Chapter Summaries

Regulus defeated Hermes in a duel, winning his submission, then impressed Professor McGonagall with his advanced Transfiguration. The chapter leaves Regulus demonstrating that he can transform Diamond into Graphite and back with complete control.

• Regulus broke Hermes's Shield Charm with a powerful Repelling Charm and struck him with Incendio, leaving Hermes unharmed but with scorched, curled hair.
• Hermes accepted defeat and joined Avery and Alex as Regulus ended the duel and led them to lunch.
• In Transfiguration class, Regulus turned a wooden carving into a lifelike owl and earned ten points for Slytherin.
• After class, Regulus followed Professor McGonagall to her office, where she asked whether he had mastered her notes.
• Regulus demonstrated his skill by smoothly transforming Diamond into Graphite and back, earning Professor McGonagall's approval.

Regulus asked Professor McGonagall about the limits and combat uses of Transfiguration, then asked whether space itself could be transformed. She demonstrated Spatial Transfiguration and explained that it was an advanced, difficult branch of the subject.

• Regulus asked whether Transfiguration could affect natural phenomena or spells, and Professor McGonagall explained how their structures could be changed.
• Professor McGonagall described combat uses of Transfiguration, including altering terrain and an opponent’s equipment.
• Regulus asked whether space itself could be transfigured, and Professor McGonagall paused before answering with a demonstration.
• Professor McGonagall used her Wand to stretch, flip, and distort the office’s space, then restored it to normal.
• Professor McGonagall explained that Spatial Transfiguration relied on understanding space and was far more difficult than transforming material objects.

Regulus learned from Professor McGonagall about advanced Transfiguration, including the risks of manipulating space, and began planning how to combine it with his Space Magic. As Easter began, he returned alone to 12 Grimmauld Place, where his family awaited him.

• Professor McGonagall gave Regulus an old notebook of Transfiguration theories and warned him about the dangers of experiments involving life magic.
• Regulus considered ways to use Spatial Transfiguration to strengthen and expand his existing Space Magic.
• Regulus returned to the dormitory and showed Avery, Alex, and Hermes the notebook’s animated image of a changing geometric shape.
• Regulus, Avery, and Alex submitted applications to leave Hogwarts for Easter, while Hermes stayed behind.
• After Avery and Alex boarded the train, Regulus Apparated to the steps of 12 Grimmauld Place.

Regulus returned to Grimmauld Place and told Orion about the failed mission, the Plague Wand, and the professors’ support at Hogwarts. He affirmed that he would gain enough power to choose his own path, then received his grandfather’s pocket watch and planned to practice Fiendfyre over the holiday.

• Regulus returned home, where Walburga welcomed him and asked about his life at school.
• Regulus told Orion how Daren McNeil broke through the Astronomy Tower protections, the gray mist erupted, and Dumbledore sealed the Plague Wand.
• Regulus explained that Hogwarts’s professors were helping him and that their kindness felt genuine despite their expectations.
• Regulus told Orion he would gain the power to choose freely before circumstances forced him to take a side.
• Orion gave Regulus his grandfather’s pocket watch, engraved with “Time will prove the path.”
• Regulus said he planned to practice Fiendfyre over the holiday, and Orion warned him to be careful.

Regulus weighed the danger of opposing Voldemort before studying an ancestral notebook on the Fiendfyre Curse. He concluded that he needed enough power to choose freely and began assessing whether he could safely learn the deadly spell.

• Regulus reasoned that the Black family could not betray Voldemort until he was strong enough to protect them from retaliation.
• He considered how Dumbledore's favor and his resemblance to Voldemort might affect his future, and questioned what power he needed to choose his own path.
• Regulus opened an unsigned notebook from the Black family Library and learned that it described the Fiendfyre Curse.
• He read that Fiendfyre was sentient, difficult to control, capable of destroying Horcruxes, and likely to kill an unprepared caster.
• Regulus compared the spell's prerequisites with his own magic and Dark Arts knowledge, then studied its practice steps and emergency escape instructions.

Regulus studied the principles of controlling Fiendfyre and practiced the curse in a protected Training Room with Orion watching. After developing precise control over small flames, he returned to Hogwarts at the end of the Easter holiday, knowing that mastering larger Fiendfyre would take continued practice.

• Regulus read that Fiendfyre could be controlled through focused will, emotional restraint, a simple form, and steady magical output.
• Regulus asked Orion to help him practice Fiendfyre, and Orion prepared a protected Training Room in the Black mansion.
• Regulus summoned Fiendfyre and kept it stable for forty-five seconds during his first attempt.
• Over several days, Regulus learned to move, shape, split, merge, and compress small Fiendfyre flames, though a football-sized flame nearly escaped his control.
• Regulus said goodbye to Walburga and Orion, Apparated to the hillside outside Hogwarts Castle, and walked toward the school.

Regulus returned to Hogwarts after the Easter holiday and brought Avery, Alex, and Hermes to the Room of Requirement to practice magic. He helped Avery refine the Shield Charm and gave Alex a controlled Lumos exercise as Hermes’s hunger for power continued to shape their training.

• Regulus spent the morning and afternoon studying Ancient Runes in the library before Avery and Alex returned to Hogwarts.
• Avery said his father had thanked Regulus and planned to speak with Mr. Black, while Alex said his father had told him to keep the matter quiet but had also expressed thanks.
• Hermes asked Regulus to find a place to practice magic, and Regulus invited Avery and Alex to join them at eight o’clock.
• Regulus reflected that Hermes pursued power urgently while Avery and Alex lacked motivation to train unless they were pushed.
• Regulus led the group into a training room created by the Room of Requirement and had Avery demonstrate the Shield Charm.
• Regulus corrected Avery’s Shield Charm technique and instructed Alex to practice controlling Lumos brightness in ten levels.

Regulus trained with Hermes, Avery, and Alex before secretly testing Fiendfyre, then learned that Ileana Thorne’s parents had been attacked. The news stirred fear and anger among Hogwarts students, and Dumbledore warned them to keep the outside conflict out of the school as Professor Flitwick escorted Ileana away.

• Regulus coached Hermes, Avery, and Alex through spells in the Room of Requirement and created a hidden compartment for private practice.
• Regulus briefly conjured Fiendfyre, dispersed it, and settled into his Starry sky, where Bellatrix was growing more solid.
• At breakfast, Regulus and his friends read that Callum Thorne and Lyra Thorne had been attacked and injured, and Alex recognized their daughter Ileana as a Ravenclaw student.
• Students reacted with sympathy, fear, anger, or barely concealed interest, while Narcissa Black and Lucretius Black restrained restless Slytherins.
• Dumbledore warned that Hogwarts students should not bring the outside conflict into the school, then Professor Flitwick escorted Ileana from the Great Hall.

After the attack on the Thorne family, Regulus watched tensions spread through Hogwarts and considered how factions might exploit the violence. Narcissa warned him to think carefully before joining any cause, while Regulus prepared to use an eventual confrontation to demonstrate his power and protect his position.

• The students reacted to news of the attack on the Thorne family, and Regulus recognized that the violence had made the conflict feel immediate at Hogwarts.
• In History of Magic, Regulus noticed Ravenclaw boys watching him and whispering that Slytherin must know something.
• Narcissa privately warned Regulus that factions inside and outside the Ministry were waiting for an excuse and urged him to consider any invitation carefully.
• Back in the Slytherin common room, Regulus suspected the attack and calls to purge Muggle-borns were connected to a bid for influence and Voldemort's favor.
• Regulus decided that someone would eventually challenge him and resolved to use their first move as a pretext to display his strength and deter further provocation.

Regulus advanced his Spatial Warp Charm and experimented with combining it with the Spatial Anchor Charm so spells could cross a warp passage intact. He achieved a successful test but ended mentally exhausted, while Avery and Alex continued practicing defensive magic.

• Avery demonstrated that his Shield Charm could withstand Alex’s Petrifying Spell, though he declined Hermes’s offer to test it against Dark Arts.
• Regulus coached Alex through repeated attempts to form a Shield Charm, urging him to imagine the urgency of protecting himself.
• Regulus teleported objects across the Training Room with increasing distance and precision, but avoided testing the warp on living creatures.
• Regulus’s early attempts to combine Spatial Warp with Spatial Anchor failed, first collapsing the passage and then making it too rigid for objects to pass.
• Regulus adjusted both spells’ effects and managed to send a Slowing Charm through the passage with nearly its original effect, but the experiment left him mentally exhausted.

Regulus continued developing Spatial Warp while tensions between Gryffindor and Slytherin escalated after the Thorne family scandal. When Alex told him that Gryffindors had been bullying Samuel Vance and Lina Costa, Regulus considered whether to intervene but had not yet decided to act.

• Regulus practiced Spatial Warp and considered how combining it with Spatial Anchors and Spatial Transfiguration might enable more advanced magic, but reminded himself to master the basics first.
• Ileana Thorne returned to Ravenclaw after taking three days off, and conflicts between lower-year Gryffindors and Slytherins spread until the Hospital Wing began running short of beds.
• Regulus returned to the Slytherin common room and noticed first-years Samuel Vance and Lina Costa waiting anxiously near the entrance.
• Alex told Regulus that Alphard Pruitt, Colin Macmillan, and Gareth Diggory had repeatedly cornered Samuel and Lina, disarmed them, and locked them in an abandoned lavatory.
• Regulus recognized that Samuel and Lina were isolated among the Slytherin first-years and considered publicly offering them his protection, but he did not want to intervene directly.

Regulus tasked Alex with resolving the bullying of Samuel and Lina, while Avery and Hermes supported him. The three defeated the Gryffindor first-years, and Regulus praised Alex and Avery afterward.

• Regulus asked Alex to handle the trouble Samuel and Lina faced, with Avery assisting him.
• Avery volunteered to confront Pruitt, but Regulus made him consider whether he would act for his family or as a Slytherin.
• Alex agreed to lead the response, and Hermes joined Avery as their muscle after Regulus forbade Dark Arts.
• Regulus left for the Forbidden Section while Alex explained the plan to Samuel and Lina.
• At the Room of Requirement, Avery and Alex reported that they had won the fight against the Gryffindors.
• Regulus praised Avery and Alex, who showed excitement and new confidence after the fight.

Regulus watched Alex improve his Shield Charm after a confrontation and practiced controlling Fiendfyre. The next morning, he received an anonymous warning about a planned Slytherin common-room statement and realized Lucretius Black had sent it.

• Regulus gave Avery and Alex Dittany Essence, then observed Alex form a Shield Charm strong enough to withstand Avery's first Slowing Charm.
• Regulus concluded that strong emotions could help young wizards cast spells and considered arranging more controlled challenges for practice.
• Regulus shaped Fiendfyre into a small serpent and controlled it for thirty seconds, five seconds longer than before, then failed to split the flame safely.
• At breakfast, Regulus checked an unsigned letter for magic and read a warning that someone would make a public statement in the Slytherin common room that night.
• Regulus exchanged no direct glance with Lucretius Black, but recognized him as the letter's sender.

Regulus watched for signs of a planned Slytherin common-room confrontation over the sensitive issue of pure-blood purification and prepared to see who would make the first move. By the time he arrived, most of the Slytherins had gathered, but the person behind the gathering had yet to speak.

• Regulus received an anonymous warning from Lucretius about someone planning to raise the issue of pure-blood purification in the common room, but decided to observe rather than stay out of it.
• Regulus continued his classes, earned Slytherin five points by catching a drop of Billywig venom during Potions, and told Avery, Alex, and Hermes to watch quietly that evening.
• Regulus noticed a Selwyn fifth-year and a Parkinson seventh-year acting as if they expected something to happen, then studied Ancient Runes in the Library until closing time.
• Regulus returned to find most of the Slytherin students gathered in the common room, where Lucretius and Narcissa were seated by the fireplace, and took a seat to watch.

In the Slytherin common room, Arnold Belmont tried to make Regulus publicly endorse pure-blood supremacy and the Dark Lord. Regulus exposed Arnold’s attempt as an insult to the Black family and demanded to know what price the Belmont family would pay for acting above them.

• Arnold Belmont delivered a speech praising pure-blood supremacy and called on Slytherin students to support the Dark Lord’s cause.
• Arnold invoked the Black family and Bella to pressure Regulus into declaring his support, while Dolphin Rowle watched from the shadows.
• Regulus identified Dolphin Rowle as the source of the colder malice behind the gathering, then challenged Arnold’s authority to tell a Black heir what to believe.
• Regulus stood and confronted Arnold, saying his demands showed disrespect for the Black family.
• Regulus asked what price the Belmont family was prepared to pay if it believed it could order the Blacks around, leaving Arnold pale and speechless.

Regulus turned Arnold Belmont’s pressure campaign into a confrontation between the Belmont and Black families, then disarmed and restrained Arnold in front of the common room. He ordered Arnold to remain kneeling until morning and left, while the students watched in fear and admiration.

• Regulus accused Arnold Belmont of disrespecting the Black family, turning their disagreement into a family-level conflict.
• Regulus silenced Arnold with Silencio and disarmed him with Expelliarmus, sending Arnold’s wand into the fireplace ashes.
• Regulus used Relashio and Incarcerous to force Arnold into a bound, kneeling pose before the gathered students.
• Regulus ordered Arnold to kneel until morning and warned the students not to undo the Magic or notify a professor.
• Regulus nodded to Narcissa, stopped Avery, Alex, and Hermes from following him, and left the common room.

Regulus reported Arnold Belmont’s public insult to his father and used the confrontation to reinforce the Black family’s standing among the Pure-blood Circle. After spending the night training in the Room of Requirement, he returned to the common room and prepared for the day as his friends reacted to his growing reputation.

• Regulus sent Orion a letter explaining Arnold’s insult and urging the Black family to draw a clear boundary with the Belmont family.
• After Regulus left, Slytherin students discussed Arnold’s humiliation, the families’ rules, and the consequences of Regulus’s actions.
• Regulus reflected on how the incident might affect the Cleaning the Trash operation, then practiced Spatial Warp, Fiendfyre, and Spell Warp in the Room of Requirement.
• Regulus returned at four in the morning and found Arnold still immobilized and kneeling by the fireplace.
• At six thirty, Avery told Regulus that younger students admired him, and Regulus left the dormitory with Avery, Alex, and Hermes at seven.

Regulus received support from his family and Slytherin after forcing Arnold Belmont to kneel, while Professor Slughorn formally punished him with a week of detention. Arnold left Hogwarts to recuperate, and the conflict between the Black and Belmont families remained unresolved.

• Slytherin students praised Regulus, and Lucretius Burke told him Professor Slughorn wanted to see him and was not angry.
• Narcissa told Regulus that the Malfoy family supported him and said she was proud of him.
• Orion sent Regulus a letter promising that the Belmont family would pay, while Sirius watched him uneasily from the Gryffindor table.
• Professor Slughorn told Regulus that Arnold Belmont had left Hogwarts to recuperate and that his family hoped he could sit his exams.
• Regulus said his personal dispute with Arnold was over, and Professor Slughorn declared the school matter closed with one week of detention processing potion ingredients.

Regulus attended Charms after last night’s confrontation and considered how Muggle-borns misunderstood the Pure-blood conflict. In the Library, he sat across from Lily Evans and Severus Snape, whose loyalties to the Pure-blood faction and Lily left him deeply conflicted.

• Regulus attended Professor Flitwick’s Charms lesson while Russell Clark watched him with disgust over the previous night’s humiliation.
• Regulus reflected that his retaliation against Arnold Belmont had redirected Slytherin’s hostility inward and temporarily shielded Muggle-born students.
• Regulus went to the Library to research restraint-related Rune variations and found Lily Evans and Severus Snape at his usual table.
• Lily looked between Regulus and Snape as Regulus sat down, and Snape grew uncomfortable under their gaze.
• Snape struggled with his desire to earn acceptance from the Pure-blood faction while wanting to protect his Muggle-born friend Lily.

Regulus thanked Snape for asking him to protect Lily, but challenged Snape’s attempt to claim credit, while Lily resolved to ask Regulus about his actions. As exams approached, Regulus demonstrated his ability to draw Magic Power from a Calming Flower and prepared to use it on Alex’s crumpled parchment.

• Snape thanked Regulus in the Library, and Regulus pointed out that he had not intervened for Snape’s sake before leaving to say goodbye to Lily.
• Lily questioned Snape about his conversation with Regulus, then decided to ask Regulus herself about the incident involving Arnold Belmont.
• Hogwarts settled into a brief calm after Arnold Belmont was taken away, though James, Sirius, Lupin, Peter, and Slytherins continued to clash in pranks and ambushes.
• On June tenth, three days before exams, students panicked over revision while Regulus remained calm and Alex struggled with exam stress.
• Regulus drew a bead of glowing Magic Power from Alex’s Calming Flower, then aimed his Wand at a crumpled scrap of parchment.