Chapter Summaries

Nelson’s magical relay network gave the German army a decisive communications advantage, then he shut it down and broadcast orders that forced its forces to retreat. As Grindelwald praised Nelson for accelerating Germany’s defeat and stopping the war, Nelson struggled with the lives his plan could not save.

• Nelson’s hidden relay stations let German forces coordinate across Europe, encouraging them to concentrate their troops on the western front and lure the Allies into an encirclement.
• Nelson snapped his fingers, causing the Alchemical Automatons to stop maintaining the relay stations and plunging German communications across Europe into silence.
• Major General Franz broadcast an order for German units to withdraw, warning that the Allies could hear the same message.
• Nelson impersonated a German commander on his receiver and lamented that he could not save everyone caught up in the war.
• Grindelwald arrived and told Nelson that his intervention had hastened Germany’s defeat, reduced civilian casualties, and brought the war to an end.

Nelson and Grindelwald explored a vision of the modern world, where Grindelwald argued that humanity remained violent and that wizards should impose a better order. Nelson rejected his view, used his Black walnut wood wand to reshape the vision, and left Grindelwald waiting to see what he would do.

• Grindelwald brought Nelson to a bare, colorless model of a modern city and restored its colors by cracking a red paving brick.
• Grindelwald showed Nelson a plane crashing into a skyscraper and scenes of violence, arguing that civilization had not changed humanity’s cruelty.
• Grindelwald confronted Nelson about his reluctance to use his Black walnut wood wand and claimed Nelson secretly craved war and destruction.
• Grindelwald shielded the city from missiles as pedestrians worshiped him, urging Nelson to impose peace and order on the Muggles.
• Nelson drew his Black walnut wood wand, shattered Grindelwald’s vision, and argued that people were not superior or inferior as human beings.
• Grindelwald vanished after saying he would wait and see.

Nelson reunited with his wand and mastered the transfiguration of water, while Tom toured Nurmengard’s industrial zone and questioned its economic ambitions. At Hogwarts, Newt rejected Dumbledore’s request to involve magical creatures, and Professor Binns warned that something in the castle had awakened.

• Nelson’s self-examination brought his memories and destiny together, and he used his wand to shape mist into human forms before conjuring an image of Jonas Nicklaus.
• Tom learned from Barry that Nurmengard mass-produced magical goods, undercut potion prices, and sought influence by supplying even niche products such as Blood Potion.
• Tom questioned whether Nurmengard’s dumping strategy aimed to make it the world’s overlord, and Barry insisted that its work served the Greater Good.
• Newt refused Dumbledore’s request to control magical creatures for the competition and left his office.
• Professor Binns warned Dumbledore that something in Hogwarts Castle seemed to have awakened again.

Armando Dippet joined forces with caretaker Rankorous Carp to drive Peeves out of Hogwarts, convinced the poltergeist threatened students’ education. Their carefully planned trap failed, and Peeves used it to unleash chaos throughout the castle.

• Peeves covered a corridor in mud, mocked Armando Dippet, and pelted students with filth.
• Armando reflected on his strict devotion to order and befriended Rankorous Carp over their shared disapproval of students’ misbehavior.
• Armando learned about previous caretakers’ failed attempts to expel Peeves and persuaded Rankorous to bring him a plan for trapping the poltergeist.
• A month later, Rankorous lured Peeves under a sealed bell jar in the Hogwarts basement, but Peeves escaped through the floor and hung Rankorous from a chandelier.
• Peeves turned Rankorous’s weapons and spells against the castle, multiplying the magic throughout Hogwarts.

Professor Binns explained Peeves’s origins and the history of his disappearance to Dumbledore while they explored an old corridor beneath Hogwarts. Peeves had vanished after defeating the Basilisk, but Melissa Sakes later found traces of him.

• Peeves rampaged through Hogwarts with Rankorous’s weapons, forcing Headmistress Euphrasia Moore to evacuate students and negotiate with him.
• Euphrasia Moore agreed to Peeves’s demands, and the Baron of Slytherin eventually stopped his pranks.
• Dumbledore and Professor Binns entered a trapped corridor, where Dumbledore found Peeves’s message declaring that he would remain as long as Hogwarts needed him.
• Professor Binns proposed that Peeves was the castle’s spirit, formed from the accumulated magic and personalities of Hogwarts’s students and staff.
• Professor Binns told Dumbledore that Peeves disappeared after defeating the Basilisk beneath Hogwarts, and that Melissa Sakes discovered traces of him twenty years earlier.

Tom Riddle visited the mass grave where his mother, Merope Gaunt, was buried, then received a prefect badge from Dumbledore and watched Nelson examine a dagger meant for Transfiguration lessons. When Tom and Nelson returned to their old home, someone opened the door from inside.

• Tom Riddle cleaned the muddy grave marker while Nelson offered him shelter, and they read a message dated 1927.1.
• Tom refused to speak to Merope, and he and Nelson left the cemetery as small white flowers spread across the graves.
• An owl delivered Dumbledore's letter and a package containing Tom's prefect badge and a dagger for Nelson's advanced Transfiguration tutoring.
• Tom and Nelson joked about the badge and dagger, then headed to their old home to collect items for the orphanage.
• Tom and Nelson noticed the neglected garden had been cleared, and someone opened their front door from inside.

Nelson and Tom exposed an impostor posing as Aunt Bella and rescued Christian from a plot by the Second Salemers. As the Hogwarts Express reached the castle, Nelson woke from a nap and prepared to attend the opening feast.

• Bella appeared at Nelson's house, but Nelson and Tom recognized that she was an impostor after she used Legilimency and a Confundus Charm on Christian.
• Tom forced Christian to vomit up a potion, while Nelson checked on the real Bella in France and confirmed she was safe.
• Tom told Nelson that the impostor belonged to the Second Salemers, who had targeted Christian to capture her as an Obscurial.
• Nelson and Tom waited for the new school term, then boarded the Hogwarts Express and met prefect Dwight in the prefects' compartment.
• Nelson fell asleep on the train, and Tom woke him as the castle came into view and told him to put on his school robes.

Nelson attended Hogwarts's opening ceremony, where Dumbledore announced that he would serve as acting headmaster and Minerva McGonagall appeared as the new Transfiguration professor. The Sorting ceremony began, and Nelson's guesses about the first-years turned into a wager with Tom and Alphard.

• Nelson noticed Hagrid at the Gryffindor table and learned from Alphard that Tom often helped Hagrid in Hogsmeade.
• Dumbledore announced that Armando Dippet could not return for the new term and that he would serve as acting headmaster.
• Dumbledore introduced Minerva McGonagall as the new Transfiguration professor, and she led the first-years into the Great Hall.
• The Sorting Hat sang about the four houses and urged Hogwarts students to protect the school from the enemies of the Four Founders.
• Tom and Alphard wagered Butterbeers on Nelson's guesses about the first-years' houses, and Nelson guessed Gryffindor for Ellie Allen before correcting his guess for Hakeem Olajuwon to Hufflepuff.

Dumbledore announced that Hogwarts would host the Triwizard Tournament and used magic to show the students scenes from its past. The students became excited at the prospect of competing, while Nelson sat tensely, unnerved by the display.

• After the Sorting Ceremony, Nelson explained to Alphard how he had judged the first-years’ personalities and Houses.
• Dumbledore warned that unusual dangers might arise at Hogwarts, then announced that the Triwizard Tournament would be held there.
• Dumbledore transformed the Great Hall into a vision of an earlier tournament, showing its dangerous tasks and a duel between the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons Champions.
• Dumbledore told the students that any of them might become Hogwarts’s Champion, prompting them to excitedly imagine winning.
• Nelson stayed motionless beside Alphard, inwardly awed and frightened by Dumbledore’s magic.

Professor Binns explained the Triwizard Tournament’s dangerous origins and warned the students that its Champions once faced deadly trials. After class, Nelson told Binns about Herpo the Foul and a prophecy he had tried to avert, leaving Binns concerned that the prophecy might not have been changed.

• Dwight asked Professor Binns to explain the Triwizard Tournament, and Binns described how it had once sought a Champion to protect the Wizarding world.
• Professor Binns warned that early Tournament trials involved deadly creatures and that most students would not survive the dangers faced by its Champions.
• Nelson told Tom he had not decided whether to enter, while Slytherin and Ravenclaw students argued about what qualities the Goblet of Fire would select in a Champion.
• Nelson visited Professor Binns, revealed that his Animagus form was a cat, and thanked him for his holiday help.
• Nelson told Professor Binns about Herpo the Foul’s recent activity and his efforts to prevent a predicted massacre in Auschwitz; Binns questioned whether Pythia’s prophecy could be changed and urged Nelson to stay alert.
• Nelson returned to the classroom and called Tom to go eat.

Hogwarts gathered at the Black Lake to welcome Durmstrang and Beauxbatons for the Triwizard Tournament. Durmstrang arrived aboard a towering Black Tower, and Beauxbatons appeared with four chained Dragons, leaving the assembled students and headmasters stunned.

• Dumbledore announced that Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would arrive the following Tuesday, and Hogwarts prepared for their visit.
• McGonagall settled into teaching Transfiguration, while Nelson worried that she might confront him about leaving school.
• Tom teased Alphard about his missing homework, and Slughorn threatened detention before Alphard agreed to collect his homework that night.
• Hogwarts gathered by the Black Lake, where Durmstrang's Black Tower rose from the water and unfolded a drawbridge for its students.
• Dumbledore welcomed Durmstrang headmaster Sigmund, who explained that he had placed the Black Tower in the lake for his students.
• Constance challenged Sigmund, and a Dragon descended onto the Black Tower as three more Dragons appeared in the clouds, all held by chains.

Beauxbatons arrived at Hogwarts aboard a massive flying ship hauled by four Hungarian Horntails, and Constance reunited with Dumbledore and clashed with Sigmund. As the visiting students entered the castle, Nelson met a Durmstrang student who recognized him as Wiltening and vowed to defeat him; the group ended at the castle entrance around an old wooden box.

• Four Hungarian Horntails gathered around the Black Tower and lowered Beauxbatons's enormous flying ship beside the lake.
• Constance descended with the Beauxbatons students, exchanged barbed remarks with Sigmund, and asked Dumbledore about the Goblet of Fire.
• Dumbledore sent the students toward the Great Hall and invited Constance and Sigmund into the castle.
• A Durmstrang student told Nelson he would defeat him, while Nelson and Tom wondered why he knew him and where Nagini was.
• The group reached the castle entrance, where the three headmasters waited around an old wooden box.

Tom, Nelson, and Alphard watched the visiting Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students as Dumbledore warned Hogwarts that the Triwizard Tournament was dangerous. The Goblet of Fire was unveiled, and registration opened until Monday morning, when it would choose the Champions.

• Tom, Nelson, and Alphard discussed the visiting students and the schools’ traditions while waiting for the headmasters to finish speaking.
• Dumbledore warned students that the Triwizard Tournament was dangerous and explained that Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students would attend Hogwarts classes and stay in its dormitories.
• Dumbledore introduced the guests and judges, including Newt and Flitwick, who would attend the tournament.
• Dumbledore, Sigmund, and Constance opened the ancient box and revealed the Goblet of Fire.
• Sigmund and Constance explained how students could submit their full names and said the Goblet would choose Champions on Monday morning.

Tom and Nelson reached the Goblet of Fire to register for the Triwizard Tournament, where a mysterious Beauxbatons girl registered first after a Durmstrang student’s attempt was destroyed. As a crowd of Durmstrang students arrived, Tom and Nelson prepared to submit their own names.

• Tom and Nelson pushed through the crowd and picked up Hogwarts registration cards.
• A mysterious girl in a white gown arrived with a silver-haired boy, introduced herself, and discussed who would register first.
• A Durmstrang student tried to send his card into the Goblet of Fire, but it split apart and burned before reaching the cup.
• The Beauxbatons girl registered by sending her card into the Goblet with a dove, making its green flames flare higher.
• Tom and Nelson prepared to register as Durmstrang students forced their way toward them, led by a thin, crew-cut boy.

Nelson and Tom entered their names for the Triwizard Tournament and turned Ludwig’s attempt to sabotage their cards into a humiliating failure. Afterward, Professor Slughorn praised them and predicted that one of them would become Champion, leaving Tom asking Nelson to predict which of them it would be.

• Tom dismissed Ludwig’s challenge and submitted his card alongside Nelson’s at the Goblet of Fire.
• Ludwig secretly cast dark magic at their cards, but Nelson’s paper bird became a cloud of mirrors that redirected the spell and enveloped the Durmstrang students.
• Ludwig shielded his classmates with his robe, then called off the confrontation and led them toward the Great Hall.
• Nelson and Tom discussed Durmstrang’s interest in dark magic over breakfast, and Tom judged Ludwig more sensible than his classmates.
• Professor Slughorn praised Nelson and Tom for standing up to Durmstrang and urged them to hit their rivals hard if they met in the tournament.
• Tom asked Nelson to predict whether he or Nelson would become Champion.

The Goblet of Fire selected the Triwizard Tournament Champions during a ceremony in the Great Hall. Margaret Sagan and Ludwig Kant were named for Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, and the chapter ended with Tom Marvolo Riddle announced as Hogwarts' Champion.

• Tom complained to Nelson about the Durmstrang students who had repeatedly challenged him to duels.
• Dumbledore and the other headmasters authenticated themselves before the Goblet of Fire and began announcing the Champions.
• A green star chose Margaret Sagan for Beauxbatons, and winged horses lifted her into a pillar of light.
• A second star chose Ludwig Kant for Durmstrang, whose Champion was marked by a golden two-headed bird and a pillar of light.
• A dragon appeared for Hogwarts and flew toward the Slytherin table as Tom closed his eyes.
• Dumbledore announced Tom Marvolo Riddle as Hogwarts' Champion.

Tom Marvolo Riddle was confirmed as Hogwarts's Triwizard Champion while Nelson joked about taking part as a judge. The next day, Alphard read newspaper coverage of the Champions and Tom's ancestry, and Nelson discovered an article about Durmstrang that made him question Alphard's reporting.

• Sigmund challenged Dumbledore's assumption that Tom was Hogwarts's Champion, but the Sleeping Dragon's spectacle confirmed Tom as the chosen Champion.
• Tom learned from McGonagall that he needed to go to the headmaster's office for tournament instructions and activities, while Nelson teased him about the opening ball.
• Nobby Leach began a lengthy speech, and the Great Hall's audience grew drowsy as he spoke.
• Alphard read the Daily Prophet's report on Tom, including its claim that he descended from the House of Gaunt, and Tom burned the newspaper after Alphard reached a photo of Tom and Nelson.
• Tom went looking for Nelson, who was serving detention with McGonagall, while Alphard revealed he had another newspaper copy.
• Nelson arrived, read an article claiming Durmstrang's Champion might resist Grindelwald, and warned Alphard not to spread fake news before going to find Tom.

Sigmund recruited Nelson to take part as an opponent in the Triwizard Tournament’s first round, which would involve the Champions facing a series of challengers. Dumbledore and Constance agreed to Sigmund’s plan for an unpredictable competition, while Tom learned that the classmates the Champions had in mind would appear in the arena.

• Nelson encountered Sigmund in a corridor, and Sigmund led him into an empty classroom to discuss the tournament.
• Sigmund asked Nelson to help create the first round by acting as an opponent, explaining that the Champions would face challengers and be judged by their results.
• Sigmund revealed that he suspected someone was trying to manipulate the tournament and chose Nelson because of his ties to all three schools.
• Sigmund told Dumbledore and Constance that the first round would be an unknown adventure, and both agreed to his proposal.
• McGonagall reminded the Champions that their dance partners had to attend their own schools, while Sigmund said the three classmates they had in mind would appear in the arena.

Tom asked Nelson to serve as his assistant in the Triwizard Tournament, and Nelson agreed before telling him about Newt’s invitation to meet at the Three Broomsticks. Back in the Slytherin Common Room, they caught Alphard and the other students investigating Nurmengard, and Tom prepared to confront them.

• Tom explained that Minerva had asked the Triwizard Champions to name a student who had left a deep impression on them, and he chose Nelson as a potential assistant for a wizard duel.
• Nelson agreed to help Tom and told him that Newt had invited him, Tom, and Filius to the Three Broomsticks on Wednesday.
• Nelson and Tom headed back to the Common Room, where a falling chandelier nearly hit them and they discussed Sigmund and the Tournament’s organizers.
• Tom and Nelson entered the Common Room and interrupted Alphard as he described a photograph of a Pythia statue at Nurmengard.
• Tom summoned Alphard’s photograph and said he would not cheat on Nelson’s event, while Nelson asked the Slytherins to show him the newspaper they were reading.

Nelson defended Myrtle from Olive Hornby’s bullying and asked her to be his dance partner. After dealing with the incident, Nelson and Tom left Hogwarts and met Newt and Filius at the Three Broomsticks.

• Nelson turned down a Beauxbatons student’s invitation, then met Alphard, who said he had already found a dance partner.
• Nelson greeted Myrtle and saw Olive Hornby mock her; Alphard explained that Olive kept harassing Myrtle when Tom was absent.
• Nelson confronted Olive, bound him with a Full Body-Bind Curse, and asked Myrtle how she wanted to punish him.
• Professor Sakes freed Olive, took him away for detention, and deducted one hundred points from Ravenclaw; Nelson left golden words on Olive’s back.
• Nelson invited Myrtle to the ball, and she agreed to be his partner and offered to teach him to dance.
• Nelson and Tom left through the Chamber of Secrets and Apparated to the Three Broomsticks, where Newt and Filius were waiting.