Chapter Summaries

Grindelwald privately gauged Li Weide’s willingness to keep their dealings secret, then praised and apologized to Tom, whose calm replies he mistook for bravery. As the Sorting Ceremony neared its end, Li Weide focused on recruiting promising students and watched young Alastor Moody approach the stool.

• Grindelwald realized Li Weide wanted his advice and their future dealings kept hidden from Dumbledore.
• Grindelwald praised Tom for supposedly being ready to die with him and apologized for nearly killing him the previous year; Tom calmly said he had forgotten it.
• Grindelwald offered to help Tom with his studies and life, but Tom felt less drawn to Dark Magic as his defensive spells grew stronger.
• Grindelwald chatted with students and then kept talking to Tom while Li Weide ignored Tom’s plea for help and watched Flitwick join Ravenclaw.
• Professor McGonagall called Alastor Moody to the stool, and Li Weide decided the future Auror was a promising recruit.

After Grindelwald unsettled the Slytherin students at the Opening Feast, Li Weide explained that he had deliberately left Tom to face him so Tom could overcome his fear. The students returned to their Common Room, and Li Weide suspected that Dumbledore and the professors were about to give him another troublesome responsibility.

• Dumbledore announced dinner early and later took Slughorn aside to tell him something about Li Weide, leaving Slughorn visibly displeased.
• Grindelwald praised the Mutual Aid Club students before Professor McGonagall escorted him away from the Great Hall.
• Tom admitted he feared Grindelwald, while Charlie, Henry, and Alphard recounted how tense and unsettling their conversations with him had been.
• Li Weide confirmed that Tom had once tried to take Grindelwald down with a Poison Gas Bomb, earning Tom the group’s admiration.
• Li Weide told Tom he had deliberately let him face Grindelwald as desensitization therapy and said Tom would help pass messages between them in the future.
• Li Weide gave Tom food, guessed that Annie had followed a Felix Felicis hint to avoid Grindelwald and meet Dumbledore, and worried the professors were about to assign him another burden.

Li Weide and Tom recruited Annie to manage the Mutual Aid Club, freeing Tom from its tedious work. Grindelwald interpreted Li Weide’s casual handover of the club to Annie as secret support for his cause.

• Annie told Tom and Li Weide that Dumbledore had reassured her about her problem.
• Tom persuaded Annie to take over his club duties and hurried off to recruit more female secretaries.
• Annie received Tom’s stack of paperwork and discovered how much tedious work managing the club involved.
• Grindelwald congratulated Annie for gaining authority over the club and asked how she had done it.
• After Annie explained the handover, Grindelwald concluded that Li Weide was secretly supporting his cause.

Annie told Li Weide about Grindelwald’s offer, and Li Weide told her to wait before informing Dumbledore. Later, Grindelwald began observing Hogwarts classes, and his mockery disrupted Dumbledore’s Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.

• Annie reported to Li Weide what Grindelwald had said and asked whether she should tell Dumbledore, but Li Weide told her to stay silent until he instructed her otherwise.
• Tom accused Li Weide of arranging events so Grindelwald would see himself as Li Weide’s ally, but Li Weide insisted it had been a coincidence.
• Grindelwald stayed in his office for about a week before entering Dumbledore’s second-year Defense Against the Dark Arts class to observe Hogwarts teaching.
• Dumbledore let Grindelwald attend but continued teaching the students about Kappas and how to deal with them.
• Grindelwald repeatedly snickered at Dumbledore’s lesson, then criticized him for following the textbook, and Dumbledore demanded that he stop interrupting and hear the whole class before judging it.

Li Weide reassured Tom during Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s tense Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, then encouraged him to believe in his future strength. After class, Grindelwald praised the lesson but proposed that Hogwarts give students more hands-on experience with Dark Creatures, leaving Dumbledore wary of his Reform Plan.

• Li Weide told Tom that Dumbledore and Grindelwald were unlikely to fight and urged him to trust his own growing strength.
• Tom’s chair scraped as he shifted, drawing Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s attention; he nervously claimed he needed the bathroom, and the two men stepped back from their confrontation.
• Dumbledore continued the lesson with practical advice and real cases, then assigned an essay on dealing with Kaba.
• After the students left, Grindelwald apologized for criticizing Dumbledore’s lesson and suggested Hogwarts teach Defense Against the Dark Arts through practical encounters with Dark Creatures.
• Dumbledore objected that the creatures would be dangerous and difficult to maintain, while Grindelwald argued that funding and staff could be arranged as part of his Reform Plan.

Dumbledore and Dippet debated Grindelwald’s growing influence at Hogwarts, then Dumbledore asked Li Weide to use the Mutual Aid Club to resist his indoctrination. Li Weide agreed, while Tom realized he was using the request as cover to spread his own ideas with both Dumbledore’s support and Grindelwald’s apparent approval.

• Dumbledore told Dippet about Grindelwald’s plans, and Dippet argued that they should observe him before resorting to their last measure.
• Grindelwald attended classes and activities across Hogwarts, gradually earning the students’ trust.
• After hearing students praise Grindelwald, Li Weide took Tom to meet Dumbledore and warned that Grindelwald was preparing to indoctrinate them.
• Dumbledore admitted he wanted Li Weide and the Mutual Aid Club to help the students resist Grindelwald’s ideas, but hesitated because the task was dangerous.
• Li Weide insisted he would act regardless, and Tom realized Li Weide planned to use the situation to spread his own ideas and build a loyal inner circle.

Li Weide sent Tom to deliver a message to Grindelwald, and Tom overcame his fear and went to Grindelwald's office. Back in his dormitory, Li Weide found a note and an improved converter that could strip emotions from magical energy, but at a steep cost in power and capacity.

• Li Weide told Tom to approach Grindelwald and explain what he had witnessed, then challenged Tom to confront his fear.
• After Li Weide left, Tom decided he would not hand the task to Annie and headed for Grindelwald's office.
• Li Weide returned to his dormitory to prepare his ideology manuscript and discovered a silver sphere and a note beneath his pillow.
• The note described an improved converter that produced pure magic power but greatly reduced the energy yield, storage capacity, and conversion speed.
• The note's author offered Li Weide a choice between using the previous converter with lingering side effects or waiting for a more powerful improved converter, and enclosed its blueprint.

Li Weide absorbed pure magical power from the converter and received an improved control-collar blueprint and directions to Slytherin's Study, which might hold records about the Blood Curse Werewolf. He sent Tom to deliver a plan to Grindelwald, and Tom returned having overcome his fear, while Li Weide revealed that the errand had been a test to strengthen him.

• Li Weide absorbed the converter's pure magical power, chose it over the old kind of Residue, and received a blueprint for an improved collar and a route to Slytherin's Study.
• Li Weide considered exploring Slytherin's Study with Tom and decided the improved collar would require him to learn more Alchemy.
• Tom told Grindelwald that Li Weide wanted him to propose an Ideological and Moral Education Class at Hogwarts, and Grindelwald saw a chance to gain influence through it.
• Tom returned to the dormitory and told Li Weide that Grindelwald might not have believed his performance.
• Li Weide explained that Grindelwald's belief was beside the point and that sending Tom had tested him; Tom accepted that he had grown stronger.

Li Weide persuaded Tom to join him on a midnight trip, claiming they were visiting the Restricted Section to research Blood Curse Werewolves. Instead, Li Weide led Tom to Slytherin’s Secret Chamber, where Tom opened the hidden entrance with Parseltongue, and Li Weide rushed inside first.

• Li Weide said he did not want to become a professor, while Tom admitted he planned to focus on building his strength rather than studying Dark Magic for now.
• Li Weide invited Tom to the Restricted Section to look for information about Blood Curse Werewolves, then used a spell to make Tom fall asleep so they could set out at midnight.
• Li Weide and Tom left under Disillusionment Charms and drank Nightingale Potion, and Li Weide guided Tom down a corridor near Slytherin’s Common Room.
• Li Weide pointed out snake carvings on a wall and prompted Tom to speak Parseltongue, revealing a hidden passage into Slytherin’s Secret Chamber.
• Tom pleaded for a share of any inheritance inside, but Li Weide entered the passage ahead of him.

Li Weide and Tom entered Slytherin’s hidden passage, where Li Weide promised to keep the inheritance safe while Tom delayed studying Dark Magic. They found a note from Nokoto Gaunt arguing that later Gaunts had misunderstood Slytherin, and Tom reacted angrily to her faith that the truth could change pure-blood beliefs.

• The door vanished behind Li Weide and Tom, and Li Weide used Nightmare Magic to scout the passage while Tom asked to learn the spell and then declined after hearing it was Dark Magic.
• Tom accused Li Weide of planning to keep Slytherin’s inheritance for himself, and Li Weide said he would safeguard it while Tom stayed away from Dark Magic.
• Li Weide and Tom navigated the opened gates and maze-like passageways without encountering danger, and Tom guessed that Slytherin’s descendants had visited before.
• They discovered a parchment left by Nokoto Gaunt, who believed the Gaunt family had distorted Slytherin’s ideals and sought evidence in his Study.
• Tom called Nokoto foolish for believing that discovering the truth could change pure-blood attitudes, and Li Weide recognized that Tom was thinking of Morfin Gaunt.

Li Weide and Tom navigated a puzzle-filled maze, where Tom nearly got killed after turning the wrong symbols on a snake mechanism. They found more letters from a Gaunt explorer and continued onward, with Tom embarrassed that her mistake had been less foolish than his.

• Li Weide and Tom reached a locked iron gate and followed a magical trail down a side passage to a snake-shaped carving with two symbol dials.
• Tom turned the dials without checking the symbols, causing the stone snake to lunge at him, but Li Weide pulled him clear.
• Li Weide recognized the correct symbols from the iron gate and turned the dials to open it, leaving Tom mortified at missing the clue.
• Li Weide and Tom opened more gates and found the Gaunt woman's second letter, which described getting lost before finding the right path by lighting a brazier.
• They found her third letter, which said she had also nearly been bitten by the stone snake, but Li Weide pointed out that she had only made an operational mistake.

Li Weide forced Tom to face two Stone Knight Statues alone, and Tom defeated them by using Transfiguration in the style of Dumbledore. Tom celebrated his success, then realized he had accidentally attacked Li Weide and feared the promised punishment was only postponed.

• Li Weide stopped Tom in the corridor and pushed him forward to fight two Stone Knight Statues by himself.
• Tom tried spells and Shield Charms against the statues, while Li Weide watched from above and urged him to think like a clever wizard.
• Trapped at the corridor's end, Tom transformed Wind Lanterns and rubble into vines that bound the statues, then destroyed them with Blast Curses.
• Tom celebrated defeating the statues and told Li Weide he had copied Dumbledore's Transfiguration rather than relying on Dark Magic.
• Tom realized he had fired a Blast Curse at Li Weide, who said he would not hold the sneak attack against him for now.

Li Weide and Tom examined the shattered Battle Puppets and discovered that their cores had been powered by the forcibly extracted souls of Muggle knights. After Tom found an intact but soulless core, they continued toward Slytherin’s inheritance, leaving Li Weide to claim one of the puppets’ magic-deflecting weapons.

• Li Weide found a broken gemstone core and determined that it contained a fading soul, while Tom searched the wreckage for an intact one.
• Tom found a complete core, but Li Weide explained that its human soul had dissipated, leaving it worth far less than it once was.
• Li Weide revealed that Slytherin had forcibly extracted living Muggle knights’ souls to create the Battle Puppets, and Tom accepted that his ancestor had been cruel.
• Tom joked that Li Weide was no better, and Li Weide denied being a bad person before turning to the puppets’ weapons.
• Li Weide used Transfiguration to shrink a magic-deflecting Greatsword and picked it up, astonishing Tom.

Li Weide and Tom continued through Slytherin’s trial, discovering that Nokoto Gaunt had died after reaching a door that required the Cruciatus Curse. Tom cast the curse on Li Weide as the two agreed, opening the door, but the experience left Tom wishing he had never used Dark Magic.

• Li Weide tested the shrunken weapons, nearly hitting Tom with a greatsword before Tom urged him to move on.
• Tom opened a snake-carved door with Parseltongue, and he and Li Weide found Nokoto Gaunt’s letter explaining that earlier explorers had taken the rewards.
• Li Weide restored Tom’s shaved hair, and Tom realized a Repair Charm would have done the same.
• Tom and Li Weide found Nokoto’s skeleton and learned that the next door required someone to cast the Cruciatus Curse on another person.
• Tom volunteered to be Li Weide’s target, and Li Weide cast Crucio before counting to three, causing Tom agony and opening the door.
• After recovering, Tom said he never wanted to use Dark Magic again.

Tom rejected Slytherin’s legacy after the trial made him reconsider Dark Magic and the kind of person he wanted to be, while Li Weide explained how the trials were intended to test Slytherin’s descendants. They discovered Slytherin’s plan to unleash a creature on Hogwarts, and Li Weide stayed behind to study the manuscripts as Tom found a possible exit.

• Tom told Li Weide that he no longer wanted Slytherin’s legacy and had begun to value the kind of magic Dumbledore used, while Li Weide urged him to learn Dark Magic to protect himself.
• Tom collected Nokoto Gaunt’s skeleton and five letters, then joined Li Weide in Slytherin’s Study.
• Li Weide explained that Slytherin had designed the trials for two people, expecting descendants to bring close friends and prove their resolve by using the Cruciatus Curse.
• Li Weide gave Tom a page from Slytherin’s manuscript, which revealed Slytherin’s intention to have a chosen descendant awaken a creature and purify Hogwarts.
• Tom worried that the creature might still be hidden at Hogwarts, but Li Weide said he would inform Dumbledore after examining the manuscripts.
• Tom found a door that might lead out, while Li Weide asked for an hour to search the manuscripts for information about Blood Curse Werewolves.

Tom and Li Weide discovered that Nagini’s Blood Curse might be connected to Slytherin’s untested Blood Moon Curse, which he had found in an ancient tomb in Eastern Europe. Slytherin’s journal revealed that the tomb’s curse had disfigured him and required the Four Founders to remove; Li Weide planned to share the clues with Dumbledore and considered creating Nagini a new body if her curse could not be broken.

• Tom found Slytherin’s notes on the Blood Moon Curse, which afflicted a victim’s bloodline and descendants.
• Li Weide and Tom suspected the Blood Moon Curse might be related to Nagini’s Blood Curse and decided to search for the ancient tomb rather than risk exploring it themselves.
• Tom suggested sending Grindelwald to explore the tomb, but Li Weide said Grindelwald would not be easily manipulated.
• Li Weide and Tom found a travel journal revealing that Slytherin had encountered the tomb in Eastern Europe, suffered a curse that disfigured him, and needed the Four Founders’ help to remove it.
• Li Weide decided they should tell Dumbledore about their discoveries and showed Tom Slytherin’s research on reconstructing a body as a possible option for Nagini.

Li Weide and Tom escaped Slytherin’s Study with Nokoto Gaunt’s bones and told Dumbledore about the dangerous trial, Slytherin’s inheritance, and a creature that might threaten the school. Dumbledore planned to take them to Headmaster Dippet, but Grindelwald overheard and challenged their attempt to keep the discovery from him.

• Li Weide and Tom used a hidden lift to leave Slytherin’s Study, and Li Weide showed Tom how to access it again.
• Li Weide and Tom went to Dumbledore’s office and confessed that they had found Slytherin’s inheritance, recovered Nokoto Gaunt’s bones, and uncovered a possible threat to students.
• Dumbledore reprimanded the boys for breaking ten school rules, then decided to take them to Headmaster Dippet to report the discovery and discuss their punishment.
• Grindelwald appeared outside Dumbledore’s office, and Tom revealed that Dumbledore had caught them on a Night Tour.
• Li Weide claimed Dumbledore suspected the boys were helping Grindelwald, prompting Dumbledore to accuse Grindelwald of trying to influence students and possibly placing Dark Magic on them.

Li Weide and Tom reported Slytherin’s hidden creature and study to Headmaster Dippet, who joined Dumbledore in investigating the threat. After returning to their dormitory, the boys argued about Tom’s Cruciatus Curse, and the next morning they buried Nokoto Gaunt in the Forbidden Forest.

• Dumbledore reassured Tom that Grindelwald could not take Slytherin’s Inheritance as long as it remained outside the school, while Li Weide used Fiendfyre to warm the corridor before Dumbledore extinguished it.
• Li Weide and Tom told Headmaster Dippet about Slytherin’s Trial, the study, and the creature meant to cleanse Hogwarts; Dippet and Dumbledore agreed to investigate and keep Grindelwald from learning about it.
• Li Weide led Dippet and Dumbledore through the trial, collected four Knight Puppet cores, and watched Dippet dispel the magic on the study’s door.
• Tom confronted Li Weide about knowing another way to open the door without using the Cruciatus Curse, and Li Weide defended himself before Tom found Dumbledore’s scroll about Gubraithian Fire.
• Li Weide and Tom took Nokoto Gaunt’s remains into the Forbidden Forest and buried them on a hill overlooking Hogwarts, where Tom carved an epitaph calling him the world’s most innocent and kind-hearted Gaunt.

Li Weide finished building an emotional-residue converter and asked Grindelwald for a living Dementor to test it. Grindelwald agreed only after warning Li Weide not to attempt the Patronus Charm and demanding proof that he could control the creature.

• Grindelwald's proposal to become a guidance professor was rejected, but he pushed for an Ideological and Moral Education Class, which Slughorn took on as an additional duty.
• Li Weide studied Alchemy with Dumbledore's guidance and used a manuscript suspected to be from Nicolas Flamel to improve his knowledge.
• On the eve of Christmas, Li Weide completed the converter and went looking for intense emotions to test it.
• Li Weide visited Grindelwald under a Disillusionment Charm and asked him to provide a living Dementor.
• Grindelwald initially refused, fearing Li Weide would try to learn the Patronus Charm, but agreed to bring a Dementor if Li Weide proved he could control it.

Li Weide visited the Mutual Aid Club, where he inspired Filius Flitwick with his dream of fighting oppression and equality for wizards. He also learned that Alphard was safe for now, but the club decided to keep preparing legal support in case the Black Family changed its mind.

• Grindelwald wrote Annie a secret letter asking her to keep an eye on Li Weide.
• Li Weide visited the Student Club Activity Room and saw Filius Flitwick defeat an older club member in a duel.
• Li Weide shared his dream of extending the Mutual Aid Club's work beyond Hogwarts, and Flitwick eagerly pledged to support the cause.
• Tom told Li Weide that the Black Family had rewarded Alphard after mistaking Li Weide's group for Grindelwald's allies, while Walburga had been publicly reprimanded.
• Flitwick recommended arranging legal help for Alphard through Professor Slughorn, and Li Weide praised his advice.
• Li Weide dueled Flitwick, demonstrated new fighting techniques, and defeated him after two minutes.