Chapter Summaries

After dying while saving a child, Chen Yang was reborn as Nelson Wiltening Williams, a magically gifted boy at a London orphanage who befriended the young Tom Riddle. Their conversation about ambition and heroism ended when Albus Dumbledore arrived to meet Mrs. Cole, setting Tom’s path toward Hogwarts in motion.

• Chen Yang died shielding a child from a semi-truck and was reborn as an infant amid the ruins of a magical attack.
• By July 1938, Nelson Wiltening Williams lived at the West City Orphanage and had discovered that he could use magic.
• Nelson and Tom Riddle sat on the orphanage roof, where Tom spoke of using their abilities to gain power and Nelson urged him to imagine becoming a hero.
• Nelson reflected on Tom’s loneliness and ambition, resolving to guide his friend away from becoming a Dark Lord.
• Albus Dumbledore arrived at the orphanage to meet Mrs. Cole, noticed Nelson and Tom on the roof, and winked at them.
• Tom criticized the color of Dumbledore’s suit while Nelson anticipated his own future at Hogwarts.

Albus Dumbledore visited the orphanage to invite Tom Marvolo Riddle and Nelson Williams to Hogwarts. Mrs. Cole described Tom’s birth and the boys’ strange experiences, and Dumbledore began explaining magic to Tom, who listened in surprise.

• Dumbledore met Mrs. Cole and explained that he had come to invite Tom and Nelson to attend Hogwarts.
• Mrs. Cole told Dumbledore that Tom’s mother had died after giving birth to him at the orphanage and that no relatives had ever sought him.
• Mrs. Cole described Tom and Nelson’s close friendship and recounted strange incidents that happened around them.
• Mrs. Cole explained that Nelson was a war orphan whose adoption by his aunt had stalled, and Dumbledore confirmed he intended to take both boys to Hogwarts.
• Tom appeared outside Mrs. Cole’s office, led Dumbledore to his room, and listened as Dumbledore described Hogwarts as a school of magic.

Dumbledore revealed that Tom Riddle and Nelson Williams were wizards and invited them to attend Hogwarts. Tom eagerly accepted, while Nelson planned to discuss the invitation with his aunt before leaving for the magical world.

• Dumbledore explained magic to Tom, warned him against harming people, and asked him to lead the way to Nelson.
• Tom tested Dumbledore’s authenticity by watching him transform a chair, then led him to Nelson on the orphanage roof.
• Dumbledore told both boys they had exceptional magical abilities and invited them to Hogwarts, giving them grants and acceptance letters.
• Tom declined Dumbledore’s offer to escort them to Diagon Alley, and Dumbledore explained how they could find it and travel to Hogwarts.
• Nelson accepted his letter but said he needed to speak with his aunt, so Dumbledore set out with the boys to find her.

Nelson and Tom visited Nelson’s aunt, Bellatrix Nicklaus, with Dumbledore, who invited the boys to Hogwarts. Bellatrix revealed that Nelson’s parents were witches who had died in battle, leaving Nelson and Dumbledore to confront the first details of his past.

• Nelson, Tom, and Dumbledore arrived at Bellatrix Nicklaus’s home, where she welcomed the boys and learned Dumbledore had come to invite them to Hogwarts.
• Bellatrix recognized the name Hogwarts and took Dumbledore to her study to discuss Nelson’s family while the boys waited in the living room.
• Tom speculated that Bellatrix might be a witch and imagined using magic to gain power, while Nelson wondered whether magic could let him travel through time and space.
• Bellatrix told Dumbledore that her sister, Elizabeth Williams, was a witch and that Elizabeth and her husband had entrusted Nelson to her eleven years earlier.
• Dumbledore told Bellatrix that Elizabeth and Melgan Wiltening had died in battle, and Bellatrix remembered their last visit and Melgan’s words about Nelson’s name.

Nelson and Tom bought their school supplies in Diagon Alley, where Nelson learned that his parents had left him a Gringotts vault key and stocked up on history books. They reached Ollivander’s shop to choose their wands, and Ollivander asked which of them would go first.

• Dumbledore identified the key Bella found as a vault key for Gringotts in France and explained that Nelson could withdraw money at the Diagon Alley branch.
• Nelson bought textbooks and history books at Flourish and Blotts, and the clerk offered used Magical Theory books while waiting for new copies to arrive.
• Nelson nearly stepped on a girl named Myrtle in the bookstore, apologized, and watched her flee when a woman called for her.
• Tom told Nelson he had bought their school supplies, and the two discussed pets before heading to Ollivander’s shop.
• Ollivander explained that wands chose their wizards and asked whether Tom or Nelson would accept his destiny first.

Tom Riddle and Nelson Williams visited Ollivander’s shop to find their wands. Tom received a Yew Wood and Phoenix feather wand, while Nelson’s Black walnut and Dragon heartstring wand stirred up a shop-filling mist and wind before the pair learned their prices.

• Ollivander measured Tom Riddle and had him test many wands before a thirteen-and-a-half-inch Yew Wood wand with a Phoenix feather core chose him.
• Tom’s wand lifted him into the air, and Ollivander declared that it was born to belong to him.
• Ollivander measured Nelson Williams and had him try numerous wands, each of which made fog spread through the shop.
• A fourteen-inch Black walnut wand with a Dragon heartstring core flew into Nelson’s hand and drew in the fog as powerful winds swept the shop.
• Nelson accidentally broke Ollivander’s chair with a flick of his new wand, and Ollivander repaired it.
• Ollivander told Tom that his wand cost seven Galleons and Nelson that his cost seven Galleons and thirteen Sickles.

Nelson and Tom faced prejudice in Diagon Alley, but Dumbledore comforted them and gave them pets before they met Alphard and Walburga Black. After a month of practicing magic, the four friends boarded the train to Hogwarts, beginning their journey into the wizarding world.

• Tom and Nelson were insulted and driven out of a pet shop after its clerk called Tom a Mudblood.
• Dumbledore explained the slur, treated the boys to ice cream, and asked Nelson to deliver a letter to Professor Slughorn on September first.
• Tom worried that he was a Mudblood, and Nelson reassured him that he was not.
• Nelson and Tom met Alphard and Walburga Black at the ice cream parlour and discussed which Hogwarts houses they hoped to join.
• Dumbledore gave Nelson a kitten he named Question Mark and gave Tom a rare Collared Owlet.
• After spending August practicing magic at Aunt Bella's house, Nelson, Tom, Alphard, and Walburga boarded the train to Hogwarts.

Nelson, Tom, Alphard, and Myrtle arrived at Hogwarts and attended the Sorting Ceremony. Alphard and Tom were sorted into Slytherin, Myrtle went to Ravenclaw, and the chapter ended as Nelson took the stage to be sorted.

• Nelson, Tom, and Alphard followed Keeper of Keys Ogg from the train to the Black Lake, where they boarded a boat with Myrtle Warren.
• Tom asked Myrtle her name and wondered why she seemed afraid of Nelson, who said he had only met her once before.
• Albus Dumbledore welcomed the first-years, advised them to value their time at Hogwarts, and led them into the Great Hall.
• The Sorting Hat sang about Hogwarts' founders and the four Houses before sorting began.
• Alphard Black and Tom Riddle were sorted into Slytherin, and Myrtle Warren was sorted into Ravenclaw.
• Nelson Williams stepped onto the platform when his name was called.

Nelson was sorted into Slytherin and settled in with Tom, Alphard, and his new Housemates at Hogwarts. After the feast and school song, he and Tom lay awake in their shared dormitory, where Tom called Nelson’s name but then said nothing was wrong.

• The Sorting Hat placed Nelson Williams in Slytherin, where Tom, Alphard, and the other students welcomed him.
• Head Girl Miranda Goshawk gave Nelson his Slytherin badge and wished him an enjoyable time in the House.
• Headmaster Armando Dippet welcomed the students, announced school rules, and opened the feast.
• Nelson, Tom, and Walburga discussed Professor Slughorn, Hogwarts, and the ghosts as the feast continued.
• Dumbledore led the students in the Hogwarts school song, and Slytherin prefects escorted the first-years to their Common Room and dormitory.
• Tom called Nelson’s name in the darkness, then said nothing was wrong.

Nelson read a letter from his uncle Jonas Nicklaus, who revealed that Nelson’s father was a wizard named Melgan Wiltening and urged him to choose his own path. At Slytherin’s first Potions lesson, Tom Riddle impressed Professor Slughorn and won ten house points, while a third cauldron’s contents remained a mystery.

• Nelson returned Dumbledore’s empty envelope and learned from the Daily Prophet that dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald and his Acolytes were spreading fear across Europe.
• An owl delivered a letter from Jonas Nicklaus, who told Nelson that his father, Melgan Wiltening, was a wizard who had disappeared eleven years earlier, and that both his parents had vanished in a magical tragedy.
• Nelson remembered the good times he had shared with Jonas and his aunt, and Tom promised they could return to London together during the Christmas holiday.
• Professor Slughorn introduced Potions to the Slytherin first-years and described its demands and rewards.
• Tom correctly identified two potions, earning ten points for Slytherin, while Jessica Ollivander asked about the covered third cauldron and Slughorn promised a reward to whoever identified it next week.

Nelson wrote Uncle Jonas about life at Hogwarts and planned to attend Tom’s first-year gathering that night. While Tom and Alphard arranged the gathering and a secret route out of Slytherin, Nelson waited in the Common Room, watching the moonlit Black Lake.

• Nelson wrote Uncle Jonas about his classes, his life at Hogwarts, and his plans to return home for Christmas.
• Tom invited Nelson to the first official First-Year Mutual Aid Society gathering in a Transfiguration classroom and brought him food.
• Alphard said he had found a secret passage from the Common Room and arranged for Hufflepuff students to have House-elves bring food.
• Tom sent their roommates to notify Ravenclaw students, while Alphard went to change for the gathering.
• Nelson tucked his letter into his bag, waited by the Black Lake, and watched the moonlight on the water.

Nelson crossed Ravenclaw Tower during a violent storm, discovered a slashed portrait, and reported it to Professor Sakes. She acknowledged his warning and confronted him about lending his Charms homework to Mr. Black, leaving Nelson to promise he would not do it again.

• Nelson made his way through the unnaturally silent corridor toward Ravenclaw Tower and found Sir MacLaggen's portrait slashed.
• Lightning struck the Owlery, shaking the tower and frightening its owls, but Nelson sent a letter to Uncle Jonas with one of them.
• Nelson answered the Ravenclaw door knocker's question with a guess, causing the door to open, then accidentally entered Professor Sakes' office while she spoke through the fireplace to Gioconda.
• Nelson told Professor Sakes about the damaged portrait, and she said she would investigate it.
• Professor Sakes warned Nelson that his Charms homework resembled Mr. Black's and told him to help his friend learn spells instead of lending him assignments to copy.

Tom gathered Hogwarts first-years for a late-night mutual-aid salon, then took responsibility when Professor Slughorn discovered that the Slytherin first-years had all been out of their dormitories. Slughorn escorted Tom to his office, leaving the others to write explanations.

• Nelson arrived at Tom's gathering and watched him deliver a speech to students from all four Houses, urging them to form a mutual-aid salon.
• Many students signed up with Avery, while Nelson declined to join because Professor Sakes had warned him not to let Alphard copy his homework.
• The gathering lasted until nearly two in the morning, and Nelson returned to bed, accidentally lying on the cat he had not seen for a week and fighting with it.
• The next morning, Professor Slughorn revealed that someone had slashed a painting by the Slytherin Common Room and that the first-year students had all been absent during the night.
• Tom admitted that he had organized the students' nighttime outing, and Slughorn took him to his office while ordering the others to write explanations.

Nelson received private Transfiguration instruction from Filius Flitwick and learned to focus on a transformation’s essential qualities, successfully turning a slip of paper into parchment. He then met Minerva McGonagall by the Black Lake for their arranged meeting.

• Nelson captured and unsealed a message instructing him to turn a slip of paper into parchment.
• Filius Flitwick coached Nelson on guiding magic and prioritizing a transformation’s essential qualities.
• Nelson transformed the slip of paper into parchment and thanked Filius, who invited him to discuss Charms and join the Duelling Club in his second year.
• Nelson went to the Black Lake and found Minerva McGonagall waiting in cat form among a group of cats.
• Minerva transformed into a girl, greeted Nelson, and noted that he was not late.

McGonagall tutored Nelson in Transfiguration, apologized for judging him by his Slytherin house, and gave him a book list as they planned for him to eventually learn Animagus magic. After Nelson fell asleep by the Black Lake, Tom found him and brought him food, and they argued about whether other students were fools.

• McGonagall examined Nelson's Transfiguration and coached him until he could transform nonmagical objects of any size, material, or shape with ease.
• Nelson challenged McGonagall's assumption that Slytherins cheated, and she apologized and gave him a list of books to study.
• McGonagall said she hoped to teach Nelson Animagus magic before she graduated, then flew away on her broomstick.
• Nelson turned a hidden stone into a bamboo pillow, cleared the grass with Tornado Sweep, and fell asleep in the sunlight.
• Tom woke Nelson at sunset and shared roast quail and cherry tomatoes, then boasted about taking the blame and earning others' loyalty.
• Nelson defended the students Tom called fools, and Tom admitted he was not interested in Herbology.

Nelson received a folded note directing him to Ravenclaw Tower, where he discovered Myrtle sitting in the Owlery with his Wand pointed at her. The chapter left their encounter just beginning, after Tom and Alphard had arranged the meeting to help ease things between them.

• Nelson used magic to gather his scattered schoolbooks and send them toward the Slytherin Common Room on a miniature cart, impressing a messenger and earning praise from Professor Sakes.
• Nelson realized he had forgotten his schoolbag and later wrote “schoolbag” on his hand so he would remember to look for it.
• Nelson read a note directing him to Ravenclaw Tower’s Owlery at half past one and wondered why McGonagall had summoned him there.
• Tom and Alphard waited in an empty classroom and revealed they had arranged the meeting because Nelson had been receiving private lessons from McGonagall and the notes were folded into little animals.
• Nelson entered the Owlery, pointed his Wand at Myrtle, and hurriedly told her it was not what she thought.

Nelson spoke with Myrtle, who revealed that she feared his discordant color but wanted to know him, and he reflected on changing the tragic fate he knew awaited her. Later, Nelson and Tom turned Alphard’s prank in Herbology into a comic punishment.

• Myrtle told Nelson that she could perceive people’s colors and that his discordant color had frightened her, then forgave him for stepping on her and shook his hand.
• Myrtle explained that her name meant strange and mysterious, entered the Ravenclaw Common Room, and left Nelson thinking about her future tragedy and his power to change fates.
• Dwight found Nelson outside the Ravenclaw Common Room, teased him about liking a Ravenclaw girl, and asked him the riddle about zero and one.
• In Herbology, Alphard teased Nelson about his encounter with Myrtle, so Nelson sprayed Gordigan pus on Tom and announced Alphard’s copywork punishment.
• Tom laughed at Alphard’s fall into the pile of slimy roots, and the teachers deducted points from Slytherin and Hufflepuff for the classroom disruption.

Nelson met with Dumbledore, who asked him to guide a substitute teacher from London to the Hogwarts Express and deliver a package if the man had chestnut hair. Nelson agreed to keep the package safe, leaving Dumbledore puzzled by the word “backpack” written on Nelson’s hand.

• At dinner, Tom and Nelson discussed Dumbledore’s absence and praised his abilities, while Dumbledore invited Nelson to his office after the meal.
• Nelson examined Dumbledore’s office and worried that the broken basin might be a Pensieve before Dumbledore asked him to sit down.
• Dumbledore asked Nelson to meet a substitute teacher in Diagon Alley on December twenty-sixth and explain how to reach the Hogwarts Express at King’s Cross Station.
• Dumbledore gave Nelson a package to deliver if the arriving man had chestnut hair, or to keep otherwise, and said he trusted him because of Minerva’s recommendation and his connection to Melgan.
• Nelson promised to keep Dumbledore’s trust, and Dumbledore noticed the word “backpack” written on the back of his hand.

Dumbledore questioned Nelson about his forgotten backpack but could not explain what had happened, and Nelson discovered it was empty again. Nelson and the Slytherin first-years entered Hogsmeade through a secret passage, where Nelson bought a magical camera engraved with the name Louis Jacques Mandé Yagor.

• Nelson told Dumbledore that he had begun forgetting his backpack after a strange night in the castle, and Dumbledore suspected there might have been something inside it.
• Nelson found his backpack empty in the dormitory and asked his roommates whether they had touched it.
• Alphard led Tom, Nelson, and a group of first-year Slytherins through a secret passage behind a statue to a tavern in Hogsmeade.
• Tom set a four o’clock meeting time, then Nelson wandered through the village alone and entered an unmarked shop to escape the damp mist.
• Daguerre sold Nelson a secondhand magical camera and a Butterbeer, and Nelson noticed the engraved name Louis Jacques Mandé Yagor on the camera.

Nelson and Tom returned to London for the holidays, where they spotted a young Wizard stealing Nelson’s wallet near their old orphanage. They reached Aunt Bella and Uncle Jonas’s home and learned Jonas was worried war was close in Poland.

• On the Hogwarts Express, Tom took a picture of himself and Nelson with Nelson’s camera, then amused himself by flying with a trail of smoke.
• As Nelson and Tom walked through polluted, disorderly London, a boy in a newsboy cap bumped into Nelson and stole his wallet.
• Nelson recognized the boy as a new arrival at their old orphanage and said he had left something in the thief’s pocket; Tom agreed to visit the orphanage later.
• Nelson and Tom waited outside Aunt Bella’s house until Jonas and Bella returned with food, then went inside to warm up.
• Jonas told Nelson and Tom that Poland seemed close to war and warned them not to wander recklessly; he then sent them to look at their gifts in the basement.