They were all slumped down but connected to strings like puppets that extended to the top of the tube.

"What... what have you done to them?" I gasped.

"Momentarily stolen them from the world," Marionette look at them proudly. "I'm not sure if anyone noticed but the color of the killing spell is green. The spell that struck each of these people were purple."

"You mean," I spluttered. "They're not dead?"

She smiled, almost evilly. "No. Just replaced their living self with a shell that looks like them." She placed her hand on the tube that held the female adult. "It took me years to perfect this spell."

"Millie's mother?" I guessed.

She smiled for an answer.

"Give them back!" I spat.

She turned around, her eyes blazing.

"There's a price you have to pay for that."

I hesitated.

"What is it?"

She smiled. "You."

I blinked. "Come again?"

"In exchange for your friends and the girl's family I want your service. You do what I say. I will own you."

I stared at her and realized she was serious. I considered my options.

Should I restore these people to their lives and be a slave? Or should I leave and serve the rest of my years in Azkaban and live my life without a master.

What should I do?

***
3rd pov

Hogsmeade was in an uproar. Someone had claimed that they had seen two hooded figures and when one of them had their hood blown back they recognized it as Zander Whitehurst, the boy who had killed his friends.

People were gathered around where he had been seen, the ruins of the Marowski place. They were quickly organizing a party to go in and search the rubble, when suddenly someone cried out.

Eyes scanned the area to see who screamed and what they screamed about.

"There!" Someone yelled.

People gasped as a hand suddenly burst from the soot and waved wildly. There were muffled yells as it moved around. After a moment of shocked silence, the wizards ran forward and began to dig the man out.

Once he was out someone gasped, "Adam Marowski?"

Adam spat some soot out of his mouth and weakly smiled as he was pulled to his feet. "Hi, Greg."

People yelled as a charred board that had been leaning against the wall was pushed over, revealing Ophelia Marowski.

"What-what's going on?" She coughed as people rushed over to help her.

People tripped over themselves when Ashe dashed from the crowd and dove into her parents' arms.

Weren't they dead?

**

Matt helped Millie up after she tripped over a tree root.

"What happened?" She asked again.

"I don't know," Matt answered.

"Do you hear that?" Millie said suddenly.

They paused and listened. They heard people calling their name and they ran in the direction of the voices. Matt smacked into a teacher and she stared at him, shocked.

"You are alive!"

**
Zander

I sat on the floor of my cell, slumped against the wall, my glassy eyes opened wide, staring at nothing.

The prison guard scurried down the hall and opened my cell.

"Whitehurst!" He exclaimed. "Whitehurst, all charges have been dropped! You're friends are alive!"

He looked down at me but I was still motionless. "Zander Whitehurst?" He crouched and searched my lifeless eyes. He felt for a pulse but none was to be found.

I watched him as he panicked. Floating above him and my body was interesting to me in some morbid way. I hadn't been aware I was dead, but I realized that was probably the only way to get me out of Azkaban.

Well, I thought. Why cause an unnecessary panic attack?

I floated into my body and willed for my spirit and my body to reconnect.

My body flailed as life was restored into it. I sat up.

"Whitehurst," The man looked relieved. "I thought you were dead."

I blinked to focus my eyes. "Huh, wonder why."

"You're free kid!" He said, not really catching what I said. "Your friends are alive!"

"M-my friends are alive," I repeated. "And I am... free."

But I wasn't.

**
3rd pov

Five Wizards "Killed" by Curse not actually Dead
Adam Marowski had been experimenting with a curse that backfired. The curse seemed to draw death but not actually kill the person cursed but suspend their life for a period of time. The curse burned down Marowski's house and "killed" Marowski and his wife Ophelia. His daughter Ashe Marowski, who was returning home from Hogwarts, was hit by the same curse when Adam Marowski's wand exploded. When Millie touched the body it seemed to have transferred to her as well and then she somehow passed to her school friend Matthew Ludiker. Zander Whitehurst was just what the curse chose to use to kill his school friends.
When the period of time had ended, the Marowskis and Mathew Ludiker were returned to their bodies in the same places as where they had "died". Their bodies are not even in their graves anymore.
Zander Whitehurst was asked what happened when the curse had controlled him and he stated "I don't know. I was walking along and it went dark and the next thing I knew my friends were dead".
Zander Whitehurst says he will not press charges despite his year in Azkaban.
Adam Marowski was unsure how he created the curse but he says he's not going to try again. He advises others to avoid trying as well.

"What sucks about this whole thing," Matt said as he folded down the newspaper. "Is that we're not any older and now all our friends at Hogwarts are a year ahead of us."

"And we can't even take a potion that will make us older," Millie complained.

Matt sighed and tapped his fingers on the table. "I guess there's nothing we can do about it."

Millie nodded and tilted her face to the November sun.

"Is Zander still coming?" Matt asked.

They were in Hogsmeade on a Saturday when there was no school. It had been hard for the three to hang out as it was, being in different houses, but now that Zander was in a different year, it was even harder.

They spotted him in the crowd after a few minutes. He was staring off into space and just walking. They tried calling to him but he seemed lost in thought. Matt picked up a pebble and chucked it at him. Zander started when the pebble lightly hit his shoulder. His head whipped around wildly until he caught sight of them, then he slightly relaxed and walked over to them.

"Hi, guys."

"Hey, Z." Millie peered at him from under her eyelashes. "I'm really sorry about what happened with-."

"Forget it." Zander sat down with them. "The best of people make mistakes, and, if your dad is anything like you, he is the best of people."

Millie turned away to hide her blush, but Matt noticed and sent a wink to her.

Millie quietly observed that Zander didn't look like his mental health was the best. His eyes were sunken in his head a little and they moved around wildly. His fingers tapped the table, but he didn't seem to notice that he was doing it.

"So..." Matt said.

There was awkward silence until the waiter came up to ask their orders. Millie and Matt ordered butter beers.

"And you?" She asked, turning to Zander.

"Hm?" He looked up from the pinky he was using to trace a design on the table. "Oh, yeah, a butter beer."

She nodded and walked away.

"You okay, man?" Matt asked Z. "You seem kind of jittery."

Zander blinked. "Oh, um, yeah. I'm fine. Just... weird stuff has been happening."

Matt and Millie nodded understandingly.

"I think it's unfair that you get to move a year forward and we don't," Matt complained good naturedly. "You missed as much school as we did."

"Well," Zander looked at Matt and realized he wasn't mad, only joking. "I'm surprised you haven't been held back more than a year as it is."

Millie sniggered as Matt lightly slugged Zander's shoulder.

"Oof, mate!" Matt laughed.

Zander smiled and laughed too.

Maybe this school year wouldn't be so bad after all.

A/n: Hoi! Sorry this chapter jumped around a lot. I was trying to make it a longer chapter even though it's only 1350 words. I hope you don't mind that the story is now going faster, I want to complete this book as soon as I can because I want to turn my focus on my original stories a bit more.