She ushered him into the basement, a space much different than the cluttered but homey feel of the rest of the cottage. The hard stone walls and floor stripped him of any warmth. The walls were bare and there was little in the empty space except for a bookshelf filled with blood-stained trinkets, books, and tools. Three long tables covered in cloth took up the majority of the space. There was something long and body-shaped underneath the fabric. Adams began to lecture, ignoring his horrified and fascinated perusal of the room.
"The first tasks an apprentice necromancer must complete are complex and overwhelming, but I am certain you can handle what's coming. You have noticed my tattoos -" she shrugged out of her robe to show off the complex arrangement of symbols and patterns running across her body. There was a large depiction of a man on fire, a series of lines in shapes that resembled diagrams of chemical structures. There were a lot of tiny words wrapping around her wrist, their language unknown but feeling ancient and powerful. There were many, many bones - a full skeleton on her upper arm, several skulls dotted in any small space available. And a stylized sun adorning the palm of one hand, and a moon on the other.
"These are essential for the safety of the practitioner. Each one serves a different function and all together they allow me to stay in control of my body and mind while casting. Necromancers are prone to possession, madness, and other fatal hardships.
You and I were born necromancers. You can tell by our eye color and other traits. Alongside this, you being death-touched which occurred when the dark lord Voldemort cast the Killing Curse on you - a curse no one has ever survived before - will keep you safe. That does not guarantee complete safety, however. Thus, tattoos and other measures. As you progress you will earn more of them. There is still a risk, there always is, necromancy is not without cost, and you are young. I do not know how it may affect you. But these are the best ways to keep you safe."
"Don't other people notice them?" Harry asked, watching a skeletal hand move around her neck like a spider.
"Theoretically, yes. It is possible to glamor them so people cannot see, but because necromancy is almost completely a dead art, it does not matter as rarely do people recognize the rune patterns. Rune tattoos are fairly common, and wizarding clothes are modest, so they rarely come up. I will save the more obvious ones for last until you are hopefully finished with school and I advise you to keep your clothes on around Albus Dumbledore, who would certainly be suspicious. Tattoos are a very important and honored tradition of necromancy, so I avoid disguising them as much as possible.
Aside from the tattoo, there is one other ritual a new necromancer must complete. It is called a horcrux. It will prevent you from dying should you make a fatal error, and ensure your longevity to complete the apprenticeship. There is no point in training you if you die quickly. Coincidentally, there is one within you right now. It appears that Voldemort rendered part of his soul into your scar."
"He's in my scar!?"
"I will remove it once you are strong enough for me to do so, do not worry. But yes, a piece of his soul remains in the scar. I have never seen a horcrux attached to an organic being before, it is fascinating and perverse. You will be attaching yours to something much more reasonable." Harry cupped his forehead in horror.
Waving her wand, she conjured a wooden kitchen chair and gestured for him to sit.
"We must, first of all, give you your strength back. If it was merely a recent injury, we could heal it the traditional way with potions and spellwork, but in your case, that would take months to fix all the damage. Instead, I will show you an advanced technique for healing. You must promise you will not attempt this without me as it can be very dangerous."
Harry nodded in agreement and pulled out his wand when prompted. He was bouncing in his chair in excitement. So far, the necromancy did not seem that bad, despite all the blood yesterday. He was excited to get some sick tattoos and he would not say no to a spell that would keep him from getting hurt. Magic was awesome.
"You will not master this spell on the first try, this is ridiculously advanced for a child, but I cannot cast it for you. To cast, you must pull some of your power up from your magical core. As though squeezing a muscle. Try first with a basic spell - lumos."
Harry cast the spell over and over until he noticed the energy inside and was able to cast it outward. The wand gave out a faint flicker of light.
"Good. Did you feel the magic moving through you? Send it up to your wand, the wand movement and incantation tell your magic what to do after." Again and again, he cast lumos and the light got brighter each time. Harry couldn't help but grin. He was doing magic!