The Necromancer

Chapter 5: Amongst the Living

"Bring her to me."

Lucius was glad to comply. He reached down for Hermione's arm and pulled her up. Hermione glared at him but realized soon enough that she couldn't stand without some support. Her legs trembled beneath her, the wound in her thigh oozing a stream of warm blood.

Lucius smiled viciously at her as she used her free hand to grab hold of his robes and pull herself to full height.

"Well, well. Her kind are all the same. Bloody tramp finds her life at sake and suddenly wants to tumble, it seems. Like a bitch in heat."

Bellatrix's sharp laughter made Hermione wince.

Lucius leaned down to Hermione's level. "It's that what you are, you filthy animal. . ."

"Enough, Lucius," Voldemort hissed. The Death Eater looked to his master and visibly paled. "We are leaving," the Dark Lord continued. He looked down at the young Malfoy on the ground. "Forget the boy for now."

Lucius's eyes widened. "But Master. . . My son."

"Lucius, do not question me. You have made a fool of yourself already. I have no use for him at the moment—pray I do not decide to eradicate him for this embarrassment."

The Dark Lord turned without giving Draco a further glance. His slit like nostrils expanded as he frowned, sniffing the air. He slowly raised his wand and his death eaters glanced about the dimly lit sidewalk cautiously. "We are not alone," the Dark Lord whispered.

"Good call."

The Dark Lord's red eyes landed on a petite young woman standing less than a hundred yards away from him. The woman put one hand on her hip and held a strangely shaped axe in the other. She smiled wickedly.

"Hello, my name's Buffy Summers, and I'll be your slayer for the evening."

"So this girl we're saving, is she a witch, too?" Xander asked making a sharp left turn and leaving the company truck's wheels squealing in protest. The two 'wizards' had told him very little about the situation, other than the fact that their magic was in no way related to Willow's magic (Xander was still scratching his head at the concept of wands).

Harry's knees knocked into Lupin and Xander's seats causing him to wince. He grabbed hold to a heavy tool box hoping that it would give him leverage. Xander muttered something about the girls taking the mini-van as an apology.

"Yes," Harry answered, making his annoyance clear. "Her name is Hermione, and she's one of the most intelligent witches of our year."

"That's nice. . ." Xander commented. "So, how come I've never heard of you wand wielding types before? Let me guess, it's a big guarded secret society thing, right? I bet you even pay for membership."

Lupin ignored the question and held tightly to his seat belt, his already pallid face turning colors as the crew-cab hit a bump. "You seem very comfortable with all of this information for someone who knows nothing of the magical world," he commented.

"World? So, I'm right—this is a first." Xander let loose a mock abash grin that would have had a Catholic nun ruffling his hair. In all honesty, he hadn't expected to get any information out of the two. Of course, he hadn't planned on giving any in return either. "I tend to fall into these type of situations—all things dark and of the wiggy are completely and totally attracted to me, though mostly it's just in a purely physical sense. I'd blame it on the devilishly good looking pirate patch, but it's fairly new."

Harry made a face and grasped onto his old professor's shoulder. "We should have apparated," he said.

"Harry, you don't know how to apparate, and I have absolutely no idea where we're going," Lupin answered. He turned back to the young man at the steering wheel.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Xander admitted, "but we're almost at the Book Cellar." He slowed the truck to a stop, parking at a street corner. "We're walking from here."

"Why?" Lupin asked.

"Because, the book store is less than a two blocks away from here—it's one of Giles' favorite haunts, so I'm use to driving here in a hurry. If I was a betting man, I'd put money on Buffy already being here. I mean, how many wizardy problems can there be in one Hellmouth."

"What's a Buffy?"

"You know about the Hellmouth?" Lupin asked.

Xander rolled his eye. "Nevermind, I've said too much already. Just be advised that my friends are probably already here and dealing with the situation, alright? I don't want to storm in and throw them off guard." He pulled an axe out of his truck bed, leaving the wizards with raised brows.

"I smell smoke," Lupin muttered, panic written across his face. "And blood. . ."

Xander looked at him. "I'll not question that."

The three walked down the sidewalk. Xander heard muffled voices up ahead and his pace quickened when they passed Giles' empty car. He could almost make out words when he reached the next street corner. Harry sped up, his wand ready.

"Hermione!"

Lucius Malfoy's grip tightened on Hermione's arm, but the young witch paid no attention. Her eyes had followed Voldemort's, finding the short, blonde standing in the middle of the street. Hermione caught her breath. The woman, Buffy she had called herself, radiated strength and power, though her frail appearance spoke a lie of weakness. Hermione had no idea who she could possibly be, but the sight of her made the witch's heart swell with Gryffindor courage—and hope.

Hermione balled her hand into a fist, and threw it into Lucius's nose. His oh-so-pure blood spilled out before he could even issue a cry of pain. Hermione slipped away from him, stumbling away and tripping over Draco's out stretched legs. She fell to the ground beside the bewildered Slytherin and on top of the smooth cover of The Lord of the Dead.

A spell sped through the air above her toward Buffy. Hermione winced, fully expecting the Death Eater's hex to hit its mark, but the woman made a graceful move, contorting her body to the side, just as the light passed her way.

"Just like a bad guy," Buffy grunted, at glaring the wands aimed toward her.

"Careful, Buffy," the man in her shadow snapped. Hermione had not even noticed he was there earlier.

The witch turned away. The Dark Lord was staring at the hidden man with a wicked grin stretched across his features. "What a familiar voice that is," he hissed. "Could it be? What a reunion! Rupert, why don't you come out and face your lord?"

No time to think of what was happening, Hermione pulled the book from beneath her, flipping open its pages.

"The Lord of the Dead welcomes you back. Perhaps now you will call upon my armies, Hermione Granger?"

Hermione caught her breath, fear coursing through her veins. "Yes," she said softy. "I. . .I need your help."

The book did not change its message, nor give her any answer at all. She looked up to see Draco Malfoy's wide gray eyes dancing over the book in her arms, and then up at her.

"What did you do?" he asked, in awe.

She could only assume that he had somehow lost his mind. "What are you on about, Malfoy?"

Before he could answer, she felt a tingling in her hands. She looked down to see her tanned skin turned pale and black, sickly veins running along her smooth forearm. Hermione gasped. Around her, fog seeped through the pavement, moans and cries of terror filling the air, until the smoky substance took shape. Shades, wraiths, entangled in one another with ghastly, pained expressions on their skeletal faces, passed over and through her. Their cold essence left her breathless as they swept by and moved on to the group of Death Eaters.

Then came the screams.

"Hermione!"

She could hear her name. The voice that spoke it was familiar, one that she cherished and loved. "Harry," she cried out. She fell back, dazed as a wave of euphoria shook her. The dark magic ravished her.

She could hear the anguished cries diminishing slowly with loud pops that told her of their end. Her head lolled to the side, and she saw the Dark Lord apparate with his followers. The shades remained where the wizards had stood. "Enough," Hermione said, her voice soft. As one, the ghostly beings fell back to the earth, back into her hellish surface.

Someone was bending over her, their features fuzzy. He leaned closer until his green eyes had fully captured hers. "Hermione, can you hear me?"

She smiled weakly. "Harry," she breathed, "what are you doing in Cleveland?"

A puzzled look came over the young wizard's face and then he grinned from ear to ear. "I was in the neighborhood."

"And Harry insisted we drop by," Lupin breathed, running to her side. He grabbed hold of her arm and helped her up, frowning when he saw the fragment of glass embedded in her thigh. She held the book with one arm, somehow managing to stand between them.

"What just happened?" Hermione asked.

The fear that had been tugging at both of their faces vanished when they realized that she was alright. "I think you just kicked Death Eater arse. . . And you somehow managed to make Malfoy faint," Harry laughed.

Sure enough, Draco lay a few feet away, eyes closed and mouth half open. "What did I do to him?" she muttered.

"I'm guessing you stole some of his life force," answered an unfamiliar voice. Hermione turned to see a dark haired man with an eye patch frowning at her. "That sometimes happens when you mess around with powerful magic. I'm just the normal guy, and I know that much."

Hermione blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Hermione," Lupin began. "These people came to help you. I don't know exactly how they all knew that you were in danger, but they did. This man is Xander, and these other two, I assume, are his friends."

The witch stared at the two men and the small blonde standing between them. "Then, I suppose I owe you a thank you."

"Actually," Buffy said, "I think you did all the work. But you could thank your old teacher, Bumbledore."

"Dumbledore," corrected the older man at her side, wiping his spectacles nervously. "Perhaps, we'd do better to discuss this back at the house. I have a feeling that this story will take some time to tell."