Recaps

Professor Flitwick and Will defeated the Dark Wizards attacking them in Hogsmeade, then headed to help the Aurors fighting near Madam Puddifoot's teashop. They approached the battle from behind the Dark Wizards and prepared to coordinate with the Aurors using nonverbal spells.

• Professor Flitwick killed a Dark Wizard who had attacked Will, while Will secretly stopped another from attacking the professor.
• Will protected himself and Professor Flitwick with defensive runes as they fought off the Dark Wizards together.
• Professor Flitwick and Will subdued the attackers in their area, leaving them dead or unable to fight.
• Professor Flitwick and Will hurried toward the battle at Madam Puddifoot's teashop, where Kingsley and the Aurors were battling Dark Wizards.
• Professor Flitwick told Will to use nonverbal spells as they approached the Dark Wizards from behind to coordinate with the Aurors.

Will and Professor Flitwick joined the defense of Hogsmeade, helping the Aurors and villagers defeat the attacking Dark Wizards. The attackers were all subdued, though the village was left badly damaged.

• Professor Flitwick secretly struck a Dark Wizard from a rooftop, while Liamusko raised a blood-fed Vine that devoured several Dark Wizards and attacked the Aurors.
• Will cut the monstrous Vine apart with magically animated blades, then he and Professor Flitwick joined the battle openly.
• Hogsmeade's Wizards joined the Aurors, and a Death Eater signaled the Dark Wizards to retreat.
• Professor Flitwick, Kingsley, the Aurors, and the villagers stopped the fleeing Dark Wizards and subdued every attacker.
• After the battle, Will checked on Professor Flitwick, who praised him for his efforts.

After the Aurors restored order in Hogsmeade, the Daily Prophet publicized their victory while fear of Voldemort spread through the wizarding world. Scrimgeour struggled to reassure the public in Diagon Alley before an employee told him that someone from America had arrived with an urgent matter.

• Professor Flitwick, Will, and the Aurors rescued Hogsmeade residents, extinguished fires, and captured the surviving dark wizards.
• Professor Flitwick asked the Aurors to keep his and Will's involvement out of the Daily Prophet to protect Will from retaliation.
• The Daily Prophet reported the attack and the Aurors' victory, reassuring some readers while worsening fears among wizards without Auror protection.
• Scrimgeour inspected Diagon Alley and heard officials warn that businesses were closing and people were considering moving abroad.
• A Ministry employee told Scrimgeour that a visitor from America had arrived to discuss something important, and Scrimgeour hurried back to meet them.

After news of an attack in Hogsmeade unsettled Hogwarts, Percy taught his students while they worried about their families. Meanwhile, American officials proposed a Magical University to Scrimgeour, and Ludo Bagman suggested using the plan to divert public attention from the panic.

• Owls brought news of the previous night's events in Hogsmeade, and Professor McGonagall reassured the students before sending them to class.
• Will put down the Daily Prophet and led Sylvia out of the Great Hall as students worried about their families and wrote letters home.
• Percy taught the International Statute of Secrecy, caught Baldwin writing to his parents, and took one point from Hufflepuff.
• Officials from the Magical Congress of the United States of America told Scrimgeour they wanted to establish a Magical University offering higher magical education.
• Ludo Bagman told Scrimgeour that the university proposal could divert public attention from the panic.

Scrimgeour considered the Ministry’s response to the proposed Magical University while Draco recruited Selwyn and Nott into his organization. After defeating them, Draco said they would await the return of “that lord” at Hogwarts, and both agreed to serve.

• Scrimgeour rejected Ludo Bagman’s suggestion to immediately cooperate with the Magical Congress of the United States of America and asked to learn its terms first.
• Draco summoned Ivan Selwyn and Obain Nott to an empty classroom and demanded that they join his organization.
• Selwyn and Nott mocked Draco’s past loyalty to Will Behrens, so Draco fought them with Origin Spells and overpowered them.
• Draco treated Selwyn and Nott’s injuries and explained that he was recruiting pure-bloods to help bring “that lord” back.
• Draco said they could lie low at Hogwarts and await their leader’s orders, and Selwyn and Nott bowed and agreed to serve.

Draco struggled with his mission to recruit Slytherins for Will and longed for his former life at the High Tower. There, Will studied Alchemy until he reached level two, then received a Paper Crane as he prepared for an experiment.

• Draco sent Goyle and Crabbe ahead and went to the Library, troubled that he had made little progress recruiting students for Will.
• Draco saw Will heading toward the High Tower and remembered how much easier life had felt there; Astoria Greengrass asked if he wanted to return, but he brushed her off and went inside to read.
• Will studied Alchemy's links to Potions, Ancient Runes, and enchanted objects, gaining enough experience to reach Alchemy LV2 and receive Alchemical Insight.
• Will stopped studying, planned to rest before his evening Soul Studies experiment, and received a Paper Crane.

Will brought Ravenclaw's Diadem, which he had kept hidden in the Room of Requirement, to Dumbledore after learning he had returned. Dumbledore accepted the suspected Horcrux for examination but refused to lift restrictions on Will’s experiments, offering Nicolas Flamel’s alchemical materials and manuscripts instead.

• Will retrieved Ravenclaw's Diadem from a cluttered room in the Room of Requirement and carried it to Dumbledore’s Office.
• Will gave Dumbledore the Diadem and claimed he had recently found it among the room’s old odds and ends.
• Dumbledore suspected the Diadem was The Grey Lady's Diadem and said he would examine its dark magic.
• Dumbledore explained that he wanted to use Harry to locate Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes.
• Will asked Dumbledore to lift restrictions on his experiments, but Dumbledore refused and offered Nicolas Flamel’s alchemical materials and manuscripts instead.

Will agreed to help Harry prepare for the possibility that he might have to risk his life, then returned to the Room of Requirement to study. At the Ministry of Magic, Scrimgeour adjourned a heated debate over a proposed joint Magical University and prepared to consult someone about the decision.

• Will asked Dumbledore how long it would take to obtain Nicolas Flamel's alchemy notes, and Dumbledore estimated a week.
• Dumbledore asked Will to help Harry prepare for the possibility that he might have to gamble with his life, and Will agreed.
• Will left the Headmaster's Office and returned to the Room of Requirement to continue his studies.
• Ministry officials debated the American proposal to share the costs, resources, and student admissions for a Magical University, but disagreed over where it should be built.
• Scrimgeour ended the meeting and asked the officials to send him written proposals.
• After the others left, Scrimgeour decided he needed to consult a certain gentleman.

Will received a meeting request from Scrimgeour about a proposed magical university while Dumbledore confirmed that the Diadem was a Horcrux and used the Alchemical Locator to find a lead beyond Hogwarts. Dumbledore assigned Moody to accompany Lupin and handle extremist werewolves, then prepared to leave himself.

• Will accepted Slughorn's invitation to a Christmas party after telling Sylvia he wanted to spend the holiday with her.
• Will read Scrimgeour's letter requesting a meeting about representatives from the Magical Congress of the United States of America and their proposed magical university.
• Dumbledore confirmed that the Diadem was a Horcrux and found that the Alchemical Locator pointed beyond the Castle.
• Moody refused to impersonate Dumbledore again, so Dumbledore sent him to protect Lupin and deal with extremist werewolves in the countryside.
• Dumbledore prepared to leave Hogwarts after assigning Moody the mission.

Dumbledore visited the Longbottoms to ask Frank to rejoin the Order of the Phoenix, but Frank could not act until Will Behrens cleared him to use magic. Will examined Frank and Alice at Hogwarts and found that they had recovered and could try using magic again.

• Dumbledore visited the Longbottom estate and asked Frank to rejoin the Order of the Phoenix and help with another task.
• Frank told Dumbledore that Will Behrens had forbidden him and Alice from using magic or potions until their next examination.
• Dumbledore brought Frank and Alice to Hogwarts, then summoned Will from Charms class.
• Will examined Frank and Alice and told Dumbledore that their bodies had recovered and their magic circuits were stable.

After confirming that Frank and Alice Longbottom had recovered enough to use magic, Dumbledore recruited them to help the Order of the Phoenix. Will then persuaded Rufus Scrimgeour to support the Magical University and proposed Austria as its site.

• Frank and Alice tested simple spells successfully, and Will judged their magical ability stable.
• Dumbledore asked Frank to impersonate him at Hogwarts with Polyjuice Potion, while Alice chose to rejoin the Order of the Phoenix.
• Dumbledore left with Alice, and Frank stayed at Hogwarts in disguise.
• Will visited Rufus Scrimgeour and urged him to accept the Magical Congress of the United States of America's proposal for a Magical University.
• Scrimgeour agreed to support the university, and Will suggested establishing it in Austria.

Will chose Austria as the site for the magical university, and Scrimgeour began arranging negotiations with the Magical Congress of the United States of America. Meanwhile, Lupin and Moody confronted a group of distrustful werewolves, but their attempt to talk turned volatile when Barton recognized Moody and attacked.

• Will told Scrimgeour that Austria was the best neutral location for the magical university and instructed him to negotiate with the Magical Congress of the United States of America.
• Scrimgeour began drafting a proposal to settle the university plans so he could focus more on Voldemort.
• Lupin led Moody and other Order of the Phoenix members to a farmhouse where a group of werewolves had gathered.
• Gorens drew his wand on Moody but lowered it after Lupin and another werewolf urged him to stand down.
• Barton revealed that Moody had sent him to Azkaban after the Diagon Alley battle, then raised his wand and threatened to kill him.

Alice, Lupin, and the Order of the Phoenix subdued werewolves in Yorkshire, where Lupin offered eligible members a path to aid and a fresh start. Meanwhile, Frank Longbottom impersonated Dumbledore at Hogwarts and wondered how Alice was doing, leaving him to consider Neville’s future.

• Alice blasted Barton’s left arm off and petrified another werewolf as the farmhouse erupted into violence.
• Lupin took charge, stopped the fighting, and offered the werewolves help through the Werewolf Mutual Aid Association while identifying Barton as a participant in the Diagon Alley attack.
• The werewolves accepted Lupin’s proposal, and Moody and Alice caught a criminal-record-holding werewolf who tried to escape before the group left for London with their prisoners.
• At Hogwarts, Frank Longbottom used Polyjuice Potion to pose as Dumbledore while Professor McGonagall helped him handle the headmaster’s duties.
• Frank asked whether he could make a training plan for Neville, and McGonagall told him not to interfere with Neville’s Herbology studies under Professor Sprout.

Frank settled into his role as Hogwarts Headmaster while Snape wrestled with Voldemort’s Opal Necklace and the danger of maintaining his cover. On Halloween, Dumbledore and Snape met Will in the High Tower to discuss their plans, while Draco began building a group of supporters in the Great Hall.

• Frank watched Neville study and train, and accepted that Neville should follow his own path.
• Snape received Voldemort’s Opal Necklace from Lucius and decided to wait until Dumbledore returned before acting.
• Dumbledore met Will in the High Tower, revealed that he had destroyed Nagini, and offered Will Nicolas’s knowledge of Alchemy as a reward.
• Snape told Dumbledore and Will that Voldemort expected him to use the necklace before Christmas, and suggested ending their ties to Voldemort’s side.
• Dumbledore said they had destroyed three Horcruxes but still needed to learn how many Voldemort had made; Will firmly objected to cutting ties yet.
• Draco gathered Crabbe, Goyle, Selwyn, and other Slytherins into a small group after weeks of trying to win them over.

Draco reflected on the absurdity of pure-blood ideology as his Slytherin followers grew more devoted to him. At the feast, Will recalled proposing that Snape fake his death by supposedly killing Dumbledore, a plan meant to prove Snape’s loyalty to Voldemort.

• Draco considered how inbreeding had ruined the Gaunt family and noted that Hermione’s magical ability disproved claims of pure-blood superiority.
• Auburn Nott served Draco Butterbeer while the other Slytherins eagerly sought his approval.
• Will arrived late to dinner, joined Sylvia, and glanced toward Dumbledore at the staff table.
• Will proposed that Snape use a staged death to convince Voldemort of his loyalty.
• Will suggested Snape should appear to die after killing Dumbledore, and Dumbledore noted that Voldemort’s suspicion could make the plan risky.

Will proposed luring Voldemort into a trap after the Horcruxes were destroyed, but revealed that Harry was also a Horcrux. Snape condemned Dumbledore for keeping Harry’s fate secret, and Will suggested using the Werewolf Reversal procedure to remove Voldemort’s soul fragment without harming Harry.

• Will outlined a plan to fake Dumbledore’s death and have Harry appear to kill Snape so Voldemort would come after Harry and be ambushed.
• Will estimated that Voldemort had made six or possibly seven Horcruxes, counting Harry as one of them.
• Dumbledore explained to Snape that a fragment of Voldemort’s soul had attached itself to Harry when the Killing Curse rebounded.
• Snape angrily accused Dumbledore of raising Harry to die, while Dumbledore insisted Voldemort himself had to destroy the soul fragment inside Harry.
• Will suggested he could use the Werewolf Reversal procedure to remove the fragment without harming Harry, and Dumbledore and Snape became hopeful.

Will, Dumbledore, and Snape discussed Voldemort’s possible Horcruxes and agreed that Will would return to Voldemort’s side over Christmas to gather information. Will left for the Halloween Feast, resolved to continue despite the risks.

• Will theorized that Voldemort had made six or seven Horcruxes, and Dumbledore explained that he had found traces of Dark Magic in the Gaunt family home but no Horcrux.
• Will identified Hufflepuff’s Golden Cup as a key unknown and said he would visit the Gaunt home over Christmas to investigate.
• Snape offered to go instead, but Will argued that his own mission would be safer and more useful, and Dumbledore agreed to let him go.
• Dumbledore assigned Snape to preserve Voldemort’s trust, told Will to check Harry’s soul and learn from Horace, and prepared to pretend the Opal Necklace had injured him.
• Will returned to Hogwarts through the Vanishing Cabinet and privately reaffirmed that the dangerous plan was his choice.

Will changed his plan to kill Voldemort himself and become the Wizarding World’s celebrated Chosen One, gaining public adoration and faith. He spent a quiet evening with Sylvia at Hogwarts and promised that Voldemort would be dealt with.

• Will decided to take credit for killing Voldemort and planned for Dumbledore, Harry Potter, and Scrimgeour to be taken out of the way first.
• Will entered the Great Hall and listened as Sylvia told him about Luna, Neville, and Draco’s activities among the Slytherins.
• Will told Sylvia they would stay at Hogwarts for Christmas and invited her to spend the evening with him.
• Will and Sylvia watched the Black Lake from the High Tower, and Sylvia said she hoped they could live peacefully once Dumbledore dealt with Voldemort.
• Will reassured Sylvia that Voldemort would be dealt with.

Will practiced Alchemy and crafted an Extendable Ears, while Harry and Ron returned from Quidditch practice soaked by freezing rain. The chapter left Will preparing to have lunch with the High Tower members.

• Harry and Ron arrived at the High Tower soaked after freezing rain interrupted Quidditch practice, and Anco brought them hot tea.
• Sylvia said Will had spent his days studying Alchemy on the Second Floor with materials George and Fred had sent him.
• Will crafted a basic Extendable Ears and earned Alchemy Studies experience for making the item.
• Will found Hermione using a Warm Air Charm to dry Harry and Ron, and they discussed Household Charms and Will's magic.
• Will called for Anco to bring lunch.

Will agreed to meet the seventeen new High Tower members at a meal next Sunday. At St. Mungo’s, the cursed Scrimgeour tried to write to Mr. Behrens for help, but Dumbledore arrived to examine him.

• Will agreed to host a meal for the new High Tower members after Hermione explained that seventeen had joined.
• Michael asked Ginny to watch the rain with him, and Ron coughed loudly in response.
• Scrimgeour, whose condition had worsened after opening a package, asked Kane for a quill and parchment so he could write to Mr. Behrens.
• Kane and the Healer concealed Scrimgeour beneath Invisibility Cloaks when someone knocked on the hospital-room door.
• Dumbledore arrived, explained that Amelia Bones had told him about Scrimgeour, and said he would examine him.

Dumbledore suppressed the curse on Scrimgeour’s arm and arranged help to treat it, while Will prepared to study Ritual Studies with Professor Flitwick. Will and Flitwick began reconstructing the Ritual behind Aguamenti in the Forbidden Forest.

• Dumbledore examined Scrimgeour’s cursed hand, temporarily suppressed the curse, and recommended Bill Weasley as a Curse-Breaker while promising to ask Horace to brew recovery potions.
• Will finished his paper on the Boil-Curing Charm and planned to use it to draw information from Slughorn.
• Neville told Will that Professor Sprout had praised his Mandrake paper and encouraged his ambition to become a Herbology professor.
• Will met Professor Flitwick, and they went to the Forbidden Forest to study how the water-summoning Ritual had developed into Aguamenti.
• Will took over laying out the water-summoning Ritual circle as he and Flitwick began their experiment.

Will and Professor Flitwick completed the oldest version of the Water-Conjuring Ritual, and Will recorded its magical structure for later study. On their way back to the Castle, Tonks and two Aurors stopped them on patrol, and Professor Flitwick scolded the Aurors for not using a warming charm.

• Will and Professor Flitwick finished setting up the Water-Conjuring Ritual, which produced a steady stream of clear water.
• Will recorded the ritual's magical structure and reflected on the roles of medium, structure, and resonance in Ritual Studies.
• Professor Flitwick ended the night's research and walked back to the Castle with Will.
• Tonks and two Aurors intercepted Will and Professor Flitwick at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and verified them with the patrol password.
• Professor Flitwick told the shivering Aurors to use the Fire Jar Charm and said their Charms were worse than Will's.

Will was forced by Snape and Professor Flitwick to take a day off, so he went to Hogsmeade with Sylvia. There, they met Harry, Ron, and Hermione after Professor Slughorn invited Will to his Christmas party, and the group headed into the Three Broomsticks together.

• Professor Flitwick and Snape ordered Will to take one day off every two weeks, threatening to revoke his Restricted Section access and suspend their ritual studies if he refused.
• Will and Sylvia set off for Hogsmeade, and Will conjured a silver sleigh pulled by snow dogs to carry them there.
• Slughorn released Harry from his conversation to greet Will and praised his paper, then invited him and Sylvia to the Christmas party.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione joined Will and Sylvia, and the group went into the Three Broomsticks for Butterbeer.

After Ron’s poor performance as Gryffindor Keeper, Will gave him Felix Felicis to restore his confidence and encouraged him to trust his abilities. Will then arrived late at the High Tower’s first all-member dinner, bringing gifts for everyone.

• Hermione told Will that Gryffindor had lost its Quidditch match against Slytherin and that Ron had played poorly as Keeper.
• Will gave Ron a bottle of Felix Felicis and assured him he would win his next match.
• Will explained to Sylvia that Ron lacked confidence, while Draco overheard Will’s words and wondered if they applied to his own task.
• The High Tower members gathered for their first all-member dinner on the Third Floor as house-elves prepared the meal.
• Will apparated beside his seat, apologized for arriving late, and said that preparing everyone’s gifts had taken longer than expected.

Will gave the High Tower members his study notes and introduced Tower Medals, then set rules for the secretive organization’s future. The members eagerly pledged their loyalty to him as he hinted that he had more to reveal.

• Will welcomed the High Tower members and distributed copies of his personal study notes.
• Will gave each member a Tower Medal bearing their name and enrollment year, and explained the medals’ meeting and summoning features.
• Will announced that the High Tower would stop recruiting, conceal itself after his graduation, and enforce rules for resolving disputes and punishing members who harmed one another.
• Anthony Goldstein declared that he would follow Will, and the other members joined in pledging their loyalty.
• Will calmed the excited members and said he had more to tell them.