Chapter Summaries

Harry brought Veratia to meet Walburga at the Black home, where they joined Sirius, Lupin, and the others. At dinner, Hermione defended House-Elf rights, but Kritcher insulted her and offered a grudging apology after Sirius intervened.

• Walburga welcomed Veratia warmly after seeing that Harry approved of her, and Veratia teased Harry about Sirius being Walburga’s “dog son.”
• Sirius showed the group his old room and a box of Quidditch equipment, but Ron opened it and was struck in the face by a Bludger.
• Veratia and Cassandra traded barbs while Pabbie woke from a nap, and Kritcher summoned everyone to dinner.
• Hermione criticized wizarding treatment of House-Elves, and Kritcher called her a Mudblood and rejected her sympathy.
• Sirius ordered Kritcher to apologize to Hermione, and Kritcher reluctantly apologized while telling her to stop thinking only about herself.

Hermione’s defense of Kritcher ended in conflict, but Harry’s scar began hurting at the Black family home, where the group discovered Kritcher was under the Imperius Curse and claimed Regulus Black was alive. As Harry planned to seek help from Hogwarts, the room darkened and Kritcher vanished, leaving Sirius and Lupin preparing for an attack.

• Kritcher rebuked Hermione for interfering in House Elves’ affairs, and Veratia comforted her before the group ate his cooking.
• Harry’s scar began throbbing, and Veratia and Cassandra investigated possible causes before Cassandra revealed a House Elf-shaped figure attacking Veratia.
• Veratia restrained Kritcher, who claimed Regulus Black was alive and had ordered him to purify the Black family home.
• Sirius demanded to know where Regulus was, but Kritcher refused to reveal anything, so Harry proposed asking Professor Snape for Truth Serum.
• Harry warned that Voldemort may have turned the house into a trap, then the room darkened and Kritcher disappeared from Sirius’s grasp.

Harry witnessed Voldemort murder James and Lily Potter in a strange memory-like vision, then heard Voldemort apologize and offer information in exchange for help destroying the diary Horcrux. Harry awoke among his friends and learned that Kritcher had been found unconscious in the Kitchen fireplace, apparently cursed.

• Harry found himself alone in a dark vision of Godric's Hollow and watched Voldemort enter the Potters' home.
• James Potter tried to defend his family without a wand, but Voldemort killed him and confronted Lily in the nursery.
• Lily challenged Voldemort, and he killed her, but her Ancient Magic protected baby Harry and caused Voldemort to explode into ash.
• The present-day Voldemort appeared to Harry, apologized for showing him the deaths, and offered information if Harry destroyed the diary Horcrux.
• Harry rejected Voldemort's offer for the moment, then awoke in bed as Veratia told him Kritcher had been found unconscious in the Kitchen fireplace.

After Harry recovered from a strange blackout, he told the others that Voldemort had offered to help him find the diary Horcrux, prompting them to debate whether the offer was a trap and alert Dumbledore. Harry also revealed that Voldemort had called Regulus a traitor, giving Sirius hope that his brother had turned against the Dark Lord; Dumbledore and Snape arrived as Sirius and Snape resumed arguing.

• Harry woke after suddenly passing out, and Sirius suspected Voldemort had invaded his mind while Veratia and Cassandra realized they had never taught him Occlumency.
• Cassandra volunteered to train Harry in Occlumency, and Veratia agreed to practice with him as well.
• Harry recounted Voldemort's offer to help destroy the diary Horcrux, and Veratia, Pabbie, Lupin, and the others considered whether the diary's soul fragment had become independently dangerous.
• The group agreed to inform Dumbledore, and Veratia sent Fiona to bring him a message.
• Harry told Sirius that Voldemort had accused Regulus of betraying him, and Sirius decided to question Kritcher about his brother's fate.
• Snape arrived with Dumbledore, traded insults with Sirius, and Cassandra told them to stop bickering.

Dumbledore discussed Voldemort’s mental link to Harry and the group learned that Voldemort was Tom Riddle, while Sirius discovered Lily’s handwritten letter to him. As Sirius reacted to the letter and Pettigrew’s betrayal, Veratia planned a night raid to add something extra to Harry and Cassandra’s Occlumency practice.

• Harry told Dumbledore that Voldemort seemed able to link his consciousness to Harry, and Dumbledore recommended Occlumency to guard against possible control.
• Harry revealed that Tom Marvolo Riddle had rearranged his name into Lord Voldemort, then explained Voldemort’s parentage to Sirius.
• Lupin and Snape took Kritcher to recover before questioning him, while Sirius showed the others to their rooms at the Black family home.
• Sirius found Lily’s handwritten letter describing Harry’s first birthday and gave it to Harry, who read it with Veratia.
• Harry and Sirius discussed Lily’s memories and Pettigrew’s betrayal, and Sirius went to his room in anger.
• Veratia privately planned to add something extra to Harry and Cassandra’s Occlumency practice during a night raid.

Harry and the others learned from Kreacher how Regulus Black had stolen Voldemort’s locket and sacrificed himself in the sea cave. They resolved to find Regulus, but Dumbledore warned that the cave’s Inferi, potion, and other curses required careful preparation.

• Ron showed Harry the plaque on Regulus Black’s bedroom, and Sirius entered the room and recalled his younger brother’s life and love of Quidditch.
• Pabbie reported that Kreacher had woken, and Harry persuaded Walburga’s portrait to command the house-elf to reveal what happened to Regulus.
• Kreacher recounted how Regulus sent him to Voldemort’s cave, then returned to replace the locket and drank the potion himself before the Inferi dragged him underwater.
• Kreacher said he brought the fake locket home but could not destroy it, and Harry connected its black mist to Voldemort’s diary and Pansy’s attempt to awaken the Basilisk.
• Harry urged the group to go to the cave, but Cassandra and Dumbledore warned that they needed to prepare for the Inferi and the cave’s dangerous protections.

Sirius and the others discovered a portrait of Aurelius Gaunt hidden in Regulus’s room and learned that Voldemort had ordered Regulus to destroy it. When Dumbledore awakened Aurelius, the portrait asked whether anyone had seen Harry Potter, leaving the group stunned.

• Harry cautioned Sirius against rushing into Voldemort’s cave, and Dumbledore explained that they had recovered Hufflepuff’s Cup but suspected Voldemort had made Ravenclaw’s Diadem a Horcrux too.
• Kritcher revealed that Voldemort had given Regulus a portrait and that Regulus had been ordered to destroy it.
• Snape safely opened the cursed box, and Harry pulled out a portrait of Aurelius Gaunt, whom Dumbledore identified as Voldemort’s great-uncle and a famed Hogwarts duelist.
• Sirius, Dumbledore, and Snape speculated that Voldemort had planned to kill Regulus for knowing his secrets, while Sirius admitted that he and James had trusted the wrong person.
• Dumbledore awakened Aurelius, who introduced himself and asked whether they had seen Harry Potter.

Harry reunited with Ominis’s portrait, who revealed that Voldemort had made the Resurrection Stone into a Horcrux and disclosed where it and Ravenclaw’s Diadem were hidden. The group learned that Garrick’s tomb was guarded by Acromantulas, while Ominis warned Harry to find a cure for Anne’s curse before rescuing her.

• Harry told Ron that he was the Harry Potter from a century ago, and Ominis greeted him as an old classmate.
• Ominis explained that the Gaunt family ring held the Resurrection Stone and that Voldemort had turned it into a Horcrux.
• Dumbledore and Veratia reviewed the known Horcruxes and planned to find and destroy the remaining ones.
• Ominis revealed that Voldemort had hidden Ravenclaw’s Diadem in the Room of Requirement and the ring in Garrick’s tomb, guarded by Acromantulas.
• Ominis admitted that Voldemort had forced him to share part of the Horcrux-making method and warned Harry that Anne’s curse might spread if she was rescued before it could be cured.

Harry hung Ominis's portrait in the corridor, while Ominis congratulated him on being pursued by Pabbie, Miss Malfoy, and Miss Grindelwald. At Christmas dinner in the Black family home, Veratia served a large Viennese meal, and the evening ended with Sirius teasing Dumbledore about Harry's Firebolt as Snape angrily pulled his knife from the table.

• Harry hung Ominis's portrait beside Walburga's, and Ominis warned him that Veratia and Miss Malfoy would be difficult to handle.
• Hermione brought Jack out of Veratia's wallet, and Sirius discussed parrot food and Hermione's efforts to help House Elves.
• Harry summoned everyone to dinner after Veratia prepared an enormous spread of Viennese dishes.
• Sirius served vintage wine at Christmas dinner, and Dumbledore poured Hermione and Ron small glasses despite their age.
• Sirius teased Dumbledore about criticizing his purchase of a Firebolt for Harry, and Snape pulled his knife out of the table.

At dinner, Veratia and the others discussed Harry’s past, Pabbie’s hopes of regaining a body, and the people connected to Harry’s time travel. After Sirius gave Harry James’s Quidditch medal, Veratia joined Harry in bed, still debating how to make Cassandra’s Legilimency experience unsettling.

• Veratia told the dinner guests she had raised Gellert and traveled a hundred years into the future because of Harry, while the group speculated about his time travel and Voldemort’s motives.
• Pabbie said Mr. LeMay had found a way for her to regain a body, though the potion still needed time to brew.
• After dinner, Sirius cleared his great-uncle’s belongings from Harry’s room and told him how James had named him after the Harry from a hundred years earlier.
• Sirius gave Harry James’s Quidditch medal and explained that Harry had fulfilled James’s dream of becoming a Seeker.
• Veratia slipped into bed beside Harry and considered using Legilimency to reveal something shocking to Cassandra, but hesitated over taking the initiative.

Harry, Sirius, and Dumbledore prepared to travel to the cave where Regulus was trapped, while Veratia and Cassandra reacted to being left behind. The chapter ended with Cassandra retreating to her room after refusing to admit she wanted to go with Harry.

• Sirius told Harry and the others that Kritcher knew the cave’s location, but Dumbledore said he already knew where it was and how to handle it.
• Harry, Sirius, and Dumbledore set out for the cave, and Veratia grabbed Harry’s arm to go with them.
• Cassandra stayed behind and stomped upstairs after saying she did not want to go with Potter.
• Pabbie claimed Cassandra secretly regretted staying behind, while Hermione and Ron argued about whether Cassandra was dangerous.

Harry, Sirius, Veratia, and Dumbledore reached the sea cave where Voldemort hid a fake Horcrux, overcoming the flooded entrance and a blood-locked passage. They stood beside the cavern’s vast lake as its green light revealed the islet at the center, where Dumbledore said the Horcrux lay above a lake full of Inferi.

• Dumbledore explained that young Tom Riddle had brought orphanage companions to the reefs and led the group toward the sea caves where Voldemort hid a Horcrux.
• Veratia and Harry used a spell to force water out of the flooded cave entrance, though the flow dwindled as they encountered magical resistance.
• Dumbledore found Voldemort’s concealed doorway and opened it by sacrificing some of his blood, while Veratia warned him to consult them before taking risks.
• The group entered a vast cavern and found a dark lake with a green-lit islet at its center.
• Dumbledore identified the islet as the location of Voldemort’s fake Horcrux and said Inferi were hidden at the bottom of the lake.

Harry, Dumbledore, Veratia, and Sirius reached the island holding Voldemort’s fake Horcrux and used Harry’s Basilisk, Alfonso, to drink the potion. The Inferi then attacked, and after finding Regulus’s note, Harry said he had a way to locate him quickly.

• Dumbledore summoned the hidden chain and guided the group across the lake in Voldemort’s boat, which carried them safely past the Inferi.
• On the island, Dumbledore determined that the basin’s potion had to be drunk, and Harry summoned Alfonso to drink it instead.
• After Alfonso drank the potion, he suffered intense thirst while the Inferi rose from the lake and surrounded the group.
• Harry protected the island with azure flames, retrieved the fake locket, and found Regulus’s note inside it.
• Sirius wept upon reading Regulus’s message, and Harry said he knew a way to find his younger brother quickly.

Harry and Veratia rescued Regulus from the cave, and Sirius vowed to find a way to restore his brother while accepting leadership of the Black family home. Sirius and Harry pursued a public campaign to clear Regulus’s name and promote Sirius as Minister for Magic, while Christmas brought gifts, flirtation, and family celebrations.

• Harry and Veratia swept the Inferi into the lake, and Harry summoned Regulus’s clothes to pull him out before bringing him back to the Black family home.
• Sirius refused to let Regulus be laid to rest and promised to find a way to free him from being an Inferius; Walburga named Sirius head of the Black family home.
• Harry, Sirius, and Veratia planned to use the Daily Prophet to clear Regulus’s name and prepare public support for Sirius to replace Fudge as Minister for Magic.
• Sirius and Harry gave Rita Skeeter evidence about Regulus, and the Daily Prophet published Skeeter’s embellished story about the Black brothers before news of Regulus’s condition also appeared.
• Harry gave Christmas presents to Cassandra, Veratia, and Pabbie, then thanked Sirius for teaching him how to make the gifts effective.
• Harry, Ron, and Sirius played and fought in the snow before the House Elves prepared a lavish Christmas dinner while Kritcher cared for Regulus.

Sirius hosted Harry and their friends for Christmas, where they celebrated, sang carols, and discussed Veratia’s plans to study and work in Austria. After dinner, Cassandra gave Harry a photograph of the three of them, and Harry discovered that Lady Death had sent him a Gem of Desire that could fulfill his deepest wish.

• Veratia told the group that Gellert had left Nurmengard to get fresh air, then said she planned to study at a Muggle university and work at the Austrian Ministry of Magic after graduation.
• Sirius welcomed Snape to Christmas dinner, toasted Harry and his friends, and the guests shared food and sang Christmas carols.
• Veratia and the others arranged for McGonagall to limit Dumbledore’s sweets after Snape revealed that Dumbledore had developed resistance to Tooth-strengthening Potion.
• Cassandra visited Harry’s bedroom and gave him a photograph of herself, Veratia, and Harry from their trip to Vienna.
• Veratia joined Harry as he opened his presents, and Harry read Lady Death’s note explaining that the Gem of Desire could fulfill his deepest desire.

Harry and Veratia set aside the wish-granting gem until Harry could discuss its cost with Dumbledore and Sirius, while Veratia spent Christmas with him and imposed a sugar-control plan on Dumbledore. After the Daily Prophet printed false stories about Regulus and Veratia, Hermione helped Veratia expose reporter Rita Skeeter as an illegal Animagus and force her to cooperate.

• Veratia warned Harry that the gem might demand an equivalent price, so Harry stored it and checked that Alfonso was safe.
• Veratia gave Harry a Christmas present by kissing him, and the next morning Harry and Sirius shared a coded exchange about his relationship progress.
• Veratia gave Dumbledore a strict sugar-control plan, which Professor McGonagall approved and agreed to supervise.
• Sirius and Veratia found Daily Prophet rumors about Regulus and Veratia, and Hermione deduced that an illegal Animagus had been spying on Grimmauld Place.
• Hermione and Veratia lured Rita Skeeter into a trap, exposed her beetle Animagus form, and Veratia pressured her to correct the stories and help them in the future.

Veratia pressured Rita Skeeter into publishing a sympathetic account of Regulus Black, and the Daily Prophet’s coverage turned the Black brothers into popular heroes while putting pressure on the Ministry. As Sirius considered joining the Auror Office, Veratia hinted that she could have its head replaced.

• Veratia made Rita agree to write about Regulus Black, and Rita suffered pain from a curse when she spoke against Veratia.
• Rita published an article portraying Regulus as a hero, prompting public demands that the Ministry clear his name.
• The Daily Prophet ran a series about Sirius and Regulus, and the brothers gained widespread popularity as Rita steered public opinion.
• Harry told Sirius to use his looks and new fame to build support, explaining that Septimus Malfoy had taught him politics.
• Ron received a letter saying Arthur would visit Sirius at Grimmauld Place, Number 12 after the Christmas holiday.
• Sirius said he wanted to become an Auror, and Veratia considered replacing Rufus Scrimgeour as head of the Auror Office.

Harry and his companions returned to Hogwarts after Sirius’s reputation improved through foreign press coverage, and Vivi suggested a plan to secure him a Ministry position. At Mr. LeMay’s Alchemy Room, Harry asked Lady Death about the wish-granting gemstone, and Vivi proposed using it to restore Pabbie’s body.

• Sirius gave foreign reporters a measured account of his past and Regulus’s rescue, prompting the Ministry of Magic to hold an emergency consultation.
• Vivi suggested that Sirius could take over a Ministry department head position after the Quidditch World Cup, with Dumbledore and Lucius helping arrange it.
• Harry and Vivi discussed visiting Mr. LeMay’s cottage to learn how to use the gemstone, and the group returned to Hogwarts the next morning.
• Harry asked Lady Death whether the gemstone required a price, and she told him he could use it freely.
• Vivi proposed using the gemstone to revive Pabbie instead of making potions.

Harry and his companions delayed using the gem for Pabbie’s resurrection, then Mr. LeMay’s ritual restored her body. When Harry tried the gem on Anne’s curse, the room went dark and James and Lily appeared, leaving Sirius stunned.

• Harry agreed to keep the gem in reserve until Pabbie’s resurrection ritual was complete, while Veratia and Cassandra volunteered the blood and flesh the ritual required.
• Sirius returned to teaching and began studying subjects he had once scorned, motivated by Harry’s expectations.
• On the fourth day, Mr. LeMay began the resurrection ritual, using old Sweeting’s bone, Cassandra’s flesh, and Veratia’s blood to transform the potion.
• The mist cleared to reveal that Pabbie had regained her body, and she immediately asked Harry to use the gem to lift Anne’s curse.
• Harry focused on curing Anne with the gem, plunging the room into darkness; Sirius opened the door to confront intruders and recognized James and Lily.

Harry's Desire gemstone brought James and Lily back, and they reunited with Harry, Sirius, Lupin, and their old friends. As Harry recounted his life and introduced his companions, James and Lily approved of his relationships, while Sirius objected to Veratia; the gathering ended with James learning that Severus Snape taught Potions at Hogwarts.

• Sirius proved to James and Lily that he was their old friend, then introduced them to their grown son Harry.
• James and Lily learned that Veratia had once taught Lily Ancient Magic, and they approved of Harry's closeness with her despite Sirius's objections.
• Sirius told James and Lily about the years since 1981, and Harry explained his journey to the Hogwarts of 1887 and his friendships with Cassandra, Pabbie, and Veratia.
• James and Lily learned that Harry's deepest wish had brought them back through the Desire gemstone, and Lupin reunited with James.
• Sirius revealed that Severus Snape was Hogwarts' Potions professor, prompting James to shout in disbelief as Dumbledore and Snape entered the room.