Anthony hesitantly put the strange notebook back into its place and walked out of the library. Influenced by the afternoon tea party, he was wary of all magical items that appeared out of nowhere.
But it didn't appear out of nowhere, a voice said in his mind. It had always been there, but no one else had seen it. Because no one else is a necromancer...only Anthony is.
"Professor Anthony!" Angelina greeted him.
He smiled and nodded, and when passing by, he heard Angelina complaining to her friends: "Woods's is really crazy. I can't go with you this week. Let's go next week."
Her friend held her arm and shared the snacks that came from nowhere with her: "It's okay, otherwise I'll go with Aaliyah."
Angelina said apologetically: "Aaliyah should also be training...Oh, I must talk to Wood."
Her friend said: "I really regret not going to Quidditch tryouts, otherwise we could be training together now."
"Yes, you will definitely be selected if you participate. Sometimes I think you can fly better than me." Angelina sighed, "Some things are lost if you miss them. I guess Wood thought so too, so he posted that he want to get the Quidditch Cup before graduation."
Anthony stopped. The ordinary brown hard-cover book appeared in front of me again.
What if it contained the reason why he suddenly became a necromancer? What if it told the story of a necromancer? Isn't he curious? Is he content with his instinctive gift of necromancy? Doesn't he want to discover more of the secrets of magic? That notebook lingered in Anthony's mind, as if it would be taken away by another person the next second, and he could only regret missing this opportunity.
Anthony turned back to the library, ran to the bookshelf, and hurriedly put the notebook into his bag.
Mrs. Pince looked at him strangely. Anthony showed her the cover: "Notebook."
"You are so diligent, Professor Anthony." Mrs. Pince said with emotion, "If all students studied like you, they would be able to pass O.W.Ls in the third grade."
Anthony smiled and thanked her and walked back to the office. His bag was heavier than when he arrived, but this weight was nothing. His heart was so happy that it was about to float.
…
Anthony turned a few pages and couldn't help but hug the cat and said, "I thought what I learned in college was useless."
His cat sniffed the notebook cautiously and laid down.
This unknown necromancer must have received the so-called "orthodox education", and all records - even the marginal notes - were written in Latin... Medieval Latin, religion, politics and academics universal language. And Anthony, who has always been conscientious about his work, has never been distracted in class.
In addition to some experiments that seem to be creepy in the notes ("Living human bones and dead human bones: there is almost no difference. Considering the cost, it is recommended to choose corpses as much as possible."), there are also some interesting attempts. The wizard complained in his notes that his mentor had to barbecue in the wilderness and refused to eat the summoned animal carcasses.
"What's the difference between those who died last moment and those who died this moment?" the necromancer recorded philosophically, "If I connect magic to their corpses, they will all be part of me, whether I eat the corpse or not whats the difference? The crackling sound when you throw it into the fire is just a difference in the amount of fat. What does it matter whether there is salt or not?"
Next to it was a hastily scrawled marginalia: "It tastes great with salt."
The notes also recorded some necromancy magic that Anthony had never thought of. In order to hide the identity of the necromancer, the range of activities of wraiths and skeletons can be restricted. After certain steps of casting, he can completely control the summoned undead, whether it is a ghost, a skeleton or - if he hadn't seen the note, Anthony would never have thought of this option - a corpse. If the apprentice is talented and practices hard, he can even "hear the whispers of bones."
The notes read: "Real necromancers can hear the whispers of corpses. They will whisper to their mentors every day and night, some wishing to live, and some wishing to die. My mentor warned me that if I still want to maintain human characteristics, Just don't listen too much to their voices. Talk more to living things, talk more to the living. That's why the teacher..."
"I still can't hear it."
"My mentor said that it is difficult for me to control my emotions. It is very quiet between life and death, and emotions will only interfere with my magic. Maybe I am not suitable to be a necromancer."
"My mentor is becoming more and more like a dark creature, so we decided to move underground. But except that he withers everything around him when he sleeps, I can't see any difference. I suspect he just wanted to be quiet after a quarrel. He also ate more today. A whole box of pancakes. A whole box."
…
Anthony tried the spell in his notebook, causing his cat to grow sharp claws for a while.
Necromancy may be more of a test of faith than Charms. Anthony was quite sure that his spell-casting gestures must be inaccurate, but he tried several interesting undead spells at will, and none of them failed.
Perhaps this is why the Ministry of Magic firmly classifies undead wizards as dark wizards. Anthony had to admit that these magics were a little weird...especially when all other wizards relied on wands, and necromancers only used gesture assistance even in the most cumbersome magics. And those gestures are nothing more than simple descriptions such as "raise your hand" and "make a fist".
(There is a magic recorded as the light spell, which can ignite the soul fire of all controlled corpses... The gesture is crossed fingers. Anthony couldn't help but lament the bad taste of the necromancer.)
At other times, the necromancy magic in the notes is basically: imagine that your magic is connected to the dead body, imagine that there is a bright light inside, imagine that you are wrapping that bright light... Okay, you succeeded. Now do whatever you want.
Completely unreasonable magic and an unparalleled sense of accomplishment.
Anthony had never felt so at ease with any magic. The notes were just inspiration, and he understood everything at once. He could feel that the more he used undead magic, the more proficient and powerful he became.
Now there's just one problem.
If he, a beginner, was so powerful...how did the necromancers become extinct?