Chapter Summaries

Old Lestrange and the rising faction reached an agreement after the established Nobles lost ground in their struggle for control of the Ministry of Magic. As French leaders debated sending aid to the United States, Aurors besieging Dain Castle faced a shortage of manpower and hurried toward a disturbance in their camp.

• Old Lestrange and the blond youth finalized their agreement, while the old Nobles acknowledged their defeat and worried about the rising faction’s ambitions.
• Old Lestrange and the other Nobles discussed the threat posed by Grindelwald and agreed that aid to the United States should involve both factions.
• Klee Malone called for a decision on how many Wizards France would send to assist the American Wizarding Congress.
• Auror captains at the camp near Dain Castle reported that dozens of Followers had reached the castle and said they lacked enough people to patrol safely.
• A guard alerted the Auror captains to trouble in the southern camp, and they hurried out to investigate.

Derrick Happy led Cat and Snake Company’s elite wizards to the Auror camp, claiming Luke Gaunt had sent them to help with the Grindelwald crisis. After Benjamin Craig verified their official deployment order, both groups agreed to establish separate camps and not interfere with each other.

• Derrick Happy introduced himself and his people as Cat and Snake Company workers sent by Luke Gaunt to assist the Aurors.
• Grimo Coulter, Hector Luca, and Benjamin Craig recognized Luke Gaunt’s name but initially told Derrick’s group to leave the camp.
• Hector prompted Benjamin to accept Derrick’s letter, and the captains discovered it was an authentic support deployment order bearing the Skye Family crest.
• Benjamin welcomed Cat and Snake Company’s team, and Derrick chose to establish a separate camp in the eastern woods.
• Grimo and Hector suspected Cat and Snake Company had a powerful private force, while Benjamin said the Aurors should think of them as Luke Gaunt’s private soldiers.

Benjamin’s team prepared for the threat of Grindelwald while Derrick’s group established a separate camp and sent Leon Hurst to deploy magical surveillance ravens. The ravens guided American Aurors into the Dain Family’s castle, where they began an infiltration while posing as members of the American Wizarding Congress.

• Benjamin, Hector, and Grimo discussed Luke Gaunt’s unexpected assistance and urged the Wizarding Congress to send reinforcements.
• Derrick explained why his group would camp apart from the local patrols, then ordered his team to set up camp and conduct reconnaissance.
• Leon Hurst sent enchanted ravens toward the castle and activated a computer-like device powered by magic.
• Followers spotted ravens during their patrols but dismissed their suspicions, allowing the birds to guide the infiltrators.
• Two American Aurors subdued a patrol pair, and seven more Wizards climbed into the castle before the group followed a raven toward the main keep.

Derrick and Leon watched a squad use Luke’s scouting technology and maps to infiltrate the Followers’ fortress. The squad fought its way toward the upper floors, where its two Leaders headed for Grindelwald while the others targeted senior Followers.

• Derrick and Leon praised Luke’s technology as they watched the squad pass the fortress defenses, and Leon explained that the Dain Family’s castle plans and secret passages had been mapped.
• The squad entered the castle through a hidden passage, subdued a patrolling Follower, and continued toward the attic route despite warnings that retreat was no longer possible.
• The squad’s Leaders led the way through more secret passages, while the group prepared to provoke a conflict among the Followers, the Wizarding Congress, and the American Wizarding families.
• The squad unexpectedly encountered three Followers inside the fortress, and the two Leaders blasted past two of them and ran upstairs toward Grindelwald’s room.
• The other squad members subdued the remaining Follower as the commotion drew more Followers; they followed the Leaders upstairs to attack senior Followers while the Leaders confronted Grindelwald.

Grindelwald foiled an attack on his room, but the intruders escaped using a strange smoke and a teleportation device. Luke learned that Grindelwald’s power exceeded expectations and concluded that the Fountain of Youth had made him stronger.

• Grindelwald restrained two invading Wizard Leaders, but one broke free and attacked him with a Killing Curse.
• A second Leader used a smoke bomb to cover the group’s escape, and Grindelwald extinguished the smoke’s flames as the Wizards vanished.
• Orson ordered the Followers to reinforce the defenses and investigate possible spies, while Grindelwald refused to change rooms.
• Seth and the other Leader reported their failed mission to Luke, who ordered them punished and replaced in the United States by Doran.
• Taylor and Luke discussed Grindelwald’s strength, and Luke concluded that the Fountain of Youth had enhanced it.

Luke left Taylor in charge of his organization in the United States and returned to Britain because Angell, a high-ranking Follower, had come seeking him. As Luke headed back toward Hogwarts, Angell remained under house arrest and explained the Followers’ beliefs to his guard.

• Luke gave Taylor full authority to lead his people in the United States while he returned to Britain to meet Angell and later explore Hufflepuff's Chamber of Secrets with Luna.
• Luke told Taylor that Hermione was close to finishing her research and would soon be able to help her.
• Angell's captors kept him under house arrest because they lacked the authority to decide what to do with the former high-ranking Follower.
• Angell told his guard that the Followers considered Wizards superior to Muggles and most Magical Creatures, while accepting Obscuruses as an exception.
• Angell warned that the Followers' ideals could not fix the existing order's contradictions, which would eventually return in a more terrifying form.

Luke secretly questioned Angell and learned that a mysterious island had filled him with a fear and reverence like that of a heretic before another faith’s Deity. After Angell realized Luke had influenced his answers, Luke revealed his identity and considered what the island might mean for the existence of Deities.

• Luke used the guard’s voice to ask Angell why he had left the Followers, and Angell said he had felt lost after Grindelwald’s defeat and his own journey to a mysterious land.
• Angell described feeling a bodily and spiritual fear on the island, like a heretic paying homage to another faith’s Deity, and felt relieved after finally sharing the secret.
• Angell noticed something was wrong with his state of mind, confronted the person outside the door, and demanded to know who he was and what he had done.
• Luke reflected on Angell’s account alongside Harry’s experience with the figure that carried away Voldemort’s fragment, and wondered whether hidden Deities existed.
• Luke assured Angell that his method had caused no harm and revealed that he was Luke Gaunt.

Angell met with Luke Gaunt after leaving the Followers and shared his suspicions about Grindelwald’s Fountain of Youth. Luke remained wary of Angell and assigned him a test: find and observe a long-pursued target without using force.

• Angell reflected on why he had left the Followers and described how Britain’s competition between nobles and commoners had strengthened his confidence in Luke’s ideals.
• Luke met Angell and questioned him about Grindelwald’s Fountain of Youth, prompting Angell to warn that it seemed dangerous and suggest investigating the Fire Dragon Mask’s servants.
• Angell said Grindelwald had approved his resignation but admitted he did not know why; Luke explained that Grindelwald likely dismissed him because he rejected Grindelwald’s ideals.
• Luke refused to trust Angell immediately and showed him a map marking a settlement where a long-pursued target was believed to be.
• Luke instructed Angell and another person to find and watch the target, protect themselves, avoid violence, and report back.

Luke accepted Angell as an ally and returned his attention to Hogwarts, where he and Luna began exploring Hufflepuff's legacy. He decided to find and control Peeves before entering the dangerous Chamber of Secrets, and the chapter left them waiting as the Ghosts brought Peeves to them.

• Luke assigned Angell to work with Phoenix and told Gemma and Ruby to handle the remaining arrangements.
• Luke decided to investigate Hufflepuff's legacy and consider its research into souls as a possible route to immortality.
• Luke and Luna went to find Peeves, whom Luke believed held secrets about the Chamber of Secrets and Hufflepuff's laboratory.
• Luna directed Hogwarts Ghosts to search the castle for Peeves while Luke waited with her.
• The Ghosts found Peeves in the east and brought him toward Luke and Luna, with Bloody Baron ready to restrain him.

Luke and Luna forced Peeves to help them open the Chamber of Secrets after Luna discovered she could restrain and physically control him. They entered the dark passage together, while Luna wondered what her growing abilities connected to Hufflepuff might reveal.

• Luke confronted Peeves about withholding information on the Chamber of Secrets and told him to accompany Luke and Luna.
• Luna used her power to restrain Peeves, causing him genuine pain and allowing her to mold his ghostly body.
• Luna discovered that controlling Peeves took less strength than affecting other Ghosts, and Luke connected the ability to Lady Hufflepuff's research.
• Peeves asked to be released and agreed to go with them, but Luke and Luna refused and directed him toward a hidden door.
• Luna controlled Peeves as he opened the Chamber of Secrets, then led him down the stairs with Luke.

Luke confronted Peeves about his desire to become human and forced him to open the entrance to Hufflepuff's laboratory. A soothing wind poured out, and after noticing the room’s welcoming feeling might be dangerous, Luke and Luna entered under protective spells to discover its secrets of the soul.

• Luke stopped Peeves near the door and questioned why he feared entering Hufflepuff's laboratory.
• Luke accused Peeves of wanting to become human and explained that the laboratory held something he desired.
• Peeves opened the door, releasing a wind that soothed Luke, Luna, and Peeves and strengthened Luke's control over his soul.
• Luke sensed something was wrong, while Peeves walked into the chamber and claimed he was inviting them to see its secrets.
• Luna cast protective spells on herself and Luke, and they entered the laboratory together.

Luke and Luna explored Lady Hufflepuff’s hidden laboratory, where Peeves revealed the Founder's idyllic vision and private literary hobby. As Luna searched for danger, a strange bottle appeared and released black mist.

• Luke and Luna entered Lady Hufflepuff’s laboratory, and Peeves described her dream forest and grassland.
• Peeves explained that Hufflepuff’s ideal landscape excluded predators and other unwanted animals, but Luke said the world should suit his own preferences.
• Luke discovered that the laboratory was also Hufflepuff’s personal retreat and found a romance novel with her notes in the margins.
• Luke suspected Hufflepuff had written romance novels in the style of a booklet he had read, while Peeves denied knowing anything about it.
• Luna searched the laboratory for danger, noticed a strange patterned bottle, and called for Luke as black mist surged from it.

Luke, Luna, and Peeves encountered a sentient black mist in Helga Hufflepuff's laboratory, where it tried to draw them in by manipulating their emotions. Luke resisted its influence and challenged its story, leaving the mist poised to reveal what it wanted.

• Luke pulled Luna away from the black mist, while Luna pushed Peeves in front of them for protection.
• The black mist spoke warmly to Luke and Luna and stirred an irresistible desire to approach it, but Luke cleared the influence from their minds.
• The black mist described growing up inside a bottle, escaping into the laboratory, and yearning to see the world beyond it.
• Luke noticed contradictions in the mist's account and asked whether it had met humans before; the mist fell silent.
• The black mist asked why Luke had not been affected, and Luke told it to state its purpose directly.
• Peeves recovered from the mist's influence and recognized its strength as the black mist began, "I want to..."

Luke negotiated with the black mist, which offered access to the laboratory’s Soul Weapon in exchange for a body. When the black mist attacked as Luke reached for the bottle, Luna and Peeves moved to help, and Peeves’s strike froze the black mist.

• The black mist asked Luke for a body, but Luke refused to provide either a living person or a fresh corpse.
• Luke demanded a practical reward, and the black mist explained that Lady Hufflepuff had researched Soul Weapons after abandoning her work on manifesting souls.
• The black mist revealed the bottle containing a Soul Weapon and urged Luke to open it while warning him to reseal it quickly.
• As Luke reached for the bottle, blue flames appeared and the black mist attacked him.
• Luna freed Peeves and prepared to help Luke, while Peeves hesitated before transforming into a cannon and firing at the black mist.
• The black mist tried to evade Peeves’s attack but suddenly found its body frozen.

Luke battled the black mist in the laboratory, using Blue Fiendfyre and fear to overpower it. The mist revealed that Hufflepuff's soul was inside the bottle, but insisted there was more to the story.

• Luke used Blue Fiendfyre to burn the black mist and forced it to retreat, while Peeves dodged its counterattack.
• Luke noticed the mist stayed connected to the bottle and suspected that opening it, rather than finding it a body, was its real goal.
• Luke attacked with fire snakes and flaming javelins, but the mist dodged them and launched invisible attacks at him.
• Luke filled the black mist with overwhelming fear, stopped its movements, and seized it with his flaming hand.
• Luke questioned the mist about the bottle, and it revealed that Hufflepuff's soul was inside before insisting it had not trapped her and that there was more to the story.

Black Mist recounted Helga Hufflepuff’s life, from her happy youth and friendship with Hogwarts’ founders to their estrangement and her creation of a weapon she could not destroy. After the story, Luke called to Helga through the bottle, and she answered.

• Helga Hufflepuff grew up cherished and gifted, befriended Salazar Slytherin, Godric Gryffindor, and Rowena Ravenclaw, and helped them found Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
• As Hogwarts prospered, conflicts among the founders grew, while Helga tried to keep them united through her gentleness and loyalty.
• When Rowena fell ill, the four founders began researching eternal life, but Rowena died and Salazar and Godric eventually went their separate ways.
• Helga perfected her own Eternal Life Method but chose to accept death, leaving her soul to sleep in a prepared dwelling because she had created a weapon she could not destroy.
• After hearing Black Mist’s story, Luke called out to Lady Hufflepuff, and a voice from the bottle answered that she was there.

Luke freed Lady Hufflepuff from her bottle and asked her to teach Luna Soul Magic so Luna could grow stronger. Hufflepuff explained that Luna’s talent differed from her own but was especially suited to Soul Magic, then offered to take Luna as her first apprentice.

• Lady Hufflepuff explained that her Eternal Life Method combined an indestructible soul with soul materialization, though she doubted her old friends would still be close to her.
• Luke told Hufflepuff about Luna’s encounter with two soul beasts and asked her to help Luna become stronger.
• Hufflepuff said Luna’s talent was not like hers, then asked Luke to open the bottle.
• Luke removed the stopper, and Hufflepuff emerged and spoke with Luna, who introduced herself as a Ravenclaw student.
• Hufflepuff said Luna had exceptional talent for Soul Magic and asked whether she would study under her as her first apprentice.

Voldemort destroyed an Auror stronghold and vowed to conquer the world, while Barty Crouch led Ministry officials in forcing Cornelius Fudge to resign. Barty took over the Minister’s office, and Luke revealed that his political plan had advanced as intended.

• Voldemort killed a woman, wiped out an Auror stronghold, and rallied his Death Eaters and other followers to his cause.
• Barty Crouch confronted Fudge with the Ministry’s opposition and demanded that he step down.
• Dolores Umbridge delivered Fudge a resignation letter, and Fudge agreed to resign rather than fight alone.
• Fudge announced his resignation in the Daily Prophet, and the public speculated about the next Minister of Magic.
• Barty sat at the Minister’s desk as Luke visited and confirmed that their plan had made progress.
• Barty told Luke that he would not regret taking power.

Luke planned to use the Elder Wand as bait while arranging for Barty Crouch to lead the Ministry of Magic. He then hired Gloves Doris for a dangerous job by offering him ten thousand Golden Galleons.

• Luke told Lucius that Barty Crouch would lead the Ministry because he was the most suitable candidate and would obey Luke.
• Luke confirmed that he had borrowed the Elder Wand from Dumbledore and ordered Lucius to spread word that someone wanted to sell it to Dumbledore.
• Lucius reflected on Luke’s abilities and wished Draco could achieve even half as much, while Arthur agreed that Luke’s rise would shape the children’s future.
• Doris told Bennett that he had left France amid rising conflict, feared war in America after Grindelwald’s escape, and hoped to earn enough to marry Mary.
• Luke approached Doris and offered him ten thousand Golden Galleons for a dangerous job, and Doris eagerly accepted.

Luke arranged for Doris to pose as a wizard carrying the Elder Wand, and the rumor drew Voldemort’s attention while Grindelwald recognized it as a trap. The story left Luke and Gemma confirming that Voldemort had taken the bait as Grindelwald prepared for a separate counterattack.

• Doris accepted Luke’s dangerous mission after Bennett warned him that it could get him killed, and he negotiated for half the payment upfront.
• Luke revealed that he knew Doris had attacked Hogwarts and said Doris’s background and skills suited a plan to deceive people.
• A rumor spread that an expelled Hogwarts wizard had returned from France with the Elder Wand and planned to challenge Dumbledore.
• Bellatrix confirmed to Voldemort that the wizard’s Elder Wand had overpowered her, and Voldemort ordered Randolph to gather the Death Eaters so he could seize it.
• Grindelwald identified the Elder Wand rumor as Luke’s trap and told Orson to focus on Bater Envy’s work before striking back.
• Gemma asked Luke whether the others had taken the bait, and Luke confirmed that Voldemort had.