Chapter Summaries

Darren defended Harry from the students who wanted to hand him over to Voldemort, then organized Hogwarts students to evacuate before searching for Ravenclaw’s Diadem. As Voldemort’s forces attacked at midnight, Darren and his companions headed for the Room of Requirement to find the Obscurus.

• Voldemort warned that he would attack Hogwarts at midnight unless the students handed over Harry, and Darren stunned Crabbe when he demanded they give Harry up.
• The students pointed their wands at Slytherin, but Darren stopped them from fighting and ordered younger students and Slytherins to leave under Mr. Filch’s watch.
• Fred and George took charge of the remaining students while Darren, Harry, and Hermione set out to find Ravenclaw’s Diadem.
• Darren realized that the phrase about a place to hide things was the password for the Room of Requirement’s hidden-object room.
• At midnight, the castle began shaking as Voldemort’s forces attacked, and Darren led the others toward the eighth floor to find the Obscurus.

As Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts, Darren, Hermione, and Ron entered the Room of Requirement to find Ravenclaw’s Diadem. Harry found it, but Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle confronted him before he could take it.

• Darren and Ron reached the Room of Requirement, where Mrs. Longbottom, Tonks, and Ginny prepared to leave and join the fighting.
• Darren urged Ginny to tell the House-elves to flee, but Ginny kissed him and promised she would go with him if he died.
• Hermione told Darren she would wait for him to act on his promise after the war, and Ron hurried them toward the hidden room.
• Darren, Hermione, Ron, and Harry searched the hidden objects for Ravenclaw’s Diadem after Hermione’s summoning spell failed.
• Harry found the diadem on a statue, but Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle appeared behind him and demanded that he put down his wand.

Darren and the others escaped Crabbe’s Fiendfyre in the Room of Requirement, but Darren turned back to retrieve Ravenclaw’s Diadem. He grabbed the diadem and a small shield, then found the exit blocked by an explosion.

• Crabbe attacked Harry and the others, then unleashed Fiendfyre that chased them through the Room of Requirement.
• Darren turned four pieces of junk into brooms and helped Hermione, Harry, Ron, Malfoy, and Goyle escape the flames.
• Darren flew back into the fire to rescue Malfoy and Goyle, then sent them onto Harry’s and Ron’s brooms.
• Darren spotted Ravenclaw’s Diadem, told the others to leave, and dived back down to retrieve it.
• Darren picked up a small shield and the diadem, but an explosion blocked the exit.

Darren escaped the exploding Room of Requirement with Crabbe, then rejoined the fight and helped Percy reunite with the Weasley family. As the group headed downstairs to find the last Obscurus and Nagini, Harry looked through Voldemort’s eyes and recognized the room he was in.

• Darren used Crabbe as a shield to escape the exploding Room of Requirement, then pretended to mourn him and earned Paternal Points.
• Darren showed the others Ravenclaw’s Diadem and said the Obscurus feared Fiendfyre as they prepared to hunt the last Obscurus.
• Percy reunited with the Weasley family, who welcomed him back before an explosion interrupted them.
• Darren blasted an enlarged spider and helped Lupin, Sirius, and Tonks fight off Death Eaters.
• Hermione stopped Darren from charging downstairs and reminded him that the last Obscurus was the priority.
• Darren told Harry to search Voldemort’s emotions for Nagini, and Harry saw Voldemort in a room he recognized.

Harry revealed that Voldemort was hiding in the Shrieking Shack with Nagini and had sent for Snape. Darren insisted on saving Snape, and after the group agreed to go with him, they fought their way through Death Eaters attacking Hogwarts.

• Harry told Darren, Hermione, and Ron that Voldemort was in the Shrieking Shack with Nagini and had ordered Lucius to fetch Snape.
• Darren said he would go to the Shrieking Shack to kill Nagini and save Snape, whom he believed had not deliberately betrayed them.
• Harry agreed to go with Darren but warned that he would kill Snape if he acted suspiciously.
• Two Death Eaters burst through a tapestry, and Darren, Hermione, Lavender Brown, and Trelawney helped defeat them.
• Harry and the others emerged into a battle at Hogwarts, where McGonagall led an attack and Peeves, Parvati, and Luna fought the Death Eaters.
• Darren knocked down a Death Eater as more charged toward the group.

Darren and the others fought their way through Death Eaters, werewolves, giants, and an Obscurus while trying to escape Hogwarts. They fled toward the Whomping Willow, but Hermione had not yet found a way through its defenses.

• Darren bound the Death Eaters attacking Draco, then gave Draco a wand and continued with the others.
• The group stunned the Death Eaters who had knocked Ted Tonks down and ran into werewolves attacking Ernie.
• Hagrid kicked away one werewolf, and Darren's potion turned the surrounding werewolves back into ordinary people.
• Grawp approached Hagrid, but two true giants confronted him, and Hagrid charged in to help.
• Darren summoned an Azure Dragon that drove the Obscurus out of the castle, while Hagrid pulled Grawp to safety.
• Hermione led the group to the Whomping Willow, and they wondered how to get past its branches.

Darren, Hermione, and Ron secretly watched Voldemort confront Snape beneath the Whomping Willow. Voldemort killed Snape and planned to force Darren to submit after defeating him and Harry.

• Hermione used Wingardium Leviosa to stop the Whomping Willow, and Darren led the others through the passage beneath it.
• Darren, Hermione, and Ron hid behind a box and overheard Voldemort tell Snape that he had outlived his usefulness.
• Voldemort revealed that he hated Snape for being seen as a father figure to Darren, and Darren recoiled as Harry tried to comfort him.
• Voldemort bound Snape, explained that he had taken the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's tomb, and said Harry and Darren would come to him on their own.
• Voldemort ordered Nagini to kill Snape, then left, planning to defeat Harry and Darren and force Darren to submit.
• Hermione and Ron stared at Darren in terror after hearing Voldemort's plan.

Darren rescued Snape and stabilized him before Voldemort announced a one-hour ceasefire and demanded that Harry face him in the Forbidden Forest. Darren offered to go in Harry’s place, but the group returned to the castle, where they saw the wounded and grieving survivors, then entered Dumbledore’s Office.

• Darren opened the passage, gathered the silvery things from Snape, and gave him potions until his breathing steadied.
• Voldemort announced that he would withdraw his Death Eaters for one hour and summoned Harry to the Forbidden Forest.
• Darren offered to face Voldemort in Harry’s place, but Hermione objected and Harry led the group back to the castle.
• Darren and Harry passed grieving survivors, including Ginny, Tonks, and the wounded Neville, while Ron rejoined the Weasleys.
• Darren and Harry entered Dumbledore’s Office after its stone statues moved aside for them.

Darren entered Snape’s memories in the Pensieve and watched scenes from Snape’s childhood, including his first meeting with Lily and the growing rift between them. The memory ended on the Hogwarts Express, where James and Sirius reacted to Snape’s hopes of joining Slytherin.

• Darren placed Snape’s memories in the Pensieve and entered them without Harry.
• Young Snape met Lily and Petunia in a thicket and told Lily she was a witch, but the sisters ran away.
• Snape and Lily practiced magic together, but Snape made a branch fall on Petunia, prompting Lily to leave with her sister.
• At Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Petunia rejected Lily and called her kind monsters, while Lily pleaded with her.
• On the train, Lily told Snape she did not want to talk to him after reading Petunia’s letter, and James mocked the idea of going to Slytherin.
• Sirius told James that his whole family was in Slytherin.

Harry saw Snape’s memories of his friendship with Lily, their growing conflict over his Slytherin companions, and the moment Lily ended their friendship after he called her a Mudblood. The final memory showed Snape terrified on a freezing mountaintop as Dumbledore disarmed him.

• James and Sirius mocked Snape’s hopes of joining Gryffindor, and the Sorting Hat placed Lily in Gryffindor and Snape in Slytherin.
• Lily argued with Snape about Avery and Malfoy tormenting Mary and about his hostility toward James and the others.
• Harry watched James and his friends hang Snape upside down during an exam, after which Snape called Lily a Mudblood when she tried to help him.
• Snape apologized outside the Gryffindor Common Room, but Lily rejected him and said she could no longer be his friend because he ignored her warnings and used that slur against her kind.
• Dumbledore disarmed Snape on a freezing mountaintop as Snape begged him not to kill him.

Snape relived memories that revealed how he came to protect Lily Evans’s son and how deeply he cared for Darren Potter. After reporting that Karkaroff’s Dark Mark had darkened, Snape declared that he would not flee.

• Snape begged Dumbledore to protect Lily Evans and her family after revealing that Voldemort intended to kill them, then agreed to protect Harry Potter in exchange for Dumbledore keeping his role secret.
• Snape admitted that he could not face Harry because the boy reminded him of Lily, while Dumbledore warned him to keep his affection for Darren hidden.
• Snape praised Darren to Dumbledore and complained to Lucius that Darren was too innocent and vulnerable, prompting Lucius to joke that Snape sounded like a parent.
• Snape told Dumbledore that Karkaroff’s Dark Mark had darkened and that Karkaroff planned to flee if it began hurting.
• Snape watched Harry drag Darren away and firmly told Dumbledore that he was not a coward.

Snape relived Dumbledore’s plans for his death and learned that Dumbledore intended him to kill him so Draco would be spared and Darren would face a painful lesson. The chapter ended with Snape summoned to Dumbledore’s office at night to hear more after angrily refusing to listen on the grounds.

• Dumbledore told Snape that he planned to die at a moment of weakness and make Voldemort more arrogant.
• Snape explained that Voldemort intended Draco to fail and die as punishment for Lucius, while Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him first.
• Snape protested that killing Dumbledore would destroy his soul and make Darren hate him, but he eventually agreed.
• Dumbledore told Snape to keep Harry occupied with detention and said Darren should have a brief period of freedom before facing his death.
• Snape argued that Harry was reckless and questioned why Dumbledore trusted him with secrets, while Dumbledore explained Voldemort’s painful connection to Harry and the power of love.
• Snape refused to hear Dumbledore’s instructions about what to do after the murder, then arrived at Dumbledore’s office that night.

Dumbledore revealed to Snape that Harry carried a fragment of Voldemort’s soul and would have to die at Voldemort’s hand, while Darren had arranged to forget the truth. Snape followed Dumbledore’s instructions, but the chapter ended with him finding Darren unconscious after days without food.

• Dumbledore told Snape that Harry had to die at Voldemort’s hand because a fragment of Voldemort’s soul lived in Harry, and Snape angrily accused Dumbledore of using him.
• Snape showed Dumbledore his changed Doe Patronus and demanded to know whether his love for Harry was enough proof of his care.
• Dumbledore’s portrait instructed Snape to reveal when Harry would leave his relatives’ home and to arrange for Mundungus to propose using decoys.
• Snape fed Mundungus the planned information, then staged a chase in which he struck down a Death Eater while Darren was captured.
• Snape used Sirius to enter Grimmauld Place, found Lily’s letter to Sirius, and took Lily’s photograph before crying through the night outside Darren’s room.
• Phineas told Snape that Darren had stopped eating and collapsed, and Snape found him unconscious and emaciated.

Darren revealed that he had prepared to transfer Voldemort’s soul into his own body and die in Harry’s place. As the transfer began, Harry broke free and disarmed Darren.

• Snape’s memories showed that he had discovered Darren shared Voldemort’s bloodline and feared Darren would learn the truth.
• Harry believed Dumbledore had arranged for him to die as an Obscurus and for Darren to kill Nagini afterward.
• Harry tried to reassure Darren that his bloodline did not change how much Harry cared about him.
• Darren explained that he planned to take Voldemort’s soul into himself and die in Harry’s place.
• Darren bound Harry and began the transfer, telling him to kill Nagini and explaining that he would protect Harry and the others with Lily’s spell.
• Harry broke free and used Expelliarmus to knock Darren’s wand away.

Darren tricked Harry into becoming master of the Elder Wand, then disguised himself as Harry and went to meet Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest. He arrived at the Death Eaters’ clearing as Voldemort prepared to deal with him, while Hagrid was held captive nearby.

• Darren told Harry that he had transferred mastery of the Elder Wand to him, then bound him and knocked him unconscious.
• Darren used Polyjuice Potion and Harry’s Invisibility Cloak to leave Dumbledore’s Office and head for the Forbidden Forest.
• Darren passed Neville carrying Colin Creevey’s body and entered the forest without releasing his Azure Dragon Obscurus.
• Darren reached Voldemort’s clearing and claimed that he had stunned Darren to keep him from coming along.
• Hagrid called out to Harry from where giants held him tied to a tree, and Dolohov silenced him.

Harry learned that Darren had taken his place and been struck by Voldemort’s Killing Curse, then set out to carry on Darren’s plan. Meanwhile, Darren was still alive and pretending to be dead while Voldemort and the Death Eaters watched him.

• Harry woke in Dumbledore’s office and discovered that Darren had disguised himself as Harry and gone to face Voldemort.
• Gellert Grindelwald told Harry that Voldemort had used the Killing Curse on Darren, and Harry collapsed in grief.
• Harry blamed himself for how he had treated Darren, picked up his wand, and left to set things right.
• Darren explained that Voldemort had lost consciousness after harming his own soul, so he pretended to be unconscious to preserve the plan to kill Nagini.
• Voldemort regained consciousness and asked whether Darren was dead as the Death Eaters watched Darren’s motionless body.

Darren pretended to be dead while Narcissa confirmed his apparent death and Voldemort celebrated, believing he had killed Harry Potter. Voldemort had Hagrid carry Darren to the castle grounds and announced Harry’s death, then challenged Darren to fight him if he woke up; the castle remained silent.

• Narcissa recognized Darren but told Voldemort that he was dead, and Voldemort celebrated what he believed was Harry Potter’s death.
• Voldemort declared that Darren Potter was his bloodline and had Darren thrown repeatedly to the ground while Narcissa tried to draw his attention to him.
• Voldemort ordered Hagrid to carry Darren to the castle, and Hagrid obeyed while sobbing.
• Voldemort told the people at the castle that Harry Potter was dead and demanded that they kneel and submit.
• Voldemort offered Darren a chance to fight him if Darren woke up, while the castle grounds remained silent.

Harry killed Nagini with the Sword of Gryffindor while Darren remained disguised as dead, and Dumbledore and Grindelwald arrived to confront Voldemort. Dumbledore revealed that Darren carried the bloodlines of many people, including Voldemort, himself, and Grindelwald.

• Voldemort ordered Hagrid to bring Darren to the front, and Harry arrived believing his younger brother was dead.
• Harry revealed himself, and Voldemort realized Darren had been disguised as Harry.
• Harry summoned the Sorting Hat, took the Sword of Gryffindor, and killed Nagini.
• Darren stayed motionless as the crowd surged around him and fighting broke out.
• Dumbledore and Grindelwald appeared before Voldemort, who asked to take Darren away as his bloodline.
• Dumbledore explained that Darren carried the bloodlines of Voldemort, Lucius, Narcissa, Snape, himself, Grindelwald, and other Death Eaters.

Dumbledore revealed that he and Grindelwald had faked their deaths to manipulate Voldemort, then used the Elder Wand to kill him. As Hermione held Darren’s body, Dumbledore said Darren might still be saved and asked for help.

• Dumbledore explained that Darren’s unusual bloodline could have formed from magic and bloodlines Harry had absorbed, and revealed that he and Grindelwald had staged their deaths to make Voldemort reckless.
• Harry mourned Darren and blamed Dumbledore for allowing him to die, while Hermione took Darren into her arms.
• Dumbledore revealed that Darren remained the Elder Wand’s true master, then disarmed Voldemort and turned Voldemort’s Killing Curse back on him, killing him.
• Dumbledore asked Hermione to give him Darren and said Darren’s soul might still be saved if others helped.
• Hermione and others agreed to do anything they could to bring Darren back.

Dumbledore brought Harry to the Headmaster’s Office and explained that he believed Darren might be revived. He revealed that Lily’s protection kept Harry alive after Voldemort used his blood, then told Harry that Darren’s bloodlines and Harry’s rejection of them had helped drive Darren toward his death.

• Dumbledore took Darren to the Headmaster’s Office and asked Harry to come with him.
• Harry pleaded with Dumbledore to send Darren to Hermione and the others if he could not save him.
• Dumbledore told Harry he had an idea for bringing Darren back and began explaining why he had sent Harry to face Voldemort.
• Harry realized that Voldemort’s use of his blood meant Lily’s protection flowed through both him and Voldemort, preventing Harry’s death while Voldemort lived.
• Dumbledore explained that Darren carried Voldemort’s bloodline as well as Dumbledore’s and Gellert’s, and that Ariana’s soul fragment was within Darren.
• Dumbledore told Harry that Darren’s own distress over his bloodline and Harry’s rejection of it had helped bring Darren to this point.