Chapter 176. Eileen.
In Severus's world, liches were considered among the most terrifying creatures in existence, second only to devils and dragons. Even great archmages without fire or light elements went out of their way to avoid them.
And the reason wasn't simply their strength, or the armies of the dead that nearly always surrounded them: it was their near immortality and their perfect memory, particularly when they originated as spirits driven by vengeance. Kill a lich but fail to seal its spirit in time, and it would pursue you for the rest of your life until it had taken its revenge.
This type of undead, like all others, felt no pain, required no water, food, or air, and was immune to all diseases and poisons, including magical ones. Beyond that, liches possessed inhuman regeneration, capable of restoring severed limbs without much difficulty; complete immunity to spells affecting the blood or the mind; and a far more refined perception of life energy, not to mention death energy, which could harm even a dragon's hide. And that was only a partial list of what these creatures were capable of.
They had their weaknesses, of course. Beyond fire and light magic, these included necromancers and more powerful undead of their own kind, who could reduce them to thralls. To prevent necromancers from ever wielding such power, a true open hunt had been declared on liches more than twenty thousand years ago.
At this moment, watching Eileen run barefoot across the grass with the joyful abandon of a child, Severus wore a crooked smile.
If anyone found out I had created a lich at the master rank, and a sentient one at that, they would kill me without trial. Well, no. First they would extract everything I knew, and then kill me. He leaned back against the bench and closed his eyes. It's a good thing to have another pair of hands. But this is... unexpectedly soon.
"Why are you so lost in thought?" Nagini asked, puzzled by his reaction. "Aren't you glad?"
"Of course I am. I'm just... surprised." He returned to his usual easy smile. And why am I even dwelling on this? I'm not in that world anymore. I'm no longer bound by its rules. I'll probably never go back. I wanted to live a quiet but interesting life, and what could be more interesting than a battle with devils? A fierce grin crossed his face, followed a few seconds later by a tired sigh. Though it would be better without them.
"Are you sure you're all right?"
"Yes. I was just thinking." He rose from the bench and watched Eileen. "All right, let's head back to Hogwarts. I'll send a copy here later." Just then, he noticed her stop. The cold grey aura began spreading from her body again, and right before his eyes, the grass started breaking apart into dark particles. She pulled it back into herself fairly quickly and looked at Severus with a faint flush of embarrassment. He responded with a smirk. The strangest Lich I've ever seen.
"Don't you want to spend a little time with her?"
"I never explained to you how the potion works, did I?" She shook her head with a puzzled look. "The copy doesn't operate on its own. I control it from here, though it is quite demanding." His answer surprised her, though not greatly. She had expected something of the sort. "So..."
"I have a question. How can I tell whether you're the copy or the real one?" She gave him a thoughtful look, and his eye twitched slightly as he guessed why she wanted that information.
"Figure it out yourself. Let it be your motivation to get stronger." A pendant appeared in his hand, much like the one Macmillan had given him, which he had passed along to Nellie. "Eileen." She tilted her head curiously, glancing from the patch of bare ground where the grass had been back to him, then caught the artifact with a hint of surprise: a chain bearing a small black serpent. "With this, you'll be able to understand her. As I told you before, she was a person once, but a curse transformed her into a snake. I hope the two of you will get along."
Eileen turned it over in her hands for a moment, then smiled gently at him and nodded, slipping the pendant around her neck. She turned to look at Nagini, who looked thoroughly flustered. She hadn't been given even a second to prepare. She shot a disgruntled look at Severus and then turned her attention to Eileen, who was watching her with open curiosity.
"This... hello. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Nagini."
"Likewise. Thank you for taking care of him." The warm smile Eileen gave her caught Nagini completely off guard. She dipped her head and gave a small, shy nod.
"All right. Today you'll stay here with the copy and spend some time with her. Understood?"
"I'm not ready! At least let me prepare!" She gave him a look that was almost pleading.
"You'll be fine. I believe in you." He gave her an encouraging pat on the head. "If either of you have questions, just ask." He set Nagini down on the bench. A house-elf in a white coat appeared beside him, placed a hand on his arm, and in the next instant they vanished. A few seconds later, the copy appeared in the same spot, wearing white shorts and a light shirt.
Eileen studied him with interest, sensing an aura considerably weaker than the real Severus. After a few seconds, she reached out and began quietly stroking the top of his head.
The copy reacted three seconds later, looking up at her with puzzlement.
"It's nothing." Eileen shook her head, crouched down, and looked at Nagini again. "Tell me how you met and what happened while I was... away."
"Yes," Nagini said with a small nod, still casting occasional reproachful glances at the copy.
Hogwarts.
Having switched places with the copy, Severus put on his school robes and was about to leave the room.
"Mrow." A mildly displeased sound came from Lucky, who had appeared at the door. He had been left alone today without explanation, and now stared in faint surprise at the shoulder where Nagini usually peeked out.
"She stayed home today." Severus crouched down and scratched him on the head with a smile.
"Purrr." Lucky leaned contentedly into the touch, and when Severus stopped, he licked his fingers and climbed up to take Nagini's usual spot.
Scratching him behind the ear, Severus opened the door to find the Austin brothers already waiting.
"I'm going to Madam Pomfrey. Rest."
"Yes!" Both gave quiet bows, and Severus disappeared, a sight that was no longer particularly startling for either of them.
The following few days were comparatively peaceful, aside from the Slytherin students and a handful from other houses who had been trailing him persistently. None of them managed to get close. The two brothers, along with two half-bloods who had started tagging along, kept the pushy ones at bay without much difficulty.
The two women had also quickly found their footing with each other. Nagini was spending considerably less time with Severus and more time talking with Eileen, which genuinely pleased him. He had noticed more than once that being around Severus bored her. She simply lacked the company of other people, and even more so, that of another woman like herself.
Beyond that, Severus had also begun working with Eileen. He was no master of dark magic or necromancy, but he still remembered what he had studied in the Magisterium well enough, and helping her reach at least the Archmage rank over the next thirty years shouldn't be a great problem. All she needed for core development was death energy, which was abundant in any cemetery, and there was no shortage of cemeteries across the world, not to mention the old battlefields and the new ones saturated with it.
Following her example, Nagini also returned to training every morning with the rest of the household. More importantly, she wasn't slacking, training steadily under the watchful eye of her 'future mother-in-law,' who offered her constant encouragement.
And following that conversation, even Dumbledore had picked up his wand again. If he kept up the pace, he could reach the mid-range of the Master rank in as little as two years, though he had not set aside his other responsibilities and continued his political maneuvering as before. With the tracker Severus had placed on him, he could now monitor the old man around the clock without effort.
That same week, Charles, the brother of the head of the Steel sub-group, stopped by with an 'invitation' to headquarters in the form of a letter that doubled as a portal, designed to transport the recipient directly to the Black Star base.
The meeting was set for Sunday at eleven in the morning, giving Severus ample time to prepare. The appearance of the Queens had made him want to accelerate certain plans, and with his current strength, that shouldn't pose a serious problem. He was looking forward to it.
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