Recaps

After researching Soul Magic, Manus upgraded [Condensation] along the path of using souls to improve his Life Essence. He discovered that the enhancement had strengthened him and made souls more responsive, though the souls used were impossible to control or collect himself.

• Manus spent more than a week studying Soul Magic until he could manipulate souls rather than merely extract them.
• Manus upgraded [Condensation] to +10 and examined its enhancement paths, rejecting risky options that involved powers from outside sources.
• Manus chose to use soul power to improve his Life Essence, and a vast number of souls merged into his body through [Condensation].
• Manus sensed small improvements across his physical and magical abilities, and suspected his lifespan and thinking speed had also increased.
• Manus tested his improved control over souls but found he could not move the souls that had enhanced him, and concluded the Skill Panel had merged them through brute force.

Manus strengthened his Life Essence with the Skill Panel until [Condensation+10000], then adapted to his transformed body and discovered he could produce high-quality souls himself. With souls now available for his Unicorn Cloak, he considered waiting for their quality to improve further as he turned his attention to the consequences of creating the Training Golden Snitch.

• Manus strengthened [Condensation] as far as [Condensation+10000] before stopping to adjust to the changes in his attributes.
• Manus spent three hours testing and adapting to his transformed body, then recorded that future strengthening should be limited to about ten times a day.
• Manus discovered that his body could produce radiant souls, which he could use for healing, research, and making a Unicorn Cloak.
• Manus examined the silver and golden Unicorn Hair yarn he had prepared and decided to wait for his soul quality to improve before making the cloak.
• Manus concluded that the effects of his Training Golden Snitch should have spread enough by then.

After improving his Soul Magic, Manus entered a strange Mental World with his physical body and realized his Life Origin was gaining qualities that bridged matter, spirit, and energy. He returned to reality, decided to postpone researching the Mental World, and told the shocked Bellows that he was researching magic.

• Manus entered a hazy world while asleep and discovered he could leave it and return at will.
• Manus concluded that the world was a complex Mental World and that his physical body had entered it after his Soul Magic improved.
• Manus speculated that his strengthened Life Origin could eventually unite matter, spirit, and energy, but chose to balance research with his other pursuits.
• Manus returned to reality, where Bellows stared at him in shock, and said he was researching magic.
• Bellows mentioned that Apparition was forbidden at Hogwarts, then told Manus he did not need to explain.

Manus approached Katria about the Curse affecting her and brought her to her rarely used office. He cast Secret Revealing so she could see the black mist surrounding her from his magical perspective.

• Manus encountered Katria speaking with McGonagall and asked to discuss a question with her.
• Katria warned Manus that evil Dark Magic could pollute the soul, then agreed to take him to her office.
• Manus led Katria through the changing staircases after she lost her way.
• Manus told Katria that he knew about her Curse and said he had seen it.
• Manus asked permission to cast Secret Revealing, then revealed black mist emerging from Katria.

Manus revealed the Curse on Professor Katria and offered to help her, then identified it as a possible Beastman Blood Curse. Katria remained unsure whether to trust him, despite fearing that an approaching outbreak could permanently turn her into a beast.

• Manus used his improved sensory spell to reveal the black Curse covering Katria and offered his help.
• Manus explained that he had improved Scarpin's Revelaspell, while Katria struggled to reconcile his age with his remarkable abilities.
• Katria refused to decide immediately, fearing the Curse's increasingly frequent outbreaks and the possibility that she would lose her human mind for good.
• Manus urged Katria to consider his offer soon and said he needed to examine the Curse during an outbreak.
• Manus suspected Katria suffered from the Beastman Blood Curse, which could erase her human consciousness and leave her permanently transformed into a beast.

Manus learned that Katria carried an ancient Beastman Blood Curse and warned her that no known case had ever been cured, though he offered to try. After the curse transformed her into a lynx and she fled Hogwarts, she disappeared, leaving Manus to fear that her next choice might put them at odds.

• Manus recognized Katria's curse and explained that it was an ancient ritual with no recorded cures.
• Katria begged Manus to help break the curse, and he said he would do his best but made no promises.
• Manus left Katria to decide whether to accept treatment and resolved that he might have to fight her if she became a villain.
• Katria's curse erupted, leaving her transformed into a lynx for twelve hours before she attacked livestock in Hogsmeade and fled to the Highlands.
• Katria regained human form, suffered a breakdown, and disappeared with an Apparition.
• McGonagall told the students that Katria had taken leave, while Manus suspected she had vanished and reflected that they might no longer remain on good terms.

Manus read that Katria had led the Death Eaters in an attack on the Ministry of Magic and wondered whether they had been seeking a way to save her from the Beastman Blood Curse. Near the end of the school year, he met someone disguised as Pandora and recognized the visitor as Professor Katria, whom he said was already dead.

• Manus waited months for news of Katria before seeing her leading masked Death Eaters in a Daily Prophet report about their attack on the Ministry of Magic.
• Manus suspected the Ministry was hiding the Death Eaters' real purpose and considered whether it held something that could save Katria from her Curse.
• Manus studied the other Death Eaters in the photograph, memorizing details that might help him recognize them later.
• Two weeks later, a figure appearing to be Pandora asked Manus to speak privately, and he led her outside the castle.
• Manus scrutinized the figure and identified her as Professor Katria, telling her she had already died.

Manus discovered that Katria was a dying corpse kept moving by Dark Magic and learned that Voldemort’s treatments had failed to cure her Beastman Blood Curse. Katria asked him to examine her daughter, Mathilde, for the curse, and gave him the key to her Gringotts vault before her remaining time ran out.

• Manus identified the many failed potions and dark spells on Katria, including her use of Unicorn blood and human sacrifices to delay the curse.
• Katria revealed that she had used Pandora’s hair for Polyjuice Potion but had not harmed her.
• Katria told Manus that a spell was keeping her soul convinced her body was alive, but it would last only three days and she was already on the second day.
• Katria explained that she feared Mathilde might have inherited the Beastman Blood Curse and asked Manus to examine her daughter.
• Manus agreed to investigate Mathilde and help if she had the curse.
• Katria gave Manus the key to her special Gringotts vault as payment.

Manus accepted Katria’s vault key to cover the cost of treating her daughter and brought the dying professor to the Room of Requirement to question her. Katria shared intelligence on Voldemort and the Death Eaters, then explained that Voldemort had sent her to attack the Ministry’s Department of Mysteries in search of a way to save her.

• Katria offered Manus the key to her family’s vault, which held money, treasures, and information she had gathered while seeking a cure for the Blood Curse.
• Manus accepted the key and promised to use its contents for Katria’s daughter’s treatment, then return anything left over when she graduated from Hogwarts.
• Katria said she planned to find a remote place to die, and Manus offered to handle her body after her death.
• Manus took Katria under an Invisibility Charm to the Room of Requirement and questioned her about Voldemort and the Death Eaters.
• Katria gave Manus a list of Death Eaters and named nine of Voldemort’s trusted associates, including Old Malfoy.
• Katria told Manus she had attacked the Ministry’s Department of Mysteries because Voldemort claimed it might contain a way to save her.

Manus learned that the Department of Mysteries contained a locked room said to hold love, a force that might once have cured Katria’s curse. He went to the library to investigate love-based magic and asked Pandora to help him find books about pure, intense love.

• Katria told Manus that Death Eaters had entered the Department of Mysteries, where a locked room was said to contain love, but they had found no cure for her curse.
• Manus questioned Katria about the Department’s rooms and decided to prepare for a possible future visit rather than break in.
• Manus went to the library to search for myths, fairy tales, and other clues about magic powered by love.
• Pandora met Manus in a section of the library and offered to help him find books.
• Manus asked Pandora for books about pure, intense love, and she reacted with surprise.

Manus sought stories showing how love could bring power and asked Pandora for books to guide his research into love-related magic. After Elizabeth recommended the Encyclopædia Britannica, Manus was left with a possible starting point for learning how Muggles explored the world.

• Manus asked Pandora to find books in which love changed or saved something, explaining that he was researching love-related magic.
• Pandora gave Manus eight storybooks and suggested that studying love would require more than those books.
• Pandora found Elizabeth, whose father worked at a Muggle library in London, and introduced Manus’s interest in Muggle knowledge.
• Manus told Elizabeth that Wizards and Muggles explored the same world from different directions and were not inherently superior to one another.
• Elizabeth recommended the Encyclopædia Britannica to Manus as a way to learn about Muggles’ exploration of the world.

Manus learned about the Encyclopædia Britannica and planned to consult it at the British Library, while Katria returned with information about Voldemort’s visit to the Department of Mysteries. Her report left Manus expecting Voldemort might return to the Brain Room and Death Room, whose secrets the Ministry seemed unwilling to defend at all costs.

• Elizabeth explained that the Encyclopædia Britannica contained thirty volumes and advised Manus to borrow it from her father at the British Library rather than buy a set.
• Manus considered using an encyclopaedia to collect knowledge from the Muggle and magical worlds, perhaps after completing his Mage Tower.
• Katria returned with less than an hour to live and told Manus she had obtained information from Malfoy.
• Katria reported that Voldemort had targeted the Brain Room and Death Room but apparently had not gained anything during his visit.
• Manus considered that Voldemort might return to the Department of Mysteries in person, and Katria said Ministry officials feared confronting him and might serve him if he took power.

Manus learned that Katria had placed her daughter, Mathilde, with a Muggle couple using magic to make them believe she was theirs. He warned Katria that the arrangement could fail and offered to ask Professor McGonagall or Professor Dumbledore to help find Mathilde a safer home.

• Manus thanked Katria for finding information and asked whether she had told Mathilde’s guardians about him.
• Katria revealed that she had entrusted Mathilde to a Muggle couple and used magic to make them believe she was their daughter.
• Manus warned Katria that the couple might notice flaws in the false memories and that Mathilde could be put at risk.
• Katria panicked and asked what she should do, and Manus said he would tell Professor McGonagall or Professor Dumbledore about the situation.
• Manus suggested using the money set aside for Mathilde’s care to support a new arrangement, and Katria agreed that the professors could find her a good home.

Manus told McGonagall that Katria had died after seeking his help and explained the fate of her daughter, Mathilde. He then demonstrated his magic-tracing ability for Dumbledore, who remained focused on understanding Manus’s remarkable magic.

• Manus collected Katria’s ashes after using the Elder Wand to destroy the curses on her corpse, intending to bury her during the holiday.
• Manus told McGonagall how Katria had come to him and died, shocking her with the news.
• McGonagall took Manus to Dumbledore, who asked him to demonstrate the magic that revealed traces of magic.
• Manus cast Revelio, displaying magical radiance throughout the Headmaster’s Office and startling McGonagall, Dumbledore, and the portraits.
• Manus explained that Revelio was a magical state he had remained in since comprehending it, and Dumbledore assumed it was still being cast instinctively.

With exams three days away, Bellows panicked after Manus’s mock papers exposed gaps in his revision, while Manus argued that grades were only one measure of ability. Quirinus said his plans for a field study had been delayed by the required approvals, but he still intended to try again next year.

• Manus left Dumbledore’s office after demonstrating that he could sense traces of magic, while Dumbledore and McGonagall continued discussing Katria and the Beastman Blood Curse.
• Bellows lamented that exams were approaching and admitted Manus’s mock papers showed he could not earn O’s in every subject.
• Quirinus, George, and Jasper examined Bellows’s mock exams and urged him to address gaps in his learning rather than merely fret about grades.
• Manus explained that exams reflected learning without defining a student’s full abilities, and Quirinus agreed that Manus’s knowledge far exceeded what grades could show.
• Quirinus told Manus that his plans for an overseas field study were delayed by applications and approvals, but he intended to apply again next year and said his father would accompany him.

Manus completed his Transfiguration exam with an impressive sword, then helped Ravenclaw students compare answers after the exams. As the school year drew to a close, Bellows complained about studying harder than the exams required, while Manus reflected on how much he had gained.

• Bellows worried that flaws in his Switching Spell would affect his exam, and Manus eased his nerves with deep breathing and a subtle use of mental power.
• Professor McGonagall asked Manus to turn a potted flower into a sword, and he earned full marks for its craftsmanship and sharpness.
• Manus left the examination room without revealing the question to other students, and the exams continued through the day.
• Ravenclaw students compared answers in the common room, where first-years treated Manus's answers as standard guidance.
• Bellows complained that the final papers were easier than the extra revision he had done, and Manus reminded him that learning Transfiguration was useful beyond exams.
• Manus went to bed, thinking that the school year had been full of gains even though the results and House Cup decision were still pending.

Manus prepared to leave Hogwarts for the holidays as the Slytherins won the House Cup. Before going home, he said goodbye to his ghost friends and offered to look into Moaning Myrtle’s family.

• Manus received his final report card, packed his belongings, and decided to weave the Unicorn Cloak during the holiday once his Life Essence reached a critical threshold.
• Dumbledore announced that Slytherin had won the House Cup, prompting Ravenclaw students to complain about their Quidditch defeat.
• After the final banquet, Manus visited Helena and promised to retrieve her remains during the holiday.
• Manus found Moaning Myrtle in a corridor and offered to check on her family.

After learning that Myrtle was completing her transformation into a ghost, Manus used what he witnessed to finish an improvement to Resurrection Stone magic. He chose to keep the invention private as the train arrived at King's Cross Station.

• Myrtle told Manus that she felt increasingly detached from the living world and could only respond to intense stimuli.
• Manus observed Myrtle's final transformation and recorded ideas about ghosts and Resurrection Stone magic.
• Manus stayed up writing and continued filling notebooks with his research aboard the Hogwarts Express.
• Manus completed an invention meant to comfort the living after irreparable regret, crediting the foundation laid by the original creator of the Resurrection Stone.
• Manus told Bellows he would neither release nor profit from the invention, and the train arrived at King's Cross Station.

Manus visited the British Library to find books on Muggle knowledge before traveling to Albania with Griffin and his family. He met Alistair Bauer, who recommended beginning with Muggle textbooks rather than the Encyclopædia Britannica.

• Griffin told Manus that their travel formalities were ready and they would leave for Albania in three days.
• Manus decided to visit the British Library for books to read during the trip.
• Manus met Alistair Bauer and explained that his newspaper fame came partly from his age and the government's need for uplifting news.
• Alistair said the Encyclopædia Britannica was not a suitable introduction and recommended Muggle textbooks in mathematics, physics, and chemistry.

Manus explored the British Library’s Muggle textbooks and discovered that mathematics, physics, and chemistry could deepen his understanding of magic, especially Alchemy Magic. He decided to delay teaching Severus and Lily these ideas until they were older, worried that too much new knowledge might disrupt their developing understanding of the world.

• Manus asked Alistair to help him get a reader’s card and recommend books covering the Muggle academic subjects.
• Manus studied mathematics at the British Library and realized its advanced concepts could expand the potential of his Mathematical Magic.
• After lunch, Manus used Scholar's Touch to gather knowledge from textbooks, the bookshelves, and Encyclopædia Britannica.
• Manus studied physics and chemistry and concluded that understanding matter at the microscopic level could make Alchemy Magic much easier to cast.
• Manus decided not to give Severus and Lily extra lessons in these subjects yet, fearing that the knowledge could unsettle their developing worldviews.

Manus used the Mental World to store the books he had obtained from the British Library and began recreating his Mage Tower there, though its magical components and energy core would take far longer to materialize. After considering a nuclear fusion reactor as a possible substitute core, he went to sleep and left with his family for Albania the next morning.

• Manus used his growing control of the Mental World to create a private, sealed space for storing books.
• Manus spent souls materializing his Mage Tower and estimated that its material shell could be completed far sooner than its magical items and energy core.
• Manus considered building an Arcane nuclear fusion reactor to power the Mage Tower and ranked the research as a medium-high priority.
• Manus went to sleep after preparing for an early departure.
• Manus and his family left home and reached the Ministry of Magic's cross-border Floo Network checkpoint.

Griffin, Aivina, and Manus traveled through the cross-border Floo Network to Albania after meeting Arthur Weasley at the checkpoint. Arthur learned that Molly was pregnant again, while the Kings arrived in Albania with one month of legal entry amid warnings about the country’s dangerous reputation.

• Griffin explained the cross-border Floo Network to Manus and hurried his family toward their appointment.
• Griffin and Aivina recognized Arthur Weasley, and the three families’ shared neutrality during the war came up in conversation.
• Arthur recalled being caught sneaking around Hogwarts with Molly and said he hoped his future children would be lively.
• Arthur revealed that Molly was pregnant, then asked why the Kings were traveling before Griffin rushed his family through the fireplace.
• A thin Wizard registered Griffin King, Aivina King, and Manus King and granted them one month of legal entry to Albania.

Manus and his family arrived in Albania, where he saw the disorder in its Wizarding World and planned a month-long trip around the country. The chapter left them considering future journeys abroad and visits to magical schools, though Griffin doubted such exchanges were possible.

• Manus asked Jemali how Albanian wizards avoided violating the Statute of Secrecy after he saw a magical fight, and Jemali explained how witnesses and crises were handled.
• Manus and his family reached an inn Jemali described as safe, where Manus noticed a guest who bore signs of Dark Magic.
• Griffin asked Manus where he wanted to go, and Manus mapped out a month-long route that included Eagle's Nest, Lake Skadar, Osum Canyon, and a forest near Helena's resting place.
• Griffin and Aivina approved Manus's travel plan, and Manus admitted he had wanted to visit Albania for a long time.
• Griffin suggested taking more trips abroad for future holidays, and Manus proposed visiting magical schools, though Griffin said he knew of no precedent.

Manus and his family traveled across Albania, sampling local food and buying spices along the way. They arrived in Kukës District at Eagle's Nest, a castle above Albania's largest magical marketplace, where shoppers faced both enticing goods and hidden dangers.

• Aivina suggested Manus could visit other magic schools someday if he became a famous Wizard, but Manus dismissed the idea of a worldwide teaching tour and considered opening a magical library or academic platform instead.
• Manus, Aivina, and Griffin exchanged Galleons for local Lek and ate Albanian specialties at a clean, popular Muggle restaurant.
• Aivina bought local spices before the family continued their journey, while she and Griffin discussed traveling to the Far East after Manus graduated.
• The family crossed half of Albania over more than half a month, staying in varied inns and camping in Griffin's spacious tent.
• Manus, Aivina, and Griffin arrived at Eagle's Nest in Kukës District, above a magical marketplace where honest shops and dangerous traps were mixed together.

Manus and his parents entered Eagle's Nest, Albania's bustling and dangerous wizarding bazaar, to browse its unusual wares. Manus stopped at a plant stall and recognized a Poisonblood Goldenbark Tree.

• Mr. Jemali led Manus, Aivina, and Griffin into Eagle's Nest and warned them to stay together because many visitors had bad reputations.
• Manus persuaded Aivina to explore the bazaar, saying he could protect the family, while Mr. Jemali waited near the entrance.
• Griffin showed interest in a stall selling Dragon eggs, but Manus stopped him from buying one because they could not take the eggs back through the Ministry of Magic inspection.
• Manus spotted a potted plant at a cart stall and asked the owner about it.
• Manus identified the plant as a Poisonblood Goldenbark Tree, a poisonous Magical Plant with little known practical use.