Chapter Summaries

At Hogwarts’ End-of-Year Feast, students celebrated Gryffindor’s House Cup victory while Loren and Hermione shared a quiet closeness. After the feast, Loren spoke with Dumbledore about job invitations and possible work at the Ministry or Hogwarts, leaving his future undecided.

• The students and staff attended a lavish End-of-Year Feast, where Moaning Myrtle’s comedy about Olive Hornby replaced Sir Nicholas’s usual Ghost Theatre performance.
• Lavender and Ron laughed at the show while Parvati watched Loren and Hermione’s natural affection across the table.
• The Toad Choir and the graduating students performed, and Loren ate until he was stuffed.
• After the feast, Hermione was drawn away by Ravenclaw graduates saying goodbye, and Loren went outside for a walk.
• Dumbledore joined Loren in the courtyard and asked about invitations from the Ministry of Magic, Egypt, and Beauxbatons.
• Loren told Dumbledore he might work at the Ministry for family harmony, while leaving open the possibility of becoming a Transfiguration teaching assistant later.

Loren and Hermione returned home for the summer while Harry stayed at Hogwarts to practice Legilimency and search for Voldemort’s final Horcrux. The chapter left Loren helping Monica prepare a family meal as Hermione overheard Monica teasing that she might have to put up with Hermione in the future.

• Loren gave Dumbledore a Communicator coin and urged him to contact Loren if he encountered Voldemort at Ilvermorny.
• Harry told Loren he planned to stay at Hogwarts, and Loren explained that Harry had used a magical mirror to perform Legilimency on himself.
• Loren, Hermione, Ron, and their friends discussed their summer plans before boarding the Hogwarts Express, while Harry stayed behind with Ginny.
• Loren and Hermione arrived at Monica’s home, where Loren joined Monica in the Kitchen to prepare extra dishes for dinner.
• Hermione overheard Monica say that Loren might have to put up with Hermione in the future, while Grandpa Bates and Wendell pretended not to hear.

Loren spent the first weeks of summer vacation interrupting his and Hermione’s homework with cooking and time together, while gradually working through his assignments. He learned that the Snake Tree was weakening without signs of a Horcrux, the American Magical Congress had found Death Eater traces, and Harry had made progress with Legilimency but found no Horcrux clues.

• Loren noticed his unfinished summer assignments and went to Hermione’s house with cola, where he borrowed her Charms essay as a reference.
• Loren persuaded Hermione to shop for beef brisket and cook lunch with him, then convinced her to watch television while the stew simmered instead of studying.
• On July 3rd, Loren finished his Charms essay and began reading for Professor Bashat’s Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment.
• Loren asked Dumbledore about the Snake Tree and learned that it was not a Horcrux but was losing vitality, while Aurors pursued Death Eaters in America.
• Loren asked Harry about Legilimency and the living Horcrux; Harry said his practice was going well but the Mirror of Erised had yielded no useful memories.

Harry spent the summer at Hogwarts, practiced Legilimency, and received advice from Loren through the Communicator. During a memory exercise, he revisited the first-year Sorting Ceremony and felt pain in his scar when he saw Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell.

• Harry waited for Loren’s reply, then visited Hagrid and Grawp at their cabin and used a rogue Bludger to keep Grawp occupied while practicing Legilimency.
• Harry met Dobby, who had returned from an unsuccessful holiday, and offered him an allowance to practice Legilimency; Dobby agreed to consider the payment after asking the other House-elves.
• Harry found several long passages of Legilimency advice from Loren on the Communicator and felt reassured that Loren still cared about their friendship.
• Harry practiced Legilimency in front of the Mirror of Erised and reviewed memories, including his first-year Sorting Ceremony.
• Harry felt his scar hurt as he watched his younger self look toward Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell.

Harry revisited his first Hogwarts feast in his memories, tried to use Legilimency on the presence behind Quirrell’s eyes, and searched other memories for answers before exhaustion overcame him. In July, Loren woke to Hermione and Crookshanks visiting, discussed his Soul Stone research with Hermione, and shared an intimate morning with her.

• Harry watched his memories of the Sorting Ceremony and approached Quirrell to inspect the presence beneath his turban.
• Harry used Legilimency on Quirrell but encountered only emptiness, then searched memories of Voldemort and fell asleep exhausted.
• Hermione Apparated into Loren’s bedroom with Crookshanks and found Loren lingering in bed.
• Loren told Hermione he suspected Magic Power affected the Soul Stone’s reflections and admitted he had stayed up late researching it.
• Loren teased Hermione about looking at girls with the Soul Stone, then got up to wash after she insisted.
• Loren and Hermione kissed and embraced while Crookshanks left the bedroom, and Hermione later told Loren he was poking her.

Harry celebrated his seventeenth birthday by opening presents and reuniting with Ginny at Hagrid’s Hut. Loren and Hermione joined the gathering, where Loren planned to check Harry’s Legilimency practice for clues about Horcruxes.

• Harry opened his birthday presents, including books on Legilimency from Loren and Hermione, but did not find a gift from Ginny.
• Harry visited Hagrid’s Hut and found Ron, Loren, Hermione, Hagrid, and Ginny inside.
• Harry embraced and kissed Ginny after realizing she had been preparing his birthday present.
• Loren explained that he and Hermione had come to celebrate Harry’s birthday and intended to check his Legilimency practice for clues about Horcruxes.

Harry took Felix Felicis to help him find clues about the living Horcrux, and its influence led the group to spend his birthday exploring London. They arrived in Little Whinging, where neighbors were surprised by Harry’s changed appearance and the Dursleys’ apparent change in behavior.

• Harry told Hermione and the others that his Legilimency practice had not revealed any clues about the living Horcrux.
• Loren suggested Harry take Felix Felicis, and Harry drank a teaspoonful before encouraging everyone else to try it too.
• Hermione and Loren took out two bottles of Felix Felicis, and the group set off for a day out instead of celebrating Harry’s birthday in the Forbidden Forest.
• While walking through London, Loren and Hermione held hands, as did Harry and Ginny, and Hagrid explained why Fred, George, and Sirius Black had stayed away.
• Harry and his friends reached Little Whinging, where the neighbors recognized Harry but were surprised by his healthy appearance and the Dursleys’ apparent change in personality.

Harry visited the Dursleys in Little Whinging with his friends, and their conversation ended more gently than their past encounters. After Loren revealed a hidden weight-loss potion in the house, the group left for Spinner's End.

• Harry led his friends through Little Whinging and rang the doorbell at the Dursleys' house.
• Vernon let Harry and his friends inside, where Harry spoke calmly with Petunia about his summer plans and Voldemort.
• Dudley thanked Harry for saving his life and wished him a happy birthday before shaking his hand.
• As the group left, Loren told the Dursleys about the weight-loss potion hidden in a hallway cabinet.
• Loren and the others Apparated from Little Whinging and headed for Spinner's End.

Loren and the others searched the Snape family home in Spinner's End and found a notebook titled "Horcrux Creation Explained." After tidying the damaged house, they left to continue their search elsewhere.

• Loren and the others followed Felix Felicis's guidance to the Snape family home in Spinner's End.
• They entered the ransacked house and avoided the poisoned books in the living room.
• Harry felt pain in his scar, found a notebook titled "Horcrux Creation Explained," and identified the group's discovery as their likely destination.
• The group searched the other rooms but found nothing else.
• Loren used magic to clean and repair the house, then left with the others for the next place.

Loren led Harry, Ron, and Hermione to Gaunt's old house and then to the Little Hangleton graveyard, following Felix Felicis's guidance. Harry found an ordinary jar at the house and sensed that their next clue lay beneath the grass near Voldemort's resurrection site.

• Loren led the group through the woods to Gaunt's dilapidated old house near Little Hangleton.
• Harry followed Felix Felicis's guidance and picked up a worn jar that Merope Gaunt had once broken.
• The group Apparated to the graveyard where Voldemort had been resurrected.
• Harry sensed that their target was beneath the roots near the ritual site, and the group found blackened soil and the faint stench of decay.
• Loren explained that the lush grass had been nourished by the flesh and blood of Mr. Crouch, whose remains had lain there overnight.

Loren and his friends celebrated Harry's birthday at a Muggle restaurant after gathering blood-tainted soil from several places connected to Voldemort. As they returned to Hogwarts, Felix Felicis drew them toward the Chamber of Secrets, where they sensed their unfinished task awaited them.

• Loren and his friends celebrated Harry's birthday at a Mayfair restaurant, where Ron compared caviar smeared on a plate to the soil they had collected in Little Hangleton.
• Hermione recalled that Crouch had been buried beside a stream and suggested the blood-contaminated soil might be useful, while Loren fed her pumpkin pudding.
• Ginny asked Harry about the dry ice, and Harry realized that he would become an adult wizard after his birthday.
• Loren, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hagrid returned to Hogwarts, with Harry and Ginny lingering behind and Ron and Hagrid complaining about the restaurant's small portions.
• At the Second Floor staircase junction, Loren sensed they were being led toward Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom and the Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets.

Harry brought the Mirror of Erised and the objects he had gathered to the Chamber of Secrets, where his reflection began to change in subtle ways. Meanwhile, Newt, Dumbledore, Aegilbert Fontana, and Snape investigated the Snake Tree and discussed Voldemort’s resurrection, leaving Dumbledore pondering how traces could pinpoint a soul’s return.

• Loren, Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the renovated passage to the Chamber of Secrets and recalled their earlier adventure there.
• Harry uncovered the Mirror of Erised and placed the Gaunt jar, Horcrux notes, and Crouch’s flesh-mud before it, while his reflection subtly changed.
• Newt used a Snake Tree leaf to heal his hand, and Aegilbert Fontana explained that the tree could ease aging but not extend life.
• Dumbledore searched the Snake Tree and found no evidence that Voldemort had made it a living Horcrux.
• Snape explained that Voldemort had used a resurrection ritual based on traces that identify a soul’s position, and Dumbledore repeated the idea thoughtfully.

Harry confronted a reflection of Voldemort in the Mirror of Erised and began reliving memories tied to Voldemort’s crimes and Horcruxes. Loren and Hermione watched as Harry struggled under the weight of the memories, until a memory of Dudley thanking Harry began to break through.

• Harry tested the mirror and recognized the voice in Voldemort’s reflection as one he had heard throughout his life.
• Harry’s memories showed him at Gaunt’s old house, where Morfin had been framed for murdering the Riddle family, and at Barty Crouch’s manor, where two Death Eaters killed Crouch.
• Harry recalled explaining Horcruxes to Severus Snape, while Voldemort’s reflected face appeared in the mirror and Harry muttered about splitting the soul.
• Loren shook Harry’s hand and saw the reflection respond, while Hermione asked what they should do about Harry’s disturbed state.
• Harry mistook Dudley’s voice for an enemy’s and began to cast a Killing Curse before recognizing a memory of Dudley thanking him for saving his life and wishing him a happy birthday.

Harry used the Mirror of Erised and Legilimency to explore Voldemort’s memories, discovering that Bellatrix was on a secret mission and that Voldemort was hiding in Brooklyn while recovering from injuries. After Loren helped Harry connect to the soul fragment in his scar, the mirror showed darkness and voices that sounded like Dumbledore and Snape.

• Harry recovered from the shock of seeing Voldemort’s memories and tried using Legilimency on the Mirror of Erised again.
• The mirror showed Voldemort recovering from his injuries in a Brooklyn house while Lucius Malfoy, Augustus Rookwood, and Rodolphus Lestrange discussed their situation.
• Lucius asked where Bellatrix was, and Rodolphus said she had a confidential assignment.
• Loren told Harry to connect with the soul fragment in his scar rather than search Voldemort’s memories for the living Horcrux.
• Harry cast Legilimency on his reflection, and the mirror turned black before voices resembling Dumbledore and Snape came through.

Bates learned that Loren and Hermione planned to travel to Ilvermorny to investigate the living Horcrux and offered to arrange plane tickets. Loren left for the trip with Winky staying behind to protect the family, and he would likely spend his seventeenth birthday in the United States.

• Bates went downstairs for Loren’s late-night meat sauce noodles and unexpectedly found Winky in the Kitchen.
• Bates questioned Loren about the living Horcrux, Voldemort, and the plan to travel to Ilvermorny, and Loren confirmed his understanding.
• Loren explained that Winky would guard the family against the missing criminal and learn about Muggle society.
• Bates offered to arrange plane tickets for Loren and Hermione, and Loren accepted the proper route to the United States.
• Bates asked whether Loren would spend his birthday abroad and warned him not to bully Hermione.

Loren and Hermione flew from London to New York, where Pikely Gravis and Nancy Bute met them and prepared to take them to Ilvermorny. As they headed out of the airport, Loren began explaining the urgent developments that had mobilized the Magical Congress.

• Loren and Hermione boarded a dawn flight to New York and slept through much of the nine-hour journey.
• Hermione imagined that she and Loren might take a trip together after graduation, then pretended to be asleep when he woke.
• Loren and Hermione met Pikely Gravis and Nancy Bute at the airport and learned they were Magical Congress staff.
• Nancy checked their wands, and the group prepared to travel by Portkey to Mount Greylock and Ilvermorny.
• Pikely asked Loren what had happened, and Loren began to explain the urgent developments from the previous night.

Loren and Hermione traveled with Pickley and Nancy from New York to Ilvermorny, learning about the school and its remote mountain setting. They arrived at the entrance hall, where Nancy offered to show them how the Sorting Ceremony worked.

• Pickley criticized British laws for imprisoning Dark wizards with Dementors, and Loren explained how the laws had been approved.
• Nancy used a wizard's hat Portkey to bring Loren, Hermione, and Pickley to Mount Greylock, where they began the climb to Ilvermorny.
• Pickley and Nancy led Loren and Hermione along a winding mountain trail while Nancy described Ilvermorny's customs and wand cores.
• The group reached Ilvermorny and admired the statues of founders Isolde Sael and James Stuart and the school's crest.
• Nancy showed Loren and Hermione the Round Hall and asked whether they wanted to try the Sorting Ceremony.

Hermione was welcomed by Thunderbird, while Loren’s Sorting caused all four Ilvermorny House statues to respond. When Loren questioned the Sorting method and declined to choose a House, Dumbledore and Aegilbert Fontana invited him and Hermione to consider joining Ilvermorny.

• Hermione stood on the Sorting platform, and the Thunderbird statue responded to her, despite her preference for Horned Serpent House.
• Loren reviewed the histories of Ilvermorny’s four Houses and inferred that the ceremony judged students by detecting their Magic Power.
• All four House statues reacted to Loren, so Nancy Bute explained that he could choose his own House.
• Loren questioned whether the Sorting method could handle students who struggled to choose and stepped down without selecting a House.
• Dumbledore and Aegilbert Fontana appeared, asking Loren whether he would choose a House and telling Hermione that Ilvermorny accepted transfer students.

Loren and Hermione visited Ilvermorny, where its professors investigated Voldemort’s living Horcrux and discovered it was hidden inside the Snake Tree. After Draco received Loren’s intelligence about the Horcrux, he realized the Malfoy family could no longer avoid choosing a side.

• Loren and Hermione met Dumbledore, Snape, and Fontana at Ilvermorny, and Loren urged Dumbledore to add magical-creature summer activities at Hogwarts.
• Fontana reported that the investigation had found the living Horcrux hidden inside the Snake Tree, and he said Ilvermorny might have to destroy the tree to remove it.
• Fontana decided to keep the Horcrux secret from the Magical Congress and considered attributing the clues to Dumbledore.
• Draco woke from a nightmare about his family’s troubles, then received a message from Loren with intelligence about the Horcrux, Ilvermorny, and Voldemort.
• Draco concluded that the Malfoy family could no longer play both sides and had to make a choice.

Loren and the Ilvermorny professors investigated the Snake Tree and uncovered Voldemort’s living Horcrux inside it. Dumbledore restored the body’s face, and Hermione recognized it as Vincent Crabbe.

• Loren and Hermione toured Ilvermorny’s Forbidden Forest with Fontana and learned about the Snake Tree and the school’s research into Parselmouth.
• Fontana explained that Parselmouth had only weakly affected the Snake Tree and that past attempts to awaken the Snakewood Wand had failed.
• Snape cut into the Snake Tree after the wizards detected evil magic inside it, and human blood seeped from the wound.
• Snape opened the trunk further and revealed a scale-covered male body connected to the tree by a fleshy cord, with Voldemort’s soul fragment in its chest.
• Dumbledore used Transfiguration to restore the body’s face, and Hermione identified it as Vincent Crabbe.