Chapter Summaries

Tom warned Lucius not to provoke people, then Lucius insulted Rodolphus, prompting the Carrow twins to plot against him. Months later, Bellatrix grew anxious about rumors spreading around Hogwarts and worried Professor Riddle might misunderstand her.

• Tom took Lucius away from Dumbledore and told him that his looks were the worst in the family, leaving Lucius devastated.
• Rodolphus confronted Lucius in the dungeon corridor, and Lucius mocked him for being a lesser son than Rabastan and for pursuing Bellatrix.
• Amicus and Alecto watched the confrontation and planned to exploit Rodolphus's actions against the Lestrange family and turn Bellatrix further against him.
• Several months later, Bellatrix noticed people whispering about her and worried that Professor Riddle might hear a rumor and misunderstand her.
• Andromeda visited Bellatrix, who pinched her cheeks until Andromeda complained that she was not a child.

Andromeda told Bella that Hogwarts rumors claimed Rodolphus had declared Bella his future fiancée and cursed Lucius over the Black-Malfoy marriage alliance. Bella resolved to let Professor Riddle handle Rodolphus, while Tom investigated the rumors and angrily questioned how Radolphus had raised his son.

• Andromeda warned Bella that rumors linked her to Rodolphus and that he had broken an admirer’s leg in a duel.
• Andromeda said Rodolphus had called Bella his future fiancée and cursed Lucius, whom he apparently thought would marry into the House of Malfoy.
• Bella said Professor Riddle would deal with Rodolphus and admitted she wanted power so she could protect her sisters and change House of Black’s situation.
• Andromeda explained that she was the best suited to be disowned, while Bella should remain with the Blacks and Cissy could live well with the Malfoys.
• Tom checked Lucius and found no curse, only signs that he had drunk too much Beauty Potion, then fumed over how Radolphus had raised his son.

Tom went to Lestrange Manor to confront Radolphus about his second son’s behavior at Hogwarts, then returned to the Black Lake and spoke with Dumbledore. The chapter ended with Tom agreeing to help welcome Newt when he visited Hogwarts.

• Tom rushed to Lestrange Manor after worrying that rumors about Lucius might reach Abraxas.
• Tom cursed Radolphus with Cruciatus and told him to make his second son recognize his place.
• Tom sent Radolphus to Corban to learn what his son had done.
• Tom returned to Hogwarts and complained to Dumbledore, who said Newt would soon visit.
• Tom reluctantly agreed to join Dumbledore in welcoming Newt.

Tom taught the students how the Impediment Jinx could slow or briefly suspend its target, then Dumbledore pressured him to recover Ravenclaw’s diadem by threatening to expose his past experiments on magical creatures. Tom ended the chapter defeated by Dumbledore’s leverage and retaliated with a Slug-Vomiting Charm.

• Dumbledore spoke with the Grey Lady, who insisted he keep his promise to tell Tom to return Ravenclaw’s diadem to Hogwarts.
• Tom taught his students the Impediment Jinx and had them experience its effects during a game of catching people.
• Dumbledore asked Tom to return the diadem and threatened to reveal his experiments on unicorns and other magical creatures to Newt.
• Tom drew his wand under the table and cast a Slug-Vomiting Charm on Dumbledore.

Tom searched his manor for Ravenclaw's diadem, took it from his private treasury, and reconsidered his bargain with Dumbledore. At Hogwarts, Dumbledore got drunk and revealed his jealous memories of Gellert Grindelwald, while Tom left him asleep and wondered if he would have to resign.

• Tom entered his private treasury, took Ravenclaw's diadem, and left the golden cup behind.
• Tom decided his deal with Dumbledore would have to be called off and considered asking for a different benefit.
• Dumbledore drank strong whiskey and complained to Tom about Lady Grey and his unhappy memories of Gellert Grindelwald and Vinda Rosier.
• Tom listened as Dumbledore revealed that Aberforth had broken his nose and recounted an intimate encounter with Grindelwald in a barn.
• Tom moved Dumbledore's desk, transformed his chair into a bed, tucked him in, and quietly left.

After a painful hangover, Dumbledore feared Tom would expose his drunken disgrace, while Tom pondered how to find the house-elf connected to the golden cup. Tom then returned to teaching and told his students he needed a latecomer to serve as his assistant.

• Dumbledore took a hangover potion and nervously questioned Newt about what he and Tom had discussed.
• Newt spotted a gleaming diadem, but Dumbledore quickly took it back and lamented what it had cost him.
• Tom considered traveling to Azkaban to find the house-elf who had poisoned its master and recalled the political history behind the Ministry and the Malfoys.
• Tom set aside the golden cup investigation and prepared for his next class, where he planned to choose an assistant.
• Lance asked Tom whether he knew Gallagher or someone from the Mirkovich family, and Tom recalled how Ian and another person had stood by him.

Tom taught minor curses, then asked Dumbledore about Helga Hufflepuff’s golden cup and learned it could win Hogwarts’ house-elves’ loyalty with Helga’s recognition. Meanwhile, Lucius confronted Bellatrix over rumors involving Narcissa and the Caro siblings, then approached Rabastan with a plan concerning the Lestrange family.

• Tom used Noel as a teaching assistant while demonstrating minor curses and awarded Gryffindor five points.
• Tom asked Dumbledore what Helga Hufflepuff’s golden cup was for, and Dumbledore said its recognized owner could gain the house-elves’ loyalty.
• Tom teased Dumbledore about Gellert, and Dumbledore fired the Killing Curse at him as he left the office.
• Bellatrix accused Lucius of helping the Caro siblings spread rumors, but Lucius insisted her real enemy was not him unless she wanted him to change his attitude toward Narcissa.
• Lucius returned to the Slytherin common room, considered the Caro siblings useful against Rodolphus, and approached Rabastan to talk.

Rabastan endured Lucius’s pointed visit and questioned where his loyalty should lie, while Lucius resolved to build his own team and target Severus. Severus struggled to choose a Christmas gift for the Malfoys, and Sirius was ordered to attend a banquet despite his protests.

• Rabastan suspected Lucius was probing him about Rodolphus and his family’s succession, and Lucius promised him a gift for becoming the next head of the House of Lestrange.
• Rabastan wondered who deserved his loyalty after Lucius left, while Lucius reflected on his loneliness and decided he needed to build his own team.
• Lucius planned to find a suitable whetstone for Severus and warned him to enjoy the peace while it lasted.
• Severus survived another potion mishap with Brutus and fretted over choosing a Christmas gift for the House of Malfoy.
• Orion told Sirius he had to attend a banquet because the heir of the Fudge family had been born, but Sirius protested that he did not know the guests.

Sirius brought Regulus to Malfoy Manor and asked Severus to send Tom a letter seeking help for Regulus’s poor health. Tom received the request and used Elixir of Life on the Resurrection Stone ring, though he doubted Regulus’s condition could be fixed quickly.

• Sirius refused to attend a banquet with his parents and suspected that Regulus was the true heir of House of Black.
• Sirius took Regulus to Malfoy Manor, where they found Severus, and asked him to write to Tom for help with Regulus’s health.
• Sirius paid Severus with the key to his savings vault, then wrote a letter and sent it to Tom.
• Severus said he would enter Slytherin, while privately resolving that he needed to become someone of value.
• Tom read Sirius’s letter, burned it, and poured Elixir of Life over the Resurrection Stone ring.

Tom tried to persuade Lucius to enjoy his time at Hogwarts, but Lucius insisted on preparing to inherit the Malfoy family early. After returning to Malfoy Manor for Christmas, Lucius investigated pure-blood children born around 1960 and focused on Potter and Severus.

• Tom changed Lucius's dormitory to resemble his bedroom at home and urged him to relax and make happy memories at Hogwarts.
• Lucius told Tom that his treasures were Tom and Abou, and that he willingly accepted the duties of being a Malfoy heir.
• Tom brought Lucius to Malfoy Manor for Christmas, then shared an affectionate moment with Abou in the garden.
• Lucius reviewed a list of pure-blood children born around 1960 and noted Potter's birth date and the Potter family's rise among the Sacred Twenty-Eight.
• Lucius connected Potter with potions and Severus, locked the list in a drawer, and left his study.

Lucius gave Severus his pocket watch and asked him to accompany him to Godric's Valley to congratulate House of Potter. After Abraxas warned Lucius not to toy with Severus because of his connection to Tom's old acquaintance, Lucius avoided discussing his marriage prospects, while Abraxas and Tom considered the support Regulus would need.

• Lucius retrieved his pocket watch from beneath Severus's pillow, gave it to him, and told him about its protective enchantment.
• Lucius asked Severus to accompany him to Godric's Valley the following weekend to represent House of Malfoy at House of Potter's celebration, and Severus reluctantly agreed.
• Abraxas told Lucius he could refuse marriage alliances, and Lucius said he did not expect to fall in love and considered the little princess of House of Black his best choice.
• Abraxas warned Lucius not to toy with Severus because Severus was the child of Aileen Prince, whom Tom had once approved of, and Lucius agreed.
• Tom found Lucius sulking after his conversation with Abraxas, then listened as Abraxas explained that Orion was weakening and Regulus would need support from Bella and Lucius.

Tom brought Lucius and Severus to a banquet at the House of Potter in Godric's Valley, where James insulted Severus and sparked a fight. Lucius stopped James and led the shaken Severus away from the watching guests.

• Tom took Lucius and Severus to the House of Potter while Dumbledore hid under the Cloak of Invisibility and ate desserts.
• James mocked Severus over his criticism of the biscuits, and Severus confronted him.
• Sirius tried to defuse the argument, but James insulted Severus again and a fight broke out.
• Lucius restrained James before he could strike, and Fremont scolded his son and had a house-elf remove him.
• Fremont apologized to Severus and offered to show him books on Potions, but Severus declined.
• Lucius put an arm around Severus and led him away as the guests watched and whispered.

After Severus was humiliated at a banquet, Lucius brought him home while Tom and Dumbledore visited Godric's Valley. Severus sought his mother's Prince family roots, and Lucius explained that he had used the insults to secure respect and compensation for him, then asked Brutus if he had been wrong.

• Lucius brought Severus home after the banquet, and Tom and Dumbledore walked through Godric's Valley before stopping at a bar.
• Brutus comforted Severus with hot cocoa, and Severus asked where he could find Prince Manor.
• Brutus told Severus that only Prince blood relatives could find the manor and that his mother had been the last to know its location.
• Severus went to look through his mother's belongings while Brutus visited Lucius in his bedroom.
• Lucius told Brutus that he had intended to turn the insults into leverage against the Potters and make clear that Severus was protected by the House of Malfoy.

Brutus urged Lucius to speak with Slytherin and reconsider Severus leaving, but Lucius refused to interfere with Severus’s choice. Severus asked Tom to take him to Prince Manor, and the two traveled north to find the hidden castle.

• Brutus told Lucius that he feared Severus would regret leaving and urged him to intervene, but Lucius said he could not control Severus’s decisions.
• Brutus revealed that his own regrets over a lost love had shaped his support for Abou’s pursuit of Tom, while Lucius insisted it was too early to know what he might regret.
• When Tom returned, Brutus announced that he was running away to the Muggle world to find Arcturus, and Tom went into the manor to recover from drinking with Dumbledore.
• Severus asked Tom to take him to Prince Manor and explained that his mother’s bracelet could open it, using a clue in an old textbook to identify a village near Hadrian’s Wall.
• Tom and Severus Apparated north after nightfall, where Tom sensed something hidden despite being unable to see the castle.

Tom returned from the fairy-filled domain with Severus, then resumed life at the manor and Hogwarts while reflecting on the young wizards’ studies. Dumbledore reminded Tom of his offer to give him his talents and himself, then asked for his help.

• The Ink Jade Bracelet drew fairies to Severus, who saw a faint outline of a hidden place that Tom could not perceive.
• Tom returned to the manor, where Abraxas teased him, and later scolded Lucius for being slack after oversleeping and missing Abou’s departure.
• Tom offered to guide Severus through the Dark Arts books, but Severus said he needed time to study them.
• At Hogwarts, Tom answered Sevis’s question about the Inferno Draught and decided to make the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam harder.
• Tom joined Dumbledore in the Astronomy Tower, where Dumbledore recalled their earlier conversation and asked Tom for help.

Dumbledore asked Tom to use his connections to block Grindelwald’s student-exchange proposal, but Tom instead made him demonstrate the Impediment Jinx to students. A conversation with Armando Dippet led Dumbledore to admit he had always longed for love, while Grindelwald prepared to contact Malfoy about expanding his business.

• Dumbledore asked Tom to use his influence to veto Grindelwald’s proposal for student exchanges between Durmstrang and other schools.
• Tom refused to make the proposal easy to block, teased Dumbledore, and used the Impediment Jinx to suspend him before taking younger students to a spell lesson.
• Dumbledore returned to his office and confided in Armando Dippet that he felt the young man he had once been was dead and that protecting the wizarding world was an excuse to avoid his mistakes.
• Armando suggested that Dumbledore still longed for love, and Dumbledore admitted that he always had.
• Grindelwald reflected on his memories of Albus and the wool socks he had kept, then decided to give Malfoy advance notice about a business opportunity.

Tom and Filius let Dumbledore’s misery become a public spectacle until Minerva’s complaints forced Filius to lower him. During the Easter holiday, Tom and Abraxas discussed the blocked Durmstrang exchange, and Lucius searched for a suitable Slytherin roommate for Severus.

• Tom sent a memory exposing Dumbledore’s talk of stealing the Philosopher’s Stone and Newt Scamander’s creatures to LeMay and Scamander.
• Minerva asked Tom to stop Dumbledore’s nightly wailing, but Tom defended him as Filius lowered him from the tower spire.
• Durmstrang’s proposal to study in Germany was rejected, leaving Abraxas mourning the lost chance to access Grindelwald’s vault.
• Abraxas questioned Tom about his influence in the International Confederation of Wizards and warned him not to research forbidden magic; Tom promised to stop.
• Lucius searched for a suitable Slytherin roommate for Severus and considered Avery and Mulciber as possible choices.

Lucius pressured Bellatrix over her choices and threatened the Black family while Bellatrix confided in Andromeda about wanting to protect her siblings. As exam season began, Tom went to Dumbledore with another suggestion and was met with a barrage of quills.

• Lucius inspected a rundown Slytherin dormitory, then called Bellatrix an “Iceberg Beauty” as she confronted him about his concern for a half-blood.
• Lucius warned Bellatrix not to interfere with his plans and threatened the eldest son of the House of Black.
• Bellatrix told Andromeda that the family had imposed their fate on them and that she had only wanted to protect Sirius and Regulus.
• Andromeda comforted Bellatrix, who apologized for losing her temper before leaving.
• As the two-week exam period began, Tom visited Dumbledore, who angrily threw quills at him while buried in paperwork.

Tom and Dumbledore discussed how to protect Remus, whose name was already in the Book of Admission, from the dangers of becoming a werewolf. They planned to hide his transformations in the Shrieking Shack, though Tom left with Dumbledore clinging to his robes.

• Tom suggested holding monthly assessments, but Dumbledore refused and defended his happy education approach.
• Tom pointed out that Remus would enroll at Hogwarts in a few years and said Remus needed Dumbledore's trust, not his own.
• Dumbledore showed Tom the Whomping Willow and proposed using it to guard a secret passage to the Shrieking Shack.
• Tom and Dumbledore planned for Remus to enter the Shack before each full moon and use an exit near Aberforth in Hogsmeade.
• Tom tried to leave, but Dumbledore clutched his robes and refused to let go.

Tom returned to Malfoy Manor for the holiday and clung to Abraxas, who was preparing to attend a banquet. After choosing a dramatic black cloak for Abraxas, Tom sent him off while insisting that Lucius study and practice spells over the holiday.

• Tom confronted Dumbledore over the books he had taken and demanded that Dumbledore search for Whomping Willow seeds.
• Tom returned to Malfoy Manor and followed Abraxas as he prepared to leave for a banquet.
• Abraxas asked Tom to choose an outfit, and Tom selected a pure black cloak.
• Lucius watched Abraxas leave in the cloak and worried that others would laugh at his father.
• Tom told Lucius to study next year's courses and practice spells during the holiday, leaving Lucius exasperated.