Chapter Summaries

Harry destroyed Voldemort’s Locket with the unusual flame from his wand, and Kreacher smashed the weakened Horcrux to fulfill Regulus’s order. Ron and Draco admitted they had nearly turned against Harry under the Locket’s influence, but Harry reassured them; the room was left mysteriously clean.

• Kreacher resisted the Locket’s influence while Ron and Draco hesitated, and Harry approached it protected by crimson magic.
• Harry’s wand produced a strange, colorless flame that destroyed the Locket’s power, and Kreacher smashed it with a poker.
• Ron and Draco confessed that the Locket had made them draw their wands on Harry, and Harry said he trusted them.
• Harry returned Ron and Draco’s wands, and the three watched Kreacher recover from his overwhelming joy.
• Harry and his friends found the Boiler Room spotless, while Kreacher sat curled up and looked around.

Harry learned how Regulus Black had tried to destroy Voldemort’s Locket and died in the process. Kreacher revealed the cave’s horrors and Regulus’s sacrifice, leaving Harry with confirmation that Regulus had resisted Voldemort.

• Harry asked Kreacher why Regulus had wanted the Slytherin Locket destroyed, and Kreacher agreed to answer because Harry could give orders connected to Black House.
• Kreacher recounted how Voldemort forced him to drink potion in a cave and abandoned him beside a lake guarded by Inferi.
• Harry and Draco deduced that Kreacher had escaped through house-elf Apparition and that Voldemort had overlooked the elves’ distinctive magic.
• Kreacher revealed that Regulus later returned to the cave, switched Voldemort’s Locket for a copy, and ordered Kreacher to leave and destroy the original.
• Kreacher watched Regulus get dragged beneath the water, then obeyed his order to keep the cave secret, but could not destroy the Locket.

Harry, Ron, and Draco planned to return to the cave with Kreacher and recover Regulus, reasoning that light and fire could defeat the Inferi. The group agreed to go, but their preparations stalled when they noticed the rags in Kreacher’s nest.

• Harry told Kreacher that they would bring Regulus back, and Kreacher eagerly agreed to take them to the cave.
• Kreacher explained that Regulus had forbidden him to tell the family about the cave, while Harry argued that Sirius was no longer part of the family.
• After Kreacher calmed down, Ron suggested using Lumos Maxima against the Inferi, and Draco proposed Lumos Solem as another way to create sunlight.
• Kreacher promised he could bring Harry, Ron, and Draco safely back if danger arose, and they agreed to gather supplies before leaving.
• Harry suggested packing flammable materials in Draco’s father’s bag, but everyone stared at the bundle of rags in Kreacher’s nest instead.

Harry, Ron, Draco, and Kreacher traveled to the cave to recover Regulus from the Inferi. They returned to the Boiler Room with Regulus’s body, and Harry said they needed to call Sirius.

• Harry organized the group’s plan to find Regulus and prepare a ring of burning wood to hold back the Inferi.
• Ron disturbed the lake with Wingardium Leviosa, bringing a mass of Inferi ashore as Harry and Draco set the wood alight.
• Kreacher found Regulus among the Inferi and dragged his body toward Harry’s group.
• Harry immobilized Regulus and levitated him as Kreacher brought him through the flames.
• Harry, Draco, Ron, and Kreacher returned to the Boiler Room, where Kreacher wiped Regulus down and Harry said they should call Sirius.

Harry and his friends destroyed the magical trap and found Regulus, who had become an Inferius, prompting Sirius to confront his brother’s fate. Harry explained Regulus’s connection to Voldemort’s Locket, while Sirius remained focused on why Regulus had died.

• Harry, Draco, and Ron overcame Voldemort’s magical trap with Kreacher’s help, and Draco petrified Regulus when his fingers moved.
• Sirius and Lupin arrived, and Sirius recognized Regulus’s cold, intact body as that of an Inferius.
• Sirius regretted his past choices and blamed himself for being like Peter, while Harry told him they had found and destroyed Slytherin’s Locket.
• Harry explained that Voldemort had used Kreacher in an experiment, after which Regulus learned about the Locket and returned to its hiding place with a replica.
• Draco suggested the Locket might relate to Hogwarts’s defenses, and Ron wondered whether it held the source of Voldemort’s immortality.
• Harry proposed that the Locket contained Voldemort’s heart, but Sirius demanded to know why Regulus had died.

Sirius learned how Regulus died retrieving the Locket and struggled to accept that his brother had sacrificed himself for it. After Ron’s story prompted him to suspect Voldemort had made Horcruxes, Sirius planned to raise Regulus as an Inferius and report the Locket to Dumbledore.

• Sirius threatened Kreacher over Regulus’s death until Harry and Lupin stopped him and Harry explained how Regulus had died retrieving the Locket.
• Harry told Sirius that Regulus had sacrificed himself to recover the Locket, and that he and Kreacher had found Regulus’s body on the island.
• Sirius asked Ron to tell him the story of The Hairy Heart, and Ron described the danger of separating the body from the heart.
• Sirius connected the story to Horcruxes but doubted that Voldemort could have used such crude Dark Arts magic.
• Sirius petrified Regulus’s body and said he would use Black House’s knowledge to make him an Inferius.
• Sirius gathered the Locket’s fragments and said he would inform Dumbledore, while Ron suggested Sirius speak to his father about the artifact.

Ryan revealed that Voldemort's Locket had survived its destruction and appeared at the Smith family castle, where he fed the Horcrux to Jerry. After Jerry consumed it, Kate asked Ryan about Voldemort and learned why Ryan considered him foolish.

• When Harry destroyed the Locket, an identical Locket appeared in the Boiler Room of Black House, though Harry believed it had been purified.
• At the Smith family castle, the Locket's Horcrux introduced himself to Kate as Tom and tried to lure her into touching him.
• Ryan stopped Kate from approaching the Locket, and the Horcrux begged Ryan to spare him in exchange for his magical knowledge.
• Jerry approached the Locket and licked it, making the Horcrux's eyes vanish as Jerry grew slightly larger.
• Kate asked Ryan why he had not kept Voldemort around to play, and Ryan criticized Voldemort for making Horcruxes and splitting his soul.

Ryan and Kate watched Harry and the others rescue Regulus, then Ryan quizzed Kate about the magical traps in Voldemort’s cave. Kate analyzed the cave’s entrance and lake, and Ryan began clarifying how its enchanted boat worked.

• Ryan and Kate watched Harry and the others rescue Regulus, who had become an Inferius.
• Kate revealed that linking to Ryan’s vision might have given her the ability to read minds, then teased him about Fleur and his past meetings with her.
• Ryan reminded Kate that the footage was a test about the traps in Voldemort’s cave, and Kate divided the cave into four areas.
• Kate explained that the cave entrance was hard to reach and required blood to reveal, while the lake concealed Inferi connected to the locket by invisible threads.
• Kate identified the enchanted boat as the only safe way across the lake, and Ryan explained that it could carry only one wizard, though it could also take a House-elf or Muggle.

Ryan explained how Regulus became a living Inferi and why his unusual transformation gave him a fragile form of immortality. Kate proposed turning the process into a business, but Ryan rejected the idea and reassured her that he no longer needed money.

• Ryan quizzed Kate about Regulus and revealed that Regulus had been alive when Kreacher carried him away, but had changed into a living Inferi.
• Ryan explained that Regulus's wizarding nature, positive feelings before drowning, and wand had allowed him to retain faint impressions of Kreacher and his brother.
• Ryan said Regulus had gained a fragile immortality that sunlight or fire could destroy.
• Kate proposed selling the transformation to elderly wizards, but Ryan explained that the process was dangerous and depended on their state of mind before death.
• Ryan hugged Kate and told her he was no longer short of Galleons.

Ryan explained to Kate that magic grows less in quantity than in quality and control, and estimated her magic value at 21. At Grimmauld Place, Sirius cared for the returned Regulus while Lupin revealed that Snape had helped secure Sirius’s release from prison.

• Ryan told Kate that even the strongest wizard had only about three times an ordinary wizard’s magic, and said Kate’s magic value was around 21.
• At Grimmauld Place, Regulus ate with Sirius’s help as Kreacher celebrated his return, and Sirius said Regulus still remembered his family.
• Sirius explained that Regulus could regain energy in darkness and that his return had silenced their mother’s portrait.
• Lupin said Snape had used his influence to help secure Sirius’s release, surprising Harry, Ron, Draco, and Sirius.
• Sirius asked Kreacher to feed Regulus and turned his attention to what Snape had been thinking.

Harry and his friends enjoyed life at the renovated Black House while Harry tried to make sense of the tangled Black family tree. Sirius and Lupin agreed to invite Dumbledore for Harry’s birthday to examine Regulus and investigate the danger posed by Voldemort’s Horcruxes.

• Lupin explained that Snape had helped free Sirius because he understood Sirius’s guilt and believed prison was what Sirius wanted, but Sirius said he was happy with his family now.
• Harry, Ron, Draco, and the others settled into the improved Black House, where Kreacher and even Walburga’s portrait had changed.
• Harry studied the Black family tree and learned how he, Ron, Draco, Neville, Little Crouch, and Sirius were related.
• Lupin and Sirius discussed whether destroying the locket had killed Voldemort, and whether Regulus might be a Horcrux or become an Inferius.
• Sirius agreed to invite Dumbledore for Harry’s birthday so Regulus could be examined and they could investigate possible clues to other Horcruxes.

Harry and his friends discussed the possibility that Voldemort had survived by creating multiple Horcruxes, then talked about who could attend Harry’s birthday party. On his birthday morning, Harry woke in the Black House to find Sirius’s gift and a magical floral greeting.

• Ron lost his place in the conversation about Voldemort’s Horcruxes and distractedly returned to reading his comic, upsetting Harry by calling Luke an orphan.
• Draco explained that Voldemort must have other Horcruxes besides the locket and the suspected Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and Ron apologized to Harry for not paying attention.
• Harry said he hoped Dumbledore, Hagrid, Ryan, their dormmates, and the Weasley and Malfoy families would attend his birthday, but Ron and Draco said their families were unlikely to come.
• Harry woke on his birthday in the Black House and found formal robes and a note from Sirius beside his bed.
• Harry left his room and found flowers singing birthday wishes along the corridor while the Black ancestors in the portraits forced smiles.

Harry read a report exposing Gilderoy Lockhart as a fraud and learned Sirius had helped Rita Skeeter uncover his crimes. Sirius explained why Dumbledore might have considered Lockhart for Hogwarts, while Harry joked that Dumbledore chose Defense Against the Dark Arts professors as expendable; Sirius ended by muttering about Lily Evans.

• Sirius asked Harry whether he liked the party decorations, and Harry praised them before showing him The Daily Prophet's report on Lockhart.
• Sirius admitted he had nudged Rita Skeeter to investigate Lockhart, who had been planning to publish a new book and apply for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post.
• Harry angrily read Lockhart's Veritaserum confession, which revealed he had stolen other wizards' achievements and insulted the people he had written about.
• Sirius explained that Dumbledore might have accepted Lockhart because he was a Ravenclaw with broad knowledge, had investigated real incidents, and could be punished by the position's curse.
• Harry called the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors expendable, and Sirius doubted Dumbledore would exploit Lockhart for money.
• Sirius recalled James's old hostility toward Dark Wizards and muttered, “Damn Lily Evans,” then told Harry he had been talking about Dumbledore.

Harry learned from Sirius how Voldemort’s Horcruxes worked and why Harry might be a Parselmouth, then spent the morning anxiously anticipating his first birthday party. Sirius had secretly prepared the renovated Black House for the celebration, while Harry wondered what Dumbledore and the party would bring.

• Harry asked Sirius about Horcruxes, and Sirius explained that they required murder and split a wizard’s soul to preserve life.
• Harry realized that the Locket resembled a Horcrux and asked why he could speak Parseltongue; Sirius guessed Voldemort had awakened the ability in him when he attacked Harry.
• Sirius urged Harry not to reject his talent, and Harry considered that Parseltongue might help him find the Resurrection Stone.
• Sirius left the house, and Lupin, Ron, and Draco admired the renovations while discussing Gilderoy Lockhart’s arrest and Ravenclaw’s formidable witches and wizards.
• Harry learned that Regulus was still sleeping and quietly wondered what his first birthday party would be like, including whether Dumbledore would attend.

Harry celebrated his twelfth birthday with gifts and decorations from Ron, Draco, Lupin, Sirius, and Dumbledore. Sirius gave him a photo album filled with memories of his parents and childhood.

• Owls delivered birthday gifts, and Ron gave Harry a rare Gold Card called a Devil's Passport.
• Draco gave Harry waterproof glasses, which Harry immediately put on.
• Lupin gave Harry a Ravenclaw-themed mirror that could shine as a light source.
• While Harry put away his gifts, Lupin decorated the room with blue flowers and banners, and Dumbledore conjured a Phoenix-shaped birthday cake.
• Sirius gave Harry a photo album showing his parents, their old home, and Harry as a baby on his first broomstick.

Harry and his friends joked about cats and family, while Sirius confronted Dumbledore over what should happen to his returned brother, Regulus. Regulus emerged from his room and comforted Sirius, and Sirius let Dumbledore come inside to discuss his brother’s uncertain existence.

• Harry joked that the vase in the photograph looked like Aunt Petunia’s handiwork, and Dumbledore defended Petunia for taking him in.
• Harry learned that his parents had owned a cat named Snowflake, while Ron and Draco teased each other about cats and crushes.
• Sirius told Dumbledore he trusted him but feared that Dumbledore might decide Regulus would be better off leaving this world.
• Regulus stepped out of his room and wiped away Sirius’s tears, and Sirius embraced him.
• Dumbledore explained that freeing the soul in Regulus’s body might be best if Regulus’s existence was unstable, and Sirius asked for time before inviting him into the room.

Dumbledore examined Regulus and found that he had lost his memories but could live a long life and learn to become independent. Sirius began planning for Regulus’s future, while the others mistakenly suspected the examination had been improper.

• Dumbledore examined Regulus in the dark as Sirius grew increasingly suspicious and protective.
• Dumbledore told Sirius that Regulus had a long lifespan, easing Sirius’s fear that his brother would soon leave him.
• Sirius worried about Regulus living alone and considered arranging the Black family’s assets for him.
• Dumbledore explained that Regulus had only lost his memories and could learn and grow over time.
• Sirius realized Regulus had spent years among silent Inferi, then lifted him as his robe slipped off.
• Ron, Harry, Draco, and Lupin interrupted and misread the scene, making awkward comments about dinner and a bath.

Dumbledore explained that Regulus was alive despite sustaining himself from darkness and needing no food, unlike magical non-existences such as Boggarts. The group gathered for Harry’s birthday meal, while Harry wondered whether Dumbledore could fly like Ryan.

• Dumbledore left Regulus in the darkened room and followed Sirius into the sitting room, where Harry and the others awaited them.
• Sirius told everyone that Regulus was fine, and Kreacher vanished to tell Mistress the news.
• Ron asked why Regulus had not been wearing clothes, so Draco changed the subject by asking about Regulus’s condition.
• Dumbledore explained that Regulus drew something from darkness to live and was not a Boggart or other non-existence.
• Dumbledore described Boggarts as beings that arose from human emotions, and Harry wondered whether Dumbledore could fly like Ryan.

Dumbledore explained how Regulus differed from beings that did not truly exist, while Ron proposed turning Voldemort’s cave into a business for creating similar immortal lives. The conversation ended when Dumbledore gave Harry a Deluminator for his birthday and suggested he study its magic before passing it to Sirius or Regulus.

• Dumbledore explained that Regulus possessed a fragile form of life, unlike poltergeists, Dementors, and Boggarts, and could not be destroyed as easily as nonexistent beings.
• Ron proposed selling places in Voldemort’s cave to dying wizards who might transform like Regulus, but Draco, Sirius, and Harry questioned the danger and feasibility.
• Dumbledore warned the children against trying to control life and said Regulus’s existence was a miracle, while Lupin sensed that the subject had unsettled him.
• Dumbledore gave Harry a Deluminator as a birthday present and explained that it absorbed and restored light.
• Harry asked to give the Deluminator to Regulus, and Dumbledore said Harry could do so after learning its magic or could teach the spell to Sirius.

Harry studied the Deluminator Dumbledore had given him and discovered how its magic connected people through their names and mutual longing. With help from Sirius and Lupin, Harry created a spell to absorb and restore light, then explained its name and meaning to his friends.

• Ryan considered the Deluminator’s abilities and wondered when Harry would discover how it could locate people through their connection to one another.
• As the new school year approached, Harry and his friends explored the Deluminator, later joined by Sirius and Lupin.
• One night in August, Harry absorbed the light from the candles at Black Family Manor into his wand and released it back to them with a new spell.
• Harry named the spell “Sklupgorgio” and explained that it meant “Devour! Sun-Eating Wolf,” drawing on Sköll, Lupus, and Engorgio.
• Sirius, Ron, and Draco were astonished by how quickly Harry had created a polished spell and explained its origin.