Ch. 261A Frustrating Trip to America

Uther won the Duelling Competition championship at eighteen after a fast, closely matched duel, while Bernard resolved to catch up with him. Adam learned that the Magical Congress of the United States of America had no record of his identity, ruining his plan to use the organization to publicize his strength, and the group prepared to leave America.

  • Uther’s opponent launched an ambitious attack, but Uther outmatched him with rapid, silent spells and disarmed him to win the championship.
  • Uther returned his opponent’s wand and said the duel had helped him break through, while Bernard vowed to catch up soon.
  • After the awards ceremony, Uther found Adam and the others packing and asked whether they had finished their business.
  • Adam revealed that the Magical Congress of the United States of America’s staff did not know who he was, so he could not use the organization to publicize his strength.
  • Adam resigned himself to the failure of his plan and took comfort in the money he had received.

Ch. 262The Trap Was Quietly Set

Adam and Eugene discussed setbacks in Eugene’s struggle against the Ministry, while Voldemort assigned Pius Thicknesse to lure Dumbledore into a trap. Dumbledore learned of the plot and planned to make Harry master of the Elder Wand within three days, then Harry joined Ron and Hermione to hear a secret they had discovered.

  • Eugene explained that his camp’s setbacks could strengthen its committed members, while Adam and Bernard discussed the changing situation in Britain.
  • Klon asked about the Order of the Phoenix, and Eugene reported that Dumbledore’s team had defeated Voldemort twice but that Voldemort had escaped both times.
  • Auguste suggested using Pius Thicknesse to approach Dumbledore, and Voldemort tasked Pius with creating an opportunity to trap him.
  • Dumbledore received a message from an undercover agent and asked Snape to help make Harry master of the Elder Wand within three days.
  • Harry met Ron and Hermione, who said they had seen something secret and led him toward the Gryffindor common room, while Adam followed them.

Ch. 263Reluctance to Part with Voldemort

Harry learned that Dumbledore had come to Hogwarts to speak with Snape, then decided to leave school and contact Sirius at Grimmauld Place. After Harry, Ron, and Hermione departed through the Headmaster’s fireplace, Adam reflected that Voldemort’s usefulness was nearly at an end.

  • Ron and Hermione told Harry that Dumbledore had visited Snape and then gone to the Headmaster’s Office.
  • Harry tried to contact Sirius with the Two-Way Mirror, got no response, and decided to go to the Headmaster’s Office with Ron and Hermione.
  • Ron inferred the office password from Dumbledore’s lip movements, and the painting let the three students inside.
  • Harry used Floo powder to travel with Ron and Hermione to a location near Grimmauld Place.
  • Adam restored the fireplace and left the next step to Dumbledore, then reflected on how Voldemort had helped his plans and how little time remained before Voldemort’s end.

Ch. 264Past and Future

Adam traveled back to the moment Ariana Dumbledore died and showed Ariana the illusion of the past as it appeared to her brothers and Grindelwald. After Ariana agreed to go to the future to reunite with her brothers, Adam put her to sleep and turned to speak with the young Albus Dumbledore and Grindelwald.

  • Adam recalled how Dumbledore had manipulated Harry and the others, then discussed Voldemort and Grindelwald with Dumbledore.
  • Adam returned to the past and stopped Ariana's magic from erupting as Albus, Aberforth, and Grindelwald fought.
  • Adam showed Ariana the illusion of her death and explained that it was the history her brothers had witnessed.
  • Adam introduced himself to Ariana and told her about the future, and she agreed to go with him to see her brothers.
  • Adam made vows with Ariana, put her to sleep on a bed of grass, and asked the young Albus and Grindelwald what they thought of the future.
  • Albus asked Adam whether he was really his student and remarked that his future self must be impressive.

Ch. 265Didn't Expect You to Be Like This...

Adam explained why he had brought young Dumbledore and young Grindelwald from a parallel world: Hogwarts needed powerful teachers, and he hoped they would stay together. He revealed that he had used an illusion to preserve the timeline and Legilimency to learn their secrets, leaving both young men wary of him.

  • Young Grindelwald questioned Adam about the transfer from their parallel world and demanded to know his goal.
  • Adam revealed that the Blood Pact still existed, prompting Grindelwald to confront Dumbledore about the secret pact.
  • Adam explained that Hogwarts needed elite professors and that he had brought the two young wizards to recruit them.
  • Adam admitted that he personally hoped Dumbledore and Grindelwald would remain together, since Grindelwald had once taught him.
  • Adam explained that he had saved Ariana in a parallel world and used an illusion to keep events following their original course.
  • The young wizards accused Adam of using Legilimency, and he admitted he was born with the ability.

Ch. 266Past Me, Future Me

Adam brought young Dumbledore and young Grindelwald from the 1880s to Hogwarts, where they met the older Grindelwald and began settling into new identities. Professor Dumbledore learned of their arrival but chose to postpone dealing with it until after Voldemort was defeated.

  • Young Dumbledore and young Grindelwald agreed to Adam's terms and traveled to the present, taking the names Brian and Campbell.
  • Adam warned them not to react to their real surnames and took them to Hogwarts to live there with Ariana.
  • Grindelwald froze when he saw his younger self and young Dumbledore in the Headmaster's Office.
  • Young Dumbledore and young Grindelwald suspected Adam had arranged their meeting with Grindelwald, but Adam denied it.
  • Professor Dumbledore heard from his portrait that Adam had brought the younger pair to the present, then decided to focus on defeating Voldemort first.

Ch. 267Reunion and Envy

Professor Dumbledore rushed to the Hog's Head Pub after Aberforth told him Ariana had returned, and reunited with his sister. Adam explained to Grindelwald that the younger Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Ariana came from a parallel world, leaving the older Grindelwald envious but accepting of their chance at happiness.

  • Professor Dumbledore arrived at the Hog's Head Pub and saw Ariana sitting with Aberforth.
  • Ariana recognized Professor Dumbledore, and the brothers reunited with her.
  • Aberforth gave the Hog's Head Pub to Adam Reed as thanks for bringing Ariana back and curing her.
  • Adam told Grindelwald that he had brought the younger versions of Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Ariana from a parallel world.
  • Grindelwald felt jealous of his younger self and Dumbledore but accepted that the alternate versions might live happily together.

Ch. 268Raising a Child While Unmarried

Professor Dumbledore changed his plan and survived by killing Voldemort after destroying his Horcruxes. Adam then took the infant Tom Riddle to raise, hoping to give him a better life.

  • Professor Dumbledore abandoned his plan to die and, with Professor Snape's help, rescued Harry and destroyed Nagini as Voldemort celebrated.
  • Professor Dumbledore fought Voldemort, who claimed the Elder Wand would make him unbeatable even without his Horcruxes.
  • Professor Dumbledore used the Killing Curse to kill Voldemort, who had become mortal after losing every Horcrux.
  • Adam watched unseen and revealed that he had brought the infant Tom Riddle back to raise him himself.

Ch. 269The Minister of Magic Welcomes the Royalist Forces

After Voldemort died, Mrs. Lauren’s forces captured the Death Eaters and announced they would replace the Ministry of Magic with a new order. They arrived at the Ministry to find Percy had already taken control, while Adam’s influence across the factions remained apparent.

  • A large group of wizards led by Mrs. Lauren arrived and captured the disoriented Death Eaters after confirming their Dark Marks had vanished.
  • Mrs. Lauren told Dumbledore that her group planned to replace the corrupt Ministry of Magic, and Dumbledore left to return to his sister.
  • Eugene and Mrs. Lauren headed to the Ministry, wondering whether Adam had arranged for people there to secure control.
  • Percy used Pius Thicknesse’s cooperation to identify and subdue pro-Death Eater officials, then welcomed Eugene’s group to the Ministry.

Ch. 270Albus Dumbledore: I Will Never Regret It!

Eugene took over as acting Minister for Magic, ordered a campaign against dark wizards and creatures, and prepared new laws and trials. Meanwhile, Adam urged Dumbledore to return to teaching at Hogwarts, but Dumbledore refused as Ariana prepared to attend school.

  • Eugene became acting Minister for Magic and sent the Aurors to clear dark wizards and creatures from the British Wizarding World.
  • Eugene reviewed Bernard's legal provisions, approved them on Adam's recommendation, and ordered them published before trials began.
  • Dumbledore returned home and told Adam he would not return to teaching at Hogwarts.
  • Adam told Ariana that Grindelwald would oversee her basic education, while Aberforth explained that Ariana was ready to attend school.
  • Adam outlined Ariana's future path through Hogwarts and possible advanced studies with Grindelwald.

Ch. 271The Second Day After Voldemort Left: I Miss Him

Professor Dumbledore agreed to return to Hogwarts as Head of the Transfiguration Teaching and Research Group, where Adam set him a task to train a successor. After Adam visited Grindelwald, Eugene summoned him to the Ministry of Magic without explaining why.

  • Ariana joked that she could study under Grindelwald, prompting Professor Dumbledore to agree to return to Hogwarts rather than risk reopening the rift with Aberforth.
  • Professor Dumbledore chose to teach Transfiguration, and Adam assigned him to lead the subject’s teaching and research group and train his replacement.
  • Adam warned Professor Dumbledore that Grindelwald already had a one-year head start in training Lucius Malfoy, spurring Dumbledore to insist he could catch up.
  • Adam visited Grindelwald, then received an owl letter from Eugene asking him to come to the Ministry of Magic.
  • Adam decided to go to the Ministry to find out what had happened.

Ch. 272How Many Years Has It Been? They're Still Digging?

Adam visited Eugene at the Ministry of Magic and learned that Ministry teams from several countries had been missing for years while exploring the Hanging Gardens Ruins. Adam agreed he would investigate what lay inside, while assuring Eugene that recalling the teams would not leave them vulnerable to whoever obtained the ruins’ treasure.

  • Adam found Eugene reviewing a report about the Hanging Gardens Ruins and realized the Ministry’s exploration teams had been trapped or missing for years.
  • Eugene explained that the Ministries had presumed the missing explorers dead but still maintained personnel near the ruins to prevent rival countries from claiming any treasure.
  • Adam considered how recalling the stationed personnel might affect Eugene’s control of the Ministry and his plans to establish a new system.
  • Eugene asked Adam whether recalling the teams would cause serious consequences, and Adam said he would learn more about the ruins and could handle whatever was inside.

Ch. 273Ministry of Magic Meeting

Adam accompanied Eugene to a Ministry of Magic meeting, where Eugene proposed redefining how magical creatures were classified. The discussion began with objections that intelligent creatures could not be judged guilty as a whole, leaving the Ministry to consider how its existing tests could distinguish “people” from “beasts.”

  • Eugene recalled that his grandmother, Mrs. Lauren, had told him the truth about his parents, and he had accepted their wishes and asked her to let them go.
  • Eugene told Adam that the campaign against dark wizards and creatures was progressing, while some captured creatures demanded trials as people under Ministry law.
  • Adam joined Eugene’s Ministry meeting unnoticed and used his subtle influence to comment on several attendees’ loyalties and feelings toward Eugene.
  • Eugene opened the meeting by calling for the Ministry to re-establish its classifications of magical creatures.
  • An official argued that intelligent creatures should not be presumed guilty as a race, explaining that the Ministry tested whether they understood magical laws and could restrain their savage urges.

Ch. 274Eugene's Open Scheme

Eugene proposed replacing the Ministry of Magic’s four classifications with a nine-compartment system based on species’ moral alignment. He won the meeting’s approval by offering Veritaserum or Anubis’s Scales to test magical creatures, leaving opposition framed as hostility toward the Ministry.

  • Eugene argued that the creatures’ wrongdoing did not prove their entire species was incapable of overcoming its nature, and clarified that he did not intend to classify them as beasts.
  • Eugene presented a nine-compartment classification system based on moral alignment, prompting the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures director to question how the Ministry would assess it.
  • Eugene said the Ministry would test many members of each species and use external means to ensure truthful answers.
  • Eugene offered Veritaserum for testing and introduced Anubis’s Scales as an alternative, explaining that he would control the artifact and swear a magical oath.
  • The department directors raised no further questions and accepted Eugene’s proposal as feasible.

Ch. 275Bernard: The New Azkaban Is a Warm, Sunny Place

Eugene’s meeting approved proposals for rebuilding the Wizarding World, then turned to questions about the new statutes and Death Eater trials. Bernard defended the statutes and revealed that the rebuilt Azkaban would let prisoners serve even impossibly long sentences in full.

  • Eugene put off raising the issue of reclaiming goblin-held economic and financial rights, expecting a dispute when the Ministry seized dark wizards’ assets.
  • A department head asked Eugene whether Death Eaters would be tried under the old or new laws, and Eugene said the new statutes took effect that day without clarifying which laws the trials would use.
  • Eugene yielded the floor to Bernard, who answered questions about the death penalty by arguing that only death could atone for murder.
  • Bernard explained that cumulative sentences, parole, and sentence reductions worked together, then said rebuilt Azkaban would ensure prisoners served every year of even thousand-year sentences.

Ch. 276The Road Ahead Is Long and Far

Bernard explained the new Azkaban’s time magic and sentencing system, then opened the first Death Eater trials under the new laws. The trials began with more defendants than the Ministry could process at once, and some cases remained delayed pending biological classification.

  • Bernard explained that time magic would let prisoners serve centuries-long sentences while experiencing no more than a day of physical time, and that good behavior could earn reduced sentences or parole.
  • Bernard described the prisoners’ required labor, training, legal study, and safeguards, while warning that additional offenses could bring further penalties.
  • Eugene concluded the meeting and announced that the Death Eater trials would begin that afternoon, inviting attendees to serve as jurors.
  • Bernard presided over the first trial in the former Wizengamot chamber, with two scholars sitting as judges beside him.
  • The Ministry began trying the Death Eaters in batches because it lacked judicial personnel, while some trials were postponed for further biological classification.

Ch. 277Lucius: I Plead Guilty!

Bernard sentenced Bellatrix after Tar’s attempt to defend her collapsed under the threat of Anubis’s Scales. Lucius Malfoy then admitted to funding Voldemort’s activities and began offering additional facts, setting up a possible argument for a reduced sentence.

  • Tar objected to Bellatrix’s trial, claiming she might have acted under Voldemort’s Imperius Curse, but backed down when Bernard revealed Anubis’s Scales.
  • Bernard found Tar guilty of disrupting court order and sentenced him to seven days’ detention and a fine before completing Bellatrix’s sentencing.
  • Lucius Malfoy appeared as the next defendant and admitted to financially supporting Voldemort and his followers.
  • Arthur Weasley questioned Lucius’s identity, but Bernard assured him that the defendants had undergone strict identity checks.
  • Lucius said he was willing to plead guilty but had additional facts to state, and Bernard invited him to continue.

Ch. 278Lucius's Defense Against Conviction

Lucius Malfoy defended himself at trial, explaining that he had joined the Death Eaters unwillingly, avoided the battlefield, and later surrendered. Bernard sentenced him to thirty years in prison, eligible for probation, with strict restrictions requiring him to work at Hogwarts and report his movements.

  • Lucius told the court that he had joined the Death Eaters under pressure and described Voldemort's rise and the group's history.
  • Arthur Weasley requested that Lucius be tested with Anubis's Scales, and the balanced scales confirmed that Lucius's statements were truthful.
  • Lucius said he had left the Death Eaters, surrendered voluntarily, and wanted to claim compensation for the loss of Malfoy Manor; Bernard agreed to consider the claim.
  • Bernard sentenced Lucius to thirty years, eligible for probation, requiring him to work at Hogwarts, report travel, and cooperate with Ministry inspections.

Ch. 279We All Have Bright Futures

Lucius Malfoy accepted the terms of his trial and began planning how to rebuild his family’s life after Malfoy Manor’s destruction. After the court called in the next defendant, Adam met Amon and asked him to teach Divination at Hogwarts.

  • Lucius Malfoy accepted the terms of his trial and felt relieved that his past crimes had been judged.
  • Lucius realized his family had lost Malfoy Manor and decided to press the Ministry for compensation from the Death Eaters.
  • Bernard prepared to continue the trials, expecting the next cases to be more complicated than Lucius’s.
  • Adam met Amon at the Nightingale Pub and offered him a glass of Sweet Dream.
  • Adam explained that Hogwarts planned to limit Divination in basic education and needed a new teacher because Firenze had reduced his hours.
  • Amon realized Adam wanted him, a recent graduate, to teach first-year students Divination.

Ch. 280Even Adam Had Things He Wasn't Good At

Adam persuaded Amon to accept a future teaching position at Hogwarts, then went to Bernard's trial and helped him handle a disruptive defendant. The trial continued as Adam pressed Eugene to explain what he thought Adam was bad at.

  • Adam discussed the uncertain job market with Amon, who agreed to teach at Hogwarts when invited.
  • Adam toasted Amon with Dream and Apparated away to check on Bernard.
  • A silver-haired defendant disrupted Bernard's trial by demanding to speak with the Minister, and Eugene silenced her.
  • Eugene encouraged Bernard to accept that defendants might resist the law and to build trust through fair rulings over time.
  • Adam revealed that he was watching invisibly from the gallery, then invited Eugene to explain what Adam was supposedly bad at.
  • Bernard resumed the trial while Eugene faced Adam's ominous invitation.
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