Recaps

Dumbledore warned Will and Snape that Voldemort might suspect them and asked them to stay safe. He offered Snape the Defence Against the Dark Arts post and planned to bring Horace Slughorn back as Potions professor, asking Will to help persuade him.

• Dumbledore summoned Will and discussed the danger surrounding the Ministry incident with him and Snape.
• Dumbledore warned Will and Snape to be careful over the next two months because they were in great danger.
• Dumbledore offered Snape the Defence Against the Dark Arts position, explaining that Remus was willing to resign so he could help the Order of the Phoenix.
• Dumbledore named Horace Slughorn as his choice for Potions professor, and Snape agreed that Slughorn was qualified.
• Dumbledore told Will that persuading Slughorn would be difficult and asked him to make a trip.

Dumbledore brought Will Behrens and Harry Potter to Slughorn Manor to meet Horace Slughorn, whom he hoped to persuade to return to Hogwarts. Slughorn welcomed them and began discussing their visit with Dumbledore, while hiding a letter in which Voldemort demanded his support.

• Dumbledore arrived at Slughorn Manor with Will Behrens and Harry Potter, and a House-elf went to fetch Slughorn.
• Slughorn read Voldemort’s letter demanding the Slughorn family’s allegiance, drank heavily, and hid the letter before greeting his visitors.
• Slughorn warmly welcomed Dumbledore, Will, and Harry, and told Harry that Lily Potter had been one of his best students.
• Will greeted Slughorn and agreed to discuss Potions with him later.
• Slughorn led the visitors into his reception room and asked Dumbledore what had brought them.

Dumbledore asked Horace Slughorn to return to Hogwarts to teach Potions, while Harry learned that Snape would teach Defence Against the Dark Arts. Slughorn hesitated because of the danger surrounding Voldemort, but Will’s achievements and possible attempt to transfigure Felix Felicis persuaded him to accept.

• Dumbledore asked Slughorn to teach Potions at Hogwarts, and Slughorn initially refused.
• Dumbledore told Harry that Lupin had other matters to attend to and Snape would teach Defence Against the Dark Arts.
• Dumbledore praised Will’s Potions talent, and Will mentioned completing a batch of Potion Transfigurations.
• Slughorn noticed Will was reading The Secrets of Felix Felicis and suspected he was trying to transfigure the potion.
• Slughorn considered the prospect of teaching Will and Harry, then agreed to try teaching at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore persuaded Slughorn to return as Hogwarts’ Potions professor, and Slughorn secured promises to protect his safety and family estate. Back at Hogwarts, Will kept the day’s events secret and began studying soul magic.

• Slughorn asked Dumbledore to guarantee his safety, let him leave Hogwarts whenever he wished, and become Secret Keeper for the Slughorn family estate.
• Dumbledore agreed to Slughorn’s requests, and Slughorn accepted the Potions teaching position for the next term.
• Dumbledore sent Will and Harry back to Hogwarts, where Slughorn praised their magical abilities and looked forward to recruiting them into the Slug Club.
• Will told Harry to keep the day’s events secret, then declined Michael’s invitation and went to study.
• Will opened a chest of reference materials and began reading The Wizard’s Soul to study souls.

Will began studying an introductory book on the wizard's soul and compared ancient Greek theories with modern magical knowledge. Empedocles' belief that a soul was a divine spirit endowed with magic caught Will's attention, and the chapter left him turning the page to investigate what it meant.

• Will resumed studying soul research after spending the semester focused on werewolf Reversal and the Happiness Charm.
• Will read Socrates' belief that the soul was immortal and Aristotle's view that the soul was the body's form, connecting Aristotle's ideas to Dumbledore's account of the wizard, magic, and soul.
• Anco brought Will paella and chilled grape juice while he studied.
• Will read Empedocles' theory that wizard souls were divine spirits, and noticed its resemblance to the idea that remorse or love could restore a damaged soul.
• Will reflected that wizards possessed powers like those attributed to gods, then turned the page to learn what Empedocles meant by a soul endowed with magic.

Will reasoned that a wizard’s soul might be their magical organ and that soul, magic, and body formed a unity, unlocking Soul Studies. He then found Bellatrix close to death from starvation and gave her water.

• Will recalled Snape’s explanation that wizards had no magical organs and that ghosts were not residual magic.
• Will connected emotion, spellcasting, and the soul, and concluded that the soul might be a wizard’s magical organ.
• Will realized that changes to the body, magic, and soul could affect one another, citing Animagi and Voldemort as examples.
• Will unlocked Soul Studies, a discipline with an unknown level, and recognized the importance of his discovery.
• Bellatrix, nearly dead from thirst and starvation, drank water Will poured over her before opening her eyes to find him watching her.

Will finished his fifth year at Hogwarts, earned nine O.W.L.s, and celebrated with his friends before the school year ended. After the students left for the holidays, he arrived at King's Cross and told Uncle Hobart he wanted to visit the Howards.

• Will put unconscious Bellatrix in the Book Trunk and returned to the Room of Requirement to sleep.
• Will, Hermione, Sylvia, Harry, Ron, and the other students received their O.W.L. results, while Cedric and the Weasley Twins received their N.E.W.T. results.
• George and Fred tore up their results and announced plans to open Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, and Will reminded them to clean up the scraps.
• Will hosted a feast in the High Tower, where everyone toasted him and the future prank shop.
• Dumbledore addressed the students about Voldemort's return and urged them to stay united, while Aurors guarded the Hogwarts Express as it departed.
• Will said goodbye to Sylvia, Harry, and the others, then told Uncle Hobart he wanted to visit the Howards instead of attending the welcome party.

Will asked Hobart to help him return to the Howard family because he needed the family’s resources. Three days later, Hobart brought Will to the family dinner at Aldren Castle and secured Miles’s promise to help, leaving Will poised to enter the banquet hall.

• Will told Hobart he needed the Howard family’s power and resources, and Hobart offered to help him return to the family.
• Hobart told Will that a family gathering was scheduled in three days and agreed to take him there.
• Miles Francis Fitzalan-Howard hosted a dinner at Aldren Castle to celebrate Tina’s pregnancy and a newly discovered mineral deposit in South Africa.
• Hobart arrived at the dinner and got Miles to promise him a favor before revealing that Will was waiting at the door.
• Will appeared in the doorway, dressed simply, as the family turned to look at him.

Will confronted the Howard family and demonstrated overwhelming magical power to make them take his proposal seriously. After Miles Howard recognized the difference between Will and the wizards his family employed, he asked what Will wanted the family to do.

• Hobart brought Will to the Howard family dinner, where Edward tried to send him away, but Miles invited him to sit and explain his purpose.
• Will conjured a silver chair and said he wanted to give the Howard family an opportunity, not ask to return to it.
• Will transported everyone to Antarctica, froze Edward in place, and told Hobart he needed the family to understand a wizard's power.
• Will transformed the snowy landscape into a scorching desert and displayed supernatural feats that convinced Miles his magic surpassed anything the family knew.
• Miles lowered his head and asked Will what he wanted the Howard family to do for him.

Will offered Miles the chance to make the Howard family wizards in exchange for spreading his name, and Miles declared the family would support Will as its foremost ally. Will left Aldren Castle with Hobart and began answering his uncle’s questions at the Behrens home.

• Will took Miles to a private study and offered the Howard family a chance to become wizards if they spread his name.
• Miles accepted Will’s terms, and Will explained that belief in him could grant access to magic.
• Miles announced that Will was no longer part of the Howard family but would become its foremost ally, directing the family’s resources to support him.
• Will erased Tina’s memories of the evening, while Miles assigned his daughters and Edward to meet him the next day and told Hobart to pursue his game company plan.
• Will and Hobart vanished from Aldren Castle and appeared at the Behrens home, where Will promised to answer Hobart’s questions.

Will explained that he had revealed his strength to persuade the Howard family to help him, then wondered whether Hobart’s German acquaintance Lina von Ahrns was connected to the Saints he would meet during the Summer Holiday. At Malfoy Manor, Voldemort assessed his setbacks and ordered his followers to rebuild their forces, summon Severus, and bring Will to him next week.

• Will told Hobart he had used his strength to secure the Howard family’s help and had considered using the Imperius Curse if Hobart had not been there.
• Hobart said he was still in contact with Lina von Ahrns, and Will wondered whether she was connected to the Saints he was due to meet over the Summer Holiday.
• Voldemort reviewed the Ministry attack, recognized Scrimgeour as a new threat, and decided Dumbledore and Scrimgeour might join forces.
• Voldemort praised Lucius for keeping Dumbledore occupied, ordered him to bring Severus, and told Yaxley to recruit more followers across Europe.
• Voldemort said he would study the books in the Death Eaters’ family collections and ordered them to bring Will to him next week.

Scrimgeour took office and began purging corruption and strengthening the Ministry as Voldemort’s attacks continued. Will met with the Saints, who pledged to follow his will until Grindelwald returned.

• Scrimgeour became Minister for Magic while retaining control of the Auror Office, and Kane became deputy director.
• Scrimgeour dismissed officials tied to Fudge, launched an investigation into his predecessor’s abuses, and began hunting Ministry spies.
• Death Eaters bombed a Diagon Alley shop and left a threatening message, but Aurors arrested several attackers.
• Will welcomed Ludwig Ahrens and two other men into his home and showed them the Deathly Hallows symbol.
• After Ahrens examined the symbol with a spell, he pledged that the Saints would follow Will’s will until Grindelwald returned.

Will instructed Ludwig Ahrns to keep the Saints out of England and asked him to leave Lina von Ahrns alone so she could continue dating an English wizard close to Will. At the Parkinson manor, Wander learned Pansy had never delivered the apology gifts and decided to take them to Will himself.

• Will told Ahrns to keep the Saints’ activities out of England until he gave permission and asked him not to interfere with Lina’s relationship.
• Ahrns confirmed that Lina was his daughter and agreed to leave her relationship with Will’s English friend alone.
• Wander asked Pansy how Will had reacted to the apology gifts, and she admitted she had never given him the trunk.
• Pansy said she had withheld the family treasures because she resented Will and was upset that Draco had grown distant from her.
• Wander rebuked Pansy for risking the Parkinson family’s future and said he would take the trunk to Will himself.

Will visited Scrimgeour and offered to organize Origin Spells for wider use, persuading him to include them in Auror training. After Will left, Scrimgeour remained unaware of how the offer served Will’s plans.

• Scrimgeour struggled with the Ministry’s workload, staffing shortages, and the Auror Office’s depleted ranks.
• Will asked why Scrimgeour did not strengthen the existing Aurors and proposed teaching them Origin Spells.
• Will claimed he had found records of Origin Spells from the Goblin Rebellion and would organize the system over the summer.
• Scrimgeour agreed to propose that the Wizengamot add Origin Spells to Auror training.
• Will returned to the Behrens home, pleased that Scrimgeour did not understand his intentions.

Lucius Malfoy brought Wander Parkinson to visit Will Behrens, who accepted Parkinson’s apology and valuable books. When Will asked why he had not been told about the planned Ministry attack, Lucius said Voldemort had personally decided to keep him uninformed.

• Lucius Malfoy visited Will with Wander Parkinson and invited him to Voldemort’s manor the following week.
• Wander apologized for accusing Will of being Dumbledore’s spy and offered compensation, while Will used Legilimency to uncover Wander’s memories of the scheme and his punishment.
• Wander gave Will rare potion and ancient-rune books, and Will warmly accepted the apology and gift.
• Will asked Lucius why nobody had told him about the planned attack on the Ministry, suggesting he could have distracted Dumbledore at school.
• Lucius said Voldemort had decided to keep Will uninformed, leaving Will wondering whether Voldemort suspected him.

Will learned that Lucius had manipulated Fudge to target Dumbledore, then reflected on the careful role he was playing. Voldemort ordered Snape to eliminate Dumbledore, while Harry spent the summer at The Burrow, where Fred and George returned home.

• Lucius told Will that he and Umbridge had steered Fudge into bringing people to Hogwarts, and Will maintained his admiring façade after Lucius and Wander Parkinson left.
• Voldemort ordered Snape to find a way to kill Dumbledore, and Snape accepted while thinking of Will and Harry as he left Malfoy Manor.
• Harry joined the Weasleys for dinner at The Burrow, where Percy remained an unmentioned absence and Mr. Weasley described recent Ministry cases.
• Fred and George arrived at The Burrow dressed formally and explained that their work at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes had kept them away.

George and Fred discussed their joke shop’s products with Harry and the Weasleys at dinner, while Mrs. Weasley warned them that Diagon Alley was unsafe. That night, Death Eaters ambushed patrolling Aurors in Diagon Alley, and explosions erupted elsewhere as the battle spread.

• George and Fred told Harry that Skiving Snackboxes were selling well and that they had fixed the Canary Creams recipe.
• Harry asked the twins for Skiving Snackboxes, and Mrs. Weasley warned them to be careful in Diagon Alley.
• Kris and Vico patrolled Diagon Alley when a Death Eater ambushed them from the fog.
• Kris defended himself and signaled for help as Death Eaters attacked, injuring Vico and setting Eeylops Owl Emporium on fire.
• Other Aurors arrived and fought the attackers, while an old Auror killed a Death Eater with the Killing Curse.
• Kris and the old Auror heard huge explosions across Diagon Alley and hurried toward the wider battle.

After Death Eaters attacked Diagon Alley, the Aurors drove most of them off, but the raid left widespread destruction. The next morning, Fred and George discovered their shop had been badly damaged, while Rufus Scrimgeour arrived to meet Prime Minister John Major.

• The old Auror and Kris put out the fire at Eeylops Owl Emporium and left the injured Vico there to recover.
• The Aurors repelled the Death Eaters’ attack, captured those they could, and began tending to the wounded and damaged buildings as most attackers escaped.
• Fred and George found Diagon Alley wrecked and rushed into Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes after seeing its damaged entrance and a hole in its wall.
• Prime Minister John Major waited at Number 10 Downing Street for a meeting with the Minister for Magic.
• Rufus Scrimgeour stepped out of the fireplace and introduced himself to John Major.

Rufus Scrimgeour briefed Prime Minister John Major on Voldemort’s return and the danger wizards posed to Muggles. He asked the government to coordinate with the Ministry of Magic and protect senior officials, then warned that Death Eaters had gone to Devon.

• John Major welcomed Scrimgeour and asked him to explain the danger in the Wizarding World.
• Scrimgeour told Major that Voldemort had returned and described the magical abilities that made wizards difficult for Muggles to oppose.
• Scrimgeour proposed assigning wizards to protect Major and other senior officials and coordinating responses to incidents across England.
• Major said he needed time to consult his cabinet, and Scrimgeour pointed out a portrait they could use to contact the Wizarding World.
• Scrimgeour left through the fireplace using green powder and warned Major that Death Eaters had gone to Devon.

Will prepared an Origin Spells textbook for Scrimgeour and hosted Lupin and Sirius for breakfast before they visited the Werewolf Mutual Aid Association. Lupin revealed that Scrimgeour planned to share Origin Spells with the Order, giving Will an opening to promote the system.

• Scrimgeour wrote at his desk after using the Ministry's new Floo Network, while Will checked the Origin Spells textbook he was preparing for him.
• Lupin and Sirius arrived at Will's home for breakfast before their visit to the Werewolf Mutual Aid Association.
• Lupin described his coordination work for the Order and said Scrimgeour had withdrawn Hagrid's arrest warrant in exchange for only a token fine.
• Lupin told Will that the Order planned to unite wizarding and intelligent communities against Voldemort and had agreed to cooperate with the Ministry.
• Lupin said Scrimgeour was willing to share Origin Spells with the Order, and Will privately celebrated the chance to promote them.

Will, Lupin, and Sirius visited the Werewolf Mutual Aid Association, where Lupin taught and Sirius’s anonymous funding supported werewolves. As Will considered whether he could win the werewolves’ loyalty from Dumbledore’s Order, several familiar people arrived.

• Will used Light and Shadow Magic to conceal his face beneath a hood before leaving with Lupin and Sirius.
• Lupin led them through a hidden entrance in a derelict East End house to the association’s underground hall.
• Lupin reassured the gathered werewolves that the expanded Full Moon Room was ready for the full moon and resumed teaching the Werewolf Venom Curse.
• Sirius explained that the association provided lessons, shelter, full-moon protection, and financial relief to werewolves in need.
• Will considered whether helping the werewolves would amount to taking Dumbledore’s people, just as several familiar faces entered.

Will visited Lupin’s werewolf lessons with Sirius, Tonks, and Kingsley, then revealed that he could cure lycanthropy with Werewolf Reversal. The chapter ended with three selected werewolves learning they could be freed from transforming and facing the choice to receive the treatment.

• Tonks and Kingsley arrived, and Sirius told them that Will was another of Lupin’s friends who would be revealed later.
• Will watched Lupin teach the werewolves and studied ancient runes while Tonks and Kingsley took turns teaching.
• As evening approached, Lupin, Tonks, and Sirius applied the Werewolf Venom Curse to the residents entering the Full Moon Room.
• Lupin stopped Wyatt, Stanton, and Normani before they entered, reassuring them that they had not been rejected from the association.
• Will revealed that he could give the three werewolves Werewolf Reversal, a treatment that would free them from lycanthropy, and Tonks and Kingsley recognized him as the wizard who had cured Lupin.

Will performed operations that cured three werewolves, who woke to find themselves human again. As they thanked him, he gained Charisma experience and wondered whether Charisma would be his first ability to reach level seven.

• Normani, a middle-aged man, and a young man agreed to undergo Will’s treatment and followed him into a small room.
• Will transformed the floor into steel platforms, restrained the three werewolves, and operated on them through their painful transformations.
• After nearly an hour, Will finished treating all three and told the others they could check on them while he rested.
• The three patients woke up as humans and cried with joy, while Lupin helped the young man up after he knelt to thank Will.
• Will gained Charisma experience from the werewolves’ gratitude and noticed his Charisma was close to level seven.

Will left the werewolf association to continue writing an Origin Spells textbook for Scrimgeour, while Harry wrote to Sophie Robert to explain why he could not visit France and resolved to train for the fight against Voldemort. The chapter ended as Mr. Weasley told Harry and Ron about an attack on Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

• Lupin arranged for Will, Sirius, and Tonks to stop attending the association on full-moon nights until Will had helped more werewolves.
• Will returned home, cast the Felix Charm and Clear-Headed Charm, and continued writing the textbook for Scrimgeour.
• Harry wrote to Sophie Robert that Dumbledore would not let him leave England, and he decided to focus on training to protect his friends from Voldemort.
• Strange agreed to keep training Harry and told him to bring Ronald along; Harry sent Hedwig with his letter to Sophie.
• Ron called Harry to dinner, where Mr. Weasley reported an attack on Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

After the Death Eaters attacked Diagon Alley and destroyed Flamel Manor, Mr. Weasley reassured his family while the Weasley twins stayed behind to rebuild their shop. Dumbledore discovered that Voldemort had stripped Nicolas Flamel’s manor of its treasures and decided to go to France.

• Mr. Weasley told his family that the Death Eaters had damaged Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, but George and Fred were safe and intended to rebuild it.
• Mrs. Weasley wanted to bring the twins home, but Mr. Weasley persuaded her to let them stay and said an Auror would watch over them.
• Dumbledore and Hagrid arrived at the ruins of Flamel Manor and saw Nicolas Flamel’s initials on the damaged gate.
• Dumbledore restored the manor with magic, then found that the Death Eaters had taken everything valuable from its rooms.
• Dumbledore blamed himself for failing to protect Nicolas Flamel’s home and told Hagrid he would postpone their plans to go to France.