Chapter Summaries

Andy and Hermione discussed alchemical Hieroglyphs and speculated that ancient wizards had built nations whose history was later erased. They decided to investigate alchemy’s origins at Hogwarts, hoping to find records of those lost civilizations.

• Andy explained that Hieroglyphs were the foundation of alchemy, and suggested they had once been the writing of a lost civilization.
• Andy speculated that wizards such as Arthur might have established ancient nations, and Hermione asked why their history was missing from the record.
• Andy claimed he had entered the Ministry of Magic’s Department of Death and told Hermione that its secrets might explain how wizarding history was altered.
• Andy and Hermione debated whether Death and the Ministry’s hidden secrets connected to their theories about the past.
• Hermione proposed researching alchemy’s origins at Hogwarts, and Andy agreed that its records might reveal ancient wizarding nations.

Andy and Hermione questioned why wizarding histories omitted wizards’ attempts to rule Muggles before the International Statute of Secrecy, and suspected that history had been altered worldwide. They identified Nicolas Flamel and Dumbledore as possible witnesses to the truth, and Andy decided to challenge Dumbledore after class.

• Hermione reasoned that wizards could have easily dominated Muggles before firearms, making the histories of witch hunts and wizarding secrecy seem suspicious.
• Andy agreed that magical histories had concealed wizards’ ambitions to rule Muggles and suggested someone had altered the past.
• Hermione realized Nicolas Flamel had lived through the era before the Statute, while Andy suspected Dumbledore might know the truth as well.
• Andy asked Hermione to visit Dumbledore after Transfiguration and said he would challenge him to force him to reveal what he knew.
• Andy studied alchemy, considered how to spend his scarce Potential Points, and decided to wait until after his duel with Dumbledore before reallocating them.

Andy visited Dumbledore to challenge him, but Dumbledore agreed only after postponing the duel for several months because of a confidential matter. Before they left, Hermione asked whether wizards had ever tried to establish their own country.

• Andy and Hermione went to Dumbledore's office, where Dumbledore welcomed them and served them Iced Lemon Juice.
• Andy asked about challenging Dumbledore, and Dumbledore agreed while saying the duel would have to wait several months.
• Dumbledore said the reason for the delay was confidential, and Andy accepted the postponement.
• Hermione asked Dumbledore whether wizards had ever established a country of their own, surprising him.

Hermione questioned Dumbledore about whether magical history had been altered, but he avoided giving her a clear answer. Andy suspected Dumbledore was steering them toward investigating history to keep him occupied, and wondered if something had happened to Grindelwald.

• Hermione asked Dumbledore whether he and Nicolas Flamel had discussed historical matters, and Dumbledore gave a hesitant, evasive reply.
• After leaving the Headmaster's Office, Hermione concluded that Dumbledore was concealing the truth, while Andy suspected Dumbledore had deliberately encouraged their investigation.
• Andy suggested asking the castle ghosts about history, and Hermione proposed speaking with the Lady Grey after dinner.
• On the way to the Great Hall, Andy reasoned that Dumbledore wanted him to stay occupied and out of Voldemort's affairs for a few months.
• Andy wondered whether Dumbledore's plans were connected to something happening to Grindelwald.

Andy realized that his Mind-Magic Fusion had given Grindelwald hope of escaping old age and pursuing his ambitions again. Dumbledore learned that Grindelwald had escaped Nurmengard and feared that his growing strength could soon plunge the Wizarding World into war.

• Andy remembered that Grindelwald had prepared to begin Magical Transformation after Andy completed Mind-Magic Fusion.
• Dumbledore learned that Grindelwald's former followers had begun gathering and that Grindelwald had left Nurmengard, leaving a Polyjuice Potion impostor and a handwritten letter behind.
• Dumbledore kept Grindelwald's escape secret because his return could rally wizards across Europe amid fears of Muggle power.
• Dumbledore concluded that Grindelwald could become stronger than Voldemort or even himself after completing Mind-Magic Fusion.
• Dumbledore decided he had to find and stop Grindelwald, and considered killing Voldemort if he could not.

Andy and Hermione questioned the Lady Grey about whether magical history had been altered and whether wizards had ever founded their own nation. She revealed that wizards had repeatedly enslaved Muggles and fought over the practice, forcing them to hide themselves; Andy concluded that the Ministry of Magic erased this history.

• Andy and Hermione discussed how magical history omitted or glossed over many events before returning to the Ravenclaw Common Room.
• They found Luna chatting with the Lady Grey, and Hermione asked whether the History of Magic had been altered.
• The Lady Grey confirmed that many truths had been concealed and suggested that wizards seeking to rule their own nation would enslave Muggles.
• The Lady Grey explained that repeated wars between wizards who enslaved Muggles and those who opposed them intensified as more wizards came from Muggle families.
• She said wizards eventually had to hide themselves to avoid civil war, and Andy concluded that the Ministry of Magic had altered history to conceal the enslavement of Muggles.

Andy and Hermione considered whether wizards had once enslaved Muggles before being driven into hiding, while the Lady Grey explained how pictographic scripts could be used in alchemy. Andy learned that some Chinese characters might work as alchemical symbols and left with a bold idea for an alchemical magical internet.

• Andy and Hermione discussed the possibility that wizards had enslaved Muggles and that resistance had contributed to the witch hunts and the Statute of Secrecy.
• Andy asked the Lady Grey whether alchemical Hieroglyphs came from an ancient magical civilization, and she explained their origins and use in alchemy.
• The Lady Grey told Andy that some pictographic writing carried magic, and Andy asked whether Chinese characters could be used for alchemy.
• Andy considered trying Chinese characters but decided he could seek alchemical guidance from Dumbledore or Nicolas Flamel instead.
• Andy recalled the alchemical traces in the world inside a painting and portraits visiting one another, then formed a bold idea for magical communication.

Andy and Hermione questioned the Lady Grey about gods, magic, and the history of wizards and Muggles. The Lady Grey warned Andy that pursuing the truth of magic had driven gifted wizards mad, while suggesting gods might exist beyond wizards’ ability to perceive them.

• Hermione asked the Lady Grey whether gods had existed alongside wizards, and the Lady Grey said seekers had found no traces of them.
• Andy demonstrated Transfiguration and asked why magic worked, prompting the Lady Grey to warn that investigating magic’s truth was dangerous and had driven gifted wizards mad.
• The Lady Grey said gods might exist as beings who concealed themselves from wizards, just as wizards hid from Muggles.
• Andy and Hermione returned to the Ravenclaw Library, where Hermione urged them to stop Voldemort to prevent another war between wizards and Muggles.
• Andy reflected on what they had learned about alchemy, pictographic runes, and the Founders’ belief in gods.

Andy reflected on the danger of discovering real gods, then focused on his studies and training at Hogwarts. After raising his Constitution to five, he gained control over the Death Dimension’s cold, a power he believed could slow or overwhelm opponents.

• Andy told Hermione he understood why Dumbledore had stopped searching for the Deathly Hallows, then joined her in the second-floor library.
• Andy settled into the new term, studied alchemy and magic, and practiced carving pictographic runes.
• On the tenth day of term, Andy spent all five Potential Points to raise his Constitution to five.
• Andy’s body released freezing cold that coated the Room of Requirement in frost, and he discovered he could control it.
• Andy recognized the cold as power from the Death Dimension and realized it could hinder his opponents’ thoughts and reactions.

Andy tested the effects of Death Chill and remembered the magical material Voldemort's Arm, then met Harry and Ron at Hogwarts. Harry told Andy about another dream in which Voldemort held a meeting and killed someone, leaving Andy surprised that Harry could not hear what was said.

• Andy realized Death Chill could slow opponents and give him an edge against Voldemort, then remembered he had kept Voldemort's Arm for study.
• Andy sent a shopping list home for magical materials and went to the library to study with Hermione.
• Hermione told Andy that Harry and Ron had been looking for him, and they called him outside after Madam Pince kept them from entering the library.
• Ron told Andy that Harry had another dream, and Harry said Dumbledore had instructed him to seek out Andy if Dumbledore was away.
• Harry described seeing Voldemort at a meeting with Snape and watching Voldemort kill someone, but said he could not hear what they were saying.

Harry told Andy and Ron about a dream in which Voldemort killed Mr. Borgin’s boss, and Andy concluded that Voldemort was planning to infiltrate Hogwarts. The chapter left Harry and Ron worried about the danger, while Andy admitted that Voldemort’s thinking was too erratic to predict.

• Harry described his dream of Death Eaters meeting and Voldemort killing someone, but said he could not hear their voices.
• Harry recognized the murdered man as Mr. Borgin’s boss, whom he had seen at Borgin and Burkes.
• Andy guessed Voldemort had killed Mr. Borgin’s boss to make Dumbledore’s side believe he had abandoned a plan to infiltrate Hogwarts.
• Andy warned Harry and Ron that Voldemort might send Death Eaters disguised as students to attack him, Dumbledore, or Harry.
• Harry worried that they could not stay on guard against everyone, and Andy said his theory was only a guess.
• Harry told Andy he was thankful Andy was not Voldemort.

Andy discussed Harry’s dream about Voldemort’s plans and considered how Death Eaters might enter Hogwarts, while Hermione suspected someone was repairing a Vanishing Cabinet. Later, Voldemort attacked Diagon Alley while Dumbledore was absent, leaving Andy to wonder who had revealed Dumbledore’s whereabouts.

• Andy told Harry and Ron that his ideas about Voldemort’s plans were only guesses and advised them to consult Dumbledore.
• Hermione reasoned that a Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement might already be broken and suggested that someone at Hogwarts could be repairing it for the Death Eaters.
• Andy explained that Dumbledore was trying to learn about Voldemort’s Horcruxes through Professor Slughorn, and Hermione offered to join the Slug Club.
• Andy received a newspaper reporting that Death Eaters had invaded Diagon Alley and defeated the Aurors, while Dumbledore had not appeared.
• Andy concluded that Voldemort’s attack might have been a probe to learn whether Dumbledore was away and wondered who had provided that information.

Andy told Hermione that Grindelwald had escaped and explained why Dumbledore was absent during Voldemort’s attack on Diagon Alley. Andy concluded that Grindelwald and Voldemort had collaborated to keep Dumbledore occupied and force him back to Britain, leaving Grindelwald free to pursue his plans.

• Andy read a report that Voldemort and the Death Eaters had defeated Ministry forces in Diagon Alley while Dumbledore was absent.
• Andy told Hermione that Grindelwald had escaped from prison and that Dumbledore had gone to Europe to deal with him.
• Andy explained that Grindelwald wanted Dumbledore back in Britain and planned to clear his own name.
• Hermione wondered whether Dumbledore had run into trouble, and Andy agreed that Grindelwald could have plotted against him.
• Andy concluded that Grindelwald and Voldemort had coordinated their actions, with Grindelwald benefiting by pulling Dumbledore back to Britain.

After the Diagon Alley Battle, Andy and Hermione saw how its losses and Dumbledore’s absence were fueling grief and distrust at Hogwarts and the Ministry. Professor McGonagall stopped Andy to speak with him after hurrying to calm a brewing Gryffindor-Slytherin argument, while Andy expected the matter to involve Dumbledore.

• Andy read Kyle’s letter describing panic at the Ministry and rumors blaming Dumbledore for not joining the Diagon Alley Battle.
• Hermione told Andy that Anna, a Hufflepuff student, was crying because her Auror father had died in the battle.
• Andy and Hermione left the Great Hall as Gryffindor and Slytherin students began arguing about Dumbledore and Snape.
• Professor McGonagall asked Andy to wait while she went to quiet the students, and Andy made a bench for himself and Hermione outside.
• Andy told Hermione that Dumbledore would have to confront Voldemort before he could focus on Grindelwald, leaving Voldemort and Grindelwald room to act.

Andy and Hermione learned that Voldemort had seized Diagon Alley while Dumbledore and Andy were unreachable, and Andy suspected someone at Hogwarts had leaked information. After Professor McGonagall summoned them to her office, Andy demonstrated his wandless Transfiguration and asked whether it could permanently change matter.

• Sirius told Andy and Hermione that the Ministry had failed to defend Diagon Alley and had retreated there after evacuating some people.
• Andy suspected Voldemort had received information from someone at Hogwarts, while Sirius blamed Slytherin students.
• Professor McGonagall reprimanded Sirius for condemning Slytherin and urged him to guide students rather than abandon them.
• Professor McGonagall invited Andy and Hermione to her office, and Andy turned a bench back into clothes without a wand.
• Andy transformed a button into a butterfly and asked Professor McGonagall whether Transfiguration could permanently alter matter.

Andy met Dumbledore in a room off the secret passage to Hog's Head Pub and learned that Grindelwald had escaped from prison. Dumbledore confronted Andy about his connection to Grindelwald, while reflecting on why Andy had sought magical guidance beyond what Hogwarts could offer.

• Professor McGonagall told Andy that Dumbledore would be away until the next day and gave him instructions to meet someone at Hog's Head Pub that night.
• Professor McGonagall explained that Andy and Hermione could use a secret passage in the Room of Requirement to reach the pub.
• Andy and Hermione entered the passage, and Andy arrived at a room where Dumbledore was waiting for him.
• Dumbledore asked Andy whether he knew Grindelwald had escaped from prison, and Andy admitted he had suspected it.
• Dumbledore considered how Andy's pursuit of magic had led him to seek Grindelwald's guidance and contributed to Grindelwald's escape.

Andy and Dumbledore prepared to destroy Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes and confront him before Grindelwald returned. Dumbledore declared that the final battle would take place the next day and assigned Andy to protect Harry and destroy the last Horcrux.

• Andy told Dumbledore he was only fifty percent sure Voldemort had seven Horcruxes, though he believed seven was the limit for splitting a soul.
• Dumbledore instructed Andy to stay with Harry, use Legilimency if Harry showed anything unusual, and help destroy the final Horcrux while Dumbledore confronted Voldemort.
• Andy asked what would happen if Voldemort fled, and Dumbledore said the final battle would happen the next day.
• Andy agreed to stay with Harry at the Hog's Head Pub and promised he could destroy the Horcrux within ten minutes of learning its location.
• Dumbledore gave Andy a Bronze Knut to lead him to the duel, and Andy asked him to replace it with a Galleon.

Andy agreed to help Dumbledore deal with Voldemort and planned how to find and destroy the Horcruxes. After reuniting with Hermione, he told her the plan was set for the next day, and she offered to help.

• Andy reviewed the plan to use Harry's connection to Voldemort to locate the Horcruxes, destroy them, and join Dumbledore in the final fight.
• Andy warned Dumbledore that Voldemort might have eight Horcruxes, and Dumbledore said Snape would have to handle any extra ones.
• Andy examined the one-way passage and asked Dumbledore about the shared world inhabited by portraits.
• Hermione joined Andy in the passage, and Dumbledore greeted her before they returned toward the Room of Requirement.
• Andy told Hermione that Dumbledore planned to act against Voldemort the next day, and Hermione volunteered to help.

Andy and Hermione brought Harry to meet Dumbledore for an important operation, but Harry suspected they were impostors when they led him away from the headmaster’s office. Andy proved his identity with his Fat Cat Patronus and prepared to explain the operation.

• Andy and Hermione found Harry training on the Quidditch pitch and told him that Dumbledore wanted to see him.
• As they headed to the Eighth Floor, Harry asked about Dumbledore’s return and the rumors surrounding him.
• When Andy said the headmaster was not in the castle, Harry drew his wand and demanded proof that Andy and Hermione were themselves.
• Harry cast Expelliarmus at Andy, who reflected the spell and then summoned his Fat Cat Patronus to prove his identity.
• Andy returned Harry’s wand and said he had tested Harry’s reactions and abilities for an upcoming operation.

Andy, Harry, and Hermione waited at the Hog's Head Pub while Andy explained Dumbledore's plan to destroy Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes. Harry eagerly anticipated the final battle, unaware that he himself was the last Horcrux, and the chapter ended with him asking Andy to practice dueling.

• Andy, Harry, and Hermione came through the secret passage into the Hog's Head Pub and waited while Andy checked the corridor.
• Andy explained that Dumbledore planned to destroy Voldemort's locket in front of him, prompting Voldemort to recall his other Horcruxes and connect Harry to his memories.
• Andy told Harry he would use Legilimency to help uncover the location of the unknown Horcrux, then destroy it while Dumbledore dealt with Voldemort's snake.
• Harry excitedly believed they could destroy all the Horcruxes and defeat Voldemort, while Andy privately realized Harry was the final Horcrux.
• Andy told Harry to alert him if his scar hurt, but Harry could not sit still and asked Andy to practice dueling.