Chapter Summaries

Harry discovered that his Potions textbook belonged to the Half-Blood Prince, while Dumbledore showed him a memory of meeting young Tom Riddle and asked him to learn what Slughorn knew. Phineas reported their conversation to Aaron, who accepted a quest to uncover Dumbledore’s urgent need.

• Clea gave Aaron the Felix Felicis she won, and Aaron recognized Snape’s handwriting in Harry’s Advanced Potion-Making book.
• Harry learned the book’s former owner called himself the Half-Blood Prince and used its notes to improve his Potions work.
• Dumbledore showed Harry his first meeting with Tom Riddle and asked him to get information from Slughorn.
• Phineas overheard Dumbledore and Harry, then reported their conversation to the Thoughtform in Divine Thunder Hall.
• Aaron accepted the system quest to find out what Dumbledore urgently needed.

Clea recruited Hermione to help investigate where Aaron had sent her after the Department of Mysteries, then arranged to keep Aaron occupied while she pursued a secret plan. In Hogsmeade, Harry confronted Mundungus over Sirius’s belongings and learned that Sirius had signed them over to a mysterious wizard called Gandalf.

• Clea asked Hermione where Aaron’s Portkey had taken her and gave her a vial of Felix Felicis, hinting that she could see fragments of the future.
• Hermione used the Confundus Charm to disrupt Cormac McLaggen’s Keeper tryout, and Ron won the position after saving five shots.
• Clea asked Hermione to keep Aaron occupied during the Hogsmeade visit, then left with Abei while Hermione agreed to help.
• Harry confronted Mundungus for selling Sirius’s belongings, and Mundungus claimed Sirius had transferred the Black family’s valuables to Gandalf before his death.
• Tonks told Harry, Hermione, and Aaron that the Phoenix Society had found no information about Gandalf beyond his name and appearance, though Sirius had trusted him.

Clea discovered Aaron’s hidden passage beneath his dormitory and entered it with Abei. In Hogsmeade, Katie Bell was struck by a powerful curse from a package containing a cursed Opal Necklace, and the group hurried to take her and the necklace back to Hogwarts.

• Tonks told Harry that Dumbledore suspected Sirius Black’s connection to Gandalf and Phineas was the result of a deal that would not affect the Order of the Phoenix.
• Slughorn invited Harry, Hermione, and Aaron to one of his dinners, while Hermione persuaded the group to remain in Hogsmeade until the blizzard eased.
• Clea used Abei to uncover the keyhole beneath Aaron’s dormitory floor and opened a passage that extended far beyond the room.
• Aaron carried a tipsy Hermione through the blizzard with Harry and Ron following when they found Katie Bell suspended in the air and falling.
• Aaron gave Katie an antidote, and Hagrid carried her toward Hogwarts after Aaron identified the Opal Necklace as the source of a powerful curse.
• Leanne said Katie had been carrying the package to deliver to someone at Hogwarts, and Hermione urged the group to bring the necklace to Dumbledore.

After Katie was cursed by the opal necklace, Aaron challenged Harry’s accusation that Draco was responsible for the attack. Meanwhile, Clea discovered Aaron’s underground Divine Thunder Hall and confronted his clone about its secrets, leaving Aaron to show her around.

• Professor McGonagall questioned Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Aaron about Katie’s attack, and Snape confirmed the necklace carried a powerful curse.
• Harry accused Draco of cursing Katie, but Aaron argued that Harry had no evidence and pointed out how the necklace could have reached Hogwarts.
• Clea and Abei entered the Divine Thunder Hall using Abei’s key and passed the Shadow Ninjas guarding its entrance.
• The Thoughtform appeared when the Book of Prophecy alerted him to a guest, then discovered Clea had found the underground palace.
• Clea identified the Thoughtform as Aaron’s clone and pressed him about its strength, but accepted his evasive answer for the moment.
• The Thoughtform agreed to show Clea the Divine Thunder Hall and began by offering to introduce her to a friend.

Aaron welcomed Clea into his underground base and agreed to let her build a Teleportation Array there. After spending his Magic Points to strengthen himself to Intermediate Grand Archmage, he felt capable of facing Voldemort but resolved not to get overconfident; the chapter ended with Aaron attending Slughorn’s Christmas party alongside Clea.

• Clea revealed that she had discovered Aaron’s underground base and suggested adding a guest room and an escape route; she offered to build a Teleportation Array, and they agreed she could work there on weekends and holidays.
• Aaron told Abei that the room and Teleportation Array were a fair exchange for Clea’s access to Divine Thunder Hall.
• Aaron spent all 780 Magic Points, raising the magical energy of himself and his Thoughtform past the Intermediate Grand Archmage threshold, then cautioned himself against underestimating Voldemort and his supporters.
• Clea told Hermione that Aaron’s base lay beneath the Black Lake and was accessible from his dormitory, but explained that the other entrances were sealed.
• Gryffindor defeated Slytherin in Quidditch, and Ron began dating Lavender Brown.
• Aaron attended Slughorn’s Christmas party with Abei, where Clea introduced him to Xilin and said she had turned the girl’s affection for him into admiration.

At Slughorn’s party, Aaron helped Hermione avoid Cormac McLaggen and learned from Harry that Snape had sworn an Unbreakable Vow to protect Draco. Back at Divine Thunder Hall, Aaron and Thoughtform deduced that Voldemort had tasked Draco with assassinating Dumbledore, though they could not explain why Snape would help.

• Aaron found Hermione with Harry behind the Veil, then used a spell to make Cormac see her as an irrelevant passerby.
• At Slughorn’s party, Aaron confirmed Draco had been invited and watched Snape take him aside.
• Harry followed Snape and Draco under his Invisibility Cloak and overheard Snape say he had made an Unbreakable Vow to protect Draco.
• Harry told Aaron what he had heard and urged him to join the Phoenix Society, but Aaron refused, citing his contract with Voldemort.
• Aaron and Thoughtform reviewed Narcissa’s request, the cursed opal necklace, and the Vow, then concluded Draco’s mission was likely an attempt to assassinate Dumbledore.

Clea warned Aaron that Dumbledore would die within six months, undermining Aaron’s bargain with Voldemort, and persuaded him to send Harry a cache of magical supplies. Aaron also received a book of powerful Fusion Magic that he was forbidden to use until the war ended. At the Burrow, Harry’s suspicions about Snape were dismissed by Lupin, while Mr. Weasley explained that Draco had likely been investigating a Vanishing Cabinet.

• Clea told Aaron that Dumbledore had less than six months to live and explained how Snape’s Unbreakable Vow fit into Dumbledore’s plan.
• Aaron agreed to support Harry and prepared a Nika Mask, a revolver, enchanted bullets, and potions for him.
• Aaron received a magic book signed by Weihert Gaius and signed a contract forbidding him to use its Fusion Magic before the war ended.
• Harry told Lupin, Tonks, and the Weasleys that he had overheard Snape helping Draco, but Lupin defended Dumbledore’s trust in Snape.
• Mr. Weasley told Harry that Draco had probably examined a Vanishing Cabinet at Borgin and Burkes and explained how the unreliable cabinets worked.

Harry and the Weasleys discovered that Aaron had sent Harry a powerful revolver, potions, and a dangerous mask that could command Shadow Ninjas. Lupin allowed Harry to keep the mask only for emergencies, while Aaron’s ominous Christmas note left everyone worried about what was coming.

• An explosion woke Harry and Ron, who found a long strip of grass burned by lava and discovered Fred and George had been testing a gift from Aaron.
• George and Fred showed Harry the Snake Eater revolver, Alchemical Bullets, and portable potions that Aaron had sent him.
• Fred put on the Nika Mask and summoned Shadow Ninjas, who obeyed his commands and briefly subdued Arthur when he tried to remove it.
• Arthur took the mask, but Lupin argued that Harry might need it to survive and required him to promise to use it only to save his life.
• George found Aaron’s note saying the revolver and mask were lent to Harry to help him live longer, prompting Lupin to warn the family to keep the gift secret.

Harry told Dumbledore about Snape and Draco’s conversation, but Dumbledore remained confident in Snape and began Harry’s lessons on Voldemort’s past. Harry learned how Voldemort framed Morfin for the Riddle murders, then entered a memory of teenage Voldemort speaking with Slughorn as the chapter ended.

• Harry returned to Hogwarts and agreed to meet Dumbledore the following evening for lessons.
• Aaron posted a notice for Ministry Apparition lessons, while he and Clea discussed their own experience with Apparition.
• Harry told Dumbledore about Snape and Draco’s conversation, but Dumbledore said he still trusted Snape and discussed Scrimgeour’s request that Harry endorse the Ministry.
• Harry viewed a memory of Voldemort visiting Morfin, then learned that Voldemort had killed the Riddle family and framed Morfin for the murders.
• Harry entered Dumbledore’s second memory and watched teenage Voldemort ask Slughorn about Professor Merrythought’s retirement.

Harry learned that Slughorn had altered his memory of Riddle asking about Horcruxes, and Dumbledore tasked him with obtaining the real memory. Aaron explained Horcruxes and gave Harry a plan to win Slughorn’s trust, leaving Harry facing a gradual effort that might end with a drinking session.

• Dumbledore showed Harry Slughorn’s false memory of Riddle asking about Horcruxes and asked him to obtain the original.
• Phineas reported the memories to Aaron, who learned about Riddle’s murders, the stolen family ring, and Slughorn’s hidden Horcrux memory.
• Harry, Hermione, and Ron asked Aaron about Horcruxes, and Aaron explained that they stored soul fragments and could allow their maker to survive bodily death.
• Harry admitted he had asked Slughorn directly and failed, so Aaron refused to involve himself or Clea but offered advice.
• Aaron told Harry to act normally for at least a month, appeal to Slughorn’s nostalgia for former students, and eventually use a drinking session to encourage him to reveal the memory.

During Apparition lessons, Aaron Gaius and Clea Darwin demonstrated their skill and earned exemption from the examination, while the other students struggled with the dangerous magic. Later, Harry discovered Ron had eaten Love Potion chocolates and led him to Professor Slughorn, leaving Ron under the potion’s influence as Slughorn prepared to help.

• Wiggenweld Potion taught the sixth-years the basics of Apparition, and Susan Bones suffered Splinching during practice before the professors restored her leg.
• Aaron Apparated successfully on his first attempt and used Side-Along Apparition, earning full marks and exemption from the examination; Clea did the same and won fifty points for Slytherin.
• Harry told Aaron that Slughorn remained guarded despite Harry following their plan, and Aaron advised him not to rush.
• On his seventeenth birthday, Ron ate chocolates from Harry’s bed and became infatuated with Romilda Vane, while Harry realized the chocolates had contained Love Potion.
• Harry withheld the antidote Aaron had given him and took Ron to Slughorn, claiming he could introduce Ron to Romilda and asking the professor to treat him.

Ron recovered from a poisoned drink after Harry gave him one of Aaron’s antidote pills, and the professors began investigating the attempted poisoning. Clea helped Aaron and Hermione make an Unbreakable Vow about their feelings, leaving Hermione reassured while Clea pulled her aside to talk.

• Slughorn brewed an antidote for Ron’s Love Potion, but Ron collapsed after drinking poisoned oak mead and Harry saved him with one of Aaron’s antidote pills.
• At the School Hospital, Harry explained what happened, and Dumbledore, Snape, and Slughorn examined the antidote and suspected the mead had been poisoned.
• Slughorn revealed that he had intended to give the mead to Dumbledore, while the group questioned who had arranged the poisoning.
• Lavender arrived to see Ron, and Aaron persuaded everyone to leave the pair alone before he, Hermione, and Clea left the hospital.
• Hermione confronted Aaron about delaying a relationship, and Clea bound their hands with magic as Aaron promised he loved Hermione and needed more time.
• Aaron agreed to give his life to protect Hermione, but Hermione released her hand before the final vow could bind them; she then kissed him, and Clea took Hermione aside to talk.

Clea explained to Hermione that Aaron needed time to strengthen himself because Dumbledore was likely to die within a year and Voldemort threatened him after his expulsion from the Gaius Family. Meanwhile, Aaron confronted Draco about the attempts to kill Dumbledore that had nearly harmed Katie and Ron.

• Clea told Hermione that Aaron had joined the Department of Mysteries battle to protect her and that saving her had left him exposed to danger.
• Clea revealed that Aaron had traded Moon Drop and a promise of Voldemort’s secret for protection, but warned that Dumbledore’s curse might kill him by the end of term.
• Hermione learned that Aaron’s fate could become worse than death if Voldemort defeated him, and Clea urged her to keep his secrets and avoid adding to his burdens.
• Aaron privately confronted Draco, explaining that Draco’s cursed necklace had nearly killed Katie and his poisoned wine had left Ron in the School Hospital.
• Aaron told Draco to abandon his attempts to harm Dumbledore because they were ineffective and endangered innocent people.

Aaron confronted Draco about Voldemort’s order to kill Dumbledore and persuaded him to stop attempting the assassination, explaining that Narcissa and Snape had arranged a way to protect him. Aaron then beat Draco in public so the injuries would make him appear to have been working for Voldemort and warn others that he would stay involved in the plot.

• Aaron revealed that Draco’s mission was to assassinate Dumbledore and warned him that his attempts had endangered Katie Bell and Ron Weasley.
• Draco admitted he felt trapped by Voldemort, and Aaron reassured him that Narcissa and Professor Snape had taken risks to save him.
• Draco doubted Snape’s motives, but Aaron reminded him that Snape had made an Unbreakable Vow and that Draco owed him and the Malfoy Family.
• Aaron told Draco to remain visibly involved as an accomplice, then dispelled the Illusion Magic barrier and beat him in front of Crabbe and Goyle.
• Draco accepted the beating as protection, refused to hide his injuries, and told Crabbe and Goyle to say he had fallen if anyone asked.

Aaron reflected on his promise to Hermione, reviewed his growing alchemy costs and limited resources, and gathered intelligence about Voldemort. The chapter ended with Aaron treating Draco after Harry nearly killed him with Sectumsempra and urging Harry to focus on obtaining Slughorn’s memory.

• Aaron discovered Abei lounging in the vault and learned that its Dragon Fire had helped Thoughtform create two powerful five-enchantment bullets.
• Aaron checked his status and saved Magic Points for emergencies because Dumbledore’s life was nearing its end.
• Aaron learned from Phineas about Voldemort’s theft of Hufflepuff’s Goblet and Slytherin’s Locket, and his failed bid to become Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.
• Katie Bell returned to Hogwarts, and Aaron realized Harry and Draco had rushed after her.
• Aaron found Draco gravely wounded by Harry’s Sectumsempra and used the counterspell to close his injuries.
• Aaron ordered Harry to take Draco to the School Hospital and told him to stop investigating Draco and obtain Slughorn’s memory instead.

Harry used Aaron’s Liquid Luck and followed Hagrid’s invitation to Aragog’s funeral, where Slughorn’s interest in the Acromantula’s venom created an opening to obtain his memory. Aaron also attended after the Book of Prophecy revealed that Horace’s secret would come to light there.

• Hermione urged Harry to focus on getting Slughorn’s memory, and Harry took a Liquid Luck pill Aaron had given him.
• Hagrid invited Harry to Aragog’s funeral, and Harry decided his good fortune meant he should attend.
• Aaron learned from the Book of Prophecy that Horace’s secret would be revealed at the funeral, then went to help Hagrid bury Aragog.
• Harry arrived with Slughorn, who had brought wine and showed interest in Aragog’s corpse.
• Slughorn asked Hagrid for permission to extract Aragog’s venom, giving Harry an opening to draw information from him.

At Aragog’s funeral, Aaron collected the Acromantula venom and secretly stunned everyone to obtain Slughorn’s memory for himself. In the memory, he learned that Tom Riddle had asked how to split a soul and whether it could be divided seven times.

• Aaron and Slughorn collected venom from Aragog’s pincers before Slughorn buried him.
• Hagrid, Slughorn, Aaron, and Harry drank to Aragog, and Slughorn reminisced about a fish and Harry’s mother.
• Harry persuaded Slughorn to extract and bottle the memory about Tom Riddle, then Aaron stunned everyone and caught the bottle.
• Aaron placed the memory in his Pensieve and watched Tom ask Slughorn about Soul Containers and how to create them.
• Slughorn explained that murder split the soul, and Tom asked whether it could be split seven times.

Harry retrieved Slughorn's memory and learned from Dumbledore that Voldemort had created at least six Horcruxes, with several likely objects identified and a search underway. Aaron learned the details through Phineas, then briefly revived Sirius before removing his soul again and keeping him confined.

• Harry woke at Hagrid's hut with Slughorn's memory and Liquid Luck, then went to Dumbledore's office.
• Dumbledore and Harry viewed the memory and concluded that Voldemort had made at least six Horcruxes; they discussed the destroyed diary and ring, the missing locket and goblet, Ravenclaw's lost item, and Nagini as possibilities.
• Dumbledore agreed that Harry could assist in finding and destroying a Horcrux, and warned that destroying them would not by itself make Voldemort powerless.
• Aaron claimed the reward for discovering Slughorn's secret and had Phineas report every detail of Dumbledore and Harry's conversation.
• Phineas told Aaron that Harry and Dumbledore had identified the likely Horcruxes, after which Aaron briefly restored Sirius to life and then knocked his soul back out, storing it again.

Aaron accepted a task to find and destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes, then used Captain Jack’s Compass to search Hogwarts for Ravenclaw’s lost item. The compass led him to Harry, and Aaron suspected Harry himself was a Horcrux as he ordered Ron to search him.

• Aaron learned that the task would reward him for finding and destroying each of Voldemort’s Horcruxes, and decided to search for Ravenclaw’s lost item at Hogwarts.
• Aaron used Captain Jack’s Compass after class, and its needle led him to Gryffindor’s common room.
• Aaron persuaded Hermione to bring him inside, followed the compass to Harry and Ron’s dormitory, and found that the needle pointed at Harry.
• Harry denied having anything unusual, so Aaron petrified him and told Ron to remove Harry’s clothes while Abei guarded the door.

Aaron discovered that Harry Potter was an unintended Horcrux and later found Ravenclaw's Diadem in the Room of Requirement. He sealed the soul fragment in the diadem and left its destruction for a later confrontation with Voldemort.

• Aaron confirmed Harry Potter was a Horcrux, freed him from the Full Body-Bind Curse, and asked Harry, Ron, and Hermione to keep the discovery secret.
• Harry disarmed Ron and suspended him upside down, then let him down after Ron promised to forgive Harry for future offenses.
• Aaron used the Treasure-Seeking Compass to find the Room of Requirement and Ravenclaw's Diadem, another of Voldemort's Soul Containers.
• Aaron sealed the soul fragment inside the diadem with a pentagram, then stored it in Abei's pocket.
• Aaron encountered Draco outside the Room of Requirement, refused to hear why he had come, and later added Harry Potter to his list of known Soul Containers.