Chapter Summaries

Voldemort explained his vision of turning the Wizarding world into a hierarchy like an anthill, with ordinary Wizards serving the community and gifted ones controlling magical research. After Snape returned with Vizet's books, Voldemort began reading Magical Tuning: Introduction to Transfiguration and grew intrigued by it.

• Voldemort told Barty Crouch Jr. that most Wizards should devote themselves to the Wizarding community while gifted Wizards pursued magical research.
• Snape returned to the Headmaster's Office with several books written by Vizet Lovegood.
• Voldemort questioned Snape about the flowers for Igor Karkaroff, then sent Karkaroff's corpse flying out the window into the snow.
• Voldemort examined Magical Tuning: Introduction to Transfiguration and became focused as he read it.

Voldemort read Vizet’s Transfiguration book and discovered links between its ideas and other branches of magic, becoming absorbed in learning before the experience unsettled him. Barty Crouch Jr. and Snape’s argument brought him back to himself, and he closed Vizet’s books as they asked about his condition.

• Voldemort read the introduction to Magical Tuning: Introduction to Transfiguration and studied its principles of guiding an object’s transformation through will, magic, and imagination.
• Voldemort read “The Matchstick in Your Eyes” and considered how a matchstick’s possible forms could connect Transfiguration to other spells.
• Voldemort searched Vizet’s books on Charms and Potions, finding links between a matchstick becoming a torch, the Fire-Making Spell, and the way flame responded during potion-making.
• Voldemort became absorbed in Vizet’s books and felt the Tom Riddle Soul Fragment urge him to keep reading.
• Barty Crouch Jr. accused Snape of placing a curse in the books, and Snape denied it while defending Voldemort’s power.
• Voldemort shouted at Barty Crouch Jr. and Snape, closed the books, and heard Barty kneel in apology as Snape asked whether he was all right.

Voldemort questioned Snape about Vizet Lovegood’s books and magical discoveries, then learned that Vizet had developed a ritual that could let Squibs cast spells. The chapter ended with Voldemort urgently asking whether the ritual worked, as Snape said Argus Filch seemed to have succeeded.

• Voldemort restrained himself from reopening the Magical Tuning books while Barty Crouch Jr. criticized them and Snape explained that another batch was expected.
• Snape told Voldemort that Dumbledore had sent him the books and that Vizet’s work might become required reading at Hogwarts.
• Voldemort ordered Barty Crouch Jr. to inspect the books and asked Snape whether Vizet had recorded all his magical knowledge.
• Snape described how Vizet had shared secrets about Animagi casting spells and had become an Honorary Academic Advisor of the Animagus International Symposium.
• Snape told Voldemort that Vizet had devised the Dependence Connection Ritual to give Squibs the ability to cast spells, and that Argus Filch seemed to have succeeded.

Voldemort learned that Argus Filch had gained a magical ability through Vizet’s Dependence Connection Ritual and questioned Snape about the ritual and the Improved Animagus Potion. He ordered Snape to write down the ritual’s procedure.

• Voldemort asked Barty Crouch Jr. about Argus Filch, and Barty recalled that Hogwarts students had considered Filch a Squib with a Kneazle named Mrs. Norris.
• Voldemort and Barty Crouch Jr. agreed that Dumbledore admitted unsuitable people to Hogwarts and said they would reform the school.
• Snape told Voldemort that Argus Filch could use a wandless, wordless Directional Spell-like ability, which he believed came from the Dependence Connection Ritual and a Kneazle’s magical talent.
• Voldemort asked Snape about the ritual’s connection to the Improved Animagus Potion and criticized him for not investigating the potion.
• Snape offered to write down the Dependence Connection Ritual’s procedure, and Voldemort ordered him to do so.

Snape gave Voldemort his account of Vizet Lovegood’s Dependence Connection Ritual, and Voldemort realized the ritual had revealed a way to help his plans. He sent Snape away and then challenged Barty Crouch Jr. to understand the ritual’s deeper significance.

• Snape presented Voldemort with the ritual’s details and offered to contact Vizet for more, but Voldemort questioned how much Vizet trusted him.
• Voldemort told Snape to contact him by owl and asked whether he wanted his Dark Mark removed; Snape insisted he wanted to keep it.
• After Snape left, Voldemort read the ritual, analyzed its soul connection, and concluded that Vizet had done him a huge favor.
• Barty Crouch Jr. asked why Voldemort was pleased, and Voldemort urged him to recognize Vizet’s ability and the consistency of his books.
• Voldemort gave Barty the ritual parchment and instructed him to connect it to his own experiences and what Voldemort had taught him.

Barty Crouch Jr. learned how Voldemort planned to use the Dependence Connection Ritual as a political deception, while Snape reported Voldemort’s interest in Vizet to Dumbledore. The chapter ended with Dumbledore reacting with a glimmer of delight when Snape mentioned the ritual.

• Barty Crouch Jr. read Snape’s account of the Dependence Connection Ritual and realized it could give Squibs magical abilities through their magical pets.
• Barty Crouch Jr. worried that promoting the ritual would alienate Pure-blood Families, but Voldemort explained that they could use the promise of elevating Squibs to make other Wizards feel superior without changing their actual status.
• Voldemort told Barty Crouch Jr. that they only needed to make people believe they were carrying out the plan, and Barty praised his master.
• Snape met Dumbledore at Hogwarts and said Voldemort had asked about Vizet and wanted evidence of his supposed secret.
• Snape told Dumbledore that he had cited Vizet’s books and the Dependence Connection Ritual as evidence, and Dumbledore showed a glimmer of delight.

Dumbledore explained to Snape how Voldemort was rebuilding his reputation by presenting a more respectable public face at Durmstrang, which could reduce the sacrifices needed to oppose him. After Snape left to report future developments, Dumbledore revealed he was pleased that someone had volunteered to act as their vanguard.

• Snape asked whether Vizet had an unspeakable secret, and Dumbledore replied that Vizet’s progress came from solid effort rather than secrets.
• Snape described Voldemort’s refined new appearance and said he seemed less unnatural and harder to deal with.
• Dumbledore explained that Voldemort had become Durmstrang’s headmaster to restore his reputation and attract followers by showing a more appealing side.
• Snape realized Voldemort’s public transformation might reduce sacrifices and said he would return with further information.
• After Snape left, Dumbledore mentioned the Dependence Connection Ritual and said someone was willing to charge into battle as their vanguard.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione failed to buy the Magical Harmony books because demand had outstripped the publisher’s supply, then met Vizet and Luna at Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour before their trip to France. Hermione told Vizet that Abigail, a North American admirer, had a magical item that could track him.

• Hermione, Harry, and Ron joined the long queue at Flourish and Blotts, where they learned the Magical Harmony books had sold out again.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione met Abigail in the queue and heard that she had come from North America to buy Vizet’s books.
• Hermione abandoned the attempt to buy the books and suggested they return after France, then the three went to Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione found Vizet and Luna at a table, where Vizet used magic to extend it and provide chairs.
• Hermione told Vizet that Abigail had obtained a magical item that could find traces of him.

Vizet explained how he had replaced the Confundus Charm with magic that altered other people’s perceptions while leaving his appearance unchanged. He also described how the same magic made Baby Thunderbird appear to be an owl, and could alert him if someone saw through the disguise.

• Vizet told Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Luna that he had stopped using the Confundus Charm and explained how Transfiguration could be directed inward as well as outward.
• Vizet said his new concealment magic drew on Occlumency and influenced what other people perceived of him.
• Hermione compared the effect to admirers imagining celebrities as glamorous, and Ron and Hermione argued over Gilderoy Lockhart and Viktor Krum.
• Vizet explained that people who expected to see a different version of him could overlook his real appearance, even when he stood before them.
• Vizet said his improved magic could also disguise him as someone else and made Baby Thunderbird appear to be an owl, alerting him if a Wizard saw through it.

Vizet explained how will and self-understanding shaped magic, encouraging Harry, Ron, and Hermione to follow their own paths. Ron gained confidence from Vizet’s words, while Fred and George teased him before Sirius joined Harry at the table.

• Ron and Harry asked Vizet to teach them the magic he had described, and Vizet said it required a deep understanding of oneself and advanced Occlumency.
• Hermione asked whether the magic required actively constructing thoughts through Occlumency, and Vizet confirmed that it did.
• Vizet described magic as a cycle in which inner thoughts shaped the outside world and its feedback tested the caster’s will.
• Vizet told them that moving forward mattered more than how far they went, and Ron said he felt confident and wanted to write down the phrase.
• Fred and George teased Ron about his confidence and O.W.L. studying until Ginny defended him and redirected the conversation to food.
• Sirius came up behind Harry, asked whether he was hungry, and Harry happily said he was not.

Sirius Black reunited with the recovered Frank and Alice Longbottom, and they shared news of their lives and upcoming holiday. As the group discussed their trip to France, Vizet and Luna guessed that Bill’s surprise guide was a woman.

• Sirius Black greeted Frank and Alice Longbottom warmly and joked about his time in Azkaban.
• Frank and Alice said they had learned what happened to Sirius and comforted him about their suffering.
• Sirius told the Longbottoms about the upcoming holiday and the Triwizard Tournament, while they praised Neville for arranging help with their plans.
• Ron asked Fred and George about the guide for their France trip, and they said Bill had promised a surprise.
• Vizet and Luna guessed that the guide was a woman, prompting Fred and George to demand to know who she was.

Vizet identified Fleur Delacour as the likely French guide, and Fleur arrived, revealing that Bill had been tutoring her. As Harry and the others prepared to travel, Harry worried about finding Dudley a suitable present.

• Vizet said Fleur Delacour was the likely guide because she had returned to England to find work and improve her language skills.
• Fleur arrived and greeted the group in French, explaining that Bill was tutoring her; Ron became flustered and fell when his chair broke, while Hermione looked jealous.
• Harry gathered Sirius Black and the Longbottoms, checked the luggage, and prepared the group to leave.
• On the way to the taxi, Harry considered bringing Dudley a baguette but decided against it because Dudley might use it to vandalize property.

At Heathrow Airport, Harry and Sirius Black chose a box of Macarons as a mischievous gift for Dudley. The group boarded a passenger plane, where the wizards marveled at Muggle technology as Vizet warned Fred and George not to open a cabin window.

• Harry wondered what gift to bring Dudley, and Sirius Black suggested buying him a box of Macarons to give to Aunt Petunia.
• Harry understood that Aunt Petunia would limit Dudley's share of the sweets and praised Sirius Black's plan.
• Ron, the Longbottoms, Fred, George, and the others watched a passenger plane and wondered how Muggle aircraft flew.
• After passing security, the group boarded the plane, and Hermione showed everyone how to fasten their seat belts.
• As the plane took off, Ron and the twins marveled at the flight, and Vizet warned Fred and George that opening a cabin window would be extremely dangerous.

Vizet warned Fred and George against tampering with the passenger plane, but they continued studying it and asked about buying one. He explained the enormous costs and restrictions on aircraft, leaving the twins impressed but unable to fly a fighter jet even if they bought one.

• Ginny warned Fred and George that misbehaving on the plane could get them questioned by the Ministry of Magic, and they promised not to take it apart.
• Fred and George kept examining the cabin and quietly asked Vizet how difficult Muggles found building airplanes.
• Vizet guessed that Fred and George wanted to buy a passenger plane, and they admitted that he was right.
• Fred and George asked about fighter jets, and Vizet explained that they carried weapons and were difficult to obtain.
• Vizet told the twins that even a light aircraft could cost around a hundred thousand Gold Galleons, while a fighter jet cost at least ten million and could not simply be flown by its owner.

Vizet and the others arrived in France and learned from Fleur Delacour why English Wizards could not set Portkey destinations there. The group then encountered three strangely dressed Wizards who blocked their way.

• Fred and George joked that their mother finding out about their fighter jet would be worse than punishment from the Ministry of Magic.
• Vizet, the Longbottoms, Sirius Black, and the others landed in Paris after a short flight from England.
• Fleur Delacour explained that Newt Scamander had entered France illegally by Portkey in 1927 and broken into the French Ministry, prompting France to ban English Wizards from arriving by Portkey.
• Hermione connected Newt Scamander's visit to the Père Lachaise Cemetery Incident, and Fleur said the incident had affected Wizards across Paris.
• Three strangely dressed Wizards blocked the group, and Fleur stepped forward to speak with them in French.

Vizet and the others learned that French Ministry employees were conducting security checks ahead of the International Confederation of Wizards Congress in Paris and received a Portkey to the French Ministry of Magic. After using it, Vizet caught Luna as she landed unsteadily.

• Harry asked Vizet why three French Ministry employees were waiting for them, and Vizet explained that they needed another security check.
• Neville, Fred, and George speculated that the French Ministry wanted to conceal an incident within its magical community, while Vizet learned the checks were at least partly tied to the International Confederation of Wizards Congress.
• Fleur Delacour accepted a tattered belt Portkey from the Ministry employees and told the group it would take them to the Ministry of Magic.
• Fleur led everyone into a hidden alley, where they touched the belt and traveled by Portkey.
• Vizet landed and caught Luna in his arms when she seemed unsteady.

Vizet and his friends arrived at the French Ministry of Magic, where lengthy security checks delayed them. Jacob Kowalski recognized Vizet and offered to help the group find a place to stay, while Luna began explaining who he was to the others.

• Luna assured the group she was fine after their Portkey arrival, while Fred helped Harry keep Ron from falling.
• Vizet and his friends waited in a long security line and examined the French Ministry's Star Chart decorations as Vizet studied the magical fluctuations.
• Fleur explained that the faster passage was reserved for participants in the International Confederation of Wizards Congress.
• Jacob Kowalski greeted Vizet and Luna, and a Ministry employee invited their group to use the quicker line.
• Jacob asked whether Vizet had come for the congress and offered to help the group find lodging; Luna told Ginny that she knew him from the Animagus Seminar in North America.

Vizet and the others passed through security at the French Ministry of Magic, where Jacob Kowalski gave Vizet the address of a country cottage near Fontainebleau. Fleur Delacour offered to guide them there, and the group decided to find lunch before exploring further.

• Frank Longbottom and Alice Longbottom were astonished by Vizet's easy, equal conversation with Jacob Kowalski, while Sirius Black told them they would soon get used to it.
• Vizet concealed the Baby Thunderbird with Ancient Magic Power and passed the French Ministry of Magic's security check without setting off the alarm.
• Jacob Kowalski gave Vizet the address of a country cottage in Fontainebleau before leaving with a Magical Congress employee.
• Fleur Delacour recognized the cottage's location and said she had also planned to find lodgings there, then asked whether the group wanted to rest or keep exploring.
• Harry, Hermione, and the others agreed to look for lunch, while Fleur explained that the French Ministry of Magic lay beneath Fustenberg Square and used a giant birdcage as an elevator.

Vizet and the others ate at a French restaurant after Ron worried about Muggle food, and they learned the hostess’s child was hospitalized with a strange illness. French Ministry officials later arrived to investigate whether a magical creature had harmed the child, leaving the cause of the illness unresolved.

• Fleur Delacour led Vizet and the others to a nearby restaurant, where Ron, Fred, and George initially feared the food would be as bad as a Muggle meal they had tried in England.
• The group entered the restaurant, and Ron mistook the hostess’s repeated “Oh là là” for praise of Fleur’s beauty before the hostess explained that her child was ill in the hospital.
• Vizet translated that the hostess’s university-student child had fallen ill, and Alice Longbottom wished the child a speedy recovery.
• The group enjoyed the French food while Ginny and Fleur Delacour teased each other about cooking and restaurants.
• Two French Ministry officials questioned the hostess and Obliviated her before leaving, and Fleur Delacour explained that one was an Auror and the other worked with magical creatures, investigating whether a creature had harmed the child.

Vizet and his companions explored Paris and chose to visit the Eiffel Tower, marveling at the Muggle-built structure. While waiting for tickets, Vizet wrote to Serena Pendragon in her notebook to ask whether she was also in Paris.

• After buying a map, Vizet and the others studied Paris attractions and decided to visit the Eiffel Tower.
• Fleur Delacour explained that Muggles had built the Eiffel Tower without wizard participation, and the group grew eager to see it.
• At Champ de Mars Park, the group admired the tower, and Vizet and Luna compared its shape to a steel butterfly.
• Ginny warned Fred and George not to cause trouble, and the group bought tickets to climb the stairs before taking an elevator to the top.
• While waiting in line, Vizet wrote in Serena Pendragon's notebook to ask where she was and whether she was in Paris too.