Chapter Summaries

Manus questioned Tom about his past, then left the Magic Mirror to seek Moaning Myrtle and investigate Helena Ravenclaw. Lady Grey revealed her connection to the mystery, and Manus asked whether she would visit Rowena Ravenclaw’s portrait.

• Manus asked Tom about his childhood and experiences, then agreed to consider improving Tom’s isolated living space.
• Manus left the Magic Mirror and searched for Moaning Myrtle, but could not find her.
• Manus asked Lady Grey whether she knew where Moaning Myrtle was, and she asked why he was investigating Helena Ravenclaw.
• Manus explained that Voldemort had killed Moaning Myrtle with the Basilisk and framed Hagrid, then recounted finding Rowena Ravenclaw’s portrait and learning of her request.
• Lady Grey fell silent with sorrow, and Manus asked whether she intended to visit her mother’s portrait, making clear he would not conceal the truth from Rowena.

Helena Ravenclaw told Manus why she fled Hogwarts after feeling overlooked and pressured as Rowena Ravenclaw’s daughter, and admitted she had believed the Ravenclaw’s Diadem granted wisdom. Manus challenged her to consider whether she regretted her choice and whether Rowena had loved her.

• Helena asked Manus to keep her story secret, but Manus explained that helping Rowena Ravenclaw find her was repayment for Rowena’s gift, not a bargain for the story.
• Helena said Rowena’s attention as a teacher did not meet her need for a mother’s Love, while others judged her by her mother’s reputation and overlooked her efforts.
• Helena admitted she had believed the diadem could grant wisdom and had stolen it before fleeing Britain.
• Manus told Helena that her needs for recognition and maternal Love had gone unmet, then asked whether she herself believed her actions were right.
• Helena defended her flight by saying she would have died if she had stayed, and Manus asked whether her complaint meant she acknowledged Rowena had felt Love for her.

Manus persuaded Helena to speak with Rowena Ravenclaw’s portrait about whether her mother might have accepted her wish for an independent life. Helena agreed, and Manus showed her the damaged Diadem he had found in the Room of Requirement, asking whether she wanted to bring it when they met the portrait.

• Manus urged Helena to tell Rowena Ravenclaw’s portrait what she had wanted and learn what her mother might have decided.
• Helena agreed to meet the portrait, and Manus said he would tell Moaning Myrtle she no longer needed to inquire about Helena.
• Helena asked Manus to call her Senior and explained how she had come to be known as Lady Grey.
• Manus showed Helena Ravenclaw’s Diadem, explaining that he had found it as a Horcrux in the Room of Requirement.
• Manus asked Helena to decide whether to bring the Diadem when they met Rowena Ravenclaw’s portrait.

Manus discussed the Diadem Horcrux with Helena and explained why he could not destroy it yet. He revealed that Voldemort had made multiple Horcruxes and that he had reached an agreement with the soul fragment inside the Diadem.

• Helena recognized the Diadem as a Horcrux and warned Manus that it could drain his life force, but he assured her he had taken precautions.
• Manus asked whether Helena should bring the Diadem to Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helena favored cleansing it before their meeting.
• Helena proposed using the Killing Curse to destroy the Horcrux, but Manus refused and said he knew a way to destroy it without damaging the Diadem.
• Manus explained that Voldemort posed a major threat and that the Diadem was not his first Horcrux.
• Manus told Helena that the Diadem was Voldemort's third Horcrux and that he had negotiated an agreement with the soul fragment inside it.
• Helena was unsettled by how Manus had talked Tom into cooperating, and Manus said Tom's own nature and self-understanding had forced the agreement.

Manus reassured Helena about her past choices as they carried Ravenclaw's Diadem to the Ravenclaw Common Room, where her mother's portrait waited. Helena grew anxious about facing Rowena Ravenclaw and insisted Manus accompany her inside.

• Manus told Helena not to blame herself for the past, and Helena's mood improved.
• Helena warned that destroying a Horcrux might alert its creator, so she and Manus took the diadem to Ravenclaw Tower.
• At the hidden entrance, Manus demonstrated how he had used tailored magic to trigger the door's opening function.
• Manus sent Ravenclaw's Diadem into the room with Mage Hand and stayed outside to give Helena privacy with Rowena Ravenclaw's portrait.
• Helena, afraid to face her mother alone, told Manus he had to go inside with her.

Manus brought Helena to meet her mother, Rowena Ravenclaw, whose portrait was shocked to see that her daughter still looked young. While Helena wept and struggled to speak, Manus recounted how she had died in Albania and how her murderer, Baron, had become the Bloody Baron.

• Manus awakened Rowena Ravenclaw's portrait and revealed Helena, who had followed him into the secret chamber.
• Rowena recognized Helena and asked why she looked so young, mistakenly believing her daughter had died soon after leaving Hogwarts.
• Helena broke down in tears, and Manus offered to explain what had happened after she left Hogwarts.
• Manus told Rowena that Helena had gone to Albania and was killed by Baron after refusing to return with him and rejecting his confession.
• Manus explained that Baron regretted killing Helena, took his own life, and became the Bloody Baron, while Rowena struggled to accept her daughter's fate.

Manus helped Rowena Ravenclaw confront her guilt over sending the Baron to retrieve Helena, arguing that she had made the best choice available with what she knew. Rowena stopped blaming herself, and Manus left the mother and daughter to talk, with Rowena open to meeting him again.

• Rowena Ravenclaw said that she had sent the Baron, and Helena worried that her mother believed she had caused her death.
• Manus reassured Rowena that she had not intended to harm Helena and framed her action as negligence rather than deliberate wrongdoing.
• Manus asked how Rowena could have discovered the Baron's true nature at the time, showing that she had no way to know her choice would lead to Helena's death.
• Manus explained that Rowena had chosen the most suitable option available and could not fairly blame her past self for failing to foresee the Baron's actions.
• Rowena stopped obsessing over her responsibility, Helena regained her composure, and Manus left them to speak together.

Manus reviewed his remaining plans and prepared to retrieve a confirmed Horcrux during the Christmas holiday. As the holiday began, Bellows learned that Manus had already finished his homework, including Astronomy work calculated for a clear night ahead.

• Manus decided to retrieve the Gaunt family Horcrux over the holiday while pursuing his plans to study magic and acquire magical creatures.
• Flitwick asked students who would remain at Hogwarts over the holiday to register, and Jasper said he did not want to go home.
• Bellows told Manus he planned to visit his injured mother with his father, and Manus considered whether soul research might help her.
• Manus finished his holiday essays before leaving Hogwarts, while Bellows was astonished that he had completed them so early.
• Manus explained that he had completed his Astronomy assignment by calculating a star chart for a clear night the following Tuesday.

Manus investigated the Gaunt family home near Little Hangleton and recovered the ring that Tom had made into a Horcrux. He discovered a Deathly Hallows symbol inside the ring’s gemstone, leaving him wondering whether it was one of the legendary artifacts.

• Manus told Griffin and Aivina that he wanted to visit Hogsmeade Village during the holidays, and Griffin agreed to take him.
• Manus went to the Gaunt family home near Little Hangleton and found that it was protected by concealed Dark Magic spells as well as the Curse on the Horcrux.
• Manus broke the protections and retrieved the Gaunt family ring with tweezers.
• Manus found complex runes and a hidden pattern of a triangle, circle, and line in the ring’s gemstone, and recognized it as the Deathly Hallows symbol.
• Manus recalled Dumbledore’s hints that the Deathly Hallows were real and wondered whether the ring was one of them.

Manus studied the runes in the Horcrux ring without deciding whether it was the Resurrection Stone, then traveled with Griffin to Hogsmeade to visit Rare Birds and Exotic Beasts. On the way, he reflected on the nearly completed Wolf-Healing Potion and the honors it could bring him.

• Manus copied the ring’s runes into a notebook and postponed judging whether it was the Resurrection Stone until he could analyze its effects.
• Manus decided not to nurture the soul fragment into Tom II because he lacked time and a place to keep him during the holidays.
• Manus’s appointment with Rare Birds and Exotic Beasts arrived, and he traveled to Hogsmeade with Griffin and Aivina in their flying carriage.
• Manus recalled that the Wolf-Healing Potion was nearing completion and that the Ministry of Magic had made his Second-Class Order of Merlin medal all but certain.
• Griffin accompanied Manus to Rare Birds and Exotic Beasts, curious whether his son planned to buy a pet or study magical creatures.

Manus bought several Magical Creatures from Rare Birds and Exotic Beasts, including a Demiguise that quickly bonded with him. Griffin paid for the creatures as a gift, and he accepted that their family had gained another member.

• Manus and Griffin visited Rare Birds and Exotic Beasts to collect the Magical Creatures Manus had ordered.
• Manus reached into the Demiguise’s cage, and the invisible creature appeared and held his finger.
• Griffin paid for the creatures as a gift to Manus.
• Manus opened the cage, and the Demiguise climbed onto his back and became invisible again.
• Manus considered the Demiguise’s abilities and magical potential while it stayed beside him.
• Griffin returned, saw the Demiguise wave at him, and accepted that the family had gained another member.

Manus visited Hogsmeade with Griffin and met Rosmerta, who secretly warned Aivina to leave before dark. Aivina revealed the warning concerned Death Eater activity, and the family departed, with Manus realizing Rosmerta had also offered him protection for future visits.

• Griffin took Manus around Hogsmeade, where Manus bought sweets and ate at the Three Broomsticks.
• Griffin greeted Rosmerta, who met Manus and invited him to visit her pub when he was old enough to come to Hogsmeade.
• Aivina arrived and embraced Rosmerta, who quietly warned her to leave Hogsmeade before dark.
• Aivina hurried Griffin and Manus out of the Three Broomsticks and told them Rosmerta's warning involved Death Eater activity.
• Manus realized Rosmerta's invitation had been a discreet offer of protection and suspected the Death Eaters would remain active in Hogsmeade for years.

Manus moved the Magical Creatures he had bought into a magically expanded suitcase and used Huginn to investigate suspicious Death Eater activity in Hogsmeade. He suspected Voldemort was gathering there because he had sensed a change in a Horcrux, and sent Huginn closer as the Death Eaters converged on the village square.

• Manus transferred nearly a hundred caged Magical Creatures into a suitcase he had enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm, surprising Griffin.
• After dinner, Manus communed with the creatures, while a crow in Hogsmeade gained the enhanced vision linked to Huginn.
• Manus used Huginn’s observations to identify suspicious wizards in Hogsmeade as likely Death Eaters and wondered if Voldemort had detected a change in the Horcruxes.
• Manus reassured himself that the ring he had taken was hidden behind the Fidelius Charm at a secret base.
• When the Death Eaters gathered in Hogsmeade’s central square, Manus ordered Huginn to fly to a nearby rooftop and observe them.

Manus watched Death Eaters recruit two Hogwarts students and realized Severus would likely be targeted because of his talent and position in Slytherin. He decided to intensify Severus’s training, especially in Occlumency, while preparing for the possibility of confronting Voldemort.

• Manus watched through Huginn as Death Eaters welcomed two new recruits and realized they were recruiting Hogwarts students.
• Manus recognized that Severus’s talent and status as a Half-blood in Slytherin could make refusing recruitment dangerous for him.
• Manus concluded that the Death Eaters would probably wait until Severus’s third or fourth year before approaching him.
• Manus decided to intensify Severus’s training in Occlumency so he could protect Manus’s secrets from Voldemort.
• Manus considered that Severus might stand against the Death Eaters and noted that he now held two of Voldemort’s Horcruxes.

Manus discovered that Katria, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, had met with Death Eaters and followed her to the shack where Lupin transformed. He saw Katria begin a painful, cursed transformation into a feline creature, leaving him faced with another mystery at Hogwarts.

• Manus decided to discuss a plan for dealing with Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes with Severus.
• Katria appeared at a Death Eater gathering and asked where Voldemort was before leaving after a private exchange.
• Manus sent Huginn to follow Katria, but she detected the raven and struck it with a spell before continuing on her way.
• Manus followed Katria to the shack where Lupin transformed and retreated when a surge of magic came from inside.
• Manus watched Katria’s face and limbs deform as she began transforming into a feline creature, apparently under the influence of a Curse.

After Katria’s transformation and return to Hogwarts, Manus collected traces of her Curse outbreak and discussed Severus’s choices regarding the Death Eaters. Severus rejected joining them, and Manus offered to help him prepare to resist Voldemort’s demands.

• Huginn watched Katria leave the Shrieking Shack for Hogwarts, and Manus extracted and sealed traces of her Curse outbreak.
• Manus returned home to rest, then summoned Severus to the secret base the next morning.
• Manus told Severus what had happened and raised the options of joining, avoiding, or opposing the Death Eaters.
• Severus explained that Voldemort demanded unquestioning obedience, so joining could force him into deadly acts, including killing family members.
• Severus chose not to join the Death Eaters, and Manus offered to train him in useful Hexes, but Severus declined and focused on improving his strength.

Manus discussed the Death Eaters’ future threat with Severus and decided to strengthen protections for his home and Lily’s. He offered to teach Severus a separate system of magic, and Severus agreed before learning that he first had a towering stack of foundational books to study.

• Severus worried that he lacked the strength to withstand the Death Eaters outside Hogwarts, and Manus said he would strengthen the defenses around Severus’s home and Lily’s.
• Manus asked Severus whether he wanted to learn magic such as Mage Hand and Resistance Boost, and Severus eagerly agreed.
• Manus summoned more than thirty notebooks and explained that Severus needed to master the foundational theory before beginning formal lessons.
• Manus described magic’s potential to control elements, create force fields, interfere with space and time, and even bring the dead back to life.
• Severus questioned whether true resurrection existed, and Manus confirmed it was possible but extremely difficult and dependent on conditions.

Severus studied Manus’s theoretical notes while Manus investigated the Horcrux Ring and the Curse afflicting Katria. Manus identified the ring as a likely Resurrection Stone and concluded that its magic produced an incomplete imitation of a ghost, leaving him to consider the consequences of that flawed creation.

• Severus struggled through Manus’s dense notes, and Manus encouraged him to keep building a solid foundation.
• Manus continued studying the Horcrux Ring and the unstable magical properties he had extracted from Katria’s Curse.
• Manus considered convincing Katria that he could help with her Curse and disrupt her tentative contact with the Death Eaters.
• Manus’s research led him to suspect that the Horcrux Ring was the Resurrection Stone and that its magic imitated the creation of ghosts.
• Manus concluded that the Stone created a half-finished figure based on the user’s memories of someone, rather than resurrecting that person.

Manus considered using the Resurrection Stone to create a ghostly form of resurrection, then invited Severus and Lily to celebrate Christmas together. As the three met at their secret base, Severus explained how the Death Eaters were recruiting Hogwarts students, and Lily worried about the danger to their families.

• Manus read about the Resurrection Stone in The Tale of the Three Brothers and noted ghostly resurrection as a possible future invention.
• Manus invited Severus and Lily to celebrate Christmas together, and Severus agreed.
• Lily noticed Severus studying and heard how Manus had discovered the Death Eaters were recruiting Hogwarts students.
• Severus described his plans, and Lily worried that the recruitment would intensify the conflict between Slytherin and Gryffindor and threaten their families.
• Lily insisted she would not avoid the Death Eaters' recruits and said she could grind with Manus and Severus.

Manus discussed how to protect Lily’s Muggle family from the Death Eaters, and Lily chose to keep them in Cokeworth under a Fidelius Charm and other protections. He also offered to teach Lily and Severus ways to use magic without attracting the Ministry’s attention, and the three finished by decorating their secret base for Christmas.

• Manus explained that the Death Eaters could target Lily’s Muggle relatives and gave her the options of moving her family away or protecting their home in Cokeworth.
• Lily chose the second option, and Manus said they would discuss the plan with Mr. and Mrs. Evans before taking action.
• Lily asked Manus to teach her magic, and he explained that young Wizards had no Trace before finishing their first year and signing a Magical Contract.
• Manus promised to teach Lily and Severus ways to use magic while avoiding the Trace.
• Manus, Lily, and Severus decorated their secret base with Christmas decorations, enchanted sweets, and magical fireworks.