CHAPTER - 19

Something's wrong, I can feel it, Magnus said. Harry tilted his head. Wrong?

I don't know how to describe it! It's like something familiar is coming, almost like a memory. It's getting closer… Harry looked around at the sprawling gardens of 12 Grimmauld Place, and saw nothing except the singing birds and swaying trees. Should we ask for Sirius? Maybe go back inside? Harry thought.

I don't know, I'm not sure…. It's him! Give me control! Harry spun, looking around wildly. Give me control, Magnus said. His voice was quiet once more. Harry felt a terrible feeling of dread rising in his chest, like a serpent slithering up his stomach. He stepped back mentally, allowing Magnus to control his body. Stay calm, do not resist, do not think. You are just a child of three, nothing more. Do you understand me? Harry tried to nod, but found that he couldn't. Thankfully, that was enough. Good.

"I would call you old friend, although I'm not sure what I should consider you. Are we perhaps still the same man?" A high, cold voice asked. Harry shivered. It sounded like a muffled scream. He had heard the sound of ice grating, or glass breaking, but this voice, it was so much worse. It bought too many memories back to surface. He could hear his father's voice again, the thump as his body fell like a marionette with his strings cut.

Lord Voldemort swept into the garden, his robes gliding on the grass. His eyes, those terrible red eyes, stared at Harry like a searchlight. Magnus spoke up. "I find it difficult to think otherwise."

A thousand questions entered his mind, but Harry spoke none of them. His muscles seemed frozen even as he felt them move. "I see that we both live, though in halves. A result of the attempted horcrux creation?"

"The split." Voldemort answered. No, not Voldemort, Harry realized. This was Magnus. A clone? His mind spun. That couldn't be right.

"You are in control, I hope?" Magnus asked.

"I am." It was also Magnus. Harry felt a loss for words, who was Magnus? Was he even real? Or just another cruel trick, a work of magic Voldemort was using to torture him?

The black cloak billowed under the wind as that snakelike face appeared to meet his gaze. "Seems so long ago that we traveled here, pulled from the void by some spell I cannot name. The necklace was broken, I believe."

"It was." Magnus agreed. Harry thought back. Necklace? Was that the charm he remembered wearing? The thing he was told saved his life?

Voldemort's face twisted in a grin. "His minions were not difficult to subjugate, and his mind was weak. This world's magic is real, if you haven't discovered it. The characters are just that, no more than to be expected, but they have souls, real souls. At least, what we would think of as souls." He said, shaking his head.

The high pitched voice came again. "As if they could be real people." A derisive smirk spread across his face. Harry shivered. Realn ? What did he mean by that?

"They seem to be." Magnus said.

"Oh, so he's grown on you? That makes sense, I suppose. He was interesting enough to follow. Quite the stupid young hero though, hope you don't me making a few… edits." He said with a smile that made Harry want to scream.

"Well, none of this is very relevant, is it? I should probably tell you about the deal. The void is connected for all worlds, even this one, don't ask me how. But it means we can bring him, bring anyone, back from it. Do you understand what I'm saying?" He asked.

Harry didn't, but he was not foolish enough to ask. If he thought that this man, Magnus, Voldemort, whatever he called himself was dangerous before, he knew he was wrong now. Now he finally discovered what danger is.

Magnus offered a nod. Harry realized with a chill that he couldn't feel any emotions, any thoughts from him at all. It was almost as if he had blocked him.

"He will rule, if that is what he likes. But not all of the world, just most of it. We, well, there isn't much of a difference for us, is there? But I didn't agree, I don't feel the need to share, yet. It's just a suggestion which I haven't approved. If I want to, he can stay in the back of my head forever. The solution appears to be in front of us. So, we both stay where we are and rule separately, what do you say? Don't worry, I won't be keeping them to myself."

Them? Harry thought. What are they? But he didn't ask. "A reasonable plan. What about the prophecy?" Magnus asked.

The other Magnus waved his hand dismissively. "Fulfilled. Voldemort had no clue about the locket, however that got in his way. We won't be fighting each other, so that's not an issue either. The world is our toy now, nobody else knows where Voldemort hid his horcruxes, and if he cannot die I cannot either." He explained, however little sense it made.

"I see." Magnus said.

"Well, I do not suppose we need to speak further. Teach the boy, will you? He will not be a bad host for the next master of the world when we get rid of the old man. Although I will leave him with something to remember me by." His smile grew almost demonic. "The mark wasn't complete last time."

Harry fell to the ground with a scream as his head burned with pain. The scar on his forehead came to life, biting and gnawing at his brain. He felt as if a thousand needles were being thrust into it at once, then set ablaze with fire.

"Neither can live while the other survives. True, but the other will be us, and with each other as anchors we will be immortal. Let's ensure that never changes. Keep him out of trouble, will you?" That was the last thing Harry heard before he lost consciousness.