Recaps

Ian improved his Rune Mastery with help from his Language Mastery Extraordinary Trait and deciphered most of the Fear Curse on the Gown Fragment. He went to the Nameless Bookshop to sell books and find Potion textbooks, where he met a platinum-blond Girl with mismatched eyes.

• Ian gained the Linguistic Comprehension Extraordinary Trait, which helped him learn Runes and recognize the calls of animals and Fantastic Beasts.
• Ian deciphered most of the Gown Fragment’s Fear Descends curse and learned of its connection to the creation of Boggarts.
• Worried about the cost of Potion books, Ian took three Ancient Runes books to the Nameless Bookshop to sell them.
• A platinum-blond Girl with one blue eye and one white eye spoke to Ian from behind the counter and said she had seen him before.

Ian negotiated with Aurora Grindelwald to borrow Potions textbooks from Kraft’s shop, then learned that her grandfather was Gellert Grindelwald. Aurora gave him a strange book titled Secrets of the Darkest Art, leaving Ian alarmed by its contents and by how close he had come to insulting her family.

• Ian recognized Aurora from Ollivanders, sold three Ancient Runes books for four Galleons, and searched Kraft’s shop for Potions textbooks.
• Ian persuaded Aurora to let him secretly rent the textbooks for three Galleons, and she wrote down their titles.
• Aurora gave Ian a costly-looking book and warned him that Potions would not give him much power.
• Ian mentioned Nurmengard, and Aurora revealed that her grandfather was Gellert Grindelwald.
• Ian rushed back to his house and found that Aurora’s gift was Secrets of the Darkest Art, whose title seemed to writhe.

After Ian left, Aurora Grindelwald studied at the bookstore while Kraft returned late and reaffirmed the Saints’ faith in her grandfather’s plans. Aurora told Kraft about Ian Prince, revealing that he knew the Grindelwald name and wanted to become the Dark Lord.

• Kraft returned to the bookstore late at night after receiving a message from Aurora’s grandfather.
• Aurora told Kraft she doubted she could fulfill her grandfather’s ambitions, but Kraft insisted the Saints believed she would succeed.
• Kraft assured Aurora that Dumbledore would eventually approve her enrollment at Hogwarts.
• Kraft noticed the Runes textbooks Ian had sold and asked Aurora whether the boy had deceived her; she said she had paid him a gold coin and that he wanted to be friends.
• Aurora told Kraft that Ian Prince was the son of two wizards and wanted to become the Dark Lord.

Aurora told Kraft that Ian Prince wanted to become the Dark Lord and study under Grindelwald, but argued he would never join the Saints. She revealed that a vision showed Ian standing before a tower while Dumbledore knelt at his feet, weeping.

• Aurora told Kraft that Ian wanted to become the Dark Lord and go to Nurmengard to study under his grandfather.
• Kraft laughed at Ian’s ambition and urged Aurora to win him over, and she said she had given him her own book.
• Aurora insisted Ian was unlike other young wizards and would never have faith in the Saints.
• Aurora explained that she had glimpsed fragments of Ian’s future in Diagon Alley.
• Aurora said she saw Ian raise his wand before a tower and Dumbledore kneel before him, weeping.

Ian examined the forbidden book Secrets of the Darkest Art, which contained detailed notes Grindelwald had prepared for his descendant. As Ian read about Inferi Conjuration, he accidentally began casting the spell, and the floorboards started moving.

• Ian debated whether it was safe to read Secrets of the Darkest Art and decided to look through it for useful defensive magic.
• Ian found detailed notes and warnings written throughout the book, apparently added by Grindelwald for his descendant.
• Ian discovered that Horcruxes occupied only a small section of the book, while other Dark Magic made up most of its contents.
• Ian read a spell labeled simple and not dangerous, Inferi Conjuration, and began sensing Magic Power clearly.
• Ian's wand light turned sickly green, and the floorboards began rising and falling.

Ian gathered planks to build a coffin at the Small Wooden House while Snape, unsettled by Dumbledore’s words, went to check on him. Snape entered the house and found Ian handling several corpses, then demanded an explanation.

• Ian asked Madam Puddifoot to turn a tree into planks, and she helped him cut it apart.
• Ian used Wingardium Leviosa to carry the planks back to the Small Wooden House and gained spell proficiency.
• Snape blamed Dumbledore for his sleeplessness and ruined batch of Felix Felicis, then decided to visit Ian.
• Snape unlocked the bolted house and found Ian trying to put rotten corpses into a crooked coffin beside a huge pit.
• Snape demanded to know why he should not send Ian to Azkaban.

Snape confronted Ian about secretly learning the Inferi Control Charm, but Ian stuck to a half-truth about a Dark wizard dropping a spell. The chapter ended with Snape challenging Ian to prove his talent by studying a spell he had written down.

• Snape questioned Ian about learning Dark Magic, and Ian claimed a Dark wizard had dropped the spell that he accidentally learned.
• Snape rejected Ian’s story and threatened to send him to Azkaban unless he revealed who had taught him.
• Ian maintained that a Dark wizard had given him the spell, unwilling to reveal that he possessed Secrets of the Darkest Art.
• Snape wrote the principles of a spell on paper and handed it to Ian as a sarcastic test of his magical talent.

Ian learned Sectumsempra from Snape in minutes, shocking the professor and convincing him that Ian's story about finding a spell note might be true. Snape warned Ian not to use the spell on classmates, while Ian privately interpreted the warning as tacit approval to use the Inferi Control Charm on their families' graves.

• Snape used magic to bury the corpses and restore the damaged living room while Ian studied the spell.
• Ian asked whether the spell was Dark Magic, then cast Sectumsempra and shredded the remaining boards.
• Snape was stunned by Ian's rapid learning and could barely respond to his requests for a harder spell.
• Snape asked about the missing note, then accepted Ian's explanation and told him to keep the incident secret.
• Snape warned Ian never to use Sectumsempra on schoolmates, and Ian promised to obey while considering other uses for the Inferi Control Charm.

After Snape warned Ian to stay away from Dark Magic, Ian revealed that he had hidden Secrets of the Darkest Art in the toilet cistern. He chose to focus on copying his Potions textbooks, gaining mastery as he looked forward to studying at Hogwarts.

• Snape threatened Ian not to seek out Dark Magic and left him gold coins.
• Ian retrieved Secrets of the Darkest Art from the toilet cistern, where he had hidden it after the previous night's commotion.
• Ian hid the book again and decided copying his borrowed Potions textbooks was more urgent than studying Dark Magic.
• Ian copied the Potions textbooks by hand, repeatedly gaining Potions Mastery, and considered asking Dumbledore to teach him White Magic.

Dumbledore urged Snape to care for Ian and suggested bringing him to live at Hogwarts, while Snape revealed that Ian’s magical ability had left him troubled. The chapter ended with Dumbledore realizing what Snape’s question about Compound Magic implied.

• Dumbledore asked Fawkes to help search for the Chamber of Secrets and saw Snape return to Hogwarts after visiting Ian.
• Dumbledore persuaded Snape that Ian needed his care, but Snape refused to let the boy live with him.
• Snape told Dumbledore that Ian was adjusting to life in Hogsmeade Village, though his reaction suggested Ian had been doing something alarming.
• Snape asked how old Dumbledore was when he learned Compound Magic and how long it took him.
• Dumbledore said he had learned it in an afternoon as a second-year student, and Snape left, troubled by the comparison with Ian.
• Dumbledore realized what Snape’s question meant and was astonished.

Ian copied all seven years of Potions textbooks, improved his Potions and Lumos skills, and realized his idea for a floating light resembled Alchemy. In the Misty Illusion, he impressed Teacher Mara by bringing his notebooks across with him, and her cryptic hint left him considering what else he might be capable of.

• Ian copied the Potions textbooks for all seven years and raised his Potions Mastery to Level 2.
• Ian practiced Lumos, changed the color of its light, and failed to make the light detach from his wand.
• Ian realized that stabilizing a spell circuit on an object resembled Alchemy, then learned that magical lighting devices already existed.
• Ian entered the Misty Illusion carrying his notebooks and showed Teacher Mara that he could bring many objects across with him.
• Teacher Mara hinted that Ian could do something even more impressive, prompting him to consider bold possibilities.

Ian demonstrated his newly learned Fear Descends spell to Teacher Mara, who praised his skill and began preparing his next lessons. Their study was interrupted when Pandora and Ariana arrived at the castle, prompting Mara to angrily confront Pandora.

• Ian considered using Misty Illusion to smuggle valuable goods but kept the idea to himself.
• Teacher Mara formed a Wooden Wand from a picture frame and asked Ian to demonstrate his magic.
• Ian cast Fear Descends on a roast pig, and Teacher Mara praised his rune knowledge and talent.
• Pandora and Ariana approached the castle, and Mara opened its doors after hearing the commotion outside.
• Pandora entered with Ariana, and Mara angrily called Pandora a butcher.

Pandora and Ariana stormed Mara’s castle to rescue Ian, only to learn that he was studying magic there and had not been captured. After the friends apologized for the damage, Pandora gave Ian a golden apple as an admission gift.

• Pandora and Ariana entered Mara’s castle, and Ian explained that Mara was his teacher rather than his captor.
• Mara ordered Ian to send his friends away, while Ariana apologized for the damage and offered to help repair it.
• After Mara left, Ian reassured Pandora and Ariana that he would make things up to Mara.
• Ariana asked about Ian’s magic studies, and Pandora boasted that he had once fought Godric Gryffindor.
• Pandora presented Ian with a dazzling golden apple as an admission gift.

Ian ate the Golden Apple in the Misty Illusion and felt his mind and body renewed before returning to the witch, who explained the power of cognition and assigned him to rebuild her armor guards. He awoke in the real world eager to check his Personal Panel.

• Pandora hurried Ian into eating the Golden Apple, then fled with Ariana after the witch heard him insult her.
• The witch explained that someone had secretly brought a Golden Apple seed into the Misty Illusion and suggested Ian ask Pandora about it.
• Ian promised to find the witch her Mirror and a Dragon, while the witch refused to reveal Pandora's identity.
• The witch explained that cognition shaped what could be accomplished in the Misty Illusion and that Pandora's conviction had defeated her three times.
• The witch ordered Ian to learn how to rebuild the armor guards and gave him a rune-covered Gown Fragment before he left.
• Ian woke in the real world and immediately opened his Personal Panel.

After eating the Golden Apple, Ian’s Magic Power surged by at least three levels, and he discovered that he could amplify a spell by adding a Magic Power Passage as its circuit formed. His experiment with Incendio unleashed a huge blaze, but an elderly man in a White Robe stopped it before it could destroy the clearing.

• Ian saw that the Golden Apple had raised his Magic Power to Level 7 and granted him the [Enlightenment of Wisdom] skill.
• Ian tested his stronger Magic Power with Lumos and then went outside to cast Incendio.
• Ian tried to expand Incendio’s Magic Circuit, first causing the spell to sputter and then succeeding by adding a passage just before the circuit completed.
• Ian’s amplified Incendio erupted into towering flames that threatened the trees, fence, and Small Wooden House.
• An elderly man in a White Robe arrived and stopped the fire and its heat with a wave of his wand.

After Ian's uncontrolled attempt to create a spell nearly set Hogsmeade Village ablaze, Dumbledore stopped the fire and visited him to offer advice. Dumbledore left after hinting that Ian should rethink his research into Magic Power circuits, but his Phoenix landed on Ian's head.

• Dumbledore extinguished the fire and restored the damaged surroundings as Ian watched.
• Dumbledore entered Ian's home, praised his unusual understanding of magic, and warned him to be cautious.
• Dumbledore asked how long Ian had taken to learn Snape's Sectumsempra, and Ian claimed it had taken an hour.
• Dumbledore advised Ian that Magic Power circuits did not directly cause magic and suggested shifting his research focus.
• A Phoenix arrived to take Dumbledore away but landed on Ian's head instead.

Fawkes showed an unusual affection for Ian, leaving Dumbledore wondering about the boy and another special child. Dumbledore then asked Snape to investigate whether the Prince and Dumbledore families had intermarried within the past five generations.

• Fawkes perched on Ian's head and affectionately tidied his hair and eyebrows, frightening him.
• Dumbledore called Fawkes back, offered Ian help, and vanished with the phoenix.
• Ian remained alone as the pattern on the back of his hand slowly faded, unnoticed by him and Dumbledore.
• Dumbledore spoke with Fawkes in a Hogwarts corridor and wondered about two special children.
• Snape arrived carrying potion ingredients, and Dumbledore asked him to check the Prince family genealogy for intermarriages with the Dumbledore family.
• Snape was dumbfounded by Dumbledore's request.

Ian returned the Potions books to Aurora Grindelwald at the Secondhand Bookshop, where an armed wizard came to abduct her over a debt owed by her grandfather. Aurora killed him with Fiendfyre, then enlisted Ian to help dispose of the ashes and called them accomplices.

• Ian returned the Potions books he had borrowed to Aurora at the Secondhand Bookshop.
• A scarred wizard entered the shop and demanded that Aurora go with him to settle her grandfather's debt.
• Aurora mocked the wizard, who threatened her with his wand.
• Aurora silently cast Fiendfyre and burned the wizard and his wand to ash.
• Aurora asked Ian to sweep the ashes into his wooden box and told him they were accomplices.

Ian helped Aurora dispose of a dead wizard’s remains and secretly buried the ashes beneath Snape’s Small Wooden House. Shaken by Aurora’s Fiendfyre and the dangers of the Wizarding World, he returned to studying dark magic to grow stronger.

• Aurora told Ian that Kraft would handle the aftermath, then explained that Fiendfyre’s instructions were in the book she had given him.
• Aurora asked Ian to carry the box of ashes out of the shop, and she corrected him when he called them friends, insisting they were accomplices.
• Ian avoided Professor McGonagall in Hogsmeade and carried the wrapped box back to Snape’s Small Wooden House.
• Ian buried the box beneath the house’s floorboards, then covered the hiding place and ate Cauldron Cakes.
• Ian retrieved Secrets of the Darkest Art and, reminded of his weakness by Aurora’s Fiendfyre, resumed studying forbidden magic.

On the day before Hogwarts began, Ian reviewed his progress in magic and struggled with Transfiguration while studying Fiendfyre in Secrets of the Darkest Art. He finished the chapter’s final note with a mysterious message from Miss Grindelwald: “May you learn something, my friend.”

• Ian reached Level 1 proficiency in the Three Unforgivable Curses through study, while avoiding practicing them with his own wand.
• Ian practiced beginner spells but made little progress in Transfiguration, realizing that his focus on logic might be hindering his imagination.
• Ian concentrated on Fiendfyre, which became his most proficient Dark Magic spell, and planned to hide Secrets of the Darkest Art when he went to school.
• Ian read that Gellert Grindelwald had found a way to protect the caster from Fiendfyre and imbue the spell with his will.
• Ian found Miss Grindelwald’s final note in the book: “May you learn something, my friend.”

Ian waited all day for Snape to escort him to Hogwarts, then set off with Snape and Aurora Grindelwald. Snape warned Aurora about following school rules and questioned Ian about Dumbledore before leading them out of Hogsmeade, where Ian left Aurora to drag his suitcase.

• Ian spent the night planning his first year and prepared for Hogwarts the next morning.
• Ian waited all day for Snape, then picked up his suitcase to make his own way to Hogwarts.
• Snape arrived at Ian’s cottage and took him outside, where Aurora Grindelwald was waiting with her suitcase.
• Snape suspected Aurora had taught Ian the Inferi Control Charm and warned her not to bring forbidden things into Hogwarts.
• Snape demanded to know what Ian had told Dumbledore, but Aurora interrupted before Ian could explain.
• Ian offered to help Aurora with her suitcase, placed its handle in her hand, and ran off.

Ian and Aurora reached the Black Lake with Snape and discussed Aurora’s enrollment and her warning that Dumbledore might be manipulating Ian. The new students arrived, and they were about to cross the lake to Hogwarts.

• Snape scolded Ian for letting Aurora carry his suitcase, but Aurora refused to hand it over when Snape tried to take it.
• Ian and Aurora walked to the Black Lake, where they saw Hogwarts and waited for the other new students.
• Ian tasted a Sour Berry and offered it to Aurora, who explained that it was an ingredient in acidifying potions.
• Ian caught a Giant Squid Hatchling in the lake and tossed it back into the water.
• Aurora told Ian that Dumbledore had approved her enrollment after they killed a Dark Wizard and warned him to be cautious of Dumbledore.
• Aurora noticed the Half-blood Giant arriving with a group of young wizards through the forest.

Hagrid found Ian and Aurora by the Black Lake and brought them to the boats with the other first-year students. As the boats approached Hogwarts, Qiu Zhang shared a legend about the Four Founders, but Ian found no evidence for it on his Personal Panel, and a quiet girl warned them to watch for danger ahead.

• Hagrid found Ian and Aurora and led them to the Black Lake landing.
• Ian and Aurora boarded a boat with Qiu Zhang and another quiet girl.
• The boats sailed across the lake by magic, and the students lit their wands with Lumos.
• Qiu Zhang told them a story that the Four Founders blessed students crossing the lake, but Ian checked his Personal Panel and found no sign of it.
• The quiet girl warned Ian, Aurora, and Qiu Zhang to pay attention to the danger ahead.

Ian, Aurora, Qiu Zhang, and Daphne Greengrass discuss Hogwarts’s Sorting Test while traveling across the Black Lake, where Daphne’s Pure-blood prejudice provokes Ian to demonstrate a powerful Lumos Charm. Hagrid brings the first-years to the Great Hall, where Snape takes charge and the students see the Sorting Hat.

• Qiu Zhang and Daphne Greengrass warned Ian and Aurora that the Sorting Test would be frightening, and Aurora eagerly imagined fighting a Dragon.
• Daphne declared that Slytherin was for Pure-bloods and insulted Ian as a Muggle-born, while Qiu Zhang and Aurora challenged her prejudice.
• Ian cast a powerful Lumos Charm that illuminated the boats on the Black Lake and astonished the other first-years.
• The boats reached Hogwarts, and Hagrid led the students to the entrance, where Snape took over their welcome.
• Snape led the first-years into the Great Hall, where Aurora admired the enchanted ceiling and Ian spotted the Sorting Hat.

The first-year Sorting ceremony began at Hogwarts, where Ian and Aurora watched the new students being assigned to Houses. The Great Hall fell silent when Aurora Grindelwald was called, and Daphne feared the consequences of having mocked her earlier.

• Professor McGonagall quieted the students and the Sorting Hat sang its song.
• The Sorting Hat assigned Grace Allison to Hufflepuff and Meen Agafus to Gryffindor, then continued sorting the first-years.
• Professor McGonagall called Aurora Grindelwald's name, shocking the Great Hall.
• Aurora calmly walked toward the Sorting Hat while Daphne panicked and feared her family was doomed.