Chapter Summaries

Tom discovered that Credence had a powerful influence on Nagini and promised her he would not believe Credence's words, while Vidi failed to get Nagini to listen to him. The next morning, Tom prepared to teach his students and singled out Mr. Ford as his assistant.

• Nagini warned Tom not to believe Credence and began losing her memories of being human.
• Tom promised Nagini he would not be deceived, then realized she had been tying her body into knots since his childhood.
• Vidi tried to persuade Nagini to wander the halls with him, but she refused because she only listened to Tom and told Vidi he was not human.
• Tom had the house-elves prepare food for Nagini, then went to teach his students about Defense Against the Dark Arts and breaking curses.
• Tom asked Mr. Ford to assist him, and the trembling Gryffindor nodded.

Tom Riddle returned to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts and covered the werewolf material Dumbledore had skipped. He explained how werewolves transformed and spread infection, while Remus reacted uneasily to the lesson.

• Ford suggested that Chapman become Slytherin’s assistant, and Tom accepted the suggestion.
• Tom reviewed the textbooks and realized that Dumbledore had skipped the chapter on werewolves.
• James and Sirius arrived for class, and Sirius chose a seat away from the Slytherins so he would not seem rude to Tom.
• Tom began teaching about werewolves, and Remus clenched his textbook when he saw the topic on the blackboard.
• Tom explained that bites could infect victims but said a bite before a werewolf fully transformed would not turn someone into a werewolf.

Remus confided in Professor Riddle that he feared Sirius and the others would discover he was a werewolf and that Dumbledore’s intentions toward him might be controlling. He revealed that Dumbledore had recruited him to help innocent werewolves, leaving him torn between gratitude and resentment.

• Tom left class quickly to escape the Gryffindor students who kept asking him questions.
• Remus visited Tom’s office and said he feared Sirius and the others would discover his identity.
• Remus explained that Dumbledore had delivered his acceptance letter after telling his father he knew about Greyback’s attack and had spies among dark creatures.
• Remus said Dumbledore hoped he would help innocent werewolves, but he felt controlled and missed the acceptance he had found among the children at Orphanage No. 7.

Remus told Tom that he distrusted Dumbledore and wanted to help innocent werewolves, and Tom urged him to become stronger. After Remus hurried to class, Tom blamed Mulciber and other underlings for causing trouble that left him bearing the blame.

• Remus remembered Sophia Eugene Reno and her interest in writing about werewolves and vampires.
• Remus told Tom that Dumbledore treated him with scrutiny and that he still wanted to help innocent werewolves.
• Tom handed Remus hot cocoa, advised him to make himself stronger, and reminded him that Transfiguration class was about to start.
• Remus rushed out to attend the matron's class, and Tom shut his office door.
• Tom blamed the late Mulciber for contacting dark creatures and enabling Greyback's attacks, then complained that his underlings caused trouble and left him to bear the sins.
• Tom also thought about Dolohov's habit of torturing people while claiming they had insulted Slytherin's heir.

Tom brought Vidi to Dumbledore’s office to provoke the Headmaster and test the Pain Transfer Curse, while Vidi taunted Dumbledore over his role in Tom learning about Horcruxes. The chapter ended with Dumbledore stammering as Vidi challenged him to attack.

• Tom burned Vidi’s reading reflections and decided to bring him to Dumbledore’s office.
• Tom tossed the Resurrection Stone ring onto Dumbledore’s desk and warned him not to touch it.
• Vidi thanked Dumbledore for placing books about Horcruxes in the Forbidden Section and claimed that this had helped bring him into being.
• Vidi accused Dumbledore of raising Tom as a new opponent after imprisoning Grindelwald.
• Dumbledore denied Vidi’s accusations, and Vidi challenged him as if he were about to attack.

Tom and Vidi confronted Gellert in Dumbledore’s office, and Tom left with the Resurrection Stone after warning Gellert to stay out of Ministry affairs. Once they were gone, Gellert challenged Dumbledore over whether he truly believed their lives had nothing to do with each other.

• Vidi recognized Gellert as the former master of the Elder Wand and whispered that he could identify the real culprit.
• Gellert unleashed his magical pressure, but Vidi kept the exchange secret while Tom took the Resurrection Stone.
• Tom warned Gellert that he should remember he was in Hogwarts, not Germany, then left with Vidi.
• Dumbledore admitted that he had asked Nicolas Flamel to lend Tom the Resurrection Stone.
• Gellert dropped his disguise and asked Dumbledore whether he truly believed that what happened to them had nothing to do with him.

Dumbledore regretted breaking his vow to Gellert, while Hogwarts students discussed the Malfoy engagement banquet and Severus puzzled over their odd reactions to him. Archibald appeared in the corridor and challenged Severus about his lowered vigilance.

• Dumbledore admitted to himself that he had raised his wand, shattered the Blood Pact vial, and broken his vow to Gellert.
• Students celebrated the coming Christmas break and discussed House of Malfoy's engagement banquet for Malfoy and Narcissus.
• Fawley pulled Abo away after Abo loudly lamented that Narcissus was marrying Malfoy.
• Severus passed the two Slytherins, and Fawley hurried away after awkwardly apologizing for Abo.
• Severus wondered why Fawley had fled, and Archibald appeared and questioned whether something had made Severus lose his vigilance.

Lucius defended Severus when Stanley Archibald provoked them in the corridor, but Dumbledore intervened and assigned Tom to punish Archibald. Tom invited Archibald to discuss Dark Arts in his office, leaving the Durmstrang wizard uneasy as he departed.

• Archibald suggested Severus learn the Patronus Charm and mocked him, while Lucius stepped in to defend Severus.
• Lucius challenged Archibald to exchange knowledge of the Dark Arts, but Dumbledore and another professor arrived and reprimanded them for using magic in the corridor.
• Dumbledore warned Archibald that Hogwarts would not teach him true Dark Arts and sent him to find his headmaster.
• Dumbledore assigned Tom to give Archibald an appropriate punishment, and Tom invited him to discuss the Dark Arts in his office.
• Archibald bowed nervously and left.

Tom brought Lucius and Severus to his office and introduced them to Nagini, a giant snake who had lost her memories of being human. He let Nagini coil around Lucius as a prank, leaving Severus watching helplessly.

• Archibald returned to the carriage, where Grindelwald used the Imperius Curse to make him imitate a house-elf and punish himself.
• Tom invited Lucius and Severus into his office and asked whether they wanted tea or hot cocoa.
• Tom called for Nagini and explained that Lucius and Severus were people he needed to protect.
• Nagini greeted the frightened boys, and Lucius accused Tom of playing a prank.
• Tom told Nagini to play her favorite game with Lucius, and she coiled around him while he called for help.

Severus decided to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas rather than attend the Malfoy and Black engagement banquet, while Lucius accompanied him back from the pavilion. Tom left with Lucius, angry that Severus would not return to the manor, and Lucius tried to persuade him to consider Regulus.

• Severus and Lucius walked to the pavilion under a Disillusionment Charm, and Lucius offered to add Severus to the list of students staying at Hogwarts for Christmas.
• Severus said they should return and asked Lucius not to call him “Slytherin” anymore.
• Severus told Tom he planned to stay at Hogwarts and spend the holiday in the library.
• Tom grabbed Lucius by the collar and left with him, complaining that Severus had betrayed him by refusing to attend the banquet.
• Lucius warned Tom that he would ruin his robes and suggested Tom consider Regulus, but Tom told him to hurry back because his father was waiting.

At the Christmas family banquet, Tom watched his subordinates mingle with the nobles before leaving to check on Regulus. The chapter ended with Regulus asking Tom about the swimsuit incident that had angered his mother.

• Tom stood beside Abou at the banquet and glared at subordinates who had avoided him to mingle with other nobles.
• Keban asked Abraxas to put in a good word for the subordinates, and Abraxas assured him they were still useful to Tom.
• Tom entered the guest room, where Volga left Regulus in his care before going downstairs to keep Bella in check.
• Regulus shyly asked Tom if he could go read, and Tom remarked that he was probably the easiest person in House of Black to bully.
• Regulus wondered whether Tom knew what high-cut swimsuits were, hoping he could avoid making his mother angry.

Tom took Regulus to the study, where he gave him Lucius’s old textbooks and explained Silent Spells. While reading, Tom considered the goblins’ demands for rights and resolved to protect Abou from anyone who threatened him.

• Regulus asked Tom about high-cut swimsuits and bikinis, but Tom stopped him with a Binding Curse and told him not to eavesdrop on his parents’ conversations.
• Tom led Regulus to the study and explained the willpower, concentration, practice, and wand materials involved in casting Silent Spells.
• Tom gave Regulus Lucius’s old textbooks to read before he started Hogwarts in half a year.
• Tom read Small Figures, Grand Plans and considered the goblins’ claims to rights and their history of violent rebellions.
• Tom decided he would not let anyone cause trouble for Abou while he was alive.

Tom spoke with Regulus about Orion’s warnings and told him to choose his own path when he grew up. At the banquet, the Malfoy-Black marriage alliance was announced, leaving Cygnus distraught as his daughters’ engagements and marriage plans moved ahead.

• Regulus asked Tom whether he was tired, and Tom poured him orange juice before asking what Orion had taught him.
• Regulus said Orion had warned him to remember the Black name and suggested that he follow Tom, but Tom told him to decide for himself when he was older.
• Orion teased Cygnus about Narcissa’s engagement, and Cygnus grieved over his daughters’ impending marriages.
• Bella stood before Andromeda and Narcissa and glared at the people approaching them.
• Lucius told Goyle and Crabbe to go talk to their friends after someone threatened to kill him.

At the Malfoy Christmas gathering, Lucius danced with Narcissa while Bella fumed from the sidelines. Rodolphus Lestrange had returned from France, and Abraxas arranged for him to work at the Ministry of Magic.

• Lucius offered Narcissa his hand for the first dance after touching the antidote to Amortentia in his pocket.
• Andromeda restrained Bella as Bella angrily watched Lucius dance with Narcissa.
• Bella recognized Rodolphus Lestrange and remarked that he had survived.
• Radolphus explained to Abraxas that he had brought Rodolphus back from France so he could keep an eye on him.
• Abraxas told Radolphus to send Rodolphus to the Ministry of Magic to help with the goblins.

Severus left the quiet common room to explore the Forbidden Forest under an Invisibility Cloak, but Dumbledore caught him. Dumbledore returned the cloak and began telling Severus about his mother’s younger days.

• Severus worried that Mr. Riddle might be annoyed with him for missing the Malfoy engagement banquet and wondered about the party and Christmas presents.
• Severus took an Invisibility Cloak and left Hogwarts for a nighttime stroll, passing a young wizard romantically addressing a portrait.
• After hearing a wolf howl, Severus entered the Forbidden Forest, claiming he was searching for leaping toadstools while carrying poison and his wand.
• Dumbledore dispersed Severus’s poisonous gas, summoned the Invisibility Cloak, and confronted him in the forest.
• Dumbledore returned the cloak and told Severus that his mother had also explored the Forbidden Forest under an Invisibility Cloak to grow herbs.

Severus and Dumbledore explored the Forbidden Forest, where Severus found his mother’s overgrown herb garden and wondered why she had planted Sniffing Illusion Grass. As the holiday ended, Tom sulked over Abraxas leaving to visit the House of Black and threatened to resign from Hogwarts, while Nagini demanded extra lamb.

• Dumbledore led Severus deeper into the Forbidden Forest and told him what he knew about Miss Prince and the House of Prince.
• Severus found an overgrown herb garden and recognized its plants as Sniffing Illusion Grass, puzzling over why his mother had grown it.
• Abraxas invited Tom to visit the House of Black, but Tom refused, so Abraxas and Lucius went together.
• Tom sat alone in the study, sulking about the holiday ending and deciding to write a resignation letter to Dumbledore.
• Nagini demanded lamb and complained that the word “fat” made her unhappy, then threatened to poison Little Shiny if Tom angered her again.

Tom returned to Hogwarts, confronted Grindelwald, and then reassured Dumbledore that he had no intention of starting a war. He revealed that his recent conflict involved the goblins, leaving Dumbledore wary but less concerned about their threat.

• Tom found Grindelwald after an explosion and mocked him, then took ten thousand Galleons in exchange for staying away from Dumbledore.
• Grindelwald questioned how Tom knew about the Wizarding Supremacy Party’s past atrocities, and Tom left him behind after insulting him in Parseltongue.
• Tom entered Dumbledore’s office and restored its messy contents with magic.
• Dumbledore asked whether he could trust Tom never to start a war, and Tom said political power mattered less to him than studying magic.
• Tom told Dumbledore that his conflict with the goblins had prompted his recent actions, and Dumbledore considered the goblins’ distinct magic.

Tom questioned Dumbledore about why he kept refusing Grindelwald, and Dumbledore admitted he lacked the courage to face him over Ariana’s death. Dumbledore ultimately blamed himself and warned Tom not to use Legilimency on him again.

• Tom asked Dumbledore why he had repeatedly refused Grindelwald.
• Dumbledore said he could not forgive himself and lacked the courage to face Grindelwald, who knew whose Killing Curse had struck Ariana.
• Tom used Legilimency to suggest that Dumbledore blamed Grindelwald for Ariana’s death.
• Dumbledore insisted that Ariana’s death was his sin and warned Tom not to use Legilimency on him again.

Tom learned that someone from the Archibald family was investigating Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s relationship, then Dumbledore trapped Tom in a Water Prison before Tom retaliated. Later, Tom found Severus disguised as Lucius with Polyjuice Potion and offered to help him find Lucius.

• Tom warned Dumbledore that an Archibald family member was asking about the secret romance between Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
• Dumbledore trapped Tom in a Water Prison, and Tom broke free and retaliated by turning the shattered window fragments into bees.
• Tom encountered Severus disguised as Lucius with Polyjuice Potion and asked what had happened.
• Severus said he was going to kill Lucius, and Tom suggested using the Point-Me Spell to find him.

Tom dealt with Nagini’s unexpected magic and found a new way to offload his work by ordering Vidi to deliver a letter to Corban at Yaxley Manor. The chapter left Vidi resigned to his role as an alchemical construct while Tom celebrated his lighter workload.

• Tom found Nagini loose in the office and calmed her after she complained that her head hurt.
• Tom stunned Nagini, shrank her, and put her unconscious body in his pocket.
• Tom remembered Vidi and ordered him to take a letter to Corban at Yaxley Manor that night.
• Vidi agreed, then complained that Tom was making him work and reflected on being an alchemical construct.
• Tom sat down with a drink and asked Vidi what he was trying to say.