Chapter Summaries

Severus told Lily that she and Manus had inspired the romantic story Pandora loved, leaving both of them horrified by the revelation. Later, Severus discovered that the Wiggentree potted plant Manus had enchanted had a broken branch, suggesting its danger-detection mechanism had been triggered.

• Severus told Lily through the Communication Charm that she and Manus were the story’s original characters, and Lily recoiled from imagining the story’s romantic scenes with Manus.
• Professor Flitwick mistook Lily’s horror for fright from an embellished adventure biography and began the Charms lesson.
• Severus and Lily argued through the Communication Charm about whether the story had used them as prototypes or merely drawn inspiration from them.
• Severus took the potted Wiggentree from his pocket at lunch and found one of its branches snapped.
• Severus alerted Manus through the Communication Charm, and Manus asked when the branch broke and why Severus had brought the plant to the Great Hall.

Manus discovered that the potted plant had detected a werewolf at Hogwarts and planned to investigate during the next full moon. He reassured Severus and offered to teach him to brew the rare Wolfsbane Potion.

• Manus inspected the potted plant and recognized that its broken edge signaled a werewolf nearby.
• Manus told Severus a werewolf had probably entered Hogwarts and planned to send Huginn and Muninn to search during the full moon.
• Manus said he would investigate further if they failed to find the werewolf, while Severus offered to prepare Wolfsbane Potion.
• Manus asked Severus whether he wanted to try brewing Wolfsbane Potion, and Severus hesitated over its difficulty and scarce ingredients.

Manus guided Severus through attempts to brew a new advanced potion, teaching him to analyze each failure and record what he learned. After four unsuccessful attempts, Severus was exhausted and worried about the dwindling ingredients, but Manus encouraged him to continue and told him he would be waiting the next afternoon.

• Manus took Severus to a student Potions room and explained that his understanding was sufficient for advanced brewing, though he still needed practice and confidence.
• Severus admitted he had not remembered the Wolfsbane Potion recipe, and Manus said his earlier version had flaws before giving Severus a new recipe to brew.
• Severus's first attempt failed, and Manus told him to examine the reasons for failure rather than dwell on it and to write down his observations.
• Severus failed four times over the afternoon but reviewed each attempt and steadily improved instead of repeating the same mistakes.
• Manus reassured Severus that the ingredients were worthwhile if he learned from the attempts, gave him sweetened hot milk, and told him to return the next afternoon.

Severus told Lily that Manus had detected a Werewolf at Hogwarts and planned to find it on the full moon, killing it with Wolfsbane Potion if it threatened the school. Manus had assigned Severus to brew an updated version of the Potion, but he had failed four times and had to continue the next day.

• Lily asked Severus why he was exhausted, and he explained that he had spent the afternoon failing to brew Potions with Manus.
• Severus told Lily that the potted plant Manus had made detected a Werewolf at Hogwarts.
• Lily worried about the danger of a Werewolf transforming during the upcoming full moon, while Severus wondered how it had entered the school.
• Severus explained that Manus planned to have Huginn and Muninn locate the transformed Werewolf and use Wolfsbane Potion to kill it if it threatened Hogwarts.
• Severus revealed that Manus had assigned him to brew an updated Wolfsbane Potion, and he had failed four times without getting halfway through.

Severus worried that he would fail to brew Wolfsbane Potion before the full moon, while Lily recognized how severely Manus’s pressure affected them both. The next day, Manus continued his research and found Slughorn waiting in the Potions room with his Wolfsbane Potion application.

• Lily realized that Severus might run out of Wolfsbane Aconite before he succeeded, and Severus feared Manus would impose brutal extra training if he failed.
• Lily considered how to deal with James Potter and his friends if she had to train extra with Severus, while James mistakenly believed Lily had looked at him fondly.
• On Sunday, Manus saw Hufflepuff players practicing Quidditch and continued his research, though his work on material structures had reached a bottleneck.
• Manus went to the Potions room and found Slughorn there with the application Manus had completed the previous day.
• Slughorn offered Manus a piece of candied pineapple, which Manus accepted and tasted.

Manus revealed to Slughorn that he had invented the Wolfsbane Potion and showed him a sample, impressing the professor with his achievement. Slughorn recognized its novelty and value, while Manus intended the potion’s narrow use and costly, lengthy brewing process to build his reputation without drawing excessive attention.

• Slughorn inspected Manus’s application and asked whether the Wolfsbane Potion came from his family.
• Manus told Slughorn he had invented the potion and produced a bottle of an earlier version.
• Slughorn examined the potion with Scarpin’s Revelaspell and realized Manus had created something new.
• Manus explained that the potion killed Werewolves, and Slughorn became excited by its value as an invention.
• Manus relied on the potion’s niche purpose, expensive ingredients, and lengthy brewing process to keep his growing reputation manageable.

Severus found Manus speaking with Professor Slughorn and admitted he had been studying Potions with Manus since childhood. Slughorn recalled Severus’s mother, Eileen Prince, as a talented and lively student, leaving Severus surprised by how different she had been from the mother he knew.

• Severus arrived in the Potions classroom and told Slughorn he had come to see Manus for Potions lessons.
• Severus explained that he and Manus had studied Potions together under Severus’s mother, Eileen Prince.
• Slughorn recalled Eileen as a gifted Potions student who had captained Hogwarts’s Gobstones team and competed in interschool events.
• After Slughorn left, Severus told Manus he had never known his mother had been so lively and eager to try different things.

Severus wrestled with doubts about whether his mother would have been happier on a different path, but Manus helped him focus on giving her the freedom to choose in the future. Meanwhile, Manus weighed the opportunities Professor Slughorn had offered him, until Severus noticed a radically different Wolfsbane Potion formula and asked whether it was the complete version.

• Severus wondered whether his mother would have been happier if she had not married his father and had him, but Manus reminded him that he could help her gain the freedom to choose her own path.
• Severus resolved to keep studying and become strong enough to give his mother that freedom, and Manus began another painful potion lesson with him.
• Manus considered Slughorn's offers to help publish his Wolfsbane Potion paper and invite him into the Slug Club, and saw both as ways to expand his influence.
• Severus failed at the potion exercise again but made significant progress, then noticed the complicated Wolfsbane Potion formula Slughorn had written on the back of a report.
• Severus asked Manus why the formula differed from the one he used and whether it was the complete version.

Manus challenged Severus to recognize an overcomplicated Wolfsbane Potion formula and encouraged him to trust his skill. After failing twice and being told he had one Aconite plant left, Severus brewed the potion successfully and considered keeping the bottle as a memento.

• Manus explained that the potion formula was deliberately overcomplicated and urged Severus to brew the Wolfsbane Potion from scratch.
• Severus failed another attempt, identified that he had stirred too quickly, and learned the next attempt would use the last entire Aconite plant.
• Severus overcame his anxiety and completed the final brewing attempt under Manus's watch.
• The potion turned black and produced smoke, and Manus told Severus that this signaled an especially successful brew.
• Severus bottled the potion, celebrated his first successful advanced potion, and listened as Manus suggested keeping it as a collectible.

As the full moon approached, Lily and Severus prepared to distract the Werewolf and wondered whether Hogwarts staff knew about it. Manus watched the grounds through his ravens and saw Remus leave the castle and enter the passage beneath the Whomping Willow.

• Lily and Severus discussed hiding and preparing strong-smelling Potions to distract the Werewolf if it threatened students.
• Severus wondered whether Hogwarts staff already knew a Werewolf was inside the school, then went with Lily to prepare Potions.
• Lily and Severus went to bed early with their Potions and wands ready for the full-moon night.
• Manus watched Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest through Huginn and Muninn, then spotted Remus leaving the castle.
• Remus reached the Whomping Willow, pressed a knot on its trunk to stop its branches, and entered as Huginn watched.

Manus used Huginn to confirm that Remus Lupin was the Werewolf attending Hogwarts and that he transformed in a secret passage leading to a shack in Hogsmeade. After Manus told Lily and Severus what he had learned, Lily questioned the school’s decision to keep Lupin’s condition secret, and Severus asked whether she planned to report Hogwarts to the Ministry of Magic.

• Huginn followed Remus through a secret passage beneath the Whomping Willow to a shack in Hogsmeade and watched him begin transforming.
• Manus concluded that Remus had no hidden purpose at Hogwarts and that the school already knew about his condition and managed his full-moon transformations.
• Manus sent Muninn to notify Severus and Lily, then returned to Hogwarts after ending his synchronized connection with the birds.
• Manus told Severus and Lily that the Werewolf was Remus Lupin, prompting Lily to worry about sharing a Gryffindor tower with him.
• Lily challenged the school for concealing Lupin’s condition, and Severus asked if she would report Hogwarts to the Ministry of Magic.

Lily and Severus debated how to protect themselves from Remus Lupin without ruining his future, but Manus argued that appealing to the professors or the Ministry would probably fail. He explained that Dumbledore had gone to great lengths to keep Lupin at Hogwarts, leaving them to consider what other options they had.

• Severus suggested Lily tell Professor McGonagall that she might report Lupin unless the school moved him or assigned someone to watch him.
• Lily worried that threatening McGonagall would damage their relationship and searched for a safer solution.
• Severus suggested asking Manus for advice after realizing Manus had been silent.
• Manus said that going to the professors or reporting Lupin to the Ministry would accomplish little because Dumbledore was determined to protect Lupin's place at Hogwarts.
• Manus explained that Dumbledore had arranged for the Whomping Willow, its tunnel, and a shack in Hogsmeade to accommodate Lupin's transformations.

Manus advised Severus and Lily to prepare for threats they could not control and gave them Wolfsbane Potion. After Lily watched the exhausted Remus pass by, James mistakenly concluded that she liked frail-looking boys and decided to change his style.

• Manus explained that powerful people could make or disregard rules, urged Severus and Lily to protect themselves, and gave each a vial of Wolfsbane Potion.
• Severus wondered whether they should seek out a Werewolf, but Lily warned him against provoking one and joked that she would kill him if he turned.
• Lily noticed James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter approaching, and Severus hurried away when he saw Remus.
• James mistakenly thought Lily had been staring at Remus because she liked his frail appearance, and he resolved to become delicate-looking himself.
• Remus and Peter backed James's reasoning while Remus concealed the effects of transforming into a Werewolf the previous night.

Peter doubted James’s theory that Lily liked him, but James decided her concern for Remus could still draw her attention. In the library, Manus advised Lily on her homework and explained how flight changed a spellcaster’s options in combat, leaving her eager to hear what made a first-rate spellcaster.

• Peter dismissed James’s guess about Lily’s feelings and silently supported James’s plan to win her attention.
• Lily felt a chill on her way to the library and decided to wear an extra layer the next day.
• While Lily studied, Manus spoke to her from outside the library window during Flight practice and suggested a History of Magic reference for her homework.
• Lily asked why Manus was learning to fly despite having no interest in Quidditch, and Manus explained that aerial movement was useful in combat.
• Manus described how second-rate spellcasters could dominate weaker opponents by mastering flight, and Lily asked what first-rate spellcasters could do.

Lily learned how first-rate spellcasters built their combat styles and how wizards studied magic’s principles to create their own methods. She and Manus went to visit Hagrid, where an explosion from his hut revealed that his secret Dragon was causing trouble.

• Manus explained that first-rate spellcasters built combat templates around their strengths and adapted them to each fight, while wizards studied the principles behind magic.
• Lily met Manus on the lawn, and he explained that wizards could devise new methods, such as his Wolfsbane Potion for dealing with a Werewolf.
• Lily decided she wanted to explore the principles of magic and become a wizard.
• Manus and Lily approached Hagrid’s Hut just as an explosion blasted open its door and sent Hagrid rushing outside.
• Manus cleared the smoke with Whirlwind Scour, and Hagrid hurried back into the hut after noticing it was still smoking.

Manus and Lily visited Hagrid’s Hut, where they discovered that Hagrid had hatched a dragon and asked Manus how to raise it. Lily left before hearing more, and Hagrid admitted he had obtained the egg in Knockturn Alley while looking for a gift for Manus.

• Manus and Lily waited outside Hagrid’s Hut until Hagrid called them inside, where they found a mess and dragon scales on the floor.
• Hagrid apologized for having no refreshments, and Manus introduced Lily as a new Gryffindor first-year.
• Hagrid asked how to raise a baby dragon that had hatched from an egg he thought was dead.
• Lily left because she did not want to hear Hagrid’s secret and worried Potter might come looking for her.
• Hagrid admitted he had found the egg in Knockturn Alley while searching for a gift for Manus, then warned Manus to stay away from the dangerous area.

Manus learned that Hagrid had found and hatched a Common Wales Green dragon egg in Knockturn Alley, and he met the young dragon Hagrid named Bob. Manus warned that Bob would soon outgrow the hut and become a fire hazard, leaving Hagrid unsure what to do as Bob darted from his nest.

• Hagrid explained that he had found the egg in Knockturn Alley, assumed the dragon inside was dead, and brought it home to hatch.
• Manus asked Hagrid about the promised gift, but Hagrid admitted he had been too busy caring for Bob to find one.
• Hagrid led Manus to Bob’s metal nest and warned him that the young dragon could breathe sparks.
• Bob roared at Manus, who blew out the sparks and recognized that the dragon was poised to attack.
• Manus warned Hagrid that Bob would grow five times larger within two weeks and could set the hut ablaze with his fire.
• Hagrid tearfully admitted he did not know what to do, and Bob darted out of his nest.

Manus stopped Bob from attacking Hagrid and explained that Hagrid could not meet the young dragon’s needs or teach him how to live as a dragon. After watching Bob fight a Metal Whelp and win, Hagrid accepted that they needed to discuss Bob’s future.

• Bob charged at Manus, who caught him and blocked Hagrid’s attempt to stop him, leaving Manus’s arm numb from Hagrid’s blow.
• Manus explained that Bob needed to eat meat, learn to hunt and fly, and grow in an environment suited to dragons, while Hagrid’s care went against his nature.
• Manus created a Metal Whelp and let it attack Bob, showing Hagrid how the dragon hatchling learned to fight through combat.
• Bob adapted to the Metal Whelp’s attacks, fought back with his teeth, claws, tail, and sparks, and finally knocked it down.
• Manus told Hagrid that Bob was truly happy and asked him to discuss Bob’s future.

Manus took Bob from Hagrid to arrange professional, isolated care until the dragon could survive in the wild and join a suitable clan. He returned to Hogwarts and began the final adjustments to the Magic Mirror so Bob could live there.

• Manus explained that Bob could not safely return to a dragon clan and advised Hagrid to find a qualified caretaker.
• Manus offered to care for Bob through someone whose name he would not disclose, and Hagrid agreed to entrust Bob to him.
• Manus left Hagrid’s Hut with Bob and his belongings, promising Hagrid he would arrange a suitable clan for Bob in one to three years.
• Manus considered trying to communicate with Bob and, through him, with wild Common Welsh Green Dragonkind.
• Manus returned to Hogwarts and gathered materials to finish adjusting the Magic Mirror’s habitat for Bob.

Manus transformed the empty space inside the Magic Mirror into a hot, humid habitat for Bob, the young Dragon. After settling Bob in, he returned to his dormitory and added a safeguard to the mirror.

• Manus used Ancient Magic to turn the bare soil inside the Magic Mirror into hills, a river, and a lake.
• Manus reshaped the habitat with vegetation, a hot spring, sulfurous air, and humid conditions suitable for Bob.
• Manus carried Bob to a cave near the water, where Bob adapted comfortably to his new home.
• Manus moved to a distant island inside the mirror and added a warning inscription to its full-length mirror.
• Manus passed through the Magic Mirror and returned to his dormitory, where Bellows was still absent.