Ch. 401An Imperfect Sphere, a Perfect Circle

Manus sorted his research materials and reviewed the remaining founders’ memories, finding that Helga Hufflepuff had far more memories of Rowena Ravenclaw than Salazar Slytherin did. He considered whether memories could be used to resurrect someone and ultimately deleted most of the founders’ memories before organizing what remained.

  • Manus sorted his collected tournament papers and scheduled them for summer reading.
  • Manus viewed the remaining founders’ memories and found that Salazar Slytherin had relatively few memories of Rowena Ravenclaw, while Helga Hufflepuff had many.
  • Manus wondered whether a person’s memories could let the Resurrection Stone create an illusory version of that person in a body.
  • Manus weighed the moral cost of resurrection research and decided that he might someday violate his own moral limits.
  • Manus deleted most of the three founders’ memories from his sea of consciousness, layered the remainder together, and began organizing them.

Ch. 402Cauldron Leak

Manus reflected on the work of sorting Voldemort’s memories and learned that Cauldron Leak had publicized his upcoming Order of Merlin ceremony. As exam week continued, Severus reacted with excitement to Manus receiving the honor for his first-year contributions to Potions.

  • Manus decided that Voldemort’s complete memories were more valuable than the incomplete memories stored in the Horcruxes, but he had organized only a little over one percent of the material.
  • Bellows asked Manus about the Order of Merlin ceremony, and Manus realized Cauldron Leak had revealed its July 5 date ahead of schedule.
  • The news changed how students looked at Manus, though exam week kept most of them occupied with studying.
  • Severus contacted Manus through the Communication Charm and excitedly confirmed that Manus really would receive the medal for his contributions to Potions.

Ch. 403If I Became a Professor...

Manus explained how influence shaped the awarding of Order of Merlin Medals, and Lily and Severus considered how they might earn one. After their Potions exams, Severus revealed that Slughorn had suggested he could take over as Hogwarts Potions professor, a prospect that appealed to him because of the ingredients available for research.

  • Manus explained that Merlin Medal nominations depended heavily on personal connections and influence, and said his supporters would likely secure him a First-Class medal.
  • Lily and Severus asked Manus when he could help them apply for medals, and he suggested asking Dumbledore instead.
  • Manus, Severus, and Lily chatted through the written Potions exam, then completed the practical exam while Slughorn showed them conspicuous favoritism.
  • Severus criticized other students for becoming nervous when Slughorn watched them brew, and said that as a professor he would train them to stay calm.
  • Severus told Manus and Lily that Slughorn had suggested he could become Hogwarts’s Potions professor after graduation, and he was tempted by the research ingredients the position offered.

Ch. 404A Long-Overdue Sweep

Severus considered the benefits of becoming Hogwarts' Potions professor, while Manus dealt with four fugitives plotting to kill him. After capturing them, Manus realized the school year still had the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's curse to contend with.

  • Professor Slughorn explained that Severus could profit from discounted Potions ingredients and selling Potions while teaching at Hogwarts.
  • Severus told Lily that becoming a Potions professor was only a future possibility, and Manus said Severus would eventually be ready to join his side.
  • Manus found Fake Craigus, Kreigs, and two other group members plotting to have him killed after he received an Order of Merlin Medal.
  • Manus slipped a powerful Stench Spell under the storeroom door, incapacitated the four plotters, and imprisoned them in the demiplane beneath the Magic Tower.
  • Manus erased the traces he had left behind and, back in the dormitory, remembered that the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's curse remained unresolved.

Ch. 405Ravenclaw MVP

As Hogwarts’s exams ended, Manus reflected on how the Defense Against the Dark Arts Curse worked and joined Ravenclaw students in discussing their accomplishments. The conversation ended with his classmates crediting him for much of Ravenclaw’s success that year.

  • Manus concluded that the Defense Against the Dark Arts Curse did not necessarily kill professors and might already have taken effect when Kreigs was caught.
  • The final two days of exams passed, and Bellows and Jasper joked with their friends about their Astronomy results and exam performance.
  • Manus congratulated Pante on earning second place in the Inter-School Wizard's Chess Championship, and Pante praised the Koldovstoretz champion.
  • Manus said that other Wizards as capable as him could exist, but the Ravenclaw students doubted anyone else could match him.
  • The Ravenclaws credited Manus’s Training Golden Snitch with contributing half of Ravenclaw Team’s Quidditch success.

Ch. 406Dumbledore Was Nothing Special Back Then

Ravenclaw celebrated its House Cup victory, which Manus had helped secure through classroom points, while Pante’s Wizard’s Chess achievement also brought honor to the House. As the year ended, Manus accepted gifts and strengthened his connections with Ravenclaws before the final feast.

  • The students credited Ravenclaw’s victory to the failures of Gryffindor and Slytherin, Manus’s classroom contributions, and Pante’s runner-up finish at the Inter-School Wizard's Chess Championship.
  • Ravenclaws compared Manus’s accomplishments with Dumbledore’s youth, while Pandora, Elizabeth, and Grogan regarded him with admiration.
  • Seventh-year Ravenclaws sought Manus out before leaving Hogwarts, and some offered him gifts or asked to support his research.
  • Manus declined profit-making projects but accepted gifts from students interested in building connections with him.
  • At the end-of-year feast, the Great Hall was decorated in blue and bronze as Ravenclaw celebrated its House Cup victory.

Ch. 407Ravenclaw's King

Ravenclaw won the House Cup, and its celebration turned into a chant for Manus King. Back in his dormitory, Manus identified students who had sided with the Death Eaters and considered the broomstick companies seeking to meet him about Raven's Feather.

  • Ravenclaw won the House Cup, and students from all four Houses joined in chanting for King.
  • Manus recognized several Ravenclaw students as the likely instigators of the chant and suspected they had chosen the Death Eaters' side.
  • Manus returned to his dormitory and found letters from broomstick companies asking to meet with him about Raven's Feather.
  • Bellows warned Manus that some students had seemed ill-intentioned during the feast, and Manus said he already knew who they were.

Ch. 408The Strong Cannot Be Swayed

Manus dismissed the Death Eaters’ attempt to maneuver him into becoming their leader, believing that the strong could not be forced along by a group. On the Hogwarts Express, he privately asked Grogan for his opinion of the Death Eaters.

  • Manus explained to Bellows that the Death Eaters’ plan relied on a leader being swept along by followers, but he would not be swayed against his will.
  • Bellows accepted Manus’s decision and reminded him to be careful.
  • After the year-end feast, Manus declined Severus and Lily’s company and left to find Grogan on the Hogwarts Express.
  • Manus asked Bosted to leave so he could speak with Grogan alone, then asked Grogan what he thought of the Death Eaters.
  • Manus used a calming trick on Grogan, who began to share his view of the Death Eaters.

Ch. 409A Junior's Teenage Troubles

Manus questioned Grogan about his view of the Death Eaters and helped him explain why their apparent freedom had made him doubt the law. Manus began challenging that view by pointing out that the Death Eaters also lived within limits, but the argument remained unfinished.

  • Manus considered Bosted a Death Eater and suspected he had planted doubts about the Death Eaters in Grogan.
  • Manus encouraged Grogan to speak privately about what the Death Eaters meant to him.
  • Grogan told Manus that the Death Eaters seemed free because they committed crimes without facing punishment from the Ministry of Magic.
  • Manus asked Grogan to consider the limits the Death Eaters faced and drew two circles on the table.

Ch. 410A Match with No Chance of Winning

Manus explained to Grogan why written laws were safer than Voldemort’s arbitrary rule, then returned to Bellows and proposed supplying rival Quidditch teams with faster Broomsticks. The chapter ended with Bellows considering Manus’s plan to keep matches competitive and preserve Quidditch.

  • Manus asked Grogan to compare Ministry laws with Voldemort’s rules, and Grogan chose the Ministry’s laws as the better system.
  • Manus concluded that Grogan had recognized the danger in the Death Eaters’ ideas and left to return to Bellows.
  • Manus told Bellows he planned to make Broomsticks for the other houses’ Seekers, though they would be less powerful than Raven’s Feather.
  • Manus explained that overwhelming rival teams could make them give up Quidditch, so he wanted to preserve their chance of winning.
  • Bellows fell silent as he considered Manus’s concern that Ravenclaw’s dominance could ruin the competition.

Ch. 411The Founders Had Their Awkward Years Too

Manus reviewed the founders’ memories and learned how the young Ravenclaw and Gryffindor survived a dangerous encounter with forest Trolls. He also recognized Gryffindor’s enchanted sword as part of an old combat system that Manus had little interest in pursuing.

  • Manus told Bellows that Ravenclaw should offer Broomsticks to the other Houses before they lost interest in the tournament, and Bellows agreed.
  • Manus reviewed the founders’ memories and considered how magic a thousand years earlier was more dangerous and less refined.
  • Ravenclaw and Gryffindor encountered forest Trolls, and Gryffindor’s shield broke when he blocked a Troll’s club.
  • Ravenclaw used Thunderbolt Descends to defeat a Troll and start a fire, while Gryffindor and Ravenclaw treated the injury and controlled the flames.
  • Gryffindor cut a Troll’s knee with an enchanted sword, prompting Manus to identify its weapon-based magic as part of an old combat system.

Ch. 412Overzealous Diligence

Manus returned home for the holiday after considering how to use an ancient magical system and planning to brew drinks and craft a combat-ready robe. He reunited with Griffin and Aivina, then used his Magic Mirror and again resolved to avoid creating a True All-Knowing Mirror.

  • Manus considered using the ancient system's abilities as a backup when the magic of his world could not cope.
  • After arriving at the station, Manus reunited with Griffin and Aivina, reassured Aivina about the danger at Hogwarts, and told her Ravenclaw House had won the House Cup.
  • Manus explained that he had brought less luggage because he had moved the prisoners, Magical Creatures, and Magical Plants from his Magic Mirrors into his Mage Tower.
  • On the way home, Manus considered brewing drinks and making a robe that could strengthen his magic, using materials such as Chimaera hide or Acromantula silk.
  • After reaching home, Manus cleaned his room and spoke with the Pseudo-All-Knowing Mirror, which reinforced his decision to keep away from the True All-Knowing Mirror.

Ch. 413The Greater Good's Grand Ambitions

Manus used the Pseudo-All-Knowing Mirror to confirm that saving the two foals still required his blood or soul, and learned that Kreigs and his companions were new members of The Greater Good. He suspected the group’s expansion into Britain might be connected to rescuing Grindelwald from Nurmengard, where Dumbledore was the real obstacle keeping him imprisoned.

  • Manus asked the Pseudo-All-Knowing Mirror for other ways to treat the foals, but it confirmed that only his blood or soul could heal them.
  • Manus decided not to abandon the foals despite the risks and planned to share those risks by selling the Sleipnir and Pegasus Broomsticks.
  • Manus learned through the mirror that Kreigs and his companions were low-ranking new members of The Greater Good who had been recruited in Britain but received no real orders.
  • Manus reasoned that The Greater Good’s quiet expansion might serve a larger plan to free Grindelwald from Nurmengard.
  • Manus concluded that Dumbledore, rather than the prison, was what kept Grindelwald confined.

Ch. 414Partial Buyout

Manus considered how to deter future wizarding wars, then met with seven Broomstick merchants to negotiate the King Family’s sales rights. He left with a Magical Contract granting each company exclusive protection from the King Family selling Broomsticks to national Quidditch teams, in exchange for two hundred thousand Galleons apiece.

  • Manus questioned who led the Greater Good organization and what its leader wanted, then pondered whether losing magic could deter wizards from starting wars.
  • Manus arrived early at a teahouse meeting with the Broomstick merchants, who had gathered expecting to bid against one another for his technology.
  • Manus told the merchants he had no interest in entering the Broomstick business and proposed selling only the King Family’s right to supply national Quidditch teams.
  • The seven merchants signed a Magical Contract, each paying two hundred thousand Galleons to buy out that right.

Ch. 415A Full Holiday Schedule

After settling the broomstick dispute, Manus planned a packed holiday of broomstick-making, research, and teaching. He bought ash wood and arranged for an olive tree to be delivered, then continued browsing Diagon Alley.

  • Manus finished his hot milk after arranging the broomstick transfer and considered his holiday plans.
  • Manus listed his upcoming broomstick projects, Merlin Medal ceremony, research, and lessons for Severus and Lily.
  • Manus traveled to Diagon Alley and bought ash wood from Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment.
  • Manus paid a deposit for an olive tree and asked the shopkeeper to deliver it alive with its leaves, roots, and olives.
  • Manus browsed Diagon Alley shops and stopped outside Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions with a bowl of ice cream.

Ch. 416Magic Fabrics Long Since Rendered Obsolete

Manus visited the Transcendent Garment Shop to buy clothes and learn whether magical fabrics existed. Feilite explained that Magical Textiles had fallen out of use and gave Manus the address of his former tailoring teacher, who might know how to make them.

  • Manus picked out a burgundy vest, and Feilite was astonished by how tall Manus had grown at thirteen or fourteen.
  • Manus asked Feilite about fabrics with magical effects while Feilite took his measurements for custom outfits.
  • Feilite explained that Magical Textiles were costly, fragile, and much less effective than wands, so they had become obsolete.
  • Feilite said he could not make Magical Textiles but gave Manus the address of the Witch who had taught him tailoring.
  • Manus asked what materials had been used to make Magical Textiles, and Feilite began to answer.

Ch. 417The Glory of Garment-Making Craftsmanship

Feilite explained the history and limits of magical garment-making to Manus, who considered how legends might enhance magical artifacts. Manus left the Transcendent Garment Shop with clothing orders for himself, his parents, and Severus.

  • Feilite described how ordinary materials could be turned into basic magical fabric and how costly, elaborate magical equipment could be made from Magical Creature materials.
  • Feilite recounted a Dragon Heartstring robe that had burned itself to ashes and argued that clothing should focus on protection, warmth, beauty, and individuality.
  • Feilite revealed that the Invisibility Cloak from The Tale of the Three Brothers was said to be a garment-making creation and compared its legend with the Elder Wand.
  • Manus considered that legends and collective belief might bind powerful magical creations to lasting traits, though he had found no such reinforcement in the Resurrection Stone.
  • Manus ordered several outfits for himself, his parents, and Severus, but not Lily.

Ch. 418The Awkward Mrs. Margaret

Manus visited Mrs. Margaret to learn about the materials and craft of magical clothing, and recognized her headscarf as a piece of Magical Textiles. He left her surprised by revealing that he had also tried making Magical Textiles himself.

  • Manus went to the address Feilite gave him and met Mrs. Margaret outside her home in Cornwall.
  • Mrs. Margaret invited Manus inside after he explained that he wanted to learn about materials for clothing with magical effects.
  • Mrs. Margaret questioned why Manus wanted to revive an old craft and suggested using other magical items instead.
  • Manus argued that magical clothing could complement wands and other equipment, and said it was no worse than other magical items.
  • Manus identified Mrs. Margaret's headscarf as Magical Textiles that maintained a steady temperature and revealed that he had tried making such textiles himself.

Ch. 419The Diverging Path

Manus showed Margaret his Unicorn Cloak, and she recognized its exceptional workmanship but lamented that its costly materials followed the old path of Magical Textiles. She gave Manus her notebooks and fabric samples, leaving him with knowledge that could broaden his approach to textile-making.

  • Manus revealed his Unicorn Cloak, and Margaret examined its Unicorn Hair, runes, and magical symbols with excitement.
  • Margaret concluded that the cloak, despite its advanced techniques, relied on rare materials and drove costs too high for her goals.
  • Margaret told Manus that his work had gone beyond her ancestors' path and went upstairs to retrieve a box.
  • Margaret gave Manus the box of her research, including notebooks on making thread from magical plants and a bundle of fabric samples.
  • Manus considered how the notes might let him explore fibers from plants such as Devil Vine, Venomous Tentacula, Whomping Willow, and Mandrake.

Ch. 420Likes to Have a Few Drinks

Margaret gave Manus the legacy of Magical Textiles after recognizing him as one of the few people capable of practicing the craft. Manus repaid her by promising to supply her with wine through the King Winery, then returned home intending to examine the box.

  • Margaret dismissed Feilite as unable to understand or use the Magical Textiles legacy and urged Manus to take it.
  • Manus accepted the box but said he could not take the precious knowledge for nothing.
  • Manus offered to cover Margaret's drinking, then revealed that he was Manus King and heir to the King Winery.
  • Margaret agreed to send a list of drinks for the winery to deliver, and Manus later told Griffin about the arrangement.
  • Griffin agreed to the plan without asking who Margaret was, and Manus decided to study the box after noticing something unusual about it.
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