Chapter Summaries

Andy reasoned that time moved forward in a straight line and suspected that the Azkaban incident had resulted from breaking time’s rules, though he still needed to test his theory. He returned to Azkaban, found an office in the Department of Mysteries, and began copying its research documents.

• Andy noticed that the Fat Cat Patronus had experienced three minutes while he had felt only an instant pass, and he wondered whether their mental connection explained the difference.
• Andy compared the Patronus’s experience with a hummingbird trapped in a three-minute cycle and reconsidered how time travel and repeated events worked.
• Andy concluded that time always moved forward and suspected that breaking time’s rules had caused the strange events in Azkaban.
• Andy searched Azkaban for offices and the Records Room, found a small office, and read research documents about the brain, memory, and soul.
• Andy brought out notebooks and quills and used magic to copy the office’s documents.

Andy copied books in a hidden Department of Mysteries office before leaving as the Time-Turner ran out, then rejoined Harry at the Ministry of Magic. Dumbledore sent them back to school and, reminded of Gellert Grindelwald by Andy’s Fiendfyre, looked toward Nurmengard.

• Andy copied more than half the books in a cramped office but could not find the Department of Mysteries' Records Room.
• Andy discovered the office door had vanished and left the Department of Mysteries before his Time-Turner expired; an elderly man watched him go unnoticed.
• Andy used the Time-Turner to rejoin Harry in the Ministry of Magic's washroom, then greeted him in the Main Hall.
• Dumbledore threatened to deduct points and assign detention, but awarded Harry and Andy one hundred points each for their courage before telling them to return to school.
• Dumbledore suspected Andy's Fiendfyre resembled Gellert Grindelwald's specialty and turned his thoughts toward Nurmengard.

Dumbledore visited Grindelwald at Nurmengard to find out whether he had been influencing Andy Collins. Grindelwald said Andy had sought him out to learn magic, and the chapter ended with him asking what had happened that day.

• Dumbledore arrived at Nurmengard, worried that Grindelwald might have swayed Andy Collins with his ideas.
• Dumbledore met Grindelwald, who said he had recently enjoyed talking with Andy and had expected Dumbledore to visit sooner.
• Grindelwald told Dumbledore that Andy had approached him first and was too persistent to be easily led astray.
• Dumbledore learned that Grindelwald had been researching magic inspired by his conversations with Andy, and Grindelwald offered to teach him.
• Grindelwald asked Dumbledore what had happened that day, since Andy was not the sort to boast.

After Andy fought Voldemort and the Death Eaters, Dumbledore told Grindelwald about his power and ambitions, and the two old rivals spent the night talking. The next morning, Andy hid from the Hogwarts students, who celebrated his victory and crowded around Harry for the story.

• Dumbledore told Grindelwald that Andy had fought Voldemort, and Grindelwald praised Andy’s unusual talent and plans to fuse mind and magic.
• Andy slept well, then Hermione greeted him in the Ravenclaw Common Room and explained she had waited for him the night before.
• Hermione gave Andy breakfast and persuaded him to avoid the Great Hall, so they went to the Room of Requirement before class.
• Hogwarts students celebrated Andy’s victory over Voldemort, while Harry was surrounded and repeatedly asked to recount the battle.
• The Daily Prophet praised the Aurors’ bravery but showed Andy standing against Voldemort and Dumbledore driving Voldemort away.

Andy hid from the Hogwarts students eager to ask about the battle, while Draco Malfoy concluded that Andy had the best chance of rising to power and tried to infer what his ally wanted. After provoking Harry, Malfoy learned that Harry was publicly crediting Andy and decided that others could win support for Andy while he focused on growing stronger.

• Andy avoided the Great Hall and cast the Disillusionment Charm to escape the attention of students and professors.
• Hermione told Andy that students repeatedly approached Harry about the battle, while Neville searched for Andy after hearing he had killed Bellatrix.
• Draco Malfoy received a letter praising his decision to side with Andy and learned that Lucius had been detained but was safe after siding with Dumbledore.
• Malfoy reasoned that Andy had better prospects than Dumbledore or Voldemort, but worried that Andy had hidden himself instead of seeking supporters.
• Malfoy confronted Harry and Ron, accusing Harry of taking credit for Andy's victory and suggesting Andy might resent him.
• Ron explained that Harry had spent the day talking about Andy's achievements, and Malfoy decided others could help win people over while Andy strengthened his magic.

After Andy’s victory over Voldemort, the Wizarding World celebrated while the Ministry’s standing continued to suffer. Voldemort gathered his remaining Death Eaters to explain his defeat and questioned Snape about Andy, who Snape said Wormtail had already mentioned.

• People across the Wizarding World praised Andy after the battle, while Kyle went to work carrying a Portkey and hoping for a promotion.
• The Daily Prophet’s photos of the Aurors fighting Voldemort further damaged the Ministry’s reputation, as the public looked to Dumbledore and Andy for protection.
• Snape arrived at Voldemort’s manor, where the Death Eaters’ ranks had fallen after six were killed and one was captured, including Bellatrix Lestrange among the losses.
• Voldemort claimed he had admired Andy and retreated to protect his followers, insisting that he had suppressed Andy near the end of their fight.
• Voldemort asked Snape why he had not told him about Andy’s power, and Snape replied that Wormtail had already mentioned Collins.

Voldemort questioned Peter Pettigrew and Snape about Andy Collins’s abilities and background. Snape revealed that Dumbledore greatly admired Andy and had personally guided him, leaving Voldemort furious at Dumbledore’s apparent favoritism.

• Voldemort pressed Peter Pettigrew to explain what he knew about Andy Collins, and Peter described Andy’s talent, rapid learning, and unusual Patronus.
• Snape told Voldemort that Andy had found the Chamber of Secrets, researched Magical Transformation, and proved stronger than Snape in a duel.
• Snape said Andy had accompanied Harry to the Ministry because Dumbledore had entrusted him with the task, not because Harry was his friend.
• Voldemort asked what Dumbledore thought of Andy, and Snape explained that Dumbledore valued his talent, vouched for him after the battle, and guided his magic privately.
• Voldemort grew furious that Dumbledore admired Andy so greatly.

Voldemort learned that Dumbledore had instructed Andy Collins in magic and reacted with jealousy and anger, then ordered Snape to target Andy before changing his mind. The chapter left Snape tasked with watching Harry Potter and finding an opportunity to bring him to Voldemort.

• Voldemort questioned Peter Pettigrew, who confirmed that Dumbledore had instructed Andy and that Andy often visited his office.
• Snape told Voldemort that Andy excelled at many kinds of magic, including the Dark Arts, and that Dumbledore knew about his studies.
• Voldemort ordered Snape to kill Andy, and Snape warned that doing so would likely expose his identity.
• Voldemort reconsidered after imagining Andy becoming a future Dark Lord and ordered Snape to watch Harry and bring him to Voldemort.

Snape reported Voldemort’s plans to Dumbledore, who intended to take Harry to find a Horcrux and asked Snape to teach him Occlumency. Snape and Dumbledore also discussed Andy Collins’s successful Magical Transformation and his research into the Obscurus as the Wizarding World prepared for a future battle.

• Voldemort ordered his followers to recruit more dark forces and target Harry, whom he knew was one of his Horcruxes.
• Snape reported the meeting to Dumbledore and noted that Bellatrix’s death had erased a possible lead to a Horcrux.
• Dumbledore told Snape that he knew the location of one Horcrux and planned to take Harry there.
• Dumbledore asked Snape to teach Harry Occlumency, and Snape agreed despite his dislike of Harry.
• Snape told Dumbledore that Andy’s Magical Transformation had succeeded and that Andy had borrowed books about the Obscurus.
• Dumbledore said Andy’s chances of safely becoming an Obscurial were very high.

After earning full marks in all twelve subjects and seeing Ravenclaw win the House Cup, Andy finished his third year at Hogwarts. On his final day, Harry invited Andy and Hermione to watch the Quidditch World Cup with Sirius, whose recovery had brought him out of the hospital.

• Andy declined an exclusive interview with The Daily Prophet and focused on studying Obscuruses and the mind before his exams.
• Andy earned full marks in all twelve subjects, tied with Hermione for first place, and received a strange plant from Professor Sprout.
• Gryffindor defeated Hufflepuff to win the Quidditch tournament, while Ravenclaw won the House Cup.
• Harry told Andy that Sirius had recovered and invited him and Hermione to the Quidditch World Cup, which the Ministry of Magic hoped to hold in Britain despite Voldemort's return.

Andy prepared to experiment on himself by fusing his mind and magic power to create a lifeform like an Obscurus, while Hermione warned him about the danger. He gave Hermione a Silk Scarf enchanted as a Portkey to his home, and the chapter ended with Andy weighing how to spend his scarce Potential Points.

• Andy agreed to meet Harry at the Quidditch World Cup in August after hearing that Harry had a July commitment.
• Andy confirmed to Hermione that he planned to attempt the mind-and-magic fusion on himself and said he had prepared extensively.
• Andy told Hermione the experiment was at least eighty percent likely to succeed, though he feared the resulting magical lifeform might turn on him.
• Hermione warned Andy that Divination could fail and urged him to use it to find Voldemort's Horcruxes, but Andy said his skill was too low for that.
• Andy considered investing Potential Points in Divination, Constitution, Alchemy, and other attributes before setting the decision aside.
• Andy gave Hermione a Silk Scarf that served as a Portkey to his home in case she faced danger.

Andy returned home to find the Wizarding World shaken by Voldemort’s attacks, while the Quidditch World Cup in Britain remained under negotiation. As Andy reunited with his family, he began preparing for the possibility that Voldemort would exploit the event.

• Andy and Hermione left Hogwarts as frightened families hurried to collect their children from the station.
• Andy returned home, where Isabel excitedly asked whether he had defeated Voldemort after reading conflicting reports in The Quibbler.
• Andy embraced Helen, who praised his growing strength and told him Kyle was safe at the Ministry of Magic.
• Helen told Andy that Hogwarts’s planned Triwizard Tournament had been canceled because other schools feared Voldemort and Durmstrang’s headmaster opposed attending.
• Helen said the Quidditch World Cup final might still take place in Britain, and Andy suspected Voldemort would use the event to spread chaos and make his name known.

Andy’s family discussed Voldemort’s return, the Ministry’s response, and the upcoming Quidditch World Cup over dinner. Afterward, Andy checked his System Panel and decided to allocate points the next day.

• Kyle told the family that the Ministry was negotiating to host the Quidditch World Cup and that Dumbledore might attend.
• Andy warned Kyle that Voldemort might attack the final, and Kyle explained that other countries would offer little more than verbal support.
• Kyle reported that Durmstrang headmaster Igor Karkaroff had gone missing and had once received immunity after betraying fellow Death Eaters.
• Kyle asked Andy to consider a summer job at the Ministry, but Andy said he would spend July researching a spell related to the mind.
• Andy reviewed his System Panel, saw that he had six Potential Points, and decided to allocate them the next day.

After increasing his magical talent, Andy sensed magic more clearly and began using Mind Power to fuse his mind with it. He repeatedly imagined being forced to suppress his magic while Voldemort threatened the Wizarding World, and his magic began to show signs of going berserk.

• Andy added five Potential Points to his magical talent, raising Magic to 5.
• Andy made a wooden target float without speaking an incantation and pondered the nature of magic.
• Andy decided to use Mind Power to recreate the conditions behind an Obscurus's birth, replacing hatred of magic with love for it.
• Andy hypnotized himself with visions of Voldemort killing people and the fear that acting would endanger his family.
• Andy imagined the brutal deaths again, and his magic began to show faint signs of going berserk.

Andy used imagined anguish to provoke his magic, then suppressed it before it erupted. He sensed that magic had become more tangible as his mind and magic began to fuse, and decided to avoid casting spells for a month while continuing the practice.

• Andy imagined Voldemort slaughtering the Wizarding World and focused on his helplessness to stir his magic.
• Andy suppressed his nearly erupting magic by convincing himself that fighting Voldemort would endanger his family and friends.
• Andy considered how an Obscurus might be a parasitic magical lifeform with instincts but little intelligence, though he acknowledged that his theories were uncertain.
• Andy sensed that magic felt more real than before and guessed that the mind's pull was drawing it into the real world—or into the mind.
• Andy stopped himself from summoning his Fat Cat Patronus, put away his wand, and decided to practice once daily without casting magic for a month.

After leaving the basement, Andy struggled to focus on his Department of Mysteries notes and became absorbed in questions about the source and nature of magic. He wrote to Dumbledore for advice, then went to sleep hoping he would be strong enough to face whatever truth he uncovered.

• Isabel scolded Andy for ending his training early, and Andy told her he could not improve through practice alone.
• Andy tried to read his copied Department of Mysteries materials but instead pondered where magic power came from and what magic really was.
• Andy wrote to Dumbledore about the problems he had encountered and sealed the letter.
• Isabel suspected Andy was under the Imperius Curse, but Andy explained that he was writing to Dumbledore for advice.
• Helen took Isabel to help in the Potions Room, and Andy sent the letter by owl.
• Andy returned to his room, fell asleep, and hoped he would be strong enough to face the truth.

Andy read Dumbledore’s warning that the Department of Mysteries might hold secrets about magic and that the gods had vanished. As his fear of magic’s unknown origins eased, the fusion of magic and his mind accelerated, and he tried to use Voldemort’s return to stir magic into action before forcing it back down.

• After three days of waiting, Andy opened Dumbledore’s letter and learned that the origin of magic could no longer be traced and that the Department of Mysteries might be researching its secrets.
• Andy burned the letter and considered whether ancient wizards had killed Death and divided its power into the Three Deathly Hallows.
• Once his fear of magic’s origins faded, Andy noticed that the fusion of his mind and magic had sped up.
• Andy invoked his role as the Wizarding World’s hope and Voldemort’s return to provoke magic, then struggled to suppress its surging power.

Andy researched how the mind and magic could fuse, concluding that love was involved, while spending more time with Isabel. The chapter left him asking Isabel what games she liked to play.

• Isabel noticed Andy doing ordinary tasks without magic and worried that he had been hurt fighting the Mysterious Man.
• Andy told Isabel he was researching a powerful spell and explained that his mind and magic were already beginning to fuse.
• Andy connected that fusion to the Power of Love, drawing on examples including Credence Barebone, Peeves, the Patronus Charm, and Lily's protection of Harry.
• Andy spent more time reading and keeping Isabel company while she was unable to leave the house.
• Andy put down his notebook and asked Isabel what she usually played.

Andy discussed with Kyle and Helen the possibility that Voldemort would attack during the Quidditch World Cup Final or strike the Ministry while its defenses were weakened. Helen wanted Andy to stay home, but the family postponed the decision, and Andy began planning how to trick his magic into helping him go.

• Kyle told Andy and Helen that Voldemort had gathered werewolves, vampires, giants, and Dark Wizards, and that the Ministry suspected he was planning something bigger.
• Andy reasoned that Voldemort might attack either the crowded World Cup Final or the Ministry, whose defenses would be weaker while Aurors and Dumbledore were at the match.
• Helen insisted that Andy stay home, while Andy pointed out that Kyle might have to attend the World Cup for work.
• Andy argued that the World Cup venue might be safer because he, Dumbledore, and Harry Potter would be there, and Isabel eagerly asked to go too.
• Helen postponed deciding whether Andy could attend, and Andy began planning to trick his magic the next day.

Harry arrived at Grimmauld Place, where Sirius had gathered allies to plan for a possible Voldemort attack. After overhearing their dispute over whether to protect the Quidditch World Cup or the Ministry of Magic, Harry asked the Weasley brothers if they had written to Andy.

• Sirius brought Harry to Grimmauld Place and explained that it was protected by the Fidelius Charm and other spells.
• Harry greeted Ron and the others at the house, but learned that no one knew where Andy or Dumbledore was.
• Harry and Ron saw Snape enter the meeting room and later used Fred and George’s Extendable Ear to listen in.
• Sirius, Snape, and the others argued over whether Voldemort would attack the Quidditch World Cup or the Ministry of Magic, since they lacked enough people to defend both.
• Harry asked the Weasley brothers whether they had written to Andy.