Chapter Summaries

Abraxas interpreted Tom’s gift as a proposal and sent him an acceptance, while plotting to deal with Morfin and uncover who had intercepted the letters. Tom was confused but pleased by the letter, and planned to retrieve his wand and remove the basilisk from Hogwarts.

• Abraxas recognized the ring’s symbol, decided it did not matter whether it was the Resurrection Stone, and wondered if Tom’s gift counted as a proposal.
• Abraxas planned to ensure Morfin died in Azkaban, investigate the intercepted letters, and cleanse the noble circles.
• Tom received Abraxas’s letter saying “I accept” and wondered when he had proposed.
• Tom realized Abraxas had rushed to find him after hearing he was acquainted with the Malfoy patriarch, and decided to wait for him after retrieving his wand.
• Tom planned to return to Hogwarts and take the dangerous basilisk away, then woke from an embarrassing dream and continued working toward his goal.

Tom reflected on the pure-bloods’ weakness and discussed Morfin Gaunt’s imprisonment with Corban. Dumbledore left the Great Hall, fearing he had helped drive Tom toward dark magic and calling himself a failure.

• Tom sat at the head of the Slytherin table and resolved to kill Nott in another year.
• Tom told Corban that Morfin Gaunt had confessed to killing three Muggles and would likely remain in Azkaban for life.
• Tom reassured Corban that he was his friend, then began eating and prompted the hungry Slytherins to follow.
• Dumbledore recalled the evidence suggesting Morfin had been controlled and wondered whether he had misjudged Tom.
• Dumbledore left the Great Hall and concluded that he had pushed Tom toward vicious magic, calling himself the greatest failure.

Tom grew increasingly distrustful of the people around him while plotting to recover Slytherin’s locket and learn what the Lady Grey knew about Ravenclaw’s diadem. The following afternoon, Ian and Mickey dragged him to the Quidditch pitch and asked why he never played in matches.

• Dumbledore wondered whether he still had time to change Tom’s growing coldness and called out to Gellert.
• After the banquet, Tom shut down Nott when he pointed out that Miss Selwyn had been watching him, and Nott decided he would pursue her as a fiancée.
• Tom planned to visit Borgin and Burkes to retrieve Slytherin’s locket, worrying that Dumbledore might become headmaster and block his return to the Chamber of Secrets.
• Tom considered making a deal with the Lady Grey to learn about Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem, thinking of the castle and a few people as the only things he cherished.
• Ian and Mickey took Tom to the Quidditch pitch, where he joked that he stayed out of matches to give them a chance to win the trophy.

Tom avoided flying on a broomstick while Ian took a turn, and Mickey reassured him that they would stand by him after the holiday’s events. Tom then led his friends to the Forbidden Forest to practice spells, leaving Ian and Mickey exhausted by his exceptional teaching and talent.

• Tom refused to ride a broomstick, and Ian flew around while Mickey asked Tom about what had happened during the holidays.
• Tom told Mickey that the reports were accurate, and Mickey said the Mirkovich family could have handled the matter without leaving clues.
• Mickey assured Tom that he and Ian would stand by him, and Tom reflected on whether he could have resisted the tests and the temptation of immortality without his friends.
• Ian finished flying and asked Tom and Mickey to take a lap, but Tom reminded him that his twelve Galleons might go to waste.
• Tom led Ian and Mickey to the Forbidden Forest to practice spells, and they left exhausted by his demanding instruction and casual use of Silent Spells.

Tom confronted Dumbledore about treating him as a sinner after the burning wardrobe and questioned whether Dumbledore would let him remain at Hogwarts. The chapter ended before Dumbledore answered Tom’s challenge.

• Mickey sarcastically asked Tom how he had offended Dumbledore, and the three friends muttered that the professor was biased.
• The two badgers greeted Dumbledore and left, while Tom’s smile faded after they were gone.
• Dumbledore asked what Tom planned to do after Hogwarts and explained that he had refused the Ministry because he feared his old ambitions would return.
• Tom challenged Dumbledore over whether he had deserved to lose everything after the burning wardrobe and said no one had asked whether he was a victim.
• Tom stopped Dumbledore from apologizing and asked whether Dumbledore would truly let him stay at Hogwarts and accept his talents.

Tom confronted Dumbledore over the harm caused by his suspicions and rejected his apology, saying he would leave but would return. He entered the Slytherin common room wearing a faint smile and planned to change Hogwarts when he came back.

• Dumbledore asked Tom whether he could guarantee he would never betray his trust, and Tom challenged him on whether he trusted anyone himself.
• Dumbledore apologized, but Tom said he could not forgive what had happened or forget the pain of discovering the Horcrux and enduring life at the orphanage.
• Tom told Dumbledore that he would leave and return, then bowed and walked away.
• Tom paused outside the common room, reluctant to put on his polite mask and face the other students.
• Tom entered the Slytherin common room and resolved to change Hogwarts when he returned.

Abraxas planned to retaliate against the Nott family and reshape pure-blood society, while Orion worried over House of Black’s future and made Volga promise to preserve it. The chapter ended with Tom opening the door to Senior Volga.

• Abraxas finished investigating the Nott heir and resolved to undermine the Nott family and its allies.
• Orion burned his father’s letter and remarked that Abraxas and the younger Malfoy were acting out of lust and revenge.
• Volga helped Orion through a coughing fit and discussed the vulnerable position of House Prince and its Slytherin witch.
• Orion told Volga that Cygnus was too foolish to secure House of Black’s future and made her promise to ensure the family continued.
• Tom answered a knock at his door and greeted Senior Volga.

Tom agreed to Volga's request to spare House of Black, then turned to investigating the founders' relics and Rowena Ravenclaw's death. He approached the Lady Grey, who said he was better than certain Slytherins.

• Volga offered Tom her loyalty and House of Black's loyalty in exchange for his promise not to harm anyone from the family.
• Tom agreed to Volga's request and saw her off, then thought about his future departure and Abraxas.
• Tom decided to speak with Hogwarts ghosts after his unpleasant conversation with Dumbledore.
• Tom approached the Lady Grey in a pavilion and asked whether he was disturbing her.
• The Lady Grey told Tom he was much better than certain Slytherins.

Tom spoke with the Lady Grey, who revealed that her name was Helena and recounted stealing Ravenclaw’s diadem and fleeing after her mother sent the Baron to find her. She confirmed that the Baron was the person involved in her death, then asked Tom why he thought she hated him.

• Tom drew the Lady Grey into conversation and asked whether she was descended from Ravenclaw.
• The Lady Grey introduced herself as Helena and admitted she had stolen the diadem because she wanted to become a worthy heir.
• Helena said her mother sent the Baron to bring her back, claiming that her mother was gravely ill and wished to see her.
• Tom inferred that the Baron was the person Helena had hated and connected him to her death.
• Helena confirmed that the Baron was involved and asked Tom why she hated him.

Tom learned that Ravenclaw’s diadem was hidden in Albania and considered the other Hogwarts relics he still needed to find. In the dungeons, he came upon Nott tormenting Sabrina over a marriage contract.

• The Lady Grey told Tom that the diadem lay in the Land of the Mountain Eagles and that a raven would guide him.
• Tom concluded that the Land of the Mountain Eagles meant Albania and wondered where he would find the raven’s guidance.
• Tom considered the locations of Slytherin’s wand, Hufflepuff’s golden cup, and his mother’s locket.
• Tom followed sounds in the dungeon and found Nott binding and jinxing Sabrina.
• Nott taunted Sabrina, saying her father could not protect her and that his family’s decline did not matter while he remained alive.

Tom and Selwyn dealt with Nott before she revealed that she knew Tom planned to reclaim Slytherin's locket and offered the Selwyn family's loyalty. Tom rejected her offer and insisted he had no need for the support of pure-blood families.

• Tom and Selwyn both cursed Nott, and Selwyn knocked him unconscious and altered his memories.
• Selwyn led Tom into an abandoned dungeon and told him she knew he intended to find Carcattacus Burke and reclaim Slytherin's locket.
• Selwyn offered the Selwyn family's loyalty, arguing that Tom needed the support of great families.
• Tom magically threw Selwyn back and told her that he saw aristocrats as insects and had no need for their loyalty.
• Selwyn rose in pain and panic, wondering how Tom could lack ambition when even the Yaxley family's heir followed him.

Tom rejected Selwyn’s attempt to bargain over his mother’s locket and returned to Nott, then reflected on his feelings for Abou. Abraxas sneaked into Hogwarts and found Tom asleep in his dormitory.

• Tom left Selwyn after she told him that Merope Gaunt had sold her locket to Borgin and Burkes, deciding he could find the buyer himself.
• Tom returned to Nott, woke him, and checked that Nott remembered the altered memories.
• Nott asked Tom if he could marry Selwyn and make her suffer, and Tom left the matter to him.
• Tom returned to his dormitory and, holding Abou’s envelope, admitted that he was willing to accept him.
• Abraxas sneaked into Hogwarts to surprise Tom, but found him asleep in his clothes.

Abraxas visited Tom in his dormitory, then warned the Slytherins to keep troublemakers away from him. He left after asking Volga to watch Tom’s admirers, who risked becoming basilisk food.

• Abraxas found Tom asleep, carried him to bed, and tucked him in.
• Abraxas appeared in the Slytherin common room, where Volga teased him about his attachment to Tom.
• Volga told Abraxas that admirers were privately plotting to lure Tom into their beds.
• Abraxas suggested burning down Hogwarts and moving its students and professors to a Malfoy castle.
• Abraxas asked Volga to keep an eye on Tom’s admirers, and she warned that Tom might feed them to the basilisk.

Tom considered Professor Merrythought’s offer to succeed her as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but knew Headmaster Dippet would not allow it. Merrythought warned him to avoid the war in Germany until he was stronger, while Coban watched Tom react to rumors about the Selwyn and Nott families.

• Tom entered Defense Against the Dark Arts class and Professor Merrythought privately asked if he would take over her position.
• Tom declined, believing Headmaster Dippet would never approve, and Merrythought advised him to gain experience by traveling.
• Merrythought warned Tom that the war in Germany had intensified and urged him not to go there before he was stronger.
• Tom understood that Merrythought had meant Grindelwald and resolved not to disappoint her.
• Coban overheard students gossiping about a Selwyn marrying into the Nott family and noticed Tom’s reaction.

Tom reflected on Abraxas’s love for him and vowed to show everyone what a true Slytherin was ten years later. At Malfoy Manor, Abraxas caught Brutus trying to drink against the healer’s instructions.

• Tom recognized the meaning behind the agave flower and realized Abraxas had been expressing his enduring love.
• Tom asked Corban whether he had said the Nott family would disappear within ten years, then vowed to show everyone what a true Slytherin was.
• Corban agreed with Tom and planned to keep profiting from the shadows while leaving open supporters to House of Black.
• Brutus tried to take a bottle from the wine rack, but Abraxas removed his Invisibility Cloak and reminded him of the healer’s instructions.
• Brutus protested that the curse had been suppressed and began to argue that he could drink.

Abraxas explained that he was using the growing pure-blood movement to expose enemies waiting for him to make a mistake, while Brutus realized his son intended to use him as bait. Brutus angrily objected, but Abraxas’s pitiful look softened him.

• Brutus smashed the wine rack after Abraxas refused to let him drink, and Abraxas cleared away the debris.
• Olivia and Abraxas joked about Brutus’s spending and the prospect of raising more Malfoys.
• Brutus defended his future son, Little Tom, and demanded that Abraxas buy him an Australian White-eyed Dragon.
• Brutus warned Abraxas that rivals were watching for an opportunity to damage the family, especially as people awaited Little Tom’s emergence.
• Abraxas said he was letting the pure-blood movement’s supporters reveal themselves so he could find the enemies hiding among them.
• Brutus realized Abraxas meant to use him as bait and protested, but Abraxas looked at him pleadingly.

Olivia hoped her new potions would let her survive long enough to return home, while Abraxas and Brewster discussed how Tom had helped her and saved Brewster. Tom received Olivia’s letter and later encountered Aileen Prince, who asked him for basilisk blood before apologizing and walking away.

• Olivia wrote to Tom, drank a life-extending potion, and hoped she could live long enough to return home to her father and brother.
• Brewster credited Tom with helping Olivia and saving his life, and Abraxas told him to repay the favor and search for useful information.
• Tom read Olivia’s letter, wrote a reply, packed two potions, and left the dormitory to send them.
• Aileen Prince asked Tom for basilisk blood, then apologized and walked away in a daze.

Tom reflected on the harm Abraxas’s actions had caused and on his wish to understand family, while Dumbledore told him Hogwarts would welcome him back. Their conversation ended with Tom asking whether Dumbledore would still guide him.

• Tom recalled that Abraxas had brought down House of Bulstrode to avenge Kobban, an operation that also hurt House of Malfoy and left Brutus suffering from a life-draining curse.
• Tom remembered researching a potion for two years and finally brewing one that could suppress the curse, which he sent to Abou through Olivia and Greengrass.
• Tom worried that Brutus’s fate might make Abraxas resent him or blame himself, and wondered whether Abraxas had understood his feelings all along.
• Dumbledore joined Tom at the Black Lake and said he would go to the battlefield the next day, apologizing for not following Tom’s wishes before.
• Dumbledore told Tom that Hogwarts would always welcome him back and urged him to pursue Transfiguration as well as the Dark Arts.
• Tom asked Dumbledore whether he would still guide him.

Dumbledore told Tom he would be leaving for a while and warned him not to cause trouble for Headmaster Armando. Meanwhile, Eileen Prince struggled with her grandfather’s failing health and used Obliviate before deciding to seek love in the Muggle world; Tom confronted her afterward.

• Dumbledore told Tom he was leaving until the current matter was settled and warned him not to cause trouble on the second floor.
• Tom realized Dumbledore had learned to understand Parseltongue by studying it and accused him of violating Ogden’s mind.
• Dumbledore asked Tom to consider becoming the Transfiguration professor, but Tom stayed silent and reflected on the subject.
• Eileen Prince smashed her potion-making supplies as she despaired over her grandfather’s failing health and her own inability to help him.
• Eileen pointed her wand at her temple, cast Obliviate, then tidied the classroom and left Gobstones on the table as she considered finding love in the Muggle world.
• Tom encountered Eileen again and began confronting her about what she had just done.

Tom suspected Eileen’s confusion stemmed from her fractured soul, then found Abraxas’s birthday gift so infuriating that he attacked it with Fiendfyre and sent Abraxas a Howler. The chapter ended with Abraxas’s parents caught trying to eavesdrop as he hesitated to open it.

• Tom stopped Eileen in the corridor and mocked her for staying out late over Potions.
• Eileen became confused about her identity and said she did not deserve the Prince surname before Tom sent her back to her dormitory.
• Tom opened Abraxas’s birthday gift, became furious, and destroyed it with Fiendfyre.
• Tom wrote an angry Howler to Abraxas.
• Abraxas noticed his parents, Olivia and Brutus, trying to listen in while he held the unopened Howler.