Harry Potter Practical Necromancy

[Shadowbakasama]

Harry has been involved in a body creation ritual so simple that even Peter Pettigrew could do it, the problem is that you can't bring the spirit back from the other side. Luckily Hogwarts has a lot of ghosts.

Time: Near the end of 6th year.

Harry rants "Dumbledore is dead, Madam Bones is dead, my Godfather Sirius Black is dead, and the ministry is corrupt! We're screwed! all are best wizards and witches are dead, and we are all that's left that will fight!"

"True mate, too bad it's not like chess where you can work a pawn to the other side and get back your queen." Ron says. "Sort of like they brought V-v- You-Know-Who back from the dead."

"Stop being silly Ron." Hermoine says swatting him on the back of the head. "You can't bring a spirit back from the other side, the only reason they could bring back Voldemort is that he's anchored to this side and never passed over."

"Well what about the ghosts then, hunh?" Ron fires back at her. "They're still on this side aren't they! Ha! We could bring them back now couldn't we."

"Ron! That's Necromancy! How would we make a body for the spirit?"

"Uhm, actually it's not that hard." Harry interjects. "Wormtail did it for Voldemort, all he needed was Bone of the Father, Flesh of the Servant, and Blood of the Enemy, the rest of the potion smelled like beef stew and was making me hungry."

"Hah! See Hermoine, two of the three are easy!" Ron yells in triumph. "We grab Malfoy and his too goons and bleed them, there's our Blood right there."

"We could probably get Slughorn to contribute a few pounds of flesh, he's got lots of extra." Someone adds.

"Oh that's good!" Hermoine rants at the boys. "That only leaves the grave robbery! And how do we even find the right grave to find the father of a ghost!"

"We could ask them I suppose. We should ask if they want to come back and fight anyway." Harry replies. "The Gray Lady is Helena Ravenclaw, her family might even be buried here at Hogwarts. Other than that it's mostly research and it's not like Wizard's don't rob graves, that's what Ron's brother Bill did for a living in Egypt."

-----------

So the DA look into bringing back the ghosts of Hogwarts to fight Death Eaters. The Gray Lady, the Fat Frier, Nearly headless Nick, the Bloody Baron, Peeves, Moaning Myrtle (Not much point for her since she's still a student, but they were doing it anyway and she's available), and whoever else they can get like members of the Headless Hunt.

 

[loki-l]

I thought canon made it really clear that there is a major difference between the shade that Voldemort became thanks to his horocruxes and the ghosts that some wizards and witches leave behind. The whole point of a horocrux is to keep from really dieing.

Harry got somewhat close to contemplating necromancy after Sirius death when he thought to learn more about ghosts and found that this was not the way. If a ritual like the one Pettigrew uses to reincarnate Riddle was all it took to resurrect dead people it would be far more common. Bringing back a dead loved one can be a powerful motivator and any story featuring practical necromancy should explain why everyone is not doing it.

Any story that show Harry using necromancy successfully should either explain that he is one of the rare people who can make it work or show the major downsides of using it. Some Cultural hangups might stop most purebloods, but they would not deter many unassimilated muggleborns. Ethics or threat of punishment won't stop everyone either.

 

[Shadowbakasama]

Well I'm not an expert on canon, I havn't even watched all the movies, but the Horcruxes seem to prevent the soul from passing over, while ghosts are souls that didn't pass over for some other reason.

Of course realistically Voldemort was already possessing a Homuncolus, and the ritual may have just been to add to that body, and I can't see Harry sacrificing babies to make Homuncoli for the ghosts. But the Homuncolus may have just been something easy to possess that could use a wand, and Voldemort didn't want to ride on Wormtail's head.

 

[loki-l]

After Sirius' death Harry seeks out Nearly Headless Nick to learn about ghosts. Nick reveals that Harry's reaction is pretty much typical for people who have lost loved ones. Harry's desire to get Sirius back somehow even if it goes against the norms of society is not unusual. If necromancy were possible more people than just Harry would try it.

Nick describes ghosts as imprints and pale in comparison to their living selves. Voldemort might have been a disembodied shade before his 'resurrection', but Dumbeldore and everyone else made it a rather large point that he never actually died. He could already posses bodies by the first book and as far as we know all the ritual did was rebuild his old body to house his still living shade.

Of course there might be some merit to having Harry rebuild dead people's body by a ritual and then animate these bodies with an imprint such as the ones left behind in the form of ghosts or wizarding paintings. A story about something like that would have to show why this was not the same as bringing dead people really back to live and why not more people who would not care about its downsides wouldn't still do it.

If conquering death were easy than all those macguffins like the hollows, the horocruxes or the veil and life-extending stuff like the philosophers stone and unicorn blood would not be as special.

 

[Hawk]

If conquering death were easy than all those macguffins like the hollows, the horocruxes or the veil and life-extending stuff like the philosophers stone and unicorn blood would not be as special.

The fact that you can even make a list like that makes it kind of not special.

 

[whitewhiskey]

In canon, the potion Peter used didn't create a body, it <a href='http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Regeneration_Potion' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>Restores</a> the body to a previous state, so it retores mangled bodies and missing limbs (probably be great for Mad-eye) but it doesn't just make a body.

Although, there must be some potion or something to create on, since that's what Tom planned for the Philosophers Stone.

 

[af_zer0]

it <a href='http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Regeneration_Potion' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>Restores</a> the body to a previous state

That makes me think... Longbottoms? All that's wrong with them is brain damage. Could work.

 

[whitewhiskey]

it <a href='http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Regeneration_Potion' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>Restores</a> the body to a previous state

That makes me think... Longbottoms? All that's wrong with them is brain damage. Could work.

I don't think it was so much damaged brains as damaged minds, like their spirits were broken, that's not really something physical. And it is still a 'dark' potion, so many may be reluctant to use it.

 

[zeebee1]

That's not how it works. Where are they going to find the blood of the enemy of a ghost that's been dead for over five hundred years?

 

[loki-l]

That's not how it works. Where are they going to find the blood of the enemy of a ghost that's been dead for over five hundred years?

The blood could run in some descendants veins. Besides nobody said that you would necessarily need to use the blood from an enemy they made while still alive. There is nothing stopping a ghost from making new enemies. A ghost might not be able to physical harm anyone, but they might still have someone living commit some acts designed to make enemies in their name. Also the Bloody Baron carries around with him a lot of ghostly blood that might work for the Grey Lady.

I still think that the main problem would be explaining why nobody did this before Harry thought of it. If Voldemort could just have skipped the whole Horocrux thing and simply turned into a ghost with instruction to his followers on how to resurrect him from that and gotten the same results it would not make any sense.

 

[kuopiofi]

They're wizards, where does canon hint they have common sense?

 

[Leonite]

Snape shows some... not much, but he does show some

 

[zeebee1]

But most of the time he has a negative score. His average is about as bad as everyone else.

 

[Lord Raine]

If conquering death were easy than all those macguffins like the hollows, the horocruxes or the veil and life-extending stuff like the philosophers stone and unicorn blood would not be as special.

The fact that you can even make a list like that makes it kind of not special.

It's not really a list at all. The Hallows don't stop death, and never have. It was made clear in canon that that part of the legend is trumped-up and untrue.

Unicorn blood will "save your life, even if you are at Death's door," but comes with "a terrible price, for you have slain something pure and good to sustain yourself. You will live a life accursed, a half life." Voldemort was forcing Quirrel to drink it to make himself stronger and sustain the possession, not to get a body back.

The Philosopher's stone does make you immune to aging as long as you drink the elixer, and it was implied that it has other uses as well, as it was mentioned Voldemort could have used it to make a new body very quickly if he had gotten his hands on it, but it doesn't actually prevent you from dying. You aren't a true immortal. Old age won't kill you, but a knife to the face will. Besides, it's not like the Stone is a common thing, either. Only one has been made ever in the history of ever.

The only thing on that list that works like that is, funnily enough, the Horcruxes themselves. And that's kind of a given, seeing how that's what they're intended to do.

I thought canon made it really clear that there is a major difference between the shade that Voldemort became thanks to his horocruxes and the ghosts that some wizards and witches leave behind.

There is. Voldemort was described by Dumbledore as "less than the meanest spirit," which means that even though he was still technically alive, he was worse off than any ghost.


As to balancing necromancy against why everyone isn't using it, how about making the Ressurection Stone a key component? Maybe Necromancy is a ridiculously complex and difficult affair that even a powerful genius wizard like Dumbledore would have difficulty doing, but the Stone acts as a kind of shortcut. Necromancy-Made-Easy, in other words. It's like cheating, only with the boundaries of Life and Death.

 

[zeebee1]

That seems to be counter to the idea.

 

[maidenofthemidnightmoon]

I think it's pretty safe to assume that 'Death is Unconquerable' is one of the major aesops in the HP series.
Lets see...
Tom's attempt to gain immortality: FAIL. Nicholas Flamel: Died in the first book after destroying the Philosopher/Sorcerer's stone. First Peverell brother: Died. Second Peverell Brother: Went insane after resurrecting his lover and commited suicide. Third Peverell Brother: Died eventually. Harry: Relinquished the Resurrection Stone and decided not to search for it again.

 

[Lord Raine]

That is completely and utterly true. On the other hand, it doesn't actually have to matter. The problem with this isn't the canon aesop. We can overlook that if we want or need to. This story can have completely different aesops, or none at all. What's important is that we explain how Harry Potter can do this when no one else can.

I still think that getting the Hallows involved is a good idea. Perhaps the cloak, the stone, or the wand have properties that make actual resurrection of the dead possible, where it wouldn't be otherwise. None of the items work as advertised in the legends, but they do have unexplained properties that make them different from anything else in the world, and the wand, at the very least, is capable of doing things that are otherwise impossible (like repairing a completely broken wand).

Maybe the cloak or the stone are key components. The stone if you want this to happen at some point in DH, or the cloak if you want it to happen earlier.

 

[Oni_kawaii]

That's not how it works. Where are they going to find the blood of the enemy of a ghost that's been dead for over five hundred years?

<a href='http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/photosizer/upload/ghostbustersREX031410.jpg' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>Well these guys might work</a> for the blood of the enemy requirement.

 

[zeebee1]

Try again you evil hotlinker.

 

[Leonite]

If the legend of the hallows is true, and they aren't just three exceptionally powerful items that the borthers either found or crafted, then they are items made by Death themself. I'm not sure how well the cloak would work, possibly as the "thread" that allows the stone and the wand to work together, but the Elder Wand could be used for the enchantment, and the stone could be used to make a "body" for the ghosts. Also, different problem, flesh of the servant, willingly given, where are they going to find that?

 

[shakeval]

aside from the multiple bloods giving some genetic diversity we can assume there are half dozen or more curses and jinxes that do weird things to the flesh and skin that gives you 'growths' and such, cut some of those off and you heal the little wound up...but yeah, no regular wizard would think of anything like that so it's probably out, maybe use a metamorph....