Chapter Summaries

Vaughn shared a late-night hot pot with Li Nanyu, Hermione, and Dumbledore, then explained how the Eight-Wizard Tournament could advance his plans. He revealed that he wanted to develop oath-based magic to regulate the Thousand Illusion Spell, leaving Dumbledore to realize Vaughn intended to overturn the Statute of Secrecy.

• Vaughn prepared a divided hot pot in Dumbledore's office after Dumbledore mentioned a breakthrough in the Eight-Wizard Tournament.
• Dumbledore told Vaughn that Agamemnon and the LeMe Couple wanted to meet him and support reviving the tournament.
• Li Nanyu asked Vaughn what purpose the tournament served, and Vaughn demonstrated his improved Thousand Illusion Spell to him and Dumbledore.
• Vaughn explained that the tournament would provide young wizards as test subjects for a contract-based Ritual Magic or Unbreakable Vow tied to the Thousand Illusion Spell.
• Dumbledore realized Vaughn's plan could make the Statute of Secrecy meaningless and expose the wizarding world to Muggles.

Vaughn challenged Dumbledore to reconsider the Statute of Secrecy and his plans to reshape the wizarding world, while Dumbledore weighed whether to oppose him or trust him. Dumbledore chose to support Vaughn, and Vaughn planned to seek Ministry approval for experiments involving willing Muggles, Werewolves, and Dark Wizards.

• After Li Nanyu left, Vaughn argued that the Statute of Secrecy was outdated and could not protect wizards or Muggles.
• Dumbledore considered stopping Vaughn’s plans or killing him, but feared driving him into becoming a future threat.
• Dumbledore decided to trust Vaughn, believing he loved the world and might be its only hope.
• Dumbledore told Vaughn that the Trial Space had been remodeled and asked when he would bring in test subjects.
• Vaughn said he would include Muggles and Dark Wizards as well as Werewolves, and would seek Ministry permission for experiments with willing Muggles.

Dumbledore realized Vaughn planned to use Fudge’s exit from office to secure authorization for his human experiments, while Harry began suspecting that Voldemort’s allies were targeting the Diary at Hogwarts. In Ireland, Matthew told Francois that Vaughn planned to use Muggles as bait to draw Greyback’s Werewolf Legion into a trap.

• Vaughn explained that Fudge could be pressured into signing an authorization document before leaving office, and Dumbledore understood that it would shield Vaughn from backlash over his experiments on Muggles.
• Harry and Ron discussed Scabbers and Umbridge, then Harry concluded that Snape’s connection to Hogwarts meant Voldemort’s servants were targeting something there, possibly the Diary.
• Matthew met Francois in a Dublin bar and learned that Francois had found Greyback and witnessed the Legion brutalize a village during the full moon.
• Francois described how he had participated in the Werewolves’ attack and remained tormented by what he had done.
• Matthew proposed gathering Muggles as bait to lure Greyback and his Werewolves, then assured Francois that Vaughn would come to Ireland and the Ministry would authorize the plan.

Vaughn tested the Thousand Illusion Spell and considered the difficulties of developing Contract Magic before learning that Fudge had been discharged from St. Mungo’s. At Fudge’s Wizengamot trial, Vaughn argued that Fudge’s refusal to surrender his wand enabled Sirius Black’s escape, leaving Fudge unable to explain his actions.

• Vaughn confirmed that the Thousand Illusion Spell used the least Magic Power when transforming into something of similar volume, and he weighed possible sources of knowledge for Contract Magic.
• Guoguo Tea alerted Vaughn, and he met Lupin and Tonks at the Shrieking Shack, where Tonks told him that Fudge had been discharged and that the trial would begin that afternoon.
• Vaughn, Lupin, and Tonks went to the Ministry of Magic, where Amelia presided over the trial and Vaughn sat as the plaintiff opposite Fudge.
• Vaughn accused Fudge of abusing his authority and connected his refusal to surrender his wand at Azkaban to Sirius Black’s escape.
• Fudge called Vaughn’s accusations slander and accused him of treason, but he could not explain why he had refused to hand over his wand.

Vaughn secured Fudge’s suspension while leaving him a chance to support an acting Minister, then pressured him into signing WAC’s permit to use Muggles as experimental subjects. Fudge resolved to restore his standing by recapturing Sirius, while Matthew told Francois that WAC had its permit and was ready to act.

• Amelia adjourned the hearing, preserved Vaughn’s right to pursue his case, and suspended Fudge from political activities while requiring the Ministry to choose an acting Minister.
• Vaughn offered Fudge support for an acting Minister of his choosing in exchange for signing WAC’s permit to use Muggles in the Potion Exchange Event.
• Fudge signed the permit after Vaughn arranged for it to be dated before Fudge’s Azkaban inspection, and Vaughn handed it to Amelia.
• Fudge returned home furious and resolved to capture Sirius Black to reclaim his political standing.
• In Ireland, Matthew told Francois that WAC had obtained the Ministry’s permit and that it was time to move.

Fenrir Greyback learned from Francois that WAC might use Magic Protein and Wolfsbane Potion to eliminate lycanthropy, and he decided to attack their Dublin base. He ordered Francois to lead him to the abandoned military factory and sent his werewolves to stir up the city and gather help.

• Greyback collected coins from his werewolves while Francois questioned why the pack had to hide and revealed he had found a WAC werewolf wizard in Dublin.
• Francois told Greyback that WAC was keeping Muggles at an abandoned military factory and suggested its work involved the Potion Exchange.
• Francois claimed that Magic Protein combined with Wolfsbane Potion might eliminate lycanthropy, and Murphy reluctantly confirmed that the idea could be possible.
• Greyback ordered Francois to take him to the factory, threatening to make him supper if he refused.
• Francois agreed to lead the way but urged Greyback to find more help, so Greyback ordered a werewolf to make Dublin boil and prepare for a feast.

Francois lured Greyback’s werewolf legion into attacking WAC’s military factory in Ireland, then revealed his undercover role when Vaughn Weasley arrived. Vaughn incapacitated Greyback and the werewolf wizards with spells that stripped away their sight and hearing, then stopped the charging werewolves without killing them.

• Francois fed Greyback tempting false intelligence, prompting him to gather his werewolves in Dublin and seize vehicles to raid the military factory.
• Greyback led nearly five hundred werewolves toward the factory, where Muggles had gathered, and ordered Francois to find and kill the supposed traitor Matthew.
• Matthew revealed a magical envelope that summoned Vaughn, while Francois vanished with Apparition instead of attacking him, exposing his loyalty to WAC.
• Greyback realized Francois had deceived him and tried to flee, but Vaughn silenced Greyback and the werewolf wizards before they could cast spells.
• Vaughn used a Dimension Gate to spread a blinding spell across the werewolf wizards, leaving them unable to see or hear.
• Vaughn used an Infrasound Charm to halt the attacking werewolves before they reached the Muggles, intending to capture them rather than kill them.

Vaughn captured Greyback and his legion, then let WAC's werewolf wizards torture Greyback until his mind collapsed. As the news spread through Hogwarts, Vaughn promised Francois a role in WAC and announced the forthcoming version 2.1 Wolfsbane Potion, while Ron, Harry, and Hermione argued about Vaughn killing Greyback.

• Vaughn ordered WAC to transport Greyback's legion and the captured Irish Muggles to the Trial Space, then gave his werewolf wizards half an hour with Greyback.
• Francois told Vaughn he feared losing himself to violence, and Vaughn praised his restraint before promising a WAC position for the North American Werewolves and announcing version 2.1 of the Wolfsbane Potion.
• The werewolf wizards tortured Greyback until his mind collapsed, and Vaughn decided not to send him to Azkaban.
• At Hogwarts, students discussed Vaughn's capture of Greyback and his legion while Ron faced questions about what he had known beforehand.
• Ron said Vaughn's killing Greyback frightened him because Vaughn was only thirteen, but Hermione defended the killing and condemned the Ministry for failing to stop Greyback.

Vaughn used the release of Wolfsbane Potion Version 2.1 and a coordinated crackdown on Dark Wizards to shape public opinion and protect WAC from political attacks. He then went to meet Lupin at the Shrieking Shack, where Lupin was struggling with Vaughn’s suspected role in Sirius’s escape.

• Owls delivered a second batch of newspapers featuring Vaughn’s Wolfsbane Potion Version 2.1 paper, and Vaughn explained to Dumbledore that Lovegood had arranged the simultaneous publication for a fee.
• Vaughn defended killing Greyback by arguing that Azkaban would not have punished him and that the raid had taken place in Ireland.
• Newspapers questioned the potion and accused Vaughn of potentially controlling a Werewolf army, while Vaughn urged Dumbledore to focus on establishing the Werewolf Class at Hogwarts.
• Dumbledore learned that Vaughn had led WAC raids on Dark Wizard gatherings in England and Ireland, with Amelia’s approval, leaving political opponents little room to challenge the operation.
• Vaughn told Dumbledore he was going to the Shrieking Shack to see Lupin, who suspected Vaughn had helped arrange Sirius’s escape.

Vaughn revealed to Lupin that Peter Pettigrew was the real traitor and recruited him to help contact Sirius, while keeping Peter alive as bait for Voldemort. Back at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione discussed Vaughn’s plans, Snape, and the coming vote for acting Minister of Magic.

• Lupin confronted Vaughn about Sirius’s escape, and Vaughn showed him the Marauder’s Map, which revealed Peter Pettigrew was alive and disguised as Scabbers.
• Vaughn admitted he had helped Sirius escape and told Lupin to leave Peter alone because Dumbledore and he were using him as bait to lure Voldemort.
• Vaughn asked Lupin to contact Sirius and persuade him to cooperate, then said someone would take Lupin to see Sirius.
• In Gryffindor Tower, Ron questioned Hermione about Vaughn’s plans, and Hermione threatened to hang him from the Dueling Club stands if he spread rumors about Vaughn.
• Harry raised the Ministry vote, and Hermione predicted Amelia would become acting Minister while Ron contrarily suggested Mister Crouch.

Harry and Ron found dance partners for the ball while Hermione worried about Vaughn and questioned why Umbridge had become Acting Minister. Hermione arrived at the ball in a gown and was relieved when Vaughn appeared to escort her.

• Hermione, Harry, and Ron learned that Umbridge had become Acting Minister and agreed to stick to their plan of luring her away with a false secret.
• Harry and Ron searched for dance partners, and Ron invited Lavender Brown while Harry invited Cho Chang.
• Hermione urged the boys to get ready for the ball, then hurried back to Gryffindor Tower to change into an evening gown.
• Hermione bumped into Vaughn in the corridor, and he caught her and promised he would not leave her alone at the ball.

At the Potion Exchange ball, Fred and George tried to sell fake Love Potion and were punished by Professor McGonagall. As the dance began, Angelina chose George and Fred danced with Pheobe, while Vaughn learned that Hogwarts students were spreading rumors that he was secretly dating Pheobe.

• Fred and George offered Percy fake Love Potion, but Professor McGonagall discovered it was perfume, deducted Gryffindor points, confiscated their profits, and assigned them detention.
• Professor McGonagall praised Percy for refusing to cover for his brothers or accept their bribe, then told Vaughn to discipline them.
• Vaughn watched Angelina choose George as her dance partner, while Fred invited Pheobe onto the dance floor.
• Dumbledore told Vaughn that students had been spreading detailed rumors about a secret relationship between Vaughn and Pheobe.
• Fred winked at Vaughn as if he had arranged the dance to help Vaughn, prompting Vaughn to suspect the twins had started the rumors.

At the Yule Ball, Vaughn danced with Hermione and then Isabella, who asked about his plan to put exchange students through a dangerous Trial Space. Vaughn explained that he intended to unite the magic schools into an influential force capable of challenging the Wizarding world’s political authorities, and Isabella realized the scale of his ambition.

• Dumbledore told Vaughn that Ron had started the rumors about Vaughn and Pheobe, while Ron sneezed on Lavender during their dance.
• Vaughn danced with Hermione, who praised his skill, before Isabella asked to borrow him to avoid Karkaroff’s attention.
• While dancing with Isabella, Vaughn defended using the Trial Space to prepare exchange students for the dangers of the Triwizard Tournament.
• Vaughn argued that magic schools held broad influence because nearly all wizards were educated by them and their alumni remained connected to them.
• Vaughn told Isabella he planned to gather the schools into a unified force that could raise an unstoppable gale.

Vaughn, Dumbledore, and Isabella finalized the Trial Space as a competitive battlefield for the Potion Exchange Event, and Vaughn explained its rules and prizes. The event would begin the next day, with three rounds planned before the term ended.

• After the ball, Isabella told Vaughn she wanted to take part in whatever he planned, and Vaughn brought Hermione to the Practical Class Classroom to inspect the Trial Space.
• Hermione saw that the Trial Space had been transformed into a battlefield with nine camps surrounding a central region, and Dumbledore and Isabella welcomed them.
• Vaughn spent over an hour configuring the rules, then showed Hermione, Isabella, and Dumbledore how teams would hire NPCs with Potions, avoid supervisors, and fight to destroy rival camps' Magic crystals.
• Vaughn announced that the top three teams in each of three rounds would receive the complete Essence Charm, while schools winning repeatedly could earn the Magic Extraction Method notes and the Magic Protein Handbook.

Vaughn prepared the Potion Exchange Event’s second phase while planning to meet Sirius and pursue leads on Contract Magic. At Hogwarts, Harry and Malfoy secretly met in Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom, where Malfoy warned that his parents had discussed Voldemort’s Diary and urged Harry to get it out of Hogwarts.

• Vaughn arranged for WAC’s Forbidden Forest office to contact Lupin and returned to oversee preparations for the Potion Exchange Event’s second phase.
• Snape supervised the self-study Potions Class through Draco Malfoy while Harry and Ron questioned Hermione about Snape and Umbridge.
• Malfoy bumped into Harry in the corridor and secretly passed him a note directing him to Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom.
• Harry met Malfoy alone, and Malfoy revealed that he had overheard his parents discussing the Diary and Voldemort’s return.
• Malfoy urged Harry to find the Diary and remove it from Hogwarts before the Dark Lord could destroy the school.

After Malfoy confirmed that Voldemort’s resurrection plot involved the Diary, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to search for it themselves while Vaughn and Dumbledore were away. Meanwhile, Vaughn arrived at Black Manor and asked Kreacher to take him to Lupin and Sirius.

• Malfoy told Harry that Voldemort’s followers planned to use the Diary, and Harry shared his conclusion with Hermione and Ron.
• Harry persuaded Ron and Hermione to try to find the Diary without alerting Vaughn or Dumbledore, but Ron objected that they could not face the adult wizards involved.
• Professor McGonagall announced that Dumbledore had left Hogwarts, and Umbridge tried to use her agreement with Harry and Ron to get them to retrieve a document from Vaughn’s laboratory.
• Hermione concluded that the trio would have to investigate alone, and Harry and Ron returned to the Common Room after deceiving Umbridge.
• Vaughn arrived at Black Manor, restrained Kreacher when the elf began punishing himself, and asked him to lead the way to Lupin and Sirius.

Vaughn visited Sirius at Black Manor and removed Dark Arts contamination from the Persona Armor he had placed on him. After Sirius revealed that Fudge had ordered an Auror to attack him, Vaughn explained the plan to use Peter as bait for Voldemort, leaving Sirius wondering why Vaughn had saved him.

• Vaughn saw Walburga bound and gagged in her portrait, and warned Phineas to keep her from causing trouble.
• Vaughn found Lupin looking healthier and entered the bedroom where Sirius waited in a numb, exhausted state.
• Vaughn retrieved the contaminated Persona Armor from Sirius and learned that Fudge had ordered an Auror to use the Dark Arts against him at Azkaban.
• Sirius recalled that the Auror's name might have been Williams, and Vaughn recognized the political implications of Fudge's order.
• Vaughn explained that he and Dumbledore were using Peter as bait for Voldemort and that Peter could not be allowed to die yet.
• Sirius asked Vaughn why he had saved him if Peter had to remain alive.

Vaughn asked Sirius to help create pressure on Peter by publicly revealing the truth about that year, while Sirius learned more about Harry and agreed to go find Peter with Lupin. Meanwhile, Jacob Rosier and eight allies met to discuss Vaughn’s growing influence at Hogwarts and the dangerous experiments in the Trial Battlefield.

• Vaughn admitted that he had used his deal with Phineas to gain extra benefits and asked Sirius to use his voice to reveal the truth in the Daily Prophet, frightening Peter into action.
• Lupin told Sirius that Harry was close to Vaughn, who was teaching him Occlumency, and explained that he had sided with Vaughn because of his work for werewolves.
• Sirius decided to regain his strength, find Peter, and then see Harry, and Lupin agreed to go with him.
• Jacob Rosier convened eight allies, and Lucius explained that Vaughn’s Practical Class Classroom was an ancient alchemical painting transformed into the Trial Battlefield.
• Lucius said Vaughn had placed captured Muggles, wizards, and werewolves in the Trial Battlefield for magical-school exchange groups to test potions, including a cluster involving Magic Extraction and Magic Protein.

Jacob and Lucius urged a gathering of pure-bloods to find a way to locate Voldemort, while Harry and Draco secretly searched for the Diary and overheard Snape meeting with Lucius. The chapter left Snape and Lucius acknowledging that Voldemort was too frightened to trust even his own servants.

• Lucius warned the pure-blood gathering that Vaughn's Magic Protein research could expose Muggles' ability to use potions, and Jacob pressed them to act.
• Corban Yaxley revealed that his Dark Mark had not been activated, and Lucius explained that Voldemort would not let his servants contact him.
• Harry and Draco sneaked out under the Invisibility Cloak to watch Snape, believing he would lead them to the Diary.
• Draco told Harry that Snape was his godfather, and Harry claimed Snape's Dark Mark had been activated and he had returned to Voldemort.
• Harry and Draco entered Snape's office and overheard him and Lucius discussing the Diary and Voldemort's refusal to appear.
• Snape and Lucius concluded that Voldemort trusted no one because he feared those seeking to bring him back.

Harry and Draco overheard Lucius tell Snape that he planned to help revive Voldemort, then escaped discovery with help from Vaughn’s cat, Guoguo Tea. Harry wrestled with his growing suspicion that Vaughn had engineered Sirius’s escape from Azkaban, while worrying that Sirius might help Voldemort and target him.

• Harry and Draco hid beneath the Invisibility Cloak as Lucius told Snape that Jacob believed they could find Voldemort’s Diary, contact his soul, and use Harry to complete the revival.
• Harry accidentally struck his head against Snape’s table, but Guoguo Tea distracted Lucius and helped the boys slip out of the office.
• Draco urged Harry to tell Vaughn about the Diary and Voldemort, and Harry agreed to do so if Vaughn returned to Hogwarts.
• After Harry sneaked back into the dormitory, Ron revealed that he had dreamed Fred died and George lost an ear, and they discussed the possibility that Sirius might come to Hogwarts to help Voldemort.
• Harry lay awake, troubled by the suspicion that Vaughn had orchestrated Sirius’s escape from Azkaban to undermine Fudge and Amelia’s opponents.