Chapter Two.
Autor's notes: Halleluiah! Your prays have been heard, my faithful reviewers!( All three of you. Thanks a lot, my first reviews, after all!) This is the second chapter of "Harry Potter and the Necromancer". If you like it, send more critisism. That way I know it interests you and summons some sort of an inner debate forth. I do hope for more reviews, thought. If you hate this Fanfiction, write as well. It's very much not perfect. Any suggestions to make it better are welcome. Flames are welcome as well. A good laugh is hard to come by these days... Anyways, enough incoherent blabbering. Read on! Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and Co. Pity. The things I could have done if I did...
Nodus D'ariophag sighted heavily and layed a wickedly sharp knife aside at the small table near him. The knife waas not the only thing on the table, accompanied by scalpels, lancettes, scissors and other complicated surgerical instruments, all with carved handles out of white bone. The instruments were also heavily smeared with blood. The table quickly stepped aside, making a little free space for the Necromancer to stand up from his kneed position. An odd-shaped star under his feet still glowed faintly, encircling and two mutilated corpses in a misterious greenish glow. The rite was complete now and Nodus felt much better then he felt in days, maybe even weeks. The power, newly won from the ritual, surged through his new body, filling him with a sence of what he belived was satisfaction. All the spent energywon anew, without too much effort. Nothing could stop him now. His gaze fell onto the two corpses before him. Pathetic wizards. Masks, black cloaks and hate in their hearts, nothing else. They could not comprehnd, what true evil was. They couldn't even imagine what death could bring. That was why they were sheep and he was the shephard, deciding wich one to slaugher for the evening. Foolish wizards... With a wave of his hand the necromancersummoned his robe and,puling it on, stpped out of the quickly fading symbol, wandering over to the fireplace.
"Riddle, I need new servants. The old ones were... useless to me." Nodus could have sworn the ugly face of his employer cringed.
"Nodus, I must ask you not to kill my faithfull supporters. They are not so... dispencibleat the moment.And don't call me that!" "As you wish, Voldemort."
"New Death Eaters will arive in the morning.By the way, I would like to ask you, what are you planing to do now. You lost the girl and botched the chance to get Potter, so it would interest me how you plan to fulfill your Word." The Necromancer gritted his teeth. Riddle knew how to mock him.
"I still have time, Voldemort. I'l come up with something. Cut me some slack."
"I'm interested in a fast sucsess- the snake-like creature sneered- so you must excuse my impatience."
"Very well."-Nodus shrugged, taking place in one of the armchairs near the fireplace.- "If I can't get to the mountine, the mountine shall come to me."
"Oh, really?" now Voldemort was obviously gloathing.
"Yes, really. It's easy enough to make Hogwarts impossible for it's inhabitants to live in. I have seven variations of getting Poter, actually."
Voldemort raised an eyebrow(or what passed for it) at that, daring D'Ariophag to continue.
"I could drive the forest creatures insane. Or use a zombie inside the castle to extract that brat of yours. Or breach the wards. Or create a plague inside. Or..."
"Alright, alright, I understand already, you don't have to go on. Anything goes, as long as you get the little snivelling prat to me."
"Oh, Voldemort, why exactly do you need the kid? It's not that he's of danger to you." It did really interest Nodus for quite some time. Voldemort made a facve, looking even more ugly then normally. (Should have let his fingers off the rituals if he had no idea of how to utilaze them correctly, Nodus thought with satisfaction.)
"That shouldn't concern you, but he may know something I'd like to know. Any more irrelevant questions?" "Oh,not at all, Voldemort, not at all. I bid you good night for now."
"Good night to you too. And don't waste my Death Eaters any more." The connection was cut short, so the Dark Lord didn't catch the broad smile that spred over his employee's young face.
Knowledge. Of course, what else? Foolish wizards, always seeking some sort of wise words, or propecies or whatnot. Why did they not understand that knowledge was nothing? Only the will and the understanding mattered. But what would Riddle desire so much as to cut a deal with Death itself? Could be at least usefull, if Nodus were to think in mortal standards. Stupid Dark Lord. Were he to ask for knowledge, it would be already long over with. The Necromancer threw himself back in the armchair and laught quitely.
"No, no, no!" Snape paced around a large table where three boiling cauldrons stood, sickly yellow smoke rising out of one of them.
"You have to CUT the mandragora roots, not mutilate them, Potter! Even Weasley manages to do it right! Counterclockwise Grangener!"
"But it is counterclockwise, professor!" Hermione was on the werge of tears for that remark alone.
"Oh, my fault. Still, you could do it a bit more quickly. Your poution isn't boiling right!" Found himself Snape. For eight hours without pause were the students in his dungeon, and he had to admit, the potions brewing seccion was progressing quite nicely. They managed to replace all the used up simple potions and were now working on the more complex ones, like a flesh eating potion or invisibility potion. Weasley didn't look at the names on the botles as he used them, obviously. Snape looked with glee at the cauldrons sitting near the far wall.This ones were to be boiled for at least 24 hours and had the deadliest concoutions he ever invented in them. Considering Snape's lifeloving nature, needless to say that they were quite nasty.
"Not so fast, Weasley! You are going to destroy the potion that way! And Potter, fetch finally the blasted moonstone! It has to be warmed before adding it into the cauldron!" The exthaused student run to the ingridients chamber. All in all, admitted Snape, they were working very well. Not that he was going to admit it loudly mind you, but still...
"It's done, Potter, you can put it down from the fire." One more solution of explosive fiery death was ready. Wonderfull.
Harry carefully placed his cauldron on the stand near the wall and leaned back and looked over to Hermione. She was adding something that still moved into her blood-red solution. The moving thing peeped meekly.
"Ignore it, Grangener, it's only a devilworm. Nasty creatures, but very usefull in Potionmaking. Ah, Weasley, yours is ready as well." Turning to Ron, Harry was surprised to see his friend step away from his cauldron with dark-brown gazeering liquid that resembled something Harry was sure he saw somewhere already.
"Ah, yes, a perfeck batch." Snape took a cup and filled it with Ron's potion and took a large gulp.
"Fantastic. My own creation." he explained, catching Harry's and Hermione's stares.-"sadly, the Muggles got their hands onto the reciep somehow. Do try it." The three Griffindors awcwardly filled their cups with the liquid, trying to appear as if they were not afraid to be poisoned and took a gulp themselves. The drink tasted fantastic, with a cold taste of sugar and weak coffee. Harry and Ron marveled at the new expirience, but Hermione almost spit her mouthfull.
"COCA-COLA!"
The Slytherin common room was normally very silent. The students of the cunning house prefered to keep in small groups wispering to themselves quitely. Here one could't hear the blattering of the books like by the Ravenclaws, or loud joking and songs, as it was in the Griffindor Domain. One couldn't even hear the quite rustling of plants and peeps of animals, as it was common by Hufflepuffs. No, the Slytherin common room was always silent. The wispering students always used a silencing charm to increase the discression degree. The gloomy atmosphere and green and silver anturage only enforced this line of behavior. Now, however, the usual order of constructing evil schemes was broken, as all the students of the house stood around Pansy Parkinson, with absolutely vacant looks in their eyes. The plumpy girl in the middle stared back at them, making some passes with her hands, completely calm, soft passes, almost like flowing water were they, if one would ignore the somehow frightening figures her hands froze in from time to time. The darkness in the room deepened. Somewhere far, far away, at the house at Grimmualdum Place, Nodus D'Ariophag opened his eyes. And smiled.
It was almost eight o'clock past midday as the exthaused terrible trio of Griffindor sat for the evening meal with the rest of the house. The hall was full, despite the late hour, for the classes havn't started yet and wouldn't start for another week, so the curfew rulkes were changed for the time being. Harry propelled his head agains the table, resting his tired eyes. The potion brewing session was very exthausing but for some reason Harry felt proud of his work today. He even felt some sort of twisted pleasure (wich he wasn't going to admit having to anyone) as he slowly added ingridients to create something deadly or healing. It was almost like assembling a puzzle, and with Snape halfway civil, it was fun to brew potions.
Great, Harry thought with a smile, now I'm turning into another Snape. I'll be babbling about the beauty of softly simmering solutions soon. He raised his head to see Ron wolfing down half of the food on the table. Nothing could disturb him from his food, not even a whole day of Snape and Potions. Hermnione, for once, wasn't reading, but calmly sipping from a cup of coffee with a tired glaze over her eyes. Harry suspected she still wasn't over the episode when one of the Devilworms started to talk to her, proposing to exchange her soul for a new haircut.
If Harry remembered corectly, Herms practically drowned the small seducer in her cauldron with a nasty look of utmost satisfaction.
"Well," the Boy-Who-Lived summed up,-"that wasn't half that bad, was it?" Ron nodded virgiously.
"Mmbf nhmf mmgh sumpff." he elaborated.
"Ron, chew it down first, please." Hermione remarked, amused.
"What I meant to say, Snape wasn't half that bad. D'you recon he was ill or something?"
"No, I belive he just wanted those potions back really bad."- Harry answered, taking the time to stab his sausage.
"Do you remember the one with the frozen dragonheart powder in it?" Hermione inquired, happily shaking her exthauseion off for the moment.- "I've got to look the reciep up at the library! It was so exiting!"
Ron exchanged looks with Harry and mouthed 'Mental!' so that Hermione couldn't see that. Aloud, he said:
"That one was nothing! This coca cona of yours was really difficult to brew, but it tastesgreat. You recon Snape could give us a ample or two?"
"I doubt it, Ron. He'll be back to his usual greasy self in a day or two." Harry answered wearily.
"SO, the muggles really sell it everywhere?"
"Yes, Ron. And it's Coka-Cola, by the way." Hermione observed, now trading an amused glance with Harry herself.
"Muggles must be damn good potion brewers then." the redhead concluded.
"Harry, why didn't you recognize it when you drunk it?" the bushyheared girl inquired with curiosity in her face.
"Well, you see..." Harry felt very uncomfortable admitting that he never tried it before in his life, thanks to the Dursleys. "Hey!" -Ron to the rescue!-"Why are there no Slytherins in here? They normally stay here long in the evening!"
Now that Harry's attention was pointed towards that fact, he also saw with surprise that the fourth table was completely empty.
"Maybe Snape wasn't happy with the new curfew rules and established his own?" he guessed, then shrugged under the doubting stares from his friends. "He wouldn't have been so content today in that case. He'd have bitched around about it." Ron countered-"They must be up to something."
"Ron, they are not all evil cultists or something, you know?" Hermione huffed.
"Says who!" Harry tuned the bickering of his friends out, still staring at the empty table. Indeed, why were they not here?
Pansy Parkinson stood just outside the great Hall, eyes pithch black, almost radiating Darkness out of them. Her Master commanded her to wait and wait she shall, no matter what happens. The rest of her life, all the things that happened to her, the death of her grandparents, her father's abuse, even her love for Draco, everything that happened before she met Him seemed so unimportant now, so pathetic and pointless. Now, she had a purpose. To serve Him, to do anything He asked for, to please Him any way she could, what else could be more important? Now, she had to capture Harry Potter and his two friends and ask them some questions, and that she'll do, no matter what. If she could, she'd chuckle ironically. Even her hate towards the Boy-Who-Lived and her envy towards the Grangener-Mudblood seemed unimportant now.
But to chuckle was also unimportant, so she remained silent. It didn't help Him, after all.
Harry, Ron and Hermione walked slowly up the stairs in the direction of the Griffindor Tower, their stomaches full with food and their thoughts tired but content. Tomorrow, another brewing session awaited them, but they were not very dissapointed abou it. What should happen would happen, today was only 'rest and sleep' to do. Perhaps it was this state of mind that made them miss a Slytherin girl with eyes full of darkness hiding behind a suit of armor. As soon as they passed her, the girl stepped out of her hiding place and followed them, invisible in the shadows. Soon she was joined by another member of her house. And another. And another... Dozens of black eyes glistered in the dark, silently following the unsuspecting Griffindors. Master's plan would be fulfilled... Harry was quite surprised to find himself face to face with Pansy Parkinson, flanked by Crabbe, Goile and Zabini. They were halfways to the tower, in a dark corridor on the second floor, with the halls fully devoided of any life them aside. What disturbed Harry most was the fact that the eyes of the Slytherins appeared... black.
"Harry, it's a trap!" Harry turned around and groaned inwardly. Hermione let out a quite squeak. The whole serpent house was blocking the way back, almost completely concieled by the darkness, with their eyes hidden in shadows. Their wands were raised and pointed at the trio.
"Our Master wishes to speak to yo, Harry Potter."
"RUN,FOLKS!" "Stupefy!"
"Ennervate!"-Harry woke up and tried to understand where he was. As soon as he did that, he processes to groan inwardly. The green and silver polsterings, dark atmosphere and heavy dark-wood furniture meant only one thing- Slytherin common room. The students stood around him and he appeared to be lzing on a couch in front of a fireplace. The ezes of said students were black. Completelz black. Harry tried to sit up and found that impossible. He was bound by some sort of fabric. Shifting his head to the righ, he found two chairs, with his friends bound to them, with gags in their mouthes, still unconciousious. Pansy Parkinson stepped into his view-field.
"What the hell is going on! What do you want! Let me go!" Ignoring him, Pansy stepped to the fireplace and threw a handfull of floo powder in it. The head of Draco Malfoy appeared in the flames, surprising the heck out of Harry.
"YOU! What the Hell!..." Draco's head interrupted him.
"Hello arain, Harry Potter. You are quite difficult to catch. "
Harry stopped struggling and glared at the Draco-lookalike with hate and venom.
"Bastard."
"Indeed. Your ability to notice things is amazing." the head mocked.
"You killed my aunt and uncle..." Harry's words quivered with malice.
"They were so impolite, you see, so I decided to punish them for their lack of guestfriendship. They even dared to hit me with a frying pan!" Draco was apparently very upset about this last fact.- "However, this is not the matter we are to discuss."
"We have nothing to discuss, murderer!" Harry all but screamed at the contently smiling face of his past classmate and rival. "Oh, but we do." Malfoy smiled pleasently.- "you see, if you refuse to converse with me, my... employes will slowly remove the internals of your friends. Of course, we'll wake them up first. Don't want them to miss anything important, do we? Oh, and of course the girl, Ms. Grangener would be repeatedly raped by some of my helpers. Your other friend might also endure the same sort of... encouragement."
Harry was mortified. What spooked him most was the way the necromancer talked about the fate of Ron and Hermione in cas Harry refused to cooperate: offhandedly calm and unconcerned, with no malice or sadistic glee, just like a man who was discussing aome furniture arrangements. It would have appeared a bluff, had Harry not heared what this creature did to his relatives.
"And if I still refuse?" he asked slowly-"What if I ignore my friend's death?"
"Then I just order my children to give you the same treatment, even if not lethal, most unpleasent, I assure you, then they'll throw you through the fireplace and I'll give your pathetic wrecked form to Voldemort to have his fun with." Draco chirped cheerfully, with twinkles of amusement in his eyes. Harry's insides lurched.
"So, why talk to me? If you work for Riddle, why not just give me to him?"
"Well, you see, and interesting gambit came up. Idon't like my current employer very much, but I'm forced to obey him for the time being. I'd like to solve this situation in my favor, not in Riddle's. So, are you ready to talk?"
The boy couldn't help it, despite resisting it with all his might, he felt a small glimmer of hope grow in his heart.
"What do you want to know, then?"
"Ah," Draco smiled again-" now we're getting somewhere." The Slytherins cut his bounds quickly and with practical easey, conjured a cup of tea for him.
"Are you comfortable?" Malfoy asked with a concerned look on his face.
"I'd be even more comfortable if you'd wake my friends up." Harry decided to push his luck to the limit.
"Terribly sorry" the Necromancer appologized- "but I'd like to keep this more privat. Less interruptions that way, you see.
However, I promise that their wellbeing is directly proportional to your grade of cooperation. Now,where are my manners. My name is Nodus D'ariophag."
"Harry Potter." The Slytherins stepped away to the room's enterence, well out of the hearing range, still calm and silent. "What did you do to them?" Hary asked, nodding towards the guards.
"Oh, just a form of magically reinforced hypnosis and mind control. I belive your kind calls it Legilemency. Dead usefull in Zombification." Harry could only nod. The skill it took to do THI was frightening. Snape was nowhere even remotely near this level. "So, what do you want to know?" Harry repeated, starring hard at the face of Malfoy.
"Do drink your tea, it's calmingfor the nerves." Draco-D'Ariophag commented, ignoring the question. Harry gingerly took a sip, almost awaiting to taste poison. The tea was perfectly normal. The Necromancer nodded knowingly.
"You must understand, Mr. Potter, that I mean you no harm, at least, not personally. I fact, I don't care for your kind of stick-wielders, but the circumstances speak against my will. Let us try to sort this out to our both satisfaction." Harry was getting tired and a little annoyed at the whole wordshell but let it be. Not that he could dictate the rules anyways. The Necromancer continued:
"I must say, I was quite impressed with your assault at my haven. I like risky people, you see. I am not mistaken that it was you who tricked me so smartly a few days ago?"
"No, of course not. Do proceed." Harry managed to catch the tone of the conversation.
"Thank you. As you, no doubt, already gathered, I would like to know, why exactly Riddle's so keen on getting his hands on you, a young and,excuse me, unexpierienced student with nothing remarkable about him. So I asked my employer and got a rather criptic respond in return. Apparently, you posess some sort of information you snake-like accuantice would like to posess. What is this information?" Harry thought hard about the answer. He wasn't going to reveal the Prophecy to anyone, let alone the insane maniac of an immortal dark sorcerrer. The choices were limited, thought.
"You see, Mr. D'ariophag, it is a long story. It all started at a place known as Godric's Hollow..."
As this story of Harry's life was finished, the Necromancer was silent for a few minutes, analyzing the info, obviously. Then he looked Harry in the eyes.
"You gave me a lot of information, Mr. Potter. Sadly, almost all of it is quite useless. You are hiding something. Of course, you fouled enough of Riddle's plans to make his vendicative nature seek revenge. But your try to avoid my, I may add; quite simple, question is not speaking in your favor. The only thing I can work with is this prophecy you so conviniently destroyed last year. So I shall give you another chance before my young helpers start replacing Mr. Weasley's liver with molten iron. What is this prophecy? Why is Riddle so interested in it? Do you know it's contents? I belive it would be wise of you to answer truthfully."
A few of the Slytherins took a few steps in Ron's direction, wands raised. Harry cursed under his breath and stared tentively at the Necromancer' no longer smiling face. Only now he noticed that even through the flames, one could make out a distant green glow of the creature's eyes. A few long moments followed, until Harry averted his gaze and gave up. No matter what the bastard did with the prophecy, it wasn't worth his friends' lifes. Or was it?
"It says only I can kill him, you bastard. Happy now?" If possible, D'Ariophag's eyes intencified their glow.
"Ah,"- he said finally,-"that explains everything. Very good, Potter, very good. Finally we stopped with the chit-chat. It even started to give me a headache, but you bloody doorknob-enchancers are so found of your talk... Anyways, how about you word the prophecy fully?" Harry just glared at the Necromancer in a boy's body.
"The one who has the power to vanquish the Dark Lord aproaches, born when the seventh month dies..." The creature listened tantively, as the heavy words fell down in the silence of the Serpent's lair. As the final chord ended, Nodus unfolded his fingers and smiled.
"Quite interesting.Amusing, really. Don't you feel the irony, Potter?"
"I thought you didn't like smalltalk?" Harry pressed out, trying to sound as sarcastic as possible, but his insides were ablaze with hate and fear. Now that the arsehole knew the prophecy...
"Ouch. Oh, well, I suppose you're not very happy with me right now, are you? Some big bad guy kills your family, tries to catch you, kidnapps one of you friends and nnow threatens you to reveal the big secret."
"Your insight is worth any envy a human could provide." Harry supported his statenment with a glare worth of Snape himself. "Don't push it, kid. I like the daring, but not the arsehoöes." the Necromancer chuckled idly.- "I won't tell Voldie about the prophecy. Harry's glare turned into a stare of surprise.
"why?"- he finally managed to choke out.
"As I TOLD you BEFORE, I don't like Riddle much. He's got a drop on me now, so I'd like to see him dead rather then you. The guy humalited me, so I want to extract some vengance upon him. And you'll be my tool." Malfoy was now not only smiling, he was grinning in a slightly disturbing maniacal sort of way.
Harry shudered and to hide it, took a ip of his now cold tea. Nodus rubbed the bridge of his nose, apparently deep in thought. Then he again gazed upon Hary.
"Ok, kid. That's how it goes. I can't kick Voldie in the balls, he's got my Word. But said Word tells me to bring you to him in the lengh of this year, so we've got some time."
"So, it's we now?" Harry inquired, hardly able to belive his luck.
The Necromancer sighted in frustratioon, but smiled again.
"Yes, apparently. But back to buisness. Prophecies arevery tricky and have the tendency to fulfill themselves no matter what the people do. As far as I can tell, Riddle and you can kill each other, but no-one else can kill any of you. Fate'll drive you out of any situation fatal for your health, and the same goes for Riddle. I wouldn't test this theorie too often, thought." he winked. Harry again supressed a shudder.
"Ok, that's clear."
"Secondly, no one says someone may not hold ol' voldie down as you have your way with him."
"That was obvious."
"Yeah, pretty much. But that opens quite a few nice perspectives for me. Too bad you're no Deathsummoner, or you'd be able to kill the arse with a ritual, without leaving your room."
"No, thanks." Harry almost chocked on his tea at this suggestion. Nodus seemed a bit dissapointed.
"If you change your mind, let me know. But back to the topic at hands. Don't let anyone know we had this little talk..."
"No, no no. Not that way. Mz friends and Dumbledore deserve to know."
"Sorry, nothing against your friends, but they'll tell their friends and so on. Could dent my relationship with Voldie, see. And no Dumble...Whatshisname. Too much risk." Nodus shook his head to enforce the effect.
"But I pledge for Ron and Hermione! They won't talk!" Nodus regarded him for a moment before sighting.
"Very well, if you insist. But so you don't tell anyone else, I'll make some insurances." A dark glow surrounded Harry and the people in the common room, exclueding Ron and Hermione.
"If you tell anyone about our deal, the children will die. Quite painfully." the Necromancer assured.
"I'll have to think about this situation a little and let you know what I came up with in a day or two." "What exactly are you going to think about?"
"Why, how to bring Voldie down, of course. She-" the Necromancer pointed at Pansy-"will let you know if I want to talk to you. If something happens in the castle, tell her, and she'll tell me. We'll arange a meeting then, if needed. My helpers will see you out, now." Not waiting for an answer, Draco's head dissapeared from the fireplace.
The Slytherins quickly tok both Ron and Hermione, chairs inclusive, and carried them out of the common room, leaving a completely confused and drained, as well as slightly freaked out Harry to follow.
He had nothing against it. He needed time to think, what exactly just happened.
Nodus threw himself back in his nice and cushy armchair and grinned. Now he had a drop on Voldie. Nice, that. He just loved to let those fucking wizards belive they were smarter then him. His new tool appeared to be very good, but a tool nontheless. He'll dispose of it as soon as Voldie would be dust under his shiny new letherboots. This way he'd keep his word and get revenge on the kid that dared to assault him in his home, as well as come out clean of this whole affair. He grinned malicausly. Stinking washrug-charmers! The top of the evolution chain, my ass! No better then Muggles! So easy to manipulate...so easy...
A/U.:Sorry it was so short. No time to print it into the PC at all, since I mostly write it down the old fashionedway. The third chapter'll be out sooner, if there'd be more reviews, thought. Hehehe...