Chapter Summaries

Li Weide arranged for Slughorn to help Alphard find people, then worked on the Ideological Program and challenged his friends to stop neglecting their studies. He left Tom understanding that their future cause depended on strengthening the whole group, not just themselves.

• Slughorn agreed to help Alphard find people and warned Li Weide to stay away from Grindelwald; Li Weide agreed outwardly and went to tell Alphard the news.
• Li Weide spent the evening drafting the Ideological Program, hoping to persuade Slughorn to hand him responsibility for the class.
• Li Weide found Henry and Alphard copying Tom's homework, scolded them, and urged them to build a solid academic foundation before seeking advanced magic.
• Li Weide explained that Tom's own ability had made him formidable, while Tom agreed to teach Henry and Alphard and tell the other club members to work harder.
• Li Weide told Tom that their cause required capable allies, and Tom admitted that he had focused too much on his own strength and neglected the group.

Li Weide told Tom that fate had led him toward reform, then returned from Hogwarts for Christmas and met Grindelwald in Godric's Hollow to test his control over a Dementor. He stopped the creature from attacking and fastened a Goblin Collar around it, leaving it writhing in pain.

• Li Weide told Tom that many events had guided him toward his cause, and Tom accepted him as their leader.
• Li Weide returned to the Safe House for Christmas, where Toby and Tom Cat welcomed him and Fang stayed by the fireplace.
• Li Weide Apparated to Godric's Hollow at midnight to meet Grindelwald, who handed him a suitcase containing a powerful Dementor.
• The Dementor emerged and charged at Li Weide, but stopped before reaching him as Grindelwald prepared to intervene.
• Li Weide fastened a Goblin Collar around the Dementor, which then writhed in pain instead of attacking him.

Li Weide subdued a Dementor and used it to increase his power, then visited Tom with an offer Tom immediately distrusted. The chapter ended as Tom tried to shove Li Weide out before hearing what he had come to propose.

• Li Weide forced a Dementor to obey him with a collar and pain, then stored it in a suitcase while Grindelwald praised the feat and received a Back Scratcher as a Christmas gift.
• Li Weide took the Dementor to his Wizard Tower and spent the night converting its negative emotions into Residue, increasing his power but leaving the Dementor badly weakened.
• Li Weide considered helping Senior female student develop containers for Residue and wondered whether becoming Azkaban's warden would suit him.
• Li Weide interrupted Tom's spell practice at Riddle Manor, and the spell released red mist and a terrible stench that made Li Weide joke that Tom had pooped indoors.
• Tom rejected Li Weide's claim that he had brought something good and pushed him toward the door without hearing the offer.

Li Weide brought a Dementor to Tom and taught him how to control it, secretly hoping to use Tom’s emotions to restore the creature. After three days of Tom practicing the Patronus Charm, Li Weide returned to find that Tom had learned it and was casting it in front of him.

• Li Weide’s suitcase opened during a scuffle, releasing a Dementor that he stopped and commanded in front of a horrified Tom.
• Li Weide taught Tom the spell for controlling the Dementor and persuaded him to practice the Patronus Charm with it nearby.
• Tom took the suitcase and began practicing, while Li Weide secretly planned to use Tom’s positive emotions as the Dementor’s food.
• Li Weide stayed at Riddle Manor for several days and made business deals with Senior Riddle for luxury products.
• After three days, Li Weide found Tom exhausted beside the suitcase, but Tom raised his wand and cast a bright Patronus, shocking Li Weide.

Tom practiced the Patronus Charm and produced a powerful but indistinct Patronus, while Li Weide recruited others to practice and gathered Benign Residue. Dumbledore and Headmaster Dippet found the entrance to Slytherin’s Secret Chamber, and Li Weide released the weakened Dementor back to Azkaban as he assessed his growing strength.

• Tom cast a powerful Patronus that remained obscured, then accused Li Weide of using the lesson to make him feed the Dementor.
• Li Weide visited Annie and encouraged her to learn the Patronus Charm, then spent the holiday having his friends practice in front of the Dementor to collect Benign Residue.
• Dumbledore and Headmaster Dippet located the Secret Chamber entrance in a girls’ bathroom and decided to ask Tom to open it the next day.
• Li Weide absorbed Benign Residue, dismissed the Dementor back to Azkaban, and hid its suitcase near the Wizard Tower.
• Li Weide estimated that his strength had risen to roughly that of two Snapes, but resolved to remain cautious.

Tom Riddle surprised Dumbledore and Headmaster Dippet by mastering the Patronus Charm, which appeared to be a Magical Animal Patronus. They left without identifying the creature, and Tom realized he might be the only Slytherin Heir to have learned the charm.

• Dumbledore and Headmaster Dippet visited Riddle Manor and Senior Riddle led them to Tom's house in the Woods.
• Tom greeted the professors and said Li Weide was not there, but Dumbledore explained that they had come to see Tom.
• Dumbledore and Dippet saw Tom cast a Patronus and praised him for learning the charm at such a young age.
• Tom claimed he had learned the charm by following a book and redirected their attention by asking why his Patronus was blurry.
• Dumbledore explained that the blurry Patronus seemed to be a Magical Animal, though they could not identify what Tom's bloodline might be connected to.
• Tom concluded that he might be the only Slytherin Heir to master the Patronus Charm.

Li Weide bought a reflex-enhancing talent and joined Dumbledore, Headmaster Dippet, and Tom as they prepared to confront Slytherin’s Basilisk. The group discovered that the magical glasses meant to protect them revealed Li Weide’s extraordinary magical power.

• Li Weide purchased Cat-like Reflexes for 1,000 Merit Points and set out to test his improved reflexes.
• Dumbledore told Tom that Slytherin’s creature was a Basilisk and asked him to open its hidden lair.
• Li Weide mistook Dumbledore, Headmaster Dippet, and Tom for prisoners escorting his accomplice, then agreed to join them when he learned they were pursuing the Basilisk.
• Dumbledore brought Li Weide and Tom to Hogwarts, where the professors and Newt prepared to enter the Basilisk’s lair using magic-revealing glasses.
• The group put on the glasses, and Tom and Dumbledore reacted with astonishment at how brightly Li Weide glowed.

After the professors discovered Li Weide’s extraordinary magical strength, they replaced Slughorn with him on the team entering the Secret Chamber to confront the Basilisk. Li Weide prepared his combat gear while the others arranged the operation, and Tom struggled to accept the vast gap between his friend’s power and his own.

• Li Weide pretended not to understand the professors’ surprise, while the Alchemy Glasses showed that his magic rivaled Dumbledore’s and Headmaster Dippet’s.
• Dumbledore attributed Li Weide’s strength to his talent, and Headmaster Dippet ordered everyone to keep it secret from Grindelwald.
• Headmaster Dippet assigned Li Weide to take Slughorn’s place among the four entering the Secret Chamber to deal with the Basilisk.
• Dumbledore and Headmaster Dippet reassured Tom that he was still a gifted wizard, even though Li Weide was exceptionally powerful.
• Li Weide summoned Toby and put on a tough, pocket-filled trench coat designed to carry his weapons.

Li Weide fooled Tom into believing he could not cast the Patronus Charm, then revealed his Patronus and shattered Tom’s confidence. The group discovered the entrance to the Secret Chamber, and Li Weide kicked Tom down the passage to lead the way toward the Basilisk.

• Li Weide pretended that his dark heart kept him from casting a Patronus, prompting Dumbledore, Headmaster Dippet, and Newt to comfort him while Tom apologized.
• After the others left the office, Li Weide secretly cast a Patronus and told Tom he had hidden his ability to keep Tom from becoming jealous.
• Dumbledore led the group to the Girls' Bathroom, where Tom used Parseltongue to open the washbasin and reveal a deep passage.
• Li Weide pushed Tom into the passage to test whether Slytherin's descendant would be safe near the Basilisk, then jumped in after him.
• Headmaster Dippet and Newt decided to follow the boys into the passage.

Li Weide and the others reached Slytherin’s Secret Chamber, where Tom awakened the Basilisk. Li Weide killed it in a rapid, overwhelming fight, leaving Dumbledore and the others stunned and Tom terrified of ever challenging him.

• Li Weide and the others followed the underground pipe to the Secret Chamber, and Tom opened its entrance in Parseltongue.
• Newt found an enormous Basilisk scale, and Tom opened Slytherin’s statue by praising him in Parseltongue.
• The Basilisk emerged and attacked the group, but Li Weide blocked it with ice and fought back with ice, fire, and stone.
• Li Weide blinded the Basilisk, froze it, and killed it by driving a Greatsword into its vital point.
• Dumbledore and the others stood stunned, while Tom hid behind the door and realized how terrifying Li Weide’s strength was.

Li Weide killed the Basilisk and the professors praised his strength and restraint, while Headmaster Dippet asked him to consider graduating early. Li Weide chose to stay at Hogwarts, and Tom donated the Basilisk’s materials to the school as the professors arrived to inspect the corpse.

• Li Weide examined the dead Basilisk while Newt identified it as a female and marveled at its size.
• Dumbledore began questioning Li Weide about his unexpected abilities, but Headmaster Dippet discouraged probing into his past.
• Headmaster Dippet asked Li Weide to graduate early, but Li Weide said he wanted to learn to control his power and study subjects beyond combat.
• Tom inspected the Basilisk and agreed to donate its materials to the school, then awkwardly promised to help Li Weide whenever asked.
• Dumbledore summoned his Phoenix Patronus, and Professor McGonagall and the other professors arrived to see the Basilisk; Headmaster Dippet told them Li Weide had defeated it before they could act.

Li Weide helped divide and preserve the Basilisk’s remains, while Dumbledore worried that Li Weide’s rapid growth through Ancient Magic might carry a hidden cost. Back at the Wizard Tower, Li Weide studied the Basilisk’s shattered eye and its deadly curse, then sensed something strange in the house and asked Toby about ghosts.

• Slughorn agreed that Li Weide could handle much of the Ideological and Moral Education Class, and the two divided the Basilisk’s remains while Newt guided their dissection.
• Dippet ordered the professors to keep the events and Li Weide’s abilities confidential, and Dumbledore told him he planned to study and personally guide Li Weide after the holiday.
• Li Weide left Hogwarts with a suitcase of Basilisk parts, and Dumbledore raised his concerns with Dippet about the vanished student connected to Ancient Magic.
• At the Wizard Tower, Li Weide reconstructed more than half of the magical pattern in the Basilisk’s pupil but regretted damaging the eye before he could fully study its curse.
• Li Weide felt a chill return near the shattered eye, summoned Toby, and asked whether the house contained ghosts.

Li Weide confronted an invisible presence in the Wizard Tower and found himself facing an old man claiming to be Salazar Slytherin. After Slytherin attacked him with cursed insects, Li Weide answered with Fiendfyre, and their fight began.

• Li Weide suspected a hidden ghost in the Wizard Tower, sent Toby away, and used Nightmare Magic to reveal it.
• The ghostly figure attacked Li Weide and pulled him into an illusion of a platform above a sea of clouds, but Li Weide reshaped the illusion into a London street.
• Li Weide sensed his opponent at the end of the street and fired Sectumsempra, but the spell’s path was distorted and it cut down a lamppost instead.
• A hunched old man emerged from the air and identified himself as Salazar Slytherin; Li Weide responded with an extravagant list of titles.
• Slytherin challenged Li Weide’s magical ability because he was Muggle-born, and Li Weide rebuked him for judging people by bloodline.
• Slytherin attacked with cursed insects, and Li Weide summoned a ring of Fiendfyre that devoured them.

Li Weide fought Slytherin in what he believed was a fierce Fiendfyre duel, only to discover that Slytherin had trapped him in an illusion. Their argument about Muggle-born students ended with Slytherin learning that he had been dead for over a thousand years.

• Li Weide used Gubraithian Fire and Nightmare Magic to gain openings against Slytherin, while their Fiendfyre battle seemed to devastate a London street.
• Slytherin outmaneuvered Li Weide, and they gathered their magic for a final clash that shattered the apparent street battle.
• Li Weide realized he had been inside Slytherin's illusion when he found himself back in the undamaged laboratory facing Slytherin's ghost.
• Li Weide revealed his Slytherin badge and challenged Slytherin's belief that magical strength depended on bloodline.
• Li Weide explained that Slytherin had misjudged Muggle-born students because he did not understand their backgrounds or how to teach them.
• Slytherin said he had just died, and Li Weide told him he had been dead for over a thousand years.

Li Weide questioned Slytherin about how he had become a ghost and why he had appeared in the laboratory, while weighing whether to eliminate him to protect his secret experiments. Slytherin learned that more than a thousand years had passed and was baffled that Li Weide considered taking apart two people an outrageous experiment.

• Li Weide pointed out that Slytherin's late appearance and ability to create an illusion made his ghostly return suspicious.
• Slytherin recalled falling asleep during research on the Bloodline Curse, waking to find Li Weide beside his dead Basilisk, and realizing he had become a ghost.
• Li Weide explained that Professor Binns had also died without noticing, and Slytherin recognized the name of the Hogwarts professor he had once recruited.
• Slytherin admitted he did not know whether the Basilisk's death had awakened him, while Li Weide considered killing him to protect his secret laboratory.
• Slytherin described the brutal conflicts that followed Hogwarts's founding and expressed surprise that Li Weide had to hide his laboratory.
• Li Weide confessed that he had taken apart two living people, but Slytherin found the experiments unremarkable compared with the research of his own era.

Li Weide told Slytherin that his direct descendants had died out after generations of inbreeding driven by pure-blood supremacy. Slytherin learned that his remaining descendants included Tom Riddle and Isolt Sayre’s line, both of which had married Muggles, and collapsed in shock that no completely pure-blood Slytherin descendants remained.

• Li Weide and Slytherin discussed modern laws, dark experiments, and the meaning of Li Weide’s Sage ability.
• Slytherin asked how Li Weide had found and killed the Basilisk, and Li Weide explained that Tom Riddle had voluntarily given up Slytherin’s legacy after they discovered the study.
• Slytherin learned that Tom Riddle was the descendant who had disposed of his legacy and demanded to know why his direct descendants had not objected.
• Li Weide told Slytherin that his direct line had died out after generations of close-relative marriages intended to preserve pure-blood status.
• Li Weide explained that only two descendant branches remained, including Tom Riddle’s and Isolt Sayre’s, and that both had Muggle ancestry through their marriages.
• Slytherin learned that no completely pure-blood descendants remained and collapsed after spitting transparent blood.

Li Weide and Slytherin argued over pure-bloods, then Slytherin explained what he knew about Ancient Sages and their magic. They ended by discussing a deal to find Slytherin’s tomb, with Slytherin recognizing Li Weide’s plan to loot its treasures.

• Li Weide told Slytherin that modern pure-blood wizards might be stupid because of inbreeding, and Slytherin reconsidered his assumptions about their descendants.
• Slytherin offered to share his knowledge and help Li Weide with experiments in exchange for being allowed to remain, but Li Weide refused because he suspected a trap.
• Slytherin explained that Ancient Sages were powerful, knowledgeable wizards who passed their teachings to successors, and said he and the other Founders had studied under one.
• Li Weide proposed making a deal and asked whether Slytherin could sense the location of his tomb.
• Slytherin saw through Li Weide’s claim that he wanted to burn incense and accused him of seeking the tomb’s burial treasures.

Li Weide made Slytherin sign a Ghost Contract, then helped him uncover his tomb beneath the Wizard Tower. When they found the sarcophagus empty, Slytherin suspected his death and ghostly awakening were part of a plot to use him to kill Li Weide.

• Li Weide endured Slytherin's furious complaints until Slytherin signed the Ghost Contract.
• Slytherin sensed his remains beneath the Wizard Tower, and Li Weide dug down to find a half-collapsed tomb chamber.
• Slytherin reached into his sarcophagus, then demanded that Li Weide open it after realizing his remains were missing.
• Slytherin said his death had been sudden and his awakening might not have been simple, then asked Li Weide to help recover his remains and uncover the truth.
• Slytherin warned Li Weide that something might be trying to use him to kill Li Weide, and Li Weide connected the warning to the missing name of a Senior female student with Ancient Magic talent.

Li Weide and Slytherin discussed how to help Nagini temporarily regain human form, while Tom reconsidered his relationship with Li Weide and learned to shape magic through imagination. The chapter left Li Weide planning to work on separating Nagini’s soul and Slytherin impressed by Tom’s exceptional talent.

• Slytherin explained that Nagini’s Blood Curse had no known cure, and Li Weide described how attempts to remove her beast soul had failed because it would regenerate.
• Slytherin advised Li Weide to pursue a temporary solution by removing Nagini’s beast soul first, and suggested Li Weide use his Nightmare Magic to split her soul.
• Tom reflected on Li Weide’s power, decided to keep his head down and learn from him, then tried to recreate Li Weide’s Ice Wall spell.
• Li Weide demonstrated how imagination and Transfiguration could shape magic, creating a frost knight that destroyed a wooden target.
• Tom grasped the principle and conjured ice spikes to pierce the target, impressing Li Weide and leaving Slytherin amazed by Tom’s talent.

Li Weide learned from Senior that his plan to separate Nagini’s Beast Soul could permanently damage her soul, but her letter offered a safer way to suppress the curse’s worst effects. He wrote down her method and ended the chapter with a mysterious white mist striking him after he praised Senior as an elder.

• Li Weide told Tom he could share magic and potions derived from the Basilisk, then explained a possible way to let Nagini temporarily leave her snake form.
• Li Weide said he planned to treat Nagini in the next few days, and Tom agreed after Nagini accepted the risk; Li Weide chose not to involve Dumbledore.
• After spending the night at Riddle Manor, Li Weide found Senior’s letter beside his bed and read her warning that cutting away the Beast Soul could leave Nagini’s soul incomplete.
• Senior proposed erasing the Beast Soul’s consciousness and returning its soul power to Nagini’s human soul so she could retain her human form and rationality.
• Li Weide copied Senior’s method and praised having an elder at home, then a wisp of white mist struck him and vanished by the window.