A/N: Alright, my intrepid bunch of readers, it is time once again for a boring chapter. There has been some confusion as to how the whole summoning ritual happened, and how our friendly neighborhood Dark Lord screwed it up. Well, in the last chapter, Voldemort got a lot of information, including the news that two of the assassins were his creations. This little chapter should go a ways to help you understand why he was given that information. I hope you like magical theory, boys and girls, because it's time for school!

Blank_eyes: Think about the Marauders map for a moment. The map shows your identity, but how? I have to think that when your parents name you, the name is legally (and in this case, magically) bonded to you. I'm going on assumption that the map can read magical signatures, and equates them to a name. Since Tom Riddle is the name bonded to the Dark Lord, any rituals that end in "I bind you to the service of…" would require him to give his real name. You'll see his mistake in this chapter. I hope I answered your questions. About the conversation…it made sense to me! I really don't know what to say about it.

Hermionegreen: I had to tell him about the bond so that he would try to fix his mistake. Don't worry, my friend, all will be made clear soon enough!

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Chapter 08: Bang Head on Desk

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Rituals were the most potent form of dark magic. Using ritual magic, one could summon demons, bind enemies, and create hybrid creatures. Anything a Dark Lord's mind could dream up, a ritual could probably accomplish. Naturally, being a Dark Lord, Voldemort had a very large collection of books containing ritual spells.

The problem with ritual magic was the sacrifice the caster must make. For each ritual performed, the caster would be required to sacrifice something. Many of the more powerful rituals would require blood sacrifices to be made. That was why they were considered dark magic. After all, nobody would willingly die to help someone become more powerful. Cut off a hand, perhaps, but not kill themself.

The ritual used to summon Shadow Masters was far more advanced, and far more devious than a mere blood sacrifice. The summoner would have to sacrifice all of their magical power for a period of twelve years. The ritual was indeed devious, making sure that, while the demons would be dangerous, the caster would not. Voldemort was not prepared to lose his power for that long, so he modified the ritual. It seemed, at the time, that the modified ritual had failed. Now, it looked more like his ritual had succeeded, but his Shadow Masters were flawed.

Voldemort was going through his text on summoning demons, trying to understand what went wrong. He was going through each line of the ritual, and his level of anxiety went up with each line read.

When summoning Shadow Master demons, great care must be taken to make sure that both the observers of the ritual, and the participants of the ritual are loyal to the summoner. If the observers are not loyal, the demons will rampage once summoned. If the participants are not loyal, the demons will not come.

Voldemort had written a note to himself in the margin of the page. It said, simply, 'Imperius curse will ensure unwavering loyalty during the ritual.' Voldemort searched his memory, and remembered with fondness casting the curse on every one of his followers. He would do it again, once this horrible potion wore off. Wormtail had summoned faithful Severus. The potions master would be able to counter the effects. Tuning back to the book, Voldemort continued reading.

Summoning Shadow Master demons require a sacrifice of pure magic. The amount of magic required to summon and incorporate the demons is equivalent to the summoner's magical potential for twelve years.

That was unacceptable to Voldemort, so he had altered the ritual to become a calling ritual. Calling rituals brought demons to earth by possessing human bodies. No big problems there, except that the demons had not chosen the bodies he had set up for them. Apparently, the demons would not possess bodies rendered soulless by dementors. Voldemort scanned down the page, until he caught a passage that made his eyes widen.

Names are very important when dealing with Shadow Master demons. When summoned, the demons must be told who their master is by name. Once bound to the master, the master will give each Shadow Master a name. Once the naming is complete, the shadow master demon will obey ONLY their master. They will listen to the summoner, but only if he names them correctly. Until they are properly named, the demons will kill indiscriminately, following only their whims.

That was not good. According to Nytemare, the master recognized by the Shadow Masters was none other than Lord Voldemort. The problem was, they didn't recognize HIM as Lord Voldemort. More research was required, but Voldemort didn't have the time. Wormtail was knocking. That meant Severus had arrived.

"Enter." He hissed at the door, which swung open, admitting two masked figures. The first was short and fat, a waste of space with a silver hand, called Wormtail. The second, however, was the man whom Voldemort desired to speak to. "Wormtail, leave us." Wormtail groveled his thanks and left quickly.

Severus dropped to his knees in front of the Dark Lord. "You summoned me, my master?" He said, looking at the ground.

"Yes, I did, Severus. I have a problem that I need you to take care of for me. It seems that my useless servant wormtail has gone and made himself even more useless. He came across a teacup, and drank from it without bothering to find out what was in it. In the teacup was a potion designed to damper magical potential. As a result, Wormtail now finds himself unable to perform any complex spells. That, unfortunately, includes his animagus form." Voldemort was lying through his teeth, but there was no reason to let one of his most powerful followers know that he was, at present, a magical invalid.

"What do you wish of me, my Lord?" Severus asked, fearing the worst.

"Quite simple, Severus. I am going to give you a sample of the potion, and you are going to deconstruct it, find a counter potion, and bring it to me." Voldemort said. Suddenly his eyes flashed, and he snarled. "You have one week."

It was worse than Snape had expected. Complete reverse engineering, research in countering, and experimental mixing. In one week, at that. However, Voldemort's mood told him quite clearly that to question or to refuse would mean a painful death. "Of course, my Lord. Any other tasks?"

"One simple one, Severus. Write young Malfoy a pass to the restricted section of the library. I need him to research Rituals for controlling Shadow Master demons." Voldemort said. Snape's face paled. "It seems the demons that I summoned refuse to obey me. They are, however, my demons, and I will take control of them. Tell young Malfoy that he has the same deadline as you."

"Thank you, Master. I shall deliver the message." Snape bowed, picked up the teapot full of potion, and left. Oh did he have news for Albus.

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A/N: I am slowly fitting pieces together. I hope this chapter clears up some of the questions you had about my story. For an explanation about how names work inbside magic, read what I told Blank_eyes at the top of this chapter. Review my story, so I know what to add into the next chapter. It should be fun. Harry will have Potions Class!!!!