Chapter FOUR
As the carriage arrived, they happened upon the large stately manor of one, Nicholas Flamel. The stone structure reminded Fred of a castle, one not as nearly as big as Hogwarts, but close enough.
"That's where he lives? Blimey, the old man must be over 150 years by now! What's he doin' in a place like this?"
"He doesn't live here alone, I told you, I studied under his eye. This place is his Open Academy for Alchemist's and Necromancer's, since there aren't many of us, he teaches privately for an hour of everyday. You could call it a public research facility, or library really. I spent seven years here, learning from him."
"Rich bloke, isn't he?"
"Of course. You don't write thousand's of books and not get paid for the generous amount of time you spend experimenting and researching." Ephyra laughed, Fred could only gape with awe at such a place.
"He'll be so glad to meet you. I'm not sure he's ever met a spirit the likes of you before." she commented as the carriage stopped, a door opening for her by a tall man in a dark suit. His skin was dark, black hair gelled back, and he had the same peculiar eyes as Ephyra. By his manner, he didn't look at all happy to see her.
"He is in his study, I told him of your arrival and is very pleased that you have come to visit." the man spoke.
"I'm sure." Ephyra replied coldly, stepping out with Fred behind her. She nodded thoughtfully towards the man, walking along.
"Who was that?"
"His most recent apprentice…and my ex-fiancée."
Fred felt the wind blow through him.
"You were engaged?"
"Only by arrangement. My father thought it best to have someone ready for me, but I told him I'd seen my soul mate in a dream. He was quite upset about it, I could understand why of course, the man back there is a pure blood Necromancer. It would only seem fitting if I married my kind, but I know who I'm meant to be with."
"So…you're not marrying someone of your abilities?"
"Of course not! Men of my abilities are boring brutes, I feel they have an incapability to love at all." she spat. He didn't press the subject any further. The rest of the walk was silent, even more so as they ascended the marvel stairs to a pair of mahogany doors with carved Latin inscriptions scribbled across it.
She pushed through, entering the large-pentagonal room with her head held high, nose in the air. Fred looked around, shelves of books filled the walls, no windows or pictures anywhere. A large, crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, lit by orbs of red and yellow lights. In the middle of the room, an old man sat at his desk, scribbling things down with a quill, unaware of his visitors.
"Professor Flamel." Ephyra suddenly spoke, her voice soft and gentle. The man looked up, his ancient eyes looking her up and down. His forehead creased, the years he'd lived written neatly across his face. He smiled.
"Miss VonDesmond! How nice, I was told I'd gotten a call from a former student of mine!" the old man stood, a slight hunch to his back and a big grin pasted on his old face. He wore a dark blue suit, a gold chain hanging from one of the inside pockets. He reached an old hand into his breast pocket and pulled a pocket watch out, he looked at it happily.
"It's been one year, six hours, fifty-three minutes, and forty-five seconds since I've last seen you!"
"And it is such a pleasure to see you again Professor, but I'm afraid I have no time for mere chitchat you see. I am here on official business."
"Is that so, then please, have a seat and explain to me what it is you have gotten yourself into." the old man sat back down slowly, easing into his chair slowly. Fred floated closer to Ephyra as she too took a seat.
"You see, I have a friend here." she gestured towards Fred, looking at her awkwardly. The old man flicked his eyes towards Fred's floating figure, squinting his eyes, putting his spectacles to his eyes and blinking many times.
"I say! What a specimen, I've never seen such an aura before!"
"My thoughts exactly! Fred dear, explain to Mr. Flamel how you came to be."
"Well…during the Battle of Hogwarts I died in an explosion." he explained, unsure of how that would help the old man understand his predicament any better.
"How rare! He can speak in full sentences, not at all like the ghouls you've brought to me before."
"Oh I quite agree, and he has come to me for help. And the help he requires, well, it has a lot to do with summoning the dead to be more than the dead. I'm sure you've read the book on Connecting Souls?"
"That I have."
"Well, for this to work his heart has to be beating long enough for his soul to go back in and long enough for me to draw the runes onto his body. The only piece I'm not sure of, is how to do that."
"Ah yes, the ever undulating question of how to make a dead heart beat again. I came across that very question myself. Surely you know of the bonds that you make between the summoner and the dead? I researched it for myself, and I found that there is a special rune to which can bring the dead heart back. The only problem is, that rune has been lost."
"What happened?"
"Long ago a young man, a Necromancer, lost his newlywed wife and found that her soul lingered on, just as Fred's here has, and he decided to try to connect her soul back to her body. Only, the problem was, finding the right combination of runes to use on the body. He succeeded in binding her soul to her heart, but the runes began to fade, and so he explored further. He created a special rune, a powerful one, that allowed the heart to beat in sync with the one who summoned it back to life. He tried it, and it worked, but he lost her again after a Secret Society killed him and stole his discovering. No one has been able to find this Society for years, I'm afraid your research has hit a dead end."
"How awful, that poor man."
"True, a tragic end to such a devoted man." Ephyra sighed heavily, somewhat saddened. Fred knew what that meant, and he felt sick again, the lonely feeling washing over him again. He floated away, not wanting to stay any longer. He knew the cause was lost, and he would just have to face the fact that he would be a soul caught in limbo for eternity.
*
Ephyra sighed, sensing Fred's fleeting soul. She couldn't help but feel horrible about the situation.
"Has he left?"
"I'm afraid so."
"I want you to know that the rune he used was one that binds the heart through love. The only way it could work was if the love they felt for each other was unconditional. He was truly devoted, that's why it worked."
"I don't doubt that. But, how can I even try if I can't find the rune itself?" she huffed, blowing a piece of hair out of her face.
"The faction that followed the young man have kept their society together, I know of a few people who might know something about it." Flamel hinted.
"Really? Who?"
"Leonce." Ephyra gasped in disgust, scrunching her nose is displeasure. Leonce Pier had been the one to greet her, her ex-fiancée. She really had no desire to ask him for his help.
"I'll think on it. In the meantime, I have to find Fred. Thank-you for your time, I must be on my way."
"Farewell my dear, we must have a day to catch up." Ephyra waved, walking out the door, smiling and nodding. Of course she'd have to, he was after all, her most trusted confidant.