Chapter Summaries

Grindelwald advised Will about gathering Faith and the Power of the Mind, warning that others’ beliefs could change him and urging him to decide what he ultimately wanted. He revealed that he had abandoned his revolutionary ambitions partly to protect Dumbledore, and left Will weighing which path to pursue.

• Dumbledore agreed to leave Will and Grindelwald alone for fifteen minutes after Grindelwald promised not to act recklessly.
• Grindelwald confirmed that he had glimpsed Will gathering Faith and the Power of the Mind, then asked Will to promise not to hurt Dumbledore.
• Will described his plan to develop a charm that made people happy and attach it to his name, and Grindelwald praised the idea while warning that borrowed faith carried risks.
• Grindelwald explained that the world’s image of Will could influence and change him, and revealed that he had stopped short of challenging Dumbledore further because he could not bear to see him take an unknown risk.
• Grindelwald urged Will to choose between pursuing magic through knowledge and winning people’s hearts, warning that trying to do both might be harder.

Will considered pursuing both paths to the pinnacle of magic after Grindelwald explained them, while Grindelwald offered him the Saints. Back at Hogwarts, Dumbledore reflected that Will’s bonds with people like Filius and the High Tower would keep him grounded.

• Will decided he wanted to pursue both paths to the summit of magic, and Grindelwald told him there was no need to choose immediately.
• Grindelwald asked Will whether he had any use for the Saints before Dumbledore returned.
• Will, Grindelwald, and Dumbledore shared lunch at Nurmengard, then Grindelwald and Dumbledore coached Will on Protego Diabolica.
• Dumbledore left Nurmengard with Will, and Grindelwald praised Will’s monstrous talent after they vanished.
• Dumbledore told Will that Filius was struggling to choose a career to recommend for him and urged him to speak with Filius.
• Dumbledore reflected that Filius, Severus, Sylvia, Harry, and the High Tower were important emotional anchors for Will.

Will learned that the Ministry of Magic had come to investigate Hagrid for illegally breeding Blast-Ended Skrewts, after Percy reported him. Dumbledore challenged the Ministry's evidence, and Harry worried about what would happen to Grawp as the students left the clearing.

• Will spent the night researching how to reverse the magical structure of the Water of Despair, then slept through the morning.
• Professor Flitwick told Will that Ministry officials had arrived to investigate Hagrid over the Blast-Ended Skrewts, and Will accompanied him to Hagrid's Hut.
• Hermione told Will that Percy had reported Hagrid, while Ron angrily accused Percy of betraying Hagrid to advance his career.
• Julian Beckett said the Ministry had evidence that Hagrid violated the 1965 Prohibition of Experimental Breeding of Fantastic Beasts Act and wanted him taken for questioning.
• Dumbledore disputed Beckett's case and sent the watching students away; Harry, Neville, Ron, and Hermione joined Will and Sylvia, and Harry asked about Grawp.

The Ministry investigated Hagrid over breeding Blast-Ended Skrewts and demanded restrictions instead of taking him into custody. Hagrid accepted the threat in silence to protect Grawp, while Will returned to the Castle with Sylvia.

• Harry asked Will whether they should tell Dumbledore about Grawp, and Will told him to stay nearby and keep Grawp hidden if Hagrid was taken away.
• Will and Sylvia headed to the Kitchens, where Sylvia insisted Will eat regularly and stop relying on the Wakefulness Charm.
• Julian Beckett accused Hagrid of illegally breeding dangerous creatures and demanded that he be taken to the Ministry.
• Dumbledore defended Hagrid, and Bones argued that taking him for trial would violate Ministry procedures because no one had been harmed.
• Beckett agreed not to take Hagrid away for now but demanded Ministry supervision and an end to his Care of Magical Creatures teaching.
• Hagrid stayed silent despite the restrictions because Grawp was hidden in the warehouse behind him.

Will continued developing a Despair Curse by converting Snape’s Water of Despair, while prisoners at Hogwarts debated Percy’s actions against Hagrid. He left the laboratory after making progress and considered finding more test subjects.

• Students learned that Hagrid would be suspended pending the Ministry’s investigation, and many criticized Percy for reporting him.
• Ron and others defended Hagrid while Fred and George planned pranks to punish Percy.
• Will tortured prisoners in his laboratory and Bellatrix feared he would choose her for another experiment.
• Will used the Water of Despair as a reference while manipulating another subject’s magical structure to develop the Despair Curse.
• Will found the conversion nearly complete, returned the unconscious subjects to the cells, and left thinking he needed more test subjects.

Voldemort planned to announce his return while seeking the prophecy and trying to find a mole among the Death Eaters. Wander Parkinson suspected Will Behrens and proposed testing him in a false operation, though Lucius and Yaxley doubted Will was the infiltrator.

• Voldemort reviewed his unsuccessful efforts to uncover the mole and accepted Wander Parkinson's surrender of the Parkinson family wealth.
• Yaxley reported that Voldemort's desired prophecy remained in the Hall of Prophecy, though security there had tightened.
• Voldemort declared that he would announce his return and ordered Lucius, Yaxley, and Wander to devise a false operation to help identify the infiltrator.
• After planning the operation, Wander told Lucius and Yaxley that he suspected Will Behrens because he seemed connected to failed missions and knew sensitive information.
• Lucius and Yaxley rejected the suspicion but allowed Wander to exclude Will from the false operation as a test.

Wander Parkinson reconsidered his doubts about Will Behrens after hearing Death Eaters praise him, while Professor Flitwick discussed Will’s future and invited him to become Hogwarts’ Charms professor. Will began to refuse, but Flitwick stopped him by saying that Dumbledore agreed with the idea.

• Lucius gave Wander Parkinson a task, and Wander admitted he might have been wrong about Will Behrens.
• Sylvia told Will that Professor Flitwick wanted to see him, and Will visited him after Defence Against the Dark Arts class.
• Professor Flitwick praised Will’s academic abilities and offered to help him pursue Charms or Ancient Runes.
• Professor Flitwick invited Will to return to Hogwarts as the Charms professor and suggested he might eventually become Headmaster.
• Will started to decline the offer, but Professor Flitwick said that Professor Dumbledore agreed with him.

Will considered Professor Flitwick’s suggestion that he become a Hogwarts professor while continuing to plan his own path and keep Voldemort alive as a distraction for Dumbledore. Later, George and Fred ambushed Percy with a series of pranks, leaving him covered in filth as Filch arrived.

• Professor Flitwick told Will that Dumbledore had also wanted him to consider becoming a professor, and Will said he would think about it.
• Will reflected that he wanted to combine Dumbledore’s and Grindelwald’s methods and was keeping Voldemort around to divert Dumbledore’s attention.
• Percy confronted Will in the corridor and threatened to deduct points, but let him pass after Will explained he was attending lessons arranged by professors.
• George and Fred trapped Percy in a disguised Portable Swamp, glued his hand to a tapestry, and dropped a Dungbomb on him.
• Percy tried to use his Wand to clean himself, but the Screaming Wand shrieked; George and Fred taunted him before Filch and Mrs. Norris arrived.

Percy blamed George and Fred for humiliating him, then reflected on his attempts to protect the Weasley family through his political choices. Meanwhile, Will brewed Amortentia with Snape and asked for help finding more test subjects for his potion research.

• Filch found Percy covered in Dungbombs, and Percy blamed George and Fred before freeing himself and going to bathe.
• Percy brooded over his plan to distance himself from his family politically and use Hagrid to advance at the Ministry, believing he acted to protect the Weasleys.
• Percy regretted failing to recruit Will Behrens, whom he thought could help him uncover professors’ secrets.
• Will studied Amortentia with Snape and said he was running low on test subjects for his Potion Transfiguration work.
• Will planned to capture Death Eaters when they made a move, while Snape offered to look for more subjects.
• Will finished brewing Amortentia and asked Snape to inspect it.

After the Ministry decided to arrest Hagrid, Dumbledore sent him and Grawp to hide at 12 Grimmauld Place. Fudge celebrated Hagrid's escape as a chance to undermine Dumbledore and began preparing an operation to take control of Hogwarts.

• Ministry officials inspected Hagrid's Hut twice but found no evidence of dangerous creatures.
• Dumbledore told Hagrid that the Ministry planned to arrest him, so Hagrid agreed to flee with Grawp to 12 Grimmauld Place.
• A few mornings later, Aurors surrounded Hagrid's Hut but found it empty.
• Fudge celebrated Hagrid's escape with Umbridge and Scrimgeour, calling it proof of guilt and a failure by Dumbledore.
• Fudge ordered preparations for an operation to take complete control of Hogwarts by the end of term.

Fudge planned to seize control of Hogwarts, convinced that Dumbledore was scheming against him, while Scrimgeour left frustrated with the Ministry. Will completed the Despair Curse and began preparing to develop its opposite, but the Wizarding World’s calm ended when Snape hurried back to Hogwarts with news for him.

• Fudge resolved to take Hogwarts and ruin Dumbledore’s reputation, while Scrimgeour left to continue training the Aurors.
• Will completed the Despair Curse and received Charms experience, then considered how to transform its magical structure into the Happiness Charm.
• Will went to the Hogwarts Kitchen and prepared a hot pot meal for himself.
• George and Fred arrived after escaping Filch, explained that Filch had been hunting them at night, and joined Will for dinner.
• Snape returned to Hogwarts the following afternoon and hurried to tell Will something.

Snape pulled Will from Herbology after suspecting the Death Eaters had shut them out of a plan, possibly because they suspected them. Will argued the exclusion pointed to trouble within Voldemort’s ranks and proposed revealing Harry’s connection to Voldemort to expose him as the real spy.

• Snape rushed into Herbology and took Will to Dumbledore, warning that the Death Eaters might suspect them because they were being kept out of their plans.
• Will pointed out that the Death Eaters would have fed them false information if they truly suspected them, and concluded that someone within the group was causing trouble.
• Will proposed using Harry’s ability to see through Voldemort’s eyes and glimpse his thoughts to make Voldemort realize he was being spied on.
• Snape agreed with Will’s plan but warned that Voldemort might see Harry’s memories of spending time with them, so they would need Dumbledore’s Pensieve.
• Dumbledore told Will to return to class and said he would discuss the plan with Snape.

Snape and Dumbledore argued over Will’s research and Dumbledore revealed that Gellert Grindelwald was teaching him. Meanwhile, Death Eaters prepared for a fake operation to find a mole, and Corban Yaxley tried to make his nephew Luther apologize to Will.

• Dumbledore warned Snape that Will’s experiments could affect him, but Snape insisted he trusted his apprentice.
• Dumbledore told Snape that Gellert Grindelwald was also teaching Will, leaving Snape stunned.
• At a manor in Wiltshire, Wander Parkinson briefed low-ranking Death Eaters on the fake operation planned for the next day.
• Corban Yaxley oversaw fake assignments while guiding his nephew Luther, who had recently joined the Death Eaters.
• Corban demanded that Luther apologize to Will, but Luther resisted and speculated that Will might be the mole.
• Corban rebuked Luther and began explaining what operations Will had taken part in.

The Death Eaters staged an operation to test whether the Ministry of Magic or the Order of the Phoenix had a mole among their ranks. When every observer team reported no response, Lucius Malfoy and Corban Yaxley began suspecting Will Behrens and Severus Snape.

• Corban Yaxley doubted Will was a spy, while Luther reconsidered apologizing to Will after learning how powerful he was.
• The Death Eaters split into groups under cover of an operation, with observer teams checking whether their targets were protected.
• Lucius Malfoy, Corban Yaxley, and the Carrow siblings discussed training and possible traitors as reports arrived without any sign of an attack.
• Lucius and Yaxley suspected Will Behrens and Severus Snape after the Ministry and Order made no move.
• Wander Parkinson delivered the final report from Vissen Town, and Lucius said he would report the operation to the Dark Lord.

Lucius reported the failed Fake Operation to Voldemort, who rejected the accusation that Will was a spy and defended his loyalty. He punished Wander Parkinson and ordered the Death Eaters to search for the real spy.

• Lucius went to the Hidden Chamber and told Voldemort that none of the bait in the Fake Operation had been taken.
• Voldemort concluded that the failed operation had led others to suspect Will and angrily summoned the Death Eaters involved.
• Voldemort questioned Corban Yaxley, Lucius, and Wander Parkinson about Will’s past contributions and his actions against Dark Wizards.
• Lucius described Will’s experiments on Dark Wizards, convincing the gathered Death Eaters that Will could not be a spy.
• Voldemort hit Wander Parkinson with the Cruciatus Curse, warned the others to stop accusing Will, and ordered them to find the real spy.

Corban Yaxley defended Will Behrens after Luther called him a spy, while Wander Parkinson asked Lucius Malfoy to help Pansy send Will gifts as an apology. Will remained unaware of the Death Eaters’ actions and continued his research at Hogwarts before Dumbledore prepared to take him to Nurmengard again.

• Corban Yaxley slapped Luther and warned him not to call Will Behrens a spy.
• Lucius Malfoy advised Wander Parkinson to rest before using the Floo Network because he was still weakened by the Cruciatus Curse.
• Wander asked Lucius to have Draco help Pansy contact Will with gifts, and Lucius told him to make his apology sincere.
• Will researched converting the Happiness Charm in the Room of Requirement, unaware of Voldemort’s declaration about him or the Death Eaters’ schemes.
• Dumbledore prepared to take Will to Nurmengard again, while Will hoped for a chance to speak with Grindelwald alone.

Will attended Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures, where he studied horned serpents and learned that Professor Grubbly-Plank would soon be replaced by a new professor. The chapter ended with students waiting to find out why the change was happening.

• Will decided to conserve his remaining test subjects rather than seek new supplies in Knockturn Alley.
• Sylvia shared breakfast with Will, who asked her for bread to cover with honey.
• Professor McGonagall emphasized the importance of O.W.L.s, and Will earned three Slytherin points for a flawless Transfiguration.
• Professor Grubbly-Plank taught the class about horned serpents and their varied magical abilities.
• Professor Grubbly-Plank announced that a new professor would soon take over Care of Magical Creatures, and the students learned more that evening.

Will learned that the Ministry had appointed Death Eater Walton Macnair as Hogwarts’ new Care of Magical Creatures professor. Macnair told Will that Lucius Malfoy wanted to explain Wander Parkinson’s suspicions during a recent Mole Hunt and offer compensation, leaving Will wary as he used Legilimency to probe Macnair.

• Students discussed Hagrid’s flight and wondered whether the Ministry had appointed his replacement.
• At dinner, Dumbledore introduced Walton Macnair as the new Care of Magical Creatures professor appointed by the Ministry.
• Will recognized Macnair as a Death Eater and exchanged a nod with him across the Great Hall.
• Will sent Sylvia to the High Tower, then accepted Macnair’s invitation to speak in his office.
• Macnair told Will that Lucius Malfoy denied involvement in Wander Parkinson’s suspicions and had urged him to apologize and offer compensation.
• As Macnair spoke, Will used Legilimency to investigate him.

Will used Legilimency to confirm Macnair’s account, then informed Dumbledore that Fudge had sent a Death Eater to Hogwarts. As Dumbledore and Snape discussed the threat, Dumbledore asked Will whether he knew about the Saints.

• Will questioned Macnair and learned that Fudge had arranged his Hogwarts post while Lucius Malfoy had ordered him to gather intelligence.
• Will advised Macnair on how to avoid exposing himself at Hogwarts, then went to tell Dumbledore about Macnair and Fudge’s plans.
• Dumbledore admitted he had underestimated Fudge and chose to wait and see what the Minister did next.
• Snape arrived to warn Dumbledore that Macnair was a Death Eater, then left after Dumbledore assured him Will would not be put in danger.
• Dumbledore asked Will whether he knew about the Saints.

Will discussed Grindelwald's former followers, the Saints, with Dumbledore, who showed him their symbol and connected it to the Deathly Hallows. The chapter ended with Dumbledore asking what Will would do with all three Hallows, prompting Will to suspect he had found the Resurrection Stone Ring.

• Will recalled that Grindelwald had offered him leadership of the Saints, but he had postponed deciding because taking charge could provoke Dumbledore.
• Dumbledore showed Will the Saints' symbol, which also represented the Deathly Hallows.
• At Dumbledore's prompting, Will recited The Tale of the Three Brothers and described the Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone, and Invisibility Cloak.
• Dumbledore said Grindelwald had once searched for the Hallows but never found them.
• Dumbledore asked what Will would do if he possessed all three Hallows, and Will wondered whether Dumbledore had discovered the Resurrection Stone Ring.