Chapter Summaries

Thomson defeated three Hogwarts students in duels, and Sean stepped forward to face him after receiving a spell suggestion from Professor Scamander. The duel began with Sean casting Serpensortia.

• Thomson defeated two more angry Hogwarts students, leaving the remaining students reluctant to challenge him.
• Sean assessed Thomson's skill and recognized how effectively he provoked opponents into making mistakes.
• Thomson called out a fifth-year Hufflepuff, but Sean offered to duel instead.
• Pickett brought Sean a note from Professor Scamander suggesting the Summoning Charm or Serpensortia.
• Sean climbed onto the dueling platform, bowed to Thomson, and cast Serpensortia.

Sean used a miniature teapot to summon Naja, a huge Occamy, during his duel with Thomson, terrifying the Great Hall. Naja defeated Thomson, and Sean left the Newmontgard students too wary to challenge him again.

• Sean cast Serpensortia, but Naja emerged from his miniature teapot as a fifty-foot-long Occamy and caused panic in the Great Hall.
• Sean shrank Naja into a scarf and told Snape that his spell had mutated, while Harry and Malfoy vouched for his ability to control creatures.
• Sean resumed the duel, and Naja expanded, coiled around Thomson, and broke through his Shield Charm before Thomson fainted and surrendered.
• Snape revived Thomson, and Sean returned Naja to his shoulder as Riddle praised the unusual spell.
• The Newmontgard students avoided provoking Sean for the rest of the visit.

Sean learned from Newt Scamander that he had an exceptional inborn gift for understanding Magical Creatures and was entrusted with Naja the Occamy. The next day, Sean went to serve detention with Snape, who confronted him about provoking the Dark Lord.

• After the Duelling Club ended, Sean met Newt, who praised his talent and explained that he could communicate with Magical Creatures.
• Newt told Sean that his own gift was remarkable, encouraged him to befriend Magical Creatures, and left Naja in his care.
• Sean returned to the dormitory with Naja and warned Dave not to bully her.
• The next day, Sean went to Snape's office for detention.
• Snape asked Sean whether he thought provoking the Dark Lord was something to be proud of.

Sean served detention with Snape after angering Riddle, while Snape warned him about the danger and criticized his arrogance. Sean's questions and talk about Slughorn's notebook enraged Snape, who grabbed him by the collar and ordered him out of his office.

• Snape warned Sean that his actions had angered Riddle and accused him of foolishly relying on Dumbledore's favor.
• Sean asked Snape whether he worked for Grindelwald, Dumbledore, or Riddle, and Snape ordered him to stop asking questions before assigning detention.
• Sean spent the afternoon sorting rotten Flobberworms while Snape watched and mocked his Potions knowledge.
• Snape quizzed Sean about Flint Grass, then criticized him for wanting to study beyond the basics.
• Sean mentioned the notebook Slughorn had given him, prompting Snape to accuse him of treating a secret as gossip and ask whether Potter or Black had told him about it.
• Snape grabbed Sean by the collar and ordered him out of his office.

Sean left Snape’s office after Snape ended his detention, while Snape later met secretly with Tom Riddle and received a new mission. Riddle told Snape to kill him when his current body fled to Snape, then revealed his hatred of Wallerup and his intention to wait for him to become the Dark Lord.

• Snape angrily sent Sean out of his office, and Sean left after asking whether his detention was over.
• Snape stored another parchment listing forbidden potion ingredients and possible effects among similar records in his storeroom.
• Snape met Tom Riddle in a castle room, where Riddle told him the plan had been moved forward and that he would kill Wallerup himself.
• Riddle ordered Snape to kill him when his current body fled toward Snape, so Snape could gain Dumbledore’s trust.
• After Snape left, Riddle’s black mist revealed Quirrell’s face before Riddle vowed to wait for Wallerup to become the Dark Lord.

After serving detention with Snape, Sean heard Harry explain that he had secretly searched the Restricted Section and suspected Snape and Riddle were after the Philosopher’s Stone. Sean considered whether Riddle had been impersonating Snape, then ate dinner with Hermione, who was angry that Snape had kept him from lunch.

• Sean left Newt’s care of the Magical Creatures and met Harry, Ron, and Hermione outside the Great Hall.
• Harry told Sean that he had seen Snape near the Forbidden Forest, then revealed he had used an Invisibility Cloak to search the Restricted Section for information about the Philosopher’s Stone.
• Harry said he had seen Snape researching the Stone and deduced that Snape and Riddle were involved in a scheme to obtain it.
• Sean wondered whether Riddle had disguised himself as Snape and suspected that Dumbledore might be allowing Riddle to pursue the Stone as part of a plan.
• Hermione complained that Snape had kept Sean from lunch, but Sean joked that skipping meals could make a person’s face oily.

Sean received Professor McGonagall’s second-year Transfiguration materials and later got a midnight summons from Dumbledore. On his way to Dumbledore’s office, he ran into Harry, Neville, and Ron sneaking around under the Invisibility Cloak, who believed they were there to stop Snape from reaching the Philosopher’s Stone.

• Sean passed Professor McGonagall’s Transfiguration assessment, received her annotated second-year materials, and was allowed to ask her for guidance.
• Snape caught Sean outside at night, warned him that Dumbledore was away, and took five points from Ravenclaw.
• After studying Transfiguration with Hermione, Sean received a note from Dumbledore asking him to come to his office immediately.
• Sean left Ravenclaw Tower and headed toward Dumbledore’s office, suspecting that Riddle had been caught.
• Harry, Neville, and Ron appeared beneath the Invisibility Cloak, and Harry asked Sean if he had come to stop Snape from getting the Philosopher’s Stone.

Sean followed a message he believed came from Dumbledore and was caught under the Imperius Curse, which led him to a hidden chamber. There he met Aurelius Dumbledore, who freed him and explained that Grindelwald had forged the message, while Dumbledore had sent Aurelius to keep Sean from disrupting the students’ test and watch intruders.

• Harry told Sean that Snape might steal the Philosopher’s Stone, and Sean agreed to go looking for Dumbledore with the trio.
• Sean reconsidered whether the message leading him toward the Headmaster’s Office was genuine, then fell under the Imperius Curse and told the trio to turn back.
• Under the curse, Sean entered a hidden chamber where an elderly man waited for him.
• The man lifted the curse, and Sean summoned Dave and Naja before realizing the man was an Obscurus.
• The man summoned a phoenix and introduced himself as Aurelius Dumbledore, explaining that Grindelwald had forged the message and that he was carrying out Albus’s instructions.

Sean discovered that Aurelius Dumbledore, formerly known as Credence, had been secretly watching Riddle as part of the Philosopher’s Stone’s defenses. Aurelius showed Sean Riddle trapped by the Mirror of Erised, then offered to take him along as Harry and the others approached.

• Aurelius apologized for using the Imperius Curse and explained that he wielded the power of the Obscurus within him.
• Aurelius led Sean through hidden chambers where they watched Harry and the others pass the Philosopher’s Stone’s defenses.
• Aurelius said his main duty was keeping watch over Riddle and gave Sean a potion that let them pass through the black flames.
• Sean saw Riddle pacing before the Mirror of Erised, unable to obtain the Philosopher’s Stone.
• Aurelius noticed Harry and the others were nearly there and asked Sean whether he wanted to witness what happened next.

Sean joined Aurelius as he used his Obscurus to shield him while they watched Riddle confront Harry in the Stone Chamber. Riddle revealed that a prophecy connected him to Harry, then attacked him, but Aurelius's Obscurus blocked the curse and Sean appeared before Riddle.

• Aurelius explained that the figure inside Hogwarts was not the real Riddle and invited Sean to witness the encounter with Harry.
• Sean agreed to go with Aurelius, who transformed into an Obscurus and wrapped Sean in a protective barrier.
• Riddle waited before the Mirror of Erised, and Harry entered the Stone Chamber and confronted him over the Philosopher's Stone.
• Riddle revealed that Harry was the person connected to him in a prophecy and summoned Harry's wand, noting that their wands shared a phoenix feather core.
• Riddle cast the Cruciatus Curse at Harry, but Aurelius's Obscurus blocked it, and Sean greeted Riddle.

Sean faced Riddle in the Stone Chamber while the Obscurus blocked his attacks, and Riddle fled after warning Sean that his life was controlled by others. Dumbledore and Aurelius pursued him, but Snape struck Riddle with the Killing Curse; a faint black mist escaped and later descended on a Muggle village.

• Sean sent Harry back toward the flames and taunted Riddle as the Obscurus blocked his spells.
• Riddle accused Sean of being a vessel whose fate was already written, then escaped the Stone Chamber as black mist.
• Dumbledore confronted Riddle outside the castle, and Aurelius joined the pursuit.
• Riddle escaped the Obscurus and Dumbledore, then called on Snape to stop them.
• Snape cast the Killing Curse, and Riddle fell to the ground dead as a faint black mist vanished into the night.
• The black mist descended on a Muggle village, where a scream sounded and a middle-aged man in a leather coat walked out of a yard.

Grindelwald destroyed Riddle and took Nagini, though a trace of Riddle’s ash briefly began to reform before disappearing. Meanwhile, Sean looked into the Mirror of Erised and saw his grown-up self.

• Riddle killed his neighbor and sent Nagini to feed on the corpse, but Grindelwald appeared and bound the snake.
• Grindelwald questioned Riddle about merging Quirrell’s soul with his own, then killed him with blue flames.
• Grindelwald took the unconscious Nagini and scattered Riddle’s ash, which briefly gathered again before vanishing.
• Sean stood before the Mirror of Erised in the Stone Chamber and saw his grown-up self.

Sean questioned why the Mirror of Erised showed a violent, red-eyed version of his older self, then tried to make sense of Riddle’s cryptic words about his role as a vessel. Dumbledore showed Sean Quirrell’s corpse and explained how Riddle had used Quirrell’s body and soul as a vessel before the plan ended in Riddle’s death.

• Sean saw his older self in the Mirror of Erised turn blood-red-eyed and appear arrogant and brutal, so he backed away and summoned Naja to think through the day’s events.
• Sean recalled Riddle’s claim that he was a vessel for the decay of one age and the sins of another, but dismissed it as an attempt to make him distrust Dumbledore.
• Aurelius returned in the form of black Obscurus matter and carried Sean to Dumbledore’s office after Dumbledore asked to see him.
• Dumbledore sent Aurelius to visit Newt, leaving Sean alone with him and Quirrell’s corpse.
• Dumbledore explained that Riddle had controlled Quirrell’s body and used Quirrell’s soul to take the blow, but the Stinging Hex and the resulting pain destabilized the body carrying two souls.

Sean returned Harry’s holly wand and learned that Harry was part of the prophecy, then helped Dumbledore awaken Nagini. The chapter ended when black mist shot from the suddenly struggling Nagini toward Sean’s eyes.

• Dumbledore gave Sean Harry’s holly wand and admitted that Harry was part of the prophecy, though he could not explain more.
• Grindelwald returned with Nagini and joked with Dumbledore while Dumbledore examined her condition.
• Dumbledore asked Sean to use his Magical Creature care skills and look into Nagini’s eyes after she awoke.
• Sean met Nagini’s gaze, and she stopped struggling, but Dumbledore looked disappointed.
• Sean noticed a flicker in Nagini’s eyes and stepped back, prompting her to struggle and send black mist toward his eyes.

Grindelwald caused Riddle’s weakened Soul Fragment to enter Sean, sending Sean into what appeared to be his inner world. Sean returned to Dumbledore’s office unharmed, but realized his mind now held unfamiliar things.

• Grindelwald let the black mist enter Sean, angering Dumbledore, and insisted he would not harm the boy.
• Sean awoke on a floating island shaped around the Wallop family estate and explored its strangely comforting surroundings.
• Riddle appeared outside Sean’s inner world above a sea of lava, where a gigantic, blood-eyed Sean emerged and destroyed him.
• Sean returned to Dumbledore’s office and told Dumbledore he felt fine, then noticed extra things in his mind.

After Sean absorbed a fragment of Riddle’s soul and gained extensive Dark Arts knowledge, Dumbledore and Grindelwald argued over whether he should use it. Dumbledore then tested Nagini’s reaction to Sean and explained that her Blood Curse would eventually transform her permanently into an animal.

• Sean discovered that absorbing Riddle’s Soul Fragment had given him knowledge and proficiency in numerous Dark Arts spells, including Raise the Dead.
• Dumbledore warned Sean that Dark Arts could corrupt him, while Grindelwald argued that Sean should decide for himself how to use them.
• Dumbledore asked Sean to approach Nagini again, and Nagini showed no special reaction to him.
• Dumbledore explained that Nagini was human beneath her curse and would eventually become an animal permanently, losing her humanity and memories.

Dumbledore explained Nagini’s Maledictus curse and asked Sean to help determine whether she retained any humanity, while revealing that he and Credence had once been close to her. After Sean returned to Hogwarts and woke in the infirmary, Grindelwald’s note revealed that he had secretly moved Sean there and taken his Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans.

• Dumbledore explained that Nagini’s blood curse would eventually erase her humanity and admitted that he and Severus had been unable to guarantee a cure.
• Dumbledore told Sean that he had known Nagini for years and wanted to bring her back, while Grindelwald revealed that Credence had once been her close friend.
• Dumbledore asked Sean to help treat Nagini and noted that Hogwarts needed a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher; Grindelwald hinted that he had a candidate in mind.
• Sean left the Headmaster’s Office, returned to his dormitory, and fell asleep as dawn broke.
• Sean woke in the infirmary among gifts and read Grindelwald’s note, which said he had moved Sean there and taken all his Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans.

Sean returned to Hogwarts to cheers after helping Harry, but he could not convince Harry that he was not an Obscurial. Harry revealed that his sister Daisy had become an Obscurial after a Blood Curse caused her to fear and suppress her magic.

• Sean returned Harry's wand during Charms Class, and Professor Flitwick awarded Ravenclaw ten points for Sean's help.
• Hermione praised Sean for facing Riddle and saving Harry, while Harry later struggled to speak with Sean amid the attention.
• Harry privately thanked Sean for saving him and promised not to reveal that he thought Sean was an Obscurial, but Sean denied it.
• Harry asked Sean for advice on controlling an Obscurus and revealed that another Obscurial was involved: his sister Daisy.
• Harry explained that Daisy's Blood Curse was discovered after she killed her favorite Puffskein, and that her hatred and suppression of her magic led to the formation of an Obscurus.

Harry told Sean about Daisy Potter’s dangerous condition, and Sean agreed to ask Aurelius for help. Dumbledore connected saving Nagini with potentially helping Daisy, then brought Sean to Snape’s Potion Room, where work on a cure was underway.

• Harry explained that Daisy’s Blood Curse and Obscurus caused painful, dangerous transformations, and asked Sean for help.
• Sean told Harry that he was not an Obscurial but promised to ask the gentleman who had helped him.
• Dumbledore told Sean that Daisy’s curse had likely been deliberately inflicted, since the Evans family had no history of the Blood Curse.
• Dumbledore explained that saving Nagini could give him greater confidence in easing Daisy’s condition.
• Dumbledore and Sean joined Snape, whose Potion Room held Nagini, blood samples, and numerous formulas for their research.

Snape and Dumbledore tested potions to counter Nagini’s Blood Curse, but the dose needed could poison her. Sean proposed replacing most of her cursed blood and using the potion on what remained, giving Dumbledore a promising new approach.

• Snape explained that ordinary antidote methods would only suppress Nagini’s Blood Curse temporarily and could badly harm her.
• Snape developed a potion that showed promise, but he warned that the amount needed to remove the curse would leave enough toxic residue to kill Nagini.
• Sean suggested a full blood exchange, removing most of Nagini’s cursed blood while preserving her life, then replacing it with healthy blood after the potion cleared the curse.
• Dumbledore embraced Sean’s idea and asked Snape to help work out the details, while Snape turned away gloomily.