MADAM PUDDIFOOT'S TEA SHOP

[Location: Hogsmeade]

[A few months later...]

Few months passed since Ryan bought a small house in Hogsmeade and resumed his training. During this time, he managed to lose his weight and mastered three complex spells. Plus, he opened a furniture shop where he sells premium products.

The first one is Death's Embrace Curse.

*Incantation: Mortis Amplexus*

Effect: Ryan curses his target with the touch of death, causing their life force to wither away rapidly. Those afflicted by this curse experience intense pain as their body deteriorates, eventually leading to their demise.

Since this is a spell that requires live targets, Ryan tested it on animals first. While it works on most living creatures including magical beasts, it seemed that the curse had no effect on plants and fungi, plus it can't be cast without a wand. And it causes him to lose a huge amount of stamina. He can only perform this curse three times before he runs out of stamina and becomes exhausted for hours.

The second spell he learned was Spectral Chains.

*Incantation: Vincula Umbra*

Effect: Ryan summons ethereal chains from the shadows to bind his enemies, restricting their movements. These spectral chains are infused with dark magic, making them nearly unbreakable and capable of restraining even the strongest enemies. Although this spell only restricts movements, the plus point of this spell is that he can use it on multiple targets and he can perform this spell without a wand. The negative point is that there isn't any damage inflicted on enemies, so Ryan must rely on other spells to finish them off after binding them.

The third one is the Undead Servitude Ritual. Now, what's a Necromancer without an army of undeads?

*Incantation: Servitium Mortuorum*

Effect: Through this curse, Ryan can raise the dead and bind their souls to his will, creating an army of undead servants. These creatures obey his every command without question, serving as loyal minions. For now, he has an army of twenty undead chickens that he practiced his skills on. Now the fun fact about this spell is that the undeads gain massive defensive stats. He tried various destructive spells on those undead chickens but they barely suffered any damage. Their defense was so high that Ryan gave up trying to destroy them and continued to test his other spells on them.

But what about its effect on humans? How many undead humans can he currently raise?

That's what we are about to find out tonight...

.

.

The evening was quiet and peaceful as Ryan went out to hear the gossip and gather information at the pub, The Hogs Head. Since it was evening, people gather around the bar more often to relax and chat about current events. Ryan blended in among them while drinking firewhisky and eavesdropping on others' conversations.

"Did you hear about the recent disappearances?" One middle-aged wizard asked his friend sitting next to him.

"What disappearances?" His friend raised his eyebrow.

"A few students disappeared recently," Ryan joined the conversation, "I heard that it happened near Tinworth."

"Yeah, that too, and around Cokeworth. All are muggles though. I'm pretty sure those death-eaters are involved. God knows when this war is going to end..." The middle-aged wizard replied.

Ryan drank another glass of firewhisky. After hearing the wizards' discussion about the recent disappearance cases, he left some Galleons on the table and exited the bar. It seems that things have gotten worse during these two months as more muggles started disappearing. But the ministry didn't do anything about it since they already assumed that the Death Eaters were involved.

'Haaa... As usual, those bastards play politics while people die. Well, time to hit Madam Puddifoot's tea shop.' Ryan thought to himself as he walked toward the tea shop.

Madam Puddifoot's tea shop is quite famous for its cozy atmosphere and delicious treats. Many couples visit this place regularly to enjoy each other's company. Ryan and Madam Puddifoot hit it off quite well, becoming friends soon after Ryan helped her when she was going through a rough patch as the shop was on the verge of closing due to the recent loss of customers, all thanks to the ongoing war. Thanks to his idea of turning the boring old cafe into a couple's cafe where romantic songs play in the background and pink decorations fill the room, Madam Puddifoot gained back all the customers within days. It's very popular among the Hogwarts students. Ryan visits this place often to relax and chat with Madam Puddifoot since he got along pretty well with her.

Upon entering the cafe, Ryan saw many couples sitting together at the tables, chatting happily while enjoying tea and snacks. Near the counter was the young lady. Her long brown hair flowed down past her shoulders and her beautiful brown eyes gazed lovingly at Ryan as soon as she spotted him entering the cafe. She was wearing a white apron over her pink dress.

'Oh God, here he comes...' Madam Puddifoot thought to herself as soon as she noticed Ryan entering the cafe. She quickly swished her wand to clean her clothes and body and the sweaty smell from working all day long. Her heart was beating faster as her eyes were stuck on that young man's face as he walked toward her. She gulped nervously when Ryan finally arrived in front of her.

"Looks like you had a busy day, huh?" Ryan pointed his wand at the chair and pulled it near the counter and sat on it.

"Yes. As you can see, everyone loves this place now!" Madam Puddifoot replied enthusiastically. She grabbed a cup and poured some lavender tea, just like he loved it.

Ryan smiled at her as he received the teacup and took a sip of the hot beverage, "Mummm~ Delicious as always! I should say you are getting better at brewing teas."

Madam Puddifoot blushed lightly upon receiving Ryan's compliment. She leaned forward slightly while placing both elbows on the counter and resting her chin on top of them, gazing affectionately at Ryan while smiling sweetly, "Anything for my favorite customer."

Ryan chuckled softly as he placed the teacup on the counter.

"Humm..." He also leaned in and looked at her face. There was something different about her today. "I like your new hairstyle by the way. Looks good on you." He complimented her again. Madam Puddifoot's face turned completely red upon receiving Ryan's compliment. She bit her lower lip shyly while looking at him. He chuckled seeing her reaction.

"Thank you," She said cutely as she straightened herself and cleared her throat, "So, how's your day been?" Madam Puddifoot changed the topic to avoid feeling embarrassed anymore. Ryan smiled inwardly seeing her act all flustered.

"Busy as usual. You know how it is, right? Selling furniture is a tiring job. You get all sorts of people asking stupid questions all the time," Ryan replied casually.

Madam Puddifoot nodded understandingly as her eyes went toward the customers, "You tell me..." She said in a low voice with a little giggle.

Ryan sipped on his tea while watching her work occasionally, "By the way, Madam, are you free tonight?" He asked suddenly after finishing his tea. Madam Puddifoot stopped working immediately as soon as she heard Ryan ask such a question.

"W-Why you ask?" She stuttered while asking.

Ryan shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, "I wanted to invite you over for dinner. But if you are busy, I can underst..."

Before he could finish speaking, Madam Puddifoot cut him off excitedly, "No! I mean Yes! I mean... I'm free tonight, Mr. Lance."

Ryan smiled hearing her answer, "Great then!" He stood up, "I better get prepping. How about I pick you up at 8?"

Madam Puddifoot nodded her head repeatedly while smiling brightly, "Sounds good!"

Ryan bid her farewell before leaving the cafe. Once he disappeared from her sight, Madam Puddifoot squealed excitedly as she jumped up and down like a teenager who just received a love letter from her crush. Of course, she did it in her mind, not literally outside.

..

..

On his way home, Ryan felt a sense of uneasiness. He could sense death in the air. The intense blood lust emitted from somewhere nearby made Ryan wary of his surroundings. As a Necromancer, he can sense death more accurately than anyone else, whether it is the presence of corpses or the impending doom approaching someone around him.

'Things just got interesting,' He thought as he took out his pocket watch, 'Well, got 40 minutes. Might as well check it out.' Ryan apparated straight to the source of blood lust.

****

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