Chapter Summaries

William led the Centaur cavalry toward an ambush on Helvellyn as Voldemort’s army approached through the mountain pass. After the Centaurs attacked the Orcs and Trolls, William watched the Great Fire Star disappear below the horizon.

• The Centaurs stopped to study the Great Fire Star, and Fire Kiss told William her divination foretold slaughter while trying to auction him a fake gold card.
• Fire Kiss explained that Ronan had sold her the card at an inflated price, and William persuaded her to continue helping with his Centaur anatomy research.
• Lupin reported that the Werewolf corps had found Death Eater scouts, and William ordered them killed.
• Nott led a three-thousand-strong army of Orcs and Trolls through Helvellyn, seeking to flank Stark’s forces and avenge his son.
• After a wounded Death Eater arrived, Nott sounded the battle horn and spotted more than a hundred Centaurs on the mountain flank.
• The Centaurs, led by a red Centaur, loosed a volley of arrows at the Orc corps as William watched the Great Fire Star descend.

William’s forces ambushed Nott’s Orcs and Trolls on the narrow mountain path, turning the battle into a slaughter. As Nott sent Death Eaters after the Centaurs, Cedric, Cho, Fluffy, and the Acromantulas struck his forces from behind.

• Ronan and the Centaurs opened fire, while William’s wizards used anti-bolt weapons to deflect the Orcs’ thrown spears.
• Nott ordered the boar cavalry to charge, and the Orc riders crashed through the Trolls blocking the mountain path.
• William rode Mormont into battle with the Werewolves, using the Goblin sword and spells to cut through the Orc cavalry.
• The Centaurs split into two lines along the cliffs and fired on the boar riders, prompting Nott to send Death Eaters against them.
• Cedric and Cho led Fluffy and the Acromantulas in a charge against the Death Eaters’ flank, as the battle became known as the Meat Grinder of Helvellyn.

William joined the Thunderbird Corps on Silver Wing and reached the Hebrides, where the main battle between Giants and dragons raged. After killing Black Death, William confronted Voldemort and challenged him to fight.

• William regrouped with Cedric and Cho, then rode Silver Wing with Phoebe and the Thunderbird Corps toward the Hebrides.
• Phoebe told William they were nearing the battlefield and said she was happy to fight at his side.
• George and Fred spotted the arriving Thunderbirds as Giants and dragons fought across the Hebrides.
• Black Death charged at Silver Wing, but William wounded the dragon, drove the Goblin sword into its head, and killed it.
• William flung Black Death’s head toward Voldemort and challenged the Dark Lord to a fight.

William told Voldemort that his Eastern Expedition Corps had been wiped out, then faced Voldemort’s enormous Giant God Warrior when the Dark Lord’s forces began overwhelming the battlefield. After surviving its attacks, William gathered the storm’s lightning and charged back at Voldemort, taunting him in return.

• William mocked Voldemort with news that the Eastern Expedition Corps had been completely destroyed and claimed Dumbledore was occupied elsewhere.
• Voldemort became enraged, used Dark Magic to fuse his Giant Inferi into a thirty-meter Giant God Warrior, and climbed onto its shoulder.
• The Giant God Warrior attacked William and the battlefield, smashing Giants and causing the fighting to turn into a rout.
• William blocked the Warrior’s foot with a purple-gold barrier, was sent soaring, and Phoebe guided Silver Wing to catch him.
• William drew the storm’s lightning to his wand, descended toward the Giant God Warrior, and taunted Voldemort as he charged.

William destroyed Voldemort’s Giant God Warrior while the allied forces fought on several fronts, but Voldemort revealed that House-elves were bolstering his army at the River Ouse. Dumbledore arrived with foreign reinforcements, and William redirected forces to counter the threat as the battle turned toward an allied victory.

• William called down lightning that destroyed Voldemort’s Giant God Warrior, then continued confronting the Dark Lord.
• Phoebe reported that the European coalition had suffered heavy losses at the River Ouse, and William ordered Madame Maxime to take the battlefield rather than focus on casualty figures.
• Voldemort revealed that pure-blood families’ House-elves had joined his forces, and William identified them as the reinforcements behind the enemy’s sudden strength.
• Dumbledore arrived with more than four hundred wizards from other countries and engaged Voldemort in battle.
• Hermione brought House-elves from the Akali Shop, and William ordered reinforcements sent to the Helvellyn line and River Ouse while another force moved to cut off the Western Expedition Corps.

With Dumbledore’s reinforcements turning the war in the Ministry’s favor, William led the assault on Wyvern Tower and captured the MacFusty stronghold, securing victory in the Hebrides. The chapter ended with the wizarding world learning of the Death Eaters’ defeat and the allied forces cheering Stark’s name.

• A Werewolf tracked down the wounded Nott at Helvellyn and killed him, while Mormont’s forces moved on to support the fighting in the Hebrides.
• William directed the allied forces’ advance toward Wyvern Tower as the defenders’ resistance weakened.
• William sent Giants to smash through the fortress wall, then led the charge into the castle alongside Aurors, Werewolves, and Centaurs.
• Fire Kiss killed the mortally wounded Jaehaerys MacFusty, and William entered the dragon lair and claimed the family’s dragon eggs.
• A surrendered MacFusty wizard blew the Dragon Horn to stop the surviving black dragons from fighting, and William declared victory as the allied forces cheered Stark’s name.
• News that the Hebrides had fallen and the Death Eaters had suffered heavy losses spread across the wizarding world.

The aftermath of the summer offensive established William as the young commander behind a decisive victory, while he arranged the memorial for the fallen at Godric’s Hollow. He brought Gregorovitch to a safe house and asked him to make a convincing, breakable imitation of the Elder Wand to deceive Voldemort, then accompanied Dumbledore to his family’s graves as Harry’s fate drew near.

• The summer offensive ended in a decisive victory for William’s forces, destroying Voldemort’s Troll corps, scattering his vampire army, occupying the Hebrides, and taking control of the skies.
• William arranged for the fallen to be buried and commemorated at Godric’s Hollow, and waited for Gregorovitch to arrive at his safe house.
• William asked Gregorovitch to make a powerful imitation of the Elder Wand that would look ancient and break after use, and Gregorovitch agreed to let Cedric assist him.
• William went to the graveyard, where he found Dumbledore mourning at the graves of Kendra Dumbledore and Ariana and speaking about his grief and fear of returning there.
• William and Dumbledore passed the graves of Ignotus Peverell and James and Lily Potter, knowing Harry was about to face his foretold death.

Harry prepared to leave 4 Privet Drive as the Order of the Phoenix arranged safe passage for the Dursleys and a Portkey for him. As his relatives departed, Petunia gave him a joined photograph of both families, and Harry wept over the home he was leaving and the uncertain future ahead.

• Hedwig dropped owl droppings on Harry's head, snapping him out of his daze as he waited for night to come.
• Harry explained to Vernon that the Dursleys had to go into hiding because Voldemort might target them, and Dudley said he would go with the Order of the Phoenix.
• Hestia and Dedalus arrived to escort the Dursleys, while Hestia gave Harry a Portkey to use if Mad-Eye failed to arrive.
• Vernon said goodbye, and Dudley thanked Harry for saving his life before asking whether they would meet again; Harry promised they would.
• Petunia gave Harry a photograph joining pictures of the Dursley and Potter families, and Harry cried as he faced leaving his home and an uncertain future.

Harry used a Portkey to leave the Dursleys’ home, but arrived in a room where Tom Riddle greeted him and invited him to see Death. Meanwhile, William studied how to make a Deathly Hallow until Dumbledore sent an urgent message that Harry was missing.

• Harry sorted through his belongings, checked the Daily Prophet’s death list, and left alone by Portkey when Mad-Eye failed to arrive.
• Harry landed in an unfamiliar room filled with religious books and incense, where Tom Riddle invited him to come see Death.
• William studied the Book of Alchemy and considered which Deathly Hallow to make from the Elder Wood he had obtained.
• Dumbledore’s silver phoenix Patronus reached William with an urgent message that Harry was missing.

Harry disappeared after using a tampered Portkey, and Dumbledore discovered that Tom had taken him to seek Death. William learned that the entrance to the Land of Death lay in Constantinople, but Dumbledore proposed another way to reach it.

• Moody and the Order searched 4 Privet Drive, deduced that Hestia had been placed under the Imperius Curse, and realized the Portkey had been switched.
• Dumbledore told William that Tom had controlled Hestia, taken Harry, and left a letter explaining his plan to find Death and later help kill Harry as the final Horcrux.
• William learned that Tom intended to use Harry's soul fragment as one of the Three Brothers and seek Death through the entrance in Constantinople.
• Dumbledore said they could not reach Tom in time by traveling to Constantinople, then reminded William of the four golden coffins as a better route into the Land of Death.

William and Hermione traveled to Egypt to find a way to enter the Land of Death and rescue Harry, using William’s invitation to the International Alchemy Conference as cover. In Cairo, conference representative Mirshat met them and revealed that the apartments for attendees had partly collapsed and many wizards were missing.

• William and Dumbledore decided to rescue Harry first and chose Egypt as the route to the Land of Death.
• William and Hermione sailed to Cairo aboard a Gringotts boat with goblins and newly recruited Curse-Breakers.
• Egyptian Aurors inspected the arrivals because William was among them, and William presented his conference invitation.
• Mirshat welcomed William and Hermione, praised William’s article on alchemy and ancient runes, then admitted that the conference apartments had partly collapsed and many attendees were missing.

William traveled to Egypt with a Gringotts party, claiming he would help its Goblins break the magic inside an ancient temple in exchange for their support in the war. He reunited with Bill Weasley in Thebes, where Bill was secretly spying for Dumbledore and William, and prepared to use the Goblins’ excavation as a cover for finding the entrance to the Land of Death.

• William arrived at the site of a collapsed building in Cairo and found that officials had withdrawn rescuers while mourners and influencers gathered there.
• William left Cairo with the Gringotts party and passed the Giza pyramids and the Great Sphinx before continuing to Thebes.
• The newly hired wizards reached the remote ruins near Luxor and Karnak, where Bill Weasley greeted William and Hermione.
• William gave Bill Mrs. Weasley’s letter, which urged him to return home and get married.
• Bill asked why William had come to Egypt, and William said he was helping Gringotts break the magic inside a temple in exchange for wartime support.
• William privately intended to use the excavation to find the entrance to the Land of Death, where he hoped to rescue Harry.

William and Hermione explored an Egyptian wizarding village, haggled over a replica statue of Tutankhamun, and then went to Gringotts for William’s meeting with Mr. Jorah. While waiting, William looked toward the Valley of the Kings and thought about Arya Grindelwald and the rumors surrounding Cleopatra’s tomb.

• William visited the village antiques market and learned that goblins profited from breaking curses, selling replicas, and authenticating treasures.
• William spotted a statue of Tutankhamun hunting a hippopotamus, and Hermione bargained the goblin down from eighty thousand Galleons to ninety.
• William and Hermione entered the Gringotts pyramid, where goblins escorted William to a VIP room to wait for Mr. Jorah.
• William looked across the Nile toward the Valley of the Kings and recalled Dumbledore’s theory that Arya had revealed Cleopatra’s tomb’s location to gain access to it.
• William wondered how Arya was doing and wished he would never have to see her again.

William and Hermione met with Jorah in Egypt, where he blamed Arya Grindelwald and the Muslim Brotherhood for an attack that killed conference attendees. Jorah showed them the Temple of Amun, the ancient school where the Four Founders’ coffins lay and where William hoped to find the Land of Death.

• Jorah welcomed William and Hermione and urged them to examine the Temple of Amun, but William demanded an explanation for the apartment building collapse that had killed many people.
• Jorah said Arya Grindelwald was the likely culprit and claimed the Muslim Brotherhood, founded by Grindelwald’s Acolyte Hassan al-Banna, was connected to the attack.
• William considered Jorah’s explanation plausible and set his concerns aside for the time being.
• Jorah led William and Hermione through a magically protected door and showed them a phantom image of Karnak Temple, the ancient Temple of Amun.
• Jorah explained that the temple had been the world’s earliest school of magic, where the Four Founders had studied, and that their four coffins were there.

William and Hermione’s journey to Egypt brought them to the Temple of Amun, the surviving ruins of the vanished Invisible College, whose protections the Goblins had failed to break. A Goblin-led curse-breaking team entered Karnak Temple and approached the dangerous sanctuary at its heart.

• Bagshot gave Hermione her manuscript about the Invisible College, and William recalled that the Four Founders had come from the mysterious Egyptian school.
• William connected the College’s disappearance to the destruction of the Library of Alexandria and explained why the Temple of Amun remained their destination.
• A Goblin-led curse-breaking team set out for Karnak Temple under cover of night.
• The team passed the sphinx-lined avenue and gateway, where William admired the statue of Ramesses II and Queen Hatshepsut’s obelisk.
• William entered the hypostyle hall with the group, and a Goblin pointed them toward the sanctuary that the Goblins had never managed to open.

William discovered that a black stela in Karnak Temple was made from Hell Rock, a material used to create the Deathly Hallows. With the Metternich Stela and Seneb’s Wand, he performed the ritual to open the altar, leaving the temple as a powerful aura emerged.

• William and Hermione identified the black stela as Hell Rock from the banks of Death's River.
• The Goblins produced the Metternich Stela, which Clark admitted they had taken from the Metropolitan Museum during the chaos after the U.S. Capitol explosion.
• Clark explained that the stela's hieroglyphs and a prayer were needed to enter the altar.
• The Goblins gave William Seneb's Wand and brought eight baboons to perform the ritual.
• William recited the inscription, the baboons roared, and he chanted, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!"

William and Hermione discovered that the temple held the mummified pharaohs, who attacked the intruders along with swarms of scarabs. They escaped the encircling undead with the stolen Metternich Stela and flew deeper into the temple.

• Hermione identified the mummies by the Sacred Eye bracelets they wore, recognizing them as pharaohs.
• The Goblins rushed to loot the pharaohs, and a mummy killed the first Goblin who touched it.
• Mummies and scarabs slaughtered the curse-breaking team as William and Hermione fought back-to-back.
• William and Hermione learned that the mummies could return after being destroyed, and Hermione urged them to escape.
• William used black mist to clear a path, transformed into a sea eagle, and carried Hermione as she retrieved the Metternich Stela and stored it in the Safety Watch.
• William flew deeper into the temple with Hermione, ignoring the undead gathering behind them.

William and Hermione found the Sacred Lake and the pyramid holding four golden coffins, where they encountered Vivian. Vivian offered William a map to the Underworld in exchange for killing the person inside one of the coffins.

• Hermione used an improved Extendable Ear to locate running water, and William followed the sound to the Sacred Lake.
• William recognized the lake and pyramid as the real place copied in Hogwarts’s underground chamber.
• William used Old Newt’s secretions to lure hippos out of the lake so they could carry him and Hermione across.
• Vivian appeared on a hippo and explained that she had helped Ravenclaw and the other Founders find Egyptian Prehistoric Mysteries.
• Vivian offered William the Book of Two Ways in exchange for his help killing the person inside the golden coffin.

William and Hermione crossed the Sacred Lake after Vivian revealed that Arya Grindelwald was inside a golden coffin, undergoing a transformation that would resurrect Cleopatra VII. William reached the island and opened Arya’s coffin, then appeared to cast the killing curse as Vivian promised him the other half of the Book of Two Ways and help finding Death.

• Vivian told William and Hermione that Arya Grindelwald had entered a golden coffin and that Cleopatra VII’s soul inside her sought resurrection.
• Vivian explained that Cleopatra would command the power of the pharaohs’ mummies and offered to help William kill her in exchange for a chance to escape imprisonment.
• William used the Hippopotamus Tooth Wand to part the Sacred Lake, and he and Hermione crossed to the island.
• William used the Ravenclaw Ring to open the marked coffin, then accepted half of the Book of Two Ways from Vivian.
• Hermione opened Arya’s coffin and found her unconscious and wrapped in bandages while Vivian urged William to kill her.
• William raised his wand and began casting Avada Kedavra at Arya.

William rejected Vivian’s offer to kill Arya and questioned whether Vivian was really the Lady of the Lake, suspecting she was Morgan le Fay. After learning that Vivian claimed Merlin became Death, William trusted Ravenclaw’s message instead and left with Hermione and the Goblet of Fire.

• William refused to kill Arya, explaining that he no longer trusted Vivian after their previous deal.
• Hermione accused Vivian of manipulating the Goblins and arranging events to make William hate Arya; Vivian did not deny the suspicion.
• William challenged Vivian’s identity and cited Sir Cadogan’s account that Vivian would never harm Merlin and Merlin could never have trapped her.
• Vivian claimed Merlin trapped her because she tried to stop him from becoming Death.
• William said Ravenclaw’s Book of Two Ways differed from Vivian’s version and concluded Vivian had falsified it to lure him to Avalon.
• William took the Goblet of Fire from Hermione and left after taunting Vivian.