AN

CW: Character Death, Heavily Implied Murder, (brief) Description of an Autopsy

Character Deaths, plural, if we count Aragog

Lesson 6: Raising the Dead

April to May 1997

Harry knew better than to approach the Slytherin table, but he couldn't wait until their next lesson to speak with Nott. He briefly considered sending a note but Hedwig was too noticeable – a problem he regularly encountered and couldn't do anything about, because Harry loved his owl way too much to even consider replacing her – and asking some random student felt weird. Besides, the rumours of Harry Potter sending 'love letters' would spread like fire if he dared send any kind of note through a student.

So he did the unthinkable and walked over to the Slytherin table during lunch.

The Slytherins tended to adhere to a specific seating arrangement even if not everyone from their year group was present – which usually only happened during breakfast and on weekends. Thus, it didn't matter that Nott wasn't part of Malfoy's group, because he would sit nearby regardless.

As expected, Harry was greeted with arched eyebrows and sneers and a derisive "Potter" from Malfoy that was quickly hushed by Lémure of all people.

Harry briefly considered his options. Directly asking and making it clear that this was a necromancy-related thing would probably be better than only asking for a favour and then discussing it in a more private setting.

"Nott, I offered someone to hold a funeral for them and wanted to ask if you would like to help."

"Hagrid's acromantula?" came Lémure's voice.

Harry blinked. "How do you know that?"

"It died," was the simple reply to which he saw Fawley nod solemnly.

Harry couldn't quite read the rest of the table, but he had a feeling they were so used to the necromancers' antics, nothing could faze them anymore.

"I would appreciate the opportunity," Nott said, looking at Harry expectantly.

It took him a moment to realise Nott wanted to know more details. "Right – er – we're burying him today at dusk down by Hagrid's hut."

Nott opened his mouth and Harry thought he was going to ask a question, but then the other boy only said, "I will meet you in the Entrance Hall," and left it at that.

Harry nodded, hesitated, then gave the rest of the Slytherins a terse nod as well and left. If they talked about him behind his back, they waited until Harry was out of earshot.

o

"I hope you have a plan for not getting us caught," were the words Nott greeted Harry with when they met in the Entrance Hall that evening.

Harry wordlessly handed him the note he had gotten from Professor Totengräber.

"Clever."

It had been Hermione's idea to get explicit permission from a teacher and who better to ask? Though Harry had taken his Invisibility Cloak with him, just in case.

Harry offered Nott his arm, only realising what he was doing when Nott actually took it and by then it was too late to take the gesture back – and together they set off over the grounds towards Hagrid's hut.

"Have you ever buried an acromantula or something similar?" Harry asked, failing not to notice how warm Nott felt next to him.

Nott gave him an amused look. "When would I have?"

"Oh, I don't know – what other nefarious things do you get up to in your free time?"

"I fear I must disappoint you, Potter. All I ever do is read dusty old books. I'm very boring, if you must know."

"I don't believe that."

"Are you sure? I really don't do much else."

"Books can be interesting."

Nott chuckled. "I'm sure Granger would be happy to hear that."

"The ones you give me always are."

Harry couldn't help but stare at the soft smile that appeared on Nott's lips.

"I am glad to hear that," Nott said quietly.

He always did that, Harry thought – say things of importance in a quiet voice. As if he was cherishing them and not willing to let the rest of the world know, only those who mattered.

And now Harry had made himself blush.

"Yeh came," croaked Hagrid, when he opened the door to Harry's knock. "And yeh brought someone with yeh."

"This is Theodore Nott," Harry introduced his companion. "He agreed to help with the funeral."

"Tha's nice of yeh." Hagrid sobbed. "Aragog would've been touched."

"We will get started right away, alright Hagrid?"

Another big sob escaped Hagrid. "Please do."

Nodding, Harry led Nott around the house to where he could already feel the gigantic dead spider's body lying just beyond the pumpkin patch. Hagrid had already dug up a grave, it seemed, which made part of this a bit easier.

Working with Nott had become second nature to Harry by now and so they swiftly set up the grave properly and then Aragog's body, though they took a moment to figure out how exactly to work the magic on it as a spider was considerably different compared to any other corpse they had worked on so far. Mainly humans with a few animals here and there – dogs, cats, owls, a horse once. All mammals. Nothing even closely resembling a gigantic spider. Harry found he preferred mammals.

Once they were done, they called Hagrid over. Harry said a few words, having learned from all the funerals he had attended to learn about the grief of those left behind and then it was already over – though extricating himself from a sobbing Hagrid took some effort.

But thinking about the possibility of Hedwig dying one day, Harry could understand where the man was coming from. Even if Aragog had been a very unusual kind of companion.

"Thank you for inviting me," Nott said on their way back.

Harry gave him a surprised look. "You enjoyed that?"

Nott smiled. "I enjoy spending time with you."

"… Why?"

"Why not? Am I not allowed to?"

"We aren't exactly – close."

"But we could be. Have a good night, Harry."

And then the other boy left, disappearing down the stairs that led to the dungeons, leaving a befuddled Harry behind.

o

Come May, Professor Totengräber split up their private lessons again – completely this time. Lémure and Fawley got an assignment of their own, while Professor Totengräber concentrated on Harry's and Nott's education.

"My Lémures already know how to raise the dead," Professor Totengräber explained. "Two months will not be enough to teach you how to do it, but we will make the best of what little time we do have. For now, you need to learn the fundamental difference between reanimation and resurrection and why the latter has a far higher price than the former. Then I will introduce you to the various techniques and which steps they entail. I am hopeful we can begin with the basics of performing autopsies next month, for those are valuable experiences to have when one wants to prepare a body for reanimation."

She paused for a moment.

"I have one last important lesson to teach you before the year ends, no matter how far along we come with raising the dead. But that is a matter for another day."

"You won't continue teaching here next year?" Harry asked.

"I am returning a favour for Albus," Professor Totengräber replied. "Once he is gone, I have no reason to stay and suffer through another year of this nonsense. I am simply not made to be a teacher."

Harry gaped at her. "But you've been great – one of the best we've had."

The old woman laughed. "And doesn't that say something about the state of your education?" She shook her head. "No, I will not stay. You are welcome to visit, though. Stay for a while, study necromancy more in-depth. You would both benefit greatly from it. And if Germany is too far, I'm sure the Lémures wouldn't be averse to taking you in, either."

"I would like that," Theodore said in his quiet voice.

"After Hogwarts, maybe," Harry said, though he very much wished to never stop receiving these lessons.

"Well, it is too late for you to escape now," Professor Totengräber told them gleefully. "Once claimed by Death, no necromancer will ever refuse Him."

The prospect didn't bother Harry as much as it would have some months ago. Actually, it didn't bother him at all. He rather liked the idea that Death had claimed him. It was … reassuring, somehow.

o

Harry blindly ran through the corridors, his lungs burning with the exertion, uncaring of the attention he was attracting. He needed to find – someone. Professor Totengräber. Lémure and Fawley would do, too. Even Nott. It didn't matter.

He skidded around a corner, Professor Totengräber's office finally in sight.

"Harry?" came a voice to his left and Harry whirled around, ready to –

It was Nott.

Relief spread through him.

"Theo," he croaked. "Theo, I made a mistake – I – I need help. Please. Help me."

"Okay, Harry," Nott said calmly. "Everything will be fine. Let's go to Professor Totengräber and then you can tell us what happened, alright?"

"It won't be – nothing will be fine."

A warm hand touched his shoulder.

"It will be. Trust me. There is nothing you can't do, after all."

Professor Totengräber took one look at them and promptly asked, "Who did you kill?"

Harry immediately burst into tears.

o

He should have been worried, maybe, about how long it took him to recount what had happened. Draco's body was still lying in that bathroom, after all, guarded only by an unwilling Myrtle Harry had forced into compliance.

He had heard someone crying in the bathroom and gone to investigate. Harry would have quietly backed away and pretended he had never seen anything the moment he recognised Malfoy, but the other boy had caught sight of him in the mirror and promptly whirled around to attack.

Then they had fought.

Harry must have at one point silenced the wailing Myrtle, who had been floating above their heads, though he didn't remember doing it.

Then Malfoy had tried to cast the Cruciatus and Harry had panicked and reached out with his magic and –

"It had been so easy," he whispered, shaking. "I didn't even realise what had happened at first."

He had watched Malfoy crumble to the ground and then – nothing. Only silence.

"You left his body there?"

Harry nodded. "I hid him under my Invisibility Cloak. I ordered Myrtle to keep anyone who might want to enter away."

"Let us retrieve him, then," Professor Totengräber said, completely unfazed by Harry's visible distress, "and we shall see what do with him."

Harry barely took notice of the way back. He distantly registered Theodore's hand on his back, guiding him, the dark shadow pressing into him on his other side, and Professor Totengräber discussing whether they should bring Draco Malfoy back from the dead. Theodore thought it would be for the better.

"Hogwarts doesn't have a good record of handling student deaths well," Harry heard Theodore say.

"That does not surprise me."

It was only when Myrtle suddenly flew right into Harry, metaphorically dousing him in icy water, that he managed to somewhat pull himself back to reality.

He turned to Myrtle only to find her trying to hide behind him with wide, terrified eyes. Looking over his shoulder only revealed Professor Totengräber with Inpu at her side.

"Thank you, Myrtle," Harry said. "I'll make it up to you somehow."

Still eyeing Professor Totengräber and her Grim warily, Myrtle sniffed at him. "How could you possibly make this up to me?"

"I'll think of something. I promise."

Professor Totengräber hummed, a calculating look in her eyes. "Would you like to be freed?"

Myrtle flinched. "Freed?" she whispered, eyes wide.

"From this place, from this existence – that is up to you."

"I – No. I like it here." The ghost shot Harry one last look and then she fled.

"Theodore, be a dear and perform the temporary stasis spells."

Harry reluctantly turned to face the place where he had hidden Malfoy's body under his Invisibility Cloak. Professor Totengräber was already lifting it, having clearly never needed any direction from Harry.

"It is a bit early for a demonstration, but no matter." The old woman lowered herself to the ground next to the lifeless form of Draco Malfoy. Inpu sat down next to her, sniffing the corpse. "First, we shall ask whether the poor dear wants to be brought back. We could do it regardless, but there is no reason to bring back someone unwilling to return." She gently patted the corpse's cheek. "Wake up, dear."

Calling upon the spirits of the dead had never been like this. Professor Totengräber had not taught them how to temporarily call someone back into their own dead body – yet. Watching Draco open his eyes as if he had merely been unconscious only to see the clouded eyes and take notice of the unnatural stillness of the rest of his body – Harry couldn't bear to watch.

Draco had never wanted to die.

He had been afraid. So afraid.

Harry felt sick.

"The Dark Lord was threatening his family," Theodore said quietly.

"To ensure he would truly try to kill Albus?"

A pause. "He never told us what the Dark Lord had asked him to do."

Harry heard Professor Totengräber hum. "Albus knew. Who knows what goes on in that old fool's head to let it go on for this long. The poor boy must have been under an incredible amount of stress."

"What do we do, now? The Dark Lord won't be pleased if he stops obeying."

"No need to worry about that. No need at all. Harry."

Harry raised his head.

"I need you to be there when I bring him back. Do you think you can handle that?"

Be there? Watch as she amended the grave mistake he had made? Watch as she cut him open to –

The reason Professor Totengräber was planning to introduce them to autopsies and have them perform some, themselves, was to get them used to the process and gather valuable experiences. To create a proper Inferius, the body needed to be cut open and dismantled completely. Every part, every organ needed to be treated individually – any damage repaired, the magic worked in to prepare the body for an undead existence, any special spells one wanted to implement carved into the bones. This meant: ribcage opened up, intestines removed, bowels cleaned – not even the head would be spared, the brain being the most delicate organ to work with as it was essential for the Inferius' sentience and autonomy.

The thought of seeing Draco lying there, categorically dismembered, his organs laid out next to him –

"There, there," someone said softly as they rubbed his back soothingly while Harry emptied his stomach into the nearest toilet. "It will be alright."

"We will put him under proper stasis, then, and bring him to the Hospital Wing. The poor boy was found unconscious in a bathroom."

Harry let himself be brought over to a sink to splash water on his face.

"That should help cover up the discrepancies in his behaviour that people are bound to notice, as well."

AN

It's not my fault, my Hufflepuff roommate enabled me.

me: I'm getting the odd urge to kill off Draco so Harry can reanimate him.
roomie: Kill him. The little voice in your head (me) whispered.
me: Sorry, Harry. Another murder it is.