Chapter Summaries

Tom reflected on the information coming from Hufflepuff and considered drawing Severus into his affairs. Lucius visited Tom to ask him not to interfere with his plan to show Severus that they were friends, and Tom agreed to stay silent.

• Tom removed the Enhanced Senses Charm and considered finding something for Severus to do so he would learn who had instructed his persistent companion.
• Dumbledore wondered where the Hufflepuffs had gathered their information and noted reports about Potter's secret passage and monsters in the Shrieking Shack.
• Tom spent the following days teaching young wizards and visiting Lucius at Malfoy Manor.
• Lucius begged Tom not to tell Severus about his arrangements, which included approaching and monitoring him.
• Lucius explained that he wanted Severus to see the pure-bloods' intentions and understand that they were friends, and Tom agreed not to say anything.

Tom prepared for the next school year and confronted Slytherin students who had mocked Regulus and House of Black. He repeated their insults in front of the common room, leaving them silent and fearful.

• Tom burned the photograph enclosed with Crouch's letter and thought about preparing for the next school year.
• Tom warned the restless Slytherin students against testing Regulus, threatening to visit Macmillan's father.
• Macmillan insisted that his father and he remained loyal to Tom.
• Lucius held Regulus back while Tom searched the students' memories and demanded they repeat their remarks.
• Tom recited the students' insults about House of Black, including claims that it was finished and should disappear from the Sacred Twenty-Eight.

Tom confronted the young wizards who had mistreated Regulus and Malfoy, then took Severus and Regulus to his office to reprimand them and assign books for practice. Lucius was left behind, feeling snubbed, while Tom’s choices of books hinted at different paths for the two boys.

• Tom questioned the black-haired wizard about involving Malfoy and threatening Regulus, then warned him that his parents would hear from Tom.
• Tom summoned Severus and Regulus to leave with him, while Lucius felt overlooked and Andromeda teased him.
• In his office, Tom warned Severus to stop sneaking into the Forbidden Forest and reprimanded Regulus for spying on Sirius.
• Tom directed Regulus to practice from Basic Curses for the Busy and Irritated and gave Severus Practical Defensive Magic and Its Countermeasures Against the Dark Arts.

Tom visited Remus in the Shrieking Shack for his full-moon transformation, while Corban brought Fenrir Greyback to him. The chapter ended with Tom identifying the captured werewolf and dismissing his stated motive for creating werewolves.

• Tom sent the two little ones back to the common room and went through the Whomping Willow passage to the Shrieking Shack.
• Remus worried that the hiding place might be discovered, and Tom assured him that everything would be fine.
• Remus transformed painfully into a werewolf as Tom stayed with him.
• Corban arrived with a half-dead man and admitted he had deliberately missed Remus's transformation.
• Tom identified the captive as Fenrir Greyback and said Greyback's talk of revenge was an excuse for eating human flesh.

Tom used Soul Imprint to control Greyback, silenced Keban when he complained about his workload, and then helped Remus return to Hogwarts after the full moon. Remus accepted a potion and headed toward the castle with Tom, where Poppy was waiting.

• Tom burned his bloodstained gloves and used Soul Imprint on Greyback to make him follow Tom’s wishes while believing they were his own.
• Keban asked to learn the spell, but backed down when Tom warned him about its backlash and complained about needing a break.
• Tom silenced Keban with a Tongue-Tying Curse and left him behind.
• After the night in the Shrieking Shack, Tom gave Remus a potion and draped a transfigured robe over him.
• Remus said he was glad he had not attacked Tom, then complained about the potion’s taste and considered befriending Severus.
• Tom used a Levitation Charm to ease Remus’s walk toward the castle, where Poppy was waiting.

Tom broke up a fight between Severus and a group of Gryffindors, then took Severus to his office to learn what had started it. Severus explained that Avery had insulted Lily and her roommate, provoking James into a confrontation.

• Tom separated the students fighting, deducted ten points from Slytherin, and sent Avery to Professor Slughorn for punishment.
• Tom took Severus to his office and asked him to explain the incident.
• At the library, Avery insulted Lily and Maggie after they bumped into him.
• Maggie told James that Lily was being bullied, and James rushed over and confronted Severus.
• James demanded that Severus apologize to Lily, while Severus accused the Gryffindors of being unreasonable.

Severus told Tom that he had been tending the herbs his mother planted, and Tom suggested she may have meant to brew a potion to slow death. Tom began teaching Severus Legilimency while warning him about the Dark Arts, but Lucius interrupted them before their conversation could continue.

• James and Severus exchanged insults before James attacked Severus with a punch, while Remus and Sirius tried to restrain James.
• Tom told Severus to handle his conflict with James himself, and Severus proposed developing magic that produced no light.
• Tom gave Severus a notebook of his Legilimency insights and asked why he had been visiting the Forbidden Forest.
• Severus explained that he had found and cared for the herbs his mother planted, and Tom said she may have intended to brew a potion that slowed death.
• Tom told Severus that the inhabitants of Prince Manor would be pleased if he could open it, though Severus replied that no one there was alive.
• Lucius barged in, and Tom mocked him for failing to knock while Severus watched him closely.

Tom reprimanded Lucius for his reckless choices and urged him to follow the path he had envisioned instead of trying to escape regret. After Lucius left, Tom confronted memories of his own past and steeled himself to keep moving forward, though he felt exhausted.

• Tom sent Severus away with his notes and told him to seek help if he had questions.
• Tom scolded Lucius for his actions and reminded him that he had promised to follow his convictions.
• Tom offered to use Obliviate to help Lucius forget, but Lucius refused, saying his memories were part of who he was.
• Lucius asked Tom whether he had ever regretted anything so deeply that it haunted his sleep, then left.
• Tom recalled his own past suffering and resolved to continue despite his regrets.
• Professor Riddle's foul mood led him to assign the young wizards five sheets of parchment for their essays.

Andromeda, Lucius, and Narcissa struggled with Professor Riddle’s punishing assignments while Severus wondered if he could master Legilimency. Sirius pulled Severus aside to warn him that James planned to retaliate for their last fight.

• Andromeda blamed Lucius for provoking Professor Riddle and lamented the strain of her N.E.W.T.s.
• Lucius asked Narcissa if he could stay at the House of Black during the holidays, and she warned him that her father and Bella would be there.
• Severus wondered whether Professor Riddle expected him to learn Legilimency, then went to meet Sirius at the common room entrance.
• Sirius dragged Severus to Hagrid’s hut, where Severus demanded to know what he wanted.
• Sirius warned Severus that James would seek revenge for the fight and would use more than a prank spell next time.

Sirius wrestled with his guilt about facing his family while Tom lost control of his temper and sought help from Dumbledore. Tom described recurring nightmares in which he died at Hogwarts, leaving him unsure what was real.

• Sirius admitted he was afraid to face Regulus and Narcissa, and Severus told him to stay away from Regulus until he learned to control his mouth.
• Peter secretly followed Tom, but fled when Tom invited him to ask questions in his office.
• Tom blasted open the door to Dumbledore's office and angrily confronted him before Dumbledore used spells to calm him.
• Tom drank Dumbledore's Jubilee Potion and insisted his soul was whole, though his emotions had become difficult to control.
• Tom told Dumbledore that the Resurrection Stone ring might be connected to his vivid nightmares of turning to ash at Hogwarts, but insisted he was not the person in them.

Tom realized that the Resurrection Stone held a fragment of his soul and sent Vidi back inside to search for it. With Grindelwald’s motives troubling him, Tom resumed teaching and summoned Lucius to his office, where Lucius quickly returned to ingratiating himself with his godfather.

• Tom and Dumbledore reviewed their memories and recognized that a soul had been forming through the Deathly Hallows, while the Elder Wand resisted it.
• Tom suspected the soul was connected to his own fragment in the Resurrection Stone and ordered Vidi to return to the ring and find it.
• Vidi agreed, and Tom removed a small piece of the Philosopher’s Stone from Vidi’s chest before Vidi dispersed into the Resurrection Stone.
• Tom considered Grindelwald’s departure from Nurmengard and wondered what he had foreseen or intended by delivering the Philosopher’s Stone.
• Tom returned to teaching, and students praised his recovery while Lucius resented being summoned to the office.
• Lucius entered Tom’s office with plans to stir up trouble at home, then abandoned them and began massaging Tom’s shoulders.

Tom asked Lucius to tell Abou that he would spend the holiday handling Grindelwald’s affairs with Dumbledore, while concealing his true plans. After a hidden soul tormented him and Vidi warned that the Resurrection Stone was influencing him, Tom sent a letter to Grindelwald through Fawkes and remained unsettled about the holiday ahead.

• Tom used Legilimency on Lucius, then asked him to tell Abou that Tom would work with Dumbledore on Grindelwald’s affairs during the holiday.
• Tom’s eyes turned red as the hidden soul tempted him with accusations about his past and his feelings for someone.
• Vidi emerged from the Resurrection Stone, said the hidden presence was difficult to deal with, and warned Tom to hide the stone because it was influencing him.
• Lady Grey visited Tom at Dumbledore’s request and suggested he wear the diadem to keep his mind rational, but Tom recoiled at the idea.
• Tom recalled sending a letter to Grindelwald with Fawkes and dismissed Dumbledore’s curiosity about its contents.

Tom prepared to leave for Godric's Valley to investigate why Grindelwald had escaped Nurmengard and reached Hogwarts in time, while hiding the danger from Abou. The chapter ended with Tom asking Grindelwald for the truth.

• Tom challenged Dumbledore's worries about the Ministry and fought him in the Headmaster's office, interrupting Professor McGonagall's visit.
• Tom warned Lucius to keep his troubles secret from Abou and promised to return before September without changing into someone else.
• Tom sent Lucius to look after Abou, then traveled with Dumbledore by phoenix to Godric's Valley.
• Gellert sent Dumbledore to visit Bathilda and faced Tom, who demanded an explanation for his escape from Nurmengard and his timely arrival at Hogwarts.

Gellert used the Resurrection Stone to reveal Tom’s original fate, sending him back to witness a version of his past in which he had no bonds and cared only for himself. The vision left Tom watching as that version of him embraced his bloodline and hatred of Muggle-borns.

• Tom gave Gellert the Resurrection Stone and urged him to use it despite their limited time.
• Gellert drew gray smoke from the Stone and shaped it into the Deathly Hallows symbol, aging as he did so.
• Tom was pulled into a vision of his childhood at Wool's Orphanage, where he could observe but not control his body.
• In the vision, Tom shut Ian out of his train compartment and ignored Abraxas.
• Tom recognized the vision as his original fate, in which he relied on Parseltongue to threaten others and believed Muggle-borns should be purged.

Tom was forced to experience Voldemort’s memories, from his early murders and creation of Horcruxes through the rise and fall of his regime. As Tom’s body kept changing, Grindelwald and Dumbledore watched and wondered whether he would be all right.

• Tom witnessed Voldemort open the Chamber of Secrets, kill Myrtle, and create his first Horcrux.
• Tom watched Voldemort rise to power, form the Death Eaters, and frame Abraxas to control the Malfoys.
• Voldemort killed Abou and hid Slytherin’s locket in a dark cave, while Lucius took over the Malfoys and served him.
• Tom experienced Voldemort’s return and the war that ended with Hogwarts destroyed and Voldemort turned to ash.
• Grindelwald and Dumbledore watched Tom’s body transform into Voldemort’s snake-faced form, and Dumbledore asked if Tom would be all right.

Tom returned to Malfoy Manor after nearly two months trapped with a dangerous force inside him, exhausted but relieved to see Abraxas and the others. Meanwhile, Dumbledore and Gellert examined the Resurrection Stone, and Gellert asked Dumbledore to let him stay by his side.

• Gellert and Dumbledore watched the Deathly Hallows symbol disappear, and Tom emerged after using Time Manifestation to escape.
• Tom returned to Malfoy Manor and reunited with Abraxas, who had waited for him with Lucius and Severus.
• Abraxas demanded an explanation, and Tom admitted his past mistake had left a dangerous thing inside him, which he had not dealt with before returning.
• Dumbledore examined the Resurrection Stone with Vidi, who said the force inside Tom was gone after it burned away its life force.
• Gellert told Dumbledore he had lost patience waiting and asked to stay by his side, whatever the cost.

Dumbledore and Gellert reconciled and chose to stay together, while Tom recovered at the manor and was coaxed into eating chocolate. The chapter left Tom horrified by the prank hidden in the chocolate.

• Dumbledore told Gellert that he still loved him but could not forget their past tragedy, and asked him to stay by his side.
• Gellert accepted Dumbledore’s offer and clasped his hand, choosing to face his feelings and set aside his former ideals.
• Dumbledore and Gellert reminisced about their past and spoke freely about Tom, Aberforth, Newt, and Mundungus.
• At the manor, Tom reassured Abraxas, Lucius, and Severus that he had only been thin from hunger and disliked sweets.
• Abraxas urged Tom to try the chocolate, and Tom bit into it and discovered it made fart sounds and smelled bad.

Tom proved he was unharmed, and Lucius left with Severus for Hogsmeade after being confronted about his actions. Lucius resolved to protect his family from the wealth he had acquired, then returned to his role as Malfoy heir and invited Severus to visit on weekends.

• Tom froze the three who tried to flee and kissed each of them on the cheek to prove he was fine.
• Lucius left the house with Severus for Hogsmeade, complaining that his godfather had disappointed him.
• Lucius told Severus he would leave Hogwarts after the year and asked him to look after Regulus.
• Severus said he knew what Lucius wanted, while Lucius admitted he regarded Severus as his only friend.
• Lucius stayed awake all night worrying about his wealth and his family, then resumed acting as the perfect heir.
• Lucius shrank Severus's luggage and invited him to visit on weekends.

At the banquet, Tom noticed Lucius’s apparent relationship troubles before Dumbledore summoned him to the Headmaster’s office. There, Tom retrieved the Resurrection Stone ring and refused to control Vidi, while Dumbledore warned him against starting a wizarding war.

• Tom saw Lucius at the banquet and suspected his relationship with Severus had fallen apart.
• Dumbledore invited Tom to his office, and Tom left the dining hall in irritation.
• In the office, Tom asked for the Resurrection Stone ring, and Dumbledore tossed it to him.
• Dumbledore asked Tom to teach Vidi to watch his words, but Tom said Vidi had his own will and told Dumbledore not to interfere with his plans.
• Dumbledore reminded Tom not to start a war between wizards.

Tom taught his first Defense Against the Dark Arts class, noticed Barty Crouch Jr., and planned to use him as a loyal informant. Later, he questioned his followers about the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and criticized Walton McNeil’s work.

• Tom spotted Barty Crouch Jr. among his first-year students and decided he could use him to report on Grindelwald’s affairs.
• Tom taught the first-years about the Dark Arts and welcomed them to Hogwarts.
• Tom left Hogwarts after his afternoon lessons and went to his estate, where he confronted Walton McNeil about his heir’s behavior.
• Tom ordered Coban and Augustus to stop competing for seats, then asked Radolphus about the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
• Tom said McNeil’s work with the Committee on Dangerous Beasts and as an executioner served little purpose.