Chapter Summaries

Sean and Luna left the Yule Ball to spend the night together beneath the stars, where Luna learned that Sean was preparing for a future crisis and promised to face it with him. Their quiet conversation ended when Sean spotted Hagrid leading Fang out of the Forbidden Forest.

• Luna guided Sean through the Champions’ opening dance, then the two left the Great Hall to walk outside.
• Snape confronted Karkaroff, who insisted that a dangerous person had returned, and drove away students who had been eavesdropping.
• Sean and Luna sat on a tree branch at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, shared food and drinks, and talked under the moonlight.
• Luna asked what Sean had been preparing for, and Sean said he was getting ready for a possible future crisis; Luna promised to face it with him.
• Sean noticed Hagrid leading Fang out of the Forbidden Forest and wondered why Hagrid had gone there during the ball.

After the Yule Ball, Sean left Hogwarts to meet Mallow, who reported that Howard was seeking Ministry Auror support against a group of Werewolves. Sean recognized the negotiations as the opportunity he had been waiting for and ordered Mallow’s people to prepare to act.

• Sean gave Luna the clothes and jewelry as a gift before they returned to Hogwarts.
• Sean stayed at Hogwarts for the Christmas holiday while Andy and Janson went home, and Blaise remained with Rowena.
• Sean received Mallow’s letter, left Hogwarts under a Disillusionment Charm, and met Mallow at The Three Broomsticks.
• Mallow explained how his group had infiltrated Howard’s ranks by pretending to feud and then accepting Howard’s recruitment.
• Mallow told Sean that Howard planned to negotiate with the Aurors supporting him that night, and Sean ordered his people to get ready.

Howard negotiated with the Masked Aurors’ boss over protection and a larger share of his business profits, but Rufus Scrimgeour’s Aurors stormed the meeting before they could finish. The chapter ended as Scrimgeour attacked the boss.

• Howard argued that he needed to take risks against the Werewolves and persuaded the Masked Auror to let him bring four men to the negotiation.
• Howard and his four subordinates traveled with the Masked Auror to an abandoned shop in Hogsmeade, where three masked Aurors awaited them.
• The Masked Aurors’ boss demanded that Howard keep the dividends unchanged and increase their share by five percentage points.
• The boss threatened Howard by revealing that he knew the address of Howard’s wife and child, and Howard agreed to raise the share by two percentage points.
• Rufus Scrimgeour and a group of Aurors burst into the shop, and Scrimgeour fired a red beam at the masked boss.

Sean joined the battle between Scrimgeour and the Masked Aurors, disguising himself as Voldemort and confronting them. Scrimgeour recognized the advanced Smoke Rope Curse, and Voldemort revealed himself as someone they remembered.

• Scrimgeour’s Anti-Apparition Charm stopped Howard from escaping, and the Aurors and Masked Aurors began fighting.
• Sean ordered Mallow to secure Howard and sent the others to support and capture the Masked Aurors.
• Sean watched Scrimgeour pursue the Masked Aurors’ leader toward the forest, planning to use Voldemort’s return to undermine the Ministry.
• Sean transformed into Voldemort and descended on the fighters as the Smoke Rope Curse encircled the trees.
• Scrimgeour recognized the curse as Voldemort’s, and Voldemort spoke to him and the Masked Aurors’ leader.

Sean used his Voldemort disguise and powerful spells to defeat the Masked Aurors' leader while helping Scrimgeour escape, then joined Mallow and the others with their captives. He unmasked the defeated leader and recognized him as Delish.

• Sean disguised himself as Voldemort and attacked Scrimgeour and the Masked Aurors' leader with Black Smoke, Frost Domain, and icy wind.
• Scrimgeour escaped when his ability to Apparate returned, believing the Masked Aurors' leader had been killed.
• Sean crushed the leader's hand and Wand, tortured him with the Cruciatus Curse, then stunned and captured him.
• Sean joined Mallow and the others at the agreed location, where Howard and the other Masked Aurors were already detained.
• Sean removed the Masked Aurors' leader's mask and recognized him as Delish, who was also shocked to see Sean.

Sean forced Delish and the Masked Aurors to sign contracts binding them to him, then secured Howard’s submission and control of his smuggling network. Howard signed after the others, unaware that Sean knew where his real wife and children were.

• Sean beat Delish until he agreed to sign a contract enslaving him.
• Sean demanded Howard’s submission and control of his smuggling business and Dark Wizards.
• Howard offered to submit if Sean protected his wife and children and made the Aurors sign contracts.
• Delish signed the contract, and Sean ordered Mallow to collect signatures from the other Aurors, killing anyone who refused.
• Howard signed after confirming the Aurors had signed, and Sean revealed he knew Howard’s real family had been sent to Japan.

Sean secured Howard and the four Masked Aurors as subordinates, directing them to expand his influence in Knockturn Alley and the Ministry of Magic. Meanwhile, Scrimgeour’s evidence of Voldemort’s return sparked panic at the Ministry, but Fudge dismissed it and insisted Voldemort was dead.

• Sean promised Howard he would protect Howard’s adopted wife and child if Howard served him, then ordered him to keep paying off the Aurors and help subdue Dark Wizards in Knockturn Alley.
• Sean told Delish and the other Masked Aurors to use their Ministry positions to help Barrett Cotton rise and recruit Fudge’s supporters for Sean.
• Sean returned to Hogwarts, while news of Voldemort’s return caused an uproar in the Auror Office after Scrimgeour showed his memories in a Pensieve.
• Fudge claimed Scrimgeour’s memories could not prove Voldemort had returned and argued that the Dark Marks’ revival came from the Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup.
• Scrimgeour challenged Fudge over his denial, but Fudge told him to focus on capturing the unpunished Death Eaters.

After Fudge and Scrimgeour parted on bad terms, Sean finished testing an underwater potion and used the Marauder’s Map to check for a suspected intruder at Hogwarts. He found no trace of the person and told Harry he would investigate further and alert Dumbledore if he learned anything.

• Fudge told Delish to reassure Howard that the Werewolf issue would be resolved and the year-end dividends would arrive on time.
• Delish befriended Barrett at the Ministry while the three Masked Aurors went to rest.
• Sean showed Snape his potion, and Snape approved it for the upcoming underwater test, saying it was better suited than the Bubble-Head Charm.
• Sean met Harry at the Great Hall and checked the Marauder’s Map for the suspected intruder beyond Hogwarts’s walls.
• Sean told Harry the map might be unable to reveal someone protected by a powerful concealment spell, and promised to investigate and inform Dumbledore if he found anything.

Sean and Dumbledore confronted Skul in the Forbidden Forest, where Sean fought the new Wolf King of the Greyback Clan. The battle ended with Sean casting Venomous Flow into Skul’s open mouth.

• Sean discussed fourth-stage Transfiguration with Dumbledore while they waited for night to fall.
• Sean and Dumbledore followed an aura into the Forbidden Forest and found Skul transforming into a Werewolf.
• Sean bound Skul with magically animated chains and crushed him between enormous hands of earth and stone, but moonlight let Skul break free in a larger form.
• Sean used his strength to strike Skul and stopped Hagrid’s Fang from joining the attack with Beast Taming.
• As Skul lunged to bite him, Sean aimed his wand into Skul’s mouth and cast Venomous Flow.

Sean and Dumbledore captured Skul, who had been impersonating Hagrid, and Sean found the real Hagrid chained and unconscious in a cave. They brought Hagrid back, where Dumbledore waited for Madam Poppy and Lupin to arrive so they could carry out their plan to replace the impostor.

• Sean subdued Skul with Venomous Flow and told Dumbledore that the impostor had been captured.
• Sean failed to read Skul's memories with Legilimency, so he used Beast Taming to send Fang to find Hagrid.
• Sean followed Fang to a secluded cave and found Hagrid chained and unconscious after being cursed and force-fed potions.
• Sean freed Hagrid and floated him out of the cave; two Acromantulas approached but retreated when they saw Hagrid.
• Sean returned to Dumbledore, who said he had contacted Poppy and was waiting for Lupin to help replace Skul with a werewolf.

Sirius Black and Lupin joined Dumbledore at a cottage in the Forbidden Forest, where Sean left potions to support their plan against the Death Eaters. Dumbledore explained that the Death Eaters were trying to make Sean Hogwarts’s Triwizard Champion so they could take him, while Skul secretly looked forward to Sean turning against them.

• Sirius Black and Lupin arrived at the cottage and found Hagrid recovering, Sean reading, and Skul subdued at Sean’s feet.
• Sean explained that he had poisoned Skul, the new Wolf King of the Greyback Clan, with one of his spells.
• Sean gave Lupin a Restorative Potion, the New Wolfsbane Potion, and Polyjuice Potion, then left after Dumbledore mentioned recommending his paper to Animagus.
• Lupin rebuked Sirius for insulting Sean, and Sirius promised to apologize.
• Lupin asked why the Death Eaters were infiltrating Hogwarts, and Dumbledore said they wanted to take Sean by making him a Triwizard Champion.
• Skul secretly believed Sean was Voldemort’s other half and anticipated that Sean would eventually turn against Dumbledore and the others.

The “Animagus” editorial department accepted Sean Bulstrode’s paper and made it the issue’s front-page headline after recognizing him as a recent Golden Cauldron Award winner with Albus Dumbledore’s recommendation. Sean received the sample issue at Hogwarts, where Professor McGonagall celebrated his achievement and urged him to start another paper.

• The editor-in-chief approved Sean Bulstrode’s paper for publication after reviewing it and learning that Albus Dumbledore had recommended it.
• The editor-in-chief recognized Sean as the Best Thesis Golden Cauldron Award winner and ordered his paper placed on the front page to boost sales.
• The editorial department finalized the proofs, printed sample issues, and sent Sean his copy with a reward.
• A Snowy Owl delivered Sean’s sample issue during lunch, and Professor McGonagall opened it to see his paper featured as the headline.
• Professor McGonagall congratulated Sean, offered to have points awarded to him, and encouraged him to begin his next paper.

As the Champions prepared for the underwater second round, Fleur drew confidence from her earlier training while struggling with her feelings for Sean, and Madame Maxime remained troubled by her distance from Hagrid. Sean completed his preparations, and the second round began.

• Hogwarts students learned that Sean’s paper had appeared on the front page of "Animagus," while Karkaroff forbade Durmstrang students from discussing it.
• Fleur recalled Sean’s advice to train for extreme environments and used her underwater practice to prepare for the second round.
• Madame Maxime worried that she had pushed Hagrid away but continued helping Fleur prepare rather than risk her position by admitting she was a Half-giant.
• Fleur made underwater-supporting alchemical items, while Krum concentrated on brewing potions to restore and enhance his abilities.
• Sean finished his preparations, and the supervisor inspected and marked each item before leaving as the second round arrived.

Sean, Viktor Krum, and Fleur Delacour began the second Triwizard task in the Black Lake, where each Champion had to reach a Mermaid Temple in the abyss. Sean used his underwater transformation potion and fought past Grindylows, but as he descended, three more dangerous Grindylows approached him.

• Sean, Krum, and Fleur prepared on the diving platform, and Sean entered the Black Lake first after drinking his potion.
• Sean transformed with gills, webbed fingers, scales, and fins, then followed the Golden Egg's clue deeper underwater.
• Sean blasted through weeds and Grindylows with his Wand and raced ahead, while Krum later charged through the remaining creatures in his half-man, half-shark form.
• Fleur arrived after Krum and quickly dealt with the few injured Grindylows left in her path.
• Sean descended toward the abyss and Mermaid Temple, where the Champions' treasures were hidden, but three horse-shaped Grindylows with scarlet eyes approached him.

Sean gained new Animagus abilities from the Grindylows and reached the abyss at the bottom of Black Lake, where Merpeople's Song began to sound. He continued descending despite being unable to breathe underwater in his Animagus form.

• Sean realized ordinary wizards and weak magical creatures would no longer provide much improvement, so he needed to duel stronger opponents.
• Three Grindylows attacked Sean as water snakes, but he repelled them with the Obstacle Curse and scorching jets of water.
• Sean extracted Current Travel Level 4 and Body Morphing LV3, which let his Animagus form travel underwater and transform into ordinary animals of any size, though it still could not breathe underwater.
• Sean reached the pitch-black canyon at the bottom of Black Lake and slowly swam down toward it.
• Merpeople's Song rang out as Sean descended, while he considered the differences between Merpeople and Mermen.

Sean reached the Underwater Temple and rescued Blaise, his assigned treasure, while Krum and Fleur entered the temple and triggered its defenses. When two Mermen barred Sean from returning to help them, he sent Blaise toward the surface with Alchemical Puppet fish and prepared to defy their warning.

• Sean resisted the merpeople's song with a potion and swam into the Underwater Temple by following the Golden Egg's clues.
• Sean found Blaise as his treasure, freed him from his chains, and started taking him out of the temple.
• Krum and Fleur rushed into the temple, and an alarm sounded after they triggered a taboo and drew the Mermen's attention.
• Sean turned back to help Krum and Fleur, but two Mermen threatened him and warned that he would become their enemy if he reentered.
• Sean sent Blaise upward with four Alchemical Puppet fish and told the Mermen he wanted to try going back.

Sean rescued Fleur, Hermione, Gabrielle, and Krum from the mermaid temple, where a Mermaid Wizard had restrained Fleur. As the group fled the abyss, the Mermaid Wizard summoned the Kraken, and Sean transformed into the White Snake King to hold it back while his companions escaped.

• Sean fought past the Mermen and joined Krum, who told him Fleur had gone into the temple to retrieve their treasures and had not returned.
• Sean found Fleur bound by a Mermaid Wizard and freed her by freezing the water currents, then rescued Hermione and Gabrielle with Krum’s help.
• Sean led Fleur, Hermione, Gabrielle, and Krum out of the temple while fighting off the pursuing Mermen.
• The Mermaid Wizard blew a conch horn, summoning the Kraken from the collapsing rock walls of the abyss.
• Sean transformed into the White Snake King and collided with the Kraken’s tentacles, using his tail’s undercurrent to sweep Fleur and the others out of the abyss.

Sean escaped the lake after fighting Kraken, the Mermen, and the Mermaid Wizard, then reunited with Fleur and received the highest score in the second task. The chapter ended with Percy Weasley judging Sean harshly despite the crowd’s disapproval.

• Sean used a lightning current to stun Kraken and the Mermen, then evaded the Mermaid Wizard’s water attacks and punched her unconscious.
• Sean surfaced and reunited with Fleur, who promised that she and Krum would keep his Animagus form secret.
• The judges awarded Fleur and Krum 40 points each, while Sean received 45 points.
• Percy gave Sean 7 points and claimed he had already shown favoritism, drawing boos from the crowd.

After the second Triwizard Tournament task, Sean questioned Percy about Crouch and learned that Crouch was investigating rumors of Voldemort's return. Sean suspected that the tournament's altered events might mean Crouch was not under the Imperius Curse and Moody was the real Moody, leaving Barty Crouch Jr.'s whereabouts uncertain.

• Percy justified the points he had given Sean, saying Sean had returned later than the other Champions and that the deduction was not personal.
• Sean asked Percy where Crouch was, and Percy revealed that Crouch had gone to investigate Scrimgeour's claim that he had seen Voldemort.
• Percy tried to use his connection with Sean to curry favor, but Sean left without entertaining him.
• As he walked back to Hogwarts, Sean wondered whether Crouch had escaped his son's control and whether Moody was the real Moody rather than Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise.
• Sean concluded that if Moody was real, Barty Crouch Jr. was still hiding somewhere.

Sean won the second task and returned to Hogwarts, where his friends celebrated him and discussed rumors that Voldemort had returned. Janson then told Sean that two Wizengamot seats had opened, leaving the story with the prospect of new full members being chosen.

• Sean told Ron and Ginny they did not need to apologize for Percy’s score and urged them to help their brother find his way back.
• The Weasley twins offered Sean prank sweets, but Sean fed them their own Canary Cream Fudge and Flesh-Eating Sleazebag Toffee.
• Sean returned to the Great Hall, where the students applauded him, and he told Blaise and the others he had not figured out the third task.
• Andy told Sean that Aurors had lost people while targeting werewolves in Knockturn Alley, and Sean mentioned reports that Voldemort had returned, which Fudge denied.
• Janson told Sean that two Wizengamot members were retiring and that alternates would be made full members.