Chapter Summaries

On Christmas Eve, Jonas gave Tom an amber pendant and told him that he had finally met the requirements to adopt him and Nelson. At dinner, Nelson recognized that a notebook Jonas bought from a Polish witch might contain real magic, and Jonas began recounting how he met her.

• Jonas gave Tom a piece of amber as a birthday present and invited him and Nelson downstairs to eat.
• Jonas told the boys he had met the requirements to adopt them, and the family discussed their plans and the education at Hogwarts.
• Nelson and Tom debated Divination, while Jonas produced a notebook he had bought from a witch in Poland.
• Nelson suspected the notebook contained a genuine magical technique and asked to keep it.
• Jonas said the witch was named Lorian Konalo and recalled that she claimed to have fallen from the sky while searching for a way home.

Nelson and Tom returned to their London orphanage, where they reunited with gatekeeper Mr. Barton and Mrs. Cole. Mrs. Cole told them the orphanage was overcrowded and, moved by Tom’s gift of chocolate to the children, hoped they would all eventually leave as Nelson and Tom had.

• Nelson and Tom visited the alley where they had once been robbed and looked through photographs from their time at the orphanage.
• They reached the orphanage and spotted a boy watching from Nelson’s old room; Tom frightened him with a throat-slitting gesture.
• Mr. Barton recognized Nelson and Tom, welcomed them inside, and hurried to tell Mrs. Cole they had returned.
• Mrs. Cole scolded them for coming back, then greeted them warmly and said they had grown taller.
• Mrs. Cole described the growing number of homeless children and told Tom that the children had loved his chocolate.
• Tom comforted Mrs. Cole as she became tearful, and she said she hoped every child could leave the orphanage and never have to return.

Nelson and Tom visited their former orphanage, where Nelson photographed the children and encountered Christian Jewell, a young Wizard struggling with her reputation as a thief. After he left, Martha followed them and told Nelson she believed he had saved her and was a good person.

• Nelson and Tom joined Mrs. Cole and the orphanage children for a group photograph with Nelson's magical camera.
• At their old table, Nelson recognized Christian Jewell as the thief who had stolen his wallet, and Tom refused to eat beside her.
• Christian grew distressed as she spoke about being a swindler's daughter, and Nelson warned Tom that she might be an untrained Wizard under magical stress.
• Nelson told Christian he would return to talk the next day, then left the orphanage with Tom.
• Martha chased after Nelson and told him she knew he had saved her and believed he was a good person.

On Christmas morning, Nelson received a warning from Dumbledore about a girl whose uncontrolled magic could make her an Obscurial, along with a remedy to deliver to her. After exchanging gifts with Tom and Jonas, Nelson prepared to visit the girl.

• Nelson woke to find claw marks on his face and read Dumbledore’s letter asking him to find the girl and give her something to curb the risk of becoming an Obscurial.
• Nelson and Tom wished each other a merry Christmas, and Jonas gave Tom a protective necklace and Nelson a lavish cane.
• Dumbledore arrived as a Phoenix Patronus and gave Nelson a nut to take to the girl.
• Dumbledore apologized to Jonas and Bella for asking Nelson to help on Christmas, then departed, and Jonas urged the boys to eat before setting out.

Nelson and Tom visited West City Orphanage to help Christian Jewell after she stole from them, but Christian rejected their kindness and her emotions unleashed destructive magic. Tom calmed her by admitting he had stolen too and revealing that she was a Wizard, then entered her room and asked her to invite them in.

• Nelson apologized to Mrs. Cole and said he and Tom had come to help Christian, who had stolen from them.
• Christian appeared, threw Nelson his wallet, and ran upstairs; Nelson and Tom followed her to Nelson's former room.
• Christian rejected Nelson's offer of help, revealed she had been forced into theft and feared being sold, and unleashed powerful magic that cracked the corridor wall.
• Tom stopped Nelson from stunning Christian, told her he had stolen things too, and said they were alike.
• Tom revealed Christian was a Wizard, replaced her ruined newsboy cap with a new one, and asked her to invite them inside.

Nelson and Tom told Christian Jewell that she was a Wizard and learned about her difficult past. Christian accepted Tom’s kindness and began describing how she had become an orphan and survived on the streets.

• Nelson used magic to transform an umbrella into a stool and explained that Christian was a Wizard who could attend a school of magic.
• Christian told Nelson that her magic first appeared when she was five and unexpectedly lit a fireplace.
• Tom reassured Christian that not knowing her birthday was common among the orphanage’s children, then used Scourgify to clean her face and hair.
• Tom offered Christian his Wand, and she carefully accepted it, touched it, and returned it to him.
• At Nelson’s request, Christian recounted how her adoptive father had been killed and how she was later caught by human traffickers and forced to steal to survive.

Christian told Tom and Nelson about her past, and they reassured her that she could control her magic and would be welcome at Hogwarts. Back at Nicklaus House, Tom discovered that his Collared Owlet had escaped or been taken, leaving its cage wrecked and bloodied.

• Christian asked whether Germany was recruiting magical people, and Nelson warned her about the danger of becoming an Obscurial before assuring her that she was safe.
• Tom questioned Christian about stealing, and she broke down and explained that she had wanted to buy sweets so the other rescued children would play with her.
• Nelson gave Christian a handkerchief, and Tom comforted her as she cried in his arms.
• Tom and Nelson reinforced the Transfiguration on Christian's plaster newsboy cap so it could last for a year, then returned to Nicklaus House.
• Nelson told his aunt and uncle Christian's story, and they were moved by it.
• Tom found his Collared Owlet's cage twisted into scrap metal, with bloodstained feathers nearby, and said he had not named it yet.

After a huge snake killed Tom’s Collared Owlet, Tom resolved to hunt it down with Nelson that night. He suspected his Parselmouth ability could help track it and prepared an ownerless Wand for Nelson.

• Jonas examined the trail and concluded that an unusually large python had entered Tom’s room and crushed the Birdcage.
• Tom mourned his Collared Owlet, while Nelson comforted him and Jonas led the others downstairs.
• Jonas argued that the snake was not an ordinary python, and Tom later insisted he was fine and refused to replace his owl.
• Tom told Nelson that he would hunt the snake that night and said his Parselmouth ability would help him track it.
• Tom gave Nelson an ownerless Fir Wand and proposed that they test their magical studies on the beast.

Nelson and Tom searched the streets of London for a giant snake, using Tom’s Parseltongue to summon snakes and track their prey. They found a huge creature waiting in ambush, and the chapter ended as it emerged from the dust.

• Nelson thanked Tom for the comics and warned him to dress like a Muggle before they left to hunt the snake.
• Tom summoned a swarm of snakes at an intersection and ordered them to search the streets.
• Tom explained that the snakes were following the trail of a conspicuous giant python, and he teased Nelson with a small snake.
• A giant black snake ambushed Nelson and Tom, and their spells failed to injure it.
• Nelson and Tom faced the huge snake as its glowing green eyes and coiled body emerged from the dust.

Tom and Nelson fought a giant snake with a black serpent conjured by Tom and traps made by Nelson. Tom realized the creature was actually a person just before it escaped, leaving them to pursue it.

• Tom summoned a black serpent while Nelson held back the giant snake with repeated Impediment Jinxes.
• The two serpents battled, and Nelson hurled chunks of earth into the fight, but the giant snake eventually crushed Tom’s black mist.
• Tom gathered the scattered smoke into a smaller Black Python as Nelson pinned the giant snake with transformed spikes and wrapped ground.
• Nelson began tightening the cage to kill the trapped snake, but Tom stopped him after hearing it hiss.
• The giant snake broke free and fled, and Tom told Nelson it was a person before chasing it and calling after it in Parseltongue.

Tom Riddle and Nelson Williams escaped the scene after a battle with a snake-like enemy, then returned to speak with the Ministry’s Magical Accident Reversal Squad. The chapter left them being questioned about the damage, while Tom insisted the snake had once been human and Nelson sought to learn what it was.

• Tom and Nelson decided not to pursue the snake through the sewers, and Tom sent other snakes after it while they left the damaged street for the Ministry to repair.
• Nelson doubted that the enemy had been human, while Tom said the snake had told him it used to be a person.
• Nelson returned with Tom to the battle site, hid their wands, and summoned Tom’s wand from Nicklaus House, breaking a window.
• A Magical Accident Reversal Squad arrived, and Tom and Nelson introduced themselves as nearby first-year Slytherin students.
• A squad member brought Tom and Nelson to the red-nosed official, who began asking whether they lived nearby.

Tom and Nelson met Dorian Weasley at the site of a battle, where he explained that evidence pointed to a huge magical creature fighting a dark wizard. After inspecting their wands, Dorian let them go and gave them his name in case the Ministry needed to question them again.

• Dorian Weasley showed Tom and Nelson the blood and damaged ground, explaining that a large magical creature had likely fought a dark wizard there.
• Dorian summoned a broken spike and described its unusual metal exterior, warning the boys to keep their distance.
• Dorian inspected Nelson's wand with Priori Incantatem and saw that Nelson had used Transfiguration to make and reinforce a little girl's hat.
• Dorian inspected Tom's wand and saw unfamiliar characters and patterns among the spells it had cast.
• Dorian introduced himself as the head of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad and told Tom Riddle and Nelson Williams how to contact him.

Nelson and Tom prepared to travel to Diagon Alley on the Knight Bus after joking about Divination and saying goodbye to Jonas and Bella. The chapter left them aboard the bus, where Ern Prang served them hot cocoa and explained the fare.

• Nelson mocked Divination and predicted that Germany would attack Poland when school started the following year, while Tom agreed to have their classmates witness the prediction.
• Nelson and Tom waited for the Knight Bus early in the morning as Jonas and Bella saw them off.
• The Knight Bus appeared, and Ern Prang introduced himself as its conductor and offered to take them anywhere on land.
• Tom and Nelson boarded the bus for Diagon Alley, and Nelson paid two Galleons for their fares and hot cocoa.
• Ern Prang offered to warm Nelson's socks, then joked that the bus lost so much money from its discounts that the crew could only live aboard it.

Nelson and Tom arrived in Diagon Alley, where they explored the shops and met Augusta, who mistook Nelson’s friendship with Minerva McGonagall for a romance. While they waited at Fortescue’s ice cream parlor for someone to meet them, a weary man arrived and asked Nelson whether he had brought it.

• Nelson and Tom left the Knight Bus at Diagon Alley after washing up during the ride.
• They explored the crowded alley, dodged an amulet seller, and encountered Augusta, who recognized Nelson as Minerva McGonagall’s friend.
• Augusta assumed Nelson and Minerva were dating, and Nelson and Tom corrected her before leaving.
• Nelson and Tom shopped and ate hot drinks at Fortescue’s while waiting for someone to arrive.
• A travel-worn man sat down beside them and asked Nelson if he had brought it.

Nelson and Tom met Aberforth Dumbledore, who collected a package from Nelson and warned them that Albus was willing to put others in danger. After Aberforth accepted Nelson’s defense of Albus and left, the boys struggled to choose lunch until Augusta invited them into a shop where McGonagall, Flitwick, and a giant boy were gathered.

• A boisterous chestnut-haired man interrupted Nelson and Tom, introduced himself as Aberforth, and took the package Albus had entrusted to Nelson.
• Aberforth warned the boys that Albus hid behind others and gave dangerous tasks to the weak, while Tom rejected the insult and Nelson defended Professor Dumbledore.
• Nelson told Aberforth he understood Albus better than Aberforth did, prompting Aberforth to say he liked Nelson and would teach him properly.
• Aberforth left for Hogsmeade, and Fortescue revealed that he had paid the boys’ bill.
• Nelson and Tom wandered Diagon Alley unable to decide what to eat until Augusta led them into a shop, where McGonagall was talking with Flitwick and an enormous boy.

Nelson and Tom joined Flitwick, McGonagall, Augusta, and the young Rubeus Hagrid for a Christmas meal and a discussion of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Flitwick described the legendary Deathly Hallows, leaving Tom fascinated by the possibility of powerful magic and artifacts.

• Flitwick welcomed Nelson and Tom, and McGonagall exchanged teasing remarks with Augusta as the group gathered to eat.
• Nelson introduced himself to Rubeus Hagrid, who said he expected to attend Hogwarts the year after next, and Tom recommended that he join Slytherin.
• McGonagall explained that scholars believed some of the fairy tales might have real magical origins, while Augusta said the group had already found clues.
• Tom asked whether a Wizard could gain strength by hiding his heart, and Flitwick explained that the heart was not inherently a magical weakness.
• Flitwick described the Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone, and Invisibility Cloak as the Deathly Hallows, then cautioned that a Wizard's strength could not come from external objects.

Nelson and Tom discussed fate, belonging, and Hagrid’s painful family history during a lively gathering with their classmates. Later, Tom sensed that the snake they had encountered was nearby and revealed that she was a woman named Nagini, afflicted by a Blood Malediction.

• Nelson reflected on his uncertain place in history, then reassured McGonagall that love mattered more than whether someone was a Wizard or a Muggle.
• Hagrid shared a photograph of his father and explained that his giant mother had left him feeling like a burden; Nelson offered to take a new photograph of him.
• Tom told Hagrid to keep his family story secret, and later told Nelson that he understood what it was like to be feared and isolated.
• Tom sensed a presence beneath the streets, led Nelson away, and said the snake was once a human woman transformed by Dark Magic.
• Tom identified the snake as Nagini, a woman suffering from an irreversible Blood Malediction.

Tom and Nelson followed a disused pipe into an underground cavern, where Tom confronted a Giant Python and Nelson transformed a ruined bridge so he could cross. Tom introduced the snake as Nagini, a Maledictus who had escaped from the United States to London, and said she was now his subordinate and friend.

• Tom and Nelson reached a cracked riverbed and entered an abandoned pipe leading underground.
• They emerged into a vast cavern filled with strange creatures and found a Giant Python coiled around a stone pillar.
• Tom used a serpent of black mist to confront the Giant Python, which lowered its head and accepted him.
• Nelson reshaped the crumbling bridge into a sturdy covered bridge and crossed to Tom.
• Tom introduced the Giant Python as Nagini, a Maledictus afflicted by Dark Magic who had escaped from the United States to London, and said he had forgiven her.

Nelson and Tom returned home after meeting Nagini, whose transformation into a snake had left her isolated, and Nelson promised to find a way to help her. The next morning, Nelson and Tom boarded the Hogwarts Express, where a photograph from the orphanage revealed an inexplicable image of happiness.

• Tom and Nelson spoke with Nagini in the underground cavern, and Nelson reassured her that he would seek help reversing her transformation.
• Tom told Nelson that Nagini had suffered a Blood Malediction and had been close to an Obscurial.
• Bella scolded Tom and Nelson for returning late, then sent Nelson to tell Jonas they were home.
• Nelson massaged Jonas's shoulders as Jonas described rising tensions in Europe and warned that war was coming.
• Jonas told Nelson to seek out his old friends if Jonas was ever gone and urged him to pursue editing or poetry.
• On the Hogwarts Express, Nelson and Tom examined a photograph from the orphanage that showed the children and Mrs. Cole in an unexpectedly joyful Christmas scene.

Nelson and Tom investigated an attack on the Hogwarts Express after it suddenly stopped, and they helped Aberforth capture one of the attackers. Aberforth identified the man as a follower of Grindelwald and warned the boys that two more were fighting near the front of the train.

• Aberforth disguised as Professor Dumbledore examined Nelson’s photographs and warned him about the Mirror of Erised.
• The train lurched to a halt after an explosion, and Tom and Nelson learned that the train was under attack.
• Tom and Nelson moved through the carriages, using a transformed mouse and a portable tent to ambush an attacker in the dining car.
• Aberforth revealed himself beneath the meat rack, and Nelson found a locket bearing Grindelwald’s symbol on the captured attacker.
• Aberforth bound the attacker and told Nelson and Tom that two more assailants were fighting a teacher and three students near the front of the train.