Chapter Summaries

Hermione and Tonks visited Neville’s parents at St Mungo’s, where Alice gave Hermione a gum wrapper and a piece of gum to take to Neville. Frank woke in a rage and threw a vase, forcing Tonks to wheel Hermione out while Mrs. Longbottom stayed behind to restrain him.

• Sirius, Tonks, and Hermione arrived at Neville’s parents’ ward, and Mrs. Longbottom asked Sirius to fetch food for Frank and Alice.
• Mrs. Longbottom introduced Hermione to Alice, who brightened when she learned Hermione was Neville’s friend from Hogwarts.
• Alice gave Hermione a Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum wrapper to deliver to Neville, then offered Hermione the gum as thanks.
• Hermione wondered whether Professor Breen might know a way to help Neville’s parents.
• Frank woke, pulled aside the curtain, and tried to throw a vase at the visitors.
• Tonks hurriedly wheeled Hermione out while Mrs. Longbottom remained to restrain Frank.

Amosta Breen and Kingsley used the list of smuggled wizards to plan investigations in France, Germany, and Albania, while Amosta went to speak with the grieving Louise Andell. After Louise asked how they had found Fraser, the story left her awaiting an answer.

• Kingsley gave Amosta Breen a list of wizards smuggled out of Britain, and Amosta directed him to prioritize those who had gone to France, Germany, and Albania.
• Kingsley told Amosta that Louise Andell had awakened, and Amosta said he needed to speak with her about something she had said.
• Amosta found Louise outside in the cold rain, brought her coat, and quietly stayed with her as she remembered Fraser.
• Louise asked who Amosta was, and he described his group as a government-affiliated organization investigating cases ordinary police could not handle.
• Louise asked Amosta how they had found Fraser.

Amosta told Louise that Fraser had sent a bomb that critically injured Hermione Granger and explained that Fraser had died before the Aurors could question him. Louise began to describe how people had changed Fraser, leaving Amosta suspicious of what she knew about magic.

• Amosta brought the grieving Louise inside, helped her warm up and eat, then explained that a bomb had injured Hermione Granger and café customers.
• Louise questioned why the London Daily had not reported the bombing, and Amosta claimed officials had kept it secret to prevent public panic.
• Amosta told Louise that Fraser had sent the bomb through a bar owner near Charing Cross Road and had died before they reached Cokeworth.
• Louise reasoned that someone had directed Fraser, then asked where his body was; Amosta falsely said the authorities were searching it for clues.
• Amosta asked Louise about Fraser and the people she had accused of bewitching him, and she said they had deceived him by claiming magic existed.

Louise told Amosta how her brother Fraser became obsessed with a university club researching magic and vanished after its members dispersed. Amosta suspected the club’s respected professor had founded the research, leaving him intent on identifying the professor.

• Louise explained that Fraser had been a kind, talented student who chose to attend the University of Bologna in Italy.
• Louise said Fraser joined a student club studying magic, and his letters later described research into giving Muggles magic.
• Louise recounted how Fraser neglected classes and collapsed after drinking a potion in an abandoned basement, then refused to return home with their father.
• Louise said the university expelled Fraser, but a respected professor let him keep researching in the basement.
• Louise returned to Italy after graduating and found Fraser and the disbanded club gone, while Amosta focused on finding out who the professor was.

Louise told Amosta how her brother Fraser had joined a magical research organization, later escaped after witnessing horrific experiments, and disappeared. Amosta ordered Kingsley to prepare for an immediate trip to Italy, leaving Louise’s involvement undecided.

• Louise said Fraser had sent her a mysterious letter explaining that he had gone abroad to continue the research and asking her to burn the letter after reading it.
• Louise recounted that Fraser visited her the previous September, terrified and claiming that the organization had experimented on people, including babies, pregnant women, and himself.
• Louise said Fraser refused to reveal where he had escaped from, left her a phone number, and departed after asking her to care for their parents.
• Amosta concluded that he needed to investigate in Italy and ordered Kingsley to prepare for the trip without waiting for official entry approval.
• Kingsley agreed with Amosta’s decision, and then asked how Amosta intended to arrange for Louise.

Louise Andell insisted on joining Amosta Breen and Kingsley in investigating Fraser’s murder, and Amosta agreed, saying she would eventually forget the painful memories. At Hass Orphanage, Lawrence recognized Amosta in a photograph and quietly avoided asking to meet him.

• Louise rejected Amosta Breen and Kingsley’s plan to leave her behind and demanded to investigate her brother Fraser’s murder.
• Amosta agreed to take Louise to Italy and asked Kingsley to arrange plane tickets, while telling him she would eventually forget her painful memories.
• Lawrence visited Hass Orphanage to make a donation and noticed a photograph of Amosta Breen on its wall.
• Mrs. Reagan explained Amosta’s connection to the orphanage and said he worked for Grunnings.
• Lawrence denied needing to contact Amosta and asked Mrs. Reagan not to tell him about the donation.

Lawrence reflected on his determination to bring the young Master Breen back into the family while walking through a storm. After a gust caused him to knock a postman and his parcels to the ground, he retrieved his hat in a narrow alley and heard two sharp sounds from across the street.

• Lawrence left the orphanage on foot, telling Sank he wanted to be alone.
• Lawrence recalled the young master's refusal of the Breen inheritance and resolved that bringing him home was the only way to preserve the Breen Family.
• A sudden gust blew Lawrence's umbrella into a postman, knocking him and his bicycle over and scattering the parcels.
• Lawrence helped the postman get free and picked up a damaged parcel addressed to Hass Orphanage, where something inside thumped against the box.
• Lawrence squeezed into an alley to retrieve the hat Master Breen had given him, then heard two crisp sounds from across the street.

Lawrence witnessed two mysterious men use magic to immobilize a postman and kill him with a black frog. The men left the death to be reported as an accident, unaware that Lawrence had watched from a gap between buildings.

• Two men in black coats appeared before the postman, and one immobilized him with a spell as he tried to flee.
• The men used their wands to levitate the packages and reveal the black frogs inside.
• The men discussed framing the incident as a serious violation of the Witchcraft Secrecy Act to create trouble for two people at Hogwarts.
• One black frog entered the postman's mouth and suffocated him while the men watched.
• The men decided the death looked like an accident and left instructions to notify the Muggle police, while Lawrence remained hidden nearby.

Amosta and Kingsley reviewed a list of wizards who had left Britain through smuggling routes, hoping to identify those behind the experiments and Fraser’s transformation into an Inferius. Louise arrived at Amosta’s room late at night, and Kingsley left them alone.

• Amosta, Kingsley, and Louise reached Bologna after a delayed flight, and Louise was exhausted from the journey and her recent loss.
• Kingsley gave Amosta a list of wizards who had left Britain through smuggling routes since Fraser sent the package.
• Amosta and Kingsley reasoned that the culprits might be proud enough to use their real names, but the list was too long to investigate without more time and manpower.
• Louise came to Amosta’s room because she could not sleep, and Kingsley gathered his documents and left, telling her to feel free to consult Amosta.

Louise struggled with grief over Fraser’s death and questioned whether magic existed, while Amosta listened and offered her a list of people who had illegally left Britain. The list included the name Tom Riddle, and the chapter ended with Louise asking Amosta to tell her about himself.

• Kingsley left Louise alone with Amosta, who offered her sherry to help her relax.
• Louise wondered whether magic was real and said that, if it was, the world was terribly unfair.
• Amosta explained that technology could achieve wonders too, while Louise dismissed the idea that magic could remain hidden.
• Amosta showed Louise a list of people who had illegally left Britain, and she noticed Tom Riddle’s name appeared three times.
• Louise poured herself more wine and asked Amosta to tell her about himself.

Louise woke up and recalled that she had drunkenly flirted with Amosta Breen, shoved him onto a bed, and then passed out, though she tried to convince herself it had been a dream. After waiting anxiously for Amosta and Kingsley Shacklebolt to return from investigating the killer, she left with Amosta to get breakfast and hear what he had learned.

• Louise woke in her hotel room, realized she was unharmed, and remembered drunkenly throwing herself at Amosta before passing out.
• Louise panicked about her behavior, then hurried downstairs and learned that Amosta Breen and Kingsley Shacklebolt had left to investigate and would return before noon.
• Louise waited anxiously in the hotel lobby, pacing and repeatedly checking the clock.
• Amosta returned alone and told Louise that Kingsley was questioning former members of a disbanded magic research interest club.
• Amosta invited Louise to breakfast so they could talk, and Louise followed him outside.

Amosta told Louise about Field Wittelsbach, the suspected wizard who had led a secret society at the University of Bologna and vanished after its members suffered misfortunes. As Amosta explained the society’s hierarchy, Kingsley arrived with new discoveries.

• Amosta told Louise that Field Wittelsbach had left Bologna and that Fraser had likely gone with him after their club disbanded.
• Amosta showed Louise a police wanted notice featuring a hand-drawn likeness of Wittelsbach and explained that the Muggle police had failed to trace his departure.
• Louise questioned why Wittelsbach had spared most members of his society, and Amosta explained that its outer members had survived because they were only hobbyists.
• Amosta described the society’s hierarchy, with Wittelsbach at the top, trusted wizard followers beneath him, and talented students such as Fraser in the core group.
• Kingsley arrived at the restaurant and told Amosta that he had made new discoveries.

Amosta, Kingsley, and Louise reached the ruined monastery where Onisto Pastore lived, seeking the father of missing Valeria Pastore. When pounding erupted from a strange building in the rear courtyard, Amosta decided they should help whoever was inside.

• Louise questioned Amosta and Kingsley about their government positions as they walked through Bologna’s university district, but learned little about them.
• Kingsley explained that Onisto Pastore had abandoned his businesses and given away his wealth after his daughter Valeria disappeared.
• Louise recalled that Valeria had once taken her to the basement where Fraser stayed and had belonged to the Magic Research Society.
• Amosta sensed the monastery’s eerie atmosphere and led the others toward a solitary, prison-like building in the rear courtyard.
• Loud, frantic pounding sounded from inside the building, and Amosta told Louise and Kingsley to go help whoever was there.

Amosta, Louise, and Kingsley found Onisto Pastore in a filthy confinement cell, where he attacked them with a hunting rifle. After Amosta stopped the bullet with wandless magic, he recognized that Pastore had likely been tortured and began examining his memories.

• Amosta, Louise, and Kingsley entered the isolated building and found an elderly beggar smashing a hunting rifle against the floor.
• The beggar aimed the rifle at Amosta and fired, but Amosta halted the bullet with a magical barrier.
• Kingsley disarmed the beggar with Expelliarmus, and the man cowered in terror.
• Amosta suspected that the beggar, Mr. Pastore, had suffered the Cruciatus Curse.
• Amosta used magic to lift Pastore into the air and began examining him as his eyes glowed purple.

Amosta used soul magic to protect Pastore’s shattered consciousness and discovered a torturer’s voice tied to Angus Escuros, who Louise recognized. Louise confronted Amosta, demanding to know whether the magic Fraser sought truly existed.

• Amosta shielded Pastore’s consciousness from the Cruciatus Curse’s mental assault with soul power and heard the torturer’s cruel laughter and threats against Valeria.
• Amosta told Kingsley that Pastore’s consciousness had been shattered, but the voice preserved in his memories might belong to a key member of Fraser’s organization and could be connected to Hermione’s delivery.
• Louise heard Amosta and Kingsley discuss the Cruciatus Curse and blurted out the name Angus Escuros.
• Amosta and Kingsley recognized Angus Escuros from the Aurors’ list of illegal entrants and asked Louise why the name mattered.
• Louise demanded that Amosta tell her whether the magic Fraser sought existed.

Amosta explained the Witchcraft Secrecy Act to Louise after she discovered that magic was real, and said he had brought her along to honor her right to learn the truth about Fraser’s death. The chapter ended with Kingsley revealing Amosta’s standing in the magical world and asking Louise why she had said the name Angus Escuros.

• Louise confronted Amosta after witnessing magic and threatened to expose wizards if he refused to answer her questions.
• Amosta explained that wizards lived in separate magical civilizations governed by Ministries of Magic and bound by the Witchcraft Secrecy Act.
• Amosta said he had risked revealing magic because Louise deserved to know who killed her brother, Fraser.
• Kingsley told Louise that Amosta was renowned as one of the world’s most powerful wizards and was Vice Chairman of the International Confederation of Wizards.
• Kingsley asked Louise why she had said the name Angus Escuros.

Amosta Breen questioned Louise about Angus Escuros and learned that Valeria had once named him as her boyfriend in a magical organization. As Amosta planned to pursue the suspects in Berlin, he recalled a German betting syndicate wagering that Hermione would fail to finish the Triwizard Tournament and wondered whether the group had attacked her for money.

• Amosta told Louise that Hermione was his student and that she had been attacked with an evil curse, while Louise apologized for her anger toward him.
• Louise said Valeria had told her that her boyfriend belonged to a magical organization and was named Angus Escuros.
• Kingsley said Angus had gone to Berlin alone, and Amosta proposed that he, Kingsley, and Louise travel there discreetly.
• Amosta remembered Ludo Bagman describing Germans who had wagered heavily that Hermione would not complete the Triwizard contests.
• Amosta wondered whether the German bettors had attacked Hermione for gold as a strange aura filled the detention room.

Amosta investigated the motives behind Hermione’s attack and uncovered a sealed chamber beneath the monastery, where he believed Pastore had witnessed his daughter’s torture. He sent Kingsley to escort Pastore to London and take Louise to Berlin while he pursued new leads, then ordered Kingsley to search the chamber for evidence against the Dark Wizards.

• Amosta suspected that Hermione’s attack had a deeper cause than gambling, and he warned Kingsley that their plans had to change.
• Amosta told Kingsley to take Pastore to St Mungo’s and bring Louise to Berlin, where they would wait for him without investigating the group.
• Amosta examined the cement floor and discovered a sealed opening beneath the cell.
• Amosta opened the entrance, revealing a foul-smelling chamber with stairs leading underground.
• Amosta told Kingsley to search the chamber for evidence and said he wanted the criminals to suffer a Dementor’s Kiss.

Ludo Bagman commentated on a Quidditch match in Edinburgh and collected an organizer’s discreet payment before Amosta summoned him. Amosta asked about Ludo’s Ministry ambitions and ended by asking how much he owed the goblins.

• Ludo commentated as Lector caught the Golden Snitch and the Scottish team won the match.
• York gave Ludo a heavy money bag, and Ludo counted the Galleons after leaving the stadium lounge.
• Amosta summoned Ludo with a floating black glove, and Ludo greeted him with surprise.
• Amosta and Ludo discussed the Ministry, and Ludo said he wanted to avoid Dolores and office politics.
• Amosta asked Ludo how much he owed the goblins.

Amosta learned that Ludo had borrowed five thousand Galleons from goblins to bet on Hermione winning the Triwizard Tournament, based on a suspicious wager placed by a group of Germans. Ludo left for the Ministry after giving Amosta the name of his goblin contact, Eng, while Amosta planned to investigate the bettors.

• Amosta questioned Ludo about his debts, and Ludo admitted he had borrowed five thousand Galleons to invest in Hermione's victory.
• Ludo explained that a large German bet on Hermione failing to complete the competition had raised her odds again, prompting him to mortgage his house and increase his wager.
• Amosta suspected the Germans might be planning to interfere with Hermione and decided he needed to investigate their confidence and motives.
• Ludo said the German bettors had disappeared after placing their cash wager, and that even the goblins did not know where they had gone.
• Ludo gave Amosta the name of his goblin contact, Eng, who handled such business at Gringotts's Paris headquarters, then Apparated away.