Ink and Parchment ~ blood and bone

50

Eliza did talk to Tom in the morning, letting him know that Dumbledore was indeed on the hunt for horcruxes and that she was somewhat unwillingly invading his privacy as she traversed through different memories. He told her not to worry about it and they moved on to more entertaining topics of conversation such as Slughorn.

Speaking of Slughorn, Eliza received her slug club invitation a week later. As did Blaise and unsurprisingly Draco now that he had proven his potions prowess. Theo didn’t receive one and couldn’t care less – never one for social functions. Daphne didn’t receive one either but Susan did which meant Daphne would probably end up joining them eventually.

It’s not a bad night all in all, and after Slughorn found out she can claim both the Black and Potter lordships he made a spur of the moment decision to bring some fancy sugar quills to the next slug club meeting.

It was a symbiotic relationship, you could say.

September faded into October and Eliza started progressing with her necromancy. She had her actual studies of course but as most of the year were still struggling with non-verbal spells Eliza figured she was safe to focus on her extra-curricular.

Animating bones was easy, hollow and ready to be infused with magic, they practically leapt to her command these days. Working with dead cells, bodies, was a bit different. They were a lot more complex than bones. She had to focus on the cells first, and then move on. She had to get the heart to pump, push her magic through collapsed veins and arteries until she could set up a fully working circulation system.

The most powerful necromancers didn’t even have to blink to call up an army of the dead. They could even manipulate dead cells to regrow, not like inferi.

At this point in time Eliza couldn’t manage any of that, but she had created a zombie rat.

She and Jormy watched as it stumbled around. It was a creepy looking thing, it pulsated with a green glow that seemed to emanate from its veins but it was up and walking – even if half of its skull was caved in.

She was reminded of Frankenstein creating the monster, defying gods will.

She remembered the tale of the three brother’s and suppressed a shiver.

Eliza had never believed in God but she did believe in lady magic. Is it that far fetched to believe in a death?

Eliza rubbed her thumb over her ring in an absent-minded gesture. She was quite sure that the stone embedded in the ring was actually the resurrection stone from the fable. But if that was true didn’t that mean the fable’s warning also held true as well? Eliza didn’t want to risk it.

Besides, it wasn’t like she had anyone to summon anyway.

"I would not like to eat that rat" Jormy said besides her and Eliza snorted.

"Me neither"

~

It was half way through October when she received another message from Dumbledore, requesting her presence for their second lesson. Theo fed her sugar quills all day to keep her calm and reasonable and by the time Eliza reached Dumbledore’s office she was ready to put up with the old man for an hour, maybe even more.

Maybe this time he would actually tell her that he knew about the horcruxes.

Eliza doubted it though.

She couldn’t tell if Dumbledore was intentionally withholding the information because it was her he was speaking too or if he would have done this to a perfect little Gryffindor. Left his hero in the dark till the last moment, put off the inevitable until the last crucial moment where there would be no other choice but to martyr themselves.