The Necromancer Amulet

Author's Notes: Thanks so much to my two excellent beta readers Beulah Page (from perfectimagination.co.uk) and kitkatkitty7!!!

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Chapter Twenty-One - Much Is Explained

Secessa sat up in her bed, trying not to look too eager, as Healer Hywel approached, his green robes bright in the sunlight that shone in through the small windows high up in the ceiling. All along the ward, patients dozed quietly in the warmth. Having recently seen two patients leave the ward, fully cured, Secessa felt a bit restless. Her healing progressed frustratingly slowly, but she had to admit that Hywel did brighten up her stay there. Sooner or later, someone would come for her with a letter of extradition, but she tried to soak in as much as possible of his innocent kindness for now. She would definitely need it during the days to come.

Strangely enough, her wand was nowhere to be seen, but when she had asked for it, Healer Hywel had looked extremely uncomfortable, and she hadn't pressed the issue. For some reason, the other Healers that sometimes visited the ward did not seem to like him, and she understood his reasons for not wanting to ask them for help. However, she could not for the world imagine why they disliked him; perhaps it was jealousy.

Today, the Healer's smile was regrettably absent as he strode up to her bedside, but her eyes immediately swerved to his anyway. Look at me: I'm rendered into an emotional wreck by a bit of kindness, she thought with some chagrin, and forcefully stopped her mouth from forming a dumb smile.

"If you feel well enough to receive a guest, Secessa, the Headmaster of Hogwarts has requested to see you," he said, at the same time as he scrutinised her face carefully. Her insides jumped at his words. Dumbledore is fine? Already? I just assumed...

"I would not recommend a visit, as you are still weak," he continued, "but it's your call. Albus Dumbledore is quite an influential person, after all."

"Please. I would like to see him," she replied hastily, and then blushed a little, since she did not wish to interrupt him.

He gave a sudden, beaming smile that made her feel warm all over, and she quickly looked down. "Very good! I'm glad that you feel well enough," he said genially, and flicked his wand. A quill and a scroll appeared and he wrote some words down then sent them away with another flick. "Visiting hours begin at three p.m.; that is in four hours. I must insist on that you rest until then, however, so that the visit will not strain you."

She stared longingly after him as he left, and then abruptly took control of her gaze, moving it back to a nondescript point on the opposite wall.

The days in Evander Hywel's care had been monotonous, and when the Healer had not been there to speak to her, she had been stuck with memories of the day of the attack, ceaselessly repeating the same events over and over in her head until it felt like bursting. Full of anguish over her situation, she had finally, to give her mind a rest, asked Hywel for a scroll and a quill, to write her resignation, to spare Dumbledore the trouble of firing her, but she still hadn't written a word.

Sighing, she looked over at the writing materials and reached for them. It was time.

*

At three o'clock sharp, Dumbledore appeared in the doorway, wearing one of his usual starry robes (blue, this time), and Healer Hywel was at his side immediately, greeting him with a courteous bow. The Headmaster was holding a wand in his hand, and as he walked over, she recognised it to be hers.

"Hello, Secessa," he said, smiling pleasantly as he looked down on her through his half-moon glasses. "I'm sorry I could not visit you sooner; it has been a busy couple of days for me. I am truly glad to see that you are feeling better."

Does this man do anything but smile? she thought to herself, not knowing whether to sigh or laugh. Putting down the scroll that she just had finished, she gave him a vague smile back.

"Well, a bit better," she replied, trying her best to remain calm and casual. "I'm on good potions, though, so I don't feel much. I am so relieved to see that you are well! How is Professor McGonagall?"

"Recovering, in her own time. She's in the ward next door," he said happily. "She's still a bit weak, but I'm sure she'll soon be in the mood for some chess."

Secessa sighed deeply with relief; at least, she had managed to save one life. "Thank you so much for rescuing my wand for me! I hope it wasn't too hard? The Healers seemed strict about it for some reason."

"I had to personally take responsibility for your safety. But I trust you not to carry out any plans of self-mutilation," he replied with twinkling eyes, and put the wand on her nightstand.

She stared at him in absolute astonishment. "Self-mutilation! Why on earth would they think something like that?"

Dumbledore suddenly got a great urge to study her wand. "Ah, well, it seems Severus was a bit agitated at the time the Healers arrived to pick you up. He mentioned something to them about you being a danger to your surroundings as well as yourself. It was a misunderstanding, of course, and I told them so today."

"You know, if I wasn't so indebted to him," she muttered, her eyes narrowing, "I'd probably give him a hearty slap."

"You have to see this from his point of view," said Dumbledore calmly, but he seemed amused. "After all, you didn't exactly behave rationally, and Severus did his best to prevent anything from happening to you. He takes the event personally, I'm afraid."

She sighed, the severity of her situation impossible to ignore any longer. I might as well get this over with, she thought heavily. "You are here for my resignation, I presume?"

Dumbledore seemed extremely surprised. "Your resignation?"

"Do you really think the parents of the school will allow you to have a Necromancer at the Defence Against the Dark Arts position? They won't. I seem to cause mayhem wherever I go, and I was stupid to think that I could deny my heritage." She picked up the scroll that had been lying by her side. "Here."

Making no inclination to take it, the Headmaster sat down on the chair next to her bed.

"I have never turned away anyone seeking refuge at Hogwarts," he said calmly, "nor do I intend start doing so now."

"But ... I'm a Dark witch! Surely, you understand the implications ... my background is severely incriminating, my blood is tainted, and now -"

"I think you are judging yourself too hard," he continued gently. "Besides, I thought you were the first with Necromancy powers in your family. And this was not your choice."

"But the predilection for the Dark Arts was always there," she murmured darkly. "Poison-makers, beast-breeders ... my family's contributions to this world have hardly been good ones. And I seem destined to follow in their footsteps, whether I wish for it or not."

Dumbledore reached inside his robes and pulled out a bag of sweets, holding it out to her. "Would you like a lemon drop?" he queried good-naturedly, his blue eyes gentle. She stared at the bag, and then reluctantly took one. It was sticky, and she was forced to put it in her mouth just to get rid of it.

"Secessa," he said calmly, pocketing his sweet-bag. "Did you ever stop to wonder why that amulet never managed to take hold of you completely, even though you were wearing it for quite a long period of time?"

She had thought about this. "I ashumed you managed to weaken it," she replied slowly, sucking on her tangy lemon drop and feeling quite undignified.

"No, I didn't." His eyes were very bright behind his glasses.

She stared at him in disbelief, curiosity taking a sudden hold on her. The resignation, it appeared, would have to be dealt with later. "Then why didn't it work properly?"

"It seems," he said calmly, "that you weren't such a good host for that spirit after all. In fact, when the amulet fused with you partially, it weakened."

"But why?" She bit down hard on the drop to dispose of it. The crunch seemed deafening.

"You are not the same person today as when you got that scar. I believe your Necromancy powers are not as pure as they once were."

"There ish no reashon why they should change," she said, frowning, and attacked the lemon drop again. Her mouth was suddenly full of tangy bits. "It ish carried in my blood."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he leaned forward. "Ah, but there is also free will. Your actions between the time you were scarred and the time you put the amulet on changed the powers within you."

She swallowed, feeling rather pleased with her small accomplishment. "What sort of action would that be?"

Watching her with subdued merriment, the Headmaster leaned back again. "You must have used your powers for a good purpose. Can you remember nothing of the sort?"

Furling her brow, she shook her head. The circlet? No, surely not - I made that for selfish purposes!

He smiled, brought out a bundle of cloth from his pocket and gave it to her. "Severus told me to give you this back. Apparently, you weren't completely truthful to him, concerning its effects."

The circlet, of course.

The Headmaster leaned back in his chair, waiting.

She looked down at the bundle in her hands. "It's a soul-bind," she said quietly. "Its power binds your soul to your body - for a time. But, there is a catch."

"Yes?" A small smile still lingered on Dumbledore's lips.

"A human sacrifice is needed for it to work."

"And so, you sacrificed yourself, by binding your blood to the amulet."

Nodding, she fingered the circlet through the cloth. "It seemed to be the right thing to do."

The smile on his face widened ever so slightly.

"I still don't see why this would change anything," Secessa protested. "I had a debt to pay. At the bottom line, I was being selfish."

"But you also showed considerable care for someone that I believe at that point hadn't behaved particularly nicely towards you. And that, my dear is not a sacrifice to be taken lightly. The Dark Arts is magic that feeds on hatred, greed and cruelty, and Necromancy is no exception from this rule. When you used your powers for doing good, you changed. After you had created the circlet, the dark powers within you were tainted, and weakened; enough, I believe, to make it much harder for the spirit to possess you."

"But why didn't I die? The blast that hit Snape should have killed me!"

"Because Severus realised what was happening, and removed the circlet from his own neck before it was too late. He was temporarily weakened, of course, but he recovered quickly, as you had already taken the blunt of the blow."

She was quiet, pondering his words. Dumbledore was watching her sharply.

"Why did you put the amulet on?" he asked after a pause. "You, more than anyone else, should have known about the danger."

Surprised, she looked up at him. Actually, she hadn't thought much about it, but it really hadn't been much of a rational move.

"I don't know."

She hesitated, and Dumbledore seemed again to wait for her to continue. Removing her hands off the bundle in her lap, she tried to think.

"It must have been the amulet, manipulating me," she said finally. "It probably has done that for some time actually, through my scar. Vladimir warned me; he said when he was here that I was behaving out of character, and that he thought it strange that I was being so emotional about what happened in Russia. He was right, although I did not see it at the time; I have behaved very irrationally lately. I thought it had to do with Elena's death, but..."

Dumbledore nodded. "It's quite possible that your curse-scar worked on your emotions to release them; I've seen stranger things happen. After all, all your anger and hatred needed to be freed before you put on the amulet, so that it could feed on you. Only, it released other feelings as well, because deep down, you have a kind heart; one that people do not glimpse at first glance."

Although extremely kind, his words did not cheer her up; she looked down at the bundle again, and sighed. "Nevertheless, I have behaved very foolishly."

Putting his hand on hers, the Headmaster smiled a little. "You are only human after all," he said gently. We cannot always behave in a cold and rational manner. And some good came out of it as well."

What good? she wanted to ask, but somehow she didn't manage to say the words. The room around them was very quiet. Healer Hywel had left the ward temporarily, and most of the patients were either sleeping or reading the Daily Prophet. Trying to structure her thoughts, she looked up at the small windows near the ceiling, through which she could see the cheerful, blue sky outside. Dumbledore was humming softly to himself, fingering her wand with casual interest, apparently not very bothered about her silence.

"So you won't accept my resignation then?" she asked after a long pause, a knot in her chest slowly unfolding.

"I don't think that you're a threat to this school," he said, and looked up at her with bright eyes. "In fact, I believe that you contribute a great deal to the defence of it. What happened was not your fault, and I will tell this to any parents who question my decision."

"And what about the teachers?"

"I have spoken to them, as well."

He lightly tapped the scroll with his wand; it vanished in a puff of white smoke. "Everything will be fine. But you should destroy that, really," he continued amicably, pointing at the bundle in her hands. "It's quite illegal, you know, to possess it."

"Yes, I will." Suddenly, the circlet felt heavy in her hands, contrasting the sudden lightness in her heart. "In fact, I will do it now." Tapping the bundle with her wand, she muttered, "Evanesco." It disappeared with a loud crack and a flash of silver light that made some of the patients look their way.

"That is all, then," she mumbled, gazing at her empty hands. "My debt to him, it seems, remains unpaid."

"Yes, well, there will be ample of opportunities for you to repay it in future, I'm sure," said Dumbledore quietly. "These are evil times."

"Oh, and I almost forgot," he continued as he took out the sweet bag again, put it on the table and rummaged even deeper inside his robes, eventually pulling out a miniature bundle of parchment and putting it on her nightstand. He pointed at it with his wand, and it swelled considerably, making the thread that was tied neatly around it snap. "Severus sent you these, as well."

Essays. He must be pretty mad at me, she thought with a frown as she picked up the topmost piece of parchment and looked at it. And they seem to be hard work as well. Damn!

Dumbledore looked at her gravely. "He said he'll pick them up in two days' time. He'll get over it eventually, I'm sure. Just give him some time."

Giving her a vague smile, he pocketed the lemon drops again, and to her surprise, he raised his wand and performed a Soundproofing Charm around her bed.

"Now," he said softly, his blue eyes focused calmly on her face. "I understand that you saw Severus wearing a Death Eater cloak at the evening of the attack."

"Yes, I did," she replied curiously. She had, of course, wondered about it, but it was not exactly something you just casually brought up.

"What I tell you now, you cannot repeat to anyone."

She nodded. "Of course."

He regarded her seriously. "And can I count on you, in the upcoming war against Lord Voldemort?"

Flinching at the mention of the name, she looked him straight in the eyes. There would be no turning back now; she owed him that much. "Absolutely."

Smiling a little at her words, he leaned back in his chair again. "Then, let me tell you about a group of people called the Order of the Phoenix..."

*

Dumbledore's visit lasted for two hours, under which he told her about the work of the Order, and she followed his every word with rapt attention, hardly believing that he would trust her enough to tell her what he did. When he finally had finished, and rose to leave, a thought struck her.

"But what will the others in the Order say?"

"About what, my dear?"

"About me joining. It seems the whole of Hogwarts loathes me. I can't imagine Professor Snape or Professor McGonagall being very keen on the idea."

"I will talk to them, especially Severus," Dumbledore replied gently. "Don't worry, it will be dealt with."

And with that he took his leave, after abolishing the ward around her bed with a small flick of his wand. He walked down the row of beds with light steps, stopped at the door, shook hands with a very eager-looking Healer Hywel, gave her one last, cheerful glance, and exited the ward.

She couldn't help but be in awe over the fact that the old, slightly whimsical wizard in the starry robes seemed to hold the fate of the world in his ageing hands, and quite comfortably too.

*

Snape kept his word. Two days later, Healer Hywel strode up to her bed and announced, in an unusually demure voice, that she had a visitor, and a minute later Snape strode in wearing a face resembling a thundercloud, carrying a pile of parchments under his arm. To see him out of his usual environment further attenuated his gloomy appearance and the cloak he wore instead of his teacher's robes made him look very gaunt.

As he passed Healer Hywel, the Healer gave him a nod, which Snape did not return; after pausing to give the Healer a brief look of clear dislike through strands of black hair, he continued straight to her bed.

"The essays are on the nightstand," Secessa said evenly when he reached her side, a bit surprised over his exchange with the Healer.

"Evidently," replied Snape coldly, examined her surroundings with disapproval, and then handed her the pile of parchment he was holding. "I sincerely hope I will not have to pick these up as well."

Taking a deep breath, she tried to ignore his bad mood. "You shouldn't have to. I'll be back at the beginning of next week."

"I'm relieved," he muttered, and picked up the essays. Looking at her with thinning eyes, he seemed to consider something. "It seems," he said quietly, "that we will be co-operating in future."

"Yes?"

"The Headmaster has asked me to reassure you that I will do my best to make allowances for your ... shortcomings."

Flushing with anger, she glared at him. How dared he? "That's awfully kind of you," she replied icily. "I understand it must be hard."

His eyes thinned even more, and he seemed to be restraining himself. "Very well," he said finally, his eyes very black, "until next week, then."

Turning abruptly, he left her bed and stalked out of the ward.

Angry, she thought to herself a she watched him leave, is an understatement.

"Friend of yours?" asked a calm voice, and she was surprised to see that Healer Hywel had walked up to her.

"Colleague," she replied. "We're not exactly what you would call 'friends'."

"We were in the same year at Hogwarts, you know," said the Healer somewhat sadly. "Actually, we shared the same bench in Potions class during the last two years."

"And he didn't even pretend to know you?" she exclaimed, annoyed. "That's outrageous!"

Hywel looked at her mildly. "Ah, yes, but I'm a half-blood, you see. Not someone to talk to for a man who curses Muggleborns for sport."

"What are you talking about?!" If Snape cursed this kind man, she thought with sudden fury, he deserved every piece of trouble I ever caused him!

"Oh, yes," said the Healer evenly, but she could tell that he was quite upset. "Even though he was a loner at school, he would always have a nasty trick or two up his sleeve, and if you annoyed him you were in right trouble. He was especially proud of his connections with a Slytherin girl that was a right nasty piece of work. But I shouldn't really talk about this -"

"Who was that girl?" Secessa interrupted sharply. Suddenly, one or two things clicked for her: Slytherin, old Death Eater, childhood friends ... Please, don't let it be...

Hywel considered her for a moment, looking uncomfortable, and then said, "Bellatrix Black, later Lestrange. They seemed quite close, actually."

Secessa closed her eyes briefly. I knew about his past; I just didn't want to accept the full implications.

"She became a Death Eater," Hywel continued, apparently not noticing her distress. "Well, all of his friends did, in fact. Not a man you'd want for your acquaintance, Snape. At least not if your blood isn't of the right kind." A hint of bitterness had crept into his voice now, and she suspected he had indeed been cursed in school, as well.

Staring at him, she bit her lip. I had no idea! And to think that Snape still must believe in these things; otherwise, why would he give Hywel such a look? There are many reasons why an old Death Eater might switch sides. I don't know why I thought his reasons were honourable. Nausea suddenly filled her, and she put two fingers to her forehead. I owe him a life-debt.

"I'm so sorry," he said lightly, and he put a warm hand onto hers. "I have upset you and it was not my intention!"

"No, please don't feel bad about it. I needed to hear it. But I think I need to rest, now."

The Healer nodded, patted her hand awkwardly, and left her bedside.

*

When Secessa checked out of her ward a few days later, Healer Hywel kindly followed her down to the nearest floo-connected fireplace. Looking a bit embarrassed, he asked her to give his best regards to Albus Dumbledore, and wondered if perhaps she could put in a kind word for him, as he was looking for a promotion, and Dumbledore's good opinion weighed a lot. She assured him warmly that it would be no trouble at all for her, and so they separated on the best of terms.

As she arrived at The Three Broomsticks a moment later, she was greeted by a cheerful Madam Rosmerta. The pub was empty save a lone customer by the bar, and Secessa stepped out of the fireplace and brushed off some soot from her robes, clenching her teeth at the small twinge of pain in her chest as she did so. Automatically fingering her fresh scar through her blouse, she wondered when it would fully heal.

The day was dark and cloudy, and she walked up towards Hogwarts with a heavy heart, thinking about all the animosity that awaited her there.

Most likely, she would miss Healer Hywel very much during the days to come.

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Author notes: Some further information on the circlet: in my interpretation of Necromancy, the Necromancer has the ability to open the gate between life and death (the green flame represents this), and use the power in that gate to either call a spirit of affect the life-death equilibrium. What Secessa did was to feed the flame into the amulet and create a link between herself and Snape using her life-debt to him (symbolised by the galleon turned into snakes). When his life was threatened, her debt would be automatically paid through the amulet, which, since it was created using her own blood, fed on her, turning her into the necessary sacrifice.

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