Chapter 8

Professor Santisi clapped his hands to begin class, and everyone fell silent suddenly.

"Today we'll begin our unit on the Spells of the Dead," the Professor began, his deep voice stretching into the darkest corners of the room, ringing in their ears.

"Now, the Spells of the Dead are the most volatile and erratic of all spells that fall under Defense Against the Dark Arts. Spells of the Dead are considered Dark Magic, but can be used in a positive manner, and then they are not considered such."

The professor paused to let this sink in, and then continued.

"To begin the unit we'll start with a little history. The first known use of the Spells of the Dead was by well-known wizard, Merlin. Merlin wrote about the use of these spells as a way of gaining information from the dead in his famous autobiography, The Life and Times of A Medieval Wizard. This is recommended reading, though it is not required for this class.

"The next historical mentioning of these spells was in Leonardo Da Vinci's well-known Defense book, Defending Yourself Against All Sorts of Evil Goblins and Demons. This book is also recommended reading, but since it is in Latin, it is not required. In Da Vinci's book, the Spells of the Dead are referred to as 'wicked tools to commune with the dead and use them for atrocious purposes; such as war-fare, and hunting.' It was around Da Vinci's time that you may remember from History of Magic, there was a rebellion of Dark Art Wizards, who used the Dead to fight battles.

"Those summoned from death are nearly invincible. They will fight until they are torn to shreds, and a wizard from that period described them as 'behemoths with skin as white as parchment, and eyes blacker than death.' The 'Dead' are souls who have been dead of some time. According to one anonymous source, those very skilled in the Spells of the Dead can raise those who recently died back to life. But this requires much skill, and it is extremely dangerous, many have died in the attempt to bring their loved ones back from the dead."

Hermione found herself looking over at Draco, who was staring at the wall with feigned disinterest. He was clearly paying close attention, but he managed to fool the other Slytherins into thinking he didn't care.

Professor Santisi continued. "These Spells are highly advanced Dark Magic, and can only be used by a wizard or witch who has completely immersed themselves into darkness and all magic we normal ones deem evil. It is said that the Dark Lord Voldemort is a skilled Necromancer, and even though one of your class mates managed to kill him last year," the Professor motioned to Harry. "It is entirely possible that the Dark Lord will be able to raise himself from the Dead."

"That's possible?" Lavender squeaked. "I thought that he was dead, and we didn't have to worry about him ever again."

The Professor shook his head. "Contrary to whatever the Daily Prophet spews out, it is most likely that he will find a way to do it. The Dark Lord is no stranger to death, even though it is what he fears most. If he manages to conquer death, there can be no speculating as to what will happen."

Hermione looked over Pan, and they both frowned. The Professor was right, how were they supposed to defeat Voldemort a second time? Hermione dismissed the thought quickly, knowing that this was not the time to consider such things.

"Professor," she said, putting up her hand.

"Yes?"

"I disagree with your statement about all Necromancer's being 'completely immersed in the Dark Arts,'" she said. "Though it may be true that many Necromancers are evil and such, there are many historical references to Necromancers that have used their skill for good. For example, Haddassah the Gentle, a very famous witch in the seventeenth century, was known for her skills in helping ghosts find their way to the Other World. Another example would be Alfredo the Astonishing, a potions master of great renown, who used his skills in Necromancy to prevent a demon from killing the King of France."

Professor Santisi looked a little taken aback.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that," he said apologetically. "Hermione is quite write, I had forgotten about Haddassah the Gentle and Alfredo the Astonishing. Thank you for that enlightening comment."

Pan grinned at Hermione, and they did a high-five. Professor Santisi grinned at their enthusiasm, and turned back to the chalkboard. He began detailing the homework on the board, which included reading from The Dark Arts: How to Avoid it and Repel It, Advanced Level by Jabez Widinshins.

The bell rang, and once everyone had written down the homework, they filed out one by one, talking amongst themselves about the latest school gossip.

Professor Santisi had put his head down and was now sleeping. Hermione approached his desk to ask a few questions, when she noticed something in his metal trashcan. It was a piece of parchment covered in elegant green writing. She immediately recognized the handwriting. It was McGonagall's.

Hermione leant over furtively and reached in quickly. She felt a twinge of guilt as she placed the piece of parchment in her pocket. Professor Santisi stirred in his sleep, and she practically leapt out of the room.

"What took you so long?" Harry asked as they walked to Transfiguration.

Hermione shook her head, nearly tripping over a small first year. "Nothing, nothing at all.


After dinner, Hermione sat in front of the fire in the living room finishing up her homework. The fire hissed merrily and she adjusted her weight as her foot began to fall asleep. Something crackled beneath her. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the crumpled letter she had discovered in Santisi's trashcan.

She opened it hesitantly, looking around to make sure there was no one else there.

Dear Leonardo, the letter said.

Thank you for taking this position on such short notice. I understand that you have been out of the country for a good ten years, and there are some things you should be aware of. One of these is that there are many of your relatives that attend this school. Should one of them recognize you; you must leave immediately. This is for your sake, to keep you safe from Voldemort. I know you'll protest, and say that Voldemort is no longer looking for you; but Leonardo, this is not the case. You will be teaching several of the children of your second cousin, his children are all in their seventh year: Draco, Pandora, and Luc. It is unlikely that the latter two will know you, but Draco has an excellent memory, and a penchant for faces. There is no chance of danger from Draco; but beware of Luc. He is like his father.

Leonardo, (it is very strange to call you this, have you been using this name for a great deal of time?) Dumbledore is very optimistic that nothing harmful shall come of this, but you may not know this, Voldemort has entered Hogwarts many times, and he will find a way to do it again. He has many enemies in this castle, and he would like to destroy them all.

Sincerely,

Minerva

Hermione folded up the letter and stuck it in her back pocket, her breathing quick and panicked. What has she unearthed?


A/N: You know you want to review... :)

Anyhow, recently I downloaded a piece free software called the Gimp, which can be used for digital artwork, and I was having fun... so I created a bunch of posters/backrounds for my books. :) So here are the url's for them, I have only done the first two books of the Hermione/Draco series, so have fun with them. Sorry if their sorta amateur and juvenile, but I've just started doing this sort of stuff. If I make better one's, I'll post them.

http/i16.