Recaps

Isaac explained why Sirius could not join the Office of Oddities without undermining efforts to improve werewolves’ lives. He advised Sirius to take advantage of Cornelius Fudge’s conflict with Gringotts and propose a new Magical Finance Office directly under the Minister.

• Sirius admitted that Dumbledore had encouraged him to consult Isaac, who understood that Dumbledore had told Sirius about his prophetic ability.
• Isaac warned Sirius that joining the Office of Oddities would make people suspect he was acting to help Remus Lupin and werewolves, damaging that cause.
• Isaac explained that Fudge’s conflict with Gringotts had made Goblins and wizards dependent on the bank his enemies.
• Isaac advised Sirius to propose a Magical Finance Office directly under the Minister while Fudge needed support against Gringotts.

Isaac explained how Sirius could help secure better prospects for Remus Lupin and other capable Werewolves by warning Fudge of a possible Goblin-Werewolf alliance. He urged Sirius to visit the Black Family House to learn the truth about Regulus, and Sirius agreed to go with him.

• Isaac told Sirius that Fudge might approve a Ministry office but would not support calling it the Magical Finance Office.
• Isaac advised Sirius to make Fudge take Werewolves seriously by raising the danger of Fenrir Greyback joining a Goblin rebellion, which could help talented Werewolves such as Remus Lupin.
• Isaac asked whether Sirius knew how Regulus had died, and Sirius admitted that he did not know the details.
• Isaac urged Sirius to visit the Black Family House, and Sirius agreed after Isaac reminded him to listen to his advice.
• Isaac stopped Sirius from traveling alone and called Fawkes to take them together.

Isaac brought Sirius to the Black Family House, where Sirius confronted Kreacher about the house's neglected state and his place in the Black family. Kreacher then recognized Isaac's resemblance to the young Grindelwald and the phoenix on his shoulder, leaving him stunned.

• Sirius was shocked that Isaac could summon Dumbledore's phoenix from a distance.
• Isaac and Sirius used Fawkes to travel to the Black Family House at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
• Sirius entered the house and demanded that Kreacher explain why it had become run-down.
• Kreacher insulted Sirius and said he planned to leave the house and join his mistress and the young master in death.
• Sirius tried to attack Kreacher, but Isaac stopped him and entered the house.
• Kreacher began to insult Isaac, then recognized his face and the phoenix on his shoulder.

Isaac Waldore visited the Black Family House with Sirius Black, and Kreacher mistook Isaac for a young relative of Grindelwald or Dumbledore and treated him as an honored guest. As Kreacher showed them into the drawing room, he revealed a portrait of Sirius's mother, Walburga Black.

• Isaac introduced himself to Kreacher as Isaac Waldore, and Kreacher inferred that he was connected to Grindelwald or Dumbledore because of his appearance and Fawkes's closeness to him.
• Kreacher welcomed Isaac as the Black family's honored guest and began punishing himself for the house's neglected state.
• Isaac used wandless magic to stop Kreacher from hurting himself and urged him to clean the house.
• Kreacher rapidly restored the Black Family House and escorted Isaac and Sirius Black inside, showing contempt for Sirius despite allowing him to enter.
• Kreacher pulled aside a velvet curtain in the drawing room, revealing a portrait of Walburga Black before Sirius could stop him.

Isaac and Sirius questioned Kreacher at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place about the locket Regulus had left him to destroy. Kreacher revealed that Voldemort had used him in a sea-cave ritual, and his account left Sirius learning that Regulus had tried to oppose Voldemort.

• Walburga recognized Isaac as a guest of the Black Family, ordered Kreacher to care for him, and withdrew behind her portrait’s curtains.
• Isaac asked Kreacher whether Regulus’s locket was still in the house, and Kreacher tried to flee.
• Sirius ordered Kreacher to explain, and Kreacher admitted Regulus had given him Voldemort’s locket to destroy.
• Kreacher recounted how Regulus had sent him with Voldemort, who forced him to drink potion in a sea cave before placing the locket in the basin.
• Kreacher said he had Apparated back to Grimmauld Place and told Regulus what Voldemort had done.

Kreacher revealed how Regulus Black discovered Voldemort’s Horcrux, stole it, and died after ordering Kreacher to escape. Isaac went with Kreacher to find the hidden Horcrux, but Voldemort’s revived soul emerged from the cupboard in the Black family kitchen.

• Kreacher told Sirius Black that Regulus had replaced the Horcrux in the cave and left Voldemort a note signed R.A.B.
• Isaac explained Horcruxes and learned that Inferi had dragged Regulus into the lake after he drank the potion.
• Isaac asked Kreacher to take him to the Horcrux so he could destroy it, warning that it might be reviving.
• Kreacher led Isaac to the cupboard where he had hidden the Horcrux, but Isaac sensed danger and backed away.
• Voldemort’s ghostly figure burst out of the cupboard and said he had been trapped there because no one visited the Black family house.

Isaac confronted Voldemort in the Black Family House, mocked his half-blood heritage, and faced Voldemort's attempt to seize his body. Isaac answered with a powerful, precisely controlled Fiendfyre, leaving Voldemort stunned by a spell that could destroy his Horcrux.

• Voldemort proclaimed his blood-purity doctrine and demanded Isaac swear loyalty to him.
• Isaac pointed out that Voldemort was a half-blood whose father was a Muggle, provoking Voldemort to attack him.
• Voldemort transformed into a green skull with snakes and charged at Isaac to take his body.
• Kreacher tried to Apparate Isaac to safety, but Isaac stopped him and cast Fiendfyre at Voldemort.
• Isaac shaped the Fiendfyre into a dragon's head, and Voldemort realized it could destroy his Horcrux before pleading to talk.

Isaac destroyed Voldemort’s Horcrux with Fiendfyre, then joined Sirius Black and Kreacher in searching for Regulus’s remains. At the cave entrance, Isaac realized they could avoid drinking the potion because Regulus had already taken the Horcrux.

• Isaac used Fiendfyre to destroy Voldemort’s Horcrux and stopped the flames before they spread farther.
• Sirius Black decided to recover Regulus’s remains, and Kreacher took him and Isaac to the hidden cave entrance.
• Kreacher explained that someone had to drink the potion in the cave, and Sirius Black volunteered to do it.
• Isaac pointed out that Regulus had already replaced the Horcrux, so they could leave the potion alone and have Kreacher take them in and back out.

Isaac, Sirius, and Kreacher entered the cavern where Regulus’s body lay beneath a lake full of Inferi. Isaac froze the lake with his new Frost Storm spell, leaving the Inferi trapped beneath the ice as the group prepared to retrieve Regulus.

• Kreacher transported Isaac and Sirius into the cavern and warned them that Inferi filled the lake and would attack if its still surface was disturbed.
• Sirius proposed changing the terrain to draw out the Inferi one by one so they could find Regulus without damaging his body.
• Isaac cast Frigus Tempestas, summoning snow and icicles that rapidly froze the lake and trapped the Inferi beneath the ice.
• Kreacher brought Isaac and Sirius warm coats, and Isaac told Sirius that the spell was composite elemental magic he called Frost Storm.

Isaac, Sirius, and Kreacher searched the lake for Regulus while cremating the Inferi, and Kreacher took Percy back to The Burrow. Percy asked Molly about Regulus, but she avoided answering, leaving Percy waiting for his father so he could question him about the Weasley family.

• Sirius was astonished to learn that Isaac had created the powerful Frost Storm spell, and Isaac turned to finding Regulus beneath the lake ice.
• Isaac summoned two Water Elements to break the ice and pull out Inferi while Sirius and Kreacher checked each body and disposed of the remains.
• Isaac and Sirius agreed to have the Ministry bury the innocent people turned into Inferi after they finished recovering Regulus.
• Kreacher brought Percy to The Burrow and told him that Sirius and Isaac were recovering Regulus's remains.
• Percy asked Molly whether Regulus had been a member of the Black family, but she changed the subject and sent him to see Ginny.
• Percy waited for Arthur to come home so he could ask whether the Weasley family was as Isaac had described.

Percy returned to The Burrow after staying with Sirius Black, and the Weasley family reunited at the station with Fred, George, Ron, and Harry. Harry said goodbye to the Weasleys and met Vernon Dursley, who judged Hogwarts favorably because Harry looked well-fed.

• Mr. Weasley returned to The Burrow and asked Percy about his stay at Sirius Black's house, but Percy had no chance to explain before the family left to meet the younger children.
• On the Hogwarts Express, Ron invited Harry to write and visit during the holidays, and Harry agreed.
• Molly Weasley welcomed Fred, George, Ron, and Harry at the station, while Ron planned to give Ginny new school supplies and a wand.
• Harry said goodbye to the Weasleys and joined Vernon Dursley, who inspected his appearance and concluded Hogwarts had fed him well.

Vernon Dursley reassured himself that Harry’s magic would not disrupt the household, and Harry returned to the Dursley home for the holidays. At The Burrow, Percy asked Arthur about his Ministry internship and whether Arthur’s office could lead to a powerful position.

• Vernon asked Harry whether strange magical incidents would still happen, and Harry explained that he could control his magic and was forbidden to cast spells outside school.
• Vernon welcomed Harry home for dinner, relieved that the Dursleys’ peaceful life would not be disrupted.
• Harry ate with the Dursleys and began an unexpectedly pleasant holiday at their home.
• Percy asked Arthur for a private conversation about his Ministry of Magic internship during the holidays.
• Percy asked Arthur whether his office had much power and whether a promotion could make him a Senior Assistant Minister.

Arthur explained to Percy why he had never pursued a promotion at the Ministry of Magic, revealing his loyalty to Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix. Percy asked about Arthur’s second reason, and Arthur began to explain how their large family affected his choices.

• Arthur agreed that Fudge might have promoted him to Senior Assistant Minister or even Deputy Minister, then said he had two reasons for staying in his post.
• Arthur told Percy that he would not distance himself from Dumbledore for a promotion, since he had been a member of the Order of the Phoenix.
• Arthur explained that Fudge feared Dumbledore but tolerated Malfoy because Malfoy did not threaten his position as Minister for Magic.
• Percy chose Dumbledore over Fudge, and Arthur explained that the Weasley family needed to stand behind Dumbledore until a major crisis brought their contributions recognition.
• Percy asked for Arthur’s second reason, and Arthur said their family had too many children.

Arthur explained to Percy that his lack of promotion was meant to avoid alarming other wizarding families about the Weasleys’ potential influence at the Ministry. Percy shared his plans to intern at the Ministry and join the Office of Oddities, while Isaac and Sirius Black’s work in the seaside cave led them to Regulus’s corpse.

• Arthur asked Percy whether his brothers were capable, then explained that the Weasley family’s combined talents could threaten the Ministry’s established families.
• Arthur told Percy that he had avoided promotion until his children were adults, and Percy brought up his internship plans and interest in the Office of Oddities.
• Arthur said the Office of Oddities offered little résumé value but could allow Percy to accomplish a great deal, then asked what Percy intended to do.
• In the seaside cave, Isaac and Sirius Black continued clearing Inferi until Isaac’s water elemental brought up a severely decomposed corpse.
• Kreacher recognized Regulus’s clothing and rushed toward the corpse as Sirius Black stared at it.

After recovering Regulus's body, Sirius and Isaac prepared him for burial and resolved to clear his name as a hero who defied Voldemort. They arranged to contact Cornelius Fudge while clearing the Inferi from the cave, and Fudge opened the Black family's letter.

• Sirius and Kreacher brought Regulus's body to the Black Family House, where Kreacher prepared the funeral and Isaac and Sirius used embalming spells to restore Regulus's appearance.
• Isaac persuaded Sirius not to bury Regulus until his name was cleared, and Sirius agreed to act against the stain of being remembered as a Death Eater.
• Isaac wrote Cornelius Fudge a letter and sent it with Kreacher, then returned with Sirius and Kreacher to the cave.
• Isaac and Sirius cast a wide-ranging Fire-Making Spell as Kreacher drew the Inferi ashore, and they burned the Inferi until the lake was cleared.
• Cornelius Fudge received the Black family's letter, recognized Sirius as its heir, and opened it to learn what Sirius wanted.

Cornelius Fudge read Isaac Waldore’s letter about Regulus and realized it contained information he needed to discuss in person. He visited the Black Family House that night, where Isaac greeted him warmly.

• Fudge recognized Isaac’s letter and reflected on how Isaac’s advice had improved his political standing and made him a valuable ally.
• Fudge read that Regulus had died resisting Voldemort and noticed Isaac had left parts of the story vague.
• Fudge wrote back that he would visit the Black Family House after work.
• Kreacher escorted Fudge to the Black Family House and called Isaac his master, prompting Fudge to suspect Isaac had unusual influence over the house-elf.
• Isaac greeted Fudge, who insisted that Isaac call him Cornelius and then embraced him.

Cornelius Fudge visited the Black Family House, paid his respects to Regulus, and learned how Regulus had opposed Voldemort. The chapter left Fudge examining the destroyed Slytherin's Locket and hearing the account of Regulus's actions.

• Fudge greeted Sirius and asked to visit Regulus, whom he called a hero.
• Sirius led Fudge to Regulus's coffin, where Fudge removed his hat and observed a moment of silence.
• Back in the sitting room, Sirius and Isaac presented the broken Slytherin's Locket to Fudge.
• Isaac explained that Voldemort had turned the locket into a dangerous Dark Magic object and that it had been destroyed.
• Sirius and Kreacher told Fudge how Regulus had tricked Voldemort.

Fudge considered clearing Regulus's name in exchange for evidence that could establish him as a hero, while Isaac revealed Voldemort had amassed a vast army of Inferi in a seaside cave. The chapter left Fudge alarmed by the threat and outraged that Voldemort had secretly created them.

• Fudge offered to have the Ministry declare that Regulus was not a Death Eater, but Sirius wanted proof that his brother had resisted Voldemort and was a hero.
• Fudge indicated that the Ministry would need more than Regulus's damaged Slytherin's Locket to recognize him as a hero.
• Isaac told Fudge that he, Sirius, and Kreacher had found Voldemort's seaside cave and that its lake held hundreds or thousands of Inferi.
• Fudge realized Voldemort could use the Inferi as a powerful surprise force and demanded to know where the corpses had come from.
• Isaac suspected most of the Inferi were made from Muggle corpses and said Voldemort had also collected the bodies of murdered wizards.
• Fudge erupted over Voldemort's secret creation of Inferi, asking how it could possibly be allowed.

Isaac convinced Cornelius Fudge that Voldemort had hidden hundreds or thousands of Inferi in a magically protected seaside cave. Fudge arranged for Unspeakables from the Department of Mysteries to help break the protections, and the two sides agreed to meet at the cave entrance.

• Isaac explained that Voldemort had placed screening magic and an Anti-Apparition Jinx over the cave, which Kreacher had helped him and Sirius bypass.
• Fudge proposed sending Gringotts Curse-Breakers to dismantle Voldemort's magic, but Isaac warned that doing so would be inappropriate given the Ministry's conflict with the goblins.
• Fudge decided to send Unspeakables from the Department of Mysteries instead.
• Isaac had Kreacher give Fudge the cave's address, and they agreed to meet there with Fudge's Unspeakables and Isaac's group of two people and one house-elf.

Isaac, Sirius, Fudge, and his team entered the cave after the Unspeakables broke the magic sealing its entrance. They found urns containing the ashes of more than a thousand Inferi, including some that had been wizards, leaving Fudge to confront the scale of Voldemort’s forces.

• Fudge arrived at the cave with two Unspeakables and Auror John Dawlish, then had the Unspeakables examine the entrance.
• The Unspeakables deciphered the magic on the stone wall and opened the cave entrance.
• Isaac told Fudge he and Sirius had prepared surprises inside, and John Dawlish led the group into the cave.
• The group found neatly arranged urns on the lakeshore where Isaac and Sirius had burned the Inferi.
• The Unspeakables tested the ashes, confirmed that they came from at least a thousand Inferi, and separated the wizard ashes from the rest.

Cornelius Fudge saw the destroyed Inferi and the recovered bodies as a chance to gain public support and rally Ministry officials against Gringotts. Isaac led Fudge, Sirius Black, Dawlish, and the Unspeakables to the island, where he explained the poison protecting the item in the stone basin.

• Fudge planned to use the Inferi’s destruction and the remains of missing wizards to strengthen his reputation and attract support within the Ministry.
• Fudge staged a solemn performance beside the lake for Dawlish, hoping the Auror would spread the story after returning to the office.
• Isaac told Fudge that the Inferi had once hidden beneath the lake and dragged Regulus underwater, but that the lake was now safe to cross by boat.
• Isaac led Fudge, Sirius Black, Dawlish, and the Unspeakables across the lake to the island and gathered them around the stone basin.
• Isaac explained that Voldemort had enchanted the basin so anyone seeking the item inside had to drink all its poison, or the potion would refill.

Cornelius Fudge and two Unspeakables disabled the stone basin’s magic and uncovered a Locket containing Regulus Arcturus Black’s letter revealing that he had stolen Voldemort’s real Horcrux. Fudge decided to publicize Regulus’s sacrifice and proposed a memorial for the Muggle victims whose ashes were found among the Inferi.

• The Unspeakables isolated the spells that refilled the basin and forced people to drink, then removed the potion and uncovered a Locket.
• Cornelius Fudge opened the Locket and read Regulus Arcturus Black’s letter about stealing Voldemort’s real Horcrux and planning to destroy it.
• Fudge told Isaac that Regulus was a hero whose story should inspire the Wizarding World, and summoned Rufus Scrimgeour and Amelia Bones.
• Fudge proposed burying the Muggle victims’ ashes in Godric’s Hollow and building a memorial wall, and Amelia Bones agreed.

Cornelius Fudge accepted Isaac’s plan to store wizards’ ashes in the Ministry of Magic and have House-elves tend them. Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour then competed to recruit Isaac for a holiday internship.

• Isaac suggested storing wizards’ ashes in an empty Ministry office and letting House-elves care for them so families could try to identify their missing relatives.
• Cornelius Fudge approved Isaac’s plan, hoping the families would become more supportive of him.
• Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour recognized Isaac as someone who had repeatedly helped bring Death Eaters to justice.
• Rufus Scrimgeour invited Isaac to intern at the Auror Office, and Amelia Bones countered by offering him an internship in the department head’s office.
• Cornelius Fudge objected as Scrimgeour and Bones tried to recruit Isaac.

Sirius asked Cornelius Fudge for a Ministry position, explaining that Regulus’s resistance to Voldemort had inspired him to serve the Wizarding World. After the Ministry collected the Inferi ashes and the group dined at the Black Family House, Amelia Bones approved of Sirius’s decision to rebuild his life.

• Isaac joked that he was too young to begin an internship, and Amelia Bones and Cornelius Fudge resolved to keep Hogwarts from recruiting him.
• Ministry employees collected the Inferi ashes, taking some to build a memorial wall at Godric's Hollow and the rest back to the Ministry.
• Sirius asked Cornelius Fudge to stay, and Amelia Bones and other Ministry officials joined him at the Black Family House.
• After dinner, Sirius told Fudge that Regulus’s courage had led him to seek a role serving the Wizarding World.
• Amelia Bones approved of Sirius’s resolve and recalled that he had fought Voldemort as a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

Amelia Bones teased Fudge about transferring Sirius Black to her department, and Fudge agreed to find Sirius a Ministry post while criticizing Umbridge for failing to carry out his orders. Fudge offered Sirius the position of Director of the Gringotts Security Inspection Office.

• Amelia Bones suggested that Fudge could send Sirius Black to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
• Fudge agreed to arrange a position for Sirius and reflected on how his pure-blood supporters and half-blood allies were united only by the Goblin crisis.
• Fudge decided Umbridge had become unreliable because she was carrying out his assignments cautiously and incompletely.
• Umbridge worried that Fudge no longer protected her, so she avoided provoking the Goblins of Gringotts.
• Isaac stayed silent as the conflict between Fudge and Umbridge benefited him and Sirius.
• Fudge offered Sirius the position of Director of the Gringotts Security Inspection Office.