Chapter Summaries

Manus offered Bellows a potion to restore Mrs. Travers's vitality, and Bellows accepted it without hesitation. Manus explained that his reputation as a potion maker made the unfamiliar potion trustworthy, and Bellows learned that his mother could drink it while unconscious.

• Manus told Bellows that Mrs. Travers's physical condition was poor as well as her soul, and Bellows described how little exercise she could manage.
• Manus gave Bellows his last vitality-restoring potion for Mrs. Travers.
• Bellows eagerly accepted the potion and asked whether his mother could drink it while unconscious.
• Manus questioned why Bellows trusted an unfamiliar potion so readily, and Bellows pointed out that Manus had no reason to poison his mother.
• Manus explained that his reputation and published work made his potions reliable, then confirmed that Mrs. Travers could drink the potion directly, even while unconscious.

After seeing Blake King gravely injured at St. Mungo’s, Manus’s family learned that he was hospitalized in a condition with no clear prospect of recovery. On Christmas Day, Manus’s family received the share of the King Family’s assets that had been allocated to Blake.

• Manus, Aivina, and Griffin left St. Mungo’s and realized the bloodied wizard they had seen was Blake King, Manus’s uncle and a Death Eater.
• Griffin wrote to Manus’s grandfather, and the reply confirmed Blake had taken an Exploding Curse and was hospitalized on St. Mungo’s fifth floor.
• Griffin reflected on his once-good relationship with Blake but refused to visit him, while Aivina comforted him.
• On Christmas Day, Manus’s family received Blake’s share of the King Family’s assets after Manus’s grandfather reclaimed it.

Bellows thanked Manus for the Potion that restored his mother’s body, and Manus explained how she should continue her treatment. After the students returned to Hogwarts, the growing conflict outside the school and the deaths of students’ family members left the castle without much laughter over Christmas.

• Bellows told Manus that the Potion had restored his mother’s appearance and relayed his father’s thanks and gift.
• Manus warned Bellows that his mother’s condition was not cured at its source and gave him a schedule for continuing her treatment.
• Manus considered genetic research as a possible way to treat congenital diseases, then set the idea aside until the technology advanced.
• Bellows memorized Manus’s advice during the journey back to Hogwarts and wrote it down after dinner.
• Professors found that students had slackened in their studies after the holiday, while deaths and turmoil beyond Hogwarts weighed on the castle.
• Lily said that there had been almost no laughter in the castle that Christmas.

After spotting someone disguised as Professor Kreigs, Manus suspected he had been targeted and tried to alert the Hogwarts staff while avoiding contact with Severus and Lily. Dumbledore was absent, so Manus arranged for Helena and his ravens to contact Professors Flitwick and McGonagall and planned to meet them at the Clock Tower.

• Manus recognized the figure wearing Greyji Craigs's face as someone using Human Transfiguration and suspected they had targeted him.
• Manus asked Helena to warn Dumbledore that Professor Kreigs was an impostor, then wrote a letter and sent Huginn with it.
• Helena returned and told Manus that Dumbledore was not at Hogwarts, so Manus arranged to meet her and Professor Flitwick at the Clock Tower.
• Manus sent Muninn under an Invisibility Charm to contact Professor McGonagall and had Huginn deliver a letter to Minerva.

Manus revealed that the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Kreigs, was an impostor using advanced Human Transfiguration and showed McGonagall and Flitwick evidence of a Dark Wizard’s experiments. With Dumbledore away and students potentially in danger, McGonagall decided to attack the impostor while Flitwick protected the students.

• Manus used Muninn and Huginn to monitor McGonagall and the impostor Kreigs, who was grading students’ assignments.
• Manus transformed himself into Kreigs and showed McGonagall and Flitwick letters describing his correspondence with a Dark Wizard.
• McGonagall and Flitwick read the letters and learned that the wizard intended to use people in Transfiguration experiments and had tried to recruit Manus.
• Manus explained that the impostor was not Professor Kreigs, though the letters alone could not prove the wizard’s crimes to the Ministry.
• With Dumbledore away and concerns that students might be attacked, McGonagall resolved to lead an assault while Flitwick protected them.

Manus and McGonagall stormed Kreigs's office after Huginn delivered a letter that secretly released a debilitating stench. Kreigs was overwhelmed by the odor and the animated statues, while Manus left wondering whether he could still brew potions in this world as he had before transmigrating.

• Flitwick explained to Manus that McGonagall had been a forceful Gryffindor even when she worked at the Ministry, and Manus hurried after her.
• Huginn delivered a letter to Kreigs's office, but Kreigs tossed it aside unopened and slammed the window on the owl.
• Huginn activated the letter's concealed Stench Spell, leaving Kreigs dizzy, nauseated, and unable to find the odor's source.
• McGonagall opened the office door with Alohomora as animated stone statues charged inside, and she fired Stupefy at Kreigs.
• Helena told Manus that Hogwarts's protective statues had been added long after the school's founding, and Manus concluded that his familiar potion-making methods might still work in this world.

Manus and the professors exposed Kreigs as an intruder using a special Human Transfiguration, then handed him over to the Ministry of Magic. When Manus received no replies from his letters and Dumbledore remained absent, Kreigs’s leave sparked renewed rumors about the Defense Against the Dark Arts curse.

• McGonagall’s Untransfiguration failed to change Kreigs’s face, but Manus used Secret Revealing to restore his appearance.
• Flitwick suggested handing Kreigs to the Aurors, and Manus secretly took a drop of Kreigs’s blood as a precaution.
• Manus sent two copies of a letter, one through Minerva and another directly to Dumbledore, but the next few days brought no replies or news.
• The Ministry took Kreigs away, while Hogwarts professors covered his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes during his leave.
• Students revived rumors that the position was cursed, while Slytherin’s Death Eater recruits insisted Voldemort’s curse could not harm a Pure-blood like Kreigs.

Manus noticed a figure hidden beneath an unusually powerful Invisibility Cloak and became suspicious when it headed to Hogwarts's mostly unused third floor. He summoned Muninn and followed the cloaked figure while remaining concealed.

• Bellows and Jasper discussed the Gryffindor-Slytherin fights, Quirinus's field study, and the pressure of schoolwork and Quidditch training.
• Manus considered traveling the world after graduating to learn about magical traditions beyond Britain.
• After parting from Jasper, Manus spotted an unfamiliar magical signature and realized it belonged to someone wearing an Invisibility Cloak.
• Manus watched the cloaked figure head to the third floor and decided its movements were suspicious.
• Manus entered an abandoned classroom, summoned Muninn, cast the Invisibility Charm, and followed the figure.

Potter broke into Kreigs's office but found no clues, while Muninn discovered letters revealing Kreigs belonged to a four-person theft ring. The letters showed that someone had paid the gang to search Hogwarts for the Sword of Gryffindor, leaving Manus to suspect Voldemort.

• Potter used the Invisibility Cloak to enter Kreigs's office and searched it for evidence of the professor's suspicious nighttime activity.
• After Potter left, Muninn found letters between Kreigs and a Metamorphmagus hidden on the desk.
• Muninn learned from the letters that Kreigs and three accomplices formed a theft ring, and that their attempted robbery of Gringotts had failed.
• Manus discovered that the ring had been hired for three hundred thousand Galleons to search Hogwarts for the Sword of Gryffindor.
• Manus suspected Voldemort might have commissioned the theft because he collected valuable objects for Horcruxes.

Manus questioned Tom Riddle about Voldemort’s interest in Gryffindor’s sword and explained his own dramatic physical changes before vanishing. He then weighed the uncertain identities and motives of a group that had targeted him, concluding that their next move might be unavoidable as he tested how the world shaped events.

• Tom said Dumbledore or Gryffindor’s descendants might know the sword’s whereabouts, but he could not suggest how to discover them.
• Manus showed Tom how quickly his wound healed and said he had used magic to strengthen his vitality; he refused to explain the magic after Tom had used his question.
• Manus vanished without using the mirror, leaving Tom frustrated that he had not asked a more precise question.
• Manus considered whether Voldemort had sent the group to seek Gryffindor’s sword, but doubted Voldemort would rescue the captured fake Kreigs.
• Manus realized the group’s members could all use Human Transfiguration, so he could not determine which one had been caught or whether the others would return.
• Manus called his involvement an attempt to see how the world influenced events and reflected that many things connected to him had existed long before his arrival.

Manus considered whether the Defense Against the Dark Arts Curse was a form of fate that brought existing trouble to the surface, then returned to school after the Fake Craigus matter was temporarily resolved. There, a student’s gossip about his uncle prompted Lily to intervene, while James insisted she was kind and just despite her frequent fights.

• Manus reasoned that the Curse might increase the likelihood of troubled people becoming Defense Against the Dark Arts professors and bring their existing problems to a head.
• After the Fake Craigus matter was temporarily resolved, Manus returned to school and resumed caring for the foals, researching magic, and catching up with friends.
• A Gryffindor asked Manus whether his uncle was dead, and Manus said he was not close with him.
• Lily struck the rude student with a book using Mage Hand and then kicked him as she went to retrieve it.
• James praised Lily’s kindness and sense of justice, while Black and Lupin pointed out that she fought people frequently.

Manus and Lily considered who was spreading rumors about Manus's uncle and why, while Manus argued that neither side in the war necessarily acted justly. Days later, Manus remained committed to his family's neutrality and noticed Lucius encouraging him to consult his parents before making any decisions.

• Black reflected on how Lily exploited Hogwarts's rules to avoid punishment for beating up students, while he admitted he preferred to fight back openly.
• Lily angrily condemned the students who had asked Manus about his uncle, and Manus reasoned that someone was deliberately spreading news of his death.
• Lily suggested the Death Eaters wanted to draw Manus into their cause, while Manus warned that their opponents might be trying to push him the other way.
• Manus told Lily he would do nothing and maintain his family's neutral stance regardless of whether his uncle was dead.
• At the Slug Club, Manus said farewell to Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black, considered the possible motives behind Blake King's death, and noted Lucius's suggestion that he consult his parents.

Manus agreed to acknowledge the favor Lucius Malfoy had earned by offering to help the King Family, while deciding that any future repayment would depend on what was asked. He then showed Severus and Lily a refined form of Astral Observation Magic, leaving them impressed by its beauty and wary of its power.

• Manus recognized that Lucius Malfoy had turned his mission to recruit Griffin into an opportunity to build ties between the Malfoy and King families.
• Manus told Severus that he would acknowledge Malfoy's favor and repay it in the future, provided the request was not immoral.
• Severus considered ways to earn money from his Potion and Dark Magic research but doubted that publishing his notes would be profitable.
• Severus asked Manus about his meteorite research, and Manus explained that fresh meteorites improved Astral Observation Magic.
• Manus formed a small pale-blue crystal with his magic, and Severus admired its star-like appearance while Lily sensed its chilling power.

Manus demonstrated Falling Star, a near-impossible-to-dodge astral spell, while continuing to struggle with a treatment for the two foals. McGonagall later warned him that the fake Kreigs had targeted the Sword of Gryffindor and that two accomplices remained at large, prompting Manus to suspect Goblins might be behind the theft attempt.

• Manus cast Falling Star at a training dummy, piercing its chest with a high-speed strike that impressed Lily and Severus.
• Manus considered improving Falling Star so its crystal could explode and cause further damage, then returned to a treatment plan that offered the two foals only slight progress.
• After rumors about Manus's household faded, Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts and sent word through McGonagall that two fake Kreigs had been caught and two accomplices were still fugitives.
• McGonagall warned Manus that the fugitives might have learned of him through his Transfiguration work and told him to stay careful.
• McGonagall said the gang had targeted the Sword of Gryffindor, and Manus reasoned that Goblins might have hired them because they considered the sword their property.

Manus learned why the Gringotts robbery had gone unreported and reflected on the Sword of Gryffindor, then received news that his uncle Blake had died in a major battle with the Death Eaters. He learned that an unidentified civilian organization had fought the Death Eaters with unusual success, and wondered who led it and why the battle had happened.

• Manus realized Gringotts had kept quiet about the failed robbery because the robbers had been hired anonymously by the Goblins to steal the Sword of Gryffindor.
• Manus decided not to pursue the sword's whereabouts and expected to encounter it naturally if it was part of his story.
• Manus received Griffin's letter confirming Blake's death in a chaotic battle in which more than thirty Death Eaters and over a dozen of their opponents had died.
• Manus learned that Frank Longbottom had killed Blake while fighting as part of a civilian organization rather than as an Auror.
• Manus concluded that Frank and other elite wizards trusted the civilian organization more than the Ministry's Aurors to fight Voldemort, and wondered who had organized it and what had caused the battle.

Manus considered how Dumbledore’s war against Voldemort might have failed because Voldemort had Horcruxes, but he hesitated to pass on what he knew without compromising his neutrality. As exams and Quidditch matches approached, he trained Pante for the chess championship and learned that Potter was Gryffindor’s new Seeker.

• Manus reasoned that Dumbledore’s attack on Voldemort had failed because Voldemort likely had Horcruxes, and wondered how to warn Dumbledore without losing his neutral position.
• Manus decided to keep gathering intelligence and dealing with Kreigs because threats could endanger his family and friends.
• Manus reflected on the approaching final exams as professors assigned more work and students grew busier.
• Pante visited Manus for intensive Wizard’s Chess training before representing Hogwarts in the Inter-School Wizard’s Chess Championship.
• Pante explained that George was watching the Beaters closely because Ravenclaw had a chance to win the Quidditch championship.
• Pante told Manus that Potter was Gryffindor’s new Seeker, and Manus realized he had not known Potter played Quidditch.

Manus watched Ravenclaw and Gryffindor fans discuss Potter’s Quidditch skill and Sirius Black’s rumored attempt to upgrade Gryffindor’s brooms. He wondered whether the Black Family had distanced itself from Sirius to protect him from Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

• Manus discussed Potter’s strengths as a Seeker with Pante, then defeated him at Wizard’s Chess while encouraging his championship hopes.
• Manus arrived early for the Ravenclaw Team versus Gryffindor Quidditch Team match and sat with Jasper and Quirinus.
• Spectators praised Potter’s talent and claimed Ravenclaw had trained a Seeker with a real Golden Snitch.
• Manus overheard that Sirius Black had tried to replace Gryffindor’s Broomsticks but lacked the money to do so.
• Manus considered whether the Black Family had cast Sirius out to shield him and the family from Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

Manus received a reply from the researcher studying his crystal and realized that the man’s broad, stagnant research had been driven by boredom until the crystal rekindled his curiosity. While watching a Quidditch match, Manus also decided he could improve Ravenclaw’s Broomsticks with his knowledge and the blueprints he had received.

• Manus received a letter apologizing for the delayed reply, asking for more crystals, and enclosing research materials on alchemy, Potions, and Broomsticks.
• Manus noticed that the researcher’s work showed little progress over fifty years and concluded that the man had been researching without purpose because he was bored.
• Manus recognized the researcher’s renewed excitement about the crystal as a return of his curiosity.
• Jasper mistook Manus’s comment about boredom as criticism of Potter’s maneuver, and Manus explained that the move depended on a Broomstick that could withstand a sudden stop.
• Manus assessed the Broomsticks on the field and decided he could upgrade their components, but Jasper pointed out that Ravenclaw had just replaced many of its Broomsticks.

Manus explained that he would not buy the Ravenclaw Team expensive Broomsticks, but revealed he could make a custom design with specifications beyond the current market. Bellows and the teammates reacted in disbelief as the Ravenclaw Team prepared to win the Quidditch championship.

• Manus told Quirinus he would not personally buy the Ravenclaw Team premium Broomsticks, then suggested that homemade Broomsticks were allowed.
• Manus left the match, confident Ravenclaw would win the championship once their Seeker caught the Golden Snitch.
• Bellows rushed to Manus's dormitory and asked whether he could make Broomsticks.
• Manus gave Bellows a draft listing the Broomsticks' materials and specifications, and Bellows was astonished by their projected performance.
• George and the teammates crowded outside the dormitory to see the draft as Manus questioned whether the Nimbus Racing Broom Company had reached the limits of its designs.

Manus explained that his Ravenclaw Team Broomsticks were general-purpose models and offered Bellows a custom Broomstick suited to him. After learning Bellows’s wand specifications, Manus began considering its design and quoted a materials cost of about 120 Galleons.

• The Ravenclaw Quidditch Team left in shock at the Broomstick blueprint, and George vowed to stay on the team for another year so he could ride a Manus-brand Broomstick.
• Manus told Bellows that the team’s Broomsticks were general-purpose models and offered to make him a more personalized one as a gift.
• Bellows gave Manus his wand details: Willow Wood, Unicorn Hair, ten inches, and soft flexibility.
• Manus noted that the willow tail would look unusual but said he could modify its design.
• Manus told Bellows he would charge no labor and estimated the materials would cost around 120 Galleons.