Forbidden Fantasies (Darkest Desire Book 2)

24. Unlikely Confidante

-Every magic comes with a price-

....Black magic is an ancient art that dates back to the dawn of mankind's ability to control and influence the source of magic that resides within every witch and wizard.

It is usually used to hurt other, those who the sorcerer deems unworthy, inhuman, and in need of pain, either through psychic visualization and realization of dark spells or enchantments and curses casted by the hands of the sorcerer.

It can be found to be used without incantation, which was a form of magic used by people in group settings in order to magnify and multiply the magic and it's reach as well as the impact it has on the subject involved.

Curses and hexes have become more common in their usage, seeing they require little to no effort from the caster and still yield the desired effect. However, when one uses true black magic the pain brought back to the caster of the spell that is used inflicts damage that is twice worse upon themselves. The sacrifice needed in order to succeed in performing black magic is great, and costly. The havoc it wrecks on the physical as well as psychological well-being of the caster causes even more severe damage on the intended target...

What the hell?

Putting down the book I sighed, pressing the bridge of my nose between my fingers in an attempt to process all the information. I had been reading the book for about a week now, and found in increasingly more difficult to stay focused. It was as if the book drained away all my strength and concentration, darkness clouding my mind like a haze of shadows that slithered nearer with every word I read. Every scarlet word, the intricate calligraphy already proving most difficult to decipher, it was as if the book resisted my every effort to comprehend or understand its contents.

But it also brought with it some much needed information. Despite my two hundred years of thoroughly enjoying literature, I hadn't often indulged in trying to decipher the darker aspects of magic. Alchemy on itself was already complicated enough, worthy of a lifetime of study and analysis. And since my passion lay there, and not with the Dark Arts-or Black Magic, if the books contents were accurate- I hadn't really given the more dangerous and dark side of magic any real attention.

The book was giving me some much needed insight on the matter. It was amazing how enchanting the darker aspects of magic could prove to be once their mysteries were unraveled and their secrecy exposed. In the end it all boiled down to power, plain and simple, just like alchemy did. Control and power, wasn't that what life was all about? For some it was. And the fact that Severus seemed to be most adept and practiced in said dark mysteries, was all the more impressive because of it. If he truly as accomplished and skillful in the darker ways of magic, I owed him far more respect than I had initially given him credit for. I could see why his proficiency and expertise in potions was closely related to the need to understand even the most basic aspects of magic, which on itself meant more control when it came to the more complicated and dark side of the Dark Arts.

As it turns out Minerva had been worrying about my well-being, and one rainy afternoon after I'd talked George and Fred out of helping Draco Malfoy and his friends of the Inquisitorial Squad to some well-deserved time in the Forbidden Forest with the help of a Vanishing Closet and a portekey (how they might manage to get their hands on one of those was still beyond me, but I was afraid to ask), she asked me to come to her office.

I ran into Harry on the way there, and he was looking just about as dreadful as I felt. There were bags underneath his eyes and his skin had an unhealthy pallor to it. Briefly wondering if maybe he wasn't getting enough sleep, I saluted him, but barely got more than a polite nod in response. I doubt he was even aware I greeted him.