Title: Needed
Author: Cheska
Chapter 8
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Sailor Moon belong to their respective owners. I have no rights to them, whatsoever.
This chapter, if you are wondering, is created to bring the storyline up to speed, it contains plenty of information about what the characters will face for Year 6.
In addition, I will point out that what happened with that kiss scene… That was simply what it was – a kiss scene.
Modified: August 5, 2008.
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Draco Malfoy was in a foul mood since late afternoon, and before that the Slytherin Prince was filled with disinterest in almost everything that he had come across. Just when he came up with the absolutely fantastic idea of playing with the Gryffindor cub, the little lion had the nerve to shove and hiss at him to go away. She even audacity to refuse his kisses, and even more shocking, she told him that he, Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Prince, and Slytherin Sex God, meant nothing more to her than a mere speck of dust. The little Gryffindor left after that incident, not even giving him a chance to just show her what he can do!
No one messes with a Malfoy without facing the consequences, nobody.
(Moon, you will certainly see that Draco Malfoy is not a small part of your life.)
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Serenity Moon had been standing in front of the familiar gargoyle statue for what would one assume an approximate amount of 3 minutes. Her hands were clutched firmly on the weathered scroll that contained a part of the answer that the staff and many students had been looking for. In the beginning she had been eager to just run over to the Headmaster's office and proudly proclaim that she found out what had been attacking the students and magical animals alike. Now, now she was hesitant yet filled with fervent desire to go to the old man.
(He's right there, just go up there…spout off a number of sweets, get the gargoyle out of the way, and tell him!) Serenity shouted.
Her plan was perfectly reasonable and just about anyone could pull it off. Nevertheless, Serenity could not bring herself to execute the simple plan. Seconds followed by minutes…and then just as Serenity took a step forward, the gargoyle jumped, surprising the silver-blonde haired teenager.
Out of the small passage came a very tired Professor McGonagall. At first, Serenity was unsure how to act but simply settled for staring at the normally stern Transfiguration Professor. Said Professor stared at the young teenager for a single moment before addressing one of her students.
"Ms. Moon, may I ask what you are doing in this portion of the castle?"
Serenity paused, biting her lip as she contemplated on her answer – she was almost, almost going to make up a weak excuse and return to the Common Room, maybe back to the library, or simply somewhere far away rather than encounter the Headmaster. But her Gryffindor courage had to appear and so…
"Is the Headmaster in his office, Professor?"
McGonagall studied the girl and noted that the young teenager firmly held a weathered old scroll in her right hand, "He is, Ms. Moon. I assume that the parchment in your hand is something of grave importance?"
"Ah…" Serenity blushed and stared at the scroll in her right hand, almost forgetting that she even carried it with her, "Yes, it's a …personal project that I assigned to myself. I felt that the information that I have recently come across…"
Not waiting for the teenager to complete her bungle of words, the Deputy Headmistress broke into a faint smile, amused by her actions, "Very well; the password is Canary Creams. Good day, Ms. Moon."
Professor McGonagall promptly strode pass her student and left, not taking the time to even see what Serenity would do next. Quite sure that she would take the offered password and head for the Headmaster, revealing her latest find.
And the Deputy Headmistress, Mistress of Transfiguration, and close confidant of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore had reason to believe that her student would do just that for in fact, Serenity Moon, exactly did do those actions albeit reluctantly.
"Ah, Ms. Moon, come in, take a seat." The old Headmaster's blue eyes twinkled in merriment as he caught sight of the nervous-looking Gryffindor, "Would you like some lemon drops?"
Serenity shuffled inside, feeling the warmth emitting from the fireplace behind the wizened wizard, and the small chirrup originating from his red phoenix, Fawkes. She was passing through several paintings and many paraphernalia before settling on the chair across from the mahogany desk belonging to Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.
"…no, thank you, Headmaster, maybe another time," Serenity replied after a moment's decision. Normally she would have jumped at the chance in receiving sweets, but she was afraid that her stomach would not settle well at this moment.
"I'll take your word for it. Not many take up my offer for these sweets," Dumbledore lazily informed as he popped the yellow substance into his mouth, emitting a smile of appreciation while he took a few seconds to savor the flavor.
Although Serenity was amused by the Headmaster's actions, the overwhelming feeling of nervousness in the pit of her stomach was too great for the Gryffindor to ignore. As such, Serenity simply sat in her seat until Dumbledore finished his Lemon Drop and fully returned his attention on her.
"Headmaster…" Serenity hesitantly began, fumbling with the scroll before setting the old parchment on the mahogany table, "You may want to read the paragraph near the end…"
And Albus Dumbledore did as he was instructed, his first glance remained on the bold italicized letters of the title and purpose of the scroll, followed by a few seconds of quickly scanning its contents before he slowly unfurled the aged papyrus and his blue eyes dimmed as he read and processed the information pertaining what Serenity obviously wanted him to know.
"This is grave news, Ms. Moon," Dumbledore's voice fell into melancholy as he rolled the paper back up, "If, what you have discovered remains true, then it would only be a matter of time before…"
"There must be something that can be done, Headmaster!" Serenity interrupted the troubled man, "We cannot simply let this school fall into ruin."
The Gryffindor's outburst momentarily stunned the Headmaster as he suddenly became aware of what he had been voicing aloud and felt a pang of shame. He had almost given up hope for his beloved school because of what he had just read. How could he have done that?
A deep sigh, a furrow of brows, and a contemplative silence settled in the office.
"Forgive me, I have lost myself," the Headmaster apologized, shocking the seemingly young student; "I do have reason for my actions, however."
"There is always hope, even in times like this, Headmaster. And right now, we surely could use one," Serenity weakly smiled at the old man who faintly quirked his mouth in response.
"That we could, Ms. Moon…" Dumbledore nodded and silence reigned again over the two, broken only by an occasional trill from Fawkes.
Minutes passed as the two shared this moment to muse over the words they have read and the possibilities of their success in a time such as this. The moment, however, was broken when the door to the office opened and two professors stepped inside, namely, Professors McGonagall and Snape.
"Albus…" Professor McGonagall began but paused when she caught sight of Serenity simply sitting across from the Headmaster, lost in thought.
"Ah…Minerva, Severus…please come sit down," Dumbledore waved the two in, almost indifferent to their presence as he idly conjured a set of chairs for the two professors.
"Albus, what's going on, did something happen?" Minerva McGonagall voiced out her concern, while Snape simply studied the room, his charcoal black eyes resting momentarily on Serenity, then the Headmaster, before it settled on the scroll that settled near the edge of the mahogany desk.
"Perhaps…" Professor Snape began, earning the attention of all individuals, "The answer lies within the content of that scroll."
"You are correct, Severus," Dumbledore nodded absently, his blue eyes returning on the scroll and his face began to grimace as he recalled what was in it.
Silence again, but not as long as two figures in the room would have liked as Minerva, once again, disrupted the quiet.
"Does it have something to do with the attacks, are the children…" Minerva began agitation apparent on her face.
"…If, what Ms. Moon has discovered is correct," the Headmaster began, earning the attention of both of his prized professors, "Then, I fear, Hogwarts…and quite possibly the Wizarding World, is in great danger."
"More than the Dark Lord? I think not." scoffed Professor Snape, his skepticism reigning supreme.
"Perhaps not, but with the increase of attacks, anything is possible," the Headmaster stated, his eyes not once leaving the aged scroll.
"What is it, Albus?" Minerva faintly wondered, turning her attention from the Headmaster, to Serenity, and then to the scroll.
"A Lich, Professor, it's a Lich," Serenity broke in.
Shock, bewilderment, and disbelief rang through as the words that the two figures in the office had feared to say was finally stated. The simple four letters had become true and it was met with disaster.
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Gryffindor Tower, a warm and comforting atmosphere located on the seventh floor behind the "Fat Lady." Inside several squashy armchairs and tables belied the Common Room with a tepid fire thriving from the Fireplace. It is within this Common Room that the illustrious Golden Trio seated themselves in their favorite spot, nearest the Fireplace surrounded by their closest friends.
In the present moment, Harry and Ron were found to be playing Wizard's Chess, and as always, Ron was dominating over his best friend. Ginny has just recently left them behind and decided to head upstairs with a few of her roommates. A few minutes later, Neville was accompanied by Dean and Seamus to another section of the Common Room, intending to help them with a Herbology assignment. Hermione, as always, was surrounded by a stack of textbooks and appeared to be reading about Charms. Everything appeared to be normal to any ordinary individual that late Friday afternoon just a little bit after NEWT Potions, at least, for the time being.
A loud slam and a frustrated groan interrupted the atmosphere, gaining everyone's attention, especially her two best friends. Hermione Granger had just willingly slammed her precious Charms textbook on the coffee table and was now ignoring it. Only one thing could come out of this questionable event.
"She's lost it." Ron loudly exclaimed after sharing a brief look with Harry.
"I can't stand it, I just cannot!" Hermione muttered as she instinctively began making her way to the entrance of the Common Room.
"'Mione?" Harry began, quickly abandoning the chessboard along with Ron.
Hermione continued to ignore the two but stopped her musing when she noticed how her two best friends had intercepted her and were now standing in her way to the portrait.
"'Mione. What's going on?" Harry asked while Ron told the other Gryffindors to mind their own business.
For a brief second or two, Hermione simply stared at the two in confusion.
"…nothing, just let me go, I need to stop by the library."
"The library?" Ron blinked, sharing another look with Harry before the two turned their attention back to Hermione, who appeared to be quite anxious to be heading off somewhere.
"Yes, Ron, I need to go to the library."
"Normally we would let you go but from the way you're behaving, I seriously doubt that you are going there for some light reading…" Harry explained.
"I am not going there just to borrow some new reading materials, Harry." Hermione gave him a pointed look.
I am going there for Serenity.
"Fine," Harry relented, "Let's go."
Hermione was startled, expecting an argument to ensue but when she received nothing, she was suddenly bemused by the change of events.
"Are you coming, 'Mione?" Ron called out, a grin on his face when he received a startled exclamation followed by a scurrying of feet.
The Trio didn't receive any protests from their Housemates aside from curious glances, but as the three ignored them, was not stopped. Down the flights of stairs, the friends remained quiet, at least until they reached the fifth floor.
Passing by a window, a feeling of dread prickled on the back of all three students, the worse of all being felt by Harry. Wincing, Harry felt the sharp pain coarse through his scar but bore it through as he searched for the source of his pain.
"Harry?" Hermione and Ron shakily addressed their friend, noticing his pain.
"I'm fine; it's not as bad as…" Harry trailed off, knowing that if he said Voldemort's name they would immediately draw onto their own conclusions.
"So, it's not…" Ron audibly gulped, shifting his eyes every which way to make sure the Dark Lord would not be attacking anytime soon.
"No, it doesn't hurt as badly…"
Suddenly the two heard a gasp, signaling that something happened and they rushed off to the nearby window only to find Hermione frozen in shock, her attention focused on something in the near distance. Looking out, they stopped, stared, and stood there.
Nearby hovered a figure, a creature, swathed in black, bearing a severe impression of inexplicable dread even from the three's position inside the castle and on the fourth floor.
The humanoid creature was dark, bathed in an unnatural aura of darkness and had the trio feeling a combination of fear, death, and evil. Time seemed to pass by incredibly slow as the three watched the creature approach closer to the school and for the life of them, none of the three knew why they had yet to take any action in trying to stop it from coming closer. However, as if a miracle occurred, the creature stopped beside a nearby tree and a few bushes located near the lake. For a few seconds it simply stood or hovered there, but just as soon as the creature arrived, it began to take a form of action. Unable to hear what the being spoke, the three continued to watch unable to tear their gazes away, and was shocked to find as the thing floated a figure, a person, a student and dangled it effortlessly in front of itself.
The creature glowed for a brief second, illuminated in great darkness, darker than it originally surrounded itself in if that was possible, and then approached the floating figure and seemed to touch its victim. As soon as it withdrew itself from the victim, they immediately noticed a change as the student no longer appeared to move but simply hanged in mid-air. The creature glowed again and this time drew even closer to its victim, giving the impression of embracing the student.
This time, they knew what was going to happen and wanted to withdraw away from the window but knew they couldn't, they have already seen too much.
A cold shiver traveled through their body, a feeling of inescapable fear developed in the pit of their stomachs as they watched the horrible event unfold. The creature held the victim in its arms and suddenly a wave of darkness enclosed the two figures, over their heads a mass of purple, black, and white curled and formed in a shape of a ball. The white color came from the student while the purple and black originated from the creature. The massive ball continued to collect the white aura from both entities until it stopped and the ball slammed itself down onto the creature. Time seemed to stop as the unknown entity stood still, before it recollected itself and moved again. The student fell lifelessly down on the grass while the creature moved towards the bushes, and to the three students' horror, the figure began the familiar pattern of repeating what it just did a few minutes ago.
They knew, almost as soon as they saw the dark figure arrive, that what they were witnessing were the attacks that enveloped the school and forest. That the creature they saw was the one who was implementing it. And the trio knew that, at this moment, they held no knowledge of how to stop it.
"…Merlin, please help us."
"Bloody hell…"
Harry tore his gaze from the window and addressed his two best friends, Hermione in particular. However, as he observed the bushy-haired witch, he was surprised to note that she simply stood there, incapable of movement. At his touch, she was startled from her reverie and nudged Ron to gain his attention.
"What do we do now; we can't possibly just stand here and do nothing!" Harry muttered.
"What can we do? Did you see that thing?!" Ron cried out.
"We have to see the Headmaster right away!" Hermione vehemently stated.
"What about the victims, we can't leave them! They might…they might…" Ron pointed out; beginning to pale as the recent events suddenly began to play themselves right before his eyes.
"But what if that monster is still out there?" Hermione whispered, her tone of voice underlying the fear that she currently felt.
What the three witnessed was something that none of them would want to experience, and not one of them wanted to encounter that creature if they could help it.
"S-Should we check on them?" Hermione voiced aloud and for a few seconds the three of them simply looked at one another before coming to a decision.
"One of us will get Madame Pomfrey and the other two will check on the victims. We can get the Headmaster, later," Harry stated as soon as the words left his mouth, the plan was set into motion.
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"I am telling you, Albus, we simply must inform the authorities – the Ministry…"
"The Ministry will be of no help, they cannot…"
"Then what do you think we should…"
The voices between the Heads of Gryffindor and Slytherin have been escalating by each sentence for the past few minutes since Serenity announced the identity of the dark creature. To cut it short, the reaction from the two professors was not met with acceptance; instead, arguments have broken out and have not ceased since then.
This was twenty minutes ago and Serenity badly wanted to hex the two professors into oblivion; honestly, didn't they know how childish they were acting right now?
"Severus! Minerva!"
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore shouted over the din of voices, startling all the occupants in the room, including the portraits themselves. Within a few short seconds, any and all cacophony of noises ceased to be, silencing the whole room. And thankfully, the two professors stopped their argument as they bashfully yet grudgingly sat next to one another in their armchair.
(Selene those two could argue!) Serenity mused inside her head as she briefly stared at the red-tinged faces of the Transfiguration teacher and Potions Master.
"Arguing amongst ourselves will not solve our current dilemma."
"Headmaster, you cannot possibly be serious as to believe what this student," Professor Snape sneered as he glanced at Serenity, "came across is an actually lich?"
"…the information provided by Ms. Moon and the signs left behind are simply too identical to dismiss," Dumbledore tiredly replied, knowing that anything the Potions Professor would say will simply be countered by the evidence provided within the scroll.
Shortly after the identity had been revealed, the two professors had made to grab the scroll, whilst arguing, and read about the lich. Yet, they still could not grasp the truth that there really was a lich roaming around.
"Albus…" Professor McGonagall began but stopped when a bright flare of light filtered behind the Headmaster. Immediately, Headmaster Dumbledore turned to address the fireplace and spoke to someone on the other end. Shortly afterwards, he turned around whilst shaking his head and addressed his guests.
"It would seem that another attack has occurred," Dumbledore informed them, earning a gasp from Professor McGonagall while Serenity and Professor Snape remained quiet, "And this time, there are witnesses."
"Who are they, Headmaster?" Serenity dared to voice out the question that had been running through her two professors' mind.
"They are our very own Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley."
The small group wasted no time as they hastily made their way over to the Hospital Wing, thankfully uninterrupted by the curious students in the corridors.
Just as they reached the double arched door that led to the Hospital Wing, the door opened and admitted them inside. There, the school nurse greeted the Headmaster, quickly informing him about the conditions about the injured students who were thankfully alright but bore the same symptoms as the previous victims.
"Poppy, where are the witnesses?" the Headmaster inquired.
"Over here, Headmaster," replied a nervous looking Hermione Granger.
"Hermione, Ron, Harry – you're all okay!" Serenity breathed out a sigh of relief as she ran pass the Headmaster and began hugging her friends, receiving a blush from Ron and Harry. Despite the months that they have known one another, the silver-blonde haired teenager had yet to become overly affectionate than need be toward any one student, be it male or female.
"Serenity, w-what are you doing here?" Harry stuttered fighting down a blush – after all, it wasn't every day that he received a hug, much less from someone as attractive as Serenity Moon.
Hermione, always the perceptive one of the three, immediately widened her eyes as she looked between the Headmaster and Serenity.
"Serenity, do you know what's happening, do you know what or who is attacking the students and the creatures from the Forbidden Forest?"
Sharing a brief look at the Headmaster and receiving a nod of assent in reply, Serenity turned to regard the inquisitive Gryffindor before answering her question.
"Perhaps," Serenity replied, "If you will tell us what you three have witnessed."
Shortly afterward Hermione began to relay to the occupants in the room what she had witnessed with occasional inputs from Ron and Harry. In return, Serenity informed them of what she had deduced the creature to be, now with confirmation based on the accounts made from the three students.
"A lich?" Ron intoned, mouthed alongside by Harry whilst Hermione frowned, deep in thought.
"They have not been seen for several centuries and even back then, they have been rarely encountered." Serenity explained.
"But, what exactly is a lich?" Hermione enunciated, wanting as much information as she can get.
"An undead creature," Serenity began, but stopped as she turned to address the Headmaster, "Headmaster, may I?"
"I believe they have a right to know," the Headmaster consented much to the disapproval that shone on Snape and McGonagall's faces.
"Very well then," Serenity nodded in agreement, all the while wondering if Draco Malfoy and Dennis Creevy should also be included into the conversation, but thought better of it. After all, it wasn't like she was their minders and they could always be informed at a later time, if they happened to ask any one of them.
"As I said before, a lich is an undead creature that was once a powerful wizard, sorcerer, or basically any type of spell caster. They have become so powerful and so deeply engrossed in their magic that they began to seek any means to defy death and thus converted themselves into an undead creature - a lich," Serenity explained, noticing how she managed to capture the attention of her audience.
"As an undead creature, the lich can never truly die. No matter how many times you destroy its body, no matter how many times you poison, stab, or even cast the Killing Curse on it, the lich will simply find another body or regenerate its previous one back to life," Serenity continued and watched the look of shock on all their faces.
"So, basically what you just gave us is a description of Voldemort himself," Harry whispered, recalling how Voldemort was quite similar to the lich. A wizard gone to the deepest level of Dark Magic as he sought immortality and when his body was destroyed, his soul had not and he had simply gained his body back.
"Very similar to him, though there are differences between himself and the lich." Serenity nodded in agreement, "You see, we're not entirely certain that Voldemort is a lich, as of yet. For all we know, he might not have chosen that path but something quite different."
(Voldemort chose a very different path, that's for sure; he absorbed a fragment of Chaos and basically became a demi-god in the process.) Serenity noted to herself but decided not to voice her thoughts aloud.
"So…if a lich can't even be killed by the Killing Curse or any other means, then you're basically saying that there's no chance in hell that we can get rid of it. We're screwed!" Ron cried out, not knowing that several of them wholeheartedly agreed with his statement.
"What are we going to do?!" Hermione began fretting about their current dilemma and began mumbling about going to the library after this ordeal is over.
"I told you, we should notify the Ministry about this!" Serenity heard Professor McGonagall begin another oncoming fight with the Potions Master.
"You're being foolish, the Ministry cannot do anything about a Creature as dark as this," Serenity overheard the Potions Master retaliate.
"The lich," Serenity began, after a few moments of listening and watching over each and every one of their reactions. She noted how Harry was the only occupant in the room that was completely unfazed by Serenity's words; even the Headmaster had gone into his own little world, quite possibly trying to remember the exact wording on the scroll that she delivered earlier.
"The lich may not be phased by something as disastrous as the Killing Curse; however, that does not mean that all hope is lost," Serenity continued, gaining all of the occupants' attention once again.
"What do you mean, Serenity? Is there a way to get rid of that lich?" Hermione inquired, finally shaking herself out of her stupor.
"A lich is not an easy creature to defeat, especially one as powerful as it currently is," Serenity nodded to Hermione's inquiry, "With each victim it encounters, it absorbs a bit of magic that they possess – at least that is what I believe. The only victims that the lich seems to encounter are magical ones such as the centaurs, unicorns, and Hogwarts students. Thankfully, it left the students alive each time but we cannot ignore the fact that the lich has taken a bit of their magic and their blood."
"So how do we stop it, Ms. Moon?" the Headmaster asked, any form of twinkle in his blue eyes that he once possessed had now completely disappeared.
Silently calling to Selene and her friends, she pleaded that they help her in the oncoming task that would soon befall them.
"We find the lich's phylactery," Serenity simply stated and watched as most of the occupants stared with dumbfounded expressions on their faces or covered their feelings with blank looks or indifference.
"A phylactery is an artifact that could be almost anything; it is a magical receptacle that the lich has used to store its soul into it, thus ensuring its 'immortality'." Serenity informed the group and watched as they grew from hopeful only to fall into utter despair at what her words would actually mean.
"At first, I thought this was something we could do…" Ron glumly began, "But if you think about it, this is almost impossible!"
"Don't give up hope, yet, Ron! I'm sure the library…" Hermione started before the two fell into an argument.
"At least it's something," Harry softly uttered, his emerald green eyes staring straight at Serenity who unknowingly flushed under his gaze, "Thank you for telling us."
Nodding, Serenity turned her attention back to the Headmaster, "If my guess is correct, Headmaster. That lich did not come here without a purpose."
Albus Dumbledore simply blinked in response and stared at her, wishing her to continue with her train of thought.
"After all, why would a lich hang around Hogwarts' grounds? Since the first attack, which occurred within the school, it only showed up from time to time and never dwelled longer than it had to. Why would it willingly do so when it could attack almost all the students where we are gathered together, or go to the Forbidden Forest and take all the magical creatures that dwell there? My guess is that this lich may be controlled by someone, someone far more powerful than it is."
"However, if the lich is being controlled, how would this person or creature go about doing that?" McGonagall dared to ask.
"How else, Minerva, but through the only item that it is weak against – the phylactery," Dumbledore answered, though with a pensive look on his aged face.
"And if my guess is correct, the one controlling the lich is none other than Voldemort himself," Harry grimaced, ignoring the shocked gasps from the occupants in the room.
"I think so, as well," Serenity nodded in agreement, "Which means that he has the item in his possession. The only thing that remains is how do we go around to retrieving said artifact?"
Silence reigned in the room for several minutes.
"I believe that you all have done enough for now, leave the rest to us. As your instructors, it is our duty to protect you and you have done far more than I can hope for. Now it is getting late, and I do believe that it is almost time for dinner. Shall we?" the Headmaster advised and stated, and without waiting, he headed for the entrance to the Hospital Wing and out the door followed by their Transfiguration and Potions professors.
"He's right, we have done all we can for now," Serenity humbly agreed after watching the two professors leave around the corner.
"That doesn't mean that we can just leave it at that. After all, the lich is still loose and who knows when it will show up again? How many times has it attacked, anyways? I doubt that that time at the Quidditch Match was the only time," Hermione stated and turned her attention back to Serenity.
"You're right, it wasn't…" Serenity said and began telling them about the attacks beforehand, leaving out any information that had anything to do with Draco Malfoy – that was something that these three could do without.
And shortly after their conversations, the four students formed a tighter bond as their relationship grew ever closer.
To be continued….
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I decided to end the chapter here since this was getting pretty lengthy. I hope that you all enjoyed it. As for the lich and the information that comes with it – well, that came from two sources: Wikipedia and The Hypertext d20 SRD. Remember that there may be differences about how an actual lich behaves in my story! I'm not exactly an expert in the lich department; all I did was use a bit of the powers that it may actually possess.
