Chapter Summaries

Mo Fei returned safely to the orphanage after Earl Winter helped him, and the nobles’ involvement quickly reversed public opinion about him and the orphanage. He reunited with the children, who welcomed him home.

• Earl Winter became pleased with Mo Fei and saw him as a capable future helper for Colleen.
• Mrs. Field and Aisha arrived at the orphanage with two veteran bodyguards, who drove away the Black Snake Gang thugs before they could plant contraband.
• Miles saw Mo Fei return unharmed, grew alarmed, and slipped away while onlookers began praising Mo Fei and the orphanage.
• Mo Fei returned to find Mrs. Field teaching the children to sew, and Kyle explained that he had made a good-luck bird for Mo Fei.
• The children rushed to greet Mo Fei, who felt that the orphanage had become his home.

Mo Fei returned safely to the orphanage and told Aiwen how the Winter family’s young lady and Earl Winter had helped him, while urging the children to value knowledge. At Miles’s shop, the Black Snake Gang blamed him for giving them bad information, and his sister also turned on him over the trouble he had caused.

• Mo Fei reassured the orphanage children and thanked Mrs. Field and the veterans for helping him.
• Mo Fei told Aiwen about his dealings with the nobles and asked him to praise the Winter family’s young lady and gather rumors about the family.
• Mo Fei told the children how he had argued his case at city hall and explained that knowledge had helped him defend himself.
• The Black Snake Gang thugs stormed Miles’s shop, cursed him for misleading them, smashed the furnishings, and left after threatening him.
• Miles’s sister slapped him and blamed him for getting Dalian into trouble, leaving Miles bewildered about how the orphanage had caused such consequences.

Miles learned that Earl Winter’s involvement had made the Black Snake Gang wary, and Hei Shi planned to take Miles’s bakery and force him back into gang work. Unaware of Miles’s troubles, Mo Fei upgraded his Combat and Medicine skills, while Tom Riddle began watching him with curiosity.

• Miles found his sister’s home empty and heard from a neighbor that the couple had left looking meek and subdued.
• Miles visited Hei Shi at the Black Snake Gang’s headquarters, where his teacher scolded him and explained that Earl Winter’s intervention had changed the situation.
• Hei Shi told Miles that the Earl’s household wanted a storefront and planned to take Miles’s bakery as compensation, then ordered him to return to work for the gang.
• Mo Fei used his two Belief Points to raise Combat and Medicine from beginner to basic.
• Tom Riddle’s eyes changed from cold and lifeless to curious as Mo Fei made his upgrades.

Mo Fei planned how to raise Tom, whose unusually advanced development and interest in Kyle made him wonder whether Kyle was a wizard. He resolved to prepare Tom for magic, develop his Parseltongue, teach him true nobility and broaden his view of Muggles before Dumbledore might take him away.

• Tom showed unusually advanced behavior for a baby and reacted differently whenever Kyle approached.
• Mo Fei wondered whether Kyle was a wizard and considered how the era of Grindelwald and his Seer abilities might affect his plans.
• Mo Fei decided Tom did not need magical instruction yet and thought Kyle might provide wizarding textbooks once he started school.
• Mo Fei planned to expose Tom to venomous snakes so he could develop his Parseltongue while Mo Fei used the snakes to improve his medical skills.
• Mo Fei intended to teach Tom genuine noble conduct and broaden his understanding of Muggles so he could face Slytherin prejudice with confidence.

Mo Fei told the children a version of The Little Mermaid and used its warning about costly choices to prepare Mia for the possibility of adoption. As the orphanage’s bread business was about to resume, a Book of Admittance and a Quill of Acceptance recorded a child’s name in a distant castle.

• Mo Fei began telling the children stories at dinner and adapted The Little Mermaid, describing the mermaid’s bargain with the sea witch and her unhappy life among humans.
• The children debated the story, and Mo Fei warned them not to pursue choices whose costs they could not bear.
• Mo Fei told Mia to choose any adoptive family carefully, and reassured her that she could stay at the orphanage.
• The young lady of the Winter family received an apology from Miles and the others, and the bakery was repaired so the orphanage’s bread business could resume.
• A Book of Admittance and a Quill of Acceptance recorded a child’s name in a distant castle.

Mo Fei and the orphanage children prepared to welcome Miss Colleen and discuss their bread-selling business. Colleen arrived and began meeting the children, while her maid and bodyguard inspected the orphanage.

• Mo Fei prepared the orphanage with the children, baking white bread and making milk tea for Colleen’s visit.
• Colleen arrived by carriage and entered the orphanage, quietly remarking to Molly on how run-down the neighborhood was.
• Mo Fei welcomed Colleen and learned from her remarks that she seemed unfamiliar with the East End and poor people’s living conditions.
• Colleen asked the children to introduce themselves, and Aiwen introduced everyone.
• Molly checked the orphanage’s cleanliness while the bodyguard watched for danger and briefly felt uneasy near the swaddled child; both approved their inspection, pleasing Colleen.

Colleen considered supporting Mia’s theatrical prospects while arranging for the orphanage’s bread to be sold through the Bread Workshop. The plan was settled, and Colleen said she would visit weekly to eat fresh bread.

• Colleen saw Mia’s resemblance to a theater lead and began considering helping her enter the theater.
• Mo Fei deferred discussion of Mia and served Colleen fresh bread and milk tea, which she enjoyed.
• Colleen arranged for two people to manage the Bread Workshop and offered two children five pounds a week to help there.
• Colleen proposed that Mo Fei make two batches of bread daily, with production costs and bakery business settled weekly and donations made monthly.
• Colleen allowed Aiwen to keep selling small amounts of bread in the West End and said she would visit the orphanage each week for fresh bread.
• Mia told Colleen that the children liked how pretty and kind she was, and everyone laughed together.

After Colleen suggested Mia might have a future in theater, Mo Fei explained the opportunity and its difficulties while the children celebrated the orphanage’s prospects. Meanwhile, the Winter family renovated the bakery, and Miles quietly blamed the orphanage for losing control of it.

• Colleen left the orphanage after suggesting that Mia had potential for theater, and Mo Fei turned away curious neighbors.
• Mo Fei promised the children improvements to the orphanage and celebrated with bread and milk tea.
• Mo Fei explained theaters to Mia and the other children, describing both the possible rewards and the demanding training and uncertain roles.
• Mia hesitated over the opportunity, and Mo Fei left her to consider Colleen’s invitation without pressure.
• The Winter family remodeled the bakery and planned to move its ovens to the orphanage, while Miles watched resentfully and blamed the orphanage.

Mo Fei worked with Stefan and Kalai to establish Love Bread, a bakery supported by the Winter family, while involving the orphanage children in its business. As the shop prospered, Mo Fei began preparing Aiwen and the other children to face life beyond the orphanage.

• Stefan arrived from Earl Winter's household with a flatbed cart and an oven, and Mo Fei loaded the bread for delivery while discussing bakery plans with him.
• Mo Fei and Stefan agreed to focus on affordable black bread while also offering some higher-end breads, pastries, and steamed buns.
• Vil-V joked that Mo Fei was selling steamed buns meant for her tavern, whose business had grown after serving them with improved dishes.
• Mo Fei, Stefan, and Kalai named the shop Love Bread and displayed the Winter family crest after the earl's butler approved the sign.
• The orphanage's neighbors came to support the bakery, and Aiwen began learning sales and communication from Stefan while the other children took turns helping.

Mo Fei helped the orphanage prosper while arranging for Mia to study theater under the Winter family’s protection. A month before Kyle’s birthday, an owl delivered him a letter, confirming Mo Fei’s suspicions that Kyle was a wizard and raising new questions about his past.

• Mo Fei agreed that Mia could become a servant of the Winter family and study drama at the theater once she turned ten, and Colleen arranged for Molly to accompany her.
• Mo Fei cultivated wheat and pasture grass, improved his combat and medical skills, and taught the children to fight and recover from training.
• An owl tapped at the orphanage window and brought Kyle a letter sealed with wax.
• Mo Fei saw Kyle’s excited reaction and concluded that Kyle was a wizard, while wondering what he already knew about the letter and his background.

Kyle received his Hogwarts acceptance letter, and Mo Fei prepared the orphanage for a professor’s visit. That night, Kyle confessed that he had hidden his magical abilities, and Mo Fei reassured him that he was family.

• Mo Fei read Kyle’s Hogwarts acceptance letter aloud, and the children celebrated his chance to study magic.
• Mo Fei welcomed the visiting professor in a reply to Headmaster Armando Dippet, then sent it with the owl.
• Mo Fei assigned the children their usual chores and wondered whether Dumbledore might visit and encounter Tom.
• Kyle went to Mo Fei at night and apologized for hiding that he was a wizard.
• Mo Fei comforted Kyle and told him the orphanage was his family, easing his fear as his trust in the host changed significantly.

Kyle told Mo Fei about his wizard father, his ill Muggle mother, and the magical fantasies that had comforted him at the orphanage. The next morning, a Hogwarts professor arrived to meet Kyle and demonstrated magic to the children.

• Kyle explained to Mo Fei that his mother had told him stories about magic and urged him to await a Hogwarts letter, while his first magical outburst had made him see sprites and fairies.
• Mo Fei reassured Kyle that he would meet a magic-school teacher the next day, and Kyle went to bed feeling hopeful.
• The orphanage children dressed in their best clothes and waited eagerly for the professor, while Mo Fei and Lina baked bread for the guest.
• A professor who was not Dumbledore arrived and asked for Kyle King, and Mo Fei cautiously welcomed him inside.
• The professor introduced himself as a Hogwarts teacher and cast Tarantallegra, making a chair dance and astonishing the children.

Horace Slughorn introduced Kyle to Hogwarts and explained its subjects, then demonstrated a Rapid Growth Potion at the orphanage. He assured Mo Fei that Hogwarts would support Kyle’s schooling, and the two left with Slughorn for the Wizarding World.

• Horace Slughorn introduced himself as Hogwarts’ Potions professor and Slytherin Head, then told Kyle they would buy his first-year supplies and wand.
• Mo Fei asked Slughorn about Hogwarts’ subjects, and Slughorn described the school’s curriculum and the art of Potions.
• Slughorn used a drop of Rapid Growth Potion to grow wheat from seed in moments, astonishing the children and Mo Fei.
• Mo Fei raised concerns about paying for Kyle’s school supplies, and Slughorn explained that Hogwarts gave impoverished Muggle students twenty Galleons a year for seven years.
• Mo Fei told Aiwen, Boer, and Lina what to do while he was away, then left with Kyle and Slughorn for the Wizarding World.

Slughorn took Mo Fei and Kyle to the Leaky Cauldron by Side-Along Apparition, where Mo Fei helped Kyle recover from the journey and gained Slughorn’s trust. Slughorn then showed them how to open the passage into the magical world, leaving the way clear for their school-supply shopping.

• Mo Fei asked Slughorn how they would travel, and Slughorn told him and Kyle to hold hands before using Side-Along Apparition.
• Mo Fei and Kyle arrived at the Leaky Cauldron feeling ill, and Mo Fei used pressure-point massage to help them recover.
• Slughorn was impressed by Mo Fei’s care for Kyle and trusted him more, while Tom offered Mo Fei a free beer and asked to learn his technique.
• Slughorn explained that Muggles overlooked the Leaky Cauldron and showed them how to tap a particular brick to open the gateway to the magical world.

Kyle and Mo Fei visited Diagon Alley with Professor Slughorn to collect Kyle’s Hogwarts grant and buy his supplies, beginning with a wand. At Ollivander’s shop, Kyle’s first wand rejected him painfully, and Ollivander prepared another to try.

• Kyle explored Diagon Alley while Mo Fei stayed cautious and kept him close.
• Slughorn took Kyle and Mo Fei to Gringotts, where they collected Kyle’s grant of twenty Galleons.
• Slughorn led them to the Ollivander Wand Shop, where Ollivander measured Kyle and explained that a wand chose its wizard.
• Ollivander handed Kyle a wand that shocked him painfully and sprang from his hand.
• Ollivander declared the wand incompatible and offered Kyle another one to try.

Kyle chose a silver lime wand with unicorn tail hair after testing several wands, and Mo Fei and Slughorn helped him buy his school supplies in Diagon Alley. Slughorn gave Kyle his Hogwarts train ticket and departed, leaving Mo Fei and Kyle at the Leaky Cauldron to prepare for the journey.

• Kyle tried several wands at Ollivanders before choosing a silver lime wand with unicorn tail hair, eleven and a quarter inches long.
• Mo Fei wondered whether Garrick Ollivander could read a wizard’s life and secrets through their wand.
• Mo Fei and Kyle bought an intact cauldron, dragonhide gloves, cheap used books, discounted textbooks, and school clothes, while Slughorn warned Mo Fei to protect the orphanage’s secrecy.
• Kyle impressed Madam Malkin with his sewing knowledge, and she offered him a summer invitation and gave them a discount.
• Slughorn gave Kyle a ticket for the Hogwarts Express on September first, then Apparated away, leaving Mo Fei and Kyle bewildered at the Leaky Cauldron.

Mo Fei and Kyle waited at the Leaky Cauldron for Tom to explain how they could return home, while Mo Fei observed the wizarding world and taught Tom massage techniques. Tom befriended Mo Fei, who ended the chapter by hinting that he could teach him cooking too.

• Mo Fei asked Tom to help him and Kyle find their way back to the orphanage, then told Kyle to study and avoid attracting attention.
• Mo Fei watched Tom turn away a wizard who could not pay and argue with Selina, and concluded that wizards generally did not use magic casually.
• Mo Fei and Kyle read quietly until Tom finished serving customers and teased them about being Ravenclaws.
• Mo Fei explained that he was a Muggle and described what he had learned about Hogwarts, prompting Tom to call him interesting and make him a friend.
• Mo Fei taught Tom massage techniques for stomach discomfort, tension, and hangovers, then said that his cooking was even better.

Mo Fei cooked a meal at the Leaky Cauldron after Tom asked to see his skills, impressing Tom and Kyle with steaks, vegetables, and cream soup. The steaks seemed to come from an unusual creature, and Mo Fei briefly saw a fire-breathing lizard in the oven before the meal was served.

• Tom explained that the Leaky Cauldron's food was poor, but a young wizard passing by contradicted him and praised Hogwarts meals.
• Tom invited Mo Fei to demonstrate his cooking, then showed him the kitchen's magically animated utensils and explained their cooking spell.
• Mo Fei inspected the ingredients and prepared roasted steaks, stir-fried vegetables, and cream soup while Kyle watched from the doorway.
• Mo Fei saw a fleeting image of a fire-breathing lizard when he opened the oven, then served the food to Tom, Kyle, and himself.
• Tom eagerly stayed in the kitchen to eat, convinced that any leftovers would be his dinner.

Mo Fei’s steak made from Tom’s Fire Salamander meat delighted Tom and Kyle, and Mo Fei salvaged the lesser dragon blood for Tom’s drink. Tom and Mo Fei signed a magical agreement to work together on dishes, and Tom explained how Mo Fei and Kyle could return to the orphanage.

• Tom and Kyle ate Mo Fei’s steak and felt its warmth and invigorating effects.
• Tom realized Mo Fei had cooked the Fire Salamander meat he used to make Fire Dragon’s Roar.
• Mo Fei showed Tom the separated blood and minced meat, and Tom confirmed the blood could still be used.
• Tom asked Mo Fei to return to help prepare dishes for his pub, offering him a share of sales and payment for future meals.
• Mo Fei agreed to the partnership, and he and Tom signed a magical agreement with the earnings to be deposited in Kyle’s account.
• Tom told Mo Fei that the pub was on Charing Cross Road and that they could get home by finding a carriage outside.

Mo Fei brought Kyle back from Diagon Alley and prepared the orphanage children for Kyle’s seven years at Hogwarts. As September first arrived, Kyle promised to write home, while Boer tried to accept their coming separation.

• Mo Fei and Kyle returned to the orphanage, where Kyle told the children about Diagon Alley.
• Mo Fei reassured Aiwen about Kyle’s safety and helped Boer face the prospect of being apart from his best friend.
• Kyle kept recounting his trip, and Mo Fei warned the children not to tell outsiders about the Wizarding World.
• Kyle told the children he would send letters by owl and hoped some of them might be wizards too.
• September first arrived amid the children’s excitement and reluctance to part with Kyle.