Recaps

After Bellatrix’s speech, Regulus spoke with Avery, Hermes, Narcissa, and Lucius, then asked Narcissa and Lucius to stay for a family discussion with Bellatrix. As the banquet ended, the assembled Blacks and Lestranges waited in tense silence, with the coming confrontation still unresolved.

• Avery praised Bellatrix’s pure-blood New Order, but Regulus told him to ask his father, and Avery and Hermes agreed to spend the holiday practicing magic.
• Regulus joined Narcissa and Lucius, confirmed he was sheltering two Half-bloods, and asked Narcissa to remain for a discussion with Bellatrix.
• Regulus asked Lucius to stay as well, and Lucius agreed to serve as a witness.
• As the hall emptied, Orion, Sirius, Narcissa, Lucius, Rodolphus, Bellatrix, Walburga, and Rababstan remained while Walburga realized something was about to happen.

Bellatrix confronted Regulus after clearing the Banquet Hall, trying to make him explain why he sheltered Half-bloods and ignored her warnings. Regulus refused to engage and turned to Rodolphus to begin saying something directly.

• Rodolphus dismissed the servants, leaving Bellatrix alone with Regulus in the Banquet Hall.
• Bellatrix questioned Regulus about sheltering two Half-bloods at Hogwarts, but he said it had been convenient.
• Bellatrix told Orion and Walburga that Regulus had answered her letter with “So” written in ketchup, leaving Walburga embarrassed and unsettled.
• Bellatrix accused Regulus of disregarding her advice, Voldemort’s goodwill, and Toujours Pur.
• Regulus looked past Bellatrix to Rodolphus and said he had something to tell him face-to-face.

Regulus exposed Rababstan's attack on his people and turned the confrontation toward the Lestrange family, then had Sirius beat Rababstan in the Lestrange Banquet Hall. When Bellatrix attacked Sirius and Regulus blocked her spell, he challenged her to fight, and she faced him with her wand raised.

• Regulus told Rodolphus that Rababstan had used Veritaserum on two of his people at Hogwarts and demanded that the Lestranges answer for it.
• Rodolphus asked Regulus what he wanted, and Regulus called on Sirius to act.
• Sirius disarmed Rababstan and punched him until he collapsed, while Rodolphus did not intervene.
• Orion stopped Walburga from reacting, and Lucius held Narcissa back as the hall erupted.
• Bellatrix aimed a spell at Sirius, but Regulus blocked it and asked whether she wanted to fight.
• Bellatrix challenged Regulus's confidence, and he raised his wand toward her.

Regulus and Bellatrix fought with increasingly powerful spells in the Banquet Hall of Lestrange Manor, while Walburga watched in shock at her younger son's strength. Bellatrix was burned by Regulus's transfigured Stone Spikes and, impressed and exhilarated, prepared to continue the fight.

• Bellatrix shortened her gown and opened the duel with a wordless Reducto, which Regulus blocked with his Shield Charm.
• Regulus and Bellatrix exchanged attacks that damaged the hall, and Walburga's anger shifted to shock as she saw Regulus fight confidently.
• Bellatrix increased the pace and power of her spells, but Regulus dodged and counterattacked while pressing her across the hall.
• Regulus blasted the flagstones and transfigured the flying rubble into Stone Spikes that pierced Bellatrix's Shield Charm and burned her arm.
• Bellatrix examined the wound, praised Regulus's move, and became more fired up when he answered, "You flatter me, cousin."

Regulus used increasingly powerful and unpredictable spells to control his duel with Bellatrix, who attacked relentlessly but struggled to keep up. After blasting her into a pillar, he walked toward her through the smoke as she tried to rise.

• Bella's attacks intensified, but Regulus dodged and countered while leaving her increasingly battered.
• Regulus concealed Betelgeuse-infused spells among ordinary attacks, breaking Bellatrix's shield and injuring her shoulder.
• Regulus pressured Bellatrix with carefully timed attacks, and she realized he was controlling the duel's rhythm and her magic consumption.
• Bellatrix concentrated her magic into a Piercing Curse that pierced Regulus's small Shield Charm, but he narrowly avoided its beam.
• Regulus partially concealed himself with a Disillusionment Charm and hit Bellatrix with an unseen, Betelgeuse-infused Explosion Charm, hurling her into a pillar.
• Regulus's arm reappeared as he walked through the smoke toward Bellatrix, who was trying to get up.

Regulus’s calculated duel sent Bellatrix crashing into a pillar, while Walburga began to question the social hierarchy she had relied on. Bellatrix rose more excited than before, and Regulus continued toward her, intent on provoking her into unleashing her full madness.

• Regulus used conventional spells to injure Bellatrix and blast her into a stone pillar, revealing that he had maneuvered her into attacking first.
• Orion kept Walburga from intervening as she watched Regulus confront Bellatrix and began reconsidering Bellatrix’s status in light of Regulus’s power.
• Bellatrix rose from the rubble with visible injuries, trembling wand in hand, and showed excitement rather than fear.
• Regulus walked toward Bellatrix and judged that she had not yet used Dark Arts or reached the reckless state he wanted to provoke.

Regulus told Bellatrix that he cared about the Dark Lord's goodwill and the Black family's Toujours Pur, but not about her advice or performance, then offered to sit and talk. Bellatrix rejected the gesture and attacked again, while Regulus evaded her stone snake and falling masonry.

• Regulus told Bellatrix he cared about the Dark Lord's goodwill and the Black family's Toujours Pur, but did not care about her advice, judgment, or performance.
• Regulus offered Bellatrix his hand and proposed that they stop fighting and talk, but Bellatrix pushed his hand away and challenged him to see what else she could do.
• Lucius brought Narcissa to Orion, Sirius watched Regulus with excitement, and Rodolphus sent Rababstan away with a House-elf.
• Bellatrix animated the floor into a stone snake and pulled fragments from the wall to attack Regulus from two sides.
• Regulus made the floor slick so the stone snake veered into a pillar, then split a falling stone fragment to disrupt the rest of the barrage.

Bellatrix and Regulus fought through the collapsing Banquet Hall, but Regulus repeatedly countered her attacks with precise, economical magic. As the battle paused amid the ruins, Walburga began questioning how little she truly knew about Regulus and Sirius.

• Bellatrix attacked Regulus with a charging, spiked table and a barrage of sharpened stones, but he redirected the table and shattered the projectiles.
• Bellatrix tore down a load-bearing wall and ripped up the floor to attack from cover, while Regulus weakened the stone and reversed the rolling slabs.
• Bellatrix's hidden Cutting Curses wounded her slightly, and she emerged from the dust to face Regulus again as his breathing and appearance remained undisturbed.
• Orion protected the others behind a barrier while Lucius studied Regulus's precise fighting style and wondered how he had learned it.
• Narcissa suspected Orion had expected the situation, while Walburga reconsidered her judgments of Regulus and Sirius and wondered whether Sirius was like his brother.

Regulus and Bellatrix fought to a stalemate amid the ruins of the Lestrange family's Banquet Hall. Regulus demanded that Bellatrix stop interfering in Black family affairs, and Bellatrix prepared to reveal a more dangerous power as their fight resumed.

• Regulus assessed the destruction and his remaining Magic Power while Bellatrix recovered across the ruined Banquet Hall.
• Regulus invoked childhood memories and gratitude before telling Bellatrix to focus on the Lestrange family and have a child for Rodolphus.
• Regulus told Rodolphus that the Black family would pay for the repairs and that he would take over Black family affairs.
• Bellatrix accepted that they still had to fight and said she had never been serious before.
• Bellatrix surrounded herself with dark mist that corroded the rubble and told Regulus she would not beat him to death.

Regulus tested the corrosive, shadow-controlling Black Mist and faced Bellatrix’s layered Dark Arts with a high-powered metal spike and an enhanced Fire-Making Spell. The chapter ended with his Flame Domain and Bellatrix’s Black Mist locked in a clash.

• Bellatrix spread Black Mist across the Banquet Hall, where it corroded the surroundings, damaged Regulus’s Shield Charm, and used shadows to attack it.
• Regulus escaped the mist and dodged repeated volleys of black arrows, then transformed metal fragments into a white-hot spinning spike and launched it at Bellatrix.
• Bellatrix raised a Black Barrier that stopped the spike and absorbed some of its energy, leaving Regulus to abandon physical attacks.
• Regulus cast an enhanced Fire-Making Spell and formed a white-blue Flame Domain that burned through the Black Mist.
• Regulus’s flames and Bellatrix’s Black Mist pressed against each other as their magic clashed.

Regulus pierced Bellatrix’s defenses and wounded her, then used Light Magic to make her believe The Master rejected her loyalty. Bellatrix lost control and shattered her Black Barrier, leaving Regulus facing the mad opponent he had wanted to provoke.

• Regulus combined a spinning metal spike with flames to crack Bellatrix’s Black Barrier and struck her left shoulder with a Piercing Curse.
• Bellatrix healed the wound with Black Mist and grew more wary, but she kept her emotions under control.
• Bellatrix flooded the Banquet Hall with Black Mist, hiding the duel from those outside while Regulus moved close to her barrier.
• Regulus opened a tiny window in Bellatrix’s barrier and sent light carrying the thought that The Master did not need her loyalty into her mind.
• Bellatrix realized someone had tampered with her mind and erupted in fury, unleashing magic that shattered her Black Barrier.

Regulus fought Bellatrix through the ruins of the Banquet Hall as she unleashed lethal spells, and he nearly executed her before her magic burst free. After the blast left him standing, Regulus activated Dark Enlightenment and faced Bellatrix with his magic and demeanor transformed.

• The battle-damaged Banquet Hall drew the guests’ attention, but they stayed outside while Bellatrix fired the Killing Curse at Regulus.
• Regulus dodged Bellatrix’s rapid barrage of Unforgivable Curses and dark spells, then trapped her with a Bone-Locking Curse and prepared to kill her.
• Bellatrix released a violent burst of magic that broke the curse and blasted Regulus across the ruins, though he remained uninjured.
• Orion recognized that the moment had come for their plan, and Regulus activated Dark Enlightenment, letting Grey Matter spread through his body.
• Regulus walked toward Bellatrix with grey magic surrounding him and a flamboyant smile on his face.

Regulus used the power of Dark Enlightenment to defeat Bellatrix and unleash Fiendfyre on Lestrange Manor while convincing Orion that he remained in control. As the manor burned, Voldemort arrived, and Regulus recognized the source of the Dark Enlightenment approaching through the flames.

• Bellatrix recognized Dark Enlightenment in Regulus and attacked, but Regulus used domination magic, Soul Burning, and a Flame Whip to break her Black Barrier and leave her incapacitated.
• Orion recognized Regulus's Fiendfyre Bird as a sign that his son was still himself, then led Walburga, Sirius, Lucius, and Narcissa out of the Banquet Hall.
• Regulus told Rodolphus that the Lestrange family had touched his people, prompting Rodolphus to Disapparate.
• Regulus released the Fiendfyre, which became monstrous beasts and consumed the Banquet Hall and the rest of Lestrange Manor while leaving Bellatrix temporarily untouched.
• Regulus sensed a presence that extinguished heat, magic, and light as it approached, then saw Voldemort emerge from the darkness.

Regulus faced Voldemort amid the Fiendfyre-ravaged Lestrange Manor after defeating Bellatrix. He judged that Voldemort had come to assess or recruit him, and chose to stay and deal with the encounter rather than flee or fight.

• Fiendfyre destroyed much of Lestrange Manor, and the guests fled as its flaming beasts avoided a presence in the darkness.
• Regulus sensed that the Fiendfyre feared the approaching figure and recognized Voldemort when he emerged from the ruins.
• Regulus examined Voldemort’s inhuman appearance and found that his Magic Perception could not detect him, though his body and soul reacted to his presence.
• Regulus considered escaping or fighting but concluded that neither was necessary or wise while Voldemort stood before him.
• Regulus reasoned that Voldemort had likely come to assess his value, inspect the effects of Dark Enlightenment, recruit him, or investigate the destruction, and decided to face him.

Regulus put away the Dark Enlightenment and faced Voldemort with careful respect, explaining that he could not take it back to Hogwarts. Voldemort entered Regulus's mind with Legilimency, where he found the Dark Enlightenment contained and discovered Regulus's keen perception of his magic, vigilance, and lack of fear.

• Regulus withdrew the Grey Matter into the Isolation Zone and dropped his performed expression before Voldemort.
• Regulus addressed Voldemort as "Your Excellency" and said Dark Enlightenment was useful but inconvenient to bring back to Hogwarts.
• Voldemort used Legilimency to probe Regulus's mind, and Regulus's layered defenses guided him through genuine surface memories.
• Voldemort found Dark Enlightenment dismantled and stored in the Containment Chamber, with safeguards preventing it from reaching Regulus's core consciousness.
• Voldemort sensed Regulus's precise perception of his suppressed magic and found vigilance and calculation in his thoughts, but no fear.

Voldemort entered Regulus's mind to search for Dumbledore's influence, while Regulus guided what he saw and defended his deepest thoughts. When Voldemort's Magic Power stirred the imprisoned core of Dark Enlightenment, Bellatrix and other elements of Regulus's soul reacted, but Regulus concealed the changes, and Voldemort withdrew.

• Regulus let Voldemort encounter his memories of Dumbledore's and Voldemort's Magic Power side by side, revealing no allegiance to either wizard.
• Voldemort pressed deeper toward Regulus's core, and Regulus activated his mental defenses to conceal it.
• Voldemort's presence resonated with the imprisoned core of Dark Enlightenment, causing it to surge against the Containment Chamber's safeguards.
• The resulting tremor reached Regulus's soul, briefly intensifying Bellatrix's light and stirring the Soul Avatar and Patronus projection.
• Regulus suppressed and sealed every reaction, and Voldemort withdrew without breaking through the core defenses.

After Voldemort tested Regulus and offered him authority over Bellatrix, Regulus claimed her as family and refused the offer politely. Voldemort removed Bellatrix and departed, leaving Regulus to call back Fiendfyre and preserve the ruined Manor as a warning.

• Voldemort recognized Dumbledore in Regulus's memory, and Regulus explained that he learned from every great wizard.
• Voldemort gave Regulus permission to deal with Bellatrix, but Regulus said she was family and the matter belonged to the Black family.
• Voldemort silently transported Bellatrix, her blood, and her wand away, then told Regulus he looked forward to their next meeting and vanished into darkness.
• Regulus recovered from the mental strain and tested his will against Fiendfyre, noticing that it obeyed him but feared Voldemort more.
• Regulus called back Fiendfyre and chose to leave Lestrange Manor in ruins as a public warning, forcing the family to decide whether to rebuild there or elsewhere.

Regulus recalled the Fiendfyre after it destroyed Lestrange Manor, then left the ruins with Orion. He reassured Narcissa that Bellatrix had been taken away alive, while Sirius watched him struggle to reconcile Regulus’s composed manner with the person he had seen during the battle.

• Regulus compressed the Dragon, Giant Serpent, and Chimera into a small flame and extinguished the Fiendfyre, leaving Lestrange Manor reduced to scorched ruins.
• Orion met Regulus at the ruins’ boundary, checked him over, and left with him without asking what had happened inside.
• Narcissa, Lucius, Sirius, and Walburga waited outside, and Regulus apologized to Narcissa and told her Bellatrix had been taken away alive.
• Lucius offered the Malfoy family’s help with the aftermath and asked to visit Grimmauld Place, and Regulus welcomed him.
• Sirius stayed silent as he wondered whether the Regulus he had seen torturing Bellatrix was the same person now speaking calmly on the lawn.
• The Black family Apparated away.

After surviving Voldemort’s Legilimency, Regulus considered how Voldemort’s fractured soul might affect his magic and reconsidered the divide between light and dark. He entered his mental space to examine the darkness within his own soul.

• Regulus theorized that Voldemort’s magic remained powerful despite his fractured soul, perhaps because his Horcruxes or knowledge of magic compensated for the damage.
• Regulus recalled how Voldemort’s presence stirred Dark Enlightenment and how Bellatrix, Star Orbit Meditation, and his Patronus responded without suppressing the darkness.
• Regulus concluded that light and dark were different forms of magic shaped by a wizard’s choices, and resolved not to limit himself to either side.
• Regulus entered his mental space and saw that the darkness between the stars in his soul was not empty.

After facing Voldemort, Regulus examined the light and darkness within his soul and recognized a personal dark power he could develop. He also realized his wand was growing fond of combat magic, leaving him to consider how wands shape their users and whether he could transcend their role.

• Regulus identified his drive to organize, control, and gain power, along with his loneliness, as parts of his own nature, distinct from Voldemort's influence.
• Regulus resolved to discover and cultivate a dark power rooted in his soul that could complement the light of his Patronus.
• Regulus reflected on Voldemort's extraordinary magical achievements and regretted that their encounter had yielded no exchange of knowledge.
• Regulus sensed that his blackthorn wand had become more eager for combat magic after their battle and worried its preferences could influence his future choices.
• Regulus decided to keep the wand but seek other options and study whether a wand's role in spellcasting could be replaced or transcended, then settled to sleep.

Lily spent Christmas morning opening presents with her family, but she kept watching the window for an owl from the unnamed person who had become important in her stories. Her father recognized that she was waiting for news from someone, while Lily remained unaware of his growing understanding.

• Lily opened gifts from her parents, Marcia Freely, Susan Hopkins, and her Hogwarts classmates, including bouncing Honeydukes candy and a handwoven charm.
• Lily found a small bottle of hand cream from Sev, but the expected owl and gift from the Black family did not arrive.
• Petunia compared her two simple Christmas cards with Lily's many gifts and noticed Lily's pale purple Handbag.
• Lily repeatedly watched the window and waited for an owl, while her parents quietly observed her disappointment.
• Mr. Evans recalled Lily's unnamed stories about a boy and realized that she seemed to be waiting for news from someone.

Lily received a mysterious black kitten from Regulus for Christmas and recognized her longing to preserve her bond with Petunia. She offered Petunia a chance to name the kitten, and Petunia cautiously accepted it.

• Petunia watched Lily anxiously await a Christmas gift, while Lily's parents heard a knock and found a basket with a black kitten outside.
• Lily recognized the delivery man’s Black family crest and realized Regulus had arranged the gift; the man vanished after confirming she had seen him.
• Lily read Regulus’s note describing the kitten as friendly and easy to raise, then sensed that it carried Magic Power.
• Seeing Petunia withdraw from the magical world, Lily remembered Regulus’s words about longing and decided she wanted to protect their sisterly bond.
• Lily offered Petunia the kitten and invited her to name it, and Petunia awkwardly smiled before gently stroking it.

On Christmas, Severus Snape received potion partnership offers from Silver Moon Potions and Bobbins Herbs and Potions, arranged after he helped Black trap Rababstan Lestrange. He left both offers undecided, unwilling to reveal his connection to Black before he understood the danger from the Lestranges.

• Snape spent Christmas alone in the cold Snape house, thinking about Lily and the reward he expected from Black.
• Two owls delivered letters offering Snape ways to sell his potions through Silver Moon Potions and Bobbins Herbs and Potions.
• Snape compared the offers and recognized that Silver Moon offered better terms and a public connection to Black, while Bobbins offered less favorable terms and greater independence.
• Snape worried that selling through Silver Moon could expose his relationship with Black to the Lestranges and Rababstan Lestrange.
• Snape turned both letters face down, sent the hungry owls away, and left his choice unresolved.

News of Regulus Arcturus Black defeating Bellatrix Lestrange spread through the Wizarding World, prompting families to reassess the Black family’s influence and Regulus’s abilities. The chapter ended with the Nott and Cuthbert families preparing to approach the Blacks, while Abros Mulciber told Hermes to train alongside Regulus.

• Rumors about the fight at Lestrange Manor spread, and the widely accepted account was that twelve-year-old Regulus Arcturus Black had beaten Bellatrix Lestrange.
• Wizards reacted differently to the news: ordinary wizards dismissed it as a simple duel, powerful wizards recognized Regulus’s skill, and ambitious middle-tier families considered approaching the Black family.
• At breakfast, Old Nott told Theodore Nott and Darius Nott to show greater respect to the Black family.
• Old Cuthbert asked Avery what he thought of Regulus, and Avery described his unusual thinking and relentless practice without revealing the magic he had seen.
• Old Cuthbert arranged for Avery to accompany him to Grimmauld Place on December 29 to meet Regulus.
• Abros Mulciber told Hermes to put the Dark Arts aside temporarily and learn by training alongside Regulus.

Orion considered how to use rumors that Voldemort had intervened in the Black family's affairs while Regulus recovered from the mental strain of facing him. Regulus spent the day resting, then fed Baruk Dragon Meat and went downstairs to eat.

• Orion sorted letters probing the Black family's ties to Voldemort and decided to let the mistaken belief that he had contacted Voldemort spread.
• Regulus lay in bed and recovered from Voldemort's Legilimency while Star Orbit Meditation repaired his mental defenses and Saiph began to stir.
• Regulus spent the day too exhausted to move, and Baruk descended from the ceiling to keep him company.
• Regulus called Kreacher for raw Romanian Longhorn meat, and Baruk ate it from a silver tray.
• Regulus cleaned Baruk with a Charm, changed into a house robe, and left for dinner.