The Necromancer

The Necromancer

Chapter 3: The Consequences of Opening a Book

By

Slinky

It was not yet mid morning and Harry was already pacing his small room, kneading his hands nervously. His forehead was damp with perspiration and the clothes he had changed into were wrinkled and worn. Petunia Dursley had tried to call Harry down to fix breakfast, but the boy would not leave the room. In fact, he would not even respond to the Dursley's questions. Harry only stared ahead as he paced, listening for the voices and blocking out all else.

He couldn't help but think of his letter. He should have received a reply from Dumbledore, he reasoned, but none had come. However, he had received a letter less than half an hour ago. It had been an article from the Daily Prophet, sent by Ron. It said that the prisoners--the Death Eaters--had escaped Azkaban. It briefly touched on the Ministry break-in that occurred almost simultaneously.

It was for the veil, Harry thought, frowning. Voldemort has been visiting the veil for a while now but last night he put another soul in it. Surely, Dumbledore has seen this article! So why hasn't he replied to my bloody letter!? He has to believe me. He must.

Harry sat down at last, feeling exhausted. Then he heard it. A voice. But it wasn't just any voice, it was Sirius's. Hot tears filled Harry's eyes. The voice was dull and low. He could barely hear it, but he knew it was there.

"Sirius," Harry sighed. "Sirius, please. I can't hear you."

The voice gained strength and was joined by yet another man's voice. It was so loud that Harry covered his ears with both hands, but it did nothing to muffle their volume.

"THE LORD OF THE DEAD WILL BE OPENED. . . HARRY. . . THE LORD OF THE DEAD WILL BE OPENED. . ."

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU!" Harry shouted at the top of his voice. He could hear someone pounding on his door, but the voices were so much louder now. "SIRIUS, I DON'T UNDERSTAND!"

"PURE OF HEART, PURE OF BODY, THE POWER LIES WITHIN. . . ." The second voice took over. "IT WILL BE OPENED. CLEVELAND, OHIO. THE BOOK. . . GRANGER. MINA GRANGER."

Harry swallowed hard. Terror ran through him as he recognized the name. "NO! THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!"

Sirius's voice came back, blocking all else:

"HERMIONE! WITH HERMIONE! SAVE HER."

The voices dissolved into nothing and Harry fell back into his bed, soaked in sweat and panting. His bed room door burst open, and Harry scrambled to his feet.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up in surprise. "Professor Lupin?"

Remus walked inside, taking the boy in an embrace and holding him out to examine. "Harry, are you alright? I heard shouting. I thought--"

"Professor, what are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore sent word. He asked be to move you to the Headquarters immediately," Remus replied. "Get your things. We must take the muggle route I'm afraid."

Harry took a step away from the man. "I'm not going," he said firmly. "I'm going to the US, right now."

Remus looked up in surprise. "What?"

"Hermione," Harry explained. "She's in danger. I'm going after her, Professor, with or without you. Will you help me?"

Remus sat on the edge of the bed looking shabbier than ever. "Tell me everything, Harry."

Cleveland

"Giles, would you like to fill me in on this whole 'school of magic' thing?" Buffy asked.

Buffy was surprised to see Giles blush. "Rupert Giles! Well, someone wasn't honest about their high school education! No wonder your algebra sucks, you were spending your school years levitating stuff."

"Excuse me!" Giles snapped. "I'll have you know that my mathematical skills are exceptional. . . ." Giles broke off, seeing the slight smirk on Buffy's face. "Buffy, there are a few things about my past that I was not completely honest about, true. However, at the time, it was of no importance."

"Let me guess. This goes back to your Ripper days?" Buffy asked.

"As a matter of fact, it does." Giles took a deep breath. "I do not have time to explain my school days, Buffy, but I promise that answers will come."

Buffy grimaced. "I do not plan to be left out of this. When one person keeps a secret, the whole group suffers. You should know this, Giles."

"There's really no reason to get the others involved," Giles began.

Buffy raised a dangerous brow.

Giles nodded. "Fine. I'll let Willow and Xander see the skeletons in my closet, if you prefer. However, there is no time at the moment. I have a book to locate."

"Alright, fine," Buffy said. She picked the phone up and handed it to Giles. "I believe you have a phone call to make. Just don't tie up the lines for long; Dawnie is supposed to check in from Rome."

Giles took the phone. "Buffy, there's one more thing you must know before I call Mina. The Dark Lord. . . . Voldemort is a very powerful wizard with ruthless allies. We can not, at any cost, allow him to open this book."

"Giles, honestly, how long have I been doing this?" Buffy scoffed. "If this big bad comes our way, I'll finish him off like any other demon. Just get the book before he can."

"I believe you are underestimating the Dark Lord, Buffy," Giles whispered. "That is not a wise thing to do."

Buffy eyed him like a predator. "Just make the call."

The Book Cellar, Cleveland, Ohio

Hermione Granger was a firm lover of books. However, over the past month, her love had been dampened by cheesy paperback romances and Great Aunt Mina's collection of foreign texts. What depressed Hermione the most was that the rarest books were kept a secret and hidden in a vault, so that she could never actually read any of them.

Hermione practically drooled as she saw another one of those beautiful books being hidden away until sold to the highest bidder. She plopped down in a squashy cloth chair in her aunt's office, a new box of paperbacks on the desk in front of her. When her great aunt had offered Hermione a job in her bookstore in the States, the girl was thrilled. Hermione had not truly realized what she was getting herself into at the time.

Hermione's aunt was a tall, stately woman with a dull conservative taste in clothing and who always kept her gray hair in a tight bun. She was a bit like Professor McGonagall except Mina did not like children much. Mina had no children of her own and considered herself quite lucky. Hermione's aunt continuously complained about the unrestrictive behavior of today's youth, saying that in her day young men and women took on responsibilities. This was usually followed by Mina giving Hermione a pat on the back for not tying herself down with a man and staying on top of her studies instead.

Hermione despised her love life being brought up even more than paperback romances. Consequently, every time her dating life was brought up, she thought of her two best friends, Ron and Harry. But neither Ron nor Harry was quite what she was looking for. Krum had definitely not been her type either. Once again, Hermione was lost thinking of her life as she began sorting through the new box of books.

"Hermione," came her aunt's sharp voice. "If you would like anything to eat, I suggest you fix it now. I need you to take over the counter when you're finished."

Hermione sighed. She had to work the last few hours of the night. Who visits a used book store at 11:00 pm anyhow? she thought bitterly.

"Just a moment Aunt Mina," Hermione called back. She walked out of the office. The bookstore was a ghost town, not literally of course. Nevertheless, the small store was lovely in its own way. The ground floor was lined with book cases and open so that you could see the second floor's balcony. A huge chandelier hung from the tall ceiling--a bit fancy for the small store, but it still added the right amount of charm.

Hermione walked up the steps to the second floor where she and her aunt's living quarters were located. She was about to enter their small kitchen when she heard her aunt's private line ringing.

Hermione went into her Aunt's room and picked up the cordless phone.

"The Book Cellar, Hermione speaking," she answered, briefly.

"This is Rupert Giles," said the voice on the other line. "I need to speak to Wilhelmina Granger, please."

"A moment, please," Hermione said. She had opened her mouth to call for her aunt when Mina burst into the room.

"Who is it?" her aunt asked briskly. The woman seemed worried. She closed the door behind her and gestured for Hermione to sit down on the bed.

Hermione gave her the phone. "Rupert Giles."

"Thank God," Mina murmured. "Rupert?" she said into the phone.

Mina listened, her eyes widening. "Oh, Lord, Rupert. Are you sure?"

There was a moment's silence then Mina replied, "I have it in this very room. Yes, of course."

Mina reached down and pulled a large, flat trunk from beneath her bed. She pulled it out and unlocked it with a small key hidden in her skirt pocket. The chest popped open with a click. Hermione stared down into the trunk. Inside were a few crucifixes, three daggers, and an assortment of books. Mina pulled out a large tan book with strange shapes written in red ink across its cover.

"I have it," Mina hissed into the phone. "Rupert, I think you should come at once. I do not want this book in my possession if he is after it. Especially, not with my niece here you understand."

Mina nodded to herself and hung the phone up. "Hermione, I want you to stay here."

"What's going on Aunt?" Hermione asked.

"I'll explain later, dear," Mina answered.

"But--"

The lights flickered and went out. The room was deathly still. Hermione could hear her aunt breathing heavily next to her.

"Oh God," Mina whispered. "Hermione stay here. Keep this book with you. Don't let them have it, my dear."

Hermione felt the book being pushed into her hands and heard her aunt exit the room. Hermione stumbled in the dark until she reached the door handle. She felt along the hall until she reached her own door. She locked herself in her bedroom and felt for her bedside table. Her wand was in the first drawer.

"Lumos," she hissed.

Her room was filled with light. She sat on the edge of her bed and took a good look at the book her aunt seemed to be protecting. She gasped and threw it down beside her. The shapes on the cover had changed, were still changing in fact. They were forming true words in English. The cover soon read: The Lord of the Dead.

Hermione's wand hand was shaking, not from fear but from restraint. The book was calling to her, whispering her name, asking for her touch. And she wanted to obey the book, to touch its cover again. Surely, one touch couldn't hurt. Before she knew it, she was placing her hand on the strange book. It quivered like flesh in response to her gentle touch. She pulled back.

She shivered, switching wand hands and putting her hand back on the book. She wanted to open the book. It wanted to be opened.

Hermione tried to bring logic into the situation. She reasoned that she was simply curious--the book was not controlling her! She wanted to read it of her own free will. She wanted to know the Lord of the Dead. Then any trace of logic left her as her fingers opened the book to the first page. It was filled will with odd shapes that were slowly changing into her language.

She read the first few lines aloud. "You, my Necromancer, shall be followed by death and the dead shall obey your command. So says the last of the High Necromancers and so it shall be true, my awaited apprentice. May you call upon my armies, Hermione Granger."

Hermione slammed the book shut and held it tightly against her chest. Then she realized what had pulled her out of the book. Her aunt's screams were echoing from downstairs.