Chapter Summaries

Yamamoto helped Viktor sell out the Black Swan Wizard Card House’s Wizard Cards and then gathered European card merchants to offer them Emerald Cards. The merchants began arguing over who would get them, leaving their deal unresolved.

• Yamamoto let the card merchants drain the shop’s Wizard Card stock, then announced that the cards were sold out and thanked Ito for protecting him.
• Yamamoto met Viktor, who told him to thank Boss Wayne, promised to send him to Germany, and ordered him to lose his accent.
• Ebenezer waited in line for two more days as Emerald Cards remained scarce, then accepted Yamamoto’s invitation to the Starry Night Hotel.
• Yamamoto laid Emerald-grade Wizard Cards on the table before twenty-seven European merchants and told them their future depended on how they handled the cards.
• A Russian merchant demanded all the Emerald Cards, provoking the British merchants, and Yamamoto froze a thrown glass while trying to calm the argument.

Vincent provoked Snape with another rune-written Potions essay while Snape punished Harry and Neville over their work. After Crabbe and Goyle mocked Neville’s parents, Snape penalized them and awarded Neville a point, leaving Harry and Ron debating whether Snape cared about Neville’s feelings.

• Vincent returned to the dormitory after Transfiguration, sent a letter with Gu Gu, and later read news about Wizard Cards and Yamamoto Tsukumo.
• Snape ordered Harry to visit his office and confronted Vincent over a Potions essay written in encrypted runes.
• Snape claimed Neville had failed to submit his essay and penalized Gryffindor, while Neville insisted he had only forgotten to write his name.
• Crabbe and Goyle mocked Neville’s parents, prompting Snape to deduct points from Slytherin.
• Snape praised Neville’s improvement, awarded Gryffindor a point, and left without assigning an essay.
• Harry and Ron argued over whether Snape’s actions showed concern for Neville, while Neville left the classroom uncertain.

Lestrange reconsidered his prejudice against Muggles while attending a concert, as Rita prepared to expose the Wizard Cards scheme and Hogwarts students played a Quidditch match. Vincent anticipated that Dumbledore would soon face trouble as the Hogwarts School Board underwent a major reshuffle.

• Lestrange attended a performance at the Berlin Philharmonic and recognized the skill behind Muggle design and music.
• Rita persuaded Chief Editor Gufei to publish her article alleging that the Wizard Cards venture was a scam, and she asked for the entire paper.
• Hufflepuff's Cedric caught the Golden Snitch against Gryffindor, but Gryffindor won 240 to 230.
• Vincent ignored Draco's taunts after the match, then told him he already knew the countercurse to Draco's threat.
• Vincent expected the Hogwarts School Board to undergo a major reshuffle and Dumbledore to take the blame.

After Vincent completed subtle alterations to the Wizard Cards, he and Viktor began their counterattack against the Ashiya family. At the Japanese launch, Ebenezer waited for valuable cards, while merchants discovered that the card pool seemed to contain almost no Emerald Cards.

• Daphne, Hermione, Cedric, Fred, George, Rolf, and Vincent finished tapping cards to alter their magical flow.
• Vincent gave the altered cards to Viktor and said their counterattack had begun after the cooperation contract ended.
• Ebenezer arrived early in Japan and waited outside the Black Swan Wizard Card House as wizards lined up for the sale.
• A Perseus Parkinson Emerald Card appeared, and a young merchant offered its owner five hundred Galleons.
• When few valuable cards appeared, the merchants inspected the shop's enormous card pool and suspected it contained no Emerald Cards.

Vincent and Dumbledore staged clues to make the children’s disappearance look like an attack by Voldemort while protecting Rinne from those behind the plot. Dumbledore’s discoveries sent the Japanese Ministry and Shingu family searching the islands, while Mie began to suspect Vincent and Nicolas Flamel had orchestrated the disappearance.

• Vincent asked Dumbledore to buy him a few more days and play a role in his plan, and Dumbledore agreed after negotiating an appearance fee.
• Dumbledore told Hayahiko and Takuma that he had found an underwater cave near a distinctive torii gate, prompting them to lead search parties toward Itsukushima.
• Hayahiko, Takuma, and their teams found Rinne’s, Cedric’s, Kenny’s, and Cho’s wands in the cave, along with another wand washed outside it.
• Dumbledore secretly prevented anyone but himself from Apparating in or out as the search parties combed the islands through the night.
• Mie suggested the missing children might have staged their disappearance and suspected Nicolas Flamel had helped Vincent, while Takuma rejected the idea and left to investigate the Kamo Family.

Vincent discovered that Voldemort had used life-stealing Dark Magic to recover enough strength to hold a wand, while Snape searched the castle for him. McGonagall led a sweeping search through the upper floors, and Flitwick helped Fred and George in the dungeons as the chapter ended.

• Vincent woke Neville and the others after Gu Gu's cries failed to rouse them, then told Snape that Voldemort had used life-draining magic to make his soul corporeal enough to hold a wand.
• Snape rushed off to search for Voldemort, and Vincent checked Grindelwald's Spellbook, learning that life-stealing could strengthen Voldemort gradually but that a complete physical body would prevent him from passing through objects.
• McGonagall confronted the drunken Fat Lady, then led Hermione, Harry, and Dobby upstairs to search the sixth, seventh, and eighth floors with repeated Transfiguration spells.
• Flitwick removed the magic covering Fred and George's ears, warmed them, and lit the dungeon without using his wand.

Hermione realized that Vincent’s family had acquired Bugatti and teased him during a phone call, while the Grangers prepared for a trip to France. At the Wayne home, Vincent discussed Hermione with his parents, and the family watched a report about the reward for Sirius Black.

• Hermione inferred from Vincent’s earlier design notes and the Italian newspapers that his family had acquired Bugatti, then said she would tell Daphne.
• Hermione enjoyed dinner with the Grangers, and they planned to shop on Oxford Street before their trip to France.
• Vincent told Sam and his parents that Hermione had figured out the Bugatti acquisition and had been showing off.
• Evelyn teased Eric about his youthful reputation, and Vincent interrupted their exchange to remind them to eat.
• After dinner, the Waynes watched a report that London police had offered a thousand-pound reward for Sirius Black, and Vincent asked about London gun shops.

Dumbledore and the other headmasters confirmed that all four dragons had been cursed, and Moody determined the curses were placed within the last day or two. Moody identified Karkaroff as the prime suspect after revealing he had seen Karkaroff and Viktor Krum secretly leave the ship at night.

• Dumbledore explained that the curse activated after its target was hit by a set number of spells and could greatly increase a creature's power.
• Madame Maxime and Karkaroff detected the curse in two dragons, then inspected the Swedish Short-Snout Dragon with Barty Crouch and found more black smoke.
• The headmasters confirmed that all four dragons had been compromised and asked Moody to determine when the curses had been placed.
• Moody used the Ending Darkness Spell to stop the black smoke and concluded that the curses had been placed within the last day or two.
• Moody accused Karkaroff after saying he had seen Karkaroff and Viktor Krum secretly leave the ship at 2:37 in the morning two days earlier.

Lucius planned to protect the Malfoy Family by hedging against Voldemort’s return and considering an investment in Vincent Wayne’s Wizard Cards. The Ashiya family received the Malfoy offer, leaving Mie to consider its suspicious timing and Lucius’s interest in the Death Eaters.

• Lucius promised Draco a custom Cleansweep Alpha I and urged him to pursue victory by any means.
• Lucius told Narcissa that Voldemort had possessed Quirinus Quirrell and that the diary bore his magic and Killing Curse.
• Lucius planned to seek financial support from Bellatrix in Azkaban, spread investments across the Ministry and other ventures, and keep the Malfoy Family’s options open.
• Lucius identified Vincent Wayne and the Ashiya family as a possible investment, hoping to secure a fallback if Wizard Cards or Wayne Enterprises struggled.
• The Ashiya family received a Malfoy Family offer to sell Wizard Cards at cost for six months without claiming a share of the profits.
• Takuma suspected the Malfoys were targeting Gwent, and he asked Mie whether she had heard of the Death Eaters.

Vincent and Hermione secretly tested their ability to attend classes across multiple years, then joined their friends for a Christmas Eve barbecue in the Forbidden Forest. Fred and George told Vincent that Hogwarts students believed he and Hermione were dating and that girls planned to pursue him on Valentine's Day, but his reply only encouraged the twins' suspicions.

• Vincent and Hermione used Disillusionment and Silencing Charms to evade Snape after he expelled Flint from N.E.W.Ts Potions, then Vincent used money to obtain timetables for multiple year groups.
• Over the following month, Vincent and Hermione changed noticeably in appearance, and Hermione told her roommates that genetics explained her development.
• Vincent and his friends held a Christmas Eve barbecue in the Forbidden Forest, where Harry and Ron joined them and Little Black later returned.
• Fred and George told Vincent that rumors claimed he and Hermione were dating and that girls intended to win him over on Valentine's Day.
• Vincent said he and Hermione were not that kind of relationship yet, and Fred and George took his wording as confirmation that they might date later.

Bathsheba Babbling demonstrated how Ancient Runes could combine to produce complex magical effects, then offered Vincent a way to improve his own Magical Runes. Her advice led him to consider merging magic with weapons and technology, leaving him distracted after class.

• Bathsheba Babbling introduced Ancient Runes by reversing gravity in the classroom and explaining how rune arrangements created effects.
• Vincent asked why some spells could not be replicated with Magical Runes, and Babbling showed how carefully arranged runes could prevent conflicting effects.
• Vincent considered turning Nicolas Flamel’s Magical Runes into new strokes and characters for powerful weapons that combined magic and technology.
• Hermione brought Vincent out of his thoughts after class, and he hurried with her and Daphne to meet Cedric and the others.
• Vincent and the two witches visited Fred and George, who complained about cleaning the dungeons for Snape while pretending not to have used magic.

Hermione realized the Death Eaters had replaced someone during the Quidditch World Cup, while Vincent struggled to free the merfolk leader from the Imperius Curse as the underwater task descended into chaos. The broadcast was cut off after merfolk exposed and attacked the Aurors, and the Champions continued rescuing hostages, leaving Pheobe face to face with her sister Gabrielle.

• Hermione suspected the guarded Aurors had been infiltrated by Death Eaters, while Vincent worried that lifting the Imperius Curse would further inflame the merfolk.
• After merfolk found unconscious villagers and an Auror, they exposed more hidden Aurors, and Fudge ordered Barty Crouch and Bagman to stop the broadcast.
• Karkaroff berated Bagman over the danger to Viktor Krum, but Crouch pointed out that Krum was still freeing hostages; the worldwide broadcast then went black.
• Draco ignored Harry's attempts to stop him and entered the Merfolk Village unharmed, where he helped Krum free Charlotte and Pansy.
• Pheobe cautiously entered the village and saw her sister Gabrielle among the hostages.

Vincent learned that Fudge had used an emergency order to enforce the retroactive Eleventh Decree, but he left the Ministry with his family and Hermione. Meanwhile, Fudge confronted Dumbledore, refused to accept Voldemort’s return, and rejected the need to remove the Dementors from Azkaban.

• Kingsley told Vincent that Dumbledore wanted him to do nothing, but Vincent refused to follow Dumbledore’s wishes.
• Vincent read the Eleventh Decree and questioned whether its retroactive terms could pass Wizengamot review; Kingsley explained that Fudge had enacted it temporarily under emergency powers.
• Kingsley released Vincent but warned him not to leave the country, and Vincent reunited with his parents, Hermione, and the Grangers.
• Fudge entered Dumbledore’s interrogation room and accused him of opposing the Ministry.
• Dumbledore warned Fudge that Voldemort had returned and urged him to free Azkaban from the Dementors’ control, but Fudge rejected the proposal.

After Harry freed the hostages, the merpeople suddenly attacked the Aurors when their leader collapsed, and Vincent intervened to separate the two sides. The lake broadcast went dark, leaving the judges suspecting the Ministry was concealing a serious incident as Barty Crouch went to investigate.

• Harry cut Ron and Gabrielle free, and the merpeople withdrew into orderly rows as the Champions left the village with their hostages.
• Fudge ordered the global broadcast resumed, and viewers saw the rescued Champions and the lined-up merpeople.
• The merpeople's leader collapsed, prompting the merpeople to attack the Aurors and kill one of them.
• Vincent used magic to force the Aurors and merpeople apart, then destroyed the hidden cameras after learning the broadcast had resumed.
• The merpeople's leader briefly woke and began to speak before fainting again, and Vincent concluded it had been under the Imperius Curse.
• The judges blamed the British Ministry for the darkened footage, and Barty Crouch went to investigate after Bagman failed to return.

Vincent, Hermione, Daphne, and Sam sent the captured Tash Hermond’s pouch toward the Ministry of Magic to draw in its Aurors while observing from Westminster Abbey. Scrimgeour spotted the pouch outside the Ministry and realized the mysterious wizards might be targeting him.

• Hermione reaffirmed that she wanted to change the Ministry from within, and Vincent brought Tash Hermond along in an enchanted pouch.
• The group Apparated to Westminster Abbey, where Vincent tossed the pouch onto the tower and Sam layered it with protective spells.
• Vincent launched the pouch toward Whitehall, and it landed beside the Ministry’s entrance as the group watched from the tower.
• Scrimgeour reviewed testimonies against Slade and considered asking Moody to help investigate the two mysterious wizards.
• Scrimgeour found the pouch by the Ministry entrance and recognized that Tash Hermond was the true mastermind behind the captured accomplices.

Vincent told Hermione and the others that the Ministry had paused its cleanup of Knockturn Alley and Spinner's End, and Hermione struggled with the Ministry’s political failures. After reading its triumphant official account of the arrests, she understood why Dumbledore refused to take over the Ministry and doubted she could change it herself.

• Vincent, Hermione, Daphne, Fred, George, Cedric, and Rolf prepared a late-night meal together in the Hogwarts kitchen.
• Vincent said Dumbledore had agreed to let the International Confederation of Wizards get involved, so the Ministry would likely suspend its cleanup of Knockturn Alley and Spinner's End.
• Hermione worried that Fudge’s Ministry would conceal the truth and feared she could not reform it alone.
• The next morning, Hermione read the Ministry’s report claiming it had arrested Tash and all fifty-three accomplices, while omitting Rita’s speculation about a mysterious force.
• Hermione told Daphne she understood why Dumbledore refused to take over the Ministry, preferring his role as headmaster while Voldemort remained the greater threat.

The Champions returned safely from the second task, while Dumbledore learned that Vincent had resolved trouble at the merpeople’s village and that the enemy was hiding within the Ministry of Magic. The judges awarded the Champions their scores, and Bagman announced the date of the final task.

• Viktor Krum, Harry, Fleur, and Draco returned to shore with their hostages, though Harry was badly weakened and Fleur had been delayed by Grindylows.
• Dumbledore concluded that Vincent had helped the Aurors return safely and learned that the enemy was hiding within the Ministry of Magic.
• Bagman told the audience that Merkus had fainted and that the misunderstanding had been resolved.
• The judges awarded Viktor Krum and Harry forty-five points, Fleur forty points, and Draco thirty-five points.
• Bagman announced that the final task would take place on June 24 and that the Champions would learn its details one month beforehand.

Rita Skeeter hosted Wayne Media documentaries that introduced wizards to Muggle automobile manufacturing and military technology, prompting debate about the Wizarding World’s stagnation. By the end of April, the argument had quieted, and Vincent’s new Marauder’s Map was nearly complete, with Sirius Black and Lupin still needing to find replacement magic.

• Wayne Media renovated The Daily Prophet headquarters while Rita took John and Bozo to Italy to film documentaries about Muggle automobile manufacturing.
• Rita’s first episode showed the Bugatti Veyron being built and included an interview with Eric, prompting students to question Vincent about his family and his relationship with Rita.
• After the seventh episode showed Eric at a Muggle army base, students asked Vincent about his family’s military connections, and he said they had stopped selling weapons.
• Wizards debated why the Wizarding World had stagnated, while Vincent suspected the Ministry of Magic was steering public opinion and pure-blood supremacists attacked scholars’ arguments.
• By the end of April, the debate had begun to settle, and Merkus helped bring the new Marauder’s Map close to completion, leaving Sirius Black and Lupin to find replacement magic.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tonks visits the shop, upset about her treatment at the Ministry.
• Sam reveals he beat an Auror squad leader and is no longer an Auror.
• Vincent reviews the shop's performance report, showing significant profits.
• Vincent meets Dumbledore at the Ministry and attends a Wizengamot meeting.
• The trial for Wizard Cards begins, with Rita Skeeter present and the jury suspecting Wizard Cards are a scam.

Character Developments

• Vincent: He shows concern for Tonks' well-being and is pleased with the shop's profits. He also demonstrates his political acumen by understanding the dynamics between the Wizengamot members.
• Sam: He reveals his past as an Auror and his disdain for the Ministry's rigid structure. He also shows pride in his magical abilities.
• Tonks: Though not physically present, her struggle to gain approval at the Ministry is highlighted.

Significant Themes

• Power and Status: The dynamics between the Wizengamot members, the Ministry's treatment of Tonks, and Sam's disregard for the Auror Director and Minister of Magic all revolve around power and status.
• Perseverance and Resilience: Despite facing challenges, Tonks continues to strive as an Auror, while Vincent remains undeterred in his business ventures.
• Trust and Betrayal: The complex relationships between the Wizengamot members, as well as Snape's position as a double agent, explore themes of trust and betrayal.

Character Interactions

• Vincent and Sam: Their banter and camaraderie are evident as they discuss Tonks' situation and the shop's profits.
• Vincent and Dumbledore: They share a friendly rapport, with Vincent even making a joke about Madam Zabini.
• Wizengamot Members: The interactions between the Wizengamot members reveal their alliances, rivalries, and shared goals.

Shea Patel, hired to scare the Wayne family, was caught by Sam and questioned by Evelyn at gunpoint. He revealed that he had taken the job in Knockturn Alley but knew nothing about who had ordered it, and the family left him tied up as they ate breakfast.

• Shea Patel entered the Wayne home to frighten its occupants, but Sam knocked him out and tied him up.
• Evelyn discovered Patel on the kitchen floor and calmly examined him while Sam explained that their family had dealt with wizards before.
• Sam questioned Patel, who revealed that his codename was Night Wraith and his real name was Shea Patel.
• Evelyn threatened Patel with a shotgun until he admitted that someone had paid him to prank the family in Knockturn Alley.
• Patel claimed he was only a hired hand and did not know who truly wanted to harm the Waynes, and Evelyn removed the shotgun shells before breakfast.