Chapter Summaries

Percy investigated the Sanatorium and heard an elderly woman mutter about wizards and rats, leading him to suspect Peter Pettigrew might be hiding there. After finding a resident named Eugene Brown, Percy opened the final ward and came face-to-face with a man who looked startlingly like Pettigrew.

• Percy secretly used Scourgify to clean an elderly man after a caregiver abandoned him in the corridor.
• An elderly woman grabbed Percy’s robe, called him a wizard, and warned him to keep his people in line because they kept letting rats out.
• Percy connected the woman’s words to Peter Pettigrew, then overheard Fuller and Edward dismissing the Sanatorium’s recovery claims while drinking.
• Percy followed the woman’s directions and found a ward assigned to Eugene Brown, whose listed condition was dementia.
• Percy cast an Unlocking Charm on the ward door and saw a short man eating with his back turned; when the man turned around, Percy froze at his resemblance to Peter Pettigrew.

Percy Weasley caught Peter Pettigrew after Peter panicked and tried to flee, then Apparated away with him. Back at the sanatorium, Fuller and Edward dismissed the sound of Percy’s departure, while enchanted objects quietly discussed Locke being taken away.

• Peter Pettigrew panicked at the sight of Percy Weasley, smashed through a window, and tried to escape.
• Percy cast Stupefy, knocked Peter unconscious, and bound him with conjured ropes.
• Percy Apparated away with Peter, leaving Fuller and Edward behind at the sanatorium.
• A caregiver found an old man and his wheelchair unexpectedly clean and pushed him down the corridor.
• A broomstick came to life and asked whether Locke had really been taken away; another voice said it had watched them leave by Apparition.

Wade and his companions reviewed five suspicious Magical Congress officials and decided to investigate Lyla Piquery first. Meanwhile, an old rat, Rubik, and a broom set off to support Locke.

• A gray-black rat, Rubik, and a broom escaped through a shattered window to help Locke.
• Wade, Wilan, and Viktor examined intelligence on five potential targets inside their motel room.
• The group discussed Chairman Niccolo Hawthorne and Auror Office head Ezra Hughes, suspecting the two might be working together.
• Wade reviewed suspicious details about Aldrich Corbett, Reginald Perez, and Lyla Piquery.
• Wade chose Lyla Piquery as their first target and asked Wilan to find her recent schedule.

Moody and the British Aurors were frustrated by the useless files provided by the Magical Congress, while Kingsley calmly waited for the moment to support Wade’s mission. Tonks lightened the mood before Lyla Piquery arrived with an invitation from Chairman Hawthorne to a dinner that evening.

• Moody angrily accused Ezra Hughes of deliberately providing worthless investigative materials, but Kingsley urged him not to make baseless assumptions.
• Kingsley explained that their real purpose lay beyond the Congress headquarters and trusted Wade and his Golem to handle the critical task.
• Tonks transformed her head into a dog’s head, making the Aurors laugh and easing the tension in the office.
• Lyla Piquery introduced herself as Chairman Hawthorne’s assistant and invited the British Aurors to a dinner that evening.

Kingsley and the Aurors accepted Niccolo Hawthorne’s invitation to a dinner party, suspecting the Magical Congress meant to use them as bait. At the party, Moody recognized Wade Gray in disguise, and Wade quietly explained that he had brought his own dessert.

• Lila Piquery delivered invitations from Chairman Hawthorne, and Kingsley agreed that the Aurors would attend.
• Kingsley suspected Congress wanted to learn what progress its investigation had made, while Moody realized the Aurors might be used as bait.
• Tonks understood that the team needed to conceal Wade Gray’s presence in the United States.
• At the dinner party, Kingsley discussed the unrest with Niccolo Hawthorne, while Moody watched the guests for threats.
• Moody spotted Wade disguised as a young wizard and warned him not to eat unfamiliar food; Wade said he had brought his own pastry.

At the banquet, Wade asked Moody to watch Lyla Piquery while his magical creatures searched the guests and nearby offices for evidence linking her to the Scourers. The gathering was interrupted by a young woman emerging from behind the balcony curtains and warning Chairman Hawthorne that something terrible had happened.

• Wade told Moody that his disguised identity was safe and said he could not yet draw a conclusion from the clues his creatures had found.
• Wade asked Moody to keep an eye on Lyla Piquery because he suspected she might be connected to the Scourers.
• Wade's beetles and ants monitored the banquet and searched nearby offices while Viktor watched the guests through Streaming Mirrors and Wilan directed the ants.
• A terrified scream stopped the banquet, and Chairman Hawthorne sent Grim to investigate behind the balcony curtains.
• A pale young woman stumbled out from behind the curtains and told Chairman Hawthorne that something terrible had happened.

A Streaming Mirror revealed a Muggle exposing magic in Times Square, where Giuseppe Fisher was forced to demonstrate real spells before a crowd. As the Wizarding World panicked, Niccolo Hawthorne mobilized officials and declared that the crisis they had feared had begun.

• A frightened woman showed the banquet hall a Streaming Mirror broadcasting a Muggle man claiming that wizards were real.
• The Muggle man forced Giuseppe Fisher to perform magic in Times Square, where spells transformed rubbish, enlarged a bouquet, made people dance uncontrollably, and changed the man's clothes.
• The crowd in the hall panicked and feared a new witch hunt, while Lila Piquery called for calm and described the broadcast as a conspiracy.
• Niccolo Hawthorne ordered Ezra Hughes to contain the situation in Times Square, Salina Goldstein to investigate the livestream's spread, and Rex Grim to find Newt Scamander and obtain Swooping Evil venom.
• Niccolo Hawthorne activated the highest level of the Wizard Silence Protocol through Lila Piquery and announced that the moment they had feared had arrived.

Chairman Hawthorne rallied the wizards at the Manor and ordered them to prepare for a crisis, but a pumpkin decoration exploded into gold powder and revealed a mocking singing clown toy. Elijah Watkins arrived for the emergency summons and said he had watched the Streaming Mirror, leaving the gathered wizards stunned by his choice of programs.

• Hawthorne urged the wizards to remain calm, unite, and avoid unnecessary contact with Muggle society as the Congress responded to the crisis.
• Hughes and the Aurors reached the Manor entrance, where an ominous voice rang out and a Pumpkin Carriage decoration swelled and exploded into a shower of Gold Powder.
• A clown toy emerged from the wreckage, sang a taunting song, and shattered into fragments as the wizards wondered what its appearance meant.
• Elijah Watkins Apparated to the Manor and told Salina Goldstein that he had watched a Muggle movie and Household Hundred Percent on the Streaming Mirror.
• The gathered wizards reacted with stunned silence, while Elijah asked whether they should be setting off for the emergency.

After a supposed magical catastrophe proved to be a prank, Chairman Hawthorne confirmed that New York Square and Giuseppe Fisher were safe. The guests fled the Manor, while Kingsley Shacklebolt offered Hawthorne sympathy before leaving him to deal with the aftermath.

• Hawthorne ordered Ezra Hughes to check New York Square and Salina to confirm Giuseppe Fisher was safe.
• Ezra reported that the square was normal, and Salina confirmed that Fisher was at home.
• The guests realized they had been deceived, tried to laugh off the incident as a prank, and hurriedly left the Manor.
• Kingsley Shacklebolt reassured Hawthorne that no real disaster had occurred, then departed with the British Aurors.
• Hawthorne was left facing the cleanup and consequences of the incident.

After a magical prank exposed the Magical Congress’s response procedures, officials organized investigations and security measures while Kingsley warned Moody that the video’s threat could become real. Kingsley realized Moody was hiding something and suspected Wade had orchestrated the incident.

• Hawthorne ordered Ella Piquery to investigate the clowns, golden powder, carriage, and guests, while Salina deployed Aurors and Rex Grim contacted FMC.
• Kingsley sent emergency reports and warned Moody that the Scourers could use the exposed tactics to break the Statute of Secrecy.
• Moody dismissed Kingsley’s concerns and suggested the incident was merely a prank aimed at embarrassing Hawthorne.
• Kingsley suspected Moody was an impostor, then accepted his identity after Moody recalled their shared Auror cases.
• Kingsley noticed Moody’s silence and asked whether Wade had caused the incident.

Kingsley challenged Moody over Wade’s dangerous test, then asked Wade why he had opened Pandora’s Box and received a cryptic reply. Meanwhile, Wade worked late at FMC’s American branch with Antoine, leaving the reason for his actions unanswered.

• Moody defended Wade’s test as a warning about media threats, but Kingsley argued Wade should have alerted the British Ministry instead of testing people at the Magical Congress.
• Moody told Kingsley to ask Wade why he had opened Pandora’s Box, and Kingsley broke their agreement by contacting him through the Book of Friends.
• Wade answered Kingsley by asking whether he had heard the story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”
• Nelson brought Wade coffee at FMC’s American branch and promised to keep what he had seen confidential.
• After Nelson left, Antoine teased Wade about attracting admirers, and Wade joked that Grindelwald had been one for a long time.

Wade explained how media strategies could keep the Wizarding World secret while preparing Muggles to accept magic and reshaping wizards’ public image. Antoine realized the plan could support the Acolytes’ ambitions rather than simply obstruct Grindelwald’s goal.

• Antoine warned Wade that Grindelwald would be angry because Wade had advised Kingsley to discredit magical evidence and distract Muggles from it.
• Wilan argued that debunking magic could also make some people suspect that magic was real and that authorities were hiding it.
• Antoine asked whether Wilan could digest coffee, and Wilan joked that he would vomit it up for him.
• Wade explained that the strategies would prevent a sudden exposure and give wizards time to prepare before revealing themselves.
• Wade proposed portraying wizards as heroic protectors through entertainment and fabricated legends, and Antoine was impressed.

Wade planned to shape Muggle perceptions of wizards through art and popular admiration, believing that those ideas would eventually bind wizards to the heroic image Muggles created. Meanwhile, Viktor and Wilan examined footage from the banquet and identified telling reactions among its guests.

• Wade reflected that public praise and fictional portrayals could lead wizards to conform to the idealized image of themselves that Muggles created.
• Viktor and Wilan reviewed footage recorded by Wade’s beetle Golems to study the guests’ reactions when a Muggle announced that wizards were real.
• Viktor labeled Niccolo Hawthorne a “Hunter,” while Wilan identified Ezra Hughes as Hawthorne’s protective “Hound.”
• Viktor and Wilan judged Lyla Piquery’s composed, watchful response as more like a lioness than a fox.
• Viktor and Wilan noticed that several guests recognized the golden powder’s significance, including Niccolo Hawthorne and Aldridge Corbett.

Wilan and Viktor investigated suspicious reactions in the Manor footage, while Elsie learned the Gold Powder was fake and the Scourers’ video was a targeted deception. As Elsie prepared to leave, she discovered a tiny ant that carried Magic Power.

• Wilan and Viktor suspected Reginald Perez had encountered real Time Particles before because he recognized the Gold Powder was not genuine.
• Antoine overheard their discussion and wondered whether Wade had put people inside the Golems.
• Elsie learned the Congress Aurors found the Gold Powder was ordinary pyrite and the Scourers’ footage had been sent only to the Manor.
• Elsie dismissed the incident as political maneuvering and told her House-elf to clean the damaged courtyard.
• Elsie found an ant in a crack by the window and sensed faint Magic Power coming from it.

Elsie identified the ant in her room as one of Wade's Golems and sent it back with an invitation and an offer to help counter the Scourers. After an overnight meeting failed to identify the attackers, Wade learned that Grindelwald was coming to the United States, while Kingsley and Moody discussed how to handle the Scourer threat.

• Elsie suspected the ant carried Wade's stable Magic Power, spared it, and asked it to tell Wade she wanted to meet him and could help counter the Scourers.
• Niccolo Hawthorne and Ezra Hughes concluded that the attack was probably a frame-up rather than the work of the Scourers, though they publicly treated the Scourers as the target.
• Wade and Antoine left the FMC building with Viktor and Wilan as rain began, and Antoine asked Wade whether he was ready to meet Grindelwald.
• Moody asked whether they should involve the Magical Congress, and Kingsley explained that Minister Scrimgeour wanted to offer a solution after the Scourers began causing trouble in the United States.

Wade and the Golems sorted through documents stolen from a Manor, uncovering secrets about Magical Congress officials and the Muggle world. A file suggesting several officials might be linked to the Scourers led Wade to assess Lyla Piquery and question whether Rex Grim was suspicious.

• Wade returned to Traveler's Rest and worked with Wilan, Viktor, and the Golems to sort the Manor's documents.
• Wade read records exposing misconduct and hidden dealings among Magical Congress officials and powerful Muggles.
• Wilan showed Wade a file connecting several officials with dead relatives to a possible Scourer recruitment effort.
• Wilan described Lyla Piquery's family history, and Wade judged that she was more likely to oppose the Scourers than join them.
• Viktor asked whether Rex Grim was suspicious, recalling that Grim had greeted Wade alongside Salina at the airport.

Wade realized Rex Grim’s apparently ordinary reaction at the banquet had offered no clue, while Wilan and Viktor discussed Grim’s tragic past and similar cases. An ant Golem led Wade to Elsie Vanderbilt, who apologized for nothing but offered to help him target the Scourers through a Muggle agency.

• Wilan told Viktor that Rex Grim had been orphaned after his father died in prison under the Rapaport Law, and Viktor compared his history with Elliot Born’s.
• An ant Golem spelled Elsie’s name on Wade’s parchment, prompting him to recognize her.
• Elsie arrived at a café and greeted Wade, who apologized for sending ant Golems into the Vanderbilt Manor without permission.
• Elsie said the ants had shown Wade only her personal reading material and offered access to more sensitive family archives, but Wade redirected the conversation to the Scourers.
• Elsie suggested that Wade use the IRS against the Scourers once he discovered who they were or where they operated.

Wade and Elsie agreed to use the IRS and Muggle law enforcement to dismantle the Scourers’ operations. At the Scourers’ headquarters, Cassius Thorne and Rolando Stern learned that young members had seen a secret video and were eager to expose themselves, leaving them wondering who had spread it.

• Wade and Elsie discussed how the Scourers’ hidden income and businesses could draw IRS scrutiny and lead to frozen accounts and seized assets.
• Elsie offered the Vanderbilt family’s connections to help target the Scourers, and she and Wade toasted their partnership.
• Cassius Thorne furiously blamed the leaked video for prompting the Magical Congress to intensify its hunt for the Scourers.
• Young Scourer members urged Thorne to reenact the video and reveal the truth, volunteering to demonstrate magic.
• Rolando Stern asked how the young members had learned about a video that had never been released, and they could not identify who first spread it.

Sera Abigail returned to the Scourers’ base as Yodel Brolin arrived and took control after condemning Cassius Thorne’s failures. Brolin had Thorne killed, then turned to Abigail to ask whether Wade Grey was in New York.

• Sera Abigail reprimanded the young Scourers for falling for a scheme and ordered them back to their posts.
• Yodel Brolin arrived with armed forces and took control of the base’s entrances and exits.
• Brolin confronted Cassius Thorne over failed attempts to assassinate Wade Grey and the deaths of Modihis and Adebayo.
• Brolin’s warriors killed Thorne, and Brolin told the others they would discuss how to handle the crisis.
• Brolin asked Sera Abigail whether her student Wade Grey was in New York.

Brolin concluded that Wade Grey had been connected to the Acolytes’ signal hijackings and that Dumbledore had rescued him from Grindelwald. Rather than retreat or attack Wade directly, Brolin ordered the Scourers to pressure him with public praise and secret rumors, leaving Wade and Dumbledore under scrutiny.

• Brolin told Abigail and Ilari that Wade Grey was likely in New York and linked his disappearance to the Acolytes’ sudden ability to hijack FMC broadcasts.
• Brolin described a devastating battle in northern Mexico and inferred that Dumbledore had defeated Grindelwald to rescue Wade.
• Rolando Stern warned that involving Wade could bring Dumbledore into conflict with the Scourers and suggested retreating.
• Brolin rejected retreat and ordered Stern to publicize the Scourer’s actions at the banquet while appealing for Wade’s help.
• Brolin also ordered Stern to spread rumors that Wade was tied to the Acolytes, keeping Wade under public scrutiny and forcing Dumbledore to protect him.