Chapter Summaries

Hogwarts students mingled with the Durmstrang guests while Severus Snape left the gathering with Mulciber and Glen Avery. James Potter later collided with Archibald, who mocked British wizards as less than proper gentlemen.

• Lucius Malfoy remarked that Amicus Caro would be delighted to learn his cousin Kennedy Caro had arrived.
• Mulciber offered to accompany Snape if he wanted to leave, and Glen Avery followed them when Snape agreed.
• James Potter and Sirius Black discussed the Durmstrang students and James's attempts to impress Evans.
• James turned Sirius's chocolate into stone, ran through the corridor, and crashed into Archibald.
• Archibald looked down at James and mocked British wizards, stopping short of saying what he might have done if they had not been at Hogwarts.

James Potter confronted Archibald after he flirted with Lily Evans, but Archibald then revealed a blood connection to Severus through the House of Prince. Severus went to Professor Riddle to ask whether Archibald and the House of Prince were related.

• James Potter angrily confronted Archibald, and Lily Evans stepped in to demand that James apologize.
• Archibald invited Lily to show him around Hogwarts, prompting James to fire Waddiwasi at him.
• Archibald blocked the chocolate with a transparent barrier, then told Severus that his grandmother came from the House of Prince and that Severus’s mother was his cousin.
• Mulciber and Avery watched Archibald stand close to Severus, and Mulciber reminded Severus that Professor Riddle had summoned him.
• Severus went to Professor Riddle’s office and asked whether Archibald and the House of Prince were related by blood.

Tom explained Eileen Prince’s family history to Severus and confirmed that Archibald had come seeking the Prince inheritance. Meanwhile, Lucius learned of the connection and considered using his godfather to complicate matters for his father.

• Tom told Severus that pure-blood marriages had become a way for noble families to preserve bloodlines and maintain alliances.
• Tom explained that Eileen had left clues behind and that Severus’s great-grandfather had relied on house-elves and his sister to help her.
• Severus asked whether Archibald had come for the Prince inheritance, and Tom confirmed it.
• Severus said he would not give Eileen’s belongings to Archibald, and Tom assured him that no one could take them away.
• Lucius read and burned his father’s reply, learned that the Potter matter involved Prince blood, and decided to speak with his godfather.

Avery told Lucius that Severus had been held close and whispered to by Stanley Archibald, provoking Lucius's fury. Severus called Lucius a madman and left, while Lucius was left confronting that judgment before a newcomer approached him.

• Avery told Lucius that Severus had been held in Stanley Archibald's arms and that Severus had not seemed to dislike the intimate attention.
• Lucius's magic erupted, and he attacked Mulciber when Mulciber entered the common room.
• Severus emerged from the fourth-floor office and asked Lucius what he was going crazy over.
• Lucius asked Severus what he had seen, and Severus slapped his hand away and called him a madman.
• Severus left, and Lucius reflected that he had refused to face this side of himself.
• A newcomer complained about Hogwarts's staircases, and Lucius turned to greet them with a polished smile.

Lucius warned Archibald that the Malfoys’ partnership with his family had ended, then struggled with his own feelings while practicing the Patronus Charm. That weekend, Tom escaped the old bumblebee by blasting him away and Apparating out of range of the Anti-Apparition Charm.

• Lucius cautioned Archibald about the moving stairs and reminded him that the Malfoys had no further obligations to his family.
• Lucius went to the Astronomy Tower, where he lamented his inability to see the stars and conjured a silver-white kitten Patronus.
• Lucius remembered seeing two peacock-shaped Patronuses beneath an embracing couple.
• Tom blasted the old bumblebee away and Apparated once he was beyond the Anti-Apparition Charm’s range.

Tom found Abraxas devastated by Brutus’s worsening curse and returned to Hogwarts to bring Lucius and Severus home. Brutus briefly regained his clarity to see them, then spoke of going to find Avina and asking for her forgiveness.

• Tom returned to Malfoy Manor and found Abraxas grieving beside Brutus, whose curse had not been removed.
• Abraxas told Tom that the healer had lied and begged him to bring Lucius back.
• Tom returned to Hogwarts, and Dumbledore sent Fawkes to help him.
• Tom brought Lucius and Severus back to Brutus’s room with Fawkes.
• Brutus’s vision briefly cleared, and he spoke with his son before saying he could finally go find Avina.

After Brutus was buried, Abraxas struggled with his grief while Tom took charge of his care. Lucius remained at the grave, unable to accept that his grandfather was gone.

• Abraxas placed photographs in Brutus's coffin and buried him, declaring that his father was finally free.
• Tom stunned the exhausted Abraxas and asked Dobby to take Abou back to his room.
• Tom checked the potion Orion brought to suppress the curse and told him he would stay with Abraxas.
• Orion left after asking whether Abraxas was all right, while Brutus's death remained unknown to the wider world.
• Lucius stayed in the graveyard, grieving that he would never see his grandfather again.

After Abraxas’s father died, Lucius and Severus left the manor while Tom stayed with the grieving Abraxas. Abraxas suspected Tom had tampered with his mind, then confronted him about the Resurrection Stone and his forbidden magic.

• Lucius remembered his grandfather’s love and left with Severus as evening fell.
• Tom returned to Abraxas, who woke and blamed himself for his father’s death.
• Tom comforted Abraxas and considered altering his memories, but Abraxas recognized his Legilimency.
• Abraxas asked whether Tom was hiding something and noticed the Resurrection Stone ring.
• Tom denied making a Horcrux, and Abraxas decided to let the matter go for the day.

Tom struggled to convince Abou that the magically created soul inside the stone was not a Horcrux. The next morning, Lucius asked to manage his father’s affairs, and Tom let him begin despite his concerns about Lucius’s experience.

• Tom lay beside the sleeping Abou and worried that the stone’s soul, life-force requirements, and method of destruction made it look like a Horcrux.
• Tom received Dumbledore’s note and set it aside after seeing that Dumbledore had arranged leave for Lucius and the others.
• Lucius asked Tom for permission to handle his father’s affairs, and Tom agreed while reminding him to take his O.W.L. exams.
• Lucius spent the day reviewing his father’s documents and discovered proposed potion-market terms from the Archibald family and that Minister Eugenia Jenkins was his father’s puppet.
• When Lucius nearly collapsed from exhaustion, his father appeared in the study and asked to see the processed documents, while Lucius wondered why Tom was not making him rest.

Abraxas warned Lucius against letting personal feelings shape his treatment of the House of Potter, while Tom nervously tried to stay out of their discussion. After Lucius left, Tom explained the mysterious object to Abraxas and summoned Vidi, whose solidified soul appeared like an ordinary young wizard.

• Abraxas told Lucius that blindly suppressing the House of Potter would be unwise and urged him to maintain good relations with it.
• Lucius sent Tom back to his room to study for his tests.
• Tom massaged Abraxas’s shoulders and insisted that the mysterious object was not a Horcrux.
• Tom explained what had happened and summoned Vidi in Parseltongue.
• Vidi appeared as a solidified soul resembling an ordinary wizard of eighteen or nineteen.

Severus, devastated by what he believed was his place in the Malfoy household and his separation from Brutus, locked himself in the bathroom and nearly boiled himself unconscious. Lucius found him and cared for him, while Severus remained haunted by the keys Brutus had given him and the life they had planned together.

• Abraxas examined Vidi and suggested announcing him as Malfoy's heir, while Tom used Fiendfyre to drive him away.
• Severus shut himself in the bathroom, believing he was merely a charity case and wishing Brutus well with the Black family.
• Severus looked at the Gringotts vault key and Hogsmeade house key Brutus had secretly given him and remembered their plans to decorate together.
• Lucius, worried when Severus did not answer, unlocked the bathroom and found him unconscious in the overheated bathtub.
• Lucius pulled Severus from the tub, dried him with magic, and stayed by his bed until his complexion returned to normal.

After an awkward encounter left Severus and Lucius uneasy around each other, Severus struggled with what Lucius wanted from him and whether inheriting the Prince name could change their relationship. The chapter ended with Severus wondering if he could overcome their unequal status and ignore others’ judgments.

• Severus regretted the embarrassing incident in the bathroom and blushed at the oversized robe he wore.
• Abraxas handled matters after the funeral while Tom warned noble families and Ministry officials against underestimating the Malfoys.
• Severus and Lucius ate in strained silence until Lucius teased Severus about avoiding tomatoes.
• Severus confronted Lucius about what he had said to Archibald, then snapped that he already understood what Archibald and Lucius wanted.
• Lucius held Severus’s wrist and told him to stay away from Archibald, but Severus left before Lucius could finish.
• Severus reread his mother’s potion book without absorbing it, then wondered whether inheriting the Prince name could help him get along with Lucius.

Severus tried to steady himself by immersing himself in potion-making, while Lucius asked Abraxas to arrange his engagement to Narcissa and help him secure influence over House Black. After hearing his father’s warning about Vidi, Lucius remained wary of the Parselmouth and doubted he could control him.

• Severus put aside his anger and focused on reading and improving potion-making methods.
• Lucius told Abraxas he wanted an engagement banquet with Narcissa and planned to help secure the position of Head of House Black for her.
• Abraxas hesitated to agree and said he had something important to tell Lucius before deciding.
• Lucius listened calmly to Abraxas but said he did not trust Vidi’s emotions or believe he could control the dangerous Parselmouth.

Lucius told Severus that his Christmas banquet would also be his engagement banquet, while hiding his own unhappiness over the decision. The next morning, Tom took them to Hogsmeade, where Severus asked Lucius to go somewhere with him.

• Lucius agreed to let Abraxas handle his engagement banquet and learned that Tom would take him and Severus back to Hogwarts in the morning.
• Lucius told Severus that the Christmas banquet would become his engagement banquet, and Severus congratulated him before returning to his room.
• Tom Apparated Lucius and Severus to Hogsmeade the next morning, then left them there.
• Severus asked Lucius to come with him somewhere.

Severus and Lucius arrived at the cottage Brutus had prepared for them and discovered it recreated Severus’s childhood home. Looking through old photographs, Severus reconsidered his memories of his parents, and the story left him feeling less weighed down by the past.

• Lucius complained about the filthy tavern as he and Severus walked through Hogsmeade to the cottage.
• Brutus welcomed them with magical fireworks, and Severus recognized that the cottage’s layout and furniture matched his old home.
• Lucius remembered decorating the cottage with his grandfather and said he had won their bet about making Severus cry.
• Severus opened a storage room and found photographs of himself and of his parents when they were happier.
• Severus wondered whether his parents’ misery had been his fault, but Lucius reassured him, and Severus’s gloom began to fade.

Lucius and Severus hid the storage room and settled into the house while Tom confronted Evan Rosier and Dofner for trusting Grindelwald’s offer. The meeting ended in tense silence as Corban tried to prevent Tom from losing his temper.

• Severus mocked Lucius for looking like an idiot, then ordered him to clean the house and hide the storage room door.
• Lucius concealed the storage room entrance and let Severus rest, deciding they could return late without angering Headmaster Slughorn.
• Tom scolded Evan Rosier and Dofner for believing Grindelwald’s followers wanted only to reconnect them with relatives.
• Evan defended his interest in inheriting Winda Rosier’s estate, and Tom reminded him that Pamela Rosier was among Durmstrang’s guests.
• Corban held back his laughter and gave Radolphus a meaningful look as the meeting room fell silent.

Ian and Mickey returned to Britain and surprised Tom, then took him to the Hog's Head to talk. Tom confessed that he had feared he was cursed and would one day cause Abou's death, leaving the conversation open as Mickey prepared to respond.

• Tom's black-robed underlings pretended to be pure-blood nobles and asked to leave, but he recognized Ian and Mickey when they revealed themselves.
• Ian and Mickey explained that Tom's followers had told them about his recent troubles, then dragged him to The Hog's Head for a drink.
• Ian urged Tom to confide in them rather than Mr. Malfoy.
• Tom admitted that he had once believed he was cursed and feared he would cause Abou's death, remembering killing Abou with his own hands.
• Mickey rolled his eyes and studied Tom after the confession.

Mickey and Ian told Tom about Brutus’s letters, which revealed Brutus’s concern for Tom and Abou and asked them to watch over the two friends. After Ian tempted Tom with risqué clothes and accessories, Mickey brought the conversation back to Grindelwald and their trip to Germany.

• Mickey showed Tom the letters Brutus had sent him and explained that Brutus had written about Tom and asked them to keep an eye on him and Abou.
• Ian said Brutus had insulted his own son in the letters and had asked them to send things to Malfoy Manor if Tom lost interest in Abou.
• Ian tempted Tom to buy risqué clothes and accessories for Abou, and Tom considered paying for them.
• Mickey stopped Ian and Tom’s scheming and said they should discuss Grindelwald and their final stop in Germany.
• Tom returned to the conversation and told them about Grindelwald, who was at Hogwarts.

Tom returned to Hogwarts and learned that the German Ministry of Magic had sent him a Blood Curse Beastman to care for. Gellert warned that she would soon lose her humanity, leaving Tom to decide what to do.

• Tom told Ian and Mickey that Dumbledore was behind the events concerning the German Ministry of Magic.
• Tom received a note summoning him back to Hogwarts and left the bar.
• Dumbledore and Newt explained that the German Ministry of Magic had sent a magical creature they believed would be better off in Tom's care.
• Dumbledore hinted that the creature was a Blood Curse Beastman, and Tom left to investigate her.
• Gellert told Tom that the Beastman still had some memories but would soon lose her humanity, then said Tom could kill her if he was afraid.

Tom returned to his office after clashing with Gellert and opened the suitcase to find a twelve-foot viper named Nagini. Nagini recognized Tom’s scent and remembered Grindelwald and Credence, leaving Tom to calm her down.

• Tom left Gellert after deciding that he would strike back against the Wizarding Supremacy Party’s meddling in Britain.
• Tom returned to his office, put off opening the suitcase, and made Vidi read and respond to a book about werewolf transformations.
• After drinking a potion to ease his exhaustion, Tom opened the suitcase and found a large viper inside.
• Nagini recognized Tom’s scent and said that others shared her name and liked him.
• Nagini sensed Grindelwald’s presence and asked about Credence, and Tom told her to calm down.