Recaps

Avery and James traded insults outside Hagrid’s Hut before Hagrid sent their groups to gather different plants in the Forbidden Forest. Sirius sensed Regulus hiding nearby with an instinct he could not explain, while Regulus watched him unseen; the Slytherins then headed west with Flossy.

• James and Avery exchanged taunts about their fight the previous day, and Avery challenged James to a one-on-one duel.
• Sirius searched the area and sensed something where Regulus stood hidden by the Improved Disillusionment Charm, though he could not see or detect him.
• Regulus realized Sirius had sensed him through his inexplicable instinct and quietly watched him.
• Hagrid stopped the argument, warned both groups against fighting, and assigned the Slytherins to gather Moonlight Moss in the western ravine while the Gryffindors went east for Glowcap Mushrooms.
• Avery, Alex, Hermes, Lina, Samuel, and Regulus followed Flossy toward the western Forbidden Forest.

Regulus led the Slytherins through the Forbidden Forest, where Avery complained about Hagrid's different treatment of the Gryffindors. After noticing the group struggling to collect Moonlight Moss, Regulus decided to teach them how to find it.

• Regulus revealed himself to Avery, Alex, Lina, and Samuel after the group reached an open stretch of the forest.
• Avery complained that Hagrid had treated the Gryffindors warmly but shown the Slytherins contempt.
• Regulus told Avery that Hagrid was trusted by Dumbledore and advised him not to pick a fight.
• Regulus noticed that Alex had collected only a little Moonlight Moss while Hermes had not helped at all.
• Regulus decided to teach the group, including Lina and Samuel, and they gathered around him expectantly.

Regulus taught Lina, Samuel, Avery, Hermes, and Alex how to use Magic Perception, guiding them to sense the magic in Moonlight Moss. He sent them to search for magical plants on their own, while Hermes continued edging toward the Forbidden Forest.

• Regulus explained why Magic Perception mattered and chose Moonlight Moss as a simple practice subject.
• Regulus used a mental connection to let the group sense the moss’s cool magic, and Hermes, Avery, Lina, Alex, and Samuel each perceived it.
• Samuel deliberately waited to respond until after Alex, quietly helping him avoid coming last.
• Regulus told the group to search nearby for Moonlight Moss, glowing ferns, and Glowcap Mushrooms without using their eyes.
• The group dispersed to practice, while Hermes dawdled toward the depths of the Forbidden Forest.

Regulus watched the students gather Moonlight Moss in the Forbidden Forest while Baruk inspected them and tormented Flossy. After praising Lina and Samuel, Regulus tasked Alex with teaching them magical control, and the group left the forest with Hagrid’s signal received.

• Regulus located a cluster of Bowtruckles but decided to return for them the next day.
• Baruk teased Flossy and secretly watched each of the students as they gathered Moonlight Moss.
• Lina gathered the most moss, while Samuel worked carefully, Alex struggled with sensing, and Avery and Hermes showed little seriousness.
• Regulus praised Lina and Samuel, then told Alex to teach them magical control starting the next day.
• Alex sent a green signal to Hagrid, and the group headed out of the Forbidden Forest with Flossy as Regulus followed with Baruk.

After a frightening midnight prank and an embarrassing dash to the Washroom, James realized Sirius was still troubled by events involving Regulus and tried to cheer him up. Sirius questioned whether strength could solve everything, leaving James unable to understand how to help before Lupin joined them.

• After overeating at the Kitchen, James woke in the night, mistook Sirius's prank for a frightening figure, and kicked him in the stomach before rushing to the Washroom.
• Sirius realized James had nearly wet himself and silently laughed, then returned to staring out at the moonlit grounds.
• James confronted Sirius about his withdrawn mood since the funeral and connected it to Sirius's fight with people associated with Regulus.
• When James offered stronger spells and pranks as ways to help, Sirius asked what strength meant and said some problems could not be solved by venting.
• James admitted he did not know how to help, then suggested they go find Snape, before Lupin appeared and asked what they were doing awake.

Regulus took Hermes into the Forbidden Forest to prepare for Baruk’s second modification, while Baruk tested its restored body and Hermes gathered Bowtruckles. The chapter ended with Regulus taking hold of both Hermes and Baruk and Apparating them away.

• Regulus woke to find Baruk waiting beside his bed, then let Hermes follow him from the Dormitory toward the Forbidden Forest.
• Regulus agreed to bring Hermes along and sent him to catch Bowtruckles alive and unharmed.
• Regulus reversed Baruk’s Transfiguration, and the full-sized Acromantula excitedly ran, climbed, and swung through the clearing.
• Hermes returned with seven or eight unconscious Bowtruckles, and Baruk rushed over to inspect them eagerly.
• Regulus placed one hand on Baruk and the other on Hermes, then Apparated with them.

Regulus brought Hermes to Aragog’s nest and showed Aragog how Baruk had changed, including its ability to withstand fire. Aragog demanded to know what Regulus had done, and Regulus said he had made one modification and had come to perform a second.

• Hermes landed with Regulus at Aragog’s nest and cautiously surveyed the spiders gathering around them.
• Baruk greeted Aragog, then hid partly behind Regulus while Aragog studied its changed appearance and scent.
• Regulus set Baruk ablaze, and Baruk remained unharmed while Aragog watched in shock.
• Aragog questioned Regulus about Baruk’s changes, and Regulus announced that he had come to make a second modification and told Aragog to make room.

Regulus cleared Aragog’s nest so he could modify Baruk with magic extracted from Bowtruckles. After rewriting the Bowtruckles’ Magic Seed, he placed it inside Baruk, beginning a new alteration whose effects had not yet appeared.

• Regulus told Aragog to leave the nest with Mosag, and Aragog led the spider colony away from the clearing.
• Baruk explored the empty nest while Regulus explained why it could safely stay with the spider colony after the alteration.
• Regulus extracted the magic from seven or eight Bowtruckles and combined it into a single Magic Seed.
• Regulus replicated and rewrote the seed’s magical structure to suit Baruk while preserving its outward-reaching nature.
• Regulus cast the alteration spell and inserted the bluish-white seed into a Magic Channel near Baruk’s eight eyes.

Regulus successfully connected Baruk to the Bowtruckle’s magic, giving the spider the ability to hear trees, whose voices revealed that they disliked him. When Hermes asked for the same power, Regulus challenged him to decide whether he wanted to learn the method or simply be modified, leaving Hermes to consider the difference.

• Regulus integrated the Bowtruckle’s magic into Baruk’s circuit, and Baruk struggled until he activated the new ability.
• Baruk listened to the trees around the Forbidden Forest and learned that they disliked spiders.
• Regulus comforted Baruk by telling him the trees might accept him once they knew him, and Baruk cheered up and resolved to get along with them.
• Hermes told Regulus he wanted the same ability, and Regulus asked whether he wanted to learn it or be modified.
• Hermes considered the difference between taking responsibility for learning a skill and passively receiving a modification.

Regulus negotiated with Aragog over Baruk’s abilities and breeding, then decided Baruk should remain in the Forbidden Forest and learn to communicate with trees. As Regulus and Hermes returned to the Castle, Hermes continued wondering how he differed from a spider who wanted the same kind of modification he did.

• Aragog asked Regulus to grant it abilities like Baruk, but decided to save its request for later and instead sought permission for Baruk to mate with the colony’s females.
• Regulus said Baruk could breed only in exchange for a price, and told Aragog to think of something to offer.
• Regulus checked Baruk’s new magic graft and told it to stay in the Forbidden Forest, where it could gradually earn the trees’ acceptance.
• Baruk asked Regulus to visit twice a day, then tripped Hermes when he tried to pat it; Hermes admired its strength.
• Regulus told Aragog he would return every day, then Apparated with Hermes to the forest’s edge and asked him to keep their visit secret.
• As they headed toward the Castle, Hermes wondered what distinguished him from a spider who wanted the same thing he did.

Snape attended a secret Slytherin association where pure-blood students traded rumors and discussed their families’ plans for the Ministry. As Wilkes asserted his family’s claim to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Snape listened and recognized how seriously the students anticipated the Dark Lord’s rise.

• Snape entered the hooded gathering in an abandoned classroom and reflected on how his Silver Moon badge and new status had gained him a place there.
• Wilkes arrived, removed his hood, and told the group to begin.
• Jugson reported that the Auror Office had filled two vacancies and mocked Ministry officials for delaying a staffing review.
• Gibbon ridiculed the Department of Magical Transportation’s response to a Floo Network malfunction, and other students discussed which Ministry departments would be targeted next.
• Wilkes said his family had long wanted the director’s position in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and argued that the Dark Lord’s favor would decide who got it.

At a Pure-blood Circle meeting, Snape listened as the boys condemned the Ministry, Muggle-borns, and Pure-blood families they considered traitors, while he privately judged their behavior and tracked who spoke. He realized they deliberately avoided mentioning the Black family, sensing that its importance and future influence frightened them more than he understood.

• Snape listened to the boys ridicule the Ministry and concluded that it was not foolish but corrupt.
• Quintus Crome complained that Half-bloods and Muggle-borns held Ministry positions that should belong to Pure-bloods, while Snape hid his reaction to the prejudice against his own heritage.
• Augustus argued that Hogwarts should stop admitting Muggle-born students, but Wilkes cut him off before he could continue.
• Wilkes and the others condemned the Weasley, Pruitt, and Longbottom families as traitors, and Augustus said they deserved to die.
• Snape noticed that the boys praised or condemned many prominent families but never said the name Black, and he concluded that they were deliberately avoiding it out of fear.

Snape reflected on his place in Slytherin society and on how much Black had enabled his rise before James Potter confronted him in a corridor. James overpowered Snape, but an approaching red-haired figure interrupted the fight just as Snape was cornered.

• Snape recognized that Black's influence had helped him enter the pure-blood circle, though he resented relying on it.
• Snape left the gathering alone and took his usual roundabout route through the western Corridor.
• James Potter blocked Snape's path while Sirius Black watched from the wall, and Snape taunted James about choosing a side and what was coming.
• James attacked Snape, who fought back with a shield and dark, tricky curses but was gradually driven against the wall.
• As James pressed his wand to Snape's face, someone called for them to stop and hurried toward them from the Potions professor's office.

Lily left Slughorn’s office after brewing a perfect Draught of Living Death and found James Potter and Sirius Black cornering Severus. She finally confronted them with her wand raised, but Sirius stunned and petrified Severus while James turned to face her.

• Lily brewed a flawless Draught of Living Death under Slughorn’s guidance, and he lent her Advanced Potion-Making.
• Lily found James Potter threatening Severus while Sirius watched and decided to intervene rather than merely shout at them.
• Lily challenged James and accused him of bullying Severus, then raised her wand to fight him.
• Sirius struck Severus with a spell and a Petrifying Spell, leaving him pinned and unable to move.
• James stepped between Lily and Sirius, distracted her, and made his move.

Lily fought James to protect Snape, but James eventually disarmed her and mocked them both. Lily studied the armor beside her wand and ran toward it, setting up a way to turn the fight around.

• Lily used feints, spell combinations, and careful timing to keep James from gaining the upper hand at first.
• James recognized something familiar in Lily's fighting style, then stopped playing around and overwhelmed her with fast, precise attacks.
• James disarmed Lily and taunted her while Snape remained immobilized, insulting him as Lily watched.
• Lily studied the armor beside her wand, then ran toward it as though desperate to retrieve the wand.

Lily defeated James after using Magic Manipulation to topple a suit of armor and disarm him, then told him to stop targeting Severus. James and Sirius later wondered why things had been going so strangely, while Sirius remained preoccupied with Lily's familiar fighting style.

• Lily pulled a suit of armor down toward James, seized the chance to retrieve her wand, and disarmed him with Expelliarmus.
• Lily warned James to stop causing trouble for Severus and cornering people, then let him and Sirius leave.
• Lily freed Severus from the Petrification Spell, but he angrily rejected her help and went toward the dungeons.
• Lily told Marcia and Susan that she had defeated James using the armor and her wandless Magic Manipulation, and planned to tell Regulus about it.
• James complained to Sirius about losing to Lily, while Sirius privately wondered why her fighting style felt familiar.

Regulus visited Baruk in the Forbidden Forest and learned that the spider had been trying to win the trees’ acceptance by copying Centaurs and approaching Unicorns. He explained that the forest’s trees needed time to recognize Baruk, then left after the spider cheered up.

• Regulus found Baruk and confirmed that its Bowtruckle module had fused completely, allowing it to hear and speak through the trees.
• Baruk told Regulus that both familiar and unfamiliar trees disliked it, and described its attempts to imitate Centaurs and seek the glow around Unicorns.
• Regulus reasoned that trees welcomed Centaurs and Unicorns because they had belonged to the forest for ages, while Acromantulas had only recently claimed territory there.
• Regulus considered whether Centaurs’ star-reading ability came from learned knowledge or an innate magical trait that he might someday study.
• Regulus told Baruk that the trees needed time to recognize it, and Baruk cheered up by playing with beetles before Regulus left.

Regulus let Lina and Samuel into the Room of Requirement, then put Hermes through a brutal training session to test his Magic Power control and Legilimency. The chapter ended with Hermes exhausted on the floor after Regulus reminded him that he had not even used his modified body.

• Alex told Regulus that Lina wanted combat practice, and Regulus agreed to bring her and Samuel to the Room of Requirement.
• Lina and Samuel entered the Training Ground, where Lina recognized their invitation as a sign of acceptance into the group.
• Regulus attacked Hermes with a relentless barrage of spells, forcing him to dodge, block, and resist mental interference.
• Hermes used Magic Power control to free himself from quicksand and Legilimency to defend against Regulus's mental intrusion.
• Regulus stopped the battered Hermes and told him he had not even used his own body, leaving Hermes collapsed on the floor.

Regulus ordered Alex to train Lina and Samuel while he worked alone on a new Spatial Trap technique. After the others finished practicing, Regulus emerged and led them to dinner, while Hermes remained silent about why he had been beaten.

• Regulus left Hermes injured and told Alex to train Lina and Samuel, while Avery questioned Hermes about the beating.
• Alex guided Lina and Samuel through dueling practice, and Avery trained against a Training Dummy as Hermes sat silently nearby.
• Regulus practiced shaping space into a concealed trap that could hold spells, testing it with a Lumos orb and considering how damaging curses could be used.
• Lina and Samuel finished their practice exhausted, Avery stopped training after the dummy disarmed him, and Regulus came out of the cabin.
• Regulus headed to dinner, and Avery called Hermes over when he lingered by the bench.

Lily met Regulus in the Abandoned Classroom, where Nox hissed at him before he quietly suppressed the magic that upset the cat. She told him how she had disarmed James Potter by pulling down a suit of armor, then analyzed what she still needed to improve.

• Lily arrived with Nox, which arched its back and hissed whenever Regulus approached.
• Regulus suppressed the lingering magic around his wand, calming Nox, but the cat still sprang away when he touched its tail.
• Lily told Regulus how she had fought James Potter after finding him and Sirius attacking Severus, and how she used a suit of armor to reclaim her wand and disarm James.
• Lily admitted James's speed had overwhelmed her plans, and Regulus praised her performance.
• Lily asked where Baruk was, and Regulus said he was staying with his flock and trying to make friends with trees.

Regulus began teaching Lily the Constant Shield Charm as the next stage of her Magic Manipulation, explaining how to build it gradually by shaping a steady strand of magic. Lily managed to hold a strand for two seconds and left determined to master the spell within a year.

• After Lily calmed Nox, Regulus praised her use of Magic Manipulation and told her she was ready to learn the Constant Shield Charm.
• Regulus warned Lily that the difficult spell required shaping magic directly and maintaining a thin, continuous film over her body, even while moving and casting.
• Regulus demonstrated how to form a steady strand of magic on one finger, then guided Lily through her first attempts.
• Lily struggled to keep her strand thin and even, but eventually held one for two seconds before it dispersed.
• Regulus told Lily to practice the first step whenever she had a spare moment, and Lily vowed to learn the spell within a year.

Regulus taught Lily the Enhanced Senses Charm to help her anticipate opponents, and she struggled through the overwhelming flood of sensory information on her first attempt. She left determined to master it alongside the Constant Shield Charm.

• Nox grew comfortable enough around Regulus to settle beside him by the classroom window.
• Regulus explained that the Enhanced Senses Charm could help Lily detect an opponent's movements earlier, but warned that its first use would overwhelm her and drain her mental strength.
• Lily learned the incantation and wand movements for Sensus Altus and successfully cast the charm.
• Lily was flooded with details from her surroundings, then gradually learned to focus on Regulus's voice and endure the spell before ending it after several seconds.
• Lily vowed to develop the Constant Shield Charm within a year and train the Enhanced Senses Charm until she could handle it.
• Lily picked up Nox, said good night to Regulus, and headed toward Gryffindor Tower.

Regulus completed a precise partial Transfiguration in class and wondered how permanent Transfiguration worked. When he visited Professor McGonagall, she asked for his overdue essay, and he agreed to hand it in before Friday.

• Professor McGonagall taught Slytherin and Hufflepuff to transform half of a stone slab into wood while preserving a clean boundary.
• Regulus successfully transformed his slab and considered what made permanent Transfiguration last without continued magic.
• After class, Regulus went to Professor McGonagall's office to ask her questions.
• Professor McGonagall asked Regulus to submit the Transfiguration essay he had missed during his leave.
• Regulus claimed he was writing the essay, and Professor McGonagall told him to hand it in before Friday.

Regulus asked Professor McGonagall how permanent Transfiguration worked and learned that objects reverted because their inner nature still recognized their original form. He left considering whether the Severing Charm could strip away that recognition long enough for Transfiguration to make a new form permanent.

• Regulus asked McGonagall where an object's tendency to revert came from and whether it could be eliminated.
• McGonagall explained that ordinary Transfiguration suppressed an object's unchanged inner nature, while permanent Transfiguration changed that nature to accept its new form.
• Regulus realized he had been focusing on stronger suppression instead of altering an object's inner nature.
• Regulus avoided revealing his Severing Charm and asked whether stripping away an object's self-recognition could remove its direction to revert.
• Regulus wondered whether Transfiguration could permanently reshape something during the brief interval after severing it but before its fundamental units dispersed or re-formed.

Regulus discussed the limits of Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall and realized that Severing might let him erase an object's original nature before reshaping it. He connected that idea to his search for a way for light and darkness to coexist, then the discussion ended when Sirius arrived.

• Regulus asked Professor McGonagall whether something stripped of its original nature could be given a new form.
• McGonagall explained that such a state would last only an almost nonexistent moment and that reshaping after erasure went beyond Transfiguration.
• Regulus realized he might use Severing to erase an original nature and impose a new form before the remaining units dispersed or collapsed.
• Regulus connected McGonagall's ideas about suppression, erasure, and transformation to his unresolved questions about light and darkness.
• Regulus thanked McGonagall, who told him to submit his paper before Friday.
• Sirius opened the office door after knocking.