would really die, I would do it right away!"
"I don't know, I don't really want to die.Maybe it's cold and dark there ... Who can tell us that, but you know ... Actually ... actually I always wished that at least before I died I could find out what love really is. But it will probably never come to that. After all, we will probably die sooner than ever come back to life. "
Harry sighed and also looked at Felidea, who looked at the two boys in silence, while at the same time she cuddled up to Draco's hand and clearly enjoyed the caresses.
"But maybe in the next life, right? We have to be lucky someday, right?" His voice was only a whisper and his eyes were fixed on Felidea, all emotions banished from them.
"Probably ..." Draco muttered, staring at the snake as well. He was afraid to look Harry in the eye because at that moment something new was happening to him that was distinctly different from the experience of being dead.The sunlight flooded in through the library's brightly colored windows, but she couldn't feel its warmth.
But he could feel the warmth emanating from Harry.
Draco reached for Harry's, which was lying quietly on the table, with his free hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"I just wanted to apologize ..." Draco began slowly, "For the past few years. I don't know why everything went the way it was. Last week ... I don't know, I had that feeling that I could look into your soul - apart from the fact that we are only walking around as astral bodies - however - ... I'm sorry!
Confused, he looked up and looked directly into Draco's storm gray eyes, in which an emotional roller coaster took place. He squeezed his hand carefully and gave him a tentative smile.
"Don't worry. I'm not blaming you, I wasn't better either. That's why I beg your pardon as well. And besides ..." Harry paused for a moment and looked at the table.He just didn't know how to say that.
"That ... what you just said. That you meant that you would like to die ... I ..."
Harry broke off again, this was more difficult than he had thought. Actually, he only had one simple request for him.
"I don't want you to die. So ... promise me you won't die ..."
The raven-haired Gryffindor hadn't looked at the other boy as he said this. He just didn't dare to find out what the other was thinking.
Draco blinked in confusion and dipped his gaze deep into Harry's green eyes.
Then smiled and irony was reflected in his eyes.
"Funny, when we fought so violently for six years!"
Felidea made a sound that sounded almost like a purr, then wrapped herself up Draco's arm, slid on, and wrapped herself around his hand, the one Harry's hand was still holding with gentle pressure.
After a short pause, Draco continued, "I honestly don't know what I want.I just want this to stop and we can get back to normal. I bet the banquet at home would be even bigger than usual. There would be more food than a person could eat in his life ... but if that is not possible, then death is not a bad alternative. Then at least I could become a real ghost, like Peeves ... although ... no. better not like Peeves ... "
Draco noticed how he was trying to get the