fandomhigh | DADA for Muggles [Wednesday, November 18, 5th period]

Today as the students arrived, the ceiling had been enchanted a clear blue, probably to counteract the subject matter.

"Because this came up so often in the introductory class, Professor Lupin and I decided that the one day we devoted to zombies and Inferi was probably not sufficient to fully cover the dark art of necromancy," Sirius began. "We have any number of places represented in this classroom right now, and bringing people back from the dead seemed to be a common theme for many of you. It is, unquestionably, a dark art." His glance swept over each student in turn. "Why, then, is that one of the first things people reach for when someone they love is taken from them?"

He looked over at Remus. Over the course of the years, they'd both lost more people than he'd thought he could bear to.

Remus, for his part, was struggling to look mildly interested and not too invested. "In our world, there are strict rules about moving on once a person has died. If the person fears death or is otherwise tied to this world, they might linger on as a ghost. But otherwise, their time here is done, and bringing them back is not only reckless and stupid, but detrimental to the person in question, as well."

After the brief discussion, Sirius waved his wand and dozens of textbooks (some covered liberally in dust) appeared on a table in the front of the classroom. "Use the rest of the class period to research necromancy and the horrible consequences that always arise when you try to bring back the dead," he concluded. "Next class, please bring in a report--covering at least a foot of parchment--explaining what you learned."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Why is necromancy one of the first things people contemplate when someone they love is taken from them?"

"Easy way out," Effy said simply. "Don't have to deal with the grief that way."

"Desperate times," he said and just let the saying finish itself. "People'll do anything if it means they don't have to feel like crap."

"It's the fast solution," Didi said. "It seems that way, anyhow. People think they can flip a switch and everything will be okay again, that death doesn't really have to be final."

She'd made exceptions a tiny number of times over the millennia, last for Orpheus and Eurydice. They almost never ended in anything except more heartache.

Edited 2009-11-18 16:56 (UTC)

"Because they miss them," Sam said, not even bothering trying to sound casual and vague about it. "Because the person died too young. Because the world is worse off without their loved one in it, and the personal cost might be worth bringing them back."

Dinah thought of her Mom dying, and reluctantly said, "If you've got any guilt or other issues, you can hope you can resolve them, totally aside from the guilt. There never seems like there's enough time, and if you just got to say good-bye...." She shook her head.

"Aren't denial and bargaining some of the stages of grief? So you deny that they stay dead and bargain to bring them back. And get pissed off somewhere in between, which totally kills off brain cells and common sense. . . ."

"Because you want them back." The question of whether it was right or not aside, the question of why seemed ...barely a question. "There's some things that are worse than dead, though." She'd been one, and she'd seen another.

Jack didn't have an answer, as he couldn't think of why someone would be trying to bring back the dead, so he stayed strangely quiet.

"Because sometimes, the world's gone wrong, and you don't know how else to fix it," Alice said quietly.

Merlin fiddled with the edge of his sleeve. "It's not possible to bring someone back from the dead."

But, you know, the brink totally was.

"Of course it is," Jenny said before she could think better of it.

Merlin eyed her ~~in a British standoff~~. "Not unless you want to kill someone else to do it."

~~Oh the Britishing.~~ "Not necessarily. Or else it wouldn't have been one of the Doctors' favorite parlor tricks for the past few millennia."

Of course, those had been, generally, normal people. Jenny was not so much; her first resurrection had been before her expiration date and had taken a year of the ecosystem's life worth of energy in the exchange. The second...well, she didn't know all the details, just that it had been quite an undertaking.

"Was he actually dead?" Because he wasn't from Marvel, but it was possible.

Wildstorm, actually, but when you got down to it the revolving door theory held true. Jenny misinterpreted Merlin's misinterpretation: "Yes. I was."

At least he only had to deal with that with Arthur. Since he'd be stuck in a tree while Arthur was busy being dead.

Sigh.

"Is that a normal thing?"

"Not for most people, I'll admit." Most people weren't a Spirit of the Century.

"Is it magic then?"

"Yes, it's magic," Jenny confirmed. "My world's version of it, anyway."

Merlin frowned. "What's that mean then? Is it more like the technology here?"

"No, just that I've been in more than one universe and I might not be magic," (although there was at least one philosophy student who'd written his thesis on that question) "but I've seen enough to know magic doesn't always have the same rules. Maybe where you're from it's not possible, and maybe where he's from it's pure evil, but that doesn't mean you should write it off entirely. I'm standing here, and I've died twice. Possibly three times." But the first time had been a tech thing.

"It's dangerous where I'm from," Merlin replied slowly. "There's a balance that must be maintained."

Re: Answer the discussion question [DADA 11/18]

ashockingbitch - 2009-11-19 06:14 (UTC) - Expand

"Maybe it's not time yet," Jenny said. Then she remembered they were supposed to be speakng theoretically: "Or they want to think it's not time."

Or, you know, they wanted a backup just in case someone's successor managed to cash in early on them, Habib.

"I guess maybe if you know it's possible to do, then you would think of it so that you can have them back again? I mean, I was totally happy and relieved to have everyone unzombified and alive again, so I think that's maybe what someone would think would happen and would be willing to try anything to get that?"