Chapter Summaries

At a Ministry of Magic press conference, Roger Virgil announced plans to make Virtual Reality devices widely available and urged wizards to treat them as tools. He revealed that its thought acceleration could exceed seven times, leaving the gathered wizards eager to learn the maximum speed.

• Rita Skeeter entered the press conference and questioned Tom about his connection to Roger, but Tom told her to wait for the announcement.
• Cornelius Fudge gave opening remarks and then yielded the stage to Roger Virgil.
• Roger announced that Virtual Reality clients would be sold at nearly cost and that he expected to cover the United Kingdom's wizarding population within six months.
• Roger urged the wizards to treat Virtual Reality as a convenient tool rather than become overly dependent on it.
• A wizard asked whether Virtual Reality's thought acceleration could improve, and Roger confirmed that seven times was far from its limit.
• The wizard pressed Roger to reveal the highest thought speed Virtual Reality could reach.

Roger answered questions about Virtual Reality’s future expansion and business model, promising global access while supporting paid fan-made content under limits against monopolies and excessive fees. Rita Skeeter then asked how he would respond if foreign governments accepted the technology but used laws to impose harmful restrictions.

• Roger told a German reporter that he wanted Virtual Reality to spread worldwide and become an indispensable part of human life.
• Roger explained to Xenophilius Lovegood that his company would provide basic services for free while allowing creators to charge for advanced content and applications.
• Roger said he would regulate attempts to establish technological monopolies or impose excessive mandatory fees during the transition to a high-martial wizarding society.
• Rita Skeeter asked Roger whether other countries would accept Virtual Reality and what he would do if they used laws to impose undesirable actions.

Roger addressed concerns about promoting Virtual Reality Technology across countries, including information security, local regulation, and unequal access to resources. He said he would respect countries’ choices but warned that refusing the technology would leave their wizards at a growing disadvantage, and he would confront anyone who tried to obstruct it.

• Rita Skeeter asked Roger about the problems of adapting Virtual Reality Technology to different countries.
• Roger described concerns over protecting magical information, regulating speech, and ensuring fair access to the technology’s economic benefits.
• Roger pointed out that wizarding regions were unequal in resources and warned that wizards in smaller countries could be exploited by those from major powers.
• Roger said he would respect local laws and countries’ decisions, but warned that wizards without Virtual Reality would struggle to compete with those using it.
• Roger threatened extraordinary measures against anyone who tried to sabotage Virtual Reality and looked toward the wizard calling himself "Tom."

After Roger’s press conference on Virtual Reality Technology, the American Ministry of Magic’s likely response drew the interest of a disguised visitor. Rita Skeeter tried to pursue the visitor for a story, while he returned to meet Voldemort and revealed that he was the diary Horcrux in a body of his own.

• Roger answered questions about Virtual Reality Technology and made clear that its development would continue.
• Tom anticipated that the American Ministry of Magic would react to the technology’s impact on magical power and interests.
• Rita Skeeter invited Tom to dinner for an interview, but he left, prompting her to plan a story using her self-recording quill.
• Tom returned to a room in the Ministry of Magic, where a white-haired old man and a disguised Voldemort were waiting.
• Tom offered to exchange thoughts with Voldemort, who refused, and Tom revealed that he was Voldemort’s diary Horcrux with a body of his own.

Voldemort explained how the Time Gu Technique made Tom Riddle the primary self and turned Voldemort into a Horcrux, widening the rift between them. After discussing Roger Virgil’s press conference, Tom decided the conflict might still be winnable because Roger had not used his strength to crush his opponents.

• Voldemort told Tom Riddle that the Time Gu Technique had made Tom the primary self and transformed Voldemort into a special Horcrux.
• Tom resented Voldemort for repeatedly trying to erase him, but stopped challenging him while Grindelwald remained between them.
• Tom judged Roger Virgil’s press conference stance as forceful but insufficiently ruthless.
• Tom reflected on the powerful figures awaiting him in 1992 and recalled that Roger had once made him consider surrendering.
• Tom concluded that Roger’s refusal to dominate his opponents meant the battle could still be fought.

Tom Riddle planned to use radical supporters of Virtual Reality Technology to force Roger into a more aggressive course and create trouble for him. Roger left the Ministry of Magic to return to Hogwarts, while Fudge was left wanting to discuss their overlapping authority.

• Tom Riddle rejected Roger's lenient view of enemies and admitted he had no direct way to defeat a Seer.
• Tom Riddle proposed organizing people to spread Virtual Reality Technology through radical methods, hoping either outcome would hinder Roger.
• Tom Riddle and Voldemort considered using false followers to undermine Roger, but Roger's Seer abilities made that approach too risky.
• Roger declined Minister of Magic Fudge's invitation to stay and returned to Hogwarts because he had other work to do.
• Fudge wanted to discuss Roger's authority over Virtual Reality industries and clarify how their responsibilities and approvals would work.

Fudge questioned Roger about the Ministry’s authority over Virtual Reality and the technology’s purpose. Roger clarified which matters the Ministry could handle, while Fudge concluded that Virtual Reality had a significance Dumbledore had not revealed.

• Roger prepared to leave for Hogwarts, but Fudge stopped him to discuss cooperation with other countries over Virtual Reality.
• Roger said the Ministry should cooperate with foreign governments and manage negotiations according to the policy already announced.
• Roger clarified that the Ministry could make decisions on matters that did not directly affect Virtual Reality’s spread, maintenance, technology, or prosperity.
• Fudge asked Roger what Virtual Reality meant and why Dumbledore had agreed to spread it worldwide.
• Fudge reasoned that Dumbledore’s support meant Virtual Reality likely served a purpose beyond what had been made public.

Roger reassured Fudge about Dumbledore and Virtual Reality, then investigated a mystery surrounding his Pestering Mite Annihilation Layer. He returned to Hogwarts after visiting Professor McGonagall’s former home, where Luna was waiting for him near the Forbidden Forest.

• Roger told Fudge that Dumbledore was fine, hinted that Virtual Reality had a purpose that would become clear soon, and urged him to keep doing his job well.
• Fudge interpreted Roger’s response as cautious acceptance and resolved to earn Dumbledore and Roger’s trust despite lacking a Pledge of Allegiance.
• Roger confirmed that Grindelwald had no Pestering Mite Annihilation Layer phenomenon and wondered whether the Middle East might explain his own.
• Roger returned to Hogsmeade Village, used the Time Phantom Shuttle Spell at Professor McGonagall’s former home, and stored the extracted Temporal Phantoms.
• Roger returned to Hogwarts and found Luna waiting at their experimental field near the Forbidden Forest, where she had been observing Magical Creatures.

Roger and Luna discussed how to investigate the Pestering Mites that gathered around Roger and vanished near him. Roger planned to pursue Mind Magic research and seek guidance from rare magical collections, including Nicolas Flamel’s library, while considering how to access the Department of Mysteries’ records.

• Roger told Luna that Grindelwald showed no similar phenomenon.
• Roger explained that the Pestering Mites’ connection to thought made them a guide for his Mind Magic research.
• Roger planned to study people with traits like his and to develop Mind Magic further from Conceptual Creation.
• Roger decided he wanted to borrow Nicolas Flamel’s private library for ideas and rare books.
• Roger considered the Department of Mysteries’ valuable materials and concluded he would need a careful approach to obtain them.

Roger reassured Hermione that Virtual Reality Technology and the spread of Second Magic would not provoke an all-out war between wizards and Muggles. He explained why powerful Muggles would welcome the technology, but left his third reason unstated.

• Roger and Luna finished their research and returned to Hogwarts for dinner, where Roger read newspapers covering his Ministry of Magic press conference.
• Hermione asked Roger whether revealing Virtual Reality Technology would provoke an intense reaction from the Muggle world.
• Roger said a large-scale conflict was unlikely because powerful Muggles might welcome technology that could extend their lives.
• Roger explained that widespread Second Magic would give Muggles extraordinary power and erase the divide between Muggles and wizards.
• Roger began to introduce his final reason, but the chapter ended before he explained it.

Roger explained to Hermione why he planned to spread Virtual Reality Technology into Muggle society, arguing that resistance would be futile and that integration might avert an eventual wizard-Muggle conflict. Hermione remained troubled by the bloodshed he expected during the coming upheaval, while Roger left to meet Harry and discuss magic.

• Hermione questioned Roger about bringing Virtual Reality Technology into the Muggle world, and Roger said he intended to make it available to everyone.
• Roger explained that the Muggle elite could not stop the technology and predicted that its spread would strengthen powerful nations and leave smaller ones vulnerable to annexation.
• Hermione worried that Roger's plans would bring deaths and conflict, but Roger argued that wizard-Muggle tensions would eventually erupt even if he did nothing.
• Roger told Hermione that integrating everyone could reduce those tensions and that the upheaval might be preferable to an eventual all-out war.
• Roger said goodbye to Hermione and left to meet Harry to discuss magic.

Harry discussed developing an active Time Loop with Roger so he could repeatedly try to save his parents, and asked about trading potential for power as a safeguard. Roger cautioned him about the difficulty and cost of such magic, then found the idea sparked a new line of thought.

• Harry consulted Roger about making his Time Loop magic easier to develop, and Roger advised him to seek precise theoretical direction and conviction.
• Harry explained that he wanted to rewind himself to a chosen point in time so he could repeatedly attempt to take his parents’ souls from Voldemort and revive them.
• Roger warned Harry that creating the magic would be difficult and that he needed to steady his mind, while Harry said he was prepared.
• Harry asked Roger whether wizards could trade potential for power to prepare for dangers when he confronted Voldemort again.
• Roger said he knew some costly Dark Magic methods that did not suit Harry, but Harry’s idea inspired a new line of thought about magic.

Roger proposed adapting the Nen principle of Constraint and Vow into magic, letting wizards trade possibilities for greater power, and Harry agreed to try it for his Time Loop spell. Afterward, Roger questioned whether constraints could aid his Path of Immortality, while Nicolas Flamel noticed that Roger’s thoughts were interfering with his magic.

• Roger considered creating a practical magic system that exchanged constraints for stronger abilities.
• Roger suggested Harry limit his proposed Time Loop spell to the day Voldemort killed his parents in exchange for greater power.
• Harry welcomed the idea, and Roger agreed to test whether the method was feasible.
• Roger considered applying Constraint and Vow to his Path of Immortality but decided it could damage his mental development.
• Nicolas Flamel sensed magical interference while Roger was experimenting and concluded that Multi-threaded thinking still needed adjustment.

Roger explained to Nicolas Flamel that magical interference would undermine his plan to combine countless threads of thought into precise, amplified spells. Meanwhile, Hogwarts students discussed the coming trial of the Basilisk, as Dumbledore’s effort to clear Hagrid’s name stirred political resistance.

• Roger rejected Nicolas Flamel’s concern that interference between thought threads would make combined magic impossible, but agreed it would reduce the method’s margin for error.
• Nicolas Flamel realized that Roger’s theory threatened his vision of using vast numbers of thought threads to build a precise magical system.
• After class, Roger told Harry that Nicolas Flamel seemed tired because he had been working intensely to solve the magical interference problem.
• Hogwarts students focused on news that the Ministry of Magic’s legal department was nearing a decision to sentence the Basilisk that killed Moaning Myrtle and clear Hagrid.
• Some wizards tried to use the media to save the Basilisk and counter Dumbledore and Roger’s growing influence.

As students argued over how the Basilisk should be punished, Roger said the law should decide and that the victims and Hagrid should be consulted. The uproar also drew Voldemort's attention to former followers who had escaped punishment, and he began considering settling old scores.

• Hermione argued that the Basilisk should not be subjected to experiments for profit, warning that doing so could set a dangerous precedent.
• Asked for his view, Roger recommended following normal legal procedure or taking the dispute to the Wizengamot, while consulting Moaning Myrtle, her family, and Hagrid.
• Roger told Hermione his suggestion was only his personal inclination and dismissed concern about the Voldemort remnants.
• Voldemort reviewed the names of former followers who had escaped punishment and decided some old scores needed settling.

Voldemort decided to exploit the distrust between the traitorous Death Eaters and Dumbledore’s faction, while keeping most of his attention on finding a way to surpass Roger. Tom agreed to the plan, but as Voldemort lowered his eyes to plot, Tom watched him with a dangerous gleam.

• Voldemort reasoned that the pure-blood fence-sitters could no longer be trusted or safely left untouched, since they might join Dumbledore’s side and Roger had revealed a new path to greater magical power.
• Voldemort rejected a reckless purge and proposed deepening the conflict between the traitorous Death Eaters and Dumbledore’s faction.
• Tom questioned whether the plan would work, but Voldemort said it was only an idle move and that his priority remained developing his own magical path.
• Tom agreed to follow Voldemort’s plan, then watched him plot with a dangerous gleam.

Public resentment toward former Death Eaters and their families intensified after a tabloid linked them to efforts to save the Basilisk. Harry asked Roger how to help Draco Malfoy, but Roger said the past needed to be accounted for and reassured him that the upheaval would not last long.

• A tabloid insinuated that former Death Eaters and their relatives were connected to Voldemort and the campaign to save the Basilisk.
• Survivors of Voldemort's era began using the public mood as an opportunity to target former Death Eaters and their families.
• Draco Malfoy endured isolation and hostility at Hogwarts, including from fellow Slytherins.
• Harry asked Roger how to help Draco, and Roger said he could not interfere in the historical reckoning.
• Roger told Harry that people behind the uproar were stirring it up and that it would not last long, but the past still needed an accounting.