Chapter Summaries

Sirius offered Will access to the Black family library, then Dumbledore confronted Will about taking joy from Muggles and warned him that his experiments could lead him toward darker magic.

• Sirius told Will and Sylvia about the extensive Black family library and allowed them to read and take books without sharing them.
• Will thanked Sirius, who said Will's help with Remus and the Werewolf Venom Curse meant more to him than the books.
• Will returned to Hogwarts while Sylvia went with Hermione and Luna.
• Dumbledore told Will he had connected him to the attacks on Muggle villages and Aurors in the Scottish Highlands.
• Will admitted that he had carried out the attacks.
• Dumbledore recalled his and Gellert's dangerous experiments and angrily warned Will that taking people's joy for power was wrong and could lead him to commit greater atrocities.

Will promised Dumbledore that he would stop using magic to take joy from innocent people, and Dumbledore offered to help him find another way to master the Patronus Charm. Later, Dumbledore discussed Will’s actions and uncertain future with Grindelwald in Nurmengard.

• Dumbledore told Will that he could gain power through study and guidance, but warned that taking joy from others would corrupt him.
• Will promised Dumbledore he would not use the modified magic on innocent people or conduct experiments on them again.
• Dumbledore offered to help Will find the right solution to his Patronus Charm.
• Dumbledore visited Grindelwald and explained that Will had drained joy from people in Scottish villages and left them gold.
• Grindelwald questioned whether Dumbledore was more troubled by Will’s actions or by being kept uninformed, and Dumbledore worried that Will might follow his or Tom Riddle’s path.
• Dumbledore admitted he doubted his ability to guide Will.

Dumbledore sought Grindelwald’s counsel about Will Behrens, fearing the young wizard’s ambition and dangerous experiments might lead him toward darkness. Grindelwald urged him to set boundaries but let Will choose his own path, leaving Dumbledore to accept that Will’s future belonged to a new age.

• Grindelwald asked whether Dumbledore feared Will Behrens would become like him or Tom Riddle.
• Dumbledore explained that Will’s idealism, ambition, and willingness to use dangerous magic reminded him of past failures.
• Grindelwald argued that Dumbledore should set limits but allow Will to make his own choices and face their consequences.
• Grindelwald warned that a future conflict between wizards and Muggles would shape a new age in which Will might become a hero, villain, or something between.
• Dumbledore accepted that he would stop Will if he harmed innocents, thanked Grindelwald, and left the cell.

Will visited 12 Grimmauld Place with Sirius Black to see the Black family library. After Sirius silenced his mother's portrait and confronted Kreacher, he led Will down toward the underground library.

• Will arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place, where Sirius welcomed him into the house.
• Walburga Black's portrait insulted Will, and Sirius silenced it with a nonverbal spell.
• Sirius led Will toward the underground library and warned him that it might be messy.
• Kreacher confronted Sirius and accused him of dishonoring the Black family, but Sirius insisted that he was master of the house.
• Will and Sirius descended the dusty spiral stairs toward the library, and Will felt eager to see what lay below.

Will searched the Black family's Book Repository for information about the Hour-Reversal Charm, but the vast, unsorted library slowed his progress. He encountered and subdued a dangerous book of curses, then continued exploring.

• Sirius opened the door to the Black family's vault and left Will to explore the Book Repository alone.
• Will searched the library's many collections, especially its Dark Magic section, for records about the Hour-Reversal Charm.
• A titleless book bound in black leather lured Will with a voice and attacked him when he resisted.
• Will tried the Cruciatus Curse, then used Incendio to force the book to surrender and explain itself.
• Will learned the book contained curses fueled by negative emotions, dismissed it as unhelpful, and continued through the library.

Will spent the day searching the Black family library and found manuscripts by Phineas Nigellus Black that advanced his study of Ancient Magic. He returned to Hogwarts to study them, where their altered passages left him curious about Phineas's guarded past.

• Will lost track of the day while searching the library, and Black found him and urged him to leave for the evening.
• Will collected Phineas Nigellus Black's manuscripts on Ancient Magic but found no information about the Hour-Reversal Charm.
• At dinner, Black told Will he could have half the Black family books, reserving the other half for Harry because he was Black's godson.
• Will returned to Hogwarts and studied Phineas's manuscripts, gaining Ancient Magic experience and learning about emotion magic and a mysterious core.
• Will noticed that Phineas had been guarded about his time as Headmaster and that several passages in his writings had been altered.

Will advanced his Ancient Magic and gained Ancient Magic Affinity, which made it easier for him to perceive and construct Ancient Magic. The next morning, after reading about the Aurors’ hunt for the Christmas Dark Wizard, he received a message summoning him to Dumbledore’s office.

• Will studied Ancient Magic and reached LV2, gaining the Ancient Magic Affinity ability.
• Will used Wizard’s Eye to construct a Joy Core and realized his abilities let him perceive Ancient Magic more clearly.
• Will became excited about eventually transforming his Patronus Charm by completing the Joy Core.
• Will read a Daily Prophet report about Scrimgeour’s hunt for the Christmas Dark Wizard who had attacked an Auror squad.
• Will received a Paper Crane telling him to visit Dumbledore’s office after dinner.

Will navigated Snape’s displeasure in Potions class, then met with Dumbledore, who ordered him to confront the Aurors searching for the Christmas Dark Wizard in the Scottish Highlands. After drinking Felix Felicis, Will left to end the pursuit without harming anyone.

• Snape rebuked Will for neglecting his Potions work, and Will answered with respectful flattery while making clear that he wanted only to study.
• Dumbledore told Will that Scrimgeour had sent Aurors to search the Scottish Highlands and sought special authorization to intensify the hunt.
• Dumbledore instructed Will to demonstrate his power to the Aurors without using dark magic or hurting them, and to end the search.
• Will accepted responsibility for the chaos and agreed to go to the Highlands that night.
• Dumbledore gave Will a vial of Felix Felicis, which Will drank before leaving the office.

Will confronted Scrimgeour’s Auror force in the Scottish Highlands and used Felix Felicis, nonverbal spellcasting, and minor jinxes to overwhelm them without seriously injuring anyone. After escaping their first counterattack, he continued evading and humiliating the Aurors as they tried to catch him.

• Will announced his arrival by conjuring a cloud of magical birds above the valley, then jumped down to face the Aurors.
• Will dodged three Stunning Spells and disabled the first Auror squad with Dancing Feet, tooth-growing, and tickling jinxes.
• Scrimgeour ordered the Aurors to flank Will and seal off the air as they converged on his position.
• Will blasted a rock into fragments to force the Aurors to raise Shield Charms, then vanished under a Disillusionment Charm.
• Will evaded an Auror on a Broomstick by exploding a rock in the air, and a young Auror accused him of humiliating them.

Will humiliated the Aurors with minor Jinxes until Rufus Scrimgeour confronted him and forced him into a serious duel. Scrimgeour trapped Will inside a dome of fire, but Will dismissed his attack as unimpressive.

• Will took several Aurors out of the fight with humiliating spells while avoiding serious harm.
• Rufus Scrimgeour ordered the remaining Aurors to retreat and faced Will himself.
• Scrimgeour used an explosion to disrupt Will’s Disillusionment Charm, then attacked him with a relentless series of spells.
• Will revealed his Black Robe figure and defended himself against Scrimgeour’s powerful nonverbal magic.
• Scrimgeour trapped Will inside a dome of fire, and Will sighed, “Is that all you’ve got...”

Will tested his combat ability against Scrimgeour and the Aurors, using rapid Transfiguration to counter their spells and move through the battlefield. As the Aurors’ tactics grew more dangerous, Will summoned giants of earth and stone and asked what a Wizard was.

• Will parted the flames and used Transfiguration to propel himself toward Scrimgeour, who tried to disrupt the ground with Reducto.
• Will raised a stone shield against the Aurors’ coordinated barrage, then turned the shattered stones into ravens that intercepted their spells.
• Veteran Aurors summoned a storm whose raindrops became steel needles, revealing the danger of their attack.
• Scrimgeour and two Apparating Aurors disarmed Will, but Will used Levitation Charms and a gale to throw off his attackers.
• Will transformed the ground into a forest of swords and summoned several towering earth-and-stone giants around the Aurors.

Will overwhelmed Scrimgeour and the Aurors with Transfiguration and other spells while testing himself. He left Scrimgeour unconscious after saying he would not return to England.

• Scrimgeour ordered the Aurors to attack Will's earth-and-stone giants, but the transfigured puppets quickly repaired themselves.
• Will conjured ice spikes, vines, and firebirds, forcing Scrimgeour's Aurors to form a defensive circle.
• Scrimgeour coordinated a large-scale blast and focused spellfire at Will, but Will sank into a pit to evade the attacks.
• Will summoned hundreds of stone hands that seized the Aurors and spread a gray-black mist that left them terrified and despairing.
• Will told Scrimgeour he was only testing himself and would not return to England, then left him unconscious with something in his pocket.

After Will defeated the British Aurors, the Ministry stopped searching for him, but he wondered whether Dumbledore had used the encounter to teach him how to wield power. At Hogwarts, Sylvia insisted that Will get his badly injured arm treated, then asked him to be more careful.

• Scrimgeour kept the Aurors' defeat secret, and the Ministry ended its investigation into the mysterious wizard.
• Will reflected in the Potions Classroom on Dumbledore's advice to show strength without revealing darkness or causing harm.
• Sylvia noticed Will's bandaged arm and took him to the Hospital Wing despite his protests.
• Madam Pomfrey found punctures and a gash on Will's arm, treated the wound, and ordered him to return daily for dressing changes.
• Sylvia admitted that seeing Will hurt worried her, and Will promised to be more careful.

Sylvia asked Will to teach her combat magic, and he agreed to train her carefully, starting with defensive fundamentals. After their lessons began, Sylvia made rapid progress with the Shield Charm, and she hinted at something else she wanted to tell Will.

• Sylvia asked Will to teach her powerful offensive spells so she could become stronger, and Will agreed on the conditions that they proceed gradually, keep the lessons secret, and avoid reckless fighting.
• Will and Sylvia arrived late to Potions Class, where Snape summoned Will to his office and asked about his injury; Will gave little detail, and Snape reminded him to be careful in the Forbidden Forest.
• Lupin taught the class about Acromantulas, and Will considered how Lupin's focus on dangerous creatures differed from Moody's practical combat lessons.
• Will took Sylvia to the Room of Requirement and began her training with the Shield Charm before teaching her offensive spells.
• Within a week, Sylvia's Protego had improved enough to withstand Will's Disarming Charm, and during a break she asked about his injury before saying she had something else to tell him.

Will spent the weeks leading up to Easter studying Ancient Magic, tutoring Sylvia, and attending classes as the students prepared for a homework-heavy holiday. The holiday ended with Harry training for the Quidditch final while Will began teaching Sylvia Sectumsempra.

• Sylvia told Will that her father had invited him to the Quidditch World Cup, and Will agreed to go with them.
• Will studied Ancient Magic, visited Sirius for materials, taught Sylvia spells, and grew more convinced that Dumbledore was grooming him.
• During the last Divination class before Easter, Hermione argued with Trelawney, who deducted points from Hermione, Harry, and Ron.
• The students in the High Tower struggled through Easter homework, while Harry trained for the upcoming Quidditch final.
• George and Fred took Harry to practice after explaining that Wood had arranged for someone to finish Harry's homework.
• Will told Sylvia that he would begin teaching her Sectumsempra.

Rufus Scrimgeour pushed himself through punishing training after a humiliating encounter, while Will taught Sylvia that mastering magic required studying its deeper theory. Gryffindor won the decisive Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, but Harry broke both arms catching the Snitch and was rushed to Madam Pomfrey.

• Scrimgeour trained late into the night, determined to become stronger and reform the Auror Office after the black-robed wizard exposed his weaknesses.
• Will told Sylvia he would teach her deeper magical theory, demonstrating Sectumsempra and insisting wand movements and incantations were not what mattered.
• Harry and Cedric Diggory chased the Golden Snitch during the fierce Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match.
• Harry let go of his broom and lunged for the Snitch, securing Gryffindor's Quidditch Cup victory.
• Harry broke both arms in the fall, and Oliver Wood carried him toward Madam Pomfrey.

Will continued researching Ancient Magic while helping Sylvia practice Sectumsempra, and he eventually completed his first Ancient Magic construction. The chapter left him on the verge of deeper progress after he earned 17 Ancient Magic experience.

• Gryffindor celebrated its Quidditch House Cup victory, and Fred and George brought Harry from the Hospital Wing to join the feast.
• Will explained magic structures to Sylvia while she practiced Sectumsempra and struggled with nonverbal casting.
• Will advanced his Joy Core research as Hogwarts students prepared for exams, and he learned he could not keep a Time-Turner over the summer.
• Will visited Sirius at 12 Grimmauld Place and used the cursed book to find more texts on Ancient Magic.
• Will successfully constructed Ancient Magic and gained 17 experience.

Will completed the Joy Core, an Ancient Magic device that collected and transformed joy, and planned to charge it at the Quidditch World Cup. After exams ended and Hogwarts relaxed, the High Tower wondered where Will had gone.

• Will finished the Joy Core and considered combining it with Emotion Weaving and his Patronus Charm, while recalling Phineas Black's notes about stealing emotions.
• Will studied Ancient Magic while teaching Sylvia, then completed the end-of-year exams with strong results except in Divination.
• Hermione argued with Trelawney during Divination and later received a Troll, while the Acromantulas in Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures exam frightened Ron.
• Professor Babbling praised Will's Ancient Runes exam and invited him to consider joining a research project.
• The students received their results, and the High Tower members generally earned strong grades.
• After exams, Hogwarts relaxed on the grounds, and Hermione asked where Will had disappeared to.

Harry fainted after experiencing a vision of Death Eaters making arrangements, while Will searched the Black family library for information on the Hour-Reversal Charm. Dumbledore and Snape discussed Voldemort’s recovery and the danger of involving Will, leaving Dumbledore to consider asking Will what he wanted to do.

• Harry collapsed face-first into a cake during a meal with Ron, Hermione, Sylvia, Ginny, Fred, and George.
• Will spent hours searching the underground library at 12 Grimmauld Place for information on the Hour-Reversal Charm, then traveled to Hogsmeade and returned to Hogwarts.
• Harry woke in the Hospital Wing and told Dumbledore, Snape, and Lupin that he had seen a dark room, a kneeling figure, and heard references to Death Eaters and arrangements.
• Dumbledore concluded that Tom was recovering and asked Snape to investigate what the Death Eaters were planning.
• Snape objected when Dumbledore considered involving Will in dangerous work, and Dumbledore said they should find out what Will wanted to do.

Dumbledore asked Will to gather information from Voldemort over the summer, and Will agreed despite Snape's fierce objections. After Snape left, Will reassured Dumbledore that the decision was his, while privately believing he could escape if Voldemort discovered his double-agent role.

• Professor McGonagall told Will that Dumbledore wanted to see him in the Headmaster's Office.
• Dumbledore explained that Harry had seen Voldemort meeting with Death Eaters and asked Will to stay in closer contact with Voldemort over the summer.
• Snape warned that spying on Voldemort could get Will tortured or killed and said he would go instead.
• Will insisted that he was better suited to the task and accepted the risks, prompting Snape to storm out.
• Dumbledore apologized to Will, who said the choice was his and privately considered escaping to Asia if exposed.