Chapter 55: A Date with a Zombie
The moonlight shimmered across the lake's surface, casting cold light onto the stone table—an enchanting yet eerie sight.
But the haunting groans of zombies and the rustling of earth as they clawed their way out of graves shattered the tranquility. The blue-tinged lighting only made the entire scene feel more unsettling.
The strong aroma of curry and its lingering heat within their bodies helped stave off the discomfort. The magical plates had kept the food warm, even though nearly an hour had passed since they began eating. Oddly enough, as more zombies awakened, their putrid stench seemed to fade.
"Are we really just going to sit at this stone table all night—even with food?" Kate grumbled. "Watching zombies while eating is too boring. My wand's going to rust!"
"Let's go. Follow me," said Alexander Smith, taking her hand and stepping out onto the lake's surface.
Kate yelped in surprise. "How is this even possible?!"
"There are many Lamora fish in the lake. Their collective magical power can support us even without forming a bridge," Alexander explained. "It was mentioned in the guidebook we found in the dragon's belly."
"There was a guidebook?" Kate replied proudly. "I didn't read it. Reading ruins the surprise."
When they returned to the wooden house, the view to the right revealed a constellation of green lights drifting like fireflies.
"Are those supposed to be the romantic fireflies mentioned in the manual?" Alexander muttered. "The author clearly has a twisted sense of humor."
The green specks grew more numerous, and an awful stench—like moldy gym socks left out in the summer—filled the air.
"Good grief, this smell could kill someone," Alexander muttered. He flicked his fingers, casting a wandless Bubble-Head Charm over both of them.
"Kate, now I understand why you only like undead creatures like vampires."
"Huh? Where did that come from?" Kate said as she wiped her wand clean with her sleeve.
"Vampires are clean. Zombies and ghouls? Not so much."
"Well, ghouls are ugly but don't smell. And while they're slimy and have buck teeth, they're helpful. They eat spiders and moths. Their only flaw is that they're noisy," Kate lectured. "That's why many wizard families keep them—usually in the attic or barn. They scare off pests like goblins and foxes."
"So Lockhart's new pest control book is less useful than a common household ghoul?"
"Exactly! Wealthy wizards don't keep them, though—they've got house-elves, and ghouls are unsightly."
Alexander chuckled, realizing his family, the Smiths, had never needed such solutions. They'd always relied on alchemical products and house-elves for pest control. No wonder he hadn't known much about ghouls until now.
Suddenly, a pus-covered, skeletal hand burst from a nearby grave. The ground rippled like water, and a pale, ragged zombie slowly emerged.
"Sticky Shoes!" Kate shouted, firing a white beam at it. Green goo oozed beneath its feet, gluing it in place.
But the zombie wasn't giving up. It strained forward—and its legs snapped off at the knees, dragging its mutilated body forward.
"That's disgusting," Alexander winced. "Even if it's just a zombie, watching it tear itself apart is... unsettling."
"Game time," he said, summoning a condensed red light blade—the harmless variant of Sectumsempra that he developed as part of his White Knight technique. The real Sectumsempra was too dangerous for this, being pure dark magic.
With a burst of speed too fast to see, Alexander dashed forward, cleanly slicing the oncoming zombies into perfect, equal parts.
Kate, standing off to the side, used spells like Bone Fracture, Binding Chains, and Rapid Confinement to trap the zombies Alexander left for her.
On the right side of the wooden house, a horde of corpses that had once seemed endless now thinned out visibly.
"This is awesome! I feel so pumped!" Alexander grinned, extending his blade until it stretched dozens of meters. With a single sweeping arc, he cleaved through zombies, tombstones—everything—in a hundred-meter path.
By the time he reached the far end, nearly two kilometers away, there was little left.
"Was this supposed to be a zombie trail?" he wondered aloud, brushing invisible sweat from his forehead.
He turned back, surveying the carnage. "I'll leave the rest to Kate."
A moment later, he Apparated behind her.
"You're back. Tired already?" Kate asked, tilting her head.
"A little. You can keep playing," Alexander smiled, then returned to the stone table.
As he dug back into the still-hot curry, he watched Kate casting spells like a whirlwind.
"Break apart!" she shouted, reducing one zombie to chunks.
"Slow down!" Another spell slowed a wave of advancing undead.
"Bind them!" Several zombies were suddenly shackled together by invisible chains.
Alexander couldn't help but admire her creativity. She was even using spells meant for locking doors in combat. He half-suspected she'd played too many farming simulation games before coming to Hogwarts.
"Kate, use Slide. You'll conserve magic," he called out.
"Slide, keep it level!" Kate yelled, and the ground beneath the zombies turned into a smooth stone slope. The creatures tumbled down helplessly.
"And now—Thunderburst!" Alexander prompted.
Kate raised her wand and shouted, "Explode!"
The resulting blast vaporized the last of the undead.
The zombie date night was over.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you like the story please give it some power stones and reviews. And if you want to read 30+ advance chapters or just want to support me please join my patreon at patreon.com/Translatingfanfics