Chapter Summaries

Nelson gave up advanced Potions after Professor Slughorn equipped him with antidotes and a hidden Potions kit, then went with Tom to Hogsmeade to buy Alchemy supplies. There they spotted Daguerre fleeing from his emptied shop, and Nelson hurled a Thunder Spear after him.

• Professor Slughorn signed Nelson's course form after Nelson reassured him that he would keep studying Potions, then gave him a kit of labeled Potions and antidotes.
• Nelson told Tom that Slughorn had prepared the antidotes because he feared Potions might endanger Nelson, and the two set off for Hogsmeade to buy Alchemy materials.
• Tom and Nelson found the Hog's Head Inn shut and noticed signs that its back door had been picked.
• Nelson saw Daguerre flee from his empty alchemy shop, and Tom noted that Daguerre split into three fleeing images.
• Nelson formed and hurled a Thunder Spear after Daguerre, blasting through the buildings as Tom watched.

Nelson tracked down and confronted Daguerre, who revealed that he sought a pair of eyes and claimed an unseen force was manipulating the story. Daguerre escaped through an explosive trap, while Nelson’s uncontrolled magic manifested as a falcon with humanlike black eyes.

• Nelson and Tom found Daguerre beneath a pile of cherries after Nelson tracked him using the magical signature on the camera.
• Daguerre said he had come to Britain as the last sinner of the Second Salemers to find something that needed to be destroyed, then identified Nelson’s black eyes as the object he sought.
• Daguerre claimed Nelson was an intruder who had disrupted the plot and offered to reveal who had started it all.
• Nelson attacked Daguerre with an iron fist, and Daguerre mentioned that Muggles in the Americas were venerating Nelson’s totem before an explosive trap detonated.
• Tom Apparated away with Nelson, whose magic broke through Tom’s Word Spirit Art and formed a falcon with humanlike black eyes.
• Nelson apologized to Tom for losing control and failing to ask Daguerre the questions he needed answered.

Nelson used the nameplate to strike back at Daguerre and sent a team to investigate his shop, but Daguerre escaped their raid. Nelson concluded that Daguerre’s magic was unusually ancient and wondered why he had gone near Hogwarts.

• Nelson explained that Daguerre could sense his alchemical work through the nameplate, then decided to keep their connection and use it to track him.
• Nelson ordered a messenger to have Penguin study the Desire Camera and to investigate Daguerre’s aliases and shop in the Hidden Place.
• Nelson used a curse through the nameplate, causing Daguerre to suffer a terrifying vision and abandon his silver suitcase as he escaped by turning into moths.
• Acolytes raided Daguerre’s empty shop, seized the suitcase and hat, and were ordered to remove nearly everything from the premises.
• Nelson told Tom that Daguerre’s magic seemed unlike a Wizard’s and wondered what Daguerre had been doing near Hogwarts.

Nelson attended Professor Binns's advanced History of Magic class as its only student and learned about Northern European magic and his Wiltening ancestry. After an unusually expansive lecture, Tom pulled him away and headed to register their group for Filius's Duelling Club.

• Nelson arrived early with a bottle of gin for Professor Binns and learned that Myrtle Warren had dropped the advanced History of Magic course for Arithmancy.
• Professor Binns gave Nelson a passionate lesson on Northern European magical history, explaining that Ragnarok had not destroyed its wizards and that Wiltening was an ancient wizarding family famed for fluid Transfiguration.
• Nelson filled a notebook with the lecture's material and learned that he might be the only descendant of the Wiltening family.
• Tom found Nelson in the classroom after the lesson and pulled him away from his notes as second-year students arrived.
• Nelson demonstrated runic pronunciations and their magical effects to Tom, who said Professor Binns's lessons were Nelson's exclusive treasure.
• Tom told Nelson he was going to register their group for Filius's Duelling Club, and Nelson expressed interest in dueling Filius.

Nelson and Tom visited Flitwick’s new Duelling Club, where Tom was ambushed as part of a surprise test and Alastor Moody became its first student to register. After leaving the club, Nelson followed a vague urge to the Forbidden Forest, where Credence revealed himself and asked Nelson to keep his distance.

• Tom opened the Duelling Club door while carrying McGonagall’s gift and was blasted backward by a pre-set jinx, then charged inside to duel Flitwick.
• Nelson entered the classroom with the gift, and McGonagall, Flitwick, and Tom ended their awkward exchange after Tom complained about being ambushed.
• Alastor Moody arrived after solving Flitwick’s riddle, signed the registration form, and learned that Duelling Club activities would begin the following week.
• Tom and the professors discussed Moody’s talent and ambition, then shared stories about magical impersonation and the need to stay alert around familiar people.
• Nelson checked that Adele was happy in Herbology, left the castle, and reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
• Credence emerged from the shrubs, said he had used an Invisibility Cloak to find Nelson, and asked him not to approach; Nelson asked whether Nagini was all right.

Nelson met Credence Barebone, who warned that Adele might be an Obscurial and asked to stay with her so he could help control it. Nelson agreed to let Credence take his form and protect Adele while he was away, but bound him to the task with an Unbreakable Vow and gave him a Small Silver Ball for emergencies.

• Nelson thanked Credence for helping Nagini, and Credence revealed the disfiguring damage caused by his Obscurus.
• Credence asked to take Adele away, but Nelson refused and insisted that Adele was an ordinary young witch who could live happily.
• Credence argued that Adele showed signs of being an Obscurial, and Nelson agreed to let her decide whether to meet him.
• Adele recognized Credence as someone who had once tried to save people and approached him with her eyes turning pitch-black.
• Nelson and Credence made an Unbreakable Vow for Credence to take Nelson's form and help control Adele's Obscurus while Nelson was away.
• Nelson gave Credence a Small Silver Ball that would summon his help if Credence faced danger.

Nelson left Hogwarts after Alphard delivered an urgent message from Pollux about something the Blacks had unearthed beneath a pasture. At Home of Love, Nelson entered the Floo fireplace and was attacked by a dangerous creature, which was drenched by the liquid pouring over him.

• Credence explained why he wanted to help Adele and agreed to impersonate Nelson, while Tom promised to cooperate with him.
• Alphard relayed Pollux's urgent message that the Blacks had found something beneath the pasture, and Nelson hurried to Grimmauld Place.
• Pollux told Nelson the Blacks had nearly finished excavating a dangerous person—or thing—and led him through the Floo to Home of Love.
• Nelson sensed danger, armed himself with a sword and wand, and stepped out of the fireplace.
• A creature lunged at Nelson in the darkness, its teeth scraping against his Shield Charm as foul, scorching liquid drenched him.

Nelson fought off a werewolf-like creature and crossed a concealed passage into the wine cellar where Pollux and the other Black family Wizards had been attacked. Their account revealed that Dr. Sakes had stored grotesque experiments combining human and magical-creature parts, and the group was left to confront the creature that had emerged from the barrels.

• A monster ambushed Nelson, but he wounded it with his sword and magic before it crashed into a boiling blood pool.
• Nelson identified a bone from the pool as a werewolf’s tibia, then deciphered the runes concealing a passage through the underground testing ground.
• Nelson passed through the hidden barrier and found Pollux and a group of injured Wizards in the cellar.
• Pollux explained that the Black family Wizards had discovered Dr. Sakes’s store of rare alchemical materials and barrels containing increasingly refined human–creature experiments.
• The Wizards described a black, spined claw attacking them as the walls retreated and their temporary fireplace vanished.

Nelson examined the Black family’s grotesque specimens and concluded that the creature that attacked them was a later, more capable experiment by Dr. Sakes. He discovered three messages scratched inside a barrel, confirming that the creations might possess human brains and intelligence, and warned Pollux not to hand the site over to Nurmengard.

• Nelson inspected the specimens and recorded their features, while Pollux ordered fires lit in the Bunker to keep him warm.
• Nelson told Pollux that the creature that attacked them was the same kind of experiment as the specimens, and described its formidable abilities.
• Nelson speculated that the creature was designed to kill Wizards and considered whether it could use magic or abilities from magical creatures.
• Nelson examined the empty barrels and found faint scratches inside the last one, then cleaned the wood to reveal three messages written in different hands.
• Nelson and Pollux concluded that the creatures might have human brains and intelligence, and Nelson warned Pollux not to hand the site over to Nurmengard.

Pollux’s group surfaced at Dr. Sakes’s abandoned estate, where Nelson burned the human-like experimental subjects with Fiendfyre and wondered why one seemed familiar. Elsewhere, Gioconda woke from a nightmare in the woods, unaware that two watchers were tracking her and planning their next move.

• A bespectacled Black wizard spread false gossip about Nelson before the butler rebuked him for lying about his master.
• Pollux surveyed Dr. Sakes’s estate, retched at the thought of his experiments, and ordered the Black wizards to follow Nelson’s instructions and seal the site.
• Nelson examined the last experimental subject, questioned its strange familiarity, and set it alight with Fiendfyre.
• The fire consumed the subject and blew the rotten door off the Home of Love, while Nelson reached toward the woman’s face.
• Gioconda woke from a nightmare, soothed Gangbeng, and went back to sleep in her makeshift tent.
• Two watchers argued over how to preserve Gioconda’s belief that she had escaped them, while she slept unaware.

Credence, disguised as Nelson, wandered through Hogwarts and learned about the school’s defenses and Grindelwald’s growing strength from a talking suit of armor. He reached Ancient Runes with Tom, who was immediately called on by the professor.

• Credence disguised himself as Nelson and praised Professor Slughorn before leaving the Potions classroom without attending class.
• Credence lost his way through Hogwarts, accidentally encouraged two students, and reached the corridor outside the Headmaster’s Office.
• A suit of armor recognized Nelson’s disguise as a possible sign of the Disguise Thief and told Credence about Hogwarts’s protections and Grindelwald’s forces.
• The armor directed Credence to the Ancient Runes classroom, where he joined Tom and learned that Tom had arranged to record the lesson for Nal.
• Tom told Credence to write to Nal during class, but the professor immediately called on Tom to answer a question.

Tom brought Credence to examine Adele, whose eyes showed signs of a newly formed Obscurus despite Nelson having destroyed the creature that emerged from her. Credence helped Adele resist the force inside her, and she unexpectedly unleashed enough power to tear open the Room of Requirement’s ceiling, though she said she could not hear its voice.

• After class, Credence said Tom was nothing special, and Tom reminded him that the lesson had only been an introduction.
• Tom and Credence went to find Adele and brought her to the Room of Requirement, where Credence crushed the iron bed that frightened her.
• Credence inspected Adele’s eyes while Tom explained how Nelson had pulled Obscuruses from victims and destroyed them.
• Credence used his own power to make the dark lines in Adele’s eyes retreat, then urged her to focus on something that would help her resist.
• The ceiling burst open above them, and Credence praised Adele for the power she had released.
• Credence asked Adele whether she could hear the Obscurus’s voice, and she firmly said she could not.

Nelson entered the woman’s memories and witnessed Dr. Sakes’s experiments, his allies’ schemes, and Professor Dippet’s conflict with Salem over an Obscurial. He woke in the burning Bunker, closed the woman’s eyes, and escaped with Pollux as the bodies burned.

• Nelson discovered he was trapped inside the woman’s memories and watched Dr. Sakes revive her using a body assembled from human parts.
• Nelson learned that Isobel was Mrs. McGonagall, Dr. Sakes intended to use his younger daughter as a vessel for his wife, and Daguerre had supplied Wizards for his experiments.
• Dr. Sakes offered Isobel a way to give her husband magic, but she rejected his proposal and recoiled at his ideas.
• Professor Dippet arrived with Salem, accused her of being unworthy of helping his grandson Barry, and threatened the Scourers and anti-Wizard Muggles if Barry remained an Obscurial.
• Nelson heard someone announce a prophecy, then woke as Pollux called to him from above the Fiendfyre.
• Nelson closed the dead woman’s eyes and left the Bunker while the bodies burned and collapsed behind him.

Nelson used a coordinated Ultimate Shield to contain the destruction caused by the Fiendfyre beneath the Home of Love, then sealed the Underground Palace under a rune-covered metal disk. He gave Pollux Dr. Sakes's research records while keeping a separate notebook for himself.

• Nelson and Pollux arranged for Wizards to cast Ultimate Shield in a funnel around the pit, protecting themselves from the blast.
• Nelson summoned a destructive force that extinguished the Fiendfyre, while the explosion and shockwave injured and disoriented the Wizards.
• Nelson used Apparition to evacuate the Wizards to the Home of Love courtyard, where Pollux distributed a potion for dizziness.
• Nelson stood atop a metal wedge with Alexander and ordered it to kill surviving creatures below and preserve samples from them.
• Alexander struck the wedge and buried the Underground Palace, leaving a rune-covered metal disk flush with the ground.
• Nelson gave Pollux Dr. Sakes's research records but kept a newer leather notebook for himself.

Nelson read Dr. Sakes’s diary and learned how his discovery of a predatory rose led him to develop Sakes Restoration and become consumed by experiments. The diary revealed how his obsession destroyed his family and drew him into a group he called The Abandoned, whom Nelson instead called The Obsessed.

• Dr. Sakes discovered that the rose was a predatory plant that could reproduce rapidly and devour creatures, so he had goblins seal it inside a bunker.
• Dr. Sakes studied the rose’s digested prey and accidentally discovered that its fluids could restore an injured Occamy’s missing body parts, naming the process Sakes Restoration.
• Dr. Sakes increasingly neglected Maria and Melissa as he pursued his research, while Maria’s health deteriorated and Melissa argued with her father.
• Maria died after giving birth to Gioconda, and Dr. Sakes preserved her body and pursued experiments to resurrect her in a perfect body.
• Dr. Sakes met a group he called The Abandoned, and Nelson finished reading the diary and called them The Obsessed.

Nelson discovered that Dr. Sakes’s journal described a magic capable of restoring the dead and creating monsters, but resisted its temptation and sealed it with a blood-powered spell. He and Pollux then agreed to cooperate on Nurmengard’s future trade in Britain, leaving their friendship tied to a business partnership.

• Nelson read Dr. Sakes’s journal and realized Sakes Restoration could resurrect the dead, reshape living creatures, and transfer magic between people.
• Overwhelmed by the journal’s temptation, Nelson’s Lost Mist engulfed him and Pollux, but he regained control and shut the journal.
• Nelson sealed the journal inside a lightning barrier that could not be undone, injuring his arm and explaining that the spell required blood.
• Nelson treated his wounds with Mayflies and Dittany, then promised Pollux compensation and offered him a healing alchemical tool.
• Nelson revealed that Nurmengard would open compliant trade channels to Britain next year, and he and Pollux agreed to make their business partnership strengthen their friendship.

Credence and Tom discussed Adele’s safety and Credence’s past before dueling in the Room of Requirement, after which they became more at ease with each other. Tom gave Credence Nelson’s research on Obscurials and revealed that the Second Salemers’ victims had left gifts for Nelson and Adele, suggesting Adele’s condition might differ from Credence’s.

• Credence asked Tom for a spacious, deserted place to test Adele’s magic, and Tom sent Adele back to the dormitory.
• Tom challenged Credence’s motives and warned him that Nelson would not tolerate Adele being harmed; Credence explained his Unbreakable Vow and his wish to help her.
• Tom demanded a duel to judge Credence’s strength, and Credence released his Obscurus magic to fight him.
• After the duel, Tom gave Credence Nelson’s notes on Obscurials, and Credence described the plans he had made to help Adele control her magic.
• Tom told Credence that the Second Salemers’ victims had left gifts for Nelson and Adele and suggested that Adele’s Obscurus might be different from Credence’s.

Gioconda woke in a hunter’s cabin after Nelson rescued her from Lake Ontario, and she mistook his resemblance and name for reminders of her lost father and relentless pursuers. Though Nelson appeared to be a kind Muggle hunter, he secretly coordinated with two Wizards outside, and the chapter left his role in Gioconda’s pursuit concealed from her.

• Nelson told Gioconda that he had pulled her and her black ferret, Gangbeng, from the frozen lake and that his daughter had changed her clothes.
• Gioconda recognized Nelson’s resemblance to her father and broke down after recalling how Penguin and other Wizards had hunted and tormented her.
• Gioconda learned Nelson’s name and, after explaining it reminded her of a shipwrecked elder, asked to call him Mr. Ship.
• Nelson returned Gioconda’s Wand and said he had stored her other belongings, including an egg, before leaving to retrieve them.
• Outside the cabin, Nelson told two respectful Wizards that the matter would take less than a month and ordered them to prolong the snowfall, freeze the lake, compensate local hunters, and give him Gioconda’s bag.

Gioconda hid beneath Nelson’s bed while Johnny and the other wizards searched for her, but Nelson drove them away with a fake tax dispute. Nelson then used Lost Mist to draw Gioconda closer to him, posing as a protective father whose daughter attended Ilvermorny.

• Gioconda heard Johnny ask Nelson about a young woman, panicked, and crawled beneath the bed.
• Nelson refused to reveal Gioconda’s whereabouts and sent the wizards away by pretending to pay their taxes.
• Nelson told Johnny and Joseph that he needed Gioconda to reveal the information in her mind of her own free will, while his men discussed his plan to earn her trust.
• Nelson returned to the cabin and found Gioconda beneath the bed, and she claimed that her amulet had fallen there.
• Nelson told Gioconda that his daughter had been taken to Ilvermorny, and Gioconda began to trust him as she inhaled the Lost Mist.

Gioconda recovered in Nelson's cabin, where his kindness reminded her of family and prompted her to reveal that she knew about magic. The chapter ended with Gioconda introducing herself and offering to teach Nelson about magical creatures and his daughter’s education at Ilvermorny School.

• Nelson reminisced about his daughter while Gioconda watched him and considered offering help, but he left to prepare dinner before hearing her offer to tell him about his daughter.
• Gioconda waited anxiously for Nelson to return through the blizzard, and he came back with fish and ingredients for soup.
• When Gioconda said she had no home, Nelson offered to take her in and find her work in the spring, then gave her his daughter’s boots and made dinner with her.
• Nelson released Gangbeng from its cage after Gioconda explained that it was her pet, a Niffler that collected shiny things.
• Gioconda told Nelson that magical creatures were different from ordinary animals and offered to teach him about them and his daughter’s education at Ilvermorny School.
• Gioconda introduced herself as Gioconda Sakes, and she and Nelson shared a warm smile.