Chapter Summaries

Vaughn visited Xenophilius and Pandora Lovegood to recruit Pandora as Hogwarts’s new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor and enlist The Quibbler to publicize Voldemort’s curse. He returned to the Burrow, reunited with Molly and Arthur, and heard that C was planning something while werewolves poured into England.

• Vaughn reassured Xenophilius and Pandora that Luna was doing well at Hogwarts and agreed to a possible summer get-together between their families.
• Vaughn explained Voldemort’s curse to the Lovegoods and proposed that Pandora take over the Defence Against the Dark Arts post from Isa while joining his research team.
• Pandora eagerly accepted the plan, and Xenophilius received Vaughn’s permission to write about the curse for The Quibbler.
• Vaughn left the Lovegoods’ home after one in the morning and used the Dimensional Gate to return to the Burrow.
• Molly and Arthur suspected Vaughn was an impostor until he summoned his blue-and-white Maine Coon Patronus, then welcomed him home.
• Arthur told Vaughn that C appeared to be planning something big and that many werewolves had recently come into England.

Vaughn convened C’s executive committee and announced that C would establish the International Werewolf Association with backing from Akinbade and the International Confederation of Wizards. The meeting ended with Vaughn firmly in control of the initiative, and he asked Lupin how things were progressing with Tonks.

• Arthur told Vaughn that news of the meeting had spread through the Ministry of Magic, apparently from C’s Executive Bureau, and Vaughn considered calling a general assembly to purge the organization.
• Vaughn went to C Headquarters, where Chevalier told him the committee members had arrived and then explained the association’s planned structure and powers.
• Vaughn announced that the International Werewolf Association would be established with Akinbade’s support, and he made Chevalier’s presentation of its arrangements the meeting’s sole agenda.
• Chevalier described the association’s branches, committees, and Round Table Conference, whose seat allocation gave Vaughn’s allies decisive influence.
• After the meeting, Lupin worried that the Ministry of Magic would target Vaughn, but Vaughn reassured him and then asked how things were progressing between him and Tonks.

Vaughn prepared to reshape C’s leadership at its second general assembly while keeping his political plans concealed from Voldemort and the Pure-blood Alliance. At Hogwarts, he discussed exchange students and the Defence Against the Dark Arts curse with Dumbledore, who remained uncertain whether replacing the professor would weaken it.

• Vaughn teased Lupin about Tonks, then offered him responsibility for overseeing the International Werewolf Association’s affairs in C; Lupin agreed to put his personal feelings aside.
• Vaughn instructed Lupin to notify Amelia, Tonks, Umbridge, and Barty Crouch Sr. about C’s upcoming second general assembly as part of his plan to build political momentum and rebalance its leadership.
• Vaughn spent the afternoon resolving Executive Bureau disputes and planned to expand the bureau and divide the werewolves into factions, with Lupin as his intended spokesman.
• Vaughn returned to Hogwarts after Fawkes summoned him, and Dumbledore confronted him for arranging an exchange-student program without informing the headmaster.
• Vaughn and Dumbledore discussed using Akinbade and the International Confederation of Wizards to support the exchange program, then considered whether appointing a new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor and making Isa an assistant could reduce the curse’s influence.

Vaughn challenged Dumbledore’s plan to sacrifice himself to defeat Voldemort, warning that his death would leave Wizarding Britain vulnerable to DeSantis. He persuaded Dumbledore to wait while Vaughn pursued soul magic, and agreed to consider becoming Hogwarts headmaster if Dumbledore survived their troubles.

• Dumbledore and Vaughn discussed whether appointing Pandora as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor could help shoulder Isabella’s curse, and Vaughn argued that Pandora’s teaching approach would prepare students for danger.
• Vaughn confronted Dumbledore about Voldemort, DeSantis, and the consequences of Dumbledore’s plan to die after making Harry master of the Elder Wand.
• Dumbledore considered relying on Li Nanyu to protect Vaughn and Wizarding Britain after his death, but Vaughn questioned whether that arrangement was enough.
• Vaughn proposed that advanced soul magic might let him separate Voldemort’s soul fragment from Harry, and Dumbledore agreed to reconsider his plan.
• Vaughn promised to consider succeeding Dumbledore as headmaster if Dumbledore lived through the crisis, then joked that Snape could take the position if Dumbledore died.

Vaughn and Dumbledore agreed on plans for the next Defence Against the Dark Arts professors and Vaughn's summer visit to China, while Dumbledore approved C's second general assembly proposal. The next morning, Hogwarts students learned that Voldemort had cursed the Defence Against the Dark Arts post, and Isabella confirmed she had been attacked at Hogwarts.

• Vaughn proposed Remus as the next Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, and Dumbledore approved the choice.
• Vaughn told Dumbledore he planned to visit China for an educational exchange and the Grand Celestial Rite, and Dumbledore agreed to accompany him after learning Li had welcomed Vaughn.
• Vaughn gave Dumbledore C's proposal for its second general assembly, and Dumbledore took it to submit to the Wizengamot.
• Newspapers reported that Voldemort had cursed the Defence Against the Dark Arts post after Hogwarts rejected his application to teach.
• Isabella confirmed to the students that a Dark wizard had attacked her at Hogwarts and said she and Dumbledore were looking for a way to break the curse.

Hermione worried that public attacks had left Vaughn isolated ahead of C's second plenary assembly, while Harry decided to risk opening his mind to Voldemort. Harry entered a memory and discovered Voldemort with Peter Pettigrew, but he had not yet learned where they were.

• Hermione discussed the political backlash against Vaughn with Harry and Ron, then worried about Harry's safety as the boys returned to Gryffindor Tower.
• Harry told Ron he would drop his Occlumency to connect with Voldemort, and Ron agreed to guard him and fetch a professor if anything went wrong.
• Harry opened his mind and glimpsed a brief, blurred memory of a woman crying before darkness overtook him.
• Harry entered a clearer memory of a corridor and saw Peter Pettigrew speaking with Voldemort in a room beyond a partially open door.
• Voldemort told Peter to feed Nagini and said he needed to observe things longer, while Harry tried to learn where they were.

Harry dreamed through his connection with Voldemort and saw Peter Pettigrew serving him, then promised Ron he would not risk entering Voldemort’s mind again. As anti-C sentiment surged across Britain, Vaughn revealed to Li Nanyu that the uproar was a deliberate performance meant to draw out his opponents, and Li Nanyu prepared to give him a gift.

• Harry saw Voldemort question Peter’s loyalty and warn that Vaughan Weasley and DeSantis deserved attention before the vision ended.
• Harry told Ron he had seen Peter alive with Voldemort, and Ron urged him to restore his Occlumency and never take the same risk again.
• Ron stayed close to Harry for two days as Hermione worried about Vaughn amid a growing Anti-C Wave fueled by accusations in the Daily Prophet.
• Vaughn told Li Nanyu that Hogwarts should not be pulled into his political struggle, even though he believed success was certain.
• Vaughn explained that the public uproar was staged to make his opponents believe he was isolated and encourage them to act.
• Li Nanyu said he had prepared a gift for Vaughn and trusted him to handle matters without Dumbledore.

Li Nanyu showed Vaughn a reconstructed memory of Isabella surviving a Killing Curse attack by a disguised wizard whose face resembled Igor Karkaroff. Vaughn ruled out Karkaroff as the real attacker and began investigating the visiting delegations, narrowing his suspicions to wizards from Ilvermorny, Uagadou, and Mahoutokoro.

• Li Nanyu showed Vaughn a magical reconstruction of Isabella dodging a Killing Curse in a Hogwarts corridor.
• Li Nanyu revealed that the attacker’s face resembled Igor Karkaroff and explained how he had reconstructed the scene.
• Vaughn told Li Nanyu he believed someone had impersonated Karkaroff and said he would keep investigating.
• Vaughn reviewed Karkaroff’s motives and concluded that Karkaroff had no reason to attack Isabella or serve Voldemort.
• Vaughn examined the visiting delegations’ records and focused his suspicions on wizards from Ilvermorny, Uagadou, and Mahoutokoro.

Vaughn failed to identify the disguised attacker and shared Li Nanyu’s memory of the incident with Dumbledore, while they continued to consider their suspects. At Malfoy Manor, Lucius told Jacob and Corban that his family had found Voldemort and that they would all meet him.

• Vaughn considered Mahoutokoro and Uagadou as possible sources of the attack but could not confirm the attacker’s identity from Li Nanyu’s recording.
• Dumbledore arrived at Vaughn’s office, viewed the memory Vaughn shared, and agreed that Karkaroff seemed unlikely to have returned to Voldemort willingly.
• Fudge learned from Umbridge that Roberts had been threatened and celebrated his chance to regain influence by presenting himself as a friend to his allies.
• At Malfoy Manor, Lucius, Jacob, and Corban discussed helping Fudge oppose Weasley’s proposal for C’s second general assembly.
• Lucius announced that his family had found Voldemort in an old house in Little Hangleton and said Voldemort was willing to accept Jacob as a servant.

Jacob agreed to meet Voldemort, knowing he would likely have to become a Death Eater, while Harry secretly kept trying to reach Voldemort through their soul connection. As Vaughn advanced his work with Nicolas Flamel and the Confederation, he appeared at C’s public assembly as the Confederation branch moved to intervene in the Ministry’s dispute with C.

• Jacob left Malfoy Manor determined to cooperate with Voldemort despite his reluctance to become a Death Eater.
• Harry secretly released his Occlumency each night to seek Voldemort through their connection, but fell asleep without reaching him.
• Vaughn and Dumbledore worked with Akinbade at the Confederation headquarters, while Vaughn rapidly advanced his practical alchemy lessons with Nicolas Flamel.
• Vaughn faced mounting criticism in Britain, but Amelia pushed through plans for C’s public second general assembly and invited the Confederation’s England Branch.
• Barty Crouch Sr. secured approval for the branch to attend, and Vaughn arrived at the Ministry with reporters as the Confederation stepped into the dispute.

Vaughn attended the Second C General Assembly, where the Wizengamot expanded participation and framed the meeting as a Council of Wizarding Sages. As the assembly began debating Vaughn’s plan to expand C’s Executive Bureau, a Confederation representative defended the need for werewolf and wizard members.

• Vaughn met Kingsley Shacklebolt and Tonks at the Ministry, learned Kingsley had become deputy head of the Auror Office, and promised Tonks an effort to shorten her Auror training.
• Kingsley told Vaughn that the Wizengamot had invited every Ministry department and representatives of distinguished wizards to attend and vote.
• Vaughn entered the crowded courtroom and took the reserved seat between Amelia and Dumbledore, noting that the invited guests could help turn opposition to C into a public controversy.
• Amelia opened the Second C General Assembly as a Council of Wizarding Sages and declared that its decisions would represent Wizarding Britain.
• Vaughn proposed replacing some Executive Bureau members and adding five seats, including three for werewolves and two for wizards.
• After an objector challenged the expansion, a Confederation branch representative argued that C needed more members because it hosted the International Werewolf Association and coordinated international werewolf affairs.

At a Wizengamot meeting, Lucius Malfoy challenged Vaughn Weasley’s plan to expand C’s Executive Bureau, arguing that non-werewolves must retain control over its membership. Vaughn accepted the Council of Wizarding Sages’ vote restricting the new seats and apologized for his remarks, leaving the meeting’s later votes still to come.

• The Confederation’s branch representative defended Vaughn’s proposal as Amelia chaired the meeting, while Vaughn remained silent.
• Lucius Malfoy supported adding committee members but demanded that two existing seats remain with non-werewolves and all new seats go to non-werewolves.
• Vaughn defended werewolves and accused Lucius of pure-blood arrogance, prompting Lucius to compare Vaughn’s position to pure-blood supremacy and invoke the Werewolf March Incident.
• Lucius’s proposal went to a vote, and enough representatives—including two Aurors—raised their hands for it to pass.
• Vaughn accepted the Council of Wizarding Sages’ decision and publicly apologized for his earlier remarks.

Vaughn secured independent autonomy for C by threatening to move its werewolves abroad, while the Wizengamot also approved a Ministry liaison department led by Scrimgeour. Afterward, Vaughn explained that his apparent loss of composure was a calculated experiment: he planned to gain renown through negative publicity and use the resulting reputation shift to draw Voldemort out.

• Vaughn argued that C needed autonomy and implied he would take its werewolves to another country if the Wizengamot rejected his proposal.
• The Wizengamot approved C's independent autonomy and established a Department of Werewolf Affairs Exchange and Cooperation, appointing Scrimgeour as its head.
• Amelia, Vaughn, and Dumbledore discussed the successful plan over tea, and Amelia warned Vaughn that his reputation would suffer.
• Vaughn revealed that he had deliberately acted irrationally to expose a convincing weakness and draw Voldemort out so he could obtain the Diary.
• Vaughn explained that he was testing whether notoriety and negative renown could increase his system gains, believing he could later restore his reputation.

Harry’s strange drowsiness and Snape’s harsh treatment marked a tense Potions lesson, while Hermione and Ginny discovered that the Daily Prophet had turned public opinion against Vaughn. Hermione decided to seek Vaughn at the Laboratory, and Ginny resolved to become a journalist so she could defend him.

• Harry denied spying on Voldemort when Ron asked about his drowsiness, though he had secretly been trying to form a soul connection with Voldemort.
• Snape caught Harry and Ron talking, quizzed Harry on potion ingredients, and docked Gryffindor twenty points after Neville supplied the complete answer.
• Hermione noticed hostility from students at the Great Hall, and Ginny explained that people were saying horrible things about Vaughn.
• Ginny showed Hermione the Daily Prophet, whose articles attacked Vaughn and C, and decided she would become a reporter or editor to silence his detractors.
• Hermione concluded that Vaughn had angered many people and decided to visit the Laboratory that night until she could speak with him.

Hermione learned that Vaughn had deliberately taken the blame for political maneuvers meant to unite Wizarding Britain against Voldemort, but his rejection of her kiss left her hurt and confused. While Vaughn worked to reshape C, Hermione uncovered the sorrowful meaning behind Snape’s question to Harry.

• Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny found support for Vaughn among their friends and students from several Hogwarts houses, while Ron grew jealous of the trust Vaughn inspired.
• Hermione visited Vaughn in the Laboratory, where he explained that his public infamy was deliberate and meant to strengthen Amelia’s future government against Voldemort.
• Hermione tried to kiss Vaughn, but he turned away because he considered her too young, and she ran from the Laboratory feeling rejected.
• Vaughn attended a closed C assembly to add five non-werewolf committee members while preserving his standing with the werewolves.
• Hermione researched the meanings of asphodel and wormwood and concluded that Snape’s question about the ingredients expressed enduring regret and sorrow, possibly tied to Harry’s mother.

With public opinion turning against him, Vaughn met secretly with Irish officials from the Confederation’s England branch and directed them to spread a prophecy among Muggles as part of his plan to restore his reputation. He left Matthew pondering the prophecy’s possible truth, while Dumbledore visited an old friend in Nurmengard and was told he kept bringing up Vaughn.

• The Pure-blood Alliance and the Fudge faction blamed Vaughn for C’s risks, while Jacob chose to let public anger build rather than confront Vaughn’s faction immediately.
• Vaughn met Patrick, Matthew, and Irish officials in Ireland, whose branch had pledged its support and would help him influence public opinion.
• Vaughn ordered Patrick’s group to publicize an old wizard’s prophecy among Muggles while keeping it from wizards, and Matthew agreed to provide any needed assistance.
• Vaughn told Matthew that the fabricated prophecy might make the old wizard a great Seer if it came true, leaving Matthew to wonder what storm its fulfillment would cause.
• Dumbledore sneezed in Nurmengard and blamed Vaughn, while his old friend remarked that Dumbledore had been talking about Vaughn on every visit since the previous year.

Harry’s soul connection showed him Voldemort meeting with the Death Eaters and apparently targeting the Diary, but Vaughn explained to Dumbledore that the scene was fabricated to mislead him. Snape went to meet Voldemort, giving Vaughn a way to learn what actually happened.

• Harry connected with Voldemort’s soul and watched a gathering where Voldemort ordered Snape to recover the Diary.
• A snake startled Harry out of the connection, and his roommates confronted him after his scream woke them.
• Voldemort showed Jacob, Corban, Lucius, and Snape memories revealing the Diary’s location, then declared that his return to the wizarding world was beginning.
• Dumbledore visited Vaughn, who explained that Voldemort had fabricated the memory and did not need a Horcrux to resurrect himself.
• Vaughn revealed that Snape carried his Personality Armament, so he could learn what happened when Snape met Voldemort.

Vaughn and Dumbledore realized Voldemort intended to use Harry's blood in a Regeneration Charm, while Vaughn insisted that fate's destined duel between the Twin Stars could still be overturned. The next morning, Harry told Ron about Voldemort's plans, and they concluded that alerting the professors might only warn Snape.

• Vaughn explained that Voldemort's resurrection ritual likely involved the Regeneration Charm and Harry's blood, not the Horcruxes.
• Dumbledore worried that Harry would be endangered, while Vaughn refused to let fate dictate the outcome of the Twin Stars' duel.
• Harry told Ron that Voldemort had met with Peter, Jacob, Lucius, Snape, and Corban, and that Voldemort was preparing to return.
• Ron suggested telling Dumbledore or McGonagall, but Harry argued that their trust in Snape would expose their suspicions and leave Snape free to act.

Harry and Ron gathered help to stop Voldemort’s Death Eaters from recovering the Diary, while Hermione recruited Fruit Tea and led them to a secret passage beneath the Whomping Willow. They emerged at a hidden base and found Fred and George there.

• Harry told Ron that they needed more help to stop the Death Eaters, and they split up to find Hermione and Hagrid.
• Ron found Hermione in the library and explained Harry’s soul connection to Voldemort and the plan to recover the Diary.
• Hermione criticized Ron and Harry for keeping the danger from her, then recruited Fruit Tea to help them.
• Hermione led Ron and Fruit Tea through a hidden passage beneath the Whomping Willow.
• Ron and Hermione emerged at a secret base, where Fred and George were working and arguing.

Ron and Hermione gathered Fred and George to help Harry investigate Snape’s plan to recover Voldemort’s Horcrux, the Diary. The group split up to search for Peeves and Colin Creevey, while Ron showed Harry a newfound confidence in leading.

• Ron told Fred and George that Snape wanted to help bring Voldemort back, and the twins eagerly agreed to help.
• Hermione led the group to find Harry and Hagrid, then supported Harry’s plan to locate the Diary before Snape could act.
• Harry and Ron revealed they had been investigating Colin Creevey and Peeves, and Ron explained that they suspected the Diary was a Horcrux.
• Ron divided the group: Hermione, Fred, and George went to find Peeves, while Ron, Harry, and Hagrid searched for Creevey with Fruit Tea’s help.
• Ron sent Fruit Tea to recruit her animal followers to locate Creevey, and Harry noticed Ron acting like a confident leader.