Chapter Summaries

Nefertari explained that her ascension ritual needed three temples, rare magical materials, and the Sand of the Heart, made from sacrificed souls. Will reluctantly followed her instructions and learned Ritual Studies while building the ritual, as chaos erupted outside the Pyramid.

• Nefertari showed Will the scarabs, royal sand, blue lotus, Last Breath, and Sand of the Heart required for the ritual.
• Nefertari revealed that the Sand of the Heart came from souls extracted through sacrifice and insisted that ascension justified the cost.
• Will decided to help complete the ritual to protect himself and gain Nefertari’s promised knowledge.
• Nefertari guided Will through the underground chambers as he repeatedly made mistakes and gained Ritual Studies experience.
• Will spent a long time eating and sleeping in the Pyramid and temples while preparing the ritual, as the outside world descended into chaos.

After Will helped Nefertari prepare a ritual using Soul Sand and scarab fragments, she began a bid for immortality inside the Pyramid. The ritual consumed Khafre and Nefertari, leaving Will outside as the magic collapsed and watched him.

• Snape demanded that the Egyptian Wizards' Council find the abducted Hogwarts student, while Aurors and Snape searched without success for days.
• Nefertari recalled the ancient ritual in which priests prepared a vast magical array powered by the life force and emotions of countless sacrifices.
• Nearly a month later, Nefertari began the ritual atop the Sarcophagus, combining black Soul Sand, scarab fragments, and the withered Blue Lotus.
• As the Pyramid shook and magic surged, Will escaped the chamber by leaping over a stone slab.
• The magic collapsed inward, Khafre's corpse disintegrated, and Nefertari dissolved into dark smoke as Will sensed her watching him.

After Nefertari marked Will Behrens with a pact requiring his help and a future Ascension Ritual, he left for the Chamber of Secrets to claim promised knowledge. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Wizards' Council faced mounting pressure to find him, and an Auror finally reported that the boy had been found.

• Nefertari branded Will with the Pact of the Sun and required him to help stabilize her form and arrange another Ascension Ritual in Egypt a hundred years later.
• Nefertari promised Will ancient knowledge in the Chamber of Secrets for fulfilling the pact, and Will agreed to leave.
• The Egyptian Wizards' Council searched frantically for Will as Dumbledore, Hogwarts professors, British wizarding families, and Muggle officials pressured Egypt to find him.
• Madam Okanta reassured Hobert Howard and Snape that the search had expanded to the Pyramids, while Aisha blamed herself for introducing Will to Khafre.
• An Auror announced that Will had been found.

Will woke in an Egyptian wizard hospital after being rescued from the Pyramid of Khufu and gave Hobert and Snape an account of his captivity. He claimed Khafre’s group had tried to exploit his talent for Ritual Studies, while the shadowy Magic in the room remained unseen by the others.

• The Egyptian Council Head learned that Will had been found unconscious in the Pyramid of Khufu and arranged for Curse-Breakers to remove the curse traces from him.
• Will woke three days later with Hobert, Professor Snape, and several Healers gathered around his bed.
• Will described being captured by Khafre’s group, forced to study Ritual symbols and incantations, and punished when he made mistakes.
• Will claimed his captors had argued before a magical explosion, after which he ran deeper into the Pyramid and lost consciousness.
• Will stopped speaking when he noticed shadowy Magic in the room.

After the Egyptian Wizards' Council compensated Will for his kidnapping, he recovered in hospital and prepared to leave Egypt with Snape and Hobert. He was eager to return to England before Hogwarts began, despite not having fully absorbed the knowledge he had gained from Nefertari.

• The Egyptian Wizards' Council treated Will's disappearance as a kidnapping and agreed to his request for books on Ritual Studies and Uagadou's Animagus practices.
• Snape brought Will a potion and teased him about his old lie that he was a Muggle-born Wizard, then warned him not to lie again.
• Snape told Will they could return to England within a day or two, and Will said he was ready to leave Egypt.
• Hobert told Will he had hurried to Egypt after receiving his letter and had pressured the Egyptian Muggle Government to help find him.
• Will asked Hobert to return to England the next day because Hogwarts was about to start term.
• The next morning, Will left with Snape and Hobert through the International Floo Network.

Will returned to Hogwarts after his time in Egypt and was welcomed by several concerned professors. He told Dumbledore about Ramesses II and the ritual, and Dumbledore identified Will’s arm mark as Dark Magic connected to the soul.

• Hobert gave Will a wallet containing several hundred Galleons and promised to take him to a winery in Germany over the summer.
• Will returned to Hogwarts with Snape, where McGonagall and Flitwick welcomed him and urged him to rest.
• Will spent the day with the professors, then went to the Hogwarts Kitchen for dinner.
• Dumbledore joined Will in the Kitchen and asked about his adventures in Egypt and the mark on his arm.
• Will told Dumbledore about Ramesses II, the ritual, and the Sand of the Heart, and Dumbledore examined the mark and suspected it was soul-related Dark Magic.

Will learned that the mark on his arm was tied to his soul and would require careful treatment, which Dumbledore planned to begin the next morning. Dumbledore privately worried about Will’s exceptional talent and influence, while the first examination ended with a promise of treatment and exemption from classes.

• Will agreed that Voldemort had sought immortality, and Dumbledore explained that the mark resembled the Dark Mark and would take time to remove.
• Dumbledore arranged to begin treating Will the next morning and told him that protecting his soul and life mattered more than studying.
• Dumbledore privately admitted that he had studied souls extensively and worried that Will’s genius and charisma could lead him to gather followers like Voldemort or Grindelwald.
• Dumbledore examined Will’s arm in the Hospital Wing while Snape and Madam Pomfrey stood by, and Will recoiled from the Cockroach Clusters Dumbledore offered.
• Dumbledore concluded that he understood the mark and promised to arrange treatments, with Will excused from classes during them.

Will returned to Hogwarts after being kidnapped in Egypt and reunited with friends who worried about his health. He spent the night discussing Transfiguration with the Weasley twins and arrived late to his first class of the new term.

• Will resolved to repay Nefertari by recreating the Ritual, though he still needed to learn Ancient Egyptian and had little time.
• Sylvia welcomed Will back, worried over his weakened appearance, and urged him to be more careful.
• George and Fred welcomed Will in the Room of Requirement and showed him their experimental prank sweets.
• Will suggested the twins make Fever Fudge and discussed their Animal Transfiguration Biscuits and Human Transfiguration with them.
• Will and the Weasley twins studied Human Transfiguration late into the night, and Will was late to his first class the next morning.

Will received a letter from Voldemort through Draco Malfoy and brought it to Dumbledore, revealing Voldemort’s plans for the Diary and the Basilisk. Will proposed infiltrating Voldemort’s forces, and he and Dumbledore agreed to put on a show to help him do it.

• Will chose Ritual Imprint after reaching LV3 in Ritual Studies.
• Draco Malfoy gave Will an envelope from Lucius and asked to join the High Tower; Will said he would discuss the request with its members.
• Will checked Lucius’s letter for magic and then read Voldemort’s orders to use the Basilisk to spread fear at Hogwarts and kill Harry Potter.
• Will brought the letter to Dumbledore, who learned Voldemort trusted Will and wanted to reward him with power and a way to gain a long life.
• Will suggested infiltrating Voldemort’s forces, and he and Dumbledore agreed to stage a show.

Will and Dumbledore arranged a staged Basilisk attack to build Voldemort’s trust while secretly using the incident to train Harry. Will gave Harry an unusual pair of glasses, and the next day a strange voice announced that a system was activating for him.

• Will proposed staging a Basilisk attack on Harry, and Dumbledore agreed to the plan.
• Will suggested giving Harry a small magical guide to help with his training, and Dumbledore listened as he explained the idea.
• A Bludger broke Harry’s glasses during Quidditch practice, and Fred and George brought him to Will for help.
• Will gave Harry an old pair of glasses that restored his vision, while Dumbledore revealed himself and said Harry had needed a new prescription anyway.
• As Harry worked to catch up on homework the next day, a voice announced that a system was activating for him.

Harry learned that the Glasses he had received contained a mentor called Strange, who began teaching him magic after choosing him alone. Will explained that the Glasses were a creation of his, Dumbledore, and the Sorting Hat, then warned Harry to keep them secret; later, Will asked his friends to consider Draco Malfoy joining them.

• Strange introduced himself to Harry as a former Hogwarts student and traveling wizard whose consciousness had been placed in the Glasses.
• Harry told Ron and Hermione about Strange, but neither of them could see or hear him when they tried the Glasses.
• Harry took the Glasses to Will, who urged him to keep them and learn from Strange while guarding their secret.
• Strange helped Harry with Potions, research, and Charms practice over the following days.
• Will gathered his friends and asked what they thought about Draco Malfoy joining them.

Will persuaded the High Tower members to accept Draco Malfoy as a probationary member under strict rules, then welcomed him to their first gathering. The chapter ended with Harry unexpectedly offering Draco advice during Charms practice.

• Will explained that Draco would join the High Tower for a three-month trial period, with members monitoring his behavior.
• Will told Draco the rules, including treating everyone equally and facing immediate expulsion if he broke them, and Draco agreed.
• Draco arrived at the High Tower that evening as a probationary member and received a chilly, awkward welcome from the others.
• During nonverbal Charms practice, Draco failed to levitate a feather, and Harry surprised him by suggesting his wrist was too stiff.

Will continued studying Human Transfiguration and, under Professor McGonagall’s supervision, transformed his whole body into an eagle. As he adjusted to the unfamiliar form and examined himself with Wizard’s Sight, he noticed something different.

• After Draco joined the High Tower, Will had him help build an additional floor with Charms.
• Over three weeks, Will studied Transfiguration and struggled to understand the Animagus transformation and the idea of a wizard’s true self.
• Professor McGonagall told Will that his difficulties came from an incomplete understanding of the Animagus and offered to supervise a full-body transformation.
• Will transformed into an eagle and found the altered vision, body, and voice deeply uncomfortable.
• Will gradually adjusted to the eagle’s body, then used Wizard’s Sight to examine himself and noticed something different.

Will completed Human Transfiguration under Professor McGonagall’s supervision and learned how Animagus transformations differ from changing the self through Human Transfiguration. After noticing the transformation’s effect on Professor McGonagall’s magic structure, he decided to find an Animagus to study, with Peter Pettigrew in mind.

• Will struggled to sense his magic after Human Transfiguration, then changed back after an hour.
• Professor McGonagall explained that Transfiguration could mean changing the world or changing the self, and that transformed wizards still possessed magic.
• Professor McGonagall demonstrated casting Incendio while transformed into an eagle, explaining that many wizards believed they had lost their magic because they could not sense it.
• Will noticed that Professor McGonagall’s magic structure changed during her Animagus transformation and questioned whether his research was on the right track.
• Will decided to find an Animagus to study and thought first of Peter Pettigrew.

Will arranged for Voldemort to make Peter Pettigrew obey him, intending to use the rat as a cooperative test subject. He finally confronted Scabbers outside the High Tower and revealed that he knew his identity.

• Will wrote Professor Riddle that he had entered the Chamber of Secrets, planned to deal with Harry Potter, and wanted Peter Pettigrew as a test subject.
• Will sent Draco Malfoy to deliver the letter to Lucius Malfoy, who could pass it on to Voldemort.
• Voldemort replied that Pettigrew would obey Will unconditionally and assist with whatever actions he needed.
• Will waited for Scabbers to leave the High Tower, then sat beside the rat and studied the magic flowing through his body.
• Will called Scabbers by his real name, Peter Pettigrew, and the rat froze.

Will forced Peter Pettigrew to serve as his spy and Animagus research subject, using Voldemort’s letter and threats to secure Peter’s cooperation. After studying Peter’s transformations, Will ordered him to find an opportunity to attack Harry Potter and considered how to stage a grand show for Voldemort.

• Will showed Peter the Dark Mark letter and ordered him to help kill Harry Potter and spy on his movements.
• Will threatened to expose or harm Peter unless he cooperated with experiments on his Animagus transformations, and Peter gave in.
• Will observed Peter changing between human and rat forms and recorded details about Animagus transformation.
• Peter told Will that Harry often seemed to talk to himself, and Will ordered Peter to find or create a chance to attack Harry when he was alone.
• After Peter scurried away as a rat, Will considered how to stage a grand show for Voldemort.

Will prepared to secretly use a Transfigured Basilisk to attack Harry, while Harry and his classmates faced Moody’s practical combat exercise on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Harry began the survival challenge near Ron, with Hermione and Neville starting elsewhere.

• Will planned to use a Transfigured Basilisk against Harry and hoped to learn Transfiguration from Dumbledore afterward.
• Snape criticized Harry’s potion, docked Gryffindor points after Hermione defended him, and ordered Harry to clean the classroom without a wand.
• Moody took the second-year students to the Forbidden Forest for a two-hour combat exercise, where they had to survive and remain within the marked boundaries.
• Harry drew starting position eight, Ron drew nine, Neville drew fifteen, and Hermione drew twenty-three before they headed to their separate locations.

Harry, Ron, and Neville navigated Moody’s forest survival exercise, where Neville defeated a Slytherin with the Flying Stone Charm and Malfoy avoided a fight with them. The exercise ended with about half the students surviving, including Harry, Ron, Neville, Hermione, and Malfoy.

• Harry followed Strange’s warnings through the Forbidden Forest and took out several students with well-aimed spells.
• Harry and Ron found Neville facing a Slytherin, but Neville knocked the student unconscious with repeated Flying Stone Charms.
• Moody praised Neville and carried the unconscious student toward the Hospital Wing.
• Malfoy arrived with Crabbe and Goyle, advised Harry, Ron, and Neville to leave before others came, and departed without attacking them.
• Harry, Ron, and Neville avoided other groups, encountered Will and Sylvia, and stayed hidden until the exercise ended.
• Moody gathered the surviving students, including Hermione and Malfoy, and reminded those who had been eliminated to write their essays.

Dumbledore met Will after Defence Against the Dark Arts and explained that Harry needed to earn support by building his reputation. Will agreed to help stage a dramatic event, then underwent another treatment that caused unbearable pain in his soul and knocked him unconscious.

• Will and his friends reached the High Tower, where Dumbledore praised Neville's progress and asked Will to come with him.
• Dumbledore told Will that Harry needed to win people's support, and Will agreed to help create a stirring event in which he would appear to kill Harry.
• Dumbledore said Malfoy would serve as evidence of the staged murder and warned Will to keep him from learning too much.
• At the Hospital Wing, Dumbledore began another treatment, and Will felt intense pain in his soul before passing out.

Dumbledore treated Will’s soul-corrupting mark and revealed that Ramesses II had designed it to kill him after decades. After recovering, Will resumed his studies and research into Animagus transformation, leaving him searching for knowledge about the soul in a book at home.

• Dumbledore removed part of the mark on Will, leaving him unconscious for three days as Snape and Madam Pomfrey monitored his treatment.
• Dumbledore explained that Ramesses II’s mark would slowly corrupt Will’s soul and likely kill him after fifty or sixty years, and advised him to pause Animagus training while he recovered.
• Will rested in the Hospital Wing, while Dumbledore planned to use the pause in Will’s training to strengthen Harry’s reputation and gain Voldemort’s trust.
• After recovering, Will returned to classes and research, observing Peter Pettigrew’s Animagus transformation in the Room of Requirement.
• Will recalled a book about souls, “Soul Transplant—The Talking Goat,” and decided to seek it at home.