Recaps

Sophia strolled with Murphy while questioning his business and probing his intentions, but grew angry at his evasiveness and lack of consideration. After she twisted her ankle, Murphy treated it and admitted he sold potions to Muggles, then asked for more time to explain his plans for the Soviet Union.

• Sophia and Murphy exchanged questions about her Romanov ancestry, Arkaim’s succession, his potion business, and Grand Duke Ivan’s influence.
• Sophia stopped the walk because Murphy’s long strides had exhausted her, then accused him of deception and tried to leave.
• Sophia twisted her ankle on the gravel path, and Murphy conjured a bench and examined her injury.
• Murphy reset Sophia’s slightly displaced ankle, sprayed it with Cloud White Medicine, and admitted that he sold potions to Muggles.
• Murphy asked Sophia to rest and give him more time to explain what he intended to do in the Soviet Union.

Murphy explained to Sophia that understanding magic required scientific methods, which he hoped to develop through Muggle research. He warned that rapidly advancing Muggle technology would eventually make the International Statute of Secrecy impossible to maintain.

• Murphy healed Sophia’s foot and explained that understanding magic was the principle behind his work.
• He argued that scientific methods could help Muggles study magic and improve its use.
• Sophia questioned whether involving Muggles would violate the International Statute of Secrecy, and Murphy said he did not intend to oppose it deliberately.
• Murphy warned that Muggles would inevitably break the secrecy imposed by the Statute as technology advanced.
• He contrasted centuries of stagnant magical progress with the explosive growth of Muggle technology and described how increasingly precise surveillance would make concealment harder.

Murphy explained to Empress Sophia why wizarding society had to adapt to Muggle technological progress and secured her permission to work in the Soviet Union. Sophia agreed to help him kill Ivan Frederick and gave him an invitation to enter Arkaim as part of a marriage-proposal delegation.

• Murphy warned Sophia that Muggles would discover wizards within fifty years and argued that the Soviet Union offered the best base for developing scientific magic.
• Sophia questioned Murphy’s motives, then granted him permission to pursue his work in the Soviet Union on the condition that he kill Ivan Frederick.
• Murphy asked how he could reach Ivan, and Sophia explained that Madame Yaga would distract Felipe Carlos while Murphy had to get past Sophie Christian.
• Sophia said Murphy could enter sealed Arkaim with a delegation bearing a marriage proposal and handed him an invitation sent to ancient wizarding families.
• Murphy clarified that he was not expected to marry Sophia, and she told him someone would discuss the remaining arrangements before dismissing him.

Murphy arrived at Arkaim to court the Soviet Union’s empress, but an ambush at the city gate led him to attack a group of wizards and capture Ivan Frederick’s sons. He left them alive and demanded to know why they had attacked him.

• Azir explained that Arkaim was protected by powerful enchantments and left to make preparations in the city.
• Murphy and two British Aurors reached the city gate and were directed to a customs office by a narrow, dilapidated road.
• Wizards attacked Murphy’s party from nearby houses, injuring one Auror, and Murphy retaliated by damaging the attackers’ buildings and fighting them.
• Murphy recognized the two young wizards as George Frederick and Alexander Frederick, Ivan Frederick’s sons, and captured them.
• After learning the Auror had survived and noticing the attackers were not all dead, Murphy ordered the Frederick brothers to explain why they had attacked him.

Murphy was attacked by two young wizards who believed he threatened Ivan, but he spared them and ordered them to obey him. He met Sophia at a formal gathering, where his outlandish introduction and fantastical gift drew attention; after receiving her note that the plan would begin that night, he was invited to a banquet at Ivan’s residence.

• George Frederick and Alexander Frederick told Murphy that the Empress had personally added his name to the marriage candidates, and Murphy made them agree to obey him in exchange for their lives.
• Madame Yaga met Murphy and confirmed that they would proceed with their plan to meet the Empress, advising him to put more thought into winning her heart.
• Murphy introduced himself to Sophia with an extravagant list of titles and presented her with a gold nugget he claimed was wish-granting Rhinegold.
• Court Shaman Azir performed an ancestor-consulting ritual on the marriage candidates, and the maids led the envoys to their guest residences.
• A maid delivered Sophia’s note to Murphy, saying the plan would begin that night and wishing for both of them to get what they wanted.
• A messenger invited Murphy and the other envoys to a banquet at Grand Duke Ivan’s residence.

Murphy attended Grand Duke Ivan’s banquet, delaying his arrival until Granny Yaga could act and helping draw the great shaman Felipe away. Ivan then announced that his son Lars and Empress Sophia were childhood sweethearts and urged the visiting marriage candidates to withdraw, while Murphy applauded his bluntness.

• Murphy stalled on the way to Ivan’s mansion, then arrived and introduced himself with an extravagant list of titles.
• Murphy saw Grand Duke Ivan, Lars Frederick, Sophie Christian, and the great shaman Felipe Carlos at the banquet.
• A maid told Felipe there was trouble at the Ancestral Mausoleum, and he left to investigate.
• Ivan welcomed the envoys and announced that Lars and Sophia had privately pledged themselves to each other.
• Ivan asked the guests to withdraw from the husband selection in exchange for compensation, and Murphy applauded his speech.

Murphy refused to drink the wine Sophie offered and fought the invisible knights in the courtyard. His lightning attack was stopped by the Wall of Saint Peter, and Sophie revealed that she had arranged to keep Madame Yaga occupied so the group could kill him.

• A German envoy refused to drink, but an unseen armored knight killed him, prompting the other envoys to drink and leave.
• Murphy refused Sophie's wine and tore the head off an armored knight that appeared behind him, discovering it was a living person.
• Sophie questioned Murphy about his unusual abilities, then invisible knights attacked him from multiple directions.
• Murphy summoned a thunderstorm, but the Wall of Saint Peter blocked the lightning from reaching the courtyard.
• Sophie told Murphy that Madame Yaga had been kept occupied and that the group had planned to kill him.

Murphy fought Sophie’s invisible forces in the courtyard, where a hidden poison weakened him and magic vision gradually let him see his attackers. He killed the remaining enemies, but Sophie’s whereabouts remained unknown.

• Sophie resumed the attack, and Murphy used a Revealing Charm to discover more than twenty invisible enemies surrounding him.
• Murphy used magic-detection potion and Muggle explosives to destroy much of the courtyard and kill over half the knights.
• Poison gas weakened Murphy, and Sophie revealed that the wine given to departing envoys had been the antidote.
• Murphy used a knight’s blood in an attempt to counter the poison, then sharpened his magic vision enough to fight the invisible attackers.
• Murphy killed the seven remaining enemies with a greatsword, but still did not know which of them had been Sophie.

Murphy defeated Sophie Christian’s plot at Duke Ivan’s estate, where George and Alexander killed their father and brother under Murphy’s control. After killing Azir for betraying the empress’s plans, Murphy entered the Palace of Spring to claim his payment.

• Sophie Christian used a cursed doll to freeze himself and Murphy, but Murphy forced his arm to move and cut Sophie’s throat.
• George and Alexander arrived carrying the heads of Ivan and Ras, revealing that they had killed their father and brother for Murphy.
• Murphy killed Sophie, explained how he had arranged the assassination, and ordered George and Alexander to manage the estate and conceal what happened.
• Murphy left the estate, fought at the Ancestral Mausoleum, and then headed toward the Palace of Spring.
• Azir tried to evade Murphy’s attack, but Murphy killed him with wind blades and accused him of leaking the empress’s plan and providing Sophie with Murphy’s blood.
• Murphy put Azir’s head in a box and entered the Palace of Spring to demand his payment.

After Murphy helped Sophia defeat her rivals, he asked Arkaim to ally with Britain and support his plans in the Soviet Union, arguing that the collapse of wizarding secrecy would draw Arkaim into international conflict. Madame Yaga offered Arkaim’s cooperation on one condition: Murphy had to marry the empress.

• Sophia saw the bloodied heads of Ivan, Ras, Sophie, Felipe, and Azir, and agreed that Murphy could continue his plans with the Muggle government.
• Murphy presented the British Ministry of Magic’s request for diplomatic relations and cooperation with Arkaim, explaining that the Soviet Union’s magical research would make an alliance necessary.
• Sophia objected that Arkaim and the Soviet Muggle government were separate, but Murphy warned that other wizards would hold Arkaim responsible for events on Soviet soil.
• Madame Yaga accused Murphy of trying to draw Arkaim into his conflict with the wizarding world, and Murphy admitted he needed Arkaim’s support against the International Confederation of Wizards.
• Madame Yaga said Arkaim would consider an alliance if Murphy married Empress Sophia.

Murphy secured Arkaim’s alliance and became Empress Sophia’s sworn elder brother and Guardian Shaman instead of marrying her. After completing the ceremonies and advancing his Soviet plans, he prepared to return to Hogwarts while Madame Yaga accepted that her life was nearing its end.

• Madame Yaga proposed that Murphy marry Sophia, but Sophia declined to discuss marriage, so Murphy suggested they become sworn siblings instead.
• Sophia named Murphy her sworn elder brother and Guardian Shaman, and agreed to establish diplomatic relations with the British Ministry of Magic.
• Madame Yaga told Sophia she was dying from age and Felipe Carlos’s curse, and explained that she had proposed Murphy as a powerful protector for Arkaim.
• News spread that Ivan had rebelled and been killed by his son George Weasley, who inherited his title as an earl, while rumors about Murphy’s bond with Sophia circulated.
• Murphy rescued the captives from Ivan’s residence, sent wizards into the Soviet Union with Sophia’s approval, and completed the ceremonies before preparing to return to Hogwarts in June.
• Murphy offered Madame Yaga an anti-aging potion, but she refused and said she looked forward to returning to her ancestors.

Murphy praised his students for the research and inventions they had accomplished during the year and urged them to value friendship and cooperation. When they worried he was leaving, he assured them he would not abandon them, though he might not continue teaching.

• Murphy praised Dean Thomas's group for designing and testing single-person flying armor, and Lucius's group for publishing research disproving bloodline theory.
• Murphy commended Cho Chang's group for developing the Gender-Switching Potion and the Animal Transformation Potion.
• Murphy praised the Weasley brothers for inventing Message Notebooks and developing a ritual for enchanting objects.
• Murphy encouraged the students to keep researching, cherish their friendships, and avoid discrimination and rivalry.
• A student asked whether Murphy would teach them next year, and Murphy promised he would not abandon them.

Harry discovered a messaging notebook on Tom’s desk that said Tom was already dead and had to seize the Philosopher’s Stone to survive. After Harry and Tom concealed what they knew from each other, the group entered the Forbidden Forest to find an injured unicorn, where Harry chose Hagrid and Tom chose Fang as their guides.

• Harry went to the Slytherin Common Room to tell Tom about their detention and found a notebook on his desk ordering Tom to seize the Philosopher’s Stone for the reward of survival.
• Harry shut the notebook when Tom arrived, told him about the detention, and suspected Tom had been near the fourth-floor corridor rather than chatting with an older student.
• Harry asked Hermione what she would do if threatened with death and reassured himself that stealing under duress might be excused as necessity.
• Argus Filch escorted Harry, Tom, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Cho Chang to Hagrid’s hut, where Hagrid explained that they had to find an attacked unicorn.
• Hagrid offered to split the group between himself and Fang; Harry chose Hagrid, while Tom chose Fang.

Tom and Cho Chang found a hooded figure drinking a unicorn’s blood in the Forbidden Forest, and a Centaur identified it as Voldemort seeking the Philosopher’s Stone. Tom chased the figure and confronted him, revealing that he was Tom Riddle and showing him the diary.

• Cho Chang explained unicorns and gave Tom a Wolf-Transformation Potion as they followed the trail of blood through the Forbidden Forest.
• Tom and Cho found a dead unicorn, then saw a hooded figure drinking its blood; a Centaur drove the figure away and said it sought the Elixir of Life.
• The Centaur suggested the figure was Voldemort, prompting Tom to question whether the diary and the hooded figure were two different Voldemorts.
• Tom asked the Centaur to protect Cho and chased the hooded figure using the strange sense he felt in his mind.
• The figure recognized Tom’s Flight Spell and demanded to know who had taught it to him; Tom showed him the diary and said his name was Tom Riddle.

Tom learned from Voldemort that he was a dead body carrying a fragment of Voldemort’s soul and agreed to bring Harry to him in exchange for freedom and resurrection. After Voldemort severed the diary’s control over him, Tom asked to be injured so the Centaurs would not suspect him.

• Voldemort recognized the diary and discovered that its soul fragment was gone, while another force blocked his Legilimency.
• Voldemort told Tom that he was a walking corpse and explained that the diary held his sixteen-year-old memories and a piece of his soul.
• Voldemort offered to free Tom from the diary and remake his body if Tom brought Harry to him.
• Tom wrestled with whether to betray Harry, then agreed on the condition that Voldemort make him the main person after resurrection and stop the diary from controlling him.
• Voldemort restricted the diary and returned it to Tom as the Centaurs approached.
• Tom asked Voldemort to injure him so the others would not suspect him, and Voldemort cast the Bone-Breaking Curse.

After Voldemort broke Tom’s limbs, Tom sought Professor Murphy, whose Mending Charm repaired his body. Murphy reassured Tom during another crisis over whether he was human, arguing that conscious choice defined humanity, and left Tom with an offer of help.

• Tom survived Voldemort’s Bone-Breaking Curse, but Firenze’s dittany leaves could not heal him.
• Tom asked Harry to take him to Professor Murphy, who treated his injuries with the Mending Charm.
• Murphy explained that the charm restored Tom’s broken bones and tissue, while ordinary healing methods were less effective because Tom’s body regenerated weakly.
• Tom questioned whether people differed from objects, and Murphy said conscious choice and control of one’s will were what made someone human.
• Murphy told Tom to rest and said he could ask for help whenever he had problems.

With Dumbledore away, Harry Potter and his friends entered the traps protecting the Philosopher’s Stone, while Tom secretly followed them. Tom joined Harry in the final chamber, where an enormous mirror stood.

• Harry Potter realized that Hagrid had revealed Fluffy’s weakness to the cloaked wizard who gave him Norbert, and Professor McGonagall told the group that Dumbledore had gone to London.
• Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley decided to seek the Philosopher’s Stone that night, while Tom stayed hidden from them.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione lulled Fluffy to sleep and descended through the trapdoor; Tom followed after using a Summoning Charm to reclaim the flute.
• The three friends passed the traps, with Ron sacrificing himself in the wizard’s chess room and Hermione leaving Harry to continue through the flames.
• Tom drank the remaining potion and entered the final chamber, where Harry noticed him and Tom apologized.

Harry found the Philosopher’s Stone in the mirror and gave it to Tom after learning that Tom needed it to survive and was being pressured by Voldemort. Before they could leave, Severus Snape stunned Harry, disarmed Tom, and took Tom away for punishment.

• Tom searched the mirror for the Philosopher’s Stone while Harry explained that it was likely Dumbledore’s trap.
• Harry saw his friends and Hogwarts in the mirror, then found the Philosopher’s Stone in his pocket.
• Harry questioned Tom about Voldemort and his need for the Stone, then chose to trust him and handed it over.
• Tom began to consider another way to survive, but Severus Snape entered and stunned Harry.
• Severus Snape disarmed Tom, sealed his mouth with a spell, and took him away to face the deputy headmistress.

Snape was knocked unconscious, and Quirrell revealed that he was working for Voldemort and took Harry and Tom to a graveyard to prepare a resurrection potion. After Tom tried to resist, Voldemort used the diary to restore Tom’s memories, leaving him on the verge of waking as Tom Riddle.

• Quirrell stunned Snape and admitted that his stutter had been an act, then took the Philosopher’s Stone from Tom.
• Quirrell failed to touch Harry without being burned, so he used magic to carry Harry and Tom out of Hogwarts to the Forbidden Forest and then to a graveyard.
• Voldemort ordered Quirrell to brew potions using the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry’s blood, and told Tom that the graveyard was near Riddle House, where Tom’s parents had lived.
• Tom pretended to accept Voldemort’s offer, then threw the diary at Quirrell and attacked him with a snakewood wand, but Quirrell shielded himself and petrified Tom.
• Voldemort called Tom Lucas and used the diary to return his lost memories, saying that he would awaken as Tom Riddle.

Tom confronted the memories and personality of Tom Riddle, then chose to embrace the destiny of the Savior and was reborn with a new personality. In the graveyard, he appeared to submit to Voldemort while asking how they would make the resurrection potion.

• Tom was overwhelmed by Tom Riddle’s memories, including his cruelty, his pursuit of Horcruxes, and the murder of Moaning Myrtle.
• Tom relived Lucas Brightson’s memories of a ruined world and heard Murphy’s words urging him to choose who he would become.
• Tom rejected the path of becoming a Dark Lord, embraced his role as the Savior, and let the light of his memories overwhelm Riddle’s personality.
• At Hogwarts, Murphy sensed that the seed he had planted in Tom had bloomed and left the rest to him.
• In the graveyard, Tom’s magical power surged as the notebook’s dark magic transferred into him, then he rose and addressed Voldemort as his master.
• Tom told Voldemort that he had obtained the Elixir of Life formula from Severus Snape and asked how they would make the resurrection potion.

Tom stole a Raven Coin and used it to transport himself and Harry to Murphy at the Three Broomsticks, where Murphy discovered the supposed Philosopher’s Stone was fake. Murphy realized Dumbledore had likely kept the real Stone and asked Rasim whether he had found Nicolas Flamel’s location.

• Tom tried to escape Voldemort with Harry and the Stone, but Quirrell’s attack injured him and disrupted their Apparition.
• Tom found a Raven Coin in Harry’s pocket and activated it, transporting them to a private room at the Three Broomsticks.
• Tom recognized Murphy as the prophet before losing consciousness, and Murphy took the red stone from his hand.
• Murphy discovered the stone was only a red crystal and concluded that Dumbledore had kept the real Philosopher’s Stone elsewhere.
• Murphy crushed the fake stone and contacted Rasim to ask whether he had located Nicolas Flamel.

Murphy found Nicolas Flamel after Voldemort stole the last of the Elixir of Life and killed Perenelle. He followed Voldemort’s trail to Little Hangleton, where Quirrell was attempting to resurrect him, and the chapter ended with Murphy’s added potions making the cauldron explode.

• Rasim told Murphy that Nicolas Flamel had been found, then reported that someone had broken into Flamel’s home.
• Murphy reached Flamel’s house and learned that Voldemort had taken the last of the Elixir of Life and killed Perenelle.
• Flamel said he and Perenelle had accepted death and refused to seek revenge or resist it.
• Murphy tracked Voldemort’s resurrection attempt to the graveyard at Little Hangleton and found Quirrell tending the cauldron.
• Murphy immobilized Quirrell and poured several other potions into the cauldron, which exploded as Murphy backed away.

Murphy killed Voldemort after the Elixir of Life gave him a monstrous body, then used the resurrection potion to bring Tom back as Lucas. He left Lucas in Laura’s care and took Quirrell to Nicolas Flamel, demanding gratitude for avenging Flamel’s wife.

• Voldemort’s grotesque body emerged, and Murphy killed him with a pillar of green light before burning away the remains.
• Murphy freed Quirrell, searched his memories, and confirmed how Voldemort had prepared the resurrection potion.
• Murphy resurrected Tom using the potion, the Elixir of Life, and Harry’s blood, then helped him choose the name Lucas.
• Murphy took Lucas to the Magic Research Institute and left him with Laura, then brought Harry and Quirrell back to the Three Broomsticks.
• Murphy took Quirrell to Nicolas Flamel and asked whether Flamel felt grateful that Murphy had killed Voldemort and avenged his wife.

Murphy asked Nicolas Flamel for his alchemical knowledge and the Philosopher’s Stone, explaining that he wanted to study its effects on aging and matter conversion. Flamel offered his books and notes but refused to change the couple’s plans for their estate, then asked Murphy what he would do if he withheld the Stone.

• Nicolas Flamel mourned Perenelle and thanked Murphy for what he had done, though his grief left him unable to feel much.
• Murphy asked why Flamel still cared about the Philosopher’s Stone and pressed him to pass on his alchemical knowledge.
• Flamel said he and Perenelle had agreed to donate their property to the French Ministry of Magic, the British Ministry of Magic, Beauxbatons, and Hogwarts, but offered Murphy his books and notes.
• Murphy explained that he wanted the Stone to support his research into aging and to investigate its ability to convert matter into gold.
• Flamel asked what Murphy would do if he refused to hand over the Philosopher’s Stone, and Murphy told him to guess.

Murphy persuaded Nicolas Flamel to name him the heir to his alchemical research and the Philosopher’s Stone, then agreed to handle Flamel’s affairs after his death. He left Flamel’s cottage and summoned Lucius Malfoy to prepare for the relocated School Governors’ hearing.

• Flamel agreed to make Murphy his legal heir, writing a will that left him the Philosopher’s Stone, the Elixir of Life, and his alchemical research and possessions.
• Murphy offered Flamel an Anti-Aging Potion, but Flamel refused because he feared renewed vitality would make him afraid of death and delay his reunion with Perenelle.
• Flamel asked Murphy to manage his affairs after he died, and Murphy agreed to wait until the will was confirmed before Flamel took the extra-strength Draught of Living Death.
• Murphy left Flamel alone, returned to the Three Broomsticks with Quirrell, and sent a Lightning Raven to wake Lucius Malfoy for the relocated School Governors’ hearing.