Chapter Summaries

Regulus and Dolohov fought a controlled duel while the Death Eaters recovered their injured comrades and prepared to retreat. Dolohov Apparated away with his men, but Regulus suddenly appeared in front of him at the last moment.

• Regulus checked on Fabian and Gideon Pruitt, who were shaken by his explosion but not seriously injured.
• Dolohov assessed the battlefield and signaled a subordinate to dig the buried Death Eaters out of the ruins.
• Regulus and Dolohov traded spells, with Dolohov retreating and buying time while his men recovered.
• Moody watched the duel and kept the injured Death Eaters from interfering.
• Dolohov covered the ruins in black smoke and waited for his subordinates to Apparate away before following them.
• As Dolohov began to Apparate, Regulus appeared directly in front of him.

Regulus smashed Dolohov’s face and let him Apparate away, badly splinched, after theatrically inviting him to leave. Moody sent the Pruitt brothers to Hogsmeade while he investigated the ruins, and Regulus left with the brothers following him.

• Regulus struck Dolohov with a magically empowered punch, shattering the left side of his face.
• Regulus made a mocking gentleman’s bow, and Dolohov chose to escape by Apparition, splinching himself in the process.
• Moody confronted Regulus about fighting dirty, and Regulus said Dolohov had glared at him.
• Fabian and Gideon thanked Regulus for intervening, and Regulus introduced himself as Geralt and joked that he had been taking a walk.
• Moody ordered the Pruitt brothers to meet Albus at the Hog’s Head Inn and went into the ruins to investigate.
• Regulus walked toward the wilderness, and Fabian and Gideon followed him.

Regulus and the Pruitt brothers arrived at the Hog's Head Inn, where Aberforth examined and treated the brothers' injuries while berating Dumbledore and Regulus. After Regulus cleaned himself with a burst of flames, Fabian asked about his magic, and Regulus offered to teach him.

• Regulus entered the Hog's Head Inn with Fabian and Gideon after Aberforth had driven out the other customers.
• Aberforth used Light Clusters to check the Pruitt brothers, found no serious injuries, and gave them blood-replenishing potions.
• Aberforth criticized Dumbledore for bringing injured people to the inn and scolded Regulus for having someone else's blood on his cuff.
• Regulus burned away the stains and dirt on his clothes with a burst of flames, prompting Aberforth to yell at him for setting fire to the bar.
• Fabian asked Regulus about his blasting magic, and Regulus offered to teach him; Fabian eagerly asked to begin immediately.

Regulus demonstrated how to compress air inside an inverted Shield Charm, then entertained Fabian and Gideon with fabricated stories about adventures in Norse and Greece. The brothers recognized that he was withholding the secret behind the Castle-destroying blast, but accepted the spell as a useful practice exercise.

• Regulus formed a spherical Shield Charm, pumped air into it with an Airflow Charm, and explained how compressing the air increased its power.
• Regulus carefully vented the sphere before it could burst, while Aberforth complained about the damage Regulus and Dumbledore's other visitors caused.
• Fabian and Gideon asked what else they needed to know, and Regulus told them the spell would help them practice precision and multitasking while keeping the Castle-destroying method secret.
• Fabian asked Regulus about his adventures, and Regulus invented tales about rescuing Frost Wolf cubs from a troll and killing a Sea Demon in Greece.
• Gideon questioned Regulus about handling the creatures alone, then concluded that his adventure stories were made up.

Geralt recounted fabricated adventures to Fabian and Gideon, who challenged him to a duel the next morning. After agreeing, Regulus reflected that he had deliberately made his explosive magic and strength visible to allies and enemies, leaving Saiph’s star to grow.

• Geralt entertained Fabian with invented tales while Gideon and Dumbledore listened, and Gideon recognized that the stories were fabricated.
• Fabian and Gideon asked to test their strength against Geralt, and Regulus agreed to duel them the following morning after they had rested.
• Regulus cleaned and prepared his room at the Hog’s Head Inn, then considered how he had chosen to display his power while rescuing the Pruitt brothers.
• Regulus reflected on how his demonstration had shown others each step of his magic while making clear that they could not reproduce it.
• Regulus began his Star Orbit Meditation, sensed Saiph’s star gaining strength, and went to sleep near three in the morning.

Dolohov recovered from a brutal defeat and reported the white-haired wizard’s power to Voldemort. He traveled to a burned coastal village, where Bellatrix led him toward the Master.

• Dolohov returned to the family manor badly injured, treated his wounds, and restored his appearance as best he could.
• Dolohov concluded that the young white-haired wizard posed a serious threat because he had interrupted Dolohov’s Apparition with a precisely timed punch.
• Dolohov sent a signal reporting the stronghold attack and received coordinates for a Portkey near Sunderland.
• Dolohov arrived at a burned fishing village, where he saw Muggle corpses and newly created Inferi.
• Bellatrix met Dolohov at the village and, in a subdued and unsettling state, told him to follow her to the Master.

Dolohov reported the Skipton base’s destruction to Voldemort, who used Legilimency to examine his memories of the white-haired wizard who attacked it. After learning that Dumbledore had gained a powerful new ally, Voldemort asked Bellatrix about Regulus Black and sent her to investigate his whereabouts.

• Dolohov knelt before Voldemort and reported that the Pruitt brothers had led an ambush on the Skipton base, where a white-haired wizard blasted apart the Castle before Dolohov ordered a safe retreat.
• Dolohov cursed the white-haired wizard for striking him and dismissing him with an aristocratic salute.
• Voldemort invaded Dolohov’s memories, examined the wizard’s explosive spell and their fight, and judged his combat skill worthy of notice.
• Voldemort asked Bellatrix how Regulus Black was doing, and she said the claim that he had gone to India was false.
• Bellatrix promised to investigate Regulus’s true whereabouts, then Voldemort ordered her to go and told Dolohov to heal his face.

Regulus left the Hog's Head Inn with Fabian and Gideon Pruitt to escape Aberforth’s cooking, then shared a meal with them at the Three Broomsticks. After joking with Madam Rosmerta, the three headed outside Hogsmeade and prepared to duel, leaving the fight about to begin.

• Regulus refused Aberforth’s breakfast and led Fabian and Gideon out of the Hog's Head Inn to eat elsewhere.
• At the Three Broomsticks, Regulus and the Pruitt brothers ordered breakfast, and Fabian and Gideon teased him about Madam Rosmerta’s interest in him.
• Regulus declared that women slowed down wand drawing, and Rosmerta jokingly asked when he was usually free; he replied that he was free between fighting and eating.
• The three young men raced to finish their meal, with Regulus clearing his plate first.
• Outside Hogsmeade, Fabian and Gideon faced Regulus for a two-on-one duel as all three drew their wands.

Regulus sparred with Fabian and Gideon, then tried to steer their hopeful talk about life after the war away from dangerous topics. Fabian and Gideon mistakenly concluded that Geralt was uninterested in women, and Regulus left in frustration while Dumbledore watched and wondered why his face had darkened.

• Regulus used quick movement, spells, and hand-to-hand attacks to outmaneuver Fabian and Gideon during a long sparring match.
• After the fight, Fabian and Gideon talked about marrying, raising children, and teaching Bill and Charlie to fly after the war.
• Regulus tried to redirect their conversation, but Fabian asked about his romantic plans and the brothers wrongly assumed he was uninterested in women.
• Regulus denied their assumption, then got up and left as Fabian and Gideon followed in conspicuously polite silence.
• Dumbledore revealed that he had watched the sparring and conversation, then walked toward the group, wondering why Regulus's face had darkened.

Orion Black attended a Wizengamot vote on foreign Aurors’ authority to operate in the UK, then heard that a Ministry official had accessed the Black family’s travel records. He left the matter under observation while considering that the search might be connected to Regulus’s trip to France.

• Orion Black voted against the treaty amendment, and the Wizengamot rejected it by thirty-one votes to twenty-three, with seven abstentions.
• Orion went to his office and met with Hector Fleet, who told him that Glen Matherwy had checked the Black family’s March travel records.
• Fleet assessed that Matherwy had likely acted for someone else and said he was monitoring him.
• Orion told Fleet to watch Matherwy and report any further activity involving the Black family’s records.
• Orion considered that Regulus’s legal trip to France might have drawn attention and decided that being watched was not yet a problem.

Orion learned that several sources were systematically investigating Regulus’s school life, magical interests, and connections, and concluded that Voldemort was behind it. He sent Regulus a warning while dismissing the possibility that Regulus was the white-haired wizard who had attacked Dolohov’s stronghold.

• Orion received Sebastian Cuthbert’s warning that Slytherins at school had been asking detailed questions about Regulus and his relationship with Dumbledore.
• Orion read Horace Slughorn’s letter and realized that an influential person had also asked about Regulus, while Slughorn had maintained the story that Regulus was in France.
• Orion connected the inquiries to Voldemort’s interest in monitoring the effects of Dark Enlightenment and considered whether recent activity from Dumbledore’s camp had triggered the investigation.
• Orion recalled reports of a powerful white-haired wizard who had attacked Dolohov, but decided that linking the stranger to Regulus would be speculation.
• Orion sent Regulus a warning through the Black family’s Bloodline Tracking Beacon and then went downstairs for dinner.

Regulus followed Dumbledore through the ruins of another village destroyed by Voldemort’s Inferi experiments, then learned from his father that Voldemort was investigating him. He decided to go to France and show Voldemort what he expected to see, while Dumbledore remained unaware of the full history between them.

• Regulus and Dumbledore surveyed the wreckage of a fishing village where Voldemort had created Inferi, then walked south along the cliffs.
• Regulus received a letter from his father warning that Voldemort was investigating him and that there were movements within Dumbledore’s camp.
• Regulus concluded that Voldemort wanted to assess him and decided to go to France to manage Voldemort’s perception of him.
• Regulus told Dumbledore about the investigation and his plan, and Dumbledore asked whether he was confident.
• Dumbledore accepted Regulus’s calm response but did not know the details of Regulus’s past encounters with Voldemort.

Regulus and Dumbledore discussed Voldemort’s investigation and why Dumbledore had not confronted him, while Regulus kept his theories about Voldemort’s soul to himself. Dumbledore offered Regulus a safe return to his side whenever he needed it, and they left the sea cliffs together.

• Regulus told Dumbledore that he would let Voldemort’s investigators see him in France, where his father had arranged a cover.
• Regulus asked Dumbledore why he had not gone to find Voldemort, and Dumbledore explained that Voldemort hid among his followers and was too powerful to defeat with one certain strike.
• Regulus considered that Voldemort was concealing himself while his transformed body stabilized, but chose not to share his suspicions about Voldemort’s soul.
• Dumbledore told Regulus that he could return whenever he needed help, without explaining or reporting in, and Regulus accepted.
• Dumbledore and Regulus Apparated away from the sea cliff.

Regulus returned to Hogwarts and found Baruk planting and nurturing seedlings in the Forbidden Forest, using its own Magic Power to help them grow. Baruk had internalized its plant-sensing ability and proudly showed Regulus its thriving garden.

• Regulus found Baruk carefully watering and planting seeds in a moonlit clearing.
• Regulus realized Baruk was using its Magic Power to nourish the seedlings and had learned to distinguish how quickly each plant grew.
• Baruk spotted Regulus, rushed over to greet him, and proudly said it had learned to plant trees.
• Regulus sensed that Baruk's Bowtruckle module had fully fused and become a natural part of its perception.
• Baruk led Regulus around its garden, pointing out the fast-growing seedlings, the slower sprouts, and a young tree.

Regulus left the Forbidden Forest with Baruk and used the Starry Sky Kite to travel to 12 Grimmauld Place. His arrival triggered the ancestral home's defenses, and Orion mistook him for a dangerous wizard as the two were poised for a confrontation.

• Regulus admired Baruk's garden and persuaded it to leave its plants behind and travel with him.
• Baruk shrank onto Regulus's shoulder, and Regulus summoned the Starry Sky Kite to carry them through space.
• The Starry Sky Kite brought Regulus and Baruk into the Study at 12 Grimmauld Place, triggering the Black Ancestral Home's defenses.
• Orion recognized the Starry Sky Kite's magic but mistook the unfamiliar white-haired Regulus for a dangerous wizard and hid in the shadows.
• Regulus sensed Orion's Shadow Trace Charm and the ancestral home's defenses sealing the Study, then grinned.

Regulus entered the Black family’s old manor disguised as a powerful white-haired wizard, and Orion nearly attacked him before he revealed his identity. Orion learned that Regulus had been the wizard who injured Dolohov, then asked his son to warn him before coming home next time.

• Regulus’s transformed appearance and scorching Magic Power alarmed Orion, who recognized Baruk but did not believe the wizard was his son.
• Orion activated the manor’s defenses and prepared to subdue the intruder, while Regulus felt the old manor suppressing his Magic Power.
• Regulus called Orion “Father,” then transformed back into his usual appearance, leaving Orion to recognize him.
• Orion lowered his wand and dismissed the manor’s defenses after realizing Regulus had been the white-haired wizard all along.
• Regulus explained that he had forgotten to transform back before returning, and Orion told him to give advance notice next time.

Regulus returned to Grimmauld Place after disguising himself as a powerful enforcer, and he told Orion he planned to draw Voldemort’s attention by appearing in France. Orion warned him that Voldemort’s followers were preparing for war, while Regulus judged that Voldemort might move by next summer.

• Orion realized the white-haired enforcer who had triggered the Black family defenses was his son, Regulus, and felt relief that the frightening incident had been a joke.
• Kreacher arrived with the family’s defensive lantern, learned that Regulus had returned, and hurried off to prepare food for him.
• Orion recognized Regulus’s combat outfit as permanent Transfiguration made by Professor McGonagall and inferred that Dumbledore was helping Regulus operate under another identity.
• Regulus decided to go to France and let Voldemort see him, hoping to provoke a capable opponent and further his plans.
• Orion reported that Death Eater activity was spreading, Dementors were growing restless, and the Ministry was failing to respond effectively.
• Orion estimated that Voldemort would be ready to act within one or two years, and Regulus warned that it could happen by next summer.

Regulus told Orion that Voldemort’s forces were growing and the war would begin in less than a year, prompting Orion to accelerate the Black family’s preparations and resume practicing the family’s Shadow Veil. After discussing Regulus’s Geralt identity and his fight with Dolohov, Regulus left the Study to change and visit his mother.

• Regulus reported the Werewolves’ rapid growth and Dumbledore’s struggle to recruit enough fighters, then estimated that war would begin in less than a year.
• Orion accepted Regulus’s warning, began planning to withdraw assets and strengthen alliances, and decided to practice Shadow Veil to protect his thoughts from Legilimency.
• Regulus explained that Geralt was an adventurer identity that helped him develop his soul, and Orion noted that it could also serve the Black family’s interests without exposing them.
• Regulus recounted how he had controlled his fight with Dolohov and left him with something before allowing him to escape.
• Orion sent Regulus to change before seeing his mother, while Baruk greeted Orion and then settled on Regulus’s shoulder.

Regulus returned to the Black family home, where Walburga welcomed him and prepared him for his journey to France with deadly cursed items and travel supplies. After showing her his extraordinary corporeal Patronus, he departed, leaving Walburga shaken and Orion to comfort her.

• Regulus ate dinner with Walburga and Orion, and Orion explained that Regulus would handle a problem at the family's French vineyard.
• Walburga warned Regulus about dealing with others in France and urged him to use the Killing Curse if necessary.
• Regulus fed Baruk Swedish Short-Snout neck meat and went to sleep before leaving early the next morning.
• Walburga gave Regulus the Withering Ring, Wailing Dust, Blood Oath Coin, new robes, shoes, and potions for his journey.
• Regulus conjured his Starry Sky Kite Patronus for Walburga, then merged with it and departed as she tearfully watched him go.

Regulus arrived at the Black family’s Provence estate and met Felix Laval, who had impersonated him with Polyjuice Potion while maintaining the appearance of Regulus’s Magic Power. After Felix briefed him on the estate and suspicious Ministry visitors, Regulus looked out over the vineyard, where Baruk eagerly sensed the abundant plant life and Natural Magic Power.

• Regulus stepped through a quiet spatial rift into the Provence estate’s sitting room and confronted Felix Laval, who was disguised as his double.
• Felix ended his Human Transfiguration, explained that the Polyjuice Potion still kept his appearance identical to Regulus’s, and introduced himself.
• Felix told Regulus about the estate’s vineyards, staff, income, and a Ministry of Magic commercial registration visit three days earlier that he suspected had been checking whether Regulus was there.
• Regulus agreed that he would handle any further attempts to investigate him, while Felix planned to remain at his side as his assistant.
• Regulus opened the shutters, and Baruk excitedly sensed the vineyard’s plants and the Natural Magic Power throughout the hillside.