Chapter Summaries

Luan sought a way to grow food crops quickly before war threatened Xilin, and Professor Flitwick explained how several enlargement spells worked. Flitwick compared Luan’s request to a problem once given to medieval Court Wizards, who failed to solve it.

• Professor Sprout told Luan that fertilizer and Growth Potion would not meet his needs, then suggested he ask Professor Flitwick about the Growth Spell and Engorgio.
• Luan chose to research spells for enlarging plants or speeding their growth, despite Sprout’s suggestion that he pursue other herbology research.
• Luan studied relevant books in the library and later asked Professor Flitwick how the Expansion Charm, Growth Spell, and Engorgio differed.
• Flitwick praised Luan’s quick, precise casting of Reparo and offered to teach him wizard duelling, but Luan explained that he wanted to grow food for people in need.
• Flitwick explained that the Expansion Charm widened gaps in an object, the Growth Spell acted as a catalyst on plants, and Engorgio enlarged objects while damaging their structure.
• Flitwick recalled that medieval Court Wizards had also been asked to solve food shortages, and told Luan they had failed.

Flitwick encouraged Luan to modify a charm for enlarging plant fruits and lent him a restricted book on charm research. As Luan studied it with Hermione, Sprout and Flitwick discussed his talents, and Flitwick compared him to Snape, who revealed he had invented the Inverted Bell in his third year.

• Flitwick gave Luan permission to borrow Balfor Blan's book on modifying and creating charms and encouraged him to pursue his research.
• Luan borrowed the restricted book and studied its detailed analysis of charms with Hermione, explaining that he wanted more people to have enough to eat.
• Flitwick told Sprout that Luan wanted to research a charm to make plants grow bigger and praised his fast spellcasting.
• Sprout reminded Flitwick that Luan already belonged to her club, while Flitwick argued that Luan should join the Charms Study Society.
• Flitwick asked Snape when he had invented the Inverted Bell, and Snape answered that he had been in his third year.

Hermione concluded that Mu En was a wanderer and apologized for questioning his research, offering to find clothes for him. Mu En was confused by her assumptions and asked whether she thought he was the child of a homeless man.

• In the Staff Dining Hall, Flitwick and Sprout praised Mu En's spellwork and care of magical plants, while Snape dismissed comparisons with his own record.
• Quirrell entered the dining hall, and Snape ushered him inside while Flitwick and Sprout left to escape the strong garlic smell.
• Ron complained about three days of pumpkin dishes, while Mu En ate his meal and explained that he liked the fresh pumpkins.
• Hermione became convinced Mu En was a wanderer, and Quirrell appeared unwell during Defense Against the Dark Arts before ending class early.
• Hermione approached Mu En during his spell practice, apologized, and offered to find clothes for him; Mu En asked if she thought he was the child of a homeless man.

Luan was barred from practicing charms in the Gryffindor Common Room, then impressed Professor Flitwick by levitating a feather on his first try. After tending the Herbology Club’s plants, Luan heard Professor Quirrell hurry past and realized someone might be following him.

• Professor McGonagall warned Luan not to practice charms in the Common Room, so he stopped practicing there.
• Professor Flitwick praised Luan’s spellwork in Charms, and Luan levitated a feather on his first attempt, earning Gryffindor a point.
• Hermione levitated her feather successfully, but Ron insulted her and made her cry after class.
• Luan cared for the Herbology Club’s plants, including the Dragon Blood Grass, before the Halloween feast.
• Luan heard Quirrell hurry by and wondered who had entered the school and dared to follow him.

Luan encountered a troll near the Great Hall and stopped it with repeated Leg-Locker Curses after it tried to attack him. Dumbledore secured the troll and told Luan that they needed to talk.

• Luan left the Herbology Club and spotted a troll climbing the stairs toward the second floor.
• The troll heard Luan sneeze, turned on him, and swung its club at him.
• Luan cast Locomotor Mortis repeatedly, causing the troll to fall down the stairs and lose consciousness.
• Hermione and McGonagall reached Luan, and the professors gathered to inspect the troll.
• When the troll began to move, Dumbledore and Flitwick subdued it while Luan cast another Leg-Locker Curse.
• Dumbledore sent Flitwick to guard the troll and told Luan they needed to talk.

Luan met with Dumbledore, who questioned him about his background and wand while reassuring him that he did not have to reveal anything. After Luan asked for a place to practice spells, Dumbledore offered him an empty classroom and began discussing who would supervise him.

• Luan entered Dumbledore's office, where he saw the Sorting Hat and Fawkes and accepted a serving of Hagrid's Biscuits.
• Dumbledore asked Luan about his hometown, the food he had made with Hagrid, and his willow wand, but Luan kept his secret.
• Dumbledore told Luan he was pleased he had come to Hogwarts and offered him a reward for helping with the emergency.
• Luan asked for a classroom to practice Locomotor Mortis, the Petrifying Charm, and Minor Hexes, and Dumbledore agreed to provide one.
• Dumbledore proposed Filch as Luan's temporary supervisor, but Luan asked to choose someone else before Severus arrived with uneven footsteps.

After Luan Scarlett left the Headmaster’s Office, Snape warned Dumbledore that the troll’s escape suggested the defenses had been compromised and suspected Quirrell. Dumbledore then asked Snape to assess Luan’s ability to subdue the troll, and Snape’s account of Luan’s steady work left them wondering whether there was anything unusual about him.

• Luan left the Headmaster’s Office after Dumbledore provisionally approved his request, and overheard Snape call the troll’s escape suspicious.
• Snape told Dumbledore that the defenses had been fine, suspected Quirrell, and said he had subdued the troll and put it to sleep for three days.
• Dumbledore agreed to reinforce the defenses and send the troll back, while Snape dismissed treatment for his injured leg and planned to brew potions.
• Dumbledore asked Snape whether Luan could have subdued the troll, explaining that Flitwick had vouched for Luan casting more than five Locomotor Mortis spells.
• Snape recalled Luan’s careful, efficient work in Potions Class and concluded that the feat was possible, after which Dumbledore hinted that Luan might still be suspicious.

After defeating the troll, Luan returned to the Halloween feast and became the focus of the Great Hall. He recounted the fight to his friends, received thanks from Hermione and concern from the Herbology Club, while students across the school debated how he had subdued the troll.

• Luan examined the stairs where the troll had fallen and found that the damage and blood had already been cleaned up.
• Luan entered the Great Hall, where the students fell silent and stared at him, until McGonagall encouraged everyone to resume the feast.
• Harry saved Luan a seat, and Luan described how he had used Locomotor Mortis spells against the troll to Ron and the other students.
• George and Fred praised Luan's use of Minor Hexes, drawing students to the twins and Ron to ask about learning the spells.
• Hermione thanked Luan for dealing with the troll, and Cedric checked on him on Professor Sprout's behalf and shared the Herbology Club's concern.
• Students at the Slytherin table doubted that Luan had defeated the troll without help.

After the Halloween feast, Luan talked with his roommates about Bouncing’s wish to see a phoenix and learned that another might appear at the 1994 Quidditch World Cup. He invited the others to practice in a classroom Dumbledore had arranged, while Bouncing decided it wanted to visit Mrs. Norris there.

• After returning to the dormitory, Luan told Bouncing he had seen Fawkes, and Bouncing asked to see a phoenix.
• Ron explained that the other known tamed phoenix, Spark, appeared at the Quidditch World Cup, so Luan promised to take Bouncing to the 1994 event.
• Ron encouraged Luan to try out as a Chaser, and Harry explained the roles of Chasers and Beaters.
• Luan told his roommates about the practice classroom Dumbledore had arranged, but Ron and Seamus changed their minds when they learned Filch would guard it.
• Bouncing asked to visit Mrs. Norris, and Luan promised to take it to the classroom the next day.
• After the students fell asleep, Professor McGonagall received a message from Fawkes and went to the Headmaster’s Office.

Dumbledore and McGonagall discussed Quirrell’s suspicious condition and strengthening the protections around the Philosopher’s Stone. Dumbledore also revealed his suspicions about Luan’s combat training and arranged for McGonagall to keep an eye on his spell training room, while Fawkes reacted uneasily to the boy.

• McGonagall asked Dumbledore about Quirrell’s strange behavior and garlic smell, and they agreed to have Poppy help him.
• Dumbledore asked McGonagall to make the professors’ challenges protecting the Philosopher’s Stone harder, and said he would add a final challenge after the holidays.
• McGonagall and Dumbledore discussed Luan’s precise Locomotor Mortis, and Dumbledore concluded that Luan’s skills came from a battle-seasoned teacher.
• Dumbledore told McGonagall that he had given Luan a classroom for spell training and asked her to keep an eye on it; she agreed to check in when she could.
• After McGonagall left, Fawkes pecked Dumbledore and showed unease when he asked whether the phoenix had noticed something unusual about Luan.

Luan spent the morning studying charms, then endured Snape's attempts to put him on the spot in Potions Class. Filch showed Luan and Hermione the practice classroom Dumbledore had arranged, where they found a strange clay figure bearing the name Marauders.

• Luan studied Secrets of Charms: Methods for Modifying Charms before his roommates woke and joined him for breakfast.
• Snape took points from Harry and Ron, then asked Luan how to use a charm beyond the first-year curriculum; Luan admitted he did not know.
• Filch told Luan that the classroom Dumbledore had promised was ready, and Luan fetched Bouncing before going there with Hermione.
• Madam Pomfrey congratulated Luan for knocking out the troll and told him to call for help if anything happened in the classroom.
• Luan and Hermione found a painted clay figure in the dim classroom, and Filch explained that he had confiscated it from former troublemakers.
• Hermione noticed the name Marauders carved beneath the figure and asked why Filch had helped them; Luan pointed to the two little animals at Filch's feet.

Luan and Hermione practiced spells on a clay figure in Filch’s classroom while Bouncing befriended Mrs. Norris in hopes of meeting Dumbledore’s phoenix. Afterward, Luan reflected on Zalan’s advice to train his combat responses until they became instinctive.

• Bouncing asked Mrs. Norris to help it meet the phoenix, and Mrs. Norris agreed to tell it if she encountered the bird.
• Luan and Hermione practiced Locomotor Mortis and the Petrifying Charm on a clay figure that resembled Professor Snape.
• Filch let Luan and Hermione use the classroom and clay figure after lessons, and they agreed to come in the afternoons.
• Luan reviewed Zalan’s advice that he should train his methods of subduing enemies until they became muscle memory, helping him survive when fear and excitement affected his judgment.

Luan studied how to modify charms and began analyzing the Expansion Charm as a foundation for developing plant-growth magic. Professor Sprout then asked to borrow some of his Growth Potion to speed up a Christmas Cactus.

• After Hermione exhausted herself copying Luan's intensive charm practice, Harry, Ron, Seamus, and Neville agreed to visit the Charms Practice Room the following week.
• Luan finished the first chapter of Secrets of Charms: Methods for Modifying Charms and chose the Expansion Charm for his initial analysis.
• Luan broke down the Expansion Charm's incantation, Engorgio, into its syllables and recorded his findings on fifty inches of parchment.
• Cedric brought Luan to Professor Sprout, who asked to borrow some of his remaining Growth Potion for her Christmas Cactus.

After a dangerous encounter at Hogwarts, Luan returned to Xilin and told Zalan, who pushed him to prepare for the violence of war. When Neil brought news that the Menila Empire was preparing to attack the Gracien Federation, Zalan decided to move the family to safety, and Brad arrived soon after Neil left.

• Zalan warned Luan to study magic somewhere safe after finding him back in the cabin, then advised him to face his fear of blood by slaughtering animals.
• Neil brought Jay Scarlett's letter, which said Military Academy students in fifth year and above were being assigned to the reserves and hinted that the Menila Empire's Northern Frontier campaign was a smokescreen.
• Zalan concluded that the Federation was poorly prepared and that Xilin might fall, so he proposed moving their relatives to safety before joining the main force or harassing the enemy.
• Neil said he had been summoned to lead Xilin's new militia guard and asked Zalan to arrange the family's relocation.
• Zalan planned to contact the maritime merchant captain Gould and send the family to the Vena Islands within seven days, while Neil went to prepare them.
• Brad sneaked into Hazelnut Forest shortly after Neil left.

Brad warned Luan that a visitor at the monastery was searching for him, using details that pointed to his night herding and wooden stick. Zalan burned Luan’s identity record and prepared a trap-filled plan in Hazelnut Forest, intending to attack when the Night Owl let his guard down.

• Brad brought Luan a monastery birth-record file and explained that a visitor was searching for a boy matching Luan’s description.
• Luan and Zalan realized the visitor was likely a Night Owl who had learned about Luan’s wooden stick and night herding.
• Luan thanked Brad for risking himself to bring the warning, then admitted the Night Owl would be harder to defeat than the one he had surprised before.
• Zalan burned Luan’s identity document and told him to destroy the copy at Neil’s house as well.
• Zalan and Luan set crude traps in Hazelnut Forest, with Zalan planning to hide and strike once the Night Owl believed the boy had exhausted his options.

Luan prepared to face the Night Owl by setting traps with Zalan and sending Brad and his parents to safety. As the Night Owl’s search narrowed, Neil left with the militia to investigate the slaughter of five shepherd families, and Zalan believed the killer would soon come for Luan.

• Luan told Brad to take his parents to Neil’s house and leave for the Vena Islands with them in seven days, while keeping the plan from Neil.
• Luan reflected that his earlier mistakes had put his friends and family at risk, and he and Zalan set dozens of traps around the cabin.
• Neil visited Zalan and said Brad was staying at his house, then asked Zalan to lead the others somewhere safe in the coming days.
• Neil told Zalan that the militia would patrol the area after five shepherd families were slaughtered, and he left with the militia that night.
• Luan worried the Night Owl might be responsible, but Zalan reasoned that the killer had failed to find his target and would now search an increasingly smaller area.

Luan waited alone at the farmstead for Night Owl while Zalan hid nearby, and Brother Leighton visited to look for Brad. After a new Night Owl arrived and threatened to take Luan away for his magic, Luan pretended to pack potion equipment and vanished from the cabin.

• Luan spent a sleepless night alone in the cabin while Zalan hid in Hazelnut Forest to make the farmstead appear undefended.
• Brother Leighton visited to ask whether Brad was at the farmstead, noticed Luan hiding a stick, and left believing he had found something suspicious.
• Zalan signaled Luan that Night Owl had received the message, and that night the traps around the farmstead were triggered.
• A black-clad Night Owl emerged from the woods, said he had killed the other Night Owl, and threatened Luan's relatives to make him come along.
• Luan persuaded Night Owl to let him gather potion equipment, entered the cabin, and disappeared before Night Owl could catch him.

Luan and Zalan killed Night Owl after luring him into an explosive trap, though Zalan collapsed after reciting hundreds of names. Luan recovered Night Owl’s unusual clothing, a mysterious potion, and other weapons, then waited for their helpers to arrive.

• Luan escaped through a hidden tunnel as Zalan detonated the cabin with Night Owl inside.
• Night Owl survived the explosion, but Luan immobilized him with Locomotor Mortis, allowing Zalan’s arrows to strike.
• Luan and Zalan kept their distance until Zalan shot Night Owl through the throat and Luan confirmed he was dead.
• Zalan recited hundreds of names, then passed out, and Luan moved him away from the burning ruins.
• Luan examined Night Owl’s protective garment, black potion, curved blade, and poisoned sleeve arrows before resting and waiting for help.

After waking from the battle with Night Owl, Luan learned that Neil and the veterans had gone to find Brother Leighton, then gave Brad Night Owl’s saber and arranged for Daisy to refit the assassin’s protective clothing for Jay. Brother Leighton fled Xilin after Night Owl failed to return, but Zalan intercepted him at the docks.

• Brad explained that Neil and twenty veterans had gone searching for Brother Leighton after realizing he had been overlooked.
• Luan gave Night Owl’s curved saber to Brad, who tested its sharp edge.
• Luan asked Daisy to alter Night Owl’s durable clothing for Jay, and she agreed to send it to him.
• Brother Leighton confirmed that Night Owl had failed, gathered his belongings, and fled Xilin by carriage.
• Brother Leighton tried to board a ship at dusk, but Zalan blocked him at the docks.

After Night Owl’s death, Luan was caught up in a celebratory banquet, where the alley’s residents treated him as a distinguished Spellcaster and plied him with liquor. Zalan returned with news that Gould’s ship would sail in three days, but the group needed a way to secure passage together, so he had told Gould they had a mysterious magician.

• Luan drank rye liquor with Neil and slept through much of the next day as the alley’s residents celebrated Night Owl’s death and discussed the coming war and voyage.
• Luan joined the banquet after waking, and the old soldiers called him “Your Excellency the Spellcaster” and persuaded him to drink again.
• Zalan teased Luan about his hangover and explained that Gould’s ship had returned and would sail in three days.
• Zalan told Luan that too many passengers had reserved places for the alley’s people to travel together, so he had offered Gould a proposal involving their mysterious magician.