Chapter Summaries

Jon searched the vast, silent Dragon Soul Lair for what Helga had left behind and noticed something approaching through the darkness. Meanwhile, Peeves reported that Jon had remained inside for five days before turning to the portraits to discuss a dragon at the school.

• Jon explored the Dragon Soul Lair, enduring its darkness and silence as he searched for Helga or a trace she had left behind.
• After five days without any movement from Jon, Peeves returned from inspecting the lair and wondered how long he could last inside.
• The former headmasters praised Jon and wondered where Helga had gone, but none of them knew.
• Peeves changed the subject and asked the portraits whether they had heard that the school had acquired a dragon.

Dumbledore monitored the Dragon Soul Lair while worrying about Quirrell’s recent inactivity. In the lair, Helga led Jon through the darkness to a small bedroom lit by silver stardust.

• Peeves told Dumbledore that the lair remained quiet and Jon seemed safe, and Dumbledore ordered him to watch more closely.
• Dumbledore reviewed Ministry reports and reflected on how Quirrell had returned to Voldemort despite his efforts to guide him.
• A young-looking shadow of Helga appeared to Jon and connected her voice directly to his mind, instructing him to follow without asking questions.
• Jon sensed the dragon soul breathing as he followed Helga deeper into the lair, and the growing pressure made him doubt whether she was real.
• Helga brought Jon to a small bedroom where silver stardust covered a wall and filled the space with a gentle glow.

Helga explained that Starshine was a rare legacy from the Dark Age that could directly affect the soul, then prepared Jon for a dangerous enhancement ritual. The ritual began as Helga warned that Jon could be assimilated into the Starshine.

• Jon told Helga he had thought the chamber belonged to a Cardinal, and Helga clarified that she had left the Starshine there herself.
• Helga described Starshine as a rare Dark Age substance and explained that the Slytherin bloodline had survived through a powerful family.
• Helga instructed Jon to sit beside the Starshine and warned that the ritual could assimilate his soul, then asked whether he was ready.
• Jon prepared to undergo the ritual and asked Helga to make it quick.

Helga used the Sleeping Dragon Barrier’s preserved relics and a mysterious seed to trigger Destiny Bureau within Jon, sending him through a sequence of dreams. Jon awoke in what seemed to be his modern life, still groggy and sensing he had forgotten something, and noticed something strange in the car.

• Helga sent the phantom scroll Destiny Bureau into Jon’s brow and gave him a seed to activate its power.
• Helga summoned the World Tree’s phantom, and Destiny Bureau absorbed the barrier’s starlight as Jon fell into a series of dreams.
• Jon dreamed he was a university student in a laboratory, where Professor Li ended class and reminded him to submit preliminary experiment results.
• Chen Songyuan noticed Jon’s distraction and sleepiness, then took him out to eat before they planned to finish the experiment.
• Jon fastened his seat belt in Chen Songyuan’s car, spotted something strange, and asked what it was.

Helga Hufflepuff explained the purpose and risks of Jon’s Soul Extraction ritual to Grindelwald, who had helped her prepare it. Their conversation ended with Grindelwald hoping Jon could help him salvage the future.

• Grindelwald met Helga in the Azure Deep Sea after she emerged from the ritual’s preparations, and she thanked him for returning a fragment of the Destiny Bureau.
• Grindelwald worried that Helga’s ancient ritual would place Jon in great danger, but Helga said he had to complete it himself and that its danger was essential to seeing the past.
• Helga explained that the ritual heightened a recipient’s perception of higher-level rules and that the Destiny Bureau would help Jon, who had not yet found his path.
• Grindelwald asked how ordinary wizards could prepare to reach the Azure Deep Sea, and Helga said only destiny could not be stopped because the past was fixed while choices shaped the future.
• Grindelwald said he might still salvage the future, and Helga believed Jon could help him do so.

Jon took a bamboo slip he had found in Chen Songyuan’s car to the library and searched for writing like its inscriptions. After finding a matching text, he became absorbed in it and the chapter ended with the world going dark.

• Chen Songyuan told Jon the bamboo slip was probably worthless, but Jon kept it to investigate.
• Jon dragged Chen Songyuan to the library to search old books for similar writing.
• Chen Songyuan helped Jon look through books, and Jon found a text whose writing matched the bamboo slip.
• As Jon studied the text and a doodle about fate, the world blurred around him and then went dark.

Jon experienced a vision of an ancient clash between Greek and Chinese powers, as Helga’s ritual revealed memories connected to a Hufflepuff stone fragment. The chapter ended with an unseen Chinese power driving off the Greek goddess’s phantom and ordering her to leave.

• Jon woke among Greek wizards in a frail body and realized he could understand their language but could not speak it.
• A sun appeared beside the moon, and its light helped Jon understand the woman’s words as prehistoric Chinese.
• Jon recalled that a stone fragment preserved two divine sentences about an ancient conflict between Eastern and Western civilizations.
• A Greek goddess’s phantom attacked beneath the moon’s power, but an aged Chinese voice called the Greeks Demon Race scum and unleashed a bolt of lightning.
• The lightning destroyed the dark canopy and made the Greek wizards vanish before the unseen speaker told the goddess, “Get lost!”

Jon recognized the Qilin as a powerful otherworldly divine beast, but a mysterious elder mistook him for a member of the Mysterious Bird Tribe and carried him to a tribal ritual. The elder threw Jon from a mountaintop, leaving his fate unclear.

• Jon recognized the lightning-wielding Qilin and feared its power before his Patronus, a black Mysterious Bird, teleported him out of danger.
• An elderly man appeared, called the bird a Mysterious Bird, and accused Jon of mixing with Demon Race creatures.
• The elder mistook Jon's silence for guilt, seized him, and took him through space toward his clan's grand ritual.
• Jon saw people gathered around a blazing altar and realized his eyesight had become extraordinarily sharp.
• The elder hurled Jon from the mountaintop, then vanished as he complained about the Mysterious Bird Tribe's protectiveness.

Jon found himself in a fragmented space and met an elder who explained the Mysterious Bird’s connection to destiny and how it revealed Jon’s origins. The elder identified himself as Shang State’s Grand Minister of the Interior and the Mysterious Bird Tribe’s High Priest, leaving Jon shocked to learn where he was.

• Jon shifted from the flames into a ruined, crimson-sky space where he saw a black great-bird statue.
• The statue transformed into a black-cloaked elder, who asked Jon which world he came from.
• The elder explained that the Mysterious Bird flew alongside destiny and let its bearers glimpse the past and future.
• The elder introduced himself as Shang State’s Grand Minister of the Interior and the Mysterious Bird Tribe’s High Priest.
• Jon realized he was in Shang State and recalled the saying that the Mysterious Bird of Destiny had given birth to Shang.

Jon escaped the underground chamber after waking from a strange vision involving Chen Songyuan and learned that he had been inside for over a month. Peeves warned him that the library was full of students, but Jon decided to Apparate back anyway.

• Jon shattered the vision, said goodbye to Chen Songyuan, and returned to the underground chamber.
• Jon tried to summon his Patronus but remembered that the Sleeping Dragon Barrier prevented him from using magic.
• Jon left the chamber and found Peeves waiting by the wooden door.
• Peeves told Jon that more than a month had passed and that it was now May.
• Peeves warned Jon that students filled the library, so Jon decided to Apparate back using his bloodline exemption.

Jon attempted to Apparate to Snape's office but accidentally appeared in Snape's living quarters while Snape was treating a wound from Fluffy's bite. After Peeves arrived and angered Snape, Jon used a Patronus to carry the ghost away and fled.

• Jon's faulty Apparition brought him into Snape's bedroom instead of his office, where Snape was treating his injured leg while wearing only a towel.
• Jon and Snape argued over Jon's sudden arrival and Snape's state of undress.
• Peeves entered, saw the scene, and made remarks that further enraged Snape.
• Jon tried to pull Peeves away, then used a spell and an owl-sized Mysterious Bird Guardian to seize the ghost.
• Jon followed Peeves out of the room and called goodbye to Snape as he escaped.

Jon returned from the Dragon Soul Lair and reunited with Peeves, who noticed he seemed more youthful and cheerful. Jon planned to visit Magic Fairy Castle and agreed to meet Dumbledore at nine thirty that night, while Dumbledore summoned Snape to hear about Jon’s unexpected arrival in his bedroom.

• Jon escaped Snape’s office with Peeves and went to the training grounds, where he noticed Peeves had grown slightly taller.
• Jon agreed to meet Dumbledore at nine thirty, then returned to his cabin to clean it and rest before visiting Magic Fairy Castle.
• Peeves reported Jon’s return to Dumbledore and said Jon seemed younger at heart, more lively, and more cheerful.
• Peeves told Dumbledore that Jon had appeared in Snape’s bedroom while Snape was injured and undressed, and that Jon had argued with him instead of leaving at once.
• Dumbledore asked Peeves to summon Snape and confirmed he would meet Jon that night to ask about the Dragon Soul Lair.

Jon met Grindelwald at Magic Fairy Castle and agreed to help him in exchange for unspecified favors, while Grindelwald said Helga would explain the reward. Dumbledore and Snape then discussed Jon’s unexplained appearance in Snape’s room, with Dumbledore suggesting that it was another misunderstanding.

• Jon confronted Grindelwald about the secret behind the stone and questioned what Grindelwald wanted from him.
• Grindelwald said he hoped to salvage what he could with Dumbledore and no longer dwelled on their past betrayal and actions.
• Jon decided to treat Grindelwald’s request as a mutually beneficial transaction, but Grindelwald said Helga would explain the reward and vanished.
• Jon asked Deler how Grindelwald could come and go from Magic Fairy Castle.
• Dumbledore and Snape agreed that Snape had not detected anyone Apparating in the castle, and Dumbledore suggested Jon’s appearance in Snape’s room involved another misunderstanding.

The professors recognized that Jon had led the creation of improved spells, and Dumbledore considered the powerful support behind his universal spells. The chapter ended with Dumbledore deciding that Jon, whether backed by the Hufflepuff family or someone else, was not their enemy.

• The professors studied Jon's improved spells and concluded that he had led their development.
• The professors noted that Jon's universal spells solved a problem that had limited Flitwick's spell research.
• The chapter explained that few young wizards pursued research because they preferred subjects with more immediate results.
• Snape suspected that a more powerful force stood behind Jon, and the narration revealed that Helga had created the spells to teach him.
• Dumbledore recalled Perenall's words and concluded that Jon was not their enemy.

Jon arranged a way for Helga to send him messages while she remained focused on sustaining the world, then prepared to meet Dumbledore. He reflected on his trust in Helga and his growing sense of belonging before flying toward the castle.

• Dumbledore told Snape that Harry and his friends would serve detention in the Forbidden Forest, where Voldemort had recently been active, and Snape's conversation with him ended badly.
• Jon visited the World Tree and learned that Deler could relay messages from Helga through the key he possessed.
• Jon agreed that Deler could notify him when Helga emerged and left to prepare for his meeting with Dumbledore.
• Jon considered his role in helping Grindelwald and recognized that Helga's selfless care was central to his sense of belonging.
• Jon cast a Disillusionment Charm, flew from his courtyard, and headed toward the castle.

Jon reflected on his nature, his fascination with magic, and how the people and secrets of the magical world shaped his understanding of it. He reached Dumbledore’s office and greeted the Headmaster.

• Jon watched Hufflepuff students study and reflected on his tendency to avoid tedious work and let others carry out his plans.
• Jon considered how everyone around him had secrets, and how his own hidden past no longer made him feel unique.
• Jon thought about magic as something that encompassed the world and all its people, rather than merely spells and magical study.
• Jon climbed the final stairs to the Headmaster’s office, entered, and greeted Dumbledore.

Jon met with Dumbledore in the headmaster’s office, where Dumbledore revealed that he had sensed Helga’s revival through fluctuations in [Azure Deep Sea]. Jon realized Dumbledore had not discovered Helga and Grindelwald’s communication, but Grindelwald’s recent activity had become an unforeseen variable.

• Dumbledore offered Jon pastries, and Jon ate before suggesting they discuss business.
• Dumbledore remarked on Jon’s changed, more bashful manner, while Jon concealed his reaction to Dumbledore’s suspicion.
• Dumbledore explained that his connection to [Azure Deep Sea] had let him sense Helga’s presence after Grindelwald began surfacing there frequently.
• Jon stayed calm after realizing Dumbledore knew about Helga’s revival but not her communication with Grindelwald.
• Jon recalled that Helga had anticipated Dumbledore might sense her and that he had repeatedly stopped her from telling him directly.

Jon spoke with Dumbledore about Helga and the underground chamber, explaining that its hidden escape route had vanished after being used and the Sleeping Dragon Barrier was intact again. Dumbledore said Helga’s return would help against Voldemort, whom he expected to rise again and seek revenge.

• Jon and Dumbledore discussed Helga’s connection to Hogwarts and Dumbledore’s trustworthiness as her choice to look after Jon.
• Dumbledore invited Jon to explain the underground chamber, and Jon said Helga had left a back door that disappeared after it was used.
• Jon assured Dumbledore that Helga’s return would be difficult and that the Sleeping Dragon Barrier was now intact.
• Dumbledore said Helga could be a great help against Voldemort, whom he had once taught and believed would return with vengeance.

Jon reassured Dumbledore that Voldemort’s hatred and ambition would return, then considered trapping him in the underground chamber. Dumbledore revealed that Voldemort had made Horcruxes and began explaining what they were.

• Jon told Dumbledore that Voldemort’s hatred would persist, but that they still had advantages while Dumbledore remained safe.
• Jon suggested trapping Voldemort in the underground chamber, but realized the plan would not work because Voldemort had Horcruxes.
• Dumbledore said Carolina had once dealt with a Horcrux and mentioned that he believed Jon had read magical case rulings in her study.
• Jon wondered whether his grandmother had intended Dumbledore to look after him and decided to investigate the matter at home later.
• Dumbledore explained that a Horcrux was a form of alchemy that was also an evil kind of magic.

Jon discussed Voldemort’s Horcruxes with Dumbledore, who explained their origins and admitted he had found no sign of them. Dumbledore then asked Jon to help choose a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for next year.

• Dumbledore explained how Horcruxes preserved a wizard’s soul and traced their origins to ancient Egyptian myths about Osiris.
• Jon acknowledged the danger of Voldemort’s Horcruxes, and Dumbledore said he had found no trace of them and could not search the Dark Forest in Albania.
• Jon suggested Voldemort would have hidden Horcruxes in places beyond the Dark Forest.
• Dumbledore asked Jon which professor at the school would be suitable to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts next year.