Narcissa bit back a sneer that wanted to form at the poorly veiled insult to her family, understanding he wasn't intending any such thing. All he was doing was making a comment based on his own personal knowledge and observations. And truth to tell she had heard Draco herself doing and implying exactly what he'd just said he did. A glance at the Slytherin children with a raised brow had them giving her nods indicating the ghost was telling the truth. "You referred to this student as a mudblood, Mr. Malfoy?" she asked in a dangerous voice.
Draco gulped and backed up a step. Shakily he nodded. "Then I will be taking fifteen points from House Slytherin for each time you used that slur and adding another week of detention to the week I previously gave you. Mention of that offense had better be a part of tonight's apology as well, as young Mr. Creevey is not a mudblood at all." In that one statement Slytherin House had just lost sixty points, which had his house mates glaring at him and growling, while Draco had earned a total of three weeks of detention. Draco closed his eyes with a groan. He was going to pay for this in the common room later.
Turning back to the Creevey brothers she spoke directly to the wide-eyed ghost child. "Yes, Colin. I'd help your family. Because no parent deserves to spend the rest of their lives wondering what happened to their eleven year old child. Because your siblings and your parents deserve closure for your loss."
She scowled lightly once again at Draco who seemed to shrink in on himself. "And Draco has much to learn of the world. That particular insult has less to do with bloodlines and more to do with a person's attitude. But he, and others like him, don't understand that and therefore use it incorrectly. It's the main reason his Head of House is particularly hard on them when he learns they have been using it in the halls. And I will certainly be informing him of this confrontation and it's outcome. I'm perfectly sure he will want to have his own words with Mr. Malfoy as well." That statement made Draco pale even more and struggle to bite back a whimper of anticipated pain. Severus had been known to actually use a paddle for students he caught using that particular epitaph. And if he didn't, he was quite fond of a particularly nasty homemade soap that set your mouth afire for hours as well as leaving a nasty taste behind nothing would wash away.
Narcissa ignored her son and went on explaining the meaning behind the slur to the children. "For instance, Ms. Granger and the former Headmaster were both mudbloods because their attitude made them such. They revered the muggle society to such a degree they wished to change our society to match that one irregardless of the damage doing so would do to those who aren't human like ourselves and have no place in that society. Ms. Granger went so far as to suggest we should join the muggle world and do away with the Statue of Secrecy which protects our peoples from the muggles need to know and understand everything. They are mudbloods because what they want for our world would get a lot of us killed needlessly. Because of our magic, we are different from a normal muggle. They would seek to discover exactly why we are different and if they can duplicate our magic for those of their own choosing."
"You, from my understanding, weren't a mudblood as all you seemed to want to do from the moment you arrived here was fit in and learn about our culture. That and takes pictures." She smiled as the ghost blushed. "You had a future in our world that didn't include stomping on our traditions and trying to rewrite our culture. I've heard many stories about you and your camera and how you never went anywhere without it. The least I think we can do is find that camera and return it to your family. Who knows. Maybe when we find your things, we will find some very good shots of the student body and we can make a memorial wall for you that they can come see as a way to say good-bye."
Both the ghost boy and the real brother now had tears streaming down their cheeks as Denis cried, "I've looked and looked but I can't find it. I don't know what happened to it and I just don't know where else to look for it. I even asked the teachers and none of them will tell me either."
Narcissa pulled the living boy to her and held him close as he cried, understanding he needed a hug more than anything else at this moment in time. She was a mother and couldn't resist trying to help a hurting child when she saw one. Denis was the epitome of a hurting child. Colin melted into his brothers body to share the hug as well as he felt he needed one too.
Shakily, Denis sniffed and said, "Brr. Colin, you're freezing me." making everyone chuckle. As the ghost boy pulled back out of his brother, he did so with a radiant smile.
That evening in the Great Hall when all the students had gathered for the evening meal but before the food had appeared on the tables, Lady Narcissa stood from her place at the Head table and got the immediate attention of everyone. "Today in the halls I came upon a situation of grievous insult and slander. As you know such behavior is no longer to be tolerated here at Hogwarts. One of our number was cruelly mocking and insulting another for their background while trying to assert their own superiority to their peers based upon the overheard words of a private conversation between that student and a ghost of this institution."
She looked towards the Slytherin table. "Mr. Malfoy, please step forward." Draco closed his eyes briefly before he rose to his feet and walked slowly towards the head table. He'd been hoping his Mother would forget about it all. That she hadn't really meant what she'd said. He was a Malfoy and Malfoy's apologized to no one. He'd already forgotten his Father's apology to their Care of Magical Creatures teacher during the change over. "Face the student body, Mr. Malfoy," Narcissa instructed him. Draco turned to face his peers.
"Mr. Creevey, please stand." Denis, looking confused but dignified, stood from his place at the Gryffindor table. Only the students who had been present at the confrontation understood what was happening. Everyone else looked confused. A few seconds of silence went by as no one said a word. Draco stood there staring at Denis Creevey as if he expected Denis to apologize to himself. The silence in the hall grew. But it wasn't Denis who was to apologize as the Headmistress soon made clear.
Finally Lady Augusta drawled in a slow voice full of uncomfortable promise, "We're waiting, Mr. Malfoy."