Summer was fun for Albus. It was a chance to go back to being a normal kid. He got to hang out with his friends and did most activities together. Albus's wizarding secret was not exposed, as the Potters lived in a very safe neighborhood. His parents did not even have to whip out their wands once.

  But this summer was different. Without James, Albus was lonely. Last year at Hogwarts, James had been cursed to be a Death Killer. Death Killers were a dangerous group of witches and wizards who were led by former Hogwarts professor, Draco Malfoy. He was Harry Potter's archenemy and was on the dark side. The group was in Azkaban while Melvis, Scorpius, and James were sentenced to work in the Ministry of Magic. Then Scorpius had almost killed him. TWICE. Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione had to split his soul into 12 pieces. Scorpius had destroyed one. The pain was still there, but it was slowly fading away.

  What the Death Killers didn't know was that Scorpius was a Horcrux. One of his killing curses had been blocked. The time he had killed a part of his soul, Scorpius instantly became a Horcrux. Another was in James. Last year, when he was being dragged away to the Ministry of Magic, Hermione had set a temporary blinding charm to the guards and James. She then transferred one part of Albus's soul into James. Those were the only two Albus knew of, but he knew that there were probably about four left inside him.

  Albus thought of James with his big smile and always cracking jokes. James was Albus's best friend and sometimes the only one that understood him. He pushed he thought away and kicked a stone down the sidewalk. Suddenly, a burly boy whizzed past him and knocked Albus over. The boy laughed and skated down the street. Albus recognized him as Jack Kent, a bully from elementary school.

 Another boy came running up to Albus. It was Tatum Oliver. He reached his hand out and pulled Albus up.

  "Hello Albus. It's great to see you again, but we really must go now."

  "Why?"

  "Well, these days, the sky has been very gloomy and dark blurs are shooting across the sky. The mayor thinks it's a terrorist attack. He ordered for all of us to stay at home until the New Wales guards come." Could that be a Death Killer?Albus thought. He ran home with Tatum without realizing that a Death Killer was stalking his every move.

What he didn't know was that the Death Killers escaped Askaban and the Ministry of Magic.