Chapter Summaries

The Parents' Conference and Board of Governors meeting went smoothly as Gandalf's reforms impressed the parents and exposed his immense resources. At the Ministry of Magic exchange, Rufus Scrimgeour tried to test Gandalf's identity, but Gandalf calmly claimed deep ties to Britain and Hogwarts.

• Gandalf's reforms and funding persuaded most parents to trust Hogwarts, while former governors left after he warned them about opposing the school.
• Lucius concluded Gandalf could not be Dumbledore because of the vast wealth behind the reforms, then returned home laughing and relieved that Draco would be safe.
• Gandalf arranged written evaluations for the students and let parents have lunch with their children, while he remarked that wizarding parents could spank their children.
• Gandalf welcomed the Ministry visitors and reporters, and Scrimgeour probed his origins by greeting him as though he were a foreigner.
• Gandalf told Scrimgeour he was born in Britain and had attended Hogwarts, leaving the Minister frowning as the reporters watched.

Scrimgeour failed to draw Hogwarts into closer cooperation with the Ministry, while Adam continued pursuing property deals and welcomed the students’ new exam-filled school routine. Klon and Uther confronted Adam over the exams, and he appeased them with promises of barbecue dinners.

• Scrimgeour suggested ways to strengthen ties between the Ministry and Hogwarts, but Adam rejected each proposal and kept the school separate from outside affairs.
• Adam reviewed the day’s events, considered how the conflict among the Order, Death Eaters, and Hogwarts might affect land prices, and examined his property contracts.
• Hogwarts held its first monthly exams, and Adam enjoyed the students’ frantic preparations as authentic school life.
• Klon and Uther stormed into Adam’s office to blame him for the new exam schedule, while Bernard pointed out the flaws in Adam’s defense of it.
• Adam admitted he was graduating soon and would avoid future exam changes, then placated Klon and Uther with two barbecue dinners.

Professor Grindelwald sent the sixth-year students into the Forbidden Forest to retrieve Ashwinder eggs as a dangerous practical lesson, while he and Adam watched their progress. Adam described his plans to expand Hogwarts into a center for advanced magical education after Voldemort was defeated and he controlled the British Wizarding World.

• Grindelwald told the students they would face magical creatures in practical lessons and assigned each of them to bring back an Ashwinder egg from Area Three of the Forbidden Forest.
• Grindelwald warned the students that they could encounter creatures rated Danger Level XXX or below, that House-elves would rescue them from mortal danger at the cost of a grade level, and that entering unmarked areas was forbidden.
• Hermione asked Harry how they should proceed, and Harry suggested they enter the forest and deal with problems as they arose.
• Harry noticed Neville leading a group with Seamus and Dean as students headed into the forest.
• Grindelwald watched the students struggle against a Hippogriff through a magical mirror while Adam advised him to let students progress according to their abilities.
• Adam outlined plans for Hogwarts to provide advanced education after Voldemort was defeated and he took control of the British Wizarding World.

Students completed a practical exercise in the Forbidden Forest, where Neville’s team earned the highest score by handling obstacles and using Neville’s Mandrake against an Ashwinder. Grindelwald set a tougher combat goal, and Hogwarts professors began assigning more lessons and activities in the forest.

• Adam’s idea of connecting the Muggle and wizarding worlds was abandoned after Grindelwald and Bernard called it too dangerous.
• The students returned from the Forbidden Forest, where Grindelwald scored their performance using the Magic Mirror; Neville’s group placed first.
• Grindelwald explained that Neville’s team scored higher because they overcame several problems efficiently, while Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s group had an easier trip and rested along the way.
• The Magic Mirror showed Neville using his own Mandrake to stun an Ashwinder, and Grindelwald approved the tactic while warning him about its risks.
• Grindelwald told students to learn to handle XXXX-rated magical creatures in teams of three or fewer within four months, while other professors began assigning practical work in the Forbidden Forest.

Bernard questioned the difficulty of Adam’s special-area trial, and Adam explained what the area contained. After the group examined a Daily Prophet report, they concluded that the Ministry of Magic was beginning to test whether Hogwarts would help it fight Voldemort.

• Bernard complained that the special-area trial required candidates to hunt eight dragon species and bring back living hearts within twenty-four hours.
• Adam told Bernard to train in the Five-Star Forbidden Forest without relying on Fiendfyre, and explained that the special area contained creatures such as Quintapeds and Dementors.
• Klon, Eugene, and Uther joined Bernard and Adam for barbecue and hot pot in the Headmaster’s Office.
• After the meal, Bernard showed Adam a Daily Prophet report suggesting the Ministry of Magic wanted Harry Potter to help defeat Voldemort.
• Bernard warned that the Ministry was testing the waters with Hogwarts and would seek its help after suffering setbacks.

Adam recognized the Ministry of Magic’s plan to use public pressure to draw Harry Potter into the war, and prepared to keep Hogwarts neutral while countering any attempt to force its hand. As casualties mounted and the conflict neared Hogwarts, Harry went to Gandalf’s office for the first time.

• Adam explained that the Ministry and Death Eaters would use Harry Potter as a pretext to pull Hogwarts into the war, but he refused to yield to moral pressure.
• Adam said Hogwarts would remain neutral and threatened to summon a colossal dragon if Scrimgeour’s people came to force Harry out.
• The Ministry publicized arrests as victories, and Mundungus Fletcher was arrested as a Death Eater before Adam bailed him out of Azkaban.
• Adam sent Mundungus to Hogsmeade to buy land cheaply, expecting property prices to rise when Hogwarts demonstrated its strength.
• Reports of casualties began to temper the Ministry’s victory announcements, and Harry knocked on Gandalf’s office door for the first time.

Harry visited Professor Gandalf to thank him for saving Sirius and proposed leaving Hogwarts to join the fight against Voldemort, but Gandalf rejected his plan and challenged Harry to test his strength. Harry accepted, still convinced that his training had made him powerful, and worried he might break something in the office.

• Harry thanked Gandalf for saving Sirius and explained his plan to leave Hogwarts and help the Ministry fight Voldemort.
• Gandalf refused to let Harry leave during term without his guardian's approval and warned that Harry's plan relied on wishful thinking.
• Gandalf explained that Harry was not strong enough to face a real war and would become a burden to Dumbledore.
• Harry insisted that his training with Grindelwald had made him terrifyingly strong and said he could enter the Forbidden Forest's fifth zone.
• Gandalf emerged from the flames and invited Harry to cast a spell at him, and Harry asked whether they should do it in the office in case he broke something.

Adam used a confrontation in the Headmaster's Office to show Harry how far he was from truly powerful wizards, leaving Harry shaken and questioning his strength. Afterward, Adam considered Hogwarts' future advanced training and reflected on dangerous magical creatures created by his experiments.

• Harry attacked Gandalf with spells, but Gandalf stopped every one with a wandless Shield Charm.
• Harry grew angry and frenzied, then Adam blasted him into the door and ended the lesson.
• Harry left the Headmaster's Office dazed, and Dumbledore's portrait questioned whether Adam had been too harsh.
• Adam said Harry needed the lesson and considered how future students might train in the Forbidden Forest's special zones.
• Adam recalled creating dangerous experimental creatures, some of which he had sealed away rather than risk releasing or destroying them.

Dumbledore worried that Adam's plan to strengthen wizards would encourage ambition and cause greater destruction, while Adam believed the Wizarding World could not afford to remain weak. At Christmas, Adam still waited for the Ministry of Magic to act on his plan, and amused himself with Kero and his miniature dragon, Xiao Hei.

• Dumbledore reflected on his own past with Grindelwald and feared that stronger wizards might pursue dangerous ambitions.
• Adam reasoned that wizards needed greater strength to face Muggles and future magical threats, and believed no later wizard could surpass him.
• Adam waited anxiously for the Ministry of Magic to respond to his plan, but Christmas arrived without any action.
• Adam stroked Xiao Hei, his hybrid dragon, then cuddled Kero while calming Xiao Hei when it glared at the guardian beast.

Harry searched for a way to leave Hogwarts and help fight Voldemort while struggling to learn Apparition. At Hogwarts, Gandalf confronted Draco about choosing Voldemort, and Draco broke down after Gandalf revealed that Voldemort had moved into Malfoy Manor.

• Harry returned to Hogwarts after the Order of the Phoenix kept him under guard through the Christmas holiday, and he hoped the Apparition lessons might let him escape.
• Harry and his classmates began Apparition lessons with Professor Grindelwald, but none of them succeeded on the first day.
• Adam helped Klon practice Apparition at Storm Restaurant and encouraged him after he splinched one of his ears.
• Draco moved the repaired Vanishing Cabinet into the Room of Requirement and found Gandalf waiting outside.
• Gandalf guessed that Voldemort had discovered Lucius Malfoy's scheme and moved into Malfoy Manor, causing Draco to collapse in fear.
• Gandalf told Draco that Hogwarts was safe and that no one would use the Cruciatus Curse on him.

Draco told Gandalf and Grindelwald what had happened at Malfoy Manor, and Grindelwald traced the Dark Mark’s magical connections while Gandalf used them to bring Lucius and Narcissa to Hogwarts. Gandalf reassured the Malfoys and asked whether they would stay at Hogwarts to teach.

• Draco recounted how Voldemort had forced his family into submission and branded him with the Dark Mark.
• Grindelwald examined Draco’s mark and determined he could trace it to Lucius and Narcissa through their blood ties.
• Gandalf and Grindelwald discussed confronting Voldemort, then Gandalf used the Dark Mark’s connections to Apparate Lucius and Narcissa to Hogwarts.
• Draco reunited with his parents, and Lucius and Narcissa greeted Gandalf and Grindelwald.
• Gandalf told Lucius he would not condemn him for trying to protect Draco, then asked the Malfoys whether they would remain at Hogwarts as teachers.

Lucius and Narcissa took refuge at Hogwarts and agreed to assist Grindelwald with teaching. Adam then attacked Malfoy Manor with lightning to warn Voldemort that threats against Hogwarts would draw him into the outside world.

• Gandalf offered Lucius and Narcissa protection at Hogwarts, and Lucius chose to accept.
• Grindelwald arranged for Lucius and Narcissa to help supervise first- and second-year students, while Draco reacted with confusion to his parents' new roles.
• Adam decided to confront Voldemort, explaining that he needed to show Hogwarts would respond if the outside world threatened it.
• Adam Apparated near Malfoy Manor and struck it with lightning, collapsing the residence and injuring the gathered Death Eaters.
• Voldemort emerged from the wreckage unharmed, and he suspected Gandalf was behind the attack.

Adam, appearing as Gandalf, seized control of Voldemort’s Fiendfyre and destroyed the diary Horcrux before leaving Voldemort to tend to his shattered forces. As disappearances weighed on Hogwarts, Adam approved another student’s request to go home despite McGonagall’s concerns.

• Voldemort attacked Gandalf with Fiendfyre, but Gandalf took control of the flames and warned Voldemort to stop targeting Hogwarts children.
• Gandalf burned the diary in the Fiendfyre and vanished, leaving Voldemort to realize that one of his Horcruxes had been destroyed.
• Voldemort treated his surviving Death Eaters, summoned back those away on missions, and decided to focus on Dumbledore and Harry rather than confront Gandalf again.
• The Daily Prophet reported more disappearances, and McGonagall told Adam that another student had applied to leave Hogwarts.
• Adam approved the student’s departure and told McGonagall that the school could not force students to stay or decide their lives for them.

Hogwarts revived Chinese New Year celebrations to lift students’ spirits amid disappearances and classmates leaving school. The festival began with Laba Congee, which students customized with extra toppings as Adam watched in disbelief.

• Adam told Professor McGonagall that students who stayed at Hogwarts had chosen to remain, while those who went home had their own reasons and their parents’ support.
• Students learned that Draco Malfoy’s parents had become Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching assistants and that the Malfoy family had betrayed Voldemort.
• Harry struggled to manage the growing complications between Ron and Hermione after Ron ate a love-potion-laced chocolate intended for Harry.
• Gandalf announced that Hogwarts would celebrate Chinese New Year from the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month through the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
• The next day, Hogwarts served Laba Congee, and students added toppings while Adam questioned how sweet they were making it.

Adam decided to reduce practical training in the Forbidden Forest and add War Trees as overseers to protect its ecosystem. After Adam explained that the War Trees were Wood Sprites joined with ancient trees, Uther questioned how he had created intelligent beings, and Adam began to clarify that they had not been made from nothing.

• Adam and Grindelwald agreed to reduce assignments and give the Forbidden Forest time to recover.
• Adam decided to plant War Trees in the forest's other zones to supervise students and protect the ecosystem.
• Grindelwald announced the reduced training and new restrictions to the students at dinner, explaining that Professor Gandalf would judge cases of self-defense.
• Fred and George lamented losing access to free materials, while most students cheered at the new rules.
• Klon asked Adam whether the enchanted trees were Tree Cards, and Adam explained that War Trees were Wood Sprites inhabiting ancient trees.
• Uther expressed surprise that Adam could create intelligent living creatures, and Adam replied that the War Trees had not been created from nothing.

A newborn Wood Sprite joined Neville’s Venomous Tentacula, prompting Adam to wonder whether Neville might become a druid. Adam also learned that the Ministry of Magic planned to visit Hogwarts on Lunar New Year’s Eve and began considering its motives.

• Neville noticed a flash of green light near his Venomous Tentacula, but he and Dean found nothing amiss and continued back with Seamus.
• A Wood Sprite told Adam that a willow tree had lost her child, and Adam used a Mirror to discover the child had entered Neville’s Venomous Tentacula cutting.
• Adam told the willow tree that her child had found a body and was following a Hogwarts student, deciding to leave the coincidence undisturbed.
• Adam learned through the Two-Way Mirror that the Ministry of Magic planned to come to Hogwarts during the Spring Festival, on Lunar New Year’s Eve.
• Adam asked Percy to keep watching for news related to Hogwarts.

Percy secretly joined Adam’s side after realizing the Ministry of Magic was heading for disaster, while Scrimgeour led Ministry officials to Hogwarts on New Year’s Eve. The Ministry’s spells failed against Hogwarts’ defenses, and when the gate opened by itself, Scrimgeour sensed a trap ahead.

• Percy became Adam’s undercover agent and imagined his future promotion in the Ministry of Magic.
• On New Year’s Eve, Scrimgeour led Aurors from the Ministry of Magic toward Hogwarts after learning the holiday activities would begin after dinner.
• The Ministry party reached Hogwarts’ outer gate, and an Auror’s spell exploded, injuring him without damaging the gate.
• Scrimgeour discovered that spells rebounded from Hogwarts’ walls, revealing the strength of Gandalf’s protective magic.
• The iron gate opened by itself, and Scrimgeour grew wary of the darkness beyond it.

Adam watched Cedric Diggory’s lion dance as Scrimgeour led the Ministry of Magic group through Hogwarts’s open gates, convinced he had seen through Gandalf’s trick. The group reached the Black Lake by boat, where an Auror spotted merpeople stirring in the water.

• Adam realized the Ministry group had failed to break through the gate’s protective magic and worried they might not reach the Black Lake.
• Scrimgeour dismissed Gadwin’s concern, decided the open gate was a bluff, and led the Ministry group into Hogwarts.
• The Aurors reached the Black Lake and boarded the boats they found at the dock to cross toward the castle.
• An Auror reminisced about his Hogwarts days, then noticed a glittering tail fin and merpeople surfacing nearby.

Mermaids lured Ministry Aurors from their boats into the Black Lake, and Scrimgeour led the survivors to Hogwarts Castle. Xiao Hei unleashed his power for a dramatic entrance, but the lawn was empty, leaving him confused about where everyone had gone.

• A mermaid bewitched an Auror and drew him into the Black Lake, while another mermaid lured his companion beneath the water.
• Scrimgeour discovered that people had vanished from four boats and decided to find Gandalf after reaching shore.
• Scrimgeour led the remaining Aurors through the woods to Hogwarts Castle and cast a spell at its gates.
• A powerful gale swept Scrimgeour and the Aurors into the air, and Scrimgeour lost consciousness.
• Xiao Hei returned to his full size, unleashed his energy, and landed on the castle shield, but found no one on the lawn.
• Adam appeared atop Xiao Hei, told him to put away his energy, and promised him a nuclear reactor for dinner.

Adam spared most of the Ministry of Magic Aurors who had confronted Hogwarts, and Scrimgeour withdrew after realizing the school’s strength. Later, as Hogwarts’ reforms overwhelmed its professors, Adam proposed recruiting more full-fledged teachers, leaving McGonagall and the others surprised by the scale of his plan.

• Adam fed Xiao Hei Nuclear Reactors for New Year's Eve dinner.
• Scrimgeour woke outside Hogwarts and learned that three Aurors had stayed with the merfolk while the rest remembered a strange night they could not explain.
• Scrimgeour withdrew the remaining Aurors and decided to reconsider the Ministry of Magic’s approach to Hogwarts.
• Adam reflected that he had spared the Aurors, who would likely be killed by Voldemort and the Death Eaters soon anyway.
• Professor McGonagall introduced three former Aurors as new Hogwarts teachers, easing Grindelwald’s workload.
• McGonagall and the other professors told Adam that the reforms had left them exhausted, and Adam proposed recruiting more full-fledged professors.