Chapter Summaries

Tom advanced through the Flying Axes by repeatedly striking them with weak spells to adjust their swinging rhythms, then walked through without looking back while Ludwig and Margaret fell behind. After Tom cleared the obstacle, Margaret bound Ludwig and entered the disordered axes herself, while Nelson told Moody that Tom could always be trusted except in a few cases.

• Tom repeatedly hit the Flying Axes with weak spells, and Nelson told the students that he was about to clear the obstacle.
• Tom removed his robe, put away his Wand, and timed his steps to pass through the Flying Axes while Ludwig and Margaret attacked from behind.
• Ludwig turned his spells on the axes to hinder Tom, but the blades blocked the attacks and Tom continued toward the next stage.
• Margaret bound Ludwig with the Full Body-Bind Curse and explained that Tom had adjusted the axes' rhythm so others could follow his path.
• Tom cleared the final Flying Axe, retrieved and burned the two hairs it had cut, and put his robe back on as Margaret struggled through the axes and Nelson reassured Moody.

Margaret escaped the Flying Axes after confronting her fear, while Tom reached the finish and Ludwig broke free of Devil’s Snare. The chapter ended with Tom unleashing a massive black beam to clear the Ballistae and save Ludwig, with the beam sweeping over Margaret.

• Margaret, badly wounded and trapped among the Flying Axes, recalled Queenie’s advice and admitted she was afraid before overcoming her paralysis.
• Margaret summoned armored Knights to cover her retreat and escaped the axe formation, though her white dress was stained red.
• Tom reached the Bell Jar, then planted his Wand and sent a line of fire back through the Ballistae.
• Margaret sent two sparks toward Ludwig, who burst out of Devil’s Snare but collapsed after being struck by a Flying Axe.
• Tom warned Margaret to get down and fired a huge black beam that pulverized the Ballistae and swept over her head.

Tom's destructive spell nearly killed Ludwig, but Nelson secretly saved Ludwig and his bat companion by pulling them into Limbo. The match was suspended with Tom recognized as the winner, and Nelson later dismissed the Bell Jar's contents as a MacGuffin.

• Tom's spell destroyed the corridor and left Ludwig apparently dead, while Miss Joy treated Margaret and Dumbledore contained the damage.
• Newt used blood to revive Ludwig and explained that Ludwig and his companion were surviving through magical entanglement.
• Nelson revealed that he had entered Limbo and dragged Ludwig and the bat to safety when Tom cast his spell.
• Ludwig woke, Dumbledore suspended the match, and the spectators recognized Tom as the victor.
• A Durmstrang student challenged Nelson and Tom ahead of the final duel, but Alphard dismissed him and walked away with Nelson.
• In the Slytherin Common Room, Nelson guessed that the Bell Jar held nothing important and called its contents a MacGuffin.

Ludwig woke in the hospital wing after the second Triwizard Tournament task and learned that Tom had saved him, while Nelson asked him to confirm Tom’s actions and keep Nelson’s secret. The tournament officials accepted Tom’s explanation, and Dumbledore revealed that the final round would be dueling, with Nelson assigned as Tom’s Dueling Assistant.

• Ludwig woke unable to see and drank Hippogriff blood mixed with Clear-Mind Potion while Nelson explained that his Bat had taken the worst injuries.
• Nelson told Ludwig that Tom’s spell had saved his life, and Ludwig agreed to support Tom’s account and keep Nelson’s secret by giving him a memory.
• Nelson left Ludwig to recover, and Ludwig discovered that Clear-Mind Potion had made his pain and bodily sensitivity worse.
• The organizing committee accepted that Tom had acted to save Ludwig, announced the second-round results unchanged, and asked Tom to submit a written statement.
• Tom told the headmasters that he learned the Disintegration Curse from books in the Chamber of Secrets; Slytherin confirmed he had recorded the spell and wondered why his descendant was surnamed Riddle.
• Dumbledore told Tom that the final round would be dueling and Nelson would be his compulsory Dueling Assistant, then they met Nelson on the way to the hospital wing.

Tom and Nelson discussed the upcoming duel while Dumbledore and Grindelwald argued over Nelson’s powers and Mr. Kant’s erased memories. After the school’s preparations and midterms, the final Triwizard Tournament match began, and Tom waited to compete while Nelson polished his Wand.

• Tom asked Nelson to bet on who would serve as the Champions’ Dueling Assistants, and Nelson predicted Harry Potter would be one of them.
• Dumbledore told Grindelwald that Mr. Kant had lost all his memories, and Grindelwald argued that Nelson could handle the effects of taking on students’ emotions and magic.
• Ludwig returned to class two weeks after the second task, while Nelson spent his time studying and tinkering with scrap metal.
• Alphard won the Halloween Ball’s costume contest with his steel giant outfit, despite a short circuit that shocked his dance partner.
• The final Triwizard Tournament duel began at the Quidditch pitch under rules that barred props other than Wands and sealed the arena once the match started.
• As the first Champions and assistants entered the field, Tom practiced his acceptance speech while Nelson polished his Wand and asked him to stop pacing.

Nelson and Tom used the tournament matches to prepare for an attack by the Second Salemers, and Tom faced the weakened Ludwig before Kaelen revealed himself as an Obscurial. As Kaelen trapped the spectators and attacked Hogwarts, Grindelwald revealed his identity and summoned a mysterious giant fist with Deus Ex Machina.

• Nelson warned Tom that the Second Salemers had sent at least seven Obscurials to Hogwarts and told him not to act recklessly against Kaelen.
• Margaret defeated Ludwig, then Tom let the exhausted Ludwig drain himself during their match until he collapsed.
• Kaelen revealed that a woman called Mother was controlling him, transformed into a huge Obscurial, and surrounded the Quidditch pitch with deadly black flames.
• Grindelwald dropped Sigmund’s disguise, faced Kaelen, and told Dumbledore he would demonstrate his new magic.
• Grindelwald used his marked black Wand to summon a white vortex, from which a rune-covered metal fist struck Kaelen’s Obscurus.

Grindelwald watched as the Obscurus attacked Hogwarts, while Slughorn and Alphard tried to protect the students. The Obscurus survived a powerful counterattack, possessed students with Kaelen’s voice, and challenged Grindelwald, who hinted that Dumbledore was capturing its allies.

• Grindelwald stunned the Obscurus with an iron fist, while officials from three countries stopped the tournament’s guests from attacking him.
• The Obscurus lunged at Slytherin’s stand and drained students’ magic; Slughorn shielded them, and Alphard used a Cheerful Potion to recover and carry unconscious students to rescuers.
• Slughorn held the Obscurus back as professors and Newt rushed to help, until a white-mist vortex appeared and a beam of light pierced the monster.
• An iron fist seized the Obscurus and tore it in half, but it quickly regrew its upper body and grew stronger.
• The Obscurus possessed students from the unguarded Houses, spoke in Kaelen’s voice, and challenged Grindelwald; Grindelwald answered that Dumbledore was catching its allies.

Nelson trapped Salem and the Obscurus in Limbo, where Alexander and the Lost Mist drained their power. After Salem tried to win him over by using Bella’s face, Nelson attacked and demanded answers while the battle at Hogwarts continued.

• Alexander crushed and restrained the Obscurus in Limbo as the Lost Mist and Floaters attacked it.
• Salem recognized Nelson and claimed she wanted to help him, then tried to recruit him by invoking Bella and his past.
• Nelson struck the Obscurus after Salem used Bella’s face and condemned her as a human trafficker who preyed on children.
• Salem threatened that her organization would kill the people Nelson cared about, but Nelson dismissed her threat and demanded answers.
• Grindelwald watched the professors fight the other half of the Obscurus and cast a Water Screen above it.

Grindelwald broadcast footage of the attack at Hogwarts to wizards around the world, exposing the Second Salemers’ abuse and mass production of Obscurials. The broadcast showed Nelson Williams defeating the monster and questioning Salem, then revealed a mysterious figure seated on Alexander’s throne as Grindelwald urged the audience to choose for themselves.

• Grindelwald’s Water Screens appeared across wizarding settlements, and his speech accused Muggles and the Second Salemers of abducting and abusing wizard children.
• A couple watching in the Hidden Place recognized the broadcast’s magic, while Dako worried that Grindelwald’s claims might be true and that the Ministry of Magic was implicated.
• The broadcast showed Alexander dragging the Obscurus away from Hogwarts and revealed that Nelson Williams was fighting it.
• Nelson interrogated Salem, who admitted the group had abducted more than three thousand children and cultivated them as Obscurials.
• The camera revealed a figure seated on Alexander’s throne, and Dako shouted, “Melgan! Wiltening of the Creek!” before Grindelwald concluded, “For the greater good.”

As Grindelwald’s broadcast stirred crowds worldwide, Andre used bribery and recruitment to keep French Aurors from interfering. Nelson defeated Salem’s Obscurus after studying its abilities, then returned to find Hogwarts still under attack as Grindelwald replayed Alexander’s victory.

• Andre blocked the French Aurors from reaching the Water Screen, and the captain accepted a bribe while dismissing the broadcast as an ordinary tournament.
• Jack confronted Andre about corruption and the Aurors’ past failures, then Andre recruited him by claiming he had recognized Jack’s potential.
• Salem’s Obscurus broke free of Alexander and fought back, while Nelson tested its resilience and recorded his observations.
• Nelson repaired Alexander with Floaters and silver magic, then destroyed Salem’s Obscurus with a single punch as an aged voice called out.
• Nelson returned to the Quidditch pitch, where Tom protected classmates from the remaining Obscurus creatures and Grindelwald broadcast Alexander’s victory.
• In Antarctica, a young man watched the miniature Water Screen excitedly while waiting for a messenger and standing beside his research reports.

After the Second Salemers’ attack, Miss Joy struggled to treat traumatized students while Hogwarts began recovering. Nelson, Tom, and Alphard woke exhausted, and the chapter left them facing the political fallout as protests against the International Statute of Secrecy spread.

• Miss Joy treated terrified students in the crowded hospital wing until she fainted from exhaustion.
• Tom recalled Grindelwald taunting Kaelen until the Obscurus’s fragments stopped rejoining, after which Dumbledore ordered the students evacuated and enlisted Tom as his Dueling Assistant.
• Dumbledore and Tom fought the Obscurus’s many split bodies while evacuating the students, with Dumbledore explaining his spells to Tom.
• Alphard joined Nelson and Tom in their dormitory and said Nobby Leach had summoned his father to meet the Muggle Prime Minister.
• Nelson read a newspaper report announcing that anti-International Statute of Secrecy marches had broken out everywhere.

Pollux and Dorian Weasley informed the Muggle Prime Minister that foreign Wizards might enter Britain after an attack at the Triwizard Tournament final, while Pollux offered to help the British government. Back at Hogwarts, Tom hurried off to visit Christian as Alphard left to check on boiling water.

• Pollux and Dorian Weasley went to Number 10 and entered the Prime Minister’s residence, where Pollux met the Prime Minister alone.
• Pollux told the Prime Minister that Muggles had attacked Wizards at the Triwizard Tournament final, that foreign Wizards might come to Britain, and that MACUSA had closed its Floo Network connection.
• The Prime Minister objected that the Wizarding crisis was not Britain’s responsibility, and Pollux asked a portrait to consult Minister Leach before offering his own ideas for helping the British Muggles.
• Tom woke up, talked with Alphard and Nelson about Pollux’s meeting, and hurried out to visit Christian.
• Alphard left after remembering that water was boiling on the stove, leaving Nelson with Question Mark.

Dumbledore asked Nelson to help the Hogwarts students who had fallen unconscious, and Nelson brought him to Limbo to find them. After discovering that a mysterious chain was pulling their souls toward death and that ordinary magic could not affect it, Nelson proposed that they follow it to its source.

• Dumbledore told Nelson that many students, including Miss Jewell, had not awakened and asked for his help.
• In Limbo, Nelson found the Elder Wand inside the Invisibility Cloak and revealed that he wore the Gaunt Ring bearing the Deathly Hallows symbol.
• Nelson turned the Gaunt Ring three times, and Dumbledore witnessed the dead passing through Limbo as their memories joined the Lost Mist.
• Nelson found the unconscious Hogwarts students walking in a group, tethered by a tentacle-like chain that pierced their throats.
• Dumbledore and Nelson discovered that their spells could not affect the students or the chain, and Nelson said they should follow it to the end.

Nelson and Dumbledore rode a magically constructed Hogwarts Express through Limbo toward an enormous stone archway, sharing memories and discussing what each of them saw there. As they reached the arch, the train transformed into a giant that charged toward it, leaving them facing the unknown.

• Nelson blasted a passage through the Mist Wall and shaped Lost Mist into a railway, while Dumbledore joined him aboard a Hogwarts Express-like train.
• Nelson and Dumbledore shared Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and talked about Limbo's changing scenery, Nelson's aunt, and Dumbledore's memories of visiting Florence with Grindelwald.
• The train entered dense fog and approached an immense black stone archway, which both Nelson and Dumbledore could see.
• Nelson tore open the carriage roof and used Transfiguration as the train's carriages gathered around its engine and formed Alexander's giant skeleton and arms.
• Alexander charged toward the archway as Nelson and Dumbledore stood at the front of the train with their wands drawn.

Nelson left the dying Dumbledore with Alexander and raced after Salem, who was crawling toward The Veil. He stopped her at its foot, but Salem’s chains suddenly tightened, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• Dumbledore was crushed by the pressure near The Veil, and Nelson decided to send him back with Alexander.
• Nelson jumped from Alexander, transformed into a white cat, and chased Salem across the plain.
• Nelson caught Salem just before she reached The Veil and pinned her hand beneath his paw.
• Salem tore off her pinned arm and kept crawling, while Nelson restrained her with white wedges and challenged her hatred.
• Salem accused Nelson of sharing her motives, and her chains tightened violently as The Veil remained indifferent.

Nelson defeated Salem in Limbo and resisted the Veil’s pull, then confronted Herpo the Foul. After discovering Salem’s soul inside Herpo, Nelson sent them both into the Veil and left, still wondering whether a Horcrux holder’s soul could survive the death of the original body.

• Salem sacrificed herself in a final explosion, but Nelson survived and killed her with a golden spear beside the Veil.
• Nelson recovered, saw a familiar figure beyond the curtain, and rushed toward the Veil before Jonas urged him to go back.
• Herpo the Foul appeared and told Nelson he planned to outlive him, hoping Nelson might someday lead him to the Veil.
• Nelson pulled Salem’s soul out of Herpo’s body, and Salem walked into the Veil before Nelson pushed Herpo after her.
• Nelson left Limbo and wondered whether the death of a Horcrux holder’s original body would also kill his soul.

Nelson returned to Hogwarts with Dumbledore after resolving the danger on the train, while Dumbledore kept the truth about The Veil to himself. Back at the castle, they found the students recovering, and Tom asked Christian whether he could still duel her once everything was over.

• Nelson reached the red train in Prague, found Dumbledore absent, and waited until the professor returned before they set off again.
• On the journey, Nelson told Dumbledore that The Veil contained a mountain of warm wool socks, and Dumbledore laughed and stopped asking about it.
• Nelson and Dumbledore arrived at Hogwarts, where Question Mark cracked a window while trying to deal with Peeves, and Nelson narrowly avoided the falling glass.
• Dumbledore learned that Joy had fainted and arranged for the exhausted doctors and students to be cared for in an enlarged corridor.
• McGonagall told Dumbledore that Peeves had thrown Mandrakes into the corridor and that Slytherin's points had all been deducted.
• Nelson found Christian pretending to be unconscious, while Tom asked whether he would still get a chance to duel her after everything was over.

Nelson and Tom learned that Christian had dug a secret passage from the Forbidden Forest to Hogsmeade, while Professor Sakes had used it to flee after being exposed. Dumbledore arranged to seal the passage and questioned Christian about how Sakes found it; meanwhile, Sakes disguised herself and joined a wizarding protest.

• Christian pretended to wake up as Tom and Nelson confronted her about the damage and the secret passage.
• Tom told Nelson that Minerva had found the passage and that Nick had seen Christian and Professor Sakes digging and reinforcing it.
• Dumbledore reassured Christian that Hogwarts would manage the consequences of Sakes's disappearance, and Christian admitted she had begun digging the passage last year.
• Dumbledore decided to name the route Jewell Passage and seal its entrance, then asked Christian how Sakes had learned about it.
• Professor Sakes arrived at a wizarding protest in a disguise, took a sign, and shouted in opposition to the International Statute of Secrecy.

Professor Sakes slipped through the anti-International Statute of Secrecy march while evading Professor Slughorn, reflecting on how Borgin Burke had coerced her into supplying venom to the Second Salemers. The marchers clashed with Aurors, and Professor Sakes escaped; afterward, Dumbledore and Slughorn discussed the school’s generations-old secret passage before a silver helmet announced that someone had arrived.

• Professor Sakes questioned a marcher about Grindelwald, then fed him rumors that the Ministry of Magic was cooperating with Grindelwald and slipped away from Professor Slughorn.
• Professor Sakes recalled how Borgin Burke had exploited her family’s Swooping Evil venom to supply the Second Salemers and traffic in people, leaving her implicated in their crimes.
• Professor Sakes joined the march toward the Leaky Cauldron, where Aurors blocked the procession, and she pushed a marcher forward to trigger a rush before escaping into an alley.
• Professor Slughorn returned to Dumbledore’s office and reported that the marchers had clashed with the Aurors, while Dumbledore said Minerva had sent Nelson and Tom to seal the secret passage.
• Professor Slughorn explained that Gryffindors had passed down the tunnel project for decades, and a silver helmet emerged from the fireplace to announce that visitors had arrived.

Nelson and Tom built a trapdoor in the Forbidden Forest while McGonagall questioned why they did not use Transfiguration. In Diagon Alley, Professor Sakes helped trigger a clash between Wizards and Aurors, then escaped into London as a disguised Tom, while a young accomplice headed for Gringotts.

• McGonagall asked Nelson why he was building a trapdoor by hand instead of transforming the tree, and Tom laughed until he dropped a hammer on his foot.
• Professor Sakes took the Leaky Cauldron proprietor Tom’s hammer and smashed the wall separating Diagon Alley from Charing Cross Road, burying two Aurors beneath the rubble.
• A young Wizard praised the plan behind the unrest, left the scene, and headed toward Gringotts after checking its location in his notebook.
• Auror captain Lewis Ogden ordered his subordinate to demand at least fifteen reinforcements as the crowd and Aurors clashed.
• The deputy director let a frightened-looking Tom leave the pub after demanding its keys, and Professor Sakes revealed herself in London and continued toward the Ministry of Magic.