Chapter Summaries

Wormtail carried Voldemort out of Albania’s Black Forest and cared for him at a Muggle inn while gathering wizarding news. Voldemort questioned Wormtail’s loyalty and listened as he began reading a Quibbler special issue titled “Slytherin’s Half-Blood Prince.”

• Wormtail reached a Muggle inn with Voldemort and used a Confundus Charm to persuade the innkeeper to let them stay.
• Wormtail stole powdered milk and fed Voldemort on a strict schedule while tending to him at the inn.
• Wormtail brought Voldemort newspapers, and Voldemort learned that Hogwarts students would visit Godric’s Hollow for Easter.
• Voldemort speculated that Dumbledore was testing whether he was alive and questioned why none of his Death Eaters had escaped Azkaban.
• Voldemort confronted Wormtail about his fear and wavering loyalty but acknowledged that he had sought him out and helped him obtain a temporary body.
• Voldemort told Wormtail to read a magazine, and Wormtail began reading The Quibbler’s special issue, “Slytherin’s Half-Blood Prince.”

Voldemort heard Wormtail read a Quibbler article that exposed details of his past and Horcruxes, and he realized the writer might know his deepest secrets. He turned his fear into fury and cursed Wormtail again.

• Wormtail read an article about a half-blood wizard named John Prince, leading Voldemort to suspect it was about Severus Snape.
• The article described John’s romantic affairs and stolen heirlooms, and Voldemort cursed Wormtail for reading it.
• Voldemort recognized the stolen heirlooms and the article’s seven soul-seals as references to his Horcruxes.
• Wormtail identified Xenophilius Lovegood as the article’s author, and Voldemort wondered whether he had Seer abilities or a connection to Gellert Grindelwald.
• Voldemort ordered Wormtail to bring him the magazine, then cursed him again after Wormtail asked whether he was too hot by the hearth.

Wormtail endured Voldemort’s threats as the Dark Lord decided they had to leave their hiding place and return to the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, Harry and the other young wizards rode a Magic Bus through London, where Sirius entertained them with lessons about Muggle life.

• Wormtail hid in the shadows while Voldemort read a magazine, then hurried to him when called.
• Voldemort questioned whether Wormtail thought him useless, but turned away without striking him.
• Voldemort ordered Wormtail to prepare food so they could leave that night and return to the United Kingdom for intelligence.
• On the Magic Bus, George sketched a car wash while Fred gathered Muggle billboard slogans for their joke shop.
• Sirius explained traffic lights and Muggle advertising to Harry, then answered the young wizards’ questions about Muggle communication.

Sirius Black and the sleeping Hogwarts students traveled by bus to the River Kennet, where Sirius met Lupin for a midnight barbecue and discussed their painful past and Douglas’s plans. They wondered whether Douglas’s publicity would draw the traitor or Voldemort, and the chapter ended with them thinking of James and Lily.

• Ron told Hermione that Dumbledore might have considered inviting Sirius Black to teach if Professor Holmes had not broken the Defense Against the Dark Arts curse.
• Mr. Claude activated the bus’s concealment mode and sped through the night, then parked on the banks of the River Kennet.
• Sirius left the sleeping bus, called Lupin from a public telephone booth, and met him beside the river.
• Sirius and Lupin shared a barbecue and drinks while recalling Lupin’s lost job, Sirius’s imprisonment in Azkaban, and their changed circumstances.
• Sirius and Lupin speculated that Douglas hoped to send Voldemort a message through Harry, and Sirius said Douglas had promised there would be no danger.

The students on the Hogwarts bus ate Muggle-inspired snacks made by the house-elves before Professor Lupin and Sirius arrived to lead the day's activities. Lupin organized the students for a run toward the River Kennet harbour, prompting mixed reactions and talk of showing off to Muggles.

• The students woke, washed in the bus's expanded facilities, and ate breakfast with a variety of Muggle-style snacks prepared by the house-elves.
• The chapter explained that Douglas had asked the house-elves to learn Muggle snack-making to help Muggle-born students feel at home and encourage understanding between students from different backgrounds.
• Professor Lupin and Sirius appeared at the bus door after breakfast, surprising students who had expected their holiday to be free of supervision.
• Neville Longbottom discussed how morning exercise could build strength and wished he could bring his sword to train.
• Lupin arranged the students into ranks with Percy and Penelope and announced they would run toward the River Kennet harbour, while the students voiced both dismay and excitement.

Lupin led the Hogwarts students on a morning run, where Sirius joined in their spirited house songs. As the students learned about Muggle industry on the journey, they faced a shift in their guides: Professor Holmes returned, followed by the arrival of Professor Severus Snape.

• Lupin had Fred and George lead the students in their Hogwarts Song as they ran through River Kennet Port Road.
• Sirius reminisced about his youth, then shouted Gryffindor's song and prompted students from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw to join in.
• The young wizards saw factories and numerical-control technology as the bus traveled from London toward Cardiff.
• The students grew nervous about Sirius leaving their activities and Professor Holmes taking over as their guide.
• The bus stopped, and Professor Severus Snape arrived before the bewildered students.

Professor Snape joined Douglas and the students for a tour of a Muggle pharmaceutical factory, where his strictness and reluctance to follow cleanroom rules drew attention. The chapter ended with the supervisor pointedly explaining that the cap would keep Snape’s hair out of the medicines, earning the young wizards’ admiration for the supervisor.

• Professor Snape greeted the students with contempt and threatened to deduct house points, while Harry challenged his authority and Douglas redirected the group toward the factory tour.
• The factory supervisor welcomed the group and led them to the changing room to put on pharmaceutical work clothes.
• The supervisor explained the hygiene and safety reasons for wearing cleanroom clothing as Professor Snape held his uniform without changing.
• The supervisor emphasized that the cap prevented hair from contaminating medicines and looked pointedly at Professor Snape’s greasy hair.
• The young wizards drew sharp breaths and regarded the supervisor as a true champion.

Snape surprised the students by putting on protective work clothes after a Muggle supervisor criticized his hair, leaving Harry worried about future punishment. The group toured a pharmaceutical factory, where students compared Muggle production machinery with magical potion-making before Snape and Douglas dismissed its usefulness for wizarding needs.

• Snape silently took the white work clothes and went to change, surprising the students and making Harry fear he would punish them later.
• The Muggle supervisor interpreted the students’ reactions as evidence that Snape was unpopular at Hogwarts and wondered why the school retained him.
• Snape returned in protective clothing, and Douglas privately admired his professional appearance.
• The supervisor led the group into the pharmaceutical workshop, where students examined the machinery and asked workers how medicines were made.
• The students considered whether machines could help produce potions, while Snape and Douglas reflected that magical ingredients and small-scale demand made large production equipment impractical.

Douglas brought Snape to a pharmaceutical research laboratory, where modern equipment and precise methods inspired Snape to consider new ways to improve potion-making. Later, Douglas noticed Wormtail’s signal moving closer to the United Kingdom, though the Magic Radar could not yet pinpoint his location.

• The manager showed Douglas and Snape the laboratory’s processes and equipment, and Snape recognized how precise machinery could improve the preparation of potion ingredients.
• Douglas saw Snape’s interest and hoped his expertise would help modernize the magical pharmaceutical industry.
• After Snape left, Harry asked whether he would punish them, and Douglas told him to show Professor Snape respect and expect extra instruction.
• Douglas left the students with Sirius to continue the tour.
• Douglas noticed the Magic Radar’s signal for Wormtail moving inland from the western Balkans toward the United Kingdom, though its location remained unclear.

Dumbledore and Douglas used the Magic Radar to locate Peter Pettigrew and considered why he was returning to Britain with Voldemort. They suspected Voldemort was preparing to resurrect himself, and Dumbledore wondered whether Peter had brought him recent information, possibly about the Rebirth Potion.

• Dumbledore used a world map to identify Peter’s location as Ulcini and said he was heading toward the United Kingdom.
• Dumbledore asked whether Peter had joined Voldemort, and Douglas argued that Peter would not leave Albania without a compelling reason.
• Dumbledore wondered whether Voldemort had discovered that some of his Horcruxes were destroyed.
• Douglas argued that Voldemort’s haste was more likely tied to preparing for his resurrection, with Peter as his only available ally.
• Dumbledore recalled the Rebirth Potion and suggested that Peter might have brought Voldemort recent information, possibly including a story.

Douglas and Dumbledore considered what Voldemort’s return and reaction to the magazine might mean, while Dumbledore imagined a hidden player arranging events around them. The chapter left Douglas amused and uneasy as he accepted a Bertie Bott’s bean that tasted like hot-and-sour shredded potato.

• Douglas reasoned that Wormtail had already told Voldemort about him and wondered how Voldemort planned to take Harry without the Triwizard Tournament.
• Dumbledore concluded that the magazine was a carefully arranged net meant to draw key figures onto a chessboard and provoke Voldemort into investigating his Horcruxes.
• Douglas privately realized the magazine’s supposed grand strategy had grown from his own teasing and his attempt to guide people toward the Horcruxes.
• Dumbledore reassured Douglas that he had friends and loved ones supporting him, then offered him a Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Bean.
• Douglas tasted a hot-and-sour shredded potato-flavored bean while Dumbledore complained that his own tasted like soap.

Douglas realized the upcoming Quidditch World Cup could give Voldemort an opportunity to cause trouble, and recalled the disastrous betting and unrest surrounding the previous tournament. Dumbledore questioned whether Douglas had attacked Scottish Seeker Lamont after the last Cup, while Phineas Black accused him of rummaging through the Black family home.

• Dumbledore mentioned that the Quidditch World Cup would be held in the United Kingdom in a few months, prompting Douglas to recall his past experiences with the tournament.
• Douglas remembered losing bets on England and Scotland in 1990, when Canada defeated Scotland 270 to 240, and resolved not to gamble at the next Cup.
• Douglas asked whether Voldemort might use the tournament to stage trouble, recalling the Death Eater riot and the masked troublemakers from the original timeline.
• Dumbledore asked Douglas whether he had been involved in the attacks that left Scottish Seeker Lamont hospitalized after the previous World Cup, and Douglas indignantly denied it.
• Phineas Black accused Douglas of being exactly that sort of person and recalled him rummaging through the Black family home two days earlier.

Wizards and Hogwarts students gathered in Godric's Hollow for a commemorative ceremony, while Muggle residents were magically kept from approaching the square. Douglas, Sirius, and Harry arrived with the students, and the chapter ended as Hogwarts’ black-robed procession entered the village.

• Muggles noticed oddly dressed visitors gathering in the square, but the Fidelius Charm prevented them from reaching the Potter family’s house or learning more.
• Lains told anxious readers that Douglas had stopped responding about his novel and that he had come to Godric's Hollow hoping to find him.
• Professor Sprout reflected on Muggle plant research and assigned students essays after their visit to a plant research institute; she also gave Douglas a more demanding essay assignment.
• Tonks waited at the village entrance as a striped bus brought Douglas and Sirius to Godric's Hollow.
• Sirius remembered arriving in the village with James years earlier, then Douglas brought him back to the present as Harry led Hogwarts students into the village in formal black robes.

The Hogwarts students and Ministry officials gathered at Godric's Hollow for a memorial ceremony, where Fudge delivered a speech that credited the Ministry while omitting Dumbledore. Harry then spoke beneath the statue of his family, honoring his parents and urging the students to carry on their work.

• Tonks greeted Douglas and explained that she had joined the operation to capture Dark Wizards while hoping Peter would turn up.
• Percy led the Hogwarts students into the square, where Ministry officials arrived through the pub's Floo Network.
• Fudge noticed Dumbledore's absence and delivered a speech emphasizing the Ministry's role in the war and its aftermath.
• Hermione pointed out that Fudge had not mentioned Dumbledore, while Harry focused on the statues and wondered why Douglas had not been asked to speak.
• Fudge invited Harry to address the crowd, and Harry honored his parents and urged the students to face hardship bravely and work toward a better world.

Wormtail smuggled Voldemort toward the United Kingdom by ferry while fearing that a snake could track them across the sea. Several days earlier, Voldemort had learned of a heroes’ memorial in Godric’s Hollow and suspected it was bait, leaving Wormtail to blame Dumbledore and Holmes.

• Wormtail traveled with Voldemort to a cottage in the woods near Ogulin, Croatia, and gathered information from his animal contacts.
• Wormtail told Voldemort that a heroes’ memorial was being organized in Godric’s Hollow.
• Voldemort noticed the rat hole behind Wormtail and questioned whether anyone knew they were there.
• Voldemort reasoned that the memorial was likely a trap intended to lure Wormtail out, and Wormtail agreed, blaming Dumbledore and Holmes.
• Wormtail later carried Voldemort aboard a ferry bound for the United Kingdom, worried that the snake following them would find them at sea.

Voldemort and Wormtail returned to Britain by smuggling themselves onto a freighter, then headed for Great Hangleton while evading the Ministry’s Aurors. Douglas’s Magic Radar detected their arrival, and Dumbledore tasked Douglas with giving the memorial speech while planning to visit Little Hangleton himself.

• Voldemort told Wormtail they had to seize their opportunity, so Wormtail stole a car and they began traveling north toward Serbia.
• In Amsterdam, Wormtail used the Imperius Curse to make the smuggler Jack arrange passage to Britain on a freighter.
• After landing near Cromer, Voldemort changed their route from the Lovegood family to Great Hangleton, where he proclaimed that he would conquer death and Wormtail would conquer fate.
• When Wormtail entered Britain, Douglas’s Magic Radar warned him, and Dumbledore handed Douglas the Deluminator after losing their bet.
• Dumbledore asked Douglas to give the memorial speech in his place and admitted he planned to visit Little Hangleton to see Voldemort.

Voldemort and Wormtail traveled by Muggle train to Little Hangleton, with Voldemort growing suspicious of Wormtail’s sudden competence while Wormtail struggled to understand his own familiarity with the place. After walking through the night, they reached a village and approached a house that seemed familiar to Wormtail, as a concealed figure waited for Tom.

• Voldemort criticized Wormtail for acting suspiciously on the train and secretly aimed his wand at Wormtail in case he was leading him into a trap.
• Wormtail chose Muggle transport to reach Little Hangleton and kept his suspicions about his own memories from Voldemort.
• After the train arrived, Wormtail carried Voldemort through the dark for four hours, following his instructions and refusing to use magic.
• Voldemort directed Wormtail toward a large, dilapidated house in the village, which gave Wormtail an inexplicable sense of recognition.
• A figure hidden beneath a Disillusionment Charm watched them and murmured, “Tom, you've finally come!”

Wormtail brought Voldemort to the abandoned Watson Manor, where a magical trap identified Voldemort as Tom Riddle and branded him with writing linked to his soul. As Voldemort and Wormtail fled, an unseen figure watched them and realized the soul fragment had fooled him too.

• Wormtail told Voldemort that the ruined manor might belong to the Gaunt family, and Voldemort said they would stay there and make arrangements.
• Wormtail opened the manor, where writing appeared across the sitting room and frightened him into turning into a rat and dropping Voldemort.
• The writing welcomed Tom Riddle back to the Riddle Family, then formed a net of light that bypassed Wormtail and Voldemort's defense and marked Voldemort's skin.
• Voldemort ordered Wormtail to flee, and Nagini joined them as they escaped the manor.
• An unseen figure watched them leave and remarked that the aura of Tom's soul fragment had fooled him.

Voldemort and Wormtail fled Dumbledore’s attack and went to the Gaunt family home to check on Voldemort’s hidden Horcrux. After finding signs of lightning and magic near the house, Voldemort feared it was a trap and left without checking whether the Horcrux was still there.

• Voldemort threatened Wormtail as they fled Riddle Manor, then wondered how Dumbledore had learned his origins and whether the Horcrux at the Gaunt family home was safe.
• Voldemort led Wormtail through the woods and used Nagini to guide them to the Gaunt family home.
• Voldemort and Wormtail found no snakes near the house, and Nagini sensed a frightening aura on the ground.
• Voldemort and Wormtail discovered fresh pits containing snake scales and traces of lightning and magic.
• Voldemort feared the Horcrux had been found, decided the site might be a trap, and left without checking it.

Voldemort avoided checking his Horcruxes, decided Dumbledore had set the trap at the Riddle House, and went with Wormtail to his father’s grave. A green light rose from beneath the gravestone, confirming the body was there as Voldemort declared his intention to draw power from the place.

• Voldemort concluded that Dumbledore had targeted his Horcrux ring and chose not to inspect his Horcruxes.
• Voldemort ordered Wormtail to take him to the churchyard and find his father’s grave.
• Wormtail realized that Voldemort’s name had once been Tom Riddle and feared he might be killed for learning the secret.
• Wormtail found Tom Riddle’s grave, and Voldemort said he would draw power from the place to restore his rule.
• Green light shone from beneath the grave, and Voldemort confirmed that his father’s body lay there.