Recaps

Amelia Bones cautioned Cornelius Fudge against openly declaring war on Gringotts, and Isaac proposed a subtler name for Sirius’s new office. Fudge approved the Wizard Deposit Protection and Gringotts Coordination Office and secured Bones’s support for establishing it the next day.

• Amelia Bones argued that the Ministry and British wizarding world were not prepared for open conflict with the Goblins.
• Cornelius Fudge struggled to find a less provocative name for Sirius’s office.
• Isaac proposed the Wizard Deposit Protection and Gringotts Coordination Office, which Fudge praised as a way to scrutinize Gringotts under the guise of protecting wizard deposits.
• Fudge decided to push for the office’s establishment the next day.
• Amelia Bones promised to support Fudge, appearing to take his side at the Ministry.

Cornelius Fudge reprimanded Umbridge for her failed attempt to investigate Gringotts and warned her to keep a low profile. He convened a Ministerial Conference to assert his authority, then challenged Umbridge’s presence as its note-taker.

• Umbridge told Cornelius Fudge that Gringotts had refused her request for cooperation, and Fudge demanded to know who had authorized her to send it.
• Fudge criticized Umbridge for acting without authority, warned her to avoid unnecessary actions, and kept her in her post while he sought new subordinates.
• Fudge ordered Umbridge to summon the Ministry’s core officials to a Ministerial Conference and privately wished that Isaac had graduated so he could replace her.
• Fudge entered the conference after the other attendees had arrived, and they stood to show him respect.
• Fudge asked why Umbridge was attending and told her that Ministry record keepers, not an Assistant Minister, should take the minutes.

Cornelius Fudge publicly rebuked Umbridge and effectively abandoned her after she tried to mobilize law enforcement without authorization. He then turned the Ministry meeting to Gringotts’ vault security, where Amelia Bones warned that wizards had no viable alternative bank and could not safely withdraw all their money.

• Cornelius Fudge scolded Umbridge in front of the Ministry’s senior officials and sent her away, publicly distancing himself from her.
• Amelia Bones understood that Umbridge had tried to send Aurors and Hit Wizards to Gringotts without a written order, violating the departments’ authority.
• Fudge eased the meeting’s tension and clarified that his rebuke was aimed only at Umbridge.
• Cornelius Fudge raised the danger posed by Gringotts’ vault security and argued that the Ministry could not ignore it.
• Amelia Bones cautioned that mass withdrawals could leave wizards vulnerable to Dark wizards and rising crime, since Gringotts was Britain’s only wizarding bank.

Cornelius Fudge proposed creating the Wizard Deposit Insurance and Gringotts Coordination Office to protect wizards’ deposits and oversee Gringotts. After the Department of Mysteries director described Sirius Black’s actions and Regulus Black’s sacrifice, Fudge nominated Sirius to lead the new office.

• Fudge acknowledged that Britain had no alternative to Gringotts and announced a new office to protect deposits and coordinate with the bank.
• Fudge questioned Gringotts’ account of the Lestrange vault robbery and asked who could lead the office.
• The Department of Mysteries director described the Unspeakables’ findings about the Inferi, the memorial wall, and Regulus’s resistance to Voldemort.
• Fudge presented Slytherin’s Locket, its replacement, and Regulus’s note as evidence of Regulus’s sacrifice.
• Fudge said Sirius had destroyed the Dark Magic item and dealt with over a thousand Inferi, then nominated him as the office’s director.

Sirius Black was appointed director of the new office coordinating wizard deposits with Gringotts, and Regulus Black was posthumously awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class. Percy Weasley arrived to begin his Ministry internship and asked Cornelius Fudge to hear his ideas.

• Amelia Bones and the other senior officials agreed to appoint Sirius Black director of the Wizard Deposit Protection and Gringotts Coordination Office.
• The Ministry passed a resolution to award Regulus Black the Order of Merlin, First Class, and officials recognized Fudge's growing influence.
• Rumors spread through the Ministry about the new office, Fudge's authority, and Regulus's resistance to Voldemort.
• Fudge's secretary told him Percy Weasley was waiting, and Fudge sent for him.
• Percy told Fudge that Arthur had advised him to follow the Minister's orders, then asked permission to share his own thoughts.

Percy turned down Cornelius Fudge’s offer to become his personal secretary and reaffirmed his wish to intern at the Office of Oddities. He explained that he wanted to improve Werewolves’ lives, leaving Fudge uneasy because the Minister had encouraged their exclusion.

• Percy asked to intern at the Office of Oddities during his next placement.
• Fudge offered Percy training in the Minister’s Office and a permanent position as his personal secretary after graduation.
• Percy considered accepting Fudge’s offer but remembered Isaac and Arthur’s advice and chose a steadier path.
• Percy thanked Fudge, declined the secretary position, and reaffirmed his plan to work with Werewolves at the Office of Oddities.
• Fudge asked Percy whether he thought the Ministry had treated Werewolves too harshly.

Percy persuaded Fudge that improving conditions for some werewolves could prevent them from joining Goblins and Death Eaters in a future conflict. Fudge agreed in principle and decided to keep Percy under his office as a special investigator, asking if he understood the assignment.

• Percy explained that werewolves had repeatedly joined Goblin rebellions and Voldemort’s forces, making them a potential threat alongside Goblins and Death Eaters.
• Percy proposed giving the most promising werewolves decent jobs and support for Wolfsbane Potion so they would have a future worth protecting.
• Fudge took Percy’s warning seriously and agreed in principle that the Ministry should avoid pushing werewolves too hard.
• Fudge decided to keep Percy under his own office and appoint him a special investigator to research the Office of Oddities.

Percy accepted Fudge’s assignment to identify promising werewolves, while Sirius Black built a hardline team for the new Ministry office coordinating with Gringotts. At the Black Family House, Isaac studied the family library and received letters from Minerva McGonagall and Gilderoy Lockhart, with McGonagall’s letter pressing him to find a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

• Fudge instructed Percy to use the Werewolf Registry’s registration list to find the finest werewolves, and Percy agreed to begin reviewing files at the Office of Oddities.
• Sirius Black established the Wizard Deposit Guarantee and Gringotts Coordination Office, recruiting injured former law-enforcement workers and those who had left their posts.
• Isaac explored the Black Family library with Kreacher’s help and focused on books about Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, and Herbology.
• Isaac questioned the Black Family ancestors for help with his studies, prompting Walburga Black’s portrait to hide in a locked cabinet and Kreacher to confine himself.
• Kreacher brought Isaac letters from Minerva McGonagall and Gilderoy Lockhart, and Isaac read McGonagall’s request that he find a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Isaac considered Remus Lupin as a candidate for next year’s Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and reflected on why Quirrell and Lockhart had been able to teach at Hogwarts. With Vinda Rosier teaching well in the altered timeline, he wondered whether Lockhart would still dare to take the job.

• Professor McGonagall expressed concern about Isaac choosing next year’s Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and offered to help him find a candidate.
• Isaac settled on Remus Lupin as a suitable candidate, citing Lupin’s teaching talent.
• Isaac compared Quirinus Quirrell’s hidden ability and disastrous lessons with Gilderoy Lockhart’s polished manner and genuine, though unsystematic, knowledge.
• Isaac concluded that Quirrell’s poor teaching had made Lockhart seem like an acceptable replacement in the original timeline.
• Isaac wondered whether Lockhart would still seek the position now that Vinda Rosier had taught first-year Defense Against the Dark Arts well.

Isaac realized that Lockhart’s offer to serve as Hogwarts’s Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was a publicity tactic aimed at boosting sales of his autobiography, Magical Me. Lockhart had genuinely applied, though, leaving Dumbledore with the option of accepting him.

• Isaac read Lockhart’s letter to Dumbledore, which offered him as a backup candidate for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post.
• Isaac asked Kreacher about Lockhart’s upcoming book, and Kreacher reported that Magical Me was expected to sell poorly.
• Kreacher explained that the Black Family’s influence had grown through Sirius Black’s position and control of a magical force.
• Isaac concluded that Lockhart planned to generate publicity by telling fans that he had sought the Hogwarts post.
• Isaac recognized that Dumbledore might accept Lockhart’s genuine application, despite its carefully uncommitted wording.

Isaac drafted a job offer for Gilderoy Lockhart that made him a lecturer rather than a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, limiting him to teaching Years 1–3. Lockhart received the letter expecting a tactful rejection he could turn into publicity, but he noticed the arriving owl was not one of Hogwarts’s public owls.

• Isaac wrote Lockhart an appointment letter offering him a one-year lecturer position with a salary of 300 Galleons and responsibility for Years 1–3.
• Isaac asked Kreacher to seal the letter and send it to Lockhart.
• Lockhart planned to publicize Dumbledore’s rejection of his application to promote his new book and rally his fans.
• Lockhart opened his window for the arriving owl, then realized it resembled the private owl of a pure-blood family rather than a Hogwarts public owl.

Lockhart received a Hogwarts employment offer and feared being drawn into the cursed Defense Against the Dark Arts post. The letter instead offered him a lecturer position for 300 Galleons a year, leaving him troubled by the low salary and uncertain situation.

• Lockhart received a letter sealed with a "B" instead of Hogwarts’ usual "H" and cautiously opened it.
• Lockhart discovered the letter was an employment offer and worried that Dumbledore had recruited him for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position.
• Lockhart recalled that Vinda Rosier, a powerful former Acolyte, had held the post the previous year and feared provoking her.
• Lockhart noticed the offer was for a lecturer position rather than Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
• Lockhart saw that the salary was only 300 Galleons a year and compared it unfavorably with professors’ pay and benefits.

Lockhart reconsidered Hogwarts’s lecturer offer after learning it paid only 300 Galleons, then discovered that Isaac Waldore had signed it as Director of Education. He wrote to Dumbledore to challenge the appointment, but Dumbledore sent the letter on to Isaac by Fawkes.

• Lockhart decided the lecturer salary was too low and worried that Hogwarts would expose his publicity scheme if he declined without explanation.
• Lockhart searched old Daily Prophet issues and realized that the Director of Education, Isaac Waldore, was likely the young wizard who had captured a Death Eater.
• Lockhart wrote Dumbledore a long letter asking when Hogwarts had created the Director of Education position and hoping to use the Board of Governors to pressure him.
• Dumbledore received Lockhart’s letter at the Ministry of Magic but chose not to read it, expecting Isaac to handle Lockhart’s attempt at clever maneuvering.
• Dumbledore sent the envelope to Isaac with Fawkes, who appeared beside Isaac carrying it.

Isaac sent Lockhart a letter confirming his Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor appointment while denying Hogwarts had an educational director position, and raised Lockhart’s salary by fifty Galleons. Lockhart agreed to report to Hogwarts but began planning to use someone else against Isaac.

• Isaac wrote Lockhart that the educational director position did not exist, but his instructor appointment was valid and his salary had increased by fifty Galleons.
• Fawkes delivered Isaac’s letter to Lockhart, who was startled by the phoenix before taking the envelope.
• Lockhart read the letter and discovered that he could not cancel the appointment, despite the denial of the educational director position.
• Lockhart recognized Isaac’s signature and blamed him for using the letter to enforce the appointment.
• Lockhart told Fawkes he would report to Hogwarts, then began considering how to set a tiger against a wolf to deal with Isaac.

Gilderoy Lockhart feared teaching at Hogwarts because Isaac Waldore was there, so he planned to seek a Ministry of Magic job from Cornelius Fudge instead. Percy Weasley impressed Fudge with his hard work and remained as the minister’s temporary secretary while reviewing Werewolf records.

• Lockhart decided that Hogwarts was too dangerous with Isaac Waldore there and worried that refusing the teaching post would cost him fans.
• The chapter recounted Lockhart’s attention-seeking Hogwarts stunts and his grand ambitions of making a Sorcerer’s Stone, winning a Quidditch World Cup, and becoming Minister for Magic.
• Lockhart planned to pursue a career at the Ministry of Magic, but changed course and prepared to ask Fudge for a job more humbly.
• Percy Weasley sorted Fudge’s correspondence while completing a review of registered Werewolves.
• Fudge kept Percy as his temporary secretary while he compiled the Werewolf records.

Percy resisted Umbridge’s attempt to use her authority to make him deliver Fudge’s letters, then brought the letters to the Minister and revealed that Gilderoy Lockhart had written to him. Fudge was baffled and worried about why Lockhart had contacted him.

• Fudge admired Percy’s academic record and considered ways to bring him into the Ministry before he finished Hogwarts.
• Umbridge entered Percy’s cubicle and tried to persuade him to call her Dolores and let her deliver Fudge’s letters.
• Percy refused Umbridge’s offer, pointed out that Fudge had not scheduled a meeting with her, and went to announce her.
• Percy delivered five important letters to Fudge, including one from Gilderoy Lockhart.
• Fudge wondered whether the letter came from the Lockhart he knew and feared it might involve someone in his family.

Cornelius Fudge questioned why Gilderoy Lockhart had humbly requested a temporary Ministry post, and Percy described what he had learned about the famous author. Fudge explained that Lockhart’s books had made him suspect Lockhart was an unaffiliated master of charms, then began recounting the Ministry’s attempt to test his abilities.

• Percy helped carry out Isaac’s arrangements in Fudge’s office while concealing his role.
• Fudge read Lockhart’s letter requesting a temporary Ministry position and asked Percy for his view of Lockhart.
• Percy said Lockhart seemed unreal and explained that his mother was a fan, while Fudge confirmed the Ministry had noticed Lockhart after his first three books.
• Fudge asked Percy what the books suggested about their author, and Percy concluded that the protagonist seemed to be a master of charms.
• Fudge said he had arranged for someone to contact Lockhart and test his abilities, but the chapter ended before he revealed the result.

Cornelius Fudge raged over Gilderoy Lockhart’s fraudulent reputation, then heard from Percy that Isaac had appointed Lockhart as a low-paid Hogwarts lecturer. Fudge laughed at the arrangement, pleased that Lockhart would teach only younger students and would not become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

• Fudge complained that Lockhart had failed a Ministry background check and could not perform basic household magic.
• Fudge explained that he had once offered Lockhart a promising Ministry career, but had kept him under observation as a potential asset to the Fudge family.
• Percy told Fudge that Isaac had written to him about Lockhart applying to become Hogwarts’ Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
• Percy revealed that Dumbledore had delegated recruiting to Isaac, who had appointed Lockhart as a lecturer for Years 1 to 3 at 300 Galleons a year.
• Fudge laughed with relief and praised Isaac for giving Lockhart the limited role.

Fudge and Percy discussed how to handle Gilderoy Lockhart’s application after Isaac exposed his attempt to use Hogwarts for publicity. They decided to offer Lockhart a special appointment as a Junior Obliviator, leaving his promotion dependent on passing Ministry background checks.

• Fudge mocked Lockhart’s humble application and concluded that Isaac had used the Defense Against the Dark Arts curse to deter him from exploiting Hogwarts.
• Fudge told Percy that he saw Isaac as a talented young wizard willing to work within the rules and considered him a valuable future ally.
• Percy advised Fudge to accept Lockhart’s application rather than leave Hogwarts without a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
• Percy proposed appointing Lockhart as a Junior Obliviator through a special appointment subject to background checks.
• Fudge approved Percy’s plan and ordered him to draft Lockhart’s appointment letter for his signature.

Cornelius Fudge rebuffed Dolores Umbridge and told her to focus on her duties, while Percy escorted her away from the Minister’s Office. Percy delayed presenting an offer letter, leaving Gilderoy Lockhart anxiously awaiting a Ministry owl.

• Percy told Fudge that Umbridge had wanted to see him but that he had stopped her outside.
• Fudge, recognizing Umbridge’s attempt to exert influence over Percy, ordered her to focus on her work or face a transfer.
• Percy delivered Fudge’s warning to Umbridge and escorted her out of the Ministry’s inner offices.
• Percy drafted an offer letter but decided to wait two or three days before giving it to Fudge.
• Lockhart spent three agonizing days unable to eat or sleep as he waited for a Ministry owl, prepared to flee if another owl arrived.

Lockhart received a temporary offer to work as a Junior Obliviator and, after interpreting it as a chance to advance at the Ministry, accepted. He then wrote to Dumbledore, knowing the letter would reach Isaac Waldore, and Kreacher delivered it to Isaac.

• Lockhart received a Ministry employment offer signed by Cornelius Fudge, appointing him a temporary Junior Obliviator while background checks continued.
• Lockhart decided the position suited his abilities and imagined climbing the Ministry ranks, then replied that he would report on time.
• Lockhart wrote a carefully worded letter to Headmaster Dumbledore, hoping Isaac Waldore would receive it and respect Fudge.
• Kreacher delivered Lockhart's letter to Isaac and disparaged him as a fraud.

Isaac learned that Fudge’s people were investigating Lockhart’s fraudulent books, then received a letter from Harry and decided to visit him. He set out with Kreacher in a Black Family carriage, intending to bring Harry home and gifts for the Dursleys.

• Isaac read Lockhart’s regretful letter and learned that Fudge’s subordinates were tracing the real people behind Lockhart’s stories.
• Isaac decided to visit the Weasleys, but Kreacher delivered a letter from Harry Potter before he left.
• Isaac read Harry’s letter, told Kreacher they were going out, and asked him to prepare gifts for the Dursley family.
• Kreacher prepared potions as gifts and an opulent carriage drawn by two Abraxans.
• Isaac learned the Abraxans had been restored to the Black Family’s accounts after Sirius gained influence, then set off with Kreacher.

Isaac visited Harry at the Dursleys’ home and learned that the family had been treating him better. Harry told Isaac about Dobby’s repeated pleas for help, but Dobby had not explained what danger he faced or how Harry could save him.

• Kreacher drove Isaac to the Dursleys’ house in the Black Family’s enchanted carriage.
• Harry greeted Isaac and said the Dursleys had been much nicer to him and had given him a new bedroom.
• Harry mistook Kreacher for Dobby, but Kreacher identified himself as a house-elf of the Black Family and asked whether the Malfoys had harassed Harry.
• Harry explained that Dobby had appeared in his room, begged him to help, and said he could neither explain the danger nor escape.
• Harry said Dobby returned days later looking weak and haggard, still asking for help without giving him useful details.

Isaac questioned why Dobby had turned to Harry for help, then offered the Dursleys potions as he prepared to take Harry away. The chapter ended with Vernon and Petunia welcoming Isaac warmly, leaving Harry stunned by their sudden change of attitude.

• Kreacher confirmed that Dobby was a Malfoy family House-elf by shaping a lifelike clay likeness of him.
• Isaac wondered why Dobby believed Harry could save him, while Kreacher condemned Dobby for being unlike other House-elves.
• Harry learned that Isaac and Kreacher had come to collect him and hurried upstairs to pack.
• Isaac offered Vernon and Petunia potions for dental health, weight loss, and temporary beauty.
• Vernon and Petunia eagerly invited Isaac to stay for supper and the night, surprising Harry when he returned with his luggage.

Isaac explained why the Dursleys had not been impressed by Harry’s practical potions and offered to teach him how to present them. After Harry toured the Black Family House and asked for help with Dobby, Isaac planned to contact Draco Malfoy and visit Malfoy Manor.

• Isaac asked Harry whether he had given the Dursleys the potions, and Harry listed the remedies he had brought them.
• Isaac explained that Harry had failed to describe the potions in a way that would impress the Dursleys and offered to take him to the Weasleys to learn from George and Fred.
• Isaac had Kreacher show Harry around the Black Family House, and Harry said it was luxurious but oppressive.
• Harry asked Isaac for ideas about Dobby, and Isaac decided to write to Malfoy about visiting Malfoy Manor.
• Harry frowned at Draco Malfoy’s name and compared him to Dudley Dursley.