Recaps

Igor Karkaroff returned to contact Severus Snape after receiving a summons through his Dark Mark, terrified that Voldemort was returning to punish him. Snape confirmed he had received the order too, but said he had not seen Voldemort and that his condition seemed poor.

• The chapter explained that Karkaroff had risen to become Durmstrang's headmaster and avoided Britain because his former Death Eater allies hated him for betraying them.
• Karkaroff received a summons through his Dark Mark and wrote to Snape asking to meet in a Muggle pub in London.
• Snape agreed to meet Karkaroff and found him frightened and waiting in a pub he had magically cleared of other patrons.
• Karkaroff asked Snape whether he had received an order from Voldemort, and Snape confirmed that he had.
• Snape said he had not seen Voldemort in person and that Voldemort's condition seemed poor.
• Karkaroff showed Snape his Dark Mark, saying it had turned dark bluish-green after the order arrived and had not changed since.

Snape explained to Karkaroff that Voldemort needed the former Death Eaters for the Christmas operation, though he would pursue a different target himself. After hearing from other former Death Eaters, Karkaroff chose to gather them and face the mission.

• Snape realized Isaac's use of the Dark Mark had made the orders seem convincing because the marks on the other Death Eaters remained black.
• Karkaroff asked Snape whether the Gringotts mission was punishment or a chance to serve their former master again.
• Snape told Karkaroff that Voldemort distrusted the British Death Eaters but still needed them, and that he would take part in the Christmas operation for a different purpose.
• Karkaroff drank himself into a stupor, returned to his lodgings, and received messages from other former Death Eaters.
• At dawn, Karkaroff decided to gather the former Death Eaters and declared, “Atoners, assemble!”

Isaac and Snape prepared to attend a gathering, with Isaac explaining why he could not travel there with Fawkes. Snape Apparated them to the address Isaac had provided.

• Isaac reflected on the Wizards who stayed at Hogwarts over Christmas and on the gifts Ron had received from Dumbledore and Snape.
• Isaac arranged to sell Snape's surplus Potions through a Diagon Alley shop, which had checked with Snape before agreeing to buy them.
• Snape caught Isaac staring at him and threatened him with a Potion.
• Isaac gave Snape the party's address and explained that Fawkes could not take him because the attendees had complaints about Dumbledore.
• Snape gripped Isaac's shoulder and Apparated them to the house.

Isaac and Snape arrived at Vinda Rosier’s home in Godric’s Hollow, where four elderly former Acolytes eagerly awaited the child they believed could revive Grindelwald’s cause. Snape recognized them as powerful officials from several European Ministries of Magic and wondered what Isaac’s connection to them meant.

• Isaac and Snape arrived at Vinda Rosier’s home and were welcomed by her German house-elf, Heinz.
• Vinda greeted them with four elderly wizards who had once followed Grindelwald as Acolytes.
• The Acolytes looked to Isaac as the opportunity to bring Grindelwald’s cause back to life.
• Snape recognized the visitors as prominent officials from the German, Austrian, Bulgarian, and Romanian Ministries of Magic and questioned why they were so excited to meet Isaac.

Isaac led Grindelwald’s Acolytes in a plan to use a staged Gringotts robbery as a distraction while they entered the vaults under an Invisibility Cloak. On Christmas Day, the Death Eaters attacked the bank, and Isaac’s group began their operation.

• Isaac outlined the operation to the Acolytes, and Abernathy asked whether the Death Eaters could draw enough attention.
• Isaac assured Abernathy that Voldemort’s followers could handle the public part of the plan, and the Acolytes agreed to the operation codenamed “Christmas Day.”
• On Christmas Day, Isaac and his companions used Polyjuice Potion to disguise themselves and wandered through Diagon Alley.
• A group of black-clad Death Eaters left Knockturn Alley and attacked the Gringotts guards with Reducto and Confringo.
• The Death Eaters stormed Gringotts, declared a robbery, and ordered the goblins to bring out the Galleons from the vaults.

Karkaroff’s outsourced robbers failed to overcome Gringotts’ guards, so he and three Death Eaters stormed the bank themselves and began killing goblins. After one Death Eater summoned the Dark Mark and drew attention to the attack, Isaac and Vinda’s group entered under Invisibility Cloaks, where Isaac stopped the goblin manager from escaping.

• The first group of robbers failed to subdue Gringotts’ goblin guards, who recovered and captured them.
• Karkaroff and three Death Eaters entered Gringotts, killed the goblin guards and tellers, and began attacking the vaults.
• One Death Eater cast the Dark Mark over Diagon Alley, alarming Karkaroff and prompting him to refocus the group on their orders.
• Isaac took an Invisibility Cloak from Vinda and led their silent group into Gringotts as the Ministry’s Aurors were expected to arrive.
• Isaac saw the goblin manager trying to escape and hit him with a spell that knocked him unconscious.

Isaac and his companions entered Gringotts’ vaults after secretly abducting the goblin manager, while Karkaroff’s Death Eaters struggled to decide how to continue their raid. After realizing they needed to create a major distraction, Karkaroff proposed releasing the Ukrainian Ironbelly imprisoned below.

• Isaac and his companions used Confundus and Levitation Charms to conceal the falling goblin manager, and Snape hid him beneath the Invisibility Cloak.
• Isaac and the others entered the vaults, where Karkaroff’s group was damaging vaults while avoiding the deeper defenses.
• Karkaroff inferred from Snape’s hints that another group was inside to retrieve something for the Dark Lord.
• After a Death Eater’s Dark Mark drew attention to the raid, Karkaroff decided they needed a bigger commotion to escape the Aurors and the Dark Lord’s anger.
• When a Ukrainian Ironbelly growled from deeper in the vaults, Karkaroff proposed releasing it, alarming the other Death Eaters.

Karkaroff and two Death Eaters freed the Ukrainian Ironbelly in Gringotts and used Excavation Charms to lead it up through the vault tunnels. The Dark Mark appeared over Diagon Alley, prompting Rufus Scrimgeour to mobilize the Aurors while Cornelius Fudge ordered him to capture and interrogate the Death Eaters.

• Karkaroff convinced two Death Eaters that freeing the Ukrainian Ironbelly was their best chance to escape Voldemort and the Ministry.
• Karkaroff and the two Death Eaters shattered the dragon’s chains and cleared a path through the vault tunnels with Excavation Charms.
• Rufus Scrimgeour learned that the Dark Mark had appeared in Diagon Alley and that Death Eaters had attacked Gringotts, then sent his Aurors to respond.
• Amelia Bones offered Scrimgeour additional Hit Wizards, but he said his Aurors were enough.
• Cornelius Fudge ordered Scrimgeour to subdue the Death Eaters and interrogate them about their plans.

Scrimgeour and the Aurors arrived at Gringotts, where Karkaroff’s escape on a Ukrainian Ironbelly provoked a battle in Diagon Alley. Meanwhile, Isaac’s group reached the Lestrange vault and opened it, leaving them amid its vast collection of treasure.

• Scrimgeour surrounded Gringotts with Aurors and learned that Death Eaters had seized the bank in two waves.
• Karkaroff blasted the Ukrainian Ironbelly out through Gringotts’ dome, then attacked it to provoke it as Aurors gathered below.
• Scrimgeour ordered half the Aurors to shield Diagon Alley from the dragon’s fire while the others stunned it.
• Isaac, Snape, Abernathy, and their companions used the goblin manager under the Imperius Curse to find the Lestrange vault.
• The goblin manager opened the vault, revealing heaps of treasure, strange specimens, and a crowned skeleton.

Isaac and the others used Finite Incantatem to destroy the protective charms in the Lestrange vault, where Hufflepuff’s Cup lay. After sensing someone inside, Isaac called out to the Horcrux of Tom Riddle and taunted him to come out.

• The goblin manager explained the Lestrange vault’s lethal protections, and Isaac reflected on who might eventually claim its abandoned wealth.
• Isaac spotted Hufflepuff’s Cup, recognized it as one of Tom Riddle’s Horcruxes, and asked Vinda and the others to cast Finite Incantatem with him.
• Isaac, Snape, Vinda, Abernathy, and the others jointly cast Finite Incantatem, which swept through the vault and destroyed its protective spells.
• Isaac tested the vault by tossing in a Galleon, then stepped back and called for Tom Riddle to reveal himself.
• Isaac pulled Snape in front of himself for protection and shouted a crude taunt at the hidden Horcrux.

Isaac explained how Tom Riddle obtained Hufflepuff’s Cup by seducing Hepzibah Smith, then murdering her and framing her house-elves. Tom appeared in the Lestrange vault to angrily deny the accusation.

• Snape and the Acolytes watched Isaac, but Snape had never heard that Voldemort sold his ass.
• While Aurors struggled to contain the Ukrainian Ironbelly in Diagon Alley, Isaac asked Vinda and the other Acolytes what they knew about Hufflepuff’s Cup.
• Isaac said Hepzibah Smith inherited the cup and claimed Tom Riddle seduced her to get the Founders’ relics before killing her and framing her house-elves.
• Tom Riddle’s young, pale soul appeared above the cup and shouted that Isaac’s story was slander.

Isaac explained why he had let Voldemort's Horcrux awaken and why he wanted Voldemort and his Death Eaters to remain as forces in the wizarding world. The twenty-year-old Voldemort realized he was dead and proposed a deal to Isaac.

• Isaac said Voldemort's Horcruxes had begun to awaken and explained that he wanted to keep Voldemort as a wild card while controlling the Death Eaters.
• Voldemort studied Isaac's disguised group and recognized that they had used Polyjuice Potion.
• Isaac explained that they had disguised themselves to avoid trouble at Gringotts, then mocked Voldemort about his future and missing nose.
• Voldemort realized that his Horcrux had awakened because he was completely dead and asked Isaac to make a deal.

Isaac confirmed that Tom had revived from Hufflepuff's Cup in the Lestrange family vault and destroyed the Horcrux with Fiendfyre. He left the raging flames for the Goblins and Aurors to handle, while arranging for Karkaroff to return to Durmstrang.

• Twenty-year-old Tom offered Isaac the vault's treasures in exchange for taking him along, but Isaac pointed out that the vault belonged to the Lestrange family.
• Isaac cast Fiendfyre at Hufflepuff's Cup, and the flames destroyed the black substance inside as Tom screamed.
• Isaac and the others prepared to leave before Scrimgeour's Aurors reached the vault.
• Isaac told Snape to have the Goblin manager alert Scrimgeour and keep the Fiendfyre confined in the vault.
• Isaac decided the Goblins could use Karkaroff as a scapegoat and told Snape to let him know he could return to Durmstrang as headmaster.

Karkaroff, revealed to be Isaac, followed Snape’s signal and escaped Diagon Alley with two Death Eaters by stealing Broomsticks. As Scrimgeour prepared to pursue them, a Gringotts manager pushed through the Aurors’ blockade with urgent news.

• Karkaroff heard Snape tell him it was time to leave and killed the Death Eater who had launched the Dark Mark.
• Karkaroff and two Death Eaters stole a Nimbus 2000, a Comet 260, and a Nimbus 1500 from Quality Quidditch Supplies to escape the Anti-Apparition Jinxes.
• Karkaroff outran the Aurors on the Nimbus 2000 and Apparated away when he sensed he could; the other two Death Eaters Apparated shortly afterward.
• A Gringotts manager who had been under the Imperius Curse reached Scrimgeour and insisted he had urgent news to report.

Scrimgeour learned that Gringotts’ dragon controls relied on fear and that Fiendfyre was burning inside a vault. He led the Aurors to the Lestrange vault, where the door burst open and released blue Fiendfyre.

• Scrimgeour ordered the Aurors to let a goblin through and demanded to know what had happened at Gringotts.
• The goblin revealed that someone had released Fiendfyre inside a vault and warned it could destroy Gringotts and the British Wizarding World.
• Scrimgeour ordered every Auror to follow him into the vaults and made the goblin lead them to the Lestrange family vault.
• Scrimgeour identified the vault, told the Aurors to lower their wands, and ordered the goblin to open it.
• The goblin touched the searing vault door, which burst apart and released blue Fiendfyre.

The Aurors extinguished the Fiendfyre at Gringotts and arrested the Goblin manager, while Isaac and his allies escaped and returned to their safe house. As the old Acolytes departed Britain, Snape began to connect Isaac’s recognition by Grindelwald’s followers to Grindelwald’s history with Dumbledore.

• Scrimgeour and dozens of Aurors extinguished the Fiendfyre and confirmed the Lestrange vault was clear.
• Scrimgeour arrested the Goblin manager and took him away for questioning about Gringotts’ security failures.
• Isaac and the others returned to their temporary safe house, where Abernathy gave Isaac his private contact information and the old wizards invited him to visit their territories.
• Snape reflected on Grindelwald’s place in Dumbledore’s history and wondered why the Acolytes treated Isaac like a successor to their leader.
• The old Acolytes left Britain by Portkey, while Vinda, Snape, and Isaac returned to Hogwarts as the Ministry prepared to investigate the attack.

After returning to Hogwarts, Snape investigated the World Wizarding War and found evidence that Isaac resembled Grindelwald, a powerful Seer. He suspected Dumbledore was shaping Isaac into another Dark Lord but decided not to confront him yet.

• Snape borrowed a history of the World Wizarding War from the Hogwarts library and returned to his office to study it.
• Snape recognized Rosier, Abernathy, Carrow, Zabini, and Kraft as members of Grindelwald’s faction, explaining their familiarity with one another.
• Snape studied a photograph of Grindelwald and realized Isaac had matched Grindelwald’s distinctive eyes, appearance, and clothing.
• Snape read that Grindelwald had been a powerful Seer and connected that ability to Isaac’s knowledge, discoveries, and influence among European officials.
• Snape suspected Dumbledore planned to cultivate Isaac as a third-generation Dark Lord, but held back from confronting Dumbledore because he feared the consequences.

Isaac told Dumbledore that Voldemort’s Horcrux in Gringotts had been dealt with and discussed how Voldemort’s return made Harry the crucial safeguard against him. Dumbledore explained that Voldemort himself had made Harry his destined rival, and Isaac agreed to look after him.

• Isaac reported that his team had taken care of Voldemort’s Horcrux in Gringotts and that the Cup had been destroyed.
• Isaac told Dumbledore he had seen Voldemort trapped in the vault, unable to leave or restore his weakened condition.
• Dumbledore warned Isaac that Voldemort had returned and said they needed a trump card to oppose him.
• Isaac questioned why Dumbledore chose Harry rather than Neville, since both fit Trelawney’s prophecy.
• Dumbledore explained that Voldemort had chosen Harry as his rival and that Harry had become the trump card through his role as the Boy Who Lived.
• Isaac understood Dumbledore’s plan and resolved to look after Harry, who could fight Voldemort if Isaac’s own plans failed.

Isaac reflected on Dumbledore’s willingness to use Harry as a weapon but resolved that Harry’s fate would remain in his own hands. Back at Hogwarts, Harry and Ron sought Isaac’s help and learned he had returned early because Gringotts had been affected by a troubling incident.

• Isaac decided that Dumbledore could train Harry, but Isaac would choose whether Harry was used as a trump card.
• Isaac returned to Hogwarts and was welcomed by the Hufflepuff students staying for Christmas.
• Harry and Ron hurried over to Isaac, who noticed Hermione was absent and asked whether they had argued.
• Ron explained that Hermione was valued for helping their year with homework and was unlikely to be bullied.
• Harry asked why Isaac had returned early, and Isaac said Professor Vinda had warned him that trouble at Gringotts would unsettle the Wizarding World.
• Ron worried about the incident because his brother worked at Gringotts, while Harry’s family also had a vault there.

Harry and Ron explained to Isaac how Gryffindor students had opened a locked room on the fourth floor and discovered a three-headed dog inside. The chapter ended with the students fleeing the room in terror.

• Isaac reassured Harry that powerful Wizards had little reason to rob Gringotts and that the Lestrange vault was far from the Potter vault.
• Harry and Ron took Isaac to the Black Lake and told him about Gryffindor students exploring the forbidden fourth-floor corridor.
• The Gryffindors found a locked room that ordinary attempts to open had failed to unlock.
• Percy suggested that several Wizards cast the Unlocking Spell together, drawing on a Ministry account of Aurors combining magic to stop Fiendfyre.
• The joint Unlocking Spell opened the door, and the older students rushed back out shouting, "Three-Headed Dog!"

Harry and Ron told Isaac about the Three-Headed Dog guarding a hidden chamber and their suspicions that it protected something belonging to Nicolas Flamel. Isaac explained that Flamel had created the Sorcerer’s Stone, and the group went to find Hermione and learn about it.

• Older Gryffindor students encountered a Three-Headed Dog in a hidden chamber, failed to subdue it with spells, and asked Harry for help.
• Harry and Ron told Isaac that Fred and George had suggested asking Hagrid about the dog, and that Hagrid had mentioned Nicolas Flamel.
• Isaac explained that Nicolas Flamel was a famous alchemist and the creator of the Sorcerer’s Stone.
• Ron rushed Harry and Isaac to the library, where they found Hermione and discussed Flamel and the Stone.
• Isaac said the Sorcerer’s Stone could turn stone into gold and grant immortality, and revealed that Dumbledore watched him closely after he had wanted to turn Hogwarts into a golden castle.

Isaac explained that Dumbledore might use the Sorcerer’s Stone as a prize and advised Harry to ask Hagrid about the Three-Headed Dog guarding it. After Harry left with Ron and Hermione went to the library, Percy approached Isaac about the Death Eater robbery at Gringotts.

• Isaac promised that a golden Hogwarts could give students gold, prompting Ron to pledge his family’s votes for Isaac as headmaster or Minister of Magic.
• Isaac said Nicolas Flamel had entrusted the Sorcerer’s Stone to Dumbledore and warned the trio to focus on getting past the Three-Headed Dog.
• Isaac advised Harry to consult Hagrid, who had tamed the dangerous Three-Headed Dog, and Harry left with Ron while Hermione went to the library.
• Percy approached Isaac privately and asked whether he had heard about the Death Eaters robbing Gringotts; Isaac confirmed he had and asked if Percy had an idea.

Isaac warned Percy Weasley that thanking Scrimgeour for the Gringotts incident would expose him as a flatterer, then taught him how to cultivate Ministry connections. The chapter left Percy ready to write to Minister Fudge instead, using words that would appeal to him.

• Percy asked Isaac whether he should write Director Scrimgeour a letter thanking him for stopping the Gringotts robbery.
• Isaac explained that Scrimgeour would know the Weasley family was poor and might see Percy's letter as shameless flattery.
• Isaac advised Percy that maintaining connections mattered, but that he needed to choose his approach carefully.
• Isaac pointed out that Arthur Weasley held more influence at the Ministry than Percy seemed to realize.
• Isaac told Percy to write to Minister Fudge instead and make sure the letter appealed to him.

Isaac coached Percy on how to win Fudge’s favor by blaming Gringotts goblins for the failed Auror operation in Diagon Alley. After Percy left to send his letter, Isaac received a letter signed by Sirius Orion Black.

• Isaac explained that Fudge needed to distract the public from the Aurors’ failure to capture the Death Eaters in Diagon Alley.
• Percy concluded that Fudge wanted to suppress news of the failed operation, and Isaac urged him to write a forceful letter blaming Gringotts’ goblins.
• Percy wrote a letter to Fudge under Isaac’s guidance and agreed to send it the next morning.
• An owl delivered Isaac a letter from Sirius, whose messy handwriting reflected his time in Azkaban.

Isaac read a letter from Sirius, who thanked him for finding Peter Pettigrew and clearing his name, and invited him to visit after the holidays. Isaac agreed to keep Sirius's return secret from Harry and began considering plans for the next Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

• Sirius wrote to Isaac from St. Mungo's, thanking him for exposing Peter Pettigrew and securing his release from Azkaban.
• Sirius explained that he was recovering and invited Isaac to visit his home during the holidays, asking him to keep the news from Harry until he could surprise his godson.
• Isaac considered whether Sirius should become the next Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but decided he already had someone else in mind.
• Isaac replied that he would visit Sirius, keep the secret from Harry, and urged Sirius to recover before seeing him.