Smoke-Novel

Russell was partway up the Tower that evening when Fawkes appeared to him.
That likely meant the Headmaster needed to see him quickly. Therefore, he took
hold of the phoenix's tail, and they were off.
To his surprise, they went not to Dumbledore's office, but back to his own
private study. "Headmaster?"
Dumbledore was huddled on a low chair. "I succeeded in destroying the
Horcrux," he muttered in pain.
"One trap got you, I take it?"
"I am not the one fated to kill Riddle," Dumbledore said. "When Harry destroyed
the Horcrux-diary, he was not injured. Nearly any other wizard would have
been killed. I survived this one, but. . . ." He held out his right hand, supporting
his forearm with his left hand.
Russell winced; the spell damage affected even his slightly jaded soul. He could
only imagine the agony the Headmaster was in. "May I?" he finally asked.
Dumbledore nodded, and Russell cast a number of diagnostic spells. After five
minutes, Russell said, "I can stop the damage from spreading, and, if you trust
me, I can partially reverse the effects, but that's the most I can so."
"I was hoping you could do something. This is beyond medical magic, and my
own skills," he admitted.
Russell used a gold knife to split the Headmaster's sleeve. The visible damage
clearly went nearly half way up his forearm.
"This will take about half an hour. You'll have to endure the pain of the wrist
and palm of your hand on the table. Just give me ten minutes to prepare."
"Very well," Dumbledore said in a slightly strained voice.
Russell quickly cleared off his table, which was piled high with assorted books,
papers, coins and other artifacts, and other miscellany. After Russell proceeded
to paw through various boxes, he told Dumbledore, "Are you ready?"
Dumbledore said nothing, but sat in a chair and laid his hand on the table.
"Fingers as flat as possible," Russell urged. With a hiss of pain, Dumbledore did
as instructed.
Russell placed a perfect, fairly large fossil ammonite on the table as well. It
glistened in its mother-of-pearl perfection, atop a rune made of diamond dust.
Using seven shades of colored chalk and diamond and ruby dust, Russell drew