Chapter Summaries

Tom reflected on the exhausting effort he had put into studying Magical Creatures to win Mr. Scamander’s favor, then worried that Hogwarts students knew too little defensive magic. He proposed a new school rule requiring every student to read at least a third of the library’s books.

• Tom recalled studying Magical Creatures and visiting the Forbidden Forest to maintain a good relationship with Mr. Scamander and obtain the suitcase.
• Tom taught Hufflepuff and Gryffindor students the Howling Charm and warned them that it could help them escape in a future war.
• Tom went to the Headmaster’s Tower and burned Dumbledore’s freshly trimmed beard in irritation.
• Tom told Dumbledore he supported Ms. Rowena Ravenclaw’s view of wisdom and proposed requiring every student to read at least one-third of the library’s books during their seven years at Hogwarts.

Tom pushed Dumbledore to impose a new reading requirement on Hogwarts students, arguing that they needed broader knowledge to become capable wizards. The rule was posted outside the Great Hall on the day before exam week.

• Tom complained that third-years did not know the Howling Charm and argued that students had enough time to study the library's books.
• Dumbledore warned that Tom's expectations were unrealistic and that the proposed rule would be especially unpopular with Gryffindor students.
• Tom challenged Dumbledore over Gryffindor prejudice and said that only the headmaster could make school rules.
• The day before exam week, a rule was posted requiring every Hogwarts student to read one non-course book weekly and submit a two-page essay to their matron.

Tom returned to Malfoy Manor in a good mood and gently offered Lucius and Severus gifts, but both boys were frightened and declined. After they fled to their room, Severus admitted he envied the affection Tom showed Lucius’s family and clung to his memories of better times with his father.

• Tom returned to Malfoy Manor and asked Lucius whether he wanted an Australian White-eyed Dragon and Severus whether he wanted anything.
• Lucius and Severus nervously declined, then hurried away while Tom wondered what was wrong with them.
• Abraxas suggested the boys had grown up and wanted secrets of their own, then drew Tom’s attention elsewhere.
• Lucius tried to reassure Severus, but Severus said Tom’s tenderness belonged only to Lucius’s family.
• Severus remembered how insults and arguments with his father had eclipsed their pleasant moments, and held onto those memories to keep from feeling rejected.

Tom Riddle met Gellert Grindelwald in Knockturn Alley, where Grindelwald warned him that Abraxas Malfoy’s family history held a dangerous curse. They struck binding oaths before Tom left, while Krafte complained that the meeting had put him in danger.

• Tom Riddle confronted Gellert Grindelwald, who mocked his interest in the Delirious Realm and questioned whether he could resist its power to change fate.
• Gellert warned Tom that illness and a calamity in the Malfoy bloodline could eventually destroy Abraxas’s reason.
• Tom threatened Gellert and Dumbledore if anything happened to Abraxas, then agreed to make a deal with Gellert.
• Tom swore not to harm Albus Dumbledore, and Gellert swore upon his soul not to harm Abraxas Malfoy in any way.
• Tom left after warning Gellert not to use his loyal followers against Abraxas, and Krafte complained about the dangerous meeting.

Severus visited the ruins of his childhood home with Lucius and learned what had happened to his parents. Lucius explained that Severus’s mother had loved him, leaving Severus grieving that he had never told her he did not hate her.

• Gellert lamented to Krafte that Albus might not forgive him, and Krafte died on August 17, 1965.
• Tom returned to Abraxas and Lucius in Diagon Alley, while Lucius and Severus agreed to visit Spinner’s End.
• Severus stood before the ruins of his former home and asked Lucius what had happened back then.
• Lucius explained that Abraxas had intervened after Lucius was nearly hit by a bottle, and that Eileen Prince had altered her memories before killing Severus’s father and knocking Severus unconscious.
• Lucius told Severus that his mother had loved him and had threatened Abraxas into caring for him, and Severus regretted never telling her that he had not hated her.

Lucius gave Severus his mother’s pocket watch before they returned to Malfoy Manor, where Abraxas confronted Tom about his dangerous actions and Tom won his forgiveness. The next day, Abraxas went to the Ministry while Tom received a note that gave him someone to blame, then confronted Dumbledore in the Headmaster’s office.

• Lucius gave Severus his treasured pocket watch, and Severus heard an unfamiliar sound before Dobby took them back to Malfoy Manor.
• Abraxas scolded Tom for risking himself, but Tom apologized and persuaded Abraxas to forgive him.
• The next day, Abraxas left for the Ministry, and Tom took potions to ease the pain from their night together.
• Tom received a note by Phoenix feather and decided he had found someone to vent his anger on.
• Dumbledore worried over the Order of the Phoenix’s finances and Squib subsidies when Tom arrived and found him pulling at his beard.

Dumbledore told Tom that Mundungus Fletcher had learned that several local dark wizards had left Britain, possibly to join a group being formed by Voldemort. Tom suspected the truth behind their departure but had not yet decided whether to tell Dumbledore.

• Dumbledore proposed robbing Gringotts, but Tom refused and said he and his followers had enough money.
• Dumbledore lamented his past actions, and Tom asked what had happened with Mundungus Fletcher.
• Dumbledore explained that Mundungus knew many petty thieves and swindlers who sometimes provided useful intelligence.
• Dumbledore said Mundungus had learned that several local dark wizards had left Britain and suggested that Voldemort might be forming a new group.
• Tom glanced at his wrist and wondered whether to reveal the truth about the dark wizards.

Tom agreed to help Dumbledore fund the Order of the Phoenix in exchange for five Elixirs of Life, then went to Knockturn Alley to secure money from Gellert. Gellert agreed to pay him fifty thousand Galleons if Tom handled Dumbledore’s problems.

• Dumbledore asked Tom for Galleons to pay Mundungus and support the Order of the Phoenix.
• Tom agreed to provide funding in exchange for five Elixirs of Life, and gave Dumbledore a deposit of three thousand Galleons.
• Tom left Hogwarts and headed to Knockturn Alley to find Gellert.
• Gellert agreed to give Tom fifty thousand Galleons on the condition that Tom handled Dumbledore’s problems.

Tom learned that the Malfoys had a hidden history involving magic and Muggle aristocrats, while Abraxas explained how their ties to the royal family began. The chapter ended as Abraxas hinted that those connections had brought trouble to the family.

• Tom visited Abraxas at the Ministry and discussed candidates to replace Nobby Leach as Minister for Magic, including Eugenia Jenkins.
• Abraxas asked Tom to meet with his followers about fighting for Squibs’ rights, and Tom agreed to help.
• Tom examined Abraxas with his wand and asked whether House of Malfoy concealed a calamity.
• Abraxas explained that Armand Malfoy had come to Britain with William I and that the family had used magic while serving Muggle nobles.
• Abraxas said the Malfoys had maintained ties with the royal family before the Secrecy Law, but that those ties had started their trouble.

Abraxas told Tom that a curse cast by an earlier Malfoy patriarch had weakened the family’s bloodline and health, prompting the family to manipulate Ministry elections from behind the scenes. Tom left the Ministry for Knockturn Alley, where he took Gringotts’s key from Grindelwald.

• Abraxas explained that Lucius Malfoy I had opposed the Secrecy Law while pursuing Elizabeth I and cursed her after she rejected him.
• Abraxas said the curse harmed Malfoy descendants and led the family to influence Ministry elections through favored candidates.
• Tom confronted Abraxas about whether he had once viewed Tom as a political puppet, and Abraxas called it an investment in love.
• Abraxas concluded that the curse’s side effects had likely faded, noting that he had reached middle age.
• Tom went to Knockturn Alley, took Gringotts’s key from Grindelwald, and felt better.

Tom met with his followers to plan unrest that would weaken the current Muggle-born Minister and build Eugenia Jenkins’s prestige. He assigned his allies tasks involving public opinion, werewolf disturbances, and exploiting the Minister’s illness.

• Tom waited for his underlings and considered how a war and unrest could help bring down the Minister and raise Eugenia’s standing.
• Corban complained that spying cost too many Galleons, and Tom promised that someone from the Order of the Phoenix would send him money.
• Tom told Corban that the Lestrange family would lead the coming effort and ordered him to stop talking.
• Tom instructed Parkinson to stir up public opinion and Augustus Rookwood to provoke werewolf disturbances with Corban’s help.
• Tom ordered Avery to deal with the werewolves when the Minister was unwell, with Eugenia Jenkins’s assistance.

Tom directed his subordinates to support Abou’s campaign for Squib rights while arranging opposition from the Bulstrode and Selwyn families. He then gave Dumbledore fifty thousand Galleons and asked him to have the Squibs demonstrate, leaving his plan underway.

• Tom warned his subordinates to keep their heirs from leading his godson astray.
• Tom told his subordinates to support Abou’s fight for Squib rights and have the Bulstrode and Selwyn families oppose it.
• After the meeting, Tom returned to Hogwarts and brought Dumbledore fifty thousand Galleons.
• Tom asked Dumbledore to have the Squibs under his care march in a demonstration.

Tom explained to Dumbledore that he planned to gradually assimilate Muggles by connecting them with wizards and using magic to keep them from turning against the wizarding world. Dumbledore offered to give him a list of staunch supporters of the Secrecy Law, but warned Tom not to use him to kill them.

• Dumbledore asked Tom what he planned to do, and Tom rejected the idea that he meant to control Muggles for personal gain.
• Tom described how wizards could use the Imperius Curse to make Muggle leaders start wars, but said he would not pursue that approach.
• Tom said he would gradually connect Muggles with wizards and use magic to prevent them from betraying the wizarding world.
• Dumbledore considered invoking the Secrecy Law but, glancing at Tom's money pouch, offered him a list of supporters instead.
• Dumbledore warned Tom not to use the list to make him slaughter the people who had forced him to break the Blood Pact.

Tom urged Dumbledore to create an heir with the Elixir of Life, but their talk turned to Dumbledore’s regret over his lost relationship with Gellert. Later, Tom tried to get Fawkes to lay an egg before Hagrid approached him for help.

• Tom told Dumbledore he could control the heir he created and criticized him for dwelling on his lost love.
• Dumbledore explained that he had trusted Gellert but lacked the courage to bridge the gulf between them after the Blood Pact broke.
• Tom called Dumbledore a rational coward and said he had disappointed him.
• In the Forbidden Forest, Tom ordered Fawkes to lay an egg, but Fawkes protested that he was male.
• Tom wondered whether breeding a basilisk required an egg laid by a rooster, and Hagrid ran up to ask him for a favor.

Tom examined Hagrid’s listless roosters and secretly used a Confundus Charm on two of them, hoping they might produce a basilisk. At the Sorting, Lucius teased Bella about her suitor Rodolphus Lestrange and asked whether he had a chance with her.

• Tom agreed to examine Hagrid’s roosters and found that none had laid an egg despite his attempts with magic and potions.
• Tom cast a Confundus Charm on two mating roosters while Hagrid repaired their fence.
• Tom watched his godson at the Sorting and nodded to Lucius to reassure him.
• Lucius teased Bella about her temper and suggested that Rodolphus Lestrange wanted to kill him.
• Lucius tucked Bella’s hair behind her ear, said Black would marry into House of Malfoy, and asked whether he had a chance with her.

Andromeda teased Bella and Lucius about who might become her brother-in-law, while Brutus complained about being kept at Malfoy Manor and was made to handle family affairs. Abraxas sent his Patronus to check on Tom, who prepared to teach the young wizards personally.

• Andromeda laughed and asked whether a Malfoy would become Bella’s brother-in-law or her own, and Lucius joked that he preferred a gently blooming narcissus.
• Brutus stared at the Malfoy family tree and lamented that he had no reason to exist after his son and grandson had moved on.
• Abraxas warned Brutus not to sneak away to France and dragged him out of the Chamber of Secrets to handle the family accounts.
• Abraxas reflected on the burdens of leading the family and sent his silver peacock Patronus to check on Tom.
• Tom saw Abou’s Patronus and left his office, apparently preparing to teach the young wizards himself.

Lucius attended Dumbledore’s Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson before Tom took over and taught the students the Blasting Curse. Tom then warned Lucius to master advanced magic and potions so he could protect himself from those who might target him.

• Dumbledore asked Lucius for the first rule of magic, and Lucius answered correctly, earning Slytherin a point.
• Tom arrived in the classroom, and Dumbledore left as Tom began teaching the Blasting Curse.
• Tom demonstrated Expulso, blasting the classroom target into fragments, then assigned homework.
• Tom took Lucius to his office and insisted he study Human Transfiguration and advanced potions.
• Lucius understood that Tom feared others might use potions against him, while Tom reflected that his investment in the Prince heir would pay off.

Tom discovered that Brutus was suffering from a curse’s backlash and attacked House of Bulstrode to punish those responsible. He saved Brutus with the Elixir of Life, though the cure left Brutus with an unexpected condition, and Tom ended the chapter exhausted and arguing with the Resurrection Stone.

• Tom returned to Malfoy Manor, where Abraxas’s grandfather summoned them after Brutus collapsed under the effects of a curse.
• Tom gave Brutus enchanted leaves to suppress the backlash and promised Abraxas he would save his father.
• Tom led his subordinates in destroying House of Bulstrode’s defenses and ordering that no one there be left alive.
• Tom returned to Malfoy Manor and gave Brutus the Elixir of Life, which restored him after the curse was removed.
• Tom and Abraxas hurried away when Brutus woke and asked if he was going to die, prompting Brutus to shout that Tom had called him impotent.
• Tom put the Resurrection Stone ring back in a drawer and dismissed its complaint about being ignored.

Tom caught Lucius flirting with Sybill Trelawney and punished him, but their confrontation led Lucius to explain that he wanted to build his own influence and have more time with his godfather. Tom apologized, urged him to find trustworthy companions, and retrieved memories of Olivia to show him.

• Tom found Lucius speaking flirtatiously with Sybill Trelawney and made him practice the Zombie Float spell.
• Tom floated Lucius into the Slytherin common room and assigned every student an essay about the Golden Snitch.
• Lucius told Tom that he believed Sybill had inherited Cassandra Trelawney's gift and wanted to build his own network rather than depend on others.
• Tom apologized for overlooking Lucius's perspective and urged him to seek companions he could trust, while Lucius admitted he still viewed Severus as a potential route to the Prince inheritance.
• Tom drew out his memories of Olivia and left the common room with Lucius to show them to him.

Tom asked Dumbledore about his history with Grindelwald, and Dumbledore explained how a quarrel with Aberforth ended in Ariana's death. The chapter left Dumbledore admitting that he blamed himself above all others.

• Dumbledore showed Tom and Lucius a new mirror, and Tom changed Dumbledore's pink dress into an ordinary robe.
• Tom sent Lucius into the Pensieve to watch memories about his mother while he questioned Dumbledore about Grindelwald.
• Dumbledore explained that he and Grindelwald had planned to remake the wizarding world, while he intended to leave his orphaned siblings behind.
• Dumbledore recounted how Aberforth accused Grindelwald of manipulating him, sparking a fight in which Ariana was killed by a stray Killing Curse.
• Tom suggested Grindelwald might not have approached Dumbledore merely to use him, and Dumbledore said he could not forgive himself.