Of Death and Fire

Fairydust


Chapter 3: Fairydust on Cold, Dead Skin
A tall, dark figure entered the corridors of Hogwarts, making his way towards the Headmaster's chambers. The few individuals he met in his way kept a safe distance from him. The aura of deathrounrounded him as a second black cloak, the one baring the emblem of the Necromancer's Guild on the hood. He reached the entrance, gave the password and ascended to Dumbledore's office.
Albus lifted his eyes from the scroll he was reading.
"Greetings, old friend", he smiled. It has been sometime since our last meeting, hasn't it?"
The man in the dark cloak pushed back his hood, revealing a pale face, crowned by silky white hair that reached his shoulders. An intimidating yet handsome face, jeweled by a pair of blood red eyes, embroided by the necromantic ritual tattoos.
"Yes, Albus, it has been a while. Enough to think that you have forgotten your promise", he smiled back.
"Even if I wanted to forget about it, she wouldn't let me to", he sighed. He gave the necromancer an account of the past disastrous events. "I know you'll tell me 'I told you so', and you'd be right." He raised from his chair and went to his pet phoenix, stroking gently its head. "But I know Morgaine has potential".
"I never doubted her potential", replied Aurion Whitebone. "I merely question the course this potential will take. To Light or Darkness? Her blood urges her to light; it's evident with her brother. But her birth has bonded her with darkness".
"I have summoned her here", announced Dumbledore, "to inform her of the situation. She'll be here shortly. And I sincerely hope we'll be able to keep her in the Light".
"Oh, no, my dear old friend", replied Aurion, with a shadow falling over his pale face. "She can never be of the Light. We can only hope she'll stay on the thin line between Light and Darkness, in the Gray Dominance of the Shadow world".
Before Dumbledore could fully grasp the meaning of the last statement, a soft voice was heard on the top of the entrance stair.
"Uncle Albus? Have you called for me?"
The master necromancer turned to see the owner of the voice. His heart lost a beat as he stood up, trying not to look stunned by the sight that was unfolding before him.
A tall, skinny girl at the age of sixteen was standing at the entrance. Freckled face, with long, unattended hair caught in a loose ponytail, and the wildest green eyes he had ever seen. Neither her face nor figure was bad, just neglected. Unloved. She was wearing a uniform with the Ravenclaw colors, but somehow they didn't fit right on her, adding even more to the sense of abandonment around her. But it was not her physical image that took the necromancer by surprise. It was the unseen around her, the hidden realm that only a myst's trained eyes could see.
Her ethereal body was bright as the full moon, glorious and beautiful. The shadows danced around her, caressed her and embraced her. Not mere shadows, but souls and ghosts, the fleshless bodies of those dead by violence. They were drawn to her like moths to the flame, the fed off her, of her spirit and of blood. Yes, this would explain the wounds on her wrists, the stigmata. But not once did he sense that they threatened her. They loved her, worshipped her as their only light in their eternal prison. And he started to doubt his ability to mentor this young creature. But leaving her untrained... No, the opposite was quite unthinkable.
"Morgaine", said Dumbledore with his formal voice, "meet an old friend. This is Aurion Whitebone, Defender of the Silver Dragon, Master Conjurer and Head of the Order of the Flaming Scull."
Morgaine's eyes widened by surprise. And excitement, as Aurion waick ick to note.
"The Necromancers' Guild?" she asked in a trembling voice.
"Sit down, child", replied Dumbledore. "We have a lot to talk about".
They told her of the situation around her birth. Of her bloodline and heritage. As the tale unfolded, she begun to understand the nature of the strange phenomena around her. With understanding cangeanger. Anger for all of those who have mocked and called her weird. But most of all anger for him. How dare he call me a failure? When he has no idea of who I am? Or what I can do? She looked down on her scarred wrists. She raised her hands across the candlelight, and smiled. One day....
Little did she notice the fear in the eyes of the two wizards when she made that move.
 
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The next dawn found the twins parting, for the first time in their life. Never really apart, she whispered to him, as they embraced for the last time. She watched him leave to become a Medwizard, in the Univercity where he had been accepted with honors. Slowly, she picked up her bag and left to meet with Hagrid and his enchanted motorbike. As she climbed up behind him, he asked her:
"Where to, dear?"
"To the Twilight Provinces, Hagrid. I have to see home one last time".
Behind them, life in the Hogwarts halls went by as if nothing had happened. Ff thf them noticed her departure. One of them was Professor Severus Snape.
"Good Riddance!", he muttered, and then went about his business without ever thinking of her again.
 
 
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They both had objected to her decision. Elves and necromancers don't mix, they told her. Remember last time, they told her. But her decision was final. If she was to commit her life to the world of the dead, she had to see the Silver Forest one last time.
Much to her surprise, her cousins welcomed her in their midst. She was now aware of her abilities, and was cautious so her visit was relatively uneventful. Her aunt Leonin treated her with love, in the quiet, modest way of the Wood Elves. One day, she found Morgaine on hed fad favorite spot, weeping.
"There's great sadness in your heart, child", she whispered, as she stroke her crimson hair. "Don't linger on words spoken in anger; they will poison your soul and root in your heart for eternity. Let it go".
"I cannot!" Morgaine cried out, like a wounded animal. "I cannot!". She turned to her aunt and grasped both her hands in despair. "Please, aunt Leonin, teach me. Show me how to steal a man's heart. How to capture his senses and enslave his will! Show me how to be beautiful..."
Leonin caressed the young girl's cheek. "I cannot teach you this, child. I need not. Your blood will do that. You're elven kin. Soon enough you'll blossom. You'll be beautiful and dangerous as the lightning and the storm. Beautiful as the first light of a warm April morning, yet dark as the death that spawned you. Believe me", she added with a sad smile, "no mortal man can resist the darkness. No if it's laced with light such as yours. But beware, for it weaves a treacherous web."
She never fully understood her aunt's words until it was too late.
The summer went by fast as a heartbeat, and durinat sat summer she blossomed, just as her aunt had foreseen. When she crossed the Basalt Gates the day after Lammas Feast, Aurion WhiteBone hardly recognised her.
 
At the moment of her crossing, the demons in Hell trembled and the angels of Heaven wept. The mortals, oblivious to it, knew nothing of it. For better or worse, we cannot tell.