Last Time: The Necromancer that Harry felt has been found in the form of Susan Bones, and though she was first in denial, she has agreed to join with Harry in learning Necromancy.
Book 2: Pestilence
Chapter 9
"Okay, first rule of Necromancy is we don't raise anything on Halloween. And with the state of the Veil between this world and the world of the Dead, I'd say we don't raise anything from a week before Halloween and a week after." Harry said as he began to move about the bookshelf, pulling down several books on beginning necromancy and the rituals associated with them.
"How come?" Susan asked as she jotted things down in the leather bound journal she had gotten from the dorm room. She had yanked out the notes she made on Lupin's essay, starting fresh.
"Remember the creature that attacked at the end of last year?" Harry asked, turning to Susan. "That was a creature from Beyond the Veil of Death, in the Realm of Dead. It's neither alive, nor dead. Halloween is when the Veil is at its thinnest, and weaker creatures can slip through holes or cracks. Now burrowing through the Veil to summon a soul from Beyond, well… You invite them to come through and take command of the individual you're trying to Raise. Now if you were to make a Golem or something out of parts, that's one thing. Just… don't raise anything."
Susan jotted the notes down. She'd have to look into a locking charm or something to protect the journal, to keep others from peeking inside of it.
"Rule two of Necromancy, we don't raise those that have been murdered, not for a very, very long time." Harry said. "Murdered souls will come back and do everything in their power to get revenge on their killer. They will break through the barrier you put in place to keep the zombie in, and they will go on a rampage. Yes, we can kill them with fire, but that's beside the point." Harry explained.
Susan glanced up, a bit of sadness in her eyes. "I won't be able to raise my parents then." She said softly.
Harry shook his head. "No, you won't. In theory, you could. But if their murderer is still out there, and there's a possibility that he is, they will go after him, even at the cost of going through you.' Harry said softly. "More people have died raising a murderous zombie than anything else regarding Necromancy and the animation spells with it."
Susan nodded and took a moment before she continued jotting her notes down. "I had hoped, you know?" she said softly. "I thought that maybe… just maybe I could raise my parents, sit down and talk with them for a bit."
Harry nodded. "I understand. I wish I could do the same with my parents, but I don't want to see them torturing themselves as they go on a rampage, killing whoever gets in their way. It's probably for the best. While you and I could raise the corpse to look like a human, act like a human, move like a human, it is still a corpse and it will begin to decay. There is no magic in existence that can bring the dead back to life, not if they are truly dead. There is magic to bring someone from the brink of death back to the world of the living, but that is something else entirely."
Susan nodded and wiped her eyes a little bit of the tears. She wouldn't cry. She had already mourned the death of her parents when she was younger, they would want her to be strong.
"Last major rule, we can't bring back the cremated." Harry explained. "Fire is… considered a Pure Element. While there's no taint in raising the dead, they are still beings of darkness and cold. So fire is very useful to know. I'd get a powerful fire spell in your arsenal, you never know when it can come in handy."
Susan nodded, jotting it down. "Okay, so they have an inherent weakness to fire." She said as she glanced up. She looked to Hannah who was working in a lab set up, all sorts of safety measures on her form as she worked with what looked like blood. "I have a question, not regarding the whole… Necromancy stuff. Not entirely."
Harry nodded and sat down, watching the redhead. "Go ahead." He said.
"Why did Hannah bring me to you? No offense, but… you two barely know each other. I doubt you'd so simply tell her that you practice Necromancy, not without a good reason.' Susan said, looking to Harry, staring into those emerald eyes.
Harry made a small sound in his mouth, debating on if he should tell Susan. On one hand, she could freak out again and bolt. On the other hand, keeping such a secret from her could be hazardous in the future and she would need to understand. He would be working very close with the Hufflepuff second year.
He heaved a sigh before he waved a hand and sealed the room once more. "Now, please listen Susan. This isn't going to be something that's easily digestible, but I'm going to say it anyways. There's a reason why I'm knowledgeable in Death Magic, why I consider it imperative that I get knowledgeable in Death Magic.
"What I'm about to show you is only know to a few others. Hannah, Luna Lovegood, the Sorting Hat, and a few select members of the Goblin Nation. I am begging you for your trust with this. You cannot tell anyone, not your Aunt, not your family, not your friends. No one can know this."
Susan nodded inhaling softly. She steeled herself and reigned her emotions in once more, she couldn't panic again. Seeing Harry's anger once was enough.
Harry flared his Deathly Aura up and his features began to turn pale. His eyes sunk and soon his flesh seemed translucent. He reached for the Shadow Cowl that he always wore, pulling it up over his head and over his face. His hands turned skeletal as he stood up. "I am not just Harry James Potter, Scion of Houses Black and Potter." Harry said, his voice coming out a deathly rattle. "I am Death, Rider of the Pale Steed Despair, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
"Hannah is one of my three contemporaries." Harry said, motioning to the blonde. "She is Pestilence, Rider of the White Steed. The other two are War and Famine, Riders of the Red and Black Steed respectively. I haven't found our lost Sister and Brother, but I will. They are here at Hogwarts."
Susan breathed a little harder, her eyes wide. She was trying not to panic, she couldn't panic about this. "You… you fought with Dumbledore last year."
Harry lowered his Deathly Aura and lowered the cowl. "Yes, and I was more severely injured than I let on. I should have died last year, it was pure luck that I did not."
"Which is why I'm here." Hannah said softly. "I'm supposed to be a Healer for the group." She said a bit proudly. "And because of my unique abilities as Pestilence, Harry has me working on a few side projects that are… Well… dangerous and questionable.' She admitted
"Like curing the Lycanthropy disease." Harry said.
Susan sat back in her chair, staring down at her notes on the three big rules of Necromancy. She just needed a moment to digest everything, it wasn't easy. She had to keep from freaking out, she had to keep from freaking out. She breathed a little heavier, focusing on her breathing for a moment. This was huge, much bigger than she had anticipated.
"You are a boy of many, many secrets." Susan said after a moment.
Harry chuckled softly. "You have no idea."
-Scene Break-
Halloween saw Harry sitting atop the tallest tower of Hogwarts. Unlike the prior year, he didn't have the Harvester with him, even if he wore his parachute. He had been having a bad feeling all day again, like something was going to happen.
In truth, Harry couldn't have the Harvester with him. It would raise questions, especially among the likes of Dumbledore and those that had seen his battle just months prior. It was, after all, quite the noticeable weapon.
So Harry merely sat there, thinking and watching as the sun began to dip down beyond the Horizon. He thought of the events going on. Headless Nick's induction into the Headless Hunt, celebrating his Death Day, the feast of course at Halloween with another ball.
And here he was, moping again. It was enough to bring a caw from Dust. He reached up and gently stroked the bird's chest.
Being fair though, after he had sliced the flap of skin holding Nick's head to his body, the Ghost had requested that Harry make himself scarce on his Death Day and the induction to the Headless Hunt. That many Ghosts in a single location, all of them knowing who Harry was… It would be a madhouse. Besides, Harry wasn't sure if he'd be able to hold his power at bay. That many ghosts… all with power that he could, as the Pale Rider, feast upon…
The image alone was tantalizing.
"I know." He told the crow as it cawed again. Once more, he had not been able to go visit his parents' grave. He knew where Godric's Hallow was, he knew where they were buried. He just couldn't go there. He wasn't sure if he was ready to face the cold, unfeeling tombstones that held who were undoubtedly going to be very loving people.
He brought his knees to his chest and placed his chin atop them. He wished he had the problems of other students. Overbearing parents, siblings that cast a great shadow, or even having to be a role model to siblings. He had his own fair share of problems, many of them pressing. But he wished that, just once, he could have an honest to goodness normal problem sometimes.
He gave a gentle snort as he rose to his feet. "I wouldn't know what to do with normal." He said. He then turned on his heel and headed back inside, climbing down effortlessly. He decided he'd head to the kitchens. It was a little later and the feast would undoubtedly be letting out.
However, he paused as he heard something. "Rip… tear… kill!"
He bolted after the voice, trying to find where it came from, flying down the stairs as he ran. He eventually came to the top of the stairs that led to the Grand Staircase and what he saw made him pause, even as he heard footsteps coming from the Great Hall.
Mrs. Noris was hanging by her tail from one of the torch scones, stiff as a board. A message in crimson letters was written underneath it.
"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir beware." Malfoy drawled from the crowd, smirking a bit. Harry barely paid any attention to the foolish Malfoy Scion. "You'll be next Mudbloods, Slytherin's Heir will cleanse Hogwarts."
"And consider my pet peeved." Harry said, turning from his examination of the cat.
"Make way, make way." Filch said, pushing past the students. "What's going on… " He paused as he looked from Harry to Mrs. Noris. "Precious…" he whispered, shuffling forward. He turned on Harry, a fire in the old man's eyes as he grabbed the front of Harry's cloak. "What did you do to my cat boy?! I'll kill you for this!" He actually managed to raise Harry off his feet.
"Argus!" Came the bellowing shout from Dumbledore. "You can't go off threatening the students Argus."
"He's murdered my cat!" Filch shouted, refusing to budge and release Harry from the tight grip.
Dumbledore stepped up, his wand coming to his hand. He waved it over Mrs. Noris quickly. "She's not dead Argus, merely petrified."
"Ah, pity I wasn't here, I know just the counter-curse to keep it from happening." Lockhart said, adding his two Knuts to it that were unwanted.
Harry pinned the pompous blonde with a glare. "Do shut up if you have nothing substantial to add to the conversation. It wasn't done by a curse."
"Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore asked, looking to Harry. That was quite the damning phrase to make. It even seemed to shock Argus into dropping Harry.
Harry smoothed out his clothes and adjusted his tie to be proper once more. He inhaled softly before giving a glare at Lockhart. "Any half decently trained duelist can feel spell residue in the air, and a curse capable of petrification will leave a heavy residue like a film of dirt over things."
Flitwick ambled over. "He's right Albus, I've been trying to get Mr. Potter ready for the dueling circuit this coming summer."
Harry glanced over at Mrs. Noris once more. "It wasn't done by a potion. Most potions are too… sensitive to work properly on an animal. Especially one as complex as petrifying her while keeping her alive. It would take quite a while to brew, and there would be difficulty getting the ingredients correct. There hasn't been a string of missing or dead cats, so that tells me this wasn't a potion being done, not even the start of one."
"Then what do you say would do it Potter?" Malfoy asked with a sneer.
"Creature." Harry said, squatting down to touch the ground. "But… the only two I can think of that petrify out right… They can't be the culprits." He said and tapped his chin.
"And since when have you had such knowledge of Magical Creatures?" Someone asked, Harry didn't bother pinpointing the voice.
"Please. I'm Scion of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. We've been Merchants since the Roman Empire, and our current leading venture that brings the most profit is Creature Parts and has been for the past two hundred and seventy four years. I own dragon reserves, acromantula colonies, herds of unicorns and that's just our most known. I have three sphinxes, twenty seven Chimera, eight hydra, a rookery of Griffins." Harry turned to face everyone. "I know my magical creatures. I know the going price of an adult male dragon heartstring, I know the going price of a fresh unicorn horn, I know the properties of everything that my handlers have to deal with on a daily basis.
"The only two known creatures capable of outright petrification, is a Cockatrice and a Gorgon. This," He waved to Mrs. Noris. "Is neither. A Cockatrice would have taken it away to eat it, and would have left a great deal many feathers in the corridors. A Gorgon would have set the cat in some sort of artistic pose."
A cat hanging from the scone wasn't artistic enough for a Gorgon.
"I want to see some punishment!" Filch shouted. "I demand to know who did this!"
'As do I." Harry said, turning to face the wall once more. "Enemies of the Heir? This is an attack on me." He turned on his heel. "As Heir to Salazar Slytherin by Rite of Conquest, I demand to know who is claiming my title!" he shouted, invoking powerful magic. It was magic that would make the pretender of his title come forward, come forward and face him for the title.
Yet no one stepped forward. No one moved to step forward. It was maddening. He clicked his tongue.
Dumbledore stepped forward and placed his hand on Filch's shoulder. "Argus, it is a reversible condition. Pomona tells me that we have a fine batch of Mandrakes, and once they're fully grown Poppy can stew them and whip up a potion to cure Mrs. Noris." The Healer stepped forward and nodded her head.
"No need." Harry said, touching the red words and smearing them between his fingers. It was sticky, tacky like dried blood. It wasn't that old. "One of my greenhouses in Italy had a batch of Mandrakes this past summer. I will send for a crate." He said.
Dumbledore inclined his head. "You will be compensated Mr. Potter." He said. Mandrakes weren't a necessarily cheap potion ingredient, they took a while to fully grow. But they were necessary for a situation like this.
"No, don't worry about it. All I ask is you don't impede my investigation into this false Heir." Harry said, stalking off, the students parting for the cold Ravenclaw.
"Students, return to your dormitories." Dumbledore said loudly, and watched the students begin to shuffle off.
Flitwick looked to the hanging cat a moment before his wand flicked out. He cut the scone from the wall and carefully levitated the cat to Filch's hands. "Mr. Potter has a unique set of skills." Flitwick said softly. "But he is right, at least about the Spell Residue."
Dumbledore nodded. "I know." He said. "And I'm sure Poppy would have corrected him about the potions if he was wrong."
Flitwick nodded. "I will speak with some of the Goblin Nation, find if they know of a creature that can cause Petrification like this. I have no doubt Mr. Potter was correct in that a creature of some sort did this."
Dumbledore nodded his head. "And I will ask Hagrid to find out what he may know." The Headmaster doubted the gentle man would know, but he had to try.
Harry didn't return to the Ravenclaw dorm. Instead, he went towards Godric's study, offering the passphrase for the Portrait before he slipped inside.
He began to pace, walking back and forth. Twenty seven steps across the room, turn, another twenty seven steps. To pace between the other two walls it was twenty nine steps. "This is maddening." He said, talking more to himself really than Dust who sat on Godric's desk.
He supposed the venom of certain breeds of wyverns, like the Sumerian Gold, could cause the petrification process. But Venom like that was a highly regulated substance. No student at Hogwarts would have the clearance to be able to get ahold of the venom through any means. Even Harry wouldn't be able to get it, and he owned a few of the wyverns with that venom.
And it certainly wasn't a wyvern at Hogwarts. The lack of destruction, the lack of screaming and roaring, it was all a good indicator that it wasn't a wyvern at Hogwarts. It had to be something that was capable of some form of stealth.
He doubted it was from a creature bite anyways. Mrs. Noris didn't seem to have any teeth marks on her. So unless a student force fed the cat some sort of venom of some sort of creature that he didn't know about… venom was very likely out.
"This is maddening!" he shouted, sweeping the scrolls from the top of the desk and sitting down. He grabbed some fresh parchment and an inkwell, having brought a few supplies into the room.
The first letter, he prepared for his Italy greenhouses, ordered a batch of the mandrakes. They didn't need more than a half dozen or so, just for future proofing. He knew someone would either bring it themselves or send it through Gringotts, so Harry knew it would take about a month before it got there.
The other letters, he prepared one for each of his more exotic reserves. Dragons, Acromantula, even Unicorns were not the ones that did this. But his other more exotic creatures might have, and they were on reserves together, if they weren't hostile towards one another.
Oddly, wyverns could be kept with Quetzacotl in the Southern Americas. Hydra had to be kept separate from everything else except the Gorgons and Chimera and they were all on a small Greek island from when the Romans conquered. It was the only part of Greece that Harry would ever visit, and that was because of the heavy wards placed on it.
The Cockatrice was left alone in a cave. They used a Mundane anesthesia in the cave in gas form to force it to sleep when they needed to harvest feathers from it.
He'd send these letters via Gringotts. Though, at some point, he needed to go check on each reserve. Maybe if he could get some time during the summer. Surely the Chess tournament and the Dueling Tournament wouldn't take his entire summer.
He'd speak with Rotgut about it. He had to get a better feel for everything and see these creatures up close. Of course, certain precautions would be taken.
-Scene Break-
Life did not quite return to normal over the next few days. With Harry's outburst as being the Heir of Slytherin, people began to give him an even wider berth than before. About the only ones that didn't seem to be bothered by his title were Ron, Hermione, the Twins, Millicent, Daphne, Susan, Hannah, and Luna.
Everyone else either held him at arm's length, regarded him with open suspicion, or in a few rather stupid cases thought he was actually the perpetrator to what happened to Mrs. Noris.
Harry caught Filch walking along the corridor where she had been petrified, as though he'd be able to find out who did it. He didn't blame the man for wanting to know what had happened to his cat.
Harry had already sent each letter, along with the courier fee, through Gringotts. He was hoping he'd get a swift reply from each of the reserves. There was another thing he thought about in regards to the two creatures he mentioned. Both would have turned Mrs. Noris to stone.
It was like she was in the middle of Rigor Mortis, her body not responding to any movements.
At the moment, he was working through all the genealogy reports that he had gotten from Gringotts. It turned out that the Founders Heirs had been together before, giving Harry an idea for who Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were.
Unfortunately, Gryffindor's heir for that line died out, meaning the title of Heir went to another of Godric Gryffindor's line, and there were a lot.
As Harry feared, Godric was the typical Norseman before he settled down with the other Founders to create Hogwarts. What that meant was Godric pillaged, plundered, and not just villages. Harry had already gone through six defunct lines from Godric in his pursuit of an heir. And it was likely this promiscuous life style that made people say that Godric Gryffindor was born at Godric's Hallow.
After all, not many people wanted to admit that the Founder of the school where they sent their children had sex with likely over a hundred different women.
Personally, Harry didn't care. It was the man's culture before he came to the British Isles. He was sure if he went back just a few centuries, he'd find a few of his own relatives still doing things of Roman Culture.
But so focused he was on the reports, he never noticed a pair of eyes on him from across the Great Hall. Watching, weighing, and determining, the honey colored eyed never wavered. Eventually a young Slytherin girl stood up from her bench and began to walk over.
More than a few eyes moved to her as she passed by her fellow Slytherins and moved to the front of the Great Hall. Such an action would likely better come from one of the Gryffindors than from a Slytherin such as herself, but ambition sometimes called for bravery and boldness.
She could even feel the weight of the staff's gaze on her, a clenching in her stomach as she approached the Ravenclaw table, giving the table of Red and Gold as wide a berth as she could. "Heir Potter." She greeted, her voice even and her poise confident.
Then those emerald green eyes swept to her eyes and her breathing hitched just slightly, there was an intenseness to those eyes.
Harry looked to the dark haired Slytherin First Year. He rose to his feet slowly and stepped from the bench, facing her. There was an intenseness to her eyes, but he could also see past the façade and see the unease. He saw it more and more when he looked someone in their eyes. "And… you are?" Harry asked politely.
He guessed it was an Heiress, or at least second born of a very important family. She addressed him by his title after all, despite the informal situation of the Great Hall.
"Heiress Vega LeStrange." The dark haired girl said. "We are distantly related Heir Potter." She said, offering a hand.
"Heiress LeStrange." Harry said, raising the offered hand and brushing his lips across the backs of her knuckles. "LeStrange as in…?" He trailed off, not exactly sure how taboo the name Bellatrix was with the girl.
"My father's cousin's wife." She said, a tic working in her jaw. "I assure you, the rest of the LeStrange family was mortified of what she did and has already cut ties with her, her husband, and her husband's brother. While the LeStrange Family has a difference of opinion with the Longbottom Family, they are still a Noble Pureblooded family. To so blatantly assault their Head of House and his wife, disgusting." Vega said.
Harry regarded the young woman for a while. While perhaps not the answer he had sought, it was acceptable. The House LeStrange condemned the actions of a few. "What may I help you with Heiress LeStrange?" he asked.
A faint blush spilled over her face and she looked away a moment. Harry saw the tic work in the girl's jaw again. This was a prideful girl that wasn't liking what she was going to ask for. In some way, Harry found it amusing and he waited patiently, tucking his arms at the small of his back.
Finally, she turned to him once more and inhaled. No doubt she wished he had sat at the back where she wasn't the center of attention. But Harry wouldn't be changing his seating arrangements any time soon. He could better hear the staff from the front after all.
"I want you to tutor me." Vega said. "I am not performing adequately in certain classes. It is believed that you took the Top Marks for your classes last year. You have not yet been so far removed from your First Year that you do not know the material. Nor will you use this as an opportunity to hold one over me. You are, simply, the best choice."
A pin could be dropped in the Great Hall. Students never asked someone from outside their House to tutor them. The sabotage that could be done… It was just too great a risk. Whispers soon began to race up and down the four tables.
"Very well." Harry said simply. "I will send my owl, Ashes, to you with a classroom and time once I have established when and where." He said.
"Hey Harry, can I join?" Luna asked from her spot to the right of Vega.
"Of course you can Luna." Harry said, having no fathomable idea what this would do.
Ten heartbeats passed before pandemonium occurred. Suddenly Harry was being shouted at by the First Years from every House. Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, all of them wanting his help. He couldn't distinguish the voices.
Even the staff seemed taken back by the sudden surge of voices.
Harry flicked his wand out of his holster and into his hand. He raised it above his head and his power swirled. A boom of sound registered out of the tip of his wand, getting everything to silence back down to where a pin could drop once more. He then tucked his wand away slowly, giving him time to focus on his words, despite the attention on himself.
"Professor Flitwick, is there any Hogwarts rules against tutoring like this?" He asked. He knew there were rules that allowed a single student to be privately tutored in a subject instead of attending the class. But they had to provide their own tutor and, if the tutor requested it, provide payment on their own.
Flitwick wiped his mouth with his napkin a moment. "No, not to my knowledge Mr. Potter."
It would eat into his independent research time and there was much he had to do. He closed his eyes in thought. So much to do, so little time. He was already shuffling around the hours of his day, knowing every moment was precious. He could hear the First Years getting restless, waiting for a response.
"I will have a notice posted in each of the four common rooms." Harry said slowly and loudly, letting his voice carry. "When I have found a room and a time, I will let everyone know. I will have an answer before next Saturday. This gives me time to set up a method that I can help everyone with everything they need in an efficient manner.
"Do not abuse this." He said flatly, looking around the Great Hall. "I will not be giving you the answers, I will not be giving you my notes from the previous years. I will be helping you so you understand the information yourself. We are required to go through many classes here at Hogwarts, and I'm sure many of you need help with more than one. Do not come to me expecting the answers."
Harry regarded Vega LeStrange a moment. "Heiress LeStrange, I apologize about the change of circumstances for your tutoring." He said. "I hope that my tutoring will be to the level of your expectations so that you may perform as adequately as you feel you need to."
Harry turned and gathered his things. "Dust." He said, feeling the crow settle on his shoulder. He walked from the Great Hall.
He had a schedule to figure out, as well as a way to tutor some number of students in several classes.
Odd how fast suspicion faded away when he had a use to the student populace again.
-End Chapter-