Chapter Summaries

Shanna arrived at the Defence Against the Dark Arts shop to help Fred, George, and Lee Jordan handle its overwhelming orders while Albert was away. After seeing how exhausting the work was and hearing about the Ministry’s purchases, she agreed to help temporarily, and the chapter ended with Fred worrying about his future with Angelina.

• Fred, George, and Lee Jordan complained about the shop’s heavy workload until Shanna arrived, sent by Albert to help with the busy period.
• Lee Jordan gave Shanna the owl orders, parcel counts, and accounts, while the group discussed the Ministry’s purchases and Scrimgeour’s fines on Death Eaters.
• Diggory collected fifty Defence Against the Dark Arts items, settled payment at Gringotts, and gave Fred the Ministry’s next request, which Fred said would have to wait for Albert.
• Shanna confirmed she could brew Albert’s improved Vitality Potion recipe and spent the evening helping the brothers process orders and post parcels.
• George and Fred suggested Shanna consider staying permanently, but she said she was only helping temporarily; she also advised Fred to be patient about Angelina and Quidditch.

Fred and George were summoned to Grimmauld Place, where the Order worried that Dumbledore’s burned hand and Albert’s prophecy pointed to Dumbledore’s death and the Ministry’s fall. Albert refused to explain through the mirror, then told Isobel that Snape would kill Dumbledore, leaving Snape’s true loyalties uncertain.

• Professor McGonagall told Fred and George that Dumbledore’s left hand appeared severely burned and connected his injury to Albert’s prophecy about the Ministry’s collapse.
• Sirius accused Snape of being untrustworthy, and George confirmed that Albert had called the Order unreliable and full of loopholes.
• Fred and George brought Albert’s Two-Way Mirror to Grimmauld Place, but Professor McGonagall could not reach him; Fred urged the Order to keep their suspicions secret, especially from Snape.
• Albert told Isobel that he had warned Dumbledore that Snape would kill him, but Dumbledore still trusted Snape.
• Albert told Isobel that Snape was a double agent and questioned whether anyone could know which side he would choose in a crisis.

Albert and Isobel stayed with Nicolas and Perenelle as the elderly couple died peacefully, while Dumbledore discussed his injury, Harry’s future, and the search for RAB with Albert. After their secret funeral at Beauxbatons, Albert left with Isobel, and Dumbledore explained that the couple’s most precious gift to Albert was their knowledge.

• Albert told Dumbledore that Nicolas and Perenelle’s health had worsened since the Elixir of Life ran out, and Dumbledore arrived with his left hand blackened from an injury he said was worth the price.
• Albert urged Dumbledore to prepare Harry with the strength to protect himself, and Dumbledore revealed that he had identified RAB as Regulus Arcturus Black but had not found the Horcrux because Sirius had killed Kreacher.
• Nicolas and Perenelle joined Albert, Isobel, and Dumbledore, reminisced about the past, and then died peacefully leaning against each other.
• Albert and Dumbledore attended the LeMay Couple’s secret funeral at Beauxbatons, where Albert used white flames to cremate them and a marble tomb appeared.
• The LeMay Couple’s House-elf chose to remain and guard their grave, which Albert and Dumbledore concealed with a magical barrier before Albert and Isobel departed.
• Dumbledore told Madame Maxime that the couple had left Albert their most precious gift: knowledge, while most of their possessions went to Beauxbatons.

Albert searched the LeMay house for something Nicolas had left him and found a map to an Alchemy Workshop and a golden Ouroboros Ring hidden in a picture frame. He and Isobel left the workshop for later and sailed back to Britain, reflecting on the Philosopher's Stone and their hopes for the future.

• Albert searched the LeMay house while Isobel questioned whether Nicolas had left anything behind.
• Albert realized the picture frame might hold the secret and found a map and Ouroboros Ring hidden inside it.
• Albert read Nicolas's letter, which said the map led to an Alchemy Workshop filled with Philosopher's Stone materials, tools, and unfinished ideas.
• Albert explained that the ring was likely the key to the workshop and that making more Philosopher's Stones could help create precious gold.
• Albert and Isobel discussed why Dumbledore disliked the Philosopher's Stone and agreed that growing old and facing death together sounded good.
• Albert and Isobel returned to their ship and sailed toward Britain.

Katrina felt restless while staying safely at home, and Mrs. McDougal urged her to take responsibility for her future and help finish their book. After Albert and Isobel returned from their honeymoon, the family discussed Isobel’s pregnancy and the Ministry’s policies, before Isobel invited Katrina to talk privately.

• Mrs. McDougal offered Katrina the book’s earnings as startup capital and told her to handle the remaining compilation work.
• Albert and Isobel returned home, and Katrina welcomed her sister before the family shared dinner and heard about the honeymoon.
• Mrs. McDougal took Isobel to the Medical Room to check her pregnancy, while Katrina gave Albert newspapers about the Ministry and his Self-Defense Guide.
• Katrina described Scrimgeour’s crackdown and the Ministry’s Defence Against the Dark Arts Items Specialty Store, and Albert explained that he and Scrimgeour were using each other to achieve their aims.
• Albert prepared to leave for Diagon Alley, and Isobel stopped to speak with him before inviting Katrina to her room for a private conversation.

Fred, George, Lee Jordan, and Shanna discussed rival shops accusing them of monopolistic practices before Albert returned and explained how the Ministry’s Defence Against the Dark Arts Items Specialty Store helped protect their business and deflect criticism. Albert proposed negotiating with Zonko and Honeydukes to bring them into the business, then warned that guests were about to arrive.

• Fred, George, Lee Jordan, and Shanna received a letter saying Honeydukes and Zonko Joke Shop had asked the Ministry to investigate their patents and business practices.
• A detector alerted the four to an intruder, so they drew their wands and hid under Disillusionment Charms until Albert arrived and advised them to carry the Marauder’s Map.
• Albert reviewed the shop’s accounts, learned it had earned nearly twenty thousand in net profit in two months, and discussed the Ministry’s store and patrols with the group.
• Albert explained that the Ministry’s shop could reduce jealousy and make customers see the group’s business as less monopolistic, while Shanna suggested using an interview to promote their brand.
• Albert proposed talking with Zonko and Honeydukes about joining their business, starting with Zonko, and then drew his wand and told the others to prepare for arriving guests.

Albert warned Fred, George, and Lee Jordan that the shop might attract trouble and advised them to close to walk-in customers, while preparing to confront any attackers. Meanwhile, Kenneth Towler recognized Albert as their dangerous opponent but failed to persuade his father to abandon the planned attack.

• Albert advised Fred and George to close the shop temporarily and accept only owl-post orders, explaining that he was taking precautions against potential trouble.
• Albert said he would handle the unwelcome visitors himself and planned to teach them a lesson rather than kill them.
• A group of Cloaked Men met in Knockturn Alley and planned an attack, intending to disguise their involvement and blame the operation on Voldemort's followers.
• Kenneth Towler warned his father that Albert likely owned the shops and was a powerful Divination master, but Mr. Towler refused to cancel the plan.
• Kenneth watched the group depart and concluded that Albert would trace the attack back to his father.

Mr. Towler joined a group of nearly sixty thugs who attacked Albert’s shops, but Albert’s ambush scattered and subdued most of them. After an attacker tried to kill Albert with the Avada Kedavra Curse, Albert discovered the Death Eaters had used the raid to test him and ordered his friends to move to Safe House Three.

• Mr. Towler blended into the crowd as a masked man led nearly sixty people from Knockturn Alley to rob No. 93 Shop and No. 94 Shop.
• Albert’s fireworks and icy mist panicked the raiders, and he and his friends stunned or subdued those who remained.
• A supposedly stunned Cloaked Man sprang up and cast the Avada Kedavra Curse at Albert, but another man shielded him before Albert’s companions disabled the attacker.
• Albert used Legilimency and learned that the Death Eaters had arranged the raid to target the shops and test him, with the Malfoy family’s bounty on him still active.
• Albert told the Weasley Twins and Shanna to notify the Ministry, move to Safe House Three, and let the Ministry take credit for the arrests.

After surviving a planned attack by Death Eaters and hired thugs, Albert uncovered how Draco Malfoy’s bounty had drawn the attackers and decided to protect his friends by making them hide. He planned to use Scrimgeour and the Ministry to strike back at the conspirators, while considering how to end the bounty.

• Albert learned from the attackers’ memories that people seeking control of the Defence Against the Dark Arts business had hired Death Eaters’ lackeys to rob them.
• Albert discovered that Draco Malfoy had renewed the ten-thousand-Galleon bounty on him and leaked his friends’ connection to him and No. 93 Shop.
• Albert decided Fred, George, and Lee Jordan should suspend shop sales and go into hiding because the Death Eaters could target them.
• Albert planned to use the Ministry of Magic and Scrimgeour to expose the conspirators and set Yaxley up for trouble.
• Albert gazed toward Malfoy Manor and considered how to make the Malfoy family’s bounty disappear.

Draco Malfoy devised plans to kill Dumbledore and Albert Anderson, but before he could act, Fiendfyre destroyed Malfoy Manor. The Ministry of Magic investigated the blaze alongside a raid on a Defence Against the Dark Arts shop, while Scrimgeour prepared to exploit the Dark Mark found above the ruins.

• Draco Malfoy abandoned most of his assassination plans and considered using the Weasley Twins as bait to kill Albert Anderson, with Narcissa and Bellatrix supporting the scheme.
• Bellatrix rushed Draco and Narcissa out of Malfoy Manor as Fiendfyre consumed it, and she identified the attack as retaliation against Draco.
• Percy reported that more than fifty Knockturn Alley criminals had tried to rob the Defence Against the Dark Arts Store, and Scrimgeour sent Kingsley and Arthur to investigate.
• A Ministry wizard reported that Fiendfyre had burned Malfoy Manor and that Aurors had seen the Dark Mark above it; Scrimgeour dispatched reinforcements and summoned Dumbledore.
• Scrimgeour and Dumbledore helped contain the fire, then Scrimgeour told Gadwin to suggest that Voldemort had attacked the Malfoys for leaking Death Eater information.

Albert and Isobel prepared for their baby while Percy reported that the attacks on Albert’s shops had been orchestrated by Kenneth Towler and backed by Death Eaters and rival businesses. Albert warned Fred and George to relocate to his safe house and urged them to offer Zonko a chance to join their business.

• Isobel asked Albert to stop going out at night and persuaded him to read an infant-care guide as their household prepared for the baby.
• Albert, Isobel, and Katrina discussed the baby’s possible names and sex, and Albert predicted he would have more than one child.
• Percy told Albert that the Ministry had rejected the shop owners’ appeals and that Kenneth Towler had gathered disgruntled businessmen, with Death Eater involvement and support from competing shops.
• Albert warned Fred and George that their lodgings were unsafe and recommended they move to his safe house instead of the Order of the Phoenix headquarters.
• Albert told Fred and George to offer Zonko a partnership, with the alternative of buying his premises after his shop went bankrupt.
• Fred mentioned that Malfoy Manor had burned down, and Albert speculated that it had been an act of revenge against Lucius Malfoy.

Voldemort assigned Bellatrix to kill Albert Anderson and ordered his followers to target Scrimgeour, while Albert arranged protections for his friends and business. The Weasley twins invited Zonko to cooperate on a Hogsmeade branch, and Zonko decided to meet Albert before an unseen force seized him.

• Snape told Voldemort that Albert had probably burned Malfoy Manor, and Voldemort gave Bellatrix the task of killing him.
• Yaxley explained that Scrimgeour was protected by the Fidelius Charm and Aurors, so Voldemort ordered his followers to keep causing trouble for the Ministry.
• Fred and George prepared to close their shop temporarily and move into a Fidelius-protected Safe House, while Albert warned Shanna that the Malfoy bounty put his friends at risk.
• Albert sent Fred and George to approach Zonko about a Hogsmeade branch, and they warned him his shop would eventually fail without cooperation.
• Zonko called after the twins and decided he wanted to meet Albert, but as he returned to his shop, an unseen force made him feel weightless and filled him with hazy joy.

Snape visited Narcissa and Draco to warn them that Albert Anderson had likely burned Malfoy Manor and to urge them to withdraw their bounty and wanted notice. He left them warned that provoking Albert could bring deadly consequences, while Bellatrix remained set on killing him.

• Snape arrived at Narcissa's house and asked her to wake Draco so he could discuss the attack on Malfoy Manor.
• Snape told Draco and Narcissa that Albert Anderson had probably set the fire and warned Draco to control his anger and remember his task from the Dark Lord.
• Snape demanded that the Malfoys withdraw the bounty and wanted notice on Albert, but Draco objected and Bellatrix arrived.
• Snape explained that the fire had been a warning and that Albert had used Ministry trials to get his attackers executed.
• Snape warned Bellatrix that Albert could predict her traps and told Draco to stay out of Bellatrix's task, adding that he would take over if she failed.

Dumbledore asked Albert to divine the location of Slytherin's locket, and the crystal ball revealed a suitcase that helped Dumbledore realize what had happened to it. Albert then discussed burning Malfoy Manor with Dumbledore, who revealed that Mr. Malfoy had an important role in his plan.

• Dumbledore recalled why Scrimgeour had begun sentencing captured Dark wizards to death and suspected Albert had influenced the Minister.
• Albert visited Dumbledore, who showed him a memory of Slytherin's locket and asked him to divine where it had gone.
• Albert used Dumbledore's crystal ball and saw a suitcase, prompting Dumbledore to say he understood what had happened to the locket.
• Albert confirmed that he had burned Malfoy Manor as a warning to the Malfoy family.
• Dumbledore said Mr. Malfoy played an important role in his plan, and Albert guessed that the plan involved Dumbledore's death.

Albert disguised himself as Lee Jordan to negotiate Zonko’s employment contract, then exposed a Death Eater ambush and captured Alecto Carro. Alecto was taken to Bellatrix at the Shrieking Shack, where they realized Albert’s group planned to hide their Diagon Alley shop.

• Albert disguised himself as Lee Jordan and offered Zonko several choices for joining the business, and Zonko signed a three-year contract with a five percent commission.
• Albert pretended to collapse after drinking Butterbeer, while Zonko shut the shop and Alecto Carro revealed she intended to capture Lee Jordan and use him to track Albert.
• Albert and Zonko immobilized Alecto, and Albert identified her as a Death Eater.
• Alecto met Bellatrix at the Shrieking Shack and reported that Lee Jordan had come instead of Albert and that the Diagon Alley shop might temporarily close.
• Bellatrix said she planned to control Albert’s friend to locate him, then angrily vowed that they would eventually find an opening.

Albert explained that he had disguised himself as Lee Jordan to safely meet Zonko, who had been controlled by the Imperius Curse, and laid out plans to protect his friends as Voldemort’s influence grew. He proposed a Defence Against the Dark Arts training institution with the Order of the Phoenix and Ministry of Magic, leaving George to pass the plan to Sirius.

• Albert told Lee Jordan that he had impersonated him to avoid attracting Death Eaters and explained that Zonko had been controlled with the Imperius Curse.
• Albert urged the group to prepare Safe Houses and improve their Defence Against the Dark Arts skills as the situation worsened.
• Albert proposed creating a training institution with the Order of the Phoenix and Ministry of Magic, using a manor Nicolas Flamel had left him as a possible base.
• Albert suggested involving Sirius, Lupin, Mad-Eye, Kingsley, and Scrimgeour, and told George to pass his written plan to Sirius.

Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Kingsley, Fred, and George discussed Albert’s proposal for a Defence Against the Dark Arts training institution to improve wizarding self-defense and quietly build support for Harry. Scrimgeour approved the plan and assigned Percy to handle its confidential preparations.

• Sirius and Lupin considered Albert’s proposal, while Fred and George described how their Hogwarts Defence Association had improved students’ practical skills.
• Moody and Kingsley joined the discussion, and Kingsley argued that the Ministry would benefit from promoting the training without bearing much of the work.
• Fred and George explained that the institution could cultivate quiet supporters for Harry, who could receive messages through a secret Radio Station.
• Kingsley proposed a fee that the Ministry could halve, and Sirius agreed to help teach and recommend their Defence Reporter.
• Scrimgeour approved the plan, asked Kingsley to coordinate with the Order of the Phoenix, and directed Percy to prepare it confidentially without letting Fudge know.

Dumbledore recovered Slytherin's Locket from Mundungus, erased Mundungus's memory of it, and destroyed the Horcrux with the Sword of Gryffindor. He then considered how to tell Harry that the soul fragment in Harry's forehead meant Harry would have to die, and began revising his will to leave him the Resurrection Stone.

• Dumbledore visited Mundungus and retrieved Slytherin's Locket, paying him to investigate who planned to pursue the bounty on Albert.
• Dumbledore erased Mundungus's memories of the locket and asked him to monitor threats against Albert.
• Dumbledore used the Sword of Gryffindor to destroy the locket, resisting its visions of Ariana and Grindelwald.
• Dumbledore reflected that Harry would have to die to destroy the soul fragment in his forehead and sent a note to him with Fawkes.
• Dumbledore began revising his will so that Harry would inherit the Resurrection Stone.

Albert and Isobel shared a quiet morning at home while Albert reflected on his plans to defeat Voldemort and gain more Panel experience. Dumbledore confirmed that he had destroyed Slytherin’s Locket, and Albert read news of the Ministry’s new Defence Against the Dark Arts training plan.

• Albert and Isobel talked about their future, their finances, and Albert’s plans to write memoirs for the LeMay Couple and Dumbledore.
• Albert took Tom for a walk with Isobel, then considered why he had chosen to stay involved in the fight against Voldemort.
• Albert reassured Isobel that they had time to prepare for their child’s birth and said he would ask around about Healers.
• Dumbledore sent Albert a message confirming that he had destroyed Slytherin’s Locket and wanted to speak with him about a request.
• Albert read Rita Skeeter’s criticism of the Ministry’s Defence Against the Dark Arts training plan and told Katrina that the program would help ordinary wizards.

Harry celebrated winning Felix Felicis, clashed with Malfoy alongside Ron, and explained how he brewed a perfect Draught of Living Death using a marked-up potions book. He left undecided about continuing the D.A., though Hermione urged him to schedule meetings around Quidditch.

• Harry admired his Felix Felicis and considered asking Slughorn for more, while Ron and Hermione discussed how he might use it.
• Ron taunted Malfoy about the fire at his house, and Harry criticized the Malfoy family's bounty on Albert and their past attacks on him.
• At dinner, Harry showed Ron and Hermione the marked-up copy of "Advanced Potion Making" and explained that he had followed its altered instructions to brew a perfect Draught of Living Death.
• Harry encouraged Hermione to value the book's practical notes, while Ron said Albert had improved potion recipes used by Fred and George.
• Neville asked whether Harry would continue the D.A. meetings, and Hermione urged Harry to make time for them despite his Quidditch duties.