Harry Potter belongs to J.K.Rowling, and this is rated PG-13 (ok fine, I know PG would have just done fine, but hey, I put PG-13 just in case!).

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Love in the Stars

Chapter 10 - The Master of the Clones

Hermione pointed towards the blackboard weakly. Apparently, Mr. Ackins had put a lot more than just the stunning curse on her. Ron shook Hermione gently and whispered to Harry, "What do we do? Think we ought to get a teacher?"

"Ron, Harry," croaked Hermione still pointing at the blackboard, "Hurry!"

Harry and Ron were very worried now, but had no idea what Hermione meant. Harry turned to the blackboard nervously and stepped forward. He turned to look at Ron who was holding Hermione up, but he only gave him a puzzled look. Hermione formed her hand into a position where its as if she was writing with an invisible pen in the air. Harry got the message and picked up the nearest chalk.

"Use a ruler Harry to draw the circle. It has to be exactly 9 inches in diameter. Try to make the circle on the bottom left of the board. Then draw four dots in a square shape inside the circle. Then join the four dots all the way you can. After that, put your palm on the center and turn your hand in a clockwise direction." Hermione was now recovering.

Harry followed the direction and took a real shock when he turned his hand, because he found that he could turn his hand 360 degrees. Then the three friends stood facing the blackboard staring and waiting. Ron took a deep breath and asked in a whisper, "Hermione, what's happening?"

"Just wait, the door will take a bit of time to open," Hermione said calmly now, "You see, I went to the library to look up at these records I found and this book on dark arts and wizards. Anyway, according to the information, there was this guy who people thought was working for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and that guy, I believe is Terry's father. People never arrested him because there was never enough evidence he was guilty. Then during after a few years of attacks, he disappeared. Shortly afterwards, a new younger man appeared in a few attack scenes but he too disappeared like the man earlier. What I think must be true is that Mr. Ackins is Terry's father! Anyway, Mr. Ackins is back as a different person now, different identity and everything. You-Know-Who kept him as a backup key person to bring his life back when he dies. When he lost his powers at the time he tried to kill Harry, that was no total death, so he couldn't be brought back. Now, last year, when Harry killed him, Ackins came back on the scene to rescue You-Know-Who. The problem is, to bring him back to life, Ackins needs all his children. The children of his are the key and everything he needs. That's why he kidnapped Samantha!"

"But you can't bring anyone back to life! It's impossible!" cried Ron.

"This time is different, Ron," said Hermione, "because You-Know-Who knows that no one will kill him with the Avada Kedavra curse since it's illegal so there would have to be a different way which is slower. During the killing process, his soul is transferred to somewhere in Hogwarts here! That's very clever because no one would think of looking here, would they?"

Ron shuddered. Now, after 10 minutes of so, something finally began to happen. The blackboard melted into a tunnel. Harry, Ron, and Hermione heaved themselves in and crawled into the darkness. Behind them, the blackboard melted back into a proper blackboard. They suddenly felt a swirling of wind and their bodies taken into the air. Then they landed on solid stone landing. It was pitch black, but then they could see a tiny spot of light in front of them. They rushed towards it and then found themselves in an empty room save a fireplace that was lit and standing in front of it was Terry. Samantha and Mr. Ackins were on the floor looking as if they were -.

"You killed them!" Ron screamed.

"Ron! Shush," said Hermione quickly.

Harry's face every inch showed hate and power. He stared at Terry with uttermost disgust and said angrily, "You."

"Yes me," said Terry in a light silky voice.

"How, Terry, how?" asked Harry slowly.

"Funny you should ask," said Terry with a laugh that made Harry's hair stand on their ends. He paused for a second looking at them, then started speaking, "I think you must have already learned much from Miss Granger here. Excruciatingly clever, girl, you knew everything about the Rising of the Dead. Read so much book you know how it must be performed. Of course, what you don't know is that I have found how to work this the only person in this entire world who knows."

"You can't be," snarled Harry.

"Then you really don't know me, Harry," he laughed again, "look here, Samantha and Ackins. Yes, my father and my sister, both fools. Of course, this body of my father is only a clone." His smile twisted. "My mark of genius," he said proudly, "I had to cover myself you see, so I know that if Ackins appeared to be the guy, I would be perfectly fine. Then there's Harry starting to suspect me so I knew I had to do something that would please him. Right, Harry? Cho was the perfect key. And speaking of keys Samantha was the key to bringing the dark lord back to life. I, the most trusted servant! My father ran away but I, I stayed. My master is everything to me and my father abandoned him!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all pointing their wands at Terry. Terry laughed at this and said, "It's too late, boys and girls, Voldemort is rising once more. He is undefeatable, especially with me by his side."

"How?" Harry asked bolting down his anger.

"I created the whole thing, Harry, haven't you realized? All the clones and everything. Just to frame my father for everything that went wrong. I needed Samantha, but I needed everyone to think she was dead so I could perform the spell without everyone crowding over trying to find out what happened. However, you three nosy gits would just not give up. I did everything with Ackins's clone because that way, if anything goes wrong, I would still be here, and it would also be a way to punish him. Samantha slipped my grasp one day because clones only last three days and so she thought she knocked him down when it's just that he wasn't working anymore. But, I set to work and kidnapped again when she was walking back to her common room. I used a new Ackins clone to stun her and take her to this room. Then there came Hermione and I knew that she knew. I used the Ackins clone to open the entrance to here. I also knew that you two boys would come looking for her because that's what decent people do and therefore I let her see the password before stunning her. The clones are very weak so she had to be stun quite a few times. Then I slipped in and now after everything, the dark lord will be back!"

"How are you bringing the dark lord back?" asked Harry calmly.

"Well, you see this fireplace?" said Terry waved his hand at it, "this is where he rests, and this will be the place to rise him again. The process is already started so there's nothing you can do! Hahahaha! Now it will be Samantha who will die."

"But she's your sister!" cried Ron.

Terry shook his head, "Hardly, but she's the key. All I had to do is use an ancient spell to bring her soul out and then throw it into the fire. The dark lord's soul then lives again as her's dies. Oh you will see, hahaha, you will see."

"Insane," said Harry his hand in a fist shaking with anger, "why, Terry? Why bring so much horror? What about Cho? Weren't you guys friends since little? You will destroy her too, and your mother, and all those people you love and who love you back. Don't you care?"

"Silence!" Terry roared, "It doesn't matter Potter. There is no love or hate in this world, because you see, I don't even hate you."

"Too bad, I hate you," muttered Harry.

"Harry, Harry, Harry," said Terry shaking his head, "you don't understand. The dark lord will reward me beyond anyone's dreams I'm his second man his right hand."

"And what will that reward be?" snarled Harry, "a hundred more humans for you to torture? Come on Terry, what would you get out of that?"

Terry lifted his wand and pointed it at Harry's heart, "Just say the word, I'll do it, Harry, one more peep out of you." Harry fell silent, purple with anger. Terry pointed his wand aside and conjured a small table with a bottle of wine on it and four cups. "The dark lord will be coming out soon now care to drink for victory?"

He turned to pour wine into his cup and Hermione quickly whispered a little something. Terry spung around, "What did you say?"

"I answered no thanks'," said Hermione uncomfortably.

"Ah, the politeness will get you somewhere yet," smiled Terry and he drank deeply, "ahhh!" His smile slowly turned into an expression of agony. Terry clutched his throat, chocking and gasping. He fell to his knees, his face now turning into boiling red. He chocked some more and then fell to the floor, dead.

"My gosh, Hermione, was it you?" asked Ron his eyes wide with amazement.

"Yes," squeaked Hermione in a tiny voice, "I turned the wine into poison. Oh no, look at the fire! We have to get out of here! The dark lord will be coming out any moment now! The fire is getting way too big! It will burn and swallow up this whole room!"

They turned and ran for their lives into the darkness. After a bit of tumbling aroound, they fell out back into the original classroom onto the floor. Harry repaired his glasses and called for the others to follow him. They were just in time, running out of that particular tower the room was in, because just then, the tower blew up in flames. It was a spetacular sight. There was a hole in the castle basically and the tower had fallen off. The fire rose higher and higher and then a cold cruel laughter ran throughout the whole castle. Even the moon had turned bloody red. Then there was a white mist coming over everything and they heard a splash of water, and the rest was just fire burning.

Professors came running in their nightgowns and there were also students following. Professor McGonagall rushed along her face in horror. She looked at Harry, Ron, and Hermione crying out, "What on earth happened? Explain yourselves!"

The three all started talking at once. Voldemort's back!' We saw him rise out of the fire!' Terry Larkam it was!' Back from the dead!'

"Silence!" called out a voice. It was Dumbledore. He was looking very gravely at the three, and he said, "Please come with me to the hospital wing. There, we will listen to what happened. Students, please go back to bed! Teachers, start repairing the tower. Harry, Ron, Hermione, please follow me."

Harry explained everything to Dumbledore in the hospital wing and then the old professor told them to take lots of rest and not worry about these things yet. Lord Voldemort indeed has risen again and will take everything he has to become even stronger. The reason he didn't stay behind at Hogwarts was because he always feared Dumbledore, Harry supposed as he remembered the splash which was probably Voldemort running away via the lake.

Cho came running in crying and threw her arms around Harry, "Oh Harry! You were right all along! Terry was a terrible man! Oh oh oh! I was so worried about you!"

"It's alright, Cho, I'm ok," said Harry turning red, "um, is Mr. Ackins still around?"

"Yeah, why?" Cho asked curiously.

"Nothing," muttered Harry, "I guess the match will be up to us, eh?"

"Yup, in two weeks the match, and then right afterwards, the End of Year dance! It will be glorious! Yet gloomy with the thought of the dark lord hanging about our heads" Cho was shaking like crazy, and Harry understood why. After all, her first love, Cedric Diggory, was killed by the dark lord who he had risen two years ago, and she was afraid the same thing would happen to Harry.

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One more chapter I suppose and tell me if you want a sequel.