Recaps

Will announced the Tower Library and Tower Fund, promising High Tower members access to books, financial assistance, and reimbursement for study expenses while warning against theft and corruption. After the gathering, Draco emerged from the Pensieve and asked why Will had shown him the memory, and Will tossed him an object to examine.

• Will proposed a Tower Library where members could borrow contributed books and notes under strict rules against theft, copying, and sales.
• Will pledged ten thousand Galleons to start the Tower Fund and promised transparent financial support for members’ needs.
• Will threatened anyone who misused the fund with a Tower Kill Order, then offered to reimburse members’ study expenses.
• Will raised a toast to the High Tower and its future, and the members drank with him.
• Draco pulled his head from the Pensieve and asked Will why he had shown him the memory.
• Will tossed Draco something and asked him to identify it.

Draco received his Core Medal and funding allowance from Will, then left the Room of Requirement after discussing their plans. At the Ministry, Scrimgeour’s final curse-breaking session with Bill Weasley failed to remove the layered curse, leaving Scrimgeour to consider writing to Mr. Behrens.

• Will gave Draco his Core Medal and told him to prepare a list of needs for his basic funding allowance.
• Draco told Will that his work was going smoothly and that someone had volunteered to join, then left after Will warned him not to go home for Christmas.
• Scrimgeour met with American and Austrian officials and reached a preliminary agreement to begin construction of the magical university after Christmas.
• Scrimgeour went to the Hospital Wing, where Bill Weasley attempted to break the curse on his hand.
• Bill told Scrimgeour that the compound curse could not be eradicated, though he had dealt with some of its components.
• Scrimgeour reflected on his weakness compared with Mr. Behrens and decided to write him a letter.

Voldemort reorganized his followers and ordered Draco to keep watching Dumbledore and Severus. After receiving letters about a fanatical Muggle congregation, Scrimgeour’s curse, and Voldemort’s plans, Will left Hogwarts and arrived at a storm-lashed castle.

• Voldemort questioned Yaxley about the failed Hogsmeade recruits and heard that his assigned Death Eaters had learned several Origin Spells.
• Lucius told Voldemort that Scrimgeour was wearing gloves and that the Opal Necklace box had vanished; Voldemort ordered Draco to monitor Dumbledore and Severus.
• Voldemort tasked Lucius and Yaxley with sorting outside Dark Wizards into the Death Eaters within six months, and promoted Wander Parkinson to help manage Knockturn Alley.
• Voldemort wrote a letter after the Death Eaters left.
• Will read the old duke’s report about a fanatical Louisiana congregation, then decided to visit it and consult someone at Nurmengard.
• Will read Scrimgeour’s request for help with a curse and Voldemort’s letter, skipped class, and traveled to a dark castle during a storm.

Will visited Grindelwald to ask how he could use other people’s minds, and Grindelwald explained the tide of thought and the response of magic. Grindelwald began describing ways to reach that realm, confirming that Dumbledore had once refused it.

• Will told Grindelwald that the magical university had secured an agreement and was expected to open after construction.
• Will asked Grindelwald how to draw on other people’s minds, and Grindelwald explained that many wizards’ minds could influence magic through a tide of thought.
• Grindelwald revealed that magical power and magic were alive, and Will said he had suspected magical power had a living quality for years.
• Grindelwald explained that reaching the response of magic allowed a wizard to attract and control magical power with ease, and admitted he had come close but never attained it.
• Will asked whether Dumbledore had refused the response of magic, and Grindelwald confirmed that he had.

Grindelwald explained to Will how a wizard could draw on other minds to influence magic and said the Deathly Hallows could aid his own ritual. He revealed that his visions of Will showed only silver and a few scenes, and Will promised to escort him out when the time came.

• Grindelwald told Will that Al had reached the pinnacle of Transfiguration and earned magic's response through learning and mastery.
• Grindelwald explained that minds could anchor a wizard's sense of self and that many believers could help someone influence magic.
• Will connected Grindelwald's explanation to his experiments on memory, identity, and werewolf magic, then asked how a mind could guide magic.
• Grindelwald said each person's ritual differed, but gathering wizards to witness and believe, alongside powerful magic, could help draw on their minds.
• Will asked about the Deathly Hallows, and Grindelwald confirmed they could assist his ritual but denied that the Grim Reaper existed.
• Grindelwald said he saw only silver and a few scenes when he looked at Will, and Will promised to return and escort him out.

Will brought the cursed Rufus Scrimgeour to his laboratory to investigate the damage to his hand and magic. After Scrimgeour verified that Will’s prisoner was an irredeemable criminal, Will began an experiment using the prisoner’s hand.

• Will appeared in Minister Scrimgeour’s office, examined his cursed hand, and saw that the curse was damaging his magical structure.
• Will took Scrimgeour to his laboratory to run experiments, and Scrimgeour brought the potions he needed.
• Will prepared a prisoner as a test subject, while Scrimgeour objected to human experimentation and used Legilimency to examine him.
• Scrimgeour apologized after confirming the prisoner’s crimes, then lay still as the prisoner’s hand touched his.

Will tested whether Scrimgeour’s curse could be transferred and whether the subject’s arm could regenerate, then sent Scrimgeour away with his memory erased. At Grimmauld Place, Dumbledore learned that Death Eaters were gathering and arranged a trap using the Appleby family as bait.

• Will tested the curse by having Scrimgeour touch an Imperiused subject, then severed the subject’s arm with Sectumsempra and confirmed that the curse had not transferred.
• Will regrew the subject’s arm bones with the Bone-Growing Curse and gave the subject a potion to test whether healing magic could restore the rest.
• Will sent Scrimgeour back unconscious and used Obliviate on him.
• Lupin reported that most English werewolves had been settled through the Mutual Aid Association or sent to Azkaban.
• Kingsley told Dumbledore that Death Eaters were gathering again, and Dumbledore planned to lure them into a trap with the Appleby family.

Will returned to Hogwarts after leaving Scrimgeour unconscious at the Ministry and attended Snape’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class. After the lesson, Neville and Hermione brought Harry to the High Tower, where Will asked what had happened to him.

• Will left Scrimgeour unconscious in the Minister’s Office and Apparated back to his study in the High Tower.
• Will attended Snape’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class, where Snape taught spell combinations and students practiced on targets.
• Snape criticized Harry for sending spells into the ceiling and took points from Ron, while awarding Slytherin points to Will for helping classmates.
• Neville and Hermione stopped Will after class and asked him to help Harry, whom Ron brought along reluctantly.
• Will welcomed the group to the High Tower, and after Anco served refreshments, he asked Harry what had happened.

Will reassured Harry that his heartbreak over Sophie Roberts was normal, then urged him not to let it distract him and to seek someone who truly loved him. Harry accepted Will’s advice and agreed to move on.

• Ron told Will that Harry had been distracted for days since Sophie Roberts sent him a letter ending their relationship.
• Will told Harry that feeling hurt over a romance was normal and that he did not need to be ashamed.
• Will asked Harry whether Sophie loved him, then pointed out that she had not come to visit despite Voldemort’s return.
• Will advised Harry not to grieve over someone who did not love him and encouraged him to get back on his feet.
• Harry thanked Will and said he understood, reassuring Ron, Hermione, and Neville.

Will heard Hermione’s concerns about Draco and Astoria, then researched Scrimgeour’s soul condition and considered how to treat him. After protecting Neville in Herbology, Will got an idea from Professor Sprout’s mention of grafting.

• Hermione told Will that Draco had been contacting pure-blood supremacists and that Astoria had fought Pansy Parkinson over him, earning both girls detention.
• Will told Hermione he would handle Draco and assured her that Astoria did not need to worry.
• Will spent the evening studying soul research, hoping to find a way to help Scrimgeour.
• Will checked on the test subject in the Laboratory and saw that severing part of the soul had prevented flesh from regrowing on his hand.
• During Herbology, Will stopped a bubotuber vine from striking Neville and heard Professor Sprout say the severed vine would be difficult to graft back on.
• Will suddenly thought of an idea involving grafting.

Will experimented with ways to reconnect flesh, souls, and magical structures, hoping to find treatments for Scrimgeour and improve Werewolf Reversal. Meanwhile, Scrimgeour returned to the Ministry, where Dumbledore came to see him.

• Will tested the Flesh-Stitching Curse on two dark wizards and recorded that their magical structures remained separate as their flesh fused.
• Will severed a dark wizard's hand with Sectumsempra, comparing a hand with its soul and magical structure intact to one without them.
• Will regrew a dark wizard's hand, shaped replacement flesh, and reconnected its magical structure to the body's, adding another possible treatment for Scrimgeour.
• Scrimgeour sneezed after patrolling Diagon Alley, asked Kane for a Cold Potion and a copy of Today's Potions, then returned to the Ministry.
• Dumbledore greeted Scrimgeour at the Ministry, and Scrimgeour recognized him as Professor Dumbledore.

Dumbledore and Scrimgeour agreed to cooperate on a trap for Voldemort, while Dumbledore treated Scrimgeour’s cursed hand. Will prepared a backup hand-transplant experiment, then attended Charms, where Sylvia brought him lunch and he pondered improving the Vinegar-to-Wine Charm.

• Dumbledore explained his plan to lure Voldemort and the Death Eaters, and Scrimgeour agreed to help while asking Dumbledore to treat his cursed hand.
• Dumbledore used his wand on Scrimgeour’s charred hand as Will experimented with severed and transplanted hands in case Scrimgeour’s curse could not be lifted.
• Will hurried back to Hogwarts for Charms, and Sylvia gave him a packed lunch after noticing he had missed the meal.
• Professor Flitwick taught the Vinegar-to-Wine Charm, and Seamus accidentally exploded his cup of vinegar, splashing nearby students.
• Will successfully turned vinegar into wine but remained dissatisfied as he considered creating a charm that would make grape juice, prompting Flitwick to ask what was troubling him.

Will considered developing a Grape Juice Charm as a way to investigate Microscopic Transfiguration, while Professor Dumbledore’s treatment eased Scrimgeour’s cursed hand. The chapter ended with Will promising to keep researching a way to break the curse.

• Will told Professor Flitwick he wanted to turn wine into grape juice, and Flitwick agreed to explore the idea with him as a diversion.
• Will reasoned that reversing the fermentation stages might reveal whether the Vinegar-to-Wine Charm involved Microscopic Transfiguration or time magic.
• Will spent the rest of the lesson experimenting with the wine, then arranged an evening research session with Professor Flitwick.
• Will visited Scrimgeour at the Ministry of Magic and saw that Ancient Runes and treatment from Professor Dumbledore had eased his pain, though his hand remained charred.
• Will told Scrimgeour he was researching the curse and promised to help break it once he found a solution.

Will met with Dumbledore, who asked him to visit Tom during Christmas to confirm the number of Horcruxes, while warning him against dangerous soul experiments. As the Christmas holidays approached, Will finished his final Potions class and prepared to attend Slughorn’s Yule Ball with Sylvia Lestrange.

• Will encountered Dumbledore at Hogwarts, and they discussed the stalled Horcrux hunt and a plan for Will to visit Tom after Christmas to confirm the number of Horcruxes.
• Will told Dumbledore he could not yet remove Tom’s soul fragment from Harry and wanted to study soul magic further, but Dumbledore refused to approve experiments that could endanger him.
• Dumbledore wished Will an early Merry Christmas and soon left Hogwarts again.
• At the final Potions class before the holidays, Slughorn deducted points from distracted students while Will carefully brewed a Cough Potion that became a Cold Spell.
• Will told Slughorn that Sylvia Lestrange would accompany him to the Yule Ball and discussed publishing a paper on Potion Transfiguration.
• Slughorn reminded Will that the Yule Ball began at seven that evening.

Will and Sylvia attended Slughorn’s lavish Yule Ball, where Slughorn celebrated Will’s potion achievements and introduced him to influential guests. Will met the author Eldred Worple and his vampire friend Sanguini, whose magical structure caught his interest.

• Will and Sylvia arrived at Slughorn’s decorated office in formal attire and joined Hermione, Harry, Luna, Neville, and Hannah.
• Slughorn opened the ball and singled out Will, praising his Potion Transfigurations and ongoing research.
• Slughorn brought Harry and Luna over to Will and invited him to meet more guests.
• Slughorn introduced Will to Eldred Worple and Sanguini, and Will studied the vampire’s magical structure with interest.

At Slughorn’s Yule Ball, Will befriended Sanguini and Eldred Worple, then agreed to let Worple write his biography under strict conditions. He later spoke privately with Draco, who described his struggles as Head Boy, and offered him good news and bad news.

• Will learned from Sanguini about vampires and their place in wizarding society.
• Eldred Worple proposed writing a biography of Will, and Will agreed on the condition that he approve the draft and twenty percent of the royalties go to charity.
• Will left Worple to speak with Slughorn and headed to the dance floor, where he ignored Harry’s plea for help and turned down several girls.
• Will joined Draco and Astoria in a corner, sent Astoria away, and cast a Secrecy Charm so he could speak with Draco privately.
• Draco admitted that Astoria had brought him to the ball and complained that the prefects and Professor Slughorn made his role as Head Boy miserable.
• Will asked Draco whether he wanted to hear the good news or the bad news first.

Will reassured Draco that he would soon be cleared of suspicion, while the Christmas party continued around them. Meanwhile, a squad of Death Eaters reached a snowbound village in Aberdeenshire to attack the Appleby family.

• Will told Draco he had no choice but to endure Slughorn's misunderstandings and others' suspicions, but promised he would be cleared before graduation.
• Slughorn questioned Will about speaking with Draco, then spoke with Eldred Worple after Will went to sit with Sylvia.
• Sylvia and Will watched the party, where Luna entertained younger students and Harry rested after dancing.
• A Death Eater squad trudged through a gale in Aberdeenshire, complaining about being sent out on Christmas.
• The squad's leader identified the village as the Appleby family's hiding place and ordered the Death Eaters to prepare to attack.

The Death Eaters attacked a village on Christmas Eve, hoping to capture the Appleby family, but found themselves caught in an ambush by Aurors and the Order of the Phoenix. The attackers were overwhelmed, and Sirius helped bring their leader down as Lupin ordered the defenders to secure survivors.

• The Death Eaters split into teams and surrounded two houses, expecting to capture the Appleby family.
• Repton kicked open a house door and discovered an empty feast set up as bait, with a Recording Crystal playing voices and laughter.
• Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix ambushed the Death Eaters in the blizzard, and Kingsley rescued an Auror from falling rubble.
• Lupin directed the defenders to flank the Death Eaters and ordered them to take their enemies alive, while Moody's spells blasted apart a house.
• Sirius disarmed the Death Eaters' leader, then lunged at him as a black dog and pinned him to the floor.
• Lupin told the group to secure the prisoners and check beneath the house for anyone still alive.

The Order of the Phoenix captured a group of Death Eaters in a trap and took them to its private prison before celebrating Christmas with a feast. Will began eating grape cake, and Slughorn came over to him.

• Moody and the Aurors helped capture the Death Eaters after Moody blasted apart a house, while Kingsley reported that five had died and the rest had survived.
• Sirius urged the group to take the prisoners to the Order of the Phoenix's private prison, where Greyback shouted at Lupin and Moody punished him with the Cruciatus Curse.
• The Aurors took the surviving Death Eaters to their cells, then the returning Order members gathered at a house for Kreacher's Christmas feast.
• Dumbledore welcomed the group, and Moody joked that the dinner repaid him for having to impersonate Dumbledore.
• Will started eating grape cake, and Slughorn came over to him.

Will celebrated Christmas at Slughorn’s feast before Moody left to interrogate captured Death Eaters. After using the Cruciatus Curse to force a prisoner to talk, Moody learned that Dolohov had led their mission.

• Slughorn told Will that Elder planned weekly discussions about Will’s biography and invited him to talk about potions, but Will said he would leave Hogwarts after Christmas with Snape’s approval.
• Will joined Slughorn, Sylvia, Luna, Harry, and other students for the Christmas feast, where Luna warned him about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks beneath the mistletoe.
• Moody discussed the deaths and injuries of captured Death Eaters with Dumbledore, Lupin, Sirius, Alice, and the Aurors, then went to interrogate the prisoners.
• Moody brought more than a dozen bound Death Eaters into a dungeon room and used the Cruciatus Curse when they refused to answer his questions.
• A Death Eater revealed that Dolohov, who was at the far right, had led the mission.

Moody used Veritaserum to uncover Death Eater Antonin Dolohov’s assignment and a few Ministry contacts, then Lupin took the names to Dumbledore. At Hogwarts, Will reassured Sylvia that he would return safely after leaving to handle family matters, and they marked their second anniversary together.

• Moody tortured Dolohov for information before giving him Veritaserum, which revealed that he had been sent to find and capture the Appleby family.
• Dolohov named Aldrich and Atwood as Ministry contacts before passing out, and Moody wrote down the names for Lupin to take to Professor Dumbledore.
• After dinner, Will walked with Sylvia and confirmed that he planned to leave after Christmas to take care of personal business.
• Sylvia reminded Will that it was their second anniversary and told him she loved him, while Will promised to return soon with an anniversary present.
• Will and Sylvia decided to spend more time together in the Room of Requirement.

Will visited the old duke at Aldren Castle to discuss a planned gathering of Wizard God believers in Louisiana, then reunited with his uncle Hobart. After catching up, Will agreed to go to London with him for lunch.

• Will met with the old duke and learned that Rodney Sinclair had organized a Louisiana gathering for January 1, 1997, where believers would worship the Wizard God.
• Will agreed to attend the gathering and witness a miracle, then stayed at the castle after learning Hobart was there.
• Hobart greeted Will warmly and teased him about romance, while the old duke worried at his casual address to Will.
• Will explained that his classes, extra lessons, experiments, and papers kept him busy, and Hobart praised the strategy map Will had sent him.
• Will declined Hobart's offer to see a striptease show, and Hobart went to get ready so they could have lunch in London.

Will caught up with Hobart in London before visiting Malfoy Manor for Christmas, where Voldemort praised his recruitment efforts and gave him a powerful Portkey. The chapter ended with Will examining the mysterious silver snake sculpture.

• Will shared a meal with Hobart at Le Gavroche and reassured him that Hogwarts was safe.
• Will returned Hobart to Aldren Castle, then went to Malfoy Manor, where Lucius led him to Voldemort.
• Voldemort praised Will for recruiting Hogwarts students and urged him to win over more before next summer.
• Will told Voldemort that he had learned Apparition and credited his progress to Voldemort's teaching.
• Lucius brought a silver snake sculpture, and Voldemort revealed that it was a powerful Portkey.

Will learned that Voldemort planned to use a Portkey to abduct Hogwarts students, while privately considering how to turn the plan to his own advantage. After dinner at Malfoy Manor, Will left with Lucius, who stopped him at the gates.

• Voldemort told Will to use a Portkey to transport Hogwarts students to a prepared location and instructed him to leave after dinner.
• Will asked Voldemort about Soul Studies and described his experiments, then memorized Voldemort's lessons.
• Will noticed the Resurrection Stone Ring on Voldemort's hand and suspected Voldemort intended to use the students to threaten Dumbledore.
• Will dined with Voldemort, Lucius, Narcissa, and several senior Death Eaters at Malfoy Manor.
• Will promised to carry out Voldemort's task, then Lucius escorted him to the gates and stopped him before he left.

Will confronted Lucius about trying to involve him in Draco’s task, then visited Knockturn Alley to assess how it had changed under Voldemort’s control. He left the increasingly orderly trading hub and entered a darker, more chaotic alley where he could capture Dark Wizards.

• Will accused Lucius of trying to use him to protect Draco from the consequences of his task, but promised not to tell the professor and said he valued Draco as a friend.
• Will left Lucius and planned to check on the Magical University, capture test subjects, and visit the believers’ gathering in Louisiana.
• Will visited Knockturn Alley and noticed its repaired shops, Death Eater guard posts, and regular patrols.
• Will concluded that Knockturn Alley had become a trading hub and rival center of power within Voldemort’s territory.
• Will entered a darker, narrower alley where he expected it would be easier to capture Dark Wizards.