Chapter Summaries

Tom pursued experiments using Lumos to simulate plant-growing light, inspired by Mo Fei’s cultivation methods and supported by Professor Herbert. When Slytherins questioned his farming and challenged his place as chief, the prefects defended him and asked Abraxas Malfoy to invite him to a formal dance.

• Tom drew on Mo Fei’s advice and his work with Professor Herbert to investigate how different kinds of light affected magical plants.
• Professor Herbert supported Tom’s research and secured him a plot beside a greenhouse.
• Slytherins discovered Tom was farming and library-going instead of pursuing the activities they expected, and some questioned his background and position as chief.
• Abraxas Malfoy defended Tom, arguing that his work with Professor Herbert brought practical benefits and showed good judgment.
• The prefects declared Tom’s position as chief unquestionable and asked Malfoy to invite him to a formal Slytherin dance.

Tom accepted Abraxas Malfoy’s invitation to a Slytherin ball, agreeing to begin socializing with the pure-blood nobles while continuing to raise the Horned Serpent. Meanwhile, Mo Fei finished traveling through Germany but discovered he lacked the documents needed to leave legally.

• Tom planted Glimmer Daisies and heard Abraxas invite him to a Slytherin ball on the fifth floor the following Saturday.
• Tom accepted the invitation and planned to wear the extravagant clothes Kyle had made.
• Tom called the Horned Serpent back from the Forbidden Forest and noted that its development had advanced after exploring there.
• Mo Fei traveled around Germany, avoided taking sides in several local disputes, and finished his sightseeing.
• Mo Fei realized he had no proper paperwork to leave Germany and wondered how he could return to Britain without crossing the border illegally.

Mo Fei reached Paris after finding no useful mysterious legacies in France, and used Nicolas Flamel’s stargazing instrument to locate a peculiar house. The instrument led him to a building shaped like an irregular gemstone, leaving him to wonder whether it was an alchemical array and whether he should enter.

• Grindelwald sent a subordinate to help Mo Fei cross into France by Apparition, avoiding a direct arrival in Paris.
• Mo Fei spent a month searching France for mysterious skills but found only mundane legacies, including a limited brewing method he refined with Belief Points.
• Mo Fei decided to travel to Paris and seek out Nicolas Flamel, the only living alchemy master he knew of.
• After reaching Paris by carriage, Mo Fei took out Grindelwald’s token, and the stargazing instrument made by Flamel began guiding him through the city.
• Mo Fei followed the instrument to a house whose outline resembled a gemstone and wondered whether it was an alchemical array.

Mo Fei visited Nicolas Flamel and Perenelle, who welcomed him warmly and recruited him to judge their annual cooking competition. After tasting Nicolas’s alchemically enhanced steak, Mo Fei tried Perenelle’s roast chicken and chips, leaving the result unclear when she asked whether her food tasted bad.

• Mo Fei overcame the Muggle-Repelling Charm and knocked at Nicolas Flamel’s home.
• Nicolas invited Mo Fei inside and asked him to judge the cooking competition he held each year with Perenelle.
• Mo Fei relaxed as Nicolas and Perenelle joked with him over lunch.
• Mo Fei tasted Nicolas’s steak and recognized that alchemy had combined the flavors of several kinds of meat.
• Mo Fei set aside the steak, tried Perenelle’s roast chicken and chips, and prompted her to ask whether her food tasted bad.

Mo Fei explained why Nicolas Flamel’s alchemical meat fell short and praised Perenelle’s roast chicken, convincing Nicolas that Mo Fei’s cooking skills surpassed theirs. Nicolas challenged Mo Fei to prove his ability in practice, and Mo Fei headed to the kitchen to cook.

• Mo Fei told Nicolas Flamel that his alchemical meat was savory but had lost important flavors, while the sauce overwhelmed the meat and the vegetables could not fix the imbalance.
• Mo Fei analyzed Perenelle’s carefully marinated and roasted chicken, praising her technique and saying her cooking surpassed Nicolas’s.
• Nicolas Flamel reflected on how his flawed Philosopher’s Stone and the limits of alchemy left him and Perenelle facing the eventual decay of their souls.
• Nicolas Flamel challenged Mo Fei to demonstrate his cooking skills, and Mo Fei accepted and went to the kitchen.

Mo Fei challenged Nicolas Flamel to create a meat combining beef, pigeon, and abalone, then began preparing the foul-smelling result. As Mo Fei explained his wizarding ingredients, Nicolas and Perenelle listened, leaving the cooking lesson about to continue.

• Mo Fei asked Nicolas Flamel to combine beef, pigeon, and abalone into one piece of meat without removing their unpleasant odors.
• Nicolas Flamel used alchemy to merge the three meats into a purple, visibly grained piece.
• Mo Fei inspected the meat, recoiled at its odor, then rinsed and massaged it to remove slime.
• Mo Fei marinated the meat with Muggle seasonings and wizarding ingredients, explaining that he had learned about them from Hogwarts textbooks.
• Nicolas Flamel listened as Mo Fei offered to explain how he used the ingredients, and Perenelle came to the doorway to hear.

Mo Fei explained how he prepared magical meat and the effects of the ingredients he chose, then cooked steaks with rice and vegetables for Nicolas Flamel and Perenelle. The two wizards eagerly began eating in the kitchen.

• Mo Fei explained that magical meat held lingering blood, odors, and residual magic, and described how massaging it and using seasonings made it easier to cook.
• Mo Fei explained the roles of lovage, ginger root, mistletoe berries, and bouncing grass in the dish.
• Mo Fei set the steaks aside to marinate and prepared rice and stir-fried vegetables.
• Mo Fei rapidly pan-fried the steaks over high heat, then served them over rice with the vegetables.
• Nicolas Flamel and Perenelle smelled the finished dish, accepted the plate, and began eating in the kitchen.

After sharing Mo Fei’s flame-seared chicken-in-pork-stomach patty, Mo Fei and Nicolas Flamel discussed the origins of house-elves. Nicolas explained how wizarding contracts transformed them into magical derivatives, leaving Mo Fei wary of trusting wizard society.

• Mo Fei’s savory patty won over Nicolas Flamel and Perenelle, who finished their plates.
• Mo Fei asked Nicolas Flamel why his home had no house-elves, and Nicolas said their presence made alchemists uneasy.
• Nicolas explained that house-elves had once been a race with powerful Apparition abilities and that wizards subdued them through war and bloodline contracts.
• Nicolas told Mo Fei that house-elves now depended on contracts and reproduced by magically producing replacements as they aged.
• Mo Fei felt unsettled by the house-elves’ transformation and resolved to remain cautious about Muggles integrating into wizard society.

Mo Fei asked Nicolas Flamel about the relationship between wizards and Muggles, and Flamel described how his views had changed over centuries of encounters with Muggles. He argued that the world maintained a balance between the two groups and that secrecy was the best way to preserve both, leaving Mo Fei reconsidering Grindelwald’s motives.

• Mo Fei asked Nicolas Flamel how he viewed the relationship between wizards and Muggles.
• Nicolas Flamel explained that he had come to respect Muggles’ wisdom and their ability to develop powerful weapons.
• Nicolas Flamel said that wizards and Muggles had once shared access to extraordinary powers, and that the world’s mystery seemed to prevent either group from eradicating the other.
• Nicolas Flamel pointed to the increase in Muggle-born wizards as evidence of the world’s balance and said he had supported the International Statute of Secrecy.
• Mo Fei felt reassured that some wizards considered humanity’s future and found Grindelwald’s fear of wizards blending into Muggle society plausible.

Mo Fei tried to persuade Nicolas Flamel to help create a separate world for wizards and Muggles, and Nicolas weighed the plan against the limits of magic and his own fading life. As Nicolas brainstormed ways to make it possible, Mo Fei suddenly came up with an idea.

• Mo Fei clarified that Gellert Grindelwald had told him about their plans, and Nicolas Flamel agreed that he wanted the future to unfold without deliberate interference.
• Mo Fei explained his plan to create a new world where wizards and Muggles could develop separately, but Nicolas Flamel warned that making one would be extraordinarily difficult.
• Mo Fei challenged Nicolas Flamel to consider the possibility rather than dismiss it, and Nicolas recognized that the plan might give him a chance to become a Legendary Wizard.
• Nicolas Flamel explained that sharing the Philosopher's Stone's immortality with his wife had weakened their souls and left their legend too weak to become firmly established.
• Nicolas Flamel considered ways to create a wizard-only space without the world rejecting it, while Mo Fei brainstormed and suddenly thought of an idea.

Mo Fei proposed creating a world inside shadows, and Nicolas Flamel developed the idea into a plan requiring several powerful specialists. As the old wizards Flamel contacted proved difficult to find, Flamel suggested using a seer and promised to coordinate through the Wizards' Council, leaving Mo Fei uneasy about how smoothly the plan was progressing.

• Mo Fei suggested creating a world within shadows, and Nicolas Flamel researched old accounts linking shadows to realms of the dead.
• Nicolas Flamel outlined the need for wizards skilled in barriers, Transfiguration, life magic, spatial magic, and possibly death magic, preferably Magic Masters.
• Nicolas Flamel recalled potential Magic Masters, but many of his old contacts had not been heard from for decades or centuries.
• Mo Fei stayed at Nicolas Flamel's home while owls brought back news, and he exchanged ideas about cooking and gardening with Perenelle.
• After learning that many possible candidates had died or were unwell, Mo Fei grew anxious, and Nicolas Flamel suggested finding them through a seer.
• Nicolas Flamel promised to contact and coordinate with the wizards through the Wizards' Council, while Mo Fei wondered why the arrangements seemed to be going so smoothly.

Mo Fei agreed to open a Muggle shop in Hogsmeade to help young wizards understand Muggle life and prepare for the future separation of the two worlds. Grindelwald promised to secure Headmaster Dippet’s approval, while Mo Fei planned to keep his orphanage and connect it to Hogsmeade.

• Nicolas Flamel told Grindelwald that he and Perenelle had agreed to the future plans after Mo Fei’s cooking won Perenelle over.
• Grindelwald asked Nicolas Flamel what he expected him to do, including finding suitable wizards and researching barrier magic.
• Grindelwald proposed that Mo Fei open a shop in Hogsmeade to introduce young wizards to Muggle food and culture.
• Mo Fei considered the shop’s benefits, including meeting young wizards, staying closer to Tom, and helping Kyle establish a clothing shop.
• Mo Fei asked whether Headmaster Dippet would approve, and Grindelwald promised to handle it.
• Mo Fei agreed to open the shop and keep his orphanage, with Grindelwald suggesting a transportation passage between the two places.

Mo Fei studied alchemy and learned how Pure Water stabilized alchemical products, while considering how it could connect the wizarding and Muggle worlds. Before returning to the orphanage, he brought Kyle to meet Nicolas Flamel, who agreed to hear Kyle’s question about alchemy and tailoring.

• Mo Fei learned from Nicolas Flamel that Pure Water could separate alchemical characteristics, stabilize products, and was essential to making a Philosopher’s Stone.
• Mo Fei realized his growing need for Belief Points made it important to keep the orphanage and its children in his life.
• Mo Fei asked Nicolas Flamel to meet Kyle, and Nicolas agreed because he considered Mo Fei a friend.
• Mo Fei brought Kyle to Nicolas Flamel’s house, where Kyle excitedly asked how to resolve excessive incompatibility between different materials.

Kyle sought Nicolas Flamel’s advice on combining alchemical fabrics into clothing, and Flamel identified ways to reduce their conflicting properties. Kyle left with books and encouragement, while Mo Fei returned to London with him.

• Nicolas Flamel watched Kyle make white and blue fabrics from Footless Bird feathers and Circling Fish scales, then saw him stitch them into a cloak.
• Nicolas Flamel explained that the fabrics’ retained magic caused them to repel each other and suggested several methods for making them blend.
• Nicolas Flamel gave Kyle books on purification, tempering, and material compatibility, and wished him well.
• Mo Fei and Kyle left Nicolas Flamel’s house and Apparated to London, where Kyle explained their arrival to the Aurors.

Tom prepared to attend an exclusive Slytherin banquet, where he planned to establish his importance through his abilities rather than reveal his Parseltongue. As the banquet approached, he chose an outfit made by Kyle, hoping to show it off.

• Kyle Apparated to Hogsmeade to scout the village before Mo Fei received permission to visit.
• News spread through Hogwarts that Tom had accepted an invitation to the exclusive Slytherin banquet, prompting mixed reactions from the houses.
• Tom ignored the attention and continued leading the Slytherins, doing homework, tending plants, and practicing spells.
• Tom decided to demonstrate his strength at the banquet instead of revealing his Parseltongue, which he feared could complicate his investigation into Slytherin's past.
• Tom opened his trunk, considered several unusual outfits Kyle had made, and chose one to wear to the banquet.

Tom wore the distinctive outfit Kyle had made for him to the Slytherin banquet, where its striking appearance and hallucinogenic effects stunned the students. Abraxas Malfoy greeted him, and Tom explained that a Slytherin could wear more than one mask.

• Tom examined Kyle's fitted, star-speckled outfit, which included concealed wand access, emergency bandages, and ribbon-like structures for combat.
• Tom left the dormitory, and Slytherins in the common room gaped at him and admired his appearance.
• Tom avoided crowds on his way to the banquet, but students who spotted him spread the news about his dazzling look.
• Tom entered the banquet room, silencing the gathered Slytherins with his appearance.
• Abraxas Malfoy greeted Tom in amazement, and Tom replied that Slytherins could have more than one mask.

Tom entered Slytherin’s Dream Tea Party, where the students tested his worth by asking what he wanted and what he could offer. After showing interest in Dark Magic and agreeing to provide rare Snakebone Grass, Tom challenged the second-year chief to a duel and wagered his position as chief.

• Abraxas Malfoy welcomed Tom and explained that he had passed the first step toward joining Slytherin’s inner circle.
• The Prefects introduced the Dream Tea Party and asked Tom to state his request and demonstrate his value.
• A student demonstrated the dangerous corpse-burning spell Phosphorus Fire, which Tom compared to Fiendfyre and asked to learn.
• The male Prefect asked Tom to help obtain Snakebone Grass for a budding Potions genius.
• Tom challenged the second-year chief to a duel, wagering his position as chief and agreeing to kneel and apologize if he lost.
• The second-year chief accepted Tom’s terms, and tension erupted through the gathering.

Tom challenged Samuel Dawson to a wizard duel after discovering Dawson had obstructed his search for Snakebone Grass. Slughorn refereed the duel, which began with Tom striking first to disrupt Dawson’s ability to cast incantations.

• Tom’s actions led the students to clear a space for a wizard duel, and Slughorn arrived to supervise.
• Slughorn learned that Dawson had offered potions to the year chiefs for their support and had arranged obstacles to keep Tom from finding Snakebone Grass.
• Slughorn expanded the dueling area, placed a barrier around it, and appointed himself referee.
• Dawson insulted Tom’s appearance, and both wizards took their positions while Dawson pointed his wand at Tom before the duel began.
• As Slughorn announced the start, Tom fired Rictusempra at Dawson to make it harder for him to pronounce incantations.

Tom and Dawson’s duel escalated as Tom used precise movement and his custom robe to counter Dawson’s tactics. Dawson fired a family-taught Dark spell, but Tom summoned two venomous snakes to shield himself, leaving the spell’s outcome unresolved.

• Tom dodged Dawson’s Petrificus Totalus and evaded Dawson’s counterattack, keeping the advantage in their opening exchange.
• Tom cast Tarantallegra while Dawson was off balance, but Dawson blocked with his robe and used a Levitation Charm to obscure Tom’s view.
• Tom’s custom robe streamers broke Dawson’s control of the robe and sent it flying back toward him.
• Dawson fired Blinding Needle Sting through the hole in his robe toward Tom.
• Tom cast Serpensortia, and one of the summoned snakes leaped up to block the incoming spell.

Tom Riddle used summoned snakes and hallucinogenic spores hidden in his robe to defeat Dawson in their wizarding duel. Slughorn declared Tom the winner, while Dawson was left burned, drenched, and humiliated.

• Tom Riddle's summoned snakes blocked Dawson's attack and coiled around his arms after Tom's robe covered his head.
• Dawson cast Incendio to escape, burning the snakes and robe, but inhaled hallucinogenic spores released by the flames.
• Dawson hallucinated that Tom was suffering, then cast Aguamenti and drenched himself while extinguishing the flames.
• Tom pointed out that the duel's outcome was clear, and the other Slytherins recoiled at Dawson's burned and soaked appearance.
• Slughorn declared Tom Riddle the winner and gave Dawson a potion to restore his senses.