She cut him off. "The muggleborn and raised understand the muggle names of the holidays, Mr. Malfoy because, as I just said, those names have meaning to them. Just as our names for the calendar holidays have meaning for us. Therefore, they refer to those holidays by the names muggles gave them just as we refer to them by the name our people have given them. Either way, what a student chooses to call a day in the course of a private conversation is none of your business and not a justifiable reason for you to either insult them or level death threats at them. You will serve two weeks detention and issue a formal apology in the Great Hall tonight at the evening meal. And Mr. Malfoy, it had better be a suitable apology for your station. I clearly heard you threaten him with death over an imaginary insult."
Dismissing her son who was now glaring at the floor, she turned to Denis and asked him, "Did you have a good Christmas, Mr. Creevey?"
Denis smiled sadly as he gave a vague shake of his head. "Sort of. My family has a hard time at the holidays now. We miss Colin, you see. And since he's a ghost tied to the school now he can't join us anymore. I wish he could because then my parents would know he really is dead and maybe we could make new traditions for ourselves. I mean, I told them he is. And I told them he came back as a ghost but they don't understand why he can't come see them if he's still here."
"He was the oldest child and took care of us younger ones. All our traditions had Colin at the lead. I'm trying to fill his shoes but it's hard when all I really want is to have him still wearing them myself. Our baby sister, Carin, doesn't understand why he went away and our parents don't know how to make her understand because she's only five now. She was two when he went away to school and never came back home. Old enough to understand he was her biggest brother but too young to understand why he doesn't come home any more. He'd promised to bring her a new dolly and she keeps expecting to find it under the tree. But it's never there because Colin can't send it to her. So her letter to Santa always asks for him to come home and she always gets him at least one present. Devon and Tenya, my other siblings, don't get him presents like she does but they don't understand any better. Devon is seven now and Tenya's ten. She thinks she understands but all she's really hoping for these days is that she'll get a letter to come here next year so she can see Colin for herself."
"I see. That poor baby. I will think on this and maybe I can come up with something you can do to help them all understand. You're correct. Two years old is much to young to understand what has befallen your family. Did you get her a new dolly, Colin? If so, do you know what happened to it? Maybe we can find it and send it to her for you. Every little girl deserves a dolly of her own."
Colin nodded. "I did. I had one of the older kids with Hogsmeade privileges buy it for me from the money I made selling my pictures around the school. A lot of the kids wanted pictures of themselves or their friends so I'd take them, develop them and they'd buy them from me. I made a lot of money on them and was getting each of my siblings nice presents for the holiday. I even got a new gardening apron for my Mum. I never got to give my family any of the gifts I got them. But I don't know what happened to it after I died. And I'm not sure it'd be a good idea to send it to her. Might make the family believe I'm still alive and just refusing to come home again, you know."
Denis nodded. "That's true. My parents… Well, they were told he died but the former Headmaster didn't even have the decency to send his body home for them to bury. He sent them a note telling them Colin was dead but that was all. No explanation. No condolences. No invitation to a memorial or a funeral. No nothing. Just a short note saying Colin wouldn't be coming home any more. He didn't even return any of Colin's things or the tuition my parents paid. What a nice Christmas present that was."
"How callous," exclaimed Narcissa, shock evident in her body language. Even Draco, who was standing silently and pouting for all he was worth, was shocked at the callousness of the former Headmaster. "Have you managed to locate your brother's belongings at least?"
Denis shook his head. "No. All his dorm mates claim the trunk and his camera just vanished after he was killed. The same as his bed disappeared from their dorm. For my parents, that's actually the worst of this entire situation. How do you say good-bye to someone you have no proof is actually gone? Every time the train comes to the station, they look for Colin to get off it. They can't help it. Because the last time they saw him was when they put him on it to come here to school at eleven. It was a happy day for the family. A day of celebration because none of us had ever expected to come to a boarding school. We thought we'd go to the local secondary day school in our home district. Instead, Colin got invited to attend Hogwarts and to get here he had to catch a train in London. So Da took the day off from the cows and his milk delivery route to take the family to see Colin off on the train. Now they can't help but worry every time they have to take me to that same train station to catch the same train here. They worry I'll disappear from their lives just like he did. And if Tenya does get a letter this summer they'll worry for her as well."
"I see," Lady Narcissa nodded somberly. "Yes, that would be hard and it would make the holiday harder for your family then it already is with a member missing. I do admire your parents courage though. I can't imagine sending a child to the same school I already lost a child to. A school I can't even get to myself. Or have any proof actually exists. Yet they've done so every year since he died. That takes great courage, Mr. Creevey. You have reason to be proud of them." Denis' spine went ramrod straight and his smile though trembling was proud as he heard her telling him he could be proud of his parents bravery.
"As for your brother's belongings and your family's need to say good-bye, let me think on this and see what I can do. It's easy to see how this situation is a problem your family can't overcome without help."
Colin asked, a hint of disbelief coloring his words, "You'd really help my family? Why? I thought the Malfoy's didn't think people like my family were even worthy of notice. Let alone feelings the same as yourselves. That's what I heard when I was a student here anyway. Certainly Draco here said as much every time he calls us by that awful slur. He was just trying it again a few minutes ago in how he addressed my brother when he barged into our conversation."